BACKGROUND The features of gastric cancer based on the anatomic site remain unknown in northern China patients.AIM To analyze gastric cancer features and associated trends based on the anatomical site in northern Chin...BACKGROUND The features of gastric cancer based on the anatomic site remain unknown in northern China patients.AIM To analyze gastric cancer features and associated trends based on the anatomical site in northern China patients.METHODS This cross-sectional study used incident gastric cancer case data from 10 Peking University-affiliated hospitals(2014 to 2018).The clinical and prevailing local features were analyzed.RESULTS A total of 10709 patients were enrolled,including antral(42.97%),cardia(34.30%),and stomach body(18.41%)gastric cancer cases.Cancer in the cardia had the highest male:female ratio,proportion of elderly patients,and patients with complications,including hypertension,diabetes,cerebrovascular,and coronary diseases(P<0.001).gastric cancer involving the antrum showed the lowest proportion of patients from rural areas and accounted for the highest hospitalization rate and cost(each P<0.001).The proportion of patients with cancer involving the cardia increased with an increase in the number of gastroesophageal reflux disease cases during the same period(P<0.001).Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor location in the cardia increased the risk of inhospital mortality(P=0.046).Anatomical subsite was not linked to postoperative complications.CONCLUSION The features of gastric cancer based on the anatomical site differ between northern China and other regions,both globally and within the country.Social factors may account for these differences and should affect policy-making and clinical practice.展开更多
This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between nursing informatics(NI)competency and information literacy skills for evidencebased practice(EBP)among intensive care nurses.This cross-sectional study was conducte...This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between nursing informatics(NI)competency and information literacy skills for evidencebased practice(EBP)among intensive care nurses.This cross-sectional study was conducted on 184 nurses working in intensive care units(ICUs).The study data were collected through demographic information,Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment Tool(NICAT),and information literacy skills for EBP questionnaires.The intensive care nurses received competent and low-moderate levels for the total scores of NI competency and information literacy skills,respectively.They received a moderate score for the use of different information resources but a low score for information searching skills,different search features,and knowledge about search operators,and only 31.5%of the nurses selected the most appropriate statement.NI competency and related subscales had a significant direct bidirectional correlation with information literacy skills for EBP and its subscales(P<0.05).Nurses require a high level of NI competency and information literacy for EBP to obtain up-to-date information and provide better care and decision-making.Health planners and policymakers should develop interventions to enhance NI competency and information literacy skills among nurses and motivate them to use EBP in clinical settings.展开更多
Response analysis of structures involving non-probabilistic uncertain parameters can be closely related to optimization.This paper provides a review on optimization-based methods for uncertainty analysis,with focusing...Response analysis of structures involving non-probabilistic uncertain parameters can be closely related to optimization.This paper provides a review on optimization-based methods for uncertainty analysis,with focusing attention on specific properties of adopted numerical optimization approaches.We collect and discuss the methods based on nonlinear programming,semidefinite programming,mixed-integer programming,mathematical programming with complementarity constraints,difference-of-convex programming,optimization methods using surrogate models and machine learning techniques,and metaheuristics.As a closely related topic,we also overview the methods for assessing structural robustness using non-probabilistic uncertainty modeling.We conclude the paper by drawing several remarks through this review.展开更多
Eczema is a very common inflammatory skin disease characterized by patches of erythematous,itchy, cracked, and scaly skin.According to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study, the global prevalence of eczema is 3.33% ...Eczema is a very common inflammatory skin disease characterized by patches of erythematous,itchy, cracked, and scaly skin.According to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study, the global prevalence of eczema is 3.33% and the leading cause of skin condition-based disability-adjusted life years is eczema[1].The large health burden brought about by eczema suggests high direct medical costs and health care utilization[2].Thus, eczema prevention is of great importance in efforts to eliminate the public health burden of the disease.展开更多
Antioxidative and cytotoxic effects of chamomile（Matricaria chamomilla） fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum were investigated to improve their biofunctional activities. Total polyphenol（TP） content was measured b...Antioxidative and cytotoxic effects of chamomile（Matricaria chamomilla） fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum were investigated to improve their biofunctional activities. Total polyphenol（TP） content was measured by the Folin-Denis method, and the antioxidant activities were assessed by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl（DPPH） method and β-carotene bleaching method. AGS, HeL a, LoV o, MCF-7, and MRC-5（normal） cells were used to examine the cytotoxic effects by 3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium（MTT） assay. The TP content of fermented chamomile reduced from 21.75 to 18.76 mg gallic acid equivalent（mg GAE）/g, but the DPPH radical capturing activity of fermented chamomile was found to be 11.1% higher than that of nonfermented chamomile after 72 h of fermentation. Following the β-carotene bleaching, the antioxidative effect decreased because of a reduction in pH during fermentation. Additionally, chamomile fermented for 72 h showed a cytotoxic effect of about 95% against cancer cells at 12.7 mg solid/ml of broth, but MRC-5 cells were significantly less sensitive against fermented chamomile samples. These results suggest that the fermentation of chamomile could be applied to develop natural antioxidative and anticancer products.展开更多
This paper presents a simple nonparametric regression approach to data-driven computing in elasticity. We apply the kernel regression to the material data set, and formulate a system of nonlinear equations solved to o...This paper presents a simple nonparametric regression approach to data-driven computing in elasticity. We apply the kernel regression to the material data set, and formulate a system of nonlinear equations solved to obtain a static equilibrium state of an elastic structure. Preliminary numerical experiments illustrate that, compared with existing methods, the proposed method finds a reasonable solution even if data points distribute coarsely in a given material data set.展开更多
