bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preoperative portal vein embolization followed by right hepatectomy to treat a complex common bile duct injury in a 5-year-old child
Authors: Glinka Juan , Bruballa Rocio , de Santibañes Martin , Sanchez Clariá Rodrigo , Ardiles Victoria , Mazza Oscar María , Pekolj Juan , de Santibañes Eduardo
Published: June 2019

Background

Common bile duct injuries (CBDIs) remains a rare but serious complication in children undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), with an incidence of 0.44%. In severe lesions, a major liver resection may be necessary as a definitive treatment. The current principles for safe hepatectomy are mainly focused on the liver parenchyma that remains after resection. Therefore, one of the main factors related to posthepatectomy hepatic insufficiency is the quantity and quality of the future liver remnant (FLR). To achieve an optimal FLR, techniques such as portal vein embolization (PVE) are available.

Case presentation

We present the case of a 5-year-old child with a severe CBDI after LC, treated with preoperative PVE followed by a right hepatectomy as definitive treatment. No reports of liver resections and PVE are described in the literature concerning the pediatric population.
Fibre digestion by rumen microbiota — a review of recent metagenomic and metatranscriptomic studies
Authors: Terry Stephanie A. , Badhan Ajay , Wang Yuxi , Chaves Alexandre V. , McAllister Tim A.
Published: June 2019

Plant biomass is the most abundant renewable resource on the planet, and the biopolymers of lignocellulose are the foundation of ruminant production systems. Optimizing the saccharification of lignocellulosic feeds is a crucial step in their bioconversion to ruminant protein. Plant cell walls are chemically heterogeneous structures that have evolved to provide structural support and protection to the plant. Ruminants are the most efficient digesters of lignocellulose due to a rich array of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and protozoa within the rumen and lower digestive tract. Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic studies have enhanced the current understanding of the composition, diversity, and function of the rumen microbiome. There is particular interest in identifying the carbohydrate-active enzymes responsible for the ruminal degradation of plant biomass. Understanding the roles of cellulosomes- and polysaccharide-utilising loci in ruminal fibre degradation could provide insight into strategies to enhance forage utilisation by ruminants. Despite advancements in “omics” technology, the majority of rumen microorganisms are still uncharacterised, and their ability to act synergistically is still not understood. By advancing our current knowledge of rumen fibre digestion, there may be opportunity to further improve the productive performance of ruminants fed forage diets.
The Abraham–Lorentz force and electrodynamics at the classical electron radius
Authors: Polonyi Janos
Published: June 2019

The Abraham–Lorentz force is a finite remnant of the UV singular structure of the self-interaction of a point charge with its own field. The satisfactory description of such an interaction needs a relativistic regulator. This turns out to be a problematic point because the energy of regulated relativistic cutoff theories is unbounded from below. However, one can construct point-splitting regulators which keep the Abraham–Lorentz force stable. The classical language can be reconciled with QED by pointing out that the effective quantum theory for the electric charge supports a saddle point producing the classical radiation reaction forces.
Preheating in the nonminimal derivative coupling curvaton model with nonstandard kinetic matter term
Authors: Li Xinfei , Fan Jinbo , Liu Xin , Deng Gao-Ming , Huang Yong-Chang
Published: June 2019

The curvaton scenario received much attention recently. It provides an alternative way to generate scale-invariant perturbations for the observed universe, besides the standard inflation paradigm. This paper studies the preheating in the nonminimal derivative coupling curvaton model with a nonstandard kinetic matter term, as a consequence of the large scale power spectrums of curvature perturbation. It is found that the nonstandard kinetic matter term is able to modify the behavior of the preheating, compared to the nonminimal derivative coupling curvaton model with standard kinetic matter term. Our result may provide an insight to the preheating process for bouncing cosmology or brane-inspired cosmology.
Lump soliton wave solutions for the (2+1)-dimensional Konopelchenko–Dubrovsky equation and KdV equation
Authors: Khater Mostafa M. A. , Lu Dianchen , Attia Raghda A. M.
Published: June 2019

This paper studies (2+1)-dimensional Konopelchenko–Dubrovsky equation and (2+1)-dimensional KdV equation via a modified auxiliary equation technique. These two systems describe the connection between the nonlinear weaves with a weak scattering and long-range interactions between the tropical, mid-latitude troposphere, the interaction of equatorial and mid-latitude Rossby waves, respectively. We implement a novel technique to these systems to find analytical traveling wave solutions. The performance of this novel method shows its ability for applying on various nonlinear partial differential equations. All solutions obtained are checked by the Maple software system and verified for its high fidelity.
WiCLoc: A Novel CSI-based Fingerprint Localization System
Authors: Zhang Lei , Hu Yanjun , Liu Yafeng , Li Jiaxiang , Ding Enjie
Published: June 2019

