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The achievement of consistent molding quality, which is critical in injection molding, is heavily reliant on the reasonable control of processing materials, molds, machines, process parameters, and environmental conditions. Notably, new molds usually require a trial molding process before being delivered to relevant machines for online production. However, performance differences between machines make it challenging to maintain consistent molding quality, and suitable adjustments must be made to machine parameters to compensate for these differences. Therefore, cross-machine product quality prediction is critical for accurately forecasting product quality across different machines in a manufacturing process and thus for ensuring consistent quality, few defects, and optimized production. To avoid the considerable time and high cost required for quality inspection and to improve production efficiency, this study developed a multilayer perceptron (MLP) model combined with quality indices to predict molding quality. This paper describes how the developed model predicts product quality for the same mold in different machines. The procedure of the proposed MLP model involves four steps. First, data are prepared, features are extracted (extraction of quality indices), and the model is trained on an actual injection molding machine (machine A). Second, the developed MLP model establishes the relationships between the process parameters, quality indices, and product quality for machine A. Third, Moldex3D Studio, which is a software program for simulating injection molding, is employed to generate production data for a virtual injection molding machine (machine B). Finally, a transfer model is used to fit the quality indices of machines A and B so that the MLP model can directly predict the product quality (in terms of weight and geometric dimensions) for machine B on the basis of the quality indices generated using the process parameters of machine B. Experimental results indicate that the developed MLP model can accurately predict the weight and dimensions of products manufactured using different injection molding machines. In particular, the average error in predicting the product quality for machine B was found to be smaller than 0.5%, which indicates the feasibility of the developed model for cross-machine product quality prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: To develop a Chinese version of a chronic wound health‐related quality of life (QoL) instrument and to examine the psychometric properties of this instrument. Background: Existing QoL instruments are not tailored to the linguistic and cultural characteristics of Chinese‐speaking patients; a version addressing this gap will increase clinical understanding of their healthcare experience and may help guide chronic wound care. Design: A methodological study. Methods: The method advanced by DeVellis (2017) was used to develop the instrument. An initial pool of 38 items was created. To optimize scale length and test reliability and validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. A total of 23 items formed the final pool. After two rounds of expert discussions, the average content validity index of the final 23 items was.89. Results: A total of 226 patients completed the instrument and were divided into two groups for further analysis. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that 15 items remained in four factors (social activity restrictions, physical and psychological disturbance, wound burden and daily life limitation), which accounted for 64.87% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed an acceptable fit of the hypothesized factor structure and the convergent and discriminant validities were achieved. Cronbach's α coefficients for each factor were.807,.773,.799 and.713, respectively. Conclusion: The Chinese version of a chronic wound health‐related QoL instrument consists of 15 items in four subscales and demonstrates good reliability and validity. Relevance to Clinical Practice: This instrument can be used intermittently or continuously to evaluate the treatment effect of chronic wounds by assessing health‐related QoL. Scholars in Chinese‐speaking regions may find this culturally compatible instrument useful when conducting studies related to chronic wounds. Patient or Public Contribution: Two hundred twenty‐six participants provided their perspectives on health‐related QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge of maintaining consistent quality in injection molding is critical, yet conducting a comprehensive inspection is both costly and time consuming. Leveraging artificial intelligence, this study proposed using machine learning—specifically multilayer perception (MLP) models—to predict the quality of injection-molded parts. The accuracy of this approach largely relies on hyperparameter tuning, a process that can be cumbersome and suboptimal if performed through trial and error. The Taguchi method has the advantages of robustness, efficiency, and simplicity, and is a widely used robust optimization tool. However, this method assumes a linear relationship between factors, which limits the processing of complex systems where interactions between factors are nonlinear. Furthermore, the Taguchi method is sensitive to initial assumptions about factors and their levels, and the results may not reflect the true behavior of the system. To address this, a two-stage design-of-experiments method was devised that systematically identifies the optimal hyperparameter settings, including the maximum number of epochs, learning rate, momentum, activation function, minimum batch size, and numbers of hidden layers and nodes. The method is executed in two stages: (1) an L12 (21 × 35) orthogonal array is used to identify the primary factors affecting model accuracy and (2) an L8 (23) full-factorial experiment is conducted discover the combinations that yield the highest performance. Two experimental case studies, integrated circuit (IC) tray width prediction and optical component weight prediction, were used to validate the proposed method. The results revealed that the best hyperparameter settings resulted in validation and test accuracy of 96.83% and 95.30%, respectively, for IC tray width prediction. The average root-mean-square errors are 0.019 and 0.022 in model validation and test, respectively, for optical component weight prediction, with short computational time. The proposed method demonstrates how the systematic optimization of hyperparameters for MLP model can enhance the efficiency and stability of model training and can be used to advance quality control in the field of injection molding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the issue of lots resubmission in inspection processes, which often arises when the initial inspection of a lot is suspected, marked as held, or not accepted. To address this problem, a novel variables sampling plan based on the coefficient of variation is proposed. The objective is to determine the sampling plan parameters that minimize the average sample number while satisfying the two-points of operating characteristic curve. Practical considerations are taken into account by providing tabulated values for the inspection sample size and acceptance criteria of the proposed plan. These tables incorporate various combinations of quality levels, considering commonly used producer's risk and consumer's risk. Furthermore, a comparative analysis between the proposed plan and a single sampling plan is conducted to highlight the advantages of the new approach. To illustrate the practical implementation of the proposed plan, an example is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of π‐extended conjugation 'V'‐shaped red shifted bioluminescent D‐luciferin analogues based on a novel benzobisthiazole core is described. The divergent synthetic route allowed access to a range of amine donor substituents through an SNAr reaction. In spectroscopic studies, the 'V'‐shaped luciferins exhibited narrower optical band gaps, more red‐shifted absorption and emission spectra than D‐luciferin. Their bioluminescence characteristics were recorded against four different luciferases (PpyLuc, FlucRed, CBR2 and PLR3). With native luciferase PpyLuc, the 'V'‐shaped luciferins demonstrated more red‐shifted emissions than D‐luciferin (λbl=561 nm) by 60 to 80 nm. In addition, the benzobisthiazole luciferins showed a wide range of bioluminescence spectra from the visible light region (λbl=500 nm) to the nIR window (>650 nm). The computational results validate the design concept which can be used as a guide for further novel D‐luciferin analogues based upon other 'V'‐shaped heterocyclic cores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This quasi‐experimental study aimed to explore effects of walking exercise on disease activity, sleep quality, and quality of life among individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus. Methods: After recruiting people with systemic lupus erythematosus from a hospital in Taiwan between October 2020 and June 2021, participants were free to opt to receive one walking exercise programme plus standard care