Search

Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurred in 12.8% of patients undergoing surgery and is associated with increased mortality. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a well-known risk for death and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Effects of AKI and CKD on patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) remain incompletely defined. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between acute and CKD and mortality in patients undergoing CAG. The cohort study included 49,194 patients in the multicenter cohort from January 2007 to December 2018. Cox regression analyses and Fine-Gray proportional subdistribution risk regression analysis are used to examine the association between kidney disease and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. In the present study, 13,989 (28.4%) patients had kidney disease. During follow-up, 6144 patients died, of which 4508 (73.4%) were due to CVD. AKI without CKD (HR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.36–1.74), CKD without AKI (HR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.88–2.17), AKI with CKD (HR: 3.26, 95% CI: 2.90–3.66), and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD; HR: 5.63, 95% CI: 4.40–7.20) were significantly associated with all-cause mortality. Adjusted HR (95% CIs) for cardiovascular mortality was significantly elevated among patients with AKI without CKD (1.78 [1.54–2.06]), CKD without AKI (2.28 [2.09–2.49]), AKI with CKD (3.99 [3.47–4.59]), and ESKD (6.46 [4.93–8.46]). In conclusion, this study shows that acute or CKD is present in up to one-third of patients undergoing CAG and is associated with a substantially increased mortality. These findings highlight the importance of perioperative management of kidney function, especially in patients with CKD. What is already known on this subject? Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurred in 12.8% of patients undergoing surgery and is linked to a 22.2% increase in mortality. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a well-known risk for death and cardiovascular events. Effects of AKI and CKD on patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) remain incompletely defined. What do the results of this study add? This study shows that kidney disease is present in up to one-third of patients undergoing CAG and is associated with a substantially increased mortality. AKI and CKD are independent predicators for mortality in patients undergoing CAG. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? These findings highlight the importance of perioperative management of kidney function, especially in patients with CKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable ionization air cleaners are compact in size and marketed for personal respiratory protection by removing air pollutants from users' breathing zone. In this study, ozone emission and particle removal rates of four wearable ionization air cleaners (namely, AC1 through AC4) were evaluated inside a 0.46 m3stainless steel chamber. Continuous measurements were conducted for ozone concentration, PM2.5concentration, and particle size distribution in the size range of 18.1–289 nm. Two of the four wearable air cleaners (i.e., AC1 and AC2) had detectable ozone emissions. The 10-h average ozone emission rates were quite different (i.e., 0.67 mg·h−1for AC1 and 3.40 × 10−2mg·h−1for AC2); however, the ozone emissions were negligible for AC3 and AC4. The number removal rates for particles within the measured size range were highly variable (i.e., 2.20 h−1, 0.52 h−1, 8.10 h−1, and 27.9 h−1for AC1 through AC4, respectively). The corresponding mass removal rates of PM2.5were 1.85 h−1, 0.48 h−1,1.52 h−1, and 5.37 h−1, respectively. Regulatory guidelines are needed to assure these devices can effectively remove particles without ozone emissions to protect public health. Copyright © 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightweight carbon fiber/carbon composites (CFC) are widely used in solar silicon furnace, semiconductor long crystal furnace and other high-temperature equipment due to its superior low thermal conductivity, low expansion coefficient, high purity, good mechanical properties, and high temperature resistance. In this paper, the lightweight chopped CFC was prepared by the method of liquid phase dispersion of chopped carbon fibers-vacuum filtration-curing molding-high temperature carbonization and graphitization. The thermal conductivity of lightweight chopped CFC with different densities (0.12, 0.16 and 0.18 g/cm3) was studied, and the thermal conductivity of lightweight chopped CFC at high temperature was also studied. The results show that the thermal conductivity (1000 °C) of the chopped CFC gradually increases with the increasing density from 0.179 W/(mK) (0.12 g/cm3) to 0.190 W/(mK) (0.16 g/cm3), 0.282 W/(mK) (0.18 g/cm3), indicating that with the increasing density, the thermal conduction path of the carbon fiber increases, the thermal conductivity of the CFC material increases, and then the thermal insulation performance decreases. In addition, with the increasing temperature, the phonon vibration increases, the thermal conductivity of the CFC material also increases, and then the thermal insulation performance decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most effective energy storage compounds, phase change materials (PCMS) play an important role in energy conservation and storage. However, the inherent poor thermal conductivity and liquid leakage of PCMS seriously limit their practical application. Polyethylene glycol·calcium chloride (PEG·CaCl2) phase change materials filled with three-dimensional carbon fiber network were prepared by liquid phase impregnation and hot pressing molding method. The experimental results show that carbon fiber network (CF felt) and PEG·CaCl2 complex structure increase the thermal conductivity and stability. The in-plane thermal conductivity of PEG·CaCl2/CF composite (47.73% carbon content) is 0.97 W/mK, about 103% higher than that of PEG. PEG·CaCl2/CF composite does not present leakage even heating at 80 °C for 45 min (35 °C higher than the melting point of pure PEG), showing low leakage ability. High thermal conductivity, low leakage and low density of this composite suggest a promising route for thermal storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin tissues (or called webs) of short aramid fibers were added at the adhesive joints between carbon-fiber face sheets and aluminum-foam core to form aramid-fiber ‘composite adhesive joints’ for improving the interfacial bonding strength of sandwich structures and therefore other structural properties. In-plane critical compression loads and failure modes of carbon-fiber aluminum-foam sandwich beams with short aramid-fiber composite adhesive joints are investigated and discussed in this study. Improvements in critical compression loads were achieved for all specimens with aramid-fiber composite adhesive joints of different densities. It is suggested that the composite adhesive joints using low-density short aramid fibers is effective in promoting reinforcements against cracking and delamination at the interface between carbon-fiber face sheets and aluminum-foam core. The underlying interfacial strengthening and toughening mechanisms were discussed and analyzed based on observations from optical image and scanning electron microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass carp is the most important freshwater fish in China, and salting is the main processing method. This study investigated the effect of brine injection on flavor of grass carp muscle compared with brining at low temperature (4°C) and room temperature (20°C) respectively. Salt content, free amino acids, nucleotides, equivalent umami concentration (EUC) and texture were evaluated as flavor indicators during salting. The results showed that brine injection groups reached equilibrium in 3 h and 5 h at 20°C and 4°C, respectively. Brining groups reached equilibrium in 5 h and 7 h at 20°C and 4°C, respectively. The equilibrium salt content was about 1.76%, and there was no significant deterioration in terms of the other indicators mentioned above by two different methods. The results of this research indicate the feasibility and the great economic potential of brine injection, and also provide the theoretical basis to promote this method in processing of aquatic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]