Functional ability is the important prerequisite to live independently and achieve aging in place, which depends on the complex interaction of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Identifying the trends ...and influencing factors of functional ability would contribute to the accurate assessment and intervention of geriatric health. This study aimed to disentangle the moderating effect of three types of social support, namely objective support, subjective support and support utilization, on the relationship between frailty and functional ability trajectories.
This was a secondary analysis using data from a prospective three-wave study with a sample of 777 Chinese community-dwelling older adults. Social support was assessed using the Social Support Rating Scale. Frailty was assessed using the FRAIL Scale. Functional ability was measured by the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale. Latent growth curve models were implemented to test their relationships.
Objective support but not subjective support or support utilization moderated on the relationship between frailty and functional ability slope. Functional ability decline over time was buffered by objective support among robust individuals but exacerbated among (pre)frail individuals.
The moderating effect of social support on the relationship between frailty and functional ability trajectory varies by support types, which reminded that social support may be a promising intervention target to maintain functional independence for frail individuals, opening up a new perspective on social support in the field of disability prevention. Effective interventions should particularly address objective support in conjunction with empowering frail older population to optimize the trajectory of functional ability.
With the widespread application of electronic devices, multifunctional electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials suitable for complex high-temperature and high-pressure environments, have ...attracted tremendous research attention. Herein, multifunctional polyimide (PI) composites doped with fluffy Nb2O5/CNTs microspheres (NBCP) were prepared by combining the ultrasonic spraying process and freeze-drying technique. Introduction of fillers results in the formation of diverse conduction paths and heterogeneous interfaces, which enhance the dielectric loss. Furthermore, the multi-porous structure of the PI matrix induces multiple reflection scattering events and improves the impedance matching. Such a multi-loss mechanism endows NBCP with an excellent EMW absorption performance. At 15 vol% filling, the minimum reflection loss is −41.66 dB, the effective absorption bandwidth is 2.63 GHz, and the radar cross-section is reduced by 85%. Furthermore, NBCP exhibits outstanding mechanical properties and a thermal insulation of over 100 °C in thermal environment at 150 °C. The proposed multifunctional NBCP is thus an efficient EMW absorber that offers significant potential for applications in harsh environments.
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•Lightweight Nb2O5/CNTs/PI (NBCP) polymer-based materials were fabricated by spray and freeze-drying techniques.•NBCP-15 exhibits minimal reflection loss of −41.66 dB, an effective absorption bandwidth of 2.63 GHz, and radar cross section reduction of 85%.•NBCP has integrative properties of microwave absorption, thermal management, and compression resistance.
Solar-powered photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution presents a promising solution to the energy crisis and contemporary environmental challenges. Herein, a Z-scheme ZnS/LaTiO2N ...heterojunction composite, incorporating zinc vacancies, has been successfully synthesized to enable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under visible-light illumination. The optimized ZnS(VZn)/LaTiO2N composite demonstrates a hydrogen evolution activity 13 times higher than that of individual ZnS(VZn). The heterojunction between ZnS and LaTiO2N, in conjunction with zinc vacancies, expands the photoresponse spectrum and facilitates the spatial separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers. Consequently, this synergy significantly enhances the performance of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The collaborative action of the Z-scheme heterojunction and zinc vacancies paves the way for innovative approaches in designing future high-efficiency photocatalysts.
•A direct Z-scheme ZnS(VZn)/LaTiO2N photocatalyst is synthesized.•The synergies of Zn vacancies and Z-scheme heterojunction on enhancing the photocatalytic H2 evolution activity.•The transfer mechanism of photogenerated charge over the ZnS(VZn)/LaTiO2N is studied in detail.
Moisture-based adsorption thermal battery (ATB) holds great potential for addressing energy storage and utilization challenges. In this work, a proof-of-concept solar harvesting building envelope ...using the Trombe-wall (T-wall) based ATB design is proposed and investigated, featuring a developed composite sorbent as the porous wall for effective heat storage and utilization. To demonstrate the feasibility of employing the ATB-based building envelope for day-and-night space heating, a 3-dimensional simulation model of the ATB wall is meticulously designed and comprehensively studied. Parametric analyses of various working conditions, including examining the effects of solar radiation intensity, air temperature, air humidity, and airflow velocity on the heat charging and discharging performances of the ATB wall, are conducted using the numerical model. Simulation results indicate that, under a solar irradiance level of 700 W m−2 during the daytime, an average output air temperature of 42.4 °C and an average heating power density of 2.5 kW m−3 are achieved. Extending the heat charging time to 8 h and 12 h significantly improves the desorption efficiency, which is able to reach 47.2% and 75.0%, respectively. In terms of heat discharging performances, various working conditions investigated in the ATB wall model will lead to different thermal output performances.
•A building envelope concept of solar ATB wall is proposed to realize continuous space heating and low energy consumption.•A 3-dimensional simulation model of the solar ATB wall is investigated for parametric analysis and performance prediction.•The effects of solar radiation, air temperature, humidity and flow rate on the heating performance of the model are examined.
The pollution caused by waste plastics is becoming increasingly serious, and utilizing the biodegradable materials, that can be completely degraded in nature, is considered to be one of the most ...promising ways to solve this problem. Poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate) (PBAT), as the commonly used biodegradable polymer material, is subjected to the problem of high cost, poor mechanical performance, and low melt strength at high temperatures. Herein, a novel strategy combining solid utilization of biomass material chitin and incorporation of porous structure was developed to fabricate the PBAT bead foams, relying on the solid-state shear milling (S3M) and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) foaming technologies. Chitin scraps were super finely pulverized and uniformly combined with PBAT, and the PBAT-based bead foams with controllable cell structure, improved mechanical performance, and low cost after foaming the composite. When the content of chitin was 20%, the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of PBAT/chitin bead foam were 0.72 MPa and 2.14 MPa, respectively, much higher than that of neat PBAT bead foam, expressing the great significance to broadening the application field of degradable plastics.