Purpose:Given the information overload of scientific literature,there is an increasing need for computable biomedical knowledge buried in free text.This study aimed to develop a novel approach to extracting and measur...Purpose:Given the information overload of scientific literature,there is an increasing need for computable biomedical knowledge buried in free text.This study aimed to develop a novel approach to extracting and measuring uncertain biomedical knowledge from scientific statements.Design/methodology/approach:Taking cardiovascular research publications in China as a sample,we extracted subject-predicate-object triples(SPO triples)as knowledge units and unknown/hedging/conflicting uncertainties as the knowledge context.We introduced information entropy(IE)as potential metric to quantify the uncertainty of epistemic status of scientific knowledge represented at subject-object pairs(SO pairs)levels.Findings:The results indicated an extraordinary growth of cardiovascular publications in China while only a modest growth of the novel SPO triples.After evaluating the uncertainty of biomedical knowledge with IE,we identified the Top 10 SO pairs with highest IE,which implied the epistemic status pluralism.Visual presentation of the SO pairs overlaid with uncertainty provided a comprehensive overview of clusters of biomedical knowledge and contending topics in cardiovascular research.Research limitations:The current methods didn’t distinguish the specificity and probabilities of uncertainty cue words.The number of sentences surrounding a given triple may also influence the value of IE.Practical implications:Our approach identified major uncertain knowledge areas such as diagnostic biomarkers,genetic polymorphism and co-existing risk factors related to cardiovascular diseases in China.These areas are suggested to be prioritized;new hypotheses need to be verified,while disputes,conflicts,and contradictions need to be settled.Originality/value:We provided a novel approach by combining natural language processing and computational linguistics with informetric methods to extract and measure uncertain knowledge from scientific statements.展开更多
Objective Prior pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB) on chest X-ray(CXR) was commonly found in infertile patients receiving examinations before in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer(IVF-ET). It was unclear whether untreat...Objective Prior pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB) on chest X-ray(CXR) was commonly found in infertile patients receiving examinations before in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer(IVF-ET). It was unclear whether untreated PTB would affect pregnancy outcomes after IVF-ET.Method We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 14,254 infertile patients who had received IVFET at Peking University Third Hospital in 2017. Prior PTB was defined as the presence of signs suggestive of old or inactive PTB on CXR, with or without a clinical TB history. Patients who had prior PTB on CXR but had not received a clinical diagnosis and anti-TB therapy were included for analysis. Live birth,clinical pregnancy, and miscarriage rates were compared between the untreated PTB and non-PTB groups.Results The untreated PTB group had significantly lower clinical pregnancy(31.7% vs. 38.1%) and live birth(23.8% vs. 30.6%) rates than the non-PTB group(both P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that untreated PTB was a risk factor for decreased live birth rate [odds ratio(OR), 0.80;95% confidence interval(CI), 0.66–0.98;P = 0.028] in all patients and for increased miscarriage(OR, 4.19;95% CI,1.69–10.39;P = 0.002) and decreased live birth(OR, 0.45;95% CI, 0.24–0.83;P = 0.011) rates in patients with unexplained infertility.Conclusions Untreated PTB was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes after IVF-ET, especially in patients with unexplained infertility, highlighting the clinical significance of PTB in this specific patient population.展开更多
Agricultural geospatial information is critical for agricultural policy formulation and decision making, land use monitoring, agricultural sustainability, crop acreage and yield estimation, disaster assessment, bioene...Agricultural geospatial information is critical for agricultural policy formulation and decision making, land use monitoring, agricultural sustainability, crop acreage and yield estimation, disaster assessment, bioenergy crop inventory, food security policy, environmental assessment, carbon accounting, and other research topics that are of vital importance to agricul- ture and economy. Remote sensing technology enables us to collect, process, and analyze remotely sensed data and to retrieve, synthesize, visualize valuable geospatial information for agriculture uses. Specifically, remote sensing technology empowers capability for large scale field level or regional assessment and monitoring of crop land cover,展开更多
One of the methods for biometric identification is facial features detection, and eye is an important facial feature in the face. In the recent years, automatically detecting eye with different image conditions is att...One of the methods for biometric identification is facial features detection, and eye is an important facial feature in the face. In the recent years, automatically detecting eye with different image conditions is attended. This paper proposes a method which can automatically detect eye in extensive range of images with different conditions. In the proposed method, first an image is enhanced by morphological operations then region of face is detected by hybrid projection function. To identify window of eye, vertical edge dominance map is used. The authors＇ method uses elliptical mask on eye image to detect center of pupil. The mask scans eye image to find minimum gray level because pupil is darkest part in eye image compared with 3 well-known methods. The accuracy of 99.53% on this This method has implemented on JAFFE face database and database confirms efficiency of the proposed method.展开更多
Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) has been visualized by 2D XDFI (X-ray dark-field imaging) and further by a 3D X-ray CT, and the data was acquired by the X-ray optics DEI (diffraction-enhanced imaging). A newly made al...Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) has been visualized by 2D XDFI (X-ray dark-field imaging) and further by a 3D X-ray CT, and the data was acquired by the X-ray optics DEI (diffraction-enhanced imaging). A newly made algorithm was used for CT. Data of 900 projections with interval of 0.2 degrees were used. Ductus lactiferi, microcalci-fication in a 3D form have been clearly visible. The spatial resolution available was approximately 30μm.展开更多