With the rapid development of smart devices and WiFi networks, WiFi-based indoor localization is becoming increasingly important in location-based services. Among various localization techniques, the fingerprint-based method has attracted much interest due to its high accuracy and low equipment requirement. Traditional fingerprint-based indoor localization systems mostly obtain positioning by measuring the received signal strength indicator (RSSI). However, the RSSI is affected by environmental influences, thereby limiting the precision of positioning. Therefore, we propose a new indoor fingerprint localization system based on channel state information (CSI). We adopt a novel method, in which the amplitude and phase of the CSI are fused to generate fingerprints in the training phase and apply a weighted [Formula: see text]-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm for fingerprint matching during the estimation phase. The system is validated in an exhibition hall and laboratory and we also compare the results of the proposed system with those of two CSI-based and an RSSI-based fingerprint localization systems. The results show that the proposed system achieves a minimum mean distance error of 0.85[Formula: see text]m in the exhibition hall and 1.28[Formula: see text]m in the laboratory, outperforming the other systems.
Guess-Work and Reasonings on Centennial Evolution of Surface Air Temperature in Russia. Part V: Stability Margin Towards Emergency
Authors: Kolokolov Yury , Monovskaya Anna
Published: June 2019

The paper presents a discussion on an opinion about the stability margin towards an emergency in local climate dynamics from the bifurcation analysis viewpoint. With this purpose we propose to attract the practice-oriented bifurcation analysis, where the conflict-of-units between notions used to understand natural evolution processes and notions used to describe desirable artificial regimes is resolved by integrating analytics on the basis of modified bifurcation diagrams. The discussion focuses on the phenomenon of interannual temperature variability, where local annual maximums and minimums are analyzed with daily details in both time and temperature coordinates. This phenomenon is considered via the probable, periodical and regulator conceptions. Advantages of the regulator conception are verified by results of processing the data of temperature meteorological observations on daily means over the last 135 years. This conception is based on the HDS-hypothesis, in accordance to which local climate dynamics is determined by the natural competition between the amplitude quantization (restricted by the temperature Hysteresis) and time quantization (caused by the Double Synchronization). Thus an alternation between three elementary processes with the same period (year) and different patterns of annual warming–cooling cycles is supposed as a typical behavior for local climate systems, and the idea on high-dynamic local climate ensembles is developed instead of the conventional opinion on quasi-static local climate norms. Mechanisms of temperature changes due to abrupt shifts (so-called change-points) of the HDS-regulator parameters are distinguished from mechanisms of temperature changes due to bifurcations. The notion of a stability margin is used as a distance to an emergency and is visualized in the parametrical space. So, in spite of the mechanisms of temperature changes with/without bifurcations are different, their conflict-free sewing becomes conceptually possible in the context of the stability margin towards emergencies determined relatively bifurcation boundaries in the parametrical space. Since the discussed dynamics is not supposed to exist in terms of the traditional estimations concerning the observed local climate changes, then we believe that the paper would be interesting for scientists in the field of bifurcation analysis as well as for scientists and specialists, activity areas of which relate to the contemporary challenges connected with climate changes.
ω-Chaos Without Infinite LY-Scrambled Set on Gehman Dendrite
Authors: Drwięga Tomasz , Oprocha Piotr
Published: June 2019

We answer the last question left open in [Kočan, 2012] which asks whether there is a relation between an infinite LY-scrambled set and [Formula: see text]-chaos for dendrite maps. We construct a continuous self-map of a dendrite without any infinite LY-scrambled set but containing an uncountable [Formula: see text]-scrambled set.
One-Dimensional Fluorescent Nanosized-Diamond Nanowires with Fluorescent Detection of Vitamin B12
Authors: Wang Jilong , Su Siheng , Qiu Jingjing , Wang Shiren
Published: June 2019

In this paper, a novel and facile method to achieve fluorescent nanosized-diamond based nanowire (NW) is reported. One-dimensional (1D) organic NW has received tremendous attention due to its superior chemical functionality and size-, shape-, and material-dependent properties. In addition, nanosized-diamond is comprehensively studied and investigated due to superior tunable fluorescent properties, cost-effectiveness, facile manufacturing and high biocompatibility. Through thermal treatment, sulfur-modified nanosized-diamond was fabricated by mixing oxidized nanosized-diamond and dibenzyl disulfide at 900∘C. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and zeta potential were employed to characterize sulfur-modified nanosized-diamond. After that, porous anodic aluminum oxide template-assisted cathodic electrophoretic deposition method was used to achieve sulfur-modified nanosized-diamond NW. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were applied to present the one-dimensional structure of the NWs. The optical properties of sulfur nanosized-diamond NW were characterized via ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Finally, the as-synthesized sulfur-modified nanosized-diamond NW-based optical sensor was fabricated to detect vitamin B[Formula: see text] with high sensitivity and selectivity.
Sensitive Optical Probe for Hydrogen Peroxide Using Carbon Quantum Dots Synthesized by Glutathione
Authors: Huang Qing , Zhao Huawen
Published: June 2019

