531 research outputs found

    Noise Reduction Technique for Heart Rate Monitoring Devices

    Full text link
    Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal has been widely used to detect the heart rate of the human, and it is useful in cardiac pathology. ECG detects several heart diseases of the patients. Wearable technology comes to be conducted as work as the monitoring devices to get the ECG signal directly from the patients. However, the movement of the patients will cause noises which interfere the result of the ECG. To overcome this problem, the digital filter is proposed to be designed and used in getting an accurate ECG signal. The filtering ECG results give likely in analysing the heart disease.The structures and the coefficients of the digital filters are designed using Filter Design & Analysis (FDA) tool in MATLAB. The analysis of magnitude responseis done in two type of the digital filter - the infinite impulse response (IIR) and finite impulse response (FIR). This paper evaluatesthat the FIR digital filter is more stable and better to be used in removing noise from ECG signals

    Transient down-regulation of beta1 integrin subtypes on kidney carcinoma cells is induced by mechanical contact with endothelial cell membranes

    Get PDF
    Adhesion molecules of the integrin beta1 family are thought to be involved in the malignant progression renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Still, it is not clear how they contribute to this process. Since the hematogenous phase of tumour dissemination is the rate-limiting step in the metastatic process, we explored beta1 integrin alterations on several RCC cell lines (A498, Caki1, KTC26) before and after contacting vascular endothelium in a tumour-endothelium (HUVEC) co-culture assay. Notably, alpha2, alpha3 and alpha5 integrins became down-regulated immediately after the tumour cells attached to HUVEC, followed by re-expression shortly thereafter. Integrin down-regulation on RCC cells was caused by direct contact with endothelial cells, since the isolated endothelial membrane fragments but not the cell culture supernatant contributed to the observed effects. Integrin loss was accompanied by a reduced focal adhesion kinase (FAK) expression, FAK activity and diminished binding of tumour cells to matrix proteins. Furthermore, intracellular signalling proteins RCC cells were altered in the presence of HUVEC membrane fragments, in particular 14-3-3 epsilon, ERK2, PKCdelta, PKCepsilon and RACK1, which are involved in regulating tumour cell motility. We, therefore, speculate that contact of RCC cells with the vascular endothelium converts integrin-dependent adhesion to integrin-independent cell movement. The process of dynamic integrin regulation may be an important part in tumour cell migration strategy, switching the cells from being adhesive to becoming motile and invasive

    Restructuring of supported Pd by green solvents: an operando Quick EXAFS (QEXAFS) study and implications for the derivation of structure-function relationships in Pd catalysis

    No full text
    Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is commonly used as an ex-situ technique to determine structural changes by comparing images of catalyst particles before and after a reaction. This requires the use of an alcoholic solvent to disperse the particles on a grid. In this work, we will show that Pd catalysts can be transformed during the procedure, by using EXAFS to determine the structure of Pd catalysts in different environments (as dry or wet samples). Supported palladium nanoparticles exposed to aqueous ethanolic solution (50% w/v) are transformed to a common, reduced, and hydrogen-contaminated state, irrespective of their initial habit or support. Catalysts comprised of nanosize PdO are reduced at ca. 350 K, whereas samples comprised of very small (ca. ≤ 10 atoms) Pd particles react with the solvent at just above room temperature and agglomerating with considerable loss of dispersion. As such any potential benefits to catalysis sought through the synthesis of very highly dispersed metallic Pd supported upon a range of inorganic dispersants will be rapidly erased through the action of such solvents

    Malaria: how useful are clinical criteria for improving the diagnosis in a highly endemic area?

    Get PDF
    To assess the validity of clinical criteria, we investigated 2096 outpatients diagnosed as malaria cases by nurses at a rural health subcentre in a highly endemic area of Papua New Guinea. 73% of the children < 10 years old had a positive blood slide for any species of Plasmodium and 32% had ⩾ 10 000 P. falciparum parasites per μL. For adults the frequencies were 51% and 9%, respectively. Stepwise logistic regression identified spleen size, no cough, temperature, no chest indrawing, and normal stools as significant predictors for a positive blood slide in children; no cough and normal stools predicted a positive blood slide in adults. Fever, no cough, vomiting, and enlarged spleen were significant predictors for a P. falciparum parasitaemia ⩾ 10 000/μL in children; in adults the only predictor was vomiting. In children the association of no cough and enlarged spleen had the best predictive value for a positive blood slide, and a temperature ⩾ 38 °C had the best predictive value for a P. falciparum parasitaemia ⩾ 10 000 μL. In adults, no major symptom had a good predictive value for a positive blood slide but vomiting had the best predictive value for a P. falciparum parasitaemia ⩾ 10 000/μL. When microscopy is not available, these findings can help in areas of high endemicity to determine which patients with a history of fever are most likely to have malaria and, more importantly, for which patients another diagnosis should be strongly considere

