bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationships between functional fitness and cognitive impairment in Chinese community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Yang Mei , Guo Yan , Gong Jie , Deng Mengyao , Yang Niannian , Yan Yaqiong
Published: May 2018

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between each functional fitness (FF) domain and cognitive impairment (CI) in Chinese community-dwelling older adults.

Design

A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted.

Setting

Participants were selected by multistage stratified random sampling in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, Central China, during December 2015–May 2016.

Participants

A total of 2096 (1031 male and 1065 female) adults older than 65 years were included in our study. Exclusion criteria were age <65 years, losing self-living ability, previously diagnosed with dementia by a neurological physician, severe physical pain, congestive heart failure, dizziness and uncontrolled hypertension (exceeding 160/100 mm Hg).

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The Senior Fitness Test and the Mini-Mental State Examination were used to measure FF (including 30 s chair stand, 30 s arm curl, 2 min step, 8 foot up-and-go, chair sit-and-reach and back scratch) and screen CI, respectively. Activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living questionnaires were administered to evaluate functional status (FS).

Results

32.16% were classified as the CI group. The results showed that the CI group had significantly lower frequency of 30 s chair stand, 30 s arm curl and 2 min step, and longer time to complete the 8 foot up-and-go, shorter chair sit-and-reach and back scratch distance than the non-CI adults (p<0.05). Except for back scratch, older adults with moderate and high levels of FF were less likely to have CI than those with low levels, adjusted by sociodemographics, chronic disease, health condition, health behaviour and FS (p<0.05).

Conclusions

The relationship between FF and CI was independent of FS decline in Chinese community-dwelling older people.
Adolescent self-consent for vaccinations: protocol for a mixed methods systematic review
Authors: Fisher Harriet , Hickman Matthew , Macleod John , Audrey Suzanne
Published: May 2018

Introduction

The recent global expansion of routine adolescent vaccination programmes has the potential to protect young people against the acquisition of infectious disease and improve their health. Although in many countries the legal framework supports young people to provide consent for medical interventions if they are considered competent, written parental consent can act as a barrier to uptake as it is frequently a condition of adolescent vaccination programmes. The aim of this systematic review protocol is to document the methods which will be used to identify, appraise and synthesise the available qualitative and quantitative evidence to address: (1) whether implementation of adolescent self-consent procedures can increase vaccination uptake and (2) the barriers and facilitators to implementation of adolescent self-consent procedures.

Methods and analysis

Comprehensive search strategy of all relevant electronic databases for both qualitative and quantitative studies using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. At least two authors will independently review titles and abstracts, extract data and assess the methodological quality of eligible primary studies, resolving disagreements by consensus. Quantitative studies will be reported narratively and where possible pooled in a meta-analysis using a random-effects model. The findings of qualitative primary studies will be extracted, interpreted and synthesised to identify overarching themes as well as similarities and differences within those themes.

Ethics and dissemination

As this systematic review involves analysis of secondary data, the study does not require ethical approvals. We will use our findings to assess whether the evidence supports the hypothesis that self-consent procedures can increase coverage of adolescent vaccination programmes. We will identify barriers and facilitators to the implementation of adolescent self-consent for vaccination and make recommendations for policy makers and practitioners in relation to consent procedures within vaccination programmes for young people.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42017084509.
Severe outcomes associated with respiratory viruses in newborns and infants: a prospective viral surveillance study in Jordan
Authors: Khuri-Bulos Najwa , Lawrence Lindsey , Piya Bhinnata , Wang Li , Fonnesbeck Christopher , Faouri Samir , Shehabi Asem , Vermund Sten H , Williams John V , Halasa Natasha B
Published: May 2018

Objective

To assess virus-specific hospitalisation rates, risk factors for illness severity and seasonal trends in children hospitalised with acute respiratory infections (ARI).

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

A government hospital serving low-income and middle-income population in Amman, Jordan.

Participants

Children under 2 years of age hospitalised with fever and/or respiratory symptoms (n=3168) from 16 March 2010 to 31 March 2013. Children with chemotherapy-associated neutropenia and newborns who had never been discharged after birth were excluded from the study.

Outcome measures

Hospitalisation rates and markers of illness severity: admission to intensive care unit (ICU), mechanical ventilation (MV), oxygen therapy, length of stay (LOS) and death.

Results

Of the 3168 subjects, 2581 (82%) had at least one respiratory virus detected, with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) being the most predominant pathogen isolated. During admission, 1013 (32%) received oxygen therapy, 284 (9%) were admitted to ICU, 111 (4%) were placed on MV and 31 (1%) children died. Oxygen therapy was higher in RSV-only subjects compared with human rhinovirus-only (42%vs29%, p<0.001), adenovirus-only (42%vs21%, p<0.001) and human parainfluenza virus-only (42%vs23%, p<0.001) subjects. The presence of an underlying medical condition was associated with oxygen therapy (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.95, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.56), ICU admission (aOR 2.51, 95% CI 1.71 to 3.68), MV (aOR 1.91, 95% CI 1.11 to 3.28) and longer LOS (aOR1.71, 95% CI 1.37 to 2.13). Similarly, younger age was associated with oxygen therapy (0.23, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.31), ICU admission (aOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.74), MV (0.28, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.53) and longer LOS (aOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.59). Pneumonia was strongly associated with longer LOS (aOR 2.07, 95% CI 1.65 to 2.60), oxygen therapy (aOR 2.94, 95% CI 2.22 to 3.89), ICU admission (aOR 3.12, 95% CI 2.16 to 4.50) and MV (aOR 3.33, 95% CI 1.85 to 6.00). Virus-specific hospitalisation rates ranged from 0.5 to 10.5 per 1000 children.

