A series of twisted D–π–A type emitters based on the acridine donor unit and CN‐substituted pyridine, pyrimidine, and benzene acceptor units are studied. They not only allow one to systematically ...probe the influence of different acceptor strengths, but also permit one to intriguingly probe the influence of tunable conformations (twist angles) within the acceptor moieties through controlling the orientation of asymmetric heteroaromatic ring relative to the donor component. Intramolecular charge‐transfer transitions are observed in all these compounds and emission wavelengths are widely tunable from deep blue to yellow not only by the general acceptor strength due to the characters of heteroarene and CN‐substitution pattern but also by the subtle control of in‐acceptor conformation (twist angles). Small triplet‐to‐singlet energy gaps (ΔEST) and significant thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) characteristics are obtained in a series of D–π–A compounds with sufficient acceptor strengths and tunable in‐acceptor conformation, yielding a series of efficient blue‐green to yellow TADF emitters with promisingly high photoluminescence quantum yields of 90%–100%. Highly efficient blue‐green to yellow TADF organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) having external quantum efficiencies of up to 23.1%–31.3% are achieved using these efficient TADF emitters, which are among the most efficient TADF OLEDs ever reported.
Efficient blue‐green to yellow thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters capable of generating 23%–31% electroluminescence external quantum efficiencies are developed adopting the acridine donor unit and cyano (CN)‐substituted pyridine and pyrimidine acceptor units. They permit systematic probing of influences of acceptor strengths and tunable conformations (twist angles) within the acceptor moieties through controlling the orientation of asymmetric heteroaromatic ring.
An intelligent complementary sliding-mode control (CSMC) (ICSMC) is proposed in this paper for the fault-tolerant control of a six-phase permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive system with ...open phases. First, the dynamics of the six-phase PMSM drive system with a lumped uncertainty is described in detail. Then, the fault detection and operating decision method is briefly introduced. Moreover, a CSMC is designed to stabilize the fault-tolerant control of the six-phase PMSM drive system. Furthermore, to improve the required control performance and to maintain the stability of the six-phase PMSM drive system under faulty condition, the ICSMC is developed. In this approach, a Takagi-Sugeno-Kang-type fuzzy neural network with asymmetric membership function (TSKFNN-AMF) estimator with accurate approximation capability is employed to estimate the lumped uncertainty. In addition, the adaptive learning algorithms for the online training of the TSKFNN-AMF are derived using the Lyapunov theorem to guarantee the closed-loop stability. Additionally, to enhance the control performance of the proposed intelligent fault-tolerant control, a 32-b floating-point digital signal processor, TMS320F28335, is adopted for the implementation of the proposed fault-tolerant control system. Finally, some experimental results are illustrated to demonstrate the validity of the proposed fault-tolerant control for the six-phase PMSM drive system via ICSMC.
A thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) emitter (DMAC-TRZ) was reported either as the emitting dopant in a host or as the non-doped (neat) emitting layer to achieve high EL EQEs of up to ...26.5% and 20% in OLEDs, respectively.
From the environmental perspective, wooden structures are favorable insulators that are suitable for carbon fixation and wooden-related products are considered the most sustainable material. Research ...has indicated that wooden structures have superior energy-saving performance compared to reinforced concrete (RC) structures. In this study, a CLT-based hybrid structure system that potentially improves the efficiency of energy consumption is proposed. The proposed hybrid structure system, which preserved original RC beams, columns and replaced CLT floors and walls, has less building weight compared to the original RC building. Additionally, less energy required for the manufacturing of building materials in the renovation of the aged building is achieved, compared to building a new CLT building. The energy consumptions for buildings with heights of 10 stories were compared. CLT and RC were selected as benchmark building materials to compare the energy-saving efficiencies with the proposed hybrid structure system. In addition, to examine the energy consumption differences at different latitudes, the energy consumptions in Taipei, Tokyo, Harbin, and Singapore were compared as well. The simulation results indicate the proposed hybrid structure system, which comprises RC beams and columns and CLT floors and walls, and has an energy-saving efficiency close to that of a CLT structure, by approximately 3–5% higher, however, had a superior energy consumption performance to the RC structure. In general, the proposed hybrid structure system can be effectively used for old building renewal in the selected Asian cities.