Objectives: Popular opinion holds that the phase of the moon influences human behavior, and several reports substantiate this claim;however, reports of correlation between the lunar cycle and cardiac events remain con...Objectives: Popular opinion holds that the phase of the moon influences human behavior, and several reports substantiate this claim;however, reports of correlation between the lunar cycle and cardiac events remain controversial. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a relationship exists between lunar cycle and the occurrence of acute cardiac events. Methods: A retrospective review of cardiac events, including ST-elevated myocardial in-farction (STEMI), non-ST elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and unstable angina, over a 5- year period was performed. The dates of cardiac events were recorded and merged with the four phases of the lunar cycle (new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter). Results: A total of 4751 cardiac events (578 STEMI, 1446 NSTEMI, 2727 unstable angina) occurred during the 5-year study period in 3935 unique patients. Cardiac events occurred equivalently during various phases of the lunar cycle. Conclusions: Despite popular opinion, our evidence suggests that the lunar cycle has no effect on the occurrence of acute coronary syndromes.展开更多
AIM:To evaluate the effect of proton pump inhibitors(PPIs) on the development of gastrointestinal tuberculosis.METHODS:All patients who were more than 20 years old and who had received a prescription for PPIs among th...AIM:To evaluate the effect of proton pump inhibitors(PPIs) on the development of gastrointestinal tuberculosis.METHODS:All patients who were more than 20 years old and who had received a prescription for PPIs among those who visited Seoul National University Hospital from January 1,2005 to December 31,2009 were identified.Due to the low sensitivity of the microbiologic test and the nonspecific pathologic findings,the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tuberculosis was confirmed through the presence of active ulcerations and the responses to anti-tuberculosis medications.The patients were divided into two groups according to treatment duration(group 1:≤ 3 mo;group 2:> 3 mo) and were followed up from the time they took the first prescription of PPIs until their last visit.Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the relative risks(RR) and 95%CI,adjusting for covariates.RESULTS:Among the 61 834 patients exposed to PPIs(50 534 in group 1;11 300 in group 2),21 patients were diagnosed with PPI-associated gastrointestinal tuberculosis during 124 274 person-years of follow-up.Of 21 patients,the 12 who revealed only scar changes in the colonoscopy were excluded from the statistical analyses.Of those who remained,2 were excluded because they underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy within 4 wk of the first prescription for PPIs.Longer exposure to PPI was associated with a higher mean age(55.0 ± 14.5 in group 1 vs 58.2 ± 13.3 in group 2,P < 0.001) and a higher Charlson co-morbidity index(0.50 ± 0.93 in group 1 vs 0.77 ± 1.14 in group 2,P < 0.001).The true incidence of active gastrointestinal tuberculosis was 0.65 per 1000 person-years in group 1 and 0.03 per 1 000 person-years in group 2.Like the less-than-three-month PPI treatment period in group 1,the over-three-month PPI therapy period in group 2 was not associated with increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal tuberculosis,after adjusting for age and co-morbidities,whereas the Charlson co-morbidity index was associated with increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal tuberculosis based on the score [RR:(reference 1) in group 1 vs 1.518 in group 2;95% CI:1.040-2.216,P = 0.03].CONCLUSION:Long-term PPI therapy does not seem to be associated with increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal tuberculosis,but a higher Charlson comorbidity index is associated with such.展开更多
In this paper, data analysis and modeling of gamma ray tomography taken into account spatial resolution and source of errors and the attenuation coefficient measurement in row data from tomography process are presente...In this paper, data analysis and modeling of gamma ray tomography taken into account spatial resolution and source of errors and the attenuation coefficient measurement in row data from tomography process are presented. The results showed that this method is simple, effective and should be prior to any data treatment for opaque vessel reactor and by reconstruction algorithm in process imaging.展开更多
The inhibitory effects of Lactobacillus plantarum-fermented and non-fermented Inula britannica extracts on the tyrosinase activity were comparatively investigated to examine whether and how they improve the whitening ...The inhibitory effects of Lactobacillus plantarum-fermented and non-fermented Inula britannica extracts on the tyrosinase activity were comparatively investigated to examine whether and how they improve the whitening activity, and the contents of total flavonoids and polyphenolics as bioactive compounds were determined. The skin whitening activity using in vitro or ex vivo tyrosinase and L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine(L-DOPA) staining was examined. The total flavonoid content(TFC) was increased by 13.4% after 72h-fermentation. The viabilities of the B16F10 cells treated with the fermented and non-fermented control extracts were 100.26% and 92.15% at 500μg/ml, respectively. In addition, the inhibition of tyrosinase activity was increased by the fermented samples from 29.33% to 41.74% following fermentation for up to 72h. The tyrosinase activity of the untreated control group was increased to 145.69% in B16F10 cells. The results showed that I. britannica fermented by L. plantarum dose-dependently inhibited tyrosinase activity, which was stimulated by α-melanocyte stimulating hormone. These results suggest that lactic fermented I. britannica extracts can be used as effective skin-whitening materials.展开更多
Accelerated proximal gradient methods have recently been developed for solving quasi-static incremental problems of elastoplastic analysis with some different yield criteria.It has been demonstrated through numerical ...Accelerated proximal gradient methods have recently been developed for solving quasi-static incremental problems of elastoplastic analysis with some different yield criteria.It has been demonstrated through numerical experiments that these methods can outperform conventional optimization-based approaches in computational plasticity.However,in literature these algorithms are described individually for specific yield criteria,and hence there exists no guide for application of the algorithms to other yield criteria.This short paper presents a general form of algorithm design,independent of specific forms of yield criteria,that unifies the existing proximal gradient methods.Clear interpretation is also given to each step of the presented general algorithm so that each update rule is linked to the underlying physical laws in terms of mechanical quantities.展开更多
