A system for investigating oesophageal photoplethysmographic signals in anaesthetised patients

The monitoring of arterial blood oxygen saturation in patients with compromised peripheral perfusion is often difficult, because conventional non-invasive techniques such as pulse oximetry (SpO2) can fail. Poor peripheral circulation commonly occurs after major surgery including cardiopulmonary bypass. The difficulties in these clinical situations might be overcome if the sensor were to monitor a better perfused central part of the body such as the oesophagus. A new oesophageal photoplethysmographic (PPG) probe and an isolated processing system have been developed to investigate the pulsatile signals of anaesthetised adult patients undergoing routine surgery. Measurements were made in the middle third of the oesophagus, 25 cm to 30 cm from the upper incisors. The AC PPG signals are sampled by a data acquisition system connected to a laptop computer. The signals recorded correspond to infrared and red AC PPGs from the middle third oesophagus and the finger. Preliminary results from 20 patients show that good quality AC PPG signals can be measured in the human oesophagus. The ratio of the oesophageal to finger AC PPG amplitudes was calculated for the infrared and red wavelengths for each patient. The mean (+/- standard deviation) of this ratio was 2.9 +/- 2.1 (n = 19) for the infrared wavelength and 3.1 +/- 2.4 (n = 16) for the red wavelength. The red and infrared wavelengths used are appropriate for pulse oximetry and this investigation indicates that the mid-oesophagus may be a suitable site for the reliable monitoring of SpO2 in patients with poor peripheral perfusion

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Kangaroo adipose tissue has higher concentrations of cis 9, trans 11-conjugated linoleic acid than lamb adipose tissue

Ruminant tissues and products contain conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) due to biohydrogenation in the rumen. We hypothesize that kangaroos would have higher concentrations of CLA compared to lambs due to incomplete biohydrogenation of fatty acids in the kangaroo foregut. Fatty acid composition of adipose tissue (including cis 9, trans 11 CLA) from lambs and kangaroos were significantly different. The concentrations of CLA and its precursor trans vaccenic acid (TVA) in the adipose tissue of kangaroos were approximately four and five times that of lambs. Kangaroo fat was significantly less saturated and had a lower melting point

Hidden galaxies in the Fornax cluster

We are using the Multibeam 21-cm receiver on the Parkes Radio Telescope combined with the optical Two-degree-Field (2dF) spectrograph of the Angle-Australian Telescope to obtain the first complete spectroscopic sample of the Fornax cluster.In the optical, the survey is unique in that all objects ("stars" and "galaxies") within our magnitude limits (16.(m)5 less than or equal to B-J less than or equal to 19.(m)7) are measured, producing the most complete survey of cluster members, irrespective of surface-brightness. We have detected two new classes of high surface-brightness dwarf galaxy in the cluster. With 2dF we have discovered a population of very low luminosity (Mg approximate to -12(m)) objects which are unresolved from the ground and may be the stripped nuclei of dwarf galaxies; they are unlike any known galaxies. In a survey of the brighter (16.(m)5 less than or equal to B-J less than or equal to 18.(m)0) galaxies with the FLAIR-II spectrograph, we have found a number of new high surface-brightness dwarf galaxies. We show that the fraction of star-forming dwarf galaxies in the cluster is about 30%, about twice that implied by earlier morphological classifications.By using a new "basket weave" scanning pattern, our radio observations have a greatly improved sensitivity compared to the standard Multibeam survey by using a new "basket weave" scanning pattern. Our initial analysis shows that we are detecting new cluster members with HI masses of order 10(8) M-circle dot and HI mass-to-light ratios of 1-2 M-circle dot/L-circle dot

Feeding Software Agents with Web Information

DOI livre 10.1007/978-3-319-19629-9_15International audienceMany software agents require information that is available in web documents. Unfortunately, the existing proposals to learn extraction rules are tightly coupled with the learning component and do not result in resilient rules. We present a novel approach that leverages neural networks and has proven to be very resilient

Direct Physical Evidence of Dolomite Recrystallization

The possibility of recrystallization is a long-standing barrier to deciphering the genetic origin of dolomites. There is often uncertainty regarding whether or not characteristics of ancient dolomites are primary or the consequence of later recrystallization unrelated to the original dolomitization event. Results from 65 new high-temperature dolomite synthesis experiments (1 M, 1_0 Mg/ Ca ratio solutions at 218°C) demonstrate dolomite recrystallization affecting stoichiometry, cation ordering and nanometre-scale surface texture. The data support a model of dolomitization that proceeds by a series of four unique phases of replacement and recrystallization, which occur by various dissolution– precipitation reactions. During the first phase (induction period), no dolomite forms despite favourable conditions. The second phase (replacement period) occurs when Ca-rich dolomite products, with a low degree of cation ordering, rapidly replace calcite reactants. During the replacement period, dolomite stoichiometry and the degree of cation ordering remain constant, and all dolomite crystal surfaces are covered by nanometre-scale growth mounds. The third phase (primary recrystallization period), which occurs in the experiments between 97% and 100% dolomite, is characterized by a reduced replacement rate but concurrent increases in dolomite stoichiometry and cation ordering. The end of the primary recrystallization period is marked by dolomite crystal growth surfaces that are covered by flat, laterally extensive layers. The fourth phase of the reaction (secondary recrystallization period) occurs when all calcite is consumed and is characterized by stoichiometric dolomite with layers as well as a continued increase in the degree of cation ordering with time. Inferences of recrystallization, in natural dolomite, based on cation order or stoichiometry of dolomite, usually depend on assumptions about the precursor dolomite subjected to recrystallization. If it is assumed that the experimental evidence presented here is applicable to natural, low-temperature dolomites, then the presence of mounds is direct evidence of a lack of recrystallization and the presence of layers is direct evidence of recrystallization