Quality grade classification of China commercial moxa floss using electronic nose: A supervised learning approach.

Moxa floss is the primary material used in moxibustion, an important traditional Chinese medicine therapy that uses ignited moxa floss to apply heat to the body for disease treatment. Till date, there is no available data regarding quality control of different grades of moxa floss. The objectives of this study were to explore the probative value of the electronic nose (e-nose) in differentiating different quality grades of commercial moxa floss sold in China, and to investigate if data mining techniques could be used to optimize the sensor array while retaining classification accuracy of the samples.

Characteristics and performances of microalgal-bacterial consortia in a mixture of raw piggery digestate and anoxic aerated effluent.

The piggery digestate of high ammonia was mixed with the anoxic aerated effluent of high nitrate and phosphorus, to cultivate a microalgal-bacterial consortium for simultaneous pollution removal and resource recovery. The highest removal of total inorganic nitrogen was achieved at 324.77 mg/L in 40% piggery digestate mixed with 60% anoxic aerated effluent, along with the most microalgae biomass production.

[Effects of eight environmental endocrine disruptors on insulin resistance in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a preliminary investigation].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between 8 endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the serum and insulin resistance in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: This study was conducted among 60 patients with PCOS, including 23 with insulin resistance (PCOS-IR) and 37 without insulin resistance (PCOS-NIR), and 29 non-PCOS women seeking medical attention for infertility or menstrual disorder (control group). The serum levels of 6 phthalic acid esters (PEAs), bisphenol A (BPA) and octylphenol (OP) were measured in all the subjects.

[Autophosphorylation of erythrocyte insulin receptors in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the tyrosine autophosphorylation of insulin receptors in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: Forty patients with PCOS and 20 age- and body mass index matched healthy women were included in the study. The patients with PCOS were classified as HI-PCOS (n=20) or non-HI-PCOS (n=20) based on the fasting insulin level (>or< or =15 mIU/L).

[Analysis of visible and near-infrared spectra of As-contaminated soil in croplands beside mines].

Soil samples in the depth from 0 to 20 cm were scooped from agricultural region beside mines and prepared for determination of As concentration, Fe concentrations and organic matter content. At the same time they were scanned by mobile hyperspectral radiometer for visible and near-infrared spectra. Savitzky-Golay filter was used to smooth noises in spectrum curve because of some low signal-to-noise ratios in some regions of visible and near-infrared light, and all the spectra were resampled with the spectral interval of 10 nm.

[Impact of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation delayed, which occurs after functionally pituitary downregulation by depot GnRH agonist, on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer].

Objective: This study observed the influence on hormone, embryos and clinical outcomes when the starting time of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) was delayed after applying a half-dose depot gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa).

Methods: A total 207 cycles were divided into 3 groups: control group (98 cycles, which performed daily low dose GnRHa during the mid-luteal phase in patients' menstrual cycles and reduced the dosage to a half at the next day 3, and added gonadotropin (Gn), conventional group (63 cycles, in which pituitary desensitization was obtained with a half-dose depot GnRHa in the mid-luteal phase, and then Gn was added at day 3) and delayed group (46 cycles, having the same usage of GnRHa to conventional group, but not adding Gn until day 7).

Results: The cancellation rate of cycle in conventional group was the highest (P < 0.

[The relationship between leptin, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and hyperinsulinemia of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome].

Objective: To identify the effect of IGF-1 and leptin on the hyperinsulinemia (HI) of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: The case-control compared method was applied to the study. Ninety-two PCOS and 92 control subjects were involved in the study.