ОЦЕНКА СТАТИСТИЧЕСКИХ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИК МИОГРАФИЧЕСКОЙ ПОМЕХИ ПРИ МНОГОКАНАЛЬНОЙ РЕГИСТРАЦИИ ЭЛЕКТРОКАРДИОСИГНАЛА

Electromyographic noise is one of the most common noises in electrocardiogram. In case of several electrocardiogram leads, electromyographic noise affects each lead to different extent. It can be taken into account when developing algorithms for multilead electrocardiogram record processing. However, in the existing literature, there is no information about the relationship of electromyographic noise in various ECG leads and their joint probability distribution. The purpose of this paper is to study statistical characteristics of electromyographic noise in ECG signal, from which the electromyographic noise is extracted. The paper proposes a method for extracting electromyographic noise from electrocardiogram signal, based on a polynomial approximation of electrocardiogram signal fragments in sliding window with overlapping fragment subsequent weight averaging. Using this method, fragments of electromyographic noise are extracted from multichannel electrocardiogram records. Based on the obtained data, a joint probability distribution function of electromyographic noise in two adjacent leads is selected, and the correlation relationships between the electromyographic noise in various ECG leads are investigated. The results show that the joint probability distribution function of electromyographic noise in two adjacent leads in the first approximation can be described using bivariate normal distribution. In addition, between the samples of electromyographic noise from two adjacent leads quite strong correlation relationships can be observed.Миографическая помеха является одной из самых распространенных помех, присутствующих в электрокардиосигнале. В случае использования нескольких отведений электрокардиосигнала миографическая помеха в разной степени оказывает влияние на каждое из отведений. Это влияние может быть учтено при построении алгоритмов обработки многоканальных записей электрокардиосигнала. Однако в существующей литературе недостаточно полно исследован анализ взаимосвязей отсчетов миографической помехи в различных отведениях электрокардиосигнала. Цель работы – эмпирическое исследование статистических характеристик миографической помехи, выделенной из зашумленных фрагментов электрокардиосигнала. Предложен метод выделения миографической помехи из записей электрокардиосигнала. Метод основан на полиномиальной аппроксимации фрагментов электрокардиосигнала в скользящем окне с последующим весовым усреднением перекрывающихся фрагментов. С использованием данного метода из многоканальных записей электрокардиосигнала были выделены фрагменты миографической помехи. На основе выделенных фрагментов подобрано совместное распределение отсчетов миографической помехи в двух смежных отведениях, а также исследованы корреляционные взаимосвязи между отсчетами миографической помехи в различных отведениях электрокардиосигнала. В результате установлено, что совместное распределение отсчетов миографической помехи в двух смежных отведениях в первом приближении может быть описано с помощью двумерного нормального закона. Кроме того, между отсчетами миографической помехи из двух смежных отведений могут наблюдаться довольно сильные корреляционные взаимосвязи

EVALUATION OF ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC NOISE STATISTICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN MULTICHANNEL ECG RECORDINGS

Electromyographic noise is one of the most common noises in electrocardiogram. In case of several electrocardiogram leads, electromyographic noise affects each lead to different extent. It can be taken into account when developing algorithms for multilead electrocardiogram record processing. However, in the existing literature, there is no information about the relationship of electromyographic noise in various ECG leads and their joint probability distribution. The purpose of this paper is to study statistical characteristics of electromyographic noise in ECG signal, from which the electromyographic noise is extracted. The paper proposes a method for extracting electromyographic noise from electrocardiogram signal, based on a polynomial approximation of electrocardiogram signal fragments in sliding window with overlapping fragment subsequent weight averaging. Using this method, fragments of electromyographic noise are extracted from multichannel electrocardiogram records. Based on the obtained data, a joint probability distribution function of electromyographic noise in two adjacent leads is selected, and the correlation relationships between the electromyographic noise in various ECG leads are investigated. The results show that the joint probability distribution function of electromyographic noise in two adjacent leads in the first approximation can be described using bivariate normal distribution. In addition, between the samples of electromyographic noise from two adjacent leads quite strong correlation relationships can be observed

