Search Results (8)

The Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor (CRST) is commonly used to evaluate essential tremor (ET) during focused ultrasound (FUS) thalamotomy. However, it faces challenges such as the ceiling effect and test–retest variability. This study explored the utility of videographic motion analysis as an evaluation index for ET. Forty-three patients with ET performed postural tremor and line-drawing tasks recorded on video, and the data were analyzed using motion analysis software. The test–retest and inter-rater reliability, correlations with the CRST and tremor scores, and pre/post-FUS treatment comparisons were analyzed. The video motion analysis showed excellent test–retest and inter-rater reliability. In the postural tremor tasks, video parameter amplitude significantly correlated with the CRST and tremor scores. Similarly, for the line-drawing task, video parameter amplitude showed significant correlations with CRST and tremor scores, effectively addressing the ceiling effect. Regarding post-FUS treatment improvements, changes in the CRST and tremor scores were significantly associated with changes in video parameter amplitude. In conclusion, quantitative analysis of the video motion of ET enables precise evaluation of kinematic characteristics and effectively resolves the ceiling effect and test–retest variability. The video motion analysis score accurately reflected the tremor severity and treatment effects, demonstrating its high clinical utility. Full article

Vitiation air heater (VAH) combustion characteristics for a direct-connect scramjet combustor (DCSC) were experimentally studied. The VAH consists of a head, modular chamber, and circular-to-rectangular shape transition (CRST) nozzle. The CRST nozzle transforms the circular cross-sectioned rocket-type VAH into a rectangular cross-sectioned scramjet combustor. The CRST nozzle exit Mach numbers at the top, middle, and bottom were measured using a tungsten wedge. The oblique shock formed by the wedge was captured using Schlieren visualization and recorded with a high-speed camera. The θ-β-M relation showed that the exit Mach number was 2.04 $\pm$ 0.04 with a chamber pressure of 1.685 $\pm$ 0.07 MPa. With the VAH design point verified, preliminary scramjet combustor ignition tests were conducted. As the fuel was not auto-ignited by the vitiated air, the forced ignition method, in which VAH ignition flame ignites the scramjet fuel, was used. The Schlieren images showed that a cavity shear layer combustion mode was formed and also showed that the forced ignition method could be used as a reference model for the ignitor-ignition method. Full article

Objective: To compare the motor function improvements in ON and OFF states in tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease (TDPD) patients within one year of follow-up after ablation of the unilateral ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (Vim) by magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS). Methods: A total of nine consecutive patients confirmed with TDPD who underwent unilateral Vim ablation by MRgFUS between April 2019 and September 2019 were included. The Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III (MDS-UPDRSIII) and Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor (CRST) were performed in the ON and OFF stages to distinguish the surgical effects from drug therapy effects. The adverse events and adjustment of drug doses were also recorded. Results: The preoperative MDS-UPDRSIII score in OFF and ON states was 55.0 (48.0, 65.5) and 26.0 (17.0, 27.0), while the CRST score was 46.0 (39.5, 53.5) and 20.0 (13.0, 23.5), respectively; the Levodopa equivalent dose was 600 (456, 600) mg/d. At 1 year after operation, the total MDS-UPDRSIII score and CRST score were 40.0 (30.0, 60.5) and 16.0 (10.0, 29.5) in the OFF state, and 21.0 (17.5, 27.0) and 2.0 (1.5, 7.0) in the ON state, respectively. Compared with the preoperative levels, follow-up at the two-time points (three months and one year after operation) showed the total MDS-UPDRSIII score, as well as MDS-UPDRSIII tremor, bradykinesia, and rigidity scores of contralateral limbs all significantly improved in OFF state. However, in the ON state, only the total MDS-UPDRSIII score and tremor score of contralateral limbs significantly improved. The total CRST score and the CRST (A + B) score of contralateral limbs significantly improved at three months and one year after the operation compared with before the operation in both ON and OFF states. The Levodopa equivalent dose at one and three months were not significantly different from the preoperative dose (p > 0.05). No serious adverse responses were observed. Conclusion: Treating TDPD with unilateral Vim ablation by MRgFUS could improve the symptoms of limb tremor and the other core symptoms, such as bradykinesia and rigidity, as well as some non-motor symptoms and the symptoms of ipsilateral limbs. Full article

Aortic dissection (AD) is a rare and high-risk cardiovascular disease with high mortality. Due to its complex and changeable clinical manifestations, it is easily missed or misdiagnosed. In this paper, we proposed an ensemble learning model based on clustering: Cluster Random under-sampling Smote–Tomek Bagging (CRST-Bagging) to help clinicians screen for AD patients in the early phase to save their lives. In this model, we propose the CRST method, which combines the advantages of Kmeans++ and the Smote–Tomek sampling method, to overcome an extremely imbalanced AD dataset. Then we used the Bagging algorithm to predict the AD patients. We collected AD patients’ and other cardiovascular patients’ routine examination data from Xiangya Hospital to build the AD dataset. The effectiveness of the CRST method in resampling was verified by experiments on the original AD dataset. Our model was compared with RUSBoost and SMOTEBagging on the original dataset and a test dataset. The results show that our model performed better. On the test dataset, our model’s precision and recall rates were 83.6% and 80.7%, respectively. Our model’s F1-score was 82.1%, which is 4.8% and 1.6% higher than that of RUSBoost and SMOTEBagging, which demonstrates our model’s effectiveness in AD screening. Full article

