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Accumulated Aβ is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Although accumulated results from in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that accumulated Aβ causes learning and memory deficit, cell death, and lifespan reduction, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In neurons, calcium dynamics is regulated by voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) and endoplasmic reticulum and is important for neuron survival and formation of learning and memory. The current study employs in vivo genetics to reveal the role of calcium regulation systems in Aβ-induced behavioral damage. Our data shows that although increased VGCC improves learning and memory in Aβ42 flies, reduction of VGCC and Inositol trisphosphate receptors extends Aβ42 flies' lifespan and improves cell viability. The complex role of calcium regulation systems in Aβ-induced damage suggests that the imbalance of calcium dynamic is one of the main factors to trigger learning and memory deficit and cell death in the disease.

Due to the recurrent nature of uraemic pruritus among patients receiving haemodialysis, self-care can offer patients a means to ameliorate this symptom. Qualitative data on self-care of uraemic pruritus are limited.To explore how patients on haemodialysis perceive uraemic pruritus, implement self-care practice, and appraise the outcome of self-caring uraemic pruritus.The Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation guided the study design.Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 30 patients receiving haemodialysis who were aged from 50 to 89 years and had had uraemic pruritus for more than 6 weeks. Interviews were audio recorded, and verbatim transcriptions of interviews were analysed.Our participants generally used life-related analogies to describe uraemic pruritus, which they reviewed as a momentarily controllable symptom with an endless timeline. Most participants reported limited knowledge of the aetiology and multifaceted impacts of uraemic pruritus on their daily life and emotional status. The impacts on daily life included decreased zest for activities and sleep disturbances. Physical management of uraemic pruritus involved daily substance use and interventions employed during pruritic episodes. Psychological managements involved preferences for indoor activities and a fatalistic outlook. Unsatisfactory outcomes and psychological burdens from self-care practice were reported.Life experiences shape symptom presentation and self-care practice in patients on haemodialysis. The modalities for self-caring for uraemic pruritus are diverse but not remarkably effective. Performing self-care tasks places a substantial burden on patients. Individualised educational programs should be developed to improve the outcome of self-care practice.

To derive shallow water bathymetry for coastal areas, a common approach is to deploy a scanning airborne bathymetric light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system or a shipborne echosounder for ground surveys. However, recent advancements in satellite remote sensing, including the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) offer new tools for generating satellite derived bathymetry (SDB). The key payload onboard ICESat-2 is the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), a micro-pulse, photon-counting LiDAR system, simultaneously emitting six separate 532 nm beams at 10 kHz pulse rate. However, despite its high resolution, the major limitation for bathymetry is that ICESat-2 only provides along-track height profiles, leaving observation gaps between the parallel ground tracks. Merging ICESat-2 observations with optical multispectral imagery, as demonstrated herein, provides an effective solution for deriving a full scene of water depth in light of the spectral attenuation behavior. This study aims to combine ICESat-2 and Sentinel-2 optical data to derive shallow water bathymetry (depth

Crack development is a clear indicator of the durability of concrete bridges. Traditional bridge inspections that rely inspectors to climb on bridges with lift cars are unsafe for inspectors and also time- and labor-consuming. Therefore, this research proposes a solution that applies unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and high-resolution digital cameras to measure concrete bridge cracks. An experiment was conducted on an Ai-He concrete bridge located in Yangmei District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Two types of images were taken. Close-up images observed cracks more clearly, and long-range images covered the ground control points. We registered these two types of images to establish the absolute coordinate system with ground control points and tie points through block triangulation. This research examines three approaches of generating tie points: (1) manually select tie points with features on the bridge such as nails and dots, (2) randomly input tie points generated from Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT), and (3) randomly input tie points generated from SIFT as the initial tie points and perform automatic tie generation with the ERDAS Leica Photogrammetry Suite (LPS) image matching module (automatic tie generation). Afterwards, close-up images were processed into orthorectified images with 0.1 mm pixel size for crack size measurements. Crack sizes were determined by a manual measurement approach and an inflection point approach for comparison. This research established a workflow for UAV bridge inspection that locates and measures cracks in concrete bridges, which consequently provides a safe and cost-efficient concrete bridge crack monitoring solution with acceptable accuracies.

Background Neuropathic pain (NP) is characterized by abnormal activation of pain conducting pathways and manifests as mechanical allodynia and thermal hypersensitivity. Peripheral nerve stimulation is used for treatment of medically refractory chronic NP and has been shown to reduce neuroinflammation. However, whether sciatic nerve stimulation (SNS) is of therapeutic benefit to NP remains unclear. Moreover, the optimal frequency for SNS is unknown. To address this research gap, we investigated the effect of SNS in an acute NP rodent model. Methods Rats with right L5 nerve root ligation (NRL) or Sham surgery were used. Ipsilateral SNS was performed at 2 Hz, 20 Hz, and 60 Hz frequencies. Behavioral tests were performed to assess pain and thermal hypersensitivity before and after NRL and SNS. Expression of inflammatory proteins in the L5 spinal cord and the immunohistochemical alterations of spinal cord astrocytes and microglia were examined on post-injury day 7 (PID7) following NRL and SNS. The involvement of the descending pain modulatory pathway was also investigated. Results Following NRL, the rats showed a decreased pain threshold and latency on the von Frey and Hargreaves tests. The immunofluorescence results indicated hyperactivation of superficial spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH) neurons. Both 2-Hz and 20-Hz SNS alleviated pain behavior and hyperactivation of SCDH neurons. On PID7, NRL resulted in elevated expression of spinal cord inflammatory proteins including NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, which was mitigated by 2-Hz and 20-Hz SNS. Furthermore, 2-Hz and 20-Hz SNS suppressed the activation of spinal cord astrocytes and microglia following NRL on PID7. Activity of the descending serotoninergic pain modulation pathway showed an increase early on PID1 following 2-Hz and 20-Hz SNS. Conclusions Our results support that both 2-Hz and 20-Hz SNS can alleviate NP behaviors and hyperactivation of pain conducting pathways. We showed that SNS regulates neuroinflammation and reduces inflammatory protein expression, astrocytic gliosis, and microglia activation. During the early post-injury period, SNS also facilitates the descending pain modulatory pathway. Taken together, these findings support the therapeutic potential of SNS for acute NP.

