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The rationale was to determine whether body mass index (BMI) is a predictor of bone bending strength and bone mineral density (BMD) in young sedentary women. Results show that BMI is not a predictor of bone bending strength and that young women with low BMI also have low BMD. The purpose of this study was to determine whether body mass index (BMI) is a predictor of tibial or ulnar bending strength and bone mineral density (BMD) in sedentary women. Sedentary women (n = 34), age 19–27 years, with low BMI (LBMI

Subchondral bone has been identified as an attractive target for KOA. To determine whether a minimally invasive micro-scaffolds could be used to induce regeneration of knee subchondral bone lesions, and to examine the protective effect of subchondral bone regeneration on upper cartilage, a ready-to-use injectable treatment with nanohydroxyapatite-chitosan-gelatin micro-scaffolds (HaCGMs) is proposed. Human-infrapatellar-fat-pad-derived adipose stem cells (IPFP-ASCs) were used as a cellular model to examine the osteo-inductivity and biocompatibility of HaCGMs, which were feasibly obtained with potency for multi-potential differentiations. Furthermore, a subchondral bone lesion model was developed to mimic the necrotic region removing performed by surgeons before sequestrectomy. HaCGMs were injected into the model to induce regeneration of subchondral bone. HaCGMs exhibited desirable swelling ratios, porosity, stiffness, and bioactivity and allowed cellular infiltration. Eight weeks after treatment, assessment via X-ray imaging, micro-CT imaging, and histological analysis revealed that rabbits treated with HaCGMs had better subchondral bone regeneration than those not treated. Interestingly, rabbits in the HaCGM treatment group also exhibited improved reservation of upper cartilage compared to those in other groups, as shown by safranin O-fast green staining. Present study provides an in-depth demonstration of injectable HaCGM-based regenerative therapy, which may provide an attractive alternative strategy for treating KOA.

Summary Purpose (1) To identify bone-shape changes from baseline to 3-years after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). (2) to assess association between changes in bone-shape from baseline to 6-months and changes in cartilage matrix and patient functions and symptoms from baseline to 3-years after ACLR. Methods Bilateral knees of 30 patients with unilateral ACL injuries were scanned at baseline, 6-months, 1-, 2-, and 3-years after ACLR. Bilateral knees of 13 controls were scanned at baseline, 1- and 3-years. Mean T1ρ and T2 values of each cartilage compartment were computed. Bone shape was quantified using statistical shape modeling (SSM) and 3D-MRI. Patient functions and symptoms were evaluated using Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Results Statistically significant changes were observed in Femur 2 (medial femoral condyle [MF] shape), Femur 6 (intercondylar notch width), Tibia 1 (tibia plateau area), and Tibia 7 (medial tibia slope) over 3-years after ACLR. Statistically significant differences were observed between injured and control knees in several modes. Statistically significant correlations were found between changes in bone shape (ΔFemur 6, ΔFemur 8 [trochlea inclination and MF height], ΔTibia 1) from baseline to 6-months and that of cartilage T1ρ and T2 and KOOS from baseline to 3-years after ACLR. Conclusion Bone shape remodeling occurs after ACLR, and early bone shape changes (within 6 months) correlated with cartilage matrix and patient outcomes at 3-years after ACLR. Bone shape can be a promising imaging biomarker that stratifies patients at high risk for post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA).

Summary Objective To estimate the burden of knee osteoarthritis (OA) among Chinese population. Design Individuals with symptomatic knee OA based on self-reported physician-diagnosed arthritis and presence of knee pain were identified in China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Severity of knee OA was divided into three categories: mild, moderate and severe, according to knee pain severity. We estimated sex-specific years lived with disability (YLD) and YLD rate (per 100,000 population) by multiplying the prevalence of knee OA with appropriate disability weight (DW) and examined associations between several key sociodemographic factors and YLDs. Results Among 17,459 subjects (52.1% women; mean age 59.1 years) included in this analysis, prevalence of mild, moderate and severe knee OA was 1.5%, 3.3%, and 3.9%, respectively. The total number of YLDs for knee OA in China was 4,149,628, and YLDs per 100,000 population was 968. Female sex, older age, rurality, lower education, and lower gross domestic production (GDP) per capita were associated with high YLDs rates for knee OA, respectively. The North and East regions of China had the lowest YLD rate per 100,000 population for knee OA (631 and 699), followed by South-central (858), Northeast (878), and Northwest (1502) regions. Southwest region had the highest YLD rate from knee OA (1653). Conclusions In this nationally representative sample, we demonstrated a high burden from knee OA among Chinese population. YLD rate for knee OA varied significantly according to sociodemographic factors. Our study calls for an urgent need for health policy support and cost-effective preventive strategies in China.

