The Dynamic Integration of AI - Driven Telemedicine with In-Office Specialty Care

Nation-wide physician shortages and the rise of virtual access to healthcare have driven many organizations to seek innovative ways to integrate digital and automated care programs to serve their members better. We work closely with a large HMO and investigate the option of incorporating an independent third-party service that provides select patients rapid access to virtual Dermatological AI Systems. In this paper, we analyze the impact of this innovative hybrid service system on the waiting times for highly-demanded specialty medical care: here, the automated appointment scheduling system dynamically activates the virtual care only when the in-person service lines get overloaded beyond a predetermined threshold. Using extensive appointment field data, we show that our proposed hybrid service delivery policy significantly improves service quality - even when the virtual care channel serves only a tiny proportion of all patients

Interaction Between Air Plasma-Produced Aqueous 1O2 and the Spin Trap DMPO in Electron Spin Resonance

A series of electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments is done to quantitatively measure the concentrations of aqueous 1O2 and OH produced by a surface micro-discharge air plasma device. 1O2 is tested to be existed in the plasma treated solution by using the spin trap of TEMP. However, the unexpected DMPOX spectrum is observed in measuringOH by the spin trap of 5,5-Dimethyl-1-Pyrroline-N-Oxide (DMPO). With more chemical scavenger experiments, it is found that removal of aqueous 1O2 leads to the disappearance of DMPOX in ESR. Therefore, the generation of DMPOX is directly related to the oxidation of DMPO by plasma-produced aqueous 1O2. This oxidation process and interactions between DMPO and chemical scavengers used in experiments can all be well explained by a proposed reaction mechanism. The revelation of interactions between aqueous 1O2 and the spin trap DMPO shows that the observation of spectra of DMPOX in the ESR measurement can be regarded as a marker of high concentrations of plasma-produced 1O2 in liquid. These results also prove the existence of interactions between spin traps and non-targeted plasma-produced reactive species in ESR experiments. Also, these results have offered a better understanding of the use of spin traps such as DMPO in the plasma-induced highly oxidative aqueous environment. Published by AIP Publishing

Assessing regional cerebral blood flow in depression using 320-slice computed tomography

While there is evidence that the development and course of major depressive disorder (MDD) symptomatology is associated with vascular disease, and that there are changes in energy utilization in the disorder, the extent to which cerebral blood flow is changed in this condition is not clear. This study utilized a novel imaging technique previously used in coronary and stroke patients, 320-slice Computed-Tomography (CT), to assess regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in those with MDD and examine the pattern of regional cerebral perfusion. Thirty nine participants with depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 24 (HAMD24) score >20, and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) score >53) and 41 healthy volunteers were studied. For all subjects, 3 ml of venous blood was collected to assess hematological parameters. Trancranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound was utilized to measure parameters of cerebral artery rCBFV and analyse the Pulsatility Index (PI). 16 subjects (8 =  MDD; 8 =  healthy) also had rCBF measured in different cerebral artery regions using 320-slice CT. Differences among groups were analyzed using ANOVA and Pearson\u27s tests were employed in our statistical analyses. Compared with the control group, whole blood viscosity (including high\middle\low shear rate)and hematocrit (HCT) were significantly increased in the MDD group. PI values in different cerebral artery regions and parameters of rCBFV in the cerebral arteries were decreased in depressive participants, and there was a positive relationship between rCBFV and the corresponding vascular rCBF in both gray and white matter. rCBF of the left gray matter was lower than that of the right in MDD. Major depression is characterized by a wide range of CBF impairments and prominent changes in gray matter blood flow. 320-slice CT appears to be a valid and promising tool for measuring rCBF, and could thus be employed in psychiatric settings for biomarker and treatment response purposes

To Act or Not to Act: Are Natural Landscapes a Key Force in the Resilience of Historic Urban Landscapes?

Ignoring the function of natural landscapes in the rapid development of urbanization, and especially in the conservation of historic urban landscapes, is still obvious today, and this has caused a large decrease in natural space, loss of habitats, and an increase in disasters. The resilience of a whole city and parts of it, such as historic urban areas where the historical process of man and nature have been recorded, as well as the interaction between nature, economy, and culture, is not strong enough to maintain the stability of urban ecosystems. It is misleading to think that the resilience can be built in a historic urban area without a natural landscape. We question whether this is true. Using a semantic differential analysis method from a historical perspective, this paper aims to answer this question through research on the correlation between resilience and man and nature through a case study of Yudai Trench historic urban landscape in Guangzhou, a historic urban area with 1000 years of history. A total of 212 pieces of evidence were extracted from 59 historical sources. The results showed that the cultural and economic conditions were in the same step and cycles as nature, which were influenced strongly by climate change, and that the natural landscape has a correlation on and is a dominant force in the resilience of historic urban landscapes

The comparison of parameters of rCBFV between control and depression groups (Mean ± SEM, cm/s).

<p>Note: compared to the control group, *<i>P</i>&lt;0.05, **<i>P</i>&lt;0.01.</p><p>rCBFV: regional cerebral blood flow velocity.</p><p>MCA: middle cerebral artery, ACA: anterior cerebral artery.</p><p>PCA: posterior cerebral artery, TICA: the tip of internal carotid artery.</p><p>VA: vertebral artery, BA: basilar artery, L: Left, R: Right,</p><p>Vs: systolic peak velocity, Vm: mean flow velocity, Vd: diastolic velocity.</p><p>The comparison of parameters of rCBFV between control and depression groups (Mean ± SEM, cm/s).</p

The correlation coefficients between rCBF and rCBFV in depression group (n = 8).

<p>Note: The correlation coefficient t test * P&lt;0.05. ** P&lt;0.01.</p><p>rCBFV: regional cerebral blood flow velocity, rCBF: region cerebral blood flow.</p><p>ACA: anterior cerebral artery, MCA: middle cerebral artery, L: Left, R: Right.</p><p>Vs: systolic peak velocity, Vm: mean flow velocity, Vd: diastolic velocity.</p><p>The correlation coefficients between rCBF and rCBFV in depression group (n = 8).</p

Data_Sheet_1_Effects of the synbiotic composed of mangiferin and Lactobacillus reuteri 1–12 on type 2 diabetes mellitus rats.docx

Many synbiotics are effective for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In the treatment of T2DM, synbiotics often regulate the composition of intestinal flora, which autoinducer-2 (AI-2) may play an important role. Whether the changes of intestinal flora are related to AI-2 during synbiotics treatment of T2DM is a topic worth studying. We elucidated the effects of synbiotic composed of mangiferin and Lactobacillus reuteri 1–12 (SML) on T2DM rats. Male Spraque-Dawley rats were injected intraperitoneally with streptozotocin (STZ) and randomly grouped. After that, biochemical parameters, intestinal flora, fecal AI-2, and intestinal colonization of L. reuteri were detected. The results showed that SML had a hypoglycemic effect and mitigated the organ lesions of the liver and pancreas. Also, SML regulated biochemical parameters such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). On the other hand, the proportion of probiotics, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. reuteri, Bifidobacterium pseudolongum, Lactobacillus murinus, and Lactobacillus johnsonii, were elevated by the treatment of SML. In addition, SML promoted the colonization and proliferation of L. reuteri in the gut. Another thing to consider was that AI-2 was positively correlated with the total number of OTUs sequences and SML boosted AI-2 in the gut. Taken together, these results supported that SML may modulate intestinal flora through AI-2 to treat T2DM. This study provided a novel alternative strategy for the treatment of T2DM in future.</p