Performance optimisation through the use of compression garments and biosensors

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.It is well known that exercise-induced muscle damage and the disruption of metabolic processes occur in individuals who are not accustomed to intensive physical activity. Disruption in the muscles’ contractile elements and metabolic processes results in a reduction in sports performance and muscle power output alike. There were three main aims of the current study, and the first aim was to determine whether compression garments (CGs) affected cardiovascular function during exercise of running trainers. The second aim was to establish whether electrocardiogram (ECG) signals are affected by wearing CGs on the recovery phase. The last purpose was to investigate the relationship between brain activity and the application of CGs. Subjects randomly performed the experiments in different garments including compression garments and non-compression garments. ECG and EEG sensor collected the electrical signals based on the electrodes attached to the body. The sensors of ECG-Flex/Pro were used for the collection of cardiovascular signal through lead II position. Besides, the raw EEG signal were collected from the surface of head via O1 position using Flexcomp Infiniti Monitor. Parameters were compared based on paired t-tests. Statistical significance was reported when the p-value was lower than 0.05. As part of the study, participants completed the designed protocols for data collection. In Experiment 1, eight subjects (women, n=3; men, n=5; 25.1 ± 3.8 yrs; 61.4 ± 13.7 kg; 165.9 ± 8.3 cm; 19.6 ± 4.4 kg.m-2) completed a running protocol for ECG collection wearing non-compression garments (NCGs), under-size compression garments (UCGs) and correct-size compression garments (CCGs). Experiment 2 (n=14; 24.7±4.5 years, 166.0±7.6 cm; 60.9±12.0 kg) concentrated on the recovery phase. In Experiment 3, ten subjects (men, n=5; women, n=5; 24.1 ± 4.5 yrs; 58.7 ± 11.0 kg; 163.6 ± 7.7 cm; 21.77 ± 2.63 kg.m-2) completed the tests with electroencephalography (EEG) collection wearing no-compression garments (NCGs) and fitted compression garments (CCGs). Electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were collected using wearable bio-sensors. In Experiment 1, results obtained indicated significant alteration (p < 0.05) in heart rate between both correctly fitted compression garments (CCGs), undersize compression garments (UCGs), and non-compression garments (NCGs). QT intervals (QT), corrected of QT intervals (QTc) was demonstrated significant difference in UCGs compared with NCGs. The results of Experiment 2 indicated a significant difference between CGs and NCGs at the end of the running test and from 90 minutes onwards during the recovery phase (p < 0.05). ECG parameters showed some significant difference in heart rate (HR), ST interval and corrected QT (QTc) interval (p < 0.05). Moreover, there were significant differences in alpha, beta and theta power spectral density between CCGs and NCGs in Experiment 3 (p < 0.05). The findings of this research conclude that the utilization of CGs during exercise produces positive effects on cardiovascular function and brain activity

HEDGE ALGEBRAS, THE SEMANTICS OF VAGUE LINGUISTIC INFORMATION AND APPLICATION PROSPECTIVE

The report aims to show that hedge algebras model actually the proper qualitative semantics of words of linguistic variables based on the argument that the inherent qualitative semantics of words should be expressed through the order relationships, induced by the word semantics, between the words in their respective variable domains, as required by decision making of human daily lives. This makes the hedge algebra based approach to the word semantics quite different from the existing approaches and become the only approach that can immediately deal with the natural qualitative semantics of words. We explain clearly and systematically distinguished features and properties of this approach to show that these seem to make the approach to be sound and ensure its effectiveness in applications. This approach seems to be promising for development of hedge algebra-based method to solve problems in various application fields. For illustration, we will give a short overview of effective results some of the initial applications of hedge algebras in the fields of knowledge based systems and in fuzzy control

The induction and identification of novel Colistin resistance mutations in Acinetobacter baumannii and their implications.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a significant cause of opportunistic hospital acquired infection and has been identified as an important emerging infection due to its high levels of antimicrobial resistance. Multidrug resistant A. baumannii has risen rapidly in Vietnam, where colistin is becoming the drug of last resort for many infections. In this study we generated spontaneous colistin resistant progeny (up to >256 μg/μl) from four colistin susceptible Vietnamese isolates and one susceptible reference strain (MIC <1.5 μg/μl). Whole genome sequencing was used to identify single nucleotide mutations that could be attributed to the reduced colistin susceptibility. We identified six lpxACD and three pmrB mutations, the majority of which were novel. In addition, we identified further mutations in six A. baumannii genes (vacJ, pldA, ttg2C, pheS and conserved hypothetical protein) that we hypothesise have a role in reduced colistin susceptibility. This study has identified additional mutations that may be associated with colistin resistance through novel resistance mechanisms. Our work further demonstrates how rapidly A. baumannii can generate resistance to a last resort antimicrobial and highlights the need for improved surveillance to identified A. baumannii with an extensive drug resistance profile

HEDGE-ALGEBRAS-BASED FUZZY CONTROLLER: APPLICATION TO ACTIVE CONTROL OF A FIFTEEN-STORY BUILDING AGAINST EARTHQUAKE

Active control problem of seism-excited civil structures has attracted considerable attention in recent years. In this paper, conventional, hedge-algebras-based and optimal hedge-algebras-based fuzzy controllers, respectively denoted by FC, HAFC and OHAFC, are designed to suppress vibrations of a structure with active tuned mass damper (ATMD) against earthquake. The interested structure is a high-rise building modeled as a fifteen-degree-of-freedom structure system with two type of actuators installed on the first storey and fifteenth storey which has ATMD. The structural system is simulated against the ground accelerations, acting on the base, of the El Centro earthquake in USA on May 18th. The control effects of FC, HAFC and OHAFC are compared via the time history of the storey displacements of the structure