Nitrogen balance is the difference between nitrogen excreted as urea and nitrogen ingested, mainly in proteins. Increased circulating concentrations of amino acids (AA) in the bloodstream are usually associated with proportional increases in the production and excretion of urea. Previously, we reported results from a randomized, controlled, single-dose, crossover trial in healthy adult volunteers (n = 30) (Trial Registration: ISRCTN11016729), in which a Test product (prolonged-release AA mixture formulated with Physiomimic Technology™ (PT™)) significantly slowed down the release and reduced the peak plasma concentrations of essential AAs compared with a free AA mixture (Reference product) while maintaining essential AA bioavailability. Here, we report an assessment of the nitrogen balance from the same study. The amount of nitrogen contained in plasma AAs, levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (p < 0.0001) and changes in BUN (p < 0.0001) were smaller after the Test product compared with the Reference product. These findings suggest that the production of urea in proportion to systemic AA availability was significantly smaller after the administration of the Test product compared with the Reference product and that the test product conferred the increased utilization of AAs for protein synthesis and reduced their oxidation and conversion to urea. In the clinical setting, it is possible that the effects of PT™ observed on the disposition of free AAs in this study may translate to health benefits in terms of physiological body composition and growth if used for the treatment of subjects with phenylketonuria (PKU). Further investigation in patients with PKU is warranted. Full article

Striving for the suppression of greenhouse emissions, the modern power network is facing fundamental changes with the utilization of renewable energies (REs) for the future carbon-free society. The utilization of intermittent renewable-green power needs a better power management system and virtual power plant (VPP) can be a vital candidate that meets this demand. This study investigates a coordinated control grid integrated virtual power plant (VPP) in the presence of Central Receiver Solar Thermal System (CRSTS), Wind Turbine Generator (WTG), and Electric Vehicle (EV). To this end, CRSTS employed with thermal storage acts as a dispatchable renewable generating unit and coordinated control of the system units are achieved using the available control strategy on interconnected microgrids in the modified form, employing communication time delay. The proposed control strategy employs the proportional-integral (PI) and PI-derivative (PID) controller. Coordinated power control with real-time communication delay in grid integrated VPP in presence of CRSTS, WTG, and EV is a novel approach. Genetic algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Slap Swarm Algorithm (SSA), and recent Butterfly Optimization Algorithm (BOA) are used for tuning the necessary control parameters. The results establish the superiority of the BOA over SSA and PSO in suppressing system frequency deviations and tie line power deviation. The analysis of the dynamic response reveals that the consideration of the communication delay in the system expressively impedes the stable operation of the power system. Full article

Several disorders of amino acid (AA) metabolism are treated with a protein-restricted diet supplemented with specific AA mixtures. Delivery kinetics impacts AA absorption and plasma concentration profiles. We assessed plasma profiles after ingestion of an AA mixture engineered to prolong AA absorption with Physiomimic Technology^TM (Test) in a randomized, single-dose, four-way crossover trial in healthy volunteers (Trial Registration: ISRCTN11016729). In a two-step hypothesis, the primary endpoints were (i) significant reduction in peak plasma concentrations (C_max) of essential amino acids (EAAs) while (ii) maintaining EAA bioavailability (AUC_{0-300 min}) compared to a free AA mixture (Reference). Secondary endpoints included effects on plasma profiles of other AA groups and effects on several metabolic markers. Thirty subjects completed the study. Both co-primary endpoints were met: C_max for EAAs was 27% lower with the Test product compared to the Reference product (ratio, 0.726, p < 0.0001); overall plasma EAA levels from the two AA mixtures was within the pre-specified bioequivalence range (AUC_0-300min ratio, 0.890 (95% CI: 0.865, 0.915)). These findings were supported by the results of secondary endpoints. Prolongation of AA absorption was associated with modulation of several metabolic markers. It will be important to understand whether this can improve the long-term management of disorders of AA metabolism. Full article

The effects of heavy cold plastic deformation by rolling on microstructural features and mechanical properties of Ti–25Nb–6Zr–1.7Fe (wt %) biocompatible alloy (TNZF) were studied. After a preliminary alloy processing, a heavy plastic deformation by cold-rolling (CR) with a total relative degree of plastic deformation of 90% (equivalent plastic strain, ε = 2.42) and a subsequent solution heat treatment (CR+ST) at 900 °C for 0.6 ks/water quenching were applied and then investigated. The CR and CR+ST states have microstructures consisting of mixtures of β-Ti phases and α″-Ti. The alloy in CR state shows a pronounced deformation texture, with highly deformed and elongated β-Ti grains, exhibiting internal highly fragmented areas, with shear lines at about 45° and a sub-micron/nanocrystalline fine dispersed α″-Ti phase. The alloy in CR+ST state has completely recrystallized equiaxed polyhedral β-Ti grains, with average grain size close to 52 μm and a sub-micron/nanocrystalline fine dispersed α″-Ti phase. Recorded mechanical properties, for both CR and CR+ST states, show quite similar values for the yield strength (σ_0.2), ultimate tensile strength (σ_UTS) and Vickers microhardness (HV0.1) for CR state (σ_0.2 = 603 MPa, σ_UTS = 1282 MPa and 287 HV0.1) in comparison with CR+ST state (σ_0.2 = 598 MPa, σ_UTS = 1256 MPa and 256 HV0.1). Values for the modulus of elasticity (E) are lower (E = 72 GPa for CR state and E = 61 GPa for CR+ST state) than those for conventional biocompatible alloys (E ~ 110 GPa). Full article