Herein, we present the one-pot synthesis of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) using glutathione and used for the optical detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Unlike as reported in other literatures, the detection of H2O2 is free of using any additional chromogenic agents or metal ions. The CQDs are synthesized using glutathione by one-pot hydrothermal at 180∘C. The as-prepared CQDs exhibit good fluorescence response toward H2O2 without involving extra chromogenic substances. The addition of 300[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M H2O2 to CQDs induces the quenching of fluorescence, besides the yellow becomes colorless. The decrease in the fluorescence is attributed to the polymeric structure of CQDs disbanded by H2O2. In addition, the practical application of the present method was verified by determining H2O2 in human urine samples.
Preference levels for clusters of alternatives
Authors: Smerchinskaya Svetlana O. , Yashina Nina P.
Published: June 2019

In the decision-making tasks for ranking the alternatives and choosing the best ones, procedures on the digraphs are often used. A digraph of the aggregated relation on a set of alternatives for information of experts or criteria is preconstructed. If the digraph does not contain any cycles, then the Demukron algorithm for partitioning the digraph into levels can be used to order the alternatives by preference. This algorithm cannot be applied if there are clusters consisting of equivalent alternatives. In the paper the algorithm for partitioning an arbitrary digraph of into preference levels is proposed. In contrast to the standard procedure, the digraph of the aggregated relation admits the presence of cycles, and, consequently, of equivalent vertexes-alternatives. The vertexes in any cycle of digraph belong to one level of preference.
Animation Techniques in Human-Robot Interaction User Studies
Authors: Schulz Trenton , Torresen Jim , Herstad Jo
Published: June 2019

There are many different ways a robot can move in Human-Robot Interaction. One way is to use techniques from film animation to instruct the robot to move. This article is a systematic literature review of human-robot trials, pilots, and evaluations that have applied techniques from animation to move a robot. Through 27 articles, we find that animation techniques improves an individual’s interaction with robots, improving the individual’s perception of qualities of a robot, understanding what a robot intends to do, and showing the robot’s state or possible emotion. Animation techniques also help people relate to robots that do not resemble a human or robot. The studies in the articles show further areas for research, such as applying animation principles in other types of robots and situations, combining animation techniques with other modalities, and testing robots moving with animation techniques over the long term.
Real-Time Fluid Simulation on the Surface of a Sphere
Authors: Yang Bowen , Corse William , Lu Jiecong , Wolper Joshuah , Jiang Chen-Fanfu
Published: June 2019

We present a novel approach for animating incompressible fluids with Eulerian advection-projection solvers on the surface of a sphere by extending the recent work by Hill and Henderson [2016] with a staggered spherical grid discretization. By doing so, we avoid the infamous checkerboard null modes. We additionally introduce new, straightforward polar singularity treatments that avoid the previous need for any spectral filtering of high-frequency noise at the poles. Lastly, we enforce incompressibility with a fast Fourier solution to Poisson's equation for pressure in spherical coordinates. Our high-performance GPU-based framework combines scalability, art-directability, and ease of implementation, and reaches real-time speeds for various practical scenarios.
Psychiatric and Behavioral Complications of GPi DBS in an Adolescent with Myoclonus Dystonia
Authors: Kriegel Graciela , Stuckey Melanie I.
Published: June 2019

Myoclonus dystonia is a rare movement disorder that often causes significant disability. Deep brain stimulation of the internal pallidum (GPi DBS) is a recommended treatment for those who do not respond to pharmacotherapy or who have intolerable side effects. This paper reports on the case of a 17-year-old male who was admitted to a tertiary level mental healthcare facility for treatment of psychiatric and behavioral symptoms thought to be related to GPi DBS. Prior to GPi DBS insertion, the patient was diagnosed with anxiety and mild obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Following insertion, his OCD became severe and he developed depression, Tourette syndrome, and stuttering. His first admission to a psychiatric unit was for management of a manic episode following treatment for depression with fluoxetine, and he began to exhibit severe aggressive behavior. GPi DBS was turned off, but there were neither changes in dystonic movements nor improvement in aggressive behavior or psychiatric symptoms, though stuttering improved. The patient was transferred to a secure treatment centre where he was able to gain control over his behaviors with intense dialectical behavior therapy, but the aggressive behavior and safety concerns continue to persist today.
A Novel Two‐Level Nested STAP Strategy for Clutter Suppression in Airborne Radar
Authors: Wang Wei , Zou Lin , Wang Xuegang
Published: June 2019

Nested arrays have been studied recently in array signal processing field because of their closed‐form expressions for the sensor locations and achievable degrees of freedom (DOFs). In this paper, the concept of nesting is further extended to space‐time adaptive processing (STAP). Different from the traditional uniform‐STAP method that calculates the clutter plus noise covariance matrix (CNCM) and performs the STAP filter direct using the data snapshots collected from the uniform linear array (ULA) and the transmitting pulses with uniform pulse repetition interval (PRI), we present a new optimum two‐level nested STAP (O2LN‐STAP) strategy which employs an optimum two‐level nested array (O2LNA) and an optimum two‐level nested PRI (O2LN‐PRI) to exploit the enhanced DOFs embedded in the space‐time O2LN structure. Similar to the difference coarray perspective, we first construct a virtual space‐time snapshot from the direct covariance matrix of the received signals. Then, a new CNCM estimation corresponding to the virtual space‐time snapshot can be computed by the spatial‐temporal smoothing technique for STAP filter. Furthermore, the comparative simulations and analyses with the traditional uniform‐STAP and the recently reported coprime‐STAP are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the O2LN‐STAP approach.
Effect of Process Parameters on Repeatability Precision of Weight for Microinjection Molding Products
Authors: Wang Quan , Wang Jinrong , Yang Chongying , Du Kaihui , Zhu Wenli , Zhang Xiaoli
Published: June 2019

