Roles of Nitric Oxide and Asymmetric Dimethylarginine in Pregnancy and Fetal Programming

Nitric oxide (NO) regulates placental blood flow and actively participates in trophoblast invasion and placental development. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) can inhibit NO synthase, which generates NO. ADMA has been associated with uterine artery flow disturbances such as preeclampsia. Substantial experimental evidence has reliably supported the hypothesis that an adverse in utero environment plays a role in postnatal physiological and pathophysiological programming. Growing evidence suggests that the placental nitrergic system is involved in epigenetic fetal programming. In this review, we discuss the roles of NO and ADMA in normal and compromised pregnancies as well as the link between placental insufficiency and epigenetic fetal programming.     

An optimal range of information quantity on computer-based procedure interface design in the advanced main control room

The quantification of information in the interface design is a critical issue. Too much information on an interface can confuse a user while executing a task, and too little information may result in poor user performance. This study focused on the quantification of visible information on computer-based procedures (CBPs). Levels of information quantity and task complexity were considered in this experiment. Simulated CBPs were developed to consist of three levels: high (at least 10 events, i.e. 3.32 bits), medium (4–8 events, i.e. 2–3 bits), and low information quantity (1 or 2 events, i.e. 0 or 1 bits). Task complexity comprised two levels: complex tasks and simple tasks. The dependent variables include operation time, secondary task performance, and mental workload. Results suggested that medium information quantity of five to eight events has a remarkable advantage in supporting operator performance under both simple and complex tasks. This research not only suggested the appropriate range of information quantity on the CBP interface, but also complemented certain deficient results of previous CBP interface design studies. Additionally, based on results obtained by this study, the quantification of information on the CBP interface should be considered to ensure safe operation of nuclear power plants.     

Error-tolerability enhancement via bit inversion and median filtering for single-bit errors in image processing circuits

Microsystem Technologies - Error-tolerance has been proposed as a new method to increase effective yield of a system. The basic idea is that faulty chips might be still acceptable as long as their...     

Multiple roles of color information in the perception of icon‐type images

Despite the ubiquity of icons in computing and mobile devices, the role of color in icon‐based interface design has yet to be fully elucidated. This study began by conducting a card sorting experiment to determine the importance of color in the perception of commercial icons, as opposed to the simpler icons typically used in a laboratory setting. The study also sought to ascertain the importance of color when considered alongside other visual attributes in the general perception of icons. Participants were then asked to answer preset questions as a means of determining the relationship between the known color properties (e.g., hue, saturation, and brightness) of icons and their functional meaning, effectiveness in conveying meaning, and visual attractiveness. Finally, the speed and accuracy was assessed by which participants recognized well‐known icons rendered using familiar and unfamiliar colors. The empirical results identified color as an important attribute in the process of sorting icons, far exceeding other visual attributes including shape, complexity, pictorial style, and orientation. Nonetheless, it appears that color is not necessarily dominant in the initial stages of sorting. The results also revealed that color is closely related to visual attractiveness but largely irrelevant to effectiveness in the conveyance of meaning. The study also confirmed that correct color information is crucial to naming accuracy and the speed at which icons are recognized. Finally, the results indicate that icons lacking a unique symbol as a cue to recognition rely heavily on their signature color for identification. This study opens up several avenues of research by which to enhance our understanding of the functional role of color in icon perception.     

Design and implementation of a web-based medical drawing management system

This paper addresses the architecture and implementation of a medical drawing management system. The system enables physicians to draw directly on a patient picture or built-in anatomical templates of a body part. It contains modules for querying patient data and managing associated drawings including sketching, uploading, and sharing features. The system adapts to embed Windows-based applications into web pages; the web-based applications contain Windows-based graphical tools and enable seamlessly incorporating necessary drawing modules into the web-based healthcare information system at National Taiwan University Hospital. The system provides a web-based sketching capability that effectively support practitioners’ daily operations, as well as the use of paperless, digitizing patient records, and ultimately, will improve the overall quality of healthcare.     

Experimental and computational studies of bulk polymerization of styrene in the presence of N-(O-(1-phenylmethyl)oxy) phthalimide or cyclohexanone-O-(1-phenylmethyl)oxime

Summary Syntheses of potential initiators N-(O-(1-phenylethyl)oxy)phthalimide, N-(O-(1-phenylmethyl)oxy)phthalimide (POP), cyclohexanone-O-(1-phenylethyl)oxime, and cyclohexanone-O-(1-phenylmethyl)oxime (CHPO) are described. Bulk polymerization of styrene in the presence of POP or CHPO and molecular weight measurement by GPC indicate that the polymerization is not a living process. Ab initio calculations show that the C-O or O-N bond cleavage energies of POP and CHPO are close to each other (3: C-O: 46.4, O-N: 47.3 kcal/mol; 1: C-O: 46.9, O-N: 63.0 kcal/mol) and much higher than the similar analogs of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy (TEMPO) (C-O: 20.9, O-N: 34.4 kcal/mol). The similar C-O and O-N bond cleavage energies of the synthesized initiators (POP/CHPO) indicate two possible cleavage pathways and may explain the non-living nature of the polymerization. These results may be helpful in finding future reversible terminator compounds for living polymerization. Received: 28 August 2000/Revised version: 5 December 2000/Accepted: 7 December 2000     

Introduction of affinity set and its application in data-mining example of delayed diagnosis

At least 44,000 people die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors, and these deaths are becoming the eighth-leading cause of death in the United States. Thus, medical providers have the responsibility to pay attention for reducing avoidable medical errors and improve patient safety as best as they can. It requires the rapid evaluation and prioritisation of life threatening injuries in the primary survey followed by a detailed secondary survey in the emergency room. However, time is always valuable and limited such that some important vital signs may be delayed and ignored. This research explores delayed diagnosis problem and uses the affinity set by Topology concept to classify/focus on key attributes causing delayed diagnosis (missed injury) in order to reduce error risk. Results interestingly indicate that when a patient can breathe normally, but his (or her) blood-pressure or pulse is abnormal, a high probability of delayed diagnosis exists. This affinity work also compares the performance with the model of rough set (Rosetta), neural network, support vector machine and logistic regression. And our affinity model shows its advantage by prediction accuracy and explanation power.     

Preparation and characterization of methoxy‐poly(ethylene glycol) side chain grafted onto chitosan as a wound dressing film

Chitosan has received extensive attention as a biomedical material; however, the poor solubility of chitosan is the major limiting factor in its utilization. In this study, chitosan‐based biomaterials with improved aqueous solubility were synthesized. Two molecular weights (750 Da and 2000 Da) of methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG) were grafted onto chitosan (mPEG‐g‐chitosan) to form a ～100‐μm‐thick plastic film as a wound dressing. The chemical structures of the mPEG‐g‐chitosan copolymers were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and the thermal properties were characterized using thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). Their microstructures were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The other properties were analyzed via the swelling ratio, tensile strength, elongation, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). Biocompatibility evaluations through biodegradability, cytotoxicity, and antimicrobial effect studies were also performed. The obtained mPEG‐g‐chitosan copolymers were soluble in slightly acidic aqueous solutions (pH～6.5) at a concentration of 10 wt %. The optimal mPEG‐g‐chitosan hydrogels had swelling ratios greater than 100% and WVTRs greater than 2000 g/m²/day. Their performance against Staphylococcus aureus will be subjected to further improvements with respect to medical applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42340.     

Predictive maintenance of abnormal wind turbine events by using machine learning based on condition monitoring for anomaly detection

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - The predictive maintenance of wind turbines has become a critical issue with the rapid development of wind power generation. The early detection of...