In this study, we identified potential serum biomarkers for the diagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB) and screening for latent TB infections (LTBIs). Peripheral blood samples from 40 healthy individuals, 40 patients with TB, and 40 LTBI individuals were stimulated with the TB-specific antigens ESAT-6 and CFP-10. Human inflammatory cytokine arrays were used to detect the expression of inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines with significant changes were screened to construct a cytokine regulation network. The levels of the cytokines CCL1 (I-309), CXCL9 (MIG), IL-10, IL-6, CSF2, CSF3, IL-8, IL-1α, IL-7, TGF-β1, CCL2, IL-2, IL-13, and TNFα were significantly upregulated in the active TB group. The levels of CCL3, IL-1β, CCL8, IFNγ, and CXCL10 were significantly increased in the TB groups compared to those in the healthy control group. sTNF RII was upregulated in the LTBI group. CCL4 and MIP1d were significantly increased in all groups.The upregulated cytokines were mainly found in the IFNγ and IL-1α regulatory networks. Importantly, we found that CXCL10 (IP-10), CCL3, CCL8, and IL-1β may be more suitable than IFNγ for active or latent TB infection screening. Furthermore, we found that levels of CCL1 (I-309), CXCL9 (MIG), IL-10, IL-6, CSF2, CSF3, IL-8, IL-1α, IL-7, TGF-β1, CCL2, IL-2, and IL-13 after TB antigen stimulation may help distinguish between active and latent TB.

The clinical diagnosis of snakebites is critical and necessary in many parts of the world, especially in Southeastern Asia, where venomous snakebites are a burden on public health. It is difficult to define or recognize the species of venomous snake because of the overlapping clinical manifestations of envenomations. A quick and reliable method for identifying the snake species is necessary. We designed and tested a strip of lateral flow system for the diagnosis of cobra snake bites in Taiwan.We developed a kit based on an immunochromatographic method for rapid detection of cobra (Naja atra) venom in human serum. The test and control lines composed of 1 mg/ml polyclonal duck antivenom and 0.5 mg/ml goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin antibody solutions, respectively, were coated on nitrocellulose strips. Colloidal gold was conjugated with rabbit polyclonal anti-cobra venom antibodies. From July 2007 to December 2012, we used the kit to test serum from snakebite patients and to examine the agreement between our rapid test and the currently used sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Our kit was able to detect cobra venom in serum samples in 20 minutes with a detection limit of 5 ng/ml. An absence of cross-reactivity with other non-cobra venoms from Taiwan was noted in vitro. A total of 88 snakebite patients (34 cobra and 54 other non-cobra) were tested. The sensitivity of the strips based on the ELISA results was 83.3% and the specificity was 100%. There was a strong agreement between the results of the ELISA and immunochromatographic strips (κ = 0.868).This data indicates that an immunochromatographic strip might be suitable for cobra venom detection and could be used as a quick diagnostic tool in cases of N. atra snakebite.

Public Bicycle System (PBS) has been developed for short-distance transportation as a part of the mass transportation system. The supply and demand of bikes in PBS is usually unbalanced at different stations and needs to be continuously and widely monitored and redistributed. The bicycle redistribution is a part of the vehicle routing problem (VRP). We can apply solutions to the VRP to redistribute bicycle efficiently. However, most solutions to the VRP use the Euclidean distance as the condition factor, which does not take road conditions, traffic regulations, and geographical factors into account, resulting in unnecessary waste of delivery time and human resources. In this work, we propose an actual path distance optimization method for the VRP to adapt the several additional constraints of road problems. We also implement a system that integrates real-time station information, Web GIS, the urban road network, and heuristics algorithms for PBS. The system includes a simulator inside that can assist PBS managers to do the route planning efficiently and find the best scheduling strategy to achieve hotspot analysis and the adjustment of station deployment strategies to reduce PBS operation cost.

