Early Seizure Detection Based on Cardiac Autonomic Regulation Dynamics

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes changes in the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the regulation of cardiac activity and autonomic nervous system tone. The early detection of epileptic seizures could foster the use of new treatment approaches. This study presents a new methodology for the prediction of epileptic seizures using HRV signals. Eigendecomposition of HRV parameter covariance matrices was used to create an input for a support vector machine (SVM)-based classifier. We analyzed clinical data from 12 patients (9 female; 3 male; age 34.5 ± 7.5 years), involving 34 seizures and a total of 55.2 h of interictal electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. Data from 123.6 h of ECG recordings from healthy subjects were used to test false positive rate per hour (FP/h) in a completely independent data set. Our methodological approach allowed the detection of impending seizures from 5 min to just before the onset of a clinical/electrical seizure with a sensitivity of 94.1%. The FP rate was 0.49 h−1 in the recordings from patients with epilepsy and 0.19 h−1 in the recordings from healthy subjects. Our results suggest that it is feasible to use the dynamics of HRV parameters for the early detection and, potentially, the prediction of epileptic seizures

Movement in low gravity environments (MoLo) programme The Molo-L.O.O.P. study protocol

The aim of this paper is to define an experimental protocol and methodology suitable to estimate in high-fidelity hypogravity conditions the lower limb internal joint reaction forces. State-of-the-art movement kinetics, kinematics, muscle activation and muscle-tendon unit behaviour during locomotor and plyometric movements will be collected and used as inputs (Objective 1), with musculoskeletal modelling and an optimisation framework used to estimate lower limb internal joint loading (Objective

Analysis of lower limb work-energy patterns in world-class race walkers

The aim of this study was to analyse lower limb work patterns in world-class race walkers. Seventeen male and female athletes race walked at competitive pace. Ground reaction forces (1000 Hz) and high-speed videos (100 Hz) were recorded and normalised joint moments, work and power, stride length, stride frequency and speed estimated. The hip flexors and extensors were the main generators of energy (24.5 J (± 6.9) and 40.3 J (± 8.3) respectively), with the ankle plantarflexors (16.3 J (± 4.3)) contributing to the energy generated during late stance. The knee generated little energy but performed considerable negative work during swing (–49.1 J (± 8.7)); the energy absorbed by the knee extensors was associated with smaller changes in velocity during stance (r = .783, P < .001), as was the energy generated by the hip flexors (r = –.689, P = .002). The knee flexors did most negative work (–38.6 J (± 5.8)) and the frequent injuries to the hamstrings are probably due to this considerable negative work. Coaches should note the important contributions of the hip and ankle muscles to energy generation and the need to develop knee flexor strength in reducing the risk of injury

Zooarqueologia de Vertebrados do Sambaqui do Papagaio, Bombinhas, Santa Catarina.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar os componentes faunísticos do sítio arqueológico Sambaqui do Papagaio, localizado na praia de Bombas município de Bombinhas, litoral Norte de Santa Catarina, sul do Brasil. São apresentados e discutidos dados taxonômicos e tafonômicos relacionados aos remanescentes ósseos recuperados na escavação do sítio, com o intuito de fornecer informações para a compreensão do modo de vida, exploração dos recursos e composição faunística da região. Os resultados evidenciam a predominância de vestígios ósseos de peixes, seguidos por mamíferos e aves, o que sugere um padrão de dieta direcionada à exploração de recursos marinhos

Soil physical properties and interrill erosion in agricultural production systems after 20 years of cultivation.

Agricultural management significantly influences soil physical properties and soil erosion. However, there are few studies investigating the long-term effects of agricultural management on soil erosion and physical properties. Here, we assessed the impacts of 20-year agricultural land uses under different management practices on soil physical properties and interrill erosion. This study was conducted on an experimental farm of the Embrapa Western Agriculture, Brazil, and the treatments consisted of soybean cropping under conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), crop-livestock integration during the cropping phase (CL-C) and the livestock phase (CL-L), and Brachiaria decumbens pasture under rotational grazing (PP). Soil samples were taken to evaluate the soil physical properties, and 25 rainfall simulations with an intensity of 60 mm h-1 were carried out by using a portable rainfall simulator with runoff plots of 0.7 m2 to quantify surface runoff and interrill erosion. After two decades, the crop-livestock systems (CL-L and CL-C) presented better soil physical properties in the topsoil layer (0.00?0.05 m) with a higher level of aggregation. Soil and water losses ranged from 4.7 to 14.4 × 10-3 kg m-2 and 4.9 to 12.4 mm, respectively. A higher reduction in soil erosion was observed in NT, while CT showed the highest soil erosion rates. These findings indicate an opportunity for a reduction of soil erosion by 60 % by adopting crop-livestock integration comparing CL-C with CT, while livestock under an integrated system (CL-L) decreased water loss by 30 % compared with PP. This study is a starting point for future research, and the findings reveal the potential to minimize the agriculture footprint

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement for bicuspid aortic valve stenosis with first- and new-generation bioprostheses: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Subjects with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) have been excluded from transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) randomized trials

Ações de educação patrimonial no extremo sul catarinense: incentivando a escola a preservar o patrimônio arqueológico

Este artigo socializa os resultados do projeto de extensão aprovado pelo edital n. 3 2016 da Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense (UNESC), intitulado “Arqueologia Pública no Extremo Sul Catarinense: Incentivando os pequenos a valorizar e preservar o patrimônio”. O projeto foi desenvolvido em parceria com o museu de arqueologia e a Secretaria de Educação em turmas de ensino fundamental I da escola municipal José Réus, localizada no município de Balneário Rincão, sul de Santa Catarina. Buscou-se por meio da Educação Patrimonial envolver a comunidade escolar, professores e alunos para conscientizá-los da importância da preservação dos sítios arqueológicos localizados no município, os quais se colocam como um patrimônio a ser valorizado e preservado pela comunidade. A metodologia utilizada incluiu oficinas, palestras e saída de campo com foco na cultura material pré-histórica e histórica da região, a função do arqueólogo e as atividades desenvolvidas no Laboratório de Arqueologia Pedro Ignácio Schmitz (LAPIS/UNESC). Foi salientado o papel do museu arqueológico do município na preservação do patrimônio local. Reiteramos que projetos como este contribuem para que o patrimônio local continue sendo reconhecido a partir do momento que dialoga com a comunidade, colocando-a como parceira neste processo de preservação e salvaguarda