Characteristics of natural convection heat transfer in composite cavity

In order to study the influence of the nature of the mining airspace on the natural convection heat transfer in the unventilated working face, we establish a numerical model of natural convection in a composite cavity containing porous media by CFD method. The effects of different Rayleigh numbers (Ra), porous media thicknesses, and porosities ε on the natural convection temperature and velocity fields and heat dissipation from the heat source were comparatively analyzed. The results show that the larger Ra is, the stronger the natural convection flow and heat transfer in the composite cavity; when the thickness of porous media increases from 0.2 to 0.75, the average Nussel number (Nuave) of the high-temperature wall surface decreases by 40.38%, the Nuave of the interfaces decreases by 6.15%, the maximum dimensionless velocity of the boundary layer in the porous region decreases from 10,771 to 3775, and the dimensionless horizontal line in the center of cavity decreases by 0.05, indicating that the natural convection temperature and velocity fields and heat dissipation from the heat source are affected by different Ra. Temperature decreased by 0.05, demonstrating that the increase in the thickness of porous media will weaken the strength of the fluid side of the flow and heat transfer; porosity increased from 0.2 to 0.8, and the interfacial Nuave increased by 5.61%, demonstrating that the larger porosity makes the porous media area flow and heat transfer enhancement, but has a certain weakening effect on the flow and heat transfer in the fluid domain. The results of the study can be used for the natural convection flow and heat transfer in the unventilated coal mining face, and provide some reference value for avoiding the thermal damage of mechanical equipment

The effects of facemasks on airway inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in healthy young adults: a double-blind, randomized, controlled crossover study

Abstract Background Facemasks are increasingly worn during air pollution episodes in China, but their protective effects are poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the filtration efficiencies of N95 facemasks and the cardiopulmonary benefits associated with wearing facemasks during episodes of pollution. Results We measured the filtration efficiencies of particles in ambient air of six types of N95 facemasks with a manikin headform. The most effective one was used in a double-blind, randomized, controlled crossover study, involving 15 healthy young adults, conducted during 2 days of severe pollution in Beijing, China. Subjects were asked to walk along a busy-traffic road for 2 h wearing authentic or sham N95 facemasks. Clinical tests were performed four times to determine changes in the levels of biomarkers of airway inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress within 24 h after exposure. The facemasks removed 48–75% of number concentrations of ambient air particles between 5.6 and 560 nm in diameter. After adjustments for multiple comparison, the exhaled nitric oxide level and the levels of interleukin-1α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 in exhaled breath condensate increased significantly in all subjects; however, the increases in those wearing authentic facemasks were statistically significantly lower than in the sham group. No significant between-group difference was evident in the urinary creatinine-corrected malondialdehyde level. In arterial stiffness indicators, the ejection duration of subjects wearing authentic facemasks was higher after exposure compared to the sham group; no significant between-group difference was found in augmentation pressure or the augmentation index. Conclusions In young healthy adults, N95 facemasks partially reduced acute particle-associated airway inflammation, but neither systemic oxidative stress nor endothelial dysfunction improved significantly. The clinical significance of these findings long-term remains to be determined. Trial registration The trial registration number (TRN) for this study is ChiCTR1800016099, which was retrospectively registered on May 11, 2018

Root-Securing and Brain-Fortifying Liquid Upregulates Caveolin-1 in Cell Model with Alzheimer’s Disease through Inhibiting Tau Phosphorylation

In order to explore the effect of root-securing and brain-fortifying Liquid- (RSBFL-) mediated caveolin-1 (CAV-1) on phosphorylation of Tau protein and to uncover underlying mechanisms of RSBFL for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), hippocampal neurons isolated from neonatal SD rats and cultured in DMEM-F12 medium were induced by exogenous Aβ1–42 to establish a cell model with AD. Meanwhile, pEGFP-C1-CAV1 and CAV1-shRNA plasmids were transfected into hippocampal neurons for CAV-1 overexpression and silence, respectively. The serum containing RSBFL was prepared for the intervention of AD model cells. The expression of CAV-1, GSK-3β, and p-Tau in normal hippocampal neurons and AD model cells in the presence of serum containing RSBFL was evaluated. The model hippocampal neurons with AD induced by Aβ1–42 revealed an obvious CAV-1 inhibition, enhanced GSK-3β activity, and abnormal Tau phosphorylation. In contrast, the treatment with serum containing RSBFL could upregulate CAV-1 in AD hippocampal neurons (P<0.05) with improved p-GSK-3βSer9 and reduced p-GSK-3βTyr216 (P<0.01), as well as suppressed abnormal phosphorylation of Tau protein. Therefore, RSBFL has an excellent protective effect on hippocampal neurons through increasing CAV-1 expression, inhibiting GSK-3β activity, and reducing excessive abnormal phosphorylation of Tau protein

Additional file 1: of The effects of facemasks on airway inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in healthy young adults: a double-blind, randomized, controlled crossover study

Table S1. Filtration Efficiencies and resistance of six types of facemasks. (DOCX 36 kb