Conclusion

Respiratory viruses are associated with severe illness in Jordanian children hospitalised with ARI. Prevention strategies such as extended breast feeding, increased access to palivizumab and RSV vaccine development could help decrease hospitalisation rates and illness severity, particularly in young children with underlying medical conditions.
Associations of egg consumption with cardiovascular disease in a cohort study of 0.5 million Chinese adults
Authors: Qin Chenxi , Lv Jun , Guo Yu , Bian Zheng , Si Jiahui , Yang Ling , Chen Yiping , Zhou Yonglin , Zhang Hao , Liu Jianjun , Chen Junshi , Chen Zhengming , Yu Canqing , Li Liming
Published: May 2018

Objective

To examine the associations between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD), ischaemic heart disease (IHD), major coronary events (MCE), haemorrhagic stroke as well as ischaemic stroke.

Methods

During 2004–2008, over 0.5 million adults aged 30–79 years were recruited from 10 diverse survey sites in China. Participants were asked about the frequency of egg consumption and were followed up via linkages to multiple registries and active investigation. Among 461 213 participants free of prior cancer, CVD and diabetes, a total of 83 977 CVD incident cases and 9985 CVD deaths were documented, as well as 5103 MCE. Stratified Cox regression was performed to yield adjusted hazard ratios for CVD endpoints associated with egg consumption.

Results

At baseline, 13.1% of participants reported daily consumption (usual amount 0.76 egg/day) and 9.1% reported never or very rare consumption (usual amount 0.29 egg/day). Compared with non-consumers, daily egg consumption was associated with lower risk of CVD (HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.87 to 0.92). Corresponding multivariate-adjusted HRs (95% CI) for IHD, MCE, haemorrhagic stroke and ischaemic stroke were 0.88 (0.84 to 0.93), 0.86 (0.76 to 0.97), 0.74 (0.67 to 0.82) and 0.90 (0.85 to 0.95), respectively. There were significant dose-response relationships of egg consumption with morbidity of all CVD endpoints (P for linear trend <0.05). Daily consumers also had an 18% lower risk of CVD death and a 28% lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke death compared to non-consumers.

Conclusion

Among Chinese adults, a moderate level of egg consumption (up to <1 egg/day) was significantly associated with lower risk of CVD, largely independent of other risk factors.
Initial validation and results of the Symptoms in Persons At Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis (SPARRA) questionnaire: a EULAR project
Authors: van Beers-Tas Marian H , ter Wee Marieke M , van Tuyl Lilian H , Maat Bertha , Hoogland Wijnanda , Hensvold Aase H , Catrina Anca I , Mosor Erika , Stamm Tanja A , Finckh Axel , Courvoisier Delphine S , Filer Andrew , Sahbudin Ilfita , Stack Rebecca J , Raza Karim , van Schaardenburg Dirkjan
Published: May 2018

Objectives

To describe the development and assess the psychometric properties of the novel ‘Symptoms in Persons At Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis’ (SPARRA) questionnaire in individuals at risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to quantify their symptoms.

Methods

The questionnaire items were derived from a qualitative study in patients with seropositive arthralgia. The questionnaire was administered to 219 individuals at risk of RA on the basis of symptoms or autoantibody positivity: 74% rheumatoid factor and/or anticitrullinated protein antibodies positive, 26% seronegative. Validity, reliability and responsiveness were assessed. Eighteen first degree relatives (FDR) of patients with RA were used for comparison.

Results

Face and content validity were high. The test-retest showed good agreement and reliability (1 week and 6 months). Overall, construct validity was low to moderate, with higher values for concurrent validity, suggesting that some questions reflect symptom content not captured with regular Visual Analogue Scale pain/well-being. Responsiveness was low (small subgroup). Finally, the burden of symptoms in both seronegative and seropositive at risk individuals was high, with pain, stiffness and fatigue being the most common ones with a major impact on daily functioning. The FDR cohort (mostly healthy individuals) showed a lower burden of symptoms; however, the distribution of symptoms was similar.

