•Setting time of PC-CSA blend decreases with the higher dosage of CSA cement.•Hydration is enhanced at very early age but accelerating period is postponed.•Compressive strength is increased at early ...age but decreased at late age.•20% CSA cement provides a good resistance to early age frost at −5 °C.
This paper aims to investigate mechanical strength and hydration behavior of Portland cement (PC) and calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement mixtures when exposed to different temperatures from −5 °C to 20 °C. Setting time and compressive strength were evaluated for mixtures with different PC-CSA ratios. The exothermic hydration heat flow, hydration products, pore size distribution and microstructure for typical samples were determined by using isothermal calorimetry measurement, TG/DTG, XRD, MIP and SEM facilities. The results indicate that the setting time of PC-CSA blends decreases with the higher dosage of CSA cement. Compressive strength of cement mortar is increased by the higher incorporation of CSA cement (5–10%) at early ages, but it is decreased by CSA cement at late ages. This negative effect on late age strength is alleviated by the lower curing temperature. The compressive strength degradation of Portland cement induced by early age exposure to −5 °C is improved by the addition of 5–10% CSA cement. Moreover, the negative effect can be avoided by the incorporation of 20% CSA cement due to the achievement of critical strength after 6 h pre-curing. The hydration of CSA cement during the first several hours is accelerated by the existence of PC and this is favorable for improve the resistance to early age frost. The pore structure and porosity of cement paste under room temperature is aggravated when the incorporation of CSA is higher than 5% due to the fast formation of massive AFt crystals. But the pore structure and microstructure is improved after exposure to early age frost due to the higher resistance to frost damage. Therefore, the incorporation of suitable content CSA provides a potential method for avoiding early age frost damage for cement concretes under minus temperatures.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
•Influence of temperatures and water contents on the piezoresistivity is studied.•Electrical resistance was used to sense temperature and water content.•Equivalent circuit diagram of CNFM with ...temperature and water content was obtained.
Influence of temperatures and water contents on the electrical resistance and piezoresistivity of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) cement mortar were investigated in this paper. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and equivalent circuits were determined to explore the conductive and mechanical mechanism. Results indicated that the electrical resistance decreased with the increasing CNFs dosages in all environments. When CNFs content was less than 1.5%, the electrical resistance of dried specimens with environment temperature ranging from −30 °C to 20 °C increased linearly with the ascending temperature. However, when the temperature ranged from 20 °C to 40 °C, the electrical resistance decreased with one dimensional Gauss function with the increasing temperature. While, when dried CNFs mortar possessed the CNFs content of 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5% or specimens were in water saturated state, the resistance of all specimens and temperatures conformed to one dimensional Gauss function. Moreover, when CNFs mortars were at the temperature of 20 °C, the relationship between electrical resistance and water contents could be described as exponential function of 10. Additionally, CNFs mortar with 2.5% CNFs performed favorable piezoresistivity. The strain-sensing performance of CNFs mortar deteriorated when temperature decreased from 20 °C to −30 °C. When temperature was higher than 20 °C, self-sensing property became worse with the increasing temperature. Nevertheless, the sensitivity of CNFs mortar first decreased and then increased with the increasing water contents. CNFs mortar samples in dried state and 20 °C showed the optimum self-sensing performance. Furthermore, the EIS curves were sensitive to temperatures and water contents and effective to reveal the conductive mechanism.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
This study uses a sample of A-share listed companies to investigate the impact of China's Data Basic Institutional System on capital market reactions and the mechanism by which it exerts influence. ...The findings reveal that within a 5-day period before and after the policy announcement, listed companies with high data resources experience a significantly higher abnormal return compared to those with low data resources. Moreover, this difference becomes more pronounced as enterprise technology intensity increases. Furthermore, the policy enhances the capital market's perception of the value of data resources and its potential for generating multiplier effects. Additional tests confirm that post-implementation of the policy, the capital market reevaluates the long-term value of enterprises associated with data resources. This comprehensive examination contributes empirical evidence to support academic research, inform policy formulation, and guide strategic planning in relevant industries.
