Modelling arterial pressure waveforms using Gaussian functions and two-stage particle swarm optimizer

Changes of arterial pressure waveform characteristics have been accepted as risk indicators of cardiovascular diseases. Waveform modelling using Gaussian functions has been used to decompose arterial pressure pulses into different numbers of subwaves and hence quantify waveform characteristics. However, the fitting accuracy and computation efficiency of current modelling approaches need to be improved. This study aimed to develop a novel two-stage particle swarm optimizer (TSPSO) to determine optimal parameters of Gaussian functions. The evaluation was performed on carotid and radial artery pressure waveforms (CAPW and RAPW) which were simultaneously recorded from twenty normal volunteers. The fitting accuracy and calculation efficiency of our TSPSO were compared with three published optimization methods: the Nelder-Mead, the modified PSO (MPSO), and the dynamic multiswarm particle swarm optimizer (DMS-PSO). The results showed that TSPSO achieved the best fitting accuracy with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.1% for CAPW and 1.0% for RAPW, in comparison with 4.2% and 4.1% for Nelder-Mead, 2.0% and 1.9% for MPSO, and 1.2% and 1.1% for DMS-PSO. In addition, to achieve target MAE of 2.0%, the computation time of TSPSO was only 1.5 s, which was only 20% and 30% of that for MPSO and DMS-PSO, respectively

Gabexate in the prophylaxis of post-ERCP pancreatitis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis is a common complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and the benefit of its pharmacological treatment is unclear. Although prophylactic use of gabexate for the reduction of pancreatic injury after ERCP has been evaluated, the discrepancy about gabexate's beneficial effect on pancreatic injury still exists. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of gabexate in the prophylaxis of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP). METHODS: We employed the method recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration to perform a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of gabexate in the prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) including three RCTs conducted in Italy and one in China. RESULTS: All of the four RCTs were of high quality. When the RCTs were analyzed, odds ratios (OR) for gabexate mesilate were 0.67 [95% CI (0.31~1.47), p = 0.32] for PEP, 3.78 [95% CI (0.62~22.98), p = 0.15] for severe PEP, 0.68 [95% CI (0.19~2.43), p = 0.56] for the case-fatality of PEP, 0.88 [95% CI (0.72~1.07), p = 0.20] for post-ERCP hyperamylasemia, 0.69 [95% CI (0.39~1.21), p = 0.19] for post-ERCP abdominal pain, thus indicating no beneficial effects of gabexate on acute pancreatitis, the death rate of PEP, hyperamylasemia and abdominal pain. No evidence of publication bias was found. CONCLUSION: Gabexate mesilate can not prevent the pancreatic injury after ERCP. It is not recommended for the use of gabexate mesilate in the prophylaxis of PEP

NLRP3 Is Involved in the Maintenance of Cerebral Pericytes

Pericytes play a central role in regulating the structure and function of capillaries in the brain. However, molecular mechanisms that drive pericyte proliferation and differentiation are unclear. In our study, we immunostained NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3)-deficient and wild-type littermate mice and observed that NLRP3 deficiency reduced platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ)-positive pericytes and collagen type IV immunoreactive vasculature in the brain. In Western blot analysis, PDGFRβ and CD13 proteins in isolated cerebral microvessels from the NLRP3-deficient mouse brain were decreased. We further treated cultured pericytes with NLRP3 inhibitor, MCC950, and demonstrated that NLRP3 inhibition attenuated cell proliferation but did not induce apoptosis. NLRP3 inhibition also decreased protein levels of PDGFRβ and CD13 in cultured pericytes. On the contrary, treatments with IL-1β, the major product of NLRP3-contained inflammasome, increased protein levels of PDGFRβ, and CD13 in cultured cells. The alteration of PDGFRβ and CD13 protein levels were correlated with the phosphorylation of AKT. Inhibition of AKT reduced both protein markers and abolished the effect of IL-1β activation in cultured pericytes. Thus, NLRP3 activation might be essential to maintain pericytes in the healthy brain through phosphorylating AKT. The potential adverse effects on the cerebral vascular pericytes should be considered in clinical therapies with NLRP3 inhibitors

Investigation of brain iron levels in Chinese patients with Alzheimer’s disease

IntroductionWe aimed (i) to explore the diagnostic value of deep gray matter magnetic susceptibility in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in China and (ii) to analyze its correlation with neuropsychiatric scales. Moreover, we conducted subgroup analysis based on the presence of the APOE-ε4 gene to improve the diagnosis of AD.MethodsFrom the prospective studies of the China Aging and Neurodegenerative Initiative (CANDI), a total of 93 subjects who could undergo complete quantitative magnetic susceptibility imaging and APOE-ε4 gene detection were selected. Differences in quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) values between and within groups, including AD patients, individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy controls (HCs), both APOE-ε4 carriers and non-carriers, were analyzed.ResultsIn primary analysis, the magnetic susceptibility values of the bilateral caudate nucleus and right putamen in the AD group and of the right caudate nucleus in the MCI group were significantly higher than those in the HCs group (P < 0.05). In APOE-ε4 non-carriers, there were significant differences in more regions between the AD, MCI, and HCs groups, such as the left putamen and the right globus pallidus (P < 0.05). In subgroup analysis, the correlation between QSM values in some brain regions and neuropsychiatric scales was even stronger.DiscussionExploration of the correlation between deep gray matter iron levels and AD may provide insight into the pathogenesis of AD and facilitate early diagnosis in elderly Chinese. Further subgroup analysis based on the presence of the APOE-ε4 gene may further improve the diagnostic efficiency and sensitivity

