A periodized endurance training is able to adapt physical and psychological needs and increase exercise performance. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in regulation of the immune response. In the present study, we trained Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for five weeks using a progressive endurance protocol with the aim of measuring the effect on myeloid DC differentiation and maturation. Rats were divided into a non-exercise group (NEG) and an exercise group (EG). Bone marrow cells were isolated from these rats after training and cultured in the presence of granulocyte/monocyte-colony stimulatory factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin (IL)-4, and the resultant immature DCs were triggered with lipopolysaccharide to mature. DCs were collected and the main characteristics of DCs were assessed. The recovery rate and the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules for DC collected from EG was markedly greater than NEG. The function of DCs from EG to trigger a mixed leukocyte reaction and IL-12 production was higher than NEG. There was no liver and renal toxicity observed in all rats. Changes in food/water consumption and body weight increase between the groups were normal for the conditions. This study demonstrated that periodized endurance training is able to modulate DC development and shift them towards a more mature state.

This study creates a deterioration diagnostic model for the external wall tiles of aged buildings, using both stage 1 and stage 2 diagnostic methods. The visual test results are categorized based on their impact on public safety, and renovation strategies are proposed. The stage 1 diagnosis mainly adopts the D.E.R. visual inspection the deterioration assessment method. After producing an external wall tile Condition Indicator (CI) for the stage 1 diagnostic results that fall in a gray area, this research performed a stage 2 diagnosis using a tap tone test, followed by a fast Fourier transform and pattern recognition to analyze the tapping results. Finally, this study provides deterioration evaluation criteria for external wall tile replacement recommendations and a standard operating procedure for the deterioration diagnosis. This study also suggest directions for the future amendment of regulations and provide a basis of references for the government in determining urban renewal, renovation and maintenance strategies.

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Abstract-Building information modeling (BIM)is considered as a major trend of the construction industry in the future. In traditional way for estimating the cost of the HVAC system in buildings, a lump sum method is adopted as a rough approximation. Instead of detailed quantity calculation, the lump sum method often result in inaccurate total cost and quantities. The purposes of this study is to promote the BIM to the owners and MEP designers. This research found that the BIM software needs to be updated and revised. By building detailed HVAC system components of a completed public office building, the overestimation of HVAC budgets has been revealed in the case study. The contractor has earned an extra profit about 3.9% of the total project cost due to the overestimated quantity of HVAC components in the building.