Influence of an InGaN superlattice pre-layer on the performance of semi-polar (11-22) green LEDs grown on silicon

It is well-known that it is crucial to insert either a single InGaN underlayer or an InGaN superlattice (SLS) structure (both with low InN content) as a pre-layer prior to the growth of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) served as an active region for a light-emitting diode (LED). So far, this growth scheme has achieved a great success in the growth of III-nitride LEDs on c-plane substrates, but has not yet been applied in the growth of any other orientated III-nitride LEDs. In this paper, we have applied this growth scheme in the growth of semi-polar (11–22) green LEDs, and have investigated the impact of the SLS pre-layer on the optical performance of semi-polar (11–22) green LEDs grown on patterned (113) silicon substrates. Our results demonstrate that the semi-polar LEDs with the SLS pre-layer exhibit an improvement in both internal quantum efficiency and light output, which is similar to their c-plane counterparts. However, the performance improvement is not so significant as in the c-plane case. This is because the SLS pre-layer also introduces extra misfit dislocations for the semi-polar, but not the c-plane case, which act as non-radiative recombination centres.

Long noncoding RNA DARS-AS1 acts as an oncogene by targeting miR-532-3p in ovarian cancer

Since this article has been suspected of research misconduct and the corresponding authors did not respond to our request to prove originality of data and figures, "Long noncoding RNA DARS-AS1 acts as an oncogene by targeting miR-532-3p in ovarian cancer, by K. Huang, W.-S. Fan, X.-Y. Fu, Y.-L. Li, Y.-G. Meng, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019; 23 (6): 2353-2359. DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_201903_17379. PMID: 30964159" has been withdrawn. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/17379.

High-Performance Natural Rubber/Graphene Composites from a Uniquely Designed Physical and Chemical Hybrid-Network

It is well-known that strength and stiffness are commonly inversely related with toughness and ductility for organic filler filled elastomer nanocomposites. These performances are governed by the dispersion of organic fillers and interface of elastomer nanocomposites. Herein, the designed physical and chemical hybrid-network based on tannic acid (TA) as interface regulator and cross-link agent can endow graphene/elastomer nanocomposites with reinforcement as well as toughness simultaneously. The results indicate the formation of a strong and stable network structure composed of elastomer chains and graphene, contrary to traditional graphene/elastomer nanocomposites. The present composites with a physical and chemical hybrid-network effectively improve the load transfer and show excellent mechanical properties.

A factorial Bayesian copula framework for partitioning uncertainties in multivariate risk inference

In this study, a factorial Bayesian copula (FBC) method is proposed to quantify parameter uncertainties in copula-based models and then reveal their impacts on hydrologic risk inferences within a multivariate context. In detail, Bayesian inference and factorial analysis are integrated into copula-based multivariate risk models to (1) quantify parameter uncertainties, (ii) reveal their individual and interactive effects, and (iii) identify their detailed contributions to uncertain risk inferences. Streamflow observations at Xiangxi and Wei River basins is China are used to illustrate the applicability of FBC. The results indicate that imprecise parameters in marginal distributions and the dependence structure would lead to extensive uncertainties in predictive joint return periods and failure probabilities. Also, individual and interactive effects of parameters are well revealed through multilevel factorial analysis, and the detailed contributions of one parameter to different failure probabilities under different service time scenarios are identified.

[Determinants of pregnancy rate in the donor oocyte model: a multivariate analysis of frozen-thawed embryo transfers]

