Warning Of Disease Research Articles

Nonlinear Characteristics of Electrocardiograph Signals Based on Fractal

In view of the nonlinear properties of Electrocardiograph (ECG) signal, the application of fractal methods from nonlinear system theory for the analysis of ECG signals has gained increasing interest.In this study, analysis of the objects are ECG signals of four sinus rhythms. Some important phenomena and conclusions have been captured and drawn after analyzing with and plotting the graphics of multi-fractal spectrum and auto-correlation functions. Additionally, the Hurst(H) parameters illustrate that self-similarity is a common property of the ECG signals, but the smaller H of the normal sinus rhythm(NSR) cause the obvious randomness of NSR. The further research of multi-fractal spectrum shows that the ECG signals all present local singular characteristics, but there are inconsistencies in the same type of sinus rhythm ECG signal. While, the inconsistency led to obvious classification, especially in NSR. As the conclusion, the results can be used as an effective complementary method for non-invasive diagnosis and early warning of heart disease.

Mass gathering enhanced syndromic surveillance for the 8th Micronesian Games in 2014, Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia.

Pohnpei State’s Division of Primary Health Care implemented enhanced surveillance for early warning and detection of disease to support the 8th Micronesian Games (the Games) in July 2014.The surveillance comprised 11 point-of-care sentinel sites around Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, collecting data daily for eight syndromes using standard case definitions. Each sentinel site reported total acute care encounters, total syndrome cases and the total for each syndrome. A public health response, including epidemiological investigation and laboratory testing, followed when syndrome counts reached predetermined threshold levels.The surveillance was implemented using the web-based Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance Open-ESSENCE (SAGES-OE) application that was customized for the Games. Data were summarized in daily situation reports (SitReps) issued to key stakeholders and posted on PacNet, a Pacific public health e-mail network.Influenza-like illness (ILI) was the most common syndrome reported (55%, n = 225). Most syndrome cases (75%) were among people from Pohnpei. Only 30 cases out of a total of 408 syndrome cases (7%) presented with acute fever and rash, despite the large and ongoing measles outbreak at the time. No new infectious disease outbreak was recorded during the Games. Peaks in diarrhoeal and ILI cases were followed up and did not result in widespread transmission.The technology was a key feature of the enhanced surveillance. The introduction of the web-based tool greatly improved the timeliness of data entry, analysis and SitRep dissemination, providing assurance to the Games organizers that communicable diseases would not adversely impact the Games.

Peripheral Atherosclerosis in Patients With Erectile Dysfunction: A Population-Based Study.

The presence of erectile dysfunction (ED) could be a warning of vascular disease in different arterial territories. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between ED and the presence of atherosclerosis in 2 different vascular beds: carotid and lower limbs. A total of 614 volunteers between 45 and 74 years of age (mean age 61.0 years) were randomly selected from the general population. ED was assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). Ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurement and carotid atherosclerosis were evaluated by echo-Doppler. Mean carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), prevalence of carotid plaques, mean ABI, and prevalence of ABI < 0.9 were the main outcome measures. ED was present in 373 subjects (59.7%). Mean carotid IMT was significantly higher in men with ED (0.762 ± 0.151 mm vs 0.718 ± 0.114 mm, P < .001). Also the global prevalence of carotid plaques was more frequent in men with ED (63.8% vs 44.8%, P < .001), even after adjusting by age, cardiovascular risk factors, and ongoing treatment (P = .039). Both the IMT and the prevalence of carotid plaques increased significantly with ED severity (P trend .004 and <.001, respectively). There were no significant differences between groups neither in mean ABI nor in the prevalence of subjects with ABI < 0.9. However, there was a trend to a lower ABI and a higher prevalence of ABI < 0.9 with increasing ED severity. In the general population, the presence of ED identifies subjects with higher atherosclerosis burden in carotid arteries but not in the lower extremities.

