Efficient heart beat detection using embedded system electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Ramasamy, Mouli; Oh, Sechang; Varadan, Vijay K.

2014-04-01

The present day bio-technical field concentrates on developing various types of innovative ambulatory and wearable devices to monitor several bio-physical, physio-pathological, bio-electrical and bio-potential factors to assess a human body's health condition without intruding quotidian activities. One of the most important aspects of this evolving technology is monitoring heart beat rate and electrocardiogram (ECG) from which many other subsidiary results can be derived. Conventionally, the devices and systems consumes a lot of power since the acquired signals are always processed on the receiver end. Because of this back end processing, the unprocessed raw data is transmitted resulting in usage of more power, memory and processing time. This paper proposes an innovative technique where the acquired signals are processed by a microcontroller in the front end of the module and just the processed signal is then transmitted wirelessly to the display unit. Therefore, power consumption is considerably reduced and clearer data analysis is performed within the module. This also avoids the need for the user to be educated about usage of the device and signal/system analysis, since only the number of heart beats will displayed at the user end. Additionally, the proposed concept also eradicates the other disadvantages like obtrusiveness, high power consumption and size. To demonstrate the above said factors, a commercial controller board was used to extend the monitoring method by using the saved ECG data from a computer.

Extracting fetal heart beats from maternal abdominal recordings: selection of the optimal principal components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Maria, Costanzo; Liu, Chengyu; Zheng, Dingchang; Murray, Alan; Langley, Philip

2014-01-01

This study presents a systematic comparison of different approaches to the automated selection of the principal components (PC) which optimise the detection of maternal and fetal heart beats from non-invasive maternal abdominal recordings. A public database of 75 4-channel non-invasive maternal abdominal recordings was used for training the algorithm. Four methods were developed and assessed to determine the optimal PC: (1) power spectral distribution, (2) root mean square, (3) sample entropy, and (4) QRS template. The sensitivity of the performance of the algorithm to large-amplitude noise removal (by wavelet de-noising) and maternal beat cancellation methods were also assessed. The accuracy of maternal and fetal beat detection was assessed against reference annotations and quantified using the detection accuracy score F1 [2*PPV*Se / (PPV + Se)], sensitivity (Se), and positive predictive value (PPV). The best performing implementation was assessed on a test dataset of 100 recordings and the agreement between the computed and the reference fetal heart rate (fHR) and fetal RR (fRR) time series quantified. The best performance for detecting maternal beats (F1 99.3%, Se 99.0%, PPV 99.7%) was obtained when using the QRS template method to select the optimal maternal PC and applying wavelet de-noising. The best performance for detecting fetal beats (F1 89.8%, Se 89.3%, PPV 90.5%) was obtained when the optimal fetal PC was selected using the sample entropy method and utilising a fixed-length time window for the cancellation of the maternal beats. The performance on the test dataset was 142.7 beats 2 /min 2 for fHR and 19.9 ms for fRR, ranking respectively 14 and 17 (out of 29) when compared to the other algorithms presented at the Physionet Challenge 2013. (paper)

A new beating-heart off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting training model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouma, Wobbe; Kuijpers, Michiel; Bijleveld, Aanke; De Maat, Gijs E.; Koene, Bart M.; Erasmus, Michiel E.; Natour, Ehsan; Mariani, Massimo A.

OBJECTIVES: Training models are essential in mastering the skills required for off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB). We describe a new, high-fidelity, effective and reproducible beating-heart OPCAB training model in human cadavers. METHODS: Human cadavers were embalmed according to the

Ion channels and beating heart: the players and the music

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Antzelevitch

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Soft gentle music accompanies us throughout our lifetime; it is the music of our heart beating. Although at times it is questionable as to who serves as conductor of the orchestra, there is little doubt that our ion channels are the main players. Whenever one of them plays too loudly, too softly or simply off key, disharmony results, sometimes leading to total disruption of the rate and rhythm. Ion channels can disrupt the music of our heart by different mechanisms. Sometimes their function is correct, but their expression is altered by underlying cardiac diseases (i.e. heart failure; sometimes the defect is in their structure, because of an underlying genetic defect, and in this case a channelopathy is present.

Operative correction of judoists’ training loads on the base of on-line monitoring of heart beats rate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Qiang Liu

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: ensure increase of effectiveness of training process’s control by means of operative correction of training loads of different qualification judo wrestlers’ heart beats rate indicators. Material: the research was conducted on the base of Brest SCJSOR № 1. Judo wrestlers of different sport qualification (age 17-19 years old, n=15 participated in the research. Monitoring of judo wrestlers’ heart beats rate was carried out with the help of system “Polar”. Results: we have found factorial structure of functional fitness in every profile of sportsmen. Model characteristics of judo wrestlers were supplemented with the most important sides of functional fitness. Analysis of indicators of restoration effectiveness indicators (REI in both groups of judo wrestlers showed high level of organism’s responsiveness to training load of special and power orientation in comparison with speed power load. We have worked out algorithm of operative correction of training loads by indicators of heart beats rate in training process, depending on orientation and intensity of loads’ physiological influence on judo wrestler. Conclusions: Telemetric on-line monitoring of sportsman’s heart beats rate and calculation of REI permit to objectively assess effectiveness of training’s construction and of micro-cycle in total and detect in due time the trend to development of over-loading and failure of adaptation.

Operative correction of judoists’ training loads on the base of on-line monitoring of heart beats rate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Yong Qiang

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose: ensure increase of effectiveness of training process’s control by means of operative correction of training loads of different qualification judo wrestlers’ heart beats rate indicators. Material: the research was conducted on the base of Brest SCJSOR № 1. Judo wrestlers of different sport qualification (age 17-19 years old, n=15 participated in the research. Monitoring of judo wrestlers’ heart beats rate was carried out with the help of system “Polar”. Results: we have found factorial structure of functional fitness in every profile of sportsmen. Model characteristics of judo wrestlers were supplemented with the most important sides of functional fitness. Analysis of indicators of restoration effectiveness indicators (REI in both groups of judo wrestlers showed high level of organism’s responsiveness to training load of special and power orientation in comparison with speed power load. We have worked out algorithm of operative correction of training loads by indicators of heart beats rate in training process, depending on orientation and intensity of loads’ physiological influence on judo wrestler. Conclusions: Telemetric on-line monitoring of sportsman’s heart beats rate and calculation of REI permit to objectively assess effectiveness of training’s construction and of micro-cycle in total and detect in due time the trend to development of over-loading and failure of adaptation.

Risk of iron overload is decreased in beating heart coronary artery surgery compared to conventional bypass.

Science.gov (United States)

Mumby, S; Koh, T W; Pepper, J R; Gutteridge, J M

2001-11-29

Conventional cardiopulmonary bypass surgery (CCPB) increases the iron loading of plasma transferrin often to a state of plasma iron overload, with the presence of low molecular mass iron. Such iron is a potential risk factor for oxidative stress and microbial virulence. Here we assess 'off-pump' coronary artery surgery on the beating heart for changes in plasma iron chemistry. Seventeen patients undergoing cardiac surgery using the 'Octopus' myocardial wall stabilisation device were monitored at five time points for changes in plasma iron chemistry. This group was further divided into those (n=9) who had one- or two- (n=8) vessel grafts, and compared with eight patients undergoing conventional coronary artery surgery. Patients undergoing beating heart surgery had significantly lower levels of total plasma non-haem iron, and a decreased percentage saturation of their transferrin at all time points compared to conventional bypass patients. Plasma iron overload occurred in only one patient undergoing CCPB. Beating heart surgery appears to decrease red blood cell haemolysis, and tissue damage during the operative procedures and thereby significantly decreases the risk of plasma iron overload associated with conventional bypass.

What makes the heart of Boa constrictor (Squamata: Boidae beat faster?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Fabrício Mota Rodrigues

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Body size is highly correlated with metabolism, which in turn influences physiological rates such as heart rate. In general, heart rate is negatively influenced by the size of animal's body, but there is insufficient data corroborating this pattern in snakes. This study evaluated how body size affects heart rate in captive Boa constrictor Linnaeus, 1758. We measured the heart rate of 30 snakes using digital palpation and evaluated how this rate is influenced by body mass and sex using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA. The heart rate of the snakes was 58.8 ± 6.7 bpm (beats per minute. Body size, estimated as log-transformed body mass, negatively influenced heart rate (F1,28 = 10.27, p = 0.003, slope = -0.00004, R2 = 0.27, but sex had no effect (F1,27 = 0.07, p = 0.80. In conclusion, this result corroborates the negative relationship between body size and heart rate for snakes and reinforces the influence of related metabolic characteristics, such as body size, on the physiological parameters of snakes.

Neuro-adaptive control in beating heart surgery based on the viscoelastic tissue model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Setareh Rezakhani

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the problem of 3D heart motion in beating heart surgery is resolved by proposing a parallel force-motion controller. Motion controller is designed based on neuro-adaptive approach to compensate 3D heart motion and deal with uncertainity in dynamic parameters, while an implicit force control is implemented by considering a viscoelastic tissue model. Stability analysis is proved through Lypanov’s stability theory and Barballet’s lemma. Simulation results, for D2M2 robot, which is done in nominal case and viscoelastic parameter mismatches demonstrate the robust performance of the controller.

Beat-to-beat systolic time-interval measurement from heart sounds and ECG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paiva, R P; Carvalho, P; Couceiro, R; Henriques, J; Antunes, M; Quintal, I; Muehlsteff, J

2012-01-01

Systolic time intervals are highly correlated to fundamental cardiac functions. Several studies have shown that these measurements have significant diagnostic and prognostic value in heart failure condition and are adequate for long-term patient follow-up and disease management. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of using heart sound (HS) to accurately measure the opening and closing moments of the aortic heart valve. These moments are crucial to define the main systolic timings of the heart cycle, i.e. pre-ejection period (PEP) and left ventricular ejection time (LVET). We introduce an algorithm for automatic extraction of PEP and LVET using HS and electrocardiogram. PEP is estimated with a Bayesian approach using the signal's instantaneous amplitude and patient-specific time intervals between atrio-ventricular valve closure and aortic valve opening. As for LVET, since the aortic valve closure corresponds to the start of the S2 HS component, we base LVET estimation on the detection of the S2 onset. A comparative assessment of the main systolic time intervals is performed using synchronous signal acquisitions of the current gold standard in cardiac time-interval measurement, i.e. echocardiography, and HS. The algorithms were evaluated on a healthy population, as well as on a group of subjects with different cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In the healthy group, from a set of 942 heartbeats, the proposed algorithm achieved 7.66 ± 5.92 ms absolute PEP estimation error. For LVET, the absolute estimation error was 11.39 ± 8.98 ms. For the CVD population, 404 beats were used, leading to 11.86 ± 8.30 and 17.51 ± 17.21 ms absolute PEP and LVET errors, respectively. The results achieved in this study suggest that HS can be used to accurately estimate LVET and PEP. (paper)

Beating Heart Motion Accurate Prediction Method Based on Interactive Multiple Model: An Information Fusion Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Weihong; Yu, Yang

2017-01-01

Robot-assisted motion compensated beating heart surgery has the advantage over the conventional Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) in terms of reduced trauma to the surrounding structures that leads to shortened recovery time. The severe nonlinear and diverse nature of irregular heart rhythm causes enormous difficulty for the robot to realize the clinic requirements, especially under arrhythmias. In this paper, we propose a fusion prediction framework based on Interactive Multiple Model (IMM) estimator, allowing each model to cover a distinguishing feature of the heart motion in underlying dynamics. We find that, at normal state, the nonlinearity of the heart motion with slow time-variant changing dominates the beating process. When an arrhythmia occurs, the irregularity mode, the fast uncertainties with random patterns become the leading factor of the heart motion. We deal with prediction problem in the case of arrhythmias by estimating the state with two behavior modes which can adaptively “switch” from one to the other. Also, we employed the signal quality index to adaptively determine the switch transition probability in the framework of IMM. We conduct comparative experiments to evaluate the proposed approach with four distinguished datasets. The test results indicate that the new proposed approach reduces prediction errors significantly. PMID:29124062

Beating Heart Motion Accurate Prediction Method Based on Interactive Multiple Model: An Information Fusion Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Liang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Robot-assisted motion compensated beating heart surgery has the advantage over the conventional Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG in terms of reduced trauma to the surrounding structures that leads to shortened recovery time. The severe nonlinear and diverse nature of irregular heart rhythm causes enormous difficulty for the robot to realize the clinic requirements, especially under arrhythmias. In this paper, we propose a fusion prediction framework based on Interactive Multiple Model (IMM estimator, allowing each model to cover a distinguishing feature of the heart motion in underlying dynamics. We find that, at normal state, the nonlinearity of the heart motion with slow time-variant changing dominates the beating process. When an arrhythmia occurs, the irregularity mode, the fast uncertainties with random patterns become the leading factor of the heart motion. We deal with prediction problem in the case of arrhythmias by estimating the state with two behavior modes which can adaptively “switch” from one to the other. Also, we employed the signal quality index to adaptively determine the switch transition probability in the framework of IMM. We conduct comparative experiments to evaluate the proposed approach with four distinguished datasets. The test results indicate that the new proposed approach reduces prediction errors significantly.

Inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase decreases atrioventricular node-paced heart rate in rabbits.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Hongwei; Smith, Godfrey L; Orchard, Clive H; Hancox, Jules C; Burton, Francis L

2012-10-01

Recent data indicate that Ca(2+) cycling in isolated atrioventricular node (AVN) cells contributes to setting spontaneous rate. The aim of the present study was to extend this observation to the intact AVN in situ, by evaluating the effects of inhibiting sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) uptake with cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) on intact AVN spontaneous activity and its response to isoprenaline. A model of the AVN-paced heart was produced to investigate intact AVN automaticity, by surgical ablation of the sino-atrial node (SAN) in the rabbit Langendorff-perfused heart. Electrograms were recorded from a site close to the AVN (triangle of Koch), an atrial site above the AVN, the left atrium and right ventricle, enabling AVN pacing of the preparation to be confirmed. Before SAN ablation, the heart rate was 166.8 ± 5.4 beats min(-1). Ablation of the SAN was clearly indicated by a sudden and significant decrease of heart rate to 108.6 ± 9.6 beats min(-1) (P AVN rate to 187.8 ± 12.0 beats min(-1) after 1 min of application (P AVN rate to 81.6 ± 4.8 (n = 9) and 77.4 ± 6.0 beats min(-1) (n = 7), respectively [P AVN rate increase in response to isoprenaline from 78.8 ± 10.0 to 46.8 ± 6.8 and 26.7 ± 5.3%, respectively (P AVN rate and its response to isoprenaline indicate that Ca(2+) cycling is important to the intact AVN spontaneous activity and its acceleration during sympathetic stimulation.

