Visual and automatic classification of the cyclic alternating pattern in electroencephalography during sleep

Cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) is a neurophysiological pattern that can be visually scored by international criteria. The aim of this study was to verify the feasibility of visual CAP scoring using only one channel of sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) to evaluate the inter-scorer agreement in a variety of recordings, and to compare agreement between visual scoring and automatic scoring systems. Sixteen hours of single-channel European data format recordings from four different sleep laboratories with either C4-A1 or C3-A2 channels and with different sampling frequencies were used in this study. Seven independent scorers applied visual scoring according to international criteria. Two automatic blind scorings were also evaluated. Event-based inter-scorer agreement analysis was performed. The pairwise inter-scorer agreement (PWISA) was between 55.5 and 84.3%. The average PWISA was above 60% for all scorers and the global average was 69.9%. Automatic scoring systems showed similar results to those of visual scoring. The study showed that CAP could be scored using only one EEG channel. Therefore, CAP scoring might also be integrated in sleep scoring features and automatic scoring systems having similar performances to visual sleep scoring systems.

Effect of watershed land use on water quality: a case study in Córrego da Olaria Basin, São Paulo State, Brazil / Efeito do uso do solo em sub-bacias na qualidade da água: um estudo de caso na Bacia do Córrego da Olaria, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Abstract The water quality is related to the hydrologic and limnologic properties of ground and surface water, and significant efforts have been made to monitor water sources to understand the effects of land use changes in agricultural areas, with significant socioeconomic activities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the qualitative aspects of surface water in subbasins related to land use. Samples were analyzed in terms of physical and chemical parameters on monthly discrete water quality sampling in four representative sites at first order subbasin streams, located at the Polo Regional Centro Norte, Pindorama County, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The land use classification was made by visual detection technique in a multispectral satellite data obtained from LandSat8- spectral bands of the OLI sensor. The watershed was classified into major land cover/use classes and overlay maps generated in ArcGIS 10 indicated a significant shift from natural vegetation to agriculture activities. Water quality monitoring was according to the brazilian protocol and the results were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The values obtained differ significantly at each sampling point - subbasins, reflecting the effects of land use on water quality. Soil conservation management is important to optimize soil use in order to contribute to the control of water pollution and the formulation of a public policy is necessary for the conservation of water and soil resources.

Resumo A qualidade da água está relacionada com as propriedades hidrológicas e limnológicas das águas subterrâneas e superficiais, e esforços significativos devem ser realizados para monitorar as nascentes no intuito de compreender os efeitos das mudanças no uso da terra em áreas agrícolas, com atividades socioeconômicas significativas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os aspectos qualitativos das águas superficiais de bacias hidrográficas e correlacionar com o uso do solo. As amostras foram analisadas em termos dos parâmetros físicos e químicos na amostragem mensal discreta da qualidade da água, em quatro locais representativos de nascentes em microbacias de primeira ordem, localizadas no Polo Regional Centro Norte, Pindorama, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. A classificação do uso do solo foi feita por técnica de detecção visual em uma imagem multiespectral de satélite LandSat8- bandas espectrais, sensor OLI. O uso do solo foi classificado nas principais classes de uso e os mapas de sobreposição gerados no ArcGIS 10 indicaram uma mudança significativa da vegetação natural para as atividades agrícolas. O monitoramento da qualidade da água foi realizado de acordo com o protocolo brasileiro e os resultados foram submetidos à análise de variância (ANOVA). Os valores obtidos diferem significativamente em cada ponto de amostragem, refletindo os efeitos do uso do solo sobre a qualidade da água. A gestão do solo e da água é importante para aperfeiçoar as práticas agrícolas, no intuito de contribuir para o controle da poluição da água e para a formulação de uma política pública necessária para a conservação dos recursos hídricos e do solo.

Horner-s Syndrome following common carotid artery translocation in a horse: case report / Síndrome de Horner após transposição de carótida em equino: relato de caso

Horner's syndrome (HS) is a sympathetic dysfunction caused by injuries to the sympathetic pathway. A clinical case of HS following common carotid artery transposition and catheterization in a horse is described. The animal presented head and neck sweating with focal skin temperature elevation, facial paralysis and ptosis. Most clinical signs were transient and persisted for two hours following percutaneous catheter removal. Recurrence of clinical signs was observed at subsequent catheterizations. Ptosis endured for 10 months as a consequence of the first catheter placement which demonstrates the importance of careful manipulation of the anatomical structures of the neck when performing any surgical manipulation in this area...

A síndrome de Horner é uma disfunção do sistema nervoso autônomo simpático, decorrente de qualquer injúria a essa via de transmissão nervosa. Este artigo descreve um caso da síndrome após cirurgia para a transposição da artéria carótida comum. Os sinais clínicos observados foram sudorese de face e pescoço, com hipertermia localizada, paralisia facial e ptose palpebral. A maioria dos sinais foi transitória e se manifestou por até duas horas após a remoção do cateter percutâneo, introduzido na artéria transposta. Como essa manifestação foi recorrente nas venóclises subsequentes e a ptose palpebral perdurou por 10 meses, desde a primeira punção arterial, ressalta-se a importância e o critério quando da necessidade de manipulação cirúrgica dessa região anatômica...

