Search

Aim To explore whether self‐efficacy has any positive or negative mediating effects between family functioning and quality of life among elders with chronic diseases. Design A cross‐sectional study. Methods Questionnaires were collected from 516 community‐dwelling elderly individuals with chronic diseases using a convenience sampling method. The questionnaires included the Self‐efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease Six‐Item Scale, the Family Adaptation Partnership Growth Affection Resolve Index and the MOS 36‐Item Short Form Health Survey. Results Family functioning and self‐efficacy impacted the quality of life of community‐dwelling elderly individuals with chronic diseases. Family functioning was mediated by self‐efficacy and had an indirect impact on quality of life. The mediating effect accounted for 62.50% of the total effect.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of subcutaneous stimulation of the peripheral nerve on acute or subacute zoster occurring in trigeminal nerve branches, and to evaluate the preventive effect of prior temporary implant of a peripheral stimulation electrode in the acute or subacute phase of herpes zoster (HZ) (from 30 to 90 d after zoster onset) before postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) presents. METHODS AND MATERIALS A total of 26 patients' medical records were analyzed. All of patients had received temporary subcutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS). The clinical efficacy of treatment was evaluated on a visual analog scale (VAS), and dosages of pain medication were recorded before and at 1 to 6 months after the temporary stimulation. The rate of PHN was reevaluated at a 6 months follow-up. RESULTS There was a significant decrease in VAS values after PNS. Medication doses decreased significantly after TPNS. The rate of clinically meaningful PHN (VAS >3) dropped below 4%. DISCUSSION This study revealed that PNS is an effective treatment for trigeminal herpetic neuralgia following acute or subacute HZ. As a extend neuromodulation method, subcutaneous peripheral nerve-field stimulation might be a useful option to reduce the progression of neuropathic changes caused by persistent transmission of pain signals in the trigeminal nerve branches after the acute or subacute phase of HZ.

Background In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the role of skin microcirculation in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. The vascular network of the skin is mainly distributed in the dermis and the subcutaneous fat layer join. The microvessels are composed of terminal arterioles, arteriovenous capillaries, and postcapillary venules. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis by promoting angiogenesis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between serum VEGF and psoriasis vulgaris. Methods Embase, CENTRAL, PubMed, China Biology Medicine Database, China National Knowledge Database, Wan Fang Database, and Chong Qing VIP Database will be searched to collect case-control studies and cohort studies and evaluate the relationship between serum VEGF and psoriasis vulgaris. The search time limits will be from the establishment of the database to December 2020. Two researchers will independently screen the studies, extract data, and evaluate the risk of bias of the studies. The Meta-analysis will be carried out with the RevMan5.3 software. The quality of all included studies will be evaluated by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Results This study will evaluate the relationship between serum VEGF and the pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris. Conclusion This study will provide a theoretical basis for the pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris. Osf registration number DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/6DV8P.

BackgroundSoft pancreas is widely recognized as an important risk factor for the development of postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF). Although fatty pancreas (FP) has not been formally defined as a cause of pancreatic fistula, existing research has shown that it can increase the incidence of POPF by increasing pancreatic tenderness; therefore, it may be a potential risk factor. This study aimed to discern whether FP was associated with POPF.MethodTwo reviewers independently performed literature searches from five electronic databases. According to the established inclusion criteria, we extracted necessary data from the studies that met the criteria for further analysis. We pooled the odds ratios (ORs) from individual studies using a random-effects model to investigate the associations between POPF and the prognosis of FP.ResultA total of 11 studies involving 2484 individuals were included. The pooled prevalence of POPF was 18% (95% CI: 12-24%). Body mass index (BMI) was associated with a significantly increased risk of POPF (OR=3.55; 95% CI: 1.83, 6.86; P=0.0002; I²=0). FP was obviously associated with the occurrence of POPF (OR=3.75; 95% CI: 1.64, 8.58; P=0.002; I²=78).ConclusionFP is closely associated with the development of POPF, and the early identification of these high-risk patients can help to reduce the incidence of POPF.Systematic Review RegistrationThe Registration URL link is (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/). The ID is “CRD42021265141”.