Spontaneous bleeding from liver after open heart surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Mir, Najeeb H; Shah, Mian T; Obeid, Mahmoud Ali; Gallo, Ricardo; Aliter, Hashem

2013-01-01

Intra-abdominal hemorrhage after open heart surgery is very uncommon in routine clinical practice. There are case reports of having bleeding from spleen or liver after starting low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) postoperatively. Our patient is a 58-year-old man with mitral valve regurgitation, who underwent mitral valve repair and developed intra-abdominal hemorrhage 8h after open heart surgery. The exploratory laparotomy revealed the source of bleeding from ruptured sub-capsular liver hematoma and oozing from raw areas of the liver surface. Liver packing was done to control the bleeding. The gastrointestinal complications after open heart surgery are rare and spontaneous bleeding from spleen has been reported. This is the first case from our hospital to have intra-abdominal hemorrhage after open heart surgery. Spontaneous bleeding from liver is a possible complication after open heart surgery. We submit the case for the academic interest and to discuss the possible cause of hemorrhage. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Exaggerated heart rate oscillations during two meditation techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, C K; Mietus, J E; Liu, Y; Khalsa, G; Douglas, P S; Benson, H; Goldberger, A L

1999-07-31

We report extremely prominent heart rate oscillations associated with slow breathing during specific traditional forms of Chinese Chi and Kundalini Yoga meditation techniques in healthy young adults. We applied both spectral analysis and a novel analytic technique based on the Hilbert transform to quantify these heart rate dynamics. The amplitude of these oscillations during meditation was significantly greater than in the pre-meditation control state and also in three non-meditation control groups: i) elite athletes during sleep, ii) healthy young adults during metronomic breathing, and iii) healthy young adults during spontaneous nocturnal breathing. This finding, along with the marked variability of the beat-to-beat heart rate dynamics during such profound meditative states, challenges the notion of meditation as only an autonomically quiescent state.

[Flowmetric assessment of coronary bypass grafts in the conditions of artificial circulation and on the beating heart].

Science.gov (United States)

Bazylev, V V; Nemchenko, E V; Karnakhin, V A; Pavlov, A A; Mikulyak, A I

2016-01-01

Advantages and shortcomings of aortocoronary bypass grafting on the beating heart and in the conditions of artificial circulation (AC) have long been discussed. The data on patency of bypass grafts in the remote period are indicative of comparable results of operations with and without AC or advantages of using AC. In order to determine benefits of each method it is necessary to reveal intraoperative predictors of bypass grafts occlusion in the remote period. We analyzed the results of ultrasound flowmetry of the blood flow through the left internal thoracic artery during bypass grafting of the anterior descending artery with the use of AC and on the beating heart. A retrospective study included a total of 352 patients subdivided into 2 groups: Group One was composed of 120 patients undergoing surgery in the conditions of AC and Group Two comprised 232 patients subjected to similar operations on the beating heart. Blood flow was measured with the help of flowmeter VeryQ MediStim® after termination of AC and inactivation of heparin by protamine, with systolic pressure of 100-110 mm Hg. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups by the diameter and degree of stenosis of the anterior descending artery, diameter of the left internal thoracic artery. The mean volumetric blood flow velocity (Qmean) along the shunts in Group One was higher (p=0.01). No statistically significant differences by the pulsatility index (PI) between the groups were revealed (p=0.2). A conclusion was drawn that coronary bypass grafting of the anterior descending artery by the left internal thoracic artery in the conditions of artificial circulation made it possible to achieve higher volumetric velocity of blood flow through the conduit as compared with operations on the beating heart, with similar resistance index. The immediate results of the operations with the use of the both techniques did not differ.

Proarrhythmic electrical remodelling is associated with increased beat-to-beat variability of repolarisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Morten Bækgaard; Oros, Avram; Schoenmakers, Marieke

2007-01-01

Acquired long-QT syndrome in combination with increased beat-to-beat variability of repolarisation duration (BVR) is associated with lethal torsades de pointes arrhythmias (TdP) in dogs with remodelled heart after atrioventricular block (AVB). We evaluated the relative contributions of bradycardi...

Beat-by-beat analysis of cardiac output and blood pressure responses to short-term barostimulation in different body positions

Science.gov (United States)

Hildebrandt, Wulf; Schütze, Harald; Stegemann, J.

Rapid quantification of the human baro-reflex control of heart rate has been achieved on a beat-by-beat basis using a neck-chamber with quick ECG-triggered pressure changes. Referring to recent findings on heart rate and stroke volume, the present study uses this technique to compare cardiac output as well as blood pressure changes in supine and upright position to investigate feedback effects and to confirm postural reflex modifications not revealed by RR-interval changes. A suction profile starting at +40 mmHg and running 7 steps of pressure decrease down to -65 mmHg was examined in 0° and 90° tilting position while beat-by-beat recordings were done of heart rate, stroke volume (impedance-cardiography) and blood pressure (Finapres tm) (n=16). The percentual heart rate decrease failed to be significantly different between positions. A suction-induced stroke volume increase led to a cardiac output almost maintained when supine and significantly increased when upright. A decrease in all blood pressure values was found during suction, except for systolic values in upright position which increased. Conclusively, (a) it is confirmed that different inotropy accounts for the seen gravitational effect on the cardiac output not represented by heart rate; (b) identical suction levels in different positions lead to different stimuli at the carotid receptor. This interference has to be considered in microgravity studies by beat-by-beat measurement of cardiac output and blood pressure.

Beat to beat variability in cardiovascular variables: noise or music?

Science.gov (United States)

Appel, M. L.; Berger, R. D.; Saul, J. P.; Smith, J. M.; Cohen, R. J.

1989-01-01

Cardiovascular variables such as heart rate, arterial blood pressure, stroke volume and the shape of electrocardiographic complexes all fluctuate on a beat to beat basis. These fluctuations have traditionally been ignored or, at best, treated as noise to be averaged out. The variability in cardiovascular signals reflects the homeodynamic interplay between perturbations to cardiovascular function and the dynamic response of the cardiovascular regulatory systems. Modern signal processing techniques provide a means of analyzing beat to beat fluctuations in cardiovascular signals, so as to permit a quantitative, noninvasive or minimally invasive method of assessing closed loop hemodynamic regulation and cardiac electrical stability. This method promises to provide a new approach to the clinical diagnosis and management of alterations in cardiovascular regulation and stability.

Liver transplantation from Maastricht category 2 non-heart-beating donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Otero, Alejandra; Gómez-Gutiérrez, Manuel; Suárez, Francisco; Arnal, Francisco; Fernández-García, Antón; Aguirrezabalaga, Javier; García-Buitrón, José; Alvarez, Joaquín; Máñez, Rafael

2003-10-15

The demand for liver transplantation has increasingly exceeded the supply of cadaver donor organs. Non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) may be an alternative to increase the cadaver donor pool. The outcome of 20 liver transplants from Maastricht category 2 NHBDs is compared with 40 liver transplants from heart-beating donors (HBDs). After unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), cardiopulmonary support (CPS) with simultaneous application of chest and abdominal compression (n=6), and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB; n=14), which was hypothermic (n=7) or normothermic (n=7), were used to preserve the organs from NHBDs. Factors that may influence the outcome of livers from Maastricht category 2 NHBDs were also investigated. With a minimum follow-up of 2 years, actuarial patient and graft survivals with livers from Maastricht category 2 NHBDs were 80% and 55%, respectively. Transplantation of organs from these donors was associated with a significantly higher incidence of primary nonfunction, biliary complications, and more severe initial liver dysfunction compared with livers from HBDs. Graft survival was 83% in livers from NHBDs preserved with CPS and 42% in those maintained with CPB. No graft failed if the duration of warm ischemia did not exceed 130 min with CPR or CPS, and if the period of CPB did not surpass 150 min when this method was used after CPR, regardless if it was hypothermic or normothermic. Livers from Maastricht type 2 NHBDs may be used for transplantation if the period of warm ischemia during CPR or CPS does not exceed 130 min. Hypothermic or normothermic CPB after CPR preserves liver viability for an additional 150 min.

Prostanoid Receptors Involved in Regulation of the Beating Rate of Neonatal Rat Cardiomyocytes

Science.gov (United States)

Mechiche, Hakima; Grassin-Delyle, Stanislas; Robinet, Arnaud; Nazeyrollas, Pierre; Devillier, Philippe

2012-01-01

Although prostanoids are known to be involved in regulation of the spontaneous beating rate of cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, the various subtypes of prostanoid receptors have not been investigated in detail. In our experiments, prostaglandin (PG)F2α and prostanoid FP receptor agonists (fluprostenol, latanoprost and cloprostenol) produced a decrease in the beating rate. Two prostanoid IP receptor agonists (iloprost and beraprost) induced first a marked drop in the beating rate and then definitive abrogation of beating. In contrast, the prostanoid DP receptor agonists (PGD2 and BW245C) and TP receptor agonists (U-46619) produced increases in the beating rate. Sulprostone (a prostanoid EP1 and EP3 receptor agonist) induced marked increases in the beating rate, which were suppressed by SC-19220 (a selective prostanoid EP1 antagonist). Butaprost (a selective prostanoid EP2 receptor agonist), misoprostol (a prostanoid EP2 and EP3 receptor agonist), 11-deoxy-PGE1 (a prostanoid EP2, EP3 and EP4 receptor agonist) did not alter the beating rate. Our results strongly suggest that prostanoid EP1 receptors are involved in positive regulation of the beating rate. Prostanoid EP1 receptor expression was confirmed by western blotting with a selective antibody. Hence, neonatal rat cardiomyocytes express both prostanoid IP and FP receptors (which negatively regulate the spontaneous beating rate) and prostanoid TP, DP1 and EP1 receptors (which positively regulate the spontaneous beating rate). PMID:22984630

Prevention of adenosine A2A receptor activation diminishes beat-to-beat alternation in human atrial myocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Molina, Cristina E; Llach, Anna; Herraiz-Martínez, Adela; Tarifa, Carmen; Barriga, Montserrat; Wiegerinck, Rob F; Fernandes, Jacqueline; Cabello, Nuria; Vallmitjana, Alex; Benitéz, Raúl; Montiel, José; Cinca, Juan; Hove-Madsen, Leif

2016-01-01

Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been associated with increased spontaneous calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and linked to increased adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) expression and activation. Here we tested whether this may favor atrial arrhythmogenesis by promoting beat-to-beat alternation and irregularity. Patch-clamp and confocal calcium imaging was used to measure the beat-to-beat response of the calcium current and transient in human atrial myocytes. Responses were classified as uniform, alternating or irregular and stimulation of Gs-protein coupled receptors decreased the frequency where a uniform response could be maintained from 1.0 ± 0.1 to 0.6 ± 0.1 Hz; p < 0.01 for beta-adrenergic receptors and from 1.4 ± 0.1 to 0.5 ± 0.1 Hz; p < 0.05 for A2ARs. The latter was linked to increased spontaneous calcium release and after-depolarizations. Moreover, A2AR activation increased the fraction of non-uniformly responding cells in HL-1 myocyte cultures from 19 ± 3 to 51 ± 9 %; p < 0.02, and electrical mapping in perfused porcine atria revealed that adenosine induced electrical alternans at longer cycle lengths, doubled the fraction of electrodes showing alternation, and increased the amplitude of alternations. Importantly, protein kinase A inhibition increased the highest frequency where uniform responses could be maintained from 0.84 ± 0.12 to 1.86 ± 0.11 Hz; p < 0.001 and prevention of A2AR-activation with exogenous adenosine deaminase selectively increased the threshold from 0.8 ± 0.1 to 1.2 ± 0.1 Hz; p = 0.001 in myocytes from patients with AF. In conclusion, A2AR-activation promotes beat-to-beat irregularities in the calcium transient in human atrial myocytes, and prevention of A2AR activation may be a novel means to maintain uniform beat-to-beat responses at higher beating frequencies in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Noise-induced effects on multicellular biopacemaker spontaneous activity: Differences between weak and strong pacemaker cells

Science.gov (United States)

Aghighi, Alireza; Comtois, Philippe

2017-09-01

Self-organization of spontaneous activity of a network of active elements is important to the general theory of reaction-diffusion systems as well as for pacemaking activity to initiate beating of the heart. Monolayer cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes, consisting of resting and pacemaker cells, exhibit spontaneous activation of their electrical activity. Similarly, one proposed approach to the development of biopacemakers as an alternative to electronic pacemakers for cardiac therapy is based on heterogeneous cardiac cells with resting and spontaneously beating phenotypes. However, the combined effect of pacemaker characteristics, density, and spatial distribution of the pacemaker cells on spontaneous activity is unknown. Using a simple stochastic pattern formation algorithm, we previously showed a clear nonlinear dependency of spontaneous activity (occurrence and amplitude of spontaneous period) on the spatial patterns of pacemaker cells. In this study, we show that this behavior is dependent on the pacemaker cell characteristics, with weaker pacemaker cells requiring higher density and larger clusters to sustain multicellular activity. These multicellular structures also demonstrated an increased sensitivity to voltage noise that favored spontaneous activity at lower density while increasing temporal variation in the period of activity. This information will help researchers overcome the current limitations of biopacemakers.

Liver transplantation from maastricht category 2 non-heart-beating donors: a source to increase the donor pool?

Science.gov (United States)

Otero, A; Gómez-Gutiérrez, M; Suárez, F; Arnal, F; Fernández-García, A; Aguirrezabalaga, J; García-Buitrón, J; Alvarez, J; Máñez, R

2004-04-01

The demand for liver transplantation has increasingly exceeded the supply of cadaver donor organs. Non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) may be an alternative to increase the cadaver donor pool. The outcome of 20 liver transplants from Maastricht category 2 NHBD was compared with that of 40 liver transplants from heart-beating donors (HBDs). After unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), cardiopulmonary support with simultaneous application of chest and abdominal compression (CPS; n = 6) or cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB; n = 14) was used to maintain the donors. At a minimum follow-up of 2 years, actuarial patient and graft survival rates with livers from Maastricht category 2 NHBD were 80% and 55%, respectively. Transplantation of organs from these donors was associated with a significantly higher incidence of primary nonfunction, biliary complications, and more severe initial liver dysfunction compared with organs from HBDs. The graft survival rates was 83% for livers from NHBDs preserved with CPS and 42% in those maintained with CPB.

Beat-to-beat heart rate estimation fusing multimodal video and sensor data.

Science.gov (United States)

Antink, Christoph Hoog; Gao, Hanno; Brüser, Christoph; Leonhardt, Steffen

2015-08-01

Coverage and accuracy of unobtrusively measured biosignals are generally relatively low compared to clinical modalities. This can be improved by exploiting redundancies in multiple channels with methods of sensor fusion. In this paper, we demonstrate that two modalities, skin color variation and head motion, can be extracted from the video stream recorded with a webcam. Using a Bayesian approach, these signals are fused with a ballistocardiographic signal obtained from the seat of a chair with a mean absolute beat-to-beat estimation error below 25 milliseconds and an average coverage above 90% compared to an ECG reference.

[Clinical Experience of Beating Heart Atrial Septostomy Using a Device for Coronary Artery Anastomosis Site Creator].

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Goro; Sai, Sadahiro; Konishi, Akinobu

2015-09-01

Intra-atrial communication was mandatory for several congenital cardiac diseases, such as pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS), and either sided aortoventricular valve atresia. We assessed whether the new methods of atrial septal defect(ASD)creation was effective. We experienced 4 cases of the surgical atrial septostomy performed under on-pump beating. We used a new device, a circular punch out defect creator. All cases were alive. The mean ASD diameter was enlarged from 4.37 mm to 5.55 mm and the mean ASD shunt flow was significantly decreased from 1.47 m/s to 1.11 m/s. We performed the surgical atrial septostomy using an aortic puncher under beating heart effectively and safely.