For an autonomous system to perform maintenance tasks in a networking device or a radio base station(RBS), it has to deal with a series of technological challenges ranging from identifying hardware-related problems to...For an autonomous system to perform maintenance tasks in a networking device or a radio base station(RBS), it has to deal with a series of technological challenges ranging from identifying hardware-related problems to manipulating connectors. This paper describes the development of a robot maintenance system dedicated to detect and resolve faulty links caused by unplugged or poorly connected cables. Although the maintenance system relies on four subsystems, we significantly focus on our low-cost and efficient custom gripper solution developed to handle RJ45 Ethernet connectors. To examine our gripper, we conducted three experiments. First, a qualitative questionnaire was submitted to 30 users in the case of the teleoperated scenario of the gripper attached to a robotic arm. Similarly, we also tested the automatic operation mode. The results showed that our system is reliable and delivers a highly efficient maintenance tool in both teleoperated and autonomous operation modes. The practical experiment containing the removal or unplugging of connectors demonstrated our gripper′s ability to adequately handle these, whereas the feedback from the questionnaire pointed to a positive user experience. The automatic test assessed the gripper′s robustness against the continuous operation.展开更多
Data-driven computing in elasticity attempts to directly use experimental data on material,without constructing an empirical model of the constitutive relation,to predict an equilibrium state of a structure subjected ...Data-driven computing in elasticity attempts to directly use experimental data on material,without constructing an empirical model of the constitutive relation,to predict an equilibrium state of a structure subjected to a specified external load.Provided that a data set comprising stress-strain pairs of material is available,a data-driven method using the kernel method and the regularized least-squares was developed to extract a manifold on which the points in the data set approximately lie(Kanno 2021,Jpn.J.Ind.Appl.Math.).From the perspective of physical experiments,stress field cannot be directly measured,while displacement and force fields are measurable.In this study,we extend the previous kernel method to the situation that pairs of displacement and force,instead of pairs of stress and strain,are available as an input data set.A new regularized least-squares problem is formulated in this problem setting,and an alternating minimization algorithm is proposed to solve the problem.展开更多
Background Abdominal aortic aneurysm （AAA） is a multifactorial disease with strong genetic components. Various genetic loci have been associated with clinical AAA, but few studies have investigated pathological AAA,...Background Abdominal aortic aneurysm （AAA） is a multifactorial disease with strong genetic components. Various genetic loci have been associated with clinical AAA, but few studies have investigated pathological AAA, an intermediate phenotype of the disease. Methods We examined 2263 consecutive autopsies of older Japanese subjects from a study on geriatric diseases in Japanese individuals （The JG-SNP study）. The presence of AAA was determined with a pathological diagnosis during autopsy. Single nucleotide variants （SNVs） associated with AAA were determined with an Illumina HumanExome Beadchip array. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine ge- netic associations. Age, gender, and other risk factors of AAA were analyzed as covariates. Results 118 subjects with AAA and 2145 sub- jects without AAA were analyzed in a case-control setting. No variants reached significance after applying the Bonferroni correction （P 〈 2.05×10^-6）. The strongest associations were found with rs3750092 （p.E321G, OR： 0.36, 95% CI： 0.24-0.56, P = 6.09 ×10^-6）, a variant in the WAS/WASL interacting protein family 3 （WIPF3）, and with rs1051338 （p.T16P, OR： 2.50, 95% CI： 1.70-3.66, P = 2.79 ×10^-6） and rs2246942 （intronic, OR： 2.32, 95% CI： 1.58-3.41, P = 1.61 ×10^-5）, variants in the lysosomal acid lipase A （LIPA）. LIPA is essential for macrophage cholesterol metabolism. Immunohistological analyses of WIPF3 protein in AAA samples from three subjects revealed that WIPF3 was expressed in macrophages ofatheromatous plaques. Conclusions This study suggests that WIPF3 and LIPA, both of which are expressed in the macrophages are involved in pathological AAA. These results should be regarded as hypothesis-generating; thus, replication study is warranted.展开更多
BACKGROUND Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-related cirrhosis is one of the liver complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)and reported to be a risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).A reliable scr...BACKGROUND Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-related cirrhosis is one of the liver complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)and reported to be a risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).A reliable screening biomarker of liver cirrhosis(LC)and HCC among T2DM patients is important to reduce the morbidity and mortality of this disease.MicroRNA(miRNA)is considered a key player in HCC and T2DM,and it might be a hidden culprit in diabetes-associated HCC,making it a promising reliable prognostic tool.AIM To investigate the signature of serum miRNAs as early biomarkers for the screening of HCC among diabetic patients.METHODS Expression profiles of miRNAs in serum samples of diabetic LC and diabetic HCC patients were assessed using Illumina sequencing;then,RT-qPCR was used to validate significantly altered miRNAs between the two groups.Candidate miRNAs were tested in serum samples of 200 T2DM patients,270 LC patients,200 HCC patients,and 225 healthy control subjects.Additionally,receiver operating characteristic(ROC)analysis,with area under the curve(AUC),was performed to assess the diagnostic performance of the screened miRNAs for discriminating HCC from LC and nonmalignant patients(LC+T2DM).RESULTS Expression of the sequenced miRNAs in serum was different in HCC vs LCpositive T2DM patients.Two miRNAs(miR-34a,miR-221)were significantly upregulated and five miRNAs(miR-16,miR-23-3p,miR-122-5p,miR-198,miR-199a-3p)were significantly down-regulated in HCC compared to LC patients.Analysis of ROC curve demonstrated that the combination of these seven miRNAs can be used as a reliable biomarker for detection of HCC in diabetic patients,as it could identify HCC with high diagnostic accuracy in diabetic LC patients(AUC=0.993)and in diabetic nonmalignant patients(AUC=0.961).CONCLUSION This study validates a panel of serum miRNAs that can be used as a reliable noninvasive screening biomarker of HCC among T2DM cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients.The study recommends further research to shed light on a possible role of c-Met in T2DM-associated HCC via the miRNA regulatory pathway.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81972702,No.91959110,and No.62173005reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking University Third Hospital(Approval No.IRB00006761-M2019387).
