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Monocular 2D multi-person pose estimation in videos is essential for applications such as surveillance, action recognition, kinematics analysis, and medical diagnosis. Existing state-of-the-art offsets-based methods extract temporal features from offsets in consecutive predicted rough skeletons for better preciseness in fine-tuned the skeletons. However, the precision of existing single image-based models of rough skeleton prediction, such as HRNet, dropped due to shifting of target persons in propagated bounding boxes and resulted in inconsistent estimated poses in consecutive frames. To conquer this problem, we proposed an Ordinal Depth-Guided-Convolutional Neural Network (ODG-CNN) to address the issue. The proposed ordinal depth guides the Ordinal Depth-Guided Block (ODGB) in the ODG-CNN to reweight features for target persons in bounding boxes. Experiment results on the PoseTrack 2018 dataset indicate that the proposed ODG-CNN achieves the highest performance in terms of mean Average Precision (mAP). The proposed ODG-CNN is suited for applications, such as use of telehealth for early detection and intervention of developmental delays in children, which needs high accuracy of video- based estimated poses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the current evidence and expert opinions on patient-centered bladder management of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) among chronic spinal cord injured (SCI) patients in Taiwan. The main problems with SCI-NLUTD are failure to store, empty, or both. The management of SCI-NLUTD should be prioritized as follows: (a) preservation of renal function, (b) freedom from urinary tract infection, (c) efficient bladder emptying, (d) freedom from indwelling catheters, (e) patient agreement with management, and (f) avoidance of medication after proper management. The management of NLUTD in SCI patients must be based on urodynamic findings rather than neurologic evaluation inferences. It is important to identify high-risk patients to prevent renal functional deterioration in those with chronic SCI-NLUTD. Urodynamic studies should be performed on patients with SCI on a regular basis, and any urological complications should be adequately treated. When surgery is required, less invasive and reversible procedures should be considered first, and any unnecessary surgery in the lower urinary tract should be avoided. The most important aspect of treatment is to improve the quality of life in SCI patients with NLUTD. Annual active surveillance of bladder and renal function is required to avoid renal function deterioration and urological complications, particularly in high-risk SCI patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effects of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) on the symptom burden of Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients were investigated. Methods: Ninety-two patients with CRS following ESS were prospectively enrolled and followed up every 3 months for 1 year. The 7-item ETD Questionnaire (ETDQ-7) and 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) were administered before ESS and at each visit following ESS. Results: Before surgery, 25% of patients reported ETDQ-7 scores ≥ 14.5, indicating the presence of ETD. The mean preoperative ETDQ-7 and SNOT-22 scores were 13.3 and 40.0, respectively. The mean ETDQ-7 and SNOT-22 scores were significantly decreased to 8.2 and 17.0 at 1 year following ESS, respectively. Most patients reported alleviation of their symptoms within the first 3 months, and the prevalence of ETD had decreased to 3.3% at 1 year. Patients who received revision surgery had higher ETDQ-7 scores during the follow-up period. Additionally, 5.4% of patients reported worsening of their symptoms. Conclusion: ETD symptoms can be effectively alleviated in most patients within 3 months following ESS. However, 5.4% of patients reported worsening of their symptoms at the 1-year follow-up. Additional objective studies should be conducted to evaluate Eustachian tube function thoroughly in CRS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, nanotwinned copper (nt-Cu) foils were fabricated using a rotary electroplating system. Their microstructures (orientation, grain size, and twin spacing) and correlated tensile properties were substantially tuned by manipulating the electroplating current density. The nt-Cu foils were further heat-treated at 150 °C for 1 h and tensile-tested to characterize their thermal stability. We found that the mechanical properties of the nt-Cu foils are directly associated with the electroplating current density. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increases with increasing in the current density, reaching the maximum values at 25 ASD. The great enhancement can be attributed to the decrease in twin spacing and grain size. We also discovered that the UTS and ductility remain approximately intact under a high temperature, indicating the excellent thermal stability of such nt-Cu foils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) at C3-C5 have a wide range of tracheostomy rates (27%-75%), and the influencing factors for tracheostomy remain unclear. We conducted a retrospective case-control study to identify the influencing factors for tracheostomy in this subset of patient population. Methods: A total of 101 acute traumatic C3-C5 SCI patients with acute respiratory failure requiring translaryngeal intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for more than 48 hours were identified and divided into the no tracheostomy (No-TCO, n = 59) and tracheostomy group (TCO, n = 42) groups. Clinical data