Reform and Practice of Analog Circuits

In the new century, education has become the focus of the reform. At present, cross, penetration and integration between basic courses are the key to improve the quality of teaching and the overall quality of students. University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) combines "circuit analysi" and "fundamentals of analog circuits" as one course "electronic circuit", the curriculum reform follows the principles of strengthening the foundation, updating the structure, penetrating the interdisciplinary and simplifying the courses. This paper discusses the principles and ideas of reforms related to the "electronic circuit": the results show that the teaching can broaden the knowledge and vision of students, as a result, the students can better adapt to the requirements of learning and challenge of the new era

Positron Emission Tomography in the Neuroimaging of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disease characterized by persistent impairment, repetitive and stereotypical behaviors in social interaction, as well as restricted interests and activities. The etiology of ASD is not clear yet, which results in difficulties in clinical diagnosis and treatment, and also brings heavy burden to patients and society. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a frequently used molecular imaging technology in quantitative, dynamic and in vivo research for therapeutic efficacy evaluation, pathophysiological mechanism investigation, thereby promoting development of ASD therapeutic drugs. More and more imaging studies have been reported on ASD recently, and the physiological changes featured by PET have been disclosed. This chapter reviews the specific radioligands for PET imaging of critical biomarkers involved in ASD. Herein, we discuss cerebral blood perfusion, cerebral glucose metabolism, and neurotransmitter system (transporters, precursors and receptors), as well as some other novel targets, including arginine vasopressin receptor targets and neuroinflammation related targets. The status of application and future prospect of the PET technology in research of ASD were discussed. This chapter provides a detailed and comprehensive literature review on ASD PET probe development, thereby can help readers intuitively and conveniently understand the status quo of research on ASD PET, and develop new research directions in this field

Enhancing malaria diagnosis through microfluidic cell enrichment and magnetic resonance relaxometry detection

Despite significant advancements over the years, there remains an urgent need for low cost diagnostic approaches that allow for rapid, reliable and sensitive detection of malaria parasites in clinical samples. Our previous work has shown that magnetic resonance relaxometry (MRR) is a potentially highly sensitive tool for malaria diagnosis. A key challenge for making MRR based malaria diagnostics suitable for clinical testing is the fact that MRR baseline fluctuation exists between individuals, making it difficult to detect low level parasitemia. To overcome this problem, it is important to establish the MRR baseline of each individual while having the ability to reliably determine any changes that are caused by the infection of malaria parasite. Here we show that an approach that combines the use of microfluidic cell enrichment with a saponin lysis before MRR detection can overcome these challenges and provide the basis for a highly sensitive and reliable diagnostic approach of malaria parasites. Importantly, as little as 0.0005% of ring stage parasites can be detected reliably, making this ideally suited for the detection of malaria parasites in peripheral blood obtained from patients. The approaches used here are envisaged to provide a new malaria diagnosis solution in the near future.Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Cente

Application of particle swarm optimization-based least square support vector machine in quantitative analysis of extraction solution of yangxinshi tablet using near infrared spectroscopy

A particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based least square support vector machine (LS-SVM) method was investigated for quantitative analysis of extraction solution of Yangxinshi tablet using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The usable spectral region (5400–6200 cm-1) was identified, then the first derivative spectra smoothed using a Savitzky–Golay filter were employed to establish calibration models. The PSO algorithm was applied to select the LS-SVM hyperparameters (including the regularization and kernel parameters). The calibration models of total flavonoids, puerarin, salvianolic acid B and icariin were established using the optimum hyperparameters of LS-SVM. The performance of LS-SVM models were compared with partial least squares (PLS) regression, feed-forward back-propagation network (BPANN) and support vector machine (SVM). Experimental results showed that both the calibration results and prediction accuracy of the PSO-based LS-SVM method were superior to PLS, BP-ANN and SVM. For PSO-based LS-SVM models, the determination coefficients (R2) for the calibration set were above 0.9881, and the RSEP values were controlled within 5.772%. For the validation set, the RMSEP values were close to RMSEC and less than 0.042, the RSEP values were under 8.778%, which were much lower than the PLS, BP-ANN and SVM models. The PSO-based LS-SVM algorithm employed in this study exhibited excellent calibration performance and prediction accuracy, which has definite practice significance and application value

Comparison of the asymmetries in muscle mass, biomechanical property and muscle activation asymmetry of quadriceps femoris between patients with unilateral and bilateral knee osteoarthritis

