Stroke can cause death and disability, resulting in a huge burden on society. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor dysfunction. Osteoarthritis (OA) ...is a progressive degenerative joint disease characterized by cartilage destruction and osteophyte formation in the joints. Stem cell therapy may provide a biological treatment alternative to traditional pharmacological therapy. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are preferred because of their differentiation ability and possible derivation from many adult tissues. In addition, the paracrine effects of MSCs play crucial anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive roles in immune cells. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are vital mediators of cell-to-cell communication. Exosomes contain various molecules such as microRNA (miRNA), which mediates biological functions through gene regulation. Therefore, exosomes carrying miRNA or other molecules can enhance the therapeutic effects of MSC transplantation. MSC-derived exosomes have been investigated in various animal models representing stroke, PD, and OA. Exosomes are a subtype of EVs. This review article focuses on the mechanism and therapeutic potential of MSC-derived exosomes in stroke, PD, and OA in basic and clinical aspects.
This paper presents a contingent claim model designed to assess an insurer's equity within the framework of carbon trading regulations imposed on borrowing firms while also considering the ...integration of green lending. The development of this model is particularly relevant for regions with established carbon trading markets, with a specific focus on the post-period following the 2015 Paris Agreement concerning climate change. We focus on shareholders and policyholders to optimize equity and ensure maximum protection. Strict caps in cap-and-trade harm interest margins, reducing guaranteed rates for equity maximization and compromising policyholder protection. Government intervention through sustainable production carbon trading hinders win-win outcomes. Green subsidies can improve insurer margins, but achieving win-win solutions remains challenging. A collective approach is needed to share sustainable production and finance benefits among diverse economic sectors.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
3.
EEG-Based Emotion Recognition in Music Listening Lin, Yuan-Pin; Wang, Chi-Hong; Jung, Tzyy-Ping ...
IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering,
07/2010, Letnik:
57, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Ongoing brain activity can be recorded as electroen-cephalograph (EEG) to discover the links between emotional states and brain activity. This study applied machine-learning algorithms to categorize ...EEG dynamics according to subject self-reported emotional states during music listening. A framework was proposed to optimize EEG-based emotion recognition by systematically 1) seeking emotion-specific EEG features and 2) exploring the efficacy of the classifiers. Support vector machine was employed to classify four emotional states (joy, anger, sadness, and pleasure) and obtained an averaged classification accuracy of 82.29% ± 3.06% across 26 subjects. Further, this study identified 30 subject-independent features that were most relevant to emotional processing across subjects and explored the feasibility of using fewer electrodes to characterize the EEG dynamics during music listening. The identified features were primarily derived from electrodes placed near the frontal and the parietal lobes, consistent with many of the findings in the literature. This study might lead to a practical system for noninvasive assessment of the emotional states in practical or clinical applications.
Small and medium-sized manufacturers increasingly adopt renewable energy sources for sustainable production but often require funds from financial institutions that prioritize sustainability. This ...study develops a capped call option model to evaluate an insurer's equity while considering the credit risks associated with a manufacturing borrower's renewable energy adoption. The study finds that a win-win situation can be achieved through renewable energy adoption with sustainable finance, with the insurer's interest margin and the manufacturer's equity value increasing. Furthermore, consumer green awareness also contributes to a win-win situation. However, implementing a stringent regulatory cap under the cap-and-trade mechanism can negatively impact the win-win structure, despite yielding insurance stability. The results suggest that when regulatory authorities conduct a cap-and-trade scheme, sustainable finance providers and manufacturing borrowers are more likely to contribute to environmental improvement through renewable energy adoption for production. Overall, this study highlights the potential benefits of renewable energy adoption and sustainable finance for manufacturers and insurers, as well as the positive impact of consumer green awareness. The findings can inform policymakers and market players in developing effective strategies to promote sustainable production and financial stability.
•A capped call option model is developed to evaluate an insurer's equity.•Renewable energy use benefits insurers and borrowers but not insurance policyholders.•Consumer green sense benefits borrowers but reduces life insurance guaranteed rate.•Strict cap policy harms insurers and borrowers but benefits insurance policyholders.•Stakeholders can reach a balanced solution to impel sustainability and climate goals.
With the increasing climatic extremes, the frequency and severity of urban flood events have intensified worldwide. In this study, image-based automated monitoring of flood formation and analyses of ...water level fluctuation were proposed as value-added intelligent sensing applications to turn a passive monitoring camera into a visual sensor. Combined with the proposed visual sensing method, traditional hydrological monitoring cameras have the ability to sense and analyze the local situation of flood events. This can solve the current problem that image-based flood monitoring heavily relies on continuous manned monitoring. Conventional sensing networks can only offer one-dimensional physical parameters measured by gauge sensors, whereas visual sensors can acquire dynamic image information of monitored sites and provide disaster prevention agencies with actual field information for decision-making to relieve flood hazards. The visual sensing method established in this study provides spatiotemporal information that can be used for automated remote analysis for monitoring urban floods. This paper focuses on the determination of flood formation based on image-processing techniques. The experimental results suggest that the visual sensing approach may be a reliable way for determining the water fluctuation and measuring its elevation and flood intrusion with respect to real-world coordinates. The performance of the proposed method has been confirmed; it has the capability to monitor and analyze the flood status, and therefore, it can serve as an active flood warning system.
