Significance of functional hepatic resection rate calculated using 3D CT/^(99m)Tc-galactosyl human serum albumin singlephoton emission computed tomography fusion imaging

AIM: To evaluate the usefulness of the functional hepatic resection rate (FHRR) calculated using 3D computed tomography (CT)/99mTc-galactosyl-human serum albumin (GSA) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) fusion imaging for surgical decision making.METHODS: We enrolled 57 patients who underwent bi- or trisectionectomy at our institution between October 2013 and March 2015. Of these, 26 patients presented with hepatocellular carcinoma, 12 with hilar cholangiocarcinoma, six with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, four with liver metastasis, and nine with other diseases. All patients preoperatively underwent three-phase dynamic multidetector CT and 99mTc-GSA scintigraphy. We compared the parenchymal hepatic resection rate (PHRR) with the FHRR, which was defined as the resection volume counts per total liver volume counts on 3D CT/99mTc-GSA SPECT fusion images.RESULTS: In total, 50 patients underwent bisectionectomy and seven underwent trisectionectomy. Biliary reconstruction was performed in 15 patients, including hepatopancreatoduodenectomy in two. FHRR and PHRR were 38.6 ± 19.9 and 44.5 ± 16.0, respectively; FHRR was strongly correlated with PHRR. The regression coefficient for FHRR on PHRR was 1.16 (P < 0.0001). The ratio of FHRR to PHRR for patients with preoperative therapies (transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, radiation, radiofrequency ablation, etc.), large tumors with a volume of > 1000 mL, and/or macroscopic vascular invasion was significantly smaller than that for patients without these factors (0.73 ± 0.19 vs 0.82 ± 0.18, P < 0.05). Postoperative hyperbilirubinemia was observed in six patients. Major morbidities (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ 3) occurred in 17 patients (29.8%). There was no case of surgery-related death.CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that FHRR is an important deciding factor for major hepatectomy, because FHRR and PHRR may be discrepant owing to insufficient hepatic inflow and congestion in patients with preoperative therapies, macroscopic vascular invasion, and/or a tumor volume of > 1000 mL.

Effect of non-pharmacological treatment on the full recovery of social functioning in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

BACKGROUND Long-term treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)is associated with adverse events,such as nausea and vomiting,dizziness,and sleep disturbances,and poor maintenance of late ADHD medication compromises treatment outcomes and prolongs the recovery of patients’social functioning.AIM To evaluate the effect of non-pharmacological treatment on the full recovery of social functioning in patients with ADHD.METHODS A total of 90 patients diagnosed with ADHD between May 2019 and August 2020 were included in the study and randomly assigned to either the pharmacological group(methylphenidate hydrochloride and tomoxetine hydrochloride)or the non-pharmacological group(parental training,behavior modification,sensory integration therapy,and sand tray therapy),with 45 cases in each group.Outcome measures included treatment compliance,Swanson,Nolan,and Pelham,Version IV(SNAP-IV)scores,Conners Parent Symptom Questionnaire(PSQ)scores,and Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale(WFIRS)scores.RESULTS The non-pharmacological interventions resulted in significantly higher compliance in patients(95.56%)compared with medication(71.11%)(P<0.05).However,no significant differences in SNAP-IV and PSQ scores,in addition to the learning/school,social activities,and adventure activities of the WFIRS scores were observed between the two groups(P>0.05).Patients with non-pharmacological interventions showed higher WFIRS scores for family,daily life skills,and self-concept than those in the pharmacological group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Non-pharmacological interventions,in contrast to the potential risks of adverse events after longterm medication,improve patient treatment compliance,alleviate patients’behavioral symptoms of attention,impulsivity,and hyperactivity,and improve their cognitive ability,thereby improving family relationships and patient self-evaluation.

The New Mixed Generalized Erlang Distribution

In probability theory, the mixture distribution M has a density function for the collection of random variables and weighted by wi ≥ 0 and . These mixed distributions are used in various disciplines and aim to enrich the collection distribution to more parameters. A more general mixture is derived by Kadri and Halat, by proving the existence of such mixture by wi ∈ R, and maintaining . Kadri and Halat provided many examples and applications for such new mixed distributions. In this paper, we introduce a new mixed distribution of the Generalized Erlang distribution, which is derived from the Hypoexponential distribution. We characterize this new distribution by deriving simply closed expressions for the related functions of the probability density function, cumulative distribution function, moment generating function, reliability function, hazard function, and moments.

