A Preliminary Exploration of the Placental Position Influence on Uterine Electromyography Using Fractional Modelling

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The uterine electromyogram, also called electrohysterogram (EHG), is the electrical signal generated by uterine contractile activity. The EHG has been considered an expanding technique for pregnancy monitoring and preterm risk evaluation. Data were collected on the abdominal surface. It has been speculated the effect of the placenta location on the characteristics of the EHG. In this work, a preliminary exploration method is proposed using the average spectra of Alvarez waves contractions of subjects with anterior and non-anterior placental position as a basis for the triple-dispersion Cole model that provides a best fit for these two cases. This leads to the uterine impedance estimation for these two study cases. Non-linear least square fitting (NLSF) was applied for this modelling process, which produces electric circuit fractional models’ representations. A triple-dispersion Cole-impedance model was used to obtain the uterine impedance curve in a frequency band between 0.1 and 1 Hz. A proposal for the interpretation relating the model parameters and the placental influence on the myometrial contractile action is provided. This is the first report regarding in silico estimation of the uterine impedance for cases involving anterior or non-anterior placental positions.publishersversionpublishe

Adaptive Filtering for the Maternal Respiration Signal Attenuation in the Uterine Electromyogram

Funding Information: For Arnaldo Batista and Manuel Ortigueira, this work was supported by the Portuguese National Funds, through the FCT Foundation for Science and Technology, within the scope of the CTS Research Unit, Center of Technology and Systems, UNINOVA, under the project UIDB/00066/2020 (FCT). Helena Mouriño was financed by national funds through FCT, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the project UIDB/00006/2020. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.The electrohysterogram (EHG) is the uterine muscle electromyogram recorded at the abdominal surface of pregnant or non-pregnant woman. The maternal respiration electromyographic signal (MR-EMG) is one of the most relevant interferences present in an EHG. Alvarez (Alv) waves are components of the EHG that have been indicated as having the potential for preterm and term birth prediction. The MR-EMG component in the EHG represents an issue, regarding Alv wave application for pregnancy monitoring, for instance, in preterm birth prediction, a subject of great research interest. Therefore, the Alv waves denoising method should be designed to include the interference MR-EMG attenuation, without compromising the original waves. Adaptive filter properties make them suitable for this task. However, selecting the optimal adaptive filter and its parameters is an important task for the success of the filtering operation. In this work, an algorithm is presented for the automatic adaptive filter and parameter selection using synthetic data. The filter selection pool comprised sixteen candidates, from which, the Wiener, recursive least squares (RLS), householder recursive least squares (HRLS), and QR-decomposition recursive least squares (QRD-RLS) were the best performers. The optimized parameters were L = 2 (filter length) for all of them and λ = 1 (forgetting factor) for the last three. The developed optimization algorithm may be of interest to other applications. The optimized filters were applied to real data. The result was the attenuation of the MR-EMG in Alv waves power. For the Wiener filter, power reductions for quartile 1, median, and quartile 3 were found to be −16.74%, −20.32%, and −15.78%, respectively (p-value = 1.31 × 10−12).publishersversionpublishe

Automatic contraction detection using uterine electromyography

UIDB/00066/2020 UID/MAT/04561/2019 PD/BDE/150312/2019Electrohysterography (EHG) is a promising technique for pregnancy monitoring and preterm risk evaluation. It allows for uterine contraction monitoring as early as the 20th gestational week, and it is a non-invasive technique based on recording the electric signal of the uterine muscle activity from electrodes located in the abdominal surface. In this work, EHG-based contraction detection methodologies are applied using signal envelope features. Automatic contraction detection is an important step for the development of unsupervised pregnancy monitoring systems based on EHG. The exploratory methodologies include wavelet energy, Teager energy, root mean square (RMS), squared RMS, and Hilbert envelope. In this work, two main features were evaluated: contraction detection and its related delineation accuracy. The squared RMS produced the best contraction (97.15 ± 4.66%) and delineation (89.43 ± 8.10%) accuracy and the lowest false positive rate (0.63%). Despite the wavelet energy method having a contraction accuracy (92.28%) below the first-rated method, its standard deviation was the second best (6.66%). The average false positive rate ranged between 0.63% and 4.74%—a remarkably low value.publishersversionpublishe

