Vibrotactile captioning of musical effects in audio-visual media as an alternative for deaf and hard of hearing people: An EEG study

Standard captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing people cannot transmit the emotional information that music provides in support of the narrative in audio-visual media. We explore an alternative method using vibrotactile stimulation as a possible channel to transmit the emotional information contained in an audio-visual soundtrack and, thus, elicit a greater emotional reaction in hearing-impaired people. To achieve this objective, we applied two one-minute videos that were based on image sequences that were unassociated with dramatic action, maximizing the effect of the music and vibrotactile stimuli. While viewing the video, using EEG we recorded the brain activity of 9 female participants with normal hearing, and 7 female participants with very severe and profound hearing loss. The results show that the same brain areas are activated in participants with normal hearing watching the video with the soundtrack, and in participants with hearing loss watching the same video with a soft and rhythmic vibrotactile stimulation on the palm and fingertips, although in different hemispheres. These brain areas (auditory cortex, superior temporal cortex, medial frontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal pole and insula) have been consistently reported as areas involved in the emotional perception of music. We conclude that vibrotactile stimuli can generate cortex activation while watching audio-visual media in a similar way to sound. Thus, a further in-depth study of the possibilities of these stimuli can contribute to an alternative subtitling channel for enriching the audiovisual experience of hearing-impaired people.This work was supported in part by the Comunidad de Madrid through the SINFOTON2-CM Research Program under Grant S2018/NMT-4326-SINFOTON2-CM

Evolutionary joint selection to improve human action recognition with RGB-D devices

Interest in RGB-D devices is increasing due to their low price and the wide range of possible applications that come along. These devices provide a marker-less body pose estimation by means of skeletal data consisting of 3D positions of body joints. These can be further used for pose, gesture or action recognition. In this work, an evolutionary algorithm is used to determine the optimal subset of skeleton joints, taking into account the topological structure of the skeleton, in order to improve the final success rate. The proposed method has been validated using a state-of-the-art RGB action recognition approach, and applying it to the MSR-Action3D dataset. Results show that the proposed algorithm is able to significantly improve the initial recognition rate and to yield similar or better success rates than the state-of-the-art methods.This work has been partially supported by the European Commission under project “caring4U – A study on people activity in private spaces: towards a multisensor network that meets privacy requirements” (PIEF-GA-2010-274649) and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under project “Sistema de visión para la monitorización de la actividad de la vida diaria en el hogar” (TIN2010-20510-C04-02). Alexandros Andre Chaaraoui and José Ramón Padilla-López acknowledge financial support by the Conselleria d’Educació, Formació i Ocupació of the Generalitat Valenciana (fellowships ACIF/2011/160 and ACIF/2012/064 respectively)

Clinical Role of CA125 in Worsening Heart Failure A BIOSTAT-CHF Study Subanalysis

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between antigen carbohydrate 125 (CA125) and the risk of 1-year clinical outcomes in patients with worsening heart failure (HF).BACKGROUND CA125 is a widely available biomarker that is up-regulated in patients with acute HF and has been postulated as a useful marker of congestion and risk stratification.METHODS hi a large multicenter cohort of patients with worsening HF, either in-hospital or in the outpatient setting, the independent associations between CA125 and 1-year death and the composite of death/HF readmission (adjusted for outcome-specific prognostic risk score [BIOSTAT risk score]) were determined by using the Royston-Parmar method (N = 2356). In a sensitivity analysis, the prognostic implications of CA125 were also adjusted for a composite congestion score (CCS). Data were validated in the B1OSTAT-CHF (Biology Study to Tailored Treatment in Chronic Heart Failure validation) cohort (N = 1,630).RESULTS Surrogates of congestion, such as N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and CCS, emerged as independent predictors of CA125. In muttivariabte survival analyses, higher CA125 was associated with an increased risk of mortality and the composite of death/HF readmission (p &lt;0.001 for both comparisons), even after adjustment for the CCS (p &lt;0.010 for both comparisons). The addition of CA125 to the B1OSTAT score led to a significant risk reclassification for both outcomes (category-free net reclassification improvement 0.137 [p &lt;0.001] and 0.104 [p 0.003] respectively). AR outcomes were confirmed in an independent validation cohort.CONCLUSIONS In patients with worsening HF, higher levels of CA125 were positively associated with parameters of congestion. Furthermore, CA125 remained independently associated with a higher risk of clinical outcomes, even beyond a predefined risk model and clinical surrogates of congestion. (C) 2020 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.</p

Taking care of kidney transplant recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic: experience from a medicalized hotel.

