The impact of heat waves arising from climate change on human health is predicted to be profound. It is important to be prepared with various preventive measures for such impacts on society. The objective of this study was to investigate whether personal cooling with phase change materials (PCM) could improve thermal comfort in simulated office work at 34°C. Cooling vests with PCM were measured on a thermal manikin before studies on human subjects. Eight male subjects participated in the study in a climatic chamber (T_a = 34°C, RH = 60%, and ν_a = 0.4 m/s). Results showed that the cooling effect on the manikin torso was 29.1 W/m² in the isothermal condition. The results on the manikin using a constant heating power mode reflect directly the local cooling effect on subjects. The results on the subjects showed that the torso skin temperature decreased by about 2–3°C and remained at 33.3°C. Both whole body and torso thermal sensations were improved. The findings indicate that the personal cooling with PCM can be used as an option to improve thermal comfort for office workers without air conditioning and may be used for vulnerable groups, such as elderly people, when confronted with heat waves. Practical Implications Wearable personal cooling integrated with phase change materials has the advantage of cooling human body’s micro-environment in contrast to stationary personalized cooling and entire room or building cooling, thus providing greater mobility and helping to save energy. In places where air conditioning is not usually used, this personal cooling method can be used as a preventive measure when confronted with heat waves for office workers, vulnerable populations such as the elderly and disabled people, people with chronic diseases, and for use at home.

The Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway serves as a paradigm for signal transduction from the extracellular environment to the nucleus. It plays a pivotal role in physiological functions, such as hematopoiesis, immune balance, tissue homeostasis, and surveillance against tumors. Dysregulation of this pathway may lead to various disease conditions such as immune deficiencies, autoimmune diseases, hematologic disorders, and cancer. Due to its critical role in maintaining human health and involvement in disease, extensive studies have been conducted on this pathway, ranging from basic research to medical applications. Advances in the structural biology of this pathway have enabled us to gain insights into how the signaling cascade operates at the molecular level, laying the groundwork for therapeutic development targeting this pathway. Various strategies have been developed to restore its normal function, with promising therapeutic potential. Enhanced comprehension of these molecular mechanisms, combined with advances in protein engineering methodologies, has allowed us to engineer cytokines with tailored properties for targeted therapeutic applications, thereby enhancing their efficiency and safety. In this review, we outline the structural basis that governs key nodes in this pathway, offering a comprehensive overview of the signal transduction process. Furthermore, we explore recent advances in cytokine engineering for therapeutic development in this pathway.

At present, the integration of green building, the intelligent building industry and high-quality development are facing a series of new opportunities and challenges. This review aims to analyze the digital development of smart green buildings to make it easier to create contiguous ecological development areas in green ecological cities. It sorts out the main contents of Intelligent Green Buildings (IGB) and summarizes the application and role of Digital Twins (DTs) in intelligent buildings. Firstly, the basic connotations and development direction of IGB are deeply discussed, and the current realization and applications of IGB are analyzed. Then, the advantages of DTs are further investigated in the context of IGB for DT smart cities. Finally, the development trends and challenges of IGB are analyzed. After a review and research, it is found that the realization and application of IGB have been implemented, but the application of DTs remains not quite integrated into the design of IGB. Therefore, a forward-looking design is required when designing the IGBs, such as prioritizing sustainable development, people’s livelihoods and green structures. At the same time, an IGB can only show its significance after the basic process of building the application layer is performed correctly. Therefore, this review contributes to the proper integration of IGB and urban development strategies, which are crucial to encouraging the long-term development of cities, thus providing a theoretical basis and practical experience for promoting the development of smart cities.