Efficacy-cost analysis of endoscopic mucosal resection and cold snare polypectomy:A propensity score matching analysis

BACKGROUND Although substantial evidence supports the advantages of cold snare polypectomy(CSP)in terms of polypectomy efficacy and reduced postoperative adverse events,few studies have examined the cost differences between CSP and traditional endoscopic mucosal resection(EMR)for the treatment of intestinal polyps.AIM To compare the efficacy-cost of EMR and CSP in the treatment of intestinal polyps.METHODS A total of 100 patients with intestinal polyps were included in the retrospective data of our hospital from April 2022 to May 2023.According to the treatment methods,they were divided into EMR(n=46)group and CSP(n=54)group.The baseline data of the two groups were balanced by 1:1 propensity score matching(PSM),and the cost-effectiveness analysis was performed on the two groups after matching.The recurrence rate of the two groups of patients was followed up for 1 year,and they were divided into recurrence group and non-recurrence group according to whether they recurred.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to screen out the influencing factors affecting the recurrence of intestinal polyps after endoscopic resection.RESULTS Significant disparities were observed in the number of polyps and smoking background between the two groups before PSM(P<0.05).Following PSM,the number of polyps and smoking history were well balanced between the EMR and CSP groups.The direct cost incurred by the CSP group was markedly higher than that incurred by the EMR group.Concurrently,the cost-effectiveness ratio in the CSP group was substantially reduced when juxtaposed with that in the EMR group(P<0.05).Upon completion of the 1-year follow-up,the rate of recurrence after endoscopic intestinal polypectomy was 38.00%.Multivariate methods revealed that age≥60 years,male sex,number of polyps≥3,and pathological type of adenoma were risk factors for recurrence after endoscopic intestinal polypectomy(all P<0.05).CONCLUSION CSP was more cost-effective for the treatment of intestinal polyps.An age≥60 years,male sex,having a number of polyps≥3,and pathological type of adenoma are independent influencing factors for recurrence.

Fast alternating direction method of multipliers for total-variation-based image restoration

A novel algorithm, i.e. the fast alternating direction method of multipliers （ADMM）, is applied to solve the classical total-variation （ TV ）-based model for image reconstruction. First, the TV-based model is reformulated as a linear equality constrained problem where the objective function is separable. Then, by introducing the augmented Lagrangian function, the two variables are alternatively minimized by the Gauss-Seidel idea. Finally, the dual variable is updated. Because the approach makes full use of the special structure of the problem and decomposes the original problem into several low-dimensional sub-problems, the per iteration computational complexity of the approach is dominated by two fast Fourier transforms. Elementary experimental results indicate that the proposed approach is more stable and efficient compared with some state-of-the-art algorithms.

A Comparative Study on Three Methods for the Extraction of Total RNA from Pinus bungeana

[Objective] The aim of this study was to compare three RNA extraction methods and thus find out the suitable one for isolating intact and high quality total RNA from Pinus bungeana.[Method] Employing three extraction methods of Trizol,RNeasy Mini Kit,LiCl precipitation,total RNAs of P.bungeana were extracted from pine leaf samples,and their integrity and purity were detected via agarose gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometry for a comparative study.[Result] Among the three extraction methods,LiCl precipitation method demonstrated higher yield and better integrity of total extracted RNA,with OD260/OD280 ratio between 1.8-2.0 and clear 28 S and 18 S bands in electrophoresis pattern.[Conclusion] LiCl precipitation method could be used to extract highly pure and intact total RNA from P.bungeana.

Total phenolic, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of flour, noodles, and steamed bread made from different colored wheat grains by three milling methods

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of wheat variety, food processing, and milling method on antioxidant properties. Black wheat variety Heibaoshi 1 had the highest total phenolic content(659.8 μg gallic acid equivalents g-1), total flavonoid content(319.3 μg rutin equivalents g-1), and antioxidant activity, whereas light purple wheat variety Shandongzimai 1 had the lowest total flavonoid content(236.2 μg rutin equivalents g-1) and antioxidant activity. Whole wheat flour and partially debranned grain flour had significantly higher total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activity than refined flour(P < 0.05). Compared with flour, total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity decreased in noodles and steamed bread, whereas noodles had slightly higher total phenolic and flavonoid content than steamed bread. Antioxidant activities(by ferric reducing ability of plasma assay) of steamed bread made from whole wheat flour, partially debranned grain flour, and refined flour were 23.5%, 21.1%, and 31.6% lower, respectively, than the corresponding values of flour. These results suggested that black whole wheat flour and partially debranned grain flour are beneficial to human health.

