An improved chaos method for monitoring the depth of anaesthesia

This paper proposed a new method to monitor the depth of anaesthesia (DoA) by modifying the Hurst parameters in Chaos method. Two new indices (CDoA and CsDoA) are proposed to estimate the anaesthesia states of patients. In order to reduce the fluctuation of CDoA and CsDoA trends, the Chaos and Modified Detrended Average methods (C-MDMA) are combined together. Compared with Bispectrum (BIS) index, CDoA, the CsDoA and C-MDMA trends are close to the BIS trend in the whole scale from 100 to 0 with a full recording time

Chaos-modified detrended moving average methodology for monitoring the depth of anaesthesia

This paper proposes a new method to monitor the depth of anaesthesia (DoA) based on the EEG signal. This approach firstly uses discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to to remove the spikes and the low frequency noise from raw EEG signals. After de-noising the EEG signals, the modified Hurst parameter is proposed with two new indices (CDoA and CsDoA), to estimate the anaesthesia states of the patients. To reduce the fluctuation of the new DoA index, a combination of Modified Chaos and Modifying Detrended Moving Average is used (MC-DMA). Analyses of variance (ANOVA) for C-MDMA and BIS distributions are presented The results indicate that the C-MDMA distributions at each anaesthesia state level are significantly different and the C-MDMA can distinguish five depths of anaesthesia. Compared with BIS trends, MC-DMA trend is close to BIS trend covering the whole scale from 100 to 0 with a full recording time

Fractional Chern Insulators from the nth Root of Bandstructure

We provide a parton construction of wavefunctions and effective field theories for fractional Chern insulators. We also analyze a strong coupling expansion in lattice gauge theory that enables us to reliably map the parton gauge theory onto the microsopic Hamiltonian. We show that this strong coupling expansion is useful because of a special hierarchy of energy scales in fractional quantum Hall physics. Our procedure is illustrated using the Hofstadter model and then applied to bosons at 1/2 filling and fermions at 1/3 filling in a checkerboard lattice model recently studied numerically. Because our construction provides a more or less unique mapping from microscopic model to effective parton description, we obtain wavefunctions in the same phase as the observed fractional Chern insulators without tuning any continuous parameters.Comment: 9+3 pages, 6 figures; v2: added refs, amplified discussion of deconfinement, improved discussion of translation invarianc

A study on nitrogen removal efficiency of Pseudomonas stutzeri strains isolated from an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic wastewater treatment process

In order to improve the nitrogen removal efficiency in an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic treatment plant, a strain with high nitrification and denitrification capability was isolated from a specific anaerobic/anoxic/oxic treatment process. The characteristics of isolate were experimentally analyzed. By using the nitrogen balance method, the total nitrogen loss was calculated to be 40.1% (w/w) when the carbon source was citric acid with a C/N ratio of 5. Meanwhile, the isolated strain was identified by 16S rDNA to be a Pseudomonas stutzeri with a similarity of 99%. Varying the initial TN, the C/N, the pH value and the ambient temperature in the reaction system, the efficiency of nitrogen removal was studied. The results showed that the highest efficiency occurred when the C/N was 12, the pH value was 7 and the temperature was 32°C. The results were also compared to the practically monitoring data coming with a good agreement. Consequently, it is viable to improve the nitrogen removal efficiency by varying the reaction conditions

Clinical and virological factors associated with viremia in pandemic influenza A/H1N1/2009 virus infection

