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To clarify the regulatory effect and molecular mechanism of Arisaema heterophyllum Blume (AhBl) monomer stigmasterol on lung adenocarcinoma in human lung adenocarcinoma cells NCI-H1975 cultured in vitro and in nude mice. Oil red O staining, free fatty acid detection, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and NADPH were applied to elucidate the regulatory effect of stigmasterol on the energy metabolism of NCI-H1975 cells. Simultaneously, colony formation assay and nude mouse tumorigenesis were performed to clarify the underlying mechanisms of stigmasterol on the proliferation and tumorigenesis of NCI-H1975 cells. Furthermore, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) inhibitor GW9662 was supplemented to determine the expression changes of cyclins to clarify the regulation mechanism of stigmasterol. The results revealed that stigmasterol administration markedly inhibited the viability but promoted lipid deposition of NCI-H1975 cells. Meanwhile, the reduction of cell energy metabolism affected cell proliferation and colony formation. qPCR and western blot assays indicated that stigmasterol played a role in regulating the expression of cyclins and PPARγ signaling pathway proteins. Nude mouse tumorigenesis suggested that tumor size and weight in the stigmasterol-treated group were apparently lower as compared with the control group. Tumor tissue cells developed varying degrees of degeneration and large areas of ischemic necrosis presented in the central and peripheral cells. Immunohistochemistry results revealed that Ki67 expression in the stigmasterol group was substantially inhibited, while PPARγ expression was greatly elevated as compared with the control. GW9662 could mediate the inhibitory effect of stigmasterol on NCI-H1975 cells. The current study demonstrated that stigmasterol targeted PPARγ and inhibited the viability and tumorigenicity of lung adenocarcinoma cells NCI-H1975.

High-performance and intelligent fibers are indispensable parts of wearable electronics in the future. This work mainly demonstrates the preparation of flexible intelligent liquid metal (LM) fibers with three core-sheath structures. An ultra-thin (10-50 μm), conductive, and highly flexible LM was deposited on the fiber core [carbon/polyethylene terephthalate (C/PET)--150-500 μm] along the fiber direction and then deposited on a polymer-protective layer [polyvinyl alcohol/epoxy resin (PVA/EP)--10 μm]. Four kinds of LM intelligent fibers were manufactured, including the C-LM-PVA fiber, C-LM-EP fiber, PET-LM-PVA fiber, and PET-LM-EP fiber. These LM intelligent fibers (diameter, 150-600 μm) were demonstrated with a high conductivity of 7.839 × 10

Liquid metals (LM) have shown a very broad development prospect over the past decades. This review article focuses on the latest research dedicated to liquid metal materials and their applications in five significant areas: stretchable conductive composite, intelligent sensing electronic skin, catalysis, 3D printing material, and driving machines. The fabrication, specific properties and application of stretchable liquid metal‐polymer composites that can be used as self‐healing materials have been summarized. Liquid metal deposition printing technology, liquid phase 3D printing, suspension 3D printing technology, micro‐contact printing technology, and in vivo 3D printing molding technology have also been reviewed. Furthermore, the application of liquid metal catalyst in aldehyde reaction, photocatalysis, and electrocatalysis have been discussed. We have shown that electricity, magnetism, sound, light and heat could stimulate the movement of liquid metal. Through this comprehensive overview of the latest research, the main practical application, development, and mechanism of liquid metal were summarized and described. The future development of liquid metal technology was prospected, thus providing a strong basic research support for the further development of LM materials and their applications., The latest research on liquid metal materials and their application to a broad range of fields have been summarized. Particularly, the application of liquid metal materials to stretchable conductive composites, intelligent sensing electronic skin, catalysis, 3D printing materials, and driving machines has been reviewed.

Developing cost-effective, high-efficiency and heterogeneous catalysts is of prime importance for the green synthesis of diethyl carbonate (DEC) from ethyl carbamate (EC) and ethanol. Herein, a series of MgO/γ-Al

The mechanical properties of concrete and steel are seriously degraded under high temperature, so that reinforced concrete (RC) members after fire may not be able to satisfy the prescribed performance. In this study, 27 full-scale RC beams were carried out shear tests to investigate the shear behaviour after fire. A total of 20 beams were subjected to fire on three sides in accordance with ISO 834 standard fire curve, and the remaining 7 beams (which were not subjected to fire) were employed as a reference. The influences of fire time, stirrup ratio, shear span ratio, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, and preloading (40% loading level) were considered. The experimental results indicated that the shear failure mode of the RC specimens after fire exposure was similar to that of the reference specimens. Both the residual shear load bearing capacity and stiffness of the RC beams decreased after being subjected to fire. The loss of shear bearing capacity increased with the heating time. In addition, the ultimate load bearing capacity of specimens with stirrups subjected to the same fire exposure time decreased with an increasing shear span ratio.

