Nonconvulsive Epileptic Seizure Detection in Scalp EEG Using Multiway Data Analysis

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus is a condition where the patient is exposed to abnormally prolonged epileptic seizures without evident physical symptoms. Since these continuous seizures may cause permanent brain damage, it constitutes a medical emergency. This paper proposes a method to detect nonconvulsive seizures for a further nonconvulsive status epilepticus diagnosis. To differentiate between the normal and seizure electroencephalogram (EEG), a K-Nearest Neighbor, a Radial Basis Support Vector Machine, and a Linear Discriminant Analysis classifier are used. The classifier features are obtained from the Canonical Polyadic Decomposition (CPD) and Block Term Decomposition (BTD) of the EEG data represented as third order tensor. To expand the EEG into a tensor, Wavelet or Hilbert-Huang transform are used. The algorithm is tested on a scalp EEG database of 139 seizures of different duration. The experimental results suggest that a Hilbert-Huang tensor representation and the CPD analysis provide the most suitable framework for nonconvulsive seizure detection. The Radial Basis Support Vector Machine classifier shows the best performance with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values over 98%. A rough comparison with other methods proposed in the literature shows the superior performance of the proposed method for nonconvulsive epileptic seizure detection

VIRTUALIZACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA ANÁLISIS DE DATOS PARA LAS CARRERAS DE TECNOLOGÍA DE LA SALUD

Combinar presencialidad y virtualidad basada en la integración progresiva de las Tecnologías de la Informática y las Comunicaciones en el contexto de la Educación Superior en Cuba, así como su gestión, constituye un reto y una necesidad ante el continuo perfeccionamiento de los planes de estudio al que está llamada la universidad cubana de hoy. En la Educación Médica Superior la mayor expresión del proceso de virtualización educativa curricular se alcanza fundamentalmente a través los entornos virtuales de enseñanza–aprendizaje alojados en el Portal de Salud de Cuba. Pese a ello, se develaron carencias dentro del proceso de enseñanza–aprendizaje del programa de Análisis de Datos para las carreras de Tecnología de la Salud, en la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Santiago de Cuba, debido al aún insuficiente aprovechamiento de las facilidades que ofrece el modelo de aprendizaje en red. En consecuencia, se virtualizó el programa de la asignatura de referencia, en la modalidad de curso por encuentro, para lo cual no sólo se tuvo en cuenta la proyección del proceso desde lo tecnológico, sino también desde lo organizativo y lo pedagógico. Con este nuevo espacio curricular emergente en el Aula de la Universidad Virtual de Salud de Santiago de Cuba, se logra mayor independencia y protagonismo del estudiante en su proceso de formación, se potencia su autopreparación, se logra un adecuado nivel de esencialidad de los contenidos, así como un amplio y generalizado empleo de las Tecnologías de la Informática y las Comunicaciones

Absence of Face-specific Cortical Activity in the Complete Absence of Awareness: Converging Evidence from Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Event-related Potentials

In this study, we explored the neural correlates of perceptual awareness during a masked face detection task. To assess awareness more precisely than in previous studies, participants employed a 4-point scale to rate subjective visibility. An event-related fMRI and a high-density ERP study were carried out. Imaging data showed that conscious face detection was linked to activation of fusiform and occipital face areas. Frontal and parietal regions, including the pre-SMA, inferior frontal sulcus, anterior insula/frontal operculum, and intraparietal sulcus, also responded strongly when faces were consciously perceived. In contrast, no brain area showed face-selective activity when participants reported no impression of a face. ERP results showed that conscious face detection was associated with enhanced N170 and also with the presence of a second negativity around 300 msec and a slow positivity around 415 msec. Again, face-related activity was absent when faces were not consciously perceived. We suggest that, under conditions of backward masking, ventral stream and fronto-parietal regions show similar, strong links of face-related activity to conscious perception and stress the importance of a detailed assessment of awareness to examine activity related to unseen stimulus events

Nivel de conocimientos sobre salud bucal en los trabajadores del Semi- Internado Carlos Manuel de Céspedes de Bayamo. 2014-2015

