A combined role of calcium channel blockers and angiotensin receptor blockers in stroke prevention

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The importance of lowering blood pressure for reducing the risk of stroke is well established. However, not all the benefits of antihypertensive treatments in stroke can be accounted for by reductions in BP and there may be differences between antihypertensive classes as to which provides optimal protection. Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers, such as amlodipine, and angiotensin receptor blockers, such as valsartan, represent the two antihypertensive drug classes with the strongest supportive data for the prevention of stroke. Therefore, when combination therapy is required, a combination of these two antihypertensive classes represents a logical approach

A New Method for Fast Computation of Moments Based on 8-neighbor Chain CodeApplied to 2-D Objects Recognition

2D moment invariants have been successfully applied in pattern recognition tasks. The main difficulty of using moment invariants is the computational burden. To improve the algorithm of moments computation through an iterative method, an approach for fast computation of moments based on the 8-neighbor chain code is proposed in this paper. Then artificial neural networks are applied for 2D shape recognition with moment invariants. Compared with the method of polygonal approximation, this approach shows higher accuracy in shape representation and faster recognition speed in experiment

Gastritis Treated by Chinese Medicine

Chronic gastritis is one of the common diseases of the digestive system characterized by many uncomfortable clinical symptoms, and the patient with chronic gastritis has a lower quality of life. Chinese medicine is a branch of medicine in the world, and it has special theory; different methods have been used to treat gastritis for more than 1000 years. We aimed to introduce the special theory and the different methods of Chinese medicine and about its syndrome classification, syndrome differentiation and treatment, diagnosis and treatment process, and criterion of therapeutic effect of chronic gastritis. The mechanism of Chinese medicine on chronic gastritis needs further research

The relation of H2CO, 12CO, and 13CO in molecular clouds

Aims. We seek to understand how the 4.8 GHz formaldehyde absorption line is distributed in the MON R2, S156, DR17/L906, and M17/M18 regions. More specifically, we look for the relationship among the H2CO, 12CO, and 13CO spectral lines. Methods. The four regions of MON R2 (60'x90'), S156 (5'0x70'), DR17/L906 (40'x60'), and M17 /M18 (70'x80')were observed for H2CO (beam 10'), H110a recombination (beam 10'), 6 cm continuum (beam 10'), 12CO (beam 1'), and 13CO (beam 1'). We compared the H2CO,12CO,13CO, and continuum distributions, and also the spectra line parameters of H2CO,12CO, and 13CO. Column densities of H2CO,13CO, and H2 were also estimated. Results. We found out that the H2CO distribution is similar to the 12CO and the 13CO distributions on a large scale. The correlation between the 13 CO and the H2CO distributions is better than between the 12CO and H2CO distributions. The H2CO and the 13CO tracers systematically provide consistent views of the dense regions. T heir maps have similar shapes, sizes, peak positions, and molecular spectra and present similar centr al velocities and line widths. Such good agreement indicates that the H2CO and the 13CO arise from similar regions.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures published, 201

Uncertainty Quantification Visualization Tool to Simulate Porous Lithium-Ion Batteries

To maintain people’s fast-paced lifestyles, a more powerful and reliable rechargeable battery is critical. During the manufacturing process, electrode parameters such as cathode thickness, the porosity of the positive electrode and radius of negative active materials are subject to uncertainty. Such uncertainty may have a dramatic impact on the performance of the battery. To optimize its performance, it is critical to quantify uncertainty due to variation in electrode parameters and measure the response of the system through multiscale computer simulation. To achieve this goal, a porous lithium-ion battery uncertainty quantification and visualization tool has been created. This tool consists of three components: 1) a generator of uncertainty input; 2) an electrochemical system simulator; 3) a statistical analysis and visualization module. This project focuses on the first and the third components. First, the uncertainty input generator provides the option of selecting one of two statistical models for the input parameter distributions: Gaussian and lognormal. For Gaussian and lognormal distributions, sample points and weights are generated based on Gauss-Hermite quadrature formula. Each module provides a GUI, built using an open source, class-oriented environment, the Virtual Kinetics of Materials Lab [1]. Ensemble simulations are performed using the electrochemical system simulator that in turn uses the data distributions obtained from the uncertainty input generator. In the statistics analysis and visualization component, the simulation results are quantified graphically through error bar plots that visualize the impact of the uncertainties that were introduced into the system. The variation of power and energy densities as a function of current density of the battery electrode is presented, enabling the user to visualize the uncertainty propagation from the three electrode uncertainty inputs and its impact on the battery performance. [1] Alex Bartol; R. Edwin García; David R. Ely; Jon Guyer (2015), The Virtual Kinetics of Materials Laboratory, https://nanohub.org/resources/vkmllive. (DOI: 10.4231/D3B853J85)