Algorithm for the classification of multi-modulating signals on the electrocardiogram

This article discusses the algorithm to measure electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration simultaneously and to have the diagnostic potentiality for sleep apnoea from ECG recordings. The algorithm is composed by the combination with the three particular scale transform of a(j)(t), u(j)(t), o(j)(a(j)) and the statistical Fourier transform (SFT). Time and magnitude scale transforms of a(j)(t), u(j)(t) change the source into the periodic signal and τ(j) = o(j)(a(j)) confines its harmonics into a few instantaneous components at τ(j) being a common instant on two scales between t and τ(j). As a result, the multi-modulating source is decomposed by the SFT and is reconstructed into ECG, respiration and the other signals by inverse transform. The algorithm is expected to get the partial ventilation and the heart rate variability from scale transforms among a(j)(t), a(j+1)(t) and u(j+1)(t) joining with each modulation. The algorithm has a high potentiality of the clinical checkup for the diagnosis of sleep apnoea from ECG recordings

Effects on musculoskeletal pain, work ability and sickness absence in a 1-year randomised controlled trial among cleaners

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Only a few workplace initiatives among cleaners have been reported, even though they constitute a job group in great need of health promotion. The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the effect of either physical coordination training or cognitive behavioural training on musculoskeletal pain, work ability and sickness absence among cleaners.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cluster-randomised controlled trial was conducted among 294 female cleaners allocated to either physical coordination training (PCT), cognitive behavioural training (CBTr) or a reference group (REF). Questionnaires about musculoskeletal pain and work ability were completed at baseline and after one year's intervention. Sickness absence data were obtained from the managers' records. Analyses were performed according to the intention-to-treat-principle (ITT).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No overall reduction in musculoskeletal pain, work ability or sickness absence from either PCT or CBTr compared with REF was found in conservative ITT analyses. However, explorative analyses revealed a treatment effect for musculoskeletal pain of the PCT. People with chronic neck/shoulder pain at baseline were more frequently non-chronic at follow-up after PCT compared with REF (p = 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The PCT intervention appeared effective for reducing chronic neck/shoulder pain among the female cleaners. It is recommended that future interventions among similar high-risk job groups focus on the implementation aspects of the interventions to maximise outcomes more distal from the intervention such as work ability and sickness absence.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN: <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN96241850">ISRCTN96241850</a></p

Neural correlates of enhanced visual short-term memory for angry faces: An fMRI study

Copyright: © 2008 Jackson et al.Background: Fluid and effective social communication requires that both face identity and emotional expression information are encoded and maintained in visual short-term memory (VSTM) to enable a coherent, ongoing picture of the world and its players. This appears to be of particular evolutionary importance when confronted with potentially threatening displays of emotion - previous research has shown better VSTM for angry versus happy or neutral face identities.Methodology/Principal Findings: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, here we investigated the neural correlates of this angry face benefit in VSTM. Participants were shown between one and four to-be-remembered angry, happy, or neutral faces, and after a short retention delay they stated whether a single probe face had been present or not in the previous display. All faces in any one display expressed the same emotion, and the task required memory for face identity. We find enhanced VSTM for angry face identities and describe the right hemisphere brain network underpinning this effect, which involves the globus pallidus, superior temporal sulcus, and frontal lobe. Increased activity in the globus pallidus was significantly correlated with the angry benefit in VSTM. Areas modulated by emotion were distinct from those modulated by memory load.Conclusions/Significance: Our results provide evidence for a key role of the basal ganglia as an interface between emotion and cognition, supported by a frontal, temporal, and occipital network.The authors were supported by a Wellcome Trust grant (grant number 077185/Z/05/Z) and by BBSRC (UK) grant BBS/B/16178

Diversity, structure and sources of bacterial communities in earthworm cocoons.