Traditionally, prior to compressing an RGB full-color image, for each converted $2\times 2$ CbCr block $B^{CbCr}$ , chroma subsampling only downsamples $B^{CbCr}$ , but without changing the luma block $B^{Y}$ at all. In the current research, a special linear interpolation-based, namely the COPY-based, chroma subsampling-first luma modification (CSFLM) study has attempted to change the luma block for enhancing the quality of the reconstructed RGB full-color image. In this paper, a fast and effective nonlinear interpolation, namely the bicubic convolution interpolation (BCI), based iterative luma modification method for CSFLM is proposed. In our iterative method, a BCI-based distortion function and its convex property proof are first provided. Next, based on the proposed convex distortion function, a pseudoinverse technique is applied to obtain the initial luma modification solution, and then an iterative method is proposed to improve the initial luma modification solution. Based on five testing image datasets, namely the IMAX, Kodak, SCI (screen content images), CI (classical images), and Video datasets, the thorough experimental results have demonstrated that on the newly released Versatile Video Coding (VVC) platform VTM-12.0, our iterative luma modification method achieves substantial quality, execution-time, and quality-bitrate tradeoff improvements when compared with the existing state-of-the-art methods.

Stereotactic operations are actively used in modern minimally invasive medicine. During such operations, a flexible needle is inserted into the internal organs, with the help of which a biopsy or a local treatment is performed. The applica tion of such approaches in neurosurgery requires the accurate positioning of the needle tip at the target point. The present study is related to the creation of a robotic system that delivers the needle to a given point and uses drives compatible with magnetic resonance imaging devices that visualize the position of the needle. In this paper, we propose a finite-dimensional mathematical model of a mechatronic system that uses a piezoelectric drive (PED) to move the needle (cannula) along a given line. To describe the contact between the cannula and the soft tissue, a mathematical model of their interaction is developed. The contact problem involving two processes occurring during the introduction of the needle into the biological tissue is solved: the introduction of a rigid (compared to the tissue) indenter and its retention at a certain depth. Relaxation properties of the tissue are taken into account. The behavior of tissue is described using a phenomenological approach based on a modified Kelvin-Voigt model. This allowed for reducing the solution of the contact problem to the integration of a system of ordinary differential equations. One of recognized ways to develop medical robotic systems is to test their functioning using phantoms of biological tissues. For this purpose, a phantom of a porcine brain based on agar-agar is made. Experiments are carried out to indent a standard cannula into the phantom body. Based on the obtained experimental data, the parameters of the contact model are identified. An algorithm is proposed for controlling the PED frequency, which ensures the introduction of the cannula into the soft biological tissue to a given depth. Numerical simulation of the insertion of the cannula into the soft tissue using this algorithm is performed. The influence of feedback coefficients on the position and speed of the indenter on the nature of the implementation process is investigated.

BackgroundThe mechanism by which glioblastoma evades temozolomide (TMZ)-induced cytotoxicity is largely unknown. We hypothesized that mitochondria plays a role in this process.MethodsRNA transcriptomes were obtained from tumor samples and online databases. Expression of different proteins was manipulated using RNA interference or gene amplification. Autophagic activity and mitochondrial metabolism was assessed in vitro using the respective cellular and molecular assays. In vivo analysis were also carried out in this study.ResultsHigh SH3GLB1 gene expression was found to be associated with higher disease grading and worse survival profiles. Single-cell transcriptome analysis of clinical samples suggested that SH3GLB1 and the altered gene levels of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) were related to subsets expressing a tumor-initiating cell signature. The SH3GLB1 protein was regulated by promoter binding with Sp1, a factor associated with TMZ resistance. Downregulation of SH3GLB1 resulted in retention of TMZ susceptibility, upregulated p62, and reduced LC3B-II. Autophagy inhibition by SH3GLB1 deficiency and chloroquine resulted in attenuated OXPHOS expression. Inhibition of SH3GLB1 in resistant cells resulted in alleviation of TMZ-enhanced mitochondrial metabolic function, such as mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial respiration, and ATP production. SH3GLB1 modulation could determine tumor susceptibility to TMZ. Finally, in animal models, resistant tumor cells with SH3GLB1 knockdown became resensitized to the anti-tumor effect of TMZ, including the suppression of TMZ-induced autophagy and OXPHOS.ConclusionsSH3GLB1 promotes TMZ resistance via autophagy to alter mitochondrial function. Characterizing SH3GLB1 in glioblastoma may help develop new therapeutic strategies against this disease in the future.

Cardiomegaly is associated with poor clinical outcomes and is assessed by routine monitoring of the cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) from chest X-rays (CXRs). Judgment of the margins of the heart and lungs is subjective and may vary between different operators. Methods: Patients aged > 19 years in our hemodialysis unit from March 2021 to October 2021 were enrolled. The borders of the lungs and heart on CXRs were labeled by two nephrologists as the ground truth (nephrologist-defined mask). We implemented AlbuNet-34, a U-Net variant, to predict the heart and lung margins from CXR images and to automatically calculate the CTRs. Results: The coefficient of determination (R2) obtained using the neural network model was 0.96, compared with an R2 of 0.90 obtained by nurse practitioners. The mean difference between the CTRs calculated by the nurse practitioners and senior nephrologists was 1.52 ± 1.46%, and that between the neural network model and the nephrologists was 0.83 ± 0.87% (p < 0.001). The mean CTR calculation duration was 85 s using the manual method and less than 2 s using the automated method (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study confirmed the validity of automated CTR calculations. By achieving high accuracy and saving time, our model can be implemented in clinical practice.

