A Detail Study of Wavelet Families for EMG Pattern Recognition

Wavelet transform (WT) has recently drawn the attention of the researchers due to its potential in electromyography (EMG) recognition system. However, the optimal mother wavelet selection remains a challenge to the application of WT in EMG signal processing. This paper presents a detail study for different mother wavelet function in discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and continuous wavelet transform (CWT). Additionally, the performance of different mother wavelet in DWT and CWT at different decomposition level and scale are also investigated. The mean absolute value (MAV) and wavelength (WL) features are extracted from each CWT and reconstructed DWT wavelet coefficient. A popular machine learning method, support vector machine (SVM) is employed to classify the different types of hand movements. The results showed that the most suitable mother wavelet in CWT are Mexican hat and Symlet 6 at scale 16 and 32, respectively. On the other hand, Symlet 4 and Daubechies 4 at the second decomposition level are found to be the optimal wavelet in DWT. From the analysis, we deduced that Symlet 4 at the second decomposition level in DWT is the most suitable mother wavelet for accurate classification of EMG signals of different hand movements.

Complaints about dental practitioners: an analysis of 6 years of complaints about dentists, dental prosthetists, oral health therapists, dental therapists and dental hygienists in Australia

BACKGROUND: Previous research has found dental practitioners at elevated risk of complaint compared with other health professions. This study aimed to describe the frequency, nature and risk factors for complaints involving dental practitioners. METHODS: We assembled a national dataset of complaints about registered health practitioners in Australia between January 2011 and December 2016. We classified complaints into 23 issues across three domains: health, performance and conduct. We compared rates of complaints about dental practitioners and other health practitioners. We used negative binomial regression analysis to identify factors associated with complaints. RESULTS: Dental practitioners made up 3.5% of health practitioners, yet accounted for approximately 10% of complaints. Dental practitioners had the highest rate of complaints among fourteen health professions (42.7 per 1000 practitioners per year) with higher rates among dentists and dental prosthetists than allied dental practitioners. Male practitioners were at a higher risk of complaints. Most complaints about dentists related to treatments and procedures (59%). Around 4% of dentists received more than one complaint, accounting for 49% of complaints about dentists. In 60% of closed cases no regulatory action was required. Around 13% of complaints resulted in restrictive actions, such as conditions on practice. CONCLUSION: Improved understanding of patterns may assist regulatory boards and professional associations to ensure competent practice and protect patient safety

Genomic landscape of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asians

Lung cancer is the world’s leading cause of cancer death and shows strong ancestry disparities. By sequencing and assembling a large genomic and transcriptomic dataset of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) in individuals of East Asian ancestry (EAS; n = 305), we found that East Asian LUADs had more stable genomes characterized by fewer mutations and fewer copy number alterations than LUADs from individuals of European ancestry. This difference is much stronger in smokers as compared to nonsmokers. Transcriptomic clustering identified a new EAS-specific LUAD subgroup with a less complex genomic profile and upregulated immune-related genes, allowing the possibility of immunotherapy-based approaches. Integrative analysis across clinical and molecular features showed the importance of molecular phenotypes in patient prognostic stratification. EAS LUADs had better prediction accuracy than those of European ancestry, potentially due to their less complex genomic architecture. This study elucidated a comprehensive genomic landscape of EAS LUADs and highlighted important ancestry differences between the two cohorts

Mitochondrial Localized STAT3 Is Involved in NGF Induced Neurite Outgrowth

Background: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays critical roles in neural development and is increasingly recognized as a major mediator of injury response in the nervous system. Cytokines and growth factors are known to phosphorylate STAT3 at tyrosine 705 with or without the concomitant phosphorylation at serine 727, resulting in the nuclear localization of STAT3 and subsequent transcriptional activation of genes. Recent evidence suggests that STAT3 may control cell function via alternative mechanisms independent of its transcriptional activity. Currently, the involvement of STAT3 mono-phosphorylated at residue serine 727 (P-Ser-STAT3) in neurite outgrowth and the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Principal Findings: In this study, we investigated the role of nerve growth factor (NGF) induced P-Ser-STAT3 in mediating neurite outgrowth. NGF induced the phosphorylation of residue serine 727 but not tyrosine 705 of STAT3 in PC12 and primary cortical neuronal cells. In PC12 cells, serine but not tyrosine dominant negative mutant of STAT3 was found to impair NGF induced neurite outgrowth. Unexpectedly, NGF induced P-Ser-STAT3 was localized to the mitochondria but not in the nucleus. Mitochondrial STAT3 was further found to be intimately involved in NGF induced neurite outgrowth and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Conclusion: Taken together, the findings herein demonstrated a hitherto unrecognized novel transcription independen

Mapping subnational HIV mortality in six Latin American countries with incomplete vital registration systems

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a public health priority in Latin America. While the burden of HIV is historically concentrated in urban areas and high-risk groups, subnational estimates that cover multiple countries and years are missing. This paucity is partially due to incomplete vital registration (VR) systems and statistical challenges related to estimating mortality rates in areas with low numbers of HIV deaths. In this analysis, we address this gap and provide novel estimates of the HIV mortality rate and the number of HIV deaths by age group, sex, and municipality in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Methods: We performed an ecological study using VR data ranging from 2000 to 2017, dependent on individual country data availability. We modeled HIV mortality using a Bayesian spatially explicit mixed-effects regression model that incorporates prior information on VR completeness. We calibrated our results to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Results: All countries displayed over a 40-fold difference in HIV mortality between municipalities with the highest and lowest age-standardized HIV mortality rate in the last year of study for men, and over a 20-fold difference for women. Despite decreases in national HIV mortality in all countries—apart from Ecuador—across the period of study, we found broad variation in relative changes in HIV mortality at the municipality level and increasing relative inequality over time in all countries. In all six countries included in this analysis, 50% or more HIV deaths were concentrated in fewer than 10% of municipalities in the latest year of study. In addition, national age patterns reflected shifts in mortality to older age groups—the median age group among decedents ranged from 30 to 45 years of age at the municipality level in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico in 2017. Conclusions: Our subnational estimates of HIV mortality revealed significant spatial variation and diverging local trends in HIV mortality over time and by age. This analysis provides a framework for incorporating data and uncertainty from incomplete VR systems and can help guide more geographically precise public health intervention to support HIV-related care and reduce HIV-related deaths

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Rheumatoid arthritis: pathological mechanisms and modern pharmacologic therapies.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the lining of the synovial joints and is associated with progressive disability, premature death, and socioeconomic burdens. A better understanding of how the pathological mechanisms drive the deterioration of RA progress in individuals is urgently required in order to develop therapies that will effectively treat patients at each stage of the disease progress. Here we dissect the etiology and pathology at specific stages: (i) triggering, (ii) maturation, (iii) targeting, and (iv) fulminant stage, concomitant with hyperplastic synovium, cartilage damage, bone erosion, and systemic consequences. Modern pharmacologic therapies (including conventional, biological, and novel potential small molecule disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) remain the mainstay of RA treatment and there has been significant progress toward achieving disease remission without joint deformity. Despite this, a significant proportion of RA patients do not effectively respond to the current therapies and thus new drugs are urgently required. This review discusses recent advances of our  understanding of RA pathogenesis, disease modifying drugs, and provides perspectives on next generation therapeutics for RA