Ear Temperature Research Articles

Indicators of resilience during the transition period in dairy cows: A case study

The transition period is a demanding phase in the life of dairy cows. Metabolic and infectious disorders frequently occur in the first weeks after calving. To identify cows that are less able to cope with the transition period, physiologic or behavioral signals acquired with sensors might be useful. However, it is not yet clear which signals or combination of signals and which signal properties are most informative with respect to disease severity after calving. Sensor data on activity and behavior measurements as well as rumen and ear temperature data from 22 dairy cows were collected during a period starting 2 wk before expected parturition until 6 wk after parturition. During this period, the health status of each cow was clinically scored daily. A total deficit score (TDS) was calculated based on the clinical assessment, summarizing disease length and intensity for each cow. Different sensor data properties recorded during the period before calving as well as the period after calving were tested as a predictor for TDS using univariate analysis of covariance. To select the model with the best combination of signals and signal properties, we quantified the prediction accuracy for TDS in a multivariate model. Prediction accuracy for TDS increased when sensors were combined, using static and dynamic signal properties. Statistically, the most optimal linear combination of predictors consisted of average eating time, variance of daily ear temperature, and regularity of daily behavior patterns in the dry period. Our research indicates that a combination of static and dynamic sensor data properties could be used as indicators of cow resilience.

Working Dogs Drinking a Nutrient-Enriched Water Maintain Cooler Body Temperature and Improved Pulse Rate Recovery After Exercise.

Exercise-related physiological changes were evaluated in hydrated, exercise-conditioned working dogs with free access to tap water (TW) with or without a nutrient-enriched water supplement (NW). Physiological samples and measures were collected before and after work-related field tasks in a warm and moderately humid ambient environment. In a cross-over design study, 12 dogs (age range 8–23 months) were evaluated on 3 separate occasions within each period with exercise bouts up to 30 min, on days −4, 3, and 11. Dogs were offered either ad libitum TW or portion-controlled NW daily plus ad libitum TW. Prior to and serially after exercise, pulse rate (PR), core (BTcore) and ear (BTear) temperature were recorded. Urine was collected first thing in the morning, whereas blood samples collected and body weight (BW) recorded pre- and immediately post exercise. Ambient temperature was above 21.7°C (71°F) and relative humidity ranged from 36 to 76%. Activity parameters, AM urine measures, post-exercise percent change of BW, resting PR and resting BTcore did not differ between treatment groups on any exercise day. At the completion of exercise, mean BTcore for all dogs ranged from 104.8 to 105.6°F. Immediate post-exercise BTear was always lower compared to BTcore and means ranged from 103.3 to 104.0°F. The effect of time was highly significant (P < 0.001) for both BT measures with both BTcore and BTear recovering to resting levels by 60 min post exercise. PR and several blood values showed a significant main effect of time. Over the recovery period, dogs in the NW group had lower mean BTear and PR by 0.6°F and 3.4 bpm, respectively. Daily ingestion of a NW in combination with free access to TW can reduce the post-exercise-related BTcore and BTear hyperthermia, and improve pulse rate recovery following exercise in this population of working dogs undergoing 30 min bout of exercise.

Carrier training cats reduces stress on transport to a veterinary practice

Transport to and visiting a veterinary practice frequently is stressful for cats and their owners. Handling a fearful cat can be a challenge for the veterinary team and stress can influence physiological parameters. This study investigated whether carrier training reduced stress during a 10 min transport by car and increased compliance during the veterinary examination. A blinded randomized controlled trial with a paired sample design (training group (TG): N = 11; control group (CG): N = 11) consisting of two visits to a sham veterinary practice was carried out. After all cats had completed the first visit, the training group received 28 sessions of positive reinforcement based carrier training over a period of six weeks. Thereafter, all cats underwent the second veterinary visit. Stress levels during the car ride were assessed on video recordings using a modified version of the Cat Stress Score (CSS) (inter-rater reliability: rs = 0.81, p < 0.02) and behaviour analyses with Interact® Software (intra-rater reliability: rs > 0.90, p < 0.01). To evaluate physiological reactions, ear temperature readings were taken before and after transport. The change in parameters between visit 1 and 2 (calculated by subtracting result of visit 1 from visit 2) was used to test for differences between groups. Trained cats showed a significant reduction in CSS during the car ride (mean ± SD: TG: – 0.60 ± 0.37, CG – 0.23 ± 0.25; p = 0.007), an increase in searching for food rewards (TG: 33 ± 24 s; CG: 6 ± 7 s; p = 0.001), lip licking (median (range): TG: 18 (7–65), CG: 0 (−3 to 24); p < 0.001), changes in body posture (TG: 13 (−2 to 46), CG: 1 (−5 to 13); p = 0.01) and sitting (TG: 233 ± 146s, CG: – 4 ± 35 s; p < 0.001). The veterinary examination was significantly shorter in trained cats (TG: − 42 ± 31 (−101 to −2) s, CG: −12 ± 24 (−50 to 31) s; p = 0.010). Significant differences in the response patterns of ear temperature further indicated lower stress in the TG (e.g. Δ ear_temp: GLMM: main effect group: p = 0.022; group*experiment: p = 0.019). Training proved to be effective in reducing stress during the car ride and led to a shorter veterinary examination. Owners should be encouraged and instructed to carrier train their cats to reduce stress around veterinary visits.

