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Background/Aim: Gout, characterized by acute inflammatory symptoms and monosodium urate crystal deposits in joints, is prevalent among males and the elderly. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a common treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA), but its impact on the risk of developing gout is unclear. This study examined the risk of gout in patients undergoing TKA. Patients and Methods: Utilizing the TriNetX research network, a retrospective cohort study was conducted on OA patients without prior gout. The TKA cohort was compared to a non-TKA control group using propensity score matching to balance covariates. The primary outcome was the incidence of gout over a five-year follow-up period. Results: The study included 38,834 matched pairs of TKA and non-TKA patients. TKA patients had a 15.6% higher risk of developing gout (HR=1.156; 95%CI=1.042-1.284) compared to controls. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the increased risk across various models and follow-up durations. Conclusion: TKA is associated with a higher risk of developing gout, particularly in females and older adults. Clinicians should monitor and manage gout risk in TKA patients, emphasizing preventive measures and early intervention. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and improve patient care post-TKA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been expeditiously developing and carrying a pivotal role in education to help establish an effective educational environment. AI in Education (AIED) is impactful on the practices and environment of teaching and learning. This study investigated instructional technology faculty's perspectives about the role and utility of AI in education. Semi-structured interviews were administered to collect in-depth feedback about using AI in teaching, learning, and assessment. The four participants were college professors who taught in the instructional technology program at a large Midwestern university. Findings showed that AI does not receive enough attention from professors in general. Participants expressed strong desire to integrate AI throughout the educational environment, but maturation of integration will take time. The implication of this study is that integrating AI tools into educational settings can benefit both teachers and learners by utilizing them as intellectual assistants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Traditional teaching approaches in research methods courses demotivate students, hindering their ability to learn and apply research concepts in practical settings. Instructors who are devoted to employing active learning pedagogy in teaching research courses have observed favorable outcomes. However, a dearth of literature has focused on students' perceptions and evaluation of active learning pedagogy. This study explores how students perceive active learning approaches via in-person and writtenresponse interviews. Eighteen participants volunteered and self-selected one of the interview forms. In addition to exploring students' perspectives on active learning pedagogy, we conducted a comparison of those interviewing modes. Our analysis revealed that regardless of interview type, participants provided similar results. In-person interviews generated more information segments; however, the segments from written-response interviews provided more informative meaning. Combining all data, we developed three themes and 29 codes about students' perceptions of active learning pedagogy. We found that students valued self-exploration as well as interactive activities that promoted deep learning and knowledge transfer. Based on the results, we provide practical recommendations for how instructors can design active learning-based research courses to facilitate students in active and self-regulated learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By utilizing the so-called Doss--Sussman transformation, we link our stochastic 3D Burgers equation with linear multiplicative noise to a random 3D Burger equation. With the help of techniques from partial differential equations (PDEs) and probability, we establish the global wellposedness of stochastic 3D Burgers with the diffusion coefficient being constant. Next, by developing a solution which is orthogonal with the gradient of coefficient of the noise, we extend the global well-posedness to a more general case in which the diffusion coefficient is spatial dependent, i.e., it is a function of the spatial variable. Our results and methodology pave a way to extend some regularity results of stochastic 1D Burgers equation to stochastic 3D Burgers equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study detailed the course design principles and implementation of project-based learning (PBL) in a technology-themed graduate-level online course. Students were trained to develop knowledge and skills in instructional leadership, such as the capability to design, deliver, and evaluate educational technology professional development programs. Pre- and post- survey data were collected to examine any change in students' knowledge and skills in instructional leadership by completing this course (N = 18). Quantitative findings revealed positive learning outcomes, and there was statistical significance regarding student improvement in knowledge and skills of instructional leadership, rendering the PBL approach viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 30 years have passed since Michael F. Goodchild proposed the term geographical information science (GIScience) in 1992. In the past 30 years, GIScience has made