Background
With improved short-term surgical outcomes, laparoscopic distal gastrectomy has rapidly gained popularity. However, the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) has ...not yet been proven due to the difficulty of the technique. This single-arm prospective multi-center study was conducted to evaluate the use of LTG for clinical stage I gastric cancer.
Methods
Between October 2012 and January 2014, 170 patients with pathologically proven, clinical stage I gastric adenocarcinoma located at the proximal stomach were enrolled. Twenty-two experienced surgeons from 19 institutions participated in this clinical trial. The primary end point was the incidence of postoperative morbidity and mortality at postoperative 30 days. The severity of postoperative complications was categorized according to Clavien–Dindo classification, and the incidence of postoperative morbidity and mortality was compared with that in a historical control.
Results
Of the enrolled patients, 160 met criteria for inclusion in the full analysis set. Postoperative morbidity and mortality rates reached 20.6% (33/160) and 0.6% (1/160), respectively. Fifteen patients (9.4%) had grade III or higher complications, and three reoperations (1.9%) were performed. The incidence of morbidity after LTG in this trial did not significantly differ from that reported in a previous study for open total gastrectomy (18%).
Conclusions
LTG performed by experienced surgeons showed acceptable postoperative morbidity and mortality for patients with clinical stage I gastric cancer.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Objectives
To evaluate radiomics studies according to radiomics quality score (RQS) and Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis (TRIPOD) to ...provide objective measurement of radiomics research.
Materials and methods
PubMed and Embase were searched for studies published in high clinical imaging journals until December 2018 using the terms “radiomics” and “radiogenomics.” Studies were scored against the items in the RQS and TRIPOD guidelines. Subgroup analyses were performed for journal type (clinical vs. imaging), intended use (diagnostic vs. prognostic), and imaging modality (CT vs. MRI), and articles were compared using Fisher’s exact test and Mann-Whitney analysis.
Results
Seventy-seven articles were included. The mean RQS score was 26.1% of the maximum (9.4 out of 36). The RQS was low in demonstration of clinical utility (19.5%), test-retest analysis (6.5%), prospective study (3.9%), and open science (3.9%). None of the studies conducted a phantom or cost-effectiveness analysis. The adherence rate for TRIPOD was 57.8% (mean) and was particularly low in reporting title (2.6%), stating study objective in abstract and introduction (7.8% and 16.9%), blind assessment of outcome (14.3%), sample size (6.5%), and missing data (11.7%) categories. Studies in clinical journals scored higher and more frequently adopted external validation than imaging journals.
Conclusions
The overall scientific quality and reporting of radiomics studies is insufficient. Scientific improvements need to be made to feature reproducibility, analysis of clinical utility, and open science categories. Reporting of study objectives, blind assessment, sample size, and missing data is deemed to be necessary.
Key Points
• The overall scientific quality and reporting of radiomics studies is insufficient.
• The RQS was low in demonstration of clinical utility, test-retest analysis, prospective study, and open science.
• Room for improvement was shown in TRIPOD in stating study objective in abstract and introduction, blind assessment of outcome, sample size, and missing data categories.
The present study examined the effectiveness of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), fly ash (FA), and silica fume (SF), in reducing CO2 ...emissions from ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete. This was done by assembling and analyzing a comprehensive database including 5294 laboratory concrete mixes and 3915 plant mixes. The database covered extensive ranges of compressive strength (8–170 MPa) and substitution levels (3–80% for GGBS, 3–70% for FA, and 3–40% for SF). The system studied for CO2 assessment of concrete based on Korean lifecycle inventory was from cradle to preconstruction, which includes consistent materials, transportation and production phases. The unit binder content and CO2 emissions of concrete in developing the unit strength (1 MPa) were identified using the binder intensity and CO2 intensity, respectively. The value of the CO2 intensity decreased sharply as the substitution level of the SCMs increased up to approximately 15–20%, beyond which the rate of decrease gradually slowed. Overall, the binder and CO2 intensities could be formulated as a function of the individual substitution level of each SCM. The proposed equations hold considerable promise as a guideline for the straightforward determination of (1) the total CO2 emission for a given concrete mix proportion, (2) the unit binder content for a targeted compressive strength, and (3) the type and substitution level of SCMs for a designed strength and targeted CO2 reduction rate.