Thermophysiological traits in four exotic breeds of rabbit at least temperature-humidity index in humid tropics

BackgroundWe deciphered thermoregulatory activities of exotic breeds of rabbit in the event of least thermal discomfort in Ibadan, Nigeria. This investigation was carried out between July and August during the least temperature-humidity index (THI). Twenty bucks and 14 doe per breed, housed individually and randomly assigned to experimental units in a completely randomized design, were used for assessment of respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR), rectal temperature (RT) and ear temperature (ET). Measurements were taken between 07.00 to 09.00 h and 16.00 to 18.00 h of the day, using standard procedures.ResultThe result obtained showed that the effect of sex was evident in respiratory and heart rates, with males having higher values in the evening. But the core body temperature was not affected. Although the higher function of thermoregulatory apparatus of Fauve de Bourgogne, Chinchilla and British Spot rabbits were recorded, New Zealand White had lower core body temperature than other breeds.ConclusionWe reported that August was the most thermal comfortable period during the year for rabbit in Nigeria. New Zealand White has a lower core body temperature without a compensatory increase in thermoregulatory activities.

Forehead or ear temperature measurement cannot replace rectal measurements, except for screening purposes

BackgroundMeasuring rectal temperature in children is the gold standard, but ear or forehead measures are less traumatic and faster. The quality of non-invasive devices has improved but concerns remain whether they are reliable enough to substitute rectal thermometers.The aim was to evaluate in a real-life children population whether the forehead or ear temperature measurements could be used in screening to detect fever and if the agreement with the rectal temperature for different age groups is acceptable for clinical use.MethodsCross-sectional clinical study comparing temporal and tympanic temperatures to rectal temperature in 0–18-year-old children. The ear thermometer was a Pro 4000 Thermoscan, the temporal Exergen TAT. Rectal temperature ≥ 38.0 °C was defined as fever.ResultsAmong 995 children, 39% had a fever. The ear thermometer had a significantly greater ability to detect fever than the temporal thermometer (AUC 0.972; 95% CI: 0.963–0.981 versus AUC 0.931; 95% CI: 0.915–0.947, p < 0.0001). Both devices had the lowest sensitivity in the youngest and oldest children, and only the ear thermometer reached a sensitivity above 90% in the 0.5–5-year age group. The Bland-Altman analysis showed that the 95% limits of agreement for the temporal thermometer was between − 1.2 to + 1.5 °C and for the ear thermometer between − 0.97 to + 1.07 °C.ConclusionsBased on a large sample of children, the temporal measurement of temperature is not currently recommendable, but with the technology used in this study the ear measurement proved useful for screening purposes, especially among children aged 6 months to 5 years. For the exact measurement of temperature, the rectal method is still recommended.

Fasting and glucose induced thermogenesis in response to three ambient temperatures: a randomized crossover trial in the metabolic syndrome.