Water depth estimation models based on optical satellite images often require ground-truth data for supervised training procedures. However, in the South China Sea (SCS), the ground truth data are limited or outdated. Therefore, it is challenging to derive reasonable water depths around islands or coral reefs without prior knowledge. ICESat-2 is a space-borne LiDAR satellite launched in September 2018 that provides geolocated height at the laser footprint on a global scale and opens an opportunity for bathymetric mapping in regions normally inaccessible. The combination of ICESat-2 data with Sentinel-2 optical images is developed to extend the application of satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB). Three SDB algorithms, including ratio transform (RT), multiple linear regression, and classification-based (CB) algorithms, are applied to investigate the water-depth retrieval capabilities. Five islands located in different parts of the SCS are selected, analyzed, and evaluated with the support of Google Earth Engine. Comparing the ICESat-2 water depth profiles against airborne LiDAR data, the statistical indexes of R2 and RMSE reached 0.99 and 0.31 m, respectively. This demonstrates the suitability of using ICESat-2 data as a reliable data source in shallow water. On the other hand, the CB model is used to address the issue of heterogeneity by dividing the target islands into groups based on spectral characteristics. The results show that an integration of ICESat-2 and Sentinel-2 imageries can achieve R2 at 0.75 to 0.95 and RMSE at 0.66 to 1.87 m with the deepest pixels at 19 to 32 m across these five islands. We conclude that the ICESat-2/Sentinel-2 synergy scheme is capable of overcoming current limitations in various regions and thus can fill the gaps in bathymetry charts.

We appreciate the interest in our research1 and could not agree more with the authors of this comment. The purpose of our teaching neuroimage was to point out that not only radiographic appearances of a herniated lumbar disc (HLD) could potentially mimic a spinal tumor but that the clinical presentation of a HLD could mimic a spinal tumor as well.1

Objective: Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy has shown efficacy in the treatment of bone tumors of the extremities with good oncologic and functional outcomes. However, its application in metastatic skull tumors has been rarely reported and whether the adjuvant radiotherapy affects the future bone healing is not yet explored. We report an immediate cranioplasty with the resected osteoblastic bone, which underwent ex vivo cryotherapy, and discuss the surgical techniques and postoperative images.Methods: A 58-year-old man with esophageal adenocarcinoma, undergoing chemoradiotherapy, presented with a rapidly enlarging scalp mass for 5 months. Imaging revealed an enhancing mass, centered in the frontal skull bone with extracranial and intracranial invasion, suggestive of osteoblastic metastasis. After preoperative transarterial embolization, the tumor was excised en bloc. Immediate cranioplasty was performed with the osteoblastic bone graft after ex vivo cryotherapy. It was soaked in liquid nitrogen for 20 min, thawed at room temperature for 15 min, and soaked in povidone-iodine solution for 10 min. Then, the bone graft was fixed to its original place. Pathologic examination revealed metastasis originating from the esophagus. He underwent adjuvant radiotherapy for local tumor control.Results: He had an uneventful clinical course without any neurologic deficit. Brain imaging during the six-month follow-up showed no tumor recurrence and partial bony union.Conclusions: Cranioplasty using an autologous bone graft with ex vivo cryotherapy was helpful in the reconstruction of osteoblastic metastatic skull tumor treatment. It was a simple and cost-effective procedure that achieved satisfactory cosmetic results without negatively impacting bone healing, even after adjuvant radiotherapy.

Background: Wingspan stent has gained interest for better long-term outcomes for intracranial atherosclerosis disease (ICAD). However, in-stent restenosis still presents as a problem and may cause postoperative neurological events. We aimed to find a way to prevent in-stent restenosis.Method: Patients with stenosis >70% ICAD were treated with wingspan stent and were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were separated into two groups: one with post-dilation and the other without post-dilation. The outcomes of wingspan stenting were compared immediately after the surgery and at a 1-year follow-up.Results: Overall, 28 patients were included for analysis, with 15 patients undergoing post-dilation and 13 patients not undergoing the procedure. The extent of stenosis was significantly lower in the post-dilation group than in the no post-dilation group, both immediately after the surgery (14.8 ± 10.2 vs. 28.5 ± 14.5%, p < 0.01) and at 1-year follow-up (25.8 ± 18.0 vs. 50.1 ± 23.2%, p < 0.01). The post-dilation method immediately expanded the stent diameter (2.89 ± 0.48 vs. 3.05 ± 0.44 mm, p < 0.001), and the diameter still increased at 1-year follow-up (3.05 ± 0.44 vs. 3.12 ± 0.43 mm, p < 0.01) due to the self-expandable property of the wingspan. Similarly, in the no post-dilation group, the stent size was also increased (2.70 ± 0.67 vs. 2.80 ± 0.64 mm, p < 0.01). However, at 1-year follow up, the luminal diameter was stationary in the post-dilation group (2.36 ± 0.73 vs. 2.46 ± 0.82 mm, p = 0.88) and decreased in the no post-dilation group (2.24 ± 0.56 vs. 1.60 ± 0.79 mm, p < 0.01). The periprocedural complication rate was similar between the groups.Conclusion: The post-dilation method can be feasibly performed and can offer better stent expansion and apposition in the wingspan system. By applying this technique, we might prevent in-stent restenosis and improve neurological outcomes.