great progress in expanding research findings and perfecting theories and methods. To understand the development progress of GIScience, this research conducts a bibliometric analysis of 9400 publications between 1991 and 2020 in 10 international refereed journals and 2 international conferences of GIScience. We analyze the publication statistics and trends in GIScience from two aspects of journals/conferences and countries/territories. Based on the community detection of the citation network, we extract 15 research themes and show their leading authors and highly cited articles. Furthermore, the change of publication number in different themes over time can indicate the evolution of some research focuses in GIScience. The results demonstrate that the publication proportions of some themes grow rapidly, such as "moving object," "volunteered geographic information," and "geographically weight regression," while the publication proportions of some themes are decreasing, such as "digital elevation model," "planning support system," and "ontology." In the discussion, the journal distribution of papers on different themes is discussed. Moreover, we suggest a few research directions that are worthy of attention in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we are concerned with regularity of nonlocal stochastic partial differential equations of parabolic type. By using Campanato estimates and Sobolev embedding theorem, we first show the Hölder continuity (locally in the whole state space ℝd) for mild solutions of stochastic nonlocal diffusion equations in the sense that the solutions belong to the space Cγ (DT; Lp(Ω)) with the optimal Hölder continuity index (which is given explicitly), where DT := [0, T] × D for T > 0, and D ⊂ ℝdd being a bounded domain. Then, by utilising tail estimates, we are able to obtain the estimates of mild solutions in Lp(Ω; Cγ* (DT)). What's more, we give an explicit formula between the two indexes γ and γ*. Moreover, we prove Hölder continuity for mild solutions on bounded domains. Finally, we present a new criterion to justify Hölder continuity for the solutions on bounded domains. The novelty of this paper is that our method is suitable to the case of space-time white noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiac myxoma is the most common benign cardiac tumor. Its tremendous size and fragile character severely bother the surgeons. Several minimal invasive approaches had been applied for radical tumor excision. The wound was forcibly enlarged for en-bloc specimen removal and prevention of debris sputtering.Case Presentation: We reported a case of huge tricuspid valve (TV) myxoma managed by robot-assisted endoscopic tumor resection and TV repair, with initial presentation of worsening shortness of breath for two months. The tumor was downsized with a morcellator and removed through a keyhole wound (1.1 cm in diameter). The patient recovered uneventfully and was discharged after four days.Conclusions: With the first morcellator application, this might be the smallest surgical wound reported after the removal of a huge cardiac myxoma. The ICU and hospital stays were shortened. This might be effectively applied to further minimally invasive surgeries for cardiac tumor excision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) offer an excellent model system for investigating the physicochemical properties of the cell membrane. In this work, dynamic and mechanical properties of SLBs are explored by dissipative particle dynamics simulations for lipids with different architectures (chain length, kink, and asymmetry associated with lipid tails). It is found that the lateral diffusivity (Dx) and flip-flop rate (FF) grow with increasing temperature in both gel and liquid phases and can be described by an Arrhenius-like expression. Three regimes can be clearly identified for symmetric and asymmetric saturated lipids but only two regimes are observed for kinked lipids. Both Dx and FF grow with decreasing tail length and increasing number of kinks. The stretching (KA) and apparent bending (KB) moduli exhibit concave upward curves with temperature and the minima are attained at Tm. In general, the minima of KA and KB decrease with the chain length and increase with number of kinks. The typical relation among the bending modulus, area stretching modulus, and bilayer thickness is still followed, KB = βKAh2 and β is much smaller in the gel phase. The dynamic and mechanical properties of lipids with asymmetric tails are found to situate between their symmetric counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Long segment ureteral lesion with obstruction is a clinically difficult issue for recovering and maintaining organ or tissue function. Regeneration medicine using various biomaterials as a scaffold in supporting tissue regrowth is emerging. We developed this customized scaffold using electrospinning and 3-dimensional assistance and expected that it may provide an alternative biomaterial for ureter defect repair. Material and Methods: Our study synthesized polycaprolactone and silk fibroin combination as biomaterial scaffolds. The differences in physicochemical properties and biocompatibility of polycaprolactone--silk fibroin bio-scaffolds prepared by electrospinning alone and 3-dimensional printing combined with electrospinning in proper ratios were compared and characterized. SV-HUC-1 uroepithelial cells cultured in polycaprolactone--silk fibroin (4 : 6) scaffolds were observed under a scanning electron microscope and using calcein-acetomethoxy and propidium iodide stain. The ex vivo resected healthy human ureteral segment tissue was anastomosed with the polycaprolactone--silk