Background and Aims:A visual analogue score (VAS),based on application of a visual analogue scale,has been widely used to assess pruritus in clinical studies of patients with cholestatic liver disease.A VAS is a numer...Background and Aims:A visual analogue score (VAS),based on application of a visual analogue scale,has been widely used to assess pruritus in clinical studies of patients with cholestatic liver disease.A VAS is a numerical score of the severity of the perception of pruritus,and,hence,is inherently subjective.The objective of this study was to assessthe reliability of a VAS as an index of pruritus in cholestatic patients.Methods:In 8 patients with chronic pruritus due to primary biliary cholangitis,values for a VAS of pruritus were compared with corresponding measurements of scratching activity,which were generated by a monitoring system specifically designed to quantitate this activity.The relationship between individual values for the VAS and corresponding values for scratching activity during a specific interval immediately preceding the recording of the VAS was examined by determining the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.Results:The mean Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between individual values for the VAS and corresponding mean values for scratching activity was 0.072;the range of these coefficients was-0.04 to 0.26.A VAS of pruritus is an unreliable index of scratching activity,and,hence,of the pathophysiological process responsible for the pruritus of cholestasis.Conclusion:It is concluded that the use of a VAS as a primary quantitative endpoint in trials of the efficacy of potential therapies for the pruritus of cholestasis may be inappropriate.展开更多
The effect of combined low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation（LF r TMS） and virtual reality（VR） training in patients after stroke was assessed. In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 11...The effect of combined low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation（LF r TMS） and virtual reality（VR） training in patients after stroke was assessed. In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 112 patients with hemiplegia after stroke were randomly divided into two groups： experimental and control. In experimental group, the patients received LF r TMS and VR training treatment, and those in control group received sham r TMS and VR training treatment. Participants in both groups received therapy of 6 days per week for 4 weeks. The primary endpoint including the upper limb motor function test of Fugl-meyer assessment（U-FMA） and wolf motor function test（WMFT）, and the secondary endpoint including modified Barthel index（MBI） and 36-item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire（SF-36） were assessed before and 4 weeks after treatment. Totally, 108 subjects completed the study（55 in experimental group and 53 in control group respectively）. After 4-week treatment, the U-FMA scores [mean difference of 13.2, 95% confidence interval（CI） 3.6 to 22.7, P〈0.01], WMFT scores（mean difference of 2.9, 95% CI 2.7 to 12.3, P〈0.01）, and MBI scores（mean difference 16.1, 95% CI 3.8 to 9.4, P〈0.05） were significantly increased in the experimental group as compared with the control group. The results suggested the combined use of LF r TMS with VR training could effectively improve the upper limb function, the living activity, and the quality of life in patients with hemiplegia following subacute stroke, which may provide a better rehabilitation treatment for subacute stroke.展开更多
Two commonly used methods for calculating 50% endpoint using serial dilutions are Spearman-Karber method and Reed and Muench method. To understand/apply the above formulas, moderate statistical/mathematical skills are...Two commonly used methods for calculating 50% endpoint using serial dilutions are Spearman-Karber method and Reed and Muench method. To understand/apply the above formulas, moderate statistical/mathematical skills are necessary. In this paper, a simple formula/method for calculating 50% endpoints has been proposed. The formula yields essentially similar results as those of the SpearmanKarber method. The formula has been rigorously evaluated with several samples.展开更多
The endpoint parameters are very important to the process of EAF steel-making, but their on-line measurement is difficult. The soft sensor technology is widely used for the prediction of endpoint parameters. Based on ...The endpoint parameters are very important to the process of EAF steel-making, but their on-line measurement is difficult. The soft sensor technology is widely used for the prediction of endpoint parameters. Based on the analysis of the smelting process of EAF and the advantages of support vector machines, a soft sensor model for predicting the endpoint parameters was built using multiple support vector machines （MSVM）. In this model, the input space was divided by subtractive clustering and a sub-model based on LS-SVM was built in each sub-space. To decrease the correlation among the sub-models and to improve the accuracy and robustness of the model, the sub- models were combined by Principal Components Regression. The accuracy of the soft sensor model is perfectly improved. The simulation result demonstrates the practicability and efficiency of the MSVM model for the endpoint prediction of EAF.展开更多
Tubes are used widely in aerospace vehicles, and their accurate assembly can directly affect the assembling reliability and the quality of products. It is important to measure the processed tube＇s endpoints and then ...Tubes are used widely in aerospace vehicles, and their accurate assembly can directly affect the assembling reliability and the quality of products. It is important to measure the processed tube＇s endpoints and then fix any geometric errors correspondingly. However, the traditional tube inspection method is time-consuming and complex operations. Therefore, a new measurement method for a tube＇s endpoints based on machine vision is proposed. First, reflected light on tube＇s surface can be removed by using photometric linearization. Then, based on the optimization model for the tube＇s endpoint measurements and the principle of stereo matching, the global coordinates and the relative distance of the tube＇s endpoint are obtained. To confirm the feasibility, ll tubes are processed to remove the reflected light and then the endpoint＇s positions of tubes are measured. The experiment results show that the measurement repeatability accuracy is 0.167 mm, and the absolute accuracy is 0.328 ram. The measurement takes less than 1 min. The proposed method based on machine vision can measure the tube＇s endpoints without any surface treatment or any tools and can realize on line measurement.展开更多
In this paper, weighted Lp estimates and sharp weighted endpoint estimates for the mul-tilinear commutators of the Littlewood-Paley operators are established.
