Unsupervised Doppler Radar Based Activity Recognition for e-Healthcare

Passive radio frequency (RF) sensing and monitoring of human daily activities in elderly care homes is an emerging topic. Micro-Doppler radars are an appealing solution considering their non-intrusiveness, deep penetration, and high-distance range. Unsupervised activity recognition using Doppler radar data has not received attention, in spite of its importance in case of unlabelled or poorly labelled activities in real scenarios. This study proposes two unsupervised feature extraction methods for the purpose of human activity monitoring using Doppler-streams. These include a local Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT)-based feature extraction method and a local entropy-based feature extraction method. In addition, a novel application of Convolutional Variational Autoencoder (CVAE) feature extraction is employed for the first time for Doppler radar data. The three feature extraction architectures are compared with the previously used Convolutional Autoencoder (CAE) and linear feature extraction based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and 2DPCA. Unsupervised clustering is performed using K-Means and K-Medoids. The results show the superiority of DCT-based method, entropy-based method, and CVAE features compared to CAE, PCA, and 2DPCA, with more than 5\%-20\% average accuracy. In regards to computation time, the two proposed methods are noticeably much faster than the existing CVAE. Furthermore, for high-dimensional data visualisation, three manifold learning techniques are considered. The methods are compared for the projection of raw data as well as the encoded CVAE features. All three methods show an improved visualisation ability when applied to the encoded CVAE features

Can innovation really bring economic growth?:The role of social filter in China

This study explores the relationship between R&D investment and economic growth in China, using a newly collected panel data set. Specifically, we investigate how social filters are connected to R&D output. Instead of linking R&D investment directly to economic performance, we adopt a two-step strategy which identifies the impact R&D investment on R&D output, and then study the causal links between R&D output and economic development. Our results suggest that the relationship between R&D input, R&D output and economic growth diverges by different region and sectors. Most of positive associations stem from non-peripheral regions and non-state owned sectors. Social filters are also more effective under these circumstances. These results reveal the complexity of relationships between R&D efforts and economic performance and point to the important role of social filters in innovation and growth

Overexpression of Class III β-tubulin, Sox2, and nuclear Survivin is predictive of taxane resistance in patients with stage III ovarian epithelial cancer

Failed root canal treatment is best addressed primarily with the provision of repeat endodontic treatment with thorough irrigation under isolation. If a post is present in the root of the tooth it needs to be removed first. This paper is the second in a series of two which provide an overview of techniques for post removal. Specifically designed post removal devices and the removal of fibre posts are described. Post removal device techniques are illustrated with a series of clinical case figures

A wet process for oxidation-absorption of nitric oxide by persulfate/calcium peroxide

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2018.05.145 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This study develops and evaluates a novel wet method for NO removal using a Na2S2O8/CaO2 solution. The effects of these two components both and alone in solution, Na2S2O8 concentration, CaO2 concentration, initial pH, reaction temperature, and the concentrations of NO and O2 on NO removal efficiency were evaluated using a bubbling reactor. The combination of Na2S2O8 and CaO2 had a synergistic effect on NO removal efficiency. NO removal was effected by CaO2 concentration, reaction temperature and the initial solution pH, while Na2S2O8 concentration and O2 concentration had little effect. The NO removal efficiency decreased linearly from 94.5 % to 75.1 % when the NO concentration increased from 139 to 559 ppm. The products were characterized using XRD, XPS and IC, and CaSO4·2H2O, NO3− and SO42− were found to be the main products. The EPR analysis showed that free radicals of O2−, SO4− and OH were the key species involved in the NO removal process. Finally, the corresponding reaction mechanisms were proposed.International S&T Cooperation Program of China [Grant No. 2015DFG61910

Survivin overexpression is potentially associated with pituitary adenoma invasiveness

Background and objective Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis. Its role in guiding the treatment of neoplasms, making diagnosis and predicting prognosis has been reported. However, there is little information on the implications and uses of survivin in predicting pituitary adenoma (PA) invasiveness. Existing information is unclear and controversial. We thus conducted this meta-analysis to explore whether the surviving expression levels in invasive PAs (IPA) and regular PAs are different or not. We considered both non-secreting and secreting tumors together. Methods: A global search strategy was systematically applied among five databases including Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) up to June 18th, 2017. With a specially designed form including PAs’ invasive features, etc., data was collected. The included studies should present the data representing the surviving levels in IPA groups and regular PA groups, respectively. Differences were expressed as standard mean differences (SMDs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI). To estimate the heterogeneities, I2 test, Cochran's Q-test and Galbr figure were all conducted. A sensitivity-analysis and potential-publication bias were also performed. Results: In the present meta-analysis, 9 studies containing 489 patients were included. Seven studies with dichotomous-data showed that survivin over-expression in PA tissue was closely associated with a high invasive tendency (OR 6.226, 95% CI 3.970, 9.765; P<0.001), but 2 continuous-data studies revealed that there was no significant association (SMD −5.043, 95% CI-10.965, 0.878; p=0.095). A sensitivity-analysis suggested a statistically stable result. We did not find publication bias. Conclusion: We suggest that survivin overexpression is potentially associated with PA invasiveness. More research based on medical big data is needed to confirm this finding

Interleukin-35 Inhibits TNF-α-Induced Osteoclastogenesis and Promotes Apoptosis via Shifting the Activation From TNF Receptor-Associated Death Domain (TRADD)–TRAF2 to TRADD–Fas-Associated Death Domain by JAK1/STAT1

Over-activated osteoclasts derived from myeloid or peripheral blood monocytes by inflammatory cytokines results in osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and other bone erosion-related diseases. Interleukin 35 (IL-35) is a novel anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive factor. This study investigated the effect of IL-35 on TNF-α-induced osteoclastogenesis. In the presence of IL-35, this process was detected by Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase (TRAP) staining, F-actin staining, and bone resorption assays. The effects of IL-35 on TNF-α-induced apoptosis were demonstrated by TUNEL staining, cell viability assays, and flow cytometry. Moreover, a microarray was performed to detect the effect of IL-35 on TNF-α-activated phosphatase kinase. The effect of IL-35 on the TNF-α-mediated activation of NF-κB, MAPK, TRAF2, RIP1, Fas-associated death domain (FADD), and caspase3 was further investigated. In addition, a murine calvarial osteolysis model was established via the subcutaneous injection of TNF-α onto the calvaria, and histological analysis was subsequently performed. As a result, IL-35 inhibited TNF-α-induced osteoclast formation and bone resorption in vitro and osteolysis calvaria in vivo. NFATc1, c-fos, and TRAP were downregulated by IL-35 through the inhibition of NF-κB and MAPK, during which JAK1/STAT1 was activated. Moreover, based on TUNEL staining and flow cytometry, IL-35 was shown to enhance TNF-α-induced osteoclast apoptosis. Meanwhile, FADD and cleaved-caspase 3 were increased in cells treated with TNF-α and IL-35, whereas the DNA-binding activity of NF-κB was increased in TNF-α-treated cells, but was decreased in cells treated with both TNF-α and IL-35. In conclusion, IL-35 inhibits TNF-α-induced osteoclastogenesis and promotes apoptosis by activating JAK1/STAT1 and shifting activation from TNF receptor-associated death domain (TRADD)-TRAF2/RIP1-NF-κB to TRADD-FADD-caspase 3 signaling