Characterizing and predicting the response of terrestrial ecosystems to global change is one of the key challenges of contemporary ecology and ecological conservation. The impact of climate change on forest ecosystem has been widely studied, but it rarely uses method of multi-index fusion for quantitative evaluation. In this study, forest ecosystem in Heilongjiang Province was investigated. Based on remote sensing, meteorological observation, ground survey, geographic information, MAXENT model, CASA model, carbon sequestration potential model of Zhou Guangsheng-Zhang Xinshi, pixel dichotomy model and Savitzky Golay Filter model were used. On this basis, we analysed the change characteristics of forest distribution, net primary productivity and vegetation coverage. We also established a model for evaluating the impact of forest ecosystem change on climate, and made a quantitative assessment of the impact on climate. Our results indicate the following: (1) From 2001 to 2019, the forest area in Heilongjiang Province ranged from 2.34 × 105 to 2.46 × 105 km2, the forest NPP ranged from 40.48 to 555.32 gC/m2/a, and the vegetation coverage ranged from 42.42% to 67.64%, both of which showed a significant upward trend; (2) The values of forest ecological role were significantly positively correlated with the climatic potential; (3) The results of climate impact assessment of forest ecosystem change showed the contribution rate of climate change to forest ecosystem change was negatively correlated with forest coverage, which varied from 4.79% to 18.07% in different regions (cities) of the province. This study contribute to improving evaluating influence of climate change on forest ecosystem.

Background: Anovulation is one of the main causes of female infertility, This study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Bushen Culuan Decoction for anovulatory infertility caused by six diseases, including anovulatory abnormal uterine bleeding, polycystic ovarian syndrome, hyperprolactinemia, luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome, corpus luteum insufficiency and premature ovarian insufficiency.Methods: This is a randomized, double-blinded, double-dummy, parallel, positively controlled, adaptive, multicenter clinical trial. All participants will be randomly allocated by a central randomization system to the treatment group or the control group in a 1:1 ratio. The treatment group will undergo a 14day-treatment with Bushen Culuan Decoction 13 g three times a day and a 5-day- treatment with clomiphene citrate placebo tablets 50 mg once a day starting on day 5 of every menstrual period. The control group will undergo a 14-day treatment with Bushen Culuan Decoction placebo 13 g three times a day and a 5-day treatment with clomiphene citrate tablets 50 mg once a day from day 5 in every menstrual period. The whole treatment will last through 3 menstrual periods or 6 menstrual periods, depending on whether ovulation is regained in the first 3 menstrual periods. All statistical analyses will be performed in SPSS 21.0 (SPSS, Chicago, Illinois, USA), and a p value Discussion: This study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Xiyuan Hospital China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (No. 2017XLA037-2). The results of this study will be offered for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03709849. Registered on 19 November 2018.

The brain and the spinal cord together make up the central nervous system (CNS). The functions of the human brain have been the focus of neuroscience research for a long time. However, the spinal cord is largely ignored, and the functional interaction of these two parts of the CNS is only partly understood. This study developed a novel method to simultaneously record spinal cord electrophysiology (SCE) and electroencephalography (EEG) signals and validated its performance using a classical resting-state study design with two experimental conditions: eyes-closed (EC) and eyes-open (EO). We recruited nine postherpetic neuralgia patients implanted with a spinal cord stimulator, which was modified to record SCE signals simultaneously with EEG signals. For both EEG and SCE, similar differences were found in delta- and alpha-band oscillations between the EC and EO conditions, and the spectral power of these frequency bands was able to predict EC/EO behaviors. Moreover, causal connectivity analysis suggested a top-down regulation in delta-band oscillations from the brain to the spinal cord. Altogether, this study demonstrates the validity of simultaneous SCE-EEG recording and shows that the novel method is a valuable tool to investigate the brain-spinal interaction. With this method, we can better unite knowledge about the brain and the spinal cord for a deeper understanding of the functions of the whole CNS.

The scope of this study is to analyze the climatic potential productivity of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and explore the impact of climate change on soybean in the frigid region in China by using daily climatic variables from 144 meteorological stations for the period 1971‒2019. The gradually descending model is used to estimate photosynthesis, light-temperature, and climatic potential productivity of soybean. The results show that climate potential productivity of soybean in the frigid region ranges from large to small: Liaoning > Jilin > Heilongjiang > East Four Leagues (four cities in eastern Inner Mongolia), with Heilongjiang and East Four Leagues showing a significant upward trend. Spatially, the climate potential productivity is larger on plains than that on mountains. The Northeast Plain and Sanjiang Plain are areas with high climate potential productivity. Changes in climatic factors have different impacts on the climate potential productivity of soybean. The influence of temperature changes on the climate potential productivity shows a positive effect, and climate warming compensates for the lack of heat in the frigid region. Furthermore, radiation and precipitation are the main climatic factors leading to spatial differences in the climate potential productivity of soybean in the frigid region. Radiation changes have a positive effect on soybean climate potential productivity in plain areas and a negative effect on the mountains. However, precipitation reduction negatively affects most of the frigid region, while it has a positive effect on the two plains of Heilongjiang. Precipitation responses the needs of soybean growth. Our findings recommend that a transition of soybean planting from the mountainous region to plain, that is, from low potential productivity areas to high potential productivity areas, could be an effective strategy for regional optimization for planting structure and rational utilization of irrigation technology.

