1,604 research outputs found
Scaling graphs of heart rate time series in athletes demonstrate the VLF, LF and HF regions
Scaling analysis of heart rate time series has emerged as an useful tool for
assessment of autonomic cardiac control. We investigate the heart rate time
series of ten athletes (five males and five females), by applying detrended
fluctuation analysis (DFA). High resolution ECGs are recorded under
standardized resting conditions over 30 minutes and subsequently heart rate
time series are extracted and artefacts filtered. We find three distinct
regions of scale-invariance, which correspond to the well-known VLF, LF, and HF
bands in the power spectra of heart rate variability. The scaling exponents
alpha are alphaHF: 1.15 [0.96-1.22], alphaLF: 0.68 [0.57-0.84], alphaVLF:
0.83[0.82-0.99]; p<10^-5). In conclusion, DFA scaling exponents of heart rate
time series should be fitted to the VLF, LF, and HF ranges, respectively
Editorial: Current Progress and Challenges in the Development of a B Cell Based Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine
Complete Solving for Explicit Evaluation of Gauss Sums in the Index 2 Case
Let be a prime number, for some positive integer , be a
positive integer such that , and let \k be a primitive
multiplicative character of order over finite field \fq. This paper
studies the problem of explicit evaluation of Gauss sums in "\textsl{index 2
case}" (i.e. f=\f{\p(N)}{2}=[\zn:\pp], where \p(\cd) is Euler function).
Firstly, the classification of the Gauss sums in index 2 case is presented.
Then, the explicit evaluation of Gauss sums G(\k^\la) (1\laN-1) in index 2
case with order being general even integer (i.e. N=2^{r}\cd N_0 where
are positive integers and is odd.) is obtained. Thus, the
problem of explicit evaluation of Gauss sums in index 2 case is completely
solved
Small bowel stomas are associated with higher risk of circulating food-specific-IgG than patients with organic gastrointestinal conditions and colostomies
Objective The effects of food sensitivity can easily be masked by other digestive symptoms in ostomates and are unknown. We investigated food-specific- IgG presence in ostomates relative to participants affected by other digestive diseases.
Design Food-specific- IgG was evaluated for 198 participants with a panel of 109 foods. Immunocompetency status was also tested. Jejunostomates, ileostomates and colostomates were compared with individuals with digestive tract diseases with inflammatory components (periodontitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, duodenitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and appendicitis), as well as food malabsorption due to intolerance. A logistic regression model with covariates was used to estimate the effect of the experimental data and demographic characteristics on the likelihood of the immune response.
Results Jejunostomates and ileostomates had a significant risk of presenting circulating food-specific- IgG in contrast to colostomates (OR 12.70 (p=0.002), 6.19 (p=0.011) and 2.69 (p=0.22), respectively). Crohn’s disease, eosinophilic esophagitis and food malabsorption groups also showed significantly elevated risks (OR 4.67 (p=0.048), 8.16 (p=0.016) and 18.00 (p=0.003), respectively), but not the ulcerative colitis group (OR 2.05 (p=0.36)). Individuals with profoundly or significantly reduced, and mild to moderately reduced, levels of total IgG were protected from the formation of food-specific IgG (OR 0.09 (p=\u3c0.001) and 0.33 (p=0.005), respectively). Males were at higher risk than females.
Conclusion The strength of a subject’s immunocompetence plays a role in the intensity to which the humoral system responds via food-specific- IgG. An element of biogeography emerges in which the maintenance of a colonic space might influence the risk of having circulating food-specific- IgG in ostomates.
Includes supplementary materials
Coherent Optimal Control of Multiphoton Molecular Excitation
We give a framework for molecular multiphoton excitation process induced by
an optimally designed electric field. The molecule is initially prepared in a
coherent superposition state of two of its eigenfunctions. The relative phase
of the two superposed eigenfunctions has been shown to control the optimally
designed electric field which triggers the multiphoton excitation in the
molecule. This brings forth flexibility in desiging the optimal field in the
laboratory by suitably tuning the molecular phase and hence by choosing the
most favorable interfering routes that the system follows to reach the target.