Binaural Beat: A Failure to Enhance EEG Power and Emotional Arousal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fran López-Caballero

2017-11-01

Full Text Available When two pure tones of slightly different frequencies are delivered simultaneously to the two ears, is generated a beat whose frequency corresponds to the frequency difference between them. That beat is known as acoustic beat. If these two tones are presented one to each ear, they still produce the sensation of the same beat, although no physical combination of the tones occurs outside the auditory system. This phenomenon is called binaural beat. In the present study, we explored the potential contribution of binaural beats to the enhancement of specific electroencephalographic (EEG bands, as previous studies suggest the potential usefulness of binaural beats as a brainwave entrainment tool. Additionally, we analyzed the effects of binaural-beat stimulation on two psychophysiological measures related to emotional arousal: heart rate and skin conductance. Beats of five different frequencies (4.53 Hz -theta-, 8.97 Hz -alpha-, 17.93 Hz -beta-, 34.49 Hz -gamma- or 57.3 Hz -upper-gamma were presented binaurally and acoustically for epochs of 3 min (Beat epochs, preceded and followed by pink noise epochs of 90 s (Baseline and Post epochs, respectively. In each of these epochs, we analyzed the EEG spectral power, as well as calculated the heart rate and skin conductance response (SCR. For all the beat frequencies used for stimulation, no significant changes between Baseline and Beat epochs were observed within the corresponding EEG bands, neither with binaural or with acoustic beats. Additional analysis of spectral EEG topographies yielded negative results for the effect of binaural beats in the scalp distribution of EEG spectral power. In the psychophysiological measures, no changes in heart rate and skin conductance were observed for any of the beat frequencies presented. Our results do not support binaural-beat stimulation as a potential tool for the enhancement of EEG oscillatory activity, nor to induce changes in emotional arousal.

Binaural Beat: A Failure to Enhance EEG Power and Emotional Arousal.

Science.gov (United States)

López-Caballero, Fran; Escera, Carles

2017-01-01

When two pure tones of slightly different frequencies are delivered simultaneously to the two ears, is generated a beat whose frequency corresponds to the frequency difference between them. That beat is known as acoustic beat. If these two tones are presented one to each ear, they still produce the sensation of the same beat, although no physical combination of the tones occurs outside the auditory system. This phenomenon is called binaural beat. In the present study, we explored the potential contribution of binaural beats to the enhancement of specific electroencephalographic (EEG) bands, as previous studies suggest the potential usefulness of binaural beats as a brainwave entrainment tool. Additionally, we analyzed the effects of binaural-beat stimulation on two psychophysiological measures related to emotional arousal: heart rate and skin conductance. Beats of five different frequencies (4.53 Hz -theta-, 8.97 Hz -alpha-, 17.93 Hz -beta-, 34.49 Hz -gamma- or 57.3 Hz -upper-gamma) were presented binaurally and acoustically for epochs of 3 min (Beat epochs), preceded and followed by pink noise epochs of 90 s (Baseline and Post epochs, respectively). In each of these epochs, we analyzed the EEG spectral power, as well as calculated the heart rate and skin conductance response (SCR). For all the beat frequencies used for stimulation, no significant changes between Baseline and Beat epochs were observed within the corresponding EEG bands, neither with binaural or with acoustic beats. Additional analysis of spectral EEG topographies yielded negative results for the effect of binaural beats in the scalp distribution of EEG spectral power. In the psychophysiological measures, no changes in heart rate and skin conductance were observed for any of the beat frequencies presented. Our results do not support binaural-beat stimulation as a potential tool for the enhancement of EEG oscillatory activity, nor to induce changes in emotional arousal.

Acoustical sensing of cardiomyocyte cluster beating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tymchenko, Nina; Kunze, Angelika [Dept. of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Göteborg (Sweden); Dahlenborg, Kerstin [Cellectis, 413 46 Göteborg (Sweden); Svedhem, Sofia, E-mail: sofia.svedhem@chalmers.se [Dept. of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Göteborg (Sweden); Steel, Daniella [Cellectis, 413 46 Göteborg (Sweden)

2013-06-14

Highlights: •An example of the application of QCM-D to live cell studies. •Detection of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte cluster beating. •Clusters were studied in a thin liquid film and in a large liquid volume. •The QCM-D beating profile provides an individual fingerprint of the hPS-CMCs. -- Abstract: Spontaneously beating human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes clusters (CMCs) represent an excellent in vitro tool for studies of human cardiomyocyte function and for pharmacological cardiac safety assessment. Such testing typically requires highly trained operators, precision plating, or large cell quantities, and there is a demand for real-time, label-free monitoring of small cell quantities, especially rare cells and tissue-like structures. Array formats based on sensing of electrical or optical properties of cells are being developed and in use by the pharmaceutical industry. A potential alternative to these techniques is represented by the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) technique, which is an acoustic surface sensitive technique that measures changes in mass and viscoelastic properties close to the sensor surface (from nm to μm). There is an increasing number of studies where QCM-D has successfully been applied to monitor properties of cells and cellular processes. In the present study, we show that spontaneous beating of CMCs on QCM-D sensors can be clearly detected, both in the frequency and the dissipation signals. Beating rates in the range of 66–168 bpm for CMCs were detected and confirmed by simultaneous light microscopy. The QCM-D beating profile was found to provide individual fingerprints of the hPS-CMCs. The presented results point towards acoustical assays for evaluation cardiotoxicity.

Control, synchronization, and enhanced reliability of aperiodic oscillations in the Mercury Beating Heart system

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Pawan; Parmananda, P.

2018-04-01

Experiments involving the Mercury Beating Heart (MBH) oscillator, exhibiting irregular (aperiodic) dynamics, are performed. In the first set of experiments, control over irregular dynamics of the MBH oscillator was obtained via a superimposed periodic voltage signal. These irregular (aperiodic) dynamics were recovered once the control was switched off. Subsequently, two MBH oscillators were coupled to attain synchronization of their aperiodic oscillations. Finally, two uncoupled MBH oscillators were subjected, repeatedly, to a common stochastic forcing, resulting in an enhancement of their mutual phase correlation.

Ultrasound functional imaging in an ex vivo beating porcine heart platform

Science.gov (United States)

Petterson, Niels J.; Fixsen, Louis S.; Rutten, Marcel C. M.; Pijls, Nico H. J.; van de Vosse, Frans N.; Lopata, Richard G. P.

2017-12-01

In recent years, novel ultrasound functional imaging (UFI) techniques have been introduced to assess cardiac function by measuring, e.g. cardiac output (CO) and/or myocardial strain. Verification and reproducibility assessment in a realistic setting remain major issues. Simulations and phantoms are often unrealistic, whereas in vivo measurements often lack crucial hemodynamic parameters or ground truth data, or suffer from the large physiological and clinical variation between patients when attempting clinical validation. Controlled validation in certain pathologies is cumbersome and often requires the use of lab animals. In this study, an isolated beating pig heart setup was adapted and used for performance assessment of UFI techniques such as volume assessment and ultrasound strain imaging. The potential of performing verification and reproducibility studies was demonstrated. For proof-of-principle, validation of UFI in pathological hearts was examined. Ex vivo porcine hearts (n  =  6, slaughterhouse waste) were resuscitated and attached to a mock circulatory system. Radio frequency ultrasound data of the left ventricle were acquired in five short axis views and one long axis view. Based on these slices, the CO was measured, where verification was performed using flow sensor measurements in the aorta. Strain imaging was performed providing radial, circumferential and longitudinal strain to assess reproducibility and inter-subject variability under steady conditions. Finally, strains in healthy hearts were compared to a heart with an implanted left ventricular assist device, simulating a failing, supported heart. Good agreement between ultrasound and flow sensor based CO measurements was found. Strains were highly reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficients  >0.8). Differences were found due to biological variation and condition of the hearts. Strain magnitude and patterns in the assisted heart were available for different pump action, revealing

Losing the beat: deficits in temporal coordination

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Caroline; Lidji, Pascale; Peretz, Isabelle

2014-01-01

Tapping or clapping to an auditory beat, an easy task for most individuals, reveals precise temporal synchronization with auditory patterns such as music, even in the presence of temporal fluctuations. Most models of beat-tracking rely on the theoretical concept of pulse: a perceived regular beat generated by an internal oscillation that forms the foundation of entrainment abilities. Although tapping to the beat is a natural sensorimotor activity for most individuals, not everyone can track an auditory beat. Recently, the case of Mathieu was documented (Phillips-Silver et al. 2011 Neuropsychologia 49, 961–969. (doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.02.002)). Mathieu presented himself as having difficulty following a beat and exhibited synchronization failures. We examined beat-tracking in normal control participants, Mathieu, and a second beat-deaf individual, who tapped with an auditory metronome in which unpredictable perturbations were introduced to disrupt entrainment. Both beat-deaf cases exhibited failures in error correction in response to the perturbation task while exhibiting normal spontaneous motor tempi (in the absence of an auditory stimulus), supporting a deficit specific to perception–action coupling. A damped harmonic oscillator model was applied to the temporal adaptation responses; the model's parameters of relaxation time and endogenous frequency accounted for differences between the beat-deaf cases as well as the control group individuals. PMID:25385783

Design a Wearable Device for Blood Oxygen Concentration and Temporal Heart Beat Rate

Science.gov (United States)

Myint, Cho Zin; Barsoum, Nader; Ing, Wong Kiing

2010-06-01

The wireless network technology is increasingly important in healthcare as a result of the aging population and the tendency to acquire chronic disease such as heart attack, high blood pressure amongst the elderly. A wireless sensor network system that has the capability to monitor physiological sign such as SpO2 (Saturation of Arterial Oxygen) and heart beat rate in real-time from the human's body is highlighted in this study. This research is to design a prototype sensor network hardware, which consists of microcontroller PIC18F series and transceiver unit. The sensor is corporate into a wearable body sensor network which is small in size and easy to use. The sensor allows a non invasive, real time method to provide information regarding the health of the body. This enables a more efficient and economical means for managing the health care of the population.

The role of bile salt toxicity in the pathogenesis of bile duct injury after non-heart-beating porcine liver transplantation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yska, Marit J.; Buis, Carlijn I.; Monbaliu, Diethard; Schuurs, Theo A.; Gouw, Annette S. H.; Kahmann, Olivier N. H.; Visser, Dorien S.; Pirenne, Jacques; Porte, Robert J.

2008-01-01

Background. Intrahepatic bile duct strictures are a serious complication after non-heart-beating (NHB) liver transplantation. Bile salt toxicity has been identified as an important factor in the pathogenesis of bile duct injury and cholangiopathies. The role of bile salt toxicity in the development

Clinical implications of hypothermic ventricular fibrillation versus beating-heart technique during cardiopulmonary bypass for pulmonary valve replacement in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ji-Hyun; Lee, Ji-Eun; Shin, Jungho; Song, In-Kyung; Kim, Hee-Soo; Kim, Chong-Sung; Kim, Woong-Han; Kim, Jin-Tae

2017-09-01

This study aimed to compare the effects of hypothermic ventricular fibrillation and beating-heart techniques during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on postoperative outcomes after simple pulmonary valve replacement in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). We retrospectively reviewed the data of 47 patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot at a single institution, who received pulmonary valve replacement under the ventricular fibrillation or beating-heart technique without cardioplegic cardiac arrest during CPB between January 2005 and April 2015. The patients were divided into fibrillation (n = 32) and beating-heart (n = 15) groups. On comparing these groups, the fibrillation group had a larger sinotubular junction (27.1 ± 4.6 vs 22.1 ± 2.4 mm), had a longer operation duration (396 ± 108 vs 345 ± 57 min), required more postoperative transfusions (2.1 ± 2.6 vs 5.0 ± 6.3 units) and had a higher vasoactive-inotropic score at intensive care unit admission (8.0 vs 10, all P tetralogy of Fallot. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Beating Depression …Help Is Available

Science.gov (United States)

... Navigation Bar Home Current Issue Past Issues Beating Depression …Help Is Available Past Issues / Summer 2007 Table ... treatments are available from your physician. Types of Depression Just like other illnesses, such as heart disease, ...

A New UK 2006 National Kidney Allocation Scheme for deceased heart-beating donor kidneys.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Rachel J; Fuggle, Susan V; Mumford, Lisa; Bradley, J Andrew; Forsythe, John L R; Rudge, Chris J

2010-02-27

In 2004, it was agreed that a new allocation scheme for kidneys from deceased heart-beating donors was required in the United Kingdom to address observed inequities in access to transplant. The 2006 National Kidney Allocation Scheme (2006 NKAS) was developed to meet agreed objectives and preparatory work included a review of the criteria for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching and simulation evidence about the effectiveness of alternative schemes. ALGORITHM FOR 2006 NKAS: The 2006 NKAS gives absolute priority to all 000 HLA-A, -B, -DR-mismatched patients and well-matched pediatric patients (inequity of access will take a number of years to address fully.

Effect of Mucuna pruriens Seed Extract Pretreatment on the Responses of Spontaneously Beating Rat Atria and Aortic Ring to Naja sputatrix (Javan Spitting Cobra) Venom

Science.gov (United States)

Fung, Shin Yee; Tan, Nget Hong; Sim, Si Mui; Aguiyi, John C.

2012-01-01

Mucuna pruriens Linn. (velvet bean) has been used by native Nigerians as a prophylactic for snakebite. Rats pretreated with M. pruriens seed extract (MPE) have been shown to protect against the lethal and cardiovascular depressant effects of Naja sputatrix (Javan spitting cobra) venoms, and the protective effect involved immunological neutralization of the venom toxins. To investigate further the mechanism of the protective effect of MPE pretreatment against cobra venom toxicity, the actions of Naja sputatrix venom on spontaneously beating rat atria and aortic rings isolated from both MPE pretreated and untreated rats were studied. Our results showed that the MPE pretreatment conferred protection against cobra venom-induced depression of atrial contractility and atrial rate in the isolated atrial preparations, but it had no effect on the venom-induced contractile response of aortic ring preparation. These observations suggested that the protective effect of MPE pretreatment against cobra venom toxicity involves a direct protective action of MPE on the heart function, in addition to the known immunological neutralization mechanism, and that the protective effect does not involve action on blood vessel contraction. The results also suggest that M. pruriens seed may contain novel cardioprotective agent with potential therapeutic value. PMID:21785646

Sync the emerging science of spontaneous order

CERN Document Server

Strogatz, Steven

2003-01-01

At the heart of the universe is a steady, insistent beat, the sound of cycles in sync. Along the tidal rivers of Malaysia, thousands of fireflies congregate and flash in unison; the moon spins in perfect resonance with its orbit around the earth; our hearts depend on the synchronous firing of ten thousand pacemaker cells. While the forces that synchronize the flashing of fireflies may seem to have nothing to do with our heart cells, there is in fact a deep connection. Synchrony is a science in its infancy, and Strogatz is a pioneer in this new frontier in which mathematicians and physicists attempt to pinpoint just how spontaneous order emerges from chaos. From underground caves in Texas where a French scientist spent six months alone tracking his sleep-wake cycle, to the home of a Dutch physicist who in 1665 discovered two of his pendulum clocks swinging in perfect time, this fascinating book spans disciplines, continents, and centuries. Engagingly written for readers of books such as Chaos and The Elegant ...

Midbrain adaptation may set the stage for the perception of musical beat.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajendran, Vani G; Harper, Nicol S; Garcia-Lazaro, Jose A; Lesica, Nicholas A; Schnupp, Jan W H

2017-11-15

The ability to spontaneously feel a beat in music is a phenomenon widely believed to be unique to humans. Though beat perception involves the coordinated engagement of sensory, motor and cognitive processes in humans, the contribution of low-level auditory processing to the activation of these networks in a beat-specific manner is poorly understood. Here, we present evidence from a rodent model that midbrain preprocessing of sounds may already be shaping where the beat is ultimately felt. For the tested set of musical rhythms, on-beat sounds on average evoked higher firing rates than off-beat sounds, and this difference was a defining feature of the set of beat interpretations most commonly perceived by human listeners over others. Basic firing rate adaptation provided a sufficient explanation for these results. Our findings suggest that midbrain adaptation, by encoding the temporal context of sounds, creates points of neural emphasis that may influence the perceptual emergence of a beat. © 2017 The Authors.