Background: Leiomyosarcoma occurs commonly in the abdomen, retroperitoneum, large blood vessels, and uterus[1]. Cardiac leiomyosarcoma is a rare and highly aggressive sarcoma. Methods and Results: Here, we report the case of a 63-year-old male with pulmonary artery leiomyosarcoma. Transthoracic echocardiography showed a large 4.4×2.3 cm hypoechoic mass in right ventricular outflow tract and pulmonary artery. Pulmonary computed tomography angiography showed a filling defect in similar location. Surgery was performed due to tend to occlusion. A yellow mass adhered to ventricular septum and pulmonary artery wall was detected and compressed pulmonary valve. By immunohistochemistry, the tumor cells stained positive for Desmin and smooth muscle actin, and stained negative for S-100, CD34, myogenin, or myoglobin, KI67(+)80%, supported leiomyosarcoma. Conclusion: The patient had recovered from surgery and had been on following-up.

Background Increasing evidence has shown that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation regulators have important biological functions in human cancers. However, there are few studies on the value of m6A reader protein YTHDC2 in the diagnosis and tumor-infiltrating of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Therefore, it is important to understand the potential clinical value of YTHDC2 in the prognosis and immune infiltration of HNSCC. Methods In this study, gene expression profiles and the corresponding clinical information of 270 HNSCC patients were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The gene co-expression network was established to verify whether YTHDC2 was related to the prognosis of HNSCC and verified again in the public database. The correlations between YTHDC2 and immune infiltration was investigated via Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA). Results The results showed that YTHDC2 appeared in the blue module related to survival time and survival state and had a close correlation with the prognosis and immune infiltration level of HNSCC in public database. Patients with low expression of YTHDC2 had poor overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) than those with high expression. In addition, the expression of YTHDC2 was positively correlated with the level of CD4+ T cell subpopulations infiltration in HNSCC. Conclusions Through this study, we found that YTHDC2 is a tumor suppressor gene with high expression in normal tissues and low expression in tumor tissues. In addition, YTHDC2 is correlated with the immune infiltrating levels of B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, neutrophils, and dendritic cells in HNSCC, which may become a potential marker for prognosis and immune infiltration of HNSCC.

The projected increasing food demand in the coming decades will require substantial water and energy resources. Practical approaches are expected to propose to realize enhancing crop production while towards sustainable development in shallow groundwater area. This study integrates a process-based model, multi-objectives, and fuzzy theory into optimization model to optimize crops water allocation pattern under uncertainties of water diversion and groundwater. The process-based model considers the water exchange between soil and groundwater, water stress and salt stress on crops, and ground water level changes. The multi-objectives defined in this study balances the conflicts of maximizing crop production, maximizing water use efficiency, and minimizing energy consumption. The uncertain amount of water diversion and groundwater is presented as fuzzy numbers. The optimized water allocation pattern of 3 crops in 12 water supply response units in Hetao Irrigation District show that the crop yield does not necessarily reach to the highest potential value, though wheat and maize are allocated more water than sunflower and have larger possibility to reach high crop yield. Significant energy investment is needed for extracting and purifying groundwater to ensure relatively high crop production at the case of possible low available water. Uncertainties of water diversion and groundwater will cause a greater range of ground water level in wheat field, a high risk of water stress in sunflower field and a high risk of very severe salinization in wheat field. The different changing directions of three sub-objectives demonstrate that optimal water allocation has no uniform rule but changes with available water.

