TiO2 Nanorod-Coated Polyethylene Separator with Well-Balanced Performance for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The thermal stability of the polyethylene (PE) separator is of utmost importance for the safety of lithium-ion batteries. Although the surface coating of PE separator with oxide nanoparticles can improve thermal stability, some serious problems still exist, such as micropore blockage, easy detaching, and introduction of excessive inert substances, which negatively affects the power density, energy density, and safety performance of the battery. In this paper, TiO2 nanorods are used to modify the surface of the PE separator, and multiple analytical techniques (e.g., SEM, DSC, EIS, and LSV) are utilized to investigate the effect of coating amount on the physicochemical properties of the PE separator. The results show that the thermal stability, mechanical properties, and electrochemical properties of the PE separator can be effectively improved via surface coating with TiO2 nanorods, but the degree of improvement is not directly proportional to the coating amount due to the fact that the forces inhibiting micropore deformation (mechanical stretching or thermal contraction) are derived from the interaction of TiO2 nanorods directly "bridging" with the microporous skeleton rather than those indirectly "glued" with the microporous skeleton. Conversely, the introduction of excessive inert coating material could reduce the ionic conductivity, increase the interfacial impedance, and lower the energy density of the battery. The experimental results show that the ceramic separator with a coating amount of ~0.6 mg/cm2 TiO2 nanorods has well-balanced performances: its thermal shrinkage rate is 4.5%, the capacity retention assembled with this separator was 57.1% under 7 C/0.2 C and 82.6% after 100 cycles, respectively. This research may provide a novel approach to overcoming the common disadvantages of current surface-coated separators.

Exosomal miR-338-3p suppresses non-small-cell lung cancer cells metastasis by inhibiting CHL1 through the MAPK signaling pathway.

Globally, lung cancer remains one of the most prevalent malignant cancers. However, molecular mechanisms and functions involved in its pathogenesis have not been clearly elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the specific regulatory mechanisms of exosomal miR-338-3p/CHL1/MAPK signaling pathway axis in non-small-cell lung cancer. Western blotting and qRT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) were used to determine the expression levels of CHL1 and exosomal miR-338-3p in NSCLC (non-small-cell lung cancer). The CHL1 gene was upregulated and downregulated to evaluate its functions in NSCLC progression. In vitro MTS and apoptotic assays were used to investigate the functions of CHL1 and exosomal miR-338-3p in NSCLC progression. The high-throughput sequencing was used to explore differently expressed exosomal miRNAs. The biological relationships between MAPK signaling pathway and CHL1 and exosomal miR-338-3p in NSCLC were predicted through bioinformatics analyses and verified by western blotting. Elevated CHL1 levels were observed in NSCLC tissues and cells. Upregulated CHL1 expression enhanced NSCLC cells' progression by promoting tumor cells proliferation while suppressing their apoptosis. Conversely, the downregulation of the CHL1 gene inhibited NSCLC cells' growth and promoted tumor cells' apoptotic rate. Additionally, CHL1 activated the MAPK signaling pathway. Besides, we confirmed that miR-338-3p directly sponged with CHL1 to mediate tumor cells progression. Moreover, exosomal miR-338-3p serum levels in NSCLC patients were found to be low. BEAS-2B cells can transfer exosomal miR-338-3p to A549 cells and SK-MES-1 cells. In addition, elevated exosomal miR-338-3p levels significantly inhibited tumor cells proliferation and promoted their apoptosis by suppressing activation of the MAPK signaling pathway. Exosomal miR-338-3p suppresses tumor cells' metastasis by downregulating the expression of CHL1 through MAPK signaling pathway inactivation.

