Signal interference to electroencephalogram and electrocardiogram signal

The increment in a number of electric and electronic devices nowadays ignites the curiosity about the effect of Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) coming from those devices especially in medical environment. In general, the probability for EMI incidents to occur is small. However, the effect from the incident could lead to a very fatal and hazardous side effect. This study strictly focuses on the effect of electromagnetic interference from medical devices that are placed close to the electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) devices during ECG and EEG signal acquisitions. Since both ECG and EEG machine are most crucial equipments to examine critical part of human body, the devices should be handled with extra precaution towards EMI contamination. An analysis was carried out by using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and QRS Wave Peak Detection to study the effect of EMI from several types of medical devices on both ECG and EEG signals. The result of analysis on the signal exposed to the interference from medical devices was compared to the signal obtained in environment without medical devices.The results showed that interference from blood pressure cuff, electroglotograph, ultrasound, microspirometer and electro muscle stimulator disturbed the quality of signal displayed as well as the amplitude and frequency component of the ECG and EEG signals at 0 cm distance. Even though the EMI can be easily filtered out by using highpass and lowpass filter, the noise can be misinterpreted as a symptom of arrhythmia and consequently leads to unnecessary treatment and panic situation on medical staff

A process for producing biological control agent

Present presentation relates to a method for producing nucleopolyhedrovirus as a biological control agent for armyworm. The method according to the present invention comprising in vitro production of nucleopolyhedrovirus in S. litura larvae, isolation and purification of the S. litura diseased larvae, followed by bioassay and identification of the said biological control agent. The mortality of the infected larvae increased with increasing dosage of SpltNPV isolated from S. litura diseased larvae. A higher dosage also leads to a more rapid effect of polyhedrosis

A process for producing biological control agent

Present presentation relates to a method for producing nucleopolyhedrovirus as a biological control agent for armyworm. The method according to the present invention comprising in vitro production of nucleopolyhedrovirus in S. litura larvae, isolation and purification of the S. litura diseased larvae, followed by bioassay and identification of the said biological control agent. The mortality of the infected larvae increased with increasing dosage of SpltNPV isolated from S. litura diseased larvae. A higher dosage also leads to a more rapid effect of polyhedrosis

Study of situation based environment towards noise reduction during ECG acquisition

Even with the development of more advanced technology of ECG, there are still problems on interference to ECG signals. Many attempts have been made to detect and eliminate the source of noises and artifacts from the original ECG signals. Several studies have been done to observe and study the EMI effect, however, most of them only focus on the EMI effect of mobile phone during ECG acquisition. Thus, this study is emphasized on the interference problem when other medical devices were being used together with the ECG device. The R-R peak distance of the ECG signal was detected by using QRS detection algorithm invented by J. Pan and W. J. Tompkins. The data from the experiment showed that even the EMI from the medical devices did not affect the physical shape of ECG, but it does affect the R-R peak distance of the ECG signal

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to < 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of & GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P < 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo