Content, Composition, and Biosynthesis of Anthocyanin in Fragaria Species: A Review

Anthocyanins are responsible for fruit coloration and are beneficial to human health. The fruits of cultivated strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) varieties are colorful, a trait that attracts consumers. The fruits of wild Fragaria species, close relatives of the cultivated strawberry, vary in color. In this review, we describe the content and composition of anthocyanins in cultivated and wild strawberry varieties. We also explore the biosynthetic pathway of anthocyanins, including their transcriptional regulation mechanisms. Additionally, we discuss the effect of environmental factors on anthocyanin accumulation. This review will inform further studies toward developing anthocyanin-rich strawberries via environmental control and exogenous application of compounds

Portable wireless electrocorticography system with a fexible microelectrodes array for epilepsy treatment

In this paper, we present a portable wireless electrocorticography (ECoG) system. It uses a high resolution 32-channel fexible ECoG electrodes array to collect electrical signals of brain activities and to stimulate the lesions. Electronic circuits are designed for signal acquisition, processing and transmission using Bluetooth Low Energy 4 (LTE4) for wireless communication with cell phone. In-vivo experiments on a rat show that the fexible ECoG system can accurately record electrical signals of brain activities and transmit them to cell phone with a maximal sampling rate of 30 ksampling/s per channel. It demonstrates that the epilepsy lesions can be detected, located and treated through the ECoG system. The wireless ECoG system has low energy consumption and high brain spatial resolution, thus has great prospects for future application

Parameter Identification and Control Scheme for Monitoring Automatic Thickness Control System with Measurement Delay

The thickness of the steel strip is an important indicator of the overall strip quality. Deviations in thickness are primarily controlled using the automatic gauge control (AGC) system of each rolling stand. At the last stand, the monitoring AGC system is usually used, where the deviations in thickness can be directly measured by the X-ray thickness gauge device and used as the input to the AGC system. However, due to the physical distance between the thickness detection device and the rolling stand, time delay is unavoidably present in the thickness control loop, which can affect control performance and lead to system oscillations. Furthermore, the parameters of the system can change due to perturbations from external disturbances. Therefore, this paper proposes an identification and control scheme for monitoring AGC system that can handle time delay and parameter uncertainty. The cross-correlation function is used to estimate the time delay of the system, while the system parameters are identified using a recursive least squares method. The time delay and parameter estimates are then further refined using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, so as to provide the most accurate parameter estimates for the complete system. Simulation results show that, compared with the standard Proportion Integration Differentiation (PID) controller approach, the proposed approach is not affected by changes in the time delay and parameter uncertainties

The risk assessment of relapse among newly enrolled participants in methadone maintenance treatment: A group-LASSO based Bayesian network study

BackgroundRelapse is a great barrier to improving the effectiveness of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Participants with different treatment durations could vary in their compliance with MMT, which may lead to different levels of relapse risk. This study aims to identify the risk factors for relapse and assess the relapse risk of MMT participants of different treatment durations.MethodThis retrospective study used data collected from seven MMT clinics in Guangdong Province, China, from January 2010 to April 2017. Newly enrolled participants who received 6 (n = 903) and 12 (n = 710) months of consecutive treatment with complete data were included. We selected significant risk factors for relapse through the group lasso regression and then incorporated them into Bayesian networks to reveal relationships between factors and predict the relapse risk.ResultsThe results showed that participants who received 6-month treatment had a lower relapse rate (32.0%) than those of 12-month treatment (39.0%, P < 0.05). Factors including personal living status and daily methadone dose were only influential to those who received the 6-month treatment. However, age, age at the initial drug use, HIV infection status, sexual behaviors, and continuous treatment days were common factors of both durations. The highest relapse risk for those after the 6-month treatment was inferred as 66.7% while that of the 12-month treatment was 83.3%. Farmers and those who have high accessibility to MMT services may require additional attention.ConclusionIt is necessary to implement targeted interventions and education based on the treatment durations of participants to decrease the relapse rate. Meanwhile, those about HIV/sexually transmitted infection prevention and anti-narcotics should be held in the whole process

A systematic review of blunt abdominal aortic injury and analysis of predictors of death

