Shear Stiffness of Notched Connectors in Glue Laminated Timber-Concrete Composite Beams Under Fire Conditions

Shear connectors ensure effective interaction between wood beams and concrete slabs of composite beams, and their properties noticeably affect the fire resistance of timber-concrete composite beams. To investigate the shear stiffness of notched connectors in glued laminated timber (GLT)-concrete composite beams under fire conditions, 16 shear tests were conducted. The effects of fire duration and notch length on shear properties of the connectors for a given spacing were studied. The fire tests indicated that the reduction of the notch length from 200 mm to 150 mm remarkably affected the failure mode of the shear specimens, changing from compression failure of notched wood to shear failure of notched concrete. The increase in fire duration reduced effective width of the notched wood, negatively affected the shear stiffness and shear capacity of the connectors, and the shear stiffness decreased more rapidly. The notch length did not have a substantial effect on the shear stiffness of connectors. Based on the experimental results, an analytical model to estimate the shear stiffness of notched connectors in GLT-concrete beam under fire conditions was established

Review of Connections for Timber-Concrete Composite Structures Under Fire

A timber-concrete composite structure has the advantages of energy saving, environmental protection, and low carbon, and has wide application prospects. However, the effects of fire on timber-concrete composite structures are complicated. It is important to study the fire performance of connections and their influencing factors for the promotion and application of timber-concrete composite structures. This paper summarizes the research progress of connections for timber-concrete composite structures under fire. Firstly, research on the performance of connections in timber-concrete composite structures under fire is introduced, including screwed connections, notched, and grooved connections, and steel truss plate connections. Secondly, the calculation methods focused on connections of timber-concrete composite structures under fire are introduced. Finally, the main points of modeling timber-concrete composite structures under fire are also briefly introduced

Comparison of Efficacy of Anti-interleukin-17 in the Treatment of Psoriasis Between Caucasians and Asians : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Interleukin-17 (IL-17) monoclonal antibody drugs have been increasingly significant in the treatment of psoriasis, but it is not clear whether the efficacy is equivalent across ethnicities. Objective: To explore the differences of short-term efficacy of IL-17 inhibitors between Caucasians and Asians. Methods: The pooled log risk ratio (logRR) between the groups was estimated. The meta-regression analysis on the logRR was performed, with the proportion of Caucasian patients as the covariate. The subgroup analysis was performed by specific IL-17 inhibitors. Results: Of the 1,569 potentially relevant studies, sixteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. For the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 75 (PASI 75) response at week 12, the pooled logRR of the Asian group and the Caucasian group was 2.81 (95% CI: 2.27–3.35, p < 0.001) and 2.93 (95% CI: 2.71–3.16, p < 0.001), respectively, indicating no significant difference of efficacy between Asians and Caucasians. The meta-regression analysis did not show an association of the proportion of Caucasians with the effect size (β = 0.3203, p = 0.334). In the subgroup analysis, the comparison results of secukinumab were consistent with the main analysis. Limitations: Only the short-term efficacy was explored. The data from Asian countries were limited. Conclusions: The short-term efficacy of IL-17 inhibitors in the treatment of psoriasis has no significant difference between Caucasians and Asians. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier CRD42020201994, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/

Association of Coffee and Tea Consumption with the Risk of Asthma: A Prospective Cohort Study from the UK Biobank

Background: Previous observational studies investigated the relationship between coffee and tea intake and the risk of asthma, however, the conclusions were inconsistent. Further, the combined effect of coffee and tea consumption on asthma has rarely been studied. Methods: We examined associations between the self-reported intake of tea and coffee and the risk of incident asthma in a total of 424,725 participants aged from 39 to 73 years old from the UK Biobank. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the associations between coffee/tea consumption and incident adult-onset asthma, adjusting for age, sex, race, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), education, and Townsend deprivation index. Results: Cox models with penalized splines showed J-shaped associations of coffee, tea, caffeinated coffee, and caffeine intake from coffee and tea with the risk of adult-onset asthma (p for nonlinear <0.01). Coffee intake of 2 to 3 cups/d (hazard ratio [HR] 0.877, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.826–0.931) or tea intake of 0.5 to 1 cups/d (HR 0.889, 95% CI 0.816–0.968) or caffeinated coffee intake of 2 to 3 cups/d (HR 0.858, 95% CI 0.806–0.915) or combination caffeine intake from tea and coffee of 160.0 to 235.0 mg per day (HR 0.899, 95% CI 0.842–0.961) were linked with the lowest hazard ratio of incident asthma after adjustment for age, sex, race, smoking status, BMI, qualification, and Townsend deprivation index. Conclusions: Collectively, the study showed light-to-moderate coffee and tea consumption was associated with a reduced risk of adult-onset asthma and controlling total caffeine intake from coffee and tea for a moderate caffeine dose of 160.0 to 305.0 mg/day may be protective against adult-onset asthma. Further investigation on the possible preventive role of caffeine in asthma is warranted

