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200 papers
Omphalomesenteric duct remnant adenocarcinoma in adults: a case study.
Zhou B, Lai H, Lin Y … +1 more , Mo X
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27995004 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: The omphalomesenteric duct (OMD) or the vitelline duct (VD) is the embryonic structure connecting the vitelline sac to the primitive gut. It undergoes obliteration at 5-9 weeks of gestation. Failure of this...
INTRODUCTION: The omphalomesenteric duct (OMD) or the vitelline duct (VD) is the embryonic structure connecting the vitelline sac to the primitive gut. It undergoes obliteration at 5-9 weeks of gestation. Failure of this duct to close, which occurs in approximately 2% of the population, can lead to various types of VD residual diseases. A persistent OMD remnant is pathological, and it typically presents in the pediatric population. Meckel diverticulum is the most common anomaly that results from failure of resorption of the OMD. In extremely rare instances, OMD remnant adenocarcinomas have been reported in the adult population. CASE DESCRIPTION: In this study, we present a case of OMD remnant adenocarcinoma with axillary lymph node metastases in an adult male. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: Because OMD remnant adenocarcinoma is rare, few relevant studies have been reported. The final diagnosis of navel VD residual adenocarcinoma depends on postoperative pathology and immunohistochemical analysis. The follow-up treatment in OMD is similar to the chemotherapy regimens of postoperative gastrointestinal malignant tumors. CONCLUSIONS: In this report, the patient experienced no complications after surgery and was discharged on the seventh postoperative day, followed by 12 courses of postoperative FOLFOX6 scheme chemotherapy. By the end of chemotherapy, the patient had no evidence of recurrent disease and metastasis across the reexamination of PET-CT.
Genetic divergence among toxic and non-toxic cyanobacteria of the dry zone of Sri Lanka.
Liyanage HM, Magana Arachchi DN, Chandrasekaran NV
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27995003 · Full text
Sri Lanka has rich cyanobacterial diversity, however, only few studies have been conducted to identify the potential toxin producers in water bodies used for human consumption. As the detection of cyanotoxin is vital in...
Sri Lanka has rich cyanobacterial diversity, however, only few studies have been conducted to identify the potential toxin producers in water bodies used for human consumption. As the detection of cyanotoxin is vital in water quality management, a study was done by employing 16S rRNA gene to explore the genetic divergence, phylogenetic relationships and potential toxin producing cyanobacteria in reservoirs and well waters in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Forty five, 16S rRNA gene sequences were assayed and phylogenetic tree was constructed. Among 45 isolates, 20 isolates were classified as unidentified cyanobacteria and considered as novel cyanobacterial genera. Of 25 identified isolates, seven isolates were identified up to species level. With 16S rRNA phylogeny, 20 unidentified cyanobacterial isolates were able to place on their taxonomic positions up to order level. Results revealed that water samples understudy had vast cyanobacterial diversity with potential microcystin (MC) and cylindrospermopsin (CYN) producers and eleven clusters clearly demonstrated five cyanobacterial orders with more than 90% similarity irrespective to their toxicity which showed the suitability of 16S rRNA gene for taxonomic differentiation. Sixteen isolates had the potential to produce MC and two isolates to produce CYN. Findings of the study confirm the rich cyanobacterial diversity and the divergence among the potential cyanotoxin producers in the dry zone water bodies of Sri Lanka.
Reproductive biology and breeding system of (Roxb.) De Wilde: a vulnerable medicinal plant.
Smitha GR, Thondaiman V
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27995002 · Full text
Ashoka () is a perennial, evergreen tree valued for its ornamental flowers and medicinal values. This species is classified as 'vulnerable' under IUCN list due to its dwindling population because of destructive harvestin...
