Frugal Heart Rate Correction Method for Scalable Health and Safety Monitoring in Construction Sites.

Continuous, real-time monitoring of occupational health and safety in high-risk workplaces such as construction sites can substantially improve the safety of workers. However, introducing such systems in practice is associated with a number of challenges, such as scaling up the solution while keeping its cost low. In this context, this work investigates the use of an off-the-shelf, low-cost smartwatch to detect health issues based on heart rate monitoring in a privacy-preserving manner. To improve the smartwatch's low measurement quality, a novel, frugal machine learning method is proposed that corrects measurement errors, along with a new dataset for this task. This method's integration with the smartwatch and the remaining parts of the health and safety monitoring system (built on the ASSIST-IoT reference architecture) are presented. This method was evaluated in a laboratory environment in terms of its accuracy, computational requirements, and frugality. With an experimentally established mean absolute error of 8.19 BPM, only 880 bytes of required memory, and a negligible impact on the performance of the device, this method meets all relevant requirements and is expected to be field-tested in the coming months. To support reproducibility and to encourage alternative approaches, the dataset, the trained model, and its implementation on the smartwatch were published under free licenses.

Cloud-Native Workload Orchestration at the Edge: A Deployment Review and Future Directions.

Cloud-native computing principles such as virtualization and orchestration are key to transferring to the promising paradigm of edge computing. Challenges of containerization, operative models and scarce availability of established tools make a thorough review indispensable. Therefore, the authors have described the practical methods and tools found in the literature as well as in current community-led development projects, and have thoroughly exposed the future directions of the field. Container virtualization and its orchestration through Kubernetes have dominated the cloud computing domain, while major efforts have been recently recorded focused on the adaptation of these technologies to the edge. Such initiatives have addressed either the reduction of container engines and the development of specific tailored operating systems or the development of smaller K8s distributions and edge-focused adaptations (such as KubeEdge). Finally, new workload virtualization approaches, such as WebAssembly modules together with the joint orchestration of these heterogeneous workloads, seem to be the topics to pay attention to in the short to medium term.

Complete twelve month bone remodeling with a bi-phasic injectable bone substitute in benign bone tumors: a prospective pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Benign primary bone tumors are commonly treated by surgery involving bone grafts or synthetic bone void fillers. Although synthetic bone grafts may provide early mechanical support while minimizing the risk of donor-site morbidity and disease transmission, difficult handling properties and less than optimal transformation to bone have limited their use. METHODS: In a prospective series, patients with benign bone tumors were treated by minimal invasive intervention with a bi-phasic and injectable ceramic bone substitute (CERAMENT™ BONE VOID FILLER, BoneSupport, Sweden) with the hypothesis that open surgery with bone grafting might be avoided. The defects were treated by either mini-invasive surgery (solid tumors) or percutaneous injection (cysts) and followed clinically and radiologically for 12 months. CT scan was performed after 12 months to confirm bone remodeling of the bone substitute. All patients were allowed full weight bearing immediately after surgery. RESULTS: Fourteen patients with a median age of 13 years (range 7-75) were consecutively recruited during 11 months. Eleven lesions were bone cysts (eight unicameral and three post-traumatic) and three were solid benign tumors. The median size of the lesions was 40 mL (range 1-152). The most common location was humerus (n = 10). After 12 months the defects completely or partially filled with median 18 mL (range 5-28) of bone substitute demonstrated full resolution (Neer Classification grade I) in 11 patients, partial resolution (Neer II) in 2 patients and in 1 patient the cyst persisted (Neer III). No lesions required recurrent surgery during the observation period. No post-operative fracture or infection was recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Minimal invasive treatment with a bi-phasic and injectable ceramic bone substitute might offer an alternative to regular bone grafting due to convenient handling properties and rapid bone remodeling. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials NCT02567084 Release Date 10/01/2015.

Mass transport properties of the rabbit aortic wall.

Uptake of circulating macromolecules by the arterial wall may be a critical step in atherogenesis. Here we investigate the age-related changes in patterns of uptake that occur in the rabbit. In immature aortas, uptake was elevated in a triangle downstream of branch ostia, a region prone to disease in immature rabbits and children. By 16-22 months, uptake was high lateral to ostia, as is lesion prevalence in mature rabbits and young adults. In older rabbits there was a more upstream pattern, similar to the disease distribution in older people. These variations were predominantly caused by the branches themselves, rather than reflecting larger patterns within which the branches happened to be situated (as may occur with patterns of haemodynamic wall shear stress). The narrow streaks of high uptake reported in some previous studies were shown to be post mortem artefacts. Finally, heparin (which interferes with the NO pathway) had no effect on the difference in uptake between regions upstream and downstream of branches in immature rabbits but reversed the difference in older rabbits, as does inhibiting NO synthesis directly. Nevertheless, examination of uptake all around the branch showed that changes occurred at both ages and that they were quite subtle, potentially explaining why inhibiting NO has only minor effects on lesion patterns in mature rabbits and contradicting the earlier conclusion that mechanotransduction pathways change with age. We suggest that recently-established changes in the patterns of haemodynamic forces themselves are more likely to account for the age-dependence of uptake patterns.

