Efficacy and safety of a sequential treatment with clearing heat and eliminating phlegm and tonifying Qi and activating blood circulation in treating acute ischemic stroke: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the short-term efficacy and safety outcomes following a sequential treatment with clearing heat and eliminating phlegm(CHEP)formula and tonifying Qi and activating blood circulation(TQABC)formula in patients with acute ischemic stroke(AIS)within a 72 h time window.METHODS:In this randomized,multicenter,doubleblinded,placebo-controlled trial,500 participants will be randomly assigned in a ratio of 1∶1 to the CHEP+TQABC group or control group.In addition to guidelinebased standard medical care,participants in the treatment group will receive the CHEP formula for the first 5 consecutive days followed by the TQABC formula for another 10 consecutive days,while those in the control group will receive CHEP formula placebo and TQABC formula placebo consecutively.The primary outcome measure will be the comparison of the change in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score from baseline to 15 days after randomization.The secondary outcome measures will include the scores on the modified Rankin Scale,Barthel Index,Patient-Reported Outcomes,TCM symptom pattern(Zheng-hou)evaluation Scale,and the incidence of in-hospital complications.Safety assessment will include the physical examination,laboratory detection,any adverse events or serious adverse events,and the proportion of any complications during hospitalization.DISCUSSION:The results of this study will provide objective and scientific data with which to assess the efficacy and safety of a sequential treatment based on“integrating disease and symptom pattern”for patients with AIS.

Thermal protection mechanism of heat pipe in leading edge under hypersonic conditions

Sharp local structure, like the leading edge of hypersonic aircraft, confronts a severe aerodynamic heating environment at a Mach number greater than 5. To eliminate the danger of a material failure, a semi-active thermal protection system is proposed by integrating a metallic heat pipe into the structure of the leading edge. An analytical heat-balance model is established from traditional aerodynamic theories, and then thermal and mechanical characteristics of the structure are studied at Mach number 6–8 for three refractory alloys, Inconel 625, C-103, and T-111. The feasibility of this simple analytical method as an initial design tool for hypersonic aircraft is assessed through numerical simulations using a finite element method. The results indicate that both the isothermal and the maximum temperatures fall but the von Mises stress increases with a longer design length of the leading edge. These two temperatures and the stress rise remarkably at a higher Mach number. Under all investigated hypersonic conditions, with a 3 mm leading edge radius and a0.15 m design length, the maximum stress exceeds the yield strength of Inconel 625 at Mach numbers greater than 6, which means a material failure. Moreover, both C-103 and T-111 meet all requirements at Mach number 6–8.