An experimental method for quantitative analysis of real contact area based on the total reflection optical principle

The simulation of real contact area between materials is foundationally important for the contact mechanics of mechanical structures. The Greenwood and Williamson(GW) model and the Majumdar(MB) model are the basic models in this field, which are widely accepted and proven to be valid in many experiments and engineering. Although the contact models have evolved considerably in recent years, the verifications of the models are most based on the indirect methods such as electrical conductivity and contact stiffness, because of the lack of effective methods to directly measure the variation of contact surface. In this paper, the total reflection(TR) method is introduced into the verification of contact models.An experiment system based on TR method is constructed to measure the real contact area of two PMMA specimens. The comparison analysis between the results of experiment and models suggests that the experiment result has the same trend with simulation, the MB model has better agreement with the experimental result because this method can take into account the variation of radius and the merging of asperities, while the GW model has a huge deviation because of the dependence on resolution and the lack of considering the variation of radius and asperity's merging process. Taking the interaction of asperities into account could give a better result that is closer to the experiment. Our results and analysis prove that the experimental methods in this paper could be used as a more direct and valid method to quantitatively measure the real contact area and to verify the contact models.

Mass scale screening of common arboviral infections by an affordable,cost effective RT-PCR method

Objective:To develop a rapid,cost effective RT-PCR method for the mass scale diagnosis of such diseases at the vireraia stage to find out the actual disease burden in that area.Methods:For this purpose,cases with the history of only short febrile illness were considered.Thus 157 samples with the history of dengue/chikungunya like illness and only 58 samples with a history of acute encephalitis syndrome(AES)were selected.Results:Out of 157 samples,42 and 74 were detected as dengue and chikungunya,respectively and out of 58 AES cases only 23 could be detected as Japanese encephalitis by this RT-PCR method.Conclusions:This cost effective RT-PCR method can detect the total positive cases that remain undetected by EL1SA method.Moreover,this method is capable to detect the viral RNA from patients'sera even after the appearance of IgM antibody at one fifth costs as compared with the other commercially available kits.

New Method of Total Ionizing Dose Compact Modeling in Partially Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator MOSFETs

On the basis of a detailed discussion of the development of total ionizing dose （TID） effect model, a new commercial-model-independent TID modeling approach for partially depleted silicon-on-insulator metal-oxide- semiconductor field effect transistors is developed. An exponential approximation is proposed to simplify the trap charge calculation. Irradiation experiments with 60Co gamma rays for IO and core devices are performed to validate the simulation results. An excellent agreement of measurement with the simulation results is observed.

Effects of Tillage Methods on Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Content in the Loess Plateau

In order to determine whether long-term no-tillage operation in the loess plateau threatens soil fertility and crop yield,a suitable high-yield and efficient tillage technology system was established.In the Changwu loess plateau agri-Gecological experiment station of the Northwest A&F University of Changwu County,Shaanxi Province,the no-tillage experimental field for three consecutive years was selected.In September 2015,no-tillage,tillage,and rotary tillage were carried out before winter wheat was sowed.After the harvest of winter wheat in2016,soil organic carbon,total nitrogen and wheat yield in 0-30 cm soil layers under different tillage methods were analyzed.The results showed that the soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents in the 0-30 cm soil layer decreased along the profile under the three tillage methods.In this study,the soil organic carbon and total nitrogen content in the 0-10 cm soil layer under different tillage methods were no-tillage>rotary tillage>tillage,the actual yield of winter yield in one hectare was tillage>rotary tillage>no-tillage,and there was significant difference in the actual yield of winter wheat only between the no-tillage and tillage.

A Review of Deepwater Pipeline Construction in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico-Contracts, Cost, and Installation Methods

The offshore pipeline network in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is the largest and most transparent system in the world. A review of deepwater projects in the region provides insight into construction cost and installation methods and the evolution of contract strategies. Pipeline projects are identified as export systems, infield flowline systems, and combined export and infield systems, and three dozen deepwater pipeline installations from 1980–2014 are described based on Offshore Technology Conference(OTC) and Society of Petroleum Engineers(SPE) industry publications and press release data. Export lines and infield flowlines are equally represented and many projects used a combination of J-lay, S-lay and reel methods with rigid steel, flexible line, and pipe-in-pipe systems. The average 2014 inflation-adjusted cost for pipeline projects based on OTC/SPE publications was $2.76 million/mi and ranged from $520 000/mi to $12.94 million/mi. High cost pipelines tend to be short segments or specialized pipeline. Excluding the two cost endpoints, the majority of projects ranged from $1 to $6 million/mi. The average inflation-adjusted cost to install deepwater pipelines in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico based on available public data is estimated at $3.1 million/mi.