fibroin scaffolds and cultured in an ex vivo bath for 2 weeks. The cellular growth on the polycaprolactone--silk fibroin scaffold was observed microscopically. In the New Zealand white rabbit model, we performed a 1/5 ratio (2 cm out of 10 cm) defect replacement of the unilateral ureter. After 7 weeks, the rabbits were sacrificed and the implanted ureter scaffolds were resected for tissue sectioning and the cellular growth was observed by hematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining. Results: When the proportion of silk fibroin was increased and the 3-dimensional electrospinning method was used, both the size and diameter of nanofiber holes were increased in the polycaprolactone--silk fibroin scaffold. Scanning electron microscope and fluorescent stain revealed that cultured 3T3 and SV-HUC-1 uroepithelial cells could electively penetrate inside the polycaprolactone--silk fibroin (4 : 6) nanofibrous scaffolds in 3 days. The polycaprolactone--silk fibroin scaffold anastomosis in an ex vivo bath showed cellular growth stably along the scaffold for 2 weeks, and most of the cells grow along with the outboard of the scaffold in layers. In an animal model, different layered cells can be observed to grow along with the outboard of the scaffold with mucosa, submucosa, muscular layer, and the serosa layer order after 7 weeks. Mucosa and muscular layer growth along the scaffold inner wall were seen simultaneously. Conclusion: 3-dimensional electrospinning synthesized 4 : 6 polycaprolactone--silk fibroin nanofiber scaffolds that are feasible for tissue growth and achieve the purpose of ureteral reconstruction in animal experiments. This new form of 3-dimensional electrospinning constructed polycaprolactone--silk fibroin nanofiber scaffold may be considered as a clinical urinary tract tissue reconstruction alternative in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer is one of the major fatal diseases in Taiwan, and the age of patients is decreasing yearly. As the early symptoms of malignant intestinal swelling are not obvious, most patients are not diagnosed with colorectal cancer until they are in a serious condition, and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer is a major challenge. In addition to genetic factors, colorectal cancer is caused by stress and poor dietary habits. To improve the effectiveness of treatment, we propose a model for multi-attribute decision-making based on medical data by combining the Delphi method, fuzzy logic theory, and the analytical hierarchy process. In the hierarchical structure, key risk factors and their values are proposed using fuzzy logic theory. The model suggests the importance of the medical team, medical equipment, post-operative care, and other factors for treating colorectal cancer effectively. Treatment and appropriate care must be integrated in the overall medical process to improve the effectiveness of colorectal cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phase behaviors and membrane properties of small unilamellar vesicles have been explored at different temperatures by dissipative particle dynamics simulations. The vesicles spontaneously formed by model lipids exhibit pre-transition from gel to ripple phase and main transition from ripple to liquid phase. The vesicle shape exhibits the faceted feature at low temperature, becomes more sphere-like with increasing temperature, but loses its sphericity at high temperature. As the temperature rises, the vesicle size grows but the membrane thickness declines. The main transition (Tm) can be identified by the inflection point. The membrane structural characteristics are analyzed. The inner and outer leaflets are asymmetric. The length of the lipid tail and area density of the lipid head in both leaflets decrease with increasing temperature. However, the mean lipid volume grows at low temperature but declines at high temperature. The membrane mechanical properties are also investigated. The water permeability grows exponentially with increasing T but the membrane tension peaks at Tm. Both the bending and stretching moduli have their minima near Tm. Those results are consistent with the experimental observations, indicating that the main signatures associated with phase transition are clearly observed in small unilamellar vesicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an efficient Strong Designated Multi-Verifier Signature (SDMVS) scheme for facilitating the privacy-preserving group-oriented electronic commerce applications. A Designated Verifier Signature (DVS) scheme can support online transactions that must simultaneously guarantee the property of confidentiality and authenticity since the generated signature can only be authenticated by a designated verifier. In this study, we combine the concept of DVS and multi-recipients to propose an SDMVS scheme. In particular, our mechanism further enables a group of intended recipients to examine the signature validity. All members of the designated verifier group must cooperate in carrying out the signature verification procedure. Besides, the property of non-transferability provides the designated verifier group with the ability to create another legitimate transcript that is hard to be differentiated from the original signature. The analysis results of security proof and efficiency show that the construction of our system fulfills essential security requirements, and the expansion of group size will not influence the computational costs of each party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While focus group discussions have become popular across the communication research field, some researchers have