A Prediction Model to Diabetes using Artificial Metaplasticity

Diabetes is the most common disease nowadays in all populations and in all age groups. Different techniques of artificial intelligence has been applied to diabetes problem. This research proposed the artificial metaplasticity on multilayer perceptron (AMMLP) as prediction model for prediction of diabetes. The Pima Indians diabetes was used to test the proposed model AMMLP. The results obtained by AMMLP were compared with other algorithms, recently proposed by other researchers, that were applied to the same database. The best result obtained so far with the AMMLP algorithm is 89.93

Fabrication of bismuth nanowires with a silver nanocrystal shadowmask

We fabricated bismuth (Bi) nanowires with low energy electron beam lithography using silver (Ag) nanocrystal shadowmasks and a subsequent chlorine reactive ion etching. Submicron-size metal contacts on the single Bi nanowire were successfully prepared by in situ focused ion beam metal deposition for transport measurements. The temperature dependent resistance measurements on the 50 nm wide Bi nanowires showed that the resistance increased with decreasing temperature, which is characteristic of semiconductors and insulators

Risk stratification of sudden cardiac death in asymptomatic female Brugada syndrome patients: A literature review

Background and Objectives Risk stratification in Brugada syndrome remains a difficult problem. Given the male predominance of this disease and their elevated risks of arrhythmic events, affected females have received less attention. It is widely known that symptomatic patients are at increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) than asymptomatic patients, while this might be true in the male population; recent studies have shown that this association might not be significant in females. Over the past few decades, numerous markers involving clinical symptoms, electrocardiographic (ECG) indices, and genetic tests have been explored, with several risk-scoring models developed so far. The objective of this study is to review the current evidence of clinical and ECG markers as well as risk scores on asymptomatic females with Brugada syndrome. Findings Gender differences in ECG markers, the yield of genetic findings, and the applicability of risk scores are highlighted. Conclusions Various clinical, electrocardiographic, and genetic risk factors are available for assessing SCD risk amongst asymptomatic female BrS patients. However, due to the significant gender discrepancy in BrS, the SCD risk amongst females is often underestimated, and there is a lack of research on female-specific risk factors and multiparametric risk scores. Therefore, multinational studies pooling female BrS patients are needed for the development of a gender-specific risk stratification approach amongst asymptomatic BrS patients

New model for surface fracture induced by dynamical stress

We introduce a model where an isotropic, dynamically-imposed stress induces fracture in a thin film. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study how the integrated fragment distribution function depends on the rate of change and magnitude of the imposed stress, as well as on temperature. A mean-field argument shows that the system becomes unstable for a critical value of the stress. We find a striking invariance of the distribution of fragments for fixed ratio of temperature and rate of change of the stress; the interval over which this invariance holds is determined by the force fluctuations at the critical value of the stress.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages, 4 figures available upon reques

A flexible, quantitative plasmonic-fluor lateral flow assay for the rapid detection of Orthoebolavirus zairense and Orthoebolavirus sudanense

Filoviruses comprise a family of single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses with a significant impact on human health. Given the risk for disease outbreaks, as highlighted by the recent outbreaks across Africa, there is an unmet need for flexible diagnostic technologies that can be deployed in resource-limited settings. Herein, we highlight the use of plasmonic-fluor lateral flow assays (PF-LFA) for the rapid, quantitative detection of an Ebolavirus-secreted glycoprotein, a marker for infection. Plasmonic fluors are a class of ultrabright reporter molecules that combine engineered nanorods with conventional fluorophores, resulting in improved analytical sensitivity. We have developed a PF-LFA fo

Incident heart failure and myocardial infarction in sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 vs. dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor users