Midbrain adaptation may set the stage for the perception of musical beat

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

The ability to spontaneously feel a beat in music is a phenomenon widely believed to be unique to humans. Though beat perception involves the coordinated engagement of sensory, motor and cognitive processes in humans, the contribution of low-level auditory processing to the activation of these networks in a beat-specific manner is poorly understood. Here, we present evidence from a rodent model that midbrain preprocessing of sounds may already be shaping where the beat is ultimately felt. For the tested set of musical rhythms, on-beat sounds on average evoked higher firing rates than off-beat sounds, and this difference was a defining feature of the set of beat interpretations most commonly perceived by human listeners over others. Basic firing rate adaptation provided a sufficient explanation for these results. Our findings suggest that midbrain adaptation, by encoding the temporal context of sounds, creates points of neural emphasis that may influence the perceptual emergence of a beat. PMID:29118141

An Experimental Study in Generative Music for Exercising to Ease Perceived Exertion by use of Heart Beat Rate as a Control Parameter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hagensen, Troels Lunde; Serafin, Stefania; Erkut, Cumhur

This paper investigates whether generative music, adapted to a user's heart beat rate, can be used to ease the perceived exertion. A generative system was implemented and tested on 13 test participants in a controlled environment on a training bike. The test participants performed a cycling workout...

The role of abnormal fetal heart rate in scheduling chorionic villus sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Yagel, S; Anteby, E; Ron, M; Hochner-Celnikier, D; Achiron, R

1992-09-01

To assess the value of fetal heart rate (FHR) measurements in predicting spontaneous fetal loss in pregnancies scheduled for chorionic villus sampling (CVS). A prospective descriptive study. Two hospital departments of obstetrics and gynaecology in Israel. 114 women between 9 and 11 weeks gestation scheduled for chorionic villus sampling (CVS). Fetal heart rate was measured by transvaginal Doppler ultrasound and compared with a monogram established from 75 fetuses. Whenever a normal FHR was recorded, CVS was performed immediately. 106 women had a normal FHR and underwent CVS; two of these pregnancies ended in miscarriage. In five pregnancies no fetal heart beats could be identified and fetal death was diagnosed. In three pregnancies an abnormal FHR was recorded and CVS was postponed; all three pregnancies ended in miscarriage within 2 weeks. Determination of FHR correlated with crown-rump length could be useful in predicting spontaneous miscarriage before performing any invasive procedure late in the first trimester.

Reduced intrinsic heart rate is associated with reduced arrhythmic susceptibility in guinea-pig heart.

Science.gov (United States)

Osadchii, Oleg E

2014-12-01

In the clinical setting, patients with slower resting heart rate are less prone to cardiovascular death compared with those with elevated heart rate. However, electrophysiological adaptations associated with reduced cardiac rhythm have not been thoroughly explored. In this study, relationships between intrinsic heart rate and arrhythmic susceptibility were examined by assessments of action potential duration (APD) rate adaptation and inducibility of repolarization alternans in sinoatrial node (SAN)-driven and atrioventricular (AV)-blocked guinea-pig hearts perfused with Langendorff apparatus. Electrocardiograms, epicardial monophasic action potentials, and effective refractory periods (ERP) were assessed in normokalemic and hypokalemic conditions. Slower basal heart rate in AV-blocked hearts was associated with prolonged ventricular repolarization during spontaneous beating, and with attenuated APD shortening at increased cardiac activation rates during dynamic pacing, when compared with SAN-driven hearts. During hypokalemic perfusion, the inducibility of repolarization alternans and tachyarrhythmia by rapid pacing was found to be lower in AV-blocked hearts. This difference was ascribed to prolonged ERP in the setting of reduced basal heart rate, which prevented ventricular capture at critically short pacing intervals required to induce arrhythmia. Reduced basal heart rate is associated with electrophysiological changes that prevent electrical instability upon an abrupt cardiac acceleration.

Hydroxychloroquine reduces heart rate by modulating the hyperpolarization-activated current If: Novel electrophysiological insights and therapeutic potential

Science.gov (United States)

Capel, Rebecca A.; Herring, Neil; Kalla, Manish; Yavari, Arash; Mirams, Gary R.; Douglas, Gillian; Bub, Gil; Channon, Keith; Paterson, David J.; Terrar, Derek A.; Burton, Rebecca-Ann B.

2015-01-01

Background Bradycardic agents are of interest for the treatment of ischemic heart disease and heart failure, as heart rate is an important determinant of myocardial oxygen consumption. Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the propensity of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to cause bradycardia. Methods We assessed the effects of HCQ on (1) cardiac beating rate in vitro (mice); (2) the “funny” current (If) in isolated guinea pig sinoatrial node (SAN) myocytes (1, 3, 10 µM); (3) heart rate and blood pressure in vivo by acute bolus injection (rat, dose range 1–30 mg/kg), (4) blood pressure and ventricular function during feeding (mouse, 100 mg/kg/d for 2 wk, tail cuff plethysmography, anesthetized echocardiography). Results In mouse atria, spontaneous beating rate was significantly (P < .05) reduced (by 9% ± 3% and 15% ± 2% at 3 and 10 µM HCQ, n = 7). In guinea pig isolated SAN cells, HCQ conferred a significant reduction in spontaneous action potential firing rate (17% ± 6%, 1 μM dose) and a dose-dependent reduction in If (13% ± 3% at 1 µM; 19% ± 2% at 3 µM). Effects were also observed on L-type calcium ion current (ICaL) (12% ± 4% reduction) and rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (IKr) (35% ± 4%) at 3 µM. Intravenous HCQ decreased heart rate in anesthetized rats (14.3% ± 1.1% at 15mg/kg; n = 6) without significantly reducing mean arterial blood pressure. In vivo feeding studies in mice showed no significant change in systolic blood pressure nor left ventricular function. Conclusions We have shown that HCQ acts as a bradycardic agent in SAN cells, in atrial preparations, and in vivo. HCQ slows the rate of spontaneous action potential firing in the SAN through multichannel inhibition, including that of If. PMID:26025323

Multifactorial Biological Modulation of Warm Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Liver Transplantation From Non-Heart-Beating Donors Eliminates Primary Nonfunction and Reduces Bile Salt Toxicity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Monbaliu, Diethard; Vekemans, Katrien; Hoekstra, Harm; Vaahtera, Lauri; Libbrecht, Louis; Derveaux, Katelijne; Parkkinen, Jaakko; Liu, Qiang; Heedfeld, Veerle; Wylin, Tine; Deckx, Hugo; Zeegers, Marcel; Balligand, Erika; Buurman, Wim; van Pelt, Jos; Porte, Robert J.; Pirenne, Jacques

Objective: To design a multifactorial biological modulation approach targeting ischemia reperfusion injury to augment viability of porcine liver grafts from non-heart-beating donors (NHBD). Background Data: Liver Transplantation (LTx) from NHBD is associated with an increased risk of primary

Heart rate turbulence after ventricular premature beats in healthy Doberman pinschers and those with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, J D; Little, C J L; Dennis, J M; Patteson, M W

2017-10-01

To describe the measurement of heart rate turbulence (HRT) after ventricular premature beats and compare HRT in healthy Doberman pinschers and those with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), with and without congestive heart failure (CHF). Sixty-five client-owned Dobermans: 20 healthy (NORMAL), 31 with preclinical DCM and 14 with DCM and CHF (DCM + CHF). A retrospective study of data retrieved from clinical records and ambulatory ECG (Holter) archives, including data collected previously for a large-scale prospective study of Dobermans with preclinical DCM. Holter data were reanalysed quantitatively, including conventional time-domain heart rate variability and the HRT parameters turbulence onset and turbulence slope. Heart rate turbulence could be measured in 58/65 dogs. Six Holter recordings had inadequate ventricular premature contractions (VPCs) and one exhibited VPCs too similar to sinus morphology. Heart rate turbulence parameter, turbulence onset, was significantly reduced in DCM dogs, whereas conventional heart rate variability measures were not. Heart rate variability and HRT markers were reduced in DCM + CHF dogs as expected. Heart rate turbulence can be measured from the majority of good quality standard canine 24-hour Holter recordings with >5 VPCs. Turbulence onset is significantly reduced in Dobermans with preclinical DCM which indicates vagal withdrawal early in the course of disease. Heart rate turbulence is a powerful prognostic indicator in human cardiac disease which can be measured from standard 24-hour ambulatory ECG (Holter) recordings using appropriate computer software. Further studies are warranted to assess whether HRT may be of prognostic value in dogs with preclinical DCM and in other canine cardiac disease. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of binaural beats on creativity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan A. Reedijk

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Human creativity relies on a multitude of cognitive processes, some of which are influenced by the neurotransmitter dopamine. This suggests that creativity could be enhanced by interventions that either modulate the production or transmission of dopamine directly, or affect dopamine-driven processes. In the current study we hypothesized that creativity can be influenced by means of binaural beats, an auditory illusion that is considered a form of cognitive entrainment that operates through stimulating neuronal phase locking. We aimed to investigate whether binaural beats affect creative performance at all, whether they affect divergent thinking, convergent thinking, or both, and whether possible effects may be mediated by the individual striatal dopamine level. Binaural beats were presented at alpha and gamma frequency. Participants completed a divergent and a convergent thinking task to assess two important functions of creativity, and filled out the Positive And Negative Affect Scale – mood State questionnaire (PANAS-S and affect grid to measure current mood. Dopamine levels in the striatum were estimated using spontaneous eye blink rates (EBRs. Results showed that binaural beats, regardless of the presented frequency, can affect divergent but not convergent thinking. Individuals with low EBRs mostly benefitted from alpha binaural beat stimulation, while individuals with high EBR were unaffected or even impaired by both alpha and gamma binaural beats. This suggests that binaural beats, and possibly other forms of cognitive entrainment, are not suited for a one-size-fits-all approach, and that individual cognitive-control systems need to be taken into account when studying cognitive enhancement methods.

The impact of binaural beats on creativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Reedijk, Susan A; Bolders, Anne; Hommel, Bernhard

2013-01-01

Human creativity relies on a multitude of cognitive processes, some of which are influenced by the neurotransmitter dopamine. This suggests that creativity could be enhanced by interventions that either modulate the production or transmission of dopamine directly, or affect dopamine-driven processes. In the current study we hypothesized that creativity can be influenced by means of binaural beats, an auditory illusion that is considered a form of cognitive entrainment that operates through stimulating neuronal phase locking. We aimed to investigate whether binaural beats affect creative performance at all, whether they affect divergent thinking, convergent thinking, or both, and whether possible effects may be mediated by the individual striatal dopamine level. Binaural beats were presented at alpha and gamma frequency. Participants completed a divergent and a convergent thinking task to assess two important functions of creativity, and filled out the Positive And Negative Affect Scale-mood State questionnaire (PANAS-S) and an affect grid to measure current mood. Dopamine levels in the striatum were estimated using spontaneous eye blink rates (EBRs). Results showed that binaural beats, regardless of the presented frequency, can affect divergent but not convergent thinking. Individuals with low EBRs mostly benefitted from alpha binaural beat stimulation, while individuals with high EBRs were unaffected or even impaired by both alpha and gamma binaural beats. This suggests that binaural beats, and possibly other forms of cognitive entrainment, are not suited for a one-size-fits-all approach, and that individual cognitive-control systems need to be taken into account when studying cognitive enhancement methods.

Effect of Mucuna pruriens Seed Extract Pretreatment on the Responses of Spontaneously Beating Rat Atria and Aortic Ring to Naja sputatrix (Javan Spitting Cobra Venom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shin Yee Fung

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Mucuna pruriens Linn. (velvet bean has been used by native Nigerians as a prophylactic for snakebite. Rats pretreated with M. pruriens seed extract (MPE have been shown to protect against the lethal and cardiovascular depressant effects of Naja sputatrix (Javan spitting cobra venoms, and the protective effect involved immunological neutralization of the venom toxins. To investigate further the mechanism of the protective effect of MPE pretreatment against cobra venom toxicity, the actions of Naja sputatrix venom on spontaneously beating rat atria and aortic rings isolated from both MPE pretreated and untreated rats were studied. Our results showed that the MPE pretreatment conferred protection against cobra venom-induced depression of atrial contractility and atrial rate in the isolated atrial preparations, but it had no effect on the venom-induced contractile response of aortic ring preparation. These observations suggested that the protective effect of MPE pretreatment against cobra venom toxicity involves a direct protective action of MPE on the heart function, in addition to the known immunological neutralization mechanism, and that the protective effect does not involve action on blood vessel contraction. The results also suggest that M. pruriens seed may contain novel cardioprotective agent with potential therapeutic value.

Simulation of the Beating Heart Based on Physically Modeling a Deformable Balloon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohmer, Damien; Sitek, Arkadiusz; Gullberg, Grant T.

2006-01-01

The motion of the beating heart is complex and creates artifacts in SPECT and x-ray CT images. Phantoms such as the Jaszczak Dynamic Cardiac Phantom are used to simulate cardiac motion for evaluation of acquisition and data processing protocols used for cardiac imaging. Two concentric elastic membranes filled with water are connected to tubing and pump apparatus for creating fluid flow in and out of the inner volume to simulate motion of the heart. In the present report, the movement of two concentric balloons is solved numerically in order to create a computer simulation of the motion of the moving membranes in the Jaszczak Dynamic Cardiac Phantom. A system of differential equations, based on the physical properties, determine the motion. Two methods are tested for solving the system of differential equations. The results of both methods are similar providing a final shape that does not converge to a trivial circular profile. Finally, a tomographic imaging simulation is performed by acquiring static projections of the moving shape and reconstructing the result to observe motion artifacts. Two cases are taken into account: in one case each projection angle is sampled for a short time interval and the other case is sampled for a longer time interval. The longer sampling acquisition shows a clear improvement in decreasing the tomographic streaking artifacts

Tracking and characterization of fragments in a beating heart using 3D ultrasound for interventional guidance.

Science.gov (United States)

Thienphrapa, Paul; Elhawary, Haytham; Ramachandran, Bharat; Stanton, Douglas; Popovic, Aleksandra

2011-01-01

Fragments generated by explosions and similar incidents can become trapped in a patient's heart chambers, potentially causing disruption of cardiac function. The conventional approach to removing such foreign bodies is through open heart surgery, which comes with high perioperative risk and long recovery times. We thus advocate a minimally invasive surgical approach through the use of 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and a flexible robotic end effector. In a phantom study, we use 3D TEE to track a foreign body in a beating heart, and propose a modified normalized cross-correlation method for improved accuracy and robustness of the tracking, with mean RMS errors of 2.3 mm. Motion analysis of the foreign body trajectory indicates very high speeds and accelerations, which render unfeasible a robotic retrieval method based on following the tracked trajectory. Instead, a probability map of the locus of the foreign body shows that the fragment tends to occupy only a small sub-volume of the ventricle, suggesting a retrieval strategy based on moving the robot end effector to the position with the highest spatial probability in order to maximize the possibility of capture.