文摘BACKGROUND The features of gastric cancer based on the anatomic site remain unknown in northern China patients.AIM To analyze gastric cancer features and associated trends based on the anatomical site in northern China patients.METHODS This cross-sectional study used incident gastric cancer case data from 10 Peking University-affiliated hospitals(2014 to 2018).The clinical and prevailing local features were analyzed.RESULTS A total of 10709 patients were enrolled,including antral(42.97%),cardia(34.30%),and stomach body(18.41%)gastric cancer cases.Cancer in the cardia had the highest male:female ratio,proportion of elderly patients,and patients with complications,including hypertension,diabetes,cerebrovascular,and coronary diseases(P<0.001).gastric cancer involving the antrum showed the lowest proportion of patients from rural areas and accounted for the highest hospitalization rate and cost(each P<0.001).The proportion of patients with cancer involving the cardia increased with an increase in the number of gastroesophageal reflux disease cases during the same period(P<0.001).Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor location in the cardia increased the risk of inhospital mortality(P=0.046).Anatomical subsite was not linked to postoperative complications.CONCLUSION The features of gastric cancer based on the anatomical site differ between northern China and other regions,both globally and within the country.Social factors may account for these differences and should affect policy-making and clinical practice.
文摘This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between nursing informatics(NI)competency and information literacy skills for evidencebased practice(EBP)among intensive care nurses.This cross-sectional study was conducted on 184 nurses working in intensive care units(ICUs).The study data were collected through demographic information,Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment Tool(NICAT),and information literacy skills for EBP questionnaires.The intensive care nurses received competent and low-moderate levels for the total scores of NI competency and information literacy skills,respectively.They received a moderate score for the use of different information resources but a low score for information searching skills,different search features,and knowledge about search operators,and only 31.5%of the nurses selected the most appropriate statement.NI competency and related subscales had a significant direct bidirectional correlation with information literacy skills for EBP and its subscales(P<0.05).Nurses require a high level of NI competency and information literacy for EBP to obtain up-to-date information and provide better care and decision-making.Health planners and policymakers should develop interventions to enhance NI competency and information literacy skills among nurses and motivate them to use EBP in clinical settings.
文摘Response analysis of structures involving non-probabilistic uncertain parameters can be closely related to optimization.This paper provides a review on optimization-based methods for uncertainty analysis,with focusing attention on specific properties of adopted numerical optimization approaches.We collect and discuss the methods based on nonlinear programming,semidefinite programming,mixed-integer programming,mathematical programming with complementarity constraints,difference-of-convex programming,optimization methods using surrogate models and machine learning techniques,and metaheuristics.As a closely related topic,we also overview the methods for assessing structural robustness using non-probabilistic uncertainty modeling.We conclude the paper by drawing several remarks through this review.
基金supported by the Key Project of Natural Science Funds of China [No.81230066]the National Natural Science Fund Projects of China [No.81473043]
文摘Eczema is a very common inflammatory skin disease characterized by patches of erythematous,itchy, cracked, and scaly skin.According to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study, the global prevalence of eczema is 3.33% and the leading cause of skin condition-based disability-adjusted life years is eczema[1].The large health burden brought about by eczema suggests high direct medical costs and health care utilization[2].Thus, eczema prevention is of great importance in efforts to eliminate the public health burden of the disease.
基金Project supported by the Ministry of Agriculture,Food and Rural Affairs(No.314073-03)the Ministry for Food,Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries,Korea(No.614102-2)the National Research Foundation of Korea(No.2009-0093824)
文摘Antioxidative and cytotoxic effects of chamomile（Matricaria chamomilla） fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum were investigated to improve their biofunctional activities. Total polyphenol（TP） content was measured by the Folin-Denis method, and the antioxidant activities were assessed by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl（DPPH） method and β-carotene bleaching method. AGS, HeL a, LoV o, MCF-7, and MRC-5（normal） cells were used to examine the cytotoxic effects by 3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium（MTT） assay. The TP content of fermented chamomile reduced from 21.75 to 18.76 mg gallic acid equivalent（mg GAE）/g, but the DPPH radical capturing activity of fermented chamomile was found to be 11.1% higher than that of nonfermented chamomile after 72 h of fermentation. Following the β-carotene bleaching, the antioxidative effect decreased because of a reduction in pH during fermentation. Additionally, chamomile fermented for 72 h showed a cytotoxic effect of about 95% against cancer cells at 12.7 mg solid/ml of broth, but MRC-5 cells were significantly less sensitive against fermented chamomile samples. These results suggest that the fermentation of chamomile could be applied to develop natural antioxidative and anticancer products.