Aims This study aimed to compare the rates of major cardiovascular adverse events in sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2I) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4I) users in a Chinese population. SGLT2I and DPP4I are increasingly prescribed for type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. However, few population-based studies are comparing their effects on incident heart failure or myocardial infarction. Methods and results This was a population-based retrospective cohort study using the electronic health record database in Hong Kong, including type 2 diabetes mellitus patients receiving either SGLT2I or DPP4I from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020. Propensity score matching was performed in a 1:1 ratio based on demographics, past comorbidities, and non-SGLT2I/DPP4I medications with nearest neighbour matching (caliper = 0.1). Univariable and multivariable Cox models were used to identify significant predictors for new-onset heart failure, new-onset myocardial infarction, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality. Sensitivity analyses with competing risk models and multiple propensity score matching approaches were conducted. A total of 41 994 patients (58.89% males, median admission age at 58 years old, interquartile range [IQR]: 51.2–65.3) were included with a median follow-up of 5.6 years (IQR: 5.32–5.82). In the matched cohort, SGLT2I use was significantly associated with lower risks of new-onset heart failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.66, 0.81], P < 0.0001), myocardial infarction (HR: 0.81, 95% CI: [0.73, 0.90], P < 0.0001), cardiovascular mortality (HR: 0.67, 95% CI: [0.53, 0.84], P < 0.001), and all-cause mortality (HR: 0.26, 95% CI: [0.24, 0.29], P < 0.0001) after adjusting for significant demographics, past comorbidities, and non-SGLT2I/DPP4I medications. Conclusions SGLT2 inhibitors are protective against adverse cardiovascular events including new-onset heart failure, myocardial infarction, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality. The prescription of SGLT2I is preferred when taken into consideration individual cardiovascular and metabolic risk profiles in addition to drug–drug interactions

Autoimmune acute liver failure: Proposed clinical and histological criteria

Identifying autoimmune hepatitis as the etiology of acute liver failure (ALF) is potentially important, because administering corticosteroids might avoid the need for liver transplantation. However, clinical and histological criteria of autoimmune ALF (AI-ALF) have not been defined. Liver sections (biopsies and explants) from a 72-patient subset of the ALF Study Group Registry with indeterminate ALF were reviewed by a pathologist blinded to all clinical data and were diagnosed with probable AI-ALF based on four features suggestive of an autoi mmune pathogenesis: distinctive patterns of massive hepatic necrosis (present in 42% of sections), presence of lymphoid follicles (32%), a plasma cell–enriched inflammatory infiltrate (63%), and central perivenulitis (65%). Forty-two sections (58%) were considered probable for AI-ALF; this group demonstrated higher serum globulins (3.7 ± 0.2 g/dL versus 3.0 ± 0.2 g/dL; P = 0.037) and a higher prevalence of antinuclear and/or anti–smooth muscle antibodies (73% versus 48%; P = 0.034) compared to those without histology suggestive of probable AI-ALF. Thirty patients concordant for autoantibodies and probable AI-ALF upon histological analysis were more likely to have the classical autoimmune hepatitis phenotype (female predominance [72% versus 48%; P < 0.05], higher globulins [3.9 ± 0.2 g/dL versus 3.0 ± 0.2 g/dL; P < 0.005], and higher incidence of chronic hepatitis in long-term follow-up [67% versus 17%, P = 0.019]) compared to the population without concordant AI-ALF histology and autoantibodies. Conclusion: Patients with indeterminate ALF often have features of autoimmune disease by histological analysis, serological testing, and clinical recurrence during follow-up. In contrast to classical autoimmune hepatitis, histological features of AI-ALF predominate in the centrilobular zone. (H EPATOLOGY 2011;53:517-526)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79410/1/24080_ftp.pd

Gender-specific clinical risk scores incorporating blood pressure variability for predicting incident dementia

Introduction: The present study examined the gender-specific prognostic value of blood pressure (BP) and its variability in the prediction of dementia risk and developed a score system for risk stratification. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective, observational population-based cohort study of patients admitted to government-funded family medicine clinics in Hong Kong between January 1, 2000 and March 31, 2002 with at least 3 blood pressure measurements. Gender-specific risk scores for dementia were developed and tested. Results The study consisted of 74 855 patients, of whom 3550 patients (incidence rate: 4.74%) developed dementia over a median follow-up of 112 months (IQR= [59.8–168]). Nonlinear associations between diastolic/systolic BP measurements and the time to dementia presentation were identified. Gender-specific dichotomized clinical scores were developed for males (age, hypertension, diastolic and systolic BP and their measures of variability) and females (age, prior cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal diseases, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, mean corpuscular volume, monocyte, neutrophil, urea, creatinine, diastolic and systolic BP and their measures of variability). They showed high predictive strengths for both male (hazard ratio [HR]: 12.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.15–14.33, P value &amp;lt; .0001) and female patients (HR: 26.56, 95% CI: 14.44–32.86, P value &amp;lt; .0001). The constructed gender-specific scores outperformed the simplified systems without considering BP variability (C-statistic: 0.91 vs 0.82), demonstrating the importance of BP variability in dementia development. Conclusion Gender-specific clinical risk scores incorporating BP variability can accurately predict incident dementia and can be applied clinically for early disease detection and optimized patient management