Review:Recent advances in the artificial endocrine system

The artificial endocrine system (AES) is a new branch of natural computing which uses ideas and takes inspiration from the information processing mechanisms contained in the mammalian endocrine system. It is a fast growing research field in which a variety of new theoretical models and technical methods have been studied for dealing with complex and significant problems. An overview of some recent advances in AES modeling and its applications is provided in this paper, based on the major and latest works. This review covers theoretical modeling, combinations of algorithms, and typical application fields. A number of challenges that can be undertaken to help move the field forward are discussed according to the current state of the AES approach.

Tight glycemic control using an artificial endocrine pancreas may play an important role in preventing infection after pancreatic resection

It is well known that perioperative hyperglycemia is the main cause of infectious complications after surgery.To improve perioperative glycemic control,we wish to highlight and comment on an interesting paper published recently by the Annals of Surgery entitled:"Early postoperative hyperglycemia is associated with postoperative complications after pancreatoduodenectomy(PD)" by Eshuis et al.The authors concluded that early postoperative glucose levels more than 140 mg/dL was significantly associated with complications after PD.Since we recommend that perioperative tight glycemic control(TGC) is an effective method to prevent postoperative complications including surgical site infection after distal,proximal,and total pancreatic resection,we support strongly this conclusion drawn in this article.However,if early postoperative glucose control in patients undergoing PD was administrated by conventional method such as sliding scale approach as described in this article,it is difficult to maintain TGC.Therefore,we introduce a novel perioperative glycemic control using an artificial endocrine pancreas against pancreatogenic diabetes after pancreatic resection including PD.

Adsorption and biodegradation of three selected endocrine disrupting chemicals in river-based artificial groundwater recharge with reclaimed municipal wastewater

Endocrine disrupting chemical（EDC） pollution in river-based artificial groundwater recharge using reclaimed municipal wastewater poses a potential threat to groundwater-based drinking water supplies in Beijing, China. Lab-scale leaching column experiments simulating recharge were conducted to study the adsorption, biodegradation, and transport characteristics of three selected EDCs： 17β-estradiol（E2）, 17α-ethinylestradiol（EE2） and bisphenol A（BPA）. The three recharge columns were operated under the conditions of continual sterilization recharge（CSR）, continual recharge（CR）, and wetting and drying alternative recharge（WDAR）. The results showed that the attenuation effect of the EDCs was in the order of WDAR 〉 CR 〉 CSR system and E2 〉 EE2 〉 BPA, which followed first-order kinetics. The EDC attenuation rate constants were 0.0783, 0.0505, and 0.0479 m-1 for E2, EE2 and BPA in the CR system, respectively. The removal rates of E2, EE2, and BPA in the CR system were 98%, 96% and 92%, which mainly depended on biodegradation and were affected by water temperature.In the CR system, the concentrations of BPA, EE2, and E2 in soil were 4, 6 and 10 times higher than in the WDAR system, respectively. According to the DGGE fingerprints, the bacterial community in the bottom layer was more diverse than in the upper layer, which was related to the EDC concentrations in the water-soil system. The dominant group was found to be proteobacteria, including Betaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, suggesting that these microbes might play an important role in EDC degradation.