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Fuzzy rough set (FRS) theory is generally used to measure the uncertainty of data. However, this theory cannot work well when the class density of a data distribution differs greatly. In this work, a relative distance measure is first proposed to fit the mentioned data distribution. Based on the measure, a relative FRS model is introduced to remedy the mentioned imperfection of classical FRSs. Then, the positive region, negative region, and boundary region are defined to measure the uncertainty of data with the relative FRSs. Besides, a relative fuzzy dependency is defined to evaluate the importance of features to decision. With the proposed feature evaluation, we propose a feature selection algorithm and design a classifier based on the maximal positive region. The classification principle is that an unlabeled sample will be classified into the class corresponding to the maximal degree of the positive region. Experimental results show the relative fuzzy dependency is an effective and efficient measure for evaluating features, and the proposed feature selection algorithm presents better performance than some classical algorithms. Besides, it also shows the proposed classifier can achieve slightly better performance than the KNN classifier, which demonstrates that the maximal positive region-based classifier is effective and feasible.

Background The joint effects of sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and race on hypertension have not been fully addressed. Herein, we carried out this study aiming to investigate the possible effects of the interaction of sex, age, BMI and race on risk of hypertension. Methods By using the data of a sample-adjusted 2656 women and 2515 men in American National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015–16, we analyzed the interaction of sex, age, BMI and race by logistic regression models, followed by strata-specific analyses. Hypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure ≥130 mmHg/diastolic blood pressure ≥80 mmHg or taking anti-hypertensive medication. Results A total of 5171 participants were included in analysis, and the prevalence of hypertension was 53.68%. The interactive effect of sex and age, BMI and age, race and age were statistically significant on hypertension. Strata-specific analyses showed that female at 40 years and above were positively associated with hypertension than those at 20–39 years. The associations also persistence in male. The risk estimates for age ≥40 on hypertension were consistently positive across all overweight/obesity and race groups. The effect was most prominent among overweight populations aged 60–80 years and Other Hispanic aged 40 years and above. Conclusion There exists interactive effect of sex and age, BMI and age, race and age on hypertension in American population. The effect of age on hypertension was more prominent in female, overweight populations and Other Hispanic populations. Differences in age, BMI and race should be considered when providing corresponding antihypertensive measures.

Domestic and foreign relevant literatures of granular column collapse movement models are concluded to analyze the effects of initial spatial characteristics, essential physical properties of particles, boundaries, and environment conditions of model on the movement and accumulation characteristics of granular columns. Besides, the related mechanisms of movement and accumulation characteristics of granular columns are also analyzed. Remarkable linear and power relationships exist between the movement distance and the aspect ratios of initial height to initial width. Similarly, remarkable linear and power relationships exist between accumulation height and aspect ratio of initial height to initial width. The movement patterns and energy consumption mechanisms for granular columns with large aspect ratios are significantly different from those with small aspect ratios. A consensus has basically been reached concerning the effect of particle size, particle stiffness, particle breakage, and wet particles on the movement and accumulation characteristics of granular columns. Some preliminary research achievements of the effects of different wall constraints, fluidization phenomenon due to the gas mixing and water condition on the movement and accumulation characteristics of granular column are obtained. However, there still exist disagreements in the conclusions about the influences of initial porosity of granular column, particle friction, and wall friction on the movement and accumulation characteristics of granular column. A review of the current research indicate that the research in the future will be focused on the relationship between forces acted on particles and movement regimes. The mechanisms of the effect of complex particle shape, surface, particle density, and water movement conditions on the movement and accumulation characteristics of granular column collapse will also be focused on in the future.

Background: Hypertension is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases and mortality. We carried out this study aimed to investigate the possible effects of the interaction of sex, age, BMI and race on the prevalence of hypertension. Methods: By using the data of a sample-adjusted 2656 women and 2515 men in the American National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2016, we analyzed the interaction of sex, age, BMI and race by logistic regression. Hypertension was defined as an SBP ≥130 mmHg or DBP ≥80 mmHg or taking anti-hypertensive medication. Results: Totally, there were 2776 (53.68%) hypertensive patients. Interactions were found between sex and age, BMI and age, race and age. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for age 60-80 (aOR 19.26 [95% CI 14.14–26.23]) and 40 to 59 (4.56 [3.54–5.88]) were significantly higher than the reference group (age 20 to 39) in women, and also in men (6.44 [4.80–8.63]) and (2.84[2.23–3.61]), respectively. And this risk trend was consistent in the BMI group and the race group. Conclusion: Association between obesity and the risk of hypertension varies according to the age and race of the population and age had a stronger effect on hypertension in women than in men. Differences in age and race should be considered when providing corresponding antihypertensive measures. Although the exact mechanism of hypertension remains to be further studied, these findings suggested that early prevention and intervention measures can effectively reduce the risk of hypertension, especially in women.