CircRNAs as promising biomarker in diagnostic and prognostic of lung cancer: An updated meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: As a class of endogenous non-coding RNAs with closed-loop structure, circular RNAs (circRNAs) are receiving more and more attention. CircRNAs have been reported to be widely expressed in various human cancers and are implicated in tumorigenesis and progression. The present study aimed to systematically evaluate the clinicopathological, diagnostic and prognostic values of circRNAs in lung cancer. METHODS: We searched literature from PubMed, Web of science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Ovid online databases up to May 29, 2020. Statistical analyses were undertaken based on Stata 11.0, Meta-DiSc 1.4, and RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: Finally, a total of 63 eligible articles were included in our meta-analysis, including 18 studies for diagnosis, 22 studies for prognosis and 57 studies for clinicopathological features. In terms of diagnostic values, circRNAs could discriminate between lung cancer patients and the normal individuals with a relatively high pooled area under the curve (AUC) of 0.83 (95%CI, 0.80-0.86). For the prognostic values, we found that elevated expression of oncogenic circRNAs could predict poor survival outcomes based on multivariate analysis (HR = 2.430, 95%CI = 2.003-2.948, P < 0.001 for OS; HR = 2.228, 95%CI = 1.289-3.853, P = 0.004 for DFS) while tumor-suppressor circRNAs was correlated with better OS in univariate analysis (HR = 0.627, 95%CI = 0.519-0.757, P < 0.001). The pooled results suggested that elevated expression of carcinogenic circRNAs was associated with tumor size (OR = 1.676, 95%CI = 1.209-2.323, P = 0.002), smoking statue (OR = 1.260, 95%CI = 1.062-1.494, P = 0.008), TNM stage (OR = 2.345, 95%CI = 1.617-3.399, P < 0.001), differentiation grade (OR = 1.843, 95%CI = 1.228-2.765, P = 0.003), and lymphatic metastasis (OR = 2.097, 95%CI = 1.482-2.967, P < 0.001). Moreover, the expression of tumor-suppressor circRNAs was related to the improved clinicopathological features (lymphatic metastasis: OR = 0.536, 95%CI = 0.311-0.926, P = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis demonstrated that circRNAs could be used as feasible and important biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and clinicopathological features in lung cancer.

Association of miR-27a polymorphism with the risk of digestive system cancers.

BACKGROUND: Cancer of the digestive system is a common cancer and results in high mortality rates world-wide. miR-27a polymorphism has been associated with an increased risk of digestive system cancers; however, this has not been conclusively shown yet. Therefore, to clarify this, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, OVID and Cochrane Library databases were comprehensively searched to retrieve eligible studies published up to May 10, 2020 that referred to digestive cancers. Odds ratios and the corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were used when calculating the relationship between miR-27a rs895819 polymorphism and susceptibility to digestive cancers. RESULTS: A significant correlation between the miR-27a rs895819 polymorphism and the presence of digestive system cancers was found in four genetic models, which were the homozygote, dominant, recessive, and allele genetic models (GG vs AA: OR = 1.210, 95 %CI = 1.020-1.436, P = 0.029; GG + AG vs AA: OR = 1.092, 95 %CI = 1.024-1.164, P = 0.007; GG vs AG + AA: OR = 1.182, 95 %CI = 1.005-1.390, P = 0.044; G vs A: OR = 1.099, 95 %CI = 1.046-1.154, P < 0.001). Hierarchical analysis by ethnicity suggested that miR-27a rs895819 significantly increased the risk of digestive system cancers in the Asian population, but not in Caucasians. Additionally, rs895819 polymorphism was found to be significantly associated with colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The miR-27a rs895819 polymorphism may be associated with an increased risk for digestive system cancers.

GINS2 Functions as a Key Gene in Lung Adenocarcinoma by WGCNA Co-Expression Network Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma is one of the malignant tumors in the world. This study aimed to explore the biological mechanism of GINS2 in lung adenocarcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Raw data were downloaded from GEO. WGCNA co-expression network and PPI network were established to identify the hub gene. The expression profile and clinical features of GINS2 were collected from TCGA-LUAD cohort. Survival analysis in TCGA-LUAD cohort was plotted by R package. GSEA was analyzed via GSEA software. MTS, Transwell and apoptosis assays were used to detect the proliferation, migration and apoptotic abilities of lung adenocarcinoma cells. RESULTS: GINS2 was identified as the hub gene via WGCNA co-expression network and PPI network. Higher GINS2 expressions were observed in TCGA-LUAD cohort, GSE32863 and clinical samples dataset. Overexpression of GINS2 had a significantly negative connection with poor survival outcome. GSEA results revealed that GINS2 could be enriched in "HALLMARK_G2M_CHECKPOINT", "HALLMARK_E2F_TARGETS", "HALLMARK_DNA_REPAIR" and "HALLMARK_MYC_TARGETS_V2". Overexpression of GINS2 promoted tumor cell proliferation and migration and suppressed cell apoptosis. CONCLUSION: Our results explored that GINS2 functioned as an oncogene in lung adenocarcinoma, and suggested that GINS2 could act as a promising prognosis biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma.

A Case/Control Study: AGBL1 Polymorphism Related to Lung Cancer Risk in Chinese Nonsmoking Females.