In the diagnosis of lung cancer, electronic nose (E-nose) has attracted much attention by detecting the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath. In this research, an E-nose platform with a novel thermal desorption preconcentration subsystem is designed to verify whether analyzing VOCs can reliably differentiate lung cancer patients from healthy individuals and patients with benign pulmonary diseases. To this end, total 87 subjects (46 patients with lung cancer, 36 healthy volunteers and 5 patients with benign pulmonary diseases) are enrolled for the sensor array data collection. 13 composite features are extracted from each sensor, and some classical classifiers are established to demonstrate the feasibility of identifying lung cancer patients through VOCs. To improve the performance, considering the inherent characteristics of E-nose data, a sparse group feature selection (FS) method is applied to the raw sensor array data. It is observed that the FS method can reduce data dimensionality and improve the classification performance significantly. Statistical analysis for the effect of age and smoking habit on classification results shows that no significant influences are found.

The literature on posttraumatic growth (PTG) is burgeoning, with the inconsistencies in the literature of the relationship between PTG and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms becoming a focal point of attention. Thus, this meta-analysis aims to explore the relationship between PTG and PTSD symptoms through the Pearson correlation coefficient. A systematic search of the literature from January 1996 to November 2015 was completed. We retrieved reports on 63 studies that involved 26,951 patients. The weighted correlation coefficient revealed an effect size of 0.22 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.18 to 0.25. Meta-analysis provides evidence that PTG may be positively correlated with PTSD symptoms and that this correlation may be modified by age, trauma type, and time since trauma. Accordingly, people with high levels of PTG should not be ignored, but rather, they should continue to receive help to alleviate their PTSD symptoms.

How to ensure the safety of a locomotive is a crucial problem, when it moves in a curved railway at night. For solving this problem, a new adaptive locomotive headlamp system based on monocular vision is proposed in this paper. The method consists of two key steps. First, a single-camera is provided to capture the tracks in front of the locomotive, and an image processing algorithm is proposed to obtain the key related parameters. Next, combined with the position feedback signal of the headlamps and the parameters obtained in the previous step, an adaptive control method is proposed to rotate the headlamps. By this way, the light emitted from the headlamps will always be on the axis of the railway, thus ensuring the safety of the locomotive.

Spatio-temporal change of land use and land cover from 1985 to 2005 in Chao River Basin, the important water source to Miyun Reservoir, was analyzed based on GIS technology. The results showed that woodland was the main land cover type in the basin, and then the arable land and grassland. During 1985-2005, the area of woodland increased, while the area of grassland greatly reduced. Changes of land use and land cover were more violent from 1985 to 1995 than that from 1995 to 2005. There were obvious regional differences in land use change in the basin. The conversion from grassland to woodland was the dominant process of LUCC in the basin, and this was relevant to the national ecological construction policies on water resources conservation.

This paper analyzes the shortcomings of the traditional AHP method and proposes group decision making from a single decision-making. In group decision making the weight of experts is very important. This paper discusses the existing methods of determining experts’ weights, introduces the method of the similarity of the cosine of the vectors’ angle, and the weight of experts is determined dynamically according to the similarity of the judgment matrix given by experts. When determining the weight of experts, judgment matrixes experts give need to pass the consistency test. In this paper, AHP group decision making method is applied to the load balancing system to determine the index weight influencing on load balancing. The experiment in the paper shows that this method can reduce calculation of consistency test and make the decision-making results more effective.

High-quality Yb3+/Mg2+ co-doped LiTaO3 crystal was grown using the Czochralski technique for the first time. Absorption and fluorescence spectra, as well as fluorescence decay curve, were recorded at room temperature. The stimulated emission cross-sections were calculated using the reciprocity method and the Fuchtbauer–Ladenburg formula. The laser parameters and spectral features were investigated. Comparison with other Yb3+-doped laser crystals was made. The results show that the Yb3+/Mg2+ co-doped LiTaO3 crystal is a promising laser material for tunable and ultrashort laser generation.

To elucidate the intervention effects of Jiaotai pills(JTP) on p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA)-induced insomnia in rats and its underlying mechanism, the insomnia model was established by single intraperitoneal injection with PCPA in rats. The locomotor activity of rats was observed, and the levels of nerve growth factor(NGF) in hypothalamus, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and serum of rats were determined by using ELISA. Moreover, a proton nuclear magnetic resonance(¹H-NMR)-based metabonomic approach was developed to profile insomnia-related metabolites in rat serum and hippocampus and analyze the intervention effects of JTP on changes in underlying biomarkers related to locomotor activity, NGF and insomnia. According to the results, JTP could significantly suppress the locomotor activity of insomnia rats, and increase the NGF levels in hypothalamus, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and serum of rats with insomnia. The disturbed metabolic state associated with PCPA-induced insomnia in rat serum and hippocampus could be intervened by JTP. Meanwhile, six and five potential biomarkers related to insomnia in rat serum and hippocampus were reversed by administration of JTP. In conclusion, the current study demonstrated that JTP had protective effects against PCPA-induced insomnia in rats, which was probably correlated with regulation of NGF level and metabolism of amino acids, lipids and choline.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the therapeutic effects of Huzhang-Guizhi herb pair (HG), firstly included in Hu-Zhang Power documented in Taiping Shenghui Fang, on monosodium urate (MSU) crystals-induced gouty arthritis in rats. We found that pretreatment with HG in rats with gouty arthritis could significantly attenuate the ankle joint swelling, and this beneficial antigout effect might be mediated, at least in part, by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) production in synovial fluid as well as nuclear transcription factor-κB p65 (NF-κB p65) protein expression in synovial tissue. Moreover, metabonomic analysis demonstrated that 5 and 6 potential biomarkers associated with gouty arthritis in plasma and urine, respectively, which were mainly involved in energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and gut microbe metabolism, were identified. HG could reverse the pathological process of MSU-induced gouty arthritis through regulating the disturbed metabolic pathways. These results provided important mechanistic insights into the protective effects of HG against MSU-induced gouty arthritis in rats.

Polarized absorption and fluorescence spectra Nd3+-doped LiLuF4 single crystal were investigated. The peak emission cross section at 905 and 910 nm are 0.97 × 10−20 and 0.82 × 10−20 cm2, respectively. Two samples with different dimensions were tested in the laser experiments. With a laser-diode as the pump source, a maximum 1.17 W laser output at 910 nm has been obtained with a slope efficiency of 16.3% with respect to the pump power.

A Tm, Mg co-doped LiTaO3 crystal has been grown by Czochralski method. Room temperature polarized absorption spectra and fluorescence spectrum of the Tm, Mg:LiTaO3 crystal were measured and analyzed. The maximum absorption cross-section is 6.0791 × 10−20 cm2 at around 790 nm with full width at half maximum of 5 nm. The emission cross-section of 3F4 manifold was 2.2 × 10−20 cm2. The spectroscopic parameters of Tm3+ ion were calculated by applying the Judd-Ofelt approach, and the intensity parameters Ω2, Ω4, and Ω6 were obtained to be 7.71 × 10−20, 1.09 × 10−20, and 1.16 × 10−20 cm2, respectively. The branching ratios and radiative lifetimes were also presented and the radiative lifetime of Tm3+3F4 → 3H6 transition is 968.3 μs. The results were also analyzed and compared with other Tm3+ doped hosts.

Laser crystal Tm3+ and Ho3+ codoped LiLuF4 with high optical quality was grown by Czochralski technique. Its absorption and fluorescence spectra were investigated. A continuous wave output power of 1.12 W at 2066 nm was obtained with a slope efficiency of 24% by use of diode pumping. In the Q-switched mode, a slope efficiency of 18.9% and a maximum average power of 0.65 W were obtained.

We present an extensive comparative analysis on the growth, the spectroscopic features, and the laser performances of room temperature Yb(5%):LiYF4 (YLF) and Yb(5%):LiLuF4 (LLF) crystals in the same conditions. The gain cross section, fluorescence lifetimes, laser thresholds and laser slope efficiencies are compared for the first time. It appears that Yb3+-doped LLF crystal might be more promising for diode-pumped high power laser operation.

Several studies showed that the up-regulation of glial glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1) participates in the acquisition of brain ischemic tolerance induced by cerebral ischemic preconditioning or ceftriaxone pretreatment in rats. To explore whether GLT-1 plays a role in the acquisition of brain ischemic tolerance induced by intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IH) preconditioning (mimicking 5,000 m high-altitude, 6 h per day, once daily for 28 days), immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to observe the changes in the expression of GLT-1 protein in hippocampal CA1 subfield during the induction of brain ischemic tolerance by IH preconditioning, and the effect of dihydrokainate (DHK), an inhibitor of GLT-1, on the acquisition of brain ischemic tolerance in rats. The basal expression of GLT-1 protein in hippocampal CA1 subfield was significantly up-regulated by IH preconditioning, and at the same time astrocytes were activated by IH preconditioning, which appeared normal soma and aplenty slender processes. The GLT-1 expression was decreased at 7 days after 8-min global brain ischemia. When the rats were pretreated with the IH preconditioning before the global brain ischemia, the down-regulation of GLT-1 protein was prevented clearly. Neuropathological evaluation by thionin staining showed that 200 nmol DHK blocked the protective role of IH preconditioning against delayed neuronal death induced normally by 8-min global brain ischemia. Taken together, the up-regulation of GLT-1 protein participates in the acquisition of brain ischemic tolerance induced by IH preconditioning in rats.