Conventional patterning methods for producing liquid metal (LM) electronic circuits, such as the template method, use chemical etching, which requires long cycle times, high costs, and multiple-step operations. In this study, a novel and reliable laser engraving micro-fabrication technology was introduced, which was used to fabricate personalized patterns of LM electronic circuits. First, by digitizing the pattern, a laser printing technology was used to burn a polyethylene (PE) film, where a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or paper substrate was used to produce grooves. Then, the grooves were filled with LM and the PE film was removed; finally, the metal was packaged with PDMS film. The experimental results showed that the prepared LM could fabricate precise patterned electronic circuits, such as golden serpentine curves and Peano curves. The minimum width and height of the LM circuit were 253 μm and 200 μm, respectively, whereas the printed LM circuit on paper reached a minimum height of 26 μm. This LM flexible circuit could also be adapted to various sensor devices and was successfully applied to heart rate detection. Laser engraving micro-processing technologies could be used to customize various high-resolution LM circuit patterns in a short time, and have broad prospects in the manufacture of flexible electronic equipment.

Room-temperature liquid metal is a very ideal material for the design of catalytic materials. At low temperatures, the liquid metal enters the liquid state. It provides an opportunity to utilize the liquid phase in the catalysis, which is far superior to the traditional solid-phase catalyst. Aiming at the low performance and narrow application scope of the existing single-phase liquid metal catalyst, this paper proposed a type of liquid metal/metal oxide core-shell composite multi-metal catalyst. The Ga2O3 core-shell heterostructure was formed by chemical modification of liquid metals with different nano metals Cu/W/Mo/Ni, and it was applied to photocatalytic degrading organic contaminated raw liquor. The effects of different metal species on the rate of catalytic degradation were explored. The selectivity and stability of the LM/MO core-shell composite catalytic material were clarified, and it was found that the Ni-LM catalyst could degrade methylene blue and Congo red by 92% and 79%, respectively. The catalytic mechanism and charge transfer mechanism were revealed by combining the optical band gap value. Finally, we provided a theoretical basis for the further development of liquid metal photocatalytic materials in the field of new energy environments.

Background The objective of this study was to characterize hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and describe their real-world treatment patterns and outcomes over time. Methods Adult patients hospitalized on May 1, 2020–December 31, 2020 with a discharge diagnosis of COVID-19 were identified from the Premier Healthcare Database. Patient and hospital characteristics, treatments, baseline severity based on oxygen support, length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) utilization, and mortality were examined. Results The study included 295657 patients (847 hospitals), with median age of 66 (interquartile range, 54–77) years. Among each set of demographic comparators, the majority were male, white, and over 65. Approximately 85% had no supplemental oxygen charges (NSOc) or low-flow oxygen (LFO) at baseline, whereas 75% received no more than NSOc or LFO as maximal oxygen support at any time during hospitalization. Remdesivir (RDV) and corticosteroid treatment utilization increased over time. By December, 50% were receiving RDV and 80% were receiving corticosteroids. A higher proportion initiated COVID-19 treatments within 2 days of hospitalization in December versus May (RDV, 87% vs 40%; corticosteroids, 93% vs 62%; convalescent plasma, 68% vs 26%). There was a shift toward initiating RDV in patients on NSOc or LFO (68.0% [May] vs 83.1% [December]). Median LOS decreased over time. Overall mortality was 13.5% and it was highest for severe patients (invasive mechanical ventilation/extracorporeal membrane oxygenation [IMV/ECMO], 53.7%; high-flow oxygen/noninvasive ventilation [HFO/NIV], 32.2%; LFO, 11.7%; NSOc, 7.3%). The ICU use decreased, whereas mortality decreased for NSOc and LFO. Conclusions Clinical management of COVID-19 is rapidly evolving. This large observational study found that use of evidence-based treatments increased from May to December 2020, whereas improvement in outcomes occurred over this time-period.