Electrocardiographic Patterns of Depolarization Abnormalities Help to Identify Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between a decrease in the left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) and traditional ECG signs associated with structural changes of the myocardium (pathological Q wave, ventricular arrhythmias) and relatively new and poorly understood (fragmented QRS complex (fQRS), early repolarization pattern (ERP)) and evaluate their significance for identifying patients with mildly reduced EF (mrEF). The study included 148 patients who were treated and examined at the Almazov Medical Research Center. FQRS, ERP, pathological Q wave, and premature ventricular contractions (PVC) were described in the analysis of the ECG, and the results of echocardiography and statistical data were analyzed: Fisher’s test and chi-square, correlation analysis, and ROC analysis. According to the level of EF, patients were divided into three groups: group 1—patients with low EF (lEF) (less than 40%), group 2—patients with mildly reduced EF (mrEF) (40–49%); group 3—patients with preserved EF (pEF) (more than 50%). In the first group (EF), fQRS was registered in 16 (51.6%) patients, in the mrEF in 16 (18.2%). Pathological Q wave was detected in lEF in 20 (65%), in mrEF in 10 (35%), 15 (18%), in pEF in 15 (18%). The fQRS has been found to be more important in identifying patients with mrEF. In lEF in 2 (6.5%) patients, in mrEF in 2 (6.9%), in pEF in 11 (12.5%). There was no relationship between ERP, the amount of PVC, and the presence of ventricular tachycardia with EF. FQRS is significantly more common occurred with a decrease in EF and may be a marker of a mrEF. Thus, fQRS is associated with mrEF and pay close attention in routine clinical practice to identify patients at high risk of developing systolic dysfunction

The Fabrication of Alginate–Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Based Composites and Drug Release Profiles

Recently, hydrogels based on natural water-soluble polysaccharides have attracted more and more attention due to their favorable characteristics. The high water-holding capacity, lack of toxicity, and biodegradability of such hydrogels make it possible to develop new materials on their basis for biotechnological, biomedical, pharmacological, and medical purposes. Sodium alginate is a non-toxic natural polysaccharide found in marine algae. It is capable of forming solid gels under the action of polyvalent cations that cross-link polysaccharide chains. Alginate-based products are popular in many industries, including food processing, pharmaceutical, and biomedical applications. Cellulose is the most abundant, renewable, and natural polymer on Earth, and it is used for various industrial and biomedical applications. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is useful in pharmaceutical, food, and non-food industries such as tablets, ice cream, drinks, toothpaste, and detergents. In this review, various methods for the preparation of the compositions based on sodium alginate and CMC using different crosslinking agents have been collected for the first time. Additionally, the drug release profile from such polymer matrixes was analyzed

Isolated Sphenoid Sinusitis: Anatomical Features for Choosing a Method of Treatment, a Case-Control Study

Isolated sphenoid sinusitis (ISS) is a group of pathologies characterized by inflammation in one or both sphenoid sinuses. The gold standard for analyzing and diagnosing ISS is computer tomography. Many researchers have discussed the treatment of patients with ISS variants such as fully opacified sinus, mostly with surgery. A retrospective analysis of clinical data of 59 patients (21 male (35%), 38 female (65%)) with ISS, who were treated in the Otorhinolaryngological Department of Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University between January 2017 and January 2020, was conducted. All patients were in the first stage of the same medical therapy. In cases where there was no recovery, these patients were referred to surgery. For the control group, we analyzed patients without any disorders according to CT-scan examination. After analyzing the obtained clinical and radiological data, we found indicators that were common in patients who did not recover after medical therapy. According to the reverse regression method statistical model, in male patients with a diffuse headache and nasal discharge it was shown that medical therapy was highly effective (more than 78%). The presence of nasal septum deviation and adenoids in male and female patients leads to the highest risk of surgical treatment (83% probability of the logistic model). The detailed analysis of CT-scans and the complaints of patients with ISS can be the key to determining the preferred therapy choice. Not all cases need to have an endoscopic opening of the sphenoid sinus, according to our research