Myocardial myostatin in spontaneously hypertensive rats with heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Damatto, R L; Lima, A R R; Martinez, P F; Cezar, M D M; Okoshi, K; Okoshi, M P

2016-07-15

Myostatin has been shown to regulate skeletal and cardiac muscle growth. However, its status on long-term hypertrophied myocardium has not been addressed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of myocardial myostatin and its antagonist follistatin in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with heart failure. Eighteen-month-old SHR were evaluated to identify clinical features of heart failure such as tachypnea/labored respiration and weight loss. After heart failure was detected, rats were subjected to echocardiogram and euthanized. Age-matched normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as controls. Myostatin and follistatin protein expression was assessed by Western blotting. Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t test. All SHR (n=8) presented right ventricular hypertrophy and five had lung congestion. SHR had left chambers hypertrophy and dilation (left atrial diameter: WKY 5.73±0.59; SHR 7.28±1.17mm; p=0.004; left ventricular (LV) diastolic diameter/body weight ratio: WKY 19.6±3.1; SHR 27.7±4.7mm/kg; p=0.001), and LV systolic dysfunction (midwall fractional shortening: WKY 34.9±3.31; SHR 24.8±3.20%; p=0.003). Myocyte diameter (WKY 23.1±1.50, SHR 25.5±1.33μm; p=0.004) and myocardial interstitial collagen fraction (WKY 4.86±0.01; SHR 8.36±0.02%; pMyostatin (WKY 1.00±0.16; SHR 0.77±0.23 arbitrary units; p=0.035) and follistatin (WKY 1.00±0.35; SHR 0.49±0.18 arbitrary units; p=0.002) expression was lower in SHR. Myostatin and follistatin expression negatively correlated with LV diastolic diameter-to-body weight ratio and LV systolic diameter, and positively correlated with midwall fractional shortening. Myostatin and follistatin protein expression is reduced in the long-term hypertrophied myocardium from spontaneously hypertensive rats with heart failure. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxidative shift in tissue redox potential increases beat-to-beat variability of action potential duration.

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Kistamás, Kornél; Hegyi, Bence; Váczi, Krisztina; Horváth, Balázs; Bányász, Tamás; Magyar, János; Szentandrássy, Norbert; Nánási, Péter P

2015-07-01

Profound changes in tissue redox potential occur in the heart under conditions of oxidative stress frequently associated with cardiac arrhythmias. Since beat-to-beat variability (short term variability, SV) of action potential duration (APD) is a good indicator of arrhythmia incidence, the aim of this work was to study the influence of redox changes on SV in isolated canine ventricular cardiomyocytes using a conventional microelectrode technique. The redox potential was shifted toward a reduced state using a reductive cocktail (containing dithiothreitol, glutathione, and ascorbic acid) while oxidative changes were initiated by superfusion with H2O2. Redox effects were evaluated as changes in "relative SV" determined by comparing SV changes with the concomitant APD changes. Exposure of myocytes to the reductive cocktail decreased SV significantly without any detectable effect on APD. Application of H2O2 increased both SV and APD, but the enhancement of SV was the greater, so relative SV increased. Longer exposure to H2O2 resulted in the development of early afterdepolarizations accompanied by tremendously increased SV. Pretreatment with the reductive cocktail prevented both elevation in relative SV and the development of afterdepolarizations. The results suggest that the increased beat-to-beat variability during an oxidative stress contributes to the generation of cardiac arrhythmias.

Mechanical stimulation in the engineering of heart muscle.

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Liaw, Norman Yu; Zimmermann, Wolfram-Hubertus

2016-01-15

Recreating the beating heart in the laboratory continues to be a formidable bioengineering challenge. The fundamental feature of the heart is its pumping action, requiring considerable mechanical forces to compress a blood filled chamber with a defined in- and outlet. Ventricular output crucially depends on venous loading of the ventricles (preload) and on the force generated by the preloaded ventricles to overcome arterial blood pressure (afterload). The rate of contraction is controlled by the spontaneously active sinus node and transmission of its electrical impulses into the ventricles. The underlying principles for these physiological processes are described by the Frank-Starling mechanism and Bowditch phenomenon. It is essential to consider these principles in the design and evaluation of tissue engineered myocardium. This review focuses on current strategies to evoke mechanical loading in hydrogel-based heart muscle engineering. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Monitoring nocturnal heart rate with bed sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Migliorini, M; Kortelainen, J M; Pärkkä, J; Tenhunen, M; Himanen, S L; Bianchi, A M

2014-01-01

This article is part of the Focus Theme of Methods of Information in Medicine on "Biosignal Interpretation: Advanced Methods for Studying Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems". The aim of this study is to assess the reliability of the estimated Nocturnal Heart Rate (HR), recorded through a bed sensor, compared with the one obtained from standard electrocardiography (ECG). Twenty-eight sleep deprived patients were recorded for one night each through matrix of piezoelectric sensors, integrated into the mattress, through polysomnography (PSG) simultaneously. The two recording methods have been compared in terms of signal quality and differences in heart beat detection. On average, coverage of 92.7% of the total sleep time was obtained for the bed sensor, testifying the good quality of the recordings. The average beat-to-beat error of the inter-beat intervals was 1.06%. These results suggest a good overall signal quality, however, considering fast heart rates (HR > 100 bpm), performances were worse: in fact, the sensitivity in the heart beat detection was 28.4% while the false positive rate was 3.8% which means that a large amount of fast beats were not detected. The accuracy of the measurements made using the bed sensor has less than 10% of failure rate especially in periods with HR lower than 70 bpm. For fast heart beats the uncertainty increases. This can be explained by the change in morphology of the bed sensor signal in correspondence of a higher HR.

Keep the Beat Recipes | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

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... the Beat Recipes: Deliciously Healthy Dinners. The new cookbook features 75 simple and delicious recipes influenced by ... nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/Dinners_Cookbook_508-compliant.pdf . Fall 2011 Issue: Volume 6 ...

Induction of chagasic-like arrhythmias in the isolated beating hearts of healthy rats perfused with Trypanosoma cruzi-conditioned medium

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H. Rodriguez-Angulo

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Chagas' myocardiopathy, caused by the intracellular protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is characterized by microvascular alterations, heart failure and arrhythmias. Ischemia and arrythmogenesis have been attributed to proteins shed by the parasite, although this has not been fully demonstrated. The aim of the present investigation was to study the effect of substances shed by T. cruzi on ischemia/reperfusion-induced arrhythmias. We performed a triple ischemia-reperfusion (I/R protocol whereby the isolated beating rat hearts were perfused with either Vero-control or Vero T. cruzi-infected conditioned medium during the different stages of ischemia and subsequently reperfused with Tyrode's solution. ECG and heart rate were recorded during the entire experiment. We observed that triple I/R-induced bradycardia was associated with the generation of auricular-ventricular blockade during ischemia and non-sustained nodal and ventricular tachycardia during reperfusion. Interestingly, perfusion with Vero-infected medium produced a delay in the reperfusion-induced recovery of heart rate, increased the frequency of tachycardic events and induced ventricular fibrillation. These results suggest that the presence of parasite-shed substances in conditioned media enhances the arrhythmogenic effects that occur during the I/R protocol.

Peak heart rates at extreme altitudes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundby, C; Van Hall, Gerrit

2001-01-01

We have measured maximal heart rate during a graded maximal bicycle exercise test to exhaustion in five healthy climbers before and during an expedition to Mt. Everest. Maximal heart rates at sea level were 186 (177-204) beats/min(-1) at sea level and 170 (169-182) beats/min(-1) with acute hypoxi...

Healthcare performance and the effects of the binaural beats on human blood pressure and heart rate.

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Carter, Calvin

2008-01-01

Binaural beats are the differences in two different frequencies (in the range of 30-1000 Hz). Binaural beats are played through headphones and are perceived by the superior olivary nucleus of each hemisphere of the brain. The brain perceives the binaural beat and resonates to its frequency (frequency following response). Once the brain is in tune with the binaural beat it produces brainwaves of that frequency altering the listener's state of mind. In this experiment, the effects of the beta and theta binaural beat on human blood pressure and pulse were studied. Using headphones, three sounds were played for 7 minutes each to 12 participants: the control,- the sound of a babbling brook (the background sound to the two binaural beats), the beta binaural beat (20 Hz), and the theta binaural beat (7 Hz). Blood pressure and pulse were recorded before and after each sound was played. Each participant was given 2 minutes in-between each sound. The results showed that the control and the two binaural beats did not affect the 12 participant's blood pressure or pulse (p > 0.05). One reason for this may be that the sounds were not played long enough for the brain to either perceive and/or resonate to the frequency. Another reason why the sounds did not affect blood pressure and pulse may be due to the participant's age since older brains may not perceive the binaural beats as well as younger brains.

ProSeal laryngeal mask airway as an alternative to standard endotracheal tube in securing upper airway in the patients undergoing beating-heart coronary artery bypass grafting

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Kalpana Shah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: ProSeal laryngeal mask airways (PLMAs are routinely used after failed tracheal intubation as airway rescue, facilitating tracheal intubation by acting as a conduit and to secure airway during emergencies. In long duration surgeries, use of endotracheal tube (ETT is associated with various hemodynamic complications, which are minimally affected during PLMA use. However, except for few studies, there are no significant data available that promote the use of laryngeal mask during cardiac surgery. This prospective study was conducted with the objective of demonstrating the advantages of PLMA over ETT in the patients undergoing beating-heart coronary artery bypass graft (CABG. Methodology: This prospective, interventional study was carried out in 200 patients who underwent beating-heart CABG. Patients were randomized in equal numbers to either ETT group or PLMA group, and various hemodynamic and respiratory parameters were observed at different time points. Results: Patients in PLMA group had mean systolic blood pressure 126.10 ± 5.31 mmHg compared to the patients of ETT group 143.75 ± 6.02 mmHg. Pulse rate in the PLMA group was less (74.52 ± 10.79 per min (P < 0.05 compared to ETT group (81.72 ± 9.8. Thus, hemodynamic changes were significantly lower (P < 0.05 in PLMA than in ETT group. Respiratory parameters such as oxygen saturation, pressure CO 2 (pCO 2 , peak airway pressure, and lung compliance were similar to ETT group at all evaluation times. The incidence of adverse events was also lower in PLMA group. Conclusion: In experience hand, PLMA offers advantages over the ETT in airway management in the patients undergoing beating-heart CABG.

Beat-to-Beat Blood Pressure Monitor

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yong Jin

2012-01-01

This device provides non-invasive beat-to-beat blood pressure measurements and can be worn over the upper arm for prolonged durations. Phase and waveform analyses are performed on filtered proximal and distal photoplethysmographic (PPG) waveforms obtained from the brachial artery. The phase analysis is used primarily for the computation of the mean arterial pressure, while the waveform analysis is used primarily to obtain the pulse pressure. Real-time compliance estimate is used to refine both the mean arterial and pulse pressures to provide the beat-to-beat blood pressure measurement. This wearable physiological monitor can be used to continuously observe the beat-to-beat blood pressure (B3P). It can be used to monitor the effect of prolonged exposures to reduced gravitational environments and the effectiveness of various countermeasures. A number of researchers have used pulse wave velocity (PWV) of blood in the arteries to infer the beat-to-beat blood pressure. There has been documentation of relative success, but a device that is able to provide the required accuracy and repeatability has not yet been developed. It has been demonstrated that an accurate and repeatable blood pressure measurement can be obtained by measuring the phase change (e.g., phase velocity), amplitude change, and distortion of the PPG waveforms along the brachial artery. The approach is based on comparing the full PPG waveform between two points along the artery rather than measuring the time-of-flight. Minimizing the measurement separation and confining the measurement area to a single, well-defined artery allows the waveform to retain the general shape between the two measurement points. This allows signal processing of waveforms to determine the phase and amplitude changes.

Heart bypass surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Off-pump coronary artery bypass; OPCAB; Beating heart surgery; Bypass surgery - heart; CABG; Coronary artery bypass graft; Coronary artery bypass surgery; Coronary bypass surgery; Coronary artery disease - CABG; CAD - CABG; Angina - ...

Eliminating the Attentional Blink through Binaural Beats: A Case for Tailored Cognitive Enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Reedijk, Susan A; Bolders, Anne; Colzato, Lorenza S; Hommel, Bernhard

2015-01-01

Enhancing human cognitive performance is a topic that continues to spark scientific interest. Studies into cognitive-enhancement techniques often fail to take inter-individual differences into account, however, which leads to underestimation of the effectiveness of these techniques. The current study investigated the effect of binaural beats, a cognitive-enhancement technique, on attentional control in an attentional blink (AB) task. As predicted from a neurocognitive approach to cognitive control, high-frequency binaural beats eliminated the AB, but only in individuals with low spontaneous eye-blink rates (indicating low striatal dopamine levels). This suggests that the way in which cognitive-enhancement techniques, such as binaural beats, affect cognitive performance depends on inter-individual differences.

Eliminating the attentional blink through binaural beats: A case for tailored cognitive enhancement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan A. Reedijk

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Enhancing human cognitive performance is a topic that continues to spark scientific interest. Studies into cognitive enhancement techniques often fail to take inter-individual differences into account, however, which leads to underestimation of the effectiveness of these techniques. The current study investigated the effect of binaural beats, a cognitive enhancement technique, on attentional control in an attentional blink task. As predicted from a neurocognitive approach to cognitive control, high-frequency binaural beats eliminated the attentional blink, but only in individuals with low spontaneous eye-blink rates (indicating low striatal dopamine levels. This suggests that the way in which cognitive enhancement techniques, such as binaural beats, affect cognitive performance depends on inter-individual differences.

The phylogeny and ontogeny of autonomic control of the heart and cardiorespiratory interactions in vertebrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Edwin W; Leite, Cleo A C; Sartori, Marina R; Wang, Tobias; Abe, Augusto S; Crossley, Dane A

2014-03-01

Heart rate in vertebrates is controlled by activity in the autonomic nervous system. In spontaneously active or experimentally prepared animals, inhibitory parasympathetic control is predominant and is responsible for instantaneous changes in heart rate, such as occur at the first air breath following a period of apnoea in discontinuous breathers like inactive reptiles or species that surface to air breathe after a period of submersion. Parasympathetic control, exerted via fast-conducting, myelinated efferent fibres in the vagus nerve, is also responsible for beat-to-beat changes in heart rate such as the high frequency components observed in spectral analysis of heart rate variability. These include respiratory modulation of the heartbeat that can generate cardiorespiratory synchrony in fish and respiratory sinus arrhythmia in mammals. Both may increase the effectiveness of respiratory gas exchange. Although the central interactions generating respiratory modulation of the heartbeat seem to be highly conserved through vertebrate phylogeny, they are different in kind and location, and in most species are as yet little understood. The heart in vertebrate embryos possesses both muscarinic cholinergic and β-adrenergic receptors very early in development. Adrenergic control by circulating catecholamines seems important throughout development. However, innervation of the cardiac receptors is delayed and first evidence of a functional cholinergic tonus on the heart, exerted via the vagus nerve, is often seen shortly before or immediately after hatching or birth, suggesting that it may be coordinated with the onset of central respiratory rhythmicity and subsequent breathing.

Models of torsades de pointes: effects of FPL64176, DPI201106, dofetilide, and chromanol 293B in isolated rabbit and guinea pig hearts.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Hsien C; Incardona, Josephine

2009-01-01

For studying the torsades de pointes (TdP) liability of a compound, most high and medium throughput methods use surrogate markers such as HERG inhibition and QT prolongation. In this study, we have tested whether isolated hearts may be modified to allow TdP to be the direct readout. Isolated spontaneously beating rabbit and guinea pig hearts were perfused according to the Langendorff method in hypokalemic (2.1 mM) solution. The in vitro lead II ECG equivalent and the incidence of TdP were monitored for 1 h. In addition, heart rate, QTc, Tp-Te, short-term variability (STV), time to arrhythmia, and time to TdP were also analyzed. FPL64176, a calcium channel activator; and DPI201106, a sodium channel inactivation inhibitor, produced TdP in isolated rabbit and guinea pig hearts in a concentration dependent manner; guinea pig hearts were 3- to 5-fold more sensitive than rabbit hearts. Both compounds also increased QTc and STV. In contrast, dofetilide, an IKr inhibitor, produced no (or a low incidence of) TdP in both species, in spite of prolongation of QTc intervals. Chromanol 293B, an IKs inhibitor, did not produce TdP in rabbit hearts but elicited TdP concentration dependently in guinea pig hearts even though the compound had no effect on QTc intervals. IKs inhibition appears to be more likely to produce TdP in isolated guinea pig hearts than IKr inhibition. Chromanol 293B did not produce TdP in rabbit hearts presumably due to a low level of IKs channels in the heart. TdP produced in this study was consistent with the notion that its production was a consequence of reduced repolarization reserve, thereby causing rhythmic abnormalities. This isolated, perfused, and spontaneously beating rabbit and guinea pig heart preparation in hypokalemic medium may be useful as a preclinical test model for studying proarrhythmic liability of compounds in new drug development.