This paper reports the results of a seismic performance study of a precast shear wall with a new horizontal connection. The new connection is the rabbet-unbonded horizontal connection, which is composed of rabbets and unbonded rebar segments. The rabbets are used to improve the shear capacity and prevent slippage of the connection, and the unbonded rebar segments are used to improve the ductility and energy dissipation. Three specimens were tested with different parameters under cyclic quasi-static loading. The test results showed that the specimen with a larger unbonded level had a richer hysteresis curve, larger ductility, larger energy dissipation, and slightly smaller bearing capacity. Moreover, in relation to the stiffness degradation, in the initial stage, the specimen with a larger unbonded level had a smaller stiffness, whereas in the last stage, the stiffnesses were similar regardless of the unbonded level. A parameter analysis using a finite element model proved that the ductility and energy dissipation of a shear wall with the rabbet-unbonded horizontal connection increased with the unbonded length and level. In addition, when the axial compression ratio increased, the bearing capacity increased, but the load–displacement curves decreased more rapidly. It was concluded that the unbonded length and unbonded level could effectively improve the ductility and energy dissipation of a shear wall. However, they should not be too large under high pressure, and the design suggestions for the new connection need further research considering other factors.

IN BRIEF Chronic conditions such as diabetes are largely managed by primary care providers (PCPs), with significant patient self-management. This article describes the development, pilot testing, and fine-tuning of a Web-based digital health solution to help PCPs manage patients with cardiometabolic diseases during routine office encounters. It shows that such products can be successfully integrated into primary care settings when they address important unmet needs and are developed with input from end-users.

Effective seismic properties are a basic requirement in precast shear wall applications. Therefore, this study focuses on the evaluation and improvement of precast shear wall seismic properties using the new pore-forming grouted connector with welded closure confinement steels (NPGCS) developed in previous research. The NPGCS connector reliability was verified and the seismic properties of the NPGCS spatial structure model were evaluated by carrying out a low cyclic reversed lateral loads experimental test on the NPGCS precast shear wall spatial structure model containing superposed connecting beams and precast shear walls, which were selected from a practical high-rise precast residential building. According to the testing results of the crack distribution and component failure modes, the superposed connecting beam properties were weak, and damaged early in the shear failure mode, while the precast shear walls cracked after the steel bars in the superposed connecting beams yielded. Furthermore, the failure mode indicated that the NPGCS connection applied in this spatial model is reliable, while two new weak sections were proven to exist at the connector ends. Together with the precast joint interface slip, the dowel shear action is demonstrated to be harmful to the joint interface properties. Additional seismic parameters, namely capacity, ductility, stiffness and energy consumption, were used to complete the evaluation of the seismic properties of the NPGCS spatial structure model. Overall, although the NPGCS spatial model ductility is low, the strengths are high, leading to continued effective energy consumption properties, which indicates favourable seismic properties of the NPGCS spatial structural model.