Characterizing the luminescent properties of upconversion nanoparticles in single and densely packed state

Luminescent properties of Er^(3+)-and Yb^(3+)-co-doped CaF_(2)upconversion nanoparticles(UCNPs)were investigated in single particle and densely-packed states with a custom-built microscope.The single UCNPs exhibit linear dependency of luminescent intensity on excitation power while the densely-packed UCNPs exhibit a 2-order power law-dependency indicating a two-photon absorption process.Time-domain luminescence intensity measurements were performed and the curves were fitted to excitationnemission rate functions based on a simplified three-state model.The results indicate that the intermediates in single particles are much less and saturated in a short time,and there are strong couplings of the ground states and intermediate states between neighboring UCNPs in densely packed UCNPs.

On the Application of Nadarajah Haghighi Gompertz Distribution as a Life Time Distribution

The convolution of Nadarajah-Haghighi-G family of distributions will result into a more flexible distribution (Nadarajah-Haghighi Gompertz distribution) than each of them individually in terms of the estimate of the characteristics in there parameters. The combination was done using Nadarajah-Haghighi (NH) generator. We investigated in the newly developed distribution some basic properties including moment, moment generating function, survival rate function, hazard rate function asymptotic behaviour and estimation of parameters. The proposed model is much more flexible and has a better representation of data than Gompertz distribution and some other model considered. A real data set was used to illustrate the applicability of the new model.

Power Hamza Distribution with Application to Lifetime Data

In this paper, a three-parameter lifetime distribution named power Hamza distribution (PH) is proposed. The PH distribution is a useful generalization of the Hamza distribution which accommodates heavy-tailed, upside-down bathtub and J-shaped hazard rates making it more flexible than the Hamza distribution for modelling various kinds of lifetime data. A comprehensive account of the properties of this distribution is presented. The maximum likelihood estimators of the unknown model parameters are discussed. Finally, a real-life data is analyzed for illustrative purpose proving that the PH outperforms the Hamza distribution and several other lifetime distributions.

QUANTIFICATION OF RIGHT VENTRICULAR FUNCTION IN ATRIAL SEPTAL DEFECT USING ULTRASOUND- BASED STRAIN RATE IMAGING

Objective To study the validation of ultrasound-based strain rate imaging in the quantitative assessment of right ventricular （RV） function in atrial septal defect （ASD）. Methods Tissue Doppler images （TDI） of RV longitudinal and short axes were recorded from the apical 4-chamber view and the subcostal short-axis view in 18 normal controls, 28 children with ASD and 14 children after Amplazter closure of ASD respectively. Peak systolic velocities （ V）, peak systolic strain rates （SR）, peak systolic strains （S） at the basal segment, middle segment of RV lateral wall and the basal septum from the longitudinal axis, the middle segment of RV free waU from the short axis were quantitatively measured using QLAB^TM tissue velocity quantification software system respectively. Peak dp/ dt from the RV isovolumic contraction determined during the right cardiac catheterization in 28 ASD patients was used as the gold standard of RV contractility. Peak systolic indices were compared against max dp/dt by linear correlation, Results Peak systolic indices at the basal and middle segments of RV lateral wall from the longitudiual axis increased significantly in 28 ASD patients. Peak systolic indices at the basal septum also increased in patient group, but not significantly. Significant decreases in peak systolic indices at the basal and middle segments of RV lateral wall were observed after the Amplatzer closure in 14 ASD patients. There was no significant difference at the middle segment of RV free wall from the short axis between patient group and normal control. A strong correlation was found between max dp/dt and peak systolic indices at the basal and middle segments of RV lateral wal l （ P 〈 0. 05 ）. Conclusion Ultrasound-based strain rate imaging can assess quantitatively RVfunction in CHD. Peak systolic strains determined at the basal and middle segments of RV lateral wall are strong noninvasive indices of RV contractility.

Flexible Reduced Logarithmic-Inverse Lomax Distribution with Application for Bladder Cancer

In this paper, a new method for adding parameters to a well-established distribution to obtain more flexible new families of distributions is applied to the inverse Lomax distribution (IFD). This method is known by the flexible reduced logarithmic-X family of distribution (FRL-X). The proposed distribution can be called a flexible reduced logarithmic-inverse Lomax distribution (FRL-IL). The statistical and reliability properties of the proposed models are studied including moments, order statistics, moment generating function, and quantile function. The estimation of the model parameters by maximum likelihood and the observed information matrix are also discussed. In order to assess the potential of the newly created distribution. The extended model is applied to real data and the results are given and compared to other models.