Amorphous SiOx nanowires, with diameters of ∼20 nm and lengths of tens of μm, were grown from self-organized GeSi quantum dots or GeSi alloy epilayers on Si substrates. The morphologies and yield of these amorphous nanowires depend strongly upon the synthesis temperature. Comparative experiments indicate that the present SiOx nanowires are induced by metallic Ge as catalysts via the solid liquid solid growth mechanism. Two broad peaks centered at 410 nm and 570 nm were observed in photoluminescence spectrum, indicating that such SiOx nanowires have the potential applications in white light-emitting diodes, full-colour display, full-colour indicator and light sources.

Sustainability aims to harmonise life on Earth without compromising the essential natural resources that should be the birthright of future generations. 'Sustainable medicine' (SM) is just one component of the wide range of possible sustainable approaches to peaceful co-existence. Sustainable medicine envisions an uncomplicated system of maintaining the health of people and animals, both now and for many years to come. This type of medicine is based on ancient wisdom, knowledge and healing arts, combined with the advantages and technical achievements of modern science and other areas of medicine; it is an integrated approach to preventive, safe and affordable healing. The term sustainable medicine also implies that the main therapeutic materials used in the course of practising this type of medicine can be replaced or replenished with minimal environmental damage after harvesting. The aim of sustainable medicine is to maintain the balance of nature, allowing an estimated 7 to 100 million species of life forms to co-exist and reproduce, and to sustain the long-term future of this planet. The world is in the midst of an environmental crisis: anthropogenic environmental damage in the last century was greater than in any previous century. One of the major concerns is the misuse of medicines, and the resulting immune depletion in people and animals. Many traditional medical systems have taught that appropriate adaptation by, and of, an effective defence system is the key to health and survival. This is only possible if priority is given to a preventive rather than a curative approach to health care; the very same approach that is advocated by proponents of SM: an approach based on proper diagnosis and the use of personalised, tailor-made medicine. The authors propose SM (the combination of the advantages of modern, traditional and complementary medical systems) as the best approach to providing better health care services for people and animals. The article presents a brief history of traditional medicines and outlines strategies for developing SM. The authors highlight some important factors in the development of SM in animal health care and attempt to encourage veterinarians to adopt a sustainable approach to treating animals.

In modern society, people are often suffered the nervous tension for a long time, and results in inevitably internal injury of bodily functions. The periodic and comprehensive medical examinations are necessary, makes the chemistry analyzer to play an important role. Although the chemistry analyzer is operating automatically, different manufacturer defines distinctive specifications. That causes the interoperability problems in the chemistry analyzers, and the analyzed results could not share and integrating. Therefore, this study proposed to solve the problem, which was basing on the international standard protocols of ISO/IEEE 11073 and Health Level Seven (HL7) to develop a software application. The developed application could control the different brands of chemistry analyzers according to the ISO/IEEE 11073 standards. The data will be further compiled into HL7 format and save as an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) text file. Finally, the data are uploaded to the current hospital information systems. In order to achieve an interoperability platform that supports a variety of instruments at the same time. Not only enable the messages’ exchange in the healthcare systems, but also have high degree of sharing between the hospitals.

I Speech therapy is usually treated in the hospital by language therapist, but the home practice is also very important. The cooperation of parents and therapists would help children have a better effect. In this study, a home-practice platform is developed, which provides a collection of the correct pronunciations, practice methods and pronounce evaluations. As a result, the platform could enhance the progress of treatment and provide home exercises more resources for parents and children.

In the hospital the inpatients’ meal is not only for patient’s hungry, is also for the treatment assistant. The meal is designed and ordered by the nutritionists, which are basing on the physician’s advice. But in a hospital a nutritionist usually cares dozens patients, results in the heavy loading. In the meal order process, this involves departmental data transferring and manpower, and then needs lots of time. As a result, the first meal of the inpatient or the first modified meal would miss. For the purpose of providing the inpatients a in time nutritional care, so we proposed the inpatient meal booking system. Our system developed the electronic forms of meal booking based on the interactive Web technology. The physician’s advises are ordered via the web page, which are then directly transferred to the nutritionist. As a result, the nutritionist could get the inpatient’s data in time, and then assesses the nutritional requirements, issues the meal order.

The operation strategy for a small-capacity grid-tied DC-coupling power converter interface (GDPCI) integrating wind energy, solar energy and battery energy storage is proposed. The GDPCI is composed of a wind generator, a solar module set a battery bank, a boost DC-DC power converter (DDPC), a bidirectional DDPC power converter, an AC-DC power converter (ADPC) and a five-level DC-AC inverter (DAI). A solar module set, a wind generator and a battery bank are coupled to the common DC bus through the boost DDPC, the ADPC and the bidirectional DDPC, respectively. For verifying the performance of the GDPCI under different operation modes, computer simulation is carried out by PSIM.