Beat-to-beat ECG restitution: A review and proposal for a new biomarker to assess cardiac stress and ventricular tachyarrhythmia vulnerability.

Science.gov (United States)

Fossa, Anthony A

2017-09-01

Cardiac restitution is the ability of the heart to recover from one beat to the next. Ventricular arrhythmia vulnerability can occur when the heart does not properly adjust to sudden changes in rate or in hemodynamics leading to excessive temporal and/or spatial heterogeneity in conduction or repolarization. Restitution has historically been used to study, by invasive means, the dynamics of the relationship between action potential duration (APD) and diastolic interval (DI) in sedated subjects using various pacing protocols. Even though the analogous measures of APD and DI can be obtained using the surface ECG to acquire the respective QT and TQ intervals for ECG restitution, this methodology has not been widely adopted for a number of reasons. Recent development of more advanced software algorithms enables ECG intervals to be measured accurately, on a continuous beat-to-beat basis, in an automated manner, and under highly dynamic conditions (i.e., ambulatory or exercise) providing information beyond that available in the typical resting state. Current breakthroughs in ECG technology will allow ECG restitution measures to become a practical approach for providing quantitative measures of the risks for ventricular arrhythmias as well as cardiac stress in general. In addition to a review of the underlying principles and caveats of ECG restitution, a new approach toward an advancement of more integrated restitution biomarkers is proposed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Beat-to-beat variability of cardiac action potential duration: underlying mechanism and clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Nánási, Péter P; Magyar, János; Varró, András; Ördög, Balázs

2017-10-01

Beat-to-beat variability of cardiac action potential duration (short-term variability, SV) is a common feature of various cardiac preparations, including the human heart. Although it is believed to be one of the best arrhythmia predictors, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood at present. The magnitude of SV is basically determined by the intensity of cell-to-cell coupling in multicellular preparations and by the duration of the action potential (APD). To compensate for the APD-dependent nature of SV, the concept of relative SV (RSV) has been introduced by normalizing the changes of SV to the concomitant changes in APD. RSV is reduced by I Ca , I Kr , and I Ks while increased by I Na , suggesting that ion currents involved in the negative feedback regulation of APD tend to keep RSV at a low level. RSV is also influenced by intracellular calcium concentration and tissue redox potential. The clinical implications of APD variability is discussed in detail.

[Resonance hypothesis of heart rate variability origin].

Science.gov (United States)

Sheĭkh-Zade, Iu R; Mukhambetaliev, G Kh; Cherednik, I L

2009-09-01

A hypothesis is advanced of the heart rate variability being subjected to beat-to-beat regulation of cardiac cycle duration in order to ensure the resonance interaction between respiratory and own fluctuation of the arterial system volume for minimization of power expenses of cardiorespiratory system. Myogenic, parasympathetic and sympathetic machanisms of heart rate variability are described.

Sudden cardiac death in dogs with remodeled hearts is associated with larger beat-to-beat variability of repolarization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Morten Bækgaard; Truin, Michiel; van Opstal, Jurren M

2005-01-01

Increased proarrhythmia in dogs with chronic AV block (AVB) has been explained by ventricular remodeling causing a decrease in repolarization reserve. Beat-to-beat variability of repolarization (BVR) has been suggested to reflect repolarization reserve, in which high variability represents...... diminished reserve and larger propensity for repolarization-dependent ventricular arrhythmia. A subset of chronic AVB dogs (10%) suffers sudden cardiac death (SCD). With the assumption that repolarization defects constitute a potentially lethal proarrhythmic substrate, we hypothesized that BVR in SCD dogs...... are larger than in matched control chronic AVB dogs. From a population of 200 chronic AVB dogs, initially two groups were chosen retrospectively: 8 dogs that died suddenly (SCD) and 8 control dogs. Control dogs had a longer lifespan after AVB (10 to 18 weeks) than SCD dogs (5 to 10 weeks). All dogs had...

Connection forms for beating the heart

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mensch, Arthur; Piuze, Emmanuel; Lehnert, Lucas

2014-01-01

We combine recent work on modeling cardiac mechanics using a finite volume method with the insight that heart wall myofiber orientations exhibit a particular volumetric geometry. In our finite vol- ume mechanical simulation we use Maurer-Cartan one-forms to add a geometrical consistency term...... to control the rate at which myofiber ori- entation changes in the direction perpendicular to the heart wall. This allows us to estimate material properties related to both the passive and active parameters in our model. We have obtained preliminary results on the 4 canine datasets of the 2014 mechanics...... challenge using the FEBio software suite. In ongoing work we are validating and improving the model using rat heart (ex-vivo DTI and in-vivo tagging) MRI datasets, from which we have estimated strain tensors....

Predictive Value of Beat-to-Beat QT Variability Index across the Continuum of Left Ventricular Dysfunction: Competing Risks of Non-cardiac or Cardiovascular Death, and Sudden or Non-Sudden Cardiac Death

Science.gov (United States)

Tereshchenko, Larisa G.; Cygankiewicz, Iwona; McNitt, Scott; Vazquez, Rafael; Bayes-Genis, Antoni; Han, Lichy; Sur, Sanjoli; Couderc, Jean-Philippe; Berger, Ronald D.; de Luna, Antoni Bayes; Zareba, Wojciech

2012-01-01

Background The goal of this study was to determine the predictive value of beat-to-beat QT variability in heart failure (HF) patients across the continuum of left ventricular dysfunction. Methods and Results Beat-to-beat QT variability index (QTVI), heart rate variance (LogHRV), normalized QT variance (QTVN), and coherence between heart rate variability and QT variability have been measured at rest during sinus rhythm in 533 participants of the Muerte Subita en Insuficiencia Cardiaca (MUSIC) HF study (mean age 63.1±11.7; males 70.6%; LVEF >35% in 254 [48%]) and in 181 healthy participants from the Intercity Digital Electrocardiogram Alliance (IDEAL) database. During a median of 3.7 years of follow-up, 116 patients died, 52 from sudden cardiac death (SCD). In multivariate competing risk analyses, the highest QTVI quartile was associated with cardiovascular death [hazard ratio (HR) 1.67(95%CI 1.14-2.47), P=0.009] and in particular with non-sudden cardiac death [HR 2.91(1.69-5.01), P<0.001]. Elevated QTVI separated 97.5% of healthy individuals from subjects at risk for cardiovascular [HR 1.57(1.04-2.35), P=0.031], and non-sudden cardiac death in multivariate competing risk model [HR 2.58(1.13-3.78), P=0.001]. No interaction between QTVI and LVEF was found. QTVI predicted neither non-cardiac death (P=0.546) nor SCD (P=0.945). Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) rather than increased QT variability was the reason for increased QTVI in this study. Conclusions Increased QTVI due to depressed HRV predicts cardiovascular mortality and non-sudden cardiac death, but neither SCD nor excracardiac mortality in HF across the continuum of left ventricular dysfunction. Abnormally augmented QTVI separates 97.5% of healthy individuals from HF patients at risk. PMID:22730411

Results of beating heart mitral valve surgery via the trans-septal approach Resultados da abordagem transeptal para a valva mitral com coração batendo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomas A Salerno

2009-03-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Mitral valve surgery can be performed through the trans-atrial or the trans-septal approach. Although the trans-atrial is the preferred method, the trans-septal approach has also been used recently and has a particular value in beating-heart mitral valve surgery. Herein we report our experience with beating-heart mitral valve surgery via trans-septal approach, and discuss its advantages and pitfalls. METHODS: Between 2000 and 2007, 214 consecutive patients were operated upon utilizing beating heart technique for mitral valve surgery. The operation was performed via transseptal approach with the aorta unclamped, the heart beating, with normal electrocardiogram and in sinus rhythm. RESULTS: Mean age was 56.03 ± 13.93 years (range: 19-86 years; median: 56 years. There were 131 (61.2% males and 83 (38.8% females. Of the prostheses used, 108 (50.5% were biological, and 39 (18.2% were mechanical. Mitral repairs were performed in 67 (31.3% patients. Mean hospital stay was 17.4 ± 20.0 days (range: 3-135 days; median: 11 days. Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP utilization was required in 12 (5.6% of 214 patients. One-month mortality was 7.4%, and re-operation for bleeding was needed in 15 (7% patients. CONCLUSIONS: Beating-heart mitral valve surgery is an option for myocardial protection in patients undergoing mitral valve surgery. This technique is facilitated by the trans-septal approach due to reduced aortic insufficiency and improved visualization of the mitral apparatus.OBJETIVO: A cirurgia da valva mitral pode ser feita via transatrial ou transeptal. Embora a transatrial seja a preferida, a via transeptal tem sido utilizada mais recentemente e tido um grande valor nas operações com o coração batendo. Mostramos a nossa experiência na cirurgia da valva mitral via transeptal com coração batendo e discutimos seus benefícios e problemas. MÉTODOS: Entre 2000 e 2007, 214 pacientes consecutivos foram operados com o coração batendo. A

Pregnancy outcome of threatened abortion with demonstrable fetal cardiac activity: a cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tongsong, T; Srisomboon, J; Wanapirak, C; Sirichotiyakul, S; Pongsatha, S; Polsrisuthikul, T

1995-08-01

Pregnancy with visible fetal heart beat complicated by first trimester threatened abortion had significant increased risk of subsequent spontaneous abortion compared with normal pregnancy. To compare pregnancy outcomes in cases complicated by first trimester threatened abortion with those that were not. Prospective cohort study of 255 cases of first trimester threatened abortions but with visible heart beat and 265 other normal pregnancies. Spontaneous abortion rates of 5.5% (with relative abortal risk of 2.91) was found for study group, compared to 1.88% for controls (p abortion rate than those without.

A model-based Bayesian framework for ECG beat segmentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sayadi, O; Shamsollahi, M B

2009-01-01

The study of electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform amplitudes, timings and patterns has been the subject of intense research, for it provides a deep insight into the diagnostic features of the heart's functionality. In some recent works, a Bayesian filtering paradigm has been proposed for denoising and compression of ECG signals. In this paper, it is shown that this framework may be effectively used for ECG beat segmentation and extraction of fiducial points. Analytic expressions for the determination of points and intervals are derived and evaluated on various real ECG signals. Simulation results show that the method can contribute to and enhance the clinical ECG beat segmentation performance

Critical hematocrit and oxygen partial pressure in the beating heart of pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiebl, B; Mrowietz, C; Ploetze, K; Matschke, K; Jung, F

2010-12-01

In cardiac surgery the substitution of lost blood volume by plasma substitutes is a common therapeutical approach. None of the currently available blood substitutes has a sufficient oxygen transport capacity. This can limit the functional integrity of the myocardium known as highly oxygen consumptive. The study was aimed to get information about the minimal hematocrit, also known as critical hematocrit (cHct), which guarantees a stable and adequate oxygen partial pressure in the myocardium (pO2). In adult female pigs (n=7) the hematocrit was reduced by isovolemic blood dilution with an intravenous infusion of isotonic 4% gelatine polysuccinate solution, The substituted blood volume ranged between 3000ml and 7780ml (mean: 5254±1672ml). In all animals the pO2 of the myocardium of the beating heart and of the resting skeletal muscle increased until blood dilution resulted in a Hct decrease down to 15%. Further blood dilution resulted in a decrease of the pO2. Only after the Hct was <10% the pO2 was lower than before blood dilution and accompanied by a lethal ischemia of the myocardium. These data indicate a cHct of about 10% in the pig animal model. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Heart rate response to breathing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehlsen, J; Pagh, K; Nielsen, J S

1987-01-01

Heart rate responses to stepwise and periodic changes in lung volume were studied in seven young healthy males. Stepwise inspiration and expiration both resulted in an increase in heart rate followed by a rapid decrease in heart rate. The fastest heart rate was reached in 1.6 +/- 0.5 s and in 3.......6 +/- 1.4 s in response to inspiration and expiration, respectively (P less than 0.01). The slowest heart rate was reached in 4.8 +/- 1.0 s and in 7.6 +/- 1.9 s in response to inspiration and expiration, respectively (P less than 0.01). Following this biphasic change the heart rate returned to a steady...... level. The difference between the fastest and the slowest heart rates was significantly larger in response to inspiration (21.7 +/- 7.3 beats per minute) than in response to expiration (12.0 +/- 7.3 beats per minute; P less than 0.01). Periodic changes in lung volume were performed with frequencies from...

Cardiac function and perfusion dynamics measured on a beat-by-beat basis in the live mouse using ultra-fast 4D optoacoustic imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Steven J.; Deán-Ben, Xosé L.; Razansky, Daniel

2015-03-01

The fast heart rate (~7 Hz) of the mouse makes cardiac imaging and functional analysis difficult when studying mouse models of cardiovascular disease, and cannot be done truly in real-time and 3D using established imaging modalities. Optoacoustic imaging, on the other hand, provides ultra-fast imaging at up to 50 volumetric frames per second, allowing for acquisition of several frames per mouse cardiac cycle. In this study, we combined a recently-developed 3D optoacoustic imaging array with novel analytical techniques to assess cardiac function and perfusion dynamics of the mouse heart at high, 4D spatiotemporal resolution. In brief, the heart of an anesthetized mouse was imaged over a series of multiple volumetric frames. In another experiment, an intravenous bolus of indocyanine green (ICG) was injected and its distribution was subsequently imaged in the heart. Unique temporal features of the cardiac cycle and ICG distribution profiles were used to segment the heart from background and to assess cardiac function. The 3D nature of the experimental data allowed for determination of cardiac volumes at ~7-8 frames per mouse cardiac cycle, providing important cardiac function parameters (e.g., stroke volume, ejection fraction) on a beat-by-beat basis, which has been previously unachieved by any other cardiac imaging modality. Furthermore, ICG distribution dynamics allowed for the determination of pulmonary transit time and thus additional quantitative measures of cardiovascular function. This work demonstrates the potential for optoacoustic cardiac imaging and is expected to have a major contribution toward future preclinical studies of animal models of cardiovascular health and disease.

The antiarrhythmic effect of vagal stimulation after acute coronary occlusion: Role of the heart rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Manati, Waheed; Pineau, Julien; Doñate Puertas, Rosa; Morel, Elodie; Quadiri, Timour; Bui-Xuan, Bernard; Chevalier, Philippe

2018-01-03

Strong evidence suggests a causal link between autonomic disturbances and ventricular arrhythmias. However, the mechanisms underlying the antiarrhythmic effect of vagal stimulation are poorly understood. The vagal antiarrhythmic effect might be modulated by a decrease in heart rate. the proximal anterior interventricular artery was occluded in 16 pigs by clamping under general anaesthesia. Group 1: heart rates remained spontaneous (n = 6; 12 occlusions); Group 2: heart rates were fixed at 190 beats per minute (bpm) with atrial electrical stimulation (n = 10; 20 occlusions). Each pig received two occlusions, 30 min apart, one without and one with vagal stimulation (10 Hz, 2 ms, 5-20 mA). The antiarrhythmic effect of vagal activation was defined as the time to the appearance of ventricular fibrillation (VF) after occlusion. In Group 1, vagal stimulation triggered a significant decrease in basal heart rate (132 ± 4 vs. 110 ± 17 bpm, p coronary occlusion (1102 ± 85 vs. 925 ± 41 s, p acute coronary occlusion.

