Notes

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Finger plethysmography derived stroke volumes are frequently measured during tilt table testing. There are two algorithms to determine stroke volumes Modelflow and Nexfin CO Trek. Most tilt studies used Modelflow, while there are differences between the two algorithms.

To compare stroke volume indices by Nexfin CO Trek (SVINexfinCOTrek) with suprasternal Doppler derived SVI (SVIDoppler) in healthy controls (HC) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients during tilt testing. These patients may have a large SVI decrease during the tilt enabling a large range of SVI to be studied.

One hundred and fifty-four patients and 39 HC with a normal tilt test were included. Supine and end-tilt SVIDoppler and SVINexfinCOTrek were compared using the Bland-Altman analysis. Also, the effect of calibrating supine SVINexfinCOTrek to SVIDoppler was studied.

Supine and end-tilt SVINexfinCOTrek were significantly higher than SVIDoppler both P< 0.005. Bias, limits of agreement, and percent error (PE) were high with PE's between 37 and 43%. The calibration procedure resulted in an acceptable variance with a PE of 29%.

SVINexfinCOTrek overestimates stroke volumes compared to SVIDoppler, leading to high PE's. Calibration reduced variance to an acceptable level, allowing SVINexfinCOTrek to be used for assessment of SVI changes during tilt testing.
SVINexfinCOTrek overestimates stroke volumes compared to SVIDoppler, leading to high PE's. Calibration reduced variance to an acceptable level, allowing SVINexfinCOTrek to be used for assessment of SVI changes during tilt testing.
Avatars in Virtual Reality (VR) can not only represent humans, but also embody intelligent software agents that communicate with humans, thus enabling a new paradigm of human-machine interaction.

The research agenda proposed in this paper by an interdisciplinary team is motivated by the premise that a conversation with a smart agent avatar in VR means more than giving a face and body to a chatbot. Using the concrete communication task of patient education, this research agenda is rather intended to explore which patterns and practices must be constructed visually, verbally, para- and nonverbally between humans and embodied machines in a counselling context so that humans can integrate counselling by an embodied VR smart agent into their thinking and acting in one way or another.

The scientific literature in different bibliographical databases was reviewed. A qualitative narrative approach was applied for analysis.

A research agenda is proposed which investigates how recurring consultations of patients with healthcare professionals are currently conducted and how they could be conducted with an embodied smart agent in immersive VR.

Interdisciplinary teams consisting of linguists, computer scientists, visual designers and health care professionals are required which need to go beyond a technology-centric solution design approach. Linguists' insights from discourse analysis drive the explorative experiments to identify test and discover what capabilities and attributes the smart agent in VR must have, in order to communicate effectively with a human being.
Interdisciplinary teams consisting of linguists, computer scientists, visual designers and health care professionals are required which need to go beyond a technology-centric solution design approach. Linguists' insights from discourse analysis drive the explorative experiments to identify test and discover what capabilities and attributes the smart agent in VR must have, in order to communicate effectively with a human being.
To cure atrial fibrillation, the maximum ablation depth (⩾ 50∘C) should exceed the myocardial thickness to achieve the effect of transmural ablation. The blood flow of pulmonary vein in the endocardium can cause the change in the myocardial temperature distribution. Therefore, the study investigated the effect of different pulmonary vein blood flow velocities on the endocardial microwave ablation.

The finite element model of the endocardial microwave ablation of pulmonary vein was simulated by electromagnetic thermal flow coupling. The ablation power was 30 W and the ablation time was within 30 s. The blood flow in the coupling of fluid mechanics equation and heat transfer equation results in the heat damage. Furthermore, the cause of the different lesion dimensions is the blood flow velocity. The flow velocities were set as 0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.07, 0.12, 0.16, 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30 m/s.

When the flow velocities were 0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.07, 0.12, 0.16, 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30 m/s, the maximum ablation depth were 6.00.05-0.12, 0.12 m/s-0.30 m/s.
When the velocity increases from 0 m/s to 3 m/s, the microwave lesion depth decreases by 1.06 mm. To achieve transmural ablation, when the myocardial thickness is 2 mm, 3 and 4 s should be taken when the velocity is 0-0.12 and 0.120.30 m/s, respectively; when the myocardial thickness is 3 mm, 7, 8 and 9 s should be taken when 0, 0-0.07 and 0.07-0.30 m/s respectively; when the myocardial thickness is 4 mm, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 s should be taken when 0, 0-0.02, 0.02-0.05, 0.05-0.12, 0.12 m/s-0.30 m/s.
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains challenging. It is speculated that structural atrophy in white matter tracts commences prior to the onset of AD symptoms.