Objective To explore associations between lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2(Lp-PLA2)and the risk of cardiovascular events in a Chinese population,with a long-term follow-up.Methods A random sample of 2,031 parti...Objective To explore associations between lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2(Lp-PLA2)and the risk of cardiovascular events in a Chinese population,with a long-term follow-up.Methods A random sample of 2,031 participants(73.6%males,mean age=60.4 years)was derived from the Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities Community study(APAC)from 2010 to 2011.Serum Lp-PLA2 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The composite endpoint was a combination of first-ever stroke,myocardial infarction(MI)or all-cause death.Lp-PLA2 associations with outcomes were assessed using Cox models.Results The median Lp-PLA2 level was 141.0 ng/m L.Over a median follow-up of 9.1 years,we identified 389 events(19.2%),including 137 stroke incidents,43 MIs,and 244 all-cause deaths.Using multivariate Cox regression,when compared with the lowest Lp-PLA2 quartile,the hazard ratios with95%confidence intervals for developing composite endpoints,stroke,major adverse cardiovascular events,and all-cause death were 1.77(1.24–2.54),1.92(1.03–3.60),1.69(1.003–2.84),and 1.94(1.18–3.18)in the highest quartile,respectively.Composite endpoints in 145(28.6%)patients occurred in the highest quartile where Lp-PLA2(159.0 ng/m L)was much lower than the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommended cut-off point,200 ng/m L.Conclusion Higher Lp-PLA2 levels were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular event/death in a middle-aged Chinese population.The Lp-PLA2 cut-off point may be lower in the Chinese population when predicting cardiovascular events.展开更多
The hybrid method composed of clustering and predicting stages is proposed to predict the endpoint phos- phorus content of molten steel in BOF （Basic Oxygen Furnace）. At the clustering stage, the weighted K-means is...The hybrid method composed of clustering and predicting stages is proposed to predict the endpoint phos- phorus content of molten steel in BOF （Basic Oxygen Furnace）. At the clustering stage, the weighted K-means is performed to generate some clusters with homogeneous data. The weights of factors influencing the target are calcu- lated using EWM （Entropy Weight Method）. At the predicting stage, one GMDH （Group Method of Data Handling） polynomial neural network is built for each cluster. And the predictive results from all the GMDH polynomial neural networks are integrated into a whole to be the result for the hybrid method. The hybrid method, GMDH polnomial neural network and BP neural network are employed for a comparison. The results show that the proposed hybrid method is effective in predicting the endpoint phosphorus content of molten steel in BOF. Furthermore, the hybrid method outperforms BP neural network and GMDH polynomial neural network.展开更多
The Perception Spectrogram Structure Boundary（PSSB）parameter is proposed for speech endpoint detection as a preprocess of speech or speaker recognition.At first a hearing perception speech enhancement is carried out...The Perception Spectrogram Structure Boundary（PSSB）parameter is proposed for speech endpoint detection as a preprocess of speech or speaker recognition.At first a hearing perception speech enhancement is carried out.Then the two-dimensional enhancement is performed upon the sound spectrogram according to the difference between the determinacy distribution characteristic of speech and the random distribution characteristic of noise.Finally a decision for endpoint was made by the PSSB parameter.Experimental results show that,in a low SNR environment from-10 dB to 10 dB,the algorithm proposed in this paper may achieve higher accuracy than the extant endpoint detection algorithms.The detection accuracy of 75.2%can be reached even in the extremely low SNR at-10 dB.Therefore it is suitable for speech endpoint detection in low-SNRs environment.展开更多