were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Results: Compared with the No-TCO patients, the TCO patients had a higher proportion of C3 level injury, lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and lower blood hemoglobin levels at admission. During the first weaning attempt, the TCO patients had lower levels of maximal inspiratory pressure, maximal expiratory pressure, and minute ventilation but had a higher level of rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI). The TCO patients had longer durations of IMV, ICU stay, and hospitalization compared with the No-TCO patients. Moreover, due to prolonged IMV, the TCO patients had a higher incidence of complications, including ventilator-associated pneumonia, bacteremia, urinary tract infection, and acute kidney injury compared with the No-TCO patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that low GCS at admission and high initial RSBI were independent risk factors for tracheostomy. Importantly, a combination of these two influencing factors synergistically increased the odds ratio for tracheostomy. Conclusion: Low GCS at admission and high initial RSBI are two independent influencing factors that synergistically impact tracheostomy in our patients. These findings are helpful for making the decision of performing tracheostomy in this subset of patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many treatments including antiviral and non-antiviral drugs, and critical care are considered for the management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Practice recommendations need to be updated and graded according to the critical evaluation of rapidly emerging literature. In June 2020, Research Center for Epidemic Prevention-National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University formed a task group comprising infectious disease clinicians, pulmonologists, and intensivists with varied areas of expertise. The steering committee prioritized questions and outcomes. The keywords for the searches were COVID-19 and prone position, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV), remdesivir, lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine (HCQ/CQ), azithromycin, corticosteroid, tocilizumab, convalescent plasma therapy, and intravenous immunoglobin (IVIG). A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature was performed by the consensus panel. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used in assessing the certainty of evidence and making recommendations. The effects of COVID-19 treatments on mortality and clinical improvement were summarized in 11 tables, and GRADE was presented to define the strength and quality of evidence for recommendation. The consensus recommended that prone position implanted in COVID-19 patients with hypoxic respiratory failure (IIC), careful selection for the support of ECMO (IIB), NIPPV being feasible but a risk of staff contamination (IIC), remdesivir generally administered in mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients (IA), the use of dexamethasone in critically ill COVID-19 patients (IA), and the use of tociliziumab in hospitalized severe/critical COVID-19 patient with elevated markers of systemic inflammation (IA). The consensus recommended against the use of lopinavir/ritonavir (IB), HCQ/CQ (IA), azithromycin (IA), convalescent plasma therapy (IA), and IVIG (IA). The inception of the consensus and task group has provided much-needed evidence of the efficacy and safety of various therapies for the management of COVID-19 patients, and make a description about the benefits and harms for most treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the major causes of diarrhea in calves. Cryptosporidium parvum is considered the most important calf diarrhea pathogen in the Cryptosporidium species. Not only could infected calves spread C. parvum, but infected adult cattle could also shed oocysts. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate the prevalence of C. parvum in dairy herds in Taiwan, including calves, the dams in delivery enclosure, the floor, and the drinking water; (2) to clarify the relationship of diarrhea, management, and C. parvum infection. Twenty dairy herds in Taiwan were selected by random sampling, including 226 calves and 198 dams, and other environmental samples were collected. A questionnaire was filled out by the farm owners to collect information regarding the management of calves and the delivery enclosure. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors for C. parvum infection. The prevalence of C. parvum infection in calves was 26.5% (60/226), while in dams, it was 19.7% (39/198). The C. parvum infection in calves increased with environmental contamination of C. parvum and clinical signs of diarrhea, while it decreased with a yard provided in the delivery enclosure. In conclusion, the management of the delivery enclosure appears to be more important for preventing cryptosporidiosis in calves in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote association is the ability to combine seemingly unrelated components into new concepts and is evaluated via the Remote Associates Test (RAT). The RAT has generally been used to examine brain activation during insight problem solving but not remote association. Moreover, little is known about the neural correlates of remote association and close association. To address this issue, we used the associative distance in the development of the RAT and designed remote associated items and close associated items. We collected brain images during observation of remote and close associated items from 30 adult participants and analyzed the activation of brain regions involved in remote and