Dual Adaptive Filtering by Optimal Projection Applied to Filter Muscle Artifacts on EEG and Comparative Study

Muscle artifacts constitute one of the major problems in electroencephalogram (EEG) examinations, particularly for the diagnosis of epilepsy, where pathological rhythms occur within the same frequency bands as those of artifacts. This paper proposes to use the method dual adaptive filtering by optimal projection (DAFOP) to automatically remove artifacts while preserving true cerebral signals. DAFOP is a two-step method. The first step consists in applying the common spatial pattern (CSP) method to two frequency windows to identify the slowest components which will be considered as cerebral sources. The two frequency windows are defined by optimizing convolutional filters. The second step consists in using a regression method to reconstruct the signal independently within various frequency windows. This method was evaluated by two neurologists on a selection of 114 pages with muscle artifacts, from 20 clinical recordings of awake and sleeping adults, subject to pathological signals and epileptic seizures. A blind comparison was then conducted with the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method and conventional low-pass filtering at 30 Hz. The filtering rate was 84.3% for muscle artifacts with a 6.4% reduction of cerebral signals even for the fastest waves. DAFOP was found to be significantly more efficient than CCA and 30 Hz filters. The DAFOP method is fast and automatic and can be easily used in clinical EEG recordings

Therapeutic gymnastic: Effects on the quality of life at two months in postpartum period

Abstract. The structured training program at the third trimester of pregnancy (24th : T1 to 36th week) essentially centred on the trunk fitness allows benefice on the quality of life (QoL) measured by using the questionnaire (SF36). At postpartum period (T2 after 2 months in postpartum), the comparison between the control group (CG) vs training group (TG) show that all the items of (SF36) increase in (TG) while they decrease in (CG). In consequence, all the items of the SF36 were more important in TG at T2 compared with CG. The benefice in QoL seems more important than in others studies. Even if more studies are necessary, we conclude that centred the physical activity on trunk fitness during the third trimester pregnancy seems promising

Impairment of recent thymic emigrants in HCV infection.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) often has a more favorable course in younger patients. Considering the involution of the thymic function with age, we investigated the output of recent thymic emigrants (RTE) in HCV patients. To evaluate RTE, we used a competitive quantitative PCR in order to determine the percentages of cells with cj-T cell receptor excision circles (TREC). This study was performed in 14 HCV patients at diagnosis and before any anti-HCV treatment. The results obtained in this group were compared to those obtained in a group of age-matched controls. We found that in the 14 HCV patients naive for anti-HCV treatment the mean percentage of cj-TREC was 3%. We could not detect a correlation between the percentages of cj-TREC and age or patients' viremia. In contrast, in the 26 age-matched controls mean percentage of cj-TREC was 5.6% (P=0.01). Our study describes a novel immune defect in HCV patients. Additional studies are needed to get further insight in the possible role of TREC defect in the pathogenesis and prognosis of the disease

Effects of Energy Drink Acute Assumption in Gastrointestinal Tract of Rats

..

Utilità delle tecniche di assorbimento nei casi dubbi di incompatibilità Rh materno fetale: un case report

INTRODUZIONE Questo case report ripercorre l’iter diagnostico e terapeutico del Servizio Immuno-Trasfusionale in un caso di anemia fetale caratterizzato da varie incongruenze tra i dati clinici e di laboratorio. Nell’articolo viene descritta anche una tecnica alternativa attuata con l’obiettivo di risolvere le incompatibilità tra Test di Coombs Indiretto positivo e Test di Coombs Diretto negativo. Si ripercorre, inoltre, l’algoritmo necessario al raggiungimento di una diagnosi in un laboratorio di Medicina Trasfusionale, ovvero l’esecuzione degli esami immunoematologici di primo e secondo livello, la valutazione dei segni clinici fetali e la preparazione degli emocomponenti necessari alla trasfusione intrauterina. PRESENTAZIONE DEL CASO Il caso riguarda una donna gravida che giunge nel servizio Immuno-Trasfusionale per il riscontro di un Test di Coombs Indiretto positivo e di un’anemia fetale.  I principali quesiti riguardano non solo la presenza di immunizzazione nella donna, che si sarebbe dovuta evitare con l’immunoprofilassi (essendo di gruppo 0 Rh negativo), ma anche la stabilità del titolo anticorpale durante tutta la gravidanza, il recupero del feto dopo TIU e la presenza di un Test di Coombs Diretto negativo. CONCLUSIONI I quesiti che sono stati risolti in sede di taglio cesareo con la scoperta di un corioangioma gigante che, sequestrando i globuli rossi fetali, causava l’anemia e la conferma di un fenotipo sanguigno raro del padre che ha causato l’immunizzazione della donna

Usefulness of absorption techniques in doubtful cases of incompatibility Rh maternal fetal: a case report

INTRODUCTION This case report traces the diagnostic and therapeutic process of the Immuno-Transfusion Service in a case of fetal anaemia characterized by various inconsistencies between clinical and laboratory data. The paper describes an alternative technique implemented with the aim of resolving incompatibilities between positive IAT and negative DAT. In addition, the algorithm necessary to reach a diagnosis in a transfusion medicine laboratory is traced, namely, the performance of first- and second-level immuno-haematological tests, the evaluation of fetal clinical signs, and the preparation of blood components necessary for intrauterine transfusion. CASE PRESENTATION The case involves a pregnant woman who comes to the Immuno-Transfusion Service following a positive Indirect Antiglobulin Test and fetal anaemia. The main questions relate not only the presence of immunization in the woman, which should have been avoided by immunoprophylaxis (being group 0 Rh negative), but also the stability of the antibody titer (or level) throughout the pregnancy, fetal recovery after TIU, and the presence of a negative Direct Antiglobulin Test. CONCLUSIONS Questions that were completely resolved at caesarean section with the discovery of a giant chorioangioma that, by sequestering fetal red blood cells, caused anaemia and the confirmation of a rare blood phenotype of the father that caused the woman's immunization

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Guidelines for the use of flow cytometry and cell sorting in immunological studies (third edition)

The third edition of Flow Cytometry Guidelines provides the key aspects to consider when performing flow cytometry experiments and includes comprehensive sections describing phenotypes and functional assays of all major human and murine immune cell subsets. Notably, the Guidelines contain helpful tables highlighting phenotypes and key differences between human and murine cells. Another useful feature of this edition is the flow cytometry analysis of clinical samples with examples of flow cytometry applications in the context of autoimmune diseases, cancers as well as acute and chronic infectious diseases. Furthermore, there are sections detailing tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid. All sections are written and peer‐reviewed by leading flow cytometry experts and immunologists, making this edition an essential and state‐of‐the‐art handbook for basic and clinical researchers.DFG, 389687267, Kompartimentalisierung, Aufrechterhaltung und Reaktivierung humaner Gedächtnis-T-Lymphozyten aus Knochenmark und peripherem BlutDFG, 80750187, SFB 841: Leberentzündungen: Infektion, Immunregulation und KonsequenzenEC/H2020/800924/EU/International Cancer Research Fellowships - 2/iCARE-2DFG, 252623821, Die Rolle von follikulären T-Helferzellen in T-Helferzell-Differenzierung, Funktion und PlastizitätDFG, 390873048, EXC 2151: ImmunoSensation2 - the immune sensory syste