Implementation of a Multimaps Chaos-Based Encryption Software for EEG Signals

In the chapter, we adopted a chaos logic map and a quadratic map to develop the chaos-based multi-maps EEG encryption software. The encryption performances of the chaos-based software were studied. The percent root-mean-square difference (PRD) is used to estimate the accuracy of a correctly decrypted EEG signal with respect to the original EEG signal. Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is used to estimate the correlation between the original EEG signal and an incorrectly decrypted EEG signal. The seven encryption aspects were testing, the average PRD value of the original and correctly decrypted EEG signals for the chaos-based multi-maps software is 2.59 x 10-11, and the average encryption time is 113.2857 ms. The five error decryption aspects were testing, the average PCC value of the original and error decrypted EEG signals for the chaos-based multi-maps software is 0.0026, and the average error decryption time is 113.4000 ms. These results indicate that the chaos-based multimaps EEG encryption software can be applied to clinical EEG diagnosis

Improving Entity Linking by Modeling Latent Entity Type Information

Existing state of the art neural entity linking models employ attention-based bag-of-words context model and pre-trained entity embeddings bootstrapped from word embeddings to assess topic level context compatibility. However, the latent entity type information in the immediate context of the mention is neglected, which causes the models often link mentions to incorrect entities with incorrect type. To tackle this problem, we propose to inject latent entity type information into the entity embeddings based on pre-trained BERT. In addition, we integrate a BERT-based entity similarity score into the local context model of a state-of-the-art model to better capture latent entity type information. Our model significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art entity linking models on standard benchmark (AIDA-CoNLL). Detailed experiment analysis demonstrates that our model corrects most of the type errors produced by the direct baseline.Comment: Accepted by AAAI 202

Filter Band Multicarrier Based Transmission Technology for Clinical EEG Signals

A transmission scheme is proposed based on filter band multicarrier (FBMC) transmission technology for clinical electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The proposed scheme integrates binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OQAM), an FBMC transmission mechanism, and low-density parity-check code (LDPC) error protection in an FBMC-based EEG mobile communication system. The proposed EEG mobile communication system employs high-speed transmission, with schemes providing significant error protection for mobile communication of clinical EEG signals requiring a stringent bit-error rate (BER). The performances of BERs and mean square errors (MSEs) of the proposed EEG mobile communication system were explored. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme is a superior transmission platform as compared to existing schemes for clinical EEG signals

Overexpression of Nuclear Protein Kinase CK2 α Catalytic Subunit (CK2α) as a Poor Prognosticator in Human Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies but the current therapeutic approaches for advanced CRC are less efficient. Thus, novel therapeutic approaches are badly needed. The purpose of this study is to investigate the involvement of nuclear protein kinase CK2 α subunit (CK2α) in tumor progression, and in the prognosis of human CRC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Expression levels of nuclear CK2α were analyzed in 245 colorectal tissues from patients with CRC by immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. We correlated the expression levels with clinicopathologic parameters and prognosis in human CRC patients. Overexpression of nuclear CK2α was significantly correlated with depth of invasion, nodal status, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging, degree of differentiation, and perineural invasion. Patients with high expression levels of nuclear CK2α had a significantly poorer overall survival rate compared with patients with low expression levels of nuclear CK2α. In multi-variate Cox regression analysis, overexpression of nuclear CK2α was proven to be an independent prognostic marker for CRC. In addition, DLD-1 human colon cancer cells were employed as a cellular model to study the role of CK2α on cell growth, and the expression of CK2α in DLD-1 cells was inhibited by using siRNA technology. The data indicated that CK2α-specific siRNA treatment resulted in growth inhibition. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together, overexpression of nuclear CK2α can be a useful marker for predicting the outcome of patients with CRC

