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200 papers
Model-based extended quaternion Kalman filter to inertial orientation tracking of arbitrary kinematic chains.
Szczęsna A, Pruszowski P
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933243 · Full text
Inertial orientation tracking is still an area of active research, especially in the context of out-door, real-time, human motion capture. Existing systems either propose loosely coupled tracking approaches where each se...
Inertial orientation tracking is still an area of active research, especially in the context of out-door, real-time, human motion capture. Existing systems either propose loosely coupled tracking approaches where each segment is considered independently, taking the resulting drawbacks into account, or tightly coupled solutions that are limited to a fixed chain with few segments. Such solutions have no flexibility to change the skeleton structure, are dedicated to a specific set of joints, and have high computational complexity. This paper describes the proposal of a new model-based extended quaternion Kalman filter that allows for estimation of orientation based on outputs from the inertial measurements unit sensors. The filter considers interdependencies resulting from the construction of the kinematic chain so that the orientation estimation is more accurate. The proposed solution is a universal filter that does not predetermine the degree of freedom at the connections between segments of the model. To validation the motion of 3-segments single link pendulum captured by optical motion capture system is used. The next step in the research will be to use this method for inertial motion capture with a human skeleton model.
Transtuzumab induced organizing pneumonia: a case report.
Gupta A, Teo L, Masel P … +2 more , Godbolt D, Beadle G
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933242 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Patients with metastatic breast cancer often have pulmonary symptoms with varying aetiologies. Transtuzumab is an extremely important drug used in the treatment of Her 2 neu over-expressing breast cancers. In...
BACKGROUND: Patients with metastatic breast cancer often have pulmonary symptoms with varying aetiologies. Transtuzumab is an extremely important drug used in the treatment of Her 2 neu over-expressing breast cancers. In this report we describe a case of organizing pneumonia associated with use of transtuzumab in metastatic breast cancer. Only three such cases have previously been reported. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 43 year old lady with Her 2 neu 3+, estrogen and progesterone receptor positive, metastatic breast cancer was started on weekly transtuzumab and albumen bound paclitaxel. She was admitted with an episode of bilateral pneumonitis after her fourth dose of therapy. It was managed conservatively with antibiotics. Subsequently, single agent transtuzumab was administered resulting in an anaphylactoid reaction followed by worsening dyspnoea requiring hospitalization and oxygen support for 3 days. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: The pneumonitis warranted further investigations including bronchoscopy which were performed. Bronchoscopic biopsy was consistent with a diagnosis of organizing pneumonia. Transtuzumab was stopped and she was started on steroids (dexamethasone). She improved remarkably and was discharged home on hormonal therapy, lapatinib and tapering doses of steroids. CONCLUSION: Organizing pneumonia closely mimics infection or progressive disease and can be difficult to diagnose in the setting of malignancy. Correct diagnosis is of paramount importance since delay in treatment can result in significantly adverse patient outcomes.
Numerical solution of linear and nonlinear Fredholm integral equations by using weighted mean-value theorem.
Altürk A
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933241 · Full text
Mean value theorems for both derivatives and integrals are very useful tools in mathematics. They can be used to obtain very important inequalities and to prove basic theorems of mathematical analysis. In this article, a...
Mean value theorems for both derivatives and integrals are very useful tools in mathematics. They can be used to obtain very important inequalities and to prove basic theorems of mathematical analysis. In this article, a semi-analytical method that is based on weighted mean-value theorem for obtaining solutions for a wide class of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind is introduced. Illustrative examples are provided to show the significant advantage of the proposed method over some existing techniques.
Synthesis of 2-tetrafluoropyridyl-4,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles.
Beyki K, Maghsoodlou MT, Heydari R
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933240 · Full text
ABSTRACT: By cycloaddition reaction of sodium azide with chalcone in the presence of CuO as a catalyst in DMF a 1,2,3-triazole are prepared in reaction with pentafluoropyridine to give 2-(tetrafluoropyridin-4-yl)-1,2,3-t...