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BFBNIB, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
A safe and effective vaccine adjuvant is important in modern vaccines. Various Chinese herbal polysaccharides can activate the immune system. Cistanche deserticola (CD) is a traditional Chinese herb ...and an adjuvant candidate. Here, we confirmed that water-extractable polysaccharides of CD (WPCD) could modulate immune responses in vitro and in vivo. In a dose-dependent manner, WPCD significantly promoted the maturation and function of murine marrow-derived dendritic cells (BM-DCs) through up-regulating the expression levels of MHC-II, CD86, CD80, and CD40, allogenic T cell proliferation, and the yields of IL-12 and TNF-α via toll-like receptor4 (TLR4), as indicated by in vitro experiments. In addition, its immunomodulatory activity was also observed in mice. WPCD effectively improved the titers of IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a and markedly enhanced the proliferation of T and B cells, the production of IFN-γ and IL-4 in CD4+ T cells and the expression level of IFN-γ in CD8+ T cells better than Alum. Furthermore, WPCD could markedly up-regulate the expression levels of CD40 and CD80 on DCs in spleen and down-regulate the Treg frequency. The study suggests that polysaccharides of Cistanche deserticola are a safe and effective vaccine adjuvant for eliciting both humoral immunity and cellular immunity by activating DCs via TLR4 signaling pathway.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Potent adjuvant can improve the effectiveness of vaccines and reduce the antigen doses required for initiating the protective immunity. In this study, we identified that aqueous extract of Artemisia ...rupestris L. (AEAR) could be employed as an efficient adjuvant for influenza virus vaccine (V) to enhance immune responses and reduce the antigen doses required for initiating immunity, without compromising the immune response. ICR mice were subcutaneously co-administrated with V combined with different concentrations of AEAR demonstrated that 300 μg AEAR could significantly improve hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and increase IgG antibody titers in serum (P<0.05) and the population of CD4+CD44+ and CD8+CD44+ (P<0.05). Next, 300 μg AEAR combined with different doses of V in vivo markedly increased HI and specific IgG antibody level(P<0.05). It also significantly increased the amount of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD4+CD44+ and CD8+CD44+ T cells (P<0.05), improved lymphocyte proliferation, the secretion of CD4+IL-4, CD4+IFN-γ and CD8+IFN-γ (P<0.05), and the killing efficacy of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) (P<0.05). Furthermore, the combination increased the expression of major histocompatibility complex-II (MHC-II) and co-stimulatory molecules including CD40, CD80, and CD86 on dendritic cells (DCs), and downregulated the expression of CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells (P<0.05). No significant difference was observed between high-dose V and low-dose AEAR-V (10-fold lower) vaccination group (P>0.05), indicating a 10-fold reduction of antigen required for V vaccine administration. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that AEAR, as an adjuvant for influenza vaccine, could stimulate potent humoral and cellular immune responses and reduce the antigen dose required for effective vaccination, which were mediated by promoting DCs activation and repressing Treg expression.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The development of financial technology has made financial sub-markets increasingly interconnected, and this interdependence magnifies the instability of financial markets and the possibility of ...risk. The literature documents the relation of financial sub-markets from time domain, but empirical evidence that effectively identify the patterns of co-movement of multiple financial sub-markets from frequency domain is lacking. This study assesses the dynamic relationship among interest rates, stock prices and exchange rates in China from January 2006 to December 2021 using the Wavelet model. Furthermore, we introduce the TVP-VAR-SV model to study whether the dynamic relationship has changed structurally under the impact of COVID-19. We find the following: 1) with the deepening of the financial market and the improvement of the informatization level, the frequency of risk transmission among financial sub-markets decreases, and the linkage relationship changes from frequent linkage in the medium term to relatively stable linkage relationship in the long term; 2) the relationship between the three variables in short-term fluctuations is more complex, while the relationship between financial variables in long-term fluctuations is more stable; 3) after the outbreak of COVID-19, the positive impact of interest rates and stock prices has brought about a larger range of changes in exchange rate volatility, with a longer impact period and a stronger linkage.
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BFBNIB, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The chemotherapy with fluorouracil is not always effective, in which some breast cancer cells may survive the fluorouracil treatment through enhanced autophagy. Crocetin is the major constituent of ...saffron, a Chinese traditional herb, which has recently found to have multiple pharmacological effects, including anticancer. However, the effects of Crocetin on the outcome of fluorouracil therapy for breast cancer have not been studied. Here, we showed that fluorouracil treatment inhibited the growth of breast cancer cells, in either a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay or an MTT assay. Inhibition of autophagy further suppressed breast cancer cell growth, suggesting that the breast cancer cells increased autophagic cell survival during fluorouracil treatment. However, Crocetin significantly increased the suppressive effects of fluorouracil on breast cancer cell growth, without affecting either cell apoptosis or autophagy. Inhibition of autophagy at the presence of Crocetin partially abolished the suppressive effects on breast cancer cell growth, suggesting that Crocetin may increase autophagic cell death in fluorouracil-treated breast cancer cells. Furthermore, Crocetin decreased Beclin-1 levels but increased ATG1 levels in fluorouracil-treated breast cancer cells. Together, these data suggest that Crocetin may shift autophagic cell survival to autophagic cell death in fluorouracil-treated breast cancer cells, possibly through modulation of the expression of ATG1 and Beclin-1.
