Constraining nuclear symmetry energy with the charge radii of mirror-pair nuclei

The nuclear charge radius plays a vital role in determining the equation of state of isospin asymmetric nuclear matter. Based on the correlation between the differences in charge radii of mirror-partner nuclei and the slope parameter ($L$) of symmetry energy at the nuclear saturation density, an analysis of the calibrated slope parameter $L$ was performed in finite nuclei. In this study, relativistic and non-relativistic energy density functionals were employed to constrain the nuclear symmetry energy through the available databases of the mirror-pair nuclei $^{36}$Ca-$^{36}$S, $^{38}$Ca-$^{38}$Ar, and $^{54}$Ni-$^{54}$Fe. The deduced nuclear symmetry energy was located in the range 29.89-31.85 MeV, and $L$ of the symmetry energy essentially covered the range 22.50-51.55 MeV at the saturation density. Moreover, the extracted $L_s$ at the sensitivity density $\rho_{s}=0.10~\mathrm{fm}^{-3}$ was located in the interval range 30.52-39.76 MeV.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, Published in Nuclear Science and Technique

The diagnostic value of elastography and ultrasound contrast in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma

目的 评估弹性成像与超声造影（CEUS）两种检查技术对鉴别诊断甲状腺微小乳头状癌（TMC）的价值。方法  对常规超声检测出且定性困难的73例80个甲状腺微小结节进行弹性成像及CEUS检查，所有结节均经手术病理证实。比较两种检查方法的准确性。结果 80个结节中CEUS诊断正确率为85.0%（68/80）,其中6例TMC误诊为良性病变，6例良性结节误诊为TMC；弹性成像5分法诊断正确率为92.5%（74/80）,其中3例TMC误诊为良性结节，3例良性结节误诊为TMC。性成像诊断甲状腺微小癌的敏感性94.0%，特异性90.0%，准确性92.5%；CEUS诊断甲状腺微小癌的敏感性88.0%，特异性80.0%，准确性85.0%。结论 CEUS和弹性成像对于诊断TMC方面均有价值，但弹性评分≥3作为诊断TMC的敏感性、特异性及准确性均高于CEUS。Objective: To assess the value of elastic imaging and CEUS two inspection techniques for differential diagnosis of thyroid papillary carcinoma (TMC). Method: To do elastic imaging and CEUS checks to 73 cases of 80 thyroid nodules which was tested by conventional ultrasonic and difficult to quantify. All nodules were confirmed by surgery and pathologic examination. Comparing the accuracy of both detection methods. Result: Of the 80 nodules, the accuracy of CEUS diagnosis was 85.0%（68/80）,  of which 6 cases were misdiagnosed as benign lesions, and 6cases of benign nodules were misdiagnosed as TMC: the accuracy of 5-point scale criteria of elastography was 92.5%（74/80）, of which 3 TMC were misdiagnosed as benign nodules: and 3 benign nodules were misdiagnosed as TMC. The application of elastography in the diagnosis of thyroid microcarcinoma displayed a sensitivity of 94.0%, a specificity of 90.0% and an accuracy of 92.5%. Elastography detection was more advantagerous than CEUS in the diagnosis of thyroid microcarcinoma, and compared to CEUS , the differences were statistically significant（P <0.05）.Conclusion: Elastography and Ultrasound Contrast have highly practical value to diagnosis of TMC.  The sensitivity specificity and accuracy of using elastic score ≥3 as criteria of diagnosis of TMC was higher than that of CEUS

Prevalence of smoking in patients with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia and their relationships with quality of life

Few studies have compared the prevalence of smoking between patients with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia. This study examined the prevalence of smoking and its relationships with demographic and clinical characteristics, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with these psychiatric disorders. A total of 1,102 inpatients were consecutively screened. Psychopathology and QOL were measured with standardized instruments. The prevalence of current smoking in the whole sample was 16.7%; 17.5% in bipolar disorder, 10.6% in MDD and 18.5% in schizophrenia. The rates of smoking in bipolar disorder (p = 0.004, OR = 2.5, 95%CI: 1.3–4.7) and schizophrenia (p = 0.03, OR = 2.0, 95%CI: 1.06–3.8) were significantly higher than in MDD, while no difference was found between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Smokers had a higher mental QOL than non-smokers (p = 0.007) in MDD, but no difference was found in the other two groups. Male gender, living alone, higher personal income, older age of onset, health insurance coverage, and first episode was significantly associated with smoking in one or more diagnostic groups. Smoking appears more common in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia than in MDD in China. The figures in all disorders were lower than that reported in most of other countries