Correlation between total nitrite/nitrate concentrations and monoamine oxidase (types A and B) and semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase enzymatic activities in human mesenteric arteries from non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients

The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between total nitrite/nitrate concentrations (NOx) and the kinetic parameters of monoamine oxidase enzymes (MAO-A and MAO-B) and semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) in human mesenteric arteries. Arteries were from non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients with sigmoid or rectum carcinoma for whom surgery was the first option and who were not exposed to neo-adjuvant therapy. Segments of human inferior mesenteric arteries from non-diabetic (61.1 ± 8.9 years old, 7 males and 5 females, N = 12) and type 2 diabetic patients (65.8 ± 6.2 years old, 8 males and 4 females, N = 12) were used to determine NOx concentrations and the kinetic parameters of MAO-A, MAO-B and SSAO by the Griess reaction and by radiochemical assay, respectively. The NOx concentrations in arteries from diabetic patients did not differ significantly from those of the non-diabetic group (10.28 ± 4.61 vs 10.71 ± 4.32 nmol/mg protein, respectively). In the non-diabetic group, there was a positive correlation between NOx concentrations and MAO-B parameters: Km (r = 0.612, P = 0.034) and Vmax (r = 0.593, P = 0.042), and a negative correlation with the SSAO parameters: Km (r = -0.625, P = 0.029) and Vmax (r = -0.754, P = 0.005). However, in the diabetic group no correlation was found between NOx concentrations and the three kinetic parameters of the enzymes. These results suggest an important function of sympathetic nerves and vascular NOx concentrations in arteries of non-diabetic patients. Thus, these results confirm the importance of a balance between oxidants and antioxidants in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis to prevent oxidative stress.

Delta sleep instability in children with chronic arthritis

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the expression of a cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) in slow wave sleep (SWS) in children with the well-defined chronic syndrome juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Twelve patients (9-17 years of age), 7 girls, with JIA were compared to matched controls by age, pubertal stage and gender. After one night of habituation in the sleep laboratory, sleep measurements were obtained by standard polysomnography with conventional sleep scoring and additional CAP analyses. The sleep parameters of the JIA and control groups were similar for sleep efficiency (91.1 ± 6.7 vs 95.8 ± 4.0), sleep stage in minutes: stage 1 (16.8 ± 8.5 vs 17.8 ± 4.0), stage 2 (251.9 ± 41 vs 262.8 ± 38.1), stage 3 (17.0 ± 6.0 vs 15.1 ± 5.7), stage 4 (61.0 ± 21.7 vs 77.1 ± 20.4), and rapid eye movement sleep (82.0 ± 27.6 vs 99.0 ± 23.9), respectively. JIA patients presented nocturnal disrupted sleep, with an increase in short awakenings, but CAP analyses showed that sleep disruption was present even during SWS, showing an increase in the overall CAP rate (P < 0.01). Overall CAP rate during non-rapid eye movement sleep was significantly higher in pediatric patients who were in chronic pain. This is the first study of CAP in pediatric patients with chronic arthritis showing that CAP analyses can be a powerful tool for the investigation of disturbance of SWS in children, based on sleep EEG visual analysis.

Neurovascular pedicles of the tibialis anterior muscle in children / Pedículos neurovasculares del músculo tibial anterior en niños

The importance of the tibialis anterior muscle in infantile orthopedic transposition surgeries, as in myelomemngoceles, it bases this research about the neurovascular pedicles of the tibialis anterior muscle. The study was conducted on 34 legs of human cadavers that were one year old or younger at the time of death. It was observed that the tibialis anterior muscle most frequently presented from 7 to 10 arterial branches (52.4 percent). In 97.1 percent of cases these branches were derived from the anterior tibial artery. In one case the anterior tibial artery was missing and the muscle was supplied by the fibular artery. Thirty-nine and seven tenths percent of arterial branches entered the superior third of the muscle; the middle third received 40.1 percent of the branches and the inferior third received 20.2 percent of the branches. The deep fibular nerve exclusively supplied the innervation, which in91.2 percent of cases, gave off from 2 to 4 branches to the muscle, mainly to the superior (46.2 percent) and middle third (43.0 percent). Most frequently, there were two neurovascular pedicles supplying the superior third and one supplying the middle third.

La importancia del músculo tibial anterior en cirugías de transposición ortopédica en niños, así como en casos de mielomeningocele, fundamenta su estudio respecto a sus pedículos neurovasculares. El estudio se realizó en 34 miembros inferiores de cadáveres de niños de un año o menos de edad. Se observó que el músculo tibial anterior presentaba con frecuencia 7 a 10 ramas arteriales (52,4 por ciento). En 97,1 por ciento de los casos estos ramos eran derivados de la arteria tibial anterior. En dos casos, la arteria tibial anterior estaba ausente y el músculo suplió su irrigación con la arteria fibular. En relación a la entrada de las ramas, 39,7 por ciento lo hacen en el tercio superior del músculo. El tercio medio recibe 40,1 por ciento de las ramas y el tercio inferior recibe 20,2 por ciento de ellas. El nervio fibular profundo es la fuente principal de inervación, en 91,2 por ciento de los casos provee 2 a 4 ramos para el músculo, de ellos el 46,2 por ciento termina en el tercio superior y el 43 por ciento en el tercio medio. Con mayor frecuencia, existen dos pedículos neurovasculares supliendo el tercio superior y uno supliendo el tercio medio del músculo tibial anterior.