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Financial crises, Asian stock indices, and current accounts: An Asian-U.S. comparative study

Chen DY, Li T

J Asian Econ, 2014 Oct;34:66-78.
PMID: 32288457 DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2014.06.002

This paper investigates the effects of financial crises-based exchange rate, real interest rate, and personal consumption expenditure on stock market indices and balances of current account in four Asian countries/areas, and the U.S. from 1997 to 2010. Results obtained from Sims's first-order DSGE representation suggest that two policy variables - changes in the exchange rate and changes in the real interest rate lagged by one quarter - act as stabilizers for contemporaneous changes in stock indices for Thailand, Malaysia, and the U.S., but as destabilizers for Taiwan and Hong Kong. However, changes in personal consumption expenditure lagged by one quarter only play a destabilizing role in Hong Kong. For contemporaneous changes in the current account balance, all three policy variables become destabilizers for all five countries except the one-quarter lagged change in real interest rate, which acts as a stabilizer in Malaysia.
The impact of endometrioma on IVF/ICSI outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Hamdan M, Dunselman G, Li TC, Cheong Y

Hum. Reprod. Update, 2015 Nov-Dec;21(6):809-25.
PMID: 26168799 DOI: 10.1093/humupd/dmv035

Endometriosis is a disease known to be detrimental to fertility. Women with endometriosis, and the presence of endometrioma, may require artificial reproductive techniques (ART) to achieve a pregnancy. The specific impact of endometrioma alone and the impact of surgical intervention for endometrioma on the reproductive outcome of women undergoing IVF/ICSI are areas that require further clarification. The objectives of this review were as follows: (i) to determine the impact of endometrioma on IVF/ICSI outcomes, (ii) to determine the impact of surgery for endometrioma on IVF/ICSI outcome and (iii) to determine the effect of different surgical techniques on IVF/ICSI outcomes.
Primary pulmonary hyalinising clear cell carcinoma: Two cases and literature review

Di J, Xiong Y, Li D, Li X, Wang W, Cheng Y, et al.

Malays J Pathol, 2022 Dec;44(3):509-516.
PMID: 36591718

Hyalinising clear cell carcinoma (HCCC) of the lung is an extremely rare tumour that is just recently recognised as one of the salivary gland-type tumours (SGTT) in the latest WHO classification of thoracic tumours. Eleven cases have been reported in English literature since Joaquín et al. reported the first case. Given the very limited number of cases, the clinical and histological features of pulmonary HCCC are equivocal. Herein, we present two cases of pulmonary HCCC. The patients were a 66-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman. The mass was located on the right main bronchus and right middle lobar bronchus separately. One was 2 cm and the other was 3.3 cm in the greatest dimension. The tumours were comprised of small monomorphic cells with clear or eosinophilic cytoplasm and infiltrated in a hyalinising stroma arranged in nests, cords, sheets and trabeculae. Their morphology resembled their head and neck counterparts. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells were positive for AE1/AE3, P63, while negative for TTF1, Calponin, S-100, HMB45 and PAX8. Ki-67 labeling ranges from 3% to 10%. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) demonstrated EWSR1 rearrangement and Next-generation sequencing (NGS) demonstrated EWSR1- ATF1 (exon 11: exon 3) fusion in case one and EWSR1- ATF1 (exon 2: exon 12) fusion in case two. This is the first time to report the EWSR1-ATF1fusion point other than exon 11: exon 3 in pulmonary HCCC. Case one recurred two years after local resection but didn't metastasise during follow-up 36 months. Case two is alive without disease after lobectomy during follow-up 14 months.
Fulltext Selection of renewable energy development path for sustainable development using a fuzzy MCDM based on cumulative prospect theory: the case of Malaysia

Li T, Wang H, Lin Y

Sci Rep, 2024 Jul 02;14(1):15082.
PMID: 38956184 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65982-6