Association of genetic risk and lifestyle with incident adult-onset asthma in the UK Biobank cohort

Background Both genetic and lifestyle factors contribute to the development of asthma, but whether unfavourable lifestyle is associated with similar increases in risk of developing asthma among individuals with varying genetic risk levels remains unknown. Methods A healthy lifestyle score was constructed using body mass index, smoking status, physical activities and dietary pattern to further categorise into ideal, intermediate and poor groups. Genetic risk of asthma was also categorised as three groups based on the tertiles of polygenic risk score established using 212 reported and verified single-nucleotide polymorphisms of European ancestry in the UK Biobank study. We examined the risk of incident asthma related with each lifestyle level in each genetic risk group by Cox regression models. Results Finally, 327 124 participants without baseline asthma were included, and 157 320 (48.1%) were male. During follow-up, 6238 participants (1.9%) developed asthma. Compared to ideal lifestyle in a low genetic risk group, poor lifestyle was associated with a hazard ratio of up to 3.87 (95% CI, 2.98–5.02) for developing asthma in a high genetic risk group. There was interaction between genetic risk and lifestyle, and the population-attributable fraction of lifestyle and genetic risk were 30.2% and 30.0% respectively. Conclusion In this large contemporary population, lifestyle and genetic factors jointly play critical roles in the development of asthma, and the effect values of lifestyle on incident adult-onset asthma were greater than that of genetic risk. Our findings highlighted the necessity of a comprehensive intervention for the prevention of asthma despite the genetic risk

Association of air pollution, genetic risk, and lifestyle with incident adult-onset asthma: A prospective cohort study

Background: Numerous studies have explored the association of air pollution with asthma but have yielded conflicting results. The exact role of air pollution in the incidence of adult-onset asthma and whether this effect is modified by genetic risk, lifestyle, or their interaction remain uncertain. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study on 298,738 participants (aged 37–73 years) registered in the UK Biobank. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association of air pollution, including particulate matter (PM2.5, PMcoarse, and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), with asthma incidence. We constructed genetic risk and lifestyle scores, assessed whether the impact of air pollution on adult-onset asthma risk was modified by genetic susceptibility or lifestyle factors, and evaluated the identified interactions. Results: We found that each interquartile range increase in annual concentrations of PM2.5, NO2, and NOx was related to 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01, 1.08), 1.04 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.08), and 1.03 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.06) times the risk of adult-onset asthma, respectively. The size of the effect of air pollution was greater among subpopulations with low genetic risk or unfavorable lifestyles. We also identified an additive interaction effect of air pollution with lifestyle factors, but not with genetic risk, on the risk of adult-onset asthma. Conclusion: Our analyses show that air pollution increases the risk of adult-onset asthma, but that the size of the effect is modified by lifestyle and genetic risk. These findings emphasize the need for integrated interventions for environmental pollution by the government as well as adherence to healthy lifestyles to prevent adult-onset asthma

The Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis and Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria are Associated with Parental Socioeconomic Status in Adolescents in China

The association of atopic dermatitis and chronic spontaneous urticaria with socioeconomic status has been little studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of skin diseases and their association with socioeconomic status in adolescents in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Central South University, Changsha, China. All newly enrolled students underwent dermatological examination and completed a survey. Socioeconomic status was measured in terms of parental education level and income. Two-level logistic regression models were used. A total of 8,226 students consented to participate. On dermatological examination, moderate to severe acne (10.2%) had the highest prevalence, followed by chronic spontaneous urticaria (2.7%), atopic dermatitis (2.5%), and tinea (1.7%). Socioeconomic status was positively associated with the prevalence of chronic spontaneous urticaria (ptrend = 0.001) and atopic dermatitis (ptrend = 0.0094). Tinea was inversely associated with socioeconomic status (ptrend = 0.025). Higher parental socioeconomic status was associated with higher risk of atopic dermatitis and chronic spontaneous urticaria, but lower risk of tinea