Background Remdesivir (RDV) improved clinical outcomes among hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in randomized trials, but data from clinical practice are limited. Methods We examined survival outcomes for US patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between August and November 2020 and treated with RDV within 2 days of hospitalization vs those not receiving RDV during their hospitalization using the Premier Healthcare Database. Preferential within-hospital propensity score matching with replacement was used. Additionally, patients were also matched on baseline oxygenation level (no supplemental oxygen charges [NSO], low-flow oxygen [LFO], high-flow oxygen/noninvasive ventilation [HFO/NIV], and invasive mechanical ventilation/extracorporeal membrane oxygenation [IMV/ECMO]) and 2-month admission window and excluded if discharged within 3 days of admission (to exclude anticipated discharges/transfers within 72 hours, consistent with the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial [ACTT-1] study). Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess time to 14-/28-day mortality overall and for patients on NSO, LFO, HFO/NIV, and IMV/ECMO. Results A total of 28855 RDV patients were matched to 16687 unique non-RDV patients. Overall, 10.6% and 15.4% RDV patients died within 14 and 28 days, respectively, compared with 15.4% and 19.1% non-RDV patients. Overall, RDV was associated with a reduction in mortality at 14 days (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.76 [0.70–0.83]) and 28 days (0.89 [0.82–0.96]). This mortality benefit was also seen for NSO, LFO, and IMV/ECMO at 14 days (NSO: 0.69 [0.57–0.83], LFO: 0.68 [0.80–0.77], IMV/ECMO: 0.70 [0.58–0.84]) and 28 days (NSO: 0.80 [0.68–0.94], LFO: 0.77 [0.68–0.86], IMV/ECMO: 0.81 [0.69–0.94]). Additionally, HFO/NIV RDV group had a lower risk of mortality at 14 days (0.81 [0.70–0.93]) but no statistical significance at 28 days. Conclusions RDV initiated upon hospital admission was associated with improved survival among patients with COVID-19. Our findings complement ACTT-1 and support RDV as a foundational treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Background Remdesivir (RDV) reduced time to recovery and mortality in some subgroups of hospitalized patients in the NIAID ACTT-1 RCT compared to placebo. Comparative effectiveness data in clinical practice are limited. Methods Using the Premier Healthcare Database, we compared survival for adult non-mechanically ventilated hospitalized COVID-19 patients between Aug-Nov 2020 and treated with RDV within 2 days of hospitalization vs. those who did not receive RDV. Preferential within-hospital propensity score matching with replacement was used. Patients were matched on baseline O2 and 2-month admission period and were excluded if discharged within 3 days of RDV initiation (to exclude anticipated discharges/transfers within 72 hrs consistent with ACTT-1 study). Time to 14- and 28-day mortality was examined separately for patients on high-flow/non-invasive ventilation (NIV), low-flow, and no supplemental O2 using Cox Proportional Hazards models. Results RDV patients (n=27,559) were matched to unique non-RDV patients (n=15,617) (Fig 1). The two groups were balanced; median age 66 yrs and 73% white (RDV); 68 yrs and 74% white (non-RDV), and 55% male. At baseline, 21% required high-flow O2, 50% low-flow O2, and 29% no O2, overall. Mortality in RDV patients was 9.6% and 13.8% on days 14 and 28, respectively. For non-RDV patients, mortality was 14.0% and 17.3% on days 14 and 28, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves for time to mortality are shown in Fig 2. After adjusting for baseline and clinical covariates, RDV patients on no O2 and low-flow O2 had a significantly lower risk of death within 14 days (no O2, HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.57—0.83; low-flow, HR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.59—0.77) and 28 days (no O2, HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.68—0.94; low-flow, HR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.68—0.86). Additionally, RDV patients on high-flow O2/NIV had a significantly lower risk of death within 14 days (HR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.70—0.93); but not at 28 days (Fig 3). Fig 1. Study Population Fig 2. Kaplan-Meier curves among matched patients hospitalized for COVID-19, August-November 2020 Fig 3. Cox proportional hazard model* for time to mortality among matched patients hospitalized for COVID-19, August-November 2020 Conclusion In this large study of patients in clinical care hospitalized with COVID-19, we observed a significant reduction of mortality in RDV vs. non-RDV treated patients in those on no O2 or low-flow O2. Mortality reduction was also seen in patients on high-flow O2 at day 14, but not day 28. These data support the use of RDV early in the course of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. Disclosures Essy Mozaffari, PharmD, MPH, MBA, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder) Aastha Chandak, PhD, Gilead Sciences (Other Financial or Material Support, Employee of Certara (contracted by Gilead to conduct this study)) Zhiji Zhang, MS, Gilead Sciences (Other Financial or Material Support, Employee of Certara (contracted by Gilead to conduct this study)) Shuting Liang, MPH, Gilead Sciences (Employee) Mark Thrun, MD, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder) Robert L. Gottlieb, MD, Eli Lilly (Scientific Research Study Investigator, Advisor or Review Panel member)Gilead Sciences (Scientific Research Study Investigator, Advisor or Review Panel member, Other Financial or Material Support, Gift in kind to Baylor Scott and White Research Institute for NCT03383419)GSK (Advisor or Review Panel member)Johnson and Johnson (Scientific Research Study Investigator)Kinevant (Scientific Research Study Investigator)Roche/Genentech (Scientific Research Study Investigator) Daniel R. Kuritzkes, MD, Abpro (Consultant)Atea (Consultant, Scientific Research Study Investigator)Decoy (Consultant)Gilead Sciences (Consultant, Grant/Research Support)GSK (Consultant)Janssen (Consultant)Merck (Consultant, Grant/Research Support)Novartis (Scientific Research Study Investigator)Rigel (Consultant)ViiV (Consultant, Grant/Research Support) Paul Sax, MD, Gilead Sciences (Consultant, Grant/Research Support)Janssen (Consultant)Merck (Consultant, Research Grant or Support)ViiV (Consultant, Research Grant or Support) David Wohl, MD, Gilead Sciences (Consultant, Grant/Research Support, Advisor or Review Panel member)Janssen (Consultant, Advisor or Review Panel member)Merck (Consultant, Grant/Research Support, Advisor or Review Panel member)ViiV (Consultant, Grant/Research Support, Advisor or Review Panel member) Roman Casciano, M.Eng, Gilead Sciences (Other Financial or Material Support, Employee of Certara (contracted by Gilead to conduct this study)) Paul Hodgkins, PhD, MSc, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder) Richard Haubrich, MD, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder)