Objective: To determine independent factors of pregnancy in the recipient after frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FTET). Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 431 patients who had undergone embryo transfer after oocyte donation (OD), in vitro fertilization and embryo cryopreservation between April 2009 and December 2018 at our Reproductive Center. Comparison of general data between clinical pregnant group and non-pregnant group; Logistic regression were used to identify independent factors of pregnancy. The ability of independent factors of pregnancy was assessed by receiver operating characteristics (ROC). Results: ①Pregnancy rates were significantly higher in women with more embryos, more high-quality embryos, more transferred embryos and higher basalfollicular stimulation hormone(FSH) (P<0.05). Pregnancy rate of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) (75.00%) was higher than advanced age (55.83%,P=0.005) and chromosome abnormality (56.86%,P=0.021). ②Using logistic regression analysis, the POI (OR=2.065, 95%CI=1.026-4.156), basal FSH(OR=1.499, 95%CI=1.072-1.959), high-quality embryos (OR=1.449, 95%CI=1.072-1.959) and transferred embryos (OR=2.583, 95%CI=1.519-4.391)were independent predictors of pregnancy (P<0.05). ③The ROC curves revealed the cut-off points of basal FSH was 19.28U/L for pregnancy, the areas under the curve of basal FSH was 0.627, 95%CI=0.572-0.680. According basal FSH and age, all patients were further divided into four groups, pregnancy rates were significantly higher in ≤40 years and FSH>19U/L group (P<0.05). We contain pregnancy rates and multiple pregnancy rates of two transferred embryos were higher than one (P<0.01). Conclusions: This study supports that pregnancy rates of POI was higher than other infertility diagnosis needed OD. Pregnancy rates of two transferred embryos were higher than one, but multiple pregnancy rates was also higher than one.

Quantification evaluation of 99mTc-MDP concentration in the lumbar spine with SPECT/CT: compare with bone mineral density

BACKGROUND

Despite recent technological advances allowing for quantitative single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), quantitative SPECT has not been widely used in the clinical practice of osteoporosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of quantitative bone SPECT/CT for measuring lumbar standard uptake value (SUV) in patients with different bone-mineral density (BMD), and investigate the correlation between SUV measured with ^99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (MDP) SPECT/CT and BMD assessment by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of 62 cases ^99mTc-MDP whole-body bone imaging and local lumbar SPECT/CT tomography were performed. According to the results of dual-energy X-ray bone density examination, they were divided into normal group, osteopenic group, and osteoporosis group. The raw SPECT data were reconstructed using flash3D which includes attenuation correction, scatter compensation, and collimator resolution recovery, SPECT images from this algorithm were calibrated for SUV analysis. Comparing difference of lumbar SUV in different BMD subjects, and investigating the correlation between lumbar SUV and BMD. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Pearson regression analysis using SPSS 17.0 software.

RESULTS

The maximum SUV (SUV_max) and mean SUV (SUV_mean) of L1-L4 vertebral in 62 subjects were 7.39 ± 1.84 and 4.90 ± 1.27, respectively. The average BMD was 0.85 ± 0.15 (g/cm²), and the average CT value was 145.88 ± 53.99 (HU). The SUV_max, SUV_mean, BMD, and CT values of the lumbar spine were statistically significantly different among the three groups (F = 24.089, 30.501, 94.847, 30.241, all p < 0.001), and the osteopenic group was significantly lower than the normal group (all p < 0.001), the osteoporosis group was significantly lower than the normal group and the osteopenic group (all p < 0.001). Lumbar SUV_max, SUV_mean, and BMD were significantly negatively correlated with age (r = - 0.328 to - 0.442, all p < 0.05), and positively correlated with body weight and CT value (r = 0.299-0.737, all p < 0.05), but no significant correlation with height (r = 0.006-0.175, all p > 0.05). Lumbar SUV_max and SUV_mean increased significantly with the increase of BMD (r = 0.638, 0.632, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The SUV of lumbar spine in ^99mTc-MDP bone SPECT/CT was significantly different among subjects with different BMD, and the SUV was positively correlated with BMD. These findings justify that quantitative bone SPECT/CT is an applicable tool for clinical quantification of bone metabolism in osteoporosis patients.