pointed out the importance of studying group interactions within focus groups. However, most researchers used a qualitative approach and mostly explored the interaction between participants or between participants and the moderator. This study claimed there might be a third and unobservable interaction that occurs between participants and structured discussion topics. An affiliation network in social network analysis was applied to investigate this phenomenon among eight groups of existing focus group conversations. By affiliation network data and network visualization, this study demonstrated diverse structures between groups. The interaction between participants and discussion topics was significantly different between at least two groups. The results showed that social network analysis could be a tool to help examine focus group interactions from qualitative data, and the interaction between participants and discussion topics could be a potential third interaction in focus group studies. This study is limited by comparing the mean difference between groups. Future research may examine short- and long-term causal effects of group interaction on participation or attitude changes after focus group discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial cases of coronavirus disease in Hong Kong were imported from mainland China. A dramatic increase in case numbers was seen in February 2020. Most case-patients had no recent travel history, suggesting the presence of transmission chains in the local community. We collected demographic, clinical, and epidemiologic data from 50 patients, who accounted for 53.8% of total reported case-patients as of February 28, 2020. We performed whole-genome sequencing to determine phylogenetic relationship and transmission dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections. By using phylogenetic analysis, we attributed the community outbreak to 2 lineages; 1 harbored a common mutation, Orf3a-G251V, and accounted for 88.0% of the cases in our study. The estimated time to the most recent common ancestor of local coronavirus disease outbreak was December 24, 2019, with an evolutionary rate of 3.04 × 10-3 substitutions/site/year. The reproduction number was 1.84, indicating ongoing community spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intracranial solitary fibrous tumor/hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a rare and aggressive tumor. We conducted this retrospective study to investigate the outcome of patients after treatment, the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy, and the factors not conducive to total resection. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the medical records of patients harboring fresh intracranial solitary fibrous tumor/HPC treated from January 2009 to December 2019 in our hospital. We reviewed their clinical presentations, radiologic appearances, tumor size and location, extent of resection, estimate intraoperative blood loss, treatment modalities and results, and duration of follow-up. Results: There were seven consecutive patients (three males and four females). The ages of the patients at the time of diagnosis ranged from 35 to 77 years (mean: 52.86 years). Five patients (71.43%) got tumor bigger than 5 cm in dimension and only 1 patient (14.29%) underwent gross total tumor resection in the first operation without complication. Five patients (71.43%) underwent postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy. Follow-up period ranged from 4.24 to 123.55 months and the median follow-up period was 91.36 months. Three patients had favorable outcome with Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) equal to 4; four patients had unfavorable outcome with GOS equal to 2 or 3. No mortality was happened. Conclusion: Gross total tumor resection in the initial surgery is very important to achieve a better outcome. Massive intraoperative bleeding and venous sinus or major vessels adjoining are factors not conducive to total resection. Radiotherapy can be administered as adjuvant therapy for cases showing an aggressive phenotype or not treated with gross total resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent review by Montag et al. raised a taxonomical argument about internet addiction. We propose a two-dimensional taxonomy of internet addiction by both the device and the content as the solution. For the assessment of smartphone addiction, measurements should be based on functional impairment and validated by diagnostic criteria rather than solely on self-reported questionnaires. We detail the potential of mobile applications (apps) to improve the assessment of smartphone addiction. App-generated indicators could fulfill the unmet need of assessment of smartphone addiction and facilitate future assessment and treatment planning of smartphone addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of science and technology highly relies on public trust in science. However, previous studies have shown that the public trust may vary across different scientific issues. This research explored how the public trust in science varied between a general and context specific environment. A convergent mixed-methods design was conducted. The results indicated participants' self-reported general trust in in science did not change significantly between two measures. However, in conversation four major themes related to distrust were revealed. Future research is recommended to further explore how trust in science evolves in conversation and among different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a class of Lévy type Markov generators, nonlocal Waldenfels operators appear