for 3 months or to membership of a control group receiving routine care. Primary outcomes included Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Score, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Scale, and a quality‐of‐life scale for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, namely, LupusQoL. These scales were administered first, at baseline and later, within 1 week following completion of the intervention. Between‐group effects were compared using generalized estimating equations with adjustment for baseline variables. Results: The experimental and control groups each included 40 participants. Multivariate analysis indicated that adding the walking exercise programme into routine care elevated sleep quality and LupusQoL (the latter in the subscales of physical health, planning, and intimate relationships), except for disease activity. Conclusion: Findings of this study supported the addition of walking exercise as part of routine care for people with systemic lupus erythematosus and may be a reference in the provision of adequate care for these patients. Summary statements: What is already known about this topic? Systemic lupus erythematosus is a lifelong autoimmune disease that affects any organs throughout the body, thus insidiously causing negative impacts on the affected patients.Today, use of exercise programmes such as walking exercise has been studied as a remedy for many medical conditions, but its effectiveness in minimizing the symptoms of distress among people with systemic lupus erythematosus is unknown. What this study adds? Participants with systemic lupus erythematosus who opt to receive the walking exercise programme for 3 months in addition to routine care experience improved sleep quality and quality of life compared with those receiving routine care alone. The implications of this paper: In accordance with the belief that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," early implementation of an exercise programme should be considered in addition to routine care for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.Evidence from this research could provide empirically informed and robust data for healthcare policymakers and in turn might help to reduce the incidence of morbidity among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endophytic fungi have proven to be a rich source of novel natural products with a wide-array of biological activities and higher levels of structural diversity. Results: Chemical investigation on the liquid- and solid-state fermented products of Chaetomium globosum Km1226 isolated from the littoral medicinal herb Atriplex maximowicziana Makino resulted in the isolation of compounds 1–14. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis as three previously undescribed C13-polyketides, namely aureonitol C (1), mollipilins G (2), and H (3), along with eleven known compounds 4–14. Among these, mollipilin A (5) exhibited significant nitric oxide production inhibitory activity in LPS-induced BV-2 microglial cells with an IC50 value of 0.7 ± 0.1 µM, and chaetoglobosin D (10) displayed potent anti-angiogenesis property in human endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) with an IC50 value of 0.8 ± 0.3 µM. Conclusions: Three previously unreported compounds 1–3 were isolated and identified. Mollipilin A (5) and chaetoglobosin D (10) could possibly be developed as anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic lead drugs, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar transporters (Sts) play important roles in controlling carbohydrate transport and are responsible for mediating the movement of sugars into cells. Few studies have been conducted on expressions of Sts during insect embryonic development. In the present study, we investigated temporal expressions of St genes during the embryonic diapause process in Bombyx mori. We found that in HCl‐treated developing eggs, high gene expressions of trehalose transporter 1 (Tret1) were detected during middle and later embryonic development. St4 and St3 gene expressions gradually increased during the early stages, reached a small peak on Day 3, and large peaks were again detected on Day 7. However, in diapause eggs, expression levels of the Tret1, St4, and St3 genes all remained at low levels. Differential temporal changes in expressions of the Tret1, St4, and St3 genes found between diapause and HCl‐treated eggs were further confirmed using nondiapause eggs. Our results showed that nondiapause eggs exhibited similar changing patterns as those of HCl‐treated eggs, thus clearly indicating potential correlations between expressions of these genes and embryonic development. In addition, high gene expressions of Tret1 were also detected when dechorionated eggs were incubated in the medium. The addition of LY294002 (a specific phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase [PI3K] inhibitor) and U0126 (a mitogen‐activated protein kinase/extracellular signal‐regulated kinase [ERK] kinase [MEK] inhibitor) partially inhibited Tret1 gene expression in dechorionated eggs, but did not affect either ecdysteroid‐phosphate phosphatase gene expression or ecdysteroid biosynthesis, clearly indicating that both PI3K and ERK are involved in increased gene expression of Tret1 that was independent of ecdysteroid levels. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive report to demonstrate the transcriptional regulation of St genes during embryonic development, thus providing useful information for a clearer understanding of insect egg diapause mechanisms. Highlights: Differential Sugar transporter (St) gene expressions were detected between diapause and developing eggs in Bombyx.High temporal expression levels in trehalose transporter 1 (Tret1), St3, and St4 genes were found in developing eggs.Increased Tret1 gene expression was also detected in dechorionated eggs.Phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase appear to be involved in dechorionated‐induced Tret1 gene expression.Temporal expressions of St genes appear to be regulated during embryonic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Diversified students in higher education and the complexity and difficulty of the evidence‐based nursing course perceived by students challenge nursing educators. Differentiated instruction can provide students with various opportunities to learn and meet the learning needs of students with different academic abilities and strengths, which may be a solution. This study aimed to apply differentiated instruction to design the undergraduate evidence‐based nursing course and evaluate the effects of differentiated instruction on students' learning outcomes and learning satisfaction. Design: One‐group pretest–posttest pre‐experimental design was applied. Methods: Ninety‐eight undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the evidence‐based nursing course 2020 participated in this study. Students' learning outcomes including preferred learning styles, classroom engagement, collaborative learning, attitudes towards evidence‐based nursing, learning satisfaction and evidence‐based nursing knowledge were measured using validated questionnaires. Results: The differentiated instruction increased students' learning interests, promoted focused and independent thinking, and enhanced academic achievement. Students' classroom engagement, attitudes towards evidence‐based nursing, evidence‐based nursing knowledge and learning satisfaction were improved after the course. The course designed with differentiated instruction provided a supportive learning environment and furnished a vivid pedagogical way for the unique nursing profession. Patient or Public Contribution: Positive results of the study support the application of differentiated instruction in the evidence‐based nursing course. The study indicates that the application of differentiated instruction in mixed‐ability classrooms in the evidence‐based nursing course improved students' learning outcomes, attitudes towards evidence‐based nursing, evidence‐based nursing knowledge and learning satisfaction. In clinical settings where nurses are even more diverse in academic education, clinical experiences and learning preferences, differentiated instruction can be a suitable application for in‐service training and education to promote nurses' enthusiasm for professional learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Contrast‐enhanced computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) are the primary modalities to assess donors' vessels before transplant surgery. Radiation and contrast medium are potentially harmful to donors. Purpose: To compare the image quality and visualization scores of hepatic arteries on CTA and balanced steady‐state free‐precession (bSSFP) non‐contrast‐enhanced MRA (NC‐MRA), and to evaluate if bSSFP NC‐MRA can potentially be a substitute for CTA. Study Type: Prospective. Population: Fifty‐six consecutive potential living‐related liver donors (30.9 ± 8.4 years; 31 men). Field Strength/Sequence: 1.5T; four bSSFP NC‐MRA sequences: respiratory‐triggered (Inhance inflow inversion recovery [IFIR]) and three breath‐hold (BH); and CTA. Assessment: The artery‐to‐liver contrast (Ca‐l) was