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In order to explore the energy saving benefits and economy of ultra-low energy consumption renovation of existing buildings in cold areas under the contract energy management (EPC) mode under different renovation schemes. On the basis of the existing net present value and net present value increment, the net present value rate is proposed as the evaluation index of the transformation plan, so as to realize the comprehensive benefit evaluation of a variety of transformation schemes. The results show that the energy-saving transformation scheme of the project with an external wall of 120 mm rock wool board, a 150 mm extruded polyphenylene board on the roof, and a three-glass single Low-E argon-filled glass on the exterior window has the greatest comprehensive benefits and meets the ultra-low energy consumption standard, the energy saving rate of the envelope transformation reaches 28.07%, and the static recovery period is 5.27 years. This paper provides a design method and reference basis for the ultra-low energy transformation of existing buildings in cold areas using EPC mode.

In this study, a thorough investigation of human sweating behavior was conducted to ensure an accurate evaluation of the thermal protection performance of garments, addressing the lack of existing standardized methods. Three fabrics were compared at different sweating rates under radiant exposure, focusing on exploring heat and mass transfer mechanisms using the traditional pre-wetting method and the innovative continuous sweating method. It was found that the pre-wetting method was effective in situations where fabrics experienced transient moisture absorption, whereas the continuous sweating method excelled in scenarios requiring continuous moisture supply before saturation and was used to estimate liquid moisture transfer. In particular, for materials with low hygroscopicity, the pre-wetting method resulted in 86.24 kJ/m2 more absorbed thermal energy at the skin surface compared with the continuous sweating method, with a sweat rate of 10 μL/min/cm2, highlighting the tendency of the pre-wetting method to overestimate the thermal protective performance. Conversely, for fabrics with high hygroscopicity and testing with high sweat rate, a 32.81% reduction in absorbed thermal energy on the skin surface was observed when the continuous sweating method was used in place of the pre-wetting method, significantly reducing operational risks. This study provides valuable guidance in selecting appropriate sweat simulation methods to evaluate the thermal protection performance based on specific environmental conditions, and provides critical insights for further studies on heat and moisture transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has created dramatic challenges for public health and textile export trade worldwide. Such abrupt changes are difficult to predict due to the inherently high complexity and nonlinearity, especially with limited data. This article proposes a novel modified discrete grey model with weakening buffer operators, called BODGM (1,1), for forecasting the impact of pandemic-induced uncertainty on the volatility of cotton exports in China under limited samples. First, the Mann–Kendall test examines how pandemic-induced uncertainty affects cotton exports, based on China's monthly cotton export data from June 2014 to August 2022. Second, buffer operators are employed to weaken the nonlinear trends and correct the tentative predictions of the discrete grey model. Then, the BODGM (1,1) model was validated by comparison with four alternative models. The results indicate that the BODGM (1,1) model was particularly promising for identifying mutational fluctuations in cotton exports and outperformed the GM (1,1), DGM (1,1), ARIMA and linear regression models in fitting and prediction accuracy under volatility and limited data. The BODGM (1,1) model forecast results for China showed that cotton export volume was expected to show signs of recovery over the next 12 months. The findings of this study may provide a basis for formulating trade policies to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on export resources and build their resilience to future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report our technique and experience treating 3 patients with native abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) sac expansion following EVAR, who were managed with transarterial embolisation via the deep circumflex iliac artery (DCIA). In this case series, we demonstrate that transarterial embolisation via the DCIA is a feasible and safe treatment option. The DCIA should be routinely interrogated with angiography as not only a cause of possible Type II endoleak, but also to identify a potential access route to the abdominal aortic sac for interventional treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Currently, numerous studies have focused on testing or modeling to evaluate the