Conclusions

The SPARRA questionnaire has good psychometric properties and can add information to currently available clinical measures in individuals at risk of RA. The studied group had a high burden and impact of symptoms. Future studies should evaluate whether SPARRA data can improve the prediction of RA in at risk individuals.
Microfabricated metal oxide array sensor based on nanosized SnO–SnO2 sensitive material
Authors: Sun Jianhai , Liu Jinhua , Liu Chunxiu , Wang Wen , Li Junhong , Zhang Yanni , Zhu Xiaofeng , Ning Zhanwu , Xue Ning
Published: May 2018

In this work, a microfabricated metal oxide (MOX) array sensor based on nanosized SnO–SnO2 sensitive material was proposed. To maximize detection response and reduce power consumption, sensitive units supported by a multi-layer beam were suspended in center of micro reaction cell which could greatly improve thermal isolation. The sensitive units were fabricated with nanosized SnO–SnO2 sensitive material, and Au-doped sensitive material was proposed which was able to greatly increase selectivity and sensitivity of sensitive film. The results demonstrate that the sensitive unit has good specificity of benzene, and the MOX array sensor was able to detect benzene with an extremely low concentration, in which the lowest detectable concentration was less than 5 ppb.
Modeling and Analysis of an Imprecise Epidemic System with Optimal Treatment and Vaccination Control
Authors: Das Anjana , Pal M.
Published: May 2018

In this paper, we propose and analyze a Susceptible-Vaccinated-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SVEIR) type infectious disease model with imprecise parameters. Introducing the interval numbers in functional form, the SVEIR model is proposed and formulated. The existence of possible equilibrium points with their feasibility criteria and an explicit value of basic reproduction number is obtained. The asymptotic stability of the system at different equilibrium points are also discussed. Next by considering treatment and vaccination as two control parameters, an optimal control problem is formulated and solved. Finally, some computer simulation works are given in support of our analytical results.
Spatial Clustering of Pedestrian Activity and the Built Environment Characteristics
Authors: Zhang Hao , Yin Li
Published: May 2018

Promoting pedestrian activity has attracted increasing attention as an important strategy for the improvement of public health and urban revitalization. The impact on physical activity underpinned by built environment has been studied substantially; however, few studies had focused on the geographically varying relationships between pedestrian activity and the built environment characteristics. Built upon previous work, this study looks at the spatial patterns of pedestrian counts and the built environment contributors along two major streets in Buffalo, New York using global and local spatial autocorrelation tests and geographically weighted regression. Pedestrian generators, job density and land use mix are included as independent variables in order to study the impact on them due to the characteristics of built environment. Our findings suggest that (1) there are statistically significant clusters of street intersections with high pedestrian counts along the streets selected in our study; (2) there are some optimal sizes of clusters of pedestrian generators, which attract more pedestrians; (3) geographically weighted Poisson model helps to analyze the geographically varying relationships between the built environment and pedestrian activity with a more pronounced goodness of fit. This research contributes to the understanding of the spatial patterns of pedestrian activity and the geographically varying relationship between the built environment and pedestrian counts. Hopefully this research will help to guide and focus the minds of policy makers and urban planners alike to introduce street vitality through the modifications of the built environment, so as to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods.
Rheological inheritance: lessons from the Death Valley region, US Basin and Range Province
Authors: Lima Rodrigo D. , Hayman Nicholas W. , Miranda Elena
Published: May 2018

Rheological inheritance occurs when older metamorphic and deformational fabrics impact the mechanics of younger tectonic provinces, such as occurs in extensional provinces developed on sites of previous orogenesis. The Funeral and Black Mountains from the Death Valley region of the US Basin and Range provide the opportunity to study such rheological inheritance. The Funeral Mountains expose shear zones containing high-grade metamorphic fabrics and evidence for synkinematic, decompression-driven melt of Late Cretaceous, orogenic origin. Quartz <
c
>- and [
a
]-axes patterns from the shear zones correlate with high-temperature slip systems. The quartz microstructures were formed via grain-boundary migration, and these are overprinted by high-strain layers of mixed-phase aggregates that underwent grain boundary sliding. Reaction textures from the Funeral Mountains illustrate that much of the fabric development post-dates melting, but locally involved melt–rock reactions. In contrast with the Funeral Mountains, the basement complex in the Black Mountains preserves few peak-metamorphic textures, largely owing to the overprinting by Cenozoic magmatism and deformation. However, local relicts of high-grade deformational fabrics yielding Late Cretaceous-through-Eocene magmatic zircon ages are overprinted by greenschist grade fabrics. Using outcrop and microstructural (including electron backscatter diffraction) observations, and thermodynamic modelling, we detail how segregation of melt products during orogenic partial melting resulted in chemically isolated compositional domains, favouring localization via the formation of fine-grained retrograde fabrics. We propose a conceptual model that builds on our results wherein the heterogeneous distribution of peak, orogenic metamorphic phases and melt products governs lower crustal strength and fabric evolution during extension. The Wilson Cycle may be sensitive to rheological inheritance as the width of continental margins formed during rifting will be sensitive to the fabrics and compositions formed during collision.
Metolachlor dense non-aqueous phase liquid source conditions and plume attenuation in a dolostone water supply aquifer
Authors: Parker Beth L. , Bairos Kenley , Maldaner Carlos H. , Chapman Steven W. , Turner Christopher M. , Burns Leanne S. , Plett James , Carter Raymond , Cherry John A.
Published: May 2018