ABSTRACT: By cycloaddition reaction of sodium azide with chalcone in the presence of CuO as a catalyst in DMF a 1,2,3-triazole are prepared in reaction with pentafluoropyridine to give 2-(tetrafluoropyridin-4-yl)-1,2,3-triazole derivatives in good yields and high regioselectivity. The regioselectivity of the compounds are confirmed by F-NMR and other spectroscopy.
Impact of bowel resection margins in node negative colon cancer.
Rocha R, Marinho R, Aparício D … +7 more , Fragoso M, Sousa M, Gomes A, Leichsenring C, Carneiro C, Geraldes V, Nunes V
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933239 · Full text
PURPOSE: Surgical intestinal resection margins in colon cancer are a longstanding debate in terms the optimal distance between the tumor and the colonic section line. The aim of this study is to define the oncological ou...
PURPOSE: Surgical intestinal resection margins in colon cancer are a longstanding debate in terms the optimal distance between the tumor and the colonic section line. The aim of this study is to define the oncological outcomes in relation to surgical margins, measured in terms or recurrence rate, time-to-recurrence, disease-free survival and overall survival in a population of node negative colon cancer patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational longitudinal single institution study. All patients submitted to colon cancer surgery between January 2006 and December 2010 were analyzed. Only node negative patients were included in the study, with analysis of 215 patient charts, divided in two groups (Intestinal margin lower than 5 cm-group 1; and 5 cm or higher-group 2). RESULTS: Mean age of patients was 70.4 years (±11.7), with a male predominance (57.7%). Group 2 more frequently corresponded to Stage II (83 vs 71%; p = 0.05). Global mean total lymph nodes harvested were 12, and were higher in group II than in group I (13.8 ± 8.2 vs 10.4 ± 5.7; p = 0.001). In terms of time-to-recurrence patients of group 2 had longer time than patients of group 1 (32.3 ± 12.1 vs 21.8 ± 13.8 months; p = 0.03), as well as a lower recurrence rate in group I (13.7 vs 17.2%), despite not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study has showed that patients with 5 cm or higher bowel resection margins had longer time-to-recurrence that was statistically significant. Recurrence rates were lower in the group of patients with longer surgical margins, however not statistically significant.
High particulate matter emission from additive-free Natural American Spirit cigarettes.
Iffland Y, Müller R, Groneberg D … +1 more , Gerber A
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933238 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Involuntary exposure to health-threatening environmental tobacco smoke (Combined Mainstream and Side-stream Smoke, CMSS) is a worldwide problem, causing premature death of thousands of people. CMSS consists o...
BACKGROUND: Involuntary exposure to health-threatening environmental tobacco smoke (Combined Mainstream and Side-stream Smoke, CMSS) is a worldwide problem, causing premature death of thousands of people. CMSS consists of particulate matter (PM), one of the main sources of indoor air pollution. PM constitutes a considerable health risk for passive smokers. It is important to inform the public about brand-specific differences in CMSS-associated PM, especially in the case of brands without additives, which are therefore promoted as natural and less health-threatening. METHODS: Mean concentrations and the area under the curve of PM, PM and PM generated by Natural American Spirit cigarettes without additives and the 3R4F standard research cigarette (University of Kentucky, USA) were measured, analyzed and compared with each other. An automatic environmental tobacco smoke emitter was used to smoke 100 cigarettes, 20 of each brand, according to a standardized smoking protocol. RESULTS: This study could show that CMSS-associated PM released from tobacco brands without additives, which are therefore promoted as natural and less harmful, are higher than expected. CONCLUSIONS: It is highly improbable that Natural American Spirit tobacco products are a less harmful choice-at least not for passive smokers as this study could show. We conclude, the CMSS-associated PM level of every single customized brand should be measured because the origin of the tobacco and not the amount of CO, tar and nicotine (given as product information) seem to be responsible for the brand-specific PM release. This data is urgently needed to adequately inform the public about CMSS-associated PM exposure and the related health risk especially for passive smokers.
Pricing policy for declining demand using item preservation technology.
