Institution Publication Feature Analysis Based on Time-Series Clustering.

Based on the time series of articles obtained from the literature, we propose three analysis methods to deeply examine the characteristics of these articles. This method can be used to analyze the construction and development of various disciplines in institutions, and to explore the features of the publications in important periodicals in the disciplines. By defining the concepts and methods relevant to research and discipline innovation, we propose three methods for analyzing the characteristics of agency publications: numerical distribution, trend, and correlation network analyses. The time series of the issuance of articles in 30 important journals in the field of management sciences were taken, and the new analysis methods were used to discover some valuable results. The results showed that by using the proposed methods to analyze the characteristics of institution publications, not only did we find similar levels of discipline development or similar trends in institutions, achieving a more reasonable division of the academic levels, but we also determined the preferences of the journals selected by the institutions, which provides a reference for subject construction and development.

f-Wave suppression method for improvement of locating T-Wave ends in electrocardiograms during atrial fibrillation.

This article is to propose an algorithm for improving T-wave ends location during atrial fibrillation (AF). The traditional algorithms do not take the irregular baseline fibrillation of AF into consideration, so their location accuracy is relatively low. Based on simple assumptions that AF is a random signal while T waves and QRS complexes are deterministic signals, we suggest a novel method to suppress f wave for improving location of T-wave ends during AF. We firstly define a new cardiac cycle and then match R peaks and T peaks in the three adjacent cardiac cycles. Finally, we suppress the interference of the f wave by averaging. When evaluating with the PhysioNet QT database and simulated AF signals in terms of the mean and the standard deviation of the T-wave ends location errors, the proposed algorithm improves the performance of existing popular methods. Besides, the clinical significance of the proposed method is illustrated.

The Association of Socioeconomic Status with the Burden of Cataract-related Blindness and the Effect of Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure: An Ecological Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of socioeconomic status with the burden of cataract blindness in terms of year lived with disability (YLD) rates and to determine whether ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels modify the effect of socioeconomic status on this health burden. METHODS: National and subnational age-standardized YLD rates associated with cataract-related blindness were derived from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2017. The human development index (HDI) from the Human Development Report was used as a measure of socioeconomic status. Estimated ground-level UVR exposure was obtained from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) dataset of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). RESULTS: Across 185 countries, socioeconomic status was inversely associated with the burden of cataract blindness. Countries with a very high HDI had an 84% lower age-standardized YLD rate [95% confidence interval ( CI): 60%-93%, P < 0.001] than countries with a low HDI; for high-HDI countries, the proportion was 76% (95% CI: 53%-88%, P < 0.001), and for medium-HDI countries, the proportion was 48% (95% CI: 15%-68%, P = 0.010; P for trend < 0.001). The interaction analysis showed that UVR exposure played an interactive role in the association between socioeconomic status and cataract blindness burden ( P value for interaction = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Long-term high-UVR exposure amplifies the association of poor socioeconomic status with the burden of cataract-related blindness. The findings emphasize the need for strengthening UVR exposure protection interventions in developing countries with high-UVR exposure.

Meta-analysis of the relationship between Dietary Inflammatory Index and esophageal cancer risk.

INTRODUCTION: Diet is closely related to the occurrence of esophageal cancer (EC). Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), as a novel index that describes the inflammatory potential of diet, was widely used in many diseases. OBJECTIVE: To systematically analyze the relationship between DII and the risk of esophageal cancer. METHODS: We mainly searched relative studies in PubMed, Cochrane library, Web of Science, and other literature database. The random-effect model was used for meta-analysis, and subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were used to detect the origin of heterogeneity. RESULTS: We finally obtained 6 articles (8 studies). All studies were case-control studies which consisted of 1961 cases and 3577 controls. In this study, compared with the lowest DII category, the highest DII category had a higher risk of esophageal cancer, and the pooled odds ratio (OR) of the 8 studies were 2.54 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.90-3.40; I = 65.7%, P = .005). Furthermore, regardless of the differences in published year, DII components, geographic location, and study quality, there was still an increased risk of esophageal cancer in the highest DII category compared with the lowest DII category. CONCLUSIONS: Our results inferred that DII was positively correlated with esophageal cancer risk and it could be used as a tool to predict the esophageal cancer risk and evaluate human health.

[Effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on post-stroke constipation: a network Meta-analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the therapeutic effect of acupuncture-moxibustion therapies on post-stroke constipation based on the network Meta-analysis. METHODS: The randomized controlled trials of acupuncture and moxibustion for post-stroke constipation were retrieved from the databases, starting from the time of establishment through to June, 2019, i.e. the PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SinoMed, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP. The literature was selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, the quality of literature was evaluated by bias risk assessment tool of Cochrane Review Manual 5.3 and the data was statistically analyzed by softwares of Stata 13.1 and R Language. RESULTS: A total of 28 trails were included, involving 9 intervention methods. The therapeutic effect was arranged from high to the low according to the surface under cumulative ranking area (SUCRA), i.e. acupuncture combined with medication (0.86), warm needling (0.83), electroacupuncture combined with medication (0.68), electroacupuncture (0.68), moxibustion (0.50), auricular point sticking (0.44), acupuncture (0.31), Chinese herbal medicine (0.12) and western medication (0.04). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture- moxibustion therapies have superiority on treating post-stroke constipation, acupuncture combined with medication has the most optimum therapeutic effect and the therapeutic effect of acupuncture-moxibustion combined with medication is superior to the single treatment of medication.

[Artesunate in interrupting the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of artesunate (ATS) on the infectivity of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes (PFG). METHODS: 31 volunteers with falciparum malaria and gametocytaemia were randomly divided into 3 groups: artesunate (ATS) group (15 cases), quinine (QN) group (10 cases) and placebo group (6 cases). Each case in ATS group received 6-day course of oral artesunate (200 mg at 0, 6 and 24 hours then 100 mg daily for 4 days). Cases in QN group each received 21-dose course of quinine sulfate (500 mg/time) over seven days. Cases in placebo group took 2 tablets of vitamin B composites, three times per day for seven days. Peripheral PFG were counted daily in all cases until the clearance of PFG. Mosquitoes (Anopheles dirus) were fed with venous blood of patients on the 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th day, respectively. RESULTS: All cases in placebo group were PFG positive at the whole course by blood smear examinations. The PFG relative density in ATS group were (12.5+/-3.3)%, (1.2+/-0.4)%, (0.3+/-0.1)% on 7th, 14th, 21st day respectively, and the mean PFG clearance time was (22.0+/-1.4) d. The PFG relative density in QN group were (173.9+/-47.0)%, (112.5+/-45.4)%, (32.5+/-17.8)% at 7th, 14th, 21st day respectively, and the mean clearance time of PFG was (32.5+/-2.1) d (t=4.731, P<0.01). PFG remained positive on the 28th day in placebo group. The infectivity test to mosquitoes showed on 14th day the positive rate in ATS group, QN group and placebo group were 0, 35.0% and 48.7% respectively. In ATS group, the sporozoite rate of anopheline mosquitoes were 14.8% and 0 at 7th, 14th day, while in QN group, 142.0%, 98.6% and 20.3% at 7th, 14th, 21st day respectively. In placebo group, the infection rate of sporozoites remained stable. CONCLUSION: Oral administration of artesunate with a total dosage of 1000 mg in 6 days inhibits the infectivity of PFG.

Effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on post-stroke constipation: a network Meta-analysis / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To systematically review the therapeutic effect of acupuncture-moxibustion therapies on post-stroke constipation based on the network Meta-analysis.@*METHODS@#The randomized controlled trials of acupuncture and moxibustion for post-stroke constipation were retrieved from the databases, starting from the time of establishment through to June, 2019, i.e. the PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SinoMed, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP. The literature was selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, the quality of literature was evaluated by bias risk assessment tool of Cochrane Review Manual 5.3 and the data was statistically analyzed by softwares of Stata 13.1 and R Language.@*RESULTS@#A total of 28 trails were included, involving 9 intervention methods. The therapeutic effect was arranged from high to the low according to the surface under cumulative ranking area (SUCRA), i.e. acupuncture combined with medication (0.86), warm needling (0.83), electroacupuncture combined with medication (0.68), electroacupuncture (0.68), moxibustion (0.50), auricular point sticking (0.44), acupuncture (0.31), Chinese herbal medicine (0.12) and western medication (0.04).@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture- moxibustion therapies have superiority on treating post-stroke constipation, acupuncture combined with medication has the most optimum therapeutic effect and the therapeutic effect of acupuncture-moxibustion combined with medication is superior to the single treatment of medication.