Nd:(La, Sr)(Al, Ta)O3 (Nd:LSAT) crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of Nd:LSAT crystal at room temperature were investigated. With a fiber-coupled diode laser as pump source, the continuous-wave (CW) laser action of Nd:LSAT crystal was demonstrated. The result of diode-pumped laser operation of Nd:LSAT crystal single crystal is reported for what is to our knowledge the first time. The maximum output power at 1064 nm was obtained to be 165 mW under the incident pump power of 3 W, with the slope efficiency 10.9%.

According to multi-resolution analysis of wavelet threshold denoising principle, this paper presented two improved algorithms of continuity and adaptive threshold based on hard thresholding. The soft thresholding (hyperbolic thresholding) was used in the intervals after setting two thresholds, and the isolated points were removed according to the adjacent correlation coefficient during the processing. As a result, the hard thresholding’s shortcomings were reduced. The simulation results show that improved algorithms have both better visual effect and PSNR than the traditional approaches.

Background There is no curative treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ginseng is widely used in the treatment of AD in Asian countries. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ginseng for AD. Methods We searched seven main databases for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on ginseng for AD from their inception to December 2014. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality. We used RevMan 5.2 to synthesize the results. Results Four RCTs involving 259 participants were identified for this systematic review. The methodological quality of included studies was not promising. All comparisons were made between combined treatment (ginseng plus conventional treatment) versus conventional treatment. The results of meta-analyses and several individual studies showed that the effectiveness of combined treatment was inconsistent as measured by MMSE, ADAS-cog, ADAS-noncog, and CDR. No studies reported the outcomes of quality of life (QoL). The current data did not report serious adverse events. Conclusion This review showed that the effects of ginseng on AD were still inconclusive. The main limitations of the available studies were small sample sizes, poor methodological qualities and no placebo controls. Larger, well-designed studies are needed to test the effect of ginseng on AD in the future.

Zuojin Wan (ZJW) and Lizhong Wan (LZW) have been widely used in the treatment of Stomach heat and cold syndrome (SH and SC), respectively. In this study, a proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) based metabonomic approach was developed to profile SH and SC-related metabolic perturbations in rat serum and to investigate the intervention effects of ZJW and LZW on the corresponding SH and SC. Compared to the conventional macroscopic and histopathological examinations, the metabonomic approach could enable discrimination between SH and SC based on serum metabolic profiles. Meanwhile, 17 and 15 potential biomarkers associated with SH and SC, respectively, which were mainly involved in gastric dysfunction and mucosal lesions, gut microbiotal activity, transmethylation, glucose and lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism, were identified. Furthermore, taking the potential biomarkers as drug targets, it was revealed that administration of ZJW and LZW could exclusively reverse the pathological process of SH and SC, respectively, through partially regulating the disturbed metabolic pathways. This work showed biological basis related to SH and SC at metabolic level and offered a new paradigm for better understanding and explanation of “Fang Zheng Dui Ying” principle in traditional Chinese medicine from a systemic view.

For a better researching and utilization of the photovoltaic system, this paper presents a design method for the photovoltaic simulator based on DC-DC converter and DSP controller. The control mechanism is based on a more precise calculation method current mode controller in combination with a new look-up table method. With the new control strategy, this PV simulator can be used to simulate the output characteristics of any types PV arrays under different working conditions. An actual PV module has been built and tested with a variable resistive load and a constant power load as well. The experiment result shows that the output characteristics of the PV simulator are consistent with the actual PV arrays' and the PV simulator could also shift smoothly on its I-V characteristics.