The repeatability precision of weight for injection molded products is important technical parameter to measure the quality and accuracy of injection molded products and evaluate the performance of injection molding machine. The influence of mold temperature, melt temperature, packing pressure, and packing time on the weight of microinjection molding products was studied by Taguchi orthogonal experiment. The influence of peak cavity pressure on the weight of products also was analysed. The experimental results show that the packing pressure is the most important process parameter affecting both the weight of the tensile and the impact specimens. With the increase of the packing pressure, the weight of the tensile and the impact specimens increases. When the peak cavity pressure reaches a certain value, the pressure value of the tensile specimen is 65 MPa, and the pressure value of the impact specimen is 68 MPa, the weight of the product increases quickly. The packing pressure increased from 85 MPa to 100 MPa, the weight of the tensile specimen increased from 0.544g to 0.559g, an increase of 2.7%, and the weight of the impact specimen increased from 0.418g to 0.425g, an increase of 1.7%.
Simulation Analysis of Bionic Robot Fish Based on MFC Materials
Authors: Zhang Chengguang
Published: June 2019

With the development of marine resources, research on underwater robots has received unprecedented attention. The discovery and application of new smart materials provide new ideas for the research of underwater robots, which can overcome the issues of traditional underwater robots and optimize their design. A macro fiber composite (MFC) is a new type of piezoelectric fiber composite that combines actuators and sensors. The material has excellent deflection, good flexibility, and a high electromechanical coupling coefficient. Bionic mechatronics design is an effective way to innovate mechatronics in the future and can significantly improve mechatronics system performance. As an important issue for the design of bionic mechatronics, it is necessary to make robots as soft as natural organisms to achieve similar biological movement with both higher efficiency and performance. Compared with traditional rigid robots, the design and control of a soft robotic fish are difficult because the coupling between the flexible structure and the surrounding environment should be considered, which is difficult to solve due to the large deformation and coupling dynamics. In this paper, an MFC smart material is applied as an actuator in the design of bionic robotic fish. Combined with the piezoelectric constitutive and elastic constitutive equations of the MFC material, the voltage‐drive signal is converted to a mechanical load applied to the MFC actuator, which makes the MFC material deform and drives the movement of the robotic fish. The characteristics of caudal fin motion during the swimming process of the bionic robotic fish were analyzed by an acoustic‐solid coupling analysis method. The motion control analysis of the bionic robotic fish was carried out by changing the applied driving signal. Through numerical analysis, a new type of soft robotic fish was designed, and the feasibility of using an MFC smart material for underwater bionic robotic fish actuators was verified. The new soft robotic fish was successfully developed to achieve high performance.
Chlorella vulgaris Improves the Regenerative Capacity of Young and Senescent Myoblasts and Promotes Muscle Regeneration
Authors: Zainul Azlan Nurhazirah , Mohd Yusof Yasmin Anum , Alias Ekram , Makpol Suzana
Published: June 2019

Sarcopenia is characterized by the loss of muscle mass, strength, and function with ageing. With increasing life expectancy, greater attention has been given to counteracting the effects of sarcopenia on the growing elderly population. Chlorella vulgaris, a microscopic, unicellular, green alga with the potential for various pharmaceutical uses, has been widely studied in this context. This study is aimed at determining the effects of C. vulgaris on promoting muscle regeneration by evaluating myoblast regenerative capacity in vitro. Human skeletal myoblast cells were cultured and underwent serial passaging into young and senescent phases and were then treated with C. vulgaris, followed by the induction of differentiation. The ability of C. vulgaris to promote myoblast differentiation was analysed through cellular morphology, real-time monitoring, cell proliferation, senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) expression, myogenic differentiation, myogenin expression, and cell cycle profiling. The results obtained showed that senescent myoblasts exhibited an enlarged and flattened morphology, with increased SA-β-gal expression, reduced myogenic differentiation, decreased expression of myogenin, and an increased percentage of cells in the G0/G1 phase. Treatment with C. vulgaris resulted in decreased SA-β-gal expression and promotion of myogenic differentiation, as observed via an increased fusion index, maturation index, myotube size, and surface area and an increased percentage of cells that stained positive for myogenin. In conclusion, C. vulgaris improves the regenerative capacity of young and senescent myoblasts and promotes myoblast differentiation, indicating its potential to promote muscle regeneration.
Study of Flight Departure Delay and Causal Factor Using Spatial Analysis
Authors: Cheng Shaowu , Zhang Yaping , Hao Siqi , Liu Ruiwei , Luo Xiao , Luo Qian
Published: June 2019