We follow the quantum fluid dynamical formulation for desiging the electric
field with application to HBr molecule.Comment: 5 figure
Threshold Dose for Shrimp: A Risk Characterization Based on Objective Reactions in Clinical Studies
A DBPCFC [double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge] of shrimp-allergic adults was conducted to obtain individual threshold doses. Results of this study and published research were combined and a population threshold for shrimp was determined from dose-distribution modeling. The shrimp-allergic population seems to have a higher threshold compared to other populations for other food allergens. Additional shrimp challenges should be done to confirm these initial results
An optimization of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell isolation for scientific and clinical purposes by the application of a new parameter determining the hematopoietic graft efficacy.
The transplantation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) is an established lifesaving therapy. Bone marrow (BM), harvested from heparinized cadaveric organ donors, peripheral blood (PB) and cord blood (CB), are important sources of hematopoietic stem cells. HSPCs, which are used for transplantation purposes, are routinely evaluated in terms of number of mononuclear cells (MNCs), CD34+ MNCs count and viability. The efficacy of grafting is determined additionally in clonogenic tests in vitro. These tests deliver important information about the number of HSPCs and their proliferative potential. Unfortunately, they do not give a possibility to evaluate the functional HSPC chemotactic reactivity in the SDF-1 gradient, which is probably the key phenomenon for HSPC homing after transplantation procedure. Thus, the aim of our study was to optimize HSPC isolation according to their chemotactic reactivity in SDF-1 gradient. Using multiparameter cell sorter (FACS Aria, BD) we examined the HSPCs attracted by SDF-1 on a single cell level. The population of cells which participated in the chemotactic process was highly enriched in CXCR4+lin-AC133+CD45+ cells (referred as hematopoietic stem cells) and to our surprise in CXCR4+lin-AC133+CD45- cells (referred as pluripotent stem cells) in quantitative amounts. Since reactivity of HSPCs may depend on various factors involved in the protocol of their isolation and short-term storage, we tested the most commonly used anticoagulants (ACD, CPDA-1, EDTA and Heparin) and culture media (DME, IMDM, RPMI). HSPCs, harvested from CB, PB and BM, were subsequently investigated for clonogenic growth of CFU-GM in methylcellulose cultures and for the level of apoptosis by employing annexin V staining. Evaluating clonogenic potential, ability of chemotactic reactivity in SDF-1 gradient and intensification of apoptosis of HSPC as the most safe anticoagulant and medium were selected. This study has proved that chemotactic reactivity of HSPCs is a new but very important parameter which should be included in the procedure of their isolation
Immunization with hepatitis C virus-like particles protects mice from recombinant hepatitis C virus-vaccinia infection
The scientific basis of combination therapy for chronic hepatitis B functional cure
Functional cure of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) — or hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss after 24 weeks off therapy — is now the goal of treatment, but is rarely achieved with current therapy. Understanding the hepatitis B virus (HBV) life cycle and immunological defects that lead to persistence can identify targets for novel therapy. Broadly, treatments fall into three categories: those that reduce viral replication, those that reduce antigen load and immunotherapies. Profound viral suppression alone does not achieve quantitative (q)HBsAg reduction or HBsAg loss. Combining nucleos(t)ide analogues and immunotherapy reduces qHBsAg levels and induces HBsAg loss in some patients, particularly those with low baseline qHBsAg levels. Even agents that are specifically designed to reduce viral antigen load might not be able to achieve sustained HBsAg loss when used alone. Thus, rationale exists for the use of combinations of all three therapy types. Monitoring during therapy is important not just to predict HBsAg loss but also to understand mechanisms of HBsAg loss using viral and immunological biomarkers, and in selected cases intrahepatic sampling. We consider various paths to functional cure of CHB and the need to individualize treatment of this heterogeneous infection until a therapeutic avenue for all patients with CHB is available
Solitary coherent structures in viscoelastic shear flow: computation and mechanism
Starting from stationary bifurcations in Couette-Dean flow, we compute
nontrivial stationary solutions in inertialess viscoelastic circular Couette
flow. These solutions are strongly localized vortex pairs, exist at arbitrarily
large wavelengths, and show hysteresis in the Weissenberg number, similar to
experimentally observed ``diwhirl'' patterns. Based on the computed velocity
and stress fields, we elucidate a heuristic, fully nonlinear mechanism for
these flows. We propose that these localized, fully nonlinear structures
comprise fundamental building blocks for complex spatiotemporal dynamics in the
flow of elastic liquids.Comment: 5 pages text and 4 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letter
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