ATP/GTP binding protein like 1 (AGBL1) plays a role in controlling the length of polyglutamate side chains. Polymorphism rs4513061 in AGBL1 is suspected to influence the risk of lung cancer. A case/control study was performed involving 556 cases and 563 controls from a hospital participating in donation. The relationship between rs4513061 and the risk of lung cancer and the interaction between rs4513061 and environmental exposure were determined by the chi-square tests, logistic regression analysis, and crossover analysis. The survival analysis was conducted by Cox proportional hazard regression. The results showed that rs4513061 polymorphism is associated with the risk of lung cancer. The stratified analysis suggested the protective effect of rs4513061 to different histological types of lung cancer, including lung adenocarcinoma (AA vs. GG: odds ratio [OR] = 0.505, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.337-0.756, p < 0.001), squamous cell lung cancer (AG vs. GG: OR = 0.488, 95% CI = 0.269-0.883, p = 0.018), and small-cell lung cancer (AA vs. GG: OR = 0.421, 95% CI = 0.216-0.819, p = 0.011). Nevertheless, there was no significant interaction between rs4513061 and cooking oil fume. Significant impact was not observed between the rs4513061 polymorphism and survival time of lung cancer. Our study indicated that rs4513061 in AGBL1 decreases the risk of lung cancer in nonsmoking females from northeast China.

Association Between Two Polymorphisms in the Promoter Region of miR-143/miR-145 and the Susceptibility of Lung Cancer in Northeast Chinese Nonsmoking Females.

Lung cancer is known to cause high mortality and morbidity. The study aimed to explore the association between rs3733845 and rs3733846 polymorphisms in the promoter region of miR-143/145 and the risk of lung cancer among 575 nonsmoking cases and 575 cancer-free controls in a Chinese female population. We genotyped two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region of miR-143/145 in 575 cases and 575 controls using TaqMan allelic discrimination method. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between polymorphisms in the promoter of miR-143/miR-145 and risk of lung cancer females. Crossover analysis was used to explore the interaction between the two SNPs and environmental risk factors (cooking oil fume exposure and passive smoking exposure). The results showed that both rs3733845 and rs3733846 polymorphisms were associated with an increased lung adenocarcinoma risk in dominant model (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.329, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] = 1.026-1.723, p = 0.031 and adjusted OR = 1.450, 95% CI = 1.112-1.890, p = 0.006, respectively). The results of crossover analysis revealed that rs3733845 and rs3733846 risk genotypes along with cooking oil exposure increased lung cancer risk by 1.862-fold and 2.260-fold, respectively (adjusted OR = 1.862, 95% CI = 1.105-3.138, p = 0.020 for rs3733845; adjusted OR = 2.260, 95% CI = 1.354-3.769, p = 0.002 for rs3733846). There was positive multiplicative interaction between the two SNPs and cooking oil fume exposure (adjusted OR = 1.362, 95% CI = 1.078-1.719, p = 0.009 for oil × rs3733845; adjusted OR = 1.399, 95% CI = 1.122-1.745, p = 0.003 for oil × rs3733846). In nonsmoking females, rs3733845 and rs3733846 polymorphisms might be associated with lung adenocarcinoma risk. Moreover, the interactions between the two SNPs and cooking oil fume exposure were statistically significant on a multiplicative scale rather than an addictive scale.

A Meta-Analysis of miR-499 rs3746444 Polymorphism for Cancer Risk of Different Systems: Evidence From 65 Case-Control Studies.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, short and non-coding RNAs that may play important roles in the pathogenesis of tumor. The associations between microRNA-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and cancer risk in different systems remain inconclusive. This article is aimed to obtain more exact estimation of these relationships through a meta-analysis based on 52,456 individuals. We retrieved relevant and eligible studies from Pubmed and Embase database up to January 10, 2018. ORs and 95% CIs were used to estimate the associations between miR-499 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility in different systems. All analyses were performed using the Stata 11.0 software. A total of 65 case-control studies were retrieved using explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study included 23,762 cases and 28,694 controls. Overall cancer analysis showed the association between miR-499 polymorphism and susceptibility to cancer was significant. MicroRNA-499 rs3746444 was found to be significantly associated with increased risk of cancer of the respiratory system (CC vs. TT: OR = 1.575, 95% CI = 1.268-1.955, CC vs. TC+TT: OR = 1.527, 95% CI = 1.232-1.892), digestive system (CC vs. TT: OR = 1.153, 95% CI = 1.027-1.295; TC vs. TT: OR = 1.109, 95% CI = 1.046-1.176; CC+TC vs. TT: OR = 1.112, 95% CI = 1.018-1.216; CC vs. TC+TT: OR = 1.137, 95% CI = 1.016-1.272; C vs. T: OR = 1.112, 95% CI = 1.025-1.206), urinary system (TC vs. TT: OR = 1.307, 95% CI = 1.130-1.512; CC+TC vs. TT: OR = 1.259, 95% CI = 1.097-1.446; C vs. T: OR = 1.132, 95% CI = 1.014-1.264), and gynecological system (C vs. T: OR = 1.169, 95% CI = 1.002-1.364). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the result showed that significant association with an increased cancer risk was found in Asian. Subgroup analysis based on type of tumor was also performed, miR-499 rs3746444 is associated with susceptibility of cervical squamous cell carcinoma, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