基金supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grants 17K06633 and 18K18898)
文摘This paper presents a simple nonparametric regression approach to data-driven computing in elasticity. We apply the kernel regression to the material data set, and formulate a system of nonlinear equations solved to obtain a static equilibrium state of an elastic structure. Preliminary numerical experiments illustrate that, compared with existing methods, the proposed method finds a reasonable solution even if data points distribute coarsely in a given material data set.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(nos.71603280,72074006,and 82070235)the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation(7191013)+1 种基金Research Unit of Medical Science Research Management/Basic and Clinical Research of Metabolic Cardiovascular Diseases,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences(2021RU003)Peking University Health Science Center and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by China Association for Science and Technology(2017QNRC001).
文摘Purpose:Given the information overload of scientific literature,there is an increasing need for computable biomedical knowledge buried in free text.This study aimed to develop a novel approach to extracting and measuring uncertain biomedical knowledge from scientific statements.Design/methodology/approach:Taking cardiovascular research publications in China as a sample,we extracted subject-predicate-object triples(SPO triples)as knowledge units and unknown/hedging/conflicting uncertainties as the knowledge context.We introduced information entropy(IE)as potential metric to quantify the uncertainty of epistemic status of scientific knowledge represented at subject-object pairs(SO pairs)levels.Findings:The results indicated an extraordinary growth of cardiovascular publications in China while only a modest growth of the novel SPO triples.After evaluating the uncertainty of biomedical knowledge with IE,we identified the Top 10 SO pairs with highest IE,which implied the epistemic status pluralism.Visual presentation of the SO pairs overlaid with uncertainty provided a comprehensive overview of clusters of biomedical knowledge and contending topics in cardiovascular research.Research limitations:The current methods didn’t distinguish the specificity and probabilities of uncertainty cue words.The number of sentences surrounding a given triple may also influence the value of IE.Practical implications:Our approach identified major uncertain knowledge areas such as diagnostic biomarkers,genetic polymorphism and co-existing risk factors related to cardiovascular diseases in China.These areas are suggested to be prioritized;new hypotheses need to be verified,while disputes,conflicts,and contradictions need to be settled.Originality/value:We provided a novel approach by combining natural language processing and computational linguistics with informetric methods to extract and measure uncertain knowledge from scientific statements.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation No. 81400041 and No. 81871212the National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Fund Project No. 81400038cohort study project of the Peking University Third Hospital Y70545-04。
文摘Objective Prior pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB) on chest X-ray(CXR) was commonly found in infertile patients receiving examinations before in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer(IVF-ET). It was unclear whether untreated PTB would affect pregnancy outcomes after IVF-ET.Method We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 14,254 infertile patients who had received IVFET at Peking University Third Hospital in 2017. Prior PTB was defined as the presence of signs suggestive of old or inactive PTB on CXR, with or without a clinical TB history. Patients who had prior PTB on CXR but had not received a clinical diagnosis and anti-TB therapy were included for analysis. Live birth,clinical pregnancy, and miscarriage rates were compared between the untreated PTB and non-PTB groups.Results The untreated PTB group had significantly lower clinical pregnancy(31.7% vs. 38.1%) and live birth(23.8% vs. 30.6%) rates than the non-PTB group(both P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that untreated PTB was a risk factor for decreased live birth rate [odds ratio(OR), 0.80;95% confidence interval(CI), 0.66–0.98;P = 0.028] in all patients and for increased miscarriage(OR, 4.19;95% CI,1.69–10.39;P = 0.002) and decreased live birth(OR, 0.45;95% CI, 0.24–0.83;P = 0.011) rates in patients with unexplained infertility.Conclusions Untreated PTB was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes after IVF-ET, especially in patients with unexplained infertility, highlighting the clinical significance of PTB in this specific patient population.
文摘Agricultural geospatial information is critical for agricultural policy formulation and decision making, land use monitoring, agricultural sustainability, crop acreage and yield estimation, disaster assessment, bioenergy crop inventory, food security policy, environmental assessment, carbon accounting, and other research topics that are of vital importance to agricul- ture and economy. Remote sensing technology enables us to collect, process, and analyze remotely sensed data and to retrieve, synthesize, visualize valuable geospatial information for agriculture uses. Specifically, remote sensing technology empowers capability for large scale field level or regional assessment and monitoring of crop land cover,
文摘One of the methods for biometric identification is facial features detection, and eye is an important facial feature in the face. In the recent years, automatically detecting eye with different image conditions is attended. This paper proposes a method which can automatically detect eye in extensive range of images with different conditions. In the proposed method, first an image is enhanced by morphological operations then region of face is detected by hybrid projection function. To identify window of eye, vertical edge dominance map is used. The authors＇ method uses elliptical mask on eye image to detect center of pupil. The mask scans eye image to find minimum gray level because pupil is darkest part in eye image compared with 3 well-known methods. The accuracy of 99.53% on this This method has implemented on JAFFE face database and database confirms efficiency of the proposed method.
文摘Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) has been visualized by 2D XDFI (X-ray dark-field imaging) and further by a 3D X-ray CT, and the data was acquired by the X-ray optics DEI (diffraction-enhanced imaging). A newly made algorithm was used for CT. Data of 900 projections with interval of 0.2 degrees were used. Ductus lactiferi, microcalci-fication in a 3D form have been clearly visible. The spatial resolution available was approximately 30μm.