Introduction: health is a meeting point, were some factors converge: the biological and the social, the individual and the community, the social policy and the economics.Objective: to increase the level of knowledge on oral health in workers of the Semi- Internal school ¨Carlos Manuel de Cespedes¨, during the course 2014-2015, in the municipality of Bayamo, Granma province. Method: it was performed an experimental intervention study with pre-test and post-test, the universe consisted of the amount of people in the school, including the 106 workers and they were all part of the study. Results: the application of the educational intervention proved to be a practical tool to change the level of knowledge and this level increased in regards to the oral health.Conclusions: the level of knowledge, before using the intervention was evaluated as bad, the most affected age group was the one of 60, there were no differences in regards to sex, and the learning needs were identified through the incorrect responses of the knowledge survey.Introducción: la salud es un punto de encuentro, ahí confluyen lo biológico y lo social, el individuo y la comunidad, la política social y la economía.Objetivo: elevar el nivel de conocimiento sobre salud bucal en los trabajadores del Semi- Internado Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, curso 2014-2015, en el municipio Bayamo, provincia Granma.Método: se realizó un estudio experimental de intervención con pre-prueba y pos-prueba, el universo estuvo constituido por el total de personas de la escuela, a la que pertenecen los 106 trabajadores y todos formaron parte del estudio.Resultados: la aplicación de la intervención educativa demostró ser un instrumento práctico para modificar el nivel de conocimiento y se elevó el nivel de conocimiento de los trabajadores sobre salud bucal.Conclusiones: el nivel de conocimiento, antes de emplear la intervención fue evaluado de mal, el grupo de edad más afectado fue el de 60 años, en cuanto al sexo no se encontraron diferencias, las necesidades de aprendizaje se identificaron mediante las respuestas incorrectas de la encuesta de conocimientos.

Autonomic impairment of patients in coma with different Glasgow coma score assessed with heart rate variability

Primary objective: The objective of this study is to assess the functional state of the autonomic nervous system in healthy individuals and in individuals in coma using measures of heart rate variability (HRV) and to evaluate its efficiency in predicting mortality. Design and Methods: Retrospective group comparison study of patients in coma classified into two subgroups, according to their Glasgow coma score, with a healthy control group. HRV indices were calculated from 7 min of artefact-free electrocardiograms using the Hilbert–Huang method in the spectral range 0.02–0.6 Hz. A special procedure was applied to avoid confounding factors. Stepwise multiple regression logistic analysis (SMLRA) and ROC analysis evaluated predictions. Results: Progressive reduction of HRV was confirmed and was associated with deepening of coma and a mortality score model that included three spectral HRV indices of absolute power values of very low, low and very high frequency bands (0.4-0.6 Hz). The SMLRA model showed sensitivity of 95.65%, specificity of 95.83%, positive predictive value of 95.65%, and overall efficiency of 95.74%. Conclusions: HRV is a reliable method to assess the integrity of the neural control of the caudal brainstem centres on the hearts of patients in coma and to predict patient mortality

New insights into HIV-1-primary skin disorders

Since the first reports of AIDS, skin involvement has become a burdensome stigma for seropositive patients and a challenging task for dermatologist and infectious disease specialists due to the severe and recalcitrant nature of the conditions. Dermatologic manifestations in AIDS patients act as markers of disease progression, a fact that enhances the importance of understanding their pathogenesis

El procesamiento del movimiento visual en primates no humanos (Macaca arctoides) es modulado por la atencion basada en objetos

In the present study we examined the influence of object-based attention on the firing rate of neurons in the motion visual areas MTIMST. A macaque monkey was trained to selectively attend one of two superimposed surfaces defined by transparent motion and to discriminate its direction of motion. The results showed that object-based attention modulates the response of direction­ selective cells in these early visual areas. The presence of this attentional effect demonstrated that the object-based attention influences the early processing of visual motion

Evaluación del recién nacido pretérmino en el hogar, mediante un plan de intervención de enfermería.

Trabajo de Investigación -- Universidad de Cartagena. Facultad de Enfermería, 1991La problemática de salud que afecta al recién nacido pretérmino y a su familia necesita de la estructuración de un plan de intervención, capaz de ofrecer soluciones a los problemas relacionados con el manejo de la salud física, mental y ambiental del recién nacido pretérmino en el hogar. Con este trabajo se pretende, además de sus objetivos centrales, aportar algunas orientaciones iniciales acerca del papel que le correspondería a la enfermera, ojala como parte de un equipo interdisciplinario, en la atención en el hogar del niño pretérmino

Nonconvulsive epileptic seizure monitoring with incremental learning

Nonconvulsive epileptic seizures (NCSz) and nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) are two neurological entities associated with increment in morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. In a previous work, we introduced a method which accurately detected NCSz in EEG data (referred here as ‘Batch method’). However, this approach was less effective when the EEG features identified at the beginning of the recording changed over time. Such pattern drift is an issue that causes failures of automated seizure detection methods. This paper presents a support vector machine (SVM)-based incremental learning method for NCSz detection that for the first time addresses the seizure evolution in EEG records from patients with epileptic disorders and from ICU having NCSz. To implement the incremental learning SVM, three methodologies are tested. These approaches differ in the way they reduce the set of potentially available support vectors that are used to build the decision function of the classifier. To evaluate the suitability of the three incremental learning approaches proposed here for NCSz detection, first, a comparative study between the three methods is performed. Secondly, the incremental learning approach with the best performance is compared with the Batch method and three other batch methods from the literature. From this comparison, the incremental learning method based on maximum relevance minimum redundancy (MRMR_IL) obtained the best results. MRMR_IL method proved to be an effective tool for NCSz detection in a real-time setting, achieving sensitivity and accuracy values above 99%