Although transparent radiative cooling is a passive cooling strategy with practical applications and aesthetic appeal, complex manufacturing processes and the use of environmentally unfriendly ...thermal emitters remain latent problems. Herein, eco‐friendly transparent silk radiative cooling (TSRC) films are developed, regenerated from natural silkworm cocoons, for zero‐energy‐consumption thermal management of optoelectronic devices. These TSRC films can dissipate heat radiatively through molecular vibrations of the protein backbone and side chains, while retaining the function and appearance of the associated devices, due to their high visible transparency. Theoretical and experimental investigations revealed that the thermal emission increases rapidly upon increasing the film thickness, but slowly thereafter achieves saturation; nevertheless, the intrinsic solar absorption of silk in the ultraviolet and near‐infrared regions also grows linearly, unavoidably weakening the cooling effect. After spectroscopic optimization, the maximum cooling power during the daytime and nighttime is improved to 77.6 and 101.7 W m−2, respectively. Gratifyingly, the films have a remarkable effect on the cooling performance of electronic devices under sunlight. For example, the TSRC film provides a temperature drop of 5.1 °C for a smartphone during multitasking and charging, and 14 °C for a silicon solar panel with an improvement in the photoelectronic conversion efficiency (≈7%).
Transparent silk radiative cooling films can reduce the temperature of a silicon solar panel and a smartphone by 14 and 5.1 °C, respectively, even under direct sunlight, without compromising the function and appearance of the devices. This makes the transparent silk radiative cooling film an eco‐friendly and efficient solution for the thermal management of optoelectronic devices.
Abstract Background Despite recent studies that suggested statins' beneficial effects on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outcomes, the impact, if any, of statins on COPD exacerbations ...remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between statin use and risk of hospitalized COPD exacerbation, and to assess whether the association varied by statin initiation, dose, or duration of use. Methods A retrospective nested case-control study among patients with COPD was conducted analyzing a nationwide health insurance claims database in Taiwan. Cases were subjects hospitalized for COPD exacerbations; each case was matched to 4 randomly selected controls on age, sex, cohort entry, and number of COPD-related outpatient visits by an incident-density sampling approach. Conditional logistic regressions were employed to quantify the COPD exacerbation risk associated with statin use. Results The study cohort comprised 14,316 COPD patients, from which 1584 cases with COPD exacerbations and 5950 matched controls were identified. Any use of statins was associated with a 30% decreased risk of COPD exacerbation (95% confidence interval CI, 0.56-0.88), and current use of statins was related to a greater reduced risk (adjusted odds ratio OR 0.60; 95% CI, 0.44-0.81). A dose-dependent reduced risk of COPD exacerbation by statins was observed (medium average daily dose: adjusted OR 0.60; 95% CI, 0.41-0.89; high daily dose: adjusted OR 0.33; 95% CI, 0.14-0.73). The reduced risk remained significant for either short or long duration of statin use. Conclusions Statin use was associated with a reduced risk of COPD exacerbation, with a further risk reduction for statins prescribed more recently or at high doses.
Study Objectives
To evaluate the association between anticholinergic medication use, categorized by anticholinergic cognitive burden (primary objective) and cumulative dose (secondary objective), and ...the risk of developing dementia among patients with Parkinson's disease.
Design
Retrospective cohort study with an active comparator design.
Data Source
National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan (2001–2011).
Patients
A total of 1232 adults with Parkinson's disease who were diagnosed between 2002 and 2004 and taking at least one antiparkinson medication during this period were included. Of these patients, 694 were exposed to anticholinergic medications categorized as mild (reference group), and 538 were exposed to anticholinergic medications categorized as moderate or severe (exposure group).
Measurements and Main Results
Exposure to different types of anticholinergic medications was categorized by using the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scale, and cumulative doses of anticholinergic medications were measured by using the cumulative minimum doses (cMD) method. Associations between anticholinergic medication use and risk of dementia were assessed by multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. The type of anticholinergics used (moderate or severe vs mild ACB) was not significantly associated with an increased risk of developing dementia (hazard ratio HR 0.97, 95% confidence interval CI 0.72–1.27). After adjusting for confounders, a high cumulative dose of anticholinergic drug (> 1095 cumulative minimum doses cMDs) was found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of developing dementia when compared with a low cumulative dose of anticholinergic drug (≤ 90 cMDs) (HR 3.06, 95% CI 1.35–6.97).