We hypothesize that disruptions in white matter tract connectivity precedes the onset of AD symptoms and these disruptions could be leveraged for early prediction of AD.

Diffusion tensor images (DTI) from 52 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were selected. Subjects were dichotomized into two age and gender matched groups; the MCI-AD group (22 subjects who progressed to develop AD) and the MCI-control group (who did not develop AD). DTI images were anatomically parcellated into 90 distinct regions ROIs followed by tractography methods to obtain different biophysical networks. Features extracted from these networks were used to train predictive algorithms with the objective of discriminating the MCI-AD and MCI-control groups. Model performance and best features are reported.

Up to 80% prediction accuracy was achieved using a combination of features from the 'right anterior cingulum' and 'right frontal superior medial'. Additionally, local network features were more useful than global in improving the model's performance.

Connectivity-based characterization of white matter tracts offers potential for early detection of MCI-AD and in the discovery of novel imaging biomarkers.
Connectivity-based characterization of white matter tracts offers potential for early detection of MCI-AD and in the discovery of novel imaging biomarkers.
In this trial we combined the effect of purposeful activity and electrical stimulation therapy (PA-EST) to promote transition of severely hemiparetic upper limb to auxiliary upper limb in chronic stroke survivors in a single-case study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of PA-EST on the upper limb motor function in a crossover randomized controlled trial.

The study included eight stroke survivors (age 63.1±10.9 years) who were receiving home-based visiting occupational therapy. click here The average time since stroke onset was 8.8±5.6 years. All participants had severely hemiparetic upper limb, with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment upper extremity (FMA-U) score of 21.3±8.5. Participants were randomly assigned to group A or B. Group A received PA-EST for 3 months (phase 1), followed by standard stretching and exercise for 3 months (phase 2), whereas group B had the inverse order of treatments. To avoid carry-over effect, 1-month washout period was provided between the phase 1 and 2. Two-way analysis of as reflected in FMA-U, MAL, and GAS-light. Our results suggest that PA-EST is an important and useful home-based rehabilitation program for promoting the use of the severely hemiparetic upper limb in chronic stroke survivors.
Caffeine and taurine, which possess neuro-modulatory activity happen to be consumed together as part of the constituents of energy drinks, could have beneficial effects and prevent neuronal deterioration in Parkinson's disease (PD).

This study aimed to investigate behavioral and neurochemical effects of these two agents in an animal model of PD at two time points to evaluate possible neuro-protective or neuro-modulatory effects.

Stereotaxic injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rat striatum was used to model PD-like behavior in animals. Motor behavior was assessed by a characteristic rotation behavior response to the apomorphine challenge and dopamine levels in the striatum were quantified using HPLC-ED.

A reduction in apomorphine induced rotations following administration of caffeine and/or taurine as compared to the untreated lesioned group (controls) was shown. Significant decreases in dopamine levels were also seen in the ipsilateral side of 6-OHDA group, this effect was not significantly reversed in caffeine and taurine treated groups. Treatments partially restored the content of DA levels in the lesioned striatum.

Current results demonstrated beneficial effects for the combination of caffeine and taurine in PD animal model, suggesting that consumption of both agents could be a new added therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease prevention and treatment.
Current results demonstrated beneficial effects for the combination of caffeine and taurine in PD animal model, suggesting that consumption of both agents could be a new added therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease prevention and treatment.
The evaluation of motor imagery in persons with prolonged Disorders of Consciousness (pDOC) is a practical approach to differentiate between patients with Minimally Conscious State (MCS) and Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (UWS) and to identify residual awareness even in individuals with UWS. Investigating the influence of motor observation on motor imagery could be helpful in this regard.

In order to corroborate the clinical diagnosis and identify misdiagnosed individuals, we used EEG recordings, to assess the influence of the low-level perceptual and motoric mechanisms on motor observation on motor imagery, taking into account the role of the high-level cognitive mechanisms in patients with pDOC.

We assessed the influence of motor observation of walking in first-person or third-person view (by a video provision) on motor imagery of walking in the first-person view on the visual N190 (expression of motor observation processing), the readiness potential (RP) (expressing motor preparation), and the P3 nd high-level motor preparation processes in response to a simple influence of motor observation of motor imagery tasks potentially supports the clinical differential diagnosis of with MCS and UWS. This might help identify UWS patients which were misdiagnosed and who deserve more sophisticated diagnoses.
Our study suggests that identifying the low-level visual and high-level motor preparation processes in response to a simple influence of motor observation of motor imagery tasks potentially supports the clinical differential diagnosis of with MCS and UWS. This might help identify UWS patients which were misdiagnosed and who deserve more sophisticated diagnoses.
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