文摘Background and Aims:A visual analogue score (VAS),based on application of a visual analogue scale,has been widely used to assess pruritus in clinical studies of patients with cholestatic liver disease.A VAS is a numerical score of the severity of the perception of pruritus,and,hence,is inherently subjective.The objective of this study was to assessthe reliability of a VAS as an index of pruritus in cholestatic patients.Methods:In 8 patients with chronic pruritus due to primary biliary cholangitis,values for a VAS of pruritus were compared with corresponding measurements of scratching activity,which were generated by a monitoring system specifically designed to quantitate this activity.The relationship between individual values for the VAS and corresponding values for scratching activity during a specific interval immediately preceding the recording of the VAS was examined by determining the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.Results:The mean Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between individual values for the VAS and corresponding mean values for scratching activity was 0.072;the range of these coefficients was-0.04 to 0.26.A VAS of pruritus is an unreliable index of scratching activity,and,hence,of the pathophysiological process responsible for the pruritus of cholestasis.Conclusion:It is concluded that the use of a VAS as a primary quantitative endpoint in trials of the efficacy of potential therapies for the pruritus of cholestasis may be inappropriate.
文摘The effect of combined low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation（LF r TMS） and virtual reality（VR） training in patients after stroke was assessed. In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 112 patients with hemiplegia after stroke were randomly divided into two groups： experimental and control. In experimental group, the patients received LF r TMS and VR training treatment, and those in control group received sham r TMS and VR training treatment. Participants in both groups received therapy of 6 days per week for 4 weeks. The primary endpoint including the upper limb motor function test of Fugl-meyer assessment（U-FMA） and wolf motor function test（WMFT）, and the secondary endpoint including modified Barthel index（MBI） and 36-item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire（SF-36） were assessed before and 4 weeks after treatment. Totally, 108 subjects completed the study（55 in experimental group and 53 in control group respectively）. After 4-week treatment, the U-FMA scores [mean difference of 13.2, 95% confidence interval（CI） 3.6 to 22.7, P〈0.01], WMFT scores（mean difference of 2.9, 95% CI 2.7 to 12.3, P〈0.01）, and MBI scores（mean difference 16.1, 95% CI 3.8 to 9.4, P〈0.05） were significantly increased in the experimental group as compared with the control group. The results suggested the combined use of LF r TMS with VR training could effectively improve the upper limb function, the living activity, and the quality of life in patients with hemiplegia following subacute stroke, which may provide a better rehabilitation treatment for subacute stroke.
文摘Two commonly used methods for calculating 50% endpoint using serial dilutions are Spearman-Karber method and Reed and Muench method. To understand/apply the above formulas, moderate statistical/mathematical skills are necessary. In this paper, a simple formula/method for calculating 50% endpoints has been proposed. The formula yields essentially similar results as those of the SpearmanKarber method. The formula has been rigorously evaluated with several samples.