Ashoka () is a perennial, evergreen tree valued for its ornamental flowers and medicinal values. This species is classified as 'vulnerable' under IUCN list due to its dwindling population because of destructive harvesting from natural habitats. Therefore, conservation and multiplication of this species is need of the hour to utilize its astonishing medicinal uses eternally. Conservation approaches of any plant species require in-depth study of its reproductive biology, which is lacking in this species. The present study is the first detailed report on reproductive biology of . This tree bears fragrant flowers in paniculate corymbose inflorescence from December end to May, with peak flowering during February-March. The fruits attain its maturity during last week of May-July. Seeds were dispersed from the pod to the tree premises upon complete maturity. The time of anthesis in this species is noticed in the early morning from 3.00 to 5.30 am, which coincided with anther dehiscence, stigma receptivity and insect activity. The length of the stamen and pistil points towards the pollination compatibility in both male and female parts. Pollen viability was maximum within 2 h of anthesis, which decreased thereafter and no pollens were viable after 6 h. The stigma was receptive at the time of anthesis and continued for 24 h. The tree produces bright colour attractive flowers, which changed from yellow/light orange to scarlet/red from the inception of buds to wilting. The bright color of the flowers attracted floral visitors/pollinators thereby facilitated the pollination in this species. The observations of the floral biology and breeding system indicated the cross pollination behaviour, which limited the production of selfed seeds and would help to maintain the sustainable levels of heterozygosity among the various populations. Considerable amount of seeds produced in this species indicated that the species is capable of sustaining its progenies in the natural populations. Polyembryony to an extent of 5% was also recorded in this species.
Evaluation of the patients with colorectal cancer undergoing emergent curative surgery.
Kundes F, Kement M, Cetin K … +9 more , Kaptanoglu L, Kocaoglu A, Karahan M, Yegen SF, Atici AE, Civil O, Eser M, Cakir T, Bildik N
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27995001 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The aim of our study is to evaluate perioperative and mid-term oncologic outcomes of the patients with colorectal cancer, who underwent emergent curative surgery. METHODS: The study included all patients with...
BACKGROUND: The aim of our study is to evaluate perioperative and mid-term oncologic outcomes of the patients with colorectal cancer, who underwent emergent curative surgery. METHODS: The study included all patients with colorectal cancer, who underwent surgery for curative intent between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2014 in General Surgery Department of Kartal Training and Research Hospital. The patients were divided into two groups according to the type of admission (emergent or elective). The data of the patients were retrospectively collected with chart review. Demographic characteristics of the patients, ASA scores, emergent indications and surgical interventions, postoperative complications, pathological findings, oncological therapy, and follow-up findings were investigated. RESULTS: Fifty-one and 209 patients were evaluated in both groups, respectively. Rate of right sided and sigmoid/recto-sigmoid tumors were significantly higher in emergent group. Ostomy rate, early morbidity, ICU need, transfusion, and mortality rates in emergent group were significantly higher than elective group. Average length of hospital stay in emergent group was also significantly longer in elective group (11.2 ± 3.2 vs. 8.4 ± 2.4 days). The patients in emergent group had a much lower survival rate than those in elective group. CONCLUSION: In our study, emergency presentation of colorectal cancer was found associated with increased morbidity, a longer length of stay, increased in-hospital mortality, advanced pathologic stage and worsened long term survival in even same stages.
Permutation transformations of tensors with an application.
Li YT, Li ZB, Liu QL … +1 more , Liu Q
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27995000 · Full text
The permutation transformation of tensors is introduced and its basic properties are discussed. The invariance under permutation transformations is studied for some important structure tensors such as symmetric tensors,...
The permutation transformation of tensors is introduced and its basic properties are discussed. The invariance under permutation transformations is studied for some important structure tensors such as symmetric tensors, positive definite (positive semidefinite) tensors, -tensors, -tensors, Hankel tensors, -tensors, -tensors and -tensors. Finally, as an application of permutation transformations of tensors, the canonical form theorem of tensors is given. The theorem shows that some problems of higher dimension tensors can be translated into the corresponding problems of lower dimension weakly irreducible tensors so as to handle easily.
Impact of nickel mining in New Caledonia assessed by compositional data analysis of lichens.
Pasquet C, Le Monier P, Monna F … +6 more , Durlet C, Brigaud B, Losno R, Chateau C, Laporte-Magoni C, Gunkel-Grillon P
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27994999 · Full text
The aim of this study is to explore the use of lichens as biomonitors of the impact of nickel mining and ore treatment on the atmosphere in the New Caledonian archipelago (South Pacific Ocean); both activities emitting a...