Aim:Diabetes-related cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) causes neurological deficits. Patients with diabetes showed pericyte loss as a hallmark of retinopathy. Cerebral pericytes, which densely localize around brain capillaries, are quiescent stem cells regulating regeneration of brain and may have a role in CSVD development. This study investigated whether diabetes impairs ischemia-provoked dedifferentiation of pericytes.Methods:A murine high-fat diet (HFD)-induced diabetes model was used. After cerebral ischemia induction in the mice, pericytes were isolated and grown for a sphere formation assay.Results:The sphere counts from the HFD group were lower than those in the chow group. As the spheres formed, pericyte marker levels decreased and SOX2 levels increased gradually in the chow group, but not in the HFD group. Before sphere formation, pericytes from the HFD group showed high p21 levels. The use of a p21 inhibitor rescued the reduction of sphere counts in the HFD group. At cellular level, hyperglycemia-induced ROS increased the level of p21 in cerebral pericytes. The p21-SOX2 signaling was then activated after oxygen-glucose deprivation.Conclusion:HFD-induced diabetes compromises the stemness of cerebral pericytes by altering p21–SOX2 signaling. These results provide evidence supporting the role of pericytes in diabetes-related CSVD and subsequent cerebral dysfunction.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-dvr-10.1177_1479164121990641 for Hyperglycemia compromises the ischemia-provoked dedifferentiation of cerebral pericytes through p21–SOX2 signaling in high-fat diet-induced murine model by Hao-Kuang Wang, Chih-Yuan Huang, Yun-Wen Chen and Yuan-Ting Sun in Diabetes & Vascular Disease Research

Background and Purpose— The observation that smokers with stroke could have better outcome than nonsmokers led to the term “smoking paradox.” The controversy of such a complex claim has not been fully settled, even though different case mix was noted. Analyses were conducted on 2 independent data sets to evaluate and determine whether such a paradox truly exists. Methods— Taiwan Stroke Registry with 88 925 stroke cases, and MJ cohort with 541 047 adults participating in a medical screening program with 1630 stroke deaths developed during 15 years of follow-up (1994–2008). Primary outcome for stroke registry was functional independence at 3 months by modified Rankin Scale score ≤2, for individuals classified by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score at admission. For MJ cohort, mortality risk by smoking status or by stroke history was assessed by hazard ratio. Results— A >11-year age difference in stroke incidence was found between smokers and nonsmokers, with a median age of 60.2 years for current smokers and 71.6 years for nonsmokers. For smokers, favorable outcome in mortality and in functional assessment in 3 months with modified Rankin Scale score ≤2 stratified by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was present but disappeared when age and sex were matched. Smokers without stroke history had a ≈2-fold increase in stroke deaths (2.05 for ischemic stroke and 1.53 for hemorrhagic stroke) but smokers with stroke history, 7.83-fold increase, overshadowing smoking risk. Quitting smoking at earlier age reversed or improved outcome. Conclusions— “The more you smoke, the earlier you stroke, and the longer sufferings you have to cope.” Smokers had 2-fold mortality from stroke but endured stroke disability 11 years longer. Quitting early reduced or reversed the harms.

Using a database that enabled longitudinal follow-up, we assessed the cost, outcome, complications, and readmission rate of ruptured cerebral aneurysms repaired by surgical clipping and endovascular coiling.This study was a retrospective review of data from a series of patients who underwent surgical clipping or endovascular coiling of ruptured cerebral aneurysms between 1996 and 2013. The medical records and hospital cost data were all examined.A total of 7690 and 1380 cases were treated with clipping and coiling, respectively. Patients treated with clipping had more comorbidities and were older. The average total cost for endovascular coiling was $13,974.3, whereas the average total cost for surgical clipping was $16,581.7. Perioperative (30-day) mortality was 10.7% in patients with coiled aneurysms, compared with 12.6% in those with clipped aneurysms (P = 0.045). After 1 year of follow-up, clipping was associated with a significantly longer length of hospital stay (P0.001) and significantly higher total hospital costs (P0.001).In Taiwan, the total hospital costs for the surgical clipping of cerebral aneurysms were higher than for endovascular coiling, and the surgical results were associated with significant complications. We suggest that the indications for coiling might need to be expanded from the current standards dictated by the guidelines in Taiwan.

A 47-year-old healthy man presented with intermittent low back pain radiating to the left calf; within 1 month, the pain worsened at night and disturbed his sleep. Examination showed paresthesia in left lateral calf, weakness in left ankle plantarflexion, and decreased ankle reflex. Neuroimaging revealed near-total obliteration of the spinal canal by a 2 × 1.2 cm nodule at L5-S1 level with ring enhancement under gadolinium-enhanced MRI (figure 1). The patient underwent surgery for a presumed spinal tumor. The intraoperative and pathologic findings revealed ruptured intervertebral disc without neoplasm (figure 2). The clinical presentation and image characteristics of a large ruptured disc can mimic a spinal tumor.1,2

The paper presents a model of reliability which captures the process by which reliability is actually determined more accurately than the conventional analysis. In contrast to that conventional analysis, which is based on the characteristics approach, the model of this paper defines reliability as the objective probability of product failure, not as a characteristic of individual goods. Reliability, thus defined, is treated as a choice variable of the firm. The resulting model is applied to a monopolist subject to a price cap. The monopolist can vary reliability and the terms of a warranty or compensation deal in response to price-capping. The monopoly outcome, price-capped monopoly outcome, and Pareto-efficient outcome are compared. The model provides a theoretical explanation of some empirical results in the literature on electricity regulation.

