PPG-based Heart Rate Estimation with Efficient Sensor Sampling and Learning Models

Recent studies showed that Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors embedded in wearable devices can estimate heart rate (HR) with high accuracy. However, despite of prior research efforts, applying PPG sensor based HR estimation to embedded devices still faces challenges due to the energy-intensive high-frequency PPG sampling and the resource-intensive machine-learning models. In this work, we aim to explore HR estimation techniques that are more suitable for lower-power and resource-constrained embedded devices. More specifically, we seek to design techniques that could provide high-accuracy HR estimation with low-frequency PPG sampling, small model size, and fast inference time. First, we show that by combining signal processing and ML, it is possible to reduce the PPG sampling frequency from 125 Hz to only 25 Hz while providing higher HR estimation accuracy. This combination also helps to reduce the ML model feature size, leading to smaller models. Additionally, we present a comprehensive analysis on different ML models and feature sizes to compare their accuracy, model size, and inference time. The models explored include Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), Support vector machines (SVM), and Multi-layer perceptron (MLP). Experiments were conducted using both a widely-utilized dataset and our self-collected dataset. The experimental results show that our method by combining signal processing and ML had only 5% error for HR estimation using low-frequency PPG data. Moreover, our analysis showed that DT models with 10 to 20 input features usually have good accuracy, while are several magnitude smaller in model sizes and faster in inference time

The presence of autoantibodies is associated with improved overall survival in lung cancer patients

ObjectiveAutoantibodies have been reported to be associated with cancers. As a biomarker, autoantibodies have been widely used in the early screening of lung cancer. However, the correlation between autoantibodies and the prognosis of lung cancer patients is poorly understood, especially in the Asian population. This retrospective study investigated the association between the presence of autoantibodies and outcomes in patients with lung cancer.MethodsA total of 264 patients diagnosed with lung cancer were tested for autoantibodies in Henan Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2017 to June 2022. The general clinical data of these patients were collected, and after screening out those who met the exclusion criteria, 151 patients were finally included in the study. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze the effect of autoantibodies on the outcomes of patients with lung cancer. The Kaplan-Meier curve was used to analyze the relationship between autoantibodies and the overall survival of patients with lung cancer.ResultsCompared to lung cancer patients without autoantibodies, those with autoantibodies had an associated reduced risk of death (HRs: 0.45, 95% CIs 0.27~0.77), independent of gender, age, smoking history, pathological type, and pathological stage of lung cancer. Additionally, the association was found to be more significant by subgroup analysis in male patients, younger patients, and patients with small cell lung cancer. Furthermore, lung cancer patients with autoantibodies had significantly longer survival time than those without autoantibodies.ConclusionThe presence of autoantibodies is an independent indicator of good prognosis in patients with lung cancer, providing a new biomarker for prognostic evaluation in patients with lung cancer

Relatório de estágio em farmácia comunitária

Relatório de estágio realizado no âmbito do Mestrado Integrado em Ciências Farmacêuticas, apresentado à Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbr

Tissue Regeneration with Gelatine/Polysaccharide Derived Hydrogel Scaffolds: From Formulation to In Vivo Efficacy

Combinations of different biomaterials with certain formulations may lead to improved properties and have significant potential for use in tissue regeneration applications. However, previously reported studies comparing biomaterials often suffered from inconsistent processing methods or inadequate comprehensive application research, hindering a comprehension of their efficacy in tissue engineering. This report explores the significance of screening the combination of gelatine with polysaccharide materials, specifically hyaluronic acid (HA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), using the same crosslinking method used for tissue regeneration. Hydrogel scaffolds (Gel/HA and Gel/CMC) at various concentrations were developed and characterized to assess their physiochemical properties. The results demonstrated that the hydrogels exhibited desirable mechanical properties, appropriate swelling behaviour, suitable porosity, and excellent cytocompatibility. In particular, the Gel1HA1 and Gel1CMC1 hydrogels showed remarkable cellular proliferation and aggregation. Further, we performed animal studies and explored the tissue regeneration effects of the Gel1HA1 and Gel1CMC1 hydrogels. Both hydrogels exhibited an accelerated wound closure rate and promoted vessel formation in a rodent full-thickness skin excisional model. Additionally, the subcutaneous implantation model demonstrated the induction of angiogenesis and collagen deposition within the implanted hydrogel samples. Overall, the hydrogels developed in this study demonstrated promising potential for use in the regeneration of soft tissue defects and this study emphasizes the significance of screening biomaterial combinations and formulations for tissue regeneration applications

Pt Nanoparticles Anchored on NH2-MIL-101 with Efficient Peroxidase-Like Activity for Colorimetric Detection of Dopamine

Dopamine (DA) is an important catecholamine neurotransmitter that plays a highly relevant role in regulating the central nervous system, and abnormal DA content can cause many immune-related diseases. Hence, it is of significance to sensitively and specifically identify DA for clinical medicine. In this work, Pt/NH2-MIL-101 hybrid nanozymes with bimetallic catalytic centers were fabricated by forming coordinate bonds between Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) and –NH2 on metal–organic frameworks (MOF). The catalytic activity of Pt/NH2-MIL-101 was increased by 1.5 times via enlarging the exposure of more active sites and improving the activity of the active sites through the strategy of forming bimetallic catalytic centers. In the presence of DA, competing with 3, 3′, 5, 5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) for the generated hydroxyl radicals (•OH), the blue oxidation state TMB (Ox-TMB) is reduced to colorless TMB, showing dramatic color changes. The Pt/NH2-MIL-101-based colorimetric assay enables the sensitive and robust detection of DA molecules with a detection limit of only 0.42 μM and has an observable potential in clinical applications