naturally in the context of investigating stochastic dynamics under Lévy fluctuations and constructing Markov processes with boundary conditions (in particular the construction with jumps). This work is devoted to prove the weak and strong maximum principles for 'parabolic' equations with nonlocal Waldenfels operators. Applications in stochastic differential equations with α-stable Lévy processes are presented to illustrate the maximum principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel silane-terminated polyether was prepared by in-situ condensation/addition with polypropylene glycol, chloromethyltriethoxysilane and potassium isocyanate as the raw materials and potassium iodide as the catalyst. The effect of the molar mass of the main chain polyether on the properties of a novel silane-terminated polyether was discussed. The structure of the product was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The characterization of viscosity, surface dry time, rheological properties, thermal stability properties, transmittance and hardness was analyzed. Results show that the novel isocyanate silane-terminated polyether has excellent light transparency, low viscosity and fast-curing at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the relationship between diabetes and future development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Research Design and Methods: Longitudinal, retrospective cohort study data for the period between 1997 and 2012 were obtained from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID) of Taiwan. The final available 71,904 patients with diabetes and 270,213 patients without diabetes ≥50 years of age were further matched by age, sex, and Charlson comorbidity index. In the end, 54,616 study subjects in each of the diabetes and nondiabetes groups were recruited. The stratified populations of patients with diabetes with diabetic retinopathy (DR) (n = 7,119) versus those with diabetes who do not have DR (n = 7,119) and populations of patients with proliferative DR (PDR) (n = 2,134) versus those with nonproliferative DR (NPDR) (n = 2,134) were also obtained. Competing risk regression models were used to assess the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and 99% CI. The main outcome measures were the first-ever diagnosis of AMD during the observational period.Results: The incidences of nonexudative AMD (HR 1.23; P = 0.108) and exudative AMD (HR 1.37; P = 0.023) were not significantly associated with cohorts of persons with diabetes compared with cohorts without diabetes. The stratified analysis showed that nonexudative AMD (HR 3.89; P = 0.001) and exudative AMD (HR 3.42; P < 0.001) were significantly correlated to diabetes with DR cohorts, compared with diabetes without DR cohorts. The incidences of nonexudative AMD (HR 0.53; P = 0.277) and exudative AMD (HR 2.27; P = 0.058) were not significantly different between PDR cohorts compared with NPDR cohorts.Conclusions: This study provides large-scale, population-based evidence that diabetes with retinopathy is independently associated with an increased risk of subsequent AMD development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A model of Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIR-DRS) was established for the first time to determine the content of Shengmaxinside I in the honey-fried processing of Rhizoma Cimicifugae. Methods: Shengmaxinside I content was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the data of the honey-fried processing of Rhizoma Cimicifugae samples from different batches of different origins by NIR-DRS were collected by TQ Analyst 8.0. Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis was used to establish a near-infrared quantitative model. Results: The determination coefficient R2 was 0.9878. The Cross-Validation Root Mean Square Error (RMSECV) was 0.0193%, validating the model with a validation set. The Root Mean Square Error of Prediction (RMSEP) was 0.1064%. The ratio of the standard deviation for the validation samples to the standard error of prediction (RPD) was 5.5130. Conclusion: This method is convenient and efficient, and the experimentally established model has good prediction ability, and can be used for the rapid determination of Shengmaxinside I content in the honey-fried processing of Rhizoma Cimicifugae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrile rubber O-rings seals for packaging barrel was stored in China tropical marine atmosphere environments for 10 years, and then the sealing function of nitrile rubber O-ring was failed. By comparing the molecular structure, cross-link density, thermal decomposition, content of elements and chemical functional groups of the original nitrile rubber seals, the surface and interior of nitrile rubber seals storage for 10 years, a long-term natural failure mechanism was studied. The results showed that: the surface content of dibutyl phthalate and dibutyl sebacate, the surface carbonyl peak height and the surface content of oxygen element were higher than that in internal; the surface cross-link density was lower than that in internal but still higher than in original sample; and surface carbon- to-oxygen ratio were lower than that in internal and original sample. After aging for 10 years, the weight loss of plasticizer decreased, and the main chain content increased. It can be inferred that nitrile rubber mainly undergoes oxygen-absorbing cross-linking reaction to form carboxylic acids and esters, which is accompanied by the migration and enrichment of two plasticizers to the surface, causing reductions in elasticity and elasticity. The residual permanent compression set was lower than the design