An Artificial Intelligence application for drone-assisted 5G remote e-Health

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are experiencing growing research interest due to their ability to improve decision making capabilities for promising applications in different economic sectors. The growing shift toward the Internet of Everything environments brought by devices embedded with sensors that can share information brings immense opportunity for new applications (apps). While these new apps thrive in resource-rich areas (i.e., capitals), neighboring cities that lack the resources and infrastructure to support them may be left behind. It is vital that new technologies can reach those who need them the most, especially healthcare-based. This article proposes an app-based approach for long-distance patient monitoring and care. The app would serve as a platform of communication between patients and healthcare staff, where the latter can send standardized video footage or pictures to the former (e.g., their primary care doctor). This feature is enhanced with a recurrent neural network algorithm as a validation tool for healthcare-related videos exchanged between patients and staff. Thus, the healthcare team does not need to check each video for validity, freeing their time for other activities

Emerging drone trends for blockchain-based 5G networks: open issues and future perspectives

Unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, are receiving growing research interest due to their ability to carry a multitude of sensors and to connect to mobile networks. They are also able to move freely across the air, which enables the creation of numerous applications that were until now considered impracticable. However, such applications may require high computational resources, reliable connection, and high data transmission rates to accomplish different tasks. Therefore, in this work, first, we discuss 5G communication networks and mobile edge computing (MEC) as promising technologies that can provide several benefits to drone-enabled environments and solve some of the presented issues. We also comment on 5G and MEC approaches, presenting the state of the art and seeking to solve each of the latter issues presented. Afterward, we introduce new security concerns of drone communication networks, given their recent popularity. These concerns are related to the possibility of malicious users taking advantage of this brand new technology, which has made many governments ban drones due to public safety. Next, blockchain technology is brought in as a novel solution to the security issues due to its decentralized nature, making it inherently safe. This article also surveys contributions that make use of each of the technologies mentioned to improve the emerging drone industry. Subsequently, we discuss open issues and future perspectives

Commentaries on Viewpoint: The ongoing need for good physiological investigation: Obstructive sleep apnea in HIV patients as a paradigm

The final publication is available via http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00989.2014[Abstract] The intriguing paradigm put forth by Darquenne et al. (3) highlighted that improved therapy against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has come at the cost of elevated rates of chronic diseases, such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and obesity, during the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; TIN2013-40686-P

Intermediate-scale horizontal isoprene concentrations in the near-canopy forest atmosphere and implications for emission heterogeneity

The emissions, deposition, and chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are thought to be influenced by underlying landscape heterogeneity at intermediate horizontal scales of several hundred meters across different forest subtypes within a tropical forest. Quantitative observations and scientific understanding at these scales, however, remain lacking, in large part due to a historical absence of canopy access and suitable observational approaches. Herein, horizontal heterogeneity in VOC concentrations in the nearcanopy atmosphere was examined by sampling from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flown horizontally several hundred meters over the plateau and slope forests in central Amazonia during the morning and early afternoon periods of the wet season of 2018. Unlike terpene concentrations, the isoprene concentrations in the near-canopy atmosphere over the plateau forest were 60% greater than those over the slope forest. A gradient transport model constrained by the data suggests that isoprene emissions differed by 220 to 330%from these forest subtypes, which is in contrast to a 0% difference implemented in most present-day biosphere emissions models (i.e., homogeneous emissions). Quantifying VOC concentrations, emissions, and other processes at intermediate horizontal scales is essential for understanding the ecological and Earth system roles of VOCs and representing them in climate and air quality models. © 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Analysis of the African coelacanth genome sheds light on tetrapod evolution

It was a zoological sensation when a living specimen of the coelacanth was first discovered in 1938, as this lineage of lobe-finned fish was thought to have gone extinct 70 million years ago. The modern coelacanth looks remarkably similar to many of its ancient relatives, and its evolutionary proximity to our own fish ancestors provides a glimpse of the fish that first walked on land. Here we report the genome sequence of the African coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae. Through a phylogenomic analysis, we conclude that the lungfish, and not the coelacanth, is the closest living relative of tetrapods. Coelacanth protein-coding genes are significantly more slowly evolving than those of tetrapods, unlike other genomic features . Analyses of changes in genes and regulatory elements during the vertebrate adaptation to land highlight genes involved in immunity, nitrogen excretion and the development of fins, tail, ear, eye, brain, and olfaction. Functional assays of enhancers involved in the fin-to-limb transition and in the emergence of extra-embryonic tissues demonstrate the importance of the coelacanth genome as a blueprint for understanding tetrapod evolution

WSES/GAIS/SIS-E/WSIS/AAST global clinical pathways for patients with intra-abdominal infections

Intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) are common surgical emergencies and have been reported as major contributors to non-trauma deaths in hospitals worldwide. The cornerstones of effective treatment of IAIs include early recognition, adequate source control, appropriate antimicrobial therapy, and prompt physiologic stabilization using a critical care environment, combined with an optimal surgical approach. Together, the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery (GAIS), the Surgical Infection Society-Europe (SIS-E), the World Surgical Infection Society (WSIS), and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) have jointly completed an international multi-society document in order to facilitate clinical management of patients with IAIs worldwide building evidence-based clinical pathways for the most common IAIs. An extensive non-systematic review was conducted using the PubMed and MEDLINE databases, limited to the English language. The resulting information was shared by an international task force from 46 countries with different clinical backgrounds. The aim of the document is to promote global standards of care in IAIs providing guidance to clinicians by describing reasonable approaches to the management of IAIs.Peer reviewe

Multi-ancestry GWAS of the electrocardiographic PR interval identifies 202 loci underlying cardiac conduction

The electrocardiographic PR interval reflects atrioventricular conduction, and is associated with conduction abnormalities, pacemaker implantation, atrial fibrillation (AF), and cardiovascular mortality. Here we report a multi-ancestry (N=293,051) genome-wide association meta-analysis for the PR interval, discovering 202 loci of which 141 have not previously been reported. Variants at identified loci increase the percentage of heritability explained, from 33.5% to 62.6%. We observe enrichment for cardiac muscle developmental/contractile and cytoskeletal genes, highlighting key regulation processes for atrioventricular conduction. Additionally, 8 loci not previously reported harbor genes underlying inherited arrhythmic syndromes and/or cardiomyopathies suggesting a role for these genes in cardiovascular pathology in the general population. We show that polygenic predisposition to PR interval duration is an endophenotype for cardiovascular disease, including distal conduction disease, AF, and atrioventricular pre-excitation. These findings advance our understanding of the polygenic basis of cardiac conduction, and the genetic relationship between PR interval duration and cardiovascular disease. On the electrocardiogram, the PR interval reflects conduction from the atria to ventricles and also serves as risk indicator of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Here, the authors perform genome-wide meta-analyses for PR interval in multiple ancestries and identify 141 previously unreported genetic loci.Peer reviewe

A pandemic recap : lessons we have learned

On January 2020, the WHO Director General declared that the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The world has faced a worldwide spread crisis and is still dealing with it. The present paper represents a white paper concerning the tough lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, an international and heterogenous multidisciplinary panel of very differentiated people would like to share global experiences and lessons with all interested and especially those responsible for future healthcare decision making. With the present paper, international and heterogenous multidisciplinary panel of very differentiated people would like to share global experiences and lessons with all interested and especially those responsible for future healthcare decision making.Non peer reviewe