Screening for Atrial Fibrillation and the Role of Digital Health Technologies

Atrial fibrillation is the commonest clinical arrhythmia and a leading cause of hospital admission, morbidity and mortality. New digital health technologies are now allowing patients and the general population to identify heart rhythm abnormalities before any encounter with a medical professional. This chapter will include an overview of the prevalence of atrial fibrillation and explore the current recommendations on methods for arrhythmia screening. We discuss different risk factors as well as physiological and structural markers for atrial fibrillation onset. We explore in detail the application of novel digital health technologies such as wearables, watches and mobile devices which may have an impact on screening detection rates. The article concludes with a discussion about how to manage patients with screen detected atrial fibrillation

Optical fiber fabrication using novel gas-phase deposition technique

We report a highly versatile chemical-in-crucible preform fabrication technique suitable for gas-phase deposition of doped optical fibers. Aluminosilicate and ytterbium-doped phosphosilicate fibers are presented demonstrating the technique and its potential for realizing complex fiber designs that are suitable for the next generation of high-power fiber devices. The results show aluminum-doped fiber with numerical aperture of 0.28 and ytterbium-doped fiber with a measured slope efficiency of 84% with respect to pump launch power

Applications of Solid Freeform Fabrication at the Naval Research Laboratory

Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) and related techniques are used at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for a variety of materials related investigations. Research and applications conducted over the past few years are described including: Helisys Laminated Object Manufacturing System (LOMS) fabrication of: ceramic piezoelectric actuators, tooling for multifunctional materials, and anatomical prototypes for surgical visualization; fabrication of mesoscale electronic and sensor components using a laser forward transfer direct write technique; and visualization of complex, 3-D microstructures using a Stratasys Fused-Deposition Modeler. The paper closes with a brief overview of future SFF related work at the NRL.Support for this work from DARPA, Office of Naval Research, and the Naval Research Laboratory Core Research Program is gratefully acknowledged.Mechanical Engineerin

Исследование эстеразного статуса организма как комплексного биомаркера воздействия фосфорорганических соединений

Development of biomarkers of human exposures to organophosphorus compounds OPCs and their quantification is a vital component of a system of prediction and early diagnostics of OPC-induced diseases. Our study was focused on investigation of esterase status as a complex biomarker of exposure to OPCs and an aid in accurate diagnosis. We suggest that this complex biomarker should be more effective and informative than standard assays of plasma butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (RBC AChE), and lymphocyte neuropathy target esterase (NTE). It will help: 1) to assess an exposure as such and to confirm the nonexposure of individuals suspected to have been exposed; 2) to determine if the exposure was to agents expected to produce acute and/or delayed neurotoxicity; 3) to perform dosimetry of the exposure, which provides valuable information for medical treatment. To confirm this hypothesis, we have examined the changes in activity of blood AChE, NTE, BChE and carboxylesterase (CaE) 1 h after i.p. administration of increasing doses of three OPCs with different esterase profiles: the known neuropathic compound O,O-dipropyl-O-dichlorovinyl phosphate (C3H 7O)2P(O)OCH=CCl2 (diPr-DClVP) as the control compound and two model dialkylphosphates (C2H5O)2P(O)OCH(CF3)2 (diEt-PFP) and (C4H9O)2P(O)OCH(CF3)2 (diBu-PFP). The esterases assay was performed in hemolysed blood by spectrophotometric (AChE, BChE, CaE) and biosensor (NTE) methods. Analysis of the obtained dose-dependences for blood esterases inhibition showed that blood BChE and CaE were the most sensitive biomarkers, allowing detection of low doses. Inhibition of blood NTE and AChE can be used to assess the likelihood that an exposure to OPC would produce cholinergic and/or delayed neuropathic effects.Разработка системы биомаркеров воздействия фосфорорганических соединений (ФОС) на человека и их количественная оценка являются важным компонентом предсказания и ранней диагностики заболеваний, вызываемых антихолинэстеразными соединениями. Целью нашей работы было исследование эстеразного статуса организма как комплексного биомаркера воздействия ФОС для диагностики воздействия и последующей терапии такого рода интоксикаций. Мы полагаем, что этот комплексный биомаркер будет более эффективным и информативным по сравнению со стандартным определением бутирилхолинэстеразы плазмы крови (БХЭ), ацетилхолинэстеразы эритроцитов (АХЭ) и нейротоксичной эстеразы лимфоцитов (НТЭ). Он позволит: 1) подтвердить или опровергнуть сам факт воздействия ФОС; 2) определить, обусловлено ли воздействие агентами, вызывающими острую и/или отставленную нейротоксичность; 3) провести дозиметрию воздействия, которая даст ценную информацию для последующей терапии отравления. Для подтверждения этой гипотезы мы провели исследование изменения активности АХЭ, НТЭ, БХЭ и карбоксиэстеразы (КЭ) крови мышей через 1 ч после внутрибрюшинного введения возрастающих доз трёх ФОС с различным эстеразным профилем: известного нейропатичного соединения O,O-дипропил-O-дихлорвинилфосфата (C3H 7O)2P(O)OCH=CCl2 (diPr-DClVP) в качестве контрольного соединения и двух модельных диалкилфосфатов – (C2H5O)2P(O)OCH(CF3)2 (diEt-PFP) и (C4H9O)2P(O)OCH(CF3)2 (diBu-PFP). Измерение активности эстераз проводили в препаратах гемолизованной крови спектрофотометрическим (АХЭ, БХЭ, КЭ) и биосенсорным (НТЭ) методами. Анализ полученных дозозависимостей для ингибирования эстераз крови показал, что БХЭ и КЭ являются наиболее чувствительными биомаркерами, позволяющими детектировать низкие дозы ФОС токсикантов. Одновременное определение активности АХЭ и НТЭ в крови может быть использовано для оценки вероятности воздействия острых и/или отставленных нейротоксикантов