Cold exposure increases thermogenesis and could improve insulin sensitivity. We hypothesized a blunted response in the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Twenty older adults 59 ± 10.4 years (with MetS, MetS+, n = 9; without MetS, MetS-, n = 11) completed a randomized crossover design of 3.5 h exposures to 20, 25 and 27 °C on three visits. After an hour's rest at the desired temperature, resting metabolic rate (RMR), respiratory quotient (RQ), forearm to fingertip gradients (FFG), and in the ear temperature (IET) were measured over 30 min. An oral glucose tolerance test followed, and serial measurements were continued for 2 h. Venous blood was sampled for clinical chemistry, irisin, and fibroblast growth factor 21(FGF21). A mixed model ANCOVA adjusted data for age, gender, fat mass, fat-free mass and seasonality. There was a significant MetS×temperature interaction where adjusted RMR was significantly higher in MetS+ compared to MetS- by 12% at 20 °C and by 6% at 25 °C, but similar at 27 °C. FFG increased and IET decreased with decreasing temperature to the same extent in both groups. Fasting irisin and FGF21 did not vary with temperature but the former was significantly higher in MetS-. Adjusted postprandial RQ and insulin to glucose ratios were significantly higher at 20 °C relative to 25 °C. Partial correlation analysis of differences between 27 and 20 °C indicated significant positive relationships between fasting as well as postprandial RQ and the respective changes in irisin and FGF21. There could be an upward shift of the TNZ in MetS+, but this needs reevaluation.

Guidance for deriving and presenting percentage study weights in meta-analysis of test accuracy studies.

Percentage study weights in meta-analysis reveal the contribution of each study toward the overall summary results and are especially important when some studies are considered outliers or at high risk of bias. In meta-analyses of test accuracy reviews, such as a bivariate meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity, the percentage study weights are not currently derived. Rather, the focus is on representing the precision of study estimates on receiver operating characteristic plots by scaling the points relative to the study sample size or to their standard error. In this article, we recommend that researchers should also provide the percentage study weights directly, and we propose a method to derive them based on a decomposition of Fisher information matrix. This method also generalises to a bivariate meta-regression so that percentage study weights can also be derived for estimates of study-level modifiers of test accuracy. Application is made to two meta-analyses examining test accuracy: one of ear temperature for diagnosis of fever in children and the other of positron emission tomography for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. These highlight that the percentage study weights provide important information that is otherwise hidden if the presentation only focuses on precision based on sample size or standard errors. Software code is provided for Stata, and we suggest that our proposed percentage weights should be routinely added on forest and receiver operating characteristic plots for sensitivity and specificity, to provide transparency of the contribution of each study toward the results. This has implications for the PRISMA-diagnostic test accuracy guidelines that are currently being produced.

Fever or not fever – that’s the question: A cohort study of simultaneously measured rectal and ear temperatures in febrile patients with suspected infection

Objective: To study how ear and rectal body temperatures relate to each other over time in febrile patients.Methods: Descriptive cohort study with repeated measurements. The setting was a Unit for Infectious Diseases at a county hospital in Sweden. Patients, 18 years, admitted for suspected infection and with a rectal or ear temperature of 37.5°C were invited. 16 females and 24 men, 19 to 94 years were included. Ear and rectal temperature was measured simultaneously every two hours for one day.Results: Mean rectal temperature was higher, compared to both ear sites. Ninety-five percent of the differences between the rectal and ear sites were within 0.6°C to 1.1°C. Changes in rectal temperature were smaller and slower than in ear temperature, especially when patients were given temperature-lowering drugs.Conclusions: Adjustments from one temperature site to another is a risk of diagnostic error affecting clinical decision-making. Ear temperature reacts faster than the rectal site to body temperature changes and antipyretics, and is therefore more reliable in the assessment of the patient’s condition. Traditional paradigm for temperature measurement and assessment needs to be replaced with evidence-based science to improve patient safety.

A 100-Year Review: Practical female reproductive management

Basic knowledge of mechanisms controlling reproductive processes in mammals was limited in the early 20th century. Discoveries of physiologic processes and mechanisms made early in the last century laid the foundation to develop technologies and programs used today to manage and control reproduction in dairy cattle. Beyond advances made in understanding of gonadotropic support and control of ovarian and uterine functions in basic reproductive biology, advancements made in artificial insemination (AI) and genetics facilitated rapid genetic progress of economically important traits in dairy cattle. Technologies associated with management have each contributed to the evolution of reproductive management, including (1) hormones to induce estrus and ovulation to facilitate AI programs; (2) pregnancy diagnosis via ultrasonography or by measuring conceptus-derived pregnancy-associated glycoproteins; (3) estrus-detection aids first devised for monitoring only physical activity but that now also quantitate feeding, resting, and rumination times, and ear temperature; (4) sex-sorted semen; (5) computers and computerized record software packages; (6) handheld devices for tracking cow location and retrieving cow records; and (7) genomics for increasing genetic progress of reproductive and other economically important traits. Because of genetic progress in milk yield and component traits, the dairy population in the United States has been stable since the mid 1990s, with approximately 9 to 9.5 million cows. Therefore, many of these technologies and changes in management have been developed in the face of increasing herd size (4-fold since 1990), and changes from pastoral or dry-lot dairies to increased housing of cows in confinement buildings with freestalls and feed-line lockups. Management of groups of "like" cows has become equally important as management of the one. Management teams, including owner-managers, herdsmen, AI representatives, milkers, and numerous consultants dealing with health, feeding, and facilities, became essential to develop working protocols, monitor training and day-to-day chores, and evaluate current trends and revenues. Good management teams inspect and follow through with what is routinely expected of workers. As herd size will undoubtedly increase in the future, practical reproductive management must evolve to adapt to the new technologies that may find more herds being milked robotically and applying technologies not yet conceived or introduced.