An ideal point method adopting grey relational entropy to estimate life cycle cost with effectiveness of torpedo

To making the decision of the developing blue prints,ideal point method was selected to estimate the life cycle cost with effectiveness of torpedo.At the same time,the concept of grey relational entropy of the grey system theory was adopted to compute the distance between each blue print and the ideal point(or negative ideal point).The blue print,nearest to the ideal point and farthest to the negative ideal point,is the best one.As an example,four blue prints of torpedo were estimated.The result indicates the practical value of this method.

The Optimization of Ultrasonic Extraction Process of Total Flavonoids from Rhodiola Crenulata by Response Surface Method

[Objectives]To study the optimal extraction process of total flavonoids in Rhodiola rosea L.,and further facilitate the development and utilization of Rhodiola rosea L. [Methods]With Rhodiola crenulata as raw material,ethanol as extractant,ultrasonic extraction as the extraction method,the single factor method was first used for preliminary investigation of effect of ethanol volume fraction,solid-liquid ratio,extraction temperature and extraction time on the flavonoids extraction rate,and then the Box-Behnken response surface method was used to optimize the extraction process of total flavonoids in R. crenulata. [Results] The optimal extraction conditions: ethanol concentration of 72%;solid-liquid ratio of 1∶ 43; extraction temperature of 66℃; extraction time of 50 min. Under these conditions,the extraction rate of total flavonoids from R. crenulata was 2. 591%. [Conclusions] The results showed that the method of response surface was reasonable and feasible for the optimization of ultrasonic extraction of total flavonoids from R. crenulata.

Application of Total Error Strategy in Validation of Affordable and Accessible UV-Visible Spectrophotometric Methods for Quality Control of Poor Medicines

In the framework of fighting against the poor quality medicines sold in developing countries using classical analytical methods easily accessible in those countries, four UV-Visible spectrophotometric methods for one antimalarial (quinine) and two antibiotics (amoxicillin and metronidazole) have been developed and validated according to the total error strategy using the accuracy profiles as a decision tool. The dosing range was 2 - 10 μg/mL (for quinine sulfate in tablet), 4 - 12 μg/mL (for quinine bichlorhydrate in oral drop-metronidazole benzaote in oral suspension) and 15 - 35 μg/mL (for amoxicillin trihydrate in capsule). The validated methods were then applied in determining the content of some analogous medicines sold in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thus, the proposed UV-Visible spectrophotometric methods are simple and suitable to quantify quinine, amoxicillin and metronidazole in different pharmaceutical forms.

A data-derived soft-sensor method for monitoring effluent total phosphorus

The effluent total phosphorus(ETP) is an important parameter to evaluate the performance of wastewater treatment process(WWTP). In this study, a novel method, using a data-derived soft-sensor method, is proposed to obtain the reliable values of ETP online. First, a partial least square(PLS) method is introduced to select the related secondary variables of ETP based on the experimental data. Second, a radial basis function neural network(RBFNN) is developed to identify the relationship between the related secondary variables and ETP. This RBFNN easily optimizes the model parameters to improve the generalization ability of the soft-sensor. Finally, a monitoring system, based on the above PLS and RBFNN, named PLS-RBFNN-based soft-sensor system, is developed and tested in a real WWTP. Experimental results show that the proposed monitoring system can obtain the values of ETP online and own better predicting performance than some existing methods.

Chemical Analysis Method for Carbon Bearing Refractory Products——Determination of the Total Carbon by Combustion Gravimetric Method

GB/T 13245-91 1 Theme and Scope This standard specifies the method abstract, reagents, apparatus, specimen, analyzing procedure, result calculation and permissible tolerance used for determination of the total carbon with combustion gravimetric method.