As an interface between external electronic devices and internal neural nuclei, microelectrodes play an important role in many fields, such as animal robots, deep brain stimulation and neural prostheses. Aiming at the problem of high price and complicated fabrication process of microelectrode, a microelectrode twisting machine based on open source electronic prototyping platform (Arduino) and three-dimensional printing technology was proposed, and its microelectrode fabrication performance and neural stimulation performance were verified. The results show that during the fabrication of microelectrodes, the number of positive twisting turns of the electrode wire should generally be set to about 1.8 times of its length, and the number of reverse twisting rings is independent of the length, generally about 5. Moreover, compared with the traditional instrument, the device is not only inexpensive and simple to manufacture, but also has good expandability. It has a positive significance for both the personalization and popularization of microelectrode fabrication and the reduction of experimental cost.微电极作为外部电子设备与内部神经核团之间的接口，在动物机器人、深度脑刺激、神经假体等方面都起着重要的作用。针对现有微电极制作装置价格高昂且制作工艺复杂等问题，本文提出了一种基于开源电子原型平台（Arduino）和三维打印技术的双绞微电极制作装置，并验证了其电极制作性能及神经刺激性能。实验结果表明，在微电极制作过程中，电极丝的正向绞合圈数一般应设置为其长度的 1.8 倍左右较适宜，逆向绞合圈数与长度无关，一般为 5 左右。与同类产品相比，本文所提装置不仅价格低廉、制作简单并具有较好的扩展性，对于微电极制作的个性化、普及化以及降低实验成本都有着积极的促进意义。.

Background: Insulin Autoimmune Syndrome (IAS) is a rare condition characterized by the combination of recurrent severely spontaneous hypoglycemia without evidence of exogenous insulin administration, high concentration of total serum insulin, and the presence of a high titer of insulin autoantibody (IAA). But now we describe a case with IAS caused by gliclazide and hardly occuring hypoglycemia. Case Report: A 70-year-old man with type 2 diabetes presented to our department with poor glycemic control without evidence of hypoglycemia, but the levels of serum insulin and IAA were very high. He had no exogenous insulin administration history. Switching antidiabetic therapy from gliclazide to acarbose and metformin, the patient’s serum insulin level and IAA decreased gradually. Accordingly, the glycemic control improved and there was no episode of hypoglycemia. Conclusion: Hence, clinicians should pay more attention to type 2 diabetic patients treated with gliclazide and detect their serum insulin concentration and IAA to exclude or diagnose IAS and perform the best therapeutic regimen to these patients.

This study was intended to develop an optimal sperm cryopreservation protocol for yellow drum ( Nibea albiflora ), a commercially important fish species in East Asia. Specifically, we evaluated cryoprotectant type, concentration, and cooling rate and found that the highest fertilization (56–61%) and hatch (42–47%) can be obtained from yellow drum sperm suspended in 5% ethylene glycol or 10% dimethyl sulfoxide, cooled at 220 °C/min, thawed in 40 °C water bath for 7 s, and fertilized with fresh (non-frozen) eggs at a sperm-to-egg ratio of 10 7 . We also compared other sperm quality parameters such as sperm motility, motility duration, membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, and DNA fragmentation between fresh and thawed sperm samples. Although cryopreservation resulted in a significant increase in DNA fragmentation and significant decreases in the remaining parameters, the magnitude of these changes was small when compared to the 2000 to 3000-fold reduction in fertilization/hatch capability of thawed sperm. These findings suggest possible disruption of signaling pathways that cannot be detected by conventional quality assays. Further analysis of sperm membrane lipid composition revealed a significant negative correlation between sperm quality and cholesterol-to-sphingomyelin ratio. These findings indicate that lipid rafts could be the main targets for cryodamage-induced decrease in fertilization capability of thawed sperm. Future studies are necessary to further explore the role of lipid rafts in cryopreservation-mediated damage in fish sperm.

The yellow drum ( Nibea albiflora ) is a commercially important fish species in East Asia and artificial propagation has recently been initiated due to the rapid decrease of wild capture. To facilitate artificial insemination in aquaculture, sperm activation and storage conditions were evaluated in this study. Our findings revealed that yellow drum sperm can be activated with calcium-free Hankꞌs balanced salt solution (C-F HBSS), KCl, NaCl, and glucose at an osmolality range of 300–1200 mOsm/kg with the highest motility observed at 600–800 mOsm/kg. The average motility duration was less than 6 min. For sperm storage, C-F HBSS, fish Ringer solution, KCl, NaCl, and glucose at 150, 270, and 300 mOsm/kg were compared for selection of the optimal extender, and results showed detrimental effects of KCl, NaCl, and glucose. In contrast, C-F HBSS and fish Ringer solution or sperm stored undiluted in seminal plasma could retain motility for up to 48 h when samples were stored at 4 °C. The highest sperm motility was found with treatments at 150 mOsm/kg for both C-F HBSS and fish Ringer solution. Sperm samples stored at 4 °C were also found to retain motility longer than those stored at room temperature (25 °C). Our findings provide the basic information on sperm handling in yellow drum.