Tai Chi for Essential Hypertension

Objectives. To assess the current clinical evidence of Tai Chi for essential hypertension (EH). Search Strategy. 7 electronic databases were searched until 20 April, 2013. Inclusion Criteria. We included randomized trials testing Tai Chi versus routine care or antihypertensive drugs. Trials testing Tai Chi combined with antihypertensive drugs versus antihypertensive drugs were also included. Data Extraction and Analyses. Study selection, data extraction, quality assessment, and data analyses were conducted according to the Cochrane standards. Results. 18 trials were included. Methodological quality of the trials was low. 14 trials compared Tai Chi with routine care. 1 trial compared Tai Chi with antihypertensive drugs. Meta-analysis all showed significant effect of TaiChi in lowering blood pressure (BP). 3 trials compared Tai Chi plus antihypertensive drugs with antihypertensive drugs. Positive results in BP were found in the other 2 combination groups. Most of the trials did not report adverse events, and the safety of Tai Chi is still uncertain. Conclusions. There is some encouraging evidence of Tai Chi for EH. However, due to poor methodological quality of included studies, the evidence remains weak. Rigorously designed trials are needed to confirm the evidence

Intra-Familial Phenotypic Heterogeneity and Telomere Abnormality in von Hippel- Lindau Disease: Implications for Personalized Surveillance Plan and Pathogenesis of VHL-Associated Tumors

von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a hereditary cancer syndrome with poor survival. The current recommendations have proposed uniform surveillance strategies for all patients, neglecting the obvious phenotypic varieties. In this study, we aim to confirm the phenotypic heterogeneity in VHL disease and the underlying mechanism. A total of 151 parent-child pairs were enrolled for genetic anticipation analysis, and 77 sibling pairs for birth order effect analysis. Four statistical methods were used to compare the onset age of patients among different generations and different birth orders. The results showed that the average onset age was 18.9 years earlier in children than in their parents, which was statistically significant in all of the four statistical methods. Furthermore, the first-born siblings were affected 8.3 years later than the other ones among the maternal patients. Telomere shortening was confirmed to be associated with genetic anticipation in VHL families, while it failed to explain the birth order effect. Moreover, no significant difference was observed for overall survival between parents and children (p = 0.834) and between first-born patients and the other siblings (p = 0.390). This study provides definitive evidence and possible mechanisms of intra-familial phenotypic heterogeneity in VHL families, which is helpful to the update of surveillance guidelines

A Framework for Mooring and Anchor Design in Sand Considering Seabed Trenches Based on Floater Hydrodynamics

Seabed trenches reduce anchor capacity. However, the adverse influence is not considered in the current design, and no guideline is found in engineering practice. This paper presents a framework for mooring and anchor design in sand considering seabed trenches based on floater hydrodynamics. First, a hydrodynamic calculation of the studied floater coupled with the mooring system was conducted. Then, the potential trench profile was assessed using a mooring line–seabed dynamic model. Third, after assessing the suction anchor performance based on its installation and capacity, a refined anchor, caisson–plate gravity anchor (CPGA), was proposed, and the capacity mechanisms were analyzed. It was found that the tensions of mooring lines l1 and l2 resist maximum loads under a 45° load condition. Due to the sand’s high strength, a trench is difficult to form in this mooring type. The suction anchor is not suitable as an anchor for the carbonate sand, considering its installation and capacity. The analyses indicate that the increase in soil stress and soil mobilized range in front of the caisson promotes the capacity of CPGA. This paper provides a framework/example to design moorings and anchors considering potential trenches and provides a solution to the anchor design in carbonate sand

Co/carbon nanofiber with adjustable size and content of Co nanoparticles for tunable microwave absorption and thermal conductivity

Electromagnetic pollution and heat dissipation problems are becoming increasingly worthy of attention due to the rapid development of electronic devices, which puts forward an urgent demand for microwave absorbers with excellent thermal management performance. Herein, high-performance Co/carbon nanofiber (Co/CNF) microwave absorbers with high thermal conductivity were fabricated by facile step-by-step method. The microwave absorption properties can be readily tuned by adjusting the content and size of Co nanoparticles through concentration gradient adsorption. Benefiting from the formation of dielectric and magnetic coupling network, Co/CNF composites possess intensive dipole polarization, interface polarization, and magnetic loss. The optimal Co/CNF composites exhibit outstanding microwave absorption performance with a minimum reflection loss (RL) of −53.0 dB at 11.44 GHz, and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.5 GHz. In addition, the thermal conductivities of the Co/CNF-natural rubber (Co/CNF-NR) composites are significantly improved. This work may inspire the exploration of high-efficiency heat-conduction microwave absorbers based on CNF

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 interventions on influenza-like illness in Beijing and Hong Kong: an observational and modeling study

Background: The impact of coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) related non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on influenza activity in the presence of other known seasonal driving factors is unclear, especially at the municipal scale. This study aimed to assess the impact of NPIs on outpatient influenza-like illness (ILI) consultations in Beijing and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. Methods: We descriptively analyzed the temporal characteristics of the weekly ILI counts, nine NPI indicators, mean temperature, relative humidity, and absolute humidity from 2011 to 2021. Generalized additive models (GAM) using data in 2011–2019 were established to predict the weekly ILI counts under a counterfactual scenario of no COVID-19 interventions in Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR in 2020–2021, respectively. GAM models were further built to evaluate the potential impact of each individual or combined NPIs on weekly ILI counts in the presence of other seasonal driving factors in the above settings in 2020–2021. Results: The weekly ILI counts in Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR fluctuated across years and months in 2011–2019, with an obvious winter-spring seasonality in Beijing. During the 2020–2021 season, the observed weekly ILI counts in both Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR were much lower than those of the past 9 flu seasons, with a 47.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 42.3%, 52.2%) and 60.0% (95% CI: 58.6%, 61.1%) reduction, respectively. The observed numbers for these two cities also accounted for only 40.2% (95% CI: 35.4%, 45.3%) and 58.0% (95% CI: 54.1%, 61.5%) of the GAM model estimates in the absence of COVID-19 NPIs, respectively. Our study revealed that, “Cancelling public events” and “Restrictions on internal travel” measures played an important role in the reduction of ILI in Beijing, while the “restrictions on international travel” was statistically most associated with ILI reductions in the Hong Kong SAR. Conclusions: Our study suggests that COVID-19 NPIs had been reducing outpatient ILI consultations in the presence of other seasonal driving factors in Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR from 2020 to 2021. In cities with varying local circumstances, some NPIs with appropriate stringency may be tailored to reduce the burden of ILI caused by severe influenza strains or other respiratory infections in future. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Self-Healing Chameleon Skin Functioning in the Air Environments

Chameleons are famous for their uncommon ability to change skin colors rapidly by tuning the lattice distance of guanine nanocrystals within the dermal iridophores. This mechanism has inspired various artificial photonic crystal (PC) films with tunable structural colors. However, the structural colors of most reported films are facile to be destroyed by external factors such as friction, impact, or water evaporation. Herein, an artificial intelligent skin, which has an elastomer–colloidal photonic crystal–hydrogel sandwich structure, is presented in this work. The outer modified polydimethylsiloxane layer acts as the cuticle to protect the hydrogel layer from water evaporation and endows the skin with self-healing ability. The inner hydrophilic hydrogel layer embedded with the colloidal photonic crystals acts as the dermis layer, and the polystyrene colloids layer plays the role of the guanine nanocrystals. A programmed color change can be easily controlled by varying the elongation of the artificial skin, covering the full visible spectrum range. Moreover, skin with patterned stripes, which is similar to the panther chameleon skin that can manipulate multiple colors, has also been achieved. The present artificial skin will offer fresh perspectives on the preparation of artificial chameleon skin similar to the real dynamic flexible skin, which would promote the application of PCs in optical devices

Self-Healing Chameleon Skin Functioning in the Air Environments

Chameleons are famous for their uncommon ability to change skin colors rapidly by tuning the lattice distance of guanine nanocrystals within the dermal iridophores. This mechanism has inspired various artificial photonic crystal (PC) films with tunable structural colors. However, the structural colors of most reported films are facile to be destroyed by external factors such as friction, impact, or water evaporation. Herein, an artificial intelligent skin, which has an elastomer–colloidal photonic crystal–hydrogel sandwich structure, is presented in this work. The outer modified polydimethylsiloxane layer acts as the cuticle to protect the hydrogel layer from water evaporation and endows the skin with self-healing ability. The inner hydrophilic hydrogel layer embedded with the colloidal photonic crystals acts as the dermis layer, and the polystyrene colloids layer plays the role of the guanine nanocrystals. A programmed color change can be easily controlled by varying the elongation of the artificial skin, covering the full visible spectrum range. Moreover, skin with patterned stripes, which is similar to the panther chameleon skin that can manipulate multiple colors, has also been achieved. The present artificial skin will offer fresh perspectives on the preparation of artificial chameleon skin similar to the real dynamic flexible skin, which would promote the application of PCs in optical devices

Self-Healing Chameleon Skin Functioning in the Air Environments

Chameleons are famous for their uncommon ability to change skin colors rapidly by tuning the lattice distance of guanine nanocrystals within the dermal iridophores. This mechanism has inspired various artificial photonic crystal (PC) films with tunable structural colors. However, the structural colors of most reported films are facile to be destroyed by external factors such as friction, impact, or water evaporation. Herein, an artificial intelligent skin, which has an elastomer–colloidal photonic crystal–hydrogel sandwich structure, is presented in this work. The outer modified polydimethylsiloxane layer acts as the cuticle to protect the hydrogel layer from water evaporation and endows the skin with self-healing ability. The inner hydrophilic hydrogel layer embedded with the colloidal photonic crystals acts as the dermis layer, and the polystyrene colloids layer plays the role of the guanine nanocrystals. A programmed color change can be easily controlled by varying the elongation of the artificial skin, covering the full visible spectrum range. Moreover, skin with patterned stripes, which is similar to the panther chameleon skin that can manipulate multiple colors, has also been achieved. The present artificial skin will offer fresh perspectives on the preparation of artificial chameleon skin similar to the real dynamic flexible skin, which would promote the application of PCs in optical devices