    Effect of retained chlorine in ENCAT™ 30 catalysts on the development of encapsulated Pd: insights from in situ Pd K, L₃ and Cl K-edge XAS

    Get PDF
    In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Pd K, LIII, and Cl K-edges shows that Cl can be present in significant amounts in ENCATâ„¢ 30 catalysts and that it can severely retard Pd nanoparticle (NP) development in flowing solvents. We also show that whilst polymeric encapsulation protects the Pd against solvent induced agglomeration of Pd nanoparticles the evidence suggests it does not prevent the formation PdHx through reaction with the aqeous ethanol solvent, and that, as received, ENCATâ„¢ 30 NP catalysts are not, for the most part, comprised of nanoparticulate Pd0 irrespective of the presence of Cl

    Relationships between Plasmodium falciparum infection and morbidity in a highly endemic area

    Get PDF
    A total of 736 outpatients diagnosed as having malaria using clinical criteria at a health centre in a highly endemic area of Papua New Guinea were investigated parasitologically. Plasmodium falciparum-attributable fractions were determined using a logistic regression model to compare parasite densities in cases with those of healthy individuals in community surveys. Thirty-seven percent of presumptive cases were found to have raised P. falciparum parasitaemia. This corresponds to an average reporting rate for the population of 0·53 attributable episodes per annum. Whilst the maximum prevalence of parasitaemia in the community was in children aged 5-9 years, the maximum age-specific incidence of attributable cases at the outpatient clinic was 2 cases per annum in the 2- to 4-year-old age group. The procedure for estimating attributable fractions makes it possible to compare morbidity rates between age groups, and to examine how the relationship between morbidity risk and parasite density changes with age, without diagnosing individual episodes. The average tolerance of parasites in an age group was measured by considering the level of parasitaemia associated with a given risk of malaria-attributable morbidity. In contrast to anti-parasite immunity, tolerance of parasites declines with age since at parasite isodensity the probability of being symptomatic increases with ag

    Efficient Surveillance of Plasmodium knowlesi Genetic Subpopulations, Malaysian Borneo, 2000-2018.

    Get PDF
    Population genetic analysis revealed that Plasmodium knowlesi infections in Malaysian Borneo are caused by 2 divergent parasites associated with long-tailed (cluster 1) and pig-tailed (cluster 2) macaques. Because the transmission ecology is likely to differ for each macaque species, we developed a simple genotyping PCR to efficiently distinguish between and survey the 2 parasite subpopulations. This assay confirmed differences in the relative proportions in areas of Kapit division of Sarawak state, consistent with multilocus microsatellite analyses. Analyses of 1,204 human infections at Kapit Hospital showed that cluster 1 caused approximately two thirds of cases with no significant temporal changes from 2000 to 2018. We observed an apparent increase in overall numbers in the most recent 2 years studied, driven mainly by increased cluster 1 parasite infections. Continued monitoring of the frequency of different parasite subpopulations and correlation with environmental alterations are necessary to determine whether the epidemiology will change substantially

    Global Trends in the Use of Insecticides to Control Vector-Borne Diseases

    Get PDF
    Background: Data on insecticide use for vector control are essential for guiding pesticide management systems on judicious and appropriate use, resistance management, and reduction of risks to human health and the environment

    Structure and bonding of [(SIPr)AgX] (X = Cl, Br, i and OTf)

    Get PDF
    © 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry.A series of iso-structural complexes [(SIPr)AgX] (X = Cl, Br, I, OTf; SIPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolidene) were synthesised, including the first example of a N-heterocyclic carbene silver(i) complex containing an O-bound triflate. Bond Energy Dissociation and Natural Orbitals for Chemical Valence bond analyses (BEDA & ETS-NOCV) revealing a significant NHC → M σ-back-donation, which influences the stability and sigma-donicity of these complexes.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex
    • …
    corecore