scholarly journals More than a biomarker: could language be a biosocial marker of psychosis?

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Palaniyappan
Keyword(s):  
Digital Tools ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Linguistic Variables ◽  
Automated Extraction ◽  
Linguistic Features

AbstractAutomated extraction of quantitative linguistic features has the potential to predict objectively the onset and progression of psychosis. These linguistic variables are often considered to be biomarkers, with a large emphasis placed on the pathological aberrations in the biological processes that underwrite the faculty of language in psychosis. This perspective offers a reminder that human language is primarily a social device that is biologically implemented. As such, linguistic aberrations in patients with psychosis reflect both social and biological processes affecting an individual. Failure to consider the sociolinguistic aspects of NLP measures will limit their usefulness as digital tools in clinical settings. In the context of psychosis, considering language as a biosocial marker could lead to less biased and more accessible tools for patient-specific predictions in the clinic.

scholarly journals Effect of Patient-Specific Preanalytic Variables on CSF Aβ1–42 Concentrations Measured on an Automated Chemiluminescent Platform

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline A Darrow ◽  
Amanda Calabro ◽  
Sara Gannon ◽  
Amanze Orusakwe ◽  
Rianne Esquivel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Csf Biomarkers ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Blood Contamination ◽  
Gradient Effect ◽  
Β Amyloid ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Gradient Effects

Abstract Background Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers are increasingly used to confirm the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or dementia due to Alzheimer disease (AD). Recent evidence suggests that fully automated assays reduce the impact of some preanalytical factors on the variability of these measures. This study evaluated the effect of several preanalytical variables common in clinical settings on the variability of CSF β-amyloid 1–42 (Aβ1–42) concentrations. Methods Aβ1–42 concentrations were measured using the LUMIPULSE G1200 from both freshly collected and frozen CSF samples. Preanalytic variables examined were: (1) patient fasting prior to CSF collection, (2) blood contamination of specimens, and (3) aliquoting specimens sequentially over the course of collection (i.e., CSF gradients). Results Patient fasting did not significantly affect CSF Aβ1–42 levels. While assessing gradient effects, Aβ1–42 concentrations remained stable within the first 5 1-mL aliquots. However, there is evidence of a gradient effect toward higher concentrations over successive aliquots. Aβ1–42 levels were stable when fresh CSF samples were spiked with up to 2.5% of blood. However, in frozen CSF samples, even 0.25% blood contamination significantly decreased Aβ1–42 concentrations. Conclusions The preanalytical variables examined here do not have significant effects on Aβ1–42 concentrations if fresh samples are processed within 2 h. However, a gradient effect can be observed on Aβ1–42 concentrations after the first 5 mL of collection and blood contamination has a significant impact on Aβ1–42 concentrations once specimens have been frozen.

scholarly journals The Panoramic ECAP Method: estimating patient-specific patterns of current spread and neural health in cochlear implant users

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Garcia ◽  
Tobias Goehring ◽  
Stefano Cosentino ◽  
Richard E Turner ◽  
John M. Deeks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Electrode Array ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Current Spread ◽  
Compound Action Potentials ◽  
In Cis

The knowledge of patient-specific neural excitation patterns from cochlear implants can provide important information for optimising efficacy and improving speech perception outcomes. The Panoramic ECAP (or ‘PECAP’) method (Cosentino, et al., 2015) uses forward-masked electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) to estimate neural activation patterns of cochlear implant (CI) stimulation. The algorithm requires ECAPs be measured for loudness-balanced stimuli from all combinations of probe and masker electrodes, and takes advantage of ECAP amplitudes being a result of the overlapping excitatory areas of both probes and maskers. Here we present an improved version of the PECAP algorithm that imposes biologically realistic constraints on the solution and produces separate estimates of current spread and neural health along the length of the electrode array. The algorithm was evaluated for reliability and accuracy in three ways: (1) computer-simulated current-spread and neural-health scenarios, (2) comparisons to psychophysical correlates of neural health and electrode-modiolus distances in human CI users, and (3) detection of simulated neural ‘dead’ regions (using forward masking) in human CI users. The PECAP algorithm reliably estimated the computer simulated scenarios. A moderate but significant negative correlation between focused thresholds and PECAP’s neural health estimates was found, consistent with previous literature. It also correctly identified simulated dead regions in seven CI users. The revised PECAP algorithm provides an estimate of the electrode-to-neuron interface in CIs that could be used to inform and optimize CI stimulation strategies for individual patients in clinical settings.