Background To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of modified posterior scleral reinforcement in controlling the progression of myopia in patients with high myopia and provide reference information on surgical treatment for these patients.Methods The study included 32 patients (55 eyes) with high myopia who were treated with modified posterior scleral reinforcement and were followed up at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after the operation.The axial length, refractive error, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and fundus colour photographs after the operation were compared with those before the operation, and whether there were any complications was recorded.Results The axial length of the eye increased by 0.07 mm, 0.12 mm, 0.31 mm and 0.19 mm at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after the operation, respectively. The refractive error increased by 0.05 D, 0.28 D, 0.53 D and 0.50 D at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after the operation, respectively, and the differences were not significant (P > 0.05). There were no statistically significant changes in BCVA, but there was an upward trend. No severe complications occurred.Conclusion Modified posterior scleral reinforcement can effectively delay the worsening of the ocular axis and refractive error, without severe complications in the short term.

Most of the existing robots would find it difficult to stretch and transform all parts of their body together due to rigid components and complex actuation mechanisms inside. Here, we presented a highly transformable liquid-metal composite (LMC) that is easy to change shape in large magnitude and resume its original state again according to need. When subject to heating, part of the ethanol droplets embedded in the composite would change phase and then actuate. We demonstrate the flexible transformation of LMC-made octopus from a two-dimensional shape into several predictable three-dimensional shapes freely on a large scale (even up to 11 times its initial height) through remote wireless heating, which needs no sophisticated operating system at all. Further, several designed behaviors, such as movement of octopus and entangling objects of soft robots, are also realized. Theoretical analysis of the heating-induced liquid-vapor transition of the embedded ethanol droplet interprets the mechanisms involved. The present findings open a new way to fabricate functional transformable composites that would find significant applications in developing future generation soft robots.

An unbonded post-tensioned (PT) concrete wall system with vertical energy-dissipating connections (UPTW-VEC) is proposed that consists of precast wall panels, several X-shaped metal dampers (XMD), mild steel energy-dissipating bars (ED bars) and PT tendons. In this wall system, the precast wall panels are assembled through XMDs along the vertical joints and ED bars along the horizonal joints to provide the energy-dissipating capacity. The PT tendons installed at the wall toes are used to provide the self-centering capacity. In addition, each wall toe is protected by a steel jacket from the concrete corners spalling or crushing. Firstly, the hysteretic behavior of XMD was studied experimentally. Then, the seismic behavior of the unbonded post-tensioning concrete wall with different parameters were investigated experimentally based on four specimens. It was shown that the wall panels were resilient after tests and the cracks were only observed near the embedded plate in wall panels. In addition, a simplified analysis method was proposed, and the theoretical results matched well with the experimental results. Finally, the finite element analysis (FEA) model of UPTW-VEC was established. Following validating through the experimental results, a parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of critical parameters on the seismic behavior of UPTW-VEC.

The purpose of this paper is a machine learning model that could predict the strabismus surgery parameter through the data of patients as accurately as possible. A strabismus surgery parameter design model’s input is a Medical records and return is a surgical value. The Machine learning algorithms is difficult to get a desired result in this process because of the small amount and uneven distribution strabismus surgery data. This paper enhanced the data set through a WGAN-GP model to improve the performance of the LightGBM algorithm. The performance of model is increased from 69.32% to 84.52%.