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke and brings about a big disease burden because of high mortality and disability in China. Tetrandrine, a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herb Radix Stephania tetrandra, has been demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging effects and even regulate astrocyte activation, but the possible role of tetrandrine in ameliorating cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury of ischemic stroke remains unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of tetrandrine on neurological injury and differential proteomic changes induced by transient reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in mice. Male Balb/c mice were divided into sham (n = 30), MCAO + saline as control (n = 30), and MCAO + Tet as tetrandrine-treated (n = 30) groups. Mice in the control and tetrandrine-treated groups underwent 120 min of MCAO following reperfusion. Immediately and 2 h after MCAO, the mice received either normal saline (sham operated and control groups) or tetrandrine (tetrandrine-treated group) intraperitoneally. Neurological defects, brain water content, and infarct volume at 24 h after stoke were used to evaluate neurological injury extent. Treatment with tetrandrine not only mitigated cerebral neurological deficits (P

Objective To investigate the metabolic profile of hydrocortisone-induced 'Kidney-yang deficiency syndrome'in rats and the intervention effects of Morinda officinalis. Method Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) technique was used to analyze the rat metabonome in serum. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were processed to analyze the metabonome difference between the control and hydrocortisone treated samples. Twelve potential biomarkers were selected, via the parameter of variable importance in the projection (VIP). Principal components analysis (PCA) was employed to process the data from the M. officinalis. treatment group and the intervention effects of M. officinalis, was investigated through the selected potential biomarkers. Result After hydrocortisone treatment, the energy metabolism, amino acids metabolism and gut microflora environment were seriously disturbed and transmethylation was surpressed. M. officinalis could effectively alleviate the disturbance of energy and amino acids metabolism and enhance transmethylation, but could not modulate the gut microflora environment. Conclusion The results obtained suggested that metabonomic studies could better reflect the whole status of metabolism in bio-systems, and could be treated as a potential powerful approach in pharmacological studies and investigation of the essence of 'syndrome' in traditional Chinese medicine.

Recent proteomic studies identified Transferin (TF) as a potential colon cancer biomarker. A dipstick TF test similar to Immuno Fecal Occult Blood Test (IFOBT) was developed, and an initial study showed the TF test had compatible performance characteristics for detecting colon cancer and adenoma. The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of TF and IFOBT for detecting advanced adenomas and cancer in asymptomatic and symptomatic populations. A total of 1,943 healthy subjects (asymptomatic group) and 201 subjects with various gastrointestinal symptoms (symptomatic group) were recruited for the study. For asymptomatic subjects, one fecal sample was collected for concurrent TF and IFOBT testing. Colonoscopy was performed for individuals positive for either TF or IFOBT. For the symptomatic subjects, each individual underwent TF, IFOBT, and colonoscopy simultaneously. For asymptomatic group, 1,737 individuals tested for TF and IFOBT, 251 subjects (14.5%) showed either TF or IFOBT positivity. Colonoscopy was performed for 193 of the 251 individuals. A total of 3 colorectal cancers and 43 advanced adenomas were detected. Combination of the two tests (either/or) significantly increased the detection rate for colorectal cancers and advanced adenomas compared to IFOBT alone (2.6% vs. 1.6%, P=0.034). In the symptomatic group, the combined test also significantly increased the sensitivity for detecting advanced adenomas and cancer than that of IFOBT alone (77.9% vs. 55.9%, P=0.006), but with decreased specificity (42.1% vs 63.9%, P=0.005). Combined TF and IFOBT test increased the detection rate of colorectal adenoma and cancer in both asymptomatic and symptomatic populations.

AIM: To evaluate the undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of liver (UESL) in adults in order to improve its diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: Four primary and one recurrent cases of UESL were clinicopathologically evaluated and immunohistochemically investigated with a panel of antibodies using the EnVision+ system. Relevant literature about UESL in adults was reviewed. RESULTS: Three males and one female were enrolled in this study. Their chief complaints were abdominal pain, weight loss, or fever. Laboratory tests, imaging and pathological features of UESL in adults were similar to those in children. Immunohistochemistry showed evidence of widely divergent differentiation into mesenchymal and epithelial phenotypes. The survival time of patients who underwent complete tumor resection followed by adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) was significantly longer than that of those who underwent surgical treatment alone. CONCLUSION: UESL in adults may undergo pluripotential differentiation and its diagnosis should be made based on its morphological and immunohistochemical features. Complete tumor resection after adjuvant TACE may improve the survival time of such patients.