The aim of this study is to explore the use of lichens as biomonitors of the impact of nickel mining and ore treatment on the atmosphere in the New Caledonian archipelago (South Pacific Ocean); both activities emitting also Co, Cr and possibly Fe. Metal contents were analysed in thirty-four epiphytic lichens, collected in the vicinity of the potential sources, and in places free from known historical mining. The highest Ni, Co, and Cr concentrations were, as expected, observed in lichens collected near ore deposits or treatment areas. The elemental composition in the lichens was explored by multivariate analysis, after appropriately transforming the variables (i.e. using compositional data analysis). The sample score of the first principal component (PC1) makes the largest (positive) multiplicative contribution to the log-ratios of metals originating from mining activities (Ni, Cr, Co) divided by Ti. The PC1 scores are used here as a surrogate of pollution levels related to mining and metallurgical activity. They can be viewed as synthetic indicators mapped to provide valuable information for the management and protection of ecosystems or, as a first step, to select locations where air filtration units could be installed, in the future, for air quality monitoring. However, as this approach drastically simplifies the problem, supplying a broadly efficient picture but little detail, recognizing the different sources of contamination may be difficult, more particularly when their chemical differences are subtle. It conveys only relative information: about ratios, not levels, and is therefore recommended as a preliminary step, in combination with close examination of raw concentration levels of lichens. Further validation using conventional air-monitoring by filter units should also prove beneficial.
Smoking related attitudes, motives, and behaviors of male secondary school students in an urban setting of China.
Xu X, Chen C, Abdullah AS … +4 more , Liu L, Sharma M, Li Y, Zhao Y
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27994998 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Most smokers have their first experience of cigarette use when they are teenagers (i.e. at schools). Aiming tobacco control initiatives at secondary school students offers preventive measures to eliminate or...
BACKGROUND: Most smokers have their first experience of cigarette use when they are teenagers (i.e. at schools). Aiming tobacco control initiatives at secondary school students offers preventive measures to eliminate or reduce tobacco use initiation by students. This study assessed smoking-related attitudes, motives and behavior as well as other factors associated with smoking among male secondary school students in an urban setting in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in urban areas of Chongqing using a structured questionnaire administered to 1297 male secondary school students. Logistic regression analysis was employed to investigate the factors that affect smoking. RESULTS: Of the participants (n = 1297), 27.7% were secondary and 72.3% were middle school students. Overall, 30.5% of the participants were smokers. The majority of the students procured their first cigarette from friends. The motivations of middle school students to smoke their first cigarette were curiosity (70.5%) and imitation (13.1%). The motivations of high school students for smoking their first cigarette were to satisfy their curiosity (51.8%), relief of stress and social pressures (17.1%), and imitation of smoker friends (15.9%). Respondents from poor family financial conditions were more likely to smoke than those from rich family financial conditions [odds ratio (OR) 1.59, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.00, 2.52]. Respondents whose fathers were smokers were more likely to smoke than those whose fathers were non-smokers (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.25, 2.17). Respondents who had one or two smoker friends (OR 2.98, 95% CI 1.93, 4.60) and three or more smoker friends (OR 5.92, 95% CI 4.35, 8.05) were more likely to smoke than those who did not have any. Respondents who were neutral (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.20, 0.91) and disagreed about the item "friends smoking" (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.08, 0.39) were less likely to smoke than those who agreed with the item. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that male students who have negative attitudes toward smoking, who do not have a father or friends who smoke, and are from affluent backgrounds exhibit low tendency to start smoking at a young age. This study provides some implications for tobacco control policies among male secondary school students in urban settings.
Ability of dairy fat in inducing metabolic syndrome in rats.
Ehrampoush E, Homayounfar R, Davoodi SH … +3 more , Zand H, Askari A, Kouhpayeh SA
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27994997 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The risk of heart diseases, diabetes and stroke is increased with higher metabolic risk factors. Models of diseases resulting from high-calorie diets have a significant role in pathophysiologic analysis of me...