Khedlekar UK, Shukla D, Namdeo A
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933237 · Full text
We have designed an inventory model for seasonal products in which deterioration can be controlled by item preservation technology investment. Demand for the product is considered price sensitive and decreases linearly....
We have designed an inventory model for seasonal products in which deterioration can be controlled by item preservation technology investment. Demand for the product is considered price sensitive and decreases linearly. This study has shown that the profit is a concave function of optimal selling price, replenishment time and preservation cost parameter. We simultaneously determined the optimal selling price of the product, the replenishment cycle and the cost of item preservation technology. Additionally, this study has shown that there exists an optimal selling price and optimal preservation investment to maximize the profit for every business set-up. Finally, the model is illustrated by numerical examples and sensitive analysis of the optimal solution with respect to major parameters.
Purification and antigenic detection of O-specific polysaccharides of serovar Paratyphi A isolate from Pakistan: an emerging threat.
Rahmat Z, Ali A, Sarwar Y … +2 more , Salman M, Haque A
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933236 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Paratyphoid fever caused by serovar Paratyphi A is becoming a serious health problem in Asian countries particularly Pakistan, China and India and situation is aggravated by current unavailability of a licen...
BACKGROUND: Paratyphoid fever caused by serovar Paratyphi A is becoming a serious health problem in Asian countries particularly Pakistan, China and India and situation is aggravated by current unavailability of a licensed vaccine. This study was designed to purify the O-specific polysaccharides (OSP) produced by an isolate of Paratyphi A from Pakistan and detect antigenicity of extracted lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and purified OSP pioneerly in South Asian region as candidate for conjugate vaccine preparation. RESULTS: . Paratyphi A isolates were identified through PCR using primers of - gene (329 bp) and confirmed via nested PCR using -nested primers (289 bp). Yield of the LPS of . Paratyphi A isolate was 40 mg/L of the bacterial culture using hot phenol method. The purified LPS revealed the characteristic ladder like pattern of . Paratyphi A LPS on SDS-PAGE with silver staining. Purified OSP obtained by acid hydrolysis yielded 23 mg/L of culture broth and was not detected by silver staining. Antigenic interaction of the purified LPS and OSP with hyper immune mice sera was confirmed by single precipitin line evaluated through immunodiffusion assay. The antigenicity was found well intact. CONCLUSIONS: The purified antigenic OSP from Paratyphi A may have the potential to be coupled with a carrier protein to develop low cost conjugate vaccine candidates against Paratyphi A in paratyphoid endemic regions.
Thailand's universal coverage scheme and its impact on health-seeking behavior.
Paek SC, Meemon N, Wan TT
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933235 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Thailand's Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) has improved healthcare access and utilization since its initial introduction in 2002. However, a substantial proportion of beneficiaries has utilized care outside t...
BACKGROUND: Thailand's Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) has improved healthcare access and utilization since its initial introduction in 2002. However, a substantial proportion of beneficiaries has utilized care outside the UCS boundaries. Because low utilization may be an indication of a policy gap between people's health needs and the services available to them, we investigated the patterns of health-seeking behavior and their social/contextual determinants among UCS beneficiaries in the year 2013. RESULTS: The study findings from the outpatient analysis showed that the use of designated facilities for care was significantly higher in low-income, unemployed, and chronic status groups. The findings from the inpatient analysis showed that the use of designated facilities for care was significantly higher in the low-income, older, and female groups. Particularly, for the low-income group, we found that they (1) had greater health care needs, (2) received a larger number of services from designated facilities, and (3) paid the least for both inpatient and outpatient services. CONCLUSIONS: This pro-poor impact indicated that the UCS could adequately respond to beneficiaries' needs in terms of vertical equity. However, we also found that a considerable proportion of beneficiaries utilized out-of-network services, which implied a lack of universal access to policy services from a horizontal equity point of view. Thus, the policy should continue expanding and diversifying its service benefits to strengthen horizontal equity. Particularly, private sector involvement for those who are employed as well as the increased unmet health needs of those in rural areas may be important policy priorities for that. Lastly, methodological issues such as severity adjustment and a detailed categorization of health-seeking behaviors need to be further considered for a better understanding of the policy impact.