Association between interleukin-6 receptor gene variations and atherosclerotic lipid profiles among young adolescents in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To analyze the potential genetic associations between four polymorphisms of interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) gene and atherosclerotic lipid profiles among young adolescents in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using data from the Taipei Children Heart Study-II - a cross-sectional survey in 2003. After multi-stage sampling, we selected 418 boys and 441 girls with an average age of 13.1 years. We genotyped the subjects for four IL-6R gene polymorphisms (rs4845617 G/A, rs4845623 A/G, rs8192284 A/C, and rs2229238 C/T) using a TaqMan 5' nuclease assay. Lipid profiles, including total cholesterol (CHOL), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured using standard methods. We also calculated CHOL/HDL-C ratio, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio, and TG/HDL-C ratio as atherosclerotic indexes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IL-6R rs8192284 A/C and rs2229238 C/T variants showed strong associations with high TG (additive model, OR = 1.58, 95%CI: 1.05-2.37; OR = 1.55, 95%CI: 1.04-2.29, respectively), low HDL-C (additive model, OR = 1.57, 95%CI: 1.03-2.39; OR = 1.68, 95%CI: 1.12-2.52, respectively), and high CHOL/HDL-C (additive model, OR = 1.68, 95%CI: 1.08-2.61, OR = 1.82, 95%CI: 1.18-2.79, respectively) in girls. We inferred five common haplotypes using rs4845617 G/A, rs4845623 A/G, and rs2229238 C/T (GAC, GAT, GGC, AAC, and AAT). In girls, the AAT haplotype was associated with a significant risk of high TG, low HDL-C, high CHOL/HDL-C, and abnormal lipid levels (high TG or low HDL-C) when compared with the GAC haplotype (OR range = 3.08-4.40, all p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The IL-6R rs8192284 A/C and rs2229238 C/T variants are associated with dyslipidemia in girls, but not in boys. The AAT haplotype of the IL-6R gene (rs4845617 G/A, rs4845623 A/G, and rs2229238 C/T) may play an important role in the pathogenesis of dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis in girls.</p

Measuring Supply Chain Performance Based on SCOR: A Case Study of a Garment Company in Taiwan

The performance of supply chain is an important factor for the success of a company since it greatly affects the ability to provide customer value. Therefore, it is very important for a company to develop independent criteria to evaluate the performance, compare with competitors, and monitor the operation of a company. In the past, many companies tried to develop criteria for measuring their performance of supply chain. However, suitable criteria are hard to develop since the supply chain is generally very complex. The purpose of this study is to develop criteria to measure the performance of supply chain by using the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR), which was shown by several previous studies to be an effective tool to develop criteria for measuring performance in diverse industries. To investigate the effectiveness of SCOR, we use the process reference model in SCOR to analyze the current state of a famous garment company’s processes and its goals, and quantify the operational performance. Results from this study show that SCOR is a very effective tool to develop performance metrics of the supply chain. Through the use of SCOR, a company can clearly define key performance indices (KPI) to improve their performance

Knockdown of PsbO leads to induction of HydA and production of photobiological H2 in the green alga Chlorella sp. DT

Green algae are able to convert solar energy to H2 via the photosynthetic electron transport pathway under certain conditions. Algal hydrogenase (HydA, encoded by HYDA) is in charge of catalyzing the reaction: 2H+ + 2e− ↔ H2 but usually inhibited by O2, a byproduct of photosynthesis. The aim of this study was to knockdown PsbO (encoded by psbO), a subunit concerned with O2 evolution, so that it would lead to HydA induction. The alga, Chlorella sp. DT, was then transformed with short interference RNA antisense-psbO (siRNA-psbO) fragments. The algal mutants were selected by checking for the existence of siRNA-psbO fragments in their genomes and the low amount of PsbO proteins. The HYDA transcription and the HydA expression were observed in the PsbO-knockdown mutants. Under semi-aerobic condition, PsbO-knockdown mutants could photobiologically produce H2 which increased by as much as 10-fold in comparison to the wild type

Melanogenesis Inhibitor(s) from Phyla nodiflora

Overexpression of tyrosinase can cause excessive production of melanin and lead to hyperpigmentation disorders, including melasma and freckles. Recently, agents obtained from plants are being used as alternative medicines to downregulate tyrosinase synthesis and decrease melanin production. Phyla nodiflora Greene (Verbenaceae) is used as a folk medicine in Taiwanese for treating and preventing inflammatory diseases such as hepatitis and dermatitis. However, the antimelanogenesis activity and molecular biological mechanism underlying the activity of the methanolic extract of P. nodiflora (PNM) have not been investigated to date. Our results showed that PNM treatment was not cytotoxic and significantly reduced the cellular melanin content and tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05). Further, PNM exhibited a significant antimelanogenesis effect (P<0.05) by reducing the levels of phospho-cAMP response element-binding protein and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), inhibiting the synthesis of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), and TRP-2, and decreasing the cellular melanin content. Moreover, PNM significantly activated the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, including phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and phospho-p38, and inhibited the synthesis of MITF, thus decreasing melanogenesis. These properties suggest that PNM could be used as a clinical and cosmetic skin-whitening agent to cure and/or prevent hyperpigmentation