An Ensemble Classifier with Case-Based Reasoning System for Identifying Internet Addiction

Internet usage has increased dramatically in recent decades. With this growing usage trend, the negative impacts of Internet usage have also increased significantly. One recurring concern involves users with Internet addiction, whose Internet usage has become excessive and disrupted their lives. In order to detect users with Internet addiction and disabuse their inappropriate behavior early, a secure Web service-based EMBAR (ensemble classifier with case-based reasoning) system is proposed in this study. The EMBAR system monitors users in the background and can be used for Internet usage monitoring in the future. Empirical results demonstrate that our proposed ensemble classifier with case-based reasoning (CBR) in the proposed EMBAR system for identifying users with potential Internet addiction offers better performance than other classifiers

Significance of preoperative acute kidney injury in patients with acute type A aortic dissection

Background/purpose: Acute type A aortic dissection (AAD) is a medical emergency with high mortality even with emergency repair. We explored the risk factors for in-hospital mortality and the impact of preoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with AAD. Methods: Our hospital database contained records for 156 consecutive patients who underwent AAD repair between March 2000 and February 2013. They were assigned to the in-hospital mortality or the survival group. All data were collected retrospectively. Results: The 30-day mortality, including intraoperative deaths, was 14.1% (22/156). Total in-hospital mortality was 19.2% (30/156). Patients who required preoperative cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (16.7 vs 3.2%; P = 0.012), or who presented with preoperative cardiac tamponade (46.7 vs 19.0%; P = 0.002), shock/hypotension (56.7 vs 21.4%; P < 0.001), or coma (20.0 vs 6.3%; P = 0.019) had a higher in-hospital mortality rate. There was no difference in in-hospital mortality rate between patients with preoperative AKI or not. Mortality and major complications were significantly correlated with the severity of AKI. Multivariate analysis confirmed that preoperative shock or hypotension (odds ratio = 5.2; 95% CI = 2.2–12.3), and preoperative AKI stage 3 (odds ratio = 4.9; 95% CI = 1.3–19.3) were independent preoperative prognostic factors of in-hospital mortality. Conclusion: On the basis of our results, preoperative stage 3 AKI is a crucial prognostic risk factor for patients with AAD repair, Cardiac surgeons should be aware of this condition when dealing with AAD patients. Keywords: Acute kidney injury, Acute type A aortic dissection, Mortalit

Investigation of the Optoelectronic Properties of Ti-doped Indium Tin Oxide Thin Film

: In this study, direct-current magnetron sputtering was used to fabricate Ti-doped indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films. The sputtering power during the 350-nm-thick thin-film production process was fixed at 100 W with substrate temperatures increasing from room temperature to 500 °C. The Ti-doped ITO thin films exhibited superior thin-film resistivity (1.5 × 10−4 Ω/cm), carrier concentration (4.1 × 1021 cm−3), carrier mobility (10 cm2/Vs), and mean visible-light transmittance (90%) at wavelengths of 400–800 nm at a deposition temperature of 400 °C. The superior carrier concentration of the Ti-doped ITO alloys (&gt;1021 cm−3) with a high figure of merit (81.1 × 10−3 Ω−1) demonstrate the pronounced contribution of Ti doping, indicating their high suitability for application in optoelectronic devices

Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from a patient with Parkinson's disease carrying LRRK2 p.I2012T mutation

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Leucine rich repeat kinase (LRRK2) is the most prevalent mutation in autosomal-dominant inheritance of PD. Here, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a female patient with p.I2012T mutation in LRRK2 gene by using the Sendai-virus delivery system. The resulting iPSCs had a normal karyotype. The iPSCs also showed pluripotency confirmed by immunofluorescent staining and differentiated into the 3 germ layers in vivo. This cellular model will provide a useful platform for further pathophysiological studies of PD

Iodinated Contrast Medium Exposure During Computed Tomography Increase the Risk of Subsequent Development of Thyroid Disorders in Patients Without Known Thyroid Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based, Propensity Score-Matched, Longitudinal Follow-Up Study

To investigate the association between iodinated contrast medium (ICM) exposure during computed tomography (CT) and the subsequent development of thyroid disorders in patients without known thyroid disease in Taiwan, an iodine-sufficient area. We conducted a population-based cohort study by using data from 1996 to 2012 in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 33,426 patients who underwent ICM-enhanced CT were included as the study cohort. To avoid selection bias, we used propensity score and matched for the index year (defined as the year of first ICM exposure) to retrieve 33,426 patients as the comparison cohort. No patients in the 2 cohorts had any known thyroid disease before the index year. Patients with a history of amiodarone treatment or coronary angiography and those with 0.5-year post-ICM exposure compared with that during ≤0.5-year post-ICM exposure (HR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.01-1.58; P 1 time of ICM per year on average compared with those who accepted ≤1 time per year on average (adjusted HR = 3.04; 95% CI: 2.47-3.73; P < 0.001). This study identified ICM exposure during CT as a risk factor for the subsequent development of thyroid disorders in patients without known thyroid disease, particularly in patients with repeated exposure

Intermittent Hypoxia Prevents Myocardial Mitochondrial Ca2+ Overload and Cell Death during Ischemia/Reperfusion: The Role of Reactive Oxygen Species

It has been documented that reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to oxidative stress, leading to diseases such as ischemic heart disease. Recently, increasing evidence has indicated that short-term intermittent hypoxia (IH), similar to ischemia preconditioning, could yield cardioprotection. However, the underlying mechanism for the IH-induced cardioprotective effect remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether IH exposure can enhance antioxidant capacity, which contributes to cardioprotection against oxidative stress and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in cardiomyocytes. Primary rat neonatal cardiomyocytes were cultured in IH condition with an oscillating O2 concentration between 20% and 5% every 30 min. An MTT assay was conducted to examine the cell viability. Annexin V-FITC and SYTOX green fluorescent intensity and caspase 3 activity were detected to analyze the cell death. Fluorescent images for DCFDA, Fura-2, Rhod-2, and TMRM were acquired to analyze the ROS, cytosol Ca2+, mitochondrial Ca2+, and mitochondrial membrane potential, respectively. RT-PCR, immunocytofluorescence staining, and antioxidant activity assay were conducted to detect the expression of antioxidant enzymes. Our results show that IH induced slight increases of O2&minus;&middot; and protected cardiomyocytes against H2O2- and I/R-induced cell death. Moreover, H2O2-induced Ca2+ imbalance and mitochondrial membrane depolarization were attenuated by IH, which also reduced the I/R-induced Ca2+ overload. Furthermore, treatment with IH increased the expression of Cu/Zn SOD and Mn SOD, the total antioxidant capacity, and the activity of catalase. Blockade of the IH-increased ROS production abolished the protective effects of IH on the Ca2+ homeostasis and antioxidant defense capacity. Taken together, our findings suggest that IH protected the cardiomyocytes against H2O2- and I/R-induced oxidative stress and cell death through maintaining Ca2+ homeostasis as well as the mitochondrial membrane potential, and upregulation of antioxidant enzymes

Induced pluripotent stem cells derived from an autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease patient carrying a PKD1 Q533X mutation

Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) is the most prevalent monogenic kidney disorder leading to kidney failure. We generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a 37-year-old man carrying a PKD1 Q533X mutation who suffered from kidney failure and a myocardial infarction. The iPSCs were reprogrammed from the patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells using the Sendai virus system, and were confirmed to possess the specific PKD1 Q533X mutation and normal karyotype. Pluripotency was confirmed using in vitro and in vivo assays. This iPSC line will be useful for studying the mechanisms driving the complicated pathophysiology of ADPKD