BACKGROUND: The risk of heart diseases, diabetes and stroke is increased with higher metabolic risk factors. Models of diseases resulting from high-calorie diets have a significant role in pathophysiologic analysis of metabolic syndrome in rodents; but, these diets are considerably different from each other in various studies and may not be very similar to the metabolic syndrome model in humans. This study sought to make a model close to the disease in humans. 20 five-week old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to two groups. For one of the groups, a high-calorie diet with 416 calories per 100 g with dairy-based fat was considered and, for another group, a control diet was given for 12 weeks. Weight changes, lipid profile, glucose values, Blood pressure, insulin and HOMA indices, were measured for both groups and weight changes were compared using repeated measures and independent test; also, serum results were compared using independent test. RESULTS: Values of weight, glucose, insulin, lipid profile and blood pressure, except HDL, had a tangible difference between two groups at the end of the study. HOMA-IR, HOMA-B and HOMA-S indicates a significant difference between the two groups after consumption high-energy diet. CONCLUSION: The present study showed ability of dairy fat in gaining weight, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome and provided the necessity of paying serious attention to the amount of fat intake from dairy sources.
Influence of the renewal of removable dentures on oral health related quality of life.
Bonnet G, Batisse C, Segyo JW … +3 more , Veyrune JL, Nicolas E, Bessadet M
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27994996 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The renewal of removable dentures is often suggested to denture wearers subject to discomfort. However, the impact of this rehabilitation on patients' oral health related quality of life and their removable d...
BACKGROUND: The renewal of removable dentures is often suggested to denture wearers subject to discomfort. However, the impact of this rehabilitation on patients' oral health related quality of life and their removable dentures related satisfaction is still unknown. This study was aimed at assessing these patient-centered outcomes and the potential impact of different factors. METHODS: A cohort of 116 patients in need of removable dental prostheses rehabilitation was recruited at a dental hospital over a period of 1 year. The subjects were separated into two groups according to their prosthesis experience (group in need of removable dentures renewal/group needing an removable dentures for the first time). Subjects were asked to answer the "Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index" (GOHAI) and the "McGill Denture Satisfaction Instrument" before and after a prosthesis integration period (9-12 weeks). RESULTS: GOHAI scores were slightly higher for patients with removable dentures renewal (from 40.6 ± 10.3 to 47.1 ± 10.0, p < 0.001), independently of the type of prosthetic rehabilitation. However, the scores of the GOHAI functional field did not change. Subjects with no removable dentures experience presented an increase in their functional GOHAI score (p < 0.001). Regarding patient removable dentures related satisfaction, only the "Esthetic" (p < 0.001), "Chewing efficiency" (p < 0.001) and "Oral condition" (p < 0.01) items increased after prosthesis renewal. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that renewing removable dentures only moderately improved the oral health related quality of life and removable dentures related satisfaction of patients, regardless of age, gender or type of rehabilitation. Other tasks are necessary such as the analysis of physiological parameters and qualitative research on patient's expectations.
Identification of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of neuronatin in mice.
Xu Y, Liu Z, Wang T … +4 more , Chen X, Deng J, Chen M, Li Z
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27994995 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Neuronatin () is a paternal-inherited imprinted gene, first discovered in the rat neonatal brain, where it plays vital roles for neuronal growth, brain development, and metabolic regulation. The maternal impr...
BACKGROUND: Neuronatin () is a paternal-inherited imprinted gene, first discovered in the rat neonatal brain, where it plays vital roles for neuronal growth, brain development, and metabolic regulation. The maternal imprint of has been identified in mice; however, the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) involved in the monoallelic expression of have not yet been investigated. RESULTS: In this study, we confirmed expression of two isoforms of the (α and β) in the mice brain via quantitative RT-PCR. Additionally, the methylation profile of the CpG island located in the gene locus was determined in the mice liver, brain, sperm, and the MII oocyte via bisulfite sequencing PCR. CONCLUSION: In summary, we provide the first evidence for tissue- and gamete-specific methylation patterns of CpG3 that are located on exon 1, to be putative DMR of in mice.
Erratum to: Genetic diversity and population differentiation of small giant clam in Comoros islands assessed by microsatellite markers.
Ahmed Mohamed N, Yu Q, Chanfi MI … +4 more , Li Y, Wang S, Huang X, Bao Z
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27994994 · Full text
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-3513-6.].