Turnover behavior and intention among dentists and medical doctors: a cross-sectional study in China

Abstract Background Retention of doctors is a global challenge and doctors working in different departments may face different problems. The study aimed to explore the turnover behavior and intention and correlated factors among Chinese dentists and medical doctors in other clinical fields. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted online in 5 regions of China from March 12th to April 12th, 2020. The questionnaire included 3 parts, socio-demographic characteristics, turnover behavior and intention, and concerns about work-related factors. Chi-square test and/or Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney test were applied for comparison, and binary logistic regression was used for finding the factors. Results A total of 2428 eligible questionnaire were received, comprising 1954 responses from dentists and 474 from medical doctors. Rates of turnover behavior among dentists and medical doctors were 2.87% and 6.96%, respectively. Similarly, rates of turnover intention were 51.79% among dentists and 71.20% among medical doctors. Educational level was negatively correlated with turnover behavior of both medical doctors and dentists, and concern about salary was a unique negatively correlated factor for dentists. Age was negatively correlated with turnover intention in both medical doctors and dentists. Conversely, concerns about workload and doctor-patient relationship were positively correlated with turnover intention in both groups. Concern about salary was the distinct correlated factor of medical doctors’ turnover intention, while gender and annual household income were correlated with turnover intention among dentists. Conclusions Low turnover rate but high turnover intention rate was the current status of Chinese doctors’ employment. Turnover behavior and intention were more optimistic among dentists than medical doctors. Factors related to turnover behavior and turnover intention were not identical among dentists and medical doctors. Therefore, personalized retention measures were necessary for dentists and medical doctors

Preparation and Photocatalysis of Schlumbergera bridgesii-Like CdS Modified One-Dimensional TiO2 Nanowires on Zeolite

In recent years, composite semiconductor photocatalytic materials have received significant attention as a novel type of materials and technical means. So in this work, CdS-modified TiO2 nanowires are fabricated on natural zeolite by simple sol-gel and hydrothermal synthesis method. This novel composite semiconductor photocatalytic material has almost solved the shortcomings of pure TiO2, such as easy cohesion, low utilization rate, and exceedingly weak photocatalytic activities under visible light. The degradation efficiency of methylene blue dye in water is near to 90% with CdS-modified TiO2 nanowires/zeolite composite materials after 60 min under visible light, which indicated its huge potential application in wastewater treatment

Histological Lesions, Cell Cycle Arrest, Apoptosis and T Cell Subsets Changes of Spleen in Chicken Fed Aflatoxin-contaminated Corn

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of corn naturally contaminated with aflatoxin B1 and aflatoxin B2 on pathological lesions, apoptosis, cell cycle phases and T lymphocyte subsets of spleen, and to provide an experimental basis for understanding the mechanism of aflatoxin-induced immunosuppression. A total of 900 COBB500 male broilers were randomly allocated into five groups with six replicates per group and 30 birds per replicate. The experiment lasted for 6 weeks and the five dietary treatments consisted of control, 25% contaminated corn, 50% contaminated corn, 75% contaminated corn and 100% contaminated corn groups. The histopathological spleen lesions from the contaminated corn groups was characterized as congestion of red pulp, increased necrotic cells and vacuoles in the splenic corpuscle and periarterial lymphatic sheath. The contaminated corn intake significantly increased relative weight of spleen, percentages of apoptotic splenocytes, induced cell cycle arrest of splenocytes, increased the percentages of CD3+CD8+ T cells and decreased the ratios of CD3+CD4+ to CD3+CD8+. The results suggest that AFB-induced immunosuppression maybe closely related to the lesions of spleen

Table_1_The presence of autoantibodies is associated with improved overall survival in lung cancer patients.docx

ObjectiveAutoantibodies have been reported to be associated with cancers. As a biomarker, autoantibodies have been widely used in the early screening of lung cancer. However, the correlation between autoantibodies and the prognosis of lung cancer patients is poorly understood, especially in the Asian population. This retrospective study investigated the association between the presence of autoantibodies and outcomes in patients with lung cancer.MethodsA total of 264 patients diagnosed with lung cancer were tested for autoantibodies in Henan Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2017 to June 2022. The general clinical data of these patients were collected, and after screening out those who met the exclusion criteria, 151 patients were finally included in the study. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze the effect of autoantibodies on the outcomes of patients with lung cancer. The Kaplan-Meier curve was used to analyze the relationship between autoantibodies and the overall survival of patients with lung cancer.ResultsCompared to lung cancer patients without autoantibodies, those with autoantibodies had an associated reduced risk of death (HRs: 0.45, 95% CIs 0.27~0.77), independent of gender, age, smoking history, pathological type, and pathological stage of lung cancer. Additionally, the association was found to be more significant by subgroup analysis in male patients, younger patients, and patients with small cell lung cancer. Furthermore, lung cancer patients with autoantibodies had significantly longer survival time than those without autoantibodies.ConclusionThe presence of autoantibodies is an independent indicator of good prognosis in patients with lung cancer, providing a new biomarker for prognostic evaluation in patients with lung cancer.</p