Animals start interactions with the bacteria that will constitute their microbiomes at embryonic stage. After mating, earthworms produce cocoons externally which will be colonized with bacteria from their parents and the environment. Due to the key role bacterial symbionts play on earthworm fitness, it is important to study bacterial colonization during cocoon formation. Here we describe the cocoon microbiome of the earthworms Eisenia andrei and E. fetida, which included 275 and 176 bacterial species, respectively. They were dominated by three vertically-transmitted symbionts, Microbacteriaceae, Verminephrobacter and Ca. Nephrothrix, which accounted for 88% and 66% of the sequences respectively. Verminephrobacter and Ca. Nephrothrix showed a high rate of sequence variation, suggesting that they could be biparentally acquired during mating. The other bacterial species inhabiting the cocoons came from the bedding, where they accounted for a small fraction of the diversity (27% and 7% of bacterial species for E. andrei and E. fetida bedding). Hence, earthworm cocoon microbiome includes a large fraction of the vertically-transmitted symbionts and a minor fraction, but more diverse, horizontally and non-randomly acquired from the environment. These data suggest that horizontally-transmitted bacteria to cocoons may play an important role in the adaptation of earthworms to new environments or diets

Prevalence of Disorders Recorded in Dogs Attending Primary-Care Veterinary Practices in England

Purebred dog health is thought to be compromised by an increasing occurence of inherited diseases but inadequate prevalence data on common disorders have hampered efforts to prioritise health reforms. Analysis of primary veterinary practice clinical data has been proposed for reliable estimation of disorder prevalence in dogs. Electronic patient record (EPR) data were collected on 148,741 dogs attending 93 clinics across central and south-eastern England. Analysis in detail of a random sample of EPRs relating to 3,884 dogs from 89 clinics identified the most frequently recorded disorders as otitis externa (prevalence 10.2%, 95% CI: 9.1-11.3), periodontal disease (9.3%, 95% CI: 8.3-10.3) and anal sac impaction (7.1%, 95% CI: 6.1-8.1). Using syndromic classification, the most prevalent body location affected was the head-and-neck (32.8%, 95% CI: 30.7-34.9), the most prevalent organ system affected was the integument (36.3%, 95% CI: 33.9-38.6) and the most prevalent pathophysiologic process diagnosed was inflammation (32.1%, 95% CI: 29.8-34.3). Among the twenty most-frequently recorded disorders, purebred dogs had a significantly higher prevalence compared with crossbreds for three: otitis externa (P = 0.001), obesity (P = 0.006) and skin mass lesion (P = 0.033), and popular breeds differed significantly from each other in their prevalence for five: periodontal disease (P = 0.002), overgrown nails (P = 0.004), degenerative joint disease (P = 0.005), obesity (P = 0.001) and lipoma (P = 0.003). These results fill a crucial data gap in disorder prevalence information and assist with disorder prioritisation. The results suggest that, for maximal impact, breeding reforms should target commonly-diagnosed complex disorders that are amenable to genetic improvement and should place special focus on at-risk breeds. Future studies evaluating disorder severity and duration will augment the usefulness of the disorder prevalence information reported herein

The management of patients with primary chronic anal fissure: a position paper

Anal fissure is one of the most common and painful proctologic diseases. Its treatment has long been discussed and several different therapeutic options have been proposed. In the last decades, the understanding of its pathophysiology has led to a progressive reduction of invasive and potentially invalidating treatments in favor of conservative treatment based on anal sphincter muscle relaxation. Despite some systematic reviews and an American position statement, there is ongoing debate about the best treatment for anal fissure. This review is aimed at identifying the best treatment option drawing on evidence-based medicine and on the expert advice of 6 colorectal surgeons with extensive experience in this field in order to produce an Italian position statement for anal fissures. While there is little chance of a cure with conservative behavioral therapy, medical treatment with calcium channel blockers, diltiazem and nifepidine or glyceryl trinitrate, had a considerable success rate ranging from 50 to 90%. Use of 0.4% glyceryl trinitrate in standardized fashion seems to have the best results despite a higher percentage of headache, while the use of botulinum toxin had inconsistent results. Nonresponding patients should undergo lateral internal sphincterotomy. The risk of incontinence after this procedure seems to have been overemphasized in the past. Only a carefully selected group of patients, without anal hypertonia, could benefit from anoplasty