Malaysia's excessive energy consumption has led to the depletion of traditional energy reserves such as oil and natural gas. Although Malaysia has implemented multiple policies to achieve sustainable national energy development, the current results are unsatisfactory. As of 2022, only 2% of the country's electricity supply comes from renewable energy, which accounts for less than 30% of the energy structure. Malaysia must ensure energy security and diversified energy supply while ensuring sustainable energy development. This article uses the fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM) method based on cumulative prospect theory to help decision-makers choose the most suitable renewable energy for sustainable development in Malaysia from four dimensions of technology, economy, society, and environment. The results show that solar power is the most suitable renewable energy for sustainable development, followed by biomass, wind, and hydropower, but the optimal alternative is sensitive to the prospect parameters. Finally, it was analyzed that efficiency, payback period, employment creation, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are the most critical factors affecting the development of renewable energy in Malaysia under the four dimensions. Reasonable suggestions are proposed from policy review, green finance, public awareness, engineering education, and future energy. This research provides insightful information that can help Malaysian decision-makers scientifically formulate Sustainable development paths for renewable energy, analyze the problems encountered in the current stage of renewable energy development, and provide recommendations for Malaysia's future renewable energy transition and sustainable development.
Fulltext Personal protective equipment waste management behavior of undergraduates in Xi'an City based on extended theory of value-identity-personal norm model

Li T, Xu T, Liang Y, Luo W, Zhang J

Sci Rep, 2023 Jul 10;13(1):11144.
PMID: 37429955 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36534-1

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people's lives, with the most prominent change being the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In this study, we used the extended Value-Identity-Personal (VIP) norm model to empirically analyze the influencing factors of Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB) among college students in Xi 'an, China, while considering the usage of PPE as an example of PEB. We proposed nine hypothetical questions, and the VIP model was established through the SmartPLS software to test the valid questionnaires of 414 college students. The verification results indicated that all the nine hypotheses were supported statistically, with personal environmental social responsibility and personal norms showing the most significant direct impact on PEB; notably, personal norms were also strongly influenced by environmental personal social responsibility. Biosphere values affected PEB indirectly, through self-identity and individual norms. This study proposes viable countermeasures and suggestions for college students to improve PEB; our findings can serve as a reference for policymakers and stakeholders to ensure the effective waste management of personal safety equipment.
Fulltext Financial impact of cost of capital on tourism-based SMEs in COVID-19: implications for tourism disruption mitigation

Song Y, Yan J, Yu Z, Li T, Yang Y

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Mar;30(13):36439-36449.
PMID: 36547845 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-24851-3

Opportunities for funding Tourism SMEs are emerging globally due to the expansion of tourism sector. However, it is still being determined how these financial arrangements will be controlled at more significant sizes equitably. In the contemporary period, E7 economy is deficient in producing the financial resources to ensure the availability of funds for the acquisition of funds for tourism-based SMEs. However, this research tested the empirical position of cost of debt in E-7 economies during COVID-19 crises. Study findings have shown significant outcomes between the constructs. The variation of conditions, structural uncertainty, transection systems, and variation in support by the financial institution for tourism-based SMEs are the main reasons that lessen borrowing and lending system of funds, from banks to SMEs. However, theorists must revisit the transaction system of debt financing for SMEs. Policymakers are suggested to develop viable and SME system-friendly policies to finance through debt capital from the banks in the time of structural imposed crises, like COVID-19.
The impact of facial attractiveness and alleged personality traits on fairness decisions in the ultimatum game: Evidence from ERPs

Li T, Liang Z, Yuan Y, Sommer W, Li W

Biol Psychol, 2024 May 07;190:108809.
PMID: 38718883 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108809

In the mind of the beholder the personality and facial attractiveness of others are interrelated. However, how these specific properties are processed in the neurocognitive system and interact with each other while economic decisions are made is not well understood. Here, we combined the ultimatum game with EEG technology, to investigate how alleged personality traits and the perceived facial attractiveness of proposers of fair and unfair offers influence their acceptance by the responders. As expected, acceptance rate was higher for fair than unfair allocations. Overall, responders were more likely to accept proposals from individuals with higher facial attractiveness and with more positive personality traits. In ERPs, words denoting negative personality traits elicited larger P2 components than positive trait words, and more attractive faces elicited larger LPC amplitudes. Replicating previous findings, FRN amplitudes were larger to unfair than to fair allocations. This effect was diminished if the proposer's faces were attractive or associated with positive personality traits. Hence, facial attractiveness and the valence of personality traits seem to be evaluated independently and at different time points. Subsequent decision making about unfair offers is similarly influenced by high attractiveness and positive personality of the proposer, diminishing the negative response normally elicited by "unfair" proposals, possibly due a "reward" effect. In the ERPs to the proposals the effect of positive personality and attractiveness were seen in the FRN and P300 components but for positive personality traits the effect even preceded the FRN effect. Altogether, the present results indicate that both high facial attractiveness and alleged positive personality mitigate the effects of unfair proposals, with temporally overlapping but independent neurocognitive correlates.
Application of business intelligence based on big data in E-commerce data evaluation