Remarkably successful crowd-funded projects have led to crowdfunding (CF) emerging as a novel channel for realizing innovative ideas. The use of CF has therefore attracted both academic and business interest. This study investigated technology- and innovation-oriented CF projects that have successfully received funding from CF platforms in China. The research focused on determining the effects of project scales on CF patterns and outcome. A total of 100 relevant CF projects that completed their funding activities from Demohour.com were analyzed. The results showed that small-sized and medium-to-large-sized CF projects behaved similarly in content provision. Regarding the outcome, although medium-to-large-sized CF projects attracted more browsers than small-sized projects did, they did not outperform the small-sized projects in other observed indicators statistically. Applying the prediction models to the portion of CF funding achievements revealed that the social capital perspective provided stronger explanatory power for successful, small-sized, technology-and innovation-oriented CF projects.

The pseudo-excitation method, in which random excitations are mathematically represented by a series of harmonic loads, is developed for vibration analysis of wind-excited large civil engineering structures of closely spaced natural frequencies or equipped with discrete damping devices. By using this method, all cross-correlation terms between normal modes in a structural response can be retained naturally, and the non-orthogonal structural damping or stiffness properties can be handled accurately. The principle and algorithm of the pseudo-excitation method are introduced in this paper for structures with and without control devices. The accuracy of the method is validated through the comparison with the transfer matrix method. Two example buildings are presented to demonstrate the advantages of the suggested method.

A study was conducted to examine the tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single and multiple oral doses of L-365,260, a novel antagonist for type B cholecystokinin (CCK) receptors and to quantify effects of selective blockade of type B CCK receptors through treatment with L-365,260 on measures of anxiety, hunger, and cognitive performance. Healthy volunteers were given single oral doses of up to 50 mg of L-365,260 and multiple oral doses of up to 25 mg every 6 hours for 10 days. Plasma concentrations of L-365,260 were quantified by means of high-performance liquid chromatography. Anxiety and hunger were assessed by visual analog scale and the Spielberger State Anxiety Index. Cognitive testing was used to evaluate attention level and short-term memory. L-365,260 was rapidly absorbed and a biphasic pattern of elimination was demonstrated with a terminal half-life (t 1/2 ) of 8 to 12 hours. The mean (n = 6) values for peak plasma concentration (C max ) and time to peak concentration (t max ) of L-365,260 were 503 ng/mL and 1.25 hours, respectively, after a single 50-mg oral dose. Accumulation of L-365,260 plasma concentrations was seen after the prescribed multiple-dose regimens. Steady state was achieved after 3 days of oral administration. L-365,260 had an acceptable tolerability profile after oral administration. No changes in measures of anxiety, hunger, or short-term memory were observed at doses of L-365,260 shown to have antagonist activity at the CCK-B receptor.

The deployment of ac microgrids including distributed energy resources (DERs) can reduce the investment cost of building new fossil-fuel based power plants, facilitate the carbon-oxide reduction, provide reactive power compensation and frequency regulation, and enhance the system stability. However, some undesired effects such as imbalance, voltage fluctuation, and harmonics accompanied with the operations of DERs and nonlinear loads may affect the power quality (PQ) within the microgrid system. It is thus crucial to maintain the power quality within the microgrid to a satisfactory level. This paper presents the development of a graphical user interface-based analysis platform to monitor the power quality of the INER AC microgrid.

Well-defined Zn0.9Li0.1O nanorods were hydrothermally synthesized at the low temperature of 90°C on the sputtered ZnO seed layer in different thickness, 20 nm and 50 nm. The x-ray diffraction patterns of both samples with a single diffraction peak (002) showed the same wurtzite hexagonal structure. The length and diameter of the nanorods were both increased from 1.12 μm to 1.47 μm and 95 nm to 113 nm, respectively, while increasing the sputtered ZnO seed layer thickness from 20 nm to 50 nm. The optical properties were influenced by the presence of oxygen vacancies induced by Li doping in the Zn0.9Li0.1O nanorods. Besides, p-type ZnO-based semiconductor nanorods were obtained by the doping of Li into ZnO. Finally, the UV photodetectors with (p-Zn0.9Li0.1O nanorods)/(n-Si substrate) structure were also achieved. The I-V characteristics of the UV photodetector with p-ZnO:Li nanorod/n-Si structure were also measured. The UV illumination/dark current ratio of the photodetectors with different seeded layer, 20nm and 50nm, were also measured as 201% and 364%, respectively.