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Anorthite solar thermal energy storage ceramics were fabricated from magnesium slag solid waste by pressureless sintering. The effects of CaO/SiO2 ratio and sintering temperature on the physical, ...chemical, and thermophysical properties of ceramics were explored. X-ray diffraction results demonstrated that thermal shock process contributed to the formation of anorthite, and increasing CaO/SiO2 ratio promoted the transformation of anorthite (CAS2) into melilite (C2AS). Some micro-cracks were found according to SEM analysis, forming by the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients among phases. The combined effects of the low thermal expansion coefficient of anorthite and micro-crack toughing endowed the ceramic with good thermal shock resistance. Optimum comprehensive performances were observed in the sample with a CaO/SiO2 ratio of 0.58 sintered at 1160°C, of which the specific thermal storage capacity was 0.63 J·g-1·°C-1(room temperature). The bending strength increased by 0.22% after 30 thermal shock times (room temperature-800°C, wind cooling). Therefore, the anorthite ceramics exhibited great potential for solar thermal energy storage.
Chitosan-based hydrogels have been used as adsorption materials and offered remarkable prospects, due to their abundant, biodegradable, inexpensive features and rich amino and hydroxyl groups. In ...this work, the structure of chitosan (CS) hydrogel and its adsorption performance toward uranyl species (UO22+ and UO2(CO3)34−) were comprehensively investigated on the basis of various characterizations and theoretical simulation. Systematic experiments show that CS hydrogel bears excellent adsorption performance for low-concentration UO2(CO3)34− solution in column adsorption experiment and the removal efficiency is >99 %. The outer-sphere complexation adsorption has been postulated for the case of UO2(CO3)34−, where intermolecular hydrogen bonds dominate in the adsorption. Differently, the inner-sphere one is attributed for capturing UO22+ species, which is coordinated by CN, -NH2 and -OH groups of CS hydrogel. Since the 3D network structure of CS hydrogel is prone to couple with water, it is difficult for U(VI) to enter inside the hydrogels, which reduces the adsorption performance. However, this phenomenon has been effectively weakening by using column adsorption experiment, which accomplished the exchange between water and U(VI). These detailed investigation toward adsorption mechanism might open a doorway to gain deeper insights on the design and application of efficient adsorption materials for uranium extraction.
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•Inner-sphere mechanism: UO22+ coordinated by CN, -NH2 and -OH groups.•Outer-sphere mechanism: UO2(CO3)34− interacts with intermolecular hydrogen bonds.•CS hydrogel is beneficial to couple with UO2(CO3)34− and easy to form bound-water.•CS hydrogel has high removal efficiency for UO2(CO3)34− (C0 = 11.24–101.69 μg/L).
Vericiguat is a new medication to demonstrate clinical efficacy in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) after worsening heart failure (WHF) events, but its cost-utility was unknown. ...We aimed to assess the cost-utility of combining the application of vericiguat with standard treatment in HFrEF patients who had WHF events.
A multistate Markov model was implemented to mimic the economic results of HFrEF patients who had WHF events in China after receiving vericiguat or placebo. An analysis of cost-utility was conducted; most parameters were set according to the published studies and related databases. All the utilities and costs were decreased at a rate of 5% annually. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were the primary outcome measure. We also conducted sensitivity analyses.
Over a 20 year lifetime horizon, additional use of vericiguat led to an elevated cost from US$9725.03 to US$20,660.76 at the current vericiguat costs. This was related to increased quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) from 2.50 to 2.66, along with an ICER of US$65,057.24 per QALY, which was over the willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of US$36,096.30 per QALY. If the vericiguat costs were discounted at 80%, it contributed to an ICER of US$12,226.77 per QALY. Additional use of vericiguat for patients with plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) of ≤ 5314 pg per ml produced an ICER of US$23,688.46 per QALY. The outcomes of the one-way sensitivity analysis showed the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in both groups was variable with the highest sensitivity. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that 41.6% of the mimicked population receiving vericiguat combined with standard therapy was cost-effective at the WTP threshold of US$36,096.30 per QALY.
From the perspective of Chinese public healthcare system, the combined use of vericiguat and standard treatment in patients with HFrEF following WHF events did not generate advantages in cost-utility in China but was a cost-effective therapeutic strategy for those who with plasma NT-proBNP of ≤ 5314 pg per ml.
In this work, 1-aminoethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ionic liquid was used to modify the surface of graphene nanosheets (GNs) through “π–π” interaction to achieve good dispersion and conductivity. ...By introducing ionic liquid-modified graphene nanosheets (IGNs) into the PI matrix, the ultra-lightweight and multifunctional IGNs/PI aerogels were prepared via freeze-drying and thermal imidization. Benefiting from the porous structure and the introduction of conductive IGNs, the IGNs/PI aerogels exhibit excellent electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption properties, compression properties, thermal insulation properties and thermal stability. Notably, when the volume content of IGNs is 10%, the IGNs/PI-10 aerogels show the best EMW absorption performance with a minimum reflection loss (RL
min
) of −24.8 dB at 2.44 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 3.6 GHz at 3.00 mm. These promising characteristics including excellent EMW absorption, compression properties and thermal insulation endow IGNs/PI aerogels great application prospects as multifunctional EMW absorbers.
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