Wang L, Pertheban TRAL, Li T, Zhao L

Heliyon, 2024 Nov 15;10(21):e38768.
PMID: 39524730 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38768

With the vigorous development of e-commerce, more and more goods are sold online. The electronic platform not only brings convenience to people's lives but also gives more people the opportunity of employment and entrepreneurship, which contributes to the promotion of economic value and the creation of wealth. With the gradual maturity of network technology represented by Big Data, it has also led to the further development of e-commerce. In the past, e-commerce mostly used business intelligence systems for data analysis. However, as the data becomes more and more complex, the innovation ability and data analysis ability of traditional business intelligence systems are relatively conservative, so it is of great significance to update and strengthen business intelligence to analyze its role in e-commerce data. Therefore, this paper proposed the application of business intelligence based on Big Data in e-commerce data analysis. By combining Big Data and a business intelligence system and taking the e-commerce data of a certain brand of beverage as the research object, the Days-Times-Money (DTM) model was established, and the data mining technology was used to classify the brand consumers. The data results showed that among the three consumption attributes, the highest consumption density of consumption days, consumption times, and consumption amount was 68.63 %, 67.99 %, and 69.72 % respectively. These were not more than 70 %, which indicated that the consumption of this brand of beverages had a high space for growth. According to the consumption density, the users of this brand of beverage were divided into four consumer groups. According to the classification results, it provided feasible marketing reference opinions for the brand beverage and could provide direction for brand value-added by mining the hidden data of the brand beverage. This paper hoped to use the brand beverage as a case to provide reference and reality for the development of e-commerce enterprises and provide a reference for the application and promotion of business intelligence based on Big Data in e-commerce data analysis.
Fulltext Comparisons between Caucasian-validated and Chinese-validated photo-numeric scales for assessing facial wrinkles

Ng JY, Zhou H, Li T, Chew FT

Sci Rep, 2024 Nov 16;14(1):28293.
PMID: 39550380 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-78945-8

Skin ageing results in wrinkling. In this study, we discuss four types of facial wrinkles: Crow's Feet wrinkles, forehead wrinkles, glabellar frown wrinkles, and nasolabial folds. These four phenotypes can be assessed either with a photo-numeric scale developed and validated on Caucasian skin (i.e., Caucasian scale) or with a photo-numeric scale developed and validated on Chinese skin (i.e., Chinese scale). As Caucasian and Chinese skin have inherent differences, the main objective of this study is to determine whether these inherent differences affect the suitability of evaluating facial wrinkles on ethnic Chinese skin with a Caucasian scale. Three trained assessors studied four types of wrinkles on the faces of 1,081 ethnic Chinese young adults from the Singapore/Malaysia Cross-sectional Genetics Epidemiology Study (SMCGES). We found that Caucasian scales and Chinese scales are concordant (Spearman's Rank Correlation (ρ) values: 0.53-0.80) and the level of agreement between the Caucasian scales and Chinese scales is moderately high (Cohen's Kappa (κ) values: 0.40-0.49). When tested on ethnic Chinese skin, both the Caucasian scale and the Chinese scale are largely consistent in showing presence or absence of a given facial wrinkle (Area under curve (AUC) values: 0.79-0.90). All assessors are highly internally consistent (Weighted Kappa (κw) values: 0.686-0.992). Our results build confidence that four types of facial wrinkles on ethnic Chinese faces can be assessed with Caucasian scales. To the best of our knowledge, Chinese scales for facial wrinkles beyond the four types discussed here have yet to be developed. Caucasian scales for these other facial wrinkles will also need to be tested for their suitability to be used on ethnic Chinese skin as and when more Chinese scales are developed.
Fulltext Can dietary factors explain differences in serum cholesterol profiles among different ethnic groups (Chinese, Malays and Indians) in Singapore?