Research on the tabular condition assessment system in the application of early warning of severe hand, foot and mouth disease

Objective To explore the tabular condition assessment methods in the role of early warning of children with severe hand, foot and mouth disease. Methods A total of 267 patients in observation group were evaluated by the disease assessment scale of hospitalized children with hand, foot and mouth disease and the risk assessment form of severe children with hand, foot and mouth disease to early indentify the severe and give intervention treatment. And the 243 patients in control group were evaluated by the empirical method. The incidence of severe cases and the incidence of complications were compared between two groups. Results The incidence of severe cases was 3.00%(8/267) in observation group and 17.70% (43/243) in control group, and there was significant difference between two groups,χ2=30.970, P<0.01. The incidence of total complications was 9.74%(26/267) in observation group and 32.51%(79/243)in control group, and there was significant difference between two groups, χ2=34.74, P<0.01. Conclusions The tabular condition evaluation method can early identify the children with severe hand, foot and mouth disease and give early intervention, reduce the incidence of severe and critical cases, and reduce the complications. Key words: Hand, foot and mouth disease; Condition assessment; Severe warning

High Incidence of Mutated Cancer-Associated Genes at Diagnosis in CML Patients with Early Transformation to Blast Crisis

High Incidence of Mutated Cancer-Associated Genes at Diagnosis in CML Patients with Early Transformation to Blast Crisis

A Weather-Based Forecast Model for Capsule Rot of Small Cardamom

Small cardamom is an economically important spice crop. However, cardamom is susceptible to several diseases that significantly reduce yield. Proactive prevention of these diseases based on advance warning can enhance the efficiency of disease control and reduce environmental load of pesticides. Many of these diseases are governed by weather variables (for example, through control of fungal growth). This work presents a disease (capsule rot of cardamom) forecast model based on a set of meteorological variables.While no single weather variable provides successful simulation, an optimal combination of weather variables provides sufficient skill for advance warning of the disease.

Evaluation of a new method and instrument for detection platelet aggregation function and its clinical application

This study was purpose to evaluate a new method and instrument for detecting platelet aggregation function, establish the reference intervals for PL-11 platelet analyzer, and evaluate its clinical application. The evaluation was based on the guidelines of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI or NCCLS) and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment 88. Intravenous blood samples anticoagulated with sodium citrate were detected by PL-11 platelet analyzer. The reference intervals were defined after statistic analysis. The clinical diagnostic significance of the PL-11 platelet analyzer was evaluated by testing the change rate of platelet maximum aggregation rate (MAR) of acute cerebral infarction (ACI) patients in the department of Neurology who took clopidogrel 7 d before and after. The result showed that all the parameters meet the standard of CLIA'88. The platelet MAR of 247 healthy volunteers which was induced by PLR-06, PLR-07, PLR-09 and PLR-10, was detected by the PL-11 platelet analyzer, respectively. The MAR is 58.8 ± 10.1 (%), 61.2 ± 11.8 (%), 51 ± 10.2 (%), 53.1 ± 9.2 (%), respectively. The MAR of ACI patients is significantly lower than that after taking clopidogrel. It is concluded that the PL-11 platelet analyzer is an ideal platelet function detector for early warning and diagnosis of thromboembolic disease, which is worthy to be extended and applied.

Abstract 183: Hypertension Increases Toll-Like Receptor 2 (TLR2) and Inflammatory Cytokine Expression in the Corpus Cavernosum From Sprague Dawley Rats

Erectile dysfunction (ED) significantly reduces quality of life and is an early warning of cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of ED is higher among hypertensive compared to normotensive men. Activation of the immune system has been implicated in the development of hypertension; however, the role of the immune system in the development of ED remains unknown. In this study, we hypothesized that TLR2, a key player in innate immunity, is increased leading to an inflammatory response in the corpus cavernosum of hypertensive rats. We induced hypertension in male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (age 15-weeks) via administration of N (G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, for 4 weeks in drinking water (500mg/L). Our results showed that the mean systolic blood pressure from L-NAME treated rats was significantly greater (p&lt;0.05) compared to controls (208±33 vs 121±3mmHg). Western blot analysis demonstrated that protein expressions of TLR2, along with its primary intra-cellular signaling protein, myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88), were higher in the corpus cavernosum from L-NAME-treated rats compared to controls (1.691±0.2 vs 1.000±0.1) and (2.177±0.2 vs 1.000±0.3), respectively. Our results also showed that, there is an increase in the phosphorylation of the nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha (IκBα) in the corpus cavernosum from L-NAME-treated rats compared to controls (2.038±0.2 vs 1.000±0.2). Additionally, the cavernosal tissue expression levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) was also increased in the L-NAME-treated group compared to control (2.757±0.4 vs 1.000±0.3). Together, these data suggest that increased activation of TLR2 may initiate an inflammatory response which may lead to corpus cavernosum dysfunction, potentially contributing to ED in a rat model of hypertension induced via nitric oxide synthase inhibition.