An Intelligent Model for Pairs Trading Using Genetic Algorithms

Pairs trading is an important and challenging research area in computational finance, in which pairs of stocks are bought and sold in pair combinations for arbitrage opportunities. Traditional methods that solve this set of problems mostly rely on statistical methods such as regression. In contrast to the statistical approaches, recent advances in computational intelligence (CI) are leading to promising opportunities for solving problems in the financial applications more effectively. In this paper, we present a novel methodology for pairs trading using genetic algorithms (GA). Our results showed that the GA-based models are able to significantly outperform the benchmark and our proposed method is capable of generating robust models to tackle the dynamic characteristics in the financial application studied. Based upon the promising results obtained, we expect this GA-based method to advance the research in computational intelligence for finance and provide an effective solution to pairs trading for investment in practice

湖湘名医刘开运先生临证经验及学术传承的研究思路*

Dr. Kai-yun Liu devoted himself to the traditional Chinese medicine massage. He established the “Five-meridian massage”, and good at using “Ten methods of Liu’s massage” in treatment of pediatric diseases. And he also developed skills of infantile massage. However, the regionalism restricted the spread of Liu’s infantile massage, though the effectiveness and reputation of Liu’s infantile massage. This article is based on the clinical and academic experience of Dr.Kai-yun Liu. By combining the theory of evidence-based, data mining and “man-machine integration” together, we put forward the research inheritance of clinical experience and academic thoughts of Dr. Kai-yun Liu.【摘要】刘开运老先生毕生致力于中医推拿，创立了“推五经治脏腑”小儿推拿法，擅长运用推揉、拿按以及摩、运、搓、摇、掐、捏的“刘氏小儿推拿十法”治疗小儿疾病，并研发了一系列小儿推拿技术。刘氏小儿推拿虽然疗效显著、在湖湘久负盛名，但因地域因素（湘西地处偏远，信息流通不畅，知识传播较慢），多年来其学术思想未能得到普遍关注与广泛流传。本文试从刘开运老先生的临证经验及学术思想入手，将循证理念、信息数据挖掘技术、“人机结合”原则有机、合理的进行综合运用，提出湖湘名医刘开运临证经验及学术传承的研究思路

Prevalence of sexual harassment of nurses and nursing students in China: A meta-analysis of observational studies

Sexual harassment experienced by nurses and nursing students is common and significantly associated with negative consequences. This study is a meta-analysis of the pooled prevalence of sexual harassment of nurses and nursing students in China. Electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Ovid, China National Knowledge Internet, WanFang, SinoMed and Chinese VIP Information) were independently and systematically searched by two reviewers from their commencement date to 12 March 2018. Forty-one studies that reported the prevalence of sexual harassment were analyzed using the random-effects model. The pooled prevalence of sexual harassment was 7.5% (95% CI: 5.5%-10.1%), with 7.5% (5.5%-10.2%) in nurses and 7.2% (3.0%-16.2%) in nursing students. Subgroup analyses showed that the year of survey and sample size were significantly associated with the prevalence of sexual harassment, but not the seniority of nursing staff, department, hospital, economic region, timeframe, age, working experience or subtypes of harassment. In China, sexual harassment was found to be common in nurses and nursing students. Considering the significant negative impact of sexual harassment, effective preventive and workplace measures should be developed

Effective components screening and anti-myocardial infarction mechanism study of the Chinese medicine NSLF6 based on "system to system" mode

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Shuanglong </it>formula (SLF), a Chinese medicine composed of <it>panax ginseng </it>and <it>salvia miltiorrhiza </it>exhibited significant effect in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) in clinical. Because of the complex nature and lack of stringent quality control, it's difficult to explain the action mechanism of SLF.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>In this study, we present a "system to system" (S2S) mode. Based on this mode, SLF was simplified successively through bioactivity-guided screening to achieve an optimized minimal phytochemical composition (new formula NSLF6) while maintaining its curative effect for MI.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pharmacological test combining with the study of systems biology show that NSLF6 has activity for treatment MI through synergistic therapeutic efficacies between total ginsenosides and total salvianolic acids via promoting cardiac cell regeneration and myocardial angiogenesis, antagonistic myocardial cell oxidative damage.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present S2S mode may be an effective way for the discovery of new composite drugs from traditional medicines.</p