Performance of M-QAM, M-DPSK and M-PSK with MRC diversity in a Nakagami-m fading channel

The nature of a wireless communication channel is very unpredictable. To design a good communication link, it is required to know the statistical model of the channel accurately. The average symbol error probability(ASER) was analyzed for different modulation schemes. A unified analytical framework was presented to obtain closed-form solutions for calculating the ASER of M-ary differential phase-shift keying(M-DPSK), coherent M-ary phase-shift keying(M-PSK), and quadrature amplitude modulation(QAM) over single or multiple Nakagami-m fading channels. Moreover, the ASER was estimated and evaluated by using the maximal ratio-combining(MRC) diversity technique. Simulation results show that an error rate of the fading channel typically depends on Nakagami parameters(m), space diversity(N), and symbol rate(M). A comparison between M-PSK, M-DPSK, and M-QAM modulation schemes was shown, and the results prove that M-ary QAM(M-QAM) demonstrates better performance compared to M-DPSK and M-PSK under all fading and non-fading conditions.

Research on Effective Access for Strengthening and Improving the Management and Benefit use of Large Instruments

The purchasement and development as well as the benefit of utilization for the large equipment in universities of China are analyzed in this paper, the paper in dicates that in utilization of large equipment the contradictions such as urgency and necessity for the purchasement and development of large equipment and serious waste in resources since inadequacy of annual utilization rate of large equipment are existed, it also raises that the key step of giving full play to the benefit of large equipment is to strengthen management and development after the equipment are purchased, the paper regards through stressing standardized management and maintenance、opening the laboratory、improving the functions of equipment、renovating technology、fully examining and scientifically deciding before purchasement, the investment benefit for the large equipment can be raised effectively.

Heart rate variability and its response to thyroxine replacement therapy in patients with hypothyroidism

Objective To analyze heart rate variability (HRV)and its changes with thyroxine treatment in patients with hypothyroidism. Methods HRV was analyzed using 24-hour electrocardiographic recording in 38 patients with hypothyroidism and 21 normal controls. The changes in HRV were evaluated for the 18 hypothyroid patients after 3 months of thyroxine therapy.Results The time domain measurements of HRV in hypothyroid patients were much lower than those in the control group. As to HRV frequency domain, the high frequency power was significantly higher, but the ratio of low frequency power to frequency power for hypothyroid patients was lower than in the controls. These abnormal changes of HRV measurements in hypothyroid patients were improved after treatment with thyroxine and were associated with recovery of serum concentrations of FT3 and FT4. Conclusions Patients with hypothyroidism often have autonomic neuropathies with a higher level of vagal tone. These abnormalities could be partly improved by thyoxine therapy.

A method for modeling and deciphering the persistent photoconductance and long-term charge storage of ZnO nanorod arrays

The controllability of persistent photoconductance （PPC） and charge/energy storage of ZnO nanorod arrays （NRAs） were demonstrated experimentally by tuning the nanorod diameter. The dependency of the ZnO NRAs＇ photoelectric characteristics on the nanorod diameter suggests that the Debye length and photon penetration depth in ZnO could spatially partition a standalone nanorod into three different photoelectric functional regions （PFRs）. Theoretically, a series of rate functions was employed to describe the different extrinsic/intrinsic carrier photogeneration/recombination dynamic sub-processes occurring in the different PFRs, associated with oxygen chemisorption/photodesorption, oxygen vacancy photoionization, and electron trapping by photoionized oxygen vacancies. On the basis of the coupled contributions of these different dynamic sub-processes in the photoelectric properties of the ZnO NRAs, a thorough-process photoelectric dynamic model （TPDM） was proposed using the simultaneous rate functions. Through solving the rate functions, the corresponding analytical equations could be employed to simulate the time-resolved PPC spectra of the ZnO NRAs, and then the quantitative parameters extracted to decipher the PPC and charge/energy storage mechanisms in the ZnO NRAs. In this way, the TPDM model provided a numerical-analytical method to quantitatively evaluate the photoelectric properties of ZnO NRA-based devices. Additionally, the TPDM model revealed how the different photoinduced carrier dynamics in the different PFRs could play functional roles in different optoelectronic applications, e.g., photodetectors, photocatalysts, solar cells and optical nonvolatile memories, and thus it illuminated a practical approach for the design of ZnO NRA-based devices via optimization of the modularized spatial configuration of the PFRs.

Analysis of within-host CHIKV dynamics models with general incidence rate

In this paper we study the stability analysis of two within-host Chikungunya virus （CHIKV） dynamics models. The incidence rate between the CHIKV and the uninfected mouocytes is modeled by a general nonlinear function. The second model considers two types of infected monocytes （i） latently infected monocytes which do not generate CHIKV and （ii） actively infected monocytes which produce the CHIKV particles. Sufficient conditions are found which guarantee the global stability of the positive steady states. Using the Lyapunov function, we established the global stability of the steady states of the models. The theoretical results are confirmed by numerical simulations.