A comparison of auditory evoked potentials to acoustic beats and to binaural beats.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Hillel; Starr, Arnold; Michalewski, Henry J; Dimitrijevic, Andrew; Bleich, Naomi; Mittelman, Nomi

2010-04-01

The purpose of this study was to compare cortical brain responses evoked by amplitude modulated acoustic beats of 3 and 6 Hz in tones of 250 and 1000 Hz with those evoked by their binaural beats counterparts in unmodulated tones to indicate whether the cortical processes involved differ. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to 3- and 6-Hz acoustic and binaural beats in 2000 ms duration 250 and 1000 Hz tones presented with approximately 1 s intervals. Latency, amplitude and source current density estimates of ERP components to beats-evoked oscillations were determined and compared across beat types, beat frequencies and base (carrier) frequencies. All stimuli evoked tone-onset components followed by oscillations corresponding to the beat frequency, and a subsequent tone-offset complex. Beats-evoked oscillations were higher in amplitude in response to acoustic than to binaural beats, to 250 than to 1000 Hz base frequency and to 3 Hz than to 6 Hz beat frequency. Sources of the beats-evoked oscillations across all stimulus conditions located mostly to left temporal lobe areas. Differences between estimated sources of potentials to acoustic and binaural beats were not significant. The perceptions of binaural beats involve cortical activity that is not different than acoustic beats in distribution and in the effects of beat- and base frequency, indicating similar cortical processing. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stochastic Alternating Dynamics for Synchronous EAD-Like Beating Rhythms in Cultured Cardiac Myocytes

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Ning; ZHANG Hui-Min; LIU Zhi-Qiang; DING Xue-Li; YANG Ming-Hao; GU Hua-Guang; REN Wei

2009-01-01

Dissolved cardiac myocytes can couple together and generate synchronous beatings in culture. We observed a synchronized early after-depolarization(EAD)-like rhythm in cultured cardiac myocytes and reproduced the experimental observation in a network mathematical model whose dynamics are close to a Hopf bifurcation. The mechanism for this EAD-like rhythm is attributed to noised-induced stochastic alternatings between the focus and the limit cycle. These results provide novel understandings for pathological heart rhythms like the early immature beatings.

Fast Gated EPR Imaging of the Beating Heart: Spatiotemporally-Resolved 3D Imaging of Free Radical Distribution during the Cardiac Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhiyu; Reyes, Levy A.; Johnson, David H.; Velayutham, Murugesan; Yang, Changjun; Samouilov, Alexandre; Zweier, Jay L.

2012-01-01

In vivo or ex vivo electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI) is a powerful technique for determining the spatial distribution of free radicals and other paramagnetic species in living organs and tissues. However, applications of EPRI have been limited by long projection acquisition times and the consequent fact that rapid gated EPRI was not possible. Hence in vivo EPRI typically provided only time-averaged information. In order to achieve direct gated EPRI, a fast EPR acquisition scheme was developed to decrease EPR projection acquisition time down to 10 – 20 ms, along with corresponding software and instrumentation to achieve fast gated EPRI of the isolated beating heart with submillimeter spatial resolution in as little as 2 to 3 minutes. Reconstructed images display temporal and spatial variations of the free radical distribution, anatomical structure, and contractile function within the rat heart during the cardiac cycle. PMID:22473660

Electrical Brain Responses to Beat Irregularities in Two Cases of Beat Deafness

Science.gov (United States)

Mathias, Brian; Lidji, Pascale; Honing, Henkjan; Palmer, Caroline; Peretz, Isabelle

2016-01-01

Beat deafness, a recently documented form of congenital amusia, provides a unique window into functional specialization of neural circuitry for the processing of musical stimuli: Beat-deaf individuals exhibit deficits that are specific to the detection of a regular beat in music and the ability to move along with a beat. Studies on the neural underpinnings of beat processing in the general population suggest that the auditory system is capable of pre-attentively generating a predictive model of upcoming sounds in a rhythmic pattern, subserved largely within auditory cortex and reflected in mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3 event-related potential (ERP) components. The current study examined these neural correlates of beat perception in two beat-deaf individuals, Mathieu and Marjorie, and a group of control participants under conditions in which auditory stimuli were either attended or ignored. Compared to control participants, Mathieu demonstrated reduced behavioral sensitivity to beat omissions in metrical patterns, and Marjorie showed a bias to identify irregular patterns as regular. ERP responses to beat omissions reveal an intact pre-attentive system for processing beat irregularities in cases of beat deafness, reflected in the MMN component, and provide partial support for abnormalities in later cognitive stages of beat processing, reflected in an unreliable P3b component exhibited by Mathieu—but not Marjorie—compared to control participants. P3 abnormalities observed in the current study resemble P3 abnormalities exhibited by individuals with pitch-based amusia, and are consistent with attention or auditory-motor coupling accounts of deficits in beat perception. PMID:26941591

Electrical brain responses to beat irregularities in two cases of beat deafness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian eMathias

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Beat deafness, a recently documented form of congenital amusia, provides a unique window into functional specialization of neural circuitry for the processing of musical stimuli: Beat-deaf individuals exhibit deficits that are specific to the detection of a regular beat in music and the ability to move along with a beat. Studies on the neural underpinnings of beat processing in the general population suggest that the auditory system is capable of pre-attentively generating a predictive model of upcoming sounds in a rhythmic pattern, subserved largely within auditory cortex and reflected in mismatch negativity (MMN and P3 event-related potential (ERP components. The current study examined these neural correlates of beat perception in two beat-deaf individuals, Mathieu and Marjorie, and a group of control participants under conditions in which auditory stimuli were either attended or ignored. Compared to control participants, Mathieu demonstrated reduced behavioral sensitivity to beat omissions in metrical patterns, and Marjorie showed a bias to identify irregular patterns as regular. ERP responses to beat omissions reveal an intact pre-attentive system for processing beat irregularities in cases of beat deafness, reflected in the MMN component, and provide partial support for abnormalities in later cognitive stages of beat processing, reflected in an unreliable P3b component exhibited by Mathieu – but not Marjorie – compared to control participants. P3 abnormalities observed in the current study resemble P3 abnormalities exhibited by individuals with pitch-based amusia, and are consistent with attention or auditory-motor coupling accounts of deficits in beat perception.

A kinematic approach for efficient and robust simulation of the cardiac beating motion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takashi Ijiri

Full Text Available Computer simulation techniques for cardiac beating motions potentially have many applications and a broad audience. However, most existing methods require enormous computational costs and often show unstable behavior for extreme parameter sets, which interrupts smooth simulation study and make it difficult to apply them to interactive applications. To address this issue, we present an efficient and robust framework for simulating the cardiac beating motion. The global cardiac motion is generated by the accumulation of local myocardial fiber contractions. We compute such local-to-global deformations using a kinematic approach; we divide a heart mesh model into overlapping local regions, contract them independently according to fiber orientation, and compute a global shape that satisfies contracted shapes of all local regions as much as possible. A comparison between our method and a physics-based method showed that our method can generate motion very close to that of a physics-based simulation. Our kinematic method has high controllability; the simulated ventricle-wall-contraction speed can be easily adjusted to that of a real heart by controlling local contraction timing. We demonstrate that our method achieves a highly realistic beating motion of a whole heart in real time on a consumer-level computer. Our method provides an important step to bridge a gap between cardiac simulations and interactive applications.

Beat characteristics and beat maps of the King Seong-deok Divine Bell

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seock-Hyun; Lee, Chi-Wook; Lee, Jang-Moo

2005-03-01

King Seong-deok Divine Bell is the second oldest bell in Korea. The bell is considered to have the best sound quality among Korean bells. The beat phenomenon is one of the most important characteristics for the sound of the King Seong-deok Divine Bell. In this study, the relationships between the modal parameters and the peculiar beat phenomena of the bell are investigated. It is theoretically proved from the beat characteristics that the sound might indeed be heard differently depending on the listening positions. The beat map method is introduced to visualize the beat distribution properties. It is shown that the beat maps can be drawn with a theoretical model based on the modal data of the bell. Using the beat maps of the King Seong-deok Divine Bell, it is investigated why clear and unclear beats, large and small amplitudes of the vibrations are repeated periodically along the circumference of the bell. Furthermore, the effect of the striking position on the beat distribution property is examined systematically.

Study Heart Rate by Tools from Complex Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makowiec, D.; Wdowczyk-Szulc, J.; Zarczynska-Buchowiecka, M.; Gruchala, M.; Rynkiewicz, A.

2011-01-01

Heart rate measured as beat-to-beat time intervals varies in time. It is believed that time intervals between subsequent normal heart contractions carry information about the regulatory system of the heart. How to quantify such signals is not clear and because of that heart rate variability is still apart from the clinic routine. In the following, we propose a method for representing a heart rate signal as a directed network. Then we study the signal properties by complex network tools. The signals to study were collected from patients recovering after the heart transplantation. The aim is to classify the progress of adapting of the new heart - graft. Moreover, it is expected that the method allows for visual classification. Our investigations are preliminary, however the obtained results are promising. (authors)

Binaural beat salience

Science.gov (United States)

Grose, John H.; Buss, Emily; Hall, Joseph W.

2012-01-01

Previous studies of binaural beats have noted individual variability and response lability, but little attention has been paid to the salience of the binaural beat percept. The purpose of this study was to gauge the strength of the binaural beat percept by matching its salience to that of sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM), and to then compare rate discrimination for the two types of fluctuation. Rate discrimination was measured for standard rates of 4, 8, 16, and 32 Hz – all in the 500-Hz carrier region. Twelve normal-hearing adults participated in this study. The results indicated that discrimination acuity for binaural beats is similar to that for SAM tones whose depths of modulation have been adjusted to provide equivalent modulation salience. The matched-salience SAM tones had relatively shallow depths of modulation, suggesting that the perceptual strength of binaural beats is relatively weak, although all listeners perceived them. The Weber fraction for detection of an increase in binaural beat rate is roughly constant across beat rates, at least for rates above 4 Hz, as is rate discrimination for SAM tones. PMID:22326292

Beat-to-beat evaluation of left ventricular ejection in cardiac arrhythmias

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itti, R.; Philippe, L.; Lorgeron, J.M.

1982-01-01

Conventional multi-gated cardiac blood pool studies suffer from two kinds of superimpositions: the spatial overlapping of various heart chambers and the temporal superimposition of a large number of cardiac cycles. The first problem can be partially solved by first pass techniques or by emission tomography. For the second one, which is specially critical arrhythmias, the single probe device (''nuclear stethoscope'') represents an original solution. Patients with normal cardiac rythm and patients presenting various kinds of cardiac rythm alterations were examined using a commercial ''nuclear stethoscope''. Some characteristic results achieved in these cases, were presented. For blood pool labeling, 20 mCi of 99mTc albumin was injected. The single probe detector was then positioned over the left ventricular area. The beat-to-beat left ventricular activity curve was then recorded for several minutes on paper in the same time as the E.C.G. signal. In cases with irregular cardiac rythm, the multigated techniques yield an average value of left ventricular ejection. Due to the relatively constant duration of systole, the superimposition of cycles may be valid during contration: differences mainly appear during diastole. But, as it could be demonstrated using the ''nuclear stethoscope'', individual cycles can show a large variability of ejection and average ejection fraction is only a very partial aspect of the real cardiac function

A mitral annulus tracking approach for navigation of off-pump beating heart mitral valve repair.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Feng P; Rajchl, Martin; Moore, John; Peters, Terry M

2015-01-01

To develop and validate a real-time mitral valve annulus (MVA) tracking approach based on biplane transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) data and magnetic tracking systems (MTS) to be used in minimally invasive off-pump beating heart mitral valve repair (MVR). The authors' guidance system consists of three major components: TEE, magnetic tracking system, and an image guidance software platform. TEE provides real-time intraoperative images to show the cardiac motion and intracardiac surgical tools. The magnetic tracking system tracks the TEE probe and the surgical tools. The software platform integrates the TEE image planes and the virtual model of the tools and the MVA model on the screen. The authors' MVA tracking approach, which aims to update the MVA model in near real-time, comprises of three steps: image based gating, predictive reinitialization, and registration based MVA tracking. The image based gating step uses a small patch centered at each MVA point in the TEE images to identify images at optimal cardiac phases for updating the position of the MVA. The predictive reinitialization step uses the position and orientation of the TEE probe provided by the magnetic tracking system to predict the position of the MVA points in the TEE images and uses them for the initialization of the registration component. The registration based MVA tracking step aims to locate the MVA points in the images selected by the image based gating component by performing image based registration. The validation of the MVA tracking approach was performed in a phantom study and a retrospective study on porcine data. In the phantom study, controlled translations were applied to the phantom and the tracked MVA was compared to its "true" position estimated based on a magnetic sensor attached to the phantom. The MVA tracking accuracy was 1.29 ± 0.58 mm when the translation distance is about 1 cm, and increased to 2.85 ± 1.19 mm when the translation distance is about 3 cm. In the study on

Real-time Continuous Assessment Method for Mental and Physiological Condition using Heart Rate Variability

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, Yutaka; Yokoyama, Kiyoko; Ishii, Naohiro

It is necessary to monitor the daily health condition for preventing stress syndrome. In this study, it was proposed the method assessing the mental and physiological condition, such as the work stress or the relaxation, using heart rate variability at real time and continuously. The instantanuous heart rate (HR), and the ratio of the number of extreme points (NEP) and the number of heart beats were calculated for assessing mental and physiological condition. In this method, 20 beats heart rate were used to calculate these indexes. These were calculated in one beat interval. Three conditions, which are sitting rest, performing mental arithmetic and watching relaxation movie, were assessed using our proposed algorithm. The assessment accuracies were 71.9% and 55.8%, when performing mental arithmetic and watching relaxation movie respectively. In this method, the mental and physiological condition was assessed using only 20 regressive heart beats, so this method is considered as the real time assessment method.

Binaural beat salience.

Science.gov (United States)

Grose, John H; Buss, Emily; Hall, Joseph W

2012-03-01

Previous studies of binaural beats have noted individual variability and response lability, but little attention has been paid to the salience of the binaural beat percept. The purpose of this study was to gauge the strength of the binaural beat percept by matching its salience to that of sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM), and to then compare rate discrimination for the two types of fluctuation. Rate discrimination was measured for standard rates of 4, 8, 16, and 32 Hz - all in the 500-Hz carrier region. Twelve normal-hearing adults participated in this study. The results indicated that discrimination acuity for binaural beats is similar to that for SAM tones whose depths of modulation have been adjusted to provide equivalent modulation salience. The matched-salience SAM tones had relatively shallow depths of modulation, suggesting that the perceptual strength of binaural beats is relatively weak, although all listeners perceived them. The Weber fraction for detection of an increase in binaural beat rate is roughly constant across beat rates, at least for rates above 4 Hz, as is rate discrimination for SAM tones. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visibility graph analysis of heart rate time series and bio-marker of congestive heart failure

Science.gov (United States)

Bhaduri, Anirban; Bhaduri, Susmita; Ghosh, Dipak

2017-09-01

Study of RR interval time series for Congestive Heart Failure had been an area of study with different methods including non-linear methods. In this article the cardiac dynamics of heart beat are explored in the light of complex network analysis, viz. visibility graph method. Heart beat (RR Interval) time series data taken from Physionet database [46, 47] belonging to two groups of subjects, diseased (congestive heart failure) (29 in number) and normal (54 in number) are analyzed with the technique. The overall results show that a quantitative parameter can significantly differentiate between the diseased subjects and the normal subjects as well as different stages of the disease. Further, the data when split into periods of around 1 hour each and analyzed separately, also shows the same consistent differences. This quantitative parameter obtained using the visibility graph analysis thereby can be used as a potential bio-marker as well as a subsequent alarm generation mechanism for predicting the onset of Congestive Heart Failure.