Background Conventional single indicators have low sensitivity and specificity for predicting weaning from mechanical ventilation in pediatric patients, necessitating the establishment of a combined ...prediction model for predicting weaning outcomes. Objectives To explore the combined predictive value of PaO 2 /FiO 2 Ratio (P/F ratio), diaphragm excursion-rapid shallow breathing index (DE-RSBI), diaphragm thickening fraction-rapid shallow breathing index (DTF-RSBI), and Pediatric Critical Illness Score (PCIS) in weaning from mechanical ventilation in pediatric patients. Methods Sixty critically ill pneumonia pediatric patients requiring mechanical ventilation treatment from July 2022 to June 2023 at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University were selected. They all underwent a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) and were divided into the weaning success group (42 cases) and weaning failure group (18 cases) based on the weaning outcome. Parameters including total duration of illness, mechanical ventilation duration, heart rate (HR), P/F ratio, diaphragm excursion (DE), DE-RSBI, diaphragm thickening fraction (DTF), DTF-RSBI, and PCIS were included in univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to determine independent factors affecting pediatric weaning success. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to evaluate the predictive value of P/F ratio, DE-RSBI, DTF-RSBI, PCIS alone or in combination for weaning success. Results Comparing P/F ratio, DE, DE-RSBI, DTF, DTF-RSBI and PCIS, there were statistically significant differences ( P < 0.05). Through collinearity analysis and binary logistic regression analysis,P/F ratio OR = 0.777, 95% CI (0.641,0.941), DE-RSBI OR = 1.694, 95% CI (1.172, 2.447), DTF-RSBI OR = 1.057, 95% CI (1.002, 1.114), and PCIS OR = 0.661, 95% CI (0.445, 0.982) were identified as independent factors affecting successful weaning( P < 0.05).The regression equation was: Logit P = 73.299–0.253 P/F ratio + 0.525DE-RSBI + 0.055DTF-RSBI-0.43PCIS.The sensitivity of the combined indicator Logit( P ) in predicting successful weaning from mechanical ventilation in pediatric patients was 88.9%, with a specificity of 95.2% (optimal cutoff value of 0.511), and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.960 95% CI (0.915, 1.000). The AUC of the combined prediction model for predicting pediatric weaning was greater than that of P/F ratio, DE-RSBI, DTF-RSBI and PCIS alone ( Z values = 9.129, 2.061, 2.075, 8.326, P < 0.05). Conclusions In mechanically ventilated pediatric patients, the combined prediction model has better predictive value for weaning success compared to using P/F ratio, DE-RSBI, DTF-RSBI, or PCIS alone.
•AECD as a polysaccharide adjuvant for seasonal influenza vaccine exhibited immune enhanced activity in mice.•AECD improved immunogenicity to seasonal influenza vaccine by more rapid humoral immune ...responses and a balanced Th1-/Th2-type response.•AECD could improve DCs maturation and down-regulate Treg frequency.
Adjuvants can improve the efficacy of influenza vaccines and are still a hot spot in the study and development of influenza vaccines. In this report, the effects of aqueous extracts of Cistanche deserticola (AECD) as a polysaccharide adjuvant on seasonal influenza vaccines (IVV) were explored. The experimental data of anti-IVV IgG1 and IgG as well as hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) titers in young adult mice indicated that IVV intramuscularly co-injected with AECD was significantly more immunogenic than alum-adjuvanted or non-adjuvanted IVV. AECD-adjuvanted vaccine could rapidly initiate specific IgG response. Similarly, IVV with AECD augmented significantly lymphocyte proliferation and increased the positive rates of CD4+, CD8+ and CD44+ T cells from draining lymph nodes and spleens. Importantly, IVV with AECD could induce the Th1 immune response, as indicated by higher IgG2a levels accompanied by the induction of IFN-γ in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Additionally, IVV with AECD activated dendritic cells (DCs) and decreased the expression of Treg cells. There were no noticeable side effects after the vaccination. In brief, the addition of AECD enhanced immunogenicity to seasonal influenza vaccine by the induction of HI antibody generation, more rapid humoral immune responses, and a balanced Th1-/Th2-type response, effective T-cell responses, which may be important for seasonal influenza vaccines with broad and long lasting immunity.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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•CPCD potently activated dendritic cells through TLR-2/TLR-4-related downstream MAPKs and NF-κB pathway.•CPCD effectively induced stronger humoral and cellular responses through DC ...activation.•CPCD have the potential as an polysaccharide adjuvant for FMDV.•CPCD is a safe and efficacious an immunoregulator.
Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma (CD) are ideal herbal remedies for health problems. In this study, modulator activities of CPCD on activating dendritic cells (DCs) and the adjuvant potential for foot-and-mouth disease vaccine (FMDV) was evaluated. CPCD without cytotoxicity induced DC activation via upregulating the phenotypic markers and antigen uptake. TLR-2 or TLR-4 antibodies suppressed levels of CPCD-mediated CD40 and CD86 as well as IL-6 and IL-1β in DCs. CPCD induced the phosphorylation of MAPKs related molecules and NF-κB. When co-injected intramuscularly with FMDV in mice, CPCD increased FMDV-specific antibody, lymphocyte proliferation, effector T-cells. Specifically, CPCD elicited Th1 response, as indicated by the higher expressions of CD4+ IFN-γ, CD8+ IFN-γ and CTL response. CPCD enhanced the expressions of MHC-II, CD80, CD86 and CD40 in DCs and lowered Tregs frequency. Therefore, CPCD could effectively stimulate stronger humoral and cellular responses by modulating DC activation through TLR-2/TLR-4 related MAPKs and NF-κB pathways.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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