Analysis of flight delay and causal factors is crucial in maintaining airspace efficiency and safety. However, delay samples are not independent since they always show a certain aggregation pattern. Therefore, this study develops a novel spatial analysis approach to explore the delay and causal factors which is able to take dependence and the possible problem involved including error correlation and variable lag effect of causal factors on delay into account. The study first explores the delay aggregation pattern by measuring and quantifying the spatial dependence of delay. The spatial error model (SEM) and spatial lag model (SLM) are then established to solve the error correlation and the variable lag effect, respectively. Results show that the SEM and SLM achieve better fit than ordinary least square (OLS) regression, which indicates the effectiveness of considering dependence by employing spatial analysis. Moreover, the outcomes suggest that, aside from the well-known weather and flow control factors, delay-reduction strategies also need to pay more attention to reducing the impact of delay at the previous airport.
A Multilevel Analysis of Regressors of Access to Improved Drinking Water and Sanitation Facilities in Ghana
Authors: Agbadi Pascal , Darkwah Ernest , Kenney Paul L.
Published: June 2019

People’s access to quality water and sanitation resources significantly improves their health. Using the 2014 Ghana DHS dataset, multilevel robust Poisson regression modelling was performed to investigate the factors that enhance Ghanaian households’ access to improved sources of drinking water and toilet facilities. The results indicated that household head and household socioeconomic factors have significant effects on access to improved sources of drinking water and toilet facilities, and this varies from one community of residence to another. The following households had a higher probability of having access to improved sources of drinking water: female-headed households, households with heads who had at least attained middle-school-level education, urban households, and nonpoorest households. Correspondingly, the following households were more likely to have access to improved toilet facilities: female-headed households had a higher chance of access, as well as those whose heads had at least middle-school-level education, were at least 35 years old, or were currently married, rural households, households with a minimum of seven members, and households who attained at least middle wealth status. In their efforts to increase citizens’ access to improved water and sanitation facilities, the government and other development organizations should develop citizens’ wealth-creation capacities and enable their attainment of formal education.
A Rare Case of Herpes Simplex Virus-2 Hepatitis with Negative Serology
Authors: Soliman Mohanad , Akanbi Olalekan , Almagdub Ihab , Karri Kishore , Yarra Pradeep , Emhmed Ali Saad , El Haddad Hanine
Published: June 2019

Herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV2) hepatitis represents a rare but serious complication of HSV2 infection that can progress to acute liver failure (ALF). We describe a case of a pregnant teenager who presented with four days of fever, headache, malaise, nausea, and vomiting. She was initially misdiagnosed with sepsis of unclear source and treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Empiric acyclovir was started one week into her hospitalization despite negative serologies while awaiting HSV2 PCR leading to complete resolution of symptoms. Given its high mortality and nonspecific presentation, clinicians should consider HSV hepatitis in all patients with acute hepatitis especially in high-risk population.
Prognostic Value of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) in Human Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Liao Wenbiao , Ye Tao , Liu Haoran
Published: June 2019

Background. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is confirmed to regulate the production of nitric oxide (NO) when cells are exposed to external stimulus. Recent publications revealed that overexpression of iNOS predicted poor clinical outcomes for patients with malignant cancers, e.g., gastric, bladder, and colorectal cancers; however, several studies reported no obvious relationship between iNOS expression and prognosis of solid tumors. The aim of our study was to investigate the pooled effect of the prognostic value of iNOS expression.Materials and Methods. We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases up to January 15, 2019. The concerned outcomes of interest included overall survival (OS), cancer-special survival (CSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS).Results. Fourteen studies with 1,758 patients were included in this meta-analysis, and we reached the conclusion that increased iNOS expression was significantly associated with worse OS (HR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.57 - 2.28, p ≤ 0.001), worse CSS (HR: 3.13, 95% CI: 1.88 - 5.20, p ≤ 0.001), and worse RFS (HR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.29 - 3.62, p = 0.003) in solid tumors. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis identified the significant relationship of high iNOS expression with poor OS in gastric cancer. No obvious publication bias was detected by Begg’s tests.Conclusion. In summary, the results drawn in our meta-analysis demonstrated that elevated expression of iNOS had a significant association with poor survival in human cancer. iNOS might serve as a promising predictive biomarker of prognosis in cancer patients, and well-designed prospective studies are further needed to substantiate the prognostic value of iNOS.
The Chinese Herbal Formula Shenzhu Tiaopi Granule Results in Metabolic Improvement in Type 2 Diabetic Rats by Modulating the Gut Microbiota
Authors: Zhao Jindong , Li Yan , Sun Min , Xin Ling , Wang Tianming , Wei Liangbing , Yu Chanjuan , Liu Mengmeng , Ni Yingqun , Lu Ruimin , Bao Taotao , Zhang Lu , Wu Yuanyuan , Fang Zhaohui
Published: June 2019

