Applying Technology Acceptance Model to Explore the Determinants of Mobile Health Service: From the Perspective of Public User

With the rapid usage rate of mobile phone and advances in healthcare technology, as well as current concerns arise over public’s health, mobile health are attracting the attention of more and more people. Although previous studies on the adoption of mobile services are quite extensive, few focus on public users’ adoption of mobile health service (MHS). In this study, we examine the determinants of user adoption of MHS based on Technology acceptance model (TAM). The findings confirm that perceived usefulness positively affect users’ attitude toward MHS, perceived service availability significantly impact on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, perceived usefulness and attitude directly enhance intention

Perspectives on RNA Interference in Immunopharmacology and Immunotherapy

RNA interference (RNAi), mediated by short interfering RNA (siRNA), vector-derived short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and microRNA (miRNA), brings about revolutionary features to basic biomedical research and clinical application. New drugs based on RNAi have been developed for therapeutic applications. The family of RNAi molecules are efficient agents to modulate mammalian immune system, and many studies reported that these molecules could manipulate immune defence, surveillance and homeostasis. Both perfect match of siRNA/shRNA and non-perfect match of miRNA could be beneficial for designing RNAi-based drugs for treatment of tumour and viral infection. This chapter provides a view to control or utilize the immune regulation of various small RNAs that should help researchers to understand the successful clinical application of RNAi

MiR-129-5p-mediated Beclin-1 suppression inhibits endothelial cell autophagy in atherosclerosis

Endothelial cell injury and subsequent death play an essential role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Autophagy of endothelial cells antagonizes the development of atherosclerosis, whereas the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. MicroRNA-129-5p (miR-129-5p) is a well-defined tumor suppressorin some types of cancer, while it is unknown whether miR-129-5p may also play a role in the development of atherosclerosis. Here, we addressed this question in the current study. We examined the levels of endothelial cell autophagy in ApoE (-/-) mice suppled with high-fat diet (HFD), a mouse model for atherosclerosis (simplified as HFD mice). We analyzed the levels of Beclin-1 and the levels of miR-129-5p in the purified CD31+ endothelial cells from mouse aorta. Prediction of the binding between miR-129-5p and 3\u27-UTR of Beclin-1 mRNA was performed by bioinformatics analyses and confirmed by a dual luciferase reporter assay. The effects of miR-129-5p were further analyzed in an in vitro model using oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-treated human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). We found that HFD mice developed atherosclerosisin 12 weeks, while the control ApoE (-/-) mice that had received normal diet (simplified as CTL mice) did not. Compared to CTL mice, HFD mice had significantly lower levels of endothelial cell autophagy, resulting from decreases in Beclin-1 protein, but not mRNA. The decreases in Beclin-1 in endothelial cells were due to HFD-induced increases inmiR-129-5p, which suppressed the translation of Beclin-1 mRNA via 3\u27-UTR binding. These in vivo findings were reproduced in vitro on ox-LDL-treated HAECs. Together, these data suggest that upregulation of miR-129-5p by HFD may impair the protective effects of endothelial cell autophagy against development of atherosclerosis through suppressing protein translation of Beclin-1

Improving garment thermal insulation property by combining two non-contact measuring tools

To investigate the effect of air gaps on the heat transfer performance of clothing, the method using the combination of two non-contact measuring tools (infrared thermal camera and 3D body scanner) has been developed considering the quantification of the air gap thickness and clothing surface temperature of different body parts without contacting clothing surface directly. The results show that the air gaps over middle and lower back of upper body have the largest thickness in all body parts, while the front and back shoulders have the smallest air gap thickness. The one-way analysis of variance shows that air gap thickness under shoulder segments has no significant difference in terms of size. Furthermore, clothing surface temperatures of shoulder and chest decrease gradually along with air gap thickness; clothing surface temperatures of front abdomen, front waist, pelvis and hip segments decrease initially but begin to increase when the air gap is above 1.5cm; clothing surface temperatures of middle back and back waist continually increase with the air gap thickness. Based on the comprehensive analyzation of the distributed features of air gap thickness and clothing surface temperature of different body parts, a revised clothing pattern with lower regional temperature and higher thermal insulation is put forward

Investigation of flow field characteristics and performance of carbon-hydrogen/oxygen-rich air rotating detonation engine

Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the flow field characteristics and performance of a carbon-hydrogen/oxygen-rich air rotating detonation engine (RDE). Three distinct flow field structures were observed in the gas-solid two-phase RDE. The results show that reducing the hydrogen equivalence ratio and particle diameter both contribute to the transition from gas-phase single-front detonation to gas-solid two-phase double-front detonation and further to gas-solid two-phase single-front detonation. The effects of solid fuel particle diameter and hydrogen equivalence ratio on the flow field characteristics and performance are revealed. The results show that reducing the particle diameter enhances the speed of the two-phase detonation wave, improves the pressure gain in the combustion chamber, and increases the specific impulse. Decreasing the hydrogen equivalence ratio reduces the detonation wave speed, enhances the stability of the detonation flow field, increases the pressure gain in the detonation wave and combustion chamber and boosts thrust. Furthermore, the selection of operational conditions to ensure stable operation and optimal performance of the RDE is discussed. In order to take into account the requirements of stability, pressure gain performance and propulsion performance, two-phase single-front detonation should be realized in gas-solid two-phase RDE, and smaller hydrogen equivalent ratio and appropriate particle diameter should be selected. According to the conclusion of this study, the particle diameter should be 0.5-1 {\mu}m. Under such conditions, the detonation flow field demonstrates good stability, allowing the RDE to achieve higher pressure gain and specific impulse while maintaining stable operation