Performance Evaluation of an Ironmaking System with Environmental Costs

This paper proposes an exergoeconomic analysis method that considers environmental costs to make up for the lack of description of environmental costs in the traditional matrix model exergoeconomic analysis method. This method tracks the formation process of the product cost through life cycle and makes a useful exploration for revealing the true cost of the system product. According to actual needs, the principles for the construction of environmental emissions of products are proposed, and a detailed exergoeconomic analysis model is established by taking the iron smelting system as an example. Through calculation and analysis, the formation process and change rule of unit exergoeconomic cost of products in the system are revealed. Especially, considering the exergoeconomic cost of carbon emissions, the results show that the three most influential substances are sinter, coke, and pellets. When carbon dioxide emissions are considered, the total cost will increase by 165.3 CNY/t iron, and unit exergoeconomic cost gradually increases with the progress of the production process

Improved Cross Entropy Algorithm for the Optimum of Charge Planning Problem

To solve the charge planning problem involving charges and the orders in each charge, a traveling salesman problem based charge planning model and the improved cross entropy algorithm are proposed. Firstly, the charge planning problem with unknown charge number is modeled as a traveling salesman problem. The objective of the model is to minimize the dissimilarity costs between each order and its charge center order, the open order costs, and the unselected order costs. Secondly, the improved cross entropy algorithm is proposed with the improved initial state transition probability matrix which is constructed according to the differences of steel grades and order widths between orders. Finally, an actual numerical example shows the effectiveness of the model and the algorithm

An Analysis on the Factors Affecting the Satisfaction Degree of the System of the Ideological and Political Curriculum in General Education in Chinese Junior Colleges of Science and Technology

This paper first briefly analyzes the status of the system of the ideological and political curriculum (SIPC) in Chinese junior colleges of science and technology, then analyzes the factors affecting the satisfaction degree of SIPC in general education in Chinese junior colleges of science and technology based on 5 dimensions consisting of the philosophy of the ideological and political curriculum (PIPC), the content of the ideological and political curriculum (CIPC), the teachers of the ideological and political curriculum (TIPC), the achievements of the ideological and political curriculum (AIPC) and the relevant investigation of the ideological and political curriculum (RIPC). Through the descriptive statistic analysis, the correlation analysis and the regression analysis on the questionnaire survey, it is found that CIPC, TIPC and PIPC are the 3 factors affecting the satisfaction degree of SIPC from the least to the greatest influence degree respectively. Therefore, not only should be the importance of CIPC attached to general education in Chinese junior colleges of science and technology but also should be TIPC and PIPC focused on, what’s more, the other dimensions should be further applied to the analysis on SIPC, in order to improve the satisfaction degree of SIPC in general education of Chinese junior colleges of science and technology

Long-reads reveal that Rhododendron delavayi plastid genome contains extensive repeat sequences, and recombination exists among plastid genomes of photosynthetic Ericaceae

Background Rhododendron delavayi Franch. var. delavayi is a wild ornamental plant species in Guizhou Province, China. The lack of its plastid genome information seriously hinders the further application and conservation of the valuable resource. Methods The complete plastid genome of R. delavayi was assembled from long sequence reads. The genome was then characterized, and compared with those of other photosynthetic Ericaceae species. Results The plastid genome of R. delavayi has a typical quadripartite structure, and a length of 202,169 bp. It contains a large number of repeat sequences and shows preference for codon usage. The comparative analysis revealed the irregular recombination of gene sets, including rearrangement and inversion, in the large single copy region. The extreme expansion of the inverted repeat region shortened the small single copy, and expanded the full length of the genome. In addition, consistent with traditional taxonomy, R. delavayi with nine other species of the same family were clustered into Ericaceae based on the homologous protein-coding sequences of the plastid genomes. Thus, the long-read assembly of the plastid genome of R. delavayi would provide basic information for the further study of the evolution, genetic diversity, and conservation of R. delavayi and its relatives

An Analysis on the Factors Affecting the Satisfaction Degree of the System of the Ideological and Political Curriculum in General Education in Chinese Junior Colleges of Science and Technology

This paper first briefly analyzes the status of the system of the ideological and political curriculum (SIPC) in Chinese junior colleges of science and technology, then analyzes the factors affecting the satisfaction degree of SIPC in general education in Chinese junior colleges of science and technology based on 5 dimensions consisting of the philosophy of the ideological and political curriculum (PIPC), the content of the ideological and political curriculum (CIPC), the teachers of the ideological and political curriculum (TIPC), the achievements of the ideological and political curriculum (AIPC) and the relevant investigation of the ideological and political curriculum (RIPC). Through the descriptive statistic analysis, the correlation analysis and the regression analysis on the questionnaire survey, it is found that CIPC, TIPC and PIPC are the 3 factors affecting the satisfaction degree of SIPC from the least to the greatest influence degree respectively. Therefore, not only should be the importance of CIPC attached to general education in Chinese junior colleges of science and technology but also should be TIPC and PIPC focused on, what’s more, the other dimensions should be further applied to the analysis on SIPC, in order to improve the satisfaction degree of SIPC in general education of Chinese junior colleges of science and technology