This paper reports a long-term field investigation of a fractured dolostone aquifer that was penetrated by a dense non-aqueous phase liquid. High-resolution source zone characterization shows the evolution of deep penetration to the back-diffusion conditions seen at the present day. Metolachlor, a common herbicide, was released into the overburden overlying a fractured dolostone aquifer within a short time window (1978–81). In 2000, the plume front arrived at a municipal supply well located 930 m down-gradient, increasing to a maximum concentration of 2 μg l
−1
. Groundwater monitoring with high-resolution, depth-discrete multi-level sampling systems since 1992 shows a clearly delineated bedrock plume. Numerous rock core samples show metolachlor in the low-permeability rock matrix at the bottom of the aquifer. The mass distribution and bedrock hydraulic head pattern strongly suggest that metolachlor entered the bedrock as a free-phase dense non-aqueous phase liquid penetrating to the aquifer bottom, preferentially accumulating in some horizontal fractures, dissolving quickly as a result of the rapid groundwater flow and then diffusing into the rock matrix, where back-diffusion sustains a dilute, persistent and stable plume. Strong plume retardation by matrix diffusion and sorption has greatly mitigated the impact on water quality in the down-gradient supply well, allowing for its continued use, while back-diffusion and degradation maintain a persistent, dilute plume managed by appropriate monitoring.
Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, Ghana
Authors: Frimpong Grace , Ofori-Kwakye Kwabena , Kuntworbe Noble , Buabeng Kwame Ohene , Osei Yaa Asantewaa , Boakye-Gyasi Mariam El , Adi-Dako Ofosua
Published: May 2018

The quality of 68 samples of 15 different essential children’s medicines sold in licensed medicine outlets in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, was evaluated. Thirty-two (47.1%) of the medicines were imported, mainly from India (65.6%) and the United Kingdom (28.1%), while 36 (52.9%) were locally manufactured. The quality of the medicines was assessed using content of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), pH, and microbial limit tests, and the results were compared with pharmacopoeial standards. Twenty-six (38.2%) of the samples studied passed the official content of API test while 42 (61.8%) failed. Forty-nine (72.1%) of the samples were compliant with official specifications for pH while 19 (27.9%) were noncompliant. Sixty-six (97.1%) samples passed the microbial load and content test while 2 (2.9%) failed. Eighteen (26.5%) samples passed all the three quality evaluation tests, while one (1.5%) sample (CFX1) failed all the tests. All the amoxicillin suspensions tested passed the three evaluation tests. All the ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole, flucloxacillin, artemether-lumefantrine, multivitamin, and folic acid samples failed the content of API test and are substandard. The overall API failure rate for imported products (59.4%) was comparable to locally manufactured (63.9%) samples. The results highlight the poor quality of the children’s medicines studied and underscore the need for regular pharmacovigilance and surveillance systems to fight this menace.
Optimization to Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Low Lipid Content Microalgae Spirulina sp. Using Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Wei Xuan , Jie Dengfei
Published: May 2018

The production and nature of the biocrude obtained from Spirulina sp. by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology is focused in this investigation. Our aim is to evaluate the interaction of different factors on the bio-oil production through HTL using microalgae that contains relatively low lipid content and high protein. Optimization of three key parameters—concentration (mass of algae per mass of solvent), reaction temperature, and holding time—was carried out by response surface methodology (RSM). In this work, we used central composite design to conduct the experiment process. Graphical response surface and contour plots were used to locate the optimum point. The final results showed that the optimum concentration, temperature, and holding time were 10.5%, 357°C, and 37 min, respectively. Under the optimum conditions established, yield of the biocrude (41.6 ± 2.2%) was experimentally obtained using the fresh microalgae. This study showed the potential of bio-oil production of Spirulina sp. by HTL technology, but it still needs more improvement of the biocrude for utilization.
Muscle Shortening and Spastic Cocontraction in Gastrocnemius Medialis and Peroneus Longus in Very Young Hemiparetic Children
Authors: Vinti M. , Bayle N. , Merlo A. , Authier G. , Pesenti S. , Jouve J.-L. , Chabrol B. , Gracies J.-M. , Boulay C.
Published: May 2018

Objectives.Muscle shortening and spastic cocontraction in ankle plantar flexors may alter gait since early childhood in cerebral palsy (CP). We evaluated gastrosoleus complex (GSC) length, and gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and peroneus longus (PL) activity during swing phase, in very young hemiparetic children with equinovalgus.Methods.This was an observational, retrospective, and monocentric outpatient study in a pediatric hospital. Ten very young hemiparetic children (age 3 ± 1 yrs) were enrolled. These CP children were assessed for muscle extensibility (Tardieu scaleXV1) in GSC (angle of arrest during slow-speed passive ankle dorsiflexion with the knee extended) and monitored for GM and PL electromyography (EMG) during the swing phase of gait. The swing phase was divided into three periods (T1, T2, and T3), in which we measured a cocontraction index (CCI), ratio of the Root Mean Square EMG (RMS-EMG) from each muscle during that period to the peak 500 ms RMS-EMG obtained from voluntary plantar flexion during standing on tiptoes (from several 5-second series, the highest RMS value was computed over 500 ms around the peak).Results.On the paretic side: (i) the meanXV1-GSCwas 100° (8°) (median (SD)) versus 106° (3°) on the nonparetic side (p=0.032, Mann–Whitney); (ii)XV1-GSCdiminished with age between ages of 2 and 5 (Spearman,ρ= 0.019); (iii)CCIGMandCCIPLduring swing phase were higher than on the nonparetic side (CCIGM, 0.32 (0.20) versus 0.15 (0.09),p<0.01;CCIPL, 0.52 (0.30) versus 0.24 (0.17),p<0.01), with an early difference significant for PL from T1 (p=0.03).Conclusions.In very young hemiparetic children, the paretic GSC may rapidly shorten in the first years of life. GM and PL cocontraction during swing phase are excessive, which contributes to dynamic equinovalgus. Muscle extensibility (XV1) may have to be monitored and preserved in the first years of life in children with CP. Additional measurements of cocontraction may further help target treatments with botulinum toxin, especially in peroneus longus.
Awareness and Knowledge about Occupational Therapy in Jordan
Authors: Darawsheh Wesam Barakat
Published: May 2018