Adjuvant TACE may not improve recurrence-free or overall survival in HCC patients with low risk of recurrence after hepatectomy

BackgroundTo identify whether adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) can improve prognosis in HCC patients with a low risk of recurrence (tumor size ≤ 5 cm, single nodule, no satellites, and no microvascular or macrovascular invasions) after hepatectomy.MethodsThe data of 489 HCC patients with a low risk of recurrence after hepatectomy from Shanghai Cancer Center (SHCC) and Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital (EHBH) were retrospectively reviewed. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models. The effects of selection bias and confounding factors were balanced using propensity score matching (PSM).ResultsIn the SHCC cohort, 40 patients (19.9%, 40/201) received adjuvant TACE, and in the EHBH cohort, 113 patients (46.2%, 133/288) received adjuvant TACE. Compared to the patients without adjuvant TACE after hepatectomy, patients receiving adjuvant TACE had significantly shorter RFS (P=0.022; P=0.014) in both cohorts before PSM. However, no significant difference existed in OS (P=0.568; P=0.082). Multivariate analysis revealed that serum alkaline phosphatase and adjuvant TACE were independent prognostic factors for recurrence in both cohorts. Furthermore, significant differences existed in tumor size between the adjuvant TACE and non-adjuvant TACE groups in the SHCC cohort. There were differences in transfusion, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage and tumor-node-metastasis stage in the EHBH cohort. These factors were balanced by PSM. After PSM, patients with adjuvant TACE after hepatectomy still had significantly shorter RFS than those without (P=0.035; P=0.035) in both cohorts, but there was no difference in OS (P=0.638; P=0.159). Adjuvant TACE was the only independent prognostic factor for recurrence in multivariate analysis, with hazard ratios of 1.95 and 1.57.ConclusionsAdjuvant TACE may not improve long-term survival and might promote postoperative recurrence in HCC patients with a low risk of recurrence after hepatectomy

PeerJ

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance is associated with a number of negative adverse outcomes. This study examined the prevalence of sleep disturbance and its association with demographic and clinical characteristics and quality of life (QOL) in psychiatric nurses in China. METHODS: This is a multi-center, cross-sectional study involving 11 psychiatric hospitals in China. Three types of sleep disturbance (difficulty initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS) and early-morning awakening (EMA)) and QOL were measured by standardized questions or instruments. RESULTS: A total of 1,847 psychiatric nurses participated. The overall prevalence of at least one type of sleep disturbance was 71.5% (95% CI [69.3-73.5]); the prevalence of DIS, DMS and EMA was 58.5% (95% CI [56.2-60.8]), 53.7% (95% CI [51.4-56.0]) and 54.6% (95% CI [52.3-56.9]), respectively. Nurses with sleep disturbance had significantly lower QOL in physical (F ((1, 1,846)) = 219.12, P \textbackslashtextless 0.001), psychological (F ((1, 1,846)) = 72.18, P \textbackslashtextless 0.001), social (F ((1, 1,846)) = 37.57, P \textbackslashtextless 0.001) and environmental domains (F ((1, 1,846)) = 95.45, P \textbackslashtextless 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that shift work (DIS, OR = 1.6, 95% CI [1.28-1.98]; DMS, OR = 1.2, 95% CI [1.001-1.54]; EMA, OR = 1.3, 95% CI [1.02-1.58]) and alcohol use (DIS, OR = 1.8, 95% CI [1.46-2.32]; DMS, OR = 1.8, 95% CI [1.43-2.23]; EMA, OR = 1.7, 95% CI [1.33-2.07]) were positively associated with sleep disturbance, while higher monthly income (DIS, OR = 0.5, 95% CI [0.38-0.75]; DMS, OR = 0.7, 95% CI [0.51-0.98]) was negatively associated with sleep disturbance. CONCLUSION: Sleep disturbance was common among nurses in psychiatric hospitals in China, particularly those on shifts and having alcohol use. Health authorities should develop effective measures to reduce risk of sleep disturbance in this population