This paper presents a log data analytical process in telecommunication industry, for business intelligence interested in analyzing static customer data and dynamic behavioral data to improve their understanding of customer loyalty and customer preference. Leveraging the data of information systems is a crucial way to support the customer management. A data mining process to achieve key customer management objectives is presented. From findings of data analysis, the important attributes of the valuable/loyalty customers are revealed. This paper provides a proven data analytical method used to identify variety kinds of characteristics in a telecommunication company.

Micro-worktable is an important part of a micro-assembly system, and it implements the translation along X- and Y- axes and the rotation along X-, Y- and Z-axes of the assembly system. In order to amplify the micro-worktable displacement output and improve the micro-positioning accuracy, a novel 3-DOF organ-drive-inspecting micro-positioning worktable was designed and analyzed using modified double-parallelogram symmetrical structure flexure hinge and piezoelectric-actuators. For the symmetric mechanism effectively eliminated the coupling deflection angle and limited the vertical direction motion, the modified double-parallelogram flexure hinge increased the output displacement of X, Y and Z axes. Finite element model of the micro-worktable was established in ANSYS to make its static performances simulation by finite elements method (FEM). Simulation results showed that stiffness and accuracy of the modified double-parallelogram flexure hinge mechanism are higher than general double-parallelogram flexure hinge mechanism, and output displacement linearity is better than single-parallelogram flexure hinge mechanism. Flexure hinge mechanism and piezoelectric-actuator self-features reduce the system complexity, coupling displacement error, and also assure the stable accuracy, high resolution, and high frequent-response of the micro-positioning worktable. Finally, static performance was tested and analyzed through experiments. In experiments, the piezoelectric-power provided voltage to drive the micro-positioning worktable along X, Y and Z axes, and an electric inductance micrometer dial was used to measure the output displacement. Experimental results show that the resolution is 0.04μm for displacement in X, Y, and Z axes, and the maximum stroke length reaches 6μm. The design meets with the requirement of the micro-assembly system.

The growth, spectroscopic properties, laser parameters, and laser performance of a Nd3+/Mg2+ co-doped congruent LiTaO3 crystal were investigated. Continuous-wave (cw) laser operation at a wavelength of about 1083?nm with a slope efficiency of nearly 12% was achieved. The maximum cw output power obtained was 615?mW, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the highest output power obtained for this crystal thus far. We propose that Nd:MgO:LiTaO3 lasers could be an excellent source for the optical pumping of helium, and may achieve second harmonic generation and optical parametric oscillation in the same crystal.

An acousto-optic Q-switched Nd, Mg:LiTaO3 crystal laser with π-polarized output at 1082.3 nm is reported for the first time. With a pumping power of 6.5 W at 808 nm, the maximum achieved pulse energy is 0.12 mJ, with a pulse width of 92 ns, corresponding to a peak power of 1.3 kW, which represents the highest peak power from rare-earth-doped ferroelectric crystal lasers. At high pump power, a photorefractive phenomenon and self-frequency-doubling are observed. Self-repairing features of the Nd,Mg:LiTaO3 laser via interaction between the walk-off effect and the thermal photorefractive effect to improve output stability are also discussed. Furthermore, in a continuous-wave laser operation, the slope efficiency is 14.8% with respect to absorbed σ-polarized pump power, which is 6.7% higher than that of 8.1% obtained with non-polarized pumping.

A Nd3+ and Mg2+ co-doped LiTaO3 single crystal has been grown successfully by the Czochralski method. The polarized absorption spectra of the crystal were measured and investigated. The peak absorption cross-sections at 806 and 810?nm were 4.17???10?20?cm2 and 4.47???10?20?cm2 with a full width at half maximum of 29 and 17?nm for ?-?and ?-polarization, respectively. Based on the Judd?Ofelt theory, the spectral parameters of Nd3+ in the as-grown crystal were investigated in detail. Moreover, the emission probabilities, branching ratio and radiative lifetime for the transitions from 4F3/2 were calculated. The radiative lifetime of 4F3/2 was calculated to be 159??s and the luminescent quantum efficiency of the 4F3/2 manifold was about 81.13%. The results were also compared with other Nd3+ doped crystals.

Growth, spectroscopic properties, and laser performance of Yb, Na:PbF(2) crystals have been investigated. With a 2 mol.% Yb(3+)-doped sample we obtained 2.65 W output power at 1045 nm for 7.5 W of incident power at 976 nm. The laser wavelength could be tuned from 1017 to 1078 nm, showing the great potential of Yb, Na:PbF(2) as an amplifier medium for femtosecond pulses.