Cardiac sympathovagal activity initiates a functional brain-body response to emotional processing

A century-long debate on bodily states and emotions persists. While the involvement of bodily activity in emotion physiology is widely recognized, the specificity and causal role of such activity related to brain dynamics has not yet been demonstrated. We hypothesize that the peripheral neural monitoring and control of cardiovascular activity prompts and sustains brain dynamics during an emotional experience, so these afferent inputs are processed by the brain by triggering a concurrent efferent information transfer to the body. To this end, we investigated the functional brain-heart interplay under emotion elicitation in publicly available data from 62 healthy participants using a computational model based on synthetic data generation of EEG and ECG signals. Our findings show that sympathovagal activity plays a leading and causal role in initiating the emotional response, in which ascending modulations from vagal activity precede neural dynamics and correlate to the reported level of arousal. The subsequent dynamic interplay observed between the central and autonomic nervous systems sustains emotional processing. These findings should be particularly revealing for the psychophysiology and neuroscience of emotions. Significance We investigate the temporal dynamics of brain and cardiac activities in healthy subjects who underwent an emotional elicitation through videos. We demonstrate that, within the first few seconds, emotional stimuli modulate the heart activity, which in turn stimulate an emotion-specific cortical response in the brain. Then, the conscious emotional experience is sustained by a bidirectional brain-heart interplay and information exchange. Moreover, the perceived intensity of an emotional stimulus is predicted by the intensity of neural control regulating the heart activity. These findings may constitute the fundamental knowledge linking neurophysiology and psychiatric disorders, including the link between depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disorders

The developmentally regulated avian Ch21 lipocalin is an extracellular fatty acid-binding protein.

Ch21, a developmentally regulated extracellular protein expressed in chick embryos and in cultured chondrocytes, was expressed in the baculovirus system, and the recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity by gel-filtration chromatography. Separation of two isoforms was achieved on an ion-exchange column. Previous work had shown that Ch21 belongs to the superfamily of lipocalins, which are transport proteins for small hydrophobic molecules. Studies were performed to identify the Ch21 ligand. By analysis of recombinant Ch21 on native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and by Lipidex assay, the binding of fatty acid to the protein was shown and a preferential binding of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids was observed. Both isoforms had the same behavior. The binding was saturable. Stoichiometry was about 0.7 mol of ligand/mol of protein. The protein binds the ligand in its monomeric form. Calculated dissociation constants were 2 X 10(-7) M for unsaturated fatty acids and 5 X 10(-7) M for stearic acid. The binding was specific; other hydrophobic molecules, as retinoic acid, progesterone, prostaglandins, and long-chain alcohols and aldehydes did not bind to the protein. Short-chain fatty acids did not bind to the protein. Ch21, also present in chicken serum, represents the first extracellular protein able to selectively bind and transport fatty acid in extracellular fluids and serum. We propose to rename the Ch21 protein as extracellular fatty acid-binding protein (Ex-FABP)

Efficacy and safety of once-weekly bortezomib in multiple myeloma patients

AbstractIn a recent phase 3 trial, bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone-thalidomide followed by maintenance treatment with bortezomib-thalidomide demonstrated superior efficacy compared with bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone. To decrease neurologic toxicities, the protocol was amended and patients in both arms received once-weekly instead of the initial twice-weekly bortezomib infusions: 372 patients received once-weekly and 139 twice-weekly bortezomib. In this post-hoc analysis we assessed the impact of the schedule change on clinical outcomes and safety. Long-term outcomes appeared similar: 3-year progression-free survival rate was 50% in the once-weekly and 47% in the twice-weekly group (P > .999), and 3-year overall survival rate was 88% and 89%, respectively (P = .54). The complete response rate was 30% in the once-weekly and 35% in the twice-weekly group (P = .27). Nonhematologic grade 3/4 adverse events were reported in 35% of once-weekly patients and 51% of twice-weekly patients (P = .003). The incidence of grade 3/4 peripheral neuropathy was 8% in the once-weekly and 28% in the twice-weekly group (P < .001); 5% of patients in the once-weekly and 15% in the twice-weekly group discontinued therapy because of peripheral neuropathy (P < .001). This improvement in safety did not appear to affect efficacy. This study is registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01063179

Diaphragmatic rupture with right colon and small intestine herniation after blunt trauma: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Traumatic diaphragmatic hernias are an unusual presentation of trauma, and are observed in about 10% of diaphragmatic injuries. The diagnosis is often missed because of non-specific clinical signs, and the absence of additional intra-abdominal and thoracic injuries.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a case of a 59-year-old Italian man hospitalized for abdominal pain and vomiting. His medical history included a blunt trauma seven years previously. A chest X-ray showed right diaphragm elevation, and computed tomography revealed that the greater omentum, a portion of the colon and the small intestine had been transposed in the hemithorax through a diaphragm rupture. The patient underwent laparotomy, at which time the colon and small intestine were reduced back into the abdomen and the diaphragm was repaired.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This was a unusual case of traumatic right-sided diaphragmatic hernia. Diaphragmatic ruptures may be revealed many years after the initial trauma. The suspicion of diaphragmatic rupture in a patient with multiple traumas contributes to early diagnosis. Surgical repair remains the only curative treatment for diaphragmatic hernias. Prosthetic patches may be a good solution when the diaphragmatic defect is severe and too large for primary closure, whereas primary repair remains the gold standard for the closure of small to moderate sized diaphragmatic defects.</p

