Single-cell transcriptomics of the mouse TRN

Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2017Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 44-49).The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is strategically located at the interface between the cortex and the thalamus, and plays a key role in regulating thalamo-cortical interactions. Current understanding of TRN neurobiology has been limited due to the lack of a comprehensive survey of TRN heterogeneity. In this thesis, I developed an integrative computational framework to analyze the single-nucleus RNA sequencing data of mouse TRN in a data-driven manner. By combining transcriptomic, genetic, and functional proteomic data, I discovered novel insights into the molecular mechanisms through which TRN regulates sensory gating, and suggested targeted follow-up experiments to validate these findings.by Taibo Li.M. Eng.M.Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Scienc

Epidemiology of patient monitoring alarms in the neonatal intensive care unit

Objective: To characterize the rate of monitoring alarms by alarm priority, signal type, and developmental age in a Level-IIIB Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) population. Study design: Retrospective analysis of 2,294,687 alarm messages from Philips monitors in a convenience sample of 917 NICU patients, covering 12,001 patient-days. We stratified alarm rates by alarm priority, signal type, postmenstrual age (PMA) and birth weight (BW), and reviewed and adjudicated over 21,000 critical alarms. Results: Of all alarms, 3.6% were critical alarms, 55.0% were advisory alarms, and 41.4% were device alerts. Over 60% of alarms related to oxygenation monitoring. The average alarm rate (±SEM) was 177.1 ± 4.9 [median: 135.9; IQR: 89.2–213.3] alarms/patient-day; the medians varied significantly with PMA and BW (p < 0.001) in U-shaped patterns, with higher rates at lower and higher PMA and BW. Based on waveform reviews, over 99% of critical arrhythmia alarms were deemed technically false. Conclusions: The alarm burden in this NICU population is very significant; the average alarm rate significantly underrepresents alarm rates at low and high PMA and BW. Virtually all critical arrhythmia alarms were artifactual.Nihon Kohden CorporationNihon Kohden Innovation CenterMassachusetts Institute of Technology (Peter J. Eloranta Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Wertheimer Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scholar Fund