An Automated Method to Quantify Microglia Morphology and Application to Monitor Activation State Longitudinally In Vivo

Microglia are specialized immune cells of the brain. Upon insult, microglia initiate a cascade of cellular responses including a characteristic change in cell morphology. To study the dynamics of microglia immune response in situ, we developed an automated image analysis method that enables the quantitative assessment of microglia activation state within tissue based solely on cell morphology. Per cell morphometric analysis of fluorescently labeled microglia is achieved through local iterative threshold segmentation, which reduces errors caused by signal-to-noise variation across large volumes. We demonstrate, utilizing systemic application of lipopolysaccharide as a model of immune challenge, that several morphological parameters, including cell perimeter length, cell roundness and soma size, quantitatively distinguish resting versus activated populations of microglia within tissue comparable to traditional immunohistochemistry methods. Furthermore, we provide proof-of-concept data that monitoring soma size enables the longitudinal assessment of microglia activation in the mouse neocortex imaged via 2-photon in vivo microscopy. The ability to quantify microglia activation automatically by shape alone allows unbiased and rapid analysis of both fixed and in vivo central nervous system tissue

Periodic eclipses of the young star PDS 110 discovered with WASP and KELT photometry

We report the discovery of eclipses by circumstellar disc material associated with the young star PDS 110 in the Ori OB1a association using the SuperWASP and Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope surveys. PDS 110 (HD 290380, IRAS 05209-0107) is a rare Fe/Ge-type star, an similar to 10 Myr-old accreting intermediate-mass star showing strong infrared excess (L-IR/L-bol similar or equal to 0.25). Two extremely similar eclipses with a depth of 30 per cent and duration similar to 25 d were observed in 2008 November and 2011 January. We interpret the eclipses as caused by the same structure with an orbital period of 808 +/- 2 d. Shearing over a single orbit rules out diffuse dust clumps as the cause, favouring the hypothesis of a companion at similar to 2 au. The characteristics of the eclipses are consistent with transits by an unseen low-mass (1.8-70M(Jup)) planet or brown dwarf with a circumsecondary disc of diameter similar to 0.3 au. The next eclipse event is predicted to take place in 2017 September and could be monitored by amateur and professional observatories across the world

Discal attachments of the human temporomandibular joint

The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association (8th Jan 2007). An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Background: Despite its clinical significance, the anatomy of the human temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and its relationship to the lateral pterygoid muscle remains poorly described and often misrepresented in standard texts. The aim of this study was to describe how the anterior and posterior attachments of the TMJ disc vary between lateral, central and medial regions of the joint. Methods: Ten left TMJs were removed en bloc from cadavers and serial sections were made at 3-4mm intervals. Observations were made to ascertain the anterior and posterior attachments of the disc and the joint structures were traced from standardized photographs. Results: Laterally, the capsule and lateral discal ligament merged prior to their attachment at the condylar pole. Medially, muscle fibres, capsule and the disc converged on the medial pole of the condyle. There was no evidence that fibres of the upper head of the lateral pterygoid muscle inserted directly into the disc. The upper head inserted into the condyle either directly at the pterygoid fovea or via a central tendon or indirectly via the capsule. Posteriorly, the superior part of the posterior attachment of the disc attached to the cartilaginous meatus and tympanic part of the temporal bone. The inferior part of the posterior attachment of the disc attached to the posterior surface of the condyle. In four joints, this attachment was folded beneath the posterior band of the disc, creating a wedge-shaped flap that ran medio-laterally. Conclusion: This study is in broad agreement with other anatomical TMJ studies but there are two main points of difference. Firstly, a true muscle insertion of the superior head of the lateral pterygoid muscle to the disc was not observed. Secondly, a wedge-shaped flap of retrodiscal tissue was identified between the condyle and the disc.JE Christo, S Bennett, TM Wilkinson and GC Townsen