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-3513-6.].
Empirical mode decomposition with missing values.
Kim D, Oh HS
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27942428 · Full text
This paper considers an improvement of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) in the presence of missing data. EMD has been widely used to decompose nonlinear and nonstationary signals into some components according to intri...
This paper considers an improvement of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) in the presence of missing data. EMD has been widely used to decompose nonlinear and nonstationary signals into some components according to intrinsic frequency called intrinsic mode functions. However, the conventional EMD may not be efficient when missing values are present. This paper proposes a modified EMD procedure based on a novel combination of empirical mode decomposition and self-consistency concept. The self-consistency provides an effective imputation method of missing data, and hence, the proposed EMD procedure produces stable decomposition results. Simulation studies and the image analysis demonstrate that the proposed method produces substantially effective results.
Molecular linkage tracing of HIV-1 transmission events in seroconcordant couples in Guangxi Province, Southeastern China.
Wang N, Tang Z, Li Y … +2 more , Xie P, Shao Y
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27942427 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Guangxi Province in Southeastern China has one of the highest HIV-1 infection and transmission rates in stable couples. However, the mode of transmission at the molecular level has seldom been reported amongs...
BACKGROUND: Guangxi Province in Southeastern China has one of the highest HIV-1 infection and transmission rates in stable couples. However, the mode of transmission at the molecular level has seldom been reported amongst this group. It is important to investigate this issue to support the treatment-as-prevention approach and for efficient interventions. METHODS: HIV-1 subgenomic regions (1.2 kb of and a 660-bp C2V5 fragment) were sequenced in 42 couples. A couple linkage assessment was performed by phylogenetic analysis of sequences and Bayesian analysis of genetic distances. A subset of pairs was selected for single-genome amplification. RESULTS: Thirty-five pairs (83.3 %, 35/42) were identified as linked, 3 pairs (7.1 %, 3/42) were identified as indeterminate, and 4 pairs (9.5 %) were identified as unlinked. The predominant intra-couple-transmitted HIV-1 subtype was CRF01_AE (80 %, 28/35). The median genetic distance of linked couples was 0.5 %. CONCLUSION: The majority of HIV-1 transmission events in this study occurred within the partnership, and the predominant HIV-1 subtype was CRF01_AE. Further research on the mode of HIV transmission in other locations is needed.
Urdu Nasta'liq text recognition using implicit segmentation based on multi-dimensional long short term memory neural networks.
Naz S, Umar AI, Ahmed R … +3 more , Razzak MI, Rashid SF, Shafait F
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27942426 · Full text
The recognition of Arabic script and its derivatives such as Urdu, Persian, Pashto etc. is a difficult task due to complexity of this script. Particularly, Urdu text recognition is more difficult due to its Nasta'liq wri...
The recognition of Arabic script and its derivatives such as Urdu, Persian, Pashto etc. is a difficult task due to complexity of this script. Particularly, Urdu text recognition is more difficult due to its Nasta'liq writing style. Nasta'liq writing style inherits complex calligraphic nature, which presents major issues to recognition of Urdu text owing to diagonality in writing, high cursiveness, context sensitivity and overlapping of characters. Therefore, the work done for recognition of Arabic script cannot be directly applied to Urdu recognition. We present Multi-dimensional Long Short Term Memory (MDLSTM) Recurrent Neural Networks with an output layer designed for sequence labeling for recognition of printed Urdu text-lines written in the Nasta'liq writing style. Experiments show that MDLSTM attained a recognition accuracy of 98% for the unconstrained Urdu Nasta'liq printed text, which significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques.
BLAS3 optimization for the Godson-3B1500.
Zhang M, Gu N, Ren K
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933269 · Full text
This paper proposes a performance model for general matrix multiplication (GEMM) on decoupled access/execute (DAE) architecture platforms, in order to guide improvements of the GEMM performance in the Godson-3B1500. This...
