A review of the application of acoustic emission technique in engineering

The use of acoustic emission (AE) technique for detecting and monitoring damages and the progress on damages in different structures is widely used and has earned a reputation as one of the most reliable and well-established technique in non-destructive testing (NDT). Acoustic Emission is a very efficient and effective technology used for fracture behavior and fatigue detection in metals, fiberglass, wood, composites, ceramics, concrete and plastics. It can also be used for detecting faults and pressure leaks in vessels, tanks, pipes, as well as for monitoring the progression of corrosion in welding. This paper reviews major research developments over the past few years in application of acoustic emission in numerous engineering fields, including manufacturing, civil, aerospace and material engineering

Impact of vitamin C supplementation on post-cardiac surgery ICU and hospital length of stay

Background: Prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay after cardiac surgery is vitally important and is influenced by both intraoperative and postoperative factors.Objectives: This randomized clinical trial study was designed to assess whether vitamin C supplementation could reduce the length of ICU and hospital stay in post-cardiac surgery patients.Patients and Methods: Two hundred and ninety patients scheduled for adult cardiac surgery including coronary, valve and congenital operations were randomized into two groups: an intervention group, who received 2 g of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) intravenously, immediately before surgery in the operating theatre, followed by 1 g daily oral doses for the first 4 postoperative days; and a placebo group,who received an equal number of identical tablets in the same shape and size. Results: Hospital length of stay was significantly different between the two groups (10.17 ± 4.63 days in the intervention group vs. 12 ± 4.51 days in the placebo group; P = 0.01), while there was no significant difference in the ICU stay between the groups (3.42 ± 1.06 days in intervention group vs. 3.43 ± 1.09 days in the placebo group; P = 0.88). There were significant differences in the intubation time and the drainage volume in the ICU and the first 24 postoperative hours between the two groups (P for both = 0.003). Conclusions: Vitamin C can decrease the length of hospital stay, drainage volume in the ICU and in the first 24 postoperative hours, intubation time and some complications in patients after cardiac surgery; perhaps by decreasing inflammatory factors. Background: Prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay after cardiac surgery is vitally important and is influenced by both intraoperative and postoperative factors.Objectives: This randomized clinical trial study was designed to assess whether vitamin C supplementation could reduce the length of ICU and hospital stay in post-cardiac surgery patients.Patients and Methods: Two hundred and ninety patients scheduled for adult cardiac surgery including coronary, valve and congenital operations were randomized into two groups: an intervention group, who received 2 g of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) intravenously, immediately before surgery in the operating theatre, followed by 1 g daily oral doses for the first 4 postoperative days; and a placebo group,who received an equal number of identical tablets in the same shape and size. Results: Hospital length of stay was significantly different between the two groups (10.17 ± 4.63 days in the intervention group vs. 12 ± 4.51 days in the placebo group; P = 0.01), while there was no significant difference in the ICU stay between the groups (3.42 ± 1.06 days in intervention group vs. 3.43 ± 1.09 days in the placebo group; P = 0.88). There were significant differences in the intubation time and the drainage volume in the ICU and the first 24 postoperative hours between the two groups (P for both = 0.003). Conclusions: Vitamin C can decrease the length of hospital stay, drainage volume in the ICU and in the first 24 postoperative hours, intubation time and some complications in patients after cardiac surgery; perhaps by decreasing inflammatory factors. © 2015, Iranian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ISRAPM)

The effect of a low versus high sodium diet on blood pressure in diabetic patients:A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical trials

Abstract There have been numerous clinical trials that have investigated the effect of sodium intake on blood pressure in diabetic patients. The purpose of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to evaluate the clinical trial studies performed on the effect of low sodium diet (LSD) versus high sodium diet (HSD) on blood pressure in diabetic patients. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were systematically searched from database inception to July 10, 2021. Both type 1 and 2 diabetes was considered. Overall, there were 15 studies included in this meta‐analysis. The weighted (WMD) mean difference with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using a random‐effects model. Risk of bias in the studies was assessed based on the Cochrane collaboration tool and the quality of all the studies was considered as good. Overall, LSD significantly reduced SBP (systolic blood pressure) (WMD: −3.79 mmHg, 95% CI: −6.02, −1.56) and DBP (diastolic blood pressure) (WMD: −1.62 mmHg, 95% CI: −2.84, −0.40), in comparison with HSD, in diabetics. However, LSD had no significant effect on MAP (mean arterial pressure) in comparison with HSD (WMD: −1.81, 95%CI: −5.49, 1.87). Although subgroup analysis could not attenuate heterogeneity in SBP, subgroup analysis in DBP based on duration (≤1 week: WMD: −2.35, 95%CI: −3.69, −1.00, I2 = 48.9%, p = 0.081, >1 week: WMD: −1.04, 95% CI: −2.83, 0.76, I2 = 74.7%, p = 0.003) and study design (cross‐over: WMD: −1.94, 95% CI: −2.71, −1.17, I2 = 32.1%, p = 0.183, parallel: WMD: −2.17, 95% CI: −6.48, 2.13, I2 = 82.4%, p = 0.001) successfully detected sources of heterogeneity. LSD significantly reduced SBP and DBP, however, had no effect on MAP, in comparison with HSD