Prospective evaluation of GeneXpert for the diagnosis of HIV- negative pediatric TB cases

Background The GeneXpertMTB/RIF (Xpert) assay is now recommended by WHO for diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in children but evaluation data is limited. Methods One hundred and fifty consecutive HIV negative children (<15 years of age) presenting with suspected TB were enrolled at a TB referral hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 302 samples including sputum (n = 79), gastric fluid (n = 215), CSF (n = 3), pleural fluid (n = 4) and cervical lymphadenopathic pus (n = 1) were tested by smear, automated liquid culture (Bactec MGIT) and Xpert. Patients were classified retrospectively using the standardised case definition into confirmed, probable, possible, TB unlikely or not TB categories. Test accuracy was evaluated against 2 gold standards: [1] clinical (confirmed, probable and possible TB) and [2] ‘confirmed TB’ alone. Results The median age of participants was 18 months [IQR 5–170]. When test results were aggregated by patient, the sensitivity of smear, Xpert and MGIT against clinical diagnosis as the gold standard were 9.2% (n = 12/131) [95%CI 4.2; 14.1], 20.6% (n = 27/131) [95%CI 13.7; 27.5] and 29.0% (n = 38/131) [21.2;36.8], respectively. Specificity 100% (n = 19/19), 94.7% (n = 18/19), 94.7% (n = 18/19), respectively. Xpert was more sensitive than smear (P = <0.001) and less sensitive than MGIT (P = 0.002). Conclusions The systematic use of Xpert will increase early TB case confirmation in children and represents a major advance but sensitivity of all tests remains unacceptably low. Improved rapid diagnostic tests and algorithm approaches for pediatric TB are still an urgent research priority

In vitro growth and content of vincristine and vinblastine of Catharanthus roseus L. hairy roots in response to precursors and elicitors

Catharanthus roseus L. is a medicinal plant that produces numerous indole terpenoid alkaloids, including vincristine and vinblastine, which are used for cancer treatment. The effect of specified precursors (L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine) and elicitors (chitosan, methyl jasmonate) on C. roseus hairy roots (CHR) growth has been examined in order to increase the content of vincristine and vinblastine. Our results showed that CHR generated by an Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain isolated in Vietnam was capable of producing both vincristine and vinblastine when subjected to precursors, but only vinblastine when exposed to elicitors. However, both precursors and elicitors were evaluated to have an effect on increasing the accumulation of TIAs in CHR. In particular, the use of elicitors required more time to find the appropriate induction conditions, while the use of precursors gave outstanding efficiency in the treatment with 1 µM phenylalanine. The greatest yields of vincristine (51.99 µg g-1 DW) and vinblastine (699.92 µg g-1 DW) were obtained in the 7th week (with 0.306 g DW biomass). This result is the first time we might boost the levels of vincristine and vinblastine in our CHR clone generated by the Vietnam strain of A. rhizogenes

Evaluation of Xpert MTB/RIF and MODS assay for the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) in children is rarely confirmed due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools; only 10 to 15% of pediatric TB is smear positive due to paucibacillary samples and the difficulty of obtaining high-quality specimens from children. We evaluate here the accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF in comparison with the Micoroscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) assay for diagnosis of TB in children using samples stored during a previously reported evaluation of the MODS assay. METHODS: Ninety-six eligible children presenting with suspected TB were recruited consecutively at Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City Viet Nam between May to December 2008 and tested by Ziehl-Neelsen smear, MODS and Mycobacterial growth Indicator (MGIT, Becton Dickinson) culture. All samples sent by the treating clinician for testing were included in the analysis. An aliquot of processed sample deposit was stored at −20°C and tested in the present study by Xpert MTB/RIF test. 183 samples from 73 children were available for analysis by Xpert. Accuracy measures of MODS and Xpert were summarized. RESULTS: The sensitivity (%) in detecting children with a clinical diagnosis of TB for smear, MODS and Xpert were 37.9 [95% CI 25.5; 51.6], 51.7 [38.2; 65.0] and 50.0 [36.6; 63.4], respectively (per patient analysis). Xpert was significantly more sensitive than smear (P=0.046). Testing of additional samples did not increase case detection for MODS while testing of a second sputum sample by Xpert detected only two additional cases. The positive and negative predictive values (%) of Xpert were 100.0 [88.0; 100.0] and 34.1 [20.5; 49.9], respectively, while those of MODS were 96.8 [83.3; 99.9] and 33.3 [19.6; 49.5]. CONCLUSION: MODS culture and Xpert MTB/RIF test have similar sensitivities for the detection of pediatric TB. Xpert MTB RIF is able to detect tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance within two hours. MODS allows isolation of cultures for further drug susceptibility testing but requires approximately one week to become positive. Testing of multiple samples by xpert detected only two additional cases and the benefits must be considered against costs in each setting. Further research is required to evaluate the optimal integration of Xpert into pediatric testing algorithms

A potential low cost medium for cultivation of Dunaliella salina DCCBC15 in Vietnam

Dunaliella salina is a marine alga with high potential for beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A), up to more than 10% of cellular dry weight under appropriate stress conditions of limiting one of the following nutrients: nitrogen, phosphate, high light or high salt. Obtaining high biomass in low cost medium is the essential step of the two-phase culture system for beta-carotene production. For future development of beta-carotene production from Dunaliella in Vietnam, it is our first step to study a low cost medium using natural seawater enriched with industrial fertilizer N-P-K (30-15-10) commercially available in Vietnam. The primary results of biomass, cell density, chlorophyll a as well as growth rate are very promising to use this medium for mass culture of Dunaliella salina. The medium is recommended for growing other marine algae as well