Monitoring Emerging Diseases of Fish and Shellfish Using Electronic Sources

New and emerging fish and shellfish diseases represent an important constraint to the growth and sustainability of many aquaculture sectors and have also caused substantial economic and environmental impacts in wild stocks. This paper details the results of 8 years of a monitoring programme for emerging aquatic animal diseases reported around the world. The objectives were to track global occurrences and, more specifically, to identify and provide advanced warning of disease threats that may affect wild and farmed fish stocks in the UK. A range of electronic information sources, including Internet newsletters, alerting services and news agency releases, was systematically searched for reports of new diseases, new presentations of known pathogens and known diseases occurring in new geographic locations or new host species. A database was established to log the details of key findings, and 250 emerging disease events in 52 countries were recorded during the period of study. These included 14 new diseases and a further 16 known diseases in new species. Viruses and parasites accounted for the majority of reports (55% and 24%, respectively), and known diseases occurring in new locations were the most important emerging disease category (in which viruses were dominant). Emerging diseases were reported disproportionally in salmonid species (33%), in farmed populations (62%) and in Europe and North America (80%). The lack of reports from some regions with significant aquaculture or fishery production may indicate that emerging diseases are not being recognized in these areas owing to insufficient surveillance or testing or that these events are being under-reported. The results are discussed in relation to processes underpinning disease emergence in the aquatic environment.

A Hidden Markov Model for Analysis of Frontline Veterinary Data for Emerging Zoonotic Disease Surveillance

Surveillance systems tracking health patterns in animals have potential for early warning of infectious disease in humans, yet there are many challenges that remain before this can be realized. Specifically, there remains the challenge of detecting early warning signals for diseases that are not known or are not part of routine surveillance for named diseases. This paper reports on the development of a hidden Markov model for analysis of frontline veterinary sentinel surveillance data from Sri Lanka. Field veterinarians collected data on syndromes and diagnoses using mobile phones. A model for submission patterns accounts for both sentinel-related and disease-related variability. Models for commonly reported cattle diagnoses were estimated separately. Region-specific weekly average prevalence was estimated for each diagnoses and partitioned into normal and abnormal periods. Visualization of state probabilities was used to indicate areas and times of unusual disease prevalence. The analysis suggests that hidden Markov modelling is a useful approach for surveillance datasets from novel populations and/or having little historical baselines.

Comparison of bone marrow, disseminated tumour cells and blood-circulating tumour cells in breast cancer patients after primary treatment

The purpose of this study was to determine whether primary breast cancer patients showed evidence of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) during follow-up as an alternative to monitoring disseminated bone marrow tumour cells (DTCs) by immunocytochemistry and reverse transcriptase (RT)–PCR for the detection of micrometastases. We planned to compare CTC and DTC frequency in low-risk and high-risk patients. We identified two cohorts of primary breast cancer patients who were at low (group II, T1N0, n=18) or high (group III, >3 nodes positive (with one exception, a patient with two positive nodes) n=33) risk of relapse who were being followed up after primary treatment. We tested each cohort for CTCs using the CellSearch system on 1–7 occasions and for DTCs by immunocytochemistry and RT–PCR on 1–2 occasions over a period of 2 years. We also examined patients with confirmed metastatic disease (group IV, n=12) and 21 control healthy volunteers for CTCs (group I). All group I samples were negative for CTCs. In contrast, 7 out of 18 (39%) group II primary patients and 23 out of 33 (70%) group III patients were positive for CTCs (P=0.042). If we count only samples with >1 cell as positive: 2 out of 18 (11%) group II patients were positive compared with 10 out of 33 (30%) in group III (P=0.174). In the case of DTCs, 1 out of 13 (8%) group II patients were positive compared with 19 out of 27 (70%) in group III (P<0.001). Only 10 out of 33 (30%) patients in group III showed no evidence of CTCs in all tests over the period of testing, compared with 11 out of 18 (61%) in group II (P=0.033). A significant proportion of poor prognosis primary breast cancer patients (group III) have evidence of CTCs on follow-up. Many also have evidence of DTCs, which are more often found in patients who were lymph node positive. As repeat sampling of peripheral blood is more acceptable to patients, the measurement of CTCs warrants further investigation because it enables blood samples to be taken more frequently, thus possibly enabling clinicians to have prior warning of impending overt metastatic disease.