Knowledge and awareness about occupational therapy (OT) are essential for the delivery of quality care to all clients and for occupational therapists’ (OTRs) job satisfaction. OT has been a poorly understood profession in Jordan. The current study reports on the assessment of Jordanians’ awareness and knowledge of occupational therapy. Convenience sampling was used. There were 829 participants (474 males, 355 females), with mean age of 32 ± 11.6 yrs. They were recruited from the three main geographical areas of Jordan (northern, central, and southern) and from all educational levels. The sample included 222 (26.8%) healthcare personnel, 146 (17.6%) clients, and 461 (55.6%) lay persons. Participants completed questionnaires, and the results revealed that 48% of the sample had poor or no knowledge about OT, while 28.3% were unaware of it. Also, OT was commonly (50%) perceived to be exclusively targeting people with disabilities (PWDs) and neurological and physical conditions (58% and 53%, resp.) in addition to exclusively providing services for the rehabilitation of the upper extremity (48%). Common misconceptions associated with OT were that OTRs prescribe medication (43%) and OTRs are physiotherapists (44%). These preliminary findings suggest that efforts need to be directed by OTRs, the Jordanian Society of Occupational Therapy (JSOT), and the Ministry of Health to preserve the OT identity and value and promote knowledge about OT in the public and among members of interdisciplinary teams. More interprofessional learning needs to be incorporated within the curricula and placements of all healthcare personnels.
Keys to Achieving Target First Medical Contact to Balloon Times and Bypassing Emergency Department More Important Than Distance
Authors: Ezad Saad , Davies Allan J. , Cheema Hooria , Williams Trent , Leitch James
Published: May 2018

Background. Australian guidelines advocate primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) as the reperfusion strategy of choice for ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients in whom it can be performed within 90 minutes of first medical contact; otherwise, fibrinolytic therapy is preferred. In a large health district, the reperfusion strategy is often chosen in the prehospital setting. We sought to identify a distance from a PCI centre, which made it unlikely first medical contact to balloon time (FMCTB) of less than 90 minutes could be achieved in the Hunter New England health district and to identify causes of delay in patients who were triaged to a PPCI strategy. Methods and Results. We studied 116 patients presenting via the ambulance service with STEMI from January 2016 to December 2016. In patients who were taken directly to the cardiac catheterisation lab, a maximum distance of 50 km from hospital resulted in 75% of patients receiving PCI within 90 minutes and approximately 95% of patients receiving PCI within 120 minutes. Patients who bypassed the emergency department (ED) were significantly more likely to have FMCTB of less than 90 minutes (p<0.001) despite having a longer travel distance (28.5 km versus 17.4 km, p<0.001). Patients transiting via the ED were significantly more likely to present out of hours (60 versus 24.2% p<0.001). Conclusions. Patients who do not bypass the ED have a longer FMCTB across all spectrum of distances from the PCI centre; therefore, bypassing the ED is key to achieving target FMCTB times. Using a cutoff distance of 50 km may reduce human error in estimating travel time to our PCI centre and thereby identifying patients who should receive prehospital thrombolysis.
Real-Time Cloud-Based Health Tracking and Monitoring System in Designed Boundary for Cardiology Patients
Authors: Shahzad Aamir , Lee Yang Sun , Lee Malrey , Kim Young-Gab , Xiong Naixue
Published: May 2018

Telemonitoring is not a new term, in information technology (IT), which has been employed to remotely monitor the health of patients that are located not in common places, such hospitals or medical centers. For that, wearable medical sensors, such as electrocardiography sensors, blood pressure sensors, and glucometer, have commonly been used to make possible to acquire the real-time information from the remotely located patients; therefore, the medical information is further carried, via the Internet, to perform medical diagnosis and the corresponding treatments. Like in other IT sectors, there has been tremendous progress accounted in medical sectors (and in telemonitoring systems) that changes the human life protection against several chronic diseases, and the patient’s medical information can be accessed wirelessly via Wi-Fi and cellular systems. Further, with the advents of cloud computing technology, medical systems are now more efficient and scalable in processing, such as storage and access, the medical information with minimal development costs. This study is also a piece of enhancement made to track and monitor the real-time medical information, bounded in authorized area, through the modeling of private cloud computing. The private cloud-based environment is designed, for patient health monitoring called bounded telemonitoring system, to acquire the real-time medical information of patients that resided in the boundary, inside medical wards and outside medical wards, of the medical center. A new wireless sensor network scenario is designed and modeled to keep or monitor the patients’ health information whole day, 24 hours. This research is a new secured sight towards medical information access and gives directions for future developments in the medical systems.
Improvement of Cochineal Extract (Dactylopius coccus Costa) Properties Based on the Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles for Application in Organic Devices
Authors: Stael Carina , Cruz Ricardo , Naranjo Blanca , Debut Alexis , Angulo Yolanda
Published: May 2018

