A Review of Atrial Fibrillation Detection Methods as a Service

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a common heart arrhythmia that often goes undetected, and even if it is detected, managing the condition may be challenging. In this paper, we review how the RR interval and Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, incorporated into a monitoring system, can be useful to track AF events. Were such an automated system to be implemented, it could be used to help manage AF and thereby reduce patient morbidity and mortality. The main impetus behind the idea of developing a service is that a greater data volume analyzed can lead to better patient outcomes. Based on the literature review, which we present herein, we introduce the methods that can be used to detect AF efficiently and automatically via the RR interval and ECG signals. A cardiovascular disease monitoring service that incorporates one or multiple of these detection methods could extend event observation to all times, and could therefore become useful to establish any AF occurrence. The development of an automated and efficient method that monitors AF in real time would likely become a key component for meeting public health goals regarding the reduction of fatalities caused by the disease. Yet, at present, significant technological and regulatory obstacles remain, which prevent the development of any proposed system. Establishment of the scientific foundation for monitoring is important to provide effective service to patients and healthcare professionals

Molecular Actuator: Redox-Controlled Clam-Like Motion in a Bichromophoric Electron Donor

The one-electron oxidation of tetramethoxydibenzobicyclo[4.4.1]undecane (4) prompts it to undergo a clam-like electromechanical actuation into a cofacially π-stacked conformer as established by (i) electrochemical analysis, (ii) by the observation of the intense charge-resonance transition in the near IR region in its cation radical spectrum, and (iii) by X-ray crystallographic characterization of the isolated cation radical salt (4+• SbCl6−)

Practical Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Tetraarylethylenes and Their Application for the Preparation of [Triphenylethylene−Spacer−Triphenylethylene] Triads

We have demonstrated that reactions of diphenylmethyllithium with a variety of substituted benzophenones produces corresponding tertiary alcohols that are easily dehydrated, without any need for purification, to produce various unsymmetrical and symmetrical tetraarylethylenes in excellent yields. The simplicity of the method allows for the preparation of a variety of ethylenic derivatives in multigram (10−50 g) quantities with great ease. The methodology was successfully employed for the preparation of various triphenylethylene (TPE)-based triads (i.e., TPE−spacer−TPE) containing polyphenylene and fluoranyl-based spacers. The ready availability of various substituted tetraarylethylenes allowed us to shed light on the effect of substituents on the oxidation potentials (Eox) of various tetraarylethylenes. Moreover, the electronic coupling among the triphenylethylene moieties in various TPE−spacer−TPE triads was briefly probed by electrochemical and optical methods

Simultaneous Ejection of Six Electrons at a Constant Potential by Hexakis(4-ferrocenylphenyl)benzene

A simple synthesis of a dendritic hexaferrocenyl electron donor (5) is described in which six ferrocene moieties are connected at the vertices of the propeller of the hexaphenylbenzene core. The molecular structure of 5 is confirmed by X-ray crystallography. An electrochemical analysis along with redox titrations (which are tantamount to coulometry) confirmed that it ejects six electrons at a single potential

Poly-p-hydroquinone Ethers: Isoenergetic Molecular Wires with Length-Invariant Oxidation Potentials and Cation Radical Excitation Energies

Typical poly-p-phenylene wires are characterized by strong interchromophoric electronic coupling with redox and optical properties being highly length-dependent. Herein we show that an incorporation of a pair of para-methoxy groups at each p-phenylene unit in poly-p-phenylene wires (i.e., PHEn) changes the nodal structure of HOMO that leads to length-invariant oxidation potentials and cation radical excitation energies. As such, PHEn represents a unique class of isoenergetic wires where hole delocalization mainly occurs via dynamic hopping and thus may serve as an efficient medium for long-range charge transfer. Availability of these wires will allow demonstration of long-range electron transfer via incoherent hopping using donor-bridge-acceptor systems with isoenergetic PHEn-based wires as bridges

X-ray Structural Characterization of Charge Delocalization onto the Three Equivalent Benzenoid Rings in Hexamethoxytriptycene Cation Radical

Definitive X-ray crystallographic evidence is obtained for a single hole (or a polaron) to be uniformly distributed on the three equivalent 1,2-dimethoxybenzenoid (or veratrole) rings in the hexamethoxytriptycene cation radical. This conclusion is further supported by electrochemical analysis and by the observation of an intense near-IR transition in its electronic spectrum, as well as by comparison of the spectral and electrochemical characteristics with the model compounds containing one and two dimethoxybenzene rings

On the exponential metric increasing

The metric increasing property of the exponential map is known to be equivalent to the fact that the set of positive definite matrices is a Riemannian manifold of nonpositive curvature. We show that this property is an easy consequence of the logarithmic-geometric mean inequality for positive numbers. Operator versions of this inequality lead to a generalisation of the exponential metric increasing property to all Schatten-von Neumann norms.

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has been plagued with problems over the past two years from an antitrust lawsuit, repercussions from the distributions of funds from the Liberty Fund to the survivors of the World Trade Center disaster, problems with donated blood, a negative report from the Better Business Bureau, and a negative news report on CBS’s ’60 Minutes’.  This case study looks at the history of the Red Cross, provides information about the services provided by the organization, discusses the problems the American Red Cross has encountered over the past 3 years, and introduces Marsha Evans who took the position of CEO in August 2002