MiR-486 as an effective biomarker in cancer diagnosis and prognosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: MiR-486 was found to be associated with cancer's diagnosis and prognosis. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the potential effect of miR-486 on cancer detection and prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang databases to find all correlated articles. The STATA 11.0 was applied to estimate the pooled effects, heterogeneity and publication bias. RESULTS: The pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE) and Area under the curve (AUC) were 82% (95% CI: 78-85%), 88% (95% CI: 83-92%) and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.88-0.93). Subgroup analysis indicated miR-486 from circulating samples exhibited higher diagnostic accuracy with the AUC was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.87-0.92) than miR-486 from other specimen with the AUC of 0.78 (95% CI: 0.75-0.82) and miR-486 obtained a better diagnostic value in the Asian population with the AUC of 0.94 (95% CI: 0.91-0.95) than the Caucasian and Caucasian/African population with the AUC of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.76-0.83) and 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86-0.91) respectively. MiR-486 obtained high value for the diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer with SEN, SPE and AUC were 0.82 (95% CI: 0.0.77-0.87), 0.90 (95% CI: 0.84-0.94) as well as 0.92 (95% CI: 0.89-0.94) respectively. For the 7 prognostic tests, the pooled hazard ratio (HR) was 0.48 (95% CI: -0.13-1.08) for low versus high miR-486 expression. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis indicated that miR-486 can be used as ideal biomarkers in the cancer's diagnosis. However, Low miR-486 expression did not increase the risk of poor outcome.

Nonparaxial propagation of the chirped Airy vortex beams in uniaxial crystal orthogonal to the optical axis.

We study both analytically and numerically nonparaxial propagation dynamics of the Chirped Airy vortex (CAiV) beams in uniaxial crystal orthogonal to the optical axis. The propagation trajectory, the intensity, the radiation forces, the Poynting vector and the angular momentum (AM) of the CAiV beams are illustrated by numerical examples. The influences of the ratio of the extraordinary refractive index to the ordinary refractive index, the linear chirp factor and the quadratic chirp factor on the nonparaxial evolution of the CAiV beams are examined in detail. Results show that the linear chirp factor provides an intensity concentration, which is totally different with the influence of the quadratic chirp. Besides, the uniaxial crystals with different refractive index ratios can be used to control the intensity of optical lobes. Moreover, the value and the direction of the radiation forces depend on the propagation distance and the chirp factor. The chirp factor acting on the Poynting vector and the AM mainly occurs in the direction of vectors. The nonparaxial propagation characteristics of the CAiV beams provide a convenient method to the intensity modulation and the optical manipulation of micro particles.

Association between miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and specific cancer susceptibility: an updated meta-analysis.

The rapidly increasing of cancer risk nationwide and worldwide has threatened human health and caused the changes of disease and death spectrum. MicroRNA (MiRNA) as cancer biomarker on susceptibility has enjoyed a high level of concern. This article will discuss the association between miR-146 rs2910164 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility in 38 independent case-control studies from 34905 individuals. The 38 case-control studies which were searched from PubMed were used for conducting a meta-analysis. There were 14670 cases and 20235 controls. ORs and 95% CIs were used for reflecting the strength of association between miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility. Subgroup analysis based on the cancer type, ethnicity and study designs. All analysis were performed by using the Stata 11.0 software. MiR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and overall cancer susceptibility were significantly uncorrelated in all genetic models. In the subgroup analysis for cancer types, miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism was associated with the susceptibility of lung cancer (CC vs. GG: OR 1.275, 95% CI 1.117-1.455 (P = 0.000); CC + CG vs. GG: OR 1.166, 95% CI 1.052-1.293 (P = 0.003); CC vs. CG + GG: OR 1.239, 95% CI 1.116-1.375 (P = 0.000); C vs. G OR 1.151, 95% CI 1.080-1.227 (P = 0.000)) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (CC vs. GG: OR 1.713, 95% CI 1.183-2.479 (P = 0.004); CC vs. CG + GG: OR 1.672, 95% CI 1.330-2.103 (P = 0.000); C vs. G: OR 1.400, 95% CI 1.181-1.659 (P = 0.000)), but it was not associated with hepatocellular carcinoma and gastric cancer. However, in the other subgroup analysis by ethnicity and study designs, no significant associations were found. MiR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism might be associated with the susceptibility to lung cancer and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Molecular design of flotation collectors: A recent progress.