Coptidis Rhizoma Prevents Heat Stress-Induced Brain Damage and Cognitive Impairment in Mice.

Heat stress conditions lead to neuroinflammation, neuronal death, and memory loss in animals. Coptidis Rhizoma (CR) exhibits potent fever-reducing effects and has been used as an important traditional medicinal herb for treating fever. However, to date, the effects of antipyretic CR on heat-induced brain damages have not been investigated. In this study, CR significantly reduced the elevation of ear and rectal temperatures after exposure to heat in mice. Additionally, CR attenuated hyperthermia-induced stress responses, such as release of cortisol into the blood, and upregulation of heat shock protein and c-Fos in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of mice. The administration of CR inhibited gliosis and neuronal loss induced by thermal stress in the hippocampal CA3 region. Treatment with CR also reduced the heat stress-induced expression of nuclear factor kappa β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the hippocampus. Moreover, CR significantly decreased proinflammatory mediators such as IL-9 and IL-13 in the heat-stressed hypothalamus. Furthermore, CR attenuated cognitive dysfunction triggered by thermal stress. These results indicate that CR protects the brain against heat stress-mediated brain damage via amelioration of hyperthermia and neuroinflammation in mice, suggesting that fever-reducing CR can attenuate thermal stress-induced neuropathology.

The use of infrared thermography for welfare assessment during the application of ear tags to lambs

Abstract. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of metal-tipped, plastic-tipped, and electronic ear tags on the likelihood of infection using infrared thermography and to evaluate the effect on welfare by examining the behavioral responses of the lambs. Ninety lambs with an average age of 6 months were used in this study. Before the application of the ear tags, infrared images of the right and left ears of the lambs were taken with the thermal camera and the infrared temperatures were recorded. Measurements were repeated on days 1, 4, 10, and 30 after the ear tag application. The mean of infrared ear temperatures on days 0, 1, 4, 10, and 30 were found to be 14.60, 23.20, 23.77, 20.36, and 17.61 °C for the metal-tipped ear tag group; 15.69, 21.50, 20.42, 18.00, and 16.39 °C for the plastic-tipped ear tag group; and 15.17, 29.47, 27.49, 25.93, and 20.61 °C for the electronic ear tag group. The infrared temperatures on days 1, 4, and 10 in the control and experimental groups were significantly different from each other (P &lt; 0.001). The plastic-tipped ear tags caused fewer problems and are preferred to the traditional ear tags with metal tips. The electronic ear tags caused more inflammatory reactions compared to metal- or plastic-tipped ear tags. The infrared thermography method may be used as a useful tool in the early detection of the inflammatory reactions and infections caused by the application of ear tags.

Technical note: Assessment of an alternative technique for measuring body temperature in pigs1

