Leprosy work and research in Oxford, the United Kingdom: Four decades in the pursuit of new knowledge about an arcane disease

This article counts various developments and contributions in the field of leprosy research and curative services in Oxford, England, over the last four decades. Recent figures from the World Health Organization for the global situation record 523,605 registered cases and a total of 612,110 new cases detected during 2002. Great Britain registers between 12 and 15 new cases yearly, and currently has 120 under treatment or surveillance, all of whom have acquired the infection abroad. Hundreds of leper hospitals existed in Great Britain between 1000 AD and 1500 AD. Scientific interest in leprosy was initiated by researchers at the Dunn School of Pathology in Oxford, but productive research may, suggestively, be said to have started with a chance meeting between R.J.W. Rees, head of the Laboratory for Leprosy and Mycobacterial Research, National Institute for Medical Research, London, and Graham Weddell, reader in Human Anatomy, University of Oxford

Moderate-term reproducibility of heart rate variability during rest and light to moderate exercise in children

Previous studies have demonstrated the high reproducibility of heart rate variability (HRV) measures in adults while little information exists concerning HRV reproducibility in children. Subsequently, the aim of the current study was to examine the moderate-term reproducibility of heart rate and frequency domain measures of HRV during rest and light to moderate exercise in children. Ten healthy children (6 males, 4 females) aged between 7 and 12 years of age volunteered for this study with HRV recordings obtained during supine rest and three treadmill walking exercise work rates (≤60% maximum heart rate), initially and then 8 weeks later. Differences (P < 0.05) between variables were examined using paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed rank tests while reliability and reproducibility were examined by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), coefficients of variation (CV), and mean bias ratio and ratio limits of agreement (LOA). Heart rate and all measures of HRV at rest and exercise were unchanged after 8 weeks. Significant ICC were documented primarily during rest (0.72-0.85) while weaker relationships (-0.02-0.87) were evident during exercise. A large range of CV was identified during rest (6-33%) and exercise (3-128%) while the ratio LOA were variable and substantial (1.04-2.73). Despite similar HRV over an 8-week period, variable ICC and sizable CV and ratio LOA indicate moderate to poor reproducibility of HRV in children, particularly during light to moderate exercise. Studies examining HRV in children should include age- or maturation stage-matched control participants to address the age-related change in HRV and inadequate HRV reliability