BACKGROUND: Positive detection of viral RNA in blood and other non-respiratory specimens occurs in severe human influenza A/H5N1 viral infection but is not known to occur commonly in seasonal human influenza infection. Recently, viral RNA was detected in the blood of patients suffering from severe pandemic influenza A/H1N1/2009 viral infection, although the significance of viremia had not been previously studied. Our study aims to explore the clinical and virological factors associated with pandemic influenza A/H1N1/2009 viremia and to determine its clinical significance. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Clinical data of patients admitted to hospitals in Hong Kong between May 2009 and April 2010 and tested positive for pandemic influenza A/H1N1/2009 was collected. Viral RNA was detected by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) targeting the matrix (M) and HA genes of pandemic influenza A/H1N1/2009 virus from the following specimens: nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA), endotracheal aspirate (ETA), blood, stool and rectal swab. Stool and/ or rectal swab was obtained only if the patient complained of any gastrointestinal symptoms. A total of 139 patients were included in the study, with viral RNA being detected in the blood of 14 patients by RT-PCR. The occurrence of viremia was strongly associated with a severe clinical presentation and a higher mortality rate, although the latter association was not statistically significant. D222G/N quasispecies were observed in 90% of the blood samples. CONCLUSION: Presence of pandemic influenza A/H1N1/2009 viremia is an indicator of disease severity and strongly associated with D222G/N mutation in the viral hemagglutinin protein.published_or_final_versio

Interplay of transforming growth factor beta 1 and endothelin 1 signaling in subchondral osteoblast dysfunction in osteoarthritis

Electronic Poster Presentations: P40BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease among elderly with some cases associated with hypertension. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a hypertension agonist which has been shown to induce type I collagen secretion and inhibit mineralisation in osteoblasts. Upregulation of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ-1) is associated with the onset of OA. Crosstalks between TGFβ-1 and ET-1 may increase the OA ...postprin

Antigenic cross-reactivity between severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus and human coronaviruses 229E and OC43

Cross-reactivity between antibodies to different human coronaviruses (HCoVs) has not been systematically studied. By use of Western blot analysis, indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), antigenic cross-reactivity between severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and 2 HCoVs (229E and OC43) was demonstrated in immunized animals and human serum. In 5 of 11 and 10 of 11 patients with SARS, paired serum samples showed a ≥4-fold increase in antibody titers against HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43, respectively, by IFA. Overall, serum samples from convalescent patients who had SARS had a 1-way cross-reactivity with the 2 known HCoVs. Antigens of SARS-CoV and HCoV-OC43 were more cross-reactive than were those of SARS-CoV and HCoV-229E. © 2005 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Engineered acetoacetate-inducible whole-cell biosensors based on the AtoSC two-component system

Whole-cell biosensors hold potential in a variety of industrial, medical and environmental applications. These biosensors can be constructed through the repurposing of bacterial sensing mechanisms, including the common two-component system. Here we report on the construction of a range of novel biosensors that are sensitive to acetoacetate, a molecule that plays a number of roles in human health and biology. These biosensors are based on the AtoSC two-component system. An ordinary differential equation model to describe the action of the AtoSC two-component system was developed and sensitivity analysis of this model used to help inform biosensor design. The final collection of biosensors constructed displayed a range of switching behaviours, at physiologically relevant acetoacetate concentrations and can operate in several Escherichia coli host strains. It is envisaged that these biosensor strains will offer an alternative to currently available commercial strip tests and, in future, may be adopted for more complex in vivo or industrial monitoring applications

The K526R substitution in viral protein ​PB2 enhances the effects of E627K on influenza virus replication

Host-adaptive strategies, such as the E627K substitution in the ​PB2 protein, are critical for replication of avian influenza A viruses in mammalian hosts. Here we show that mutation ​PB2-K526R is present in some human H7N9 influenza isolates, in nearly 80% of H5N1 human isolates from Indonesia and, in conjunction with E627K, in almost all seasonal H3N2 viruses since 1970. Polymerase complexes containing ​PB2-526R derived from H7N9, H5N1 or H3N2 viruses exhibit increased polymerase activity. ​PB2-526R also enhances viral transcription and replication in cells. In comparison with viruses carrying 627K, H7N9 viruses carrying both 526R and 627K replicate more efficiently in mammalian (but not avian) cells and in mouse lung tissues, and cause greater body weight loss and mortality in infected mice. ​PB2-K526R interacts with nuclear export protein and our results suggest that it contributes to enhance replication for certain influenza virus subtypes, particularly in combination with 627K.published_or_final_versio