Objective. The aim of this study is to investigate the implication of the Chinese herbal formula (CHF) Shenzhu tiaopi Granule (STG) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and discuss the mechanisms by which STG regulates the gut microbiota.Method. Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats and age-matched Wistar (W) rats were acclimatized for 1 week. The GK rats were randomly divided into 3 groups and orally gavaged with saline (model group, M), acarbose (acarbose group, A), and STG (granule of CHF group, G; the component of this formula includesCodonopsis pilosula,Rhizoma Atractylodis,Pinellia,Poria cocos,Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae,Coptis chinensis Franch,and Pueraria). The W rats were orally gavaged with saline (control group, C). The observation time was 8 weeks. The weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG) level, and blood lipid levels were tested. The 16S rRNA genes in the V3-V4 region were sequenced, and the structure of the gut microbiota was analysed.Results. Compared to C, M displayed significant differences in blood glucose, gut microbiota, etc. (P<0.05; P<0.01). Compared to M, A and G showed a similar reduction in the FBG gain and a shift in the structure of the gut microbiota (P<0.05; P<0.01). Compared with A, G exhibited a significant decrease in weight, FBG level, and total cholesterol (P<0.05). The gut microbiota, Bacteroidetes, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio,Allobaculum, and Desulfovibrionaceae were significantly decreased in response to the STG treatment, whileLactobacilluswas significantly enriched (P<0.05; P<0.01). The community composition also differed at the phylum and genus levels based on the linear discriminant analysis effect size and heat map.Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the composition of the gut microbiota was significantly changed in the diabetic GK rats compared with that in the normal W rats. STG treatment can improve glucose and lipid levels and modulate the gut microbiota in T2DM rats.
Synthesis of Acidic Heterogeneous Catalysts with High Stability Based on Graphene Oxide/Activated Carbon Composites for the Esterification of Lactic Acid
Authors: Vu Thu Ha Thi , Nguyen Manh Ha , Nguyen Minh Dang
Published: June 2019

In this article, acidic heterogeneous catalysts based on graphene oxide and sulfonated biochar were prepared, characterized, and used for lactic acid esterification to form ethyl lactate. Graphene oxide was supported on activated carbon (GO/AC) to more easily filter the catalyst from the reactants. The catalysts were characterized by such methods as XRD, FT-IR, SEM, BET, and the acid-base titration. Catalytic activity was evaluated through the esterification of lactic acid. As a result, the activity of the catalysts decreased in the following order: graphene oxide > sulfonated biochar ≈ GO/AC >> activated carbon. In addition, the GO/AC catalyst showed good stability with an unchanged yield from the 3rd to the 6th recycling test. These results suggest potential applications for new acidic heterogeneous catalysts based on graphene oxide and sulfonated biochar that could replace homogeneous acids in the future.
Vitamin D3Activates Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase/Protein Kinase B via Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 to Improve Testicular Function in Diabetic Rats
Authors: He Yanyan , Liu Yang , Wang Qing-Zhu , Guo Feng , Huang Fengjuan , Ji Linlin , An Tingting , Qin Guijun
Published: June 2019

Objective. In diabetes mellitus, vitamin D3deficiency affects sex hormone levels and male fertility; however, the mechanism leading to the disorder is unclear. This research was designed to investigate the mechanism of vitamin D3deficiency and hypogonadism in diabetic rats. Our aim was to assess serum vitamin D3levels and the relationship among vitamin D3, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and testicular function.Materials and Methods. Rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were randomly divided into four groups and treated with different doses of vitamin D3: no vitamin D3, low (0.025μg/kg/day), high (0.1μg/kg/day), and high (0.1μg/kg/day) with JB-1 (the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor inhibitor group, 100μg/kg/day). The groups were compared with wild-type rats, which function as the control group. Various parameters such as vitamin D3and IGF-1 were compared between the experimental and wild-type groups, and their correlations were determined.Results. Twelve weeks of vitamin D3supplementation improved the testosterone levels, as shown by the increase in the level of serum IGF-1 in diabetic rats. Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT), which was a downstream of the signaling pathway of IGF-1, was significantly increased after vitamin D3treatment.Conclusions. The study shows that vitamin D3may promote the expression of testosterone and improve testicular function in diabetic rats by activating PI3K/AKT via IGF-1.
Bearing Fault Diagnosis with Kernel Sparse Representation Classification Based on Adaptive Local Iterative Filtering‐Enhanced Multiscale Entropy Features
Authors: Zhang Jinbao , Zhao Yongqiang , Li Xinglin , Liu Ming
Published: June 2019