The nature of froth flotation is to selectively hydrophobize valuable minerals by collector adsorption so that the hydrophobized mineral particles can attach air bubbles. In recent years, the increasing commercial production of refractory complex ores has been urgent to develop special collectors for enhancing flotation separation efficiency of valuable minerals from these ores. Molecular design methods offer an effective way for understanding the structure-property relationship of flotation collectors and developing new ones. The conditional stability constant (CSC), molecular mechanics (MM), quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR), and first-principle theory, especially density functional theory (DFT), have been adopted to build the criteria for designing flotation collectors. Azole-thiones, guanidines, acyl thioureas and thionocarbamates, amide-hydroxamates, and double minerophilic-group surfactants such as Gemini, dithiourea and dithionocarbamate molecules have been recently developed as high-performance collectors. To design hydrophobic groups, the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance parameters have been extensively used as criteria. The replacement of aryl group with aliphatic group or CC single bond(s) with CC double bond(s), reduction of carbon numbers, introduction of oxygen atom(s) and addition of trisiloxane to the tail terminal have been proved to be useful approaches for adjusting the surface activity of collectors. The role of molecular design of collectors in practical flotation applications was also summarized. Based on the critical review, some comments and prospects for further research on molecular design of flotation collectors were also presented in the paper.

Fragment-Based Hologram QSAR Studies on a Series of 2,4-Dioxopyrimidine-1-Carboxamides As Highly Potent Inhibitors of Acid Ceramidase.

A series of structurally related 2,4-dioxopyrimidine-1-carboxamide derivatives as highly potent inhibitors against acid ceramidase were subjected to hologram quantitative structure-activity relationship (HQSAR) analysis. A training set containing 24 compounds served to establish the HQSAR model. The best HQSAR model was generated using atoms, bond, connectivity, donor and acceptor as fragment distinction and 3-6 as fragment size with six components showing cross-validated q2 value of 0.834 and conventional r2 value of 0.965. The model was then employed to predict the potency of test set compounds that were excluded in the training set, and a good agreement between the experimental and predicted values was observed exhibiting the powerful predictable capability of this model [Formula: see text]. Atom contribution maps indicate that the electron-withdrawing effects at position 5 of the uracil ring, the preferential acyl substitution at N3 position and the substitution of eight-carbon alkyl chain length at N1 position predominantly contribute to the inhibitory activity. Based upon these key structural features derived from atom contribution maps, we have designed novel inhibitors of acid ceramidase possessing better inhibitory activity.

The history, hotspots, and trends of electrocardiogram.

The electrocardiogram (ECG) has broad applications in clinical diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular disease. Many researchers have contributed to its progressive development. To commemorate those pioneers, and to better study and promote the use of ECG, we reviewed and present here a systematic introduction about the history, hotspots, and trends of ECG. In the historical part, information including the invention, improvement, and extensive applications of ECG, such as in long QT syndrome (LQTS), angina, and myocardial infarction (MI), are chronologically presented. New technologies and applications from the 1990s are also introduced. In the second part, we use the bibliometric analysis method to analyze the hotspots in the field of ECG-related research. By using total citations and year-specific total citations as our main criteria, four key hotspots in ECG-related research were identified from 11 articles, including atrial fibrillation, LQTS, angina and MI, and heart rate variability. Recent studies in those four areas are also reported. In the final part, we discuss the future trends concerning ECG-related research. The authors believe that improvement of the ECG instrumentation, big data mining for ECG, and the accuracy of diagnosis and application will be areas of continuous concern.

Characters available in photoplethysmogram for blood pressure estimation: beyond the pulse transit time.