quantified. Three radiologists independently assigned visualization scores using a four‐point scale to potential origins, segments, and branches of the hepatic arteries, determined the anatomical variants based on Hiatt's classification, and assessed the image quality of NC‐MRA sequences. Statistical Tests: Fleiss' kappa to evaluate the readers' agreement. Repeat measured ANOVA or Friedman test to compare Ca‐l of each NC‐MRA. Friedman test to compare overall image quality and visualization scores; post hoc analysis using Wilcoxon signed‐rank test. P‐value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Inhance IFIR Ca‐l was significantly higher than all BH bSSFP Ca‐l (0.56 [0.45–0.64] vs. 0.37 [0.29–0.47] to 0.41 [0.23–0.51]). Overall image quality score of BH bSSFP TI1200 was significantly higher than other NC‐MRA (4 [4–4] vs. 4 [3 to 4–4]). The median visualization scores of almost all arteries on CTA were significantly higher than on NC‐MRA (4 [3 to 4–4] vs. 1 [1–2] to 4 [4–4]). The median visualization scores were all 4 [4–4 ] on Inhance IFIR with >92.3% observed scores ≥3, except the segment 4 branch (3 [1–4], 53.6%). The identification rates of arterial variants were 92.9%–97% on Inhance IFIR. Data Conclusions: Although CTA is superior to the NC‐MRA, all NC‐MRA depict the donor arterial anatomy well. Inhance IFIR can potentially be an alternative image modality for CTA to evaluate the arterial variants of living donors. Level of Evidence: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining a healthy caloric intake and expenditure balance is challenging. The preliminary study examined (a) the associations of Body Mass Index (BMI), body image, perceived stress, mental health, dietary habits, and exercise participation among 310 female college nursing students and (b) the differences in these factors among BMI subgroups. The cutoffs for underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity were <18.5 kg/m2, ≥18.5 but <23 kg/m2, ≥23 but <25 kg/m2, and ≥25 kg/m2, respectively. The survey used Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire—Appearance Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ). Because of a non-normal distribution, non-parametric statistics were used. The study found that BMI correlated with body image. The lower the BMI, the higher the satisfactory score the participants rated. BMI was irrelated to diet, exercise, stress, and mental health. The participants were unlikely to eat under stress and negative moods. The underweight group (17.1%) had the highest satisfactory score on their appearance evaluation. There was no difference between the overweight (14.2%) and obese (11.0%) groups. Meanwhile, the median of perceived stress was 18 and the prevalence of mental disturbance was 45.2% based on the CHQ. Underweight, overweight, obesity, high perceived stress, and poor mental health among nursing students warrant attention. Nurse educators should strengthen their coping strategies and provide support. A longitudinal study may consider incorporating coping strategies into the study design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The study aimed to explore farmers' self‐care behaviours including oral hygiene, remaining natural teeth, cardiometabolic risks, hepatitis, risk of stroke and their determinant factors. Methods: This cross‐sectional study was conducted between June 2020 and March 2021 in the south‐western remote areas of Taiwan. We recruited current farmers who participated in an annual community health screening conducted by a collaborated local hospital. Data were collected through face‐to‐face interviews using a semi‐structured questionnaire. Blood samples were drawn and stored in the central laboratory of the cooperating hospital. The study outcomes included cardiometabolic risks, the remaining natural teeth, and farmers' self‐care behaviours including oral hygiene, adopting a healthy diet and substance use. Results: Overall, 183 current farmers (55.2% women, aged 66.9 ± 11.7 years) were enrolled. Abnormal blood pressure, high risk of stroke, metabolic syndrome and hepatitis C virus infection were found among the participants. The average remaining teeth were 12.1, 73.2% of participants had <20 teeth; 90.2% and 71% did not undergo regular dental check‐ups and scaling or use dental floss, respectively. The determinant factors associated with the remaining teeth included a high risk of stroke, teeth scaling and dental floss use. Although only 3.8% felt mentally distressed, many farmers were unaware of having potential cardiometabolic diseases and curable viral hepatitis, and only two had received antiviral treatment. Conclusion: The farmers in this study had a high prevalence of cardiometabolic risks, a high probability of stroke, inadequate number of remaining teeth and poor oral hygiene behaviours. These findings can provide evidence to develop health promotion programmes for farmers. Impact: This study demonstrates the health needs of farmers. We strongly recommend that community nurses empower farmers to engage in self‐care behaviours through tailored health promotion programmes. For instance, by discussing cardiometabolic risk prevention from the farmers' perspectives to improve their health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: No study has compared long‐term medical resource consumption between patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) with and without sarcopenia receiving curative surgery. Patients and Methods: Generalized linear mixed and logistic regression models were employed to evaluate the number of postoperative visits and medical reimbursement for head and neck cancer or complications and the number of hospitalizations for treatment‐related complications over 5 years after curative surgery, respectively. Results: The mean difference (95% CI) in total medical claims amounts between the nonsarcopenia and sarcopenia groups were new Taiwan dollars (NTD) 47 820 (35 864–59 776, p < 0.0001), 11 902 (4897–18 908, p = 0.0009), 17 282 (10 666–23 898, p < 0.0001), 17 364 (9644–25 084, p < 0.0001), and 8236 (111–16 362, p = 0.0470) for the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth years, respectively. Conclusion: The long‐term medical resource consumption was higher in the sarcopenia group than in the nonsarcopenia group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process capability indices (PCIs) are effective quality tools for evaluating process performance in the manufacturing industry. Over a period of more than 15 years, sampling plans based on PCIs have been developed for lot sentencing. Sampling plans that involve repetitive sampling or multiple dependent (deferred) state sampling achieve significant sample size reductions relative to sampling plans that involve single sampling. In this study, we combine the concepts of repetitive and multiple dependent state sampling to propose a new variable sampling plan based on one-sided PCIs. The proposed sampling plan minimizes the average sample number while satisfying the principle of two points on the operating characteristic curve. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed sampling plan, a comparison with existing homogeneous sampling plans is performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Poor diet quality and malnutrition accelerate protein and energy depletion. This can result in a diminished lean tissue index (LTI) and an inability to perform daily activities, both of which increase the risk of falls and affect the quality of life. Objective: This study investigated the correlations among LTI, physical activity (PA), clinical parameters, diet quality, and nutritional status. Methods: A cross‐sectional study design was employed. Participants in stable conditions receiving haemodialyses were enroled. LTI was measured using a body composition monitor. Three‐day dietary records and demographic and clinical parameters were collected. Results: In total, 104 patients receiving haemodialyses were recruited (53.8% men, aged 57.7 ± 11.78 years; dialysis duration, 7.3 ± 6.04 years). LTI was not associated with diet quality; LTI was positively correlated with sex and negatively correlated with age, dialysis duration, and fat tissue index (FTI); and lean tissue index was positively correlated with PA. Among patients with a normal LTI, the odds ratio for low‐FTI was 31.04 times higher than that for high‐FTI. In total, 80.8% of the participants had poor diet quality, which was mainly attributed to their excessive intake of saturated fatty acids and insufficient fruit intake. Conclusions: Although diet quality was unrelated to the LTI, the results indicated that most patients receiving haemodialyses had poor diet quality. Therefore, this topic merits further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trochoidal milling becomes a popular strategy in high-speed rough milling, thanks to its advantages in lowering cutting force (and tool wear) and increasing tool life. However, it also suffers from the disadvantages of low cutting efficiency and prolonged machining time due to its reduced cutter-workpiece engagement in the cutting area and the idle tool path in the non-cutting area. In this paper, a new trochoidal tool path generation method