AliFuse: Aligning and Fusing Multi-modal Medical Data for Computer-Aided Diagnosis

Medical data collected for making a diagnostic decision are typically multi-modal and provide complementary perspectives of a subject. A computer-aided diagnosis system welcomes multi-modal inputs; however, how to effectively fuse such multi-modal data is a challenging task and attracts a lot of attention in the medical research field. In this paper, we propose a transformer-based framework, called Alifuse, for aligning and fusing multi-modal medical data. Specifically, we convert images and unstructured and structured texts into vision and language tokens, and use intramodal and intermodal attention mechanisms to learn holistic representations of all imaging and non-imaging data for classification. We apply Alifuse to classify Alzheimer's disease and obtain state-of-the-art performance on five public datasets, by outperforming eight baselines. The source code will be available online later

Biorthogonal multivariate filter banks from centrally symmetric matrices

AbstractWe provide a practical characterization of block centrally symmetric and anti-symmetric matrices which arise in the construction of multivariate filter banks and use these matrices for the construction of biorthogonal filter banks with linear phase

Optimum Research of Hot-Pressing Technology of the Composite Board with Waste Wood and Paper

On the rise of global low-carbon economy with the purpose of leveraging waste wood resources efficiently, waste wood and paper was processed into new type wood-based panels. The hot-pressing technology of the 9 mm composite board with waste wood and paper was studied through an orthogonal experiment, and the effects of resin content, hot-pressing temperature, hot-pressing time and the mass ratio of waste wood and paper were discussed. Results indicated that effects of resin content on the MOR (Modulus of rupture), MOE (modulus of elasticity) and 24h TS (thickness swelling) of the composite board were remarkable, while effects of hot-pressing temperature, hot-pressing time and the mass ratio of waste wood and paper were slight. Based on the quality indicators of MOR, it was found that the optimum condition of hot-pressing for the 9 mm composite board with waste wood and paper was estimated to include resin content of 19%, hot-pressing temperature of 120 °C, hot-pressing time of 12.5min, and the mass ratio of waste wood and paper of 7 to 13. Under these conditions, the composite board could be used as new materials for furniture, interior decoration and packaging.Key words: Waste wood; Waste paper; Composite board; Hot-pressing technolog

SIRT3: A New Regulator of Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death worldwide, and defects in mitochondrial function contribute largely to the occurrence of CVDs. Recent studies suggest that sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), the mitochondrial NAD+-dependent deacetylase, may regulate mitochondrial function and biosynthetic pathways such as glucose and fatty acid metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, oxidative stress, and apoptosis by reversible protein lysine deacetylation. SIRT3 regulates glucose and lipid metabolism and maintains myocardial ATP levels, which protects the heart from metabolic disturbances. SIRT3 can also protect cardiomyocytes from oxidative stress-mediated cell damage and block the development of cardiac hypertrophy. Recent reports show that SIRT3 is involved in the protection of several heart diseases. This review discusses the progress in SIRT3-related research and the role of SIRT3 in the prevention and treatment of CVDs

Coronary artery lesions in children with Kawasaki disease: status quo and nursing care

AimCoronary artery lesion (CAL) is a common yet serious complication in children with Kawasaki disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influencing factors of CAL in children with Kawasaki disease, to provide reference for the clinical treatment and care of children with Kawasaki disease.DesignA retrospective cohort study.MethodsChildren with Kawasaki disease treated in a tertiary hospital in China between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2022 were selected. The characteristics and clinical data of children with Kawasaki disease were analyzed. Spearman’s correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between CAL and the characteristics of children with Kawasaki disease. A logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of CAL in children with Kawasaki disease.ResultsIn total, 185 children with Kawasaki disease were included; the incidence of CAL in children with Kawasaki disease was 18.38%. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that gender (r = 0.504), age (r = 0.611), duration of fever ≥10 days (r = 0.579), hemoglobin (Hb) (r = 0.623), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = 0.558) were all correlated with the CAL in children with Kawasaki disease (all p < 0.05). Logistic regression analyses showed that male [odds ratio (OR) = 2.543, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.801–3.077, p = 0.040], age ≤2 years (OR = 3.002, 95% CI: 2.744–3.641, p = 0.012), duration of fever ≥10 days (OR = 2.089, 95% CI: 1.624–2.515, p = 0.028), Hb ≤105 g/L (OR = 1.914, 95% CI: 1.431–2.406, p = 0.013), and CRP ≥100 mg/L (OR = 2.168, 95% CI: 1.893–2.531, p = 0.035) were the risk factors of CAL in children with Kawasaki disease (all p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe incidence of CAL in children with Kawasaki disease is high and there are many related risk factors. Clinical medical workers should take early warning and carry out interventions and nursing care according to these risk factors to improve the prognosis of children with Kawasaki disease