scholarly journals Renin-Angiotensin System in Lung Tumor and Microenvironment Interactions

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Joana Catarata ◽  
Ricardo Ribeiro ◽  
Maria José Oliveira ◽  
Carlos Robalo Cordeiro ◽  
Rui Medeiros
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Adjuvant Therapy ◽  
Lung Tumor ◽  
Renin Angiotensin System ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Angiotensin System ◽  
Renin Angiotensin ◽  
Angiotensin Peptides

The mechanistic involvement of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) reaches beyond cardiovascular physiopathology. Recent knowledge pinpoints a pleiotropic role for this system, particularly in the lung, and mainly through locally regulated alternative molecules and secondary pathways. Angiotensin peptides play a role in cell proliferation, immunoinflammatory response, hypoxia and angiogenesis, which are critical biological processes in lung cancer. This manuscript reviews the literature supporting a role for the renin-angiotensin system in the lung tumor microenvironment and discusses whether blockade of this pathway in clinical settings may serve as an adjuvant therapy in lung cancer.

Pawilony bioniczne

BUILDER ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 258 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-28
Author(s):  
Anna Nowak ◽  
Wiesław Rokicki
Keyword(s):  
Fibonacci Sequence ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Biological Models ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Advanced Knowledge ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Advanced Computer

INSPIRATIONS OF NATURE IN ARCHITECTURE. BIONIC PAVILIONS. The search for bionics is an interesting design notion, where the form of architectural objects is not only inspired by the aesthetics or patterns found in nature, but how its shape is reproduced by the natural processes of morphogenesis. Depending on how various patters in nature are replicated, a number of bionic modeling can be observed. The design based on the principles of forming natural structures requires some understanding of the ongoing processes and their changes. Thanks to the improvement of generative design methods allowing for the advanced knowledge in the field of technology to build the individual structural elements, a structural replication and analysis of biological processes is possible. The creation of mathematical models is an attempt to describe the forms found in the natural world, in particular the aspects of the morphogenesis. The Voronoi diagrams, or the Fibonacci sequence, which are increasingly used as a method of the discretization of the surface, deserve special consideration among the mentioned patterns found in nature. Digital tools play an important role in this process through the application of appropriate algorithms and advanced computer programs, but also experimental activities geared to building prototype solutions. The design of complicated spatial forms under different aspects is also aimed at searching for optimized technical and material solutions, in which unnecessary geometry is being eliminated. The transfer of biological models into architecture also applies to functional processes and systems found in nature in terms of shaping the coating elements. This paper is dedicated to the presentation of the completed experimental pavilions, which were created based on the bionic ideas, where the search for the multifunctional materials seems to be particularly important and could in turn revolutionize the building industry.

‘chtileu qu'i m'freumereu m'bouque i n'est point coér au monne’: Grammatical variation and diglossia in Picardie

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNE-JOSÉ VILLENEUVE ◽  
JULIE AUGER
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Linguistic Variables ◽  
Data Display ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Variable Nature ◽  
Grammatical Variation

ABSTRACTIn this article, we analyze French and Picard data, extracted from sociolinguistic interviews with four Picard–French bilingual speakers and four French monolingual speakers from the Vimeu (Somme) area of France, in order to determine whether the two closely-related varieties maintain distinct grammars or whether they now constitute varieties of the same language. Focusing on two linguistic variables, subject doubling andnedeletion, we argue that the variation observed in our French data results from variation within a single grammar, while our Picard data display markedly different patterns that can only be explained by a speaker's switch to a Picard grammar. We propose a model that schematises our results and attempts to reconcile the notions of diglossia and variation. In addition to providing empirical evidence in favour of an approach that recognises the structurally distinct status of Picard, our data indicate that resorting to a diglossic approach for French fails to capture the intrinsically variable nature of human language.

scholarly journals A Practical Sensor-Based Methodology for the Quantitative Assessment and Classification of Chronic Non Specific Low Back Patients (NSLBP) in Clinical Settings

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrdad Davoudi ◽  
Seyyed Mohammadreza Shokouhyan ◽  
Mohsen Abedi ◽  
Narges Meftahi ◽  
Atefeh Rahimi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Sagittal Plane ◽  
Inertial Sensor ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Low Back ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Right