Simulation enhanced distributed lag models for mortality displacement.
Simons K, Buyl R, Van Nieuwenhuyse A … +1 more , Coomans D
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933234 · Full text
Distributed lag models (DLM) are attractive methods for dealing with mortality displacement, however their estimates can have substantial bias when the data is generated by a multi-state model. In particular DLMs are not...
Distributed lag models (DLM) are attractive methods for dealing with mortality displacement, however their estimates can have substantial bias when the data is generated by a multi-state model. In particular DLMs are not valid for mortality displacement. Alternative methods are scarce and lack feasibility and validation. We investigate the breakdown of DLM in three state models by means of simulation and propose simulation enhanced distributed lag models (SEDLM) to overcome the defects. The new method provides simultaneous estimates of the net effect (entry) and the displacement effect (exit). These have improved performance over the singular estimate from a regular DLM. SEDLM entry estimates have negligible bias and their variance is reduced. The exit estimates are unbiased and their variance is one order of magnitude lower with respect to the entry estimates. Applying SEDLM to the original Chicago data, the 95% highest posterior density intervals for both entry and exit contain 0, providing neither evidence for a 'displacement effect' nor for a 'net effect'.
Isolation and characterisation of crude oil sludge degrading bacteria.
Obi LU, Atagana HI, Adeleke RA
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933233 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The use of microorganisms in remediating environmental contaminants such as crude oil sludge has become a promising technique owing to its economy and the fact it is environmentally friendly. Polycyclic aroma...
BACKGROUND: The use of microorganisms in remediating environmental contaminants such as crude oil sludge has become a promising technique owing to its economy and the fact it is environmentally friendly. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as the major components of oil sludge, are hydrophobic and recalcitrant. An important way of enhancing the rate of PAH desorption is to compost crude oil sludge by incorporating commercial surfactants, thereby making them available for microbial degradation. In this study, crude oil sludge was composted for 16 weeks during which surfactants were added in the form of a solution. RESULTS: Molecular characterisation of the 16S rRNA genes indicated that the isolates obtained on a mineral salts medium belonged to different genera, including , , , , , , , , , , , and . The percentage degradation rates of these isolates were estimated by measuring the absorbance of the 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol medium. emerged as the top degrader with an estimated percentage degradation rate of 73.7% after 7 days of incubation at 28 °C. In addition, the presence of the catabolic gene, catechol-2,3-dioxygenase was detected in the bacteria isolates as well as in evolutionary classifications based on phylogeny. CONCLUSIONS: The bacteria isolated in this study are potential agents for the bioremediation of crude oil sludge.
Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of dengue virus type 1 in Guangdong in 2014.
Wang P, Wang H, Yu J … +12 more , Xie Q, Yao Z, Qin Z, Lu W, Li J, Zhang M, Cao G, Zhong Z, He T, Ma D, Zhang B, Zhao W
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933232 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Dengue is one of the most important emerging diseases of humans, with no preventive vaccines or antiviral cures available currently. In 2014, the Southeast Asian region experienced an unprecedented outbreak o...
BACKGROUND: Dengue is one of the most important emerging diseases of humans, with no preventive vaccines or antiviral cures available currently. In 2014, the Southeast Asian region experienced an unprecedented outbreak of dengue, especially in Guangdong, China. RESULTS: The nucleotide sequences of the E gene from 23 patients sera of dengue virus type 1 (DENV-1) from Guangzhou, China, were determined. One isolate that was recovered from a patient with serious liver damage was designated GZ02. The whole genome sequence of GZ02 was amplified, and confocal microscopy and plaque reduction neutralization test were performed to investigate the replication kinetics in liver L02 cells. In the study, assembly and genetic comparisons showed 11 of those E gene nucleotide sequences were absolutely accordant, and the nucleic acid sequence divergence among the other strains had no marked difference. CONCLUSIONS: Phylogenetic analysis based on the E gene indicated that the 23 new strains were closely related to strains from Malaysia or Singapore. Two different genotypes (genotype I and III) of DENV-1 were co-circulating in Guangdong, Malaysia, and Singapore from 2013 to 2014. However, no recombination event was found after 2005 between DENV strains from Guangdong and Malaysia or Singapore. GZ02 had a significant replicative advantage over DG14 and the DV1 standard strain. Importation of DENV-1 from Southeast Asian countries may have been an important contributing factor to the 2014 outbreak in Guangdong.