Genotyping and pathogenic characterization of canine distemper virus based on mutations in the hemagglutinin gene in Chinese domestic dogs

Canine distemper virus (CDV) infects wild and domestic Canidae worldwide. The hemag- glutinin (H) gene has the highest genetic variation in the genome of this virus. Thus, the H gene is commonly used for lineage identification and genetic analyses. In order to study the genetic characteristics and pathogenicity of CDV strains prevalent in China, 132 samples were collected from domestic dogs with suspected CDV infection, 58 samples were confirmed to be positive, and the H gene was successfully amplified from 15 samples. The epidemic strain was identified as type Asia-1 and the novel mutations, A51T, V58I, R179K and D262N, were detected in this strain. Isolated strains, BJ16B53, BJ16B14, and BJ17B8, were used for an animal infection experiment in raccoon dogs. BJ16B53 and BJ16B14 were found to cause clinical symptoms, death, and exten- sive lesions in various organs. These results are expected to facilitate the development of effective strategies to monitor and control CDV infection in China.

Smart identification of psoriasis by images using convolutional neural networks: a case study in China

BACKGROUND

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, which holds a high incidence in China. However, professional dermatologists who can diagnose psoriasis early and correctly are insufficient in China, especially in the rural areas. A smart approach to identify psoriasis by pictures would be highly adaptable countrywide and could play a useful role in early diagnosis and regular treatment of psoriasis.

OBJECTIVES

Design and evaluation of a smart psoriasis identification system based on clinical images (without relying on a dermatoscope) that works effectively similar to a dermatologist.

METHODS

A set of deep learning models using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) was explored and compared in the system for automatic identification of psoriasis. The work was carried out on a standardized dermatological dataset with 8021 clinical images of 9 common disorders including psoriasis along with full electronic medical records of patients built over the last 9 years in China. A two-stage deep neural network was designed and developed to identify psoriasis. In the first stage, a multilabel classifier was trained to learn the visual patterns for each individual skin disease. In the second stage, the output of the first stage was utilized to distinguish psoriasis from other skin diseases.

RESULTS

The area under the curve (AUC) of the two-stage model reached 0.981 ± 0.015, which outperforms a single-stage model. And, the classifier showed superior performance (missed diagnosis rate: 0.03, misdiagnosis rate: 0.04) than 25 Chinese dermatologists (missed diagnosis rate: 0.19, misdiagnosis rate: 0.10) in the diagnosis of psoriasis on 100 clinical images.

CONCLUSIONS

Using clinical images to identify psoriasis is feasible and effective based on CNNs, which also builds a solid technical base for smart care of skin diseases especially psoriasis using mobile/tablet applications for teledermatology in China.

P1499Data-driven clustering unveils the adaptive remodeling of athlete heart: an echocardiographic study from 2017 Taipei summer universiade

Background

Sport-specific adaptations of the athlete's heart are still under investigation. This study sought to provide a proof-of-concept for hierarchical clustering of echocardiography-derived parameters in unfolding the adaptations and to make a comparison between hypothesis-driven and data-driven approaches for characterizing the athlete's heart.

Methods

Anthropometric, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic assessments were collected during the peri-participation cardiovascular examination of 2017 Summer Universiade. Besides standard echocardiography and strain measurements, ventricular-arterial coupling was assessed by the ratio of effective arterial elastance (Ea) to left ventricular end-systolic elastance (Ees), using a modified single-beat algorithm to calculate Ees.

Results

A total of 598 elite athletes (348 male, mean age 23±2.5 years) engaged 24 disciplines were grouped by Mitchell's classification. The hypothesis-driven approach showed significant differences in heart rate, ventricular size, and stroke volume when classified by dynamic levels. Adaptations of ventricular function were not found. Contrarily, the data-driven approach not only hierarchically clustered athletes with more manifest morphologic remodeling, more proportions playing high dynamic sports but also showed a functional propensity of lower Ea and Ees, supranormal diastolic function and preserved ventricular-arterial coupling with ample pumping reserve.

Phenotype heatmaps of athletes

Conclusions

The hierarchical clustering can analyze numerous echocardiography-derived phenotypes pertaining to an individual athlete as well as discern an adaptive propensity of the athlete's heart to be the resting status of a reservoir-rich pump. This pilot demonstration of the data-driven approach in figuring out integrated physiologic adaptations with remodeling-relevant geometry and function leads to a fundamentally improved understanding of the athlete's heart and then will be applicable to various domains.