To improve the bearings diagnosis accuracy considering multiple fault types with small samples, a new approach that combined adaptive local iterative filtering (ALIF), multiscale entropy features, and kernel sparse representation classification (KSRC) is put forward in this paper. ALIF is used to adaptively decompose the nonlinear, nonstationary vibration signals into a sum of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Multiple entropy features such as sample entropy, fuzzy entropy, and permutation entropy with multiscale are computed from the first three IMFs and a total of one hundred and eighty features are obtained. After normalization, the features are employed to train and test the classifier KSRC, respectively. Finally, the proposed approach is evaluated with two experimental tests. One is concerned with different types of bearing faults from the centrifugal pump; and the other is from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) considering 12 bearing fault states. Experimental results have proved that the proposed approach is efficient for bearing fault diagnosis, and high accuracy will be obtained with high dimensional features through small samples.
Prolonged Hypercupremia after Laparoscopic Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Successfully Treated with Oral Zinc
Authors: Koch Timothy R. , Zubowicz Elizabeth A. , Gross John B.
Published: June 2019

A 30-year-old female underwent vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Postoperatively, hypercupremia and elevated ceruloplasmin were identified. Further testing revealed normal blood levels of transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, and albumin. She stopped ingestion of multivitamins, began a copper-free multivitamin, and then began a low copper diet, but with no improvement in hypercupremia. Protein electrophoresis was normal with no M-spike. Urinary copper excretion was normal at 0.24 micromol/24 hours (normal: < 0.55), and there were no Kayser-Fleischer rings on slit lamp examination. Two years postoperatively, she lost 44% of excess preoperative weight and she began zinc sulfate before meals twice daily (115 mg elemental Zinc/day). At 2 months and 8 months later, plasma copper and ceruloplasmin had essentially normalized. Increased production of ceruloplasmin could have been a response to significant weight loss or the presence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The mechanism of zinc’s beneficial effect is uncertain but may be related to suppressing hepatic synthesis of or secretion of ceruloplasmin.
A Simple Method for Patterning Nanoparticles on Planar Surfaces
Authors: Tizazu Getachew
Published: June 2019

This paper describes a simple method to pattern nanoparticles on planar surfaces using the antifouling property of poly(ethylene glycol) monolayers deposited from a solution on the native oxide of titanium. Atomic force microcopy was used to pattern the poly(ethylene glycol) monolayers producing protein active sites on the protein-resistant surface. Patterns with different sizes have been generated by shaving the monolayers with different repetitions. Friction force microscopy was used to image the patterns. The smallest patterns are 50 nm and the largest patterns are 500 nm at full width half maximum. The smallest pattern was produced with one shave, whereas the largest pattern was produced by shaving the monolayers 112 times. Protein-coated nanoparticles were immobilised on the shaved (protein active) part of the monolayers by dipping the patterned samples into a solution that contains 2% by volume protein-functionalized nanoparticles with a nominal diameter of 40 nm. Atomic force microscopy was used to take a topographic image of the samples. The topographic image showed that the protein-functionalized nanoparticles were attached onto the shaved part of the substrate but not on the poly(ethylene glycol)-covered part of the substrate. The level of aggregation of the nanoparticles was also investigated from the topographic image. The section analysis of the topographic image of the nanoparticle patterns showed a height of 40 nm which proved that only a monolayer of particles were deposited on the shaved part of the monolayer.
Intensity-Dependent Effects of Acute Exercise on Executive Function
Authors: Mehren Aylin , Diaz Luque Cecilia , Brandes Mirko , Lam Alexandra P. , Thiel Christiane M. , Philipsen Alexandra , Özyurt Jale
Published: June 2019

Numerous studies suggest beneficial effects of aerobic exercise at moderate intensity on cognition, while the effects of high-intensity exercise are less clear. This study investigated the acute effects of exercise at moderate and high intensities on executive functions in healthy adults, including functional MRI to examine the underlying neural mechanisms. Furthermore, the association between exercise effects and cardiorespiratory fitness was examined. 64 participants performed in two executive function tasks (flanker and Go/No-go tasks), while functional MR images were collected, following two conditions: in the exercise condition, they cycled on an ergometer at either moderate or high intensity (each n=32); in the control condition, they watched a movie. Differences in behavioral performance and brain activation between the two conditions were compared between groups. Further, correlations between cardiorespiratory fitness and exercise effects on neural and behavioral correlates of executive performance were calculated. Moderate exercise compared to high-intensity exercise was associated with a tendency towards improved behavioral performance (sensitivity index d′) in the Go/No-go task and increased brain activation during hit trials in areas related to executive function, attention, and motor processes (insula, superior frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, and supplementary motor area). Exercise at high intensity was associated with decreased brain activation in those areas and no changes in behavioral performance. Exercise had no effect on brain activation in the flanker task, but an explorative analysis revealed that reaction times improved after high-intensity exercise. Higher cardiorespiratory fitness was correlated with increased brain activation after moderate exercise and decreased brain activation after high-intensity exercise. These data show that exercise at moderate vs. high intensity has different effects on executive task performance and related brain activation changes as measured by fMRI and that cardiorespiratory fitness might be a moderating factor of acute exercise effects. Thus, our results may contribute to further clarify the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of exercise on cognition.
A Case of Severe Acute Kidney Injury Exacerbated by Canagliflozin in a Patient with Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Hassani-Ardakania Kimya , Lipman Mark L. , Laporta Denny , Yu Oriana Hoi Yun
Published: June 2019