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The vital sign monitoring through Impulse Radio Ultra-Wide Band (IR-UWB) radar provides continuous assessment of a patient's respiration and heart rates in a non-invasive manner. In this paper, IR ...UWB radar is used for monitoring respiration and the human heart rate. The breathing and heart rate frequencies are extracted from the signal reflected from the human body. A Kalman filter is applied to reduce the measurement noise from the vital signal. An algorithm is presented to separate the heart rate signal from the breathing harmonics. An auto-correlation based technique is applied for detecting random body movements (RBM) during the measurement process. Experiments were performed in different scenarios in order to show the validity of the algorithm. The vital signs were estimated for the signal reflected from the chest, as well as from the back side of the body in different experiments. The results from both scenarios are compared for respiration and heartbeat estimation accuracy.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Designing polymers that facilitate exciton dissociation and charge transport is critical for the production of highly efficient all‐polymer solar cells (all‐PSCs). Here, the development of a new ...class of high‐performance naphthalenediimide (NDI)‐based polymers with large dipole moment change (Δµge) and delocalized lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) as electron acceptors for all‐PSCs is reported. A series of NDI‐based copolymers incorporating electron‐withdrawing cyanovinylene groups into the backbone (PNDITCVT‐R) is designed and synthesized with 2‐hexyldecyl (R = HD) and 2‐octyldodecyl (R = OD) side chains. Density functional theory calculations reveal an enhancement in Δµge and delocalization of the LUMO upon the incorporation of cyanovinylene groups. All‐PSCs fabricated from these new NDI‐based polymer acceptors exhibit outstanding power conversion efficiencies (7.4%) and high fill factors (65%), which is attributed to efficient exciton dissociation, well‐balanced charge transport, and suppressed monomolecular recombination. Morphological studies by grazing X‐ray scattering and resonant soft X‐ray scattering measurements show the blend films containing polymer donor and PNDITCVT‐R acceptors to exhibit favorable face‐on orientation and well‐mixed morphology with small domain spacing (30–40 nm).
High‐performance polymer acceptors with high electron mobility and large dipole moment difference are developed by introducing electron‐withdrawing cyanovinylene groups into naphthalenediimide‐based polymers. All‐polymer solar cells fabricated using these new polymer acceptors exhibit outstanding power conversion efficiencies of up to 7.4% and high fill factors (65%) as a result of efficient exciton dissociation and enhanced charge transport.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Atlantic‐origin cold saline water has previously not been considered an important contributor to the nutrient supply in the Pacific Arctic due to the effective insulation by the overlying ...Pacific‐origin waters that separate the surface mixed layer from the deeper Atlantic Water. Based on hydrographic observations in the northwestern Chukchi Sea from 2015 to 2017, we demonstrate that the intrusion of Atlantic‐origin cold saline water into the halocline boundary between Pacific and Atlantic‐origin waters in 2017 lifted Pacific‐origin nutrients up to the surface layer. We find that the cyclonic atmospheric circulation in 2017 was considerably strengthened, leading to lateral intrusions of two bodies of cold halocline water from the Eurasian marginal seas into the northwestern Chukchi Sea. Our results reveal that the intrusions of cold halocline waters caused unprecedented shoaling of the nutricline and anomalously high surface phytoplankton blooms in typically highly oligotrophic surface waters in the region during summer.
Plain Language Summary
Nutrient depletion, especially nitrogen, in Arctic surface waters during the summer is common due to biological uptake and intense stratification caused by sea ice melting and riverine water inputs, which restricts the upward mixing of nutrients into the euphotic zone. Although Atlantic‐origin cold saline water has previously not been considered an important contributor to the nutrient supply in the Pacific Arctic, the results presented here show that the intrusion of Atlantic‐origin cold saline water into the halocline boundary layer between Pacific and Atlantic‐origin waters in the summer of 2017 was an essential mechanism responsible for transporting Pacific‐origin nutrients to the surface layer, leading to anomalously high surface phytoplankton blooms in typically highly oligotrophic surface waters in the northwestern Chukchi Sea.