Warning of heart disease ‘time bomb’

Warning of heart disease ‘time bomb’

Does the Brain Know When the Heart Is Ischemic?

Editorials1 June 1996Does the Brain Know When the Heart Is Ischemic?Carl J. Pepine, MDCarl J. Pepine, MDUniversity of Florida Gainesville, FL 32610-0277Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-124-11-199606010-00009 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Chest pain has traditionally been accepted as the principal warning of ischemic heart disease, but doubts were raised long ago about whether severe ischemia is always signaled by chest pain [1]. With better ambulatory and in-hospital monitoring, it has become apparent over the years that patients who have angina, have had infarction, or are elderly have most of their ischemic episodes without chest pain [2-6]. It follows that the objective signals of cardiac ischemia (such as transient electrocardiographic ST-segment depression, perfusion, or wall motion abnormalities) are more closely linked with adverse outcomes than either the presence or severity of chest ...

The behaviour of Atlantic salmon in relation to efficient cage-rearing

To maintain salmon farming as a viable industry it is necessary to continue to focus on the well-being of the fish from hatching to harvesting. This requires intimate knowledge of all aspects of salmon biology. Understanding the behaviour of farmed salmon is an essential part as this could suggest ways of preventing stress and diseases rather than merely treating their symptoms. This review attempts to summarize current knowledge of salmon behaviour in sea cages. Major modes of behaviour have been described and possible control mechanisms have been suggested. Behavioural studies of salmon in this particular system, however, are still at an early stage. Further research is needed to verify and deepen the current understanding. In future research the behavioural ontogeny of cultured salmon from hatching to harvesting should receive more attention. For example, the effect of smolt-rearing procedures on subsequent behaviour in sea cages is unclear. An ontogenetic approach would probably pay off in terms of a better holistic understanding of the mechanisms controlling the behaviour of cultured salmon in different stages of the production process. The present level of understanding should provide a basis for developing simple models of behaviour in cages from which meaningful hypotheses can be formulated. Experiments should primarily be carried out in a realistic rearing environment, but the inherent methodological problems of carrying out full-scale experiments make it difficult to test hypotheses that require detailed description of the behaviour of individuals. The transfer of a small number of individuals from larger groups subjected to different treatments to an experimental arena, might overcome these problems. This approach proved fruitful in an unpublished study that tested the competitive ability of individuals reared under different feeding regimes. This paper proposes several ways to improve the management of salmon behaviour and growth in sea cages. Some of these suggestions should be further investigated before they are adopted by the salmon industry in general. Daily management would be improved by methods to observe the fish complementary to visual inspection. Continuous hydroacoustic monitoring of sea cages provides this and would be especially helpful in large cages holding a considerable value of fish. In addition to demand feeding and routine behavioural observations (e.g. early warning of disease), this would provide useful information about the accumulation of dead fish on the cage bottom and the abundance of wild fish under cages (predators, food-waste eaters). Another important application could be to monitor the fish biomass. Fish counters are sometimes used during stocking of sea cages with smolts, but the error in estimated numbers remains unknown. Unregistered theft, escapees and mortality in the period prior to harvesting can easily increase errors in such estimates. A reliable hydroacoustic method of estimating biomass would thus significantly improve management control. Such work is in progress (Furuzawa et al., 1984; Burczynski et al., 1990; Bjordal et al., 1993; Dunn and Dalland, 1993).