Background. Sodium glucose cotransport (SGLT)-2 inhibitors are the newest class of antihyperglycemic agents used as second- or third-line treatment in the management of type 2 diabetes. Although the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors has not been shown to cause nephrotoxicity, there have been case reports of SGLT-2 inhibitor use being associated with acute kidney injury. Case Presentation. A 72-year-old woman with a history of type 2 diabetes and no known chronic renal insufficiency presented to the emergency room with a 3-day history of nausea, vomiting, and increased somnolence. She was found to have potassium level of 7.4 (normal: 3.5-5.5) mmol/L and a markedly elevated creatinine level at 1154 (normal: 45-95) μmol/L. Imaging of the abdomen and pelvis did not reveal any findings of obstruction. Urine microscopy showed many granular casts. In the absence of other causes for her clinical presentation, the patient was diagnosed with acute kidney injury secondary to ischemic acute tubular necrosis, with canagliflozin use likely an important contributing factor. Conclusions. Physicians should inform patients to stop the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors when patients are unable to maintain hydration or during acute illness. Use of SGLT-2 inhibitors in managing type 2 diabetes should be done with caution among more vulnerable populations, including individuals with cognitive impairment and the elderly.
Functionalized Waterborne Polyurethane-Based Graphite-Reinforced Composites
Authors: Abdullah Nur Munirah , Mohd Rus Anika Zafiah , Abdullah M. F. L.
Published: June 2019

The synthesis and characterization of waterborne polyurethane-based oxidized graphite- (WPUG-) reinforced composites is disclosed. The morphology-structure relations of WPUG composites are studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Prior to this, it is confirmed that, in the WPUG composites, the graphite particles containing functional groups such as hydroxyl and carboxylic groups are randomly distributed and attributed to the formation of interconnected interface within the polymeric composites. This promotes enhancement in modulus and tensile strength up to ∼440% and ∼100%, respectively. Significantly, these results were correlated with viscoelastic properties in which the composites show positive response to graphite addition. Further studies in optical properties consequently attribute decreasing values in optical energy band gap (Eg) which afterwards took the leads to electrical conductivity (σ). Aptly, the composites WPUG20, WPUG25, and WPUG30 were found to possess favorable electrical conductivity through the two-point probe method. This revealed the improvement in electrical properties with promising potential as alternative petroleum-based composites to generate energy from the renewable resources and also apply greener ways for energy consumption.
Novel Model Based on Stacked Autoencoders with Sample‐Wise Strategy for Fault Diagnosis
Authors: Kong Diehao , Yan Xuefeng
Published: June 2019

Autoencoders are used for fault diagnosis in chemical engineering. To improve their performance, experts have paid close attention to regularized strategies and the creation of new and effective cost functions. However, existing methods are modified on the basis of only one model. This study provides a new perspective for strengthening the fault diagnosis model, which attempts to gain useful information from a model (teacher model) and applies it to a new model (student model). It pretrains the teacher model by fitting ground truth labels and then uses a sample‐wise strategy to transfer knowledge from the teacher model. Finally, the knowledge and the ground truth labels are used to train the student model that is identical to the teacher model in terms of structure. The current student model is then used as the teacher of next student model. After step‐by‐step teacher‐student reconfiguration and training, the optimal model is selected for fault diagnosis. Besides, knowledge distillation is applied in training procedures. The proposed method is applied to several benchmarked problems to prove its effectiveness.
Nonemergent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention on an Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Supported with Impella® Heart Pump in Patients Ineligible for Surgical Revascularization
Authors: Meraj Perwaiz M. , Dixon Simon , Moses Jeffery , Ibrahim Karim , Schäfer Andreas , Akin Ibrahim , Hill Jonathan , Schreiber Theodore , O’Neill William W.
Published: June 2019

Objectives. We sought to assess if ineligibility to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) constitutes a risk factor in patients who underwent a nonemergent unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with prophylactic Impella® heart pump support. Background. ULMCA PCI in patients not deemed eligible for CABG is associated with significantly worse outcomes compared to ULMCA PCI in eligible patients. Methods. Patients from the cVAD Registry and the PROTECT II trial who underwent a nonemergent ULMCA PCI were identified. We compared in-hospital mortality and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) rates as well as 30-day survival and MACCE rates between CABG ineligible and CABG eligible patients. Results. A total of 331 patients were included (293 Impella 2.5®, 38 Impella CP®); 227 were ineligible for CABG and 104 were eligible. Baseline characteristics were remarkable for a trend toward higher rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the ineligible patients. In-hospital mortality (3.52% vs. 5.77%; p=0.383) and MACCE (6.61% vs. 7.69%; p=0.816) rates as well as 30-day survival (92.0% vs. 93.4%; Log-Rank p-value =0.781) and MACCE (88.1% vs. 90.1%; Log-Rank p-value=0.648) rates were not different between the two groups. Conclusions. The results of our study suggest that prophylactic Impella support appears to mitigate the risks inherent to surgical ineligibility in patients undergoing a nonemergent ULMCA PCI. Our results require further investigation.