Miniaturized and Wearable Electrocardiogram (ECG) Device with Wireless Transmission

ECG Holter is a device used to acquire and monitor the user heart rhythm. However, it is available only in a major healthcare facility as it is very costly. The objective of this work is to develop a portable ECG monitoring device with wireless transmission for early arrhythmia detection and personal monitoring. The heart of the device is based on Atmel ATmega328p processor, which acquires user ECG data through Analog Devices AD8232 ECG analog front-end chip. Data captured is stored offline in memory card before it is transmitted wirelessly to a cloud server for analysis purpose. Experiments indicate that the device able to sample the ECG data up to 1000 samples per second and Wi-Fi based transmission serves the best for data transfer to the cloud server. User and physician can easily access the data for viewing and analysis, eliminating the needs for users to travel to the hospital for ECG acquisition

Titanium dioxide-based picoseconds pulsed fiber laser performances comparison in the 1.5-micron region

We demonstrated and compared picoseconds pulsed fiber lasers based on Titanium dioxide based saturable absorbers (SAs); 20 cm long Titanium dioxide-doped fiber (TiO2DF) and Titanium dioxide PVA film (TiO2PF) in the 1.5-micron region. The laser cavity utilized 2.4 m long Erbium-doped fiber (EDF) as the gain medium. A self-starting pulsed laser with a consistent repetition rate of ∼1 MHz emerged stably with the incorporation of TiO2 based SAs. The TiO2DF SA produced 9.74 ps pulsed laser at a central wavelength of 1553 nm within a pump power range of 106-142 mW. The fiber SA promoted slightly higher slope efficiency and maximum pulse energy of 13.17 and 8.56 nJ, respectively in comparison with the film SA. On the other hand, the TiO2PF SA generated stable 3.89 ps pulsed laser at an operating wavelength of 1560 nm within 86-142 mW pump power range. The film SA also produced slightly greater maximum output power of 12.17 mW and maximum peak power of 3.43 kW, respectively at the maximum pump power. The results confirmed that both TiO2 SAs can be good alternative pulse modulator in the 1.5-micron region

Design of biped hip simulator using SolidWorks

The increasing number of people who underwent both hip implant surgery based on World Health Organization (WHO) has received massive attention from researchers lately to develop various types of hip simulators in order to test the hip implant. Various number of hip simulator have been developed with different functions and capabilities. This paper presents the design development of biped hip simulator using SolidWorks software by taking into consideration some improvement and modifications. The finite element method is used to test the design whether it is safe to be used or not. The biped hip simulator has been successfully designed and ready to be fabricated as the endurance testing shown a positive results. The von Mises stress induced in the material is an alloy steel which is 2,975,862.3 N/m2 lower than the yield strength. Thus, the design is safe to be used as it obey the safety criterion

Effective Field Theories and Inflation

We investigate the possible influence of very-high-energy physics on inflationary predictions focussing on whether effective field theories can allow effects which are parametrically larger than order H^2/M^2, where M is the scale of heavy physics and H is the Hubble scale at horizon exit. By investigating supersymmetric hybrid inflation models, we show that decoupling does not preclude heavy-physics having effects for the CMB with observable size even if H^2/M^2 << O(1%), although their presence can only be inferred from observations given some a priori assumptions about the inflationary mechanism. Our analysis differs from the results of hep-th/0210233, in which other kinds of heavy-physics effects were found which could alter inflationary predictions for CMB fluctuations, inasmuch as the heavy-physics can be integrated out here to produce an effective field theory description of low-energy physics. We argue, as in hep-th/0210233, that the potential presence of heavy-physics effects in the CMB does not alter the predictions of inflation for generic models, but does make the search for deviations from standard predictions worthwhile.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, no figures, uses JHEP

The tropical managed forests observatory: a research network addressing the future of tropical logged forests.