critical value, and the sealing function for the packaging barrel was lost, and a leak occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cyclonic-static microbubble flotation column of a novel construction was used in oil-water separation fields and has high efficiency for oil-water separation. The gas holdup is a key parameter for the evaluation of the performance of a flotation column. The gas holdup, closely related to the bubble size, bubble velocity and superficial gas velocity, is one of the most important parameters characterizing the hydrodynamics of a bubble column. The effect of gas holdup in a cyclonic-static microbubble flotation column was investigated. In addition, several operating parameters such as the circulating pressure, superficial gas velocity, and frother consumption were also investigated. The gas holdup was positively correlated to the superficial gas velocity. The gas holdup of clean water and oil wastewater increased along with the increase of the frother consumption. The separation mechanism of cyclonic-static microbubble flotation column was analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a common complication of a variety of cardiovascular diseases, including ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction (MI). While timely re-establishment of blood flow in a thrombosed artery is the primary goal of acute therapy in these diseases, paradoxically, reperfusion of ischemic tissue can cause widespread microvascular dysfunction that significantly exacerbates organ damage. Reperfusion injury is associated with activation of the humoral and cellular components of the hemostatic and innate immune systems and also with excessive reactive oxygen species production, endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis, and inflammation. Platelets are critical mediators of thromboinflammation during reperfusion injury and a hyperactive platelet phenotype may contribute to an exaggerated IR injury response. This is particularly relevant to diabetes which is characteristically associated with hyperactive platelets, significantly worse IR injury, increased organ damage, and increased risk of death. However, the mechanisms underlying vulnerability to IR injury in diabetic individuals is not well defined, nor the role of "diabetic platelets" in this process. This review summarizes recent progress in understanding the role of platelets in promoting microvascular dysfunction and inflammation in the context of IR injury. Furthermore, the authors discuss aspects of the thromboinflammatory function of platelets that are dysregulated in diabetes. They conclude that diabetes likely enhances the capacity of platelets to mediate microvascular thrombosis and inflammation during IR injury, which has potentially important implications for the future design of antiplatelet agents that can reduce microvascular dysfunction and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To delineate the outcome of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in the paediatric population.Methods: Patients who developed sustained VT between the ages of 0 and 18 years in a referral centre from 1991 to 2015 were enrolled.Results: A total of 116 patients (67 male/49 female) had documented VT, and 53 (46%) had associated heart disease, namely cardiomyopathy in 20 (17%), structural heart disease in 19 (16%) and channelopathy in 14 (12%), and some of them presented with two types of associated heart disease. Idiopathic VT (63 patients), which presents without associated heart disease, was the most common type. Forty-one patients received catheter ablation, with 37 being successful (90%) and 6 of 37 recurrence (16%). None of the patients died during the 5.8±5.9 year follow-up. VT with cardiomyopathy was associated with the highest mortality rate, particularly in those with hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathy. Among 16 patients initially presenting VT and heart failure, seven exhibited improved heart function after VT control, which could be predicted by benign onset symptoms, monomorphic QRS morphology and the presentation of VT at the initial diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. VT associated with structural heart disease was also associated with a high risk of mortality, but this risk decreased after aggressive intervention in the recent years. VT with channelopathy can be often controlled with medication, except for those with prenatal onset.Conclusions: Although VT may carry high mortality when associated with structural anomaly or cardiomyopathy, VT presenting to tertiary referral centre often has a favourable outcome after prompt intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With millions of people traveling to unfamiliar cities to spend holidays, travel recommendation becomes necessary to assist tourists in planning their trips more efficiently. Serving as a prerequisite to travel recommender systems, understanding tourist behavior patterns is therefore of great importance. Recently, geo-tagged photos on social media platforms like Flickr have provided a rich data source that captures location histories of tourists and reflects their preferences. This article utilizes geo-tagged photos from Flickr to extract trajectories of tourists and then extends the concept of motifs from topological spaces, to temporal spaces and to semantic spaces, for detecting tourist mobility patterns. By representing trajectories in terms of three distinct types of travel motif and further using them to measure user similarity, typical tourist travel behavior patterns associated with distinct sightseeing tastes/preferences are identified and analyzed for