Quality grade classification of China commercial moxa floss using electronic nose: A supervised learning approach.

Moxa floss is the primary material used in moxibustion, an important traditional Chinese medicine therapy that uses ignited moxa floss to apply heat to the body for disease treatment. Till date, there is no available data regarding quality control of different grades of moxa floss. The objectives of this study were to explore the probative value of the electronic nose (e-nose) in differentiating different quality grades of commercial moxa floss sold in China, and to investigate if data mining techniques could be used to optimize the sensor array while retaining classification accuracy of the samples. The e-nose with 12 metal oxide semiconductor type sensors was used to analyze the odor profiles of 15 commercial moxa floss samples of different quality grades. Feature selection algorithms using principal component analysis (PCA) and BestFirst (BC) coupled with correlation-based feature subset selection (CfsSubsetEval) method were used to obtain the most efficient feature subsets. Results for the BC feature selection method identified 3 optimized sensors (S2, S6, and S11), suggesting that aromatic compounds relate more to the identification of the samples. Radial basis function (RBF), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and random forests (RF) performed well in discriminating the samples, retaining prediction accuracies above 85%, which achieved cost-effectiveness and operational simplicity, while retaining prediction accuracy. The e-nose could be a rapid and nondestructive method for objective preliminary classification of quality grades of moxa floss and may be used for future studies related to moxa products safety and quality.

Characteristics and performances of microalgal-bacterial consortia in a mixture of raw piggery digestate and anoxic aerated effluent.

The piggery digestate of high ammonia was mixed with the anoxic aerated effluent of high nitrate and phosphorus, to cultivate a microalgal-bacterial consortium for simultaneous pollution removal and resource recovery. The highest removal of total inorganic nitrogen was achieved at 324.77 mg/L in 40% piggery digestate mixed with 60% anoxic aerated effluent, along with the most microalgae biomass production. The crude protein and fatty acids of C14-C20 in microalgae cells were 21.80% and 69.78%, indicating that this mixing strategy could produce abundant microalgal biomass suitable for biofuel generation and animal feed. High-throughput sequencing showed that microbial diversity increased and Paenibacillus, Thiopseudomonas and Pseudomonas were the dominant species promoting microalgal growth. Overall, these results provided a new insight of mixing two types of wastewaters for cultivating microalgal-bacterial consortia, to remove contamination and recover nutrients simultaneously.

[Effects of eight environmental endocrine disruptors on insulin resistance in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a preliminary investigation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between 8 endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the serum and insulin resistance in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS: This study was conducted among 60 patients with PCOS, including 23 with insulin resistance (PCOS-IR) and 37 without insulin resistance (PCOS-NIR), and 29 non-PCOS women seeking medical attention for infertility or menstrual disorder (control group). The serum levels of 6 phthalic acid esters (PEAs), bisphenol A (BPA) and octylphenol (OP) were measured in all the subjects. RESULTS: The levels of PAEs, BPA and OP showed no significant differences between PCOS patients and the control group (P>0.05). The serum level of OP was significantly lower in patients PCOS-IR than in those with PCOS-NIR (47.89 ng/ml vs 60.24 ng/ml, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: PEAs and BPA do not produce obvious effect on the pathogenesis of PCOS or contribute to insulin resistance, but OP may play a role in insulin resistance in PCOS patients.

[Autophosphorylation of erythrocyte insulin receptors in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the tyrosine autophosphorylation of insulin receptors in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS: Forty patients with PCOS and 20 age- and body mass index matched healthy women were included in the study. The patients with PCOS were classified as HI-PCOS (n=20) or non-HI-PCOS (n=20) based on the fasting insulin level (>or< or =15 mIU/L). 1) Serum gonadotropins and ovarian steroids were determined. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) and insulin releasing tests were performed to calculate the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR). 2) Blood samples were obtained at five time-points during the OGTT (Fasting and 30 min, 60 min, 120 min, and 180 min after taking 75 g glucose orally). The erythrocytes were isolated and the autophosphorylation insulin receptors (APIR) and total insulin receptors (TIR) were measured by enzymatic immunoassay. 3) The in vivo autophosphorylation of insulin receptors was indicated by the APIR/TIR ratio. RESULTS: The HI-PCOS patients had lower APIR/TIR ratio than the non-HI-PCOS patients and healthy controls at the 60th minute after OGTT (P<0.05). No differences in other time-points were significant. CONCLUSION: The autophosphorylation of insulin receptors in HI-PCOS patients decrease, which might be a mechanism for insulin resistance in patients with PCOS.

[Analysis of visible and near-infrared spectra of As-contaminated soil in croplands beside mines].