文摘Objectives: Popular opinion holds that the phase of the moon influences human behavior, and several reports substantiate this claim;however, reports of correlation between the lunar cycle and cardiac events remain controversial. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a relationship exists between lunar cycle and the occurrence of acute cardiac events. Methods: A retrospective review of cardiac events, including ST-elevated myocardial in-farction (STEMI), non-ST elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and unstable angina, over a 5- year period was performed. The dates of cardiac events were recorded and merged with the four phases of the lunar cycle (new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter). Results: A total of 4751 cardiac events (578 STEMI, 1446 NSTEMI, 2727 unstable angina) occurred during the 5-year study period in 3935 unique patients. Cardiac events occurred equivalently during various phases of the lunar cycle. Conclusions: Despite popular opinion, our evidence suggests that the lunar cycle has no effect on the occurrence of acute coronary syndromes.
基金Supported by Basic Science Research Program through a National Research Foundation of Korea Grant Funded by the Ministry of Education,Science,and Technology,No. 2011-0018257Systems Biomedical Informatics National Core Research Center
文摘AIM:To evaluate the effect of proton pump inhibitors(PPIs) on the development of gastrointestinal tuberculosis.METHODS:All patients who were more than 20 years old and who had received a prescription for PPIs among those who visited Seoul National University Hospital from January 1,2005 to December 31,2009 were identified.Due to the low sensitivity of the microbiologic test and the nonspecific pathologic findings,the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tuberculosis was confirmed through the presence of active ulcerations and the responses to anti-tuberculosis medications.The patients were divided into two groups according to treatment duration(group 1:≤ 3 mo;group 2:> 3 mo) and were followed up from the time they took the first prescription of PPIs until their last visit.Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the relative risks(RR) and 95%CI,adjusting for covariates.RESULTS:Among the 61 834 patients exposed to PPIs(50 534 in group 1;11 300 in group 2),21 patients were diagnosed with PPI-associated gastrointestinal tuberculosis during 124 274 person-years of follow-up.Of 21 patients,the 12 who revealed only scar changes in the colonoscopy were excluded from the statistical analyses.Of those who remained,2 were excluded because they underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy within 4 wk of the first prescription for PPIs.Longer exposure to PPI was associated with a higher mean age(55.0 ± 14.5 in group 1 vs 58.2 ± 13.3 in group 2,P < 0.001) and a higher Charlson co-morbidity index(0.50 ± 0.93 in group 1 vs 0.77 ± 1.14 in group 2,P < 0.001).The true incidence of active gastrointestinal tuberculosis was 0.65 per 1000 person-years in group 1 and 0.03 per 1 000 person-years in group 2.Like the less-than-three-month PPI treatment period in group 1,the over-three-month PPI therapy period in group 2 was not associated with increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal tuberculosis,after adjusting for age and co-morbidities,whereas the Charlson co-morbidity index was associated with increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal tuberculosis based on the score [RR:(reference 1) in group 1 vs 1.518 in group 2;95% CI:1.040-2.216,P = 0.03].CONCLUSION:Long-term PPI therapy does not seem to be associated with increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal tuberculosis,but a higher Charlson comorbidity index is associated with such.
文摘In this paper, data analysis and modeling of gamma ray tomography taken into account spatial resolution and source of errors and the attenuation coefficient measurement in row data from tomography process are presented. The results showed that this method is simple, effective and should be prior to any data treatment for opaque vessel reactor and by reconstruction algorithm in process imaging.
基金supported by the Agriculture Bio-industry Technology Development Program,Ministry of Agriculture,Food and Rural Affairs of Korea(No.314020-2)the Ministry for Food,Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries of Korea(No.614102-2)the National Research Foundation of Korea(No.2009-0093824)
文摘The inhibitory effects of Lactobacillus plantarum-fermented and non-fermented Inula britannica extracts on the tyrosinase activity were comparatively investigated to examine whether and how they improve the whitening activity, and the contents of total flavonoids and polyphenolics as bioactive compounds were determined. The skin whitening activity using in vitro or ex vivo tyrosinase and L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine(L-DOPA) staining was examined. The total flavonoid content(TFC) was increased by 13.4% after 72h-fermentation. The viabilities of the B16F10 cells treated with the fermented and non-fermented control extracts were 100.26% and 92.15% at 500μg/ml, respectively. In addition, the inhibition of tyrosinase activity was increased by the fermented samples from 29.33% to 41.74% following fermentation for up to 72h. The tyrosinase activity of the untreated control group was increased to 145.69% in B16F10 cells. The results showed that I. britannica fermented by L. plantarum dose-dependently inhibited tyrosinase activity, which was stimulated by α-melanocyte stimulating hormone. These results suggest that lactic fermented I. britannica extracts can be used as effective skin-whitening materials.
文摘Accelerated proximal gradient methods have recently been developed for solving quasi-static incremental problems of elastoplastic analysis with some different yield criteria.It has been demonstrated through numerical experiments that these methods can outperform conventional optimization-based approaches in computational plasticity.However,in literature these algorithms are described individually for specific yield criteria,and hence there exists no guide for application of the algorithms to other yield criteria.This short paper presents a general form of algorithm design,independent of specific forms of yield criteria,that unifies the existing proximal gradient methods.Clear interpretation is also given to each step of the presented general algorithm so that each update rule is linked to the underlying physical laws in terms of mechanical quantities.
基金by the Research,Development and Innovation Center,Ericsson Telecommunications Inc.,Brazil.