is proposed based on a double-NURBS curve. Unlike traditional circular trochoidal tool path that combines circular and linear paths to approximate the trochoidal path, the double-NURBS tool path can truly represent a trochoidal path with C2 continuity throughout the entire tool path. In the front cutting area, the control points of the NURBS are modified to increase the cutter-workpiece engagement angles; in the rear non-active area, the NURBS curve is modified to shorten the non-cutting distance and the machining time. Degree elevation of the NURBS circle from 2 to 3 maintains C2 continuity to ensure the machining is smooth throughout all transitions. Cutting force simulations and pocket machining experiments are carried out to validate that the proposed double-NURBS approach deliver the expected result and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal artifacts present a major challenge to computed tomography (CT) because they reduce the image quality in medical diagnosis and treatment. Several metal artifact reduction (MAR) methods have been proposed to address this issue in previous studies. This study aimed to synthesize a virtual monochromatic image for MAR in CT images using projection-based material decomposition (MD) algorithms. We developed a spectral micro-CT prototype system equipped with a photon-counting detector (PCD) and PCD-CT imaging simulator to assess the performances of different MAR methods. Two projection-based MD algorithms were implemented and evaluated for their MAR performances in CT images and compared with conventional sinogram inpainting MAR methods. Different parts of digital 4D-extended cardiac torso (XCAT) phantoms with metal implants were designed to simulate various real scenarios. A homemade metal artifact evaluation (MAE) phantom was used to evaluate the MAR performance in experiments. The simulated results of the XCAT phantom indicated that the projection-based virtual monochromatic CT (VMCT) images provided better image quality than the conventional MAR images without blurring the normal tissues at the position of the metal artifacts. Various quantitative indicators support this conclusion. Additionally, the experimental results of the MAE phantom reveal that projection-based VMCT images can avoid image distortion caused by metal artifacts, unlike conventional MAR methods. In regards to the projection-based VMCT images, the simulated and experimental results demonstrated that using the linear maximum likelihood estimators with an error correction look-up table algorithm yielded better MAR performance compared to that obtained using a polynomial algorithm. Furthermore, projection-based VMCT images can not only reduce metal artifacts effectively but also simultaneously prevents object blurring at the metal artifact position and image distortion of the metal implants. Hence, the CT image quality can be further improved to increase the abilities for both preoperative and postoperative assessment of metal implants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertebrates rely on two special groups of photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) in the retina to receive visual information. Five opsin families in the outer segment of cone cells endow fishes with color vision. Fishes encounter diverse light environments in water (various light wavelengths and intensities), so they have evolved differing numbers and amino acid compositions of cone opsin genes and, in some, phenotypic plasticity in their expression profiles to quickly adjust to new light environments. However, clear evidence for a correlation between phenotypic plasticity in cone opsin expression and adaptation is lacking. The Western mosquitofish is a highly invasive species that colonizes diverse habitats. Here, by quantifying cone opsin expression levels of individuals experiencing distinct light conditions at different developmental stages, I show that the cone opsin expression profile of juvenile and adult Western mosquitofish can quickly react to altered photic properties. Moreover, a predation experiment also demonstrates that Western mosquitofish can maintain foraging efficiency under distinct light environments. Thus, phenotypic plasticity in cone opsin expression profiles may represent a crucial trait by which Western mosquitofish successfully colonize such a wide range of aquatic habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, several articles have studied heat as a groundwater tracer and developed analytical geothermal solutions to predict the subsurface temperature and groundwater fluxes. These solutions can be sorted into steady‐state and transient solutions. The steady‐state solutions cannot describe the time‐varying subsurface temperature, while the transient solutions ignore subsurface thermal boundary effects. Moreover, soil type may be another crucial factor significantly affecting the prediction results. This study compares six existing classical analytical solutions to examine the effects of soil types and subsurface thermal boundaries on simulating temperature‐depth profiles and estimating groundwater fluxes. Several synthetic cases are built by considering the common soil types, sand and clay, to demonstrate their effects on predicting the profiles. A field case is used to show the effect of subsurface thermal boundaries on the groundwater flux estimated by an inverse approach. The study results indicate that the soil types have significant influences on simulating the profiles, and the influences grow with time. Some existing solutions may give inaccurate estimations of the field groundwater flux since they merely consider the heat source from the temperature variations on the ground surface but ignore possible thermal boundary effects in the subsurface. These findings will be valuable to those applying heat as a tracer to investigate infiltration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is occasionally detected in patients receiving anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment. This prospective cohort study is the first to investigate the incidence, risk factors, and renal outcomes of AKI during anti-TB treatment. Methods: This study was conducted from January 1, 2016, to May 31, 2018. Patients with a new diagnosis of TB and on standard anti-TB treatment were enrolled, and the patients received regular laboratory monitoring. AKI was defined according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) criteria. Urinalysis, renal ultrasonography, blood erythrocyte morphology, and fractional excretion of sodium were performed at AKI onset. The TB treatment regimen was adjusted by the primary physician if necessary. Risk factors for AKI were identified through Cox regression. Results: In total, 106 patients were recruited (mean age 52.6 years, 71.7% men). Eleven (10.3%) patients experienced AKI. Increased serum uric acid and hemoglobin levels were noted at AKI onset. All patients with AKI achieved renal recovery and completed anti-TB treatment containing rifampin. Age [hazard ratio (HR) 1.06 (1.02–1.11)], a higher baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR; HR 1.04 (1.02–1.06)], and a blood eosinophil count > 350 (109/L) [HR 10.99 (2.28–53.02)] were associated with a higher risk of AKI during TB treatment. Conclusion: Regular pharmacovigilant monitoring revealed an incidence of renal impairment during anti-TB treatment that was higher than expected. AKI was more common in older patients with a higher eGFR and blood eosinophil count. However, the complications had no influence on TB treatment completion, and no permanent renal impairment occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous studies found that electroacupuncture at the right Zhongzhu acupoint (TE3) can enhance auditory recovery in rats with noise-induced hearing loss. Here, we investigated the changes in auditory brainstem response (ABR) and long late latency (LLR) evoked potential to explain the mechanisms of electroacupuncture at TE3. The auditory evoked potentials were recorded, including ABR and LLR, at baseline and on day 3 (D3), D5, and D8 after baseline. The 2-Hz electroacupuncture at the right TE3 was applied on D3, D4, and D5 in the electroacupuncture group but not in the control group. In ABR, compared with the control group, the latency shift of waves I (0.298 ± 0.033 vs −0.045 ± 0.057 ms), III (0.718 ± 0.038 vs −0.163 ± 0.130 ms), and V (1.160 ± 0.082 vs −0.207 ± 0.138 ms) on D3 (all p < 0.01) and of wave V (0.616 ± 0.433 vs −0.352 ± 0.209 ms, p < 0.05) on D5 was greater in the electroacupuncture group than that in the control group. Moreover, the interpeak latency shift of I–III (0.420 ± 0.041 vs −0.118 ± 0.177 ms) and I–V (0.863 ± 0.088 vs −0.162 ± 0.156 ms) on D3 (both p < 0.05) and of III–V (0.342 ± 0.193 vs −0.190 ± 0.110 ms) and I–V (0.540 ± 0.352 vs −0.343 ± 0.184 ms) on D5 (both p < 0.05) was greater in the electroacupuncture group than that in the control group. In LLR, the latency shift of P0 was greater in the electroacupuncture group than in the control group on D3 (3.956 ± 2.975 vs −1.178 ± 1.358 ms, p < 0.01) and D5 (2.200 ± 1.889 vs −0.311 ± 1.078 ms, p < 0.05). These findings indicate that electroacupuncture at the right TE3 can modulate