HRV and ECG signal analysis of smokers and non-smokers

The current study deals with the study of Heart Rate Variability and wavelet-based ECG signal analysis of thirty-two volunteers, who were divided into two groups of smokers and non-smokers. Although the preliminary results of frequency domain analysis of HRV showed some dominance towards the sympathetic nervous system activity in smokers, they were not found to be statistically significant. Hence the bias of results towards the increase of sympathetic activity might be attributed to the masking affect of some other factors, apart from smoking, which were not included in our experiment. The wavelet decomposition of the ECG signal was done using the Daubechies (Db 6) wavelet family. No significant difference was observed between the smokers and non-smokers which apparently suggested that HRV does not affect the conduction pathway of heart

EwayDataCollect: Web Service-Based Data Collection Tool for Education System

AbstractIn education system, there is a need to collect data from the education providers, to facilitate informative decision making by the policy makers. Data collection is handled using tools like questionnaires, online surveys, online forms submission, and Electronic Data Interchange. This paper presents, EwayDataCollect, a tool for online data collection in education system. EwayDataCollect leverages the web service technology for data collection. It uses web service interface which is interoperable and supports communication between heterogeneous environments. The tool enables computer to computer data collection of both, statistical and detailed data. It facilitates collection of data from any number of educational providers. EwayDataCollect consists of three components: (1) Eway-Invocation, (2) DCF-Dissemination, and (3) Eway-Processing. The first component is responsible for registering the data requestor, accepting Data Capture Format (DCF) and details like URLs and email-ids of data providers. The task of second component is to disseminate DCF to the data providers. The third component of tool collects filled DCF from the data provider's registered URL. The collected data is parsed and stored in a database. EwayDataCollect is faster and easier to use. EwayDataCollect architecture, implementation and application are presented in this paper

Antinociceptive evaluation of anticonvulsant gabapentin with a conventional nonopioid analgesic in phasic and tonic animal model of acute and chronic pain

Background: Some antiepileptic drugs have been shown to be clinically efficacious in treatment of neuropathic pain and are being used by clinician.Methods: This study determined the analgesic effect of gabapentin in rats in biphasic animal pain model of acute and chronic inflammatory pain and compared its potency with a conventional nonopioid analgesic diclofenac.Results: Per oral administration of gabapentin produced no any marked effect on early phase response of formalin test, but significantly suppressed the late phase response, while diclofenac produced significant anti-nociceptive effect in both phases of formalin test.Conclusion: Thus, we have observed that gabapentin produced antinociception in second phase of formalin test, which reflects chronic inflammatory pain

Pulmonary lymphoma mimicking metastases: a case report

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Associations of donor, component, and recipient factors on hemoglobin increments following red blood cell transfusion in very low birth weight infants.

BACKGROUND: Anemia in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants is common and frequently managed with red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. We utilized a linked vein-to-vein database to assess the role of blood donors and component factors on measures of RBC transfusion effectiveness in VLBW infants. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We linked blood donor and component manufacturing data with VLBW infants transfused RBCs between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2016 in the Recipient Epidemiology Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS III) database. Using multivariable regression, hemoglobin increments and subsequent transfusion events following single-unit RBC transfusion episodes were examined with consideration of donor, component, and recipient factors. RESULTS: Data on VLBW infants (n = 254) who received one or more single-unit RBC transfusions (n = 567 units) were linked to donor demographic and component manufacturing characteristics for analysis. Reduced post-transfusion hemoglobin increments were associated with RBC units donated by female donors (-0.24 g/dL [95% confidence interval (CI) -0.57, -0.02]; p = .04) and donors <25 years old (-0.57 g/dL [95% CI -1.02, -0.11]; p = .02). For RBC units donated by male donors, reduced donor hemoglobin levels were associated with an increased need for subsequent recipient RBC transfusion (odds ratio 3.0 [95% CI 1.3, 6.7]; p < .01). In contrast, component characteristics, storage duration, and time from irradiation to transfusion were not associated with post-transfusion hemoglobin increments. CONCLUSION: Donor sex, age, and hemoglobin levels were associated with measures of RBC transfusion effectiveness in VLBW infants. Mechanistic studies are needed to better understand the role of these potential donor factors on other clinical outcomes in VLBW infants

Maternal exposure to medical radiation and Wilms tumor in the offspring: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group

This study examined the association between pre-conception and in-utero maternal medical radiation exposure and Wilms tumor, using data from a large population-based case-control study

The role of convalescent plasma and hyperimmune immunoglobulins in the COVID-19 pandemic, including implications for future preparedness

Introduction: When Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) struck the world in December 2019, initiatives started to investigate the efficacy of convalescent plasma, a readily available source of passive antibodies, collected from recovered patients as a therapeutic option. This was based on historical observational data from previous virus outbreaks. Methods: A scoping review was conducted on the efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma and hyperimmune immunoglobulins for COVID-19 treatment. This review included the latest Cochrane systematic review update on 30-day mortality and safety. We also covered use in pediatric and immunocompromised patients, as well as the logistic challenges faced in donor recruitment and plasma collection in general. Challenges for low resource countries were specifically highlighted. Results: A major challenge is the high donation frequency required from first-time donors to ensure a safe product, which minimizes the risk of transfusion-transmitted infectious. This is particularly difficult in low- and middle- income countries due to inadequate infrastructure and insufficient blood product supplies. High-certainty evidence indicates that convalescent plasma does not reduce mortality or significantly improve clinical outcomes in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 infection. However, CCP may provide a viable treatment for patients unable to mount an endogenous immune response to SARS-CoV-2, based on mostly observational studies and subgroup data of published and ongoing randomized trials. Convalescent plasma has been shown to be safe in adults and children with COVID-19 infection. However, the efficacy in pediatric patients remains unclear. Discussion: Data on efficacy and safety of CCP are still underway in ongoing (randomized) studies and by reporting the challenges, limitations and successes encountered to-date, research gaps were identified to be addressed for the future. Conclusion: This experience serves as a valuable example for future pandemic preparedness, particularly when therapeutic options are limited, and vaccines are either being developed or ineffective due to underlying immunosuppression