Intuitionistic fuzzy-based model for failure detection.
Aikhuele DO, Turan FB
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933231 · Full text
In identifying to-be-improved product component(s), the customer/user requirements which are mainly considered, and achieved through customer surveys using the quality function deployment (QFD) tool, often fail to guaran...
In identifying to-be-improved product component(s), the customer/user requirements which are mainly considered, and achieved through customer surveys using the quality function deployment (QFD) tool, often fail to guarantee or cover aspects of the product reliability. Even when they do, there are always many misunderstandings. To improve the product reliability and quality during product redesigning phase and to create that novel product(s) for the customers, the failure information of the existing product, and its component(s) should ordinarily be analyzed and converted to appropriate design knowledge for the design engineer. In this paper, a new intuitionistic fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making method has been proposed. The new approach which is based on an intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS model uses an exponential-related function for the computation of the separation measures from the intuitionistic fuzzy positive ideal solution (IFPIS) and intuitionistic fuzzy negative ideal solution (IFNIS) of alternatives. The proposed method has been applied to two practical case studies, and the result from the different cases has been compared with some similar computational approaches in the literature.
Maximum likelihood based analysis of equally spaced longitudinal count data with first-order antedependence and overdispersion.
Gamerman V, Guerra M, Shults J
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933230 · Full text
This manuscript implements a maximum likelihood based approach that is appropriate for equally spaced longitudinal count data with over-dispersion, so that the variance of the outcome variable is larger than expected for...
This manuscript implements a maximum likelihood based approach that is appropriate for equally spaced longitudinal count data with over-dispersion, so that the variance of the outcome variable is larger than expected for the assumed Poisson distribution. We implement the proposed method in the analysis of seizure data and a subset of German Socio-Economic Panel data. To demonstrate the importance of correctly modeling the over-dispersion, we make comparisons with the semi-parametric generalized estimating equations approach that incorrectly ignores any over-dispersion in the data. Our simulations demonstrate that accounting for over-dispersion results in improved small-sample efficiency and appropriate coverage probabilities. We also provide code in R so that readers can implement our approach in their own analyses.
Mid-term shoulder functional and quality of life outcomes after shoulder replacement in obese patients.
Vincent HK, Struk AM, Reed A … +1 more , Wright TW
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933229 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Shoulder pain and loss of function are directly associated with obesity. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We hypothesized that significant interactions would exist between total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) and reverse tot...
BACKGROUND: Shoulder pain and loss of function are directly associated with obesity. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We hypothesized that significant interactions would exist between total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) and obesity status on functional and quality of life (QOL) outcomes over the long term. Clinical and QOL outcomes (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Evaluation form, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index, University of California at Los Angeles Shoulder Rating scale, Medical Outcomes Short Form 12 (SF-12), range of motion (ROM), and strength) were longitudinally compared in patients with low and high body mass index (BMI) after a TSA or a RSA. Prospectively collected data of patients with a TSA or RSA were reviewed (N = 310). Preoperative, 2-year, and final follow-up visits were included (range 3-17 years; mean 5.0 ± 2.5 years). Patient data were stratified for analysis using BMI. RESULTS: Morbidly obese patients had worse preoperative functional scores and QOL compared to the other groups. There were no significant interactions of BMI group by surgery type for any of the outcome variables except for active external rotation ROM. Morbidly obese patients attained lower SF-12 scores compared to the remaining groups at each time point. CONCLUSIONS: Both TSA and RSA can be expected to impart positive functional outcomes in patients irrespective of BMI. Morbidly obese patients do not attain the same gains in Medical Outcomes SF-12 scores as the non-morbidly obese patients. The lower improvements in active external ROM may be due to morphological limitations of excessive adiposity. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: This is a level II study.