The successful clinical application of patient-specific personalized medicine for the management of low back patients remains elusive. This study aimed to classify chronic nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) patients using our previously developed and validated wearable inertial sensor (SHARIF-HMIS) for the assessment of trunk kinematic parameters. One hundred NSLBP patients consented to perform repetitive flexural movements in five different planes of motion (PLM): 0° in the sagittal plane, as well as 15° and 30° lateral rotation to the right and left, respectively. They were divided into three subgroups based on the STarT Back Screening Tool. The sensor was placed on the trunk of each patient. An ANOVA mixed model was conducted on the maximum and average angular velocity, linear acceleration and maximum jerk, respectively. The effect of the three-way interaction of Subgroup by direction by PLM on the mean trunk acceleration was significant. Subgrouping by STarT had no main effect on the kinematic indices in the sagittal plane, although significant effects were observed in the asymmetric directions. A significant difference was also identified during pre-rotation in the transverse plane, where the velocity and acceleration decreased while the jerk increased with increasing asymmetry. The acceleration during trunk flexion was significantly higher than that during extension, in contrast to the velocity, which was higher in extension. A Linear Discriminant Analysis, utilized for classification purposes, demonstrated that 51% of the total performance classifying the three STarT subgroups (65% for high risk) occurred at a position of 15° of rotation to the right during extension. Greater discrimination (67%) was obtained in the classification of the high risk vs. low-medium risk. This study provided a smart “sensor-based” practical methodology for quantitatively assessing and classifying NSLBP patients in clinical settings. The outcomes may also be utilized by leveraging cost-effective inertial sensors, already available in today’s smartphones, as objective tools for various health applications towards personalized precision medicine.

scholarly journals An Overview of Biofield Devices

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. gahmj.2015.022. ◽  
Author(s):  
David Muehsam ◽  
Gaétan Chevalier ◽  
Tiffany Barsotti ◽  
Blake T. Gurfein
Keyword(s):  
Information Flow ◽  
Clinical Medicine ◽  
Electrical Current ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Device Development ◽  
Mode Of Operation ◽  
Neurological Processes ◽  
Broad Overview

Advances in biophysics, biology, functional genomics, neuroscience, psychology, psychoneuroimmunology, and other fields suggest the existence of a subtle system of “biofield” interactions that organize biological processes from the subatomic, atomic, molecular, cellular, and organismic to the interpersonal and cosmic levels. Biofield interactions may bring about regulation of biochemical, cellular, and neurological processes through means related to electromagnetism, quantum fields, and perhaps other means of modulating biological activity and information flow. The biofield paradigm, in contrast to a reductionist, chemistry-centered viewpoint, emphasizes the informational content of biological processes; biofield interactions are thought to operate in part via low-energy or “subtle” processes such as weak, nonthermal electromagnetic fields (EMFs) or processes potentially related to consciousness and nonlocality. Biofield interactions may also operate through or be reflected in more well-understood informational processes found in electroencephalographic (EEG) and electrocardiographic (ECG) data. Recent advances have led to the development of a wide variety of therapeutic and diagnostic biofield devices, defined as physical instruments best understood from the viewpoint of a biofield paradigm. Here, we provide a broad overview of biofield devices, with emphasis on those devices for which solid, peer-reviewed evidence exists. A subset of these devices, such as those based upon EEG- and ECG-based heart rate variability, function via mechanisms that are well understood and are widely employed in clinical settings. Other device modalities, such a gas discharge visualization and biophoton emission, appear to operate through incompletely understood mechanisms and have unclear clinical significance. Device modes of operation include EMF-light, EMF-heat, EMF-nonthermal, electrical current, vibration and sound, physical and mechanical, intentionality and nonlocality, gas and plasma, and other (mode of operation not well-understood). Methodological issues in device development and interfaces for future interdisciplinary research are discussed. Devices play prominent cultural and scientific roles in our society, and it is likely that device technologies will be one of the most influential access points for the furthering of biofield research and the dissemination of biofield concepts. This developing field of study presents new areas of research that have many important implications for both basic science and clinical medicine.