Increased heart rate variability during nondirective meditation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nesvold, Anders; Fagerland, Morten W; Davanger, Svend; Ellingsen, Øyvind; Solberg, Erik E; Holen, Are; Sevre, Knut; Atar, Dan

2012-08-01

Meditation practices are in use for relaxation and stress reduction. Some studies indicate beneficial cardiovascular health effects of meditation. The effects on the autonomous nervous system seem to vary among techniques. The purpose of the present study was to identify autonomic nerve activity changes during nondirective meditation. Heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure variability (BPV), and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) were monitored in 27 middle-aged healthy participants of both genders, first during 20 min regular rest with eyes closed, thereafter practising Acem meditation for 20 min. Haemodynamic and autonomic data were collected continuously (beat-to-beat) and non-invasively. HRV and BPV parameters were estimated by power spectral analyses, computed by an autoregressive model. Spontaneous activity of baroreceptors were determined by the sequence method. Primary outcomes were changes in HRV, BPV, and BRS between rest and meditation. HRV increased in the low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) bands during meditation, compared with rest (p = 0.014, 0.013, respectively). Power spectral density of the RR-intervals increased as well (p = 0.012). LF/HF ratio decreased non-significantly, and a reduction of LF-BPV power was observed during meditation (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in BRS. Respiration and heart rates remained unchanged. Blood pressure increased slightly during meditation. There is an increased parasympathetic and reduced sympathetic nerve activity and increased overall HRV, while practising the technique. Hence, nondirective meditation by the middle aged may contribute towards a reduction of cardiovascular risk.

Listen to your heart beat and shiver! An experimental study of anxiety-related emotional reasoning in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Muris, Peter; Mayer, Birgit; Bervoets, Sabine

2010-08-01

The present study investigated anxiety-related emotional reasoning in 9-13-year-old children using an experimental approach. Eighty-one children completed a computerized ambiguous situations test for assessing their perception of threat under two conditions. In the experimental condition, children were attached to an apparatus that allegedly recorded their heart beat, the sound of which was presented to them via headphones. In the control condition, children listened to the sound of an African djembe drum while completing the ambiguous situations test. It was found that children in the experimental condition generally provided higher threat ratings than children in the control condition, and this difference remained significant when controlling for levels of anxiety sensitivity, panic and other anxiety symptoms. These results are in keeping with the idea that children may partially rely on internal physical sensations when evaluating the dangerousness of ambiguous events. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Auditory driving of the autonomic nervous system: Listening to theta-frequency binaural beats post-exercise increases parasympathetic activation and sympathetic withdrawal

OpenAIRE

Patrick eMcConnell; Patrick eMcConnell; Brett eFroeliger; Eric L. Garland; Jeffrey C. Ives; Gary A. Sforzo

2014-01-01

Binaural beats are an auditory illusion perceived when two or more pure tones of similar frequencies are presented dichotically through stereo headphones. Although this phenomenon is thought to facilitate state changes (e.g., relaxation), few empirical studies have reported on whether binaural beats produce changes in autonomic arousal. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of binaural beating on autonomic dynamics (heart-rate variability (HRV)) during post-exercise relaxation...

Auditory driving of the autonomic nervous system: Listening to theta-frequency binaural beats post-exercise increases parasympathetic activation and sympathetic withdrawal

OpenAIRE

McConnell, Patrick A.; Froeliger, Brett; Garland, Eric L.; Ives, Jeffrey C.; Sforzo, Gary A.

2014-01-01

Binaural beats are an auditory illusion perceived when two or more pure tones of similar frequencies are presented dichotically through stereo headphones. Although this phenomenon is thought to facilitate state changes (e.g., relaxation), few empirical studies have reported on whether binaural beats produce changes in autonomic arousal. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of binaural beating on autonomic dynamics [heart rate variability (HRV)] during post-exercise relaxation...

Wearable Beat to Beat Blood Pressure Monitor, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A key component of NASA's human exploration programs is a system that monitors the health of the crew during space missions. The wearable beat-to-beat blood pressure...

The effect of music with and without binaural beat audio on operative anxiety in patients undergoing cataract surgery: a randomized controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

Wiwatwongwana, D; Vichitvejpaisal, P; Thaikruea, L; Klaphajone, J; Tantong, A; Wiwatwongwana, A

2016-01-01

Purpose To investigate the anxiolytic effects of binaural beat embedded audio in patients undergoing cataract surgery under local anesthesia. Methods This prospective RCT included 141 patients undergoing cataract surgery under local anesthesia. The patients were randomized into three groups; the Binaural beat music group (BB), the plain music intervention group (MI), and a control group (ear phones with no music). Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were measured on admission, at the beginning of and 20 min after the start of the operation. Peri-operative anxiety level was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire (STAI). Results The BB and MI groups comprised 44 patients each and the control group 47. Patients in the MI group and BB group showed significant reduction of STAI state scores after music intervention compared with the control group (Pbinaural beat, was proven to decrease anxiety level and lower systolic BP. Patients who received binaural beat audio showed additional decrease in heart rate. Binaural beat embedded musical intervention may have benefit over musical intervention alone in decreasing operative anxiety. PMID:27740618

Heart-Rate Variability—More than Heart Beats?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gernot Ernst

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Heart-rate variability (HRV is frequently introduced as mirroring imbalances within the autonomous nerve system. Many investigations are based on the paradigm that increased sympathetic tone is associated with decreased parasympathetic tone and vice versa. But HRV is probably more than an indicator for probable disturbances in the autonomous system. Some perturbations trigger not reciprocal, but parallel changes of vagal and sympathetic nerve activity. HRV has also been considered as a surrogate parameter of the complex interaction between brain and cardiovascular system. Systems biology is an inter-disciplinary field of study focusing on complex interactions within biological systems like the cardiovascular system, with the help of computational models and time series analysis, beyond others. Time series are considered surrogates of the particular system, reflecting robustness or fragility. Increased variability is usually seen as associated with a good health condition, whereas lowered variability might signify pathological changes. This might explain why lower HRV parameters were related to decreased life expectancy in several studies. Newer integrating theories have been proposed. According to them, HRV reflects as much the state of the heart as the state of the brain. The polyvagal theory suggests that the physiological state dictates the range of behavior and psychological experience. Stressful events perpetuate the rhythms of autonomic states, and subsequently, behaviors. Reduced variability will according to this theory not only be a surrogate but represent a fundamental homeostasis mechanism in a pathological state. The neurovisceral integration model proposes that cardiac vagal tone, described in HRV beyond others as HF-index, can mirror the functional balance of the neural networks implicated in emotion–cognition interactions. Both recent models represent a more holistic approach to understanding the significance of HRV.

Heart-Rate Variability-More than Heart Beats?

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, Gernot

2017-01-01

Heart-rate variability (HRV) is frequently introduced as mirroring imbalances within the autonomous nerve system. Many investigations are based on the paradigm that increased sympathetic tone is associated with decreased parasympathetic tone and vice versa . But HRV is probably more than an indicator for probable disturbances in the autonomous system. Some perturbations trigger not reciprocal, but parallel changes of vagal and sympathetic nerve activity. HRV has also been considered as a surrogate parameter of the complex interaction between brain and cardiovascular system. Systems biology is an inter-disciplinary field of study focusing on complex interactions within biological systems like the cardiovascular system, with the help of computational models and time series analysis, beyond others. Time series are considered surrogates of the particular system, reflecting robustness or fragility. Increased variability is usually seen as associated with a good health condition, whereas lowered variability might signify pathological changes. This might explain why lower HRV parameters were related to decreased life expectancy in several studies. Newer integrating theories have been proposed. According to them, HRV reflects as much the state of the heart as the state of the brain. The polyvagal theory suggests that the physiological state dictates the range of behavior and psychological experience. Stressful events perpetuate the rhythms of autonomic states, and subsequently, behaviors. Reduced variability will according to this theory not only be a surrogate but represent a fundamental homeostasis mechanism in a pathological state. The neurovisceral integration model proposes that cardiac vagal tone, described in HRV beyond others as HF-index, can mirror the functional balance of the neural networks implicated in emotion-cognition interactions. Both recent models represent a more holistic approach to understanding the significance of HRV.

Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Leman, Marc; Moelants, Dirk; Varewyck, Matthias; Styns, Frederik; van Noorden, Leon; Martens, Jean-Pierre

2013-01-01

Inspired by a theory of embodied music cognition, we investigate whether music can entrain the speed of beat synchronized walking. If human walking is in synchrony with the beat and all musical stimuli have the same duration and the same tempo, then differences in walking speed can only be the result of music-induced differences in stride length, thus reflecting the vigor or physical strength of the movement. Participants walked in an open field in synchrony with the beat of 52 different musical stimuli all having a tempo of 130 beats per minute and a meter of 4 beats. The walking speed was measured as the walked distance during a time interval of 30 seconds. The results reveal that some music is 'activating' in the sense that it increases the speed, and some music is 'relaxing' in the sense that it decreases the speed, compared to the spontaneous walked speed in response to metronome stimuli. Participants are consistent in their observation of qualitative differences between the relaxing and activating musical stimuli. Using regression analysis, it was possible to set up a predictive model using only four sonic features that explain 60% of the variance. The sonic features capture variation in loudness and pitch patterns at periods of three, four and six beats, suggesting that expressive patterns in music are responsible for the effect. The mechanism may be attributed to an attentional shift, a subliminal audio-motor entrainment mechanism, or an arousal effect, but further study is needed to figure this out. Overall, the study supports the hypothesis that recurrent patterns of fluctuation affecting the binary meter strength of the music may entrain the vigor of the movement. The study opens up new perspectives for understanding the relationship between entrainment and expressiveness, with the possibility to develop applications that can be used in domains such as sports and physical rehabilitation.

Autonomic control of the heart is altered in Sprague-Dawley rats with spontaneous hydronephrosis

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Amy C.; Shaltout, Hossam A.; Gilliam-Davis, Shea; Kock, Nancy D.

2011-01-01

The renal medulla plays an important role in cardiovascular regulation, through interactions with the autonomic nervous system. Hydronephrosis is characterized by substantial loss of renal medullary tissue. However, whether alterations in autonomic control of the heart are observed in this condition is unknown. Thus we assessed resting hemodynamics and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) for control of heart rate in urethane/chloralose-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats with normal or hydronephrotic kidneys. While resting arterial pressure was similar, heart rate was higher in rats with hydronephrosis (290 ± 12 normal vs. 344 ± 11 mild/moderate vs. 355 ± 13 beats/min severe; P hydronephrosis, with no differences in measures of indirect sympathetic activity among conditions. As a secondary aim, we investigated whether autonomic dysfunction in hydronephrosis is associated with activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). There were no differences in circulating angiotensin peptides among conditions, suggesting that the impaired autonomic function in hydronephrosis is independent of peripheral RAS activation. A possible site for angiotensin II-mediated BRS impairment is the solitary tract nucleus (NTS). In normal and mild/moderate hydronephrotic rats, NTS administration of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist candesartan significantly improved the BRS, suggesting that angiotensin II provides tonic suppression to the baroreflex. In contrast, angiotensin II blockade produced no significant effect in severe hydronephrosis, indicating that at least within the NTS baroreflex suppression in these animals is independent of angiotensin II. PMID:21460193

Quantification of fetal heart rate regularity using symbolic dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

van Leeuwen, P.; Cysarz, D.; Lange, S.; Geue, D.; Groenemeyer, D.

2007-03-01

Fetal heart rate complexity was examined on the basis of RR interval time series obtained in the second and third trimester of pregnancy. In each fetal RR interval time series, short term beat-to-beat heart rate changes were coded in 8bit binary sequences. Redundancies of the 28 different binary patterns were reduced by two different procedures. The complexity of these sequences was quantified using the approximate entropy (ApEn), resulting in discrete ApEn values which were used for classifying the sequences into 17 pattern sets. Also, the sequences were grouped into 20 pattern classes with respect to identity after rotation or inversion of the binary value. There was a specific, nonuniform distribution of the sequences in the pattern sets and this differed from the distribution found in surrogate data. In the course of gestation, the number of sequences increased in seven pattern sets, decreased in four and remained unchanged in six. Sequences that occurred less often over time, both regular and irregular, were characterized by patterns reflecting frequent beat-to-beat reversals in heart rate. They were also predominant in the surrogate data, suggesting that these patterns are associated with stochastic heart beat trains. Sequences that occurred more frequently over time were relatively rare in the surrogate data. Some of these sequences had a high degree of regularity and corresponded to prolonged heart rate accelerations or decelerations which may be associated with directed fetal activity or movement or baroreflex activity. Application of the pattern classes revealed that those sequences with a high degree of irregularity correspond to heart rate patterns resulting from complex physiological activity such as fetal breathing movements. The results suggest that the development of the autonomic nervous system and the emergence of fetal behavioral states lead to increases in not only irregular but also regular heart rate patterns. Using symbolic dynamics to

Ivabradine in stable coronary artery disease without clinical heart failure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fox, Kim; Ford, Ian; Steg, Philippe Gabriel

2014-01-01

minute or more. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of ivabradine, added to standard background therapy, in 19,102 patients who had both stable coronary artery disease without clinical heart failure and a heart rate of 70 beats per minute or more (including 12......,049 patients with activity-limiting angina [class ≥II on the Canadian Cardiovascular Society scale, which ranges from I to IV, with higher classes indicating greater limitations on physical activity owing to angina]). We randomly assigned patients to placebo or ivabradine, at a dose of up to 10 mg twice daily......, with the dose adjusted to achieve a target heart rate of 55 to 60 beats per minute. The primary end point was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes or nonfatal myocardial infarction. RESULTS: At 3 months, the mean (±SD) heart rate of the patients was 60.7±9.0 beats per minute in the ivabradine group...

Electrical brain responses to beat irregularities in two cases of beat deafness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mathias, B.; Lidji, P.; Honing, H.; Palmer, C.; Peretz, I.

2016-01-01

Beat deafness, a recently documented form of congenital amusia, provides a unique window into functional specialization of neural circuitry for the processing of musical stimuli: Beat-deaf individuals exhibit deficits that are specific to the detection of a regular beat in music and the ability to

Maintenance of cAMP in non-heart-beating donor lungs reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, S C; Bleiweis, M S; Jones, D R; Paik, H C; Ciriaco, P; Egan, T M

2001-06-01

Studies suggest that pulmonary vascular ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) can be attenuated by increasing intracellular cAMP concentrations. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of IRI on capillary permeability, assessed by capillary filtration coeficient (Kfc), in lungs retrieved from non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) and reperfused with the addition of the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor agonist isoproterenol (iso), and rolipram (roli), a phosphodiesterase (type IV) inhibitor. Using an in situ isolated perfused lung model, lungs were retrieved from NHBD rats at varying intervals after death and either ventilated with O(2) or not ventilated. The lungs were reperfused with Earle's solution with or without a combination of iso (10 microM) and roli (2 microM). Kfc, lung viability, and pulmonary hemodynamics were measured. Lung tissue levels of adenine nucleotides and cAMP were measured by HPLC. Combined iso and roli (iso/roli) reperfusion decreased Kfc significantly (p Kfc in non-iso/roli-reperfused (r = 0.89) and iso/roli-reperfused (r = 0.97) lungs. cAMP levels correlated with Kfc (r = 0.93) in iso/roli-reperfused lungs. Pharmacologic augmentation of tissue TAN and cAMP levels might ameliorate the increased capillary permeability observed in lungs retrieved from NHBDs.