WHO/INRUD prescribing indicators and prescribing trends of antibiotics in the Accident and Emergency Department of Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Pakistan.
Atif M, Azeem M, Sarwar MR … +5 more , Shahid S, Javaid S, Ikram H, Baig U, Scahill S
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27933228 · Full text
A descriptive, retrospective and cross sectional study was conducted to assess the prescribing practices and antibiotic use patterns in the Accident and Emergency department of the Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur,...
A descriptive, retrospective and cross sectional study was conducted to assess the prescribing practices and antibiotic use patterns in the Accident and Emergency department of the Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, Pakistan. A sample of 4320 prescriptions (systematic random sampling) was drawn out of a total of 1,080,000 prescriptions written during the period 1st January-31st December 2014. The standard World Health Organization/International Network for Rational Use of Drugs prescribing indicators were used to determine the prescribing practices of physicians. Published ideal standards for each of the indicators were used to identify irrational drug use. We also utilized an additional indicator to report the percentage share of antibiotics prescribed. The average number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 2.3 (SD = 1.3) (optimal value 1.6-1.8). Drugs prescribed by generic name occurred 83.1% of the time (optimal value 100%). Antibiotics and injections were prescribed 52.4% (optimal value 20.0-26.8%) and 98.0% (optimal value 13.4-24.1%) of the time respectively. Drugs prescribed from the Essential Drugs List equated to 81.5% (optimal value 100%). Out of 52.4% (n = 2262) prescriptions with antibiotics prescribed, 77.7% (n = 1758) had one antibiotic, 22.1% (n = 499) included two antibiotics, and 0.2% (n = 5) had three antibiotics. Cephalosporins were the most commonly prescribed class of antibiotics (81.5%) followed by penicillins (6.4%) and fluoroquinolones (6.2%). Among the individual antibiotics, ceftriaxone contributed the highest percentage share at 71.8% followed by cefotaxime (5.6%) and metronidazole (4.7%). The most frequently prescribed antibiotic combination was ciprofloxacin with metronidazole (52.1%). Irrational prescribing practices were common. Continuous education and training of physicians is required to ensure rational prescribing at Bahawal Victoria Hospital in the future.
genotype is associated with cirrhosis or transition to cirrhosis in treatment-naive patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection: the international observational Gen-C study.
Mangia A, De Ledinghen V, Bailly F … +9 more , Brahm J, Keiss J, Valantinas J, Rasmann N, Messinger D, Tatsch F, Bakalos G, Foster GR, Gen-C study group
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27917361 · Full text
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Contradictory data exist on the association between host interleukin-28B () rs12979860 genotype and liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). This large, international, observatio...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Contradictory data exist on the association between host interleukin-28B () rs12979860 genotype and liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). This large, international, observational study (NCT01675427/MV25600) investigated relationships between rs12979860 genotype and liver fibrosis stage in CHC patients. METHODS: A total of 3003 adult, treatment-naive CHC patients were enrolled into the study. Patients made one study visit to provide a blood sample for genotyping; other data were obtained from medical records. RESULTS: 2916 patients comprised the analysis population; the majority were enrolled in Europe (n = 2119), were Caucasian (n = 2582) and had hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype (G)1 infection (n = 1702) (G2 = 323, G3 = 574, G4 = 260). Distribution of genotypes varied according to region of enrolment, patient ethnicity and HCV genotype. A significant association was observed between increasing number of T alleles and the prevalence of cirrhosis/transition to cirrhosis (based on biopsy or non-invasive assessments) in G1-infected patients (CC = 22.2% [111/499], CT = 27.5% [255/928], TT = 32.3% [87/269]; p = 0.0018). The association was significant in the large subgroup of European Caucasian G1 patients (n = 1245) but not in the smaller Asian (n = 25), Latin American (n = 137) or Middle Eastern (n = 289) G1 subgroups. genotype was not associated with liver fibrosis stage in patients with HCV G2, G3 or G4 infection. CONCLUSION: This large, international study found that rs12979860 genotype is significantly associated with liver fibrosis stage in CHC patients with HCV G1 infection. This association was evident in European Caucasians but not in G1-infected patients from Asia, Latin America or the Middle East.