This study investigated variations in the chemical compositions and thermal decomposition kinetics of Japanese cedar and beech wood during heat treatment. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ...nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra revealed that various reactions, such as hemicellulose deacetylation, condensation reactions causing lignin cross-linking, and reductions in cellulose amorphous regions, were carried out during the heat treatment process. In addition, combinations of FTIR spectra and principal component analysis (PCA) succeeded in discriminating the major changes in functional groups of wood at various heat treatment temperatures. On the other hand, the decrease in the storage modulus of wood was more rapid in the presence of oxygen than in an oxygen-free atmosphere during heat treatment. Accordingly, the activation energies of thermal decomposition using Arrhenius model for Japanese cedar and beech were 120.6 and 141.3 kJ/mol under air, respectively, while these values were 124.8 and 150.0 kJ/mol under nitrogen, respectively.
•This study succeeded in discriminating the major changes in functional groups of wood at various heat treatment temperatures.•The thermal decomposition kinetics of wood were measured in single cantilever bending mode by DMA.•Little change was observed in E′ as a function of time at temperatures below 140 °C.•The activation energy of thermal decomposition for Japanese cedar was higher than that for beech.
Preservation of executive function, like inhibition, closely links to the quality of life in senior adults. Although neuroimaging literature has shown enhanced inhibitory function followed by aerobic ...exercise, current evidence implies inconsistent neuroplasticity patterns along different time durations of exercise. Hence, we conducted a 12-week exercise intervention on 12 young and 14 senior volunteers and repeatedly measured the inhibitory functionality of distinct aspects (facilitation and interference effects) using the numerical Stroop task and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Results showcased improved accuracy and reduced reaction times (RT) after 12-week exercise, attributed to frontoparietal and default mode network effects. In young adults, the first phase (0 to six weeks) exercise increased the activation of the right superior medial frontal gyrus, associated with reduced RT in interference, but in the second intervention phase (six to twelve weeks), the decreased activation of the left superior medial frontal gyrus positively correlated with reduced RT in facilitation. In senior adults, the first six-week intervention led to reduced activations of the inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal gyrus, and default mode network regions, associated with the reduced RT in interference. Still, in the second intervention phase, only the visual area exhibited increased activity, associated with reduced RT in interference. Except for the distinctive brain plasticity between the two phases of exercise intervention, the between-group comparison also presented that the old group gained more cognitive benefits within the first six weeks of exercise intervention; however, the cognitive improvements in the young group occurred after six weeks of intervention. Limited by the sample size, these preliminary findings corroborated the benefits of aerobic exercise on the inhibitory functions, implying an age × exercise interaction on the brain plasticity for both facilitation and interference.
The hydrophilic properties of lignocellulosic materials pose problems when they are used as reinforcement in plastics. The hydrophilicity of lignocelluloses influences its durability and also the ...interfacial adhesion between lignocellulose and polymers. Chemical modification, especially acetylation, has been used successfully to decrease the hydrophilicity and increase the weathering resistance of lignocellulose. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the natural weathering properties of bamboo plastic composites (BPCs) reinforced with bamboo fibers acetylated to different weight gains (WGs). The results showed that the retention ratios of mechanical properties of acetylated BPCs, especially those containing fibers with a high WG, were significantly improved as compared to the unmodified composite during natural weathering. In addition, the crystallinity of the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in all BPCs increased after natural weathering for 120–240 days and then leveled off. This result indicates that the chain scission of HDPE mainly occurred during this period, producing shorter and more mobile chains and enabling them to undergo secondary crystallization. Furthermore, the mildew resistance of the acetylated BPCs was higher than that of unmodified composite. These results indicate that the durability and decay resistance of BPCs can be enhanced through acetylation of the bamboo reinforcement.
ABSTRACTAlkali-treated bamboo fibers (AFs) treated with different NaOH concentrations (5 and 10%) and treatment times (1, 12, and 24 h) were used as fillers to fabricate cementitious composites with ...AFs (CAFs) in the present study. The results demonstrated that alkali treatment caused the partial decomposition of hemicellulose and lignin and an increase in the surface roughness of bamboo fibers. Additionally, the amounts of calcium hydroxide in alkali-treated CAFs were higher than in untreated CAFs, and they increased with increasing NaOH concentration and treatment time. For drying shrinkage (DS) under 75% relative humidity (RH), the DS values of the CAFs significantly decreased after adding AFs compared to the DS values of untreated CAFs. Compared to untreated CAFs, the density of the 5% and 10% NaOH-treated CAFs with longer treatment times decreased by 2.9% and 5.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the tensile strength of all alkali-treated CAFs exhibited no significant differences when compared with that of untreated CAFs, while the modulus of rupture and compressive strength were significantly decreased by NaOH treatment. These results indicated that the AFs significantly improved the drying shrinkage of the CAFs and hydration retardation effect of cement pastes, while the density and mechanical strength of the CAFs decreased.
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•Mechanical and creep properties of WRPCs with acetylated wood particles were studied.•The TTSP-predicted creep compliance curve fit well with the long-term experimental data.•The ...creep resistances of all acetylated WRPCs were improved 11–41% over a 30-year period.•WRPC with 13% WPG of acetylated wood particles exhibited the best performance.
This study investigates the effect of wood acetylation on the mechanical properties and creep resistance of wood/recycled-polypropylene composites (WRPCs) using the time–temperature superposition principle (TTSP). The results revealed that the flexural and tensile strength of WRPCs increased with increasing weight percent gain (WPG) of acetylated wood particles up to 13%. Additionally, the TTSP-predicted creep compliance curve fit well with the long-term experimental data. The creep resistance of WRPCs with acetylated wood particles was greater than that of WRPCs with unmodified wood particles, especially for the WRPC with 13% WPG of acetylated wood particles.
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