The UV-Vis absorption and conductivity properties of the organic sample cochineal (Dactylopius coccus Costa) were modified by using it as a reducing agent in the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles. This was done in a straightforward way in order to allow its possible application in organic devices. The biosynthesized solution exhibited a hybrid material with a UV-Vis absorbance range from 205 to 650 nm. The sizes of silver nanoparticles of the hybrid material were between 5 and 10 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed silver structures, when samples were dried at 100°C. At 40°C, the structures detected were chlorargyrite (AgCl) and silver oxide (Ag2O). The nucleation and subsequent growth of the hybrid thin film on the substrates indicated an increase of clusters and roughness in comparison to thin films made solely from cochineal. The thin films of hybrid materials showed an improvement of 40% in their electrical potential. The stability at room temperature demonstrated that the hybrid material could be useful as a potential candidate for photoactive thin films in organic devices.
A Scoping Review on Tangible and Spatial Awareness Interaction Technique in Mobile Augmented Reality-Authoring Tool in Kitchen
Authors: Muhammad Nizam Siti Soleha , Lam Meng Chun , Arshad Haslina , Suwadi Nur Asylah
Published: May 2018

The interaction paradigm has changed with the emerging technology, mobile augmented reality, and spatial awareness mobile device. The traditional way for designing a kitchen can cause mistake in measurement and user’s imagination is different from kitchen advisor’s sketch design due to limitation of human imagination. Using mobile augmented reality technology, the user can overlay the virtual kitchen outcome that could fit with the actual kitchen environment. Interaction technique is required in order to allow the user to change the characteristic of the virtual kitchen to suite their need. Thus, this paper is intended to propose the tangible and spatial awareness interaction techniques in the kitchen design authoring tool. A scoping review related to the previous research on tangible and spatial awareness interaction is presented in this paper. The proposed techniques were based on the review on the existing interaction technique and the interview section with the Malaysian kitchen designer by understanding the kitchen design elements and flow. The proposed techniques will be further improved by going through the heuristic evaluation with the augmented reality expert.
Major Organic Involvement in Women with Fabry Disease in Argentina
Authors: Perretta Fernando , Antongiovanni Norberto , Jaurretche Sebastián
Published: May 2018

Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder resulting from the deficiency or absence of the alpha galactosidase A enzyme. Organic involvement in men is well known, but in women it is controversial, partly due to the random X-chromosomes inactivation (Lyon hypothesis). The aim of this study was to describe the organic involvement in women at the time of FD diagnosis. A descriptive, cross-sectional and multicenter study was carried out. Thirty-five women with FD from three reference centers in Argentina were evaluated. The mean age of the whole group (n=35) was 26.6±16.9 years; 22 were adult (over 18) and 13 were paediatric patients. Enzymatic activity was performed in 29/35 patients, which was normal in 24/29 (82.8%). Seven different mutations of the GLA gene were found. The results showed urinary protein loss (45.7%) and decreased glomerular filtration rate (31.4%), mainly in adults. And also, cornea verticillata (56.5%), peripheral neuropathy (51.4%), cardiovascular manifestations (31.4%), hearing loss (20%), angiokeratomas (20%), central nervous system (17.1%), and gastrointestinal involvement (14.3%). Organic compromise in females with FD may be as severe as in men. This analysis has demonstrated a significant proportion of women with signs, symptoms, and major organic involvement at FD diagnosis.
Efficient Eye-Blinking Detection on Smartphones: A Hybrid Approach Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Han Young-Joo , Kim Wooseong , Park Joon-Sang
Published: May 2018

We propose an efficient method that can be used for eye-blinking detection or eye tracking on smartphone platforms in this paper. Eye-blinking detection or eye-tracking algorithms have various applications in mobile environments, for example, a countermeasure against spoofing in face recognition systems. In resource limited smartphone environments, one of the key issues of the eye-blinking detection problem is its computational efficiency. To tackle the problem, we take a hybrid approach combining two machine learning techniques: SVM (support vector machine) and CNN (convolutional neural network) such that the eye-blinking detection can be performed efficiently and reliably on resource-limited smartphones. Experimental results on commodity smartphones show that our approach achieves a precision of 94.4% and a processing rate of 22 frames per second.
Transforming Triple Cropping System to Four Crops Pattern: An Approach of Enhancing System Productivity through Intensifying Land Use System in Bangladesh
Authors: Islam Md. Aminul , Islam Md. Jahedul , Ali M. Akkas , Rahman Khan A. S. M. Mahbubur , Hossain Md. Faruque , Moniruzzaman Md.
Published: May 2018