Characteristics of language impairment in Parkinson’s disease and its influencing factors

Background:Language impairment is relatively common in Parkinson’s disease(PD),but not all PD patients are susceptible to language problems.In this study,we identified among a sample of PD patients those pre-disposed to language impairment,describe their clinical profiles,and consider factors that may precipitate language disability in these patients.Methods:A cross-sectional cohort of 31 PD patients and 20 controls were administered the Chinese version of the Western Aphasia Battery(WAB)to assess language abilities,and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)to determine cognitive status.PD patients were then apportioned to a language-impaired PD(LI-PD)group or a PD group with no language impairment(NLI-PD).Performance on the WAB and MoCA was investigated for correlation with the aphasia quotient deterioration rate(AQDR).Results:The PD patients scored significantly lower on most of the WAB subtests than did the controls.The aphasia quotient,cortical quotient,and spontaneous speech and naming subtests of the WAB were significantly different between LI-PD and NLI-PD groups.The AQDR scores significantly and positively correlated with age at onset and motor function deterioration.Conclusion:A subset group was susceptible to language dysfunction,a major deficit in spontaneous speech.Once established,dysphasia progression is closely associated with age at onset and motor disability progression.

On nonparametric change point estimator based on empirical characteristic functions

We propose a nonparametric change point estimator in the distributions of a sequence of independent observations in terms of the test statistics given by Huˇskov′a and Meintanis(2006) that are based on weighted empirical characteristic functions. The weight function ω(t; a) under consideration includes the two weight functions from Huˇskov′a and Meintanis(2006) plus the weight function used by Matteson and James(2014),where a is a tuning parameter. Under the local alternative hypothesis, we establish the consistency, convergence rate, and asymptotic distribution of this change point estimator which is the maxima of a two-side Brownian motion with a drift. Since the performance of the change point estimator depends on a in use, we thus propose an algorithm for choosing an appropriate value of a, denoted by a_s which is also justified. Our simulation study shows that the change point estimate obtained by using a_s has a satisfactory performance. We also apply our method to a real dataset.

A New and Efficient Approach to Determining the Rate of the Second-Order Symmetric Tensor and Its Isotropic Function

When the rate of a symmetric second-order symmetric tensor is discussed,the spin of the principal axis is involved.This paper proposes a method to establish the basis-free expression of the spin in terms of tensor and its rate by making use of the tensor function representation theorem.The proposed method is simple and the expression of the spin established is compact.To obtain the rate of the isotropic function of a second-order symmetric tensor,the fourth-order tangent tensor needs to be derived,which is the derivative of the tensor function to the second-order tensor.By decomposing the second-order symmetric tensor space into two orthogonal subspaces,the closed-form fourth-order tangent tensor is decomposed into two parts,which are linear mappings in these two orthogonal subspaces,respectively.These two linear mappings are derived in an extremely simple way.Finally,the method proposed in this paper is applied to obtain the expression of the relationship between material logarithmic strain rate and deformation rate.The whole process is simple and avoids tedious operations.

Rate Function of Large Deviation for a Class of Nonhomogeneous Markov Chains on Supercritical Percolation Network

We model an epidemic with a class of nonhomogeneous Markov chains on the supercritical percolation network on Zd. The large deviations law for the Markov chain is given. Explicit expression of the rate function for large deviation is obtained.

Exponentiated Generalized Inverse Flexible Weibull Distribution:Bayesian and Non-Bayesian Estimation Under Complete and TypeⅡCensored Samples with Applications

In this paper,a new 4-parameter exponentiated generalized inverse flexible Weibull distribution is proposed.Some of its statistical properties are studied.The aim of this paper is to estimate the model parameters via several approaches,namely,maximum likelihood,maximum product spacing and Bayesian.According to Bayesian approach,several techniques are used to get the Bayesian estimators,namely,standard error function,Linex loss function and entropy loss function.The estimation herein is based on complete and censored samples.Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation is used to discuss the behavior of the estimators for each approach.Finally,two real data sets are analyzed to obtain the flexibility of the proposed model.

An Extended Weibull Model with Variable Periodicity

A new distribution for the fluctuation of materials＇ lifetime cumulative hazard rate is firstly proposed. The new distribution is extended from the Weibull distribution by adding a sine function. After that, the properties of its hazard rate function, cumulative hazard rate function, probability density function and cumulative distribution function are studied. The analysis result shows this distribution can well model the lifetime with variable and periodic hazard rate. Finally, the new distribution is verified with two real data sets as examples to demonstrate its capability.

THE OCCUPATION DENSITY FIELD FOR THE CATALYTIC SUPER-BROWNIAN MOTION

It is proved that the occupation time of the catalytic super-Brownian motion is absolutely continuous for d = 1, and the occupation density field is jointly continuous and jointly Holder continuous.