Seawater desalination and water reuse using membrane technology can provide a sustainable water supply to the world if such processes can be more energy-efficient. To harness the highly efficient water transport used by nature, it is proposed to incorporate trans-membrane water channel, AquaporinZ (AqpZ), into biomimetic membranes. However, the biomimetic membranes are intrinsically too fragile to be used in water purification. Here, we report a robust vesicular biomimetic membrane design and the synthesis route. The membrane is formed by cross-linking AqpZ-embedded block copolymer vesicles, followed by immobilizing vesicles on the membrane support via covalent binding, and then stabilizing through an optimized layer-by-layer polydopamine (PDA)-histidine (His) coating process. As compared with commercially available HTI membranes, the AqpZ-embedded vesicular membrane shows an order-of-magnitude increment in water flux (17.6 L/m(2)/h) with high salt retention (91.8%) when using 6000 ppm NaCl as the feed and 0.8 M sucrose as the draw solute in the forward osmosis operation. Thus, the vesicular membrane design may provide new insights into the design and fabrication of Aqp-embedded biomimetic membranes. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper presents the design method of electromechanical products for saving energy based on energy flow analysis. The energy transfer model and energy correlation model are built through analyzing the relation of energy flow and products performance in order to address the conflict between energy saving and performance optimization. Based on the energy transfer model, the performance pertinences and performance margins of electromechanical products are analyzed with CAE technology and value engineering theory. Finally, the split air-conditioner’s outdoor unit is studied and the design method for saving energy based on energy flow analysis is adopted to solve the conflict between air flow increasing and noise reduction.

Vehicle crashworthiness is one of the most important indicators to assess the automotive performance, which is directly related with passenger's life and safety. Therefore, more attention has been paid to improve the automotive passive safety. This paper presents the analysis method based on energy flow analysis to solve the automotive crashworthiness problem. The energy transfer model is built based on the constraints analysis for product performance and the rational energy flow element partition. According to the energy transfer model, the energy absorption of each component can be attained from the finite element crash simulation result and also the energy distribution relationship can be analyzed. Based on the analysis results, the full front impact crashworthiness of a car is improved by modifying the energy flow path and distribution. It also demonstrates that the method is effective to solve the automotive crashworthiness problem.

OBJECTIVES: Few studies have reported the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and immunoglobulins. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between serum immunoglobulin levels and NAFLD in a Chinese adult population.; METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study including 11261 Chinese adults. NAFLD was diagnosed based on the Chinese Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of fatty liver diseases and an alcohol intake of <70g/week in women and <140g/week in men, and serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels were determined using immune nephelometry. Multiple logistic regression analysis was done to assess relationships between concentrations of serum immunoglobulins and NAFLD.; RESULTS: Of the 11261 adults recruited from January 2010 to December 2015, the prevalence of NAFLD was 40.8% (n =3D 4598). The geometric mean levels of IgG, IgM, IgE and IgA were 1177.49 mg/dL (95% confidence interval [CI] 1173.07-1181.93), 93.56 mg/dL (95% CI 92.70-94.42), 30.70 IU/mL (95% CI 29.92-31.49) and 216.64 mg/dL (95% CI 214.95-218.34), respectively. Compared with the lowest quintile, the multivariable adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) of NAFLD for the highest quintile of IgG, IgM, IgE, and IgA were 0.78 (0.66-0.92), 0.71 (0.60-0.84), 0.98 (0.84-1.15) and 1.41 (1.21-1.66), respectively.; CONCLUSION: Increased IgA and decreased IgG and IgM levels are independently associated with NAFLD prevalence. Further research is needed to explore the causal association between serum immunoglobulins and NAFLD. =C2=A9 2018 Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.