Changing three crops pattern to four crops can play a potential role for achieving countries food security. With this view to increase crop productivity, production efficiency, land use efficiency, and economic return through intensifying cropping intensity as well as crop diversity by transforming three crops pattern to four crops, the experiment was conducted in High Ganges River Floodplain Soils under the Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) 11 at Pali, Durgapur, under the Multilocation Testing Site, Puthia, Rajshahi, for two consecutive years 2014-15 and 2015-16. Four crops pattern mustard-onion/maize-T. Aman rice was tested at on-farm condition over the existing three crops pattern mustard-onion-T. Aman rice. Maize was introduced here as a relay crop with onion to fit it in the four crops pattern. The experiment was laid out in RCB design with six dispersed replications. Two-year crop cycles were completed, and data regarding component crops yield were considered for assessing the performance of the two cropping patterns for making a sense of comparing productivity. Although there was no significant difference in component crops yield between four crops and three crops pattern, as an additional crop, maize tremendously increased the system productivity and economic return of the four crops pattern. Higher rice equivalent yield 28.96 t·ha−1 in 2013-14 and 30.95 t·ha−1 in 2014-15 was recorded from the four crops pattern with a mean rice equivalent yield (REY) 29.95 t·ha−1 over the existing pattern with a mean value 21.76 t·ha−1. However, four crops pattern resulted in higher cultivation cost due to growing maize as an additional crop; nevertheless, it gave the higher gross return, marginal return, marginal benefit cost ratio, and production efficiency. The four crops pattern resulted averagely 37.63% higher production (REY) compared to the existing three crops pattern. Production as well as land use efficiency were increased by 9.33% and 19.18%, respectively, from the intensified alternate pattern.
Supervised Land Use Inference from Mobility Patterns
Authors: Caceres Noelia , Benitez Francisco G.
Published: May 2018

This paper addresses the relationship between land use and mobility patterns. Since each particular zone directly feeds the global mobility once acting as origin of trips and others as destination, both roles are simultaneously used for predicting land uses. Specifically this investigation uses mobility data derived from mobile phones, a technology that emerges as a useful, quick data source on people’s daily mobility, collected during two weeks over the urban area of Malaga (Spain). This allows exploring the relevance of integrating weekday-weekend trip information to better determine the category of land use. First, this work classifies patterns on trips originated and terminated in each zone into groups by means of a clustering approach. Based on identifiable relationships between activity and times when travel peaks appear, a preliminary categorization of uses is provided. Then, both grouping results are used as input variables in a K-nearest neighbors (KNN) classification model to determine the exact land use. The KNN method assumes that the category of an object must be similar to the category of the closest neighbors. After training the models, the findings reveal that this approach provides a precise land use categorization, yielding the best accuracy results for the major categories of land uses in the studied area. Moreover, as a result, the weekend data certainly contributes to finding more precise land uses as those obtained by just weekday data. In particular, the percentage of correctly predicted categories using both weekday and weekend is around 80%, while just weekday data reach 67%. The comparison with actual land uses also demonstrates that this approach is able to provide useful information, identifying zones with a specific clear dominant use (residential, industrial, and commercial), as well as multiactivity zones (mixed). This fact is especially useful in the context of urban environments where multiple activities coexist.
Analysis on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Red Mud Materials and Stockpile Stability after Dilatation
Authors: Feng Yanbo , Yang Chao
Published: May 2018

Red mud is the tailings generated from the production process of aluminum industry and is mainly stacked in open‐air at present, so how to ensure the stability of red mud stockpile is very important. Regarding mud stockpile of Guizhou Aluminum Factory as the research object, this paper studies the physical and mechanical properties of Bayer red mud from wetting process, Bayer red mud from drying process, and sintering red mud through laboratory test and finally analyzes its stability under extreme rainfall condition in this region by the Geo‐Studio software. The research results show that the red muds in different processes have big difference in physical and mechanical properties. The strength of sintering red mud is about 4.2 times of that of Bayer red mud from wetting process on average, and the strength of Bayer red mud from drying process is about 1.5 times of that of Bayer red mud from wetting process on average. So, the sintering red mud can be used as the subdam of red mud stockpile, to reduce the risk of collapse and dam break. The stability coefficients of the mixed stocking method under three rainfall conditions are 2.611, 2.597, and 2.631, respectively, all of which are above 1.0. It reveals that the dilatation scheme of using the sintering red mud with good engineering properties to stockpile the Bayer red mud is feasible. It can not only guarantee the safety and stability of red mud stockpiles, but also reduce the risk of red mud dam break and the capital investment of red mud yard.
Bisoprolol Transdermal Patch Is Effective for the Treatment of AF Tachycardia
Authors: Arita Yoh , Saeki Hajime , Miyoshi Miwa , Hasegawa Shinji
Published: May 2018

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that can increase the risk of stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related complications. Its incidence increases with age and the presence of concomitant heart disease. We present the cases of a 93-year-old woman, an 82-year-old man, and an 87-year-old woman who developed AF tachycardia. This report highlights the use of a bisoprolol transdermal patch to treat AF tachycardia in 3 adult elderly patients. In this paper, we report an initial treatment strategy using a bisoprolol transdermal patch and show heart rate trends for 24 hours.
Molecular Subtype-Specific Immunocompetent Models of High-Grade Urothelial Carcinoma Reveal Differential Neoantigen Expression and Response to Immunotherapy
Authors: Saito Ryoichi , Smith Christof C. , Utsumi Takanobu , Bixby Lisa M. , Kardos Jordan , Wobker Sara E. , Stewart Kyle G. , Chai Shengjie , Manocha Ujjawal , Byrd Kevin M. , Damrauer Jeffrey S. , Williams Scott E. , Vincent Benjamin G. , Kim William Y.
Published: May 2018