close associations. The results showed that processing of remote and close association occurred in the posterior cingulate cortex. After controlling for the influence of other associations, we found that the rostromedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and middle temporal gyrus were involved exclusively in remote association. These results showed that remote association has conjunctive and disjunctive neurocognitive mechanisms. Our results contribute to the understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms of different associations and provide empirical support for the associative theory of creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Isolated sphenoid sinus disease (ISSD) is a rare clinical entity with potentially serious complications. The etiological distribution of ISSD varies among different areas and ethnicities. We aimed to investigate the clinical features of patients with endoscopic treated ISSD.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients with ISSD who had undergone endoscopic surgery between April 2013 and May 2019. The patient records were reviewed for demographic data, clinical presentations, endoscopic and imaging study findings, surgical outcomes and complications.Results: A total of 37 patients with ISSD who underwent surgery were recruited. We divided patients into three groups according to etiology, including inflammatory diseases (78.4%), neoplasms (13.5%) and spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks (8.1%); fungal ball (62.2%) constituted the major cause of ISSD. Overall, the most common presenting symptom was headache or facial pain (65.5%). The endoscopic findings of bloody discharge and tumor lesions were mainly from the neoplasm group. Bony defects were more obvious on computed tomography in the neoplasm and CSF leak groups. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a higher rate of involvement of the cavernous sinus (40.0%) and intracranial extensions (40.0%) in the neoplasm group. To summarize the surgical outcomes, the success rate was 97.1%, and the major complication rate was 5.4%.Conclusion: ISSD represents a variety of etiologies, mostly comprising fungal ball in our area, while there is still a considerable proportion of ISSDs attributed to neoplasm and CSF leak. Untreated ISSD can result in serious complications. We recommend early surgical intervention for all patients with ISSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore trust repair strategies and the outcomes in mobile (m-)commerce. Consumer trust in m-commerce is a calculus-based form of trust; service failures, "inaction" and "excessive actions" are the typical trust decline situations. Three strategies of the fulfillment of consumers' psychological contract for compensation, arousal, and regulation are proposed as trust-repaired solutions regarding the abovementioned three situations. The experimental results demonstrate that trust cannot be repaired by a single relational psychological contract strategy and that it can be repaired by both a single transactional and interactive strategy; the interactive strategy is more effective in competence-based decline. Second, in integrity-based decline, both the single and interactive strategy negatively influence trust repair; the relational strategy has the strongest effect. The "boomerang effect" shows that the more m-vendors repair, the more the trust decreases. Third, trust can be repaired, respectively by arousal and regulation strategy regarding corresponding situations of inaction and excessive actions. Finally, the trust repair paradox (TRP) has not been verified in m-commerce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in Brazil. SBRT is an evolving treatment in HCC patients not candidates to other local therapies. Its adoption in clinical practice has been heterogeneous, with lack of data on its generalizability in the Brazilian population. Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective pilot study involving HCC patients after failure or ineligibility for transarterial chemoembolization. Patients received SBRT 30 to 50 Gy in 5 fractions using an isotoxic prescription approach. This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT02221778. Results: From Nov 2014 through Aug 2019, 26 patients received SBRT with 40 Gy median dose. Underlying liver disease was hepatitis C, hepatitis B and alcohol-related in, respectively, 50%, 23% and 19% of patients. Median lesion size was 3.8 cm (range, 1.5-10 cm), and 46% had multiple lesions. Thirty-two percent had tumor vascular thrombosis; median pretreatment alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was 171.7 ng/mL (range, 4.2-5,494 ng/mL). 1y-local progression-free survival (PFS) was 86% (95% CI: 61% to 95%), with higher local control in doses = 45Gy (p = 0.037; HR = 0.12). 1y-liver PFS, distant PFS and OS were, respectively, 52%, 77% and 79%. Objective response was seen in 89% of patients, with 3 months post-SBRT median AFP of 12 ng/mL (2.4-637 ng/mL). There were no grade 3 or 4 clinical toxicities. Grade 3 or 4 laboratory toxicities occurred in 27% of patients. Conclusion: SBRT is feasible and safe in patients unresponsive or ineligible for TACE in Brazil. Our study suggests doses = 45 Gy yields better local control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in Brazil. SBRT is an evolving treatment in HCC patients not candidates to other local therapies. Its adoption in clinical practice has been heterogeneous, with lack of data on its generalizability in the Brazilian population. Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective pilot study involving HCC patients after failure or ineligibility for transarterial chemoembolization. Patients received SBRT 30 to 50 Gy in 5 fractions using an isotoxic prescription approach. This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT02221778. Results: From Nov 2014 through Aug 2019, 26 patients received SBRT with 40 Gy median dose. Underlying liver disease was hepatitis C, hepatitis B and alcohol-related in, respectively, 50%, 23% and 19% of patients. Median lesion size was 3.8 cm (range, 1.5-10 cm), and 46% had multiple lesions. Thirty-two percent had tumor vascular thrombosis; median pretreatment alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was 171.7 ng/mL (range, 4.2-5,494 ng/mL). 1y-local progression-free survival (PFS) was 86% (95% CI: 61% to 95%), with higher local control in doses ≥ 45Gy (p = 0.037; HR = 0.12). 1y-liver PFS, distant PFS and OS were, respectively, 52%, 77% and 79%. Objective response was seen in 89% of patients, with 3 months post-SBRT median AFP of 12 ng/mL (2.4-637 ng/mL). There were no grade 3 or 4 clinical toxicities. Grade 3 or 4 laboratory toxicities occurred in 27% of patients. Conclusion: SBRT is feasible and safe in patients unresponsive or ineligible for TACE in Brazil. Our study suggests doses ≥ 45 Gy yields better local control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biggest challenge in fostering social commerce is to stimulate the willingness of social media influencers (SMIs) to create unboxing reviews of products and to impact customers' attitudes and purchase intentions. This study integrated the social exchange and social capital theories to construct a model for investigating SMIs' willingness to create unboxing reviews. In addition, this study employed the social learning theory to quantify the impact of word-of-mouth on customers' attitudes and purchase intentions. The results may aid in the identification of the motivations underlying SMIs' willingness to create unboxing reviews and the factors that influence customers' attitudes and purchase intentions. The implications of theory, practice, and future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by an esophagectomy is the standard treatment for locally advanced esophageal cancer, but remains a great challenge for elderly patients. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the efficacy of definitive CRT in elderly patients with esophageal cancer. Methods: From December 2007 to October 2017, 40 esophageal cancer patients aged ≥70 years receiving definitive CRT were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Ten patients received standard doses of cisplatin 20 mg/m² and fluorouracil (5-FU) 800 mg/m² for 4 days, during the first and fifth weeks of radiotherapy. Eighteen patients received modified doses of cisplatin 16 to 18 mg/m2 and 5-FU 600 to 800 mg/m². Twelve patients received lower doses of cisplatin 10 to 12 mg/m² and 5-FU 400 to 600 mg/m2. The endpoints were overall survival (OS), tumor response rate, and treatment compliance. Results: The 3-year OS rate was 28.8% The 3-year OS rates for patients receiving standard, modified, and lower doses were 12.5%, 53.8%, and 0.0%, respectively (p = 0.05). There were 87.5% of patients completing the scheduled radiotherapy dose, along with two cycles of concurrent chemotherapy. The response rate (clinical complete response and partial response rate) was 70.0%. Multivariate analysis revealed that no statistical difference was found in the OS among three groups of chemotherapy dosage. The treatment response was the only independent prognostic factor to OS (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Definitive CRT with dose modification is a feasible, safe, and reasonable treatment for elderly esophageal cancer patients. Achieving a better compliance to CRT via an optimal dose modification of chemotherapy may provide better clinical outcomes and would be the treatment goal for elderly esophageal cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blogs are useful interaction tools to promote learners' knowledge construction and interaction in online teaching activities. On the other hand, although many studies show that mindtools facilitate learners' cognitive process, little research focus on their effects on learners' higher order cognitive thinking in blogs. This research developed a learning environment by using a mindtool-based blog to promote learners' higher order cognitive thinking in their online discussions and to assess their learning effects. The participants were 276 senior high school students from an information ethics class. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted in this research. The control group used the ordinary blogs. The Experimental Group 1 used the basic mindtools in blogs, which means that learners can use all the mindtool functions except the Knowledge Compilation function. The Experimental Group 2 used the advanced mindtools in blogs, which means that they can use all the mindtool functions, including the Knowledge Compilation function. The results indicated that both experimental groups showed better learning effects and more higher order cognitive thinking than the control group. Moreover, the higher order cognitive thinking category Analyze was found more often in the Experimental Group 2 than in the Experimental Group 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in Asia has caused enormous economic loss in poultry industry and human health threat, especially clade 2.3.4.4 H5 and H7 subtypes in recent years. The endemic chicken H6 virus in Taiwan has also brought about human and dog infections. Since wild waterfowls is the major AIV reservoir, it is important to monitor the diversified subtypes in wildfowl flocks in early stage to prevent viral reassortment and transmission. To develop a more efficient and sensitive approach is a key issue in epidemic control. In this study, we integrate multiplex reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) for high-throughput detection and differentiation of AIVs in wild waterfowls in Taiwan. Four viral genes were detected simultaneously, including nucleoprotein (NP) gene of all AIVs, hemagglutinin (HA) gene of clade 2.3.4.4 H5, H6 and H7 subtypes. The detection limit of the developed detection system could achieve as low as one copy number for each of the four viral gene targets. Sixty wild waterfowl field samples were tested and all of the four gene signals were unambiguously identified within 6 h, including the initial sample processing and the final CE data analysis. The results indicated that multiplex RT-RPA combined with CE was an excellent alternative for instant simultaneous AIV detection and subtype differentiation. The high efficiency and sensitivity of the proposed method could greatly assist in wild bird monitoring and epidemic control of poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: dysphagia has become a pivotal issue due to the increased number of elderly people, and the potential for increased risk of pneumonia from dysphagia with frequent aspiration. Timely and adequate hyoid bone movement is an essential component of the swallowing movement. However, the effects of age on hyoid speed have not been investigated thoroughly. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of age on hyoid speed with ultrasonography. Methods: 97 healthy participants were allocated to 3 different age groups (20-39, 40-64, and above 65 years old). An ultrasonography machine with a water balloon fixed to the transducer, which provided better contact was used. Each participant swallowed 10mL of juices of 3 different consistencies (mildly thick, moderately thick, and extremely thick juice) while sitting upright. The transducer was placed in the midsagittal plane of the submental area. The speed of hyoid movement was calculated as the maximal hyoid bone displacement divided by start-to-max duration. Results: The speed of hyoid movement during swallowing decreased as the age increased. However, the post-hoc analysis only showed a significant difference between the 20-39 and above 65 age groups when the participants swallowed moderately thick juice. Conclusion: This study illuminates the use of ultrasound in providing quantitative measures of hyoid speed during swallowing. The result adds to the current understanding of swallowing dynamics and the adaptive physiological mechanisms that take place when the age increases. We will analyze the hyoid speed in patients of various dysphagic pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a lethal human malignancy and a leading cause of cancer‐related death worldwide. Patients with HCC are often diagnosed at an advanced stage, and the prognosis is usually poor. The multikinase inhibitor sorafenib is the first‐line treatment for patients with advanced HCC. However, cases of primary or acquired resistance to sorafenib have gradually increased, leading to a predicament in HCC therapy. Thus, it is critical to investigate the mechanism underlying sorafenib resistance. Transactivation response element RNA‐binding protein 2 (TARBP2) is a multifaceted miRNA biogenesis factor that regulates cancer stem cell (CSC) properties. The tumorigenicity and drug resistance of cancer cells are often enhanced due to the acquisition of CSC features. However, the role of TARBP2 in sorafenib resistance in HCC remains unknown. Our results demonstrate that TARBP2 is significantly downregulated in sorafenib‐resistant HCC cells. The TARBP2 protein was destabilized through autophagic–lysosomal proteolysis, thereby stabilizing the expression of the CSC marker protein Nanog, which facilitates sorafenib resistance in HCC cells. In summary, here we reveal a novel miRNA‐independent role of TARBP2 in regulating sorafenib resistance in HCC cells. Sorafenib is the first‐line treatment for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The cases of sorafenib resistance have gradually increased, leading to a predicament HCC therapy. Our results demonstrate that transactivation response element RNA‐binding protein 2 (TARBP2) is downregulated in sorafenib‐resistant HCC cells. TARBP2 protein was destabilized through autophagic–lysosomal proteolysis, thereby stabilizing Nanog, which facilitates sorafenib resistance in HCC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate whether home or ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring was associated with preclinical hypertensive cardiovascular target organ damage (TOD). Methods: We enrolled participants with prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension from 11 medical centers within the Taiwan hypertension-associated cardiac disease consortium. Recordings of clinical BP measurement, ambulatory BP monitoring for 24 hours, and home BP monitoring during morning and evening were made. The measured parameters of target organ damage included left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left atrial volume index (LAVI), and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). Results: Data were collected from 561 study participants (mean age, 65.0 ± 10.8 years; men, 61.3%). Morning and evening home BP values were slightly higher than the daytime and nighttime ABP values (difference for systolic morning-daytime/evening-nighttime, 7.3 ± 14.2/11.3 ± 18.5 mm Hg, P < .001; for diastolic, 5.4 ± 9.4/7.3 ± 12.1, P < .001). Daytime ambulatory (r = 0.114), nighttime ambulatory (r = 0.130), morning home (r = 0.310), and evening home (r = 