Background: Duroplasty has been widely used in cranial surgery when primary closure is not possible. The goal is to protect the cerebrum and thereby ensure that complications were as few as possible. We reviewed a single-institution experience with a variety of dural substitutes in craniotomy and analyzed the risk factors for duroplasty-associated hemorrhagic complications. Patients and Methods: Patients who received dural replacement after craniotomy or craniectomy between July 2004 and June 2009 were enrolled into this study. Medical records were reviewed for diagnosis, procedure, and type of dural replacement. Clinical courses were reviewed for hemorrhagic complications, including subdural hematoma, extradural hematoma, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Logistic regression models were used to analyzed the risk factors of duroplasty-associated hemorrhagic complications. Results: Two hundred and twelve patients were included in the study. Overall, the hemorrhagic complication rate was 4.7% (10 patients). Complications were seen for microporous polyester urethane, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene monolayer, polyester silicone, and Biomesh in 4.1%, 0%, and 38.5% of patients, respectively. Patients who received duroplasty with Biomesh had a higher hemorrhagic complication rate with the odds ratio of 24.75 (95% confidence interval, 4.33–141.41) in comparison of those with microporous polyester urethane group after adjusting for individual confounders. Conclusion: The increased risk of hemorrhagic complications associated with craniotomy is modified by choice of dural replacement. Our results could assist clinicians in their decision-making with respect to the optimal timing for synthetic dural substitutes in patients with tumor infiltration of the patient's dura, severe brain swelling in traumatic brain injury, or a result of shrinkage from exposure and electrocautery.

In recent years, the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) has been attracting attention from various fields as IoT devices can continuously monitor various environmental properties. While the number of IoT devices increases rapidly, managing large volume of IoT data faces a serious scalability issue. To address this issue, many studies have shown that the performance of key-value storages is better than traditional relational databases. However, IoT data have multi-dimensional attributes including spatial, temporal and thematic attributes. How to construct an efficient multi-attribute combined index is an important topic. In this research, we consider four main types of attributes and their corresponding queries, which are spatial, temporal, keyword, and value attributes. While each attribute has its own suitable index method, integrating the indexes into a combined index usually requires a certain sequence of indexes, which significantly decides the query performance. As many literatures directly present their designed combined index, this research proposes an adaptive method to decide the most efficient combined index by estimating the selectivity and query performance of individual query criterion. The main idea is that highly-selective queries should be performed first to reduce the number of intermediate results, which can improve the query performance of following queries. Hence, this research proposes an index framework considering every possible sequence and automatically identifying the most efficient combined index for each query. According to the result, the proposed system has 94–99% chance to save 25 to 51 times response time compared to using a single combined index, and is twice faster than PostGIS on average when querying a one-million-record real-world dataset.

The aggregation and deposition of transactivation response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) in neurons and astrocytes is characteristic in a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nevertheless, the exact role of TDP-43 in astrocytes is unknown. Recently, TDP-43 was identified in neurons but not astrocytes after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in humans. In the present study, we evaluated TDP-43 expression and proteolysis in astrocytes in a rat model of TBI. We assessed TDP-43 fragment expression, astrocyte morphology, neuronal population numbers, and motor function after TBI with or without intracerebroventricular administration of a caspase-3 inhibitor. Motor dysfunction was observed after TBI in potential association astrocytic TDP-43 short fragment mislocalization and accumulation, astrogliosis, and neuronal loss. Notably, caspase-3 inhibition prevented these changes after TBI. Our findings suggest that TDP-43 proteolysis in astrocytes is related to astrogliosis and subsequent neuronal loss in TBI, and that TDP-43 may be an important therapeutic target for preventing motor dysfunction after TBI.

Using different imaging techniques (primarily, magnetic resonance imaging or MRI) as guidance in robotic-assisted brain surgery becomes more and more wide-spread. One of important issues in this area is using these imaging technologies in online mode. For that, robotic devices that are compatible with MRI systems are required. In particular, conventional electric drives are not suitable; some alternatives should be used, such as piezoelectric drives (PED). In this paper, a robotic system is described intended to deliver a needle (cannula) to a given point by means of a PED. Dependence of the driving force generated by PED upon the needle speed is studied. In order to describe the contact interaction between the cannula and the soft tissue, a mathematical model of their interaction is developed based on modified Kelvin-Voigt approach. A phantom of porcine brain is manufactured. Experiments are carried out where the cannula was indented into the phantom. Based on the obtained experimental data, parameters of the mathematical model are identified. Numerical simulation of the insertion of the cannula into the soft tissue is performed, and the effect of parameters of the feedback control loop upon the cannula dynamics is analysed.

Smart cities effectively integrate human, physical, and digital systems operating in the built environment to provide automatic and efficient applications. While 3D city models, Internet of Things (IoT), and domain models are essential components of smart cities, the integration of IoT resources and 3D city models is a central information backbone for smart city cyber-infrastructures. However, we argue that most of the existing solutions integrating 3D city models and IoT resources are usually customized according to applications and lack of interoperability. To improve the interoperability between smart city modules, this study proposes a semantic-based methodology to integrate OGC CityGML and SensorThings API standards. Based on the data models from these two standards, this study proposes an integration ontology to connect information from these two standards. Due to the flexible definition of Thing in the IoT, the proposed ontology also considers multiple views of Thing. As a result, information from the CityGML and SensorThings API can be connected and queried via SPARQL queries. In general, this proposed integration ontology can facilitate the integration of IoT and 3D city models to achieve interoperable smart city.