Extraction Process Optimization of Total Flavonoids from Mallotus apelta Stems by Central Composite Design/Response Surface Method

[Objectives] To optimize the extraction process of total flavonoids in stems of Mallotus apelta. [Methods]On the basis of singlefactor test,with volume fraction of ethanol,extraction time and ratio of solvent as independent variables,the content of total flavonoids as dependent variables,the completely secondary response surface regression fitting was conducted on the independent and dependent variables,and the Response Surface Method was used to optimize the optimum extraction process of total flavonoids in Mallotus apelta stems and predict the optimum process. [Results] The optimum extraction process of total flavonoids in Mallotus apelta was determined as follows: ethanol concentration of 71. 5%; extraction time of 154. 6 min; solid-liquid ratio of 1∶19. 2; total flavonoids content of 7. 060 mg/g; fitted binomial squared correlation coefficient R^2= 0. 8751.[Conclusions]Composite Design/Response Surface Method could be used in the extraction process optimization of total flavonoids in Mallotus apelta stems,the mathematical model established had high prediction accuracy,the method was simple and operability was good.

Study on Colorimetric Method and Content Determination of Total Phenol in Homemade Plum Wine

[Objectives] To study on colorimetric method and content determination of total phenol in homemade plum wine. [Methods]The optimal determination condition of total polyphenols content in plum wine( commercially available and homemade) by Folin-Ciocalteu method was inspected,and commercially available and homemade plum wine was evaluated by the method. [Results]The optimal determination conditions of total polyphenols content: sample dose of 1. 0 m L,Folin-Ciocalteu reagent of 1 m L,4% Na_2CO_3 solution of 4. 0 m L,reaction temperature of 50 ℃,reaction time of 1. 5 h,and determination wavelength of 756 nm. Absorbance showed good linear relationship with total polyphenols content within the range of 17. 73-59. 12 μg/m L( y = 14. 878 x + 0. 0739,R^2= 0. 9998). Recovery rate of adding standard sample was between 98. 8% and 103. 5%,and relative standard deviation was 2. 0%( n = 5). [Conclusions]The method had high precision degree and good stability,which was suitable for measuring total polyphenols content in plum wine( commercially available and homemade).

Analysis of Appraising Agricultural Intangible Asset Value by Cost Method

On the basis of describing the connotation of agricultural intangible asset and cost method,the technical ideas of appraising by cost method are introduced.The article analyzes the advantages(simple appraisal principle and easy to understand and grasp;overall consideration of various factors related to appraisal result value) and disadvantages(high appraisal cost;difficult to appraise and grasp various appraisal factors) of appraising by cost method.The article also summarizes the precondition of appraising by cost method:it is applicable to appraise the agricultural intangible asset which can be reproduced and afresh developed.Based on the cognition of agricultural intangible asset and the relevant rules of Ministry of Finance on appraisal of intangible asset by using cost method,the model of appraising agricultural intangible asset by cost method is constructed.That is:agricultural intangible asset value = replacement cost of agricultural intangible asset ×newness rate + opportunity cost of agricultural intangible asset.Determine and analyze parameters of the model,in order to offer references for appraisers to appraise agricultural intangible asset value more reasonably.

An effective method and its modifications for isolation of high-quality total RNA from fruit pulps

An effective method for isolation of total RNA from pulps of mainly deciduous fruit trees was discussed in this paper. Here we shown that total RNA was successfully isolated from pulps of apple, peach and strawberry, but not grape berry via the effective CTAB method modified by ZENG, et al. However, total RNA was isolated from grape berry according to ZENG＇s protocols with a modification including 16% of β-Mercatoethanol and 3% of PVP in extraction buffer, 1/3 （V/V） of 5mol/L potassium acetate （KAC PH4.8） in supernatant. The detection of the isolated total RNA above using ultraviolet spectrophoto-metry, electrophoresis, reverse transcription and RT-PCR shown that the CTAB and its modifications is a preferred method for isolation of high-quality total RNA from fruit pulps.

Determination of total alkaloid in tobacco by a safe and improved method based on KSCN

In this paper,an analytical method based on a chemical reaction between KSCN and sodium dichloroisocyanurate-dihydrate in a buffer system was applied to quantify the total alkaloid in tobacco.The proposed method replaced the No.35 Recommended Method of CORESTA(CRM 35)with the advantage that this method is safer compared to the CRM35 which uses KCN,a highly toxic chemical.In addition,compared to the current national standard method YC/T 468一2013,the buffer solution preparation was optimized to improve the detection efficiency.The validation results indicated that the new method met the test requirements,and the results were consistent with the ones obtained from the CORESTA CRM 35 and the YC/T 468一2013 methods.