A Review on Chitosan and Cellulose Hydrogels for Wound Dressings

Wound management remains a challenging issue around the world, although a lot of wound dressing materials have been produced for the treatment of chronic and acute wounds. Wound healing is a highly dynamic and complex regulatory process that involves four principal integrated phases, including hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Chronic non-healing wounds are wounds that heal significantly more slowly, fail to progress to all the phases of the normal wound healing process, and are usually stalled at the inflammatory phase. These wounds cause a lot of challenges to patients, such as severe emotional and physical stress and generate a considerable financial burden on patients and the general public healthcare system. It has been reported that about 1–2% of the global population suffers from chronic non-healing wounds during their lifetime in developed nations. Traditional wound dressings are dry, and therefore cannot provide moist environment for wound healing and do not possess antibacterial properties. Wound dressings that are currently used consist of bandages, films, foams, patches and hydrogels. Currently, hydrogels are gaining much attention as a result of their water-holding capacity, providing a moist wound-healing milieu. Chitosan is a biopolymer that has gained a lot of attention recently in the pharmaceutical industry due to its unique chemical and antibacterial nature. However, with its poor mechanical properties, chitosan is incorporated with other biopolymers, such as the cellulose of desirable biocompatibility, at the same time having the improved mechanical and physical properties of the hydrogels. This review focuses on the study of biopolymers, such as cellulose and chitosan hydrogels, for wound treatment

Study of the Fabrication Technology of Hybrid Microfluidic Biochips for Label-Free Detection of Proteins

A study of the peculiarities and a comparative analysis of the technologies used for the fabrication of elements of novel hybrid microfluidic biochips for express biomedical analysis have been carried out. The biochips were designed with an incorporated microfluidic system, which enabled an accumulation of the target compounds in a biological fluid to be achieved, thus increasing the biochip system’s sensitivity and even implementing a label-free design of the detection unit. The multilevel process of manufacturing a microfluidic system of a given topology for label-free fluorometric detection of protein structures is presented. The technological process included the chemical modification of the working surface of glass substrates by silanization using (3-aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMS), formation of the microchannels, for which SU-8 technologies and a last generation dry film photoresist were studied and compared. The solid-state phosphor layers were deposited using three methods: drop application; airbrushing; and mechanical spraying onto the adhesive surface. The processes of sealing the system, installing input ports, and packaging using micro-assembly technologies are described. The technological process has been optimized and the biochip was implemented and tested. The presented system can be used to design novel high-performance diagnostic tools that implement the function of express detection of protein markers of diseases and create low-power multimodal, highly intelligent portable analytical decision-making systems in medicine

Pulmonary Circulation Vessels Dataset for pathology аssessment using Machine Learning-based Image Segmentation

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a symptom complex that accompanies a number of diseases of different etiologies, associated with basic mechanisms of structural and functional changes of the pulmonary circulation vessels and revealed pressure increasing in the pulmonary artery. The structural changes in the pulmonary circulation vessels are the main limiting factor determining the prognosis of patients with PH. Thickening and irreversible deposition of collagen in the pulmonary artery branches walls leads to rapid disease progression and a therapy effectiveness decreasing. In this regard, histological examination of the pulmonary circulation vessels is critical both in preclinical studies and clinical practice. However, measurements of quantitative parameters such as the average vessel outer diameter, the vessel walls area, and the hypertrophy index claimed significant time investment and the requirement for specialist training to analyze micrographs.</p

Inhibition of JAK1,2 Prevents Fibrotic Remodeling of Pulmonary Vascular Bed and Improves Outcomes in the Rat Model of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare complication of acute pulmonary embolism with poor clinical outcomes. Therapeutic approaches to prevention of fibrotic remodeling of the pulmonary vascular bed in CTEPH are limited. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that Janus kinase 1/2 (JAK1/2) inhibition with ruxolitinib might prevent and attenuate CTEPH in a rat model. CTEPH was induced by repeated embolization of the pulmonary artery with partially biodegradable 180 ± 30 μm alginate microspheres. Two weeks after the last injection of microspheres, ruxolitinib was administered orally at doses of 0.86, 2.58, and 4.28 mg/kg per day for 4 weeks. Prednisolone (1.475 mg/kg, i.m.) was used as a reference drug. Ruxolitinib in all doses as well as prednisolone reduced pulmonary vascular wall hypertrophy. Ruxolitinib at a dose of 2.58 mg/kg and prednisolone reduced vascular wall fibrosis. Prednisolone treatment resulted in decreased right ventricular systolic pressure. Pulmonary vascular resistance was lower in the prednisolone and ruxolitinib (4.28 mg/kg) groups in comparison with the placebo group. The plasma level of brain natriuretic peptide was lower in groups receiving ruxolitinib at doses of 2.58 and 4.28 mg/kg versus placebo. This study demonstrated that JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib dose-dependently reduced pulmonary vascular remodeling, thereby preventing CTEPH formation in rats