Reduction of heart sound interference from lung sound signals using empirical mode decomposition technique

During the recording time of lung sound (LS) signals from the chest wall of a subject, there is always heart sound (HS) signal interfering with it. This obscures the features of lung sound signals and creates confusion on pathological states, if any, of the lungs. A novel method based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) technique is proposed in this paper for reducing the undesired heart sound interference from the desired lung sound signals. In this, the mixed signal is split into several components. Some of these components contain larger proportions of interfering signals like heart sound, environmental noise etc. and are filtered out. Experiments have been conducted on simulated and real-time recorded mixed signals of heart sound and lung sound. The proposed method is found to be superior in terms of time domain, frequency domain, and time–frequency domain representations and also in listening test performed by pulmonologist.     

脑卒中后不同时段抑郁的发生及与预后的关系

目的探讨脑卒中后不同时段抑郁的发生情况及与预后的关系。方法急性期脑卒中病例223例,卒中后72h予HAMD评分,将≥8分者随机分为抗抑郁药物组（干预组）、对照组,〈8分者1月再予评分,将其中≥8分者用相同方法再分为干预组、对照组,〈8分者2月再予评分,将其中≥8分者用相同方法再分为干预组、对照组,将〈8分者3M再次评分,分为≥8分、〈8分组,各组卒中后3月予MoCa、NIHSS评分、mRS分级。分析卒中后不同时段抑郁的发生情况,比较分析各时段对照组3月时MoCa、NIHSS评分、mRS分级。结果卒中后抑郁（PSD）的发生率分别为72h内19.73%,1月时35.03%,2月时53.51%,3月时46.15%;各对照组3月时MoCa评分比较,72h组与其余各组均有明显差异,P均〈0.01;NIHSS评分比较,72h组与1、2月组均有显著差异P均〈0.05;各组预后良好率（mRS分级）比较P均〉0.05。结论卒中后急性期（72h）的发病率偏低,恢复期（2~3月）的发病率较高。急性期PSD对认知功能的影响较小,但抑郁越早发生,对神经功能的恢复影响越大,致残程度越严重。     

中西医结合治疗卒中后抑郁疗效观察

目的 观察加味半夏厚朴汤联合舍曲林对脑卒中后抑郁(PSD)的临床疗效.方法 将90例卒中后抑郁患者根据治疗方法分为治疗组45例与对照组45例,均服用舍曲林,治疗组加服加味半夏厚朴汤.结果 治疗6周后两组患者HAMD评分均较治疗前有明显降低(P＜0.05),治疗组显著优于对照组(P＜0.05);治疗后两组患者疗效均较治疗前有明显提高,治疗组明显优于对照组(P＜0.05).结论 中西医结合治疗卒中后抑郁更有优势.     

脑组织活检对亚急性海绵状脑病生前确诊的重要意义(附四例临床病理报告)

本文报告经脑活检、光、电镜证实的CJD,重点讨论脑活检生前确诊CJD的重要意义。虽然EEG上出现PSD模式有助于CJD的诊断,但部分病例并不出现典型的PSD模式,而CJD又具有传染性,故作者建议怀疑CJD者,争取在病程早、中期进行脑活检,提出指征及注意事项以供参考。作者对过去认为发病10周无PSD模式以否定CJD的观点提出异议,强调生前确诊有赖于脑活检。     

Development of learning and memory in mice after brief paradoxical sleep deprivation.

The effects of three hour paradoxical sleep deprivation (3 hr PSD) via the water tank procedure to produce retrograde amnesia of active avoidance and inhibitory avoidance learning was examined in mice. Results indicated no memory impairment in experimentally treated groups. An attempt was then made to induce amnesia by administering ECS immediately after 3 hr PSD thereby increasing the susceptibility of the memory trace to disruption. This procedure, however, also results in good retention. We conclude that the paradoxical sleep (PS) phase immediately after aversively motivated training is not essential for subsequent development of learning and memory. These results do not, however, detract from previously reported protracted PSD effects on memory storage processes.     

Brain mapping analysis in patients with hepatic encephalopathy

Summary Topographical analysis of cerebral electrical activity was performed in 44 patients with hepatic encephalopathy. These patients were classified in 5 groups according to clinical criteria. Eight healthy subjects were used as a control group. All were studied in an awake, eyes closed, condition and some [Control Group (CG), Group 0 (G0), Group 1 (G1) and Group 2 (G2)] also in an awake, eyes open, condition. The awake, eyes closed, maps showed marked differences in the power spectral density (PSD) of the different bands, when comparing normal subjects with patients with several degrees of hepatic encephalopathy. These differences were related to the degree of clinical involvement, mainly in the alpha and delta PSD bands. The combination of a decreased alpha PSD, increased delta PSD, and decreased mean dominant frequency (MDF) allowed a clear discrimination between the different clinical groups. The differences observed between awake, eyes closed, and awake, eyes open, conditions were especially helpful to discriminate between CG subjects and G0, G1 and G2 patients.     

Adenosine A2A receptors and basal ganglia physiology

Adenosine A2A receptors are highly enriched in the basal ganglia system. They are predominantly expressed in enkephalin-expressing GABAergic striatopallidal neurons and therefore are highly relevant to the function of the indirect efferent pathway of the basal ganglia system. In these GABAergic enkephalinergic neurons, the A2A receptor tightly interacts structurally and functionally with the dopamine D2 receptor. Both by forming receptor heteromers and by targeting common intracellular signaling cascades, A2A and D2 receptors exhibit reciprocal antagonistic interactions that are central to the function of the indirect pathway and hence to basal ganglia control of movement, motor learning, motivation and reward. Consequently, this A2A/D2 receptors antagonistic interaction is also central to basal ganglia dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. However, recent evidence demonstrates that, in addition to this post-synaptic site of action, striatal A2A receptors are also expressed and have physiological relevance on pre-synaptic glutamatergic terminals of the cortico-limbic-striatal and thalamo-striatal pathways, where they form heteromeric receptor complexes with adenosine A1 receptors. Therefore, A2A receptors play an important fine-tuning role, boosting the efficiency of glutamatergic information flow in the indirect pathway by exerting control, either pre- and/or post-synaptically, over other key modulators of glutamatergic synapses, including D2 receptors, group I metabotropic mGlu5 glutamate receptors and cannabinoid CB1 receptors, and by triggering the cAMP-protein kinase A signaling cascade.     

In vivo phosphorylation of postsynaptic density proteins

In vivo protein phosphorylation was examined in postsynaptic density-enriched fractions isolated from rat brain. In vivo phosphorylation was carried out by injecting rats intraventricularly with [³²P]orthophosphate followed by isolation of postsynaptic densities from pooled cerebral cortices. In vivo³²P-labeled postsynaptic densities were then fractionated by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis and stained with Coomassie Blue. The protein banding pattern was typical for postsynaptic densities. The principal polypeptide component occurred in a single band at an apparent molecular weight of 51,000. Autoradiographs of the dried gels showed a major peak of radioactivity associated with the 51,000 molecular weight component for the in vivo labeled postsynaptic density fraction. Additional minor peaks of radioactivity were also observed.These results represent the first demonstration that proteins associated with the postsynaptic density readily incorporate phosphate in vivo and may represent a major and important class of synaptic phosphoproteins.