Core body temperature (CBT) is one of the main vital signs that is used to evaluate the health status of pigs. The most common and feasible method for assessing CBT in pigs is rectal temperature (RT). Obtaining RT is stressful for animals, may generate inaccurate results, and has the risk of spreading disease. Infrared imaging (IR) thermography of the body of pigs may be a safer and less stressful alternative to RT. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of using IR as an alternative for monitoring CBT in pigs. Twenty-three gilts (30.5 ± 5.62 kg BW) were housed in metabolism crates in an environmentally controlled facility and fed an 860 g/d grower diet. After 4 d of adaptation, the febrile response was induced by intramuscular injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 25 µg/kg BW). Each pig's body temperature was recorded at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 24 h after LPS challenge using the following 3 methods: 1) RT, 2) IR of the eye and ear, and 3) CBT using an orally administered digital temperature sensor. Statistical analysis was performed in a completely randomized design in SAS using Mixed, Correlation, and Regression procedures. Relative to time 0 h, LPS increased the eye temperature, CBT, and RT by 0.92, 1.32, and 1.48°C, respectively ( < 0.01), but had no significant effect on ear temperature. Eye temperature, RT, and CBT, but not ear temperature, were highly correlated ( ≥ 0.96) during the course of the study ( < 0.01). Estimated regression parameters (α and β) for predicting CBT using eye temperature were -28.2 ± 8.70 and 1.76 ± 0.221, respectively, and for RT were -24.5 ± 7.69 and 1.65 ± 0.196, respectively ( ≥ 0.96; 95% confidence interval). Collectively, these results indicated a strong relationship between eye temperature, RT, and CBT in pigs. Therefore, IR of the eye can be used as a precise, noncontact alternative to RT measurements for monitoring CBT in swine.

Variation in Normal Ear Temperature

BackgroundVariation in baseline ear temperature, taken in the unadjusted mode, has yet to be established in different age groups. Because normal body temperatures show large variations, the same may be expected for increased temperatures in fever. The aims were to study variations in normothermic body temperatures measured with an ear thermometer and to determine differences between actual and perceived body temperature during a febrile episode (referred to as difftemp) in apparently healthy children and adults. MethodsEar temperature was measured once in 2,006 individuals (61.7% females): 683 children aged 2 and 4 years, 492 adolescents aged 10-18 years, 685 adults aged 19-65 years and 146 elderly aged 66-89 years. Difftemp was estimated as the difference between the individual’s ear body temperature, measured in the present study, and the respondent’s reported temperature when feverish. ResultsMean ear temperature was 36.4 ± 0.6°C overall and in the child and adult groups. In adolescents, it was 36.5 ± 0.5°C, and in elderly, 36.1 ± 0.5°C. Temperature in men was 36.3 ± 0.6°C, and in women, 36.5 ± 0.5°C. Difftemp was 1.1 ± 0.7°C in adolescents, 1.5 ± 0.7°C in children and adults, and 1.6 ± 0.7°C in those >65 years. ConclusionsEar body temperature is lower than traditionally reported and differs with age and sex. An individual difftemp of 1.0-1.5°C along with malaise might indicate fever.

Nesfatin-1 employs the central melanocortin pathway to stimulate non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT)

Nesfatin-1 is a bioactive polypeptide involved in the regulation of food-intake and insulin secretion. Recently, our group has demonstrated that nesfatin-1 also increases energy expenditure; however, the underlying mechanism is still to be identified. Therefore, in this study, we sought to investigate whether this increase is mediated by the central melanocortin (MC) pathway, which had previously been reported to underlie the anorexigenic effect of nesfatin-1. Male Wistar rats (˜300 g) were stereotaxically implanted with intracerebroventricular cannula to receive central injections. With the application of direct calorimetry, we show that nesfatin-1 (25 pmol/rat) elicits a substantial increase in dry heat loss (p < 0.01; peak effect at 5h) over the 8h time-course, and that this effect is completely precluded by the co-administration with equimolar dose of SHU9119, a potent MC3/4 receptor antagonist (p < 0.01). The increased dry heat loss induced by nesfatin-1 correlates positively with body weight loss (r = 0.879, p < 0.001), which does not occur after the co-administration with SHU9119. Moreover, with the use of thermography, we report that nesfatin-1 (100 pmol/rat) specifically increases interscapular BAT (iBAT) (p < 0.01; peak effect at 5h), as well as inner ear temperature (p < 0.05, peak effect at 5h). The RT-PCR analysis reveals that centrally administered nesfatin-1 promotes POMC and MC3 receptor mRNA expression (p < 0.05, respectively) in the hypothalamus, accompanied with a trend of increase in UCP1 and PGC-1α in the iBAT. Overall, we herein demonstrate that the increase in dry heat loss induced by nesfatin-1 is a neuroendocrine process mediated via the central melanocortin system that elicits activity in the iBAT.

Re-visiting the tympanic membrane vicinity as core body temperature measurement site.