The global overload that health systems are undergoing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced hospitals to explore sustainable alternatives to treat vulnerable patients that require closer monitoring and higher use of resources, such as Kidney Transplant Recipients (KTRs)1,2 .The use of telemedicine and hospital-like infrastructures represent a valid option for most patients with mild-moderate COVID-19, as well as for patients in the recovery phase who cannot be discharged from hospital

Relationship among LRP1 expression, Pyk2 phosphorylation and MMP-9 activation in left ventricular remodelling after myocardial infarction

Altres ajuts: Fundació La Marató de TV3 (201521_10, 201502_30 and 080330), Red de Terapia Celular-TerCel (RD12/0019/0029), Red Cardio-vascular (RD12/0042/0027, RD12/0042/0047), Sociedad Española de Cardiología, Fundació Privada Daniel Bravo Andreu.Left ventricular (LV) remodelling after myocardial infarction (MI) is a crucial determinant of the clinical course of heart failure. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activation is strongly associated with LV remodelling after MI. Elucidation of plasma membrane receptors related to the activation of specific MMPs is fundamental for treating adverse cardiac remodelling after MI. The aim of current investigation was to explore the potential association between the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) and MMP-9 and MMP-2 spatiotemporal expression after MI. Real-time PCR and Western blot analyses showed that LRP1 mRNA and protein expression levels, respectively, were significantly increased in peri-infarct and infarct zones at 10 and 21 days after MI. Confocal microscopy demonstrated high colocalization between LRP1 and the fibroblast marker vimentin, indicating that LRP1 is mostly expressed by cardiac fibroblasts in peri-infarct and infarct areas. LRP1 also colocalized with proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (pPyk2) and MMP-9 in cardiac fibroblasts in ischaemic areas at 10 and 21 days after MI. Cell culture experiments revealed that hypoxia increases LRP1, pPyk2 protein levels and MMP-9 activity in fibroblasts, without significant changes in MMP-2 activity. MMP-9 activation by hypoxia requires LRP1 and Pyk2 phosphorylation in fibroblasts. Collectively, our in vivo and in vitro data support a major role of cardiac fibroblast LRP1 levels on MMP-9 up-regulation associated with ventricular remodelling after MI

Protein-based cardiogenic shock patient classifier

Aims Cardiogenic shock (CS) is associated with high short-term mortality and a precise CS risk stratification could guide interventions to improve patient outcome. Here, we developed a circulating protein-based score to predict short-term mortality risk among patients with CS. Methods and results Mass spectrometry analysis of 2654 proteins was used for screening in the Barcelona discovery cohort (n = 48). Targeted quantitative proteomics analyses (n = 51 proteins) were used in the independent CardShock cohort (n = 97) to derive and cross-validate the protein classifier. The combination of four circulating proteins (Cardiogenic Shock 4 proteins-CS4P), discriminated patients with low and high 90-day risk of mortality. CS4P comprises the abundances of liver-type fatty acid-binding protein, beta-2-microglobulin, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase B, and SerpinG1. Within the CardShock cohort used for internal validation, the C-statistic was 0.78 for the CardShock risk score, 0.83 for the CS4P model, and 0.84 (P = 0.033 vs. CardShock risk score) for the combination of CardShock risk score with the CS4P model. The CardShock risk score with the CS4P model showed a marked benefit in patient reclassification, with a net reclassification improvement (NRI) of 0.49 (P = 0.020) compared with CardShock risk score. Similar reclassification metrics were observed in the IABP-SHOCK II risk score combined with CS4P (NRI =0.57; P = 0.032). The CS4P patient classification power was confirmed by enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA). Conclusion A new protein-based CS patient classifier, the CS4P, was developed for short-term mortality risk stratification. CS4P improved predictive metrics in combination with contemporary risk scores, which may guide clinicians in selecting patients for advanced therapies.Peer reviewe

Effect of Immunosuppressive Treatments on Kidney Outcomes After Gross Hematuria-Related Acute Kidney Injury in Older Patients With IgA Nephropathy

Macroscopic hematuria (MH) bouts, frequently accompanied by acute kidney injury (AKI-MH) are one of the most common presentations of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in the elderly. Immunosuppressive therapies are used in clinical practice; however, no studies have analyzed their efficacy on kidney outcomes. This is a retrospective, multicenter study of a cohort of patients aged ≥50 years with biopsy-proven IgAN presenting with AKI-MH. Outcomes were complete, partial, or no recovery of kidney function at 1 year after AKI-MH, and kidney survival at 1, 2, and 5 years. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was applied to balance baseline differences between patients treated with immunosuppression and those not treated with immunosuppression. The study group consisted of 91 patients with a mean age of 65 ± 15 years, with a mean follow-up of 59 ± 36 months. Intratubular red blood cell (RBC) casts and acute tubular necrosis were found in all kidney biopsies. The frequency of endocapillary hypercellularity and crescents were low. Immunosuppressive therapies (corticosteroids alone or combined with mycophenolate mofetil or cyclophosphamide) were prescribed in 52 (57%) patients, whereas 39 (43%) received conservative treatment. There were no significant differences in the proportion of patients with complete, partial, or no recovery of kidney function at 1 year between patients treated with immunosuppression and those not treated with immunosuppression (29% vs. 36%, 30.8% vs. 20.5% and 40.4 % vs. 43.6%, respectively). Kidney survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was similar among treated and untreated patients (85% vs. 81%, 77% vs. 76% and 72% vs. 66%, respectively). Despite the PSM analysis, no significant differences were observed in kidney survival between the two groups. Fourteen patients (27%) treated with immunosuppression had serious adverse events. Conclusions: Immunosuppressive treatments do not modify the unfavorable prognosis of patients with IgAN who are aged ≥50 years presenting with AKI-MH, and are frequently associated with severe complications