基金Item Sponsored by National Natural Science Foundation of China (60374003)
文摘The endpoint parameters are very important to the process of EAF steel-making, but their on-line measurement is difficult. The soft sensor technology is widely used for the prediction of endpoint parameters. Based on the analysis of the smelting process of EAF and the advantages of support vector machines, a soft sensor model for predicting the endpoint parameters was built using multiple support vector machines （MSVM）. In this model, the input space was divided by subtractive clustering and a sub-model based on LS-SVM was built in each sub-space. To decrease the correlation among the sub-models and to improve the accuracy and robustness of the model, the sub- models were combined by Principal Components Regression. The accuracy of the soft sensor model is perfectly improved. The simulation result demonstrates the practicability and efficiency of the MSVM model for the endpoint prediction of EAF.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No51305031)
文摘Tubes are used widely in aerospace vehicles, and their accurate assembly can directly affect the assembling reliability and the quality of products. It is important to measure the processed tube＇s endpoints and then fix any geometric errors correspondingly. However, the traditional tube inspection method is time-consuming and complex operations. Therefore, a new measurement method for a tube＇s endpoints based on machine vision is proposed. First, reflected light on tube＇s surface can be removed by using photometric linearization. Then, based on the optimization model for the tube＇s endpoint measurements and the principle of stereo matching, the global coordinates and the relative distance of the tube＇s endpoint are obtained. To confirm the feasibility, ll tubes are processed to remove the reflected light and then the endpoint＇s positions of tubes are measured. The experiment results show that the measurement repeatability accuracy is 0.167 mm, and the absolute accuracy is 0.328 ram. The measurement takes less than 1 min. The proposed method based on machine vision can measure the tube＇s endpoints without any surface treatment or any tools and can realize on line measurement.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.10701010) the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars,State Education Ministry+1 种基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.10571015) Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No.20050027025)
文摘In this paper, weighted Lp estimates and sharp weighted endpoint estimates for the mul-tilinear commutators of the Littlewood-Paley operators are established.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 81973112 and Grant No.9204930002]
文摘Objective To explore associations between lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2(Lp-PLA2)and the risk of cardiovascular events in a Chinese population,with a long-term follow-up.Methods A random sample of 2,031 participants(73.6%males,mean age=60.4 years)was derived from the Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities Community study(APAC)from 2010 to 2011.Serum Lp-PLA2 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The composite endpoint was a combination of first-ever stroke,myocardial infarction(MI)or all-cause death.Lp-PLA2 associations with outcomes were assessed using Cox models.Results The median Lp-PLA2 level was 141.0 ng/m L.Over a median follow-up of 9.1 years,we identified 389 events(19.2%),including 137 stroke incidents,43 MIs,and 244 all-cause deaths.Using multivariate Cox regression,when compared with the lowest Lp-PLA2 quartile,the hazard ratios with95%confidence intervals for developing composite endpoints,stroke,major adverse cardiovascular events,and all-cause death were 1.77(1.24–2.54),1.92(1.03–3.60),1.69(1.003–2.84),and 1.94(1.18–3.18)in the highest quartile,respectively.Composite endpoints in 145(28.6%)patients occurred in the highest quartile where Lp-PLA2(159.0 ng/m L)was much lower than the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommended cut-off point,200 ng/m L.Conclusion Higher Lp-PLA2 levels were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular event/death in a middle-aged Chinese population.The Lp-PLA2 cut-off point may be lower in the Chinese population when predicting cardiovascular events.
基金Sponsored by National Key Technology Research and Development in 11th Five Years Plan of China(2006BAE03A07)Fundamental Research Funds for Central University of China(FRF-AS-09-006B)
文摘The hybrid method composed of clustering and predicting stages is proposed to predict the endpoint phos- phorus content of molten steel in BOF （Basic Oxygen Furnace）. At the clustering stage, the weighted K-means is performed to generate some clusters with homogeneous data. The weights of factors influencing the target are calcu- lated using EWM （Entropy Weight Method）. At the predicting stage, one GMDH （Group Method of Data Handling） polynomial neural network is built for each cluster. And the predictive results from all the GMDH polynomial neural networks are integrated into a whole to be the result for the hybrid method. The hybrid method, GMDH polnomial neural network and BP neural network are employed for a comparison. The results show that the proposed hybrid method is effective in predicting the endpoint phosphorus content of molten steel in BOF. Furthermore, the hybrid method outperforms BP neural network and GMDH polynomial neural network.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.(61071215,61271359,61372146)
文摘The Perception Spectrogram Structure Boundary（PSSB）parameter is proposed for speech endpoint detection as a preprocess of speech or speaker recognition.At first a hearing perception speech enhancement is carried out.Then the two-dimensional enhancement is performed upon the sound spectrogram according to the difference between the determinacy distribution characteristic of speech and the random distribution characteristic of noise.Finally a decision for endpoint was made by the PSSB parameter.Experimental results show that,in a low SNR environment from-10 dB to 10 dB,the algorithm proposed in this paper may achieve higher accuracy than the extant endpoint detection algorithms.The detection accuracy of 75.2%can be reached even in the extremely low SNR at-10 dB.Therefore it is suitable for speech endpoint detection in low-SNRs environment.