Core body temperature (CBT) is an important and commonly used indicator of human health and endurance performance. A rise in baseline CBT can be attributed to an onset of flu, infection or even thermoregulatory failure when it becomes excessive. Sites which have been used for measurement of CBT include the pulmonary artery, the esophagus, the rectum and the tympanic membrane. Among them, the tympanic membrane is an attractive measurement site for CBT due to its unobtrusive nature and ease of measurement facilitated, especially when continuous CBT measurements are needed for monitoring such as during military, occupational and sporting settings. However, to-date, there are still polarizing views on the suitability of tympanic membrane as a CBT site. This paper will revisit a number of key unresolved issues in the literature and also presents, for the first time, a benchmark of the middle ear temperature against temperature measurements from other sites. Results from experiments carried out on human and primate subjects will be presented to draw a fresh set of insights against the backdrop of hypotheses and controversies.

Postoperative Nonpathologic Fever After Spinal Surgery: Incidence and Risk Factor Analysis

Although there are many postoperative febrile causes, surgical-site infection has always been considered as one of the major causes, but it should be excluded; we encountered many patients who showed delayed postoperative fever that was not related to wound infection after spinal surgery. We aimed to determine the incidence of delayed postoperative fever and its characteristics after spinal surgery, and to analyze the causal factors. A total of 250 patients who underwent any type of spinal surgery were analyzed. We determined febrile patients as those who did not show any fever until postoperative day 3, and those who showed a fever with an ear temperature of greater than 37.8°C at 4 days after surgery. We collected patient data including age, sex, coexistence of diabetes mellitus or hypertension, smoking history, location of surgical lesion (e.g., cervical, thoracic, lumbar spine), type of surgery, surgical approach, diagnosis, surgical level, presence of revision surgery, operative time, duration of administration of prophylactic antibiotics, and the presence of transfusion during the perioperative period, with a chart review. There were 33 febrile patients and 217 afebrile patients. Multivariate logistic regression showed that surgical approach (i.e., posterior approach with anterior body removal and mesh graft insertion), trauma and tumor surgery compared with degenerative disease, and long duration of surgery were statistically significant risk factors for postoperative nonpathologic fever. We suggest that most spinal surgeons should be aware that postoperative fever can be common without a wound infection, despite its appearance during the late acute or subacute period.

The early-onset febrile reaction following vaccination and associated factors: An exploratory sub-study based on the Ebola vaccine clinical trial

ABSTRACT A phase-1 clinical trial aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of the type-5 adenovirus vector based Ebola vaccine (Ad5-EBOV) was conducted in China. To provide more evidence for the safety evaluation and dose-selection, an exploratory sub-study using a wireless automatic temperature measuring platform was done based on the phase-1 clinical trial. The main aim of the sub-study was to obtain more information about the occurrence of fever and detect the potential associated factors, second was to assess the feasibility of the temperature measuring platform in vaccine clinical trials. Temperature data of 3 treatment groups all presented a rising tendency during the first 6 hours after vaccination, the incidence of elevated temperature and possible associated factors were analyzed. For the incidence of elevated temperature, no marked dose-response relationship was found in 6 hours with wireless thermometers; the information from mercury thermometers showed that the grade-1 fever proportion peaked at 6 hours and there was no difference between groups, while grade-2 fever proportion peaked at 24 hours and was significantly higher in high-dose group than those in the other 2 groups. Significant differences were found between sex groups (males vs. female, incidence rate ratios (IRR) = 2.93 and 7.62 for any-grade, grade-2 fever respectively, P<0.001); a decline in grade-2 fever incidence was found with the increasing age groups (IRR = 0.78, P = 0.003) and body mass index (BMI, IRR = 0.67, P<0.001) .Our findings show that the dose-dependent manner between fever and the dose of Ad5-EBOV in this study might emerge after 6 hours, and which is slight and transient. Wireless thermometers secured on the skin surface are not suitable for a long time (longer than 6 hours) measurement, new methods for temperature monitoring, like ear temperature measurement, should be tested in the further research.