0.220) systolic BPs (SBPs) were all associated with LVMI (all P < .05). The correlation coefficient was significantly greater for the relationship between daytime home SBP and LVMI than for the relationship between ambulatory SBP and LVMI (P < .01). The goodness of fit of the association between SBP and LVMI improved by adding home daytime SBP to the other SBPs (P < .001). Similar findings were observed for LAVI, but not for PWV. Conclusion: These findings indicate that morning SBP assessed by home monitoring appears to be a better predictor than other BP measures to determine preclinical hypertensive cardiovascular damage in patients with early-stage hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • SFL was combined with sol-gel process to synthesize silica microcomponents. • The shape of the microcomponents was defined by photopolymerization. • The silica was generated by sol-gel process in situ. • The microcomponents have mechanical strength close to that of pure silica. • This method can be used to produce magnetic silica microcomponents. Abstract We have developed a simple and economical method for synthesizing silica microcomponents by combining sol-gel process and stop-flow lithography. In this method, a dual-cure system containing hydrogel monomer and silica precursor was prepared as the precursor solution. The production of particles then involves a photopolymerization step and a sintering step. The former defines the shape of the microcomponents by stop-flow lithography and the latter is responsible for promoting the sol-gel process and decomposing the hydrogel. The sintered silica microcomponents shrink significantly but have a Young's modulus as high as 30 Gpa, a value much higher than that of typical polymeric materials and close to that of pure silica. By adding superparamagnetic particles into the precursor solution, we also manufactured magnetic silica gears that can be driven remotely by an external magnetic field. Owing to the generality of the sol-gel process, this method is expected to have great potential for producing microcomponents of other metal oxides. Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructures, such as nanodots and nanorods, have been fabricated by the anodization process with an aid of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) for several decades. However, tubular nanostructures have not been reported by using an AAO-assistant anodization technology until now. In this study, we successfully synthesized self-organized TixWyO nanotubes with cap structures for the first time by using a two-step anodization process from Al-coated TiW alloy layers. The TixWyO nanotubes were observed only in the shaped pores of AAO with large enough pore size, and otherwise the nanostructures would become solid rods due to the aggregation of TixWyO. The wall of nanotubes was ~30% inside the pores and the other ~70% penetrated into the AAO template. Furthermore, no tubular nanostructures were found unless the percentage of W element in TiW alloys is larger than 50%, attributing to the formation of a void by oxygen bubbles arising from the oxidation reaction of tungsten metal. Besides, the height of the nanotubes is limited by an electric field of 0.82 GV/m due to the dielectric breakdown effect. Finally, a bottom-up growth mechanism at the oxide/metal interface is proposed, based on the observation of the cap structure on the top of the tubular architecture [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common sequential pattern mining algorithms handle static databases. Once the database updates, previous mining results would be incorrect, and we need to restart the entire mining process from scratch. Previous approaches mine patterns in a forward manner in both static and incremental databases. Considering the incremental characteristics of sequence-merging, we propose a novel methodology, called backward mining, to update the patterns in an incremental sequence database. Stable sequences, whose support counts remain unchanged in the updated database, are identified and eliminated from the support counting process using the backward mining methodology. We develop both the BSpan algorithm within the pattern-growth framework and the BSPinc algorithm within the Apriori-based framework for incremental discovery of sequential patterns. BSpan primes all the stable sequences and their super sequences so that database projections are minimized. BSPinc generates candidate sequences using backward extensions and mines patterns recursively within the ever-shrinking bit-sequence space. The experimental results using both synthetic and real-world datasets show that BSpan and BSPinc work an average of 4 times faster than the well-known IncSpan algorithm. In comparison to re-mining, the average improvement is 6 times faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We documented a case of a free-living Formosan sambar deer (Rusa unicolor swinhoei) infected with a newly discovered ruminant Rhadinovirus (RuRv). Non-purulent encephalitis was the primary histological lesion of the sambar deer. We conducted nested PCR to screen for herpesvirus using generic primers targeting the DNA polymerase gene. In addition, we found that DNA polymerase gene of the sambar deer RuRv was present in the macrophage distributed in the Virchow Robin space with histopathologic lesions by chromogenic in-situ hybridization (CISH). The phylogenetic analysis indicated a high similarity between the viral sequence isolated from fallow deer and our case. This result suggests the possibility of crossspecies transmission from other exotic Cervidae reservoir to the Formosan sambar deer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]