Nonlinear Analysis of Auscultation Signals in TCM Using the Combination of Wavelet Packet Transform and Sample Entropy

Auscultation signals are nonstationary in nature. Wavelet packet transform (WPT) has currently become a very useful tool in analyzing nonstationary signals. Sample entropy (SampEn) has recently been proposed to act as a measurement for quantifying regularity and complexity of time series data. WPT and SampEn were combined in this paper to analyze auscultation signals in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). SampEns for WPT coefficients were computed to quantify the signals from qi- and yin-deficient, as well as healthy, subjects. The complexity of the signal can be evaluated with this scheme in different time-frequency resolutions. First, the voice signals were decomposed into approximated and detailed WPT coefficients. Then, SampEn values for approximated and detailed coefficients were calculated. Finally, SampEn values with significant differences in the three kinds of samples were chosen as the feature parameters for the support vector machine to identify the three types of auscultation signals. The recognition accuracy rates were higher than 90%

Vitamin C Prevents Hypogonadal Bone Loss

Epidemiologic studies correlate low vitamin C intake with bone loss. The genetic deletion of enzymes involved in de novo vitamin C synthesis in mice, likewise, causes severe osteoporosis. However, very few studies have evaluated a protective role of this dietary supplement on the skeleton. Here, we show that the ingestion of vitamin C prevents the low-turnover bone loss following ovariectomy in mice. We show that this prevention in areal bone mineral density and micro-CT parameters results from the stimulation of bone formation, demonstrable in vivo by histomorphometry, bone marker measurements, and quantitative PCR. Notably, the reductions in the bone formation rate, plasma osteocalcin levels, and ex vivo osteoblast gene expression 8 weeks post-ovariectomy are all returned to levels of sham-operated controls. The study establishes vitamin C as a skeletal anabolic agent. © 2012 Zhu et al

Enhancing lower limb and core muscle activation with blood flow restriction training: a randomized crossover study on high-intensity squat exercises

ObjectiveThe primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of high-intensity deep squat training integrated with various blood flow restriction (BFR) modalities on the activation of lower limb and core muscles.MethodsA randomized, self-controlled crossover experimental design was employed with 12 participants. The exercise protocol consisted of squat training at 75% of one-repetition maximum (1RM), performed in 3 sets of 8 repetitions with a 2-min inter-set rest period. This was conducted under four distinct BFR conditions: continuous low BFR (T1), intermittent medium BFR (T2), intermittent high BFR (T3), and a non-restricted control (C). Surface electromyography (EMG) was utilized to collect EMG signals from the target muscles during the BFR and squat training sessions. The root mean square (RMS) amplitude standard values were calculated for each squat set to quantify muscle activation levels, with these values expressed as a percentage of the maximum voluntary contraction (%MVC). Rating of Perceived Exertion was evaluated after each squat set, and leg circumference measurements were taken.Results1) During the first two sets of deep squats, the %MVC of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis in all compression groups was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, in the first set, the %MVC of the vastus lateralis in Group T3 was significantly higher than in Group T2 (p < 0.05). In the third set, the %MVC of the vastus medialis in Groups T1 and T3 was significantly lower than in the first two sets (p < 0.05). 2) Group T1 showed an increased activation of the biceps femoris and semitendinosus muscles in the second and third sets, with %MVC values significantly greater than in the first set (p < 0.05). Group T2 only showed an increase in biceps femoris activation in the third set (p < 0.05). Group T3 significantly increased the activation of the biceps femoris and semitendinosus muscles only in the first set (p < 0.05). 3) No significant differences were observed in the changes of rectus abdominis %MVC among the groups (p > 0.05). In the first set, Group T3’s erector spinae %MVC was significantly higher than the control group’s; in the second set, it was significantly higher than both Group T2 and the control group’s (p < 0.05). 4) After training, a significant increase in thigh circumference was observed in all groups compared to before training (p < 0.05). 5) For RPE values, Group T2’s post-squat values were significantly higher than the control group’s after all three sets (p < 0.05). Group T1’s RPE values were also significantly higher than the control group’s after the third set (p < 0.05). Groups T1, T2, and C all had significantly higher RPE values in the second and third sets compared to the first set (p < 0.05).ConclusionAll BFR modalities significantly enhanced the activation level of the anterior thigh muscles, with the continuous low BFR mode demonstrating a more stable effect. No significant differences were found in the activation level of the rectus abdominis among the groups. However, the intermittent high BFR mode was the most effective in increasing the activation level of the erector spinae muscles. While BFR did not further augment leg circumference changes, it did elevate subjective fatigue levels. The RPE was lowest during squatting under the intermittent high BFR condition