the neuroplasticity of the central auditory pathway, including the brain stem and the primary and secondary auditory cortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In metal cutting, how to measure the tool tip temperature is always an issue. The highest temperature occurs at the contact surface between the tool and the chip, which is difficult for non-contact measuring methods such as the infrared thermal imaging technique. For other measuring methods, such as thermocouples, an additional small hole is required to be drilled before the sensor is able to be placed at the designated position, which greatly increases the cost. This paper presented a cutting temperature measurement with an ink-jet printed thermistor array. The printed sensor had high thermal index β, which possessed high temperature sensitivity, while its miniature dimension contributed to a fast response time. The ink-jet printing sensors can be made in advance so the setup time is short. Also, the sensors can be easily installed at different locations on the tool or the workpiece. In order to estimate the tool tip temperature, the finite element method (FEM) was used with the measured temperatures as inputs, which was known as an inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP). In order to increase computation efficiency to meet the requirement of online monitoring, the model order reduction method (MOR) was applied. In both non-cutting and cutting experiments, the temperature history could be easily estimated. In this study, the tool tip temperature was updated in 0.72 s, while the errors were only about 10% in non-cutting tests. This made it possible for online monitoring of cutting temperatures, while complex tool geometry and boundary conditions were considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyber physical system (CPS) requires modeling and virtual simulation of machining processes. Among the many physical quantities simulated by CPS, the cutting force is one of the most important quantities to be simulated. Until now, two fundamental challenges in achieving a functional and virtual machining process simulation system remain—the identification of cutter workpiece engagement (CWE) along a tool path and the development of computationally efficient simulation algorithms. The major bottleneck is the prerequisite requirement to calculate the complex CWE area before calculating the instantaneous cutting force. In this research, we propose an innovative solution to this problem. Using graphics processing unit's (GPU) parallel computing on the direct computation of the instantaneous cutting force (without calculating CWE), the cutting force computation, together with NC simulation, can reach up to 48 fps on a local PC, reaching the goal of CPS and digital twin simulation requirements in real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose was to examine the effect of negative lymph nodes (NLN) number on survival in stage III colon cancer. To reduce the interference of acute inflammation, we included patients with stage III colon cancer who had undergone elective surgery and excluded those who had tumor perforation, obstruction, ischemia, or massive tumor bleeding.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 2244 patients with stage III colon cancer between 1995 and 2016 at a single center. The effect of NLN on 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS), 5-year overall survival (OS), and comparison of multivariate factors was assessed according to tumor locations.Results: The two optimal cutoff values of NLN for proximal and distal colon, namely 27 and 12, were determined by plotting the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve. Overall, 499 of 891 and 1020 of 1353 patients with right-side and left-side colon cancer, respectively, had high NLN. In right-side colon cancer, patients with high NLN (≥ 27) had superior OS (74.9% vs. 62.7%, P <  0.001) and RFS (75.0% vs. 61.9%, P <  0.001) than did those with low NLN. Moreover, in left-side colon cancer, patients with high NLN (≥12) experienced significantly superior OS (80.8% vs. 68.6%, P <  0.001) and RFS (77.3% vs. 66.2%, P <  0.001) than did those with low NLN. Among the different subgroups of stage III colon cancer, the high NLN group showed significantly superior RFS and OS in stage IIIB (RFS: 77.0% vs. 68.0%, P = 0.001; OS: 78.6% vs. 67.9%, P <  0.001) and IIIC (RFS: 58.2% vs. 44.1%, P = 0.001; OS: 65.7% vs. 51.1%, P <  0.001) colon cancer. However, in stage IIIA colon cancer, high NLN only showed survival benefit in OS (91.5% vs. 89.8%, P = 0.041). Multivariate analyses confirmed that high NLN, high carcinoembryonic antigen (≥ 5 ng/mL) level, and stage IIIC status are three independent prognostic factors in both the proximal and distal colon.Conclusions: NLN is a crucial prognostic factor for stage III colon cancer in various tumor locations or in the subgroups of stage III disease. In advanced stage III colon cancer, the importance of NLN and its role in anti-cancer immune response could be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The predictive maintenance of wind turbines has become a critical issue with the rapid development of wind power generation. The early detection of abnormal operation conditions can prevent failure status, which takes a long time to recover. Energy waste can also be reduced while maintenance efficiency can be improved by using a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to monitor the operation status of wind turbines. Massive data are generated from different sensors during wind turbine operation, and SCADA can be used to gather reports about hundreds of possible abnormal conditions. The popular maintenance methods have been mostly designed on the basis of statistical analysis and data mining. However, such schemes need not only big data but also sophisticated processing techniques. This study addresses the aforementioned challenges by proposing a deep learning model with comprehensive data preprocessing and hyperparameter tuning on batch size to achieve abnormal early detection. The necessary data preprocessing is initially conducted besides the conventional data cleaning and normalization steps, and time-series data windowing and label settings are also performed. Then, the imbalanced classes in the records are addressed by adopting an augmentation scheme called the synthetic minority oversampling technique. Principal component analysis is also used to enhance the training. Finally, the proposed deep learning method with fine-tuning is compared with three machine learning models for early anomaly event detection. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme can identify potential faults 72 hours before they occur, and the precision rate exceeds 90 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acupuncture has long been used to relieve some inner ear diseases such as deafness and tinnitus. The present study examined the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in animals. A NIHL rat model was established. Electroacupuncture pretreatment at 2 Hz or posttreatment at the right Zhongzhu (TE3) acupoint was applied for 1 hour. Auditory thresholds were measured using auditory brainstem responses (ABRs), and histopathology of the cochlea was examined. The results indicated that the baseline auditory threshold of ABR was not significantly different between the control (no noise), EA-only (only EA without noise), noise (noise exposure only), pre-EA (pretreating EA then noise), and post-EA (noise exposure then posttreating with EA) groups. Significant auditory threshold shifts were found in the noise, pre-EA, and post-EA groups in the immediate period after noise exposure, whereas auditory recovery was better in the pre-EA and post-EA groups than that in the noise group at the three days, one week (W1), two weeks (W2), three weeks (W3), and four weeks(W4) after noise stimulation. Histopathological examination revealed greater loss of the density of spiral ganglion neurons in the noise group than in the control group at W1 and W2. Although significant loss of spiral ganglion loss happened in pre-EA and post-EA groups, such loss was less than the loss of the noise group, especially W1. These results indicate that either pretreatment or posttreatment with EA may facilitate auditory recovery after NIHL. The detailed mechanism through which EA alleviates NIHL requires further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients on maintenance hemodialysis are at high risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Fluid overload is generally regarded as the main cause of cardiovascular death among them. Cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) by chest plain film is routinely performed to evaluate their volumetric states and cardiac conditions. We recently reported that salivary conductivity is a reliable marker for assessing fluid status in healthy adults. This cross-sectional study aims to explore the association between salivary conductivity and CTR. Cardiomegaly is defined as a CTR greater than 0.5. A total of 129 hemodialysis patients were enrolled, 42 of whom (32.6%) had cardiomegaly. Patients with cardiomegaly had significantly lower serum