Background Intratumor subsets with tumor-initiating features in glioblastoma are likely to survive treatment. Our goal is to identify the key factor in the process by which cells develop temozolomide (TMZ) resistance. Methods Resistant cell lines derived from U87MG and A172 were established through long-term co-incubation of TMZ. Primary tumors obtained from patients were maintained as patient-derived xenograft for studies of tumor-initating cell (TIC) features. The cell manifestations were assessed in the gene modulated cells for relevance to drug resistance. Results Among the mitochondria-related genes in the gene expression databases, superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) was a significant factor in resistance and patient survival. SOD2 in the resistant cells functionally determined the cell fate by limiting TMZ-stimulated superoxide reaction and cleavage of caspase-3. Genetic inhibition of the protein led to retrieval of drug effect in mouse study. SOD2 was also associated with the TIC features, which enriched in the resistant cells. The CD133+ specific subsets in the resistant cells exhibited superior superoxide regulation and the SOD2-related caspase-3 reaction. Experiments applying SOD2 modulation showed a positive correlation between the TIC features and the protein expression. Finally, co-treatment with TMZ and the SOD inhibitor sodium diethyldithiocarbamate trihydrate in xenograft mouse models with the TMZ-resistant primary tumor resulted in lower tumor proliferation, longer survival, and less CD133, Bmi-1, and SOD2 expression. Conclusion SOD2 plays crucial roles in the tumor-initiating features that are related to TMZ resistance. Inhibition of the protein is a potential therapeutic strategy that can be used to enhance the effects of chemotherapy. Graphical abstract

Background Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a rare complication that can occur between 12 and 72 h after the initial insult. Isolated cerebral FES without pulmonary symptoms is rarer. Early fracture fixation might prevent FES. We report a case of multiple-fracture with FES despite definite fixation three hours post-injury. Case presentation A 54-year-old man presented with multiple fractures: left femoral shaft (AO B2), left distal radius (AO C3), left comminuted patella, right comminuted 1st metatarsal base and left 2nd-4th metatarsal neck. Because he was stable, we gave him early total care and definite fixation, which required seven hours and yielded no complications. After he recovered from anesthesia, however, his eyes deviated right, his right upper arm was paralyzed, his consciousness level was poor, and his Glasgow Coma Scale score was E3VeM4. Chest X-rays showed clear lung fields, and brain computed tomography showed no intracranial hemorrhage. He did, however, have tachycardia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Brain magnetic resonance images showed a hyperintensive starfield pattern on diffuse weighted images, which suggested cerebral FES. After supportive care, his consciousness cleared on postoperative day 17, and he recovered full right upper arm muscle power after four months; however, he had a significant cognitive deficit. One-year post-injury, after regular rehabilitation therapy, he was able to independently perform his activities of daily living but still had a residual mild cognitive deficit. Conclusion Early fixation can attenuate but not eliminate the incidence of FES. Early assessment and rehabilitation therapy might be required for patients with cerebral FES and cognitive deficits; however, such deficits are difficult to predict and need long-term follow-ups.

Time-domain reflectometry (TDR) is considered as a passive monitoring technique which reveals multi-functions, such as water level, bridge scour, landslide, and suspended sediment concentration (SSC), based on a single TDR device via multiplexing and related algorithms. The current platform for revealing TDR analysis and interpreted observations, however, is complex to access, thus a coherent data model and format for TDR heterogeneous data exchange is useful and necessary. To enhance the interoperability of TDR information, this research aims at standardizing the TDR data based on the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) standards. To be specific, this study proposes a TDR sensor description model and an observation model based on the Sensor Model Language (SensorML) and Observation and Measurement (O&amp, M) standards. In addition, a middleware was developed to translate existing TDR information to a Sensor Observation Service (SOS) web service. Overall, by standardizing TDR data with the OGC SWE open standards, relevant information for disaster management can be effectively and efficiently integrated in an interoperable manner.

Change detection (CD), enabled by multitemporal multispectral satellite imagery, has many important Earth observation missions such as land cover/use monitoring, for which we observe that change regions are relatively smaller than those caused by disaster (e.g., forest fire) with patterns typically composed of a number of smooth regions. These observations are considered in our new CD criterion, which can effectively mitigate the artifacts and speckle noise suffered by existing statistic-based and difference image (DI) analysis based methods. The proposed CD criterion amounts to a large-scale non-convex optimization, which is first reformulated using the convex relaxation trick with associated change map interpreted in the probability sense, followed by adopting an efficient convex solver known as alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). The resulted probabilistic change map would be more practical, and can be thresholded at 0.5 to yield the conventional binary-valued one. We also reveal a link between the proposed criterion and the DI-based criterion, and demonstrate the outstanding performance of our fully unsupervised CD algorithm qualitatively and quantitatively.

Sensor Web and Internet of Things (IoT) (SW-IoT) have been attracting attention from various fields. Both of them deploy networks of embedded devices to monitor physical properties (i.e., sensing capability) or to be controlled (i.e., tasking capability). One of the most important tasks to realize the SW-IoT vision is to establish an open and interoperable architecture, across the device layer, gateway layer, service layer, and application layer. To achieve this objective, many organizations and alliances propose standards for different layers. Among the standards, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) SensorThings API is arguably one of the most complete and flexible service standards. However, the SensorThings API only address heterogeneity issues in the service layer. Embedded devices following proprietary protocols need to join closed ecosystems and then link to the SensorThings API ecosystem via customized connectors. To address this issue, one could first follow another device layer and gateway layer open standards and then perform data model mapping with the SensorThings API. However, the data model mapping is not always straightforward as the standards were designed independently. Therefore, this research tries to propose a more direct solution to unify the entire SW-IoT architecture by extending the SensorThings API ecosystem to the gateway layer and the device layer. To be specific, this research proposes SW-IoT Plug and Play (IoT-PNP) to achieve an automatic registration procedure for embedded devices. The IoT-PNP contains three main components: (1) A description file describing device metadata and capabilities, (2) a communication protocol between the gateway layer and the device layer for establishing connections, and (3) an automatic registration procedure for both sensing and tasking capabilities. Overall, we believe the proposed solution could help achieve an open and interoperable SW-IoT end-to-end architecture based on the OGC SensorThings API.