A randomised controlled trial on the efficacy and side-effect profile (nausea/vomiting/sedation) of morphine-6-glucuronide versus morphine for post-operative pain relief after major abdominal surgery.

Morphine is the first choice of treatment of severe post-operative pain, despite the occurrence of often discomforting (post-operative nausea or vomiting (PONV)) and sometimes dangerous (sedation, respiratory depression) side effects. Literature data indicate that morphine's active metabolite, morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G), is a powerful analgesic with a possibly more favourable side-effect profile. In this multi-centre randomised controlled clinical trial patients undergoing major abdominal surgery were randomised to M6G or morphine treatment. Treatment started 30-60 min prior to the end of surgery and was continued postoperatively, after patients were titrated to comfort, via patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) for 24-48 h. Pain intensity, nausea, vomiting and sedation scores were collected at regular intervals. In the study 268 patients were randomised to M6G and 249 to morphine. Withdrawal due to insufficient pain relief occurred predominantly just after surgery and was higher in the M6G group (16.8%) than in the morphine group (8.8%), suggesting a slower onset of analgesia for M6G compared to morphine. Subjects who continued on PCA remained equi-analgesic throughout the study. During the first 24h, nausea levels showed a 27% difference in favour of M6G which narrowly failed to reach statistical significance (P=0.052). Sub-analysis showed a significant reduction in nausea levels in females on M6G (30% difference, P=0.034). In all patients, similar reductions of 30-35% were observed in anti-emetic use, vomiting, PONV (a combined measure of nausea and vomiting) in favour of M6G, persisting for the first 24h postoperatively. Reductions in sedation were observed in the first 4h post-operative period for M6G patients.

Cerebrovascular pulsation and width of subarachnoid space during electroconvulsive therapy.

BACKGROUND: The mechanism of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has not been comprehensively explained. A new noninvasive method of monitoring intracranial homeostasis during and after ECT provides additional insight into the mechanism of ECT. The investigations on changes in the width of the subarachnoid space (SAS) and intracranial pulsation amplitude by near infrared-transillumination/backscattering sounding method can throw new light on changes in type and volume induced by ECT. METHOD: In this study, a new method of noninvasive investigation of width of SAS and intracranial pulsation parameters was used. This method has been called near infrared-transillumination/backscattering sounding. The method consists of light beam analysis in near infrared whereby the light beam is emitted by an emitting diode. The light beam passes through head's anatomic layers, is reflected multiple times in SAS, and returns outward-to be recorded by the receiving diode. The novelty of this method is the patented invention that allows skin flow under the probe to be eliminated and thereby "to look" under the skull bone. RESULTS: After ECT, a highly significant increase in pulsation amplitude was observed. The pulsation amplitude rose by a factor of 2.5 times after a mean of 90 seconds after the ECT stimulus. A pause in SAS pulsation-not longer than 26 seconds-directly after administration of electroshocks was observed. After approximately 90 seconds, the amplitude decreased slowly, and this was consistent in all analyzed cases. A decrease in SAS width was also observed.

[Mental changes in course of pituitary gland tumour--a case study]. / Zmiany psychiczne u chorego z guzem przysadki mózgowej--opis przypadku.

The aim of this paper is to present a case of a 59-year old patient diagnosed with a pituitary gland tumour. The psychiatric examination at the day of admission to the clinic suggested the manic episode was based upon the disseminated organic brain lesion. The patient presented mood elevation, carefree joviality, excitement, loss of social inhibition, inability to sustain attention. In course of the clinical observation and diagnostic progress the pituitary gland tumour was revealed and neurosurgical treatment was applied. The psychopathological course of the disorder was not typical for the established location. The psychopathological syndrome that was presented by the patient gave the global clinical impression of frontal and temporal lobes' dysfunction. This case report supports the present neurobiological opinions criticizing the direct relation of the location to the function within the central nervous system.

Cytokines in patients with ischaemic heart disease or myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Cytokines are responsible for the modulation of immunological and inflammatory processes as well as proliferative responses and apoptosis. It has been recently suggested that such cytokines as interleukin 6 (IL-6), soluble interleukin 6 receptor (sIL-6R) and anti-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 10 (IL-10) may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes. AIM: To assess serum concentration of IL-6, sIL-6R and IL-10 in patients with ischaemic heart disease or acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: The study group consisted of 74 patients (25 females, 49 males, aged 40-69 years) divided into three groups; group I - 18 patients with AMI (up to 12 hours from the onset of symptoms), group II - 31 patients with unstable angina and group III - 25 patients with stable angina. The control group consisted of 20 healthy subjects. RESULTS: The IL-6 and sIL-6R serum levels were significantly higher in patients from groups I and II compared with patients from group III and controls, whereas the IL-10 serum concentration was similar in all studied groups. In patients with acute coronary syndromes serum concentrations of examined cytokines were positively correlated with acute inflammatory phase parameters and classical risk factors such as body mass index, blood pressure and lipid levels. CONCLUSIONS: IL-6 and sIL-6R are markers of acute coronary syndromes and may be used for the identification of high-risk patients with unstable angina or AMI.

Evaluation of headspace solid-phase microextraction for the analysis of volatile carbonyl compounds in spirits and alcoholic beverages.

A method was developed for the determination of C1-C6 carbonyl compounds in alcoholic solutions using pentafluorobenzoxymation followed by headspace sampling solid-phase microextraction and subsequent analysis by GC with electron-capture detection. Experimental conditions-alcohol content, exposure time, temperature and sample agitation were optimised. In this method, a spirit or distilled alcoholic beverage is first adjusted to 20% (v/v) alcohol. Detection limits for particular aldehydes and ketone varied from 0.05 to 0.5 microg/l and relative standard deviation was between 2.3 and 20%. Generally, the method showed good linearity for the tested concentration range 8 microg/l-0.32 mg/l with regression coefficients ranging between 0.9434 and 0.9983. The method was applied to the analysis of real alcoholic beverages (vodkas).

[Assessment of serum levels of adhesion molecules (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, sE-selectin) in stable and unstable angina and acute myocardial infarction]. / Ocena stezenia wybranych czasteczek adhezyjnych (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, sE-selectin) w stabilnej i niestabilnej chorobie niedokrwiennej serca oraz w zawale miesnia sercowego.

The targeting and recruitment of inflammatory cells to vascular endothelium in ischaemic heart diseases is mediated by Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1), Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule (VCAM-1) and E-selectin and proinflammatory cytokines. Accumulation of mononuclear cells to the endothelium is one of the earliest events in the formation of an atherosclerotic lesion. The aim of this study was to estimate the serum concentrations of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), selectin E (sE-selectin) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (Group 1--n = 18 patients: 3 women and 15 men, mean age--60 years), unstable angina pectoris (Grupa 2--n = 31 patients: 8 women and 23 men, mean age--62 years and stable heart disease (Grupa 3--n = 25 patients: 14 women and 11 men, mean age--61 years. The control group (Group 4--n = 20) consist of twenty healthy patient without coronary risk factors. ELISA method was used to determine the concentration of adhesion molecules of acute inflammation parameters, and traditional risk factors with using standard methods. The serum levels of sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 were markedly elevated in patients with acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris and stable heart disease compared to control group (p < 0.001, p < 0.004, p < 0.0002 for sICAM-1, p < 0.007, p < 0.003, p < 0.004 for sVCAM-1). Serum concentration of sE-selectin in three groups was similar, we did not find statistically significant differences between them. Furthermore, serum concentrations of adhesion molecules correlated with serum concentrations of acute inflammation parameters and traditional coronary risk factor for example BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and lipid concentration. Additional serum concentration of sICAM-1 was elevated in smoking patients compared to non-smokers. We conclude that evaluation of adhesion molecules (sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in patients with heart diseases can be unspecific markers of activity of inflammatory process in coronary vascular endothelium.

[Carbamazepine in the treatment in psychiatric disorders based on retrospective clinical study]. / Karbamazepina w leczeniu zaburzen psychicznych na podstawie wlasnego materialu klinicznego.

Medical records of patient treated in I Department of Psychiatry Medical University of Gdansk in 1996-2000 were analysed. Carbamazepine was used in 383 patients, 209 male and 174 female. Mean age for the whole group 41.2 years, for male 40.6, for female 41.9. Carbamazepine was mainly used in affective disorders (F30-33) and organic affective disorders (F06.3)-107 persons. Second the most common indication was organic personality disturbances (F07.0)-121 persons. Carbamazepine was used in 100-1200 mg per day (mean dose 415 mg) during 5-189 days (mean 36 days). Treatment was well tolerated. Only 24 patients (6.3%) have mild side effects. Drug level in blood was checked in 19 patients during two last years of analysed material. Carbamazepine was used mainly with tricyclic antidepressants (30.3%), second generation antidepressive drugs (22.2%) and typical neuroleptics (11.1%). More than half of patients (55.6%) were recovered. Based on clinical material carbamazepine seems to be active agent in treatment of affective disorders and diseases connected with organic brain lesion.