Load balancing prediction method of cloud storage based on analytic hierarchy process and hybrid hierarchical genetic algorithm.
Zhou X, Lin F, Yang L … +4 more , Nie J, Tan Q, Zeng W, Zhang N
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27917360 · Full text
With the continuous expansion of the cloud computing platform scale and rapid growth of users and applications, how to efficiently use system resources to improve the overall performance of cloud computing has become a c...
With the continuous expansion of the cloud computing platform scale and rapid growth of users and applications, how to efficiently use system resources to improve the overall performance of cloud computing has become a crucial issue. To address this issue, this paper proposes a method that uses an analytic hierarchy process group decision (AHPGD) to evaluate the load state of server nodes. Training was carried out by using a hybrid hierarchical genetic algorithm (HHGA) for optimizing a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN). The AHPGD makes the aggregative indicator of virtual machines in cloud, and become input parameters of predicted RBFNN. Also, this paper proposes a new dynamic load balancing scheduling algorithm combined with a weighted round-robin algorithm, which uses the predictive periodical load value of nodes based on AHPPGD and RBFNN optimized by HHGA, then calculates the corresponding weight values of nodes and makes constant updates. Meanwhile, it keeps the advantages and avoids the shortcomings of static weighted round-robin algorithm.
Protective roles of intra-arterial mild hypothermia and arterial thrombolysis in acute cerebral infarction.
Peng X, Wan Y, Liu W … +3 more , Dan B, Lin L, Tang Z
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27917359 · Full text
OBJECTIVE: Herein, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of intra-arterial mild hypothermia in combination with arterial thrombolysis to treat acute cerebral infarction due to middle cerebral artery occlusion. METHODS: A...
OBJECTIVE: Herein, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of intra-arterial mild hypothermia in combination with arterial thrombolysis to treat acute cerebral infarction due to middle cerebral artery occlusion. METHODS: A total of 26 patients with acute middle cerebral artery occlusion were divided into a normothermia group (n = 15) and a mild hypothermia group (n = 11). The infarct volumes at 24 h and 7 days after the operation were compared between the normothermia group and the mild hypothermia group. Additionally, we compared neurological deficit scores between the two groups at 24 h, 7 days, and 1 mo after the operation. RESULTS: The infarct volumes and neurological deficit scores of the mild hypothermia group were significantly reduced compared to those in the normothermia group ( < 0.05). Furthermore, no adverse reactions or complications occurred in the mild hypothermia group. CONCLUSION: Intra-arterial mild hypothermia reduced infarct volume after ischemia-reperfusion injury in the arterial thrombolysis of an acute cerebral infarction. Additionally, it improved the prognosis of patients with an acute middle cerebral artery occlusion, suggesting that this procedure is safe and effective for treating acute cerebral infarction.
Rigorous solution for 1-D consolidation of a clay layer under haversine cyclic loading with rest period.
Müthing N, Razouki SS, Datcheva M … +1 more , Schanz T
Springerplus · 2016 · PMID 27917358 · Full text
Presented in this paper is a rigorous solution of the conventional Terzaghi one-dimensional consolidation under haversine cyclic loading with any rest period. The clay deposit is either permeable at both top and bottom o...
Presented in this paper is a rigorous solution of the conventional Terzaghi one-dimensional consolidation under haversine cyclic loading with any rest period. The clay deposit is either permeable at both top and bottom or permeable at the top and impermeable at the bottom. This exact analytical solution was achieved using Fourier harmonic analysis for the periodic function representing the rate of imposition of excess pore water pressure. The double Fourier series in the rigorous solution was found to be rapidly convergent. The analysis of excess pore water pressure and effective stress is done in the Matlab 2010 environment. Both the effects of rest period and frequency of cyclic loading are investigated. The analysis reveals that the excess pore water pressure arrives the steady-state at a time factor of about 2. Furthermore, finite element method (FEM) is applied to solve numerically the corresponding consolidation problem and the FEM solution is compared to the analytical solution showing a good match.
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