osmolality, lower serum sodium, and lower salivary conductivity, but a higher percentage of underlying atrial fibrillation. In the multiple linear regression analysis, CTR was negatively associated with salivary conductivity or to the serum sodium level and positively correlated with older age. We further divided patients into low, medium, and high salivary conductivity groups according to the tertials of conductivity levels. There was a significant trend for the increment of cardiomegaly from high to low salivary conductivity groups (p for trend: 0.021). The receiver operating characteristic curves for the diagnostic ability of salivary conductivity on cardiomegaly reported the area under the curve equal to 0.626 (95% CI: 0.521–0.730, p = 0.02). Moreover, older age and higher serum osmolality were independent determinants for salivary conductivity by multiple linear regression analysis. This work has presented that salivary conductivity is a novel approach to uncover fluid overload and cardiomegaly among chronic hemodialysis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regucalcin (RGN) is a calcium-binding protein mainly expressed in the liver. It functions in regulating activities of several calcium-dependent enzymes related to energy metabolism, antioxidant mechanisms, and apoptotic pathways. Previous proteomics analyses revealed downregulation of regucalcin in milkfish livers when acclimated to low temperature (18 °C) from normal temperature (28 °C). This study first identified the full-length sequence of milkfish regucalcin from the livers with high similarity in the protein structure and calcium-binding function compared to the regucalcin of other animals. The mRNA and protein expression of regucalcin in the livers of fresh water (FW)– and seawater (SW)-acclimated milkfish under hypothermal acclimation were further analyzed. In FW milkfish, upregulation of regucalcin was found in mRNA and protein levels from 2 to 4 days, respectively, to 1 week after transfer to 18 °C for the two. However, in SW milkfish, upregulation of regucalcin occurred quickly and returned to the basal levels in 1 (mRNA expression) or 2 days (protein expression) up until 1 week after transfer. These results suggested potential roles of regucalcin in maintaining calcium homeostasis and its correlation to differential physiological responses in the livers of milkfish when they were acclimated to FW and SW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensory systems allow for the transfer of environmental stimuli into internal cues that can alter physiology and behavior. Many studies of visual systems focus on opsins to compare spectral sensitivity among individuals, populations, and species living in different lighting environments. This requires an understanding of the cone opsins, which can be numerous. The bluefin killifish is a good model for studying the interaction between environments and visual systems as they are found in both clear springs and tannin-stained swamps. We conducted a genome-wide screening and demonstrated that the bluefin killifish has 9 cone opsins: 1 SWS1 (354 nm), 2 SWS2 (SWS2B : 359 nm, SWS2A : 448 nm), 2 RH2 (RH2-2 : 476 nm, RH2-1 : 537 nm), and 4 LWS (LWS-1 : 569 nm, LWS-2 : 524 nm, LWS-3 : 569 nm, LWS-R : 560 or 569 nm). These 9 cone opsins were located on 4 scaffolds. One scaffold contained the 2 SWS2 and 3 of the 4 LWS opsins in the same syntenic order as found in other cyprinodontoid fishes. We also compared opsin expression in larval and adult killifish under clear water conditions, which mimic springs. Two of the newly discovered opsins (LWS-2 and LWS-3) were expressed at low levels (<0.2%). Whether these opsins make meaningful contributions to visual perception in other contexts (i.e. swamp conditions) is unclear. In contrast, there was an ontogenetic change from using LWS-R to LWS-1 opsin. Bluefin killifish adults may be slightly more sensitive to longer wavelengths, which might be related to sexual selection and/or foraging preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to develop a rational polynomial approximation method for improving the accuracy of the effective atomic number calculation with a dual-energy X-ray imaging system. This method is based on a multi-materials calibration model with iterative optimization, which can improve the calculation accuracy of the effective atomic number by adding a rational term without increasing the computation time. The performance of the proposed rational polynomial approximation method is demonstrated and validated by both simulated and experimental studies. The twelve reference materials are used to establish the effective atomic number calibration model, and the value of the effective atomic numbers are between 5.444 and 22. For the accuracy of the effective atomic number calculation, the relative differences between calculated and experimental values are less than 8.5%for all sample cases in this study. The average calculation accuracy of the method proposed in this study can be improved by about 40%compared with the conventional polynomial approximation method. Additionally, experimental quality assurance phantom imaging result indicates that the proposed method is compliant with the international baggage inspection standards for detecting the explosives. Moreover, the experimental imaging results reveal that the difference of color between explosives and the surrounding materials is in significant contrast for the dual-energy image with the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Large-scale, population-based real-world studies on the treatment outcomes of first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and subsequent systemic chemotherapy agents for lung adenocarcinoma (with activating epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR] mutations) remain limited. Materials and Methods: From March 2014 to December 2016, patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma, identified from the Taiwan Cancer Registry were included in this study if they received any of the three TKIs as first-line treatment. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). The secondary outcome was time-to-treatment discontinuation (TTD). Results: A total of 4,889 patients (median age: 67 years and two-thirds with distant metastasis) were recruited (1,778 gefitinib, 1,599 erlotinib, and 1,512 afatinib users). A 1:1 propensity score (PS)-matched cohorts of 1,228 afatinib/erlotinib and 1054 afatinib/gefitinib was created. After PS matching, it was found that afatinib was not associated with better OS (afatinib vs. erlotinib, HR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.86–1.07; afatinib vs. gefitinib, HR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.81–1.02). In the subgroup analysis, afatinib demonstrated a survival benefit in patients with active smoking (afatinib vs. erlotinib, HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.51–0.93; afatinib vs. gefitinib, HR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.48–0.94) and ECOG > 1 (afatinib vs. erlotinib, HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.63–0.99; afatinib vs. gefitinib, HR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.62–0.98). A total of 41.1% (n = 1992) of first-line TKI users received subsequent chemotherapy. Among the three TKI groups, pemetrexed usage was associated with better OS compared with other chemotherapy agents, with the exception of gemcitabine in the afatinib and gefitinib groups. Pemetrexed and gemcitabine had the longest TTD of 3–4 months. Conclusions: Among patients with EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinoma, afatinib use may not provide longer OS compared with first-generation TKIs. Afatinib may be preferably considered among patients with active smoking and should not be withheld among those with worse performance status. With 40% of patients receiving subsequent chemotherapy, pemetrexed may be the preferred agent, while gemcitabine can be a reasonable alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puntius sensu lato (s.l.) was one of the most speciose genera in the family Cyprinidae. There are around 120 valid species widely distributed in South‐East and South Asia, and South China. Puntius has long been known as an artificial assemblage and 'catch‐all' genus in which a large number of small, unrelated cyprinids have been placed. With new species and genera being described each year, obtaining detailed knowledge of the phylogenetic relationships of this complex is critically important in the assessment of a natural classification. In the present study, two mitochondrial and four nuclear genes were used to examine the inter‐specific and inter‐generic relationships of the Puntius complex and to test the monophyly of the current genera. Divergence time analysis was performed to explore the origin, evolution, and divergence of major clades in Puntius s.l. Results revealed that the genera Puntius seusu stricto (s.s.), Systomus, Pethia, Haludaria, Desmopuntius and Puntigrus were monophyletic with high support. However, monophyly of Barbodes, Striuntius and Sahyadria was not supported. Dawkinsia and Sahyadria formed a highly supported clade. Puntius semifasciolatus and P. snyderi