833 The Importance of Trajectory Curves for the Implementation of Outcome Benchmarks in a Clinical Setting

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S254-S255
Author(s):  
Brian M Kelter ◽  
Audrey E Wolfe ◽  
Mary D Slavin ◽  
Lewis Kazis ◽  
Colleen M Ryan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Burn Injury ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Burn Survivors ◽  
Analytical Approaches ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Introduction The creation of individualized treatment plans that address social participation in burn survivors requires an understanding of the expected changes over time from the original burn injury. The Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation (LIBRE) Profile is a patient-reported outcome measure for social participation after burn injury. Visual representation of expected change over time of a population is achieved through the development of trajectory curves (TCs), serving as benchmarks for recovery. In order to optimize the implementation of LIBRE Profile TCs, a literature review was conducted to examine utilization of TCs in other clinical settings. Methods A review of studies published from 2014–2019, demonstrating TCs as growth or treatment models in clinical settings, was performed. Literature was identified by searching “trajectory curves,” “trajectory models,” and “clinic” or “clinical” in PubMed. Articles focusing on three areas of inquiry were included: 1) measuring individual patient growth; 2) comparing progress for similar patient cohorts to provide contextualized reference for personal growth; 3) predictive medicine/risk assessment for interventional care in various conditions. Results The initial literature review identified 141 manuscripts. A total of 107 were excluded and 34 manuscripts were reviewed and categorized based on the three areas of inquiry (Figure 1; Table 1). Positive results from TCs in all areas of inquiry were noted in 22 of the 34 the chosen studies. General trends for each area of inquiry include: an increased ability for parents and clinicians to track individual patient progress in what was primarily anthropometric studies; articles relating to comparative cohort tracking show that trajectory-driven analytical approaches offer displays of progress across similar clinical groups of recovery for given conditions. Use of TCs in predictive care or risk assessment typically relate to acute conditions such as asthma, traumatic brain injury, or degenerative conditions (neurocognitive or musculoskeletal). For the most part, these diagnoses depict a positive trend for clinicians to identify future outcomes using fitted trajectories. Conclusions These findings support the clinical use of trajectory curves to present patient-specific, cohort-relative, and predictive treatment for outcome-based results post-burn for burn survivors. Applicability of Research to Practice Future research will assess the use of LIBRE Profile recovery trajectories as benchmarks for optimization of social participation outcomes.

Patient-specific multi-omics models and the application in personalized combination therapy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
August John ◽  
Bo Qin ◽  
Krishna R Kalari ◽  
Liewei Wang ◽  
Jia Yu
Keyword(s):  
Combination Therapy ◽  
Data Integration ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Sharp Decrease ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Omics Data ◽  
Disease Treatment ◽  
Lower Drug ◽  
Omics Data Integration

The rapid advancement of high-throughput technologies and sharp decrease in cost have opened up the possibility to generate large amount of multi-omics data on an individual basis. The development of high-throughput -omics, including genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and microbiomics, enables the application of multi-omics technologies in the clinical settings. Combination therapy, defined as disease treatment with two or more drugs to achieve efficacy with lower doses or lower drug toxicity, is the basis for the care of diseases like cancer. Patient-specific multi-omics data integration can help the identification and development of combination therapies. In this review, we provide an overview of different -omics platforms, and discuss the methods for multi-omics, high-throughput, data integration, personalized combination therapy.

scholarly journals Australian Injury Comorbidity Indices (AICIs) to predict burden and readmission among hospital-admitted injury patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dasamal Tharanga Fernando ◽  
Janneke Berecki-Gisolf ◽  
Stuart Newstead ◽  
Zahid Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Hospital Costs ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Injury Epidemiology ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Multivariable Regression ◽  
Comorbidity Index ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Multivariable Regression Models

Abstract Background Existing comorbidity measures predict mortality among general patient populations. Due to the lack of outcome specific and patient-group specific measures, the existing indices are also applied to non-mortality outcomes in injury epidemiology. This study derived indices to capture the association between comorbidity, and burden and readmission outcomes for injury populations. Methods Injury-related hospital admissions data from July 2012 to June 2014 (161,334 patients) for the state of Victoria, Australia were analyzed. Various multivariable regression models were run and results used to derive both binary and weighted indices that quantify the association between comorbidities and length of stay (LOS), hospital costs and readmissions. The new and existing indices were validated internally among patient subgroups, and externally using data from the states of New South Wales and Western Australia. Results Twenty-four comorbidities were significantly associated with overnight stay, twenty-seven with LOS, twenty-eight with costs, ten with all-cause and eleven with non-planned 30-day readmissions. The number of and types of comorbidities, and their relative impact were different to the associations established with the existing Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and Elixhauser Comorbidity Measure (ECM). The new indices performed equally well to the long-listed ECM and in certain instances outperformed the CCI. Conclusions The more parsimonious, up to date, outcome and patient-specific indices presented in this study are better suited for use in present injury epidemiology. Their use can be trialed by hospital administrations in resource allocation models and patient classification models in clinical settings.

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