The continuous and noninvasive blood pressure (BP) measurement based on pulse transit time (PTT) doesn't need cuff and could monitor BP in real time for a long period. However, PTT is just a time index derived from electrocardiogram (ECG) and photoplethysmogram (PPG), while BP-related information within the PPG waveform has seldom been taken into consideration. We hypothesized that PPG waveform feature might be useful for BP estimation. Nine healthy subjects took part in an exercise stress test, including baseline resting, exercise on bicycle ergometry and recovering resting. ECG of lead V5 and PPG from left finger were collected simultaneously, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were recorded from a cuff sphygmometer on the right wrist. The correlation coefficients were obtained between BP (SBP, DBP and pulse pressure (PP)) and PPG morphological indices (total 15 indices in terms of waveform amplitude, time span and area ratio). Five PPG indices were correlated with both SBP and PP (absolute value of correlation coefficient |r| > 0.6) and were further tested for the capability to BP estimation, which were: (1) PTTA, time delay between the R peak of ECG and the foot point of PPG; (2) RSD, time ratio of systole to diastole; (3) RtArea, area ratio of systole to diastole; (4) TmBB, time span of PPG cycle; (5) TmCA, diastolic duration. Comparisons were made between the measured BP and the estimated BP by regression lines and quadratic curve fitting, respectively. As a result, the mean errors of SBP liner fitting with RSD, RtArea, TmBB and TmCA respectively were 5.5, 5.4, 5.2, 5.1 mmHg, which were smaller than that with PTTA of 5.8 mmHg. And the mean errors of SBP quadratic curve fitting with RSD, RtArea, TmBB and TmCA were all 5.1 mmHg, which were smaller than that with PTTA of 5.7 mmHg. The mean errors of multiple regression for SBP, PP and DBP was 4.7, 4.7, 3.5 mmHg respectively, which were more accurate than the regression with single PTTA of 5.8, 5.3, 5.2 mmHg respectively. However, PPG-based SBP and DBP could under estimate cuff pressure by 8 mmHg and over estimate by 10 mmHg respectively, which is a clinically significant error. In conclusion, the combination of time span (PTT, time ratio of systole to diastole, time span of PPG cycle and diastolic duration) and waveform morphology (area ratio of systole to diastole) could improve the performance of PPG-based BP estimation.

The highly-cited Electrocardiogram-related articles in science citation index expanded: characteristics and hotspots.

We used bibliometric analysis methodology in the expanded Science Citation Index to identify highly-cited electrocardiogram (ECG)-related articles with total citations (TC2012) exceeding 100 from the publication year to 2012. Web of Science search tools were used to identify the highly-cited articles. The aspects analyzed for highly cited publications included effect of time on citation analysis, journals and Web of Science categories, number of authors per publication, originating institutions and countries, total citation and total citation per year life cycles of articles (C2012) and research hotspots. Results showed that a total of 467 electrocardiogram-related publications were regarded as the highly-cited publications. TC2012 ranged from 101 to 2879, with 215 as the average number of citations. No highly-cited publications have emerged yet during the first two years of the present 2010 Decade. All 11 countries and institutions originating highly-cited ECG-related publications were developed countries, USA in 9 of them. Four subject categories were identified as hotspots by total citations TC2012 and C2012: atrial fibrillation, long QT syndrome, angina and myocardial infarction, and risk factor analysis and health evaluation.

[A squeeze approach for electrocardiogram ST-segment detection based on R-wave and T-wave].

ST-segment is the main clinical appearance in myocardial ischemia detection based on electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. However, it is highly sensitive to interferences (baseline wandering, postural changes, electrode interference, etc.), which cause the feature points of ECG ST-segment to be difficult to detect accurately. Currently, the common detection methods of ST-segment are: R+x and J+x, but they are affected badly by T-wave morphological variability and J point location. For these reasons, firstly we proposed a convenient and accurate approach for T-wave onset in this paper. It did not need to locate T-wave peak and was robust to baseline wandering and T-wave morphology. Secondly, we proposed a squeeze approach for ST-segment detection based on R-wave peak and T-wave onset. After the Long-Term ST database (LTST) verification, the proposed method has shown a good timeliness and robustness, and the accuracy of ST-segment detection has reached above 92%.

[A method for measuring waveform parameters of electrocardiogram based on heartbeats extraction].

Usually all heartbeats contribute to the calculation of electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform parameters, such as amplitude and interval, in which those low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) heartbeats actually produce a negative effect. In this paper is presented an approach for measuring ECG waveform parameters using template-based methods. Compared with Karhunen-Loeve (KL) template, average template has an advantage over KL template both on speediness and accuracy. Experimental results proved that this approach improved the statistical precision of ECG waveform parameters. In conclusion, this method makes the result of ECG auto analysis more accurate and reliable.