Additional file 5: Figure S5. The assays of tumor-initiating cell (TIC) properties. (A) Tumor formation analysis with limiting dilution (50~1000 cells per injection) of U87-parental and TMZ-resistant (r#10) cells in subcutaneous flank area of NOD-SCID mice was performed and recorded. Tumor formation was defined as the measurement to reach 0.1â cm3 or larger. The number of tumor formation in total implanted mice was shown in the brackets. (B) The frequency of the TIC-featured population of GBM#2 (derived from another recurrent GBM patient) with or without TMZ treatment was estimated using the in vitro extreme limiting dilution assay.

Additional file 3: Figure S3. The mitochondrial ROS were detected with MitoSox. (A) The TMZ-induced mitochondrial ROS were in parental and resistant U87MG cells. (B) The MitoSox results of CD133+ cells from U87MG parental and resistant cells were presented. The black curves represented the unstained control, the green curves represented the untreated group, and the pink curves represented the treated group. The brackets were the mean fluorescent intensity. These plots were representative ones of the triplicate experiments.

Additional file 2: Figure S2. Kaplan-Meier curves of an array database from SurvExpress ( http://bioinformatica.mty.itesm.mx:8080/Biomatec/SurvivaX.jsp ) [18]. The original data included samples of (A) GBM from Joo KM, et al., 2013 ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE42669 ), (B) low-grade glioma and GBM from Phillips HS, et al., 2006 ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE4271 ), and (C) low-grade glioma and GBM from TCGA. Each line refers to cases in which SOD2 gene expression was higher or lower than the median.

Additional file 6: Figure S6. DETC inhibitor used in vitro and in vivo. (A) (Left) U87MG spheres were treated with different doses of DETC as indicated. The cell lysates were analyzed via western blot. The statistic results (Right) were shown. (B) Mice that received U87MG-r#10 cells were randomly treated with TMZ or TMZ/DETC for 5 consecutive days. Representative images of IHC staining in which the specific protein levels of the resistant xenografts were analyzed. *Pâ

Additional file 1: Figure S1. The comparison between the parental and resistant cells. (A) The western blotting results of the parental cells and single clones of the resistant cells of U87MG (left) and A172 (right) were shown. (B) SOD2 levels were detected by Western Blot assay in the parental and resistant cells of U87MG (left) and A172 (right) with or without infection of SOD2 shRNA. The long- and the short-exposure of SOD2 plots were shown. (C) Levels of ROS scavengers in U87MG (left) or A172 (right) were compared between the parental and their resistant cells (r#10 or r#6, respectively). The detection was through qPCR for triplicated experiment with standard error shown in the bar graph.

Additional file 4: Figure S4. The resistant primary cells (GBM#1) were pretreated with siRNA for SOD2 knockdown. The cells were then incubated in low serum (2%) cultures medium with or without TMZ. The western blotting result of cleaved caspase 3 after TMZ treatment was shown. (n = 3 for each group, Data are presented as mean ± standard error, *P

Additional file 7: Figure S7. The analysis from clinical samples. (A) The IHC image represented a GBM tissue section which was stained with anti-rabbit IgG as a negative control. (B) The IHC staining in the left was a representative result of SOD2 and Bmi1 from a same patient. The study was done in total of the clinical specimens from 10 patients with recurrent GBM. The area of the staining was assessed and recorded in the dotted graph at right, showing statistical correlation of SOD2 and Bmi1.

Thermal infrared (TIR) satellite images are generally employed to retrieve land surface temperature (LST) data in remote sensing. LST data have been widely used in evapotranspiration (ET) estimation based on satellite observations over broad regions, as well as the surface dryness associated with vegetation index. Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) can provide LST data with a 30-m spatial resolution. However, rapid changes in environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and soil moisture, will affect the dynamics of ET. Therefore, ET estimation needs a high temporal resolution as well as a high spatial resolution for daily, diurnal, or even hourly analysis. A challenge with satellite observations is that higher-spatial-resolution sensors have a lower temporal resolution, and vice versa. Previous studies solved this limitation by developing a spatial and temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model (STARFM) for visible images. In this study, with the primary mechanism (thermal emission) of TIRS, surface emissivity is used in the proposed spatial and temporal adaptive emissivity fusion model (STAEFM) as a modification of the original STARFM for fusing TIR images instead of reflectance. For high a temporal resolution, the advanced Himawari imager (AHI) onboard the Himawari-8 satellite is explored. Thus, Landsat-like TIR images with a 10-minute temporal resolution can be synthesized by fusing TIR images of Himawari-8 AHI and Landsat-8 TIRS. The performance of the STAEFM to retrieve LST was compared with the STARFM and enhanced STARFM (ESTARFM) based on the similarity to the observed Landsat image and differences with air temperature. The peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) value of the STAEFM image is more than 42 dB, while the values for STARFM and ESTARFM images are around 31 and 38 dB, respectively. The differences of LST and air temperature data collected from five meteorological stations are 1.53 °C to 4.93 °C, which are smaller compared with STARFM’s and ESATRFM’s. The examination of the case study showed reasonable results of hourly LST, dryness index, and ET retrieval, indicating significant potential for the proposed STAEFM to provide very-high-spatiotemporal-resolution (30 m every 10 min) TIR images for surface dryness and ET monitoring.