High-grade urothelial cancer contains intrinsic molecular subtypes that exhibit differences in underlying tumor biology and can be divided into luminal-like and basal-like subtypes. We describe here the first subtype-specific murine models of bladder cancer and show that Upk3a-CreERT2; Trp53L/L; PtenL/L; Rosa26LSL-Luc (UPPL, luminal-like) and BBN (basal-like) tumors are more faithful to human bladder cancer than the widely used MB49 cells. Following engraftment into immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice, BBN tumors were more responsive to PD-1 inhibition than UPPL tumors. Responding tumors within the BBN model showed differences in immune microenvironment composition, including increased ratios of CD8+:CD4+ and memory:regulatory T cells. Finally, we predicted and confirmed immunogenicity of tumor neoantigens in each model. These UPPL and BBN models will be a valuable resource for future studies examining bladder cancer biology and immunotherapy.

Significance: This work establishes human-relevant mouse models of bladder cancer. Cancer Res; 78(14); 3954–68. ©2018 AACR.
Prognostic Roles of Perioperative Body Mass Index and Weight Loss in the Long-Term Survival of Gastric Cancer Patients
Authors: Park Young Suk , Park Do Joong , Lee Yoontaek , Park Ki Bum , Min Sa-Hong , Ahn Sang-Hoon , Kim Hyung-Ho
Published: May 2018

Background: Most patients with gastric cancer rapidly lose weight after gastrectomy. Therefore, analysis of the effect of body mass index (BMI) on patients with gastric cancer survival should include postoperative BMI and BMI loss and preoperative BMI. This retrospective cohort study analyzed the effect of three BMI variables and their interaction on long-term outcomes.

Methods: Preoperative BMI analysis included 2,063 patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative gastrectomy between January 2009 and December 2013 at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. BMI at postoperative 6 to 12 months was available in 1,845 of these cases.

Results: Patients with preoperative BMI 23.0 to <27.5 [HR, 0.63; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.48–0.82 for BMI 23.0 to <25.0 and HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.42–0.78 for BMI 25.0 to <27.5] and postoperative BMI 23.0 to <25.0 (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.46–0.98) showed significantly better overall survival (OS) than pre- and postoperative patients with BMI 18.5 to <23.0, respectively. Postoperative underweight (BMI <18.5; HR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.27–2.37) and postoperative severe BMI loss (>4.5; HR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.29–2.50) were associated with higher mortality. Severe BMI loss and preoperative BMI <23.0 had an adverse synergistic effect; patients with BMI <23.0 were more vulnerable to severe BMI loss than those with BMI ≥23.0. Associations with cancer-specific survival were similar.

Conclusions: All three BMI variables were prognostic factors for survival of patients with gastric cancer. Preoperative BMI and severe BMI loss had an interaction.

Impact: Perioperative BMI and weight loss should be analyzed collectively in patients with gastric cancer undergoing gastrectomy. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 27(8); 955–62. ©2018 AACR.
SREBF1 Activity Is Regulated by an AR/mTOR Nuclear Axis in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Audet-Walsh Étienne , Vernier Mathieu , Yee Tracey , Laflamme Chloé , Li Susan , Chen Yonghong , Giguère Vincent
Published: May 2018

Reprogramming of cellular metabolism is an important feature of prostate cancer, including altered lipid metabolism. Recently, it was observed that the nuclear fraction of mTOR is essential for the androgen-mediated metabolic reprogramming of prostate cancer cells. Herein, it is demonstrated that the androgen receptor (AR) and mTOR bind to regulatory regions of sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1) to control its expression, whereas dual activation of these signaling pathways also promotes SREBF1 cleavage and its translocation to the nucleus. Consequently, SREBF1 recruitment to regulatory regions of its target genes is induced upon treatment with the synthetic androgen R1881, an effect abrogated upon inhibition of the mTOR signaling pathway. In turn, pharmacologic and genetic inhibition of SREBF1 activity impairs the androgen-mediated induction of the key lipogenic genes fatty acid synthase (FASN) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1). Consistent with these observations, the expression of the SREBF1, FASN, and SCD1 genes is significantly correlated in human prostate cancer tumor clinical specimens. Functionally, blockade of SREBF1 activity reduces the androgen-driven lipid accumulation. Interestingly, decreased triglyceride accumulation observed upon SREBF1 inhibition is paralleled by an increase in mitochondrial respiration, indicating a potential rewiring of citrate metabolism in prostate cancer cells. Altogether, these data define an AR/mTOR nuclear axis, in the context of prostate cancer, as a novel pathway regulating SREBF1 activity and citrate metabolism.

Implications: The finding that an AR/mTOR complex promotes SREBF1 expression and activity enhances our understanding of the metabolic adaptation necessary for prostate cancer cell growth and suggests novel therapeutic approaches to target metabolic vulnerabilities in tumors. Mol Cancer Res; 16(9); 1396–405. ©2018 AACR.