Soil samples in the depth from 0 to 20 cm were scooped from agricultural region beside mines and prepared for determination of As concentration, Fe concentrations and organic matter content. At the same time they were scanned by mobile hyperspectral radiometer for visible and near-infrared spectra. Savitzky-Golay filter was used to smooth noises in spectrum curve because of some low signal-to-noise ratios in some regions of visible and near-infrared light, and all the spectra were resampled with the spectral interval of 10 nm. Before principal component regression and partial least square regression models were constructed for predicting As concentration, Fe concentrations and OM content, several spectral preprocessing techniques like first/second derivative (F/SD), baseline correction (B), standard normalized variate (SNV), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) and continuum removal (CR) were used for promotion of models' robustness and predicting performance. For limited samples, cross validation was carried out by repeated leave-one-out procedure, and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) was used for validating the prediction ability of constructed models. In this study principal component regression models behave better than partial least square regression models in representing regressing ability, reducing risk of over-fitting with less factors and ensuring models' accuracy and pertinences (relative RMSEP and R2). Preprocessing techniques of SNV, MSC and CR improve obviously the prediction ability of models for As concentration, Fe concentrations and OM content with relative RMSEP equal to 0.3040, 0.1443 and 0.1712, with number of factors equal to 5, 3 and 3, respectively. The analysis of regression vectors of selected optimal PCR models shows that several important wavelengths are simultaneously taken and helpful for prediction performance: 450, 1,000, 1,400, 1,900, 2,050, 2,200, 2,250, 2,400 and 2,470 nm. Application of the calibrated models to soil contamination of croplands is promising. Concentrations of soil contaminants and contents of other matter can be determined by reflectance spectroscopy with high spectra resolution, which would provide potent reference for remote sensing monitoring of soil and environmental quality.

[Impact of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation delayed, which occurs after functionally pituitary downregulation by depot GnRH agonist, on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer].

OBJECTIVE: This study observed the influence on hormone, embryos and clinical outcomes when the starting time of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) was delayed after applying a half-dose depot gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa). METHODS: A total 207 cycles were divided into 3 groups: control group (98 cycles, which performed daily low dose GnRHa during the mid-luteal phase in patients' menstrual cycles and reduced the dosage to a half at the next day 3, and added gonadotropin (Gn), conventional group (63 cycles, in which pituitary desensitization was obtained with a half-dose depot GnRHa in the mid-luteal phase, and then Gn was added at day 3) and delayed group (46 cycles, having the same usage of GnRHa to conventional group, but not adding Gn until day 7). RESULTS: The cancellation rate of cycle in conventional group was the highest (P < 0.01). At the beginning of COH, serum E2 and LH levels in delayed and control group were significantly higher than those in conventional group (P < 0.01). On the day of HCG given, serum E2 level in control group was the highest (P < 0.05). LH level in delayed and control group was higher than that in conventional group (P < 0.01). Concerning the clinical efficacy and outcome, the numbers of Gn ampoules and periods for stimulation were less in delayed group than in conventional group; the numbers of retrieved and fertilized oocytes, numbers of good quality embryos, clinical pregnancy rate and embryo implantation rate in delayed and control groups were significantly more than those in conventional group (P < 0.01). In ICSI cycles, the numbers of retrieved oocytes and metaphase II oocytes in delayed and control group were more than those in conventional group. CONCLUSIONS: A half-dose depot GnRHa may produce over suppression to pituitary gland in fertilization in vitro, appropriate delay of COH starting time can decrease ovarian stimulation period and ampoules of Gn, and increase retrieved good quality oocytes, so we could achieve a larger number of good quality embryos with a good chance of implantation.

[The relationship between leptin, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and hyperinsulinemia of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To identify the effect of IGF-1 and leptin on the hyperinsulinemia (HI) of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). METHODS: The case-control compared method was applied to the study. Ninety-two PCOS and 92 control subjects were involved in the study. The group of PCOS was further divided into two subgroups of 46 PCOS-HI and 46 PCOS-NHI. The leptin, IGF-1 and other hormones such as serum testosterone, DHT, DHEA, DHEA-S were measured by RIA method. RESULTS: Leptin and IGF-1 were higher in PCOS group (16.8 +/- 9.8 ng/mL, 214.8 +/- 131.6 ng/mL) than those in control group (11.6 +/- 6.8 ng/ mL, 118.0 +/- 82.9 ng/mL respectively, P < 0.05). Serum leptin level was higher in hyperinsulinemia group (9.2 +/- 10.2 ng/mL) than that in normal insulin group (12.5 +/- 7.6 ng/mL, P < 0.05). IGF-1 (208.7 +/- 109.7 ng/mL vs. 151.7 +/- 120.0 ng/mL, P = 0.66) and fasting glucose (5.1 +/- 0.5 mmol/L vs. 4.9 +/- 0.4 mmol/L, P = 0.15) had no significant difference between two groups. Multiple logistic regression showed that after the body mass index (BMI) adjusted, the testosterone, LH/FSH, DHT, DHEA, and DHEA-S, leptin and IGF-1 showed to be the independent risk factor for PCOS, but not to be for hyperinsulinemia in patients with PCOS. CONCLUSION: The leptin and IGF-1 may contribute to the pathogenesis of PCOS, but the relationship between leptin, IGF-1 and hyperinsulinemia needs more researches to confirm.