Background Evidence on outcomes after COVID-19 hospitalization is limited. This study aimed to characterize 30-day readmission beyond the initial COVID-19 hospitalization. Methods This descriptive retrospective cohort study included adult patients admitted between 07/01/2020 and 01/31/2021 with a discharge diagnosis of COVID-19 (ICD-10-CM: U07.1), using a large hospital inpatient chargemaster with a linked open claims dataset. The first COVID-19 hospitalization was considered index hospitalization; baseline was defined as first 2 days of index hospitalization; readmission was assessed within 30 days of discharge from index hospitalization. We describe the demographics, treatments and outcomes of the index hospitalization and readmission. Results For index hospitalization, we identified 111,624 COVID-19 patients from 327 hospitals across US. Mean age was 63 and 54% were male. Over the study period, use of remdesivir (RDV) increased from 11% to 50% while use of steroids (66% -73%) and anticoagulants (32% - 35%) remained relatively stable (Figure 1). Overall, 21% required ICU or CCU admission, 13% died, and median length of stay (LOS) was 7 days (range 4 -11 days). Among 61,182 (55%) with ≥ 30-day follow-up post discharge, all-cause 30-day readmission was 16% and remained stable (15% - 17%) over the study period; median days to readmission was 6 days (range 1-30). All-cause readmission (13 % vs 17%) was lower in patients treated with RDV during index hospitalization over time (Figure 2), particularly in those requiring high flow oxygen (17% vs 18%), low flow oxygen (13% vs 16%) or no oxygen (12% vs 17%), but not in ECMO or invasive ventilation (33% vs 29%). Compared to non-readmitted, readmitted patients were older (60 vs 65), had more comorbidities such as COPD (24% vs 37%) (see Table 1) and LOS (6 vs 7 days) in index hospitalization. Overall, the most frequent diagnoses of readmission were COVID-19 (63%), other viral pneumonia (36%), and acute respiratory failure with hypoxia (34%). Conclusion In a large, geographically diverse cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 16% required readmission, especially in those with greater age and comorbidities. Over the study period, all-cause readmission remained stable and was lower in RDV treated patients. Disclosures Essy Mozaffari, PharmD, MPH, MBA, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder) Shuting Liang, MPH, Gilead Sciences (Employee) Henry Morgan Stewart, PhD, IQVIA (Employee) Mark Thrun, MD, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder) Paul Hodgkins, PhD, MSc, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder) Richard Haubrich, MD, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder)

A novel developed lapping connection between concrete-filled rectangular steel tubular (CFRST) columns and reinforced concrete (RC) beams was introduced in this paper. In this new connection system, the longitudinal reinforcements of RC beams were interrupted so the steel tubular column can be continuous in the joint zone. The longitudinal reinforcements were lapped with the steel brackets, which were welded with the steel tubular column, to effectively transfer the moments and shear forces and reduce welding operation on site. The seismic performance of this newly connection was investigated through combination of theoretical research, experimental tests and finite element model analysis. Design methods of each part of the connection were proposed. Moreover, four beam-column connection specimens were tested under combined constant axial compression and cyclic loading. Based on the experimental results, the failure modes, hysteretic response, skeletal curve and ductility were discussed. The connection demonstrated favorable seismic performance in the tests and the capacity of connection characterized as beam bending failure mode was consistent with the theoretical results. A finite element model was developed and validated by a comparison with experimental results. The relative effects of the beam-column strength ratio kM on failure modes of the joints were conducted. Three typical failure modes which were beam bending failure mode, bending-shear mixed failure mode and joint shear failure mode as well as the discriminant k M D between different failure modes were determined. Theoretical results well agreed with the analytical results under joint shear failure mode, and bending failure mode with relatively inferior kM.

Due to the carcinogenicity of atrazine, the effective removal of atrazine in water and soil has become the focus of attention. In the paper, the advanced oxidation technology based on sulfate radicals ( S O 4 · - ), which the visible light catalysis and nanocatalyst Co3O4/g-C3N4 synergistically catalyzed to yield S O 4 · - , was constructed to efficiently degrade and remove atrazine. The Co3O4/g-C3N4 was prepared through a simple solvothermal method, and its microstructure and composition were characterized by SEM and XRD. A series of experiments were carried out to degrade atrazine by Co3O4/g-C3N4 activation of peroxymonosulfate under visible light, which revealed that the degradation efficiency reached to 78.5 percent in 35 min, CO32− had a significant inhibitory effect on the degradation of atrazine in coexisting ions of NO3-, SO42−, Cl- and CO32−, the e-, ⋅OH, and S O 4 · - were mainly active species. Combined with density function theory calculations of Co3O4/g-C3N4, the high-efficiency degradation of atrazine was due to the synergetic enhancement between photocatalysis and Co3O4/g-C3N4 catalyst in the constructed catalytic system.