Individuals With SARS-CoV-2 Infection During the First and Second Waves in Catalonia, Spain: Retrospective Observational Study Using Daily Updated Data

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Epidemiologia; ComparacióCoronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Epidemiología; ComparaciónCoronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Epidemiology; ComparisonA description of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection comparing the first and second waves could help adapt health services to manage this highly transmissible infection.Objective: We aimed to describe the epidemiology of individuals with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the characteristics of patients with a positive test comparing the first and second waves in Catalonia, Spain. Methods: This study had 2 stages. First, we analyzed daily updated data on SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals from Girona (Catalonia). Second, we compared 2 retrospective cohorts of patients with a positive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction or rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2. The severity of patients with a positive test was defined by their admission to hospital, admission to intermediate respiratory care, admission to the intensive care unit, or death. The first wave was from March 1, 2020, to June 24, 2020, and the second wave was from June 25, 2020, to December 8, 2020.Results: The numbers of tests and cases were lower in the first wave than in the second wave (26,096 tests and 3140 cases in the first wave versus 140,332 tests and 11,800 cases in the second wave), but the percentage of positive results was higher in the first wave than in the second wave (12.0% versus 8.4%). Among individuals with a positive diagnostic test, 818 needed hospitalization in the first wave and 680 in the second; however, the percentage of hospitalized individuals was higher in the first wave than in the second wave (26.1% versus 5.8%). The group that was not admitted to hospital included older people and those with a higher percentage of comorbidities in the first wave, whereas the characteristics of the groups admitted to hospital were more alike.This work was supported by grants from the European Union ERDF funds (Network for Prevention and Health Promotion in Primary Care, RedIAPP–CARDIOCAT; RD16/0007/0004) and from the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR; 2017-SGR 1146). We thank Eric Tornabell for his technical support. We also thank all health care professionals for their ceaseless work to care for COVID-19 patients in this pandemic

Quality of life assessed with the medical outcomes study short form 36-item health survey of patients on renal replacement therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) is the most widely used generic instrument to estimate quality of life of patients on renal replacement therapy. Purpose of this study was to summarize and compare the published literature on quality of life of hemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD), and renal transplant (RTx) patients. Methods: We used random-effects regression analyses to compare the SF-36 scores across treatment groups and adjusted this comparison for age and prevalence of diabetes using random-effects meta-regression analyses. Results: We found 52 articles that met the inclusion criteria, reporting quality of life of 36,582 patients. The unadjusted scores of all SF-36 health dimensions were not significantly different between HD and PD patients, but the scores of RTx patients were higher than those of dialysis patients, except for the dimensions Mental Health and Bodily Pain. Point differences between dialysis and RTx patients varied from 2 to 32. With adjustment for age and diabetes, the differences became smaller (point difference 2–22). The significance of the differences of both dialysis groups compared with RTx recipients disappeared for the dimensions Vitality and Social Functioning. The significance of the differences between HD and RTx patients disappeared on the dimensions Physical Functioning, Role Physical, and Bodily Pain. Conclusion: We conclude that dialysis patients have a lower quality of life than RTx patients, but this difference can partly be explained by differences in age and prevalence of diabetes. Keywords: hemodialysis, meta-analysis, peritoneal dialysis, quality of life, renal transplantation

Case-Control Analysis of the Impact of Anemia on Quality of Life in Patients with Cancer: A Qca Study Analysis

The impact of anemia on the quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients has been studied previously; however, the cut-off point used to define anemia differed among studies, thus providing inconsistent results. Therefore, we analysed the clinical impact of anemia on QoL using the same cut-off point for hemoglobin level to define anemia as that used in ESMO clinical practice guidelines. This post-hoc analysis aimed to determine the impact of anemia on QoL in cancer patients through the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of life questionnaire version 3.0 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Euro QoL 5-dimension 3-level (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire. We found that cancer patients with anemia had significantly worse QoL in clinical terms. In addition, anemic patients had more pronounced symptoms than those in non-anemic patients. Anemia is a common condition in cancer patients and is associated with a wide variety of symptoms that impair quality of life (QoL). However, exactly how anemia affects QoL in cancer patients is unclear because of the inconsistencies in its definition in previous reports. We aimed to examine the clinical impact of anemia on the QoL of cancer patients using specific questionnaires. We performed a post-hoc analysis of a multicenter, prospective, case-control study. We included patients with cancer with (cases) or without (controls) anemia. Participants completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life questionnaire version 3.0 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Euro QoL 5-dimension 3-level (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire. Statistically significant and clinically relevant differences in the global health status were examined. From 2015 to 2018, 365 patients were included (90 cases and 275 controls). We found minimally important differences in global health status according to the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire (case vs. controls: 45.6 vs. 58%, respectively; mean difference: -12.4, p < 0.001). Regarding symptoms, cancer patients with anemia had more pronounced symptoms in six out of nine scales in comparison with those without anemia. In conclusion, cancer patients with anemia had a worse QoL both clinically and statistically