Over the past years, 360° video streaming is getting popular. Watching these videos with Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs), also known as Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, gives more immersive experience than using traditional planar monitors. To fulfill a real immersive experience, there are several challenges, such as high bandwidth consumption, latency-sensitive, and heterogeneous HMD devices. In this paper, we propose an edge-assisted 360° video streaming system, which leverages edge servers to render viewports for viewers of 360° videos. We formulate an optimization problem to determine which HMD clients should be served by the edge server. We design an algorithm to solve this problem, and implement a real testbed as a proof-of-concept. The resulting edge-assisted 360° video streaming system is extensively evaluated with a public 360° viewing dataset. Leveraging edge servers, we reduce the bandwidth usage and computational workload on HMD clients. Moreover, lower network latency is achieved. The evaluation results show that compared to current 360° video streaming platforms, our edge-assisted rendering platform: (i) saves up to 62% in bandwidth consumption, (ii) achieves higher viewing quality, (iii) reduces the computation workload for those lightweight HMDs, and (iv) saves the battery life of HMD clients.

Background To determine the association of prior traumatic brain injury (TBI) with subsequent diagnosis of neurodegeneration disease. Methods All studies from 1980 to 2016 reporting TBI as a risk factor for diagnoses of interest were identified by searching PubMed, Embase, study references, and review articles. The data and study design were assessed by 2 investigators independently. A meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3. Results There were 18 studies comprising 3,263,207 patients. Meta-analysis revealed a significant association of prior TBI with subsequent dementia. The pooled odds ratio (OR) for TBI on development of dementia, FTD and TDP-43 associated disease were 1.93 (95% CI 1.47–2.55, p

Significant improvement of stroke symptoms may occur in acute stroke patients due to large artery occlusion (LAO) treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). Directly proceeding with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) would be a clinical dilemma.A 55-year-old male suddenly suffered from global aphasia and right side hemiplegia at work. Left proximal middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion was shown on CT angiography. After IVT, NIHSS significantly improved from 11 to 4 points. EVT was withheld due to rapidly improving symptoms and low NIHSS scores. However, stroke in progression occurred 7 hours after onset with NIHSS scores increasing from 4 to 13 points. A follow-up brain CT scan showed an Alberta Stroke Program Early CT score of 9 and no hemorrhage. Successful recanalization of the left MCA by EVT was performed at 10.5 hours after onset. The patient was discharged with a NIHSS score of 3 and his modified Rankin Scale score was 0 at 3 months.In LAO patients, directly proceeding EVT following IVT may not be hesitated. In addition, while LAO patients with incomplete IV-tPA treatment responses result in transient improvement of neurological symptoms but later reversed, EVT may be a potential rescue therapy in carefully selected patients.

Blends of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) were found to be immiscible. In order to improve the interfacial strength and miscibility of the PBT/CAP blends, a low-molecular-weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was thus pre-mixed with the CAP to form the P-CAP mixture. It was then blended with the PBT up to 15 wt% using a twin-screw extruder to prepare the PBT/P-CAP blends, and subsequently processed into the films and fibers by compression-molding and melt-spinning, respectively. The thermal and dynamic mechanical analyses suggested that the PBT and CAP became partially miscible and the interfacial strength was thus improved in the PBT/P-CAP blends, owing to the addition of PEG. The PEG was not only miscible with the CAP but also with the PBT, and it served as a plasticizer as well as a compatibilizer. From the observation of the fractured surface of the PBT/P-CAP films, the PBT component was present as dispersed particles in the P-CAP matrix with size ranging from 1.4 to 3.0 μm; yet it became nanofiber in the spun fibers. Successful fibers of the PBT/P-CAP blends with an average diameter of 20 μm could be spun, where the tensile strength and elongation at break were in the range of 0.6−0.7 g/denier and 12−16%, respectively. Finally, the ultra-fine PBT nanofibers with diameters in the range of 50−70 nm were observed after removing the P-CAP matrix with acetone from the fibers, owing to the formation of PBT nanofibers during spinning and orientation processes. This method thus could successfully produce nano-scale PBT fibers with fineness comparable with the nanofibers developed via electrospinning technology.

A series of environmentally sensitive ABA triblock copolymers with different block lengths were prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization from acrylic acid (AA) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm). The GPC and 1H NMR analyses demonstrated the narrow molecular weight distribution and precise chemical structure of the prepared P(AA-b-NIPAAm-b-AA) triblock copolymers owing to the controlled/living characteristics of RAFT polymerization. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the triblock copolymers could be tailored by adjusting the length of PAA block and controlled by the pH value. Under heating, the triblock copolymers underwent self-assemble in dilute aqueous solution and formed nanoparticles revealed via TEM images. Physically crosslinked nanogels induced by inter-/intra-hydrogen bonding or core-shell micelle particles thus could be obtained by changing environmental conditions. With a well-defined structure and stimuli-responsive properties, the P(AA-b-NIPAAm-b-AA) copolymer is expected to be employed as a nanocarrier for biomedical applications in controlled-drug delivery and targeting therapy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016, 54, 1109–1118

Recently, researchers are focusing on a new use of the Internet called the Internet of Things (IoT), in which enabled electronic devices can be remotely accessed over the Internet. As the realization of IoT concept is still in its early stages, manufacturers of Internet-connected devices and IoT web service providers are defining their proprietary protocols based on their targeted applications. Consequently, IoT becomes heterogeneous in terms of hardware capabilities and communication protocols. Addressing these heterogeneities by following open standards is a necessary step to communicate with various IoT devices. In this research, we assess the feasibility of applying existing open standards on resource-constrained IoT devices. The standard protocols developed in this research are OGC PUCK over Bluetooth, TinySOS, SOS over CoAP, and OGC SensorThings API. We believe that by hosting open standard protocols on IoT devices, not only do the devices become self-describable, self-contained, and interoperable, but innovative applications can also be easily developed with standardized interfaces. In addition, we use memory consumption, request message size, response message size, and response latency to benchmark the efficiency of the implemented protocols. In all, this research presents and evaluates standard-based solutions to better understand the feasibility of applying existing standards to the IoT vision.