This paper proposes a performance model for general matrix multiplication (GEMM) on decoupled access/execute (DAE) architecture platforms, in order to guide improvements of the GEMM performance in the Godson-3B1500. This model focuses on the features of access processors (APs) and execute processors (EPs). To reduce the synchronization overhead between APs and EPs, a synchronization module selection mechanism (SMSM) is presented. Furthermore, two optimized algorithms of GEMM for DAE platforms based on the performance model are proposed for ideal performance. In the proposed algorithms, the kernel functions are optimized with single instruction multiple data (SIMD) vector instructions, and the overhead of AP is almost overlapped with EP by taking full advantage of the features of the architecture. Moreover, the synchronization overhead can be reduced according to the SMSM. In the end, the proposed algorithms are tested on the Godson-3B1500. The experimental results demonstrate that the computing performance of dGEMM reaches 91.9% of the theoretical peak performance and that zGEMM can reach 93% of the theoretical peak performance.
Autologous platelet lysates local injections for treatment of tibia non-union with breakage of the nickelclad: a case report.
Jiang HJ, Tan XX, Ju HY … +7 more , Su JP, Yan W, Song XG, Qin LW, Ju CJ, Wang LS, Zou DB
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933268 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Nonunions of the tibia represent challenging orthopedic problems, which require the surgeon to analyze numerous factors and choose an appropriate treatment. This article presents a case report of tibia and fi...
BACKGROUND: Nonunions of the tibia represent challenging orthopedic problems, which require the surgeon to analyze numerous factors and choose an appropriate treatment. This article presents a case report of tibia and fibula fracture patient who failed the internal fixation surgery and successfully recovered after one course of percutaneous autologous platelet lysates injection. CASE DESCRIPTION: The patient received an internal nickelclad breakage at 9 months post-surgery but reluctant to accept a second surgery, then autologous platelet lysates (APL) injection which is a less invasive method was recommended. The injections were carried once a week for three times. Radiologic evaluation was conducted every month until recovery. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of tibia delayed union with breakage of the plate resolved with APL injection. Improved clinical evidence was observed at 4 and 6 months after injection. The patient got good bony union at 8 months post-injection. The patient didn't feel any discomfort postinjection, no complications such as infection, refracture etc. were observed. CONCLUSIONS: APL percutaneous injection could be a new therapeutic option for the treatment of nonunion or delayed healing fractures.
A mixed-method study of the efficacy of physical activity consultation as an adjunct to standard smoking cessation treatment among male smokers in Malaysia.
Lee YY, Khoo S, Morris T … +4 more , Hanlon C, Wee LH, Teo EW, Adnan Y
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933267 · Full text
BACKGROUND: This study examined the effectiveness of using Physical Activity Consultation (PAC) as an addition to the standard smoking cessation treatment in Malaysia. We explored participants' experiences in terms of ph...
BACKGROUND: This study examined the effectiveness of using Physical Activity Consultation (PAC) as an addition to the standard smoking cessation treatment in Malaysia. We explored participants' experiences in terms of physical activity and smoking abstinence with the combined PAC and smoking cessation intervention. METHODS: Walk-in smokers from a local smoking cessation clinic volunteered for the 8-week intervention program, while undergoing standard smoking cessation treatment. In Week 1, a facilitator conducted a face-to-face intervention to explore participants' involvement in physical activity and helped to set physical activity strategies and goals for participants to increase physical activity levels. Participants were provided with follow-up phone calls at Weeks 3 and 6. Participants answered questionnaires that measured smoking withdrawal (Shiffman-Jarvik Withdrawal Scale), cessation self-efficacy (Cessation Self-efficacy Questionnaire), physical activity involvement (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), and mood (Brunel Mood Scale) upon recruitment, at post-intervention and at follow-up 3 months after the intervention ended. Participants also responded to interviews about their experiences with the PAC and smoking cessation treatment at post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Seven participants completed the program until follow-up. All were successfully abstinent. Only two participants increased physical activity levels, whereas others maintained their physical activity levels or showed slight decreases. Several themes were identified in this study, including participants' experiences with withdrawal symptoms, smoking cessation self-efficacy, triggers to smoking cessation, thoughts on standard smoking cessation treatment in Malaysia, physical activity involvement, mood, and thoughts and beliefs on combining smoking cessation and physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests PAC was helpful in maintaining or increasing the overall physical activity levels of participants and could assist with smoking abstinence. Findings showed that all participants who stayed in the program were successfully abstinent. In general, the findings in this study provided promising results for further research on PAC as an adjunct to smoking cessation treatments in Malaysia. This intervention is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (Trial registration number: ACTRN12616000269437).