At present, research on blunt abdominal aortic injury (BAAI) is limited, with the majority being case reports. Consequently, there is a significant knowledge gap concerning this condition. To address this, we conducted a systematic review by extensively searching major databases. We included all literature that provided individual (non-identifiable) data on BAAI patients, irrespective of the study design. Furthermore, we undertook regression analyses to identify predictors of death after BAAI. The search yielded 2,099 results, leading to the inclusion of 102 case reports and one conference abstract. Using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist for assessment, all studies were deemed of medium to high quality. In total, 133 patients were included, with a median age of 34 years, and 73.7% being male. The predominant clinical manifestation was pain, reported in 65.6% of patients. The most frequently observed aortic lesion severity was grade A (intimal tear or intramural hematoma) at 46.9%, and the most common lesion location was zone III (infrarenal aorta) in 88.3% of cases.  The overall mortality after BAAI was 15.3%. Multivariate regression analyses revealed the following predictors of death after BAAI: lower limb ischemia (relative risk [RR] = 7.137, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.154 - 44.161), cardiopulmonary arrest (RR = 10.250, 95% CI 1.452 - 72.344), and injuries to body parts other than the abdomen and lumbar spine (RR = 2.593, 95% CI 1.189 - 5.655). In conclusion, this review provides a detailed quantitative summary of BAAI's clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, emphasizing its high mortality rate and identifying three critical variables as predictors of death

Improving the stability and efficiency of anaerobic digestion of food waste using additives: a critical review

Anaerobic digestion is an effective technology to treat food waste, with methane production as renewable bioenergy. However, there are two key problems in the practical application, i.e., poor system stability and low reactor efficiency. In this paper, additives used in anaerobic digestion of food waste were systematically reviewed in view of system stability and reactor efficiency. Enzymes showed excellent property in food waste pre-hydrolysis stage with almost all macromolecular matters being rapidly resolved. Fungi fermentation process to produce hydrolytic enzymes, can be regarded as a promising and low-cost way to realize rate-limiting step elimination. It can be also concluded that adding neutralizers, buffer chemicals and some other materials are effective to maintain the pH level for practical application. Trace metals in food waste are not enough but needed for methanogens activation in long term and high loading rate operation. In addition, direct interspecies electron transfer could be much helpful for intermediate refractory organic acids degradation and methanogenesis promotion with additives of conductive materials, which is also discussed and should be studied further in anaerobic digestion of food waste. Based on literature review, a new concept is proposed for further study, suggesting that after being well liquefied with enzyme pre-hydrolysis, food waste could be co-digested with landfill leachate in a high-rate anaerobic reactor stably, resulting in a high bioenergy recovery efficiency. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Evaluating the importation of yellow fever cases into China in 2016 and strategies used to prevent and control the spread of the disease

During the yellow fever epidemic in Angola in 2016, cases of yellow fever were reported in China for the first time. The 11 cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Angola, were identified in March and April 2016, one to two weeks after the peak of the Angolan epidemic. One patient died; the other 10 cases recovered after treatment. This paper reviews the epidemiological characteristics of the 11 yellow fever cases imported into China. It examines case detection and disease control and surveillance, and presents recommendations for further action to prevent additional importation of yellow fever into China

Challenges and benefits of implementing DIBH for breast cancer radiotherapy: Experiences from Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center

Radiation therapy is used for breast cancer treatments to improve local control and overall survival but may also lead to unwanted complications such as cardiac toxicity and pneumonitis. Deep inspirational breath hold (DIBH) has been used to reduce doses to the heart and other organs near the treatment target to lower the risk of radiation-induced complications. In this study, we present our experience on the clinical implementation and application of DIBH for breast cancer patients, its dosimetric benefits in heart and other organ sparing based on comparisons with free breathing plans, effects on the treatment efficiency as represented by treatment imaging, and beam delivery times, as well as challenges during implementation and clinical application at our center

Association of Intraoperative Hypotension with Acute Kidney Injury after Noncardiac Surgery in Patients Younger than 60 Years Old

Background/Aims: Intraoperative hypotension (IOH) may be associated with surgery-related acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the duration of hypotension that triggers AKI is poorly understood. The incidence of AKI with various durations of IOH and mean arterial pressures (MAPs) was investigated. Materials: A retrospective cohort study of 4,952 patients undergoing noncardiac surgery (2011 to 2016) with MAP monitoring and a length of stay of one or more days was performed. The exclusion criteria were a preoperative estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) ≤60 mL min–1 1.73 m2–1, a preoperative MAP less than 65 mm Hg, dialysis dependence, urologic surgery, age older than 60 years, and a surgical duration of less than 60 min. The primary exposure was IOH, and the primary outcome was AKI (50% or 0.3 mg dL–1 increase in creatinine) during the first 7 postoperative days. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the exposure-outcome relationship. Results: AKI occurred in 186 (3.76%) noncardiac surgery patients. The adjusted odds ratio for surgery-related AKI for a MAP of less than 55 mm Hg was 14.11 (95% confidence interval: 5.02–39.69) for an exposure of more than 20 min. Age was not an interaction factor between AKI and IOH. Conclusion: There was a considerably increased risk of postoperative AKI when intraoperative MAP was less than 55 mm Hg for more than 10 min. Strict blood pressure management is recommended even for patients younger than 60 years old