Conclusion
Among patients with Parkinson's disease in Taiwan, those with a high cumulative dose of anticholinergics had an increased risk of being diagnosed with dementia. Physicians should consider prescribing the lowest therapeutic dose of anticholinergic medication when making treatment decisions for patients with Parkinson's disease.
IMPORTANCE: The associations between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and inhaled long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs) or long-acting antimuscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) in chronic obstructive pulmonary ...disease (COPD) are greatly debated. Pivotal and relevant randomized clinical trials included prior LABA or LAMA users and excluded patients with baseline CVD; therefore, cardiovascular events arising from first-time LABA or LAMA use, if any, could not be observed. There is an urgent need to examine whether new use of and duration since initiating LABAs and LAMAs could act as important determinants of cardiovascular events. OBJECTIVE: To investigate risk of CVD associated with LABAs and LAMAs, focusing on the initiation and duration of LABA and LAMA therapies. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This nested case-control study included 284 220 LABA-LAMA–naïve patients with COPD at least 40 years old (mean age, 71.4 years; 68.9% men), retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for health care claims from 2007 to 2011. EXPOSURE: LABA or LAMA use was measured in the year preceding the event or index date, stratified by duration since initiation of LABA or LAMA treatment, new and prevalent users, concomitant COPD medications, and individual agents. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Cases with inpatient or emergency care visits for coronary artery disease, heart failure, ischemic stroke, or arrhythmia were identified and individually matched to 4 randomly selected controls. Conditional logistic regressions were performed to estimate odds ratios of CVD from LABA and LAMA treatment. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 2.0 years, 37 719 patients with CVD (mean age, 75.6 years; 71.6% men) and 146 139 matched controls (mean age, 75.2 years; 70.1% men) were identified. New LABA and LAMA use in COPD was associated with a 1.50-fold (95% CI, 1.35-1.67; P < .001) and a 1.52-fold (95% CI, 1.28-1.80; P < .001) increased cardiovascular risk within 30 days of initiation, respectively, whereas the risk was absent, or even reduced with prevalent use. Individual LABA agents, LAMA dosage forms, and concomitant COPD regimens did not differ in the CVD risks. The risk persisted in an alternative case-crossover study and remained across subgroups without CVD history or prior exacerbations. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: New initiation of LABAs or LAMAs in patients with COPD is associated with an approximate 1.5-fold increased severe cardiovascular risk, irrespective of prior CVD status and history of exacerbations.
The goal of neural architecture search (NAS) is to either downsize the neural architecture and model of a deep neural network (DNN), adjust a neural architecture to improve its end result, or even ...speed up the whole training process. Such improvements make it possible to generate or install the model of a DNN on a small device, such as a device of internet of things or wireless sensor network. Because most NAS algorithms are time-consuming, finding out a way to reduce their computation costs has now become a critical research issue. The training-free method (also called the zero-shot learning) provides an alternative way to estimate how good a neural architecture is more efficiently during the process of NAS by using a lightweight score function instead of a general training process to avoid incurring heavy costs. This paper starts with a brief discussion of DNN and NAS, followed by a brief review of both model-dependent and model-independent training-free score functions. A brief introduction to the search algorithms and benchmarks that were widely used in a training-free NAS will also be given in this paper. The changes, potential, open issues, and future trends of this research topic are then addressed in the end of this paper.
Cities evolve and change with economic development and population growth, and urban planning laws in Taiwan have regulations that should be comprehensively reviewed every six years. Most current ...government policies aim to add new disaster prevention shelters or rescue stations. An economical way to improve the disaster prevention capabilities of urban planning is through examining or reviewing spatial structures and disaster prevention plans from the perspective of citizens or residents. The UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) launched the Making Cities Resilient Campaign policy to enhance disaster-resistant and sustainable urban environments through integrated disaster mitigation, reduction, response, and evacuation plans. This study used space syntax to ascertain evacuation route features using geometric distance analysis. There was 31.61% efficiency in relation to accessible roads on a comprehensive map. We could clearly see that since the areas in the first quadrant were relatively close to accessible roads, and there was an area that was not connected to the existing evacuation channels. The increased number of channels was more accessible and extensive. Such suggestions are helpful for government departments to prepare for disaster management. The spatial characteristics of the physical environment are explained by the accessibility and efficiency of axial maps and visibility analyzed by space syntax. Our findings reveal that space syntax is an important application when examining evacuation maps.
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