Nonstrict and individual enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in partial hepatectomy.
Xu X, Wang Y, Feng T … +4 more , Zhao X, Liao Y, Ji W, Li J
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933266 · Full text
BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate postoperative recovery and short-term outcomes of patients undergoing partial hepatectomy managed with a nonstrict and individual enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program. METHODS:...
BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate postoperative recovery and short-term outcomes of patients undergoing partial hepatectomy managed with a nonstrict and individual enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 168 partial hepatectomy patients in our institution was included. The discharged day and the respective impact of element application throughout the duration were analyzed. RESULTS: When all the required elements of ERAS were fully implemented, the median discharge day was 6. The more deviation occurred, the more delayed the patient discharged ( < 0.01). Preoperative ASA score, basic conditions of patients and ages were revealed closely associated with discharge day ( < 0.001). Without or an early removal of tubes and early oral feeding reduced hospital stay statistically ( < 0.01). Early discharge of patients (<3 days) did not show an increased complication incidence or readmission ( > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Nonstrict and individual use of ERAS in partial hepatectomy reduced postoperative length of stay without increasing complication rate. Our study proposes a modulation of ERAS according to the needs and acceptance of patients. In a word, better optionally required rather than mandatorily meet.
Multidirectional hybrid algorithm for the split common fixed point problem and application to the split common null point problem.
Li X, Guo M, Su Y
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933265 · Full text
In this article, a new multidirectional monotone hybrid iteration algorithm for finding a solution to the split common fixed point problem is presented for two countable families of quasi-nonexpansive mappings in Banach...
In this article, a new multidirectional monotone hybrid iteration algorithm for finding a solution to the split common fixed point problem is presented for two countable families of quasi-nonexpansive mappings in Banach spaces. Strong convergence theorems are proved. The application of the result is to consider the split common null point problem of maximal monotone operators in Banach spaces. Strong convergence theorems for finding a solution of the split common null point problem are derived. This iteration algorithm can accelerate the convergence speed of iterative sequence. The results of this paper improve and extend the recent results of Takahashi and Yao (Fixed Point Theory Appl 2015:87, 2015) and many others .
Heterophonic speech recognition using composite phones.
Alkhairy A, Jafri A
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933264 · Full text
Heterophones pose challenges during training of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems because they involve ambiguity in the pronunciation of an orthographic representation of a word. Heterophones are words that have...
Heterophones pose challenges during training of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems because they involve ambiguity in the pronunciation of an orthographic representation of a word. Heterophones are words that have the same spelling but different pronunciations. This paper addresses the problem of heterophonic languages by developing the concept of a Composite Phoneme (CP) as a basic pronunciation unit for speech recognition. A CP is a set of alternative sequences of phonemes. CP's are developed specifically in the context of Arabic by defining phonetic units that are consonant centric and absorb phonemically contrastive short vowels and gemination, not represented in the Arabic Modern Orthography (MO). CPs alleviate the need to diacritize MO into Classical Orthography (CO), to represent short vowels and stress, before generating pronunciation in terms of Simple Phonemes (SP). We develop algorithms to generate CP pronunciation from MO, and SP pronunciation from CO to map a word into a single pronunciation. We investigate the performance of CP, SP, UG (Undiacritized Grapheme), and DG (Diacritized Grapheme) ASRs. The experimental results suggest that UG and DG are inferior to SP and CP. For the A-SpeechDB corpus with MO vocabulary of 8000, the WER for bigram and context dependent phone are: 11.78, 12.64, and 13.59 % for CP, SP_M (SP from manual diacritized CO), and SP_A (SP from automated diacritized MO) respectively. For vocabulary of 24,000 MO words, the corresponding WER's are 13.69, 15.08, and 16.86 %. For uniform statistical model, SP has a lower WER than CP. For context independent phone (CI), CP has lower WER than SP.
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