safe service life of thermal protective clothing after thermal aging, reducing the risk to occupational personnel. However, testing will render the garment unsuitable for subsequent use and a series of input parameters for modeling are not readily available. In this study, a novel image recognition strategy was proposed to discriminate the mechanical strength of thermal protective fabric after thermal aging based on transfer learning. Methods. Data augmentation was used to overcome the shortcoming of insufficient training samples. Four pre-trained models were used to explore their performance in three sample classification modes. Results. The experimental results show that the VGG-19 model achieves the best performance in the three-classification mode (accuracy = 91%). The model was more accurate in identifying fabric samples in the early and late stages of strength decline. For fabric samples in the middle stage of strength decline, the three-classification mode was better than the four-classification and six-classification modes. Conclusions. The findings provide novel insights into the image-based mechanical strength evaluation of thermal protective fabrics after aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although extensively studied in cutaneous epithelial neoplasms, the TRPS1 immunoreactivity in cutaneous mesenchymal neoplasms and tumors of uncertain differentiation (CMNTUDs), such as atypical fibroxanthoma (AFX), remains largely unexplored. We assessed TRPS1 immunoreactivity in 135 CMNTUDs, comprising 46 fibrohistiocytic/fibroblastic tumors, 28 vascular tumors, 24 peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs), 21 tumors of uncertain differentiation, and 16 smooth muscle tumors. Additionally, we included selected cases of melanoma with spindled cell morphology or desmoplastic features (n = 9) and sarcomatoid squamous cell carcinoma (SSCC) (n = 5) to compare TRPS1 expression patterns with those of AFX. TRPS1 expression was prevalent in dermatofibromas (24/24), leiomyomas (8/8), AFXs/pleomorphic dermal sarcoma (PDS) (20/21), dermatofibrosarcomas protuberans (14/22), and leiomyosarcomas (6/8). It was uncommon in angiosarcomas (3/20), Kaposi sarcomas (2/8), and neurofibromas (5/17) and absent in perineuriomas (0/2). AFXs/PDS exhibited the highest median H-score of 240, contrasting with minimal TRPS1 immunoreactivity in vascular neoplasms and PNSTs, with median H-scores consistently below 10. Significant differences in H-score were observed between AFXs/PDS and angiosarcomas (p < 0.001), melanomas (p < 0.001), and leiomyosarcomas (p = 0.029). However, no significant difference was found compared to SSCCs, suggesting limited discriminatory power of TRPS1 in this context. This study sheds light on TRPS1 expression patterns in a subset of CMNTUDs, extending beyond prior studies primarily focused on epithelial tumors, while underscoring potential pitfalls associated with TRPS1 immunohistochemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

为解决玉米胚芽蛋白溶解性低的问题，提高其在食品工业领域的实际应用，以玉米胚芽蛋白为原料,通过酶解、转谷氨酰胺酶(TGase)交联，制备了不同交联时间的玉米胚芽蛋白，利用红外光谱仪和粒度分析仪分析玉米胚芽蛋白结构和表面性质的变化，并检测其溶解性、乳化性、起泡性等功能性质。结果表明：随着交联时间的延长，玉米胚芽蛋白的溶解性、起泡能力、持水性、乳化活性逐渐增强，乳化稳定性变化趋势与之相反，泡沫稳定性先升后降，持油性先降后升；与原样相比，交联3 h的玉米胚芽蛋白的乳化活性提高了16.7倍，持水性和持油性分别增加了9.16%和8.71%；TGase交联反应改变了玉米胚芽蛋白的二级结构，酰胺Ⅰ带的伸缩振动增强， β-转角增多，蛋白质粒径和Zeta电位发生改变，蛋白质结构和表面性质的改变造成其功能性质的变化。综合来看，交联3 h的玉米胚芽蛋白的功能性质表现最佳。 In order to solve the problem of low solubility of corn germ protein and improve its application in the field of food industry, the corn germ protein was used as raw material, and different corn germ proteins were prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis and cross-linking with transglutaminase (TGase) at different cross-linking time, and the changes of structure and surface properties of corn germ protein were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy and particle size analyzer, and the functional properties such as solubility, emulsification and foaming were examined. The results showed that with the increase of cross-linking time, the solubility, foaming ability, water-holding capacity and emulsifying activity of corn germ protein gradually increased, the change of emulsifying stability was opposite, foam stability first increased and then decreased, and oil-holding capacity first decreased and then increased. Compared with the original sample, the emulsifying activity of the corn germ protein prepared by cross-linking for 3 h increased by 16.7 times, and the water-holding capacity and oil-holding capacity increased by 9.16% and 8.71%, respectively. The TGase cross-linking reaction changed the secondary structure of corn germ protein, the stretching vibration of the amide I band was enhanced, the β-turn angle increased, the protein particle size and Zeta potential were changed, and the changes of the protein in structure and surface properties resulted in changes of their functional properties. In conclusion, the 3 h cross-linked corn germ protein shows the best functional properties.