How do cardiologists select patients for dual antiplatelet therapy continuation beyond 1 year after a myocardial infarction? Insights from the EYESHOT Post-MI Study

Background: Current guidelines suggest to consider dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) continuation for longer than 12 months in selected patients with myocardial infarction (MI). Hypothesis: We sought to assess the criteria used by cardiologists in daily practice to select patients with a history of MI eligible for DAPT continuation beyond 1 year. Methods: We analyzed data from the EYESHOT Post-MI, a prospective, observational, nationwide study aimed to evaluate the management of patients presenting to cardiologists 1 to 3 years from the last MI event. Results: Out of the 1633 post-MI patients enrolled in the study between March and December 2017, 557 (34.1%) were on DAPT at the time of enrolment, and 450 (27.6%) were prescribed DAPT after cardiologist assessment. At multivariate analyses, a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with multiple stents and the presence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) resulted as independent predictors of DAPT continuation, while atrial fibrillation was the only independent predictor of DAPT interruption for patients both at the second and the third year from MI at enrolment and the time of discharge/end of the visit. Conclusions: Risk scores recommended by current guidelines for guiding decisions on DAPT duration are underused and misused in clinical practice. A PCI with multiple stents and a history of PAD resulted as the clinical variables more frequently associated with DAPT continuation beyond 1 year from the index MI

Diel changes of the optical backscattering coefficient of oceanic particulate matter determined from diel changes in apparent optical properties: a case study in the Mediterranean Sea (BOUSSOLE site)

International audienceUsing in situ measurements of radiometric quantities and of the optical backscattering coefficient of particulate matter (b bp) at an oceanic site, we show that diel cycles of b bp are large enough to generate measurable diel variability of the ocean reflectance. This means that biogeochemical quantities such as net phytoplankton primary production, which are derivable from the diel b bp signal, can be potentially derived also from the diel variability of ocean color radiometry (OCR). This is a promising avenue for basin-scale quantification of such quantities, because OCR is now performed from geostationary platforms that enable quantification of diel changes in the ocean reflectance over large ocean expanses. To assess the feasibility of this inversion, we applied three numerical inversion algorithms to derive b bp from measured reflectance data. The uncertainty in deriving b bp transfers to the retrieval of its diel cycle, making the performance of the inversion better in the green part of the spectrum (555 nm), with correlation coefficients >0.75 and a variability of 40% between the observed and derived b bp diel. While the results are encouraging, they also emphasize the inherent limitation of current inversion algorithms in deriving diel changes of b bp , which essentially stems from the empirical parameterizations that many such algorithms include

Sistema di accensione a microonde a scarica libera

Il presente trovato si riferisce ad un particolare sistema di accensione a microonde per motori ad accensione comandata che consente di migliorare il rendimento e ridurre le emissioni inquinanti, nonché di aumentare la potenza specie nei motori ad alta velocità di rotazione e la regolarità di combustione nei motori a due tempi ai bassi carichi

Satlantic’ SeaWiFS Profiling Multichannel Radiometer (SPMR s/n006) and Multichannel Surface reference (SMSR s/n 006). Calibration history report (2001-2011)

Validation of the “geophysical products” derived from observations of satellite ocean colour sensors requires the collection of the same parameters from in situ instrumentation. In particular, the irradiance reflectance or the remote sensing reflectance have to be determined from field measurements of radiometric quantities such as the upward and downward plane irradiances at various depths in the water column. This task has been performed in the frame of the BOUée pour l’acquiSition d’une Série à Long termE (BOUSSOLE) project by using a commercial radiometer system specifically designed for that purpose. This system is built by the Satlantic company (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada). It is composed on an in-water profiling radiometer called the “SeaWiFS Profiling Multichannel Radiometer” (SPMR) and a deck reference called the “SeaWiFS Multichannel Surface reference” (SMSR). Deployment procedures and data processing are succinctly presented hereafter. The Satlantic’ SPMR was specifically designed to collect data for validation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) ocean color instrument. The SPMR/SMSR system that was built for the remote sensing group of the Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV) measures both downward and upward underwater irradiance in 13 spectral channels (Ed(λ) and Eu(λ), respectively), and the above-water downward irradiance in the same 13 channels (Es(λ)). These 13 channels were adapted to the band set of the European Space Agency (ESA) Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS). The LOV SPMR/SMSR is serial number 006. This system was bought in 1994 and has been used since then, until it was lost at sea during BOUSSOLE cruise 110 in April 2011. It was deployed during a number of oceanographic cruises before being used for BOUSSOLE, and still on a few occasion during the course of the project, from 1996 to 2009 (MINOS in 1996 in the Mediterranean, COASTLOOC in 1996-1997 in European coastal waters, PROSOPE in 1999 in the Mediterranean, POMME in 2000 in the Northeastern Atlantic, BIOSOPE in 2004 in the Southeast Pacific, BATS in 2009 in the Bermuda area, and Plumes & Blooms in 2009 in the Santa Barbara channel). From July 2001 to April 2011, the SPMR/SMSR 006 was essentially used during the monthly BOUSSOLE cruises, during which more than 800 profiles were collected. This report summarizes the calibration history of these instruments. It does not include the description of the data processing that allows derivation of apparent optical properties from the profiles of radiometric quantities