Environmental stress and the survival of brown trout, Salmo trutta

SUMMARY. 1. The hypothalamic‐pituitary‐interrenal axis of the brown trout, Salmo trutta, is activated in response to most forms of environmental stress. This results in an elevation of blood cortisol levels.2. Experimental elevation of blood cortisol levels in otherwise unstressed brown trout caused a dose‐dependent increase in mortality rate due to disease. In our studies., Saprolegnia‐infection, furunculosis and bacterial fin‐rot were the principal diseases.3. Chronic cortisol elevation also suppressed several of the endocrine processes controlling sexual maturation, resulting in a significant reduction in the size of the gonad in both male and female fish.4. It is argued that many of the deleterious effects of sublethal pollution (including acidification) on natural trout populations can be attributed to chronically‐elevated blood cortisol levels and that a knowledge of such physiological changes would allow an assessment of the impact of pollution events and act as an early warning of potential disease and recruitment problems.

Shoulder pain and occult disease of the central nervous system.

To the Editor.— Immobility of an upper limb, the most common cause of periarthritis of the shoulder, is especially likely to occur in association with spasticity or rigidity. A typical cause is the spastic hemiparesis ensuing from cerebral infarction. It is well known that shoulder pain often occurs with cervical root compression from spinal degenerative arthropathy or spinal tumor. Shoulder pain also may be the first warning of cerebral disease, an association that does not seem to be widely recognized. Pain in the shoulder warrants the clinician's concentration on the neurologic findings not only in regard to the radicular signs, but also the evaluation of cerebral function. In six patients with Parkinson's disease, three with cerebral tumors, and three with progressive focal encephalopathy presumed to be arteriosclerotic, shoulder pain was the sole presenting complaint. The common finding in the painful limb was hypertonicity of either clasp-knife spasticity or plastic rigidity

The Management of Cerebrovascular Disease.

crease in the amount of published information on cerebrovascular disease. He is able, in this small volume, to summarize admirably the important advances in the pathophysiology and management of stroke. He utilizes the current classification of cerebrovascular accidents, which includes the completed stroke, the evolving stroke, and the transient ischemic attack. The clinical section deals, in detail, with these three varieties and with the physical findings which may be used to distinguish among them. Particular attention is paid to the transient ischemic attack, for this provides warning of cerebrovascular disease before permanent neurological damage has occurred. The present concepts of the pathophysiology of stroke are well discussed in the section on pathology, written by Drs. T. Crawford and M. R. Crompton. They give an excellent review of the neurovascular pathology of the three major subtypes. Dr. Marshall, emphasizing that cerebral arteriography has come to play a more and more important part in the diagnosis of cerebrovas¬ cular disease, devoted a chapter to the techniques in common use, and the hazards and advantages of each. Because anticoagulants are

Corneal vital staining.

From the investigation of these cases it appears that the value of vital corneal stains may be extended by a selection of a particular dye and that over and above the use of dyes as demonstrating the presence of cell loss, they may be utilised to get early warning of disease, to obtain very accurate delineation and to watch the progress of the disease.

The Management of Cerebrovascular Disease

The author, Dr. John Marshall, points out the enormous recent increase in the amount of published information on cerebrovascular disease. He is able, in this small volume, to summarize admirably the important advances in the pathophysiology and management of stroke. He utilizes the current classification of cerebrovascular accidents, which includes the completed stroke, the evolving stroke, and the transient ischemic attack. The clinical section deals, in detail, with these three varieties and with the physical findings which may be used to distinguish among them. Particular attention is paid to the transient ischemic attack, for this provides warning of cerebrovascular disease before permanent neurological damage has occurred. The present concepts of the pathophysiology of stroke are well discussed in the section on pathology, written by Drs. T. Crawford and M. R. Crompton. They give an excellent review of the neurovascular pathology of the three major subtypes. Dr. Marshall, emphasizing that cerebral

Clinical significance of hemoptysis.

The expectoration of blood is always an alarming experience for the patient and a matter of grave concern to the attending physician, because it may be the warning of serious disease. There is probably no symptom other than severe and acute pain that will stimulate a patient to seek medical aid as promptly as loss of blood for the first time from an unexplained source. When such bleeding occurs from the respiratory tract, the possibility of its being due to pulmonary tuberculosis or carcinoma of the lung is promptly suggested. It is unfortunate, indeed, that the severity of the bleeding is no guide as to the presence or absence of these diseases. It is imperative, therefore, that the patient with a history of hemoptysis have the benefit of thorough investigation to determine the cause of the bleeding. It is essential first to determine that the bleeding does not originate from