Repetitive power tool use is associated with work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Using a pneumatic nutrunner, 21 men completed twelve 360 repetitive fastener-driving sessions on three joints (hard, soft, and control) at slow and fast pace, and two different work:rest patterns. Handgrip force, hand motion, and localized blood volume at the forearm were collected throughout each session. For the control joint, the mean grip force exerted was 39.6% of maximum voluntary exertion (MVE) whereas during hard and soft joint sessions it was 48.9% MVE and 56.9% MVE, respectively. Further, a greater grip force decrease was resulted while operating soft and hard joints as compared to the control joint, suggesting considerable upper extremity muscular effort. Fast work pace resulted in higher average grip forces by participants but a greater decrease in the force as the session progressed. Providing rest breaks reduced perceived exertions. The findings provide knowledge for assembly task design to reduce the hand/arm injury risks.

Purpose: Currently, fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) have been recognized to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and progression of rheumatoid and osteoarthritic joint diseases. In-vitro studies offered insights into the mediated effects of FLS in the inflammatory responses and cartilage degradation of the arthritis. The aim of this study is to identify the secretion profile of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines of arthritic FLS in the presence of other cytokine stimuli. Methods: Synovial tissues were collected from patients with osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) received total knee arthroplasty or synovectomy. The FLS were enriched by using enzymatical digestion of synovial tissue with collagenase and repeated passage in vitro. Subsequently, the FLS were treated with different cytokine stimuli including Interleukin (IL) -1b, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -a and interferon (IFN) -g at gradient concentration for 24 h. The collected supernatant was applied in the following ELISA for the determination of the secretion level of IL-6, IL-8 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1). Results: Similar to RA FLS, the FLS enriched from OA synovial tissue could response to the cytokine stimulation. All the cytokine stimuli could induce the release of IL-6, IL-8 and MCP-1 from both OA and RA FLS except IFN-g (Fig. 1). Compared to RA FLS, the OA FLS stimulated by IL-1b could produce more MCP-1 chemokine (p

In a power system network, voltage dip is regarded as the most common power quality (PQ) issue. In general, the causes of voltage dips are mainly due to uncontrollable factors such as lightning, third party interference and system faults. Nowadays, more and more utilities are upgrading their grids to become smarter with smart automation and self-healing features. While supply reliability is undoubtedly uplifted, the concern on PQ issue would be inevitably increased to sensitive customer loads. Although most of these loads have been designed to operate properly under power interruption, they may overlook the extent of their immunity against voltage dips, and therefore the operation become interrupted. This PQ issue not only found in low-power control devices, but also increasingly affected the high-power production lines which nowadays have been heavily integrated with computerized controls. Voltage dip mitigation solutions for small-rating or high-power equipment are different. Usually, small-rating equipment could simply be protected by a 1-phase uninterruptible power supply (UPS) at the control side as a low-cost solution. However, a 3-phase high-power equipment needs to employ a high-power UPS for protecting the whole system from interference under voltage dips. To select a suitable 3-phase high-power UPS, flywheel, battery type or battery-less type UPS could be one of the choices. When adopting 3-phase high-power supercapacitor UPS as the voltage dip mitigation solution, its size, voltage dip correction time and maintenance costs are the major factors needed to be considered. In this paper, not just the experience on application of high-power super-capacitor UPS as voltage dip mitigation solution are shared, but also its performance among other types of high-power solutions including battery-type UPS, flywheel and typical voltage dip compensator are compared. (6 pages)

Veterinary acupuncture has been receiving greater acceptance in veterinary medicine communities throughout the world in recent years. The American Veterinary Medical Association, for example, is beginning to accept acupuncture as a form of veterinary treatment. Another branch of traditional Chinese veterinary practice, herbal medicine, deserves similar recognition throughout the veterinary world. While herbal medicine carries a strong reputation for healing potential in the Orient, this treatment system is new to Western veterinary practices. Chinese herbal medicine should be incorporated into wider veterinary practice only after close scientific examination of these techniques. The authors examine the reasons for investigating Chinese herbal medicine, including the historical background, strategies of development, research plans and prospects for the use of Chinese herbal medicine in veterinary sciences. Potentially, this could lead to a unique combination of traditional and modern medicines, and to links whereby veterinary findings might acquire applications in human medicine.