from South China and Taiwan represent a new lineage. Inferences from divergence time analysis indicated that Puntius s.l. likely dated to early Miocene. Major clades in Puntius s.l. diverged during Miocene as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To convert external light into internal neural signal, vertebrates rely on a special group of proteins, the visual opsins. Four of the five types of visual opsins—short-wavelength sensitive 1 (Sws1), short-wavelength sensitive 2 (Sws2), medium-wavelength sensitive (Rh2), and long-wavelength sensitive (Lws)—are expressed in cone cells for scotopic vision, with the fifth, rhodopsin (Rh1), being expressed in rod cells for photopic vision. Fish often display differing ontogenetic cone opsin expression profiles, which may be related to dietary and/or habitat ontogenetic shift. The western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) is an aggressive invader that has successfully colonized every continent except Antarctica. The strong invasiveness of this species may be linked to its visual acuity since it can inhabit turbid waters better than other fishes. By genome screening and transcriptome analysis, we identify seven cone opsin genes in the western mosquitofish, including one sws1, two sws2, one rh2, and three lws. The predicted maximal absorbance wavelength (λmax) values of the respective proteins are 353 nm for Sws1, 449 nm for Sws2a, 408 nm for Sws2b, 516 nm for Rh2-1, 571 nm for Lws-1, and 519 nm for Lws-3. Retention of an intron in the lws-r transcript likely renders this visual opsin gene non-functional. Our real-time quantitative PCR demonstrates that adult male and female western mosquitofish do not differ in their cone opsin expression profiles, but we do reveal an ontogenetic shift in cone opsin expression. Compared to adults, larvae express proportionally more sws1 and less lws-1, suggesting that the western mosquitofish is more sensitive to shorter wavelengths in the larval stage, but becomes more sensitive to longer wavelengths in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variation in lighting environments creates different demands of visual systems for the successful detection and interpretation of visual signals. Eye size is a critical property of the visual system as it has strong effects on visual acuity and visual sensitivity. While many comparative studies have examined eye size across fishes that live in disparate lighting environments (i.e., caves versus surface habitats, mesopelagic versus pelagic depths, turbid versus clear water, diurnal versus nocturnal), fewer have investigated differences in eye size as a function of water clarity at the among-population level. Here, we compared relative eye size (eye size residuals on standard length) among wild-caught Bluefin Killifish (Lucania goodei) from tannin-stained swamps and clear springs across four drainages in Florida. We also performed a laboratory rearing experiment where we reared animals in clear and tea-stained water, which mimic spring and swamp conditions, to determine whether phenotypic plasticity as a function of lighting conditions influences relative eye size. Field caught animals varied greatly in relative eye size among populations, but there was no clear relationship with lighting environment. Fish from the two southern drainages (Everglades, Withlacootchee) had greater relative eye size than two northern drainages (Suwannee, North Florida). However, the results of our laboratory rearing experiment indicated that fish reared in clear water had slightly larger eyes compared to those in tea-stained water. While there are small effects of lighting environment on eye size, there are additional unknown genetic and environmental/ecological factors that influence adult eye size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a comprehensive literature review of articles on the triple bottom line (TBL) published from January 1997 to September 2018 to provide significant insights and support to guide further discussion. There were three booms in TBL publications, occurring in 2003, 2011, and 2015, and many articles attempt to address the issue of sustainability by employing the TBL. This literature analysis includes 720, 132, and 58 articles from the Web of Science (WOS), Inspec, and Scopus databases, respectively, and reveals the gaps in existing research. To discover the barriers and points of overlap, these articles are categorized into six aspects of the TBL: economic, environmental, social, operations, technology, and engineering. Examining the top 3 journals in terms of published articles on each aspect reveals the research trends and gaps. The findings provide solid evidence confirming the argument that the TBL as currently defined is insufficient to cover the entire concept of sustainability. The social and engineering aspects still require more discussion to support the linkage of the TBL and to reinforce its theoretical basis. Additionally, to discover the gaps in the data sources, theories applied, methods adopted, and types of contributions, this article summarizes 82 highly cited articles covering each aspect. This article offers theoretical insights by identifying the top contributing countries, institutions, authors, keyword networks, and authorship networks to encourage scholars to push the current discussion further forward, and it provides practical insights to bridge the gap between theory and practice for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare therapeutic effects between physical therapy (PT) combined with Kinesio taping (KT) and PT alone in knee osteoarthritis treatment. Data sources: PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, Scopus, CNKI, WangFang Data, and Google Scholar were searched until 16 April 2020. Review methods: Randomized controlled trials comparing pain reduction (visual analogue scale and numeric pain rating scale) and functional improvement (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) between PT + KT and PT in knee osteoarthritis treatment were included. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Results: A total of 15 studies with 546 patients were included, and their outcomes for one to six weeks after initial treatments were compared. An overall trend favoring PT + KT over PT alone was indicated by greater pain score reduction (mean difference (MD) = −0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −1.14 to −0.26; P = 0.002) and functional improvement (MD = −5.45, 95% CI = −10.23 to −0.66; P = 0.03) with the former. Significant pain reduction (MD = −0.72, 95% CI = −1.18 to −0.26; P = 0.002) and functional improvement (MD = −6.05, 95% CI = −11.18 to −0.93; P = 0.02) were reported within six weeks after initial treatments. Conclusion: Compared with PT alone, PT combined with KT provided better therapeutic effect regarding pain reduction and functional improvement in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The additional pain reduction and functional improvement could last at least six weeks after initial treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity and regional adiposity are important risk factors for cardiometabolic disorders. The aim of this study is to compare 7-site skinfold (SF) measurement to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the reference method for estimating body fat percentage (BF%) and regional adiposity in diabetic outpatients. A total of 59 diabetic patients (36 females and 23 males) aged 28.5–78 years (median 67.7 years) with BMI 18.8–40.6 kg/m2 (median: 25.5 kg/m2) were enrolled. 7-site skinfold measurement and DXA were performed at the same visit day and biochemistry data were collected. Our results demonstrate the BF% calculated via Jackson & Pollock 7-site skinfold equation presents a strong correlation (r = 0.672, p < 0.001 in females; r = 0.885, p < 0.001 in males) with that measured by DXA, but the means of BF% between these two methods are significantly different in both sexes (paired t-test, p < 0.001). The Bland-Altman analysis showed the mean differences (DXA-SF) of BF% were positive for female (8.74%) and male (7.22%), suggesting Jackson & Pollock 7-site skinfold equation tends to underestimate the BF%. Besides, regional SF thicknesses of 7-site skinfold measurement were significantly correlated with the matched regional adiposity quantified by DXA. Furthermore, truncal and android SF thicknesses were notably positively correlated with several cardiometabolic risk factors in gender-specific manner. Our data indicate the 7-site skinfold measurement is not an interchangeable method for precisely measuring BF%, but might be practical for evaluating the cardiometabolic risks in Taiwanese diabetic outpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reported a solvent‐controlled enantiodivergent Friedel‐Crafts reaction of 1‐naphthols with vinylogous imine intermediates, which were generated from arylsulfonyl indoles. This reaction was catalyzed by a single cinchona alkaloid bifunctional organocatalyst and could produce both enantiomers by using toluene or 1,2‐DCE as the solvents. Eyring plot analysis revealed that enthalpy‐entropy compensation dominates this enantiodivergent reaction. DFT calculation was used to probe