In this paper, we have studied the comfort of a newly-designed precast assembly floor evaluated by acceleration response under human-induced loads. The influences of five cases including different rows of connectors, walking frequency, population size, walking route and distribution of people on the response of the floor are discussed. The results are as follows. The removed connectors at the middle span produce greater effect according to the influence of different rows of connectors. Greater walking frequency produces greater effect according to the influence of walking frequency. Larger population size produces greater effect according to the influence of population size. Walking in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of slabs and through the low-order mode center produces greater effect according to the influence of walking route. The case that people are distributed on both of the two conventional slabs produces greater effect according to the influence of distribution of people. For all the cases, their influence degrees are in the order of different rows of connectors, walking frequency, distribution of people, walking route, and population size. Finally, basing on the five cases and according to the Chinese design specification on the natural frequency and peak acceleration, the authors analyzes the comfort of the floor by selecting the most unfavorable condition, and verifies that it satisfies the terms in the specification. The newly-designed floor can be used in the future design of buildings.

Existing research has showed the impact of caregiving burden on physical and psychological outcomes among adult children, but less have examined its association among Chinese immigrants in the US. This research will present the association between caregiving burden and depressive symptoms among U.S. Chinese adult children. Cross-sectional data were drawn from the PIETY study with 547 Chinese adult children aged over 21 years old in the greater Chicago area between 2012-2014. Caregiving burden was assessed by 24-item caregiver burden developed by Novak and Guest and is composed of five factors: time-dependence, developmental, physical, social, and emotional burden. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was conducted. In our sample, 241 (44%) adult children had depressive symptoms and 174 (72.2%) were female. In the result of multivariate analysis, after adjusting for covariates, developmental burden (Odds ratio [OR] 1.13 [1.05-1.21]), physical burden (OR 1.17 [1.06-1.28]), social burden (OR 1.20 [1.08-1.32]), and emotional burden (OR 1.22 [1.11-1.35]) were positively associated with reporting any depressive symptoms. However, the time-dependence burden was not associated with depressive symptoms. The findings highlight the potential impact of caregiving burden on depressive symptoms and how different domains of caregiving burden are associated with depressive symptoms among Chinese caregivers in the U.S. Future research should include multidimensional social supports or acculturation as underlying factors which might affect the relationship between caregiver burden and depressive symptoms across Chinese community in the US.

Objective To operationalize constructs from each of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research domains and to present psychometric properties within the context of evidence-based approaches for promoting colorectal cancer screening in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). Methods Data were collected from FQHC clinics across seven states. A web-based Staff Survey and a Clinic Characteristics Survey were completed by staff and leaders (n = 277) from 59 FQHCs. Results Internal reliability of scales was adequate ranging from 0.62 for compatibility to 0.88 for other personal attributes (openness). Intraclass correlations for the scales indicated that 2.4 percent to 20.9 percent of the variance in scale scores occurs within clinics. Discriminant validity was adequate at the clinic level, with all correlations less than 0.75. Convergent validity was more difficult to assess given lack of hypothesized associations between factors expected to predict implementation. Conclusions Our results move the field forward by describing initial psychometric properties of constructs across CFIR domains.

Pore-forming grouted connection characterized with great economic superiorities and application potentials has weaker mechanical properties comparing to the steel sleeve grouted connector. To improve the mechanical properties of pore-forming grouted connector, the NPGCS was generated using welded closure confinement steels in buckle configuration. Experimental tests and finial element analysis of two NPGCS precast shear wall specimens and one cast-in-situ shear wall specimen was carried out to test mechanical performances. Results indicated that the mechanical properties of NPGCS can match the connection requirements even under the adverse effects from grouted interface gap opening and slip. Contributing to the excessive confinement steels, the mechanical properties of NPGCS specimens are better than that of the cast-in-situ specimen. So, according to the suggestions given out in this paper, the NPGCS can be widely applied into precast buildings in certain areas and conditions.

Background Scientists and practitioners alike need reliable, valid measures of contextual factors that influence implementation. Yet, few existing measures demonstrate reliability or validity. To meet this need, we developed and assessed the psychometric properties of measures of several constructs within the Inner Setting domain of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Methods We searched the literature for existing measures for the 7 Inner Setting domain constructs (Culture Overall, Culture Stress, Culture Effort, Implementation Climate, Learning Climate, Leadership Engagement, and Available Resources). We adapted items for the healthcare context, pilot-tested the adapted measures in 4 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and implemented the revised measures in 78 FQHCs in the 7 states (N = 327 respondents) with a focus on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening practices. To psychometrically assess our measures, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis models (CFA; structural validity), assessed inter-item consistency (reliability), computed scale correlations (discriminant validity), and calculated inter-rater reliability and agreement (organization-level construct reliability and validity). Results CFAs for most constructs exhibited good model fit (CFI > 0.90, TLI > 0.90, SRMR

Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), this study aimed to identify factors that influence implementation of evidence-based provider and client-oriented strategies to promote colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in safety net health systems. Site visits and key informant interviews (n=33) were conducted with project leaders and staff in five health systems funded by an American Cancer Society grants program. Within- and cross-site analyses identified CFIR constructs that influenced implementation of provider and client-oriented strategies to promote CRC screening through colonoscopies and fecal immunochemical tests. Of the five CFIR domains, constructs within four CFIR domains (inner setting, outer setting, individual characteristics and process domains) were particularly salient in discussions of implementation while constructs within one CFIR domain (characteristics of the intervention) were not. This study provides a detailed description of how facilitating and inhibiting factors influenced the implementation of evidence-based practices related to CRC screening within safety net health systems. These findings can inform future efforts to promote evidence-based strategies to increase CRC screening rates in safety net health systems.

In this study, Cr2O3 green pigments were prepared using two types of CrOOH, alpha-CrOOH and gamma-CrOOH, and the resulting pigments were characterised. The thermal decomposition behaviours of the two types of synthesised CrOOH were discussed. The resulting Cr2O3 pigments were characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), International Commission on Illumination (CIE-L*a*b*) and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS). The key factors and mechanism that influenced the preparation of the Cr2O3 green pigments were studied. The results revealed that gamma-CrOOH produces Cr2O3 that is more homogeneous, has a uniform size of 200-400 nm and a yellowish-green colour compared to alpha-CrOOH, which produces Cr2O3 with non-uniform sizes and a brownish-green colour. In addition to the different particle morphologies and sizes, the change in the crystal field, which leads to a shift in the (4)A(2g) -> T-4(1g) and (4)A(2g) -> T-2(2g) transition, also affects the colour of the pigment. Lastly, a series of Cr2O3 green pigments displaying a wide range of colours were prepared by calcining mixtures of alpha-CrOOH and gamma-CrOOH with different compositions. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.

The evolution of the damage and seismic behaviour of the reinforcement concrete (RC) bridge columns reinforced with HRBF500 rebar was investigated in this paper. Nine bridge column specimens with various strengths of longitudinal reinforcement, reinforcement ratios, axial compression ratios and stirrup ratios were tested under horizontal cyclic loading. The influences of the designed parameters of the mechanical properties such as failure mode, loading-displacement curve, skeleton curve, strength and stiffness degradation and energy dissipation were analysed in the view of damage. There are four conclusions brought by the tested results. The damage process of specimens could be divided into turn-crack development stage, damage accumulation stage and failure stage. The damage will accumulate gradually and the strength and stiffness will also be degenerated, resulting in lower ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the specimens, as the displacement amplitude increases. The failure modes are similar, with plastic hinges occurrence varying from 30 to 260 mm above the concrete bases, accompanied by the steel buckling, fractured and the concrete local crushing. The good ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the HRBF500 reinforced concrete bridge columns are illustrated by the relatively plumper shuttle-shaped hysteresis curves obtained. The damage development was faster and energy was comparably larger of the specimens under the variation of displacement amplitude cycle loading, comparing with the constant displacement amplitude cycle loading. The bearing capacity of the specimens will be certain influenced by the increased reinforcement ratios and the larger energy dissipation capacity, with more longitudinal bars. The axial compression ratio also has an important influence on the damage development of the specimens. There are not considerable increments of bearing capacity, with the increment of reinforcement ratio, however, the ductility and energy dissipation ability will be improved obviously. The laws of damage development analysed by the experimental results were shown in this paper. The seismic damage assessment and seismic damage model of this kind of structural members were established by the experimental results above.

To investigate the seismic performance of the hollow slab-column structure, the lateral low-period cyclic loading tests on a single span 2-storey frame were carried out. The crack distribution, hysteresis properties, strength degradation and stiffness degradation, ductility, energy dissipation capacity and destruction mode were analyzed. The experimental results indicate that: the hollow slab-column structure under lateral low-period cyclic horizontal loading is very similar to equivalent beam with imperfect failure mechanism of hinges. At the beginning of the experiment, the stiffness of the component degrades rapidly, and the equivalent viscous damping coefficient also decreases rapidly. During the loading process, the horizontal displacement of the first floor is twice as much as that of the second floor. The degradation of the component stiffness and the equivalent viscous damping coefficient tend to be stable in the end. The hollow slab-column structure has good ductility and the decrease of the strength is not obvious. But the hysteresis curve indicates obvious slip pinching phenomenon, and the energy dissipation capacity is limited.