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Pogostemon cablin has been indicated to treat many kinds of diseases and the progression of cancers, such as colorectal cancer. However, the effects of P. cablin extract (PPa extract) against acute myeloid leukemia have not been investigated. Thus, this study explored the anticancer potential of PPa extract and its mechanism in HL‐60 cells. The MTT assay results showed that PPa extract significantly inhibited the proliferation of HL‐60 cells in a dose‐dependent manner and affected cell morphology, causing cell shrinkage and the formation of debris. PPa extract blocked cell cycle progression at the G0/G1 phase in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner and induced cell apoptosis, as shown by the observation of DNA fragments and apoptotic bodies. Furthermore, PPa extract caused the accumulation of a population of cells at G0/G1 phase via a reduction in p‐Rb, increasing p21 expression, and downregulating cell cycle regulator protein expression. Then, PPa extract was found to activate the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, leading to cell death. These data demonstrated that PPa extract exerted inhibitory activity and triggered cell apoptosis in HL‐60 cells and that PPa extract might be a chemopreventive agent for cancer therapy., Pogostemon cablin extract contained potential anticancer compound to suppress HL‐60 cell growth by blocking cell cycle progression and inducing cell apoptosis.

No study has examined the varying family experience of palliative sedation therapy (PST) for terminally ill patients in different settings.To examine and compare family concerns about PST use and its effect on the grief suffered by terminally ill patients' families in palliative care units (PCUs) or intensive care units (ICUs).A total of 154 family members of such patients were recruited in Taiwan, of whom 143 completed the study, with 81 from the PCU and 62 from the ICU. Data were collected on their concerns regarding PST during recruitment. Grief levels were assessed at three days and one month after the patient's death with the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief.Families' major concern about sedated patients in the PCU was that "there might be other ways to relieve symptoms" (90.2%), whereas families of ICU sedated patients gave the highest ratings to "feeling they still had something more to do" (93.55%), and "the patient's sleeping condition was not dignified" (93.55%). Family members recruited from the ICU tended to experience more grief than those from the PCU (P = 0.005 at Day 3 and 0.001 at Month 1). PST use predicted higher levels of grief in family members recruited from the PCU (P 0.001 at Day 3 and Month 1).Family experiences with the use of PST in terminally ill patients varied in different settings. Supportive care should address family concerns about PST use, and regular attention should be paid to the grief of individuals at higher risk.

This study aims to compare two machine learning techniques, random forests (RF) and support vector machine (SVM), for real-time radar-derived rainfall forecasting. The real-time radar-derived rainfall forecasting models use the present grid-based radar-derived rainfall as the output variable and use antecedent grid-based radar-derived rainfall, grid position (longitude and latitude) and elevation as the input variables to forecast 1- to 3-h ahead rainfalls for all grids in a catchment. Grid-based radar-derived rainfalls of six typhoon events during 2012–2015 in three reservoir catchments of Taiwan are collected for model training and verifying. Two kinds of forecasting models are constructed and compared, which are single-mode forecasting model (SMFM) and multiple-mode forecasting model (MMFM) based on RF and SVM. The SMFM uses the same model for 1- to 3-h ahead rainfall forecasting; the MMFM uses three different models for 1- to 3-h ahead forecasting. According to forecasting performances, it reveals that the SMFMs give better performances than MMFMs and both SVM-based and RF-based SMFMs show satisfactory performances for 1-h ahead forecasting. However, for 2- and 3-h ahead forecasting, it is found that the RF-based SMFM underestimates the observed radar-derived rainfalls in most cases and the SVM-based SMFM can give better performances than RF-based SMFM.

This article addresses the customer order problem where jobs are scheduled on a set of parallel machines and dispatched in batches. A machine can process only one job at a time, whereas multiple machines can simultaneously process jobs in a batch. The evaluation of the performance is minimisation of maximum lateness. The problem is designated as . Three heuristics, based on simple scheduling rules, for each problem are proposed and their tight worst case bounds are found. Computational experiments are also conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the heuristics.

Objective To test the feasibility of partial nephrectomy using needle arrays under alternating current (AC) electromagnetic field without renal artery clamping. Methods We performed an experimental study for partial nephrectomy without renal artery clamping in a porcine model, comparing a new thermal surgery system consisting of an AC electromagnetic field generator and stainless steel needle arrays (using 10 pigs) vs an ultrasonic Harmonic Scalpel (on 8 pigs). Two cm of the upper pole of the kidneys were resected, and then the feasibility, operation time, blood loss, biochemical parameters, pathology, and complications were observed for 14 days. Results There was no difference by weight in the mean percentage of kidney removed between the 2 groups (8.1 ± 3.4% vs 12.7 ± 5.5%). The estimated blood loss for the partial nephrectomy with electromagnetic thermal surgery system was significantly less compared to the ultrasonic Harmonic Scalpel (53.0 ± 73.0 vs 188.8 ± 49.3 mL). Transection time was shorter with the electromagnetic thermal surgery system (10 vs 12 minutes). Bleeding from the cut surface after partial nephrectomy was noted in 2 pigs (electromagnetic surgery group) and 8 pigs (control group); all the bleeding was controlled with additional monopolar electrocoagulation and sutures. No urinoma was identified in either group when a second laparotomy was performed 2 weeks later. Conclusion Our study of a partial nephrectomy in a porcine model demonstrates that the heat generated by the electromagnetic thermal surgery system is sufficient to coagulate renal parenchyma and to seal off the blood vessels without pedicle clamping.