Using Cluster Analysis to Identify Subgroups of College Students at Increased Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Background and Purpose: To examine the co-occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors and cluster subgroups of college students for cardiovascular risks. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted using co-occurrence patterns and hierarchical clustering analysis in 158 college students. Results: The top co-occurring cardiovascular risk factors were overweight/obese and hypertension (10.8%, n = 17). Of the total 34 risk factors that co-occurred, 30 of them involved being overweight/obese. A six-cluster-solution was obtained, two clusters displayed elevated levels of lifetime and 30-year cardiovascular disease risks. Conclusions: The hierarchical cluster analysis identified that single White males with a family history of heart disease, overweight/obese, hypertensive or diabetes, and occasionally (weekly) consumed red meat, take antihypertensive medication, and hyperlipidemia were considered the higher risk group compared to other subgroups

Gastrointestinal neuromuscular apparatus: An underestimated target of gut microbiota

Over the last few years, the importance of the resident intestinal microbiota in the pathogenesis of several gastro- intestinal diseases has been largely investigated. Growing evidence suggest that microbiota can influence gastro- intestinal motility. The current working hypothesis is that dysbiosis-driven mucosal alterations induce the production of several inflammatory/immune mediators which affect gut neuro-muscular functions. Besides these indirect mucosal-mediated effects, the present review highlights that recent evidence suggests that microbiota can directly affect enteric nerves and smooth muscle cells functions through its metabolic products or bacterial molecular components translocated from the intestinal lumen. Toll- like receptors, the bacterial recognition receptors, are expressed both on enteric nerves and smooth muscle and are emerging as potential mediators between microbiota and the enteric neuromuscular apparatus. Furthermore, the ongoing studies on probiotics support the hypothesis that the neuromuscular apparatus may represent a target of intervention, thus opening new physiopathological and therapeutic scenarios

Attitudes among transplant professionals regarding shifting paradigms in eligibility criteria for live kidney donation

Background The transplant community increasingly accepts extended criteria live kidney donors, however, great (geographical) differences are present in policies regarding the acceptance of these donors, and guidelines do not offer clarity. The aim of this survey was to reveal these differences and to get an insight in both centre policies as well as personal beliefs of transplant professionals. Methods An online survey was sent to 1128 ESOT-members. Questions were included about several extended donor criteria; overweight/obesity, older age, vascular multiplicity, minors as donors and comorbidities; hypertension, impaired fasting glucose, kidney stones, malignancies and renal cysts. Comparisons were made between transplant centres of three regions in Europe and between Europe and other countries worldwide. Results 331 questionnaires were completed by professionals from 55 countries. Significant differences exist between regions in Europe in acceptance of donors with several extended criteria. Median refusal rate for potential live donors is 15%. Furthermore, differences are seen regarding pre-operative work-up, both in specialists who perform screening as in preoperative imaging. Conclusions Remarkably, 23.4% of transplant professionals sometimes deviate from their centre policy, resulting in more or less comparable personal beliefs regarding extended criteria. Variety is seen, proving the need for a standardized approach in selection, preferably evidence based

The extraction of the new components from electrogastrogram (EGG), using both adaptive filtering and electrocardiographic (ECG) derived respiration signal

Electrogastrographic examination (EGG) is a noninvasive method for an investigation of a stomach slow wave propagation. The typical range of frequency for EGG signal is from 0.015 to 0.15 Hz or (0.015–0.3 Hz) and the signal usually is captured with sampling frequency not exceeding 4 Hz. In this paper a new approach of method for recording the EGG signals with high sampling frequency (200 Hz) is proposed. High sampling frequency allows collection of signal, which includes not only EGG component but also signal from other organs of the digestive system such as the duodenum, colon as well as signal connected with respiratory movements and finally electrocardiographic signal (ECG). The presented method allows improve the quality of analysis of EGG signals by better suppress respiratory disturbance and extract new components from high sampling electrogastrographic signals (HSEGG) obtained from abdomen surface. The source of the required new signal components can be inner organs such as the duodenum and colon. One of the main problems that appear during analysis the EGG signals and extracting signal components from inner organs is how to suppress the respiratory components. In this work an adaptive filtering method that requires a reference signal is proposed.Electrogastrographic examination (EGG) is a noninvasive method for an investigation of a stomach slow wave propagation. The typical range of frequency for EGG signal is from 0.015 to 0.15 Hz or (0.015–0.3 Hz) and the signal usually is captured with sampling frequency not exceeding 4 Hz. In this paper a new approach of method for recording the EGG signals with high sampling frequency (200 Hz) is proposed. High sampling frequency allows collection of signal, which includes not only EGG component but also signal from other organs of the digestive system such as the duodenum, colon as well as signal connected with respiratory movements and finally electrocardiographic signal (ECG). The presented method allows improve the quality of analysis of EGG signals by better suppress respiratory disturbance and extract new components from high sampling electrogastrographic signals (HSEGG) obtained from abdomen surface. The source of the required new signal components can be inner organs such as the duodenum and colon. One of the main problems that appear during analysis the EGG signals and extracting signal components from inner organs is how to suppress the respiratory components. In this work an adaptive filtering method that requires a reference signal is proposed