Outstanding hydrogen evolution reaction catalyzed by porous nickel diselenide electrocatalysts

To relieve our strong reliance on fossil fuels and to reduce greenhouse effects, there is an ever-growing interest in using electrocatalytic water splitting to produce green, renewable, and environment-benign hydrogen fuel via the hydrogen evolution reaction. For commercially feasible water electrolysis, it is imperative to develop electrocatalysts that perform as efficiently as Pt but using only earth-abundant commercial materials. However, the highest performance current catalysts consist of nanostructures made by using complex methods. Here we report a porous nickel diselenide (NiSe_2) catalyst that is superior for water electrolysis, exhibiting much better catalytic performance than most first-row transition metal dichalcogenide-based catalysts, well-studied MoS_2, and WS_2-based catalysts. Indeed NiSe2 performs comparably to the state-of-the-art Pt catalysts. We fabricate NiSe_2 directly from commercial nickel foam by acetic acid-assisted surface roughness engineering. To understand the origin of the high performance, we use first-principles calculations to identify the active sites. This work demonstrates the commercial possibility of hydrogen production via water electrolysis using porous bulk NiSe_2 catalysts

Efficient hydrogen evolution by ternary molybdenum sulfoselenide particles on self-standing porous nickel diselenide foam

With the massive consumption of fossil fuels and its detrimental impact on the environment, methods of generating clean power are urgent. Hydrogen is an ideal carrier for renewable energy; however, hydrogen generation is inefficient because of the lack of robust catalysts that are substantially cheaper than platinum. Therefore, robust and durable earth-abundant and cost-effective catalysts are desirable for hydrogen generation from water splitting via hydrogen evolution reaction. Here we report an active and durable earth-abundant transition metal dichalcogenide-based hybrid catalyst that exhibits high hydrogen evolution activity approaching the state-of-the-art platinum catalysts, and superior to those of most transition metal dichalcogenides (molybdenum sulfide, cobalt diselenide and so on). Our material is fabricated by growing ternary molybdenum sulfoselenide particles on self-standing porous nickel diselenide foam. This advance provides a different pathway to design cheap, efficient and sizable hydrogen-evolving electrode by simultaneously tuning the number of catalytic edge sites, porosity, heteroatom doping and electrical conductivity

SynDB: a Synapse protein DataBase based on synapse ontology

A synapse is the junction across which a nerve impulse passes from an axon terminal to a neuron, muscle cell or gland cell. The functions and building molecules of the synapse are essential to almost all neurobiological processes. To describe synaptic structures and functions, we have developed Synapse Ontology (SynO), a hierarchical representation that includes 177 terms with hundreds of synonyms and branches up to eight levels deep. associated 125 additional protein keywords and 109 InterPro domains with these SynO terms. Using a combination of automated keyword searches, domain searches and manual curation, we collected 14 000 non-redundant synapse-related proteins, including 3000 in human. We extensively annotated the proteins with information about sequence, structure, function, expression, pathways, interactions and disease associations and with hyperlinks to external databases. The data are stored and presented in the Synapse protein DataBase (SynDB, ). SynDB can be interactively browsed by SynO, Gene Ontology (GO), domain families, species, chromosomal locations or Tribe-MCL clusters. It can also be searched by text (including Boolean operators) or by sequence similarity. SynDB is the most comprehensive database to date for synaptic proteins