While attention on logging in the tropics has been increasing, studies on the long-term effects of silviculture on forest dynamics and ecology remain scare and spatially limited. Indeed, most of our knowledge on tropical forests arises from studies carried out in undisturbed tropical forests. This biasis problematic given that logged and disturbed tropical forests are now covering a larger area thantheso-alled primary forests. A new network of permanent sample plots in logged forests, the Tropical managed Forests Observatory (TmFO), aims to ?ll this gap by providing unprecedented opportunities to examine long-term data on the resilience of logged tropical forests at regional and global scales. TmFO currently includes 24 experimental sites distributed across three tropical regions, with a total of 490 permanent plots and 921 ha of forest inventories

Farmer attitudes and livestock disease: exploring citizenship behaviour and peer monitoring across two BVD control schemes in the UK

The eradication of BVD in the UK is technically possible but appears to be socially untenable. The following study explored farmer attitudes to BVD control schemes in relation to advice networks and information sharing, shared aims and goals, motivation and benefits of membership, notions of BVD as a priority disease and attitudes toward regulation. Two concepts from the organisational management literature framed the study: citizenship behaviour where actions of individuals support the collective good (but are not explicitly recognised as such) and peer to peer monitoring (where individuals evaluate other’s behaviour). Farmers from two BVD control schemes in the UK participated in the study: Orkney Livestock Association BVD Eradication Scheme and Norfolk and Suffolk Cattle Breeders Association BVD Eradication Scheme. In total 162 farmers participated in the research (109 in-scheme and 53 out of scheme). The findings revealed that group helping and information sharing among scheme members was low with a positive BVD status subject to social censure. Peer monitoring in the form of gossip with regard to the animal health status of other farms was high. Interestingly, farmers across both schemes supported greater regulation with regard to animal health, largely due to the mistrust of fellow farmers following voluntary disease control measures. While group cohesiveness varied across the two schemes, without continued financial inducements, longer-term sustainability is questionabl

The Melbourne epidemic thunderstorm asthma event 2016: an investigation of environmental triggers, effect on health services, and patient risk factors.

BACKGROUND: A multidisciplinary collaboration investigated the world's largest, most catastrophic epidemic thunderstorm asthma event that took place in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov 21, 2016, to inform mechanisms and preventive strategies. METHODS: Meteorological and airborne pollen data, satellite-derived vegetation index, ambulance callouts, emergency department presentations, and data on hospital admissions for Nov 21, 2016, as well as leading up to and following the event were collected between Nov 21, 2016, and March 31, 2017, and analysed. We contacted patients who presented during the epidemic thunderstorm asthma event at eight metropolitan health services (each including up to three hospitals) via telephone questionnaire to determine patient characteristics, and investigated outcomes of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. FINDINGS: Grass pollen concentrations on Nov 21, 2016, were extremely high (>100 grains/m3). At 1800 AEDT, a gust front crossed Melbourne, plunging temperatures 10°C, raising humidity above 70%, and concentrating particulate matter. Within 30 h, there were 3365 (672%) excess respiratory-related presentations to emergency departments, and 476 (992%) excess asthma-related admissions to hospital, especially individuals of Indian or Sri Lankan birth (10% vs 1%, p<0·0001) and south-east Asian birth (8% vs 1%, p<0·0001) compared with previous 3 years. Questionnaire data from 1435 (64%) of 2248 emergency department presentations showed a mean age of 32·0 years (SD 18·6), 56% of whom were male. Only 28% had current doctor-diagnosed asthma. 39% of the presentations were of Asian or Indian ethnicity (25% of the Melbourne population were of this ethnicity according to the 2016 census, relative risk [RR] 1·93, 95% CI 1·74-2·15, p <0·0001). Of ten individuals who died, six were Asian or Indian (RR 4·54, 95% CI 1·28-16·09; p=0·01). 35 individuals were admitted to an intensive care unit, all had asthma, 12 took inhaled preventers, and five died. INTERPRETATION: Convergent environmental factors triggered a thunderstorm asthma epidemic of unprecedented magnitude, tempo, and geographical range and severity on Nov 21, 2016, creating a new benchmark for emergency and health service escalation. Asian or Indian ethnicity and current doctor-diagnosed asthma portended life-threatening exacerbations such as those requiring admission to an ICU. Overall, the findings provide important public health lessons applicable to future event forecasting, health care response coordination, protection of at-risk populations, and medical management of epidemic thunderstorm asthma. FUNDING: None