Background: More and more attention has been paid to the research of muscle mass and muscle quality of quadriceps femoris (QF) in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). This study aimed to explore the asymmetric changes of muscle mass, biomechanical property and muscle activation in the inter-limbs QF of KOA patients, and tried to provide a novel insight for the evaluation, prevention and treatment of KOA.Methods: A total of 56 Participants with unilateral or bilateral KOA were included in this study: 30 patients with unilateral pain and 26 patients with bilateral pain were assigned to the bilateral group (BG) and unilateral group (UG), respectively. The symptom severity of bilateral lower limbs was evaluated by visual analogue scale, and the relatively serious leg (RSL) and relatively moderate leg (RML) were classified. The thickness of rectus femoris (RF), vastus intermedius (VI), vastus medialis (VM) and vastus lateralis (VL) were measured by ultrasound. The Shear wave elastography (SWE) techniqie was used to measure the shear modulus of RF, VM and VL. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to assess the root mean square (RMS) of the RF, VM, and VL during straight leg raising in a sitting position and squatting task. We calculated the asymmetry indexes of inter-limbs for the corresponding indices of the measured muscles.Result: Thickness of RF, VI and VL of RSL was lower than those on RML (p < 0.05), and thickness of VM was lower more significant (p < 0.01). Thickness of RF, VI and VL of RSL was also lower than those of RML in BG (p < 0.05), however, there was no significant difference in VM thickness (p > 0.05). There were no significant difference in Asymmetry indexes of all measured muscle thickness between the two groups (p > 0.05). The Shear modulus of RF, VM, and VL in the RML of UG and BG was higher than those in the RSL (p < 0.05). In sitting and straight leg raising task, the RMS of RF, VM and VL in RML were higher than those in RSL, UG and BG both showed this trend (p < 0.05). About squatting task, in UG, the RMS of the three muscles in RML of patients were also higher than those in the RSL (p < 0.05). However, the difference was not significant in BG (p > 0.05). In the straight leg raising task, the asymmetry indexes of RMS in RF, VM, and VL of both the two groups were positively correlated with VAS scores (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The muscle thickness, shear modulus and muscle activation electromyography of QF in RML were higher than those of RSL in unilateral KOA patients. The VM of RML in bilateral KOA patients may show muscle thickness degeneration earlier, which is closer to the VM of RSL. The shear modulus of RF, VM, and VL were higher on the RML side during the single-leg task, but there may be passive compensation for muscle activation in both lower limbs during the bipedal task. In conclusion, there is a general asymmetry of QF muscle mass, biomechanics Characteristic and performance in patients with KOA, which may provide new ideas for the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of the disease

Reliability of foot posture index (FPI-6) for evaluating foot posture in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Objective: To determine the reliability of FPI-6 in the assessment of foot posture in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA).Methods: Thirty volunteers with KOA (23 females, 7 males) were included in this study, assessed by two raters and at three different moments. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability were assessed with Cohen’s Weighted Kappa (Kw) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Bland-Altman plots and respective 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were used to assess both inter-rater and test-retest agreement and identify systematic bias. Moreover, the internal consistency of FPI-6 was assessed by Spearman’s correlation coefficient.Results: FPI-6 total score showed a substantial inter-rater (Kw = .66) and test-retest reliability (Kw = .72). The six items of FPI-6 demonstrated inter-rater and test-retest reliability varying from fair to substantial (Kw = .33 to .76 and Kw = .40 to .78, respectively). Bland-Altman plots and respective 95% LOA indicated that there appeared no systematic bias and the acceptable agreement of FPI-6 total score for inter-rater and test-retest was excellent. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between each item and the total score of FPI-6, which indicated that FPI-6 had good internal consistency.Conclusion: In conclusion, the reliability of FPI-6 total score and the six items of FPI-6 were fair to substantial. The results can provide a reliable way for clinicians and researchers to implement the assessment of foot posture in patients with KOA

Preoperative Strength Training for Clinical Outcomes Before and After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BackgroundThere is an increasing interest in preoperative strength training for promoting post-operative rehabilitation, but the effectiveness of preoperative strength training for clinical outcomes after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) remains controversial.ObjectiveThis study aims to systematically evaluate the effect of preoperative strength training on clinical outcomes before and after TKA.MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases from the inception to November 17, 2021. The meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the effects of preoperative strength training on clinical outcomes before and after TKA.ResultsSeven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included (n = 306). Immediately before TKA, the pooled results showed significant improvements in pain, knee function, functional ability, stiffness, and physical function in the strength training group compared with the control group, but not in strength (quadriceps), ROM, and WOMAC (total). Compared with the control group, the results indicated strength training had a statistically significant improvement in post-operative knee function, ROM, and functional ability at less than 1 month and 3 months, and had a statistically significant improvement in post-operative strength (quadriceps), stiffness, and WOMAC (total) at 3 months, and had a statistically significant improvement in post-operative pain at 6 months. However, the results indicated strength training had no statistically significant improvement in post-operative strength (quadriceps) at less than 1 month, 6, and 12 months, had no statistically significant improvement in post-operative pain at less than 1 month, 3, and 12 months, had no statistically significant improvement in post-operative knee function at 6 and 12 months, and had no statistically significant improvement in post-operative physical function at 3 months.ConclusionsPreoperative strength training may be beneficial to early rehabilitation after TKA, but the long-term efficacy needs to be further determined. At the same time, more caution should be exercised when interpreting the clinical efficacy of preoperative strength training for TKA