Proteomic profling of hydatid fuid from pulmonary cystic echinococcosis

Background: Most cystic echinococcosis cases in Southern Brazil are caused by Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus ortleppi. Proteomic studies of helminths have increased our knowledge about the molecular survival strategies that are used by parasites. Here, we surveyed the protein content of the hydatid fluid compartment in E. granulosus and E. ortleppi pulmonary bovine cysts to better describe and compare their molecular arsenal at the host-parasite interface. Methods: Hydatid fluid samples from three isolates of each species were analyzed using mass spectrometry-based proteomics (LC-MS/MS). In silico functional analyses of the identified proteins were performed to examine parasite survival strategies. Results: The identified hydatid fluid protein profiles showed a predominance of parasite proteins compared to host proteins that infiltrate the cysts. We identified 280 parasitic proteins from E. granulosus and 251 from E. ortleppi, including 52 parasitic proteins that were common to all hydatid fluid samples. The in silico functional analysis revealed important molecular functions and processes that are active in pulmonary cystic echinococcosis, such as adhesion, extracellular structures organization, development regulation, signaling transduction, and enzyme activity.Conclusions: The protein profiles described here provide evidence of important mechanisms related to basic cellular processes and functions that act at the host-parasite interface in cystic echinococcosis. The molecular tools used by E. granulosus and E. ortleppi for survival within the host are potential targets for new therapeutic approaches to treat cystic echinococcosis and other larval cestodiases

PRESENCIA DE Neospora caninum EN LLAMAS DE UNA EMPRESA GANADERA DE LA SIERRA CENTRAL

El Neospora caninum es un protozoo implicado como agente causal de abortos y muerte neonatal, principalmente en el ganado bovino. El presente estudio se llevó a cabo para determinar la seroprevalencia a Neospora caninum en llamas de la zona central del país. Se evaluaron 175 sueros de llamas hembras en edad reproductiva, pertenecientes a la empresa Sociedad Agraria de Interés Social (SAIS) Pachacútec, del departamento de Junín, mediante la técnica de inmunofluorescencia indirecta (IFI). Los resultados confirman la presencia del Neospora caninum en llamas de la sierra central, aunque con una seroprevalencia reducida (2.9 ± 2.5%).The Neospora caninum is a protozoan that causes abortion, especially in cattle. Thepresent study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence to Neospora caninum inllamas of the central zone of the country. A total of 175 serum samples of breeding femalellamas of the Agrarian Cooperative Pachacútec were analyzed by the immunofluorescentantibody test (IFAT). The results confirmed the presence of Neospora caninum in llamasof the Central Sierra, but the seroprevalence was low (2.9 ± 2.5 %)

Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Análisis de las estrategias y mecanismos que el centro de formación profesional aplica en la formación de competencias o habilidades para satisfacer las necesidades empresariales

Esta investigación aborda un tema complejo como son las competencias que demandan las empresas españolas a los estudiantes y profesionales egresado en los ciclos de Formación Profesional, y como el profesorado de los centros educativos da solución a estas demandas con las herramientas que disponen y cumpliendo con la normativa establecida. Mediante la aplicación de la metodología cuantitativa se estudian las estrategias y los mecanismos que aplica el profesorado tanto para adaptar el contenido y criterios de evaluación del módulo Empresa e Iniciativa Emprendedora, como para determinar qué métodos didácticos y de evaluación utilizan en la formación de las principales competencias demandadas por las empresas: conocimientos en nuevas tecnologías, actitud de iniciativa y, capacidad de comunicación. La metodología cuantitativa, además ha permitido, recoger la valoración del profesorado sobre la adecuación del contenido y criterios de evaluación del módulo para capacitar a los estudiantes y formar en competencias. Los resultados de la investigación revelan que una gran mayoría del profesorado considera que hay que mejorar esta adecuación.Aquesta recerca aborda un tema complex com són les competències que demanden les empreses espanyoles als estudiants i professionals egressat en els cicles de Formació Professional, i com el professorat dels centres educatius dóna solució a aquestes demandes amb les eines que disposen i complint amb la normativa establerta. Mitjançant l'aplicació de la metodologia quantitativa s'estudien les estratègies i els mecanismes que aplica el professorat tant per a adaptar el contingut i criteris d'avaluació del mòdul Empresa i Iniciativa Emprenedora, com per a determinar quins mètodes didàctics i d'avaluació utilitzen en la formació de les principals competències demandades per les empreses: coneixements en noves tecnologies, actitud d'iniciativa i, capacitat de comunicació. La metodologia quantitativa, a més ha permès, recollir la valoració del professorat sobre l'adequació del contingut i criteris d'avaluació del mòdul per a capacitar als estudiants i formar en competències. Els resultats de la recerca revelen que una gran majoria del professorat considera que cal millorar aquesta adequació