Successful implementation of bedaquiline for multidrug-resistant TB treatment in remote Papua New Guinea

SETTING

Bedaquiline (BDQ) was introduced in the multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) programme in Daru in remote Papua New Guinea in 2015, along with a core package of active drug-safety monitoring (aDSM).

OBJECTIVE

To assess interim results and safety of BDQ for the treatment of MDR-TB from 1 July 2015 to 31 December 2017.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort analysis of routine programme data.

RESULTS

Of 277 MDR-TB patients, 77 (39%) received BDQ with a total of 8 serious adverse events including 5 (6.5%) deaths, of which 1 (1.3% QTcF prolongation, grade 3) was attributable to BDQ. Of 200 (61%) patients who did not receive BDQ, there were 17 (9%) deaths. Completeness of monitoring for the BDQ group was 90% for >5 electrocardiograms and 79% for ⩾2 cultures. In the interim result indicator analysis at month 6 in the BDQ and non-BDQ groups, there were respectively 0% and 1% lost to follow-up; 6.5% and 8.5% who died; 94% and 91% in care; and 92% and 96% with negative culture among those monitored.

CONCLUSION

Early experience in Daru shows BDQ is safe and feasible to implement with aDSM with good interim effectiveness supporting the rapid adoption and scale-up of the 2019 WHO MDR-TB treatment guidelines in the programme and in similar remote settings.

[Association between elective cesarean delivery and duration of breastfeeding in Ma'anshan City from 2013 to 2014]

Objective: To analyze the correlation between elective cesarean delivery and duration of breastfeeding in Ma'anshan city from 2013 to 2014. Methods: From May 2013 to September 2014, a total of 3 474 pregnant women with the first prenatal checkup were recruited from Ma'anshan maternal and child health care hospital. Finally, 3 109 pregnant women were included after exclusion of those with terminated pregnancies, adverse birth outcomes, twin or multiple pregnancies, breech traction, breech midwifery and loss of delivery information. Demographic data of pregnant women, mode of delivery and breast feeding of children were collected through questionnaires and hospital records. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between elective cesarean delivery and duration of breastfeeding in children, with the mode of delivery as independent variable and the duration of breastfeeding as dependent variable. Results: The age of 3 109 subjects was (26.6±3.6) years old, the rate of vaginal delivery was 51.1% (1 589), and the rate of elective cesarean delivery was 46.4% (1 443), among which the rate of non-indicative elective cesarean delivery was 26.4% (820), the rate of indicative elective cesarean delivery was 20.0% (623), and the rate of emergency cesarean delivery was 2.5% (77). The proportion of breastfeeding lasting until 4, 12 and 18 months was 45.0% (1 348/2 998), 23.7% (702/2 962) and 5.2% (154/2 944), respectively. After adjusting the confounding factors, compared with vaginal delivery, the OR (95%CI) values of breastfeeding for 4 months in indicative elective cesarean delivery and non-indicative elective cesarean delivery women were 0.870(0.714-1.059), 0.795(0.665-0.949), and the OR (95%CI) values of breastfeeding for 12 months were 0.772(0.611-0.975), 0.755(0.610-0.934), respectively. Conclusion: Elective cesarean delivery may result in shorter duration of breastfeeding in children.

[Placental microbiota and pregnancy]

The role of microbes in regulating the metabolism and immune function of the body has been highlighted. The interactions of host-microbe and microbial-microbe have existed before the birth. However, the existence of placental microbiota and their regulatory effects on pregnancy are still controversial. It was found that placental microbes might be implanted into the placenta via urogenital-placental, gastrointestinal-placental, and oral-placental routes. Microbiome may play a role in promoting the outcome of benign pregnancy, and the placental microbiota in pathological pregnancy may be associated to adverse pregnancy outcome. Placenta and amniotic fluid microbes have been linked to abortion, chorioamnionitis, premature rupture of membranes, premature delivery and stillbirth in Cultivation-dependent and Cultivation-independent studies. Obesity, gestational diabetes mellitus, probiotics and antibiotics during pregnancy may be the main factors affecting placenta microbiology.

[Cumulative risk assessment of phthalates exposure in preschool children]

Objective: The urine concentrations of phthalate metabolites were used to estimate the cumulative risk assessment in preschool children in Ma'anshan of Anhui province. Methods: Based on the China-Anhui Birth Cohort, the demographic information and urine samples of 3 743 children were collected in Ma'anshan from April 2014 to April 2015. The concentrations of 7 metabolites' [monomethyl phthalate (MMP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monobutyl phthalate (MBP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono (2-ethyl- 5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) and mono (2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP)] of 5 phthalates [dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), and di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)] in the urine samples of the children were measured by solid-phase extration-triple quadrupole high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-isotope method. In addition, the estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of 5 phthalates were calculated according to the metabolites' concentrations. Cumulative risk assessment was performed using hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) methods. Results: The M (Q(R)) of seven metabolite concentrations were 29.58 (18.69-48.26), 26.65 (13.44-56.09), 256.86 (150.99-438.51), 0.12 (0.04-0.32), 6.27 (3.71-11.13), 17.94 (11.94-28.42) and 24.80 (16.05-40.32) μg/g creatinine, respectively. For the EDIs of 5 phthalates, DBP ranked first, followed by DEHP, DMP, DEP and BBzP with the M (Q(R)) of 7.54 (4.41-12.85), 3.35 (2.20-5.42), 0.75 (0.47-1.24), 0.71 (0.36-1.52) and 0.003 (0.001-0.009) μg/(kg·d), respectively. The HQ and HI varied with age, gender and sampling season, the differences were significant (P<0.05). Conclusions: These results indicated that risk of cumulative exposure to phthalates was high in preschool children aged 3-6 years in Ma'anshan. Age, gender and sampling season were influencing factors.

A novel cage for actinides: A 6W4Al43 (A = U and Pu)

We report on synthesis and characterization of the compounds A ₆W₄Al₄₃ (A  =  U and Pu), that form in the hexagonal Ho₆Mo₄Al₄₃ caged-structure family. The A ions reside within W/Al cages where the A-A nearest neighbors form dimers between adjacent W/Al cages, with U-U and Pu-Pu distances of 3.3892 [Formula: see text] and 3.4080 [Formula: see text], respectively. While the W/Al networks provide environments similar to those of other cage-like materials (e.g. filled skutterudites), the atomic displacement parameters from single crystal x-ray diffraction measurements show that the A-ions do not exhibit rattling behavior. We find that there is site interchange disorder on one of the W/Al sites. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show that U₆W₄Al₄₃ displays anisotropic Curie-Weiss behavior where it fits to the data yield an effective magnetic moment near 2.0 [Formula: see text]/U. At low temperatures the magnetic susceptibility deviates from the Curie-Weiss temperature dependence and eventually saturates to a constant value. In contrast, Pu₆W₄Al₄₃ displays nearly temperature independent Pauli paramagnetism for all temperatures, as would be expected if the 5f -electrons are delocalized. The electrical resistivity for U₆W₄Al₄₃ increases slightly with the decreasing temperature, suggesting that it is dominated by f -electronic hybridization effects and disorder scattering that originates from the W/Al site interchange. Specific heat measurements for U₆W₄Al₄₃ further reveal an enhanced electronic Sommerfeld coefficient that is consistent with a moderately enhanced charge carrier effective mass. Together these measurements expose these materials as hosts for unstable f -electron magnetism, where the novel cage-like structures control the phenomena through the spacing between the A ions. Through this combination of mild magnetism, the low cost elements of the Al-W cages, and chemical tunability that has been shown for related materials in the same structure, the A ₆W₄Al₄₃ compounds emerge as promising nuclear waste-forms for transuranics, while the wider family of materials makes an appealing environment for studying f -electron physics in a novel structure.