Incremental Backward Change Propagation of View Models by Logic Solvers

View models are key concepts of domain-specific modeling to provide task-specific focus (e.g., power or communication architecture of a system) to the designers by highlighting only the relevant aspects of the system. View models can be specified by unidirectional forward transformations (frequently captured by graph queries), and automatically maintained upon changes of the underlying source model using incremental transformation techniques. However, tracing back complex changes from one or more abstract view to the underlying source model is a challenging task, which, in general, requires the simultaneous analysis of transformation specifications and well-formedness constraints to create valid changes in the source model. In this paper we introduce a novel delta-based backward transformation technique using SAT solvers to synthetize valid and consistent change candidates in the source model, where only forward transformation rules are specified for the view models

Research on an online self-organizing radial basis function neural network

A new growing and pruning algorithm is proposed for radial basis function (RBF) neural network structure design in this paper, which is named as self-organizing RBF (SORBF). The structure of the RBF neural network is introduced in this paper first, and then the growing and pruning algorithm is used to design the structure of the RBF neural network automatically. The growing and pruning approach is based on the radius of the receptive field of the RBF nodes. Meanwhile, the parameters adjusting algorithms are proposed for the whole RBF neural network. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated through functions approximation and dynamic system identification. Then, the method is used to capture the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) concentration in a wastewater treatment system. Experimental results show that the proposed method is efficient for network structure optimization, and it achieves better performance than some of the existing algorithms

Treponema denticola chymotrypsin-like proteinase may contribute to orodigestive carcinogenesis through immunomodulation

Background: Periodontal pathogens have been linked to oral and gastrointestinal (orodigestive) carcinogenesis. However, the exact mechanisms remain unknown. Treponema denticola (Td) is associated with severe periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease leading to tooth loss. The anaerobic spirochete Td is an invasive bacteria due to its major virulence factor chymotrypsin-like proteinase. Here we aimed to investigate the presence of Td chymotrypsin-like proteinase (Td-CTLP) in major orodigestive tumours and to elucidate potential mechanisms for Td to contribute to carcinogenesis. Methods: The presence of Td-CTLP within orodigestive tumour tissues was examined using immunohistochemistry. Oral, tonsillar, and oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas, alongside gastric, pancreatic, and colon adenocarcinomas were stained with a Td-CTLP-specific antibody. Gingival tissue from periodontitis patients served as positive controls. SDS-PAGE and immunoblot were used to analyse the immumodulatory activity of Td-CTLP in vitro. Results: Td-CTLP was present in majority of orodigestive tumour samples. Td-CTLP was found to convert pro MMP-8 and -9 into their active forms. In addition, Td-CTLP was able to degrade the proteinase inhibitors TIMP-1, TIMP-2, and alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, as well as complement C1q. Conclusions: Because of its presence within tumours and regulatory activity on proteins critical for the regulation of tumour microenvironment and inflammation, the Td-CTLP may contribute to orodigestive carcinogenesis.Peer reviewe

Translation and validation of the Cardiac Depression Scale to Arabic

Background The Cardiac Depression Scale (CDS) has been designed to measure depressive symptoms in patients with heart disease. There is no Arabic version of the CDS. We translated and validated the CDS in an Arabic sample of patients with heart disease. Methods Forward and back translation of the CDS was followed by assessment of cultural relevance and content validity. The Arabic version of the CDS (A-CDS) and the Arabic version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (A-HADS) were then administered to 260 Arab in-patients with heart disease from 18 Arabic countries. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis with polychoric correlations. Internal consistency was assessed using ordinal reliability alpha and item-to-factor polychoric correlations. Concurrent validity was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient between the A-CDS and the depression subscale of the A-HADS (A-HADS-D). Results Cultural relevance and content validity of the A-CDS were satisfactory. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three robust factors, without cross-loadings, that formed a single dimension. Internal consistency was high (ordinal reliability alpha for the total scale and the three factors were .94, .91, .86, and .87, respectively; item-to-factor correlations ranged from .77 to .91). Concurrent validity was high (r?=?.72). The A-CDS demonstrated a closer to normal distribution of scores than the A-HADS-D. Limitations Sensitivity and specificity of the A-CDS were not objectively assessed. Conclusions The A-CDS appears to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure depressive symptoms in a representative sample of Arab in-patients with heart disease