Load forecasting is a long and important interest for building research and utility companies. Currently, various methods have been applied and tested for both macro (city-wide) and micro levels ...(individual building). Though most results are promising and reasonable in city-wide scale, individual building load prediction, particularly for residential buildings, is less well investigated and needs to be explored more so that different energy saving and control strategies can be customised and developed. In this study, a hybrid modeling approach is developed to provide better solutions for hour and day ahead load forecasting. Through this approach, the integration of data mining technologies with a lumped thermal network physicsbased model is presented. The advantage of using data mining is to catch the dynamic patterns produced by non-air conditioning load such lighting and plugs, while AC consumption can be captured by physics-based models. The model is developed and tested by four low-income residential houses on the westside San Antonio. Results from three different data mining techniques, Artificial Neural Network, Gaussian Mixture Models and Support Vector Machine (SVM) are compared with the new hybrid modeling approach. The final results show that the developed new approach is slightly better than traditional methods for both hour and 24-hour ahead electrical load forecasting.
Ginkgolide B (GB) and Puerarin (Pue) are active pharmaceutical ingredients for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD); however, both are poorly water-soluble, which limits their bioavailability. ...The present study used the niosome vesicle encapsulation technique to prepare a novel GB composite drug. The conditions for GB–Pue niosomal complex preparation were as follows: a hydration temperature of 60°C, a hydrophilic–lipophilic balance of 10.5, a drug–carrier mass ratio of 8:100, and a surfactant–cholesterol mass ratio of 1.5:1. The niosomal complex suspension was uniformly distributed and milky white in color, with no stratification over a duration of 1 month. It had an average particle size of 187.3 nm, a particle-size distribution of 0.237, a GB encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 68.2%, a GB drug-loading rate of 90.1%, a Pue EE of 40.5%, and a Pue drug-loading rate of 83.3%. The optimal storage temperature for the niosomal complex suspension was 4°C. Following an intravenous injection of the niosomal complex suspension into the rat tail, the area under the curve (AUC) from 0 to 4 h was 54.1 h µg mL
, with a mean residence time (MRT) of 0.96 h, a distribution half-life (
) of 0.195 h, and a total clearance of 0.003 L h
kg
. The AUC and MRT of the composite prescription were 1.1- and 1.4-times those of the commercial injection, respectively, showing significantly increased sustained release and bioavailability. Moreover, the distribution of GB in the brain tissue was 1.8-times that of the commercial injection. In conclusion, the novel GB niosomal composite drug, with excellent stability, improved pharmacokinetics, and brain tissue distribution, demonstrates great potential for the delivery of GB and Pue for PD therapeutics.
Background
Prior studies have established a connection between folate intake and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) has been introduced as a good predictor of CVD ...events, but no previous study has investigated the relationship between dietary folate intake and severe AAC. Therefore, the study aims to explore the association between dietary folate intake and severe AAC in the United States (US) middle-aged and elderly population.
Methods
This study employed cross-sectional data from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine the relationship between dietary folate intake and severe AAC. Two 24-h dietary recall interviews were conducted to assess dietary folate intake and its sources, while a DXA scan was used to determine the AAC score. To analyze the association between dietary folate intake and severe AAC, a multivariable logistic regression model was applied, and a subgroup analysis was performed.
Results
Our analysis utilized data from 2640 participants aged 40 years and above, including 288 individuals diagnosed with severe AAC. After adjusting for confounding factors, we observed an inverted L-shaped association between folate intake and severe AAC. Upon further adjustment for specific confounding factors and covariates, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the second, third, and fourth quartiles of folate intake, using the first quartile as the reference, were as follows: 1.24 (0.86-1.79), 0.86 (0.58-1.27), and 0.63 (0.41-0.97), respectively. Subgroup analysis results were consistent with the logistic regression models, indicating concordant findings. Moreover, no significant interaction was observed in the subgroup analyses.
Conclusions
The study findings suggest an inverted L-shaped association between dietary folate intake and severe AAC. However, additional prospective investigations are necessary to explore the impact of dietary folate intake on severe AAC in patients.
