Developing new heat pump system to improve indoor living space in senior long-term care house

The issue of an aging population is becoming increasingly acute in Taiwan; in 2018, seniors comprised over 14 % of the total population. The quality of care for senior citizens hinges on the ability of long-term care facilities to create comfortable living spaces while ensuring energy efficiency by reducing electricity consumption, thereby providing them with an environment for aging in an active and positive way. This study proposes a new heat pump system that offers a cold source in the summer and a heat source in the winter. In addition, the air-conditioning and ventilation rates required for comfort in indoor living spaces are established to ensure the high quality of the care spaces in these types of institutions. The results after installation of the heat pump system were as follows: (1) Performance of the heat pump system: the inlet temperature of the heat pump chilled water was maintained at 7-10 °C, and the outlet temperature, at 42-54 °C. (2) Energy efficiency: Based on a 95 % confidence interval, the average annual electricity consumption was 32.65 kwh/day, which was 32.65 % of the prior consumption level; the reduction of 67.35 % is comparable to those of most heat pump systems. (3) Improvement of the indoor environment: In the hottest scenario, the indoor temperature was reduced by 3 °C and the relative humidity to 55-65 %, which fall within comfortable ranges. After the heat pump system was introduced, significant improvements in ventilation, air quality and comfort were noted, as well as significant improvement in average total satisfaction scores. All improvements reached statistical significance. The overall objective of the system is to enhance the environmental quality in long-term senior care facilities and make them healthier and more energy efficient

IsaB Inhibits Autophagic Flux to Promote Host Transmission of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a major nosocomial pathogen that is widespread in both health-care facilities and in the community at large, as a result of direct host-to-host transmission. Several virulence factors are associated with pathogen transmission to naive hosts. Immunodominant surface antigen B (IsaB) is a virulence factor that helps Staphylococcus aureus to evade the host defense system. However, the mechanism of IsaB on host transmissibility remains unclear. We found that IsaB expression was elevated in transmissible MRSA. Wild-type isaB strains inhibited autophagic flux to promote bacterial survival and elicit inflammation in THP-1 cells and mouse skin. MRSA isolates with increased IsaB expression showed decreased autophagic flux, and the MRSA isolate with the lowest IsaB expression showed increased autophagic flux. In addition, recombinant IsaB rescued the virulence of the isaB deletion strain and increased the group A streptococcus (GAS) virulence in vivo. Together, these results reveal that IsaB diminishes autophagic flux, thereby allowing MRSA to evade host degradation. These findings suggest that IsaB is a suitable target for preventing or treating MRSA infection

Regulation of axon repulsion by MAX-1 SUMOylation and AP-3.

During neural development, growing axons express specific surface receptors in response to various environmental guidance cues. These axon guidance receptors are regulated through intracellular trafficking and degradation to enable navigating axons to reach their targets. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the UNC-5 receptor is necessary for dorsal migration of developing motor axons. We previously found that MAX-1 is required for UNC-5-mediated axon repulsion, but its mechanism of action remained unclear. Here, we demonstrate that UNC-5-mediated axon repulsion in C. elegans motor axons requires both max-1 SUMOylation and the AP-3 complex β subunit gene, apb-3 Genetic interaction studies show that max-1 is SUMOylated by gei-17/PIAS1 and acts upstream of apb-3 Biochemical analysis suggests that constitutive interaction of MAX-1 and UNC-5 receptor is weakened by MAX-1 SUMOylation and by the presence of APB-3, a competitive interactor with UNC-5. Overexpression of APB-3 reroutes the trafficking of UNC-5 receptor into the lysosome for protein degradation. In vivo fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments shows that MAX-1 SUMOylation and APB-3 are required for proper trafficking of UNC-5 receptor in the axon. Our results demonstrate that SUMOylation of MAX-1 plays an important role in regulating AP-3-mediated trafficking and degradation of UNC-5 receptors during axon guidance

Effects of discovery learning on year two pupils’ achievement in learning fractions

Understanding fractions is one of the important skills that need to be developed in Mathematics curriculum as it is essential for understanding algebra, geometry as well as other aspects of Mathematics. However, pupils around the world face difficulties in learning fractions. This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of Discovery Learning on pupils’ achievement in fractions. 66 Year Two primary school pupils in Kedah were assigned into experimental (Discovery learning) and control (conventional instruction) groups. Data was collected using pre-test and post-test. Independent samples t-test and paired-samples t-test were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that: 1) there is no significant difference in pupils’ achievement in fractions (pre-test) between the groups; 2) there is a significant difference in pupils’ achievement in fractions (post-test) between the groups; 3) there is a significant difference in pupils’ achievement in fractions between the pre-test and post-test of the experimental group; and 4) there is a significant difference in Year Two pupils’ achievement in fractions between the pre-test and post-test of the control group. This concludes that Discovery Learning was effective in improving Year Two pupils’ achievement in learning fractions. Therefore, it can play a role as a starting milestone for educators in Malaysia to implement Discovery Learning in daily teaching life especially in fractions

Chronic Stress Facilitates the Development of Deep Venous Thrombosis

The increasing pressure of modern social life intensifies the impact of stress on the development of cardiovascular diseases, which include deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Renal sympathetic denervation has been applied as one of the clinical approaches for the treatment of drug-resistant hypertension. In addition, the close relationship between oxidative stress and cardiovascular diseases has been well documented. The present study is designed to explore the mechanism by which the renal sympathetic nerve system and the oxidative stress affect the blood coagulation system in the development of DVT. Chronic foot shock model in rats was applied to mimic a state of physiological stress similar to humans. Our results showed that chronic foot shock procedure could promote DVT which may be through the activation of platelets aggregation. The aggravation of DVT and activation of platelets were alleviated by renal sympathetic denervation or antioxidant (Tempol) treatment. Concurrently, the denervation treatment could also reduce the levels of circulating oxidation factors in rats. These results demonstrate that both the renal sympathetic nerve system and the oxidative stress contribute to the development of DVT in response to chronic stress, which may provide novel strategy for treatment of clinic DVT patients

Locally Advanced Oncocytic Carcinoma of the Nasal Cavity Treated With Surgery and Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy

Oncocytic carcinomas of the nasal cavity are extremely rare. We report 1 patient whose primary tumor and neck lymphadenopathies were under control nearly 2 years after combined surgery and radiotherapy. An 80-year-old man with a history of nasal oncocytoma had received excision twice previously. Computed tomography demonstrated locally advanced recurrent tumor invading the paranasal sinuses and orbit with lymphadenopathies in the right neck. Skull base surgery was performed. Pathological examination revealed oncocytic carcinoma. Positron emission tomography showed hypermetabolic lesions in the surgical bed and right neck. The patient subsequently received intensity-modulated radiotherapy to the primary site and the whole neck. Follow-up computed tomography 4 months later showed marked shrinkage of the neck lymphadenopathies. There was no progression after nearly 2 years. Although these tumors have historically been regarded as radioresistant, the combined treatment of surgery followed by radiotherapy may offer the best chance for control of locally advanced disease