New records of marine invertebrates from Ascension Island (central Atlantic)

The sea anemone Telmatactis forskalii, the zoanthid Isaurus tuberculatus, the nemertine Baseodiscus delineatus, the echinoderms Ophiocoma wendtii and Mithrodia clavigera, the molluscs Colubraria canariensis, Glyphepithema turtoni, Tonna pennata, Trivia candidula, Melanella eburnea, Melanella n.sp., Echineulima leucophaes, Stylocheilus striatus, Limaria hians, Pteria hirundo and Callistoctopus macropus, and the crustaceans Tetraclitella sp., Oxynaspis celata, Thor amboinensis and Parribacus antarcticus are recorded from Ascension Island for the first time. A new depth record is given for the sea anemone Telmatactis cricoides. An undescribed shrimp species of the genus Lysmata and the shrimp Lysmata moorei were observed to clean fish at night.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Surface Normal Deconvolution: Photometric Stereo for Optically Thick Translucent Objects

Computer Vision – ECCV 2014 13th European Conference, Zurich, Switzerland, September 6-12, 2014,This paper presents a photometric stereo method that works for optically thick translucent objects exhibiting subsurface scattering. Our method is built upon the previous studies showing that subsurface scattering is approximated as convolution with a blurring kernel. We extend this observation and show that the original surface normal convolved with the scattering kernel corresponds to the blurred surface normal that can be obtained by a conventional photometric stereo technique. Based on this observation, we cast the photometric stereo problem for optically thick translucent objects as a deconvolution problem, and develop a method to recover accurate surface normals. Experimental results of both synthetic and real-world scenes show the effectiveness of the proposed method

Post-modernism's use and abuse of Nietzsche

I focus on Nietzsche's architectural metaphor of self-construction in arguing for the claim that postmodern readings of Nietzsche misunderstand his various attacks on dogmatic philosophy as paving the way for acceptance of a self characterized by fundamental disunity. Nietzsche's attack on essentialist dogmatic metaphysics is a call to engage in a purposive self-creation under a unifying will, a will that possesses the strength to reinterpret history as a pathway to "the problem that we are". Nietzsche agrees with the postmodernists that unity is not a pre-given, however he would disavow their rejection of unity as a goal. Where the postmodernists celebrate "the death of the subject" Nietzsche rejects this valorization of disunity as a form of Nihilism and prescribes the creation of a genuine unified subjectivity to those few capable of such a goal. Postmodernists are nearer Nietzsche's idea of the Last Man than his idea of the Overman.Articl