Abstract High-resolution three-dimensional (3-D) microscopy combined with multiplexing of fluorescent labels allows high-content analysis of large numbers of cell nuclei. The full automation of 3-D ...screening platforms necessitates image processing algorithms that can accurately and robustly delineate nuclei in images with little to no human intervention. Imaging-based high-content screening was originally developed as a powerful tool for drug discovery. However, cell confluency, complexity of nuclear staining as well as poor contrast between nuclei and background result in slow and unreliable 3-D image processing and therefore negatively affect the performance of studying a drug response. Here, we propose a new method, 3D-RSD, to delineate nuclei by means of 3-D radial symmetries and test it on high-resolution image data of human cancer cells treated by drugs. The nuclei detection performance was evaluated by means of manually generated ground truth from 2351 nuclei (27 confocal stacks). When compared to three other nuclei segmentation methods, 3D-RSD possessed a better true positive rate of 83.3% and F -score of 0.895±0.045 ( p -value=0.047). Altogether, 3D-RSD is a method with a very good overall segmentation performance. Furthermore, implementation of radial symmetries offers good processing speed, and makes 3D-RSD less sensitive to staining patterns. In particular, the 3D-RSD method performs well in cell lines, which are often used in imaging-based HCS platforms and are afflicted by nuclear crowding and overlaps that hinder feature extraction.
In this study, the salicylaldehyde hydrazone was bonded onto the side chains of poly (styrene-co-butyl acrylate), firstly obtaining a series of novel Schiff base-functionalized polymers. and using ...the base-containing polymers as macromolecular ligands through further reaction with EuCl
/YbCl
·6H
O, a series of polymer-rare earth complexes based on Eu(III)/Yb(III) ion were successfully prepared. The structures of the schiff base-containing polymers and their corresponding complexes were characterized by means of infrared spectra and UV spectra. The thermal properties of the functionalized polymers and complexes were investigated by TGA, and the fluorescence properties of the complexes were also researched by fluorescence spectrum. The experimental results show that the complexes have fine thermal stability likely because of the bidentate chelate effect of base-containing polymer and the conjugative effect of salicylaldehyde hydrazone group on the side chain of poly (styrene-co-butyl acrylate). More important, the salicylaldehyde hydrazone group on the side chains of poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate) can efficaciously sensitize the fluorescence emission of the center ion due to effective intramolecular energy transfer. All the Eu(III)/Yb(III) complexes exhibit characteristic photoluminescence peaks in the visible region. The fluorescence excitation spectra of the complexes were obtained by monitoring the emission of Eu
/Yb
ion at 497 nm, and the peak at 433 nm was found to be the optimal excitation peak. The concentration of salicylaldehyde hydrazone group was changed gradually with the variation of the molar ratio between the butyl acrylate and styrene (1:0.5; 1:1; 1:1.5; 1:2; 1:2.5), and the differences in their fluorescent intensity were followed, and the fluorescence intensity was very weak when the molar ratio of the butyl acrylate to styrene is equal to 1:2.5, while the fluorescence intensity reached a maximum value in the molar ratio of 1:1.
beta-Farnesene is a sesquiterpene with versatile industrial applications. The production of beta-farnesene from waste lipid feedstock is an attractive method for sustainable production and recycling ...waste oil. Yarrowia lipolytica is an unconventional oleaginous yeast, which can use lipid feedstock and has great potential to synthesize acetyl-CoA-derived chemicals. In this study, we engineered Y. lipolytica to produce beta-farnesene from lipid feedstock. To direct the flux of acetyl-CoA, which is generated from lipid beta-oxidation, to beta-farnesene synthesis, the mevalonate synthesis pathway was compartmentalized into peroxisomes. beta-Farnesene production was then engineered by the protein engineering of beta-farnesene synthase and pathway engineering. The regulation of lipid metabolism by enhancing beta-oxidation and eliminating intracellular lipid synthesis was further performed to improve the beta-farnesene synthesis. As a result, the final beta-farnesene production with bio-engineering reached 35.2 g/L and 31.9 g/L using oleic acid and waste cooking oil, respectively, which are the highest beta-farnesene titers reported in Y. lipolytica. This study demonstrates that engineered Y. lipolytica could realize the sustainable production of value-added acetyl-CoA-derived chemicals from waste lipid feedstock.
