A Mode-Sum Prescription for Vacuum Polarization in Even Dimensions

We present a mode-sum regularization prescription for computing the vacuum polarization of a scalar field in static spherically-symmetric black hole spacetimes in even dimensions. This is the first general and systematic approach to regularized vacuum polarization in higher even dimensions, building upon a previous scheme we developed for odd dimensions. Things are more complicated here since the even-dimensional propagator possesses logarithmic singularities which must be regularized. However, in spite of this complication, the regularization parameters can be computed in closed form in arbitrary even dimensions and for arbitrary metric function $f(r)$. As an explicit example of our method, we show plots for vacuum polarization of a massless scalar field in the Schwarzschild-Tangherlini spacetime for even $d=4,...,10$. However, the method presented applies straightforwardly to massive fields or to nonvacuum spacetimes.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1609.0816

A systematic review and meta-analysis of herbal medicine on chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases

Herbal medicine (HM) as an adjunct therapy has been shown to be promising for the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the role of herbs in COPD remains largely unexplored. In this present study, we conducted the systematic review to evaluate the efficacy of herbs in COPD. 176 clinical studies with reporting pulmonary function were retrieved from English and Chinese database. Commonly used herbs for acute exacerbations stage (AECOPD) and stable COPD stage (SCOPD) were identified. A meta-analysis conducted from 15 high quality studies (18 publications) showed that HM as an adjunct therapy had no significant improvement in pulmonary function (FEV1, FEV%, FVC, and FEV1/FVC) compared to conventional medicine. The efficacy of the adjunct HM on improving the arterial blood gas (PaCO2 and PaO 2) for AECOPD and SCOPD remains inconclusive due to the heterogeneity among the studies. However, HM as an adjunct therapy improved clinical symptoms and quality of life (total score, activity score, and impact score of St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire). Studies with large-scale and double-blind randomized controlled trials are required to confirm the role of the adjunct HM in the management of COPD. © 2014 Hai Yong Chen et al.published_or_final_versio

Determination of emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion by HPLC in the chinese medicine rumex japonicus houtt.

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for determination of emodin, chrysophanol and physcion in Rumex japonicus Houtt. from different places in Zhejiang Province (China) was established. The samples were separated on a Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 column (2.1 × 150 mm, 5 μm) at at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min using acetonitrile-water as the mobile phase, with a gradient elution. The column oven temperature was 30 °C and the wavelength of detection used was 285 nm. The three anthraquinones were well separated by this HPLC method. Linearities of emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion were good in the ranges of 0.23-46 (r = 0.998), 0.2-50 (r = 0.9999), and 0.5-50 (r = 0.9997) μg/mL, respectively. The average recoveries were 99.01 % for emodin, 100.73 % for chrysophanol, 101.12 % for physcion, with RSD 1.23, 1.09 and 3.42 %, respectively. The method is simple, accurate, reproducible, and it can be used to quality control of Rumex japonicus Houtt.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Simultaneous Determination of Three Bioactive Compounds in Traditional Chinese Medicine Patent Prescription Zuojin Pill by HPLC

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method coupled with ultraviolet (UV) detection has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of berberine hydrochloride, evodiamine and rutaecarpine in Zuojin Pill. Chromatographic separation were achieved on a ODS-C18 column (250×4.6 mm i.d., 5.0 μm particle) through a 25 min gradient delivery of a mixture of A (acetonitrile) and B (0.3 % phosphoric acid-0.3 % triethylamine) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min at 40 °C. All of the analytes showed good linearity (r > 0.999). The method was validated for repeatability, precision, stability, accuracy and selectivity. The validated method was applied to quality control of Zuojin Pill from different manufacture.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Positive diagnostic positional tests in BPPV are higher in the morning than in the afternoon: a retrospective study

ObjectivePositional tests are the standard for diagnosing benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). We evaluated the relationship between the timing of the testing during the day and the rate of pathological findings.MethodsA retrospective analysis of clinical records from 929 patients with a medical history consistent with the diagnosis of BPPV from Jan 1st, 2023 until Dec 31st, 2024 was performed. The aim was to assess timing of examinations and diagnostic findings. Morning examinations were categorized as those initiated from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., while afternoon examinations were defined from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The rate of pathological positional tests was evaluated based on the observation of positional nystagmus induced by the diagnostic maneuvers.ResultsA total of 929 individuals with the presumed diagnosis of BPPV were examined by diagnostic positional maneuvers. Five hundred and ninety individuals (63.51%) were examined in the morning and 339 (36.49%) in the afternoon. The positive rate of BPPV testing was 72.54% (428/590) in the morning group and 64.01% (217/339) in the afternoon group (P < 0.01). Subgroup-analysis by semicircular canal type showed the number of posterior semicircular canal BPPV (pcBPPV) was 308 of 590 (52.20%) in the morning and 154 of 339 (45.43%) in the afternoon, with a significant difference (p = 0.010). For horizontal semicircular canal BPPV (hcBPPV), the number was 115 of 590 (19.49%) in the morning and 60 of 339 (17.70%) in the afternoon (p = 0.080). Hourly analysis for both canal types revealed the highest positive rate (74.6%) between 8:00 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. and lowest (51.9%) between 2:00 p.m. and 2:59 p.m., with higher positive rates in the morning (p = 0.005). Multi-variate analysis showed a strong association with examination timing (p = 0.005) with no correlation between age/gender and positive testing.ConclusionThe overall positive rate for positional tests for BPPV was significantly higher in the morning than in the afternoon. Subgroup analysis showed a statistically difference for pcBPPV but not for hcBPPV. These findings hold clinical implications for optimizing examination scheduling and improving diagnostic and treatment strategies for patients with vertigo. Prospective studies are warranted to validate the reliability and validity of these observations

Research on accident early warning of metallurgical enterprises based on grey DEMATEL/ISM and Bayesian network

Abstract To clarify the complex relationship between the factors causing safety accidents in metallurgical enterprises and predict the risk of accidents in enterprises, a correlation analysis model of the factors causing safety accidents in metallurgical enterprises based on grey Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory/Interpretative Structural Modeling (DEMATEL/ISM) was established, and a Bayesian network early warning model was constructed on this basis. The relationship and action path of accident-causing factors in metallurgical enterprises were clarified. The factors were hierarchically divided and a multi-layer hierarchical structure model was established to obtain the neighboring cause, transitional cause, and essential cause of the accident. The results showed that the employee violation rate, the hazardous substances reserves, the toxic gas and dust pollution control compliance rate, the pass rate for equipment maintenance, and the qualification rate of special equipment were the neighboring causes of the accident. The perfection of the safety production management system was the essential cause. The Bayesian network early warning model was applied to the Fuxin Jiuxing Titanium work site. The expected risk probability of an accident was 17.9%, which was in a comparatively safe state (State2). The results obtained by the Bayesian model are consistent with those obtained by AHP and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, which proved the accuracy of the early warning model. The Bayesian model can give the risk probability value of the accident and the risk probability value of the accident cause factors at the same time, and include the causal relationship and conditional correlation relationship among the indicator variables in the reasoning process, which can provide targeted technical support for the construction of the emergency system of risk classification management and control