Key Points
The nutricline shoaling by an intrusion of Atlantic‐origin cold saline water was observed in the northwestern Chukchi Sea in 2017
Pacific‐origin nutrients were lifted up to the surface layer by the intrusion of Atlantic‐origin cold saline water
The enhanced cyclonic ocean circulation triggered a pronounced transport of Atlantic‐origin cold saline water to the western Arctic Ocean
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The development of a 3D-Printed Load Cell (PLC) was studied using a nanocarbon composite strain sensor (NCSS) and a 3D printing process. The miniature load cell was fabricated using a low-cost ...LCD-based 3D printer with UV resin. The NCSS composed of 0.5 wt% MWCNT/epoxy was used to create the flexure of PLC. PLC performance was evaluated under a rated load range; its output was equal to the common value of 2 mV/V. The performance was also evaluated after a calibration in terms of non-linearity, repeatability, and hysteresis, with final results of 2.12%, 1.60%, and 4.42%, respectively. Creep and creep recovery were found to be 1.68 (%FS) and 4.16 (%FS). The relative inferiorities of PLC seem to originate from the inherent hyper-elastic characteristics of polymer sensors. The 3D PLC developed may be a promising solution for the OEM/design-in load cell market and may also result in the development of a novel 3D-printed sensor.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The unprecedented non-contact, non-invasive, and privacy-preserving nature of radar sensors has enabled various healthcare applications, including vital sign monitoring, fall detection, gait ...analysis, activity recognition, fitness evaluation, and sleep monitoring. Machine learning (ML) is revolutionizing every domain, with radar-based healthcare being no exception. Progress in the field of healthcare radars and ML is complementing the existing radar-based healthcare industry. This article provides an overview of ML usage for two major healthcare applications: vital sign monitoring and activity recognition. Vital sign monitoring is the most promising healthcare application of radar, as it can predict several chronic cardiac and respiratory diseases. Activity recognition is also a prominent application since the inability to perform activities may result in critical suffering. The article presents an overview of commercial radars, radar hardware, and historical progress of healthcare radars, followed by the usage of ML for healthcare radars. Subsequently, the paper discusses how ML can overcome the limitations of conventional radar data processing chains for healthcare radars. The article also touches upon recent generative ML concepts used in healthcare radars. Among several interesting findings, it was discovered that ML does not completely replace existing vital sign monitoring algorithms; rather, ML is deployed to overcome the limitations of traditional algorithms. On the other hand, activity recognition always relies on ML approaches. The most widely used algorithms for both applications are Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) followed by Support Vector Machine (SVM). Generative AI has the capability to augment data and is expected to have a significant impact soon. Recent trends, lessons learned from these trends, and future directions for both healthcare applications are presented in detail. Finally, the future work section discusses a wide range of healthcare topics for humans, ranging from neonates to elderly individuals.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and organic solar cells (OSCs) are promising renewable light‐harvesting technologies with high performance, but the utilization of hazardous dopants and high boiling ...additives is harmful to all forms of life and the environment. Herein, new multirole π‐conjugated polymers (P1–P3) are developed via a rational design approach through theoretical hindsight, further successfully subjecting them into dopant‐free PSCs as hole‐transporting materials and additive‐free OSCs as photoactive donors, respectively. Especially, P3‐based PSCs and OSCs not only show high power conversion efficiencies of 17.28% and 8.26%, but also display an excellent ambient stability up to 30 d (for PSCs only), owing to their inherent superior optoelectronic properties in their pristine form. Overall, the rational approach promises to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable PSCs and OSCs.
New multirole π‐conjugated polymers are developed via a rational design approach through theoretical hindsight, further successfully subjecting them into dopant‐free perovskite solar cells as hole‐transporting materials with high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.28%, and additive‐free organic solar cells as photoactive donors with high PCE of 8.26%.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
In this paper, we classify digits written in mid-air using hand gestures. Impulse radio ultrawideband (IR-UWB) radar sensors are used for data acquisition, with three radar sensors placed in a ...triangular geometry. Conventional radar-based gesture recognition methods use whole raw data matrices or a group of features for gesture classification using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) or other machine learning algorithms. However, if the training and testing data differ in distance, orientation, hand shape, hand size, or even gesture speed or the radar setup environment, these methods become less accurate. To develop a more robust gesture recognition method, we propose not using raw data for the CNN classifier, but instead employing the hand's mid-air trajectory for classification. The hand trajectory has a stereotypical shape for a given digit, regardless of the hand's orientation or speed, making its classification easy and robust. Our proposed method consists of three stages: signal preprocessing, hand motion localization, and tracking and transforming the trajectory data into an image to classify it using a CNN. Our proposed method outperforms conventional approaches because it is robust to changes in orientation, distance, and hand shape and size. Moreover, this method does not require building a huge training database of digits drawn by different users in different orientations; rather, we can use training databases already available in the image processing field. Overall, the proposed mid-air handwritten digit recognition system provides a user-friendly and accurate mid-air handwriting modality that does not place restrictions on users.
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