Phantom limb pain (PLP) and phantom limb sensations are common complications postamputation. PLP is defined as persistent painful sensations perceived in the missing portion of the amputated limb. ...Low-temperature plasma radiofrequency ablation (coblation) technology is a relatively new technology that has shown promise in treating neuropathic pain. This report illustrates the use of coblation technology on cervical nerve roots for PLP. Coblation of the cervical nerve root was performed. Three 17G puncture trocars were placed near the C5-C6, C6-C7, and C7-T1 intervertebral foramen with computed tomography (CT) guidance. Then, a coblation needle attached to low-temperature plasma multifunctional operation system was placed near the C8 nerve root through the puncture trocars. To locate the target nerve, single stimulation (lasting for 5 s, at 1 intensity) in "cut" and "coagulation" model was given to serve as a sensory stimulation test. The stimulation induced radiating pain of the stimulated nerve away from the stimulation site to confirm our target nerve. The needle location was redirected based on the reproduction of the patient's symptoms with minimal intensity. A CT-guided cervical nerve root coblation was performed to obtain longer PLP relief. The patient reported pain relief in PLP after the operation. At 1-, 3-, and 6-month postoperative review, PLP relief was achieved. Overall activity was improved and there was necessarily need for pain medications. However, the doses of medicine significantly decreased. The analgesic effect was stable during the 6-month follow-up period. Our report demonstrates that coblation technology is successful treatment for PLP in this case. It will supply us a novel navigation in PLP treatments. Meanwhile, this finding still needs additional study for confirmation.
Manganese dioxide (MnO
) with small size is competent in sensing applications, but its synthesis generally adopts templates or in complex ways. Inkjet printing technique with excellent performance ...offers a versatile tool due to its stability, flexibility, economy. Herein, an inkjet printing method was developed for rapid synthesis of ultra-small MnO
nanosheets. The findings validated the feasibility of inkjet printing method for MnO
nanosheets synthesis and achieved the demand of small size and facile mode. Additionally, the limit of detection (LOD) of ultra-small MnO
nanosheets in glutathione (GSH) sensing achieved 0.26 μM, which was about 40% more sensitive than that of the typical MnO
nanosheets, enabling the establishment of a rapid and efficient modality for sensitive and selective GSH sensing. By virtue of the inkjet printing approach, the ultra-small MnO
nanosheets was obtained in a short time without complicated fabricating process. It can be foreseen that the proposed inkjet printing approach would facilitate the application prospects of ultra-small MnO
nanosheets in diverse fields. Such a facile approach may open new avenues for synthesis of ultra-small or ultrafine nanomaterials.
Frequent oil spill accidents and the massive discharge of industrial oily sewage have destroyed the ecological balance and threatened marine life. Graphene (G) and graphene oxide (GO) have emerged as ...important materials in the field of oil/water separation because of their remarkable physicochemical properties including high specific surface area, low density, high porosity and tailorable surface functionality. To take full advantage of G and GO, their incorporation with polymers to build functional G/polymer and GO/polymer composites has recently gained increasing popularity because of their improved oil clean-up capability, outstanding mechanical performance, relatively low cost and adjustable surface chemical composition. Tremendous efforts have contributed to the development of G/polymer and GO/polymer composite oil clean-up sorbents and filtration membranes in 3D structural forms such as aerogels, foams, sponges and membranes. In this review, a comprehensive picture from the basic theory of the surface wettability to the recent advances in G/polymer and GO/polymer composite oil clean-up sorbents and filtration membranes are highlighted. The strategies for oil recovery and regeneration of the sorbents are also summarized. Current challenges and future research directions in this topic are provided, aimed at providing new perspectives for in-depth exploration in this field.
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