One-part alkali activated slag using Ca(OH)2 and Na2CO3 instead of NaOH as activator: more excellent compressive strength and microstructure

In this paper, sodium carbonate and calcium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide used as composite activators, and slag are applied to prepare one-part alkali-activated slag. Furthermore, the properties of the slag activated by sodium hydroxide are compared. The compressive strength, XRD, TGA, MIP, and SEM analysis of the two systems are performed. The results show that the one-part alkali-activated slag prepared from sodium carbonate and calcium hydroxide has a superior compressive strength against the slag activated by sodium hydroxide. It is also found that the hydration speed of the sodium hydroxide activated slag is faster, and thus the higher compressive strength of the one-part alkali-activated slag is not caused by the hydration speed. The hydration of one-part alkali-activated slag produces a certain amount of calcium carbonate, resulting in a lower porosity in comparison with the slag activated by sodium hydroxide, which may be the reason for the better compressive strength of one-part alkali-activated slag

A novel method to purposely modify the anode/electrolyte interface in solid oxide fuel cells

A novel method is proposed to modify the Ni‐yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anode/electrolyte interface with Ni‐Sm0.2Ce0.8O2‐δ (SDC) or SDC composite particles. Scanning electron microscopy results confirm that nano‐sized NiO‐SDC particles are only loaded at the anode/electrolyte interface rather than the whole NiO‐YSZ support. With the addition of the Ni‐SDC composite, the peak power density of the Ni‐YSZ anode increases by 24.7% and 18.8% in wet hydrogen and methane at 750 °C, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results show that these improvements are attributed to the promotion of charge transfer and gas diffusion with the addition of the Ni‐SDC composite. Substituting the Ni‐SDC composite with pure SDC can further improve the electroactivity of the Ni‐YSZ anode. The peak power density of the single cell with the Ni‐YSZ/SDC anode rises by 41.7% and 43.4% compared with that of the Ni‐YSZ anode in wet hydrogen and methane at 750 °C, respectively

The Majority of the Migrant Factory Workers of the Light Industry in Shenzhen, China May Be Physically Inactive.

Physical inactivity is a strong risk factor of non-communicable diseases (NCD). In China, there are 250 million migrant factory workers, who are susceptible to physical inactivity and hence NCD because of work nature and setting. With random stratified sampling, 807 such workers of the light industry were recruited in Shenzhen, China and completed a self-administered questionnaire with informed consent. The prevalence of inadequate physical activity (defined according to the World Health Organization's recommendation on level of moderate/vigorous physical activity) was 95.4%. Of all participants, 69.1% showed "a very low level of physical activity" (VLLPA), defined as ≤30 minutes of weekly moderate/vigorous physical activity, which was significantly associated with female sex (Odds ratio [OR]=1.65), lower education level (OR=0.10 to 0.33, primary education as the reference group) and married status (OR=0.63, single status as the reference group). Adjusted for these factors, perceived social support (Adjusted OR=0.87) was negatively associated with VLLPA, while job stress due to workload, which was significant in the univariate analysis (OR=0.98), became non-significant (p=0.184). Significant interaction between perceived social support and perceived job stress onto VLLPA was found (p=0.044), implying that the negative association between job stress and VLLPA, which might reflect a potential response to cope with stress by performing exercises, was stronger among those with weaker social support. The extremely low level of physical activity rings an alarm, as it implies high risk of NCD, and as there are no existing programs promoting physical activity in this group. Interventions need to take into account social support, potential coping to job stress, and structural factors of the factory setting, while involving factories' management

Online High-throughput Mutagenesis Designer Using Scoring Matrix of Sequence-specific Endonucleases

CRISPR Cas9 and other sequence-specific endonucleases are fundamental genome editors supporting gene knockout and gene therapy. A speedy and accurate computational allele designer is required for a high through-put gene mutagenesis pipeline using these new techniques

Descriptive statistics by gender.

<p>^a Statistical test: <i>t</i> test for continuous variable and χ2 test for categorical variables were used to analyze the gender differences.</p><p>Descriptive statistics by gender.</p

The association between multimorbidity and poor adherence with cardiovascular medications

Multimorbidity, defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions, leads to a substantial public health burden. This study evaluated its association with adherence with cardiovascular medications in a Chinese population. A proportional stratified sampling was adopted to draw a representative sample of residents living in Henan Province, China. Interviewer-administered surveys were conducted by trained researchers. The outcomes included the number of chronic medical conditions, adherence with long-term medications (MMAS-8), and depressive symptoms (CESD-20). Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate if medication adherence was associated with the presence of multimorbidity. From a total of 3866 completed surveys, the proportion of subjects having 0, 1 and ≥ 2 chronic conditions was 62.6%, 23.8% and 13.5%, respectively. Among 27.6% who were taking chronic medications, 66.6% had poor medication adherence (MMAS-8 score ≤ 6). From binary logistic regression analysis, subjects with poor medication adherence were significantly associated with multimorbidity (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.35, 95% C.I. 1.02–1.78, p = 0.037). Other associated factors included older age (AOR = 1.04, 95% C.I. 1.03–1.05, p &lt; 0.001), smoking (AOR = 1.63, 95% C.I. 1.16–2.30, p = 0.005), family history of hypertension (AOR = 1.51, 95% C.I. 1.19–1.93, p = 0.001), and fair to poor self-perceived health status (AOR = 2.15, 95% C.I. 1.69–2.74, p &lt; 0.001). Using medication adherence as the outcome variable, multimorbidity was significantly associated with poor drug adherence (AOR = 1.34, 95% C.I. 1.02–1.77, p = 0.037). Multimorbidity was associated with poorer medication adherence. This implies the need for closer monitoring of the medication taking behavior among those with multiple chronic conditions

Interaction effects between perceived social support and job stress due to workload on probability of having a very low level of physical activity.

<p>Solid line represents high social support, dotted line represents low social support. Two lines crossing over each other indicates that job stress due to workload interacted significantly with perceived social support (<i>p</i> = 0.044). Very low level of physical activity indicates having had ≤30 minutes of moderate/vigorous physical activity in the last week.</p

Interaction between perceived social support and perceived job stress due to workload onto having “a very low level of physical activity” (i.e. having ≤30 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity in the last week).

<p>Adjusted for all significant background variables listed in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0131734#pone.0131734.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>.</p><p>Interaction between perceived social support and perceived job stress due to workload onto having “a very low level of physical activity” (i.e. having ≤30 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity in the last week).</p

Associations between background factors and “a very low level of physical activity” (i.e. having ≤30 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity in the last week).

<p>ORu: univariate odds ratios; ORm: multivariate odds ratios obtained from forward stepwise multivariate logistic regression using variables found to be significant in univariate analysis as candidate variables; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval.—: Variables with <i>p</i>>0.1 in the univariate analyses and were not used in the subsequent stepwise model.</p><p>Associations between background factors and “a very low level of physical activity” (i.e. having ≤30 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity in the last week).</p