Deurenberg-Yap M, Li T, Tan WL, van Staveren WA, Chew SK, Deurenberg P

Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2001;10(1):39-45.
PMID: 11708607

In Singapore. there exists differences in risk factors for coronary heart disease among the three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Malays and Indians. This study aimed to investigate if differences in dietary intakes of fat, types of fat, cholesterol, fruits, vegetables and grain foods could explain the differences in serum cholesterol levels between the ethnic groups. A total of 2408 adult subjects (61.0% Chinese, 21.4% Malays and 17.6% Indians) were selected systematically from the subjects who took part in the National Health Survey in 1998. The design of the study was based on a cross-sectional study. A food frequency questionnaire was used to assess intakes of energy, total fat, saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, cholesterol, fruits, vegetables and cereal-based foods. The Hegsted score was calculated. Serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol were analysed and the ratio of total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol was computed. The results showed that on a group level (six sex-ethnic groups), Hegsted score, dietary intakes of fat, satutrated fat, cholesterol, vegetables and grain foods were found to be correlated to serum cholesterol levels. However, selected dietary factors did not explain the differences in serum cholesterol levels between ethnic groups when multivariate regression analysis was performed, with adjustment for age, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, cigarette smoking, occupation, education level and physical activity level. This cross-sectional study shows that while selected dietary factors are correlated to serum cholesterol at a group level, they do not explain the differences in serum cholesterol levels between ethnic groups independently of age, obesity, occupation, educational level and other lifestyle risk factors.
Effects of short-term step aerobics exercise on bone metabolism and functional fitness in postmenopausal women with low bone mass

Wen HJ, Huang TH, Li TL, Chong PN, Ang BS

Osteoporos Int, 2017 02;28(2):539-547.
PMID: 27613719 DOI: 10.1007/s00198-016-3759-4

Measurement of bone turnover markers is an alternative way to determine the effects of exercise on bone health. A 10-week group-based step aerobics exercise significantly improved functional fitness in postmenopausal women with low bone mass, and showed a positive trend in reducing resorption activity via bone turnover markers.
INTRODUCTION: The major goal of this study was to determine the effects of short-term group-based step aerobics (GBSA) exercise on the bone metabolism, bone mineral density (BMD), and functional fitness of postmenopausal women (PMW) with low bone mass.
METHODS: Forty-eight PMW (aged 58.2 ± 3.5 years) with low bone mass (lumbar spine BMD T-score of -2.00 ± 0.67) were recruited and randomly assigned to an exercise group (EG) or to a control group (CG). Participants from the EG attended a progressive 10-week GBSA exercise at an intensity of 75-85 % of heart rate reserve, 90 min per session, and three sessions per week. Serum bone metabolic markers (C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen [CTX] and osteocalcin), BMD, and functional fitness components were measured before and after the training program. Mixed-models repeated measures method was used to compare differences between the groups (α = 0.05).
RESULTS: After the 10-week intervention period, there was no significant exercise program by time interaction for CTX; however, the percent change for CTX was significantly different between the groups (EG = -13.1 ± 24.4 % vs. CG = 11.0 ± 51.5 %, P
Accelerating charge transfer via nonconjugated polyelectrolyte interlayers toward efficient versatile photoredox catalysis

Li T, Feng C, Yap BK, Zhu X, Xiong B, He Z, et al.

Commun Chem, 2021 Oct 22;4(1):150.
PMID: 36697810 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-021-00589-w

One of the challenges for high-efficiency single-component-based photoredox catalysts is the low charge transfer and extraction due to the high recombination rate. Here, we demonstrate a strategy to precisely control the charge separation and transport efficiency of the catalytic host by introducing electron or hole extraction interlayers to improve the catalytic efficiency. We use simple and easily available non-conjugated polyelectrolytes (NCPs) (i.e., polyethyleneimine, PEI; poly(allylamine hydrochloride), PAH) to form interlayers, wherein such NCPs consist of the nonconjugated backbone with charge transporting functional groups. Taking CdS as examples, it is shown that although PEI and PAH are insulators and therefore do not have the ability to conduct electricity, they can form good electron or hole transport extraction layers due to the higher charge-transfer kinetics of pendant groups along the backbones, thereby greatly improving the charge transfer capability of CdS. Consequently, the resultant PEI-/PAH-functionalized nanocomposites exhibit significantly enhanced and versatile photoredox catalysis.
Fulltext Inhibition of Heterogeneous Nucleation in Water by Hydrogel Coating

Li S, Zhu P, Xue Y, Wang L, Wong TW, Yang X, et al.