Current status and future development of solvent-based carbon capture

Solvent-based carbon capture is the most commercially-ready technology for economically and sustainably reaching carbon emission reduction targets in the power sector. Globally, the technology has been deployed to deal with flue gases from large scale power plants and different carbon-intensive industries. The success of the technology is due to significant R&D activities on the process development and decades of industrial experience on acid gas removal processes from gaseous mixtures. In this paper, current status of PCC based on chemical absorption—commercial deployment and demonstration projects, analysis of different solvents and process configurations—is reviewed. Although some successes have been recorded in developing this technology, its commercialization has been generally slow as evidenced in the cancellation of high profile projects across the world. This is partly due to the huge cost burden of the technology and unpredictable government policies. Different research directions, namely new process development involving process intensification, new solvent development and a combination of both, are discussed in this paper as possible pathways for reducing the huge cost of the technology

CXCL8 Chemokines in Teleost Fish: Two Lineages with Distinct Expression Profiles during Early Phases of Inflammation

Contains fulltext : 126584.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Impact of primary kidney disease on the effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease: secondary analyses of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial

Background: The EMPA KIDNEY trial showed that empagliflozin reduced the risk of the primary composite outcome of kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease mainly through slowing progression. We aimed to assess how effects of empagliflozin might differ by primary kidney disease across its broad population. Methods: EMPA-KIDNEY, a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial, was conducted at 241 centres in eight countries (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and the USA). Patients were eligible if their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 20 to less than 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or 45 to less than 90 mL/min per 1·73 m2 with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 200 mg/g or higher at screening. They were randomly assigned (1:1) to 10 mg oral empagliflozin once daily or matching placebo. Effects on kidney disease progression (defined as a sustained ≥40% eGFR decline from randomisation, end-stage kidney disease, a sustained eGFR below 10 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or death from kidney failure) were assessed using prespecified Cox models, and eGFR slope analyses used shared parameter models. Subgroup comparisons were performed by including relevant interaction terms in models. EMPA-KIDNEY is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03594110. Findings: Between May 15, 2019, and April 16, 2021, 6609 participants were randomly assigned and followed up for a median of 2·0 years (IQR 1·5–2·4). Prespecified subgroupings by primary kidney disease included 2057 (31·1%) participants with diabetic kidney disease, 1669 (25·3%) with glomerular disease, 1445 (21·9%) with hypertensive or renovascular disease, and 1438 (21·8%) with other or unknown causes. Kidney disease progression occurred in 384 (11·6%) of 3304 patients in the empagliflozin group and 504 (15·2%) of 3305 patients in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·71 [95% CI 0·62–0·81]), with no evidence that the relative effect size varied significantly by primary kidney disease (pheterogeneity=0·62). The between-group difference in chronic eGFR slopes (ie, from 2 months to final follow-up) was 1·37 mL/min per 1·73 m2 per year (95% CI 1·16–1·59), representing a 50% (42–58) reduction in the rate of chronic eGFR decline. This relative effect of empagliflozin on chronic eGFR slope was similar in analyses by different primary kidney diseases, including in explorations by type of glomerular disease and diabetes (p values for heterogeneity all &gt;0·1). Interpretation: In a broad range of patients with chronic kidney disease at risk of progression, including a wide range of non-diabetic causes of chronic kidney disease, empagliflozin reduced risk of kidney disease progression. Relative effect sizes were broadly similar irrespective of the cause of primary kidney disease, suggesting that SGLT2 inhibitors should be part of a standard of care to minimise risk of kidney failure in chronic kidney disease. Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, and UK Medical Research Council