[A randomized comparative study of naphtoquine, mefloquine and artsunate in the treatment of falciparum malaria].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of naphtoquine, compared with mefloquine and artesunate in the treatment of falciparum malaria. METHOD: Ninety patients with falciparum malaria were randomly allocated to 3 groups, including naphtoquine, mefloquine and artesunate group. In the naphtoquine group, thirty patients were prescribed single daily dosage of 1,000 mg for one day. In the mefloquine group, equal patients were treated with single dosage of 750 mg. Another thirty patients in the artesunate group were given total dosage of 600 mg for five days and doubling dosage on the first day. RESULT: In all three groups, symptoms were well controlled. The average fever-subsidence time in naphtoquine group was 30 h +/- 16 h and approximate that in mefloquine group (24 h +/- 15 h, P>0.05), but was longer than that in naphtoquine group (18 h +/- 9 h, P<0.01). The average parasite-clearance time in naphtoquine group (98 h +/- 28 h) is longer than that in mefloquine group (57 h +/- 20 h, P<0.01) and that in artesunate group (43 h +/- 17 h, P<0.01). At the end of 28-day clinical trail, the curative ratio in naphtoquine group was the highest (96.7%), and was significantly higher than that in mefloquine group (76.7%, P<0.05) and artesunate group (73.3%, P<0.05). Slight nausea and vomiting were observed in few patient in three groups. CONCLUSION: Although the average fever-subsidence time and the parasite-clearance time of naphtoquine at single 24-hour dosage of 1,000 mg were longer than those of mefloquine and artesunate, the 28-day curative ratio of naphtoquine was higher than that of mefloquine and artesunate. So we recommend that the combination of artemisinin, which is a rapid action antimalarial, and naphtoquine or mefloquine, which are longterm action antimalarial, would contribute to promoting efficacy, shorting the period of treatment and delaying occurrence of drug resistance.

[Effects of regulatory agent on the heavy metal stability in tidal sediments].

The object of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of calcium nitrate-regulatory agent for the stabilization of heavy metals in tidal sediments. The pilot-scale treatment was deployed in a section of the urban river in Ronggui, Foshan, which was heavily contaminated with Cu, Zn, Pb and Cr. For the remediation of the contaminated sediment, chemical speciation and stability of four elements were studied. The results indicated that: a)the percentage of four elements associated with reducible fraction and oxidizable fraction was decreased with the treatment of regulatory agent; b) the regulatory agent could effectively promote Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cr in sediment distributing in the residual fraction, which were increased by 4% , 20% , 21% and 23% after being treated by dosing regulatory agent for 22 days, with lower bioavailability in environment; c) the concentration of acid soluble fraction of Cu, Pb and Cr was increased except Zn. In general, the effect of stabilization for heavy metals Cu, Zn, Pb and Cr by regulatory agent is not ideal except Zn which has a certain effect, but the effect is not obvious.

Analysis on differential gene expression data for prediction of new biological features in permanent atrial fibrillation.

Permanent Atrial fibrillation (pmAF) has largely remained incurable since the existing information for explaining precise mechanisms underlying pmAF is not sufficient. Microarray analysis offers a broader and unbiased approach to identify and predict new biological features of pmAF. By considering the unbalanced sample numbers in most microarray data of case - control, we designed an asymmetric principal component analysis algorithm and applied it to re - analyze differential gene expression data of pmAF patients and control samples for predicting new biological features. Finally, we identified 51 differentially expressed genes using the proposed method, in which 42 differentially expressed genes are new findings compared with two related works on the same data and the existing studies. The enrichment analysis illustrated the reliability of identified differentially expressed genes. Moreover, we predicted three new pmAF - related signaling pathways using the identified differentially expressed genes via the KO-Based Annotation System. Our analysis and the existing studies supported that the predicted signaling pathways may promote the pmAF progression. The results above are worthy to do further experimental studies. This work provides some new insights into molecular features of pmAF. It has also the potentially important implications for improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms of pmAF.