On two integrability methods

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Sleep stage and obstructive apneaic epoch classification using single-lead ECG

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polysomnography (PSG) is used to define physiological sleep and different physiological sleep stages, to assess sleep quality and diagnose many types of sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea. However, PSG requires not only the connection of various sensors and electrodes to the subject but also spending the night in a bed that is different from the subject's own bed. This study is designed to investigate the feasibility of automatic classification of sleep stages and obstructive apneaic epochs using only the features derived from a single-lead electrocardiography (ECG) signal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>For this purpose, PSG recordings (ECG included) were obtained during the night's sleep (mean duration 7 hours) of 17 subjects (5 men) with ages between 26 and 67. Based on these recordings, sleep experts performed sleep scoring for each subject. This study consisted of the following steps: (1) Visual inspection of ECG data corresponding to each 30-second epoch, and selection of epochs with relatively clean signals, (2) beat-to-beat interval (RR interval) computation using an R-peak detection algorithm, (3) feature extraction from RR interval values, and (4) classification of sleep stages (or obstructive apneaic periods) using one-versus-rest approach. The features used in the study were the median value, the difference between the 75 and 25 percentile values, and mean absolute deviations of the RR intervals computed for each epoch. The k-nearest-neighbor (kNN), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), and support vector machines (SVM) methods were used as the classification tools. In the testing procedure 10-fold cross-validation was employed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>QDA and SVM performed similarly well and significantly better than kNN for both sleep stage and apneaic epoch classification studies. The classification accuracy rates were between 80 and 90% for the stages other than non-rapid-eye-movement stage 2. The accuracies were 60 or 70% for that specific stage. In five obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients, the accurate apneaic epoch detection rates were over 89% for QDA and SVM.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study, in general, showed that RR-interval based classification, which requires only single-lead ECG, is feasible for sleep stage and apneaic epoch determination and can pave the road for a simple automatic classification system suitable for home-use.</p

Turner syndrome and associated problems in turkish children: A multicenter study

Objective: Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder caused by complete or partial X chromosome monosomy that manifests various clinical features depending on the karyotype and on the genetic background of affected girls. This study aimed to systematically investigate the key clinical features of TS in relationship to karyotype in a large pediatric Turkish patient population. Methods: Our retrospective study included 842 karyotype-proven TS patients aged 0-18 years who were evaluated in 35 different centers in Turkey in the years 2013-2014. Results: The most common karyotype was 45,X (50.7%), followed by 45,X/46,XX (10.8%), 46,X,i(Xq) (10.1%) and 45,X/46,X,i(Xq) (9.5%). Mean age at diagnosis was 10.2±4.4 years. The most common presenting complaints were short stature and delayed puberty. Among patients diagnosed before age one year, the ratio of karyotype 45,X was significantly higher than that of other karyotype groups. Cardiac defects (bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta and aortic stenosi) were the most common congenital anomalies, occurring in 25% of the TS cases. This was followed by urinary system anomalies (horseshoe kidney, double collector duct system and renal rotation) detected in 16.3%. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis was found in 11.1% of patients, gastrointestinal abnormalities in 8.9%, ear nose and throat problems in 22.6%, dermatologic problems in 21.8% and osteoporosis in 15.3%. Learning difficulties and/or psychosocial problems were encountered in 39.1%. Insulin resistance and impaired fasting glucose were detected in 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Dyslipidemia prevalence was 11.4%. Conclusion: This comprehensive study systematically evaluated the largest group of karyotype-proven TS girls to date. The karyotype distribution, congenital anomaly and comorbidity profile closely parallel that from other countries and support the need for close medical surveillance of these complex patients throughout their lifespan. © Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology

Integrating transposable elements in the 3D genome

Chromosome organisation is increasingly recognised as an essential component of genome regulation, cell fate and cell health. Within the realm of transposable elements (TEs) however, the spatial information of how genomes are folded is still only rarely integrated in experimental studies or accounted for in modelling. Whilst polymer physics is recognised as an important tool to understand the mechanisms of genome folding, in this commentary we discuss its potential applicability to aspects of TE biology. Based on recent works on the relationship between genome organisation and TE integration, we argue that existing polymer models may be extended to create a predictive framework for the study of TE integration patterns. We suggest that these models may offer orthogonal and generic insights into the integration profiles (or "topography") of TEs across organisms. In addition, we provide simple polymer physics arguments and preliminary molecular dynamics simulations of TEs inserting into heterogeneously flexible polymers. By considering this simple model, we show how polymer folding and local flexibility may generically affect TE integration patterns. The preliminary discussion reported in this commentary is aimed to lay the foundations for a large-scale analysis of TE integration dynamics and topography as a function of the three-dimensional host genome

Extreme geomagnetic field variability indicated by Eastern Mediterranean full-vector archaeomagnetic records

The magnetic field of the Earth can exhibit considerable variations at short time scales, even as short as decades. The archaeomagnetic studies of Middle Eastern artefacts (mainly from Israel and Jordan) show evidence for an exceptionally high intensity period from 1050-700 BC which displays two distinct spikes over the Levant, the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly (LIAA). Its exact duration and geographical extent are still poorly known. Despite the wealth of ancient settlements, the extensive cultural heritage and a long history of trade and immigration, the archaeomagnetism of Turkey and Cyprus remains largely unexplored. This study presents a large data set of ancient directions and intensities from seven archaeological sites in the Eastern Mediterranean covering a time span of ∼2000 yrs. The recorded directions from thirteen sets of samples are coherent with our earlier findings, yet show significantly larger swings than existing field models. In particular, we confirm the very large swing in inclination we found earlier, from 1910-1850 BC, that is also captured by the Greek PSV curve, and shallower by more than 10° than predicted by existing field models. Consequently, these models require substantial revision in this region. We were able to determine the archaeointensity from five sets of mud-bricks, from the thirteen attempted, allowing us to provide the full field vector. Furthermore, we present thirty-one new archaeointensity results from potsherds and mud-bricks that considerably enhance existing data, especially when a set of strict selection criteria is applied. Fourteen sets of potsherds from a single site (Tell Atchana) provide the longest sequence recorded so far in Turkey, from 2100 to 1350 BC. We find exceptionally high intensities of 145 and 175 ZAm2 around 700 BC, in well-dated mud-bricks and potsherds from two different locations (Tell Tayinat and Kilise Tepe), supporting extreme geomagnetic field variability in the region. Moreover, these two high intensities confirm the younger spike of the LIAA in Turkey

Face familiarity, distinctiveness, and categorical perception

Four experiments with faces support the original interpretation of categorical perception (CP) as only present for familiar categories. Unlike in the results of Levin and Beale (2000), no evidence is found for face identity CP with unfamiliar faces. Novel face identities were shown to be capable of encoding for immediate sorting purposes but the representations utilized do not have the format of perceptual categories. One possibility explored was that a choice of a distinctive face as an end-point in a morphed continuum can spuriously produce effects that resemble CP. Such morphed continua provided unequal psychological responses to equal physical steps though much more so in a better likeness paradigm than for forced-choice recognition. Thus, researchers doing almost the same experiments may produce very different results and come to radically different conclusions