tourism recommendation. Our empirical results confirm that the proposed analytical framework is effective to uncover meaningful tourist behavior patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid growth of residual tumors can occur as a result of their recurrence and progression. The present study aimed to investigate the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-2 subunit a (HIF-2a), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A2 (EphA2) and angiogenesis in residual hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), following treatment with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation, in order to investigate the association between protein expression and tumor recurrence and growth. Athymic BALB/c (nu/nu) mice were subcutaneously inoculated with the HCC cell line HepG2, in order to create xenograft tumors. Approximately 30 days post-inoculation, eight mice were treated with HIFU, whereas eight mice received no treatment and acted as the control group. Residual tumor tissues were obtained from the experimental groups after one month. Levels of HIF-2a, VEGFA, EphA2 and cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31) expression was measured by immunohistochemical staining. CD31-positive vascular endothelial cells were counted to calculate microvascular density (MVD), and western blot analysis was performed to determine levels of HIF-2a, VEGFA, and EphA2 protein. It was found that the expression levels of HIF-2a, VEGFA, EphA2, and MVD proteins in residual HCC tissues were significantly higher than in the control group tissues (P<0.05). Tumor MVD was strongly correlated with VEGFA (R=0.957, P<0.01) and EphA2 (R=0.993, P<0.01) protein expression levels. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between HIF-2a and EphA2 expression (R=0.991, P<0.01). The correlation between VEGFA and EphA2 expression was also positive (R=0.985, P<0.01). These data suggest that overexpression of HIF-2a, VEGFA and EphA2 is related to angiogenesis in residual HCC following HIFU ablation, potentially via their association with key mediators of recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although the prescribing information for Venlafaxine extended release includes a discussion about possible increases in total cholesterol and triglycerides (TG) seen in healthier adult patients during premarketing clinical trials, no post-marketing studies or case reports, that discuss the effects of venlafaxine on TG in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease.Case Presentation: We report a 71 year-old male patient with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis, with a history of coronary artery disease, mild hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. This patient twice demonstrated the severe rises in triglycerides while taking the antidepressant, i.e., venlafaxine, and discontinuing the long-term use of fenofirate. The adverse drug reaction sub-committee at the hospital rated the second event as a "probable reaction" using the Naranjo nomogram, accordingly.Conclusions: This case demonstrates the risk of changes in lipid profiles while taking venlafaxine and receiving on and off fenofibrate therapy in the older adult patient with chronic kidney disease and under hemodialysis. Regular monitoring for lipid changes after starting venlafaxine is strongly advised for patients with existing risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Normal hepatocytes express connexin32 (Cx32), which forms gap junctions at cell-cell contact areas. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether Cx32 mediates the cell death-inducing effects of ultrasound microbubbles carrying the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) suicide gene against hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo. HepG2 cells were exposed to different concentrations of trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) in culture, to evaluate the intrinsic antitumor effect of ATRA. Detailed in-vitro and in-vivo investigations on the antitumor effects of ATRA via Cx32 mediation were performed, and the possible underlying mechanisms of action of the compound were then examined. The gene expression of HSV-TK transfected by ultrasound wave irradiation in the HepG2 cells was quantified using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. The effects on cell death were assessed using an MTT assay. The protein expression levels of Cx32 in ATRA-untreated or ATRA-treated tissues were quantified by immunohistochemical analysis and Western blot assays. The HSV-TK gene was successfully transfected into the HepG2 cell using ultrasound wave irradiation, and was stably expressed. Compared with the other groups, the HSV-TK gene group treated with ATRA exhibited an increased number of apoptotic cells (P<0.05) and improved tumor suppression (P<0.05). ATRA significantly increased the expression of Cx32 in the hepatoma tissues (P<0.01). The present study demonstrated that ATRA elevated the protein expression of Cx32 and enhanced the bystander effect of the HSV-TK/GCV suicide gene therapy system, which may provide a potential strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the existence of homoclinic solutions to the following second-order Hamiltonian systems ü(t)-L(t)u(t)+▾ W(t,u(t))=0,∀t∊R, where L(t) is a symmetric and positive definite matrix for all t ∊ R. The nonlinear potential W is a combination of superlinear and sublinear terms. By different conditions on the superlinear and sublinear terms, we obtain existence and nonuniqueness of nontrivial homoclinic solutions to above systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]