Applying Mining Techniques to Analyze Vestibular Data

AbstractThe vestibular apparatus allows to perform audiological and equilibrium human functions and to capture movements with respect to gravity. Damages to the vestibular system causes diseases that can be measured by using Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMPs) test. The test produces a lot of data that has to be collected and analyzed to allow a disease study and classification. We propose a framework that includes algorithms able to perform pathology distribution and classification. It has been tested on electronic patient records loaded from the University Hospital database. The software allows to manage the structure and framework and a blind application of one of the available classification techniques shows a relation among gender and vestibular apparatus disease

Analysis of a Cardiac-Necrosis-Biomarker Release in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction via Nonlinear Mixed-Effects Models

The release of the cardiac troponin T (cTnT) in patients with acute myocardial infarc tion (AMI) has been analyzed through a methodology based on nonlinear mixed-effects (NME) models. The aim of this work concerns the investigation of any possible relationship between clin ical covariates and the dynamics of the release of cTnT to derive more detailed and useful clinical information for the correct treatment of these patients. An ad-hoc mechanistic model describing the biomarker release process after AMI has been devised, assessed, and exploited to evaluate the im pact of the available clinical covariates on the cTnT release dynamic. The following approach was tested on a preliminary dataset composed of a small number of potential clinical covariates: em ploying an unsupervised approach, and despite the limited sample size, dyslipidemia, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, was found to be a statistically significant covariate. By increasing the number of covariates considered in the model, and patient cohort, we envisage that this approach may provide an effective means to automatically classify AMI patients and to investigate the role of interactions between clinical covariates and cTnT relea

Data mining techniques for vestibular data classification

generally estimated with the vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) test. In the proposed work the data of this test are analyzed using a specific algorithm and developing a dedicate framework to support clinical activity, with an easy-to-use GUI. The data have been collected and used for extracting a prediction of a pathology distribution by using data mining techniques. In to the studies two different algorithms. In a first step, the Bayesian classifier has been chosen to extract the predisposition of female to lodge diseases of the auditory system compared to the male. In the final contribution, the nearest neighbour classification algorithm has been choosing for as classifier. Results show a better classification of the pathologies as a function of sex respect to the results obtained with the previous classifier

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ content at baseline and after activation in essential hypertension

Obiective: To examine in essential hypertension (EH) the polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ content at baseline and after in vitro activation. Subjects and methods: In 45 hypertensive subjects (27 men and 18 women; mean age 45.8 +/- 11.3 years) we evaluated the PMN membrane fluidity, obtained by labeling PMNs with 1-[4-(trimethyImino)phenyl]-6phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH) and considering the TMA-DPH polarization degree, inversely related to the membrane fluidity, and the PMN cytosolic Ca2+ content, obtained by marking PMNs with Fura 2-AM. These PMN parameters were examined at baseline and after in vitro activation (prolonged for 5 min) with two agents: 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). Results: In hypertensives, at baseline we observed a slight decrease of the PMN membrane fluidity and a marked increase of the PMN cytosolic Ca2+ content in comparison with normal subjects. In normal as well as in hypertensive subjects, after activation with both agents (PMA and fMLP), no variation was found in membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca2+ content. Conclusions: Our data show a basal alteration of the PMN membrane fluidity and Ca2+ content that reflects PMN activation. The latter explains the organ injury accompanying this clinical condition. The absence of variations observed after in vitro activation could depend on the pre-existing spontaneous activation observed in PMNs of hypertensive subjects

Takotsubo Syndrome after Pacemaker Implantation: A Systematic Review

Background: Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is an acute cardiac condition characterized by a temporary wall motion abnormality of the left ventricle that mimics an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). TTS usually occurs following emotional or physical triggering event. More recently, sporadic cases of TTS arising after pacemaker implantation were reported. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the available literature to provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge about pacemaker implantation-induced TTS. Results: The articles selected included case reports and one registry on 28 patients. Most cases occurred in women (75%), encompassing a broad age range. The mean age of the cases described was 74 years. Full recovery of cardiac function was reported in most cases (92.3%), with largely varying recovery times, on average 7 weeks. The most common comorbidity was arterial hypertension and the average ejection fraction at admission was approximately 62%. Clinical severity ranges from asymptomatic cases to severe clinical heart failure syndrome. Altogether the case fatality rate was 3.6%. Conclusions: For rare it might be, awareness about the potential to develop TTS after pacemaker implantation should prompt careful clinical monitoring, with daily electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring and at least one echocardiographic examination prior to patients’ discharge to allow early diagnosis and minimize the clinical risk