文摘For an autonomous system to perform maintenance tasks in a networking device or a radio base station(RBS), it has to deal with a series of technological challenges ranging from identifying hardware-related problems to manipulating connectors. This paper describes the development of a robot maintenance system dedicated to detect and resolve faulty links caused by unplugged or poorly connected cables. Although the maintenance system relies on four subsystems, we significantly focus on our low-cost and efficient custom gripper solution developed to handle RJ45 Ethernet connectors. To examine our gripper, we conducted three experiments. First, a qualitative questionnaire was submitted to 30 users in the case of the teleoperated scenario of the gripper attached to a robotic arm. Similarly, we also tested the automatic operation mode. The results showed that our system is reliable and delivers a highly efficient maintenance tool in both teleoperated and autonomous operation modes. The practical experiment containing the removal or unplugging of connectors demonstrated our gripper′s ability to adequately handle these, whereas the feedback from the questionnaire pointed to a positive user experience. The automatic test assessed the gripper′s robustness against the continuous operation.
基金supported by Research Grant from the Kajima Foundation,JST CREST Grant No.JPMJCR1911,JapanJSPS KAKENHI(Nos.17K06633,21K04351).
文摘Data-driven computing in elasticity attempts to directly use experimental data on material,without constructing an empirical model of the constitutive relation,to predict an equilibrium state of a structure subjected to a specified external load.Provided that a data set comprising stress-strain pairs of material is available,a data-driven method using the kernel method and the regularized least-squares was developed to extract a manifold on which the points in the data set approximately lie(Kanno 2021,Jpn.J.Ind.Appl.Math.).From the perspective of physical experiments,stress field cannot be directly measured,while displacement and force fields are measurable.In this study,we extend the previous kernel method to the situation that pairs of displacement and force,instead of pairs of stress and strain,are available as an input data set.A new regularized least-squares problem is formulated in this problem setting,and an alternating minimization algorithm is proposed to solve the problem.
文摘Background Abdominal aortic aneurysm （AAA） is a multifactorial disease with strong genetic components. Various genetic loci have been associated with clinical AAA, but few studies have investigated pathological AAA, an intermediate phenotype of the disease. Methods We examined 2263 consecutive autopsies of older Japanese subjects from a study on geriatric diseases in Japanese individuals （The JG-SNP study）. The presence of AAA was determined with a pathological diagnosis during autopsy. Single nucleotide variants （SNVs） associated with AAA were determined with an Illumina HumanExome Beadchip array. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine ge- netic associations. Age, gender, and other risk factors of AAA were analyzed as covariates. Results 118 subjects with AAA and 2145 sub- jects without AAA were analyzed in a case-control setting. No variants reached significance after applying the Bonferroni correction （P 〈 2.05×10^-6）. The strongest associations were found with rs3750092 （p.E321G, OR： 0.36, 95% CI： 0.24-0.56, P = 6.09 ×10^-6）, a variant in the WAS/WASL interacting protein family 3 （WIPF3）, and with rs1051338 （p.T16P, OR： 2.50, 95% CI： 1.70-3.66, P = 2.79 ×10^-6） and rs2246942 （intronic, OR： 2.32, 95% CI： 1.58-3.41, P = 1.61 ×10^-5）, variants in the lysosomal acid lipase A （LIPA）. LIPA is essential for macrophage cholesterol metabolism. Immunohistological analyses of WIPF3 protein in AAA samples from three subjects revealed that WIPF3 was expressed in macrophages ofatheromatous plaques. Conclusions This study suggests that WIPF3 and LIPA, both of which are expressed in the macrophages are involved in pathological AAA. These results should be regarded as hypothesis-generating; thus, replication study is warranted.
基金support from the National Research Centre (Cairo, Egypt), Medical Research Institute (Alexandria, Egypt) and Korea Institute of Science and Technology (Republic of Korea, 2Z05620)
文摘BACKGROUND Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-related cirrhosis is one of the liver complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)and reported to be a risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).A reliable screening biomarker of liver cirrhosis(LC)and HCC among T2DM patients is important to reduce the morbidity and mortality of this disease.MicroRNA(miRNA)is considered a key player in HCC and T2DM,and it might be a hidden culprit in diabetes-associated HCC,making it a promising reliable prognostic tool.AIM To investigate the signature of serum miRNAs as early biomarkers for the screening of HCC among diabetic patients.METHODS Expression profiles of miRNAs in serum samples of diabetic LC and diabetic HCC patients were assessed using Illumina sequencing;then,RT-qPCR was used to validate significantly altered miRNAs between the two groups.Candidate miRNAs were tested in serum samples of 200 T2DM patients,270 LC patients,200 HCC patients,and 225 healthy control subjects.Additionally,receiver operating characteristic(ROC)analysis,with area under the curve(AUC),was performed to assess the diagnostic performance of the screened miRNAs for discriminating HCC from LC and nonmalignant patients(LC+T2DM).RESULTS Expression of the sequenced miRNAs in serum was different in HCC vs LCpositive T2DM patients.Two miRNAs(miR-34a,miR-221)were significantly upregulated and five miRNAs(miR-16,miR-23-3p,miR-122-5p,miR-198,miR-199a-3p)were significantly down-regulated in HCC compared to LC patients.Analysis of ROC curve demonstrated that the combination of these seven miRNAs can be used as a reliable biomarker for detection of HCC in diabetic patients,as it could identify HCC with high diagnostic accuracy in diabetic LC patients(AUC=0.993)and in diabetic nonmalignant patients(AUC=0.961).CONCLUSION This study validates a panel of serum miRNAs that can be used as a reliable noninvasive screening biomarker of HCC among T2DM cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients.The study recommends further research to shed light on a possible role of c-Met in T2DM-associated HCC via the miRNA regulatory pathway.
