Establishing the Validity and Reliability of the Astroskin® Biometric Shirt

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 5: Issue 1, Article 4, 2024. Biometric garments such as the Astroskin® biometric shirt (Carre Technologies, Montreal, PQ) may be useful for non-invasively monitoring human physiology in a number of applied settings. The Astroskin® biometric shirt measures and records continuous heart rate (HR), blood oxygenation (SPO2), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and respiratory rate (RR). The aim of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of the Astroskin® biometric shirt. This was achieved through comparing the Astroskin® with a commercially available hospital-grade cardiac monitor, the corpuls3® (Stemple GmbH, Kaufering, Germany) for the following variables: HR, SBP and SPO2. A convenience sample of 24 participants were recruited to participate in two separate data collection sessions. Five did not participate in the second data collection session. Participants were monitored using the Astroskin® while instrumented with the corpuls3® monitor. For both sessions, data were recorded at approximately 1.5-minute intervals over a 22-minute period while the participant was seated comfortably in a chair. Validity of the Astroskin® was assessed by examining mean average percentage error (MAPE) and Lin’s Concordance Correlation Coefficient against pre-established criteria, while Bland-Altman plots showed agreement between the two tools. Reliability between the two sessions was compared using intra-class correlations. The Astroskin® was shown to be extremely valid for HR and performed well for BP and the two systems showed comparable reliability over time. With SPO2 the MAPE and bias were good, but concordance was low, and the Astroskin® was not as reliable as the corpuls3®. Results indicated that the Astroskin® biometric shirt was a valid instrument compared to the corpuls3® monitor utilising participants in a sedentary setting. More research is recommended for the Astroskin® in a variety of applied settings to confirm its validity

Large-scale phenotyping of patients with long COVID post-hospitalization reveals mechanistic subtypes of disease

One in ten severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections result in prolonged symptoms termed long coronavirus disease (COVID), yet disease phenotypes and mechanisms are poorly understood1. Here we profiled 368 plasma proteins in 657 participants ≥3 months following hospitalization. Of these, 426 had at least one long COVID symptom and 233 had fully recovered. Elevated markers of myeloid inflammation and complement activation were associated with long COVID. IL-1R2, MATN2 and COLEC12 were associated with cardiorespiratory symptoms, fatigue and anxiety/depression; MATN2, CSF3 and C1QA were elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms and C1QA was elevated in cognitive impairment. Additional markers of alterations in nerve tissue repair (SPON-1 and NFASC) were elevated in those with cognitive impairment and SCG3, suggestive of brain–gut axis disturbance, was elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) was persistently elevated in some individuals with long COVID, but virus was not detected in sputum. Analysis of inflammatory markers in nasal fluids showed no association with symptoms. Our study aimed to understand inflammatory processes that underlie long COVID and was not designed for biomarker discovery. Our findings suggest that specific inflammatory pathways related to tissue damage are implicated in subtypes of long COVID, which might be targeted in future therapeutic trials

Delayed mucosal anti-viral responses despite robust peripheral inflammation in fatal COVID-19

Background While inflammatory and immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection in peripheral blood are extensively described, responses at the upper respiratory mucosal site of initial infection are relatively poorly defined. We sought to identify mucosal cytokine/chemokine signatures that distinguished COVID-19 severity categories, and relate these to disease progression and peripheral inflammation. Methods We measured 35 cytokines and chemokines in nasal samples from 274 patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Analysis considered the timing of sampling during disease, as either the early (0-5 days post-symptom onset) or late (6-20 days post-symptom onset). Results Patients that survived severe COVID-19 showed IFN-dominated mucosal immune responses (IFN-γ, CXCL10 and CXCL13) early in infection. These early mucosal responses were absent in patients that would progress to fatal disease despite equivalent SARS-CoV-2 viral load. Mucosal inflammation in later disease was dominated by IL-2, IL-10, IFN-γ, and IL-12p70, which scaled with severity but did not differentiate patients who would survive or succumb to disease. Cytokines and chemokines in the mucosa showed distinctions from responses evident in the peripheral blood, particularly during fatal disease. Conclusions Defective early mucosal anti-viral responses anticipate fatal COVID-19 but are not associated with viral load. Early mucosal immune responses may define the trajectory of severe COVID-19

NMR spectroscopic and chemometric studies on the biochemical effects of mercury in small mammals

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Metabolic profile biomarkers of metal contamination in a sentinel terrestrial species are applicable across multiple sites

In this study, we addressed the question of whether an omic approach could genuinely be useful for biomarker profile analysis across different field sites with different physicochemical characteristics. We collected earthworms (Lumbricus rubellus) from seven sites with very different levels of metal contamination and prevailing soil type and analyzed tissue extracts by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Pattern recognition analysis of the data showed that both site- and contaminant-specific effects on the metabolic profiles could be discerned. Zinc was identified as the probable major contaminant causing a metabolic change in the earthworms. Individual sites could be resolved on the basis of NMR spectral profiles by principal component analysis; these site differences may also have been caused by additional abiotic factors such as soil pH. Despite an inevitable degree of confounding between site and contaminant concentrations, it was possible to identify metabolites which were correlated with zinc across all different sites. This study therefore acts as a proof of principle for the use of NMR-based metabolic profiling as a diagnostic tool for ecotoxicological research in polluted field soils

Serum molecular signatures of weight change during early breast cancer chemotherapy

Weight gain in women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer is associated with a higher risk of recurrence but its mechanisms are poorly understood

'Systems toxicology' approach identifies coordinated metabolic responses to copper in a terrestrial non-model invertebrate, the earthworm -7

(that is, smallest points represent 0 mg/kg copper, largest points represent 480 mg/kg copper). Colour scale represents weight change (%), data taken from Spurgeon et al [37].<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "'Systems toxicology' approach identifies coordinated metabolic responses to copper in a terrestrial non-model invertebrate, the earthworm "</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/6/25</p><p>BMC Biology 2008;6():25-25.</p><p>Published online 3 Jun 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2424032.</p><p></p

'Systems toxicology' approach identifies coordinated metabolic responses to copper in a terrestrial non-model invertebrate, the earthworm -1

And for dose group means ± standard deviation (SD); groups are joined in dose order by dashed line. (C) Loadings plot, axes 1 and 2. (D) Loadings plot following varimax rotation, axes 2 and 3. Loadings for individual metabolites are identified by abbreviations given in Table 1.<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "'Systems toxicology' approach identifies coordinated metabolic responses to copper in a terrestrial non-model invertebrate, the earthworm "</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/6/25</p><p>BMC Biology 2008;6():25-25.</p><p>Published online 3 Jun 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2424032.</p><p></p

'Systems toxicology' approach identifies coordinated metabolic responses to copper in a terrestrial non-model invertebrate, the earthworm -10

Nd for dose group means ± standard deviation (SD); groups are joined in dose order by dashed line. (C) Loadings plot, axes 1 and 2. (D) Loadings plot following varimax rotation, axes 2 and 3. Loadings for individual metabolites are identified by abbreviations given in Table 1.<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "'Systems toxicology' approach identifies coordinated metabolic responses to copper in a terrestrial non-model invertebrate, the earthworm "</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/6/25</p><p>BMC Biology 2008;6():25-25.</p><p>Published online 3 Jun 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2424032.</p><p></p