and compare the R‐ and S‐selective pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal studies have demonstrated that metformin exerts a renoprotective effect. Human studies of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) regarding the association of metformin use with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) are lacking. Patients with type 2 DM and without a history of kidney disease who were enrolled under the pay‐for‐performance program of the National Health Insurance in Taiwan were identified. Those who received ≥90 cumulative defined daily doses of metformin within 1 year were selected (metformin users) and compared with a 1:1 propensity score–matched metformin nonuser cohort. Primary and secondary outcomes were development of ESRD and chronic kidney disease (CKD), respectively. Independent predictors were investigated using Cox regression analysis. A total of 24 158 pairs of metformin users and nonusers were enrolled, with an incidence of ESRD of 1908 and 1723 and CKD of 1095 and 1056 cases per 100 000 person‐years, respectively. Metformin use was independently associated with increased risks of ESRD (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.12‐1.32) and CKD (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.12‐1.40) in a dose‐response relationship. Patients with hypertension plus nonuse of angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers potentiated kidney damage by metformin. In patients with DM, use of metformin may increase the risk of ESRD and CKD. Health care professionals should be alert and closely monitor renal function when prescribing metformin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The difference of macrophage-specific interleukin-1 beta (IL-1b) response between latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB) remains less studied. Method. We performed this prospective study and recruited active TB patients, contacts with LTBI, and uninfected contacts. The gene and protein expression of human monocyte-derived macrophage (hMDM) after ex vivo stimulation by early secretory antigenic target-6KD (ESAT-6) and tuberculin purified protein derivatives (PPD) was studied by real-time PCR and flow cytometry. The effect of caspase-1 inhibitor was also studied. Result. The IL-1b gene expression after 6 hr ESAT-6 1 μg/ml stimulation was different among active TB patients (n=12), LTBI cases (n=12), and uninfected contacts (n=23) (log fold change: 0.98±1.26 vs. 2.20±0.96 vs. 2.20±0.96, P=0.013). The IL-1b gene expression at 24 hours was higher than that at 6 hours in LTBI cases (n=4) and uninfected contacts (n=6). After 24 hr ESAT-6 1 μg/ml stimulation, the percentage of IL-1b-expressed hMDM was borderline lower in the active TB patients (n=9) than in the LTBI cases (n=10) (14.0±11.2% vs. 31.6±22.5%, P=0.065). Compared with ESAT-6 1 μg/ml stimulation but without the addition of caspase-1 inhibitor (CasI) (55.6±16.3%), the percentage of IL-1b-positive hMDMs decreased after addition of CasI (50 μg/ml CasI: 49.8±18.2%, P=0.078; 100 μg/ml CasI: 46.6±20.8%, P=0.030; 150 μg/ml CasI: 33.7±15.5%, P=0.016). Conclusions. This study revealed that macrophage-specific IL-1b response differed among different stages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The role of IL-1b and inflammasome in the process of LTBI progressing to active TB warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The asymmetric conjugate addition of electron‐rich phenols and 1,3‐dicarbonyls with arylsulfonyl indoles catalyzed by bifunctional organocatalysts has been established. The chiral 3,3‐disubstituted oxindoles derivatives were obtained in good to high yields (up to 99 % yield) with high enantioselectivies (up to 98 % ee). This study showed that the oil‐water biphasic system contributed to the high efficiency and stereoselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A massage may relax muscles, improve blood circulation and reduce pain and anxiety while also improving sleep quality by increasing comfort. However, there is little research on whether a back massage improves sleep quality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Aims and objectives: This study examined the effects of a back massage on improving vital signs, sleep quality, anxiety and depression among ICU patients. Design Adopting a quasi‐experimental design, convenience sampling was used to recruit ICU patients from a medical centre in Southern Taiwan. The experimental group received back massages for three consecutive days (n = 30), while controls received usual care (n = 30). Methods: The Verran and Snyder‐Halpern Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used, and subjective and objective sleep time (wrist actigraphy and sleep duration from nurse observations) was recorded. The effect of the intervention was examined using a generalized estimating equation model with a robust standard error and an exchangeable working correlation matrix adjusting for time. Results: The results show that subjective sleep quality scores in ICU patients were low. Mean observed sleep time (measured by nurses) was 3·9 h, but mean sleep time measured using wrist actigraphy was 5·9 h. Back massages improved breathing in patients, increased sleep quality reflected by both subjective and objective data and were associated with a significant change in anxiety. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a 10‐min back massage can improve sleep quality, sleep duration, breathing and anxiety in ICU patients. Relevance to clinical practice: The implementation of a back massage shows positive improvements in the sleep quality of ICU patients. The training and theory of massage interventions should be further applied when developing courses in critical care nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines a novel material to enable the detection of hydrogen gas. The material combines thin‐film metallic glass (TFMG), ultra‐nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD), and ZnO nanorods (ZNRs) and can be used as a device for effective hydrogen gas sensing. Three sensors were fabricated by using combinations of pure ZNRs (Z), UNCD/ZNRs (DZ), and TFMG/UNCD/ZNRs (MDZ). The MDZ device exhibited a performance superior to the other configurations, with a sensing response of 34 % under very low hydrogen gas concentrations (10 ppm) at room temperature. Remarkably, the MDZ‐based sensor exhibits an ultra‐high sensitivity of 60.5 % under 500 ppm H2. The MDZ sensor proved very fast in terms of response time (20 s) and recovery time (35 s). In terms of selectivity, the sensors were particularly suited to hydrogen gas. The sensor achieved the same response performance even after two months, thereby demonstrating the superior stability. It is postulated that the superior performance of MDZ can be attributed to defect‐related adsorption as well as charge carrier density. This paper also discusses the respective energy band models of these heterostructures and also the interface effect on the gas sensing enhancements. The results indicate that the proposed hybrid TFMG/UNCD/ZNRs nanostructures could be utilized as high‐performance hydrogen gas sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) often have a poor prognosis largely due to lack of effective targeted therapy. Using a library of seleno-purines coupled to a high-throughput biochemical enzymatic assays we identified a potent pharmacological enhancer of autophagy (referred herein as SLLN-15) that selectively activated cytostatic macroautophagy/autophagy in TNBC preclinical models. SLLN-15 induced a dose-dependent anti-proliferative activity in the TNBC cell lines MDA-MB-231 and BT-20 via induction of autophagy and autophagic flux. This induction was associated with a selective inhibition of AKT-MTOR signaling. Conversely, rapamycin, a known autophagy inducer and MTOR inhibitor, was unable to duplicate SLLN-15's effect on TNBC cells. Inhibition of autophagy by siRNA-mediated targeting of the autophagy regulators, BECN1, ATG5 and ATG7 or using 3-methyladenine (3-MA), significantly protected against SLLN-15-induced inhibition of cell viability, further supporting that SLLN-15-induced inhibition of cancer cell proliferation was autophagy-dependent. SLLN-15-induced autophagy in TNBC cells was also associated with decreased AURKA expression, decreased AKT phosphorylation and subsequent blockage of the AKT-MTOR pathway. In vivo, oral SLLN-15 revealed a potent anticancer and anti-metastatic activity in mice bearing TNBC. Altogether, this study describes a novel regulator of mammalian autophagy, with potential utility as an experimental therapeutic for TNBCs. Abbreviations: 3-MA: 3-methyladenine; ATG5: autophagy related 5; ATG7: autophagy related 7; AURKA: aurora kinase A; AURKB: aurora kinase B; BECN1: beclin 1; CQ: chloroquine; DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxide; GAPDH: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; GFP: green fluorescent protein; ERBB2: erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; PARP1: poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1; PI: propidium iodide; SQSTM1/p62: sequestosome 1; TNBC: triple-negative breast cancer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]