Comparison between tympanic temperature measurement with infrared ear thermometer and rectal temperature measurement with mercury clinical thermometer for children

Objective To explore the feasibility for application of infrared ear thermometer in body temperature measurement among children. Method Ear temperature and rectal temperature of 500 children patients at outpatient and emergency departments were measured and the difference between ear temperature and rectal temperature were compared with the self-control method. With 500 children patients were divided into the following groups: 0-1 year old group, > 1-2 years old group, > 2-3 years old group, > 3-7 years old group, the difference of these two measuring methods in these different age groups were compared. Results Average rectal temperature was (38.28±0.93) ℃, higher than average ear temperature (38.06±0.92) ℃ with statically significant difference (t =-12.711, P =0.000); 0-1 year old group, > 1-2 years old group, > 2-3 years old group, > 3-7 years old group, four age groups rectal temperature minus ear temperature difference results M(Q25, Q75) were as follows: 0.2(0.0, 0.5), 0.2 (0.1, 0.4) 0.2 (0.0,0.4) 0.2(0.0,0.4), which meant the difference between two temperature measurement methods in different age groups showed that the difference was not statistically significant (H=0.600, P =0.896); ear temperature and rectal temperature were linearly correlated (r=0.915, P =0.000); taking rectal temperature as Y and ear temperature as X, the regression equation was =3.080+0.925X; with rectal temperature of ≥38.0℃ as golden standard, the area in ROC curve of ear temperature was 0.97 and correct diagnosis index of ear temperature was highly correct. Therefore, as for whether a child is diagnosed as fever based on the ear temperature, it is recommended that the ear temperature be ≥37.8℃; the difference of fever incidence for rectal temperature method of 58.2% and fever incident for ear temperature method of 57.2% was determined as not statistically significant (χ2=0.102, P=0.749). Conclusions Infrared ear thermometer may be used for measuring children′s body temperature by replacing mercury rectal thermometer; however, ear temperature should be different from rectal temperature in terms of criteria for clinical judgment of fever. Key words: Children; Temperature measuring method; Infrared ear thermometer; Mercury clinical thermometer

Pilot Test of a New Personal Health System Integrating Environmental and Wearable Sensors for Telemonitoring and Care of Elderly People at Home (SMARTA Project)

Background: The increase in life expectancy is accompanied by a growing number of elderly subjects affected by chronic comorbidities, a health issue which also implies important socioeconomic consequences. Shifting from hospital or community dwelling care towards a home personalized healthcare paradigm would promote active aging with a better quality of life, along with a reduction in healthcare-related costs. Objective: The aim of the SMARTA project was to develop and test an innovative personal health system integrating standard sensors as well as innovative wearable and environmental sensors to allow home telemonitoring of vital parameters and detection of anomalies in daily activities, thus supporting active aging through remote healthcare. Methods: A first phase of the project consisted in the definition of the health and environmental parameters to be monitored (electrocardiography and actigraphy, blood pressure and oxygen saturation, weight, ear temperature, glycemia, home interaction monitoring - water tap, refrigerator, and dishwasher), the feedbacks for the clinicians, and the reminders for the patients. It was followed by a technical feasibility analysis leading to an iterative process of prototype development, sensor integration, and testing. Once the prototype had reached an advanced stage of development, a group of 32 volunteers - including 15 healthy adult subjects, 13 elderly people with cardiac diseases, and 4 clinical operators - was recruited to test the system in a real home setting, in order to evaluate both technical reliability and user perception of the system in terms of effectiveness, usability, acceptance, and attractiveness. Results: The testing in a real home setting showed a good perception of the SMARTA system and its functionalities both by the patients and by the clinicians, who appreciated the user interface and the clinical governance system. The moderate system reliability of 65-70% evidenced some technical issues, mainly related to sensor integration, while the patient's user interface showed excellent reliability (100%). Conclusions: Both elderly people and clinical operators considered the SMARTA system a promising and attractive tool for improving patients' healthcare while reducing related costs and preserving quality of life. However, the moderate reliability of the system should prompt further technical developments in terms of sensor integration and usability of the clinical operator's user interface.

Skin temperature changes in wild chimpanzees upon hearing vocalizations of conspecifics.

A growing trend of research using infrared thermography (IRT) has shown that changes in skin temperature, associated with activity of the autonomic nervous system, can be reliably detected in human and non-human animals. A contact-free method, IRT provides the opportunity to uncover emotional states in free-ranging animals during social interactions. Here, we measured nose and ear temperatures of wild chimpanzees of Budongo Forest, Uganda, when exposed to naturally occurring vocalizations of conspecifics. We found a significant temperature decrease over the nose after exposure to conspecifics' vocalizations, whereas we found a corresponding increase for ear temperature. Our study suggests that IRT can be used in wild animals to quantify changes in emotional states in response to the diversity of vocalizations, their functional significance and acoustical characteristics. We hope that it will contribute to more research on physiological changes associated with social interactions in wild animals.