Research (Wash D C), 2023;6:0190.
PMID: 37426472 DOI: 10.34133/research.0190

Heterogeneous nucleation plays a critical role in the phase transition of water, which can cause damage in various systems. Here, we report that heterogeneous nucleation can be inhibited by utilizing hydrogel coatings to isolate solid surfaces and water. Hydrogels, which contain over 90% water when fully swelled, exhibit a high degree of similarity to water. Due to this similarity, there is a great energy barrier for heterogeneous nucleation along the water-hydrogel interface. Additionally, hydrogel coatings, which possess polymer networks, exhibit higher fracture energy and more robust adhesion to solid surfaces compared to water. This high fracture and adhesion energy acts as a deterrent for fracture nucleation within the hydrogel or along the hydrogel-solid interface. With a hydrogel layer approximately 100 μm thick, the boiling temperature of water under atmospheric pressure can be raised from 100 to 108 °C. Notably, hydrogel coatings also result in remarkable reductions in cavitation pressure on multiple solid surfaces. We have demonstrated the efficacy of hydrogel coatings in preventing damages resulting from acceleration-induced cavitation. Hydrogel coatings have the potential to alter the energy landscape of heterogeneous nucleation on the water-solid interface, making them an exciting avenue for innovation in heat transfer and fluidic systems.
Fulltext Characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the chloroplast genome of Duhaldea cappa (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) Pruski & Anderb. (Asteraceae)

Luo J, Liu X, Li T, Chen H, Qu T, Wang Y, et al.

Mitochondrial DNA B Resour, 2024;9(1):186-190.
PMID: 38282979 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2024.2306203

Duhaldea cappa, a valuable medicinal plant of genus Duhaldea in the tribe Inuleae, is predominantly found in China, Bhutan, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam. However, the genomic studies of Duhaldea cappa are limited. In this study, we successfully sequenced and assembled the complete chloroplast genome of Duhaldea cappa. The chloroplast genome is 150,819 bp in length with a 37.73% GC content. The chloroplast genome has a quadripartite structure, consisting of a large single-copy region of 82,731 bp, a small single-copy region of 18,168 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat sequences of 24,960 bp. The genome contains 133 genes. Among these genes, there are 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The phylogeny reconstructed from data of the complete chloroplast genome indicated that Duhaldea cappa is closely related to Pluchea indica in the tribe Inuleae. Analyzing and reporting the chloroplast genome of Duhaldea cappa will establish a solid theoretical and data foundation for the efficient development, conservation, and utilization of this plant species.
CXCL 9 and CXCL 10 as Sensitive markers of disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Kuan WP, Tam LS, Wong CK, Ko FW, Li T, Zhu T, et al.

J Rheumatol, 2010 Feb;37(2):257-64.
PMID: 20032101 DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.090769

OBJECTIVE:
To assess whether serum levels of CC and CXC chemokines correlate with disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to determine whether these effects predict clinical response.

METHODS:
Serum levels of the chemokines CC (CCL2, CCL5) and CXC (CXCL8, CXCL9, CXCL10) were quantified at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or biologic agents in 28 patients using flow cytometry. Serum from 40 healthy individuals was collected for comparison at baseline. Response to treatment was classified according to the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria. Remission of disease was defined as a Disease Activity Score < 2.6.

RESULTS:
The baseline serum concentrations of CC and CXC chemokines were significantly elevated in patients with active RA compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05) except for CCL2. Significant improvement in all disease activity measurements was observed after 12 weeks of treatment. Seventeen (60.7%) patients achieved good to moderate response based on the EULAR response criteria, and 5 (17.9%) patients achieved remission. The improvement in clinical activity in patients with RA was accompanied by a significant reduction in the serum concentration of CXCL9 and CXCL10 (p < 0.001). A significant reduction in the serum level of CXCL10 was also observed in the group that achieved EULAR response. Serum concentration of CCL5 remained significantly elevated in patients with RA (n = 5) who achieved remission compared to the healthy controls (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION:
Serum concentration of CXCL9 and CXCL10 may serve as sensitive biomarkers for disease activity in patients with RA.
Study done in Hong Kong
Asian venous thromboembolism guidelines: updated recommendations for the prevention of venous thromboembolism

Liew NC, Alemany GV, Angchaisuksiri P, Bang SM, Choi G, DE Silva DA, et al.

Int Angiol, 2017 Feb;36(1):1-20.
PMID: 27606807 DOI: 10.23736/S0392-9590.16.03765-2

The Asian venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis guidelines were first published in 2012. Since its first edition, the Asian Venous Thrombosis Forum (AVTF) working group have updated the Asian VTE epidemiology and reviewed issues that were not addressed in the previous guidelines. The authors noted that the rising incidence of VTE across Asia may be attributable to aging population, dietary changes, and increasing incidence of obesity and diabetes. The new additions in the guideline include role of thrombophilia in VTE, bleeding risk in Asians, individual risk assessment, updates in the prevention of VTE in medically ill, bariatric surgery, cancer, orthopedic and trauma patients. The influence of primary thrombophilia in perioperative VTE is still unclear. The secondary risk factors, however, are similar between Asians and Caucasians. The group found no evidence of increased risk of bleeding while using pharmacological agents, including the use of novel anti-coagulants. At present, Caprini risk assessment model is widely used for individual risk assessment. Further validation of this model is needed in Asia. In medically ill patients, pharmacological agents are preferred if there is no bleeding risk. Intermittent pneumatic compression device (IPC) is recommended in patients with bleeding risk but we do not recommend using graduated compressive stockings. In bariatric patients, data on VTE is lacking in Asia. We recommend following current international guidelines. A high index of suspicion should be maintained during postbariatric surgery to detect and promptly treat portomesenteric venous thrombosis. Different cancer types have different thrombotic risks and the types of surgery influence to a large extent the overall VTE risk. Cancer patients should receive further risk assessment. In patients with higher thrombotic risk, either due to predisposing risk or concomitant surgery, low molecular weight heparin is indicated. Different countries appear to have different incidence of VTE following trauma and major orthopedic surgery. We recommend mechanical prophylaxis using IPC as the main method and additional pharmacological prophylaxis if the thrombotic risk is high. As for obstetric practice, we propose adherence to the UK Greentop guideline that is widely accepted and utilized across Asia. To improve VTE thromboprophylaxis implementation in the region, we propose that there should be better health education, establishment of hospital-based guidelines and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Fulltext A soft artificial muscle driven robot with reinforcement learning

Yang T, Xiao Y, Zhang Z, Liang Y, Li G, Zhang M, et al.

Sci Rep, 2018 09 28;8(1):14518.
PMID: 30266999 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32757-9

Soft robots driven by stimuli-responsive materials have their own unique advantages over traditional rigid robots such as large actuation, light weight, good flexibility and biocompatibility. However, the large actuation of soft robots inherently co-exists with difficulty in control with high precision. This article presents a soft artificial muscle driven robot mimicking cuttlefish with a fully integrated on-board system including power supply and wireless communication system. Without any motors, the movements of the cuttlefish robot are solely actuated by dielectric elastomer which exhibits muscle-like properties including large deformation and high energy density. Reinforcement learning is used to optimize the control strategy of the cuttlefish robot instead of manual adjustment. From scratch, the swimming speed of the robot is enhanced by 91% with reinforcement learning, reaching to 21 mm/s (0.38 body length per second). The design principle behind the structure and the control of the robot can be potentially useful in guiding device designs for demanding applications such as flexible devices and soft robots.
Fulltext Evaluation of the effect of full-process blood glucose management on T2DM cataract patients based on visual electrophysiology and OCTA

Tang J, Li T, Wang X, Xue H, Zhang D, Liu X, et al.

Sci Rep, 2024 Nov 13;14(1):27862.
PMID: 39537656 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-76510-x

To investigate the difference in preoperative retinal function in patients with type 2 diabetes cataract (DC) without obvious retinopathy and to explore the clinical application of full blood glucose management for improving the postoperative vision in DC patients. This was a retrospective analysis in which we estimated the changes in visual electrophysiology (N75, P100, photopic flash electroretinogram(FERG), and scotopic FERG, paraoptic retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (pRNFL) and paraoptic radial capillary network blood flow density (ppVD) of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients at different phases of disease progression along with fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbAlC) levels before and after DC surgery at Ziyang Central Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022. Additionally, trends in the above data throughout the entire process of glucose management intervention were examined. As the course of T2DM progressed, FBG and HbA1c increased, the N75 and P100 latency periods of patients gradually increased, and the values of photopic FERG, scotopic FERG, pRNFL, and ppVD gradually decreased at each postoperative time point. Moreover, the best corrected visual acuity(BCVA) of patients after surgery gradually decreased (P
Fulltext Clinical research linking Traditional Chinese Medicine constitution types with diseases: a literature review of 1639 observational studies

Liang X, Wang Q, Jiang Z, Li Z, Zhang M, Yang P, et al.

J Tradit Chin Med, 2020 08;40(4):690-702.
PMID: 32744037 DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2020.04.019

OBJECTIVE: To analyze clinical studies on correlations between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) body constitution types and diseases published in the past 10 years, and to provide an evidence base to support the use of such correlations for health maintenance and disease prevention.
METHODS: We searched five databases for the period April 2009 to December 2019: China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, PubMed and Embase. Three types of observational studies on correlation between constitution types and diseases were included: cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies. Descriptive statistical methods were employed for data analysis.
RESULTS: A total of 1639 clinical studies were identified: 1452 (88.59%) cross-sectional studies, 115 (7.02%) case-control studies and 72 (4.39%) cohort studies covering 30 regions of China and five other countries (Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and France). The collection of studies comprised 19 disease categories and 333 different diseases. The 10 most commonly studied diseases were hypertension, diabetes, stroke, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CAHD), sleep disorders, neoplasm of the breast, dysmenorrhea, fatty liver disease, chronic viral hepatitis B and dyslipidemia. We found high distributions for each biased constitution type in different patient populations as follows: Qi-deficiency constitution in stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and hypertension; Yang-deficiency constitution in female infertility, osteoporosis, irritable bowel syndrome, gonarthrosis and dysmenorrhea; Yin-deficiency constitution in hypertension, diabetes, constipation, female climacteric states and osteoporosis; phlegm- dampness constitution in hypertension, stroke, fatty liver disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome; damp-heat constitution in acne, chronic gastritis, chronic viral hepatitis B, human papillomavirus infection and hyperuricemia; blood-stasis constitution in CAHD, endometriosis and stroke; Qi-stagnation constitution in hyperplasia and neoplasms of the breast, insomnia, depression and thyroid nodules; and inherited-special constitution in asthma and allergic rhinitis.
CONCLUSION: Eight biased TCM constitutions were closely related to specific diseases, and could be used to guide individualized prevention and treatment. More rigorously designed studies are recommended to further verify the constitution-disease relationship.
GIS-based groundwater potential analysis using novel ensemble weights-of-evidence with logistic regression and functional tree models

Chen W, Li H, Hou E, Wang S, Wang G, Panahi M, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2018 Sep 01;634:853-867.
PMID: 29653429 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.055

The aim of the current study was to produce groundwater spring potential maps using novel ensemble weights-of-evidence (WoE) with logistic regression (LR) and functional tree (FT) models. First, a total of 66 springs were identified by field surveys, out of which 70% of the spring locations were used for training the models and 30% of the spring locations were employed for the validation process. Second, a total of 14 affecting factors including aspect, altitude, slope, plan curvature, profile curvature, stream power index (SPI), topographic wetness index (TWI), sediment transport index (STI), lithology, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), land use, soil, distance to roads, and distance to streams was used to analyze the spatial relationship between these affecting factors and spring occurrences. Multicollinearity analysis and feature selection of the correlation attribute evaluation (CAE) method were employed to optimize the affecting factors. Subsequently, the novel ensembles of the WoE, LR, and FT models were constructed using the training dataset. Finally, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, standard error, confidence interval (CI) at 95%, and significance level P were employed to validate and compare the performance of three models. Overall, all three models performed well for groundwater spring potential evaluation. The prediction capability of the FT model, with the highest AUC values, the smallest standard errors, the narrowest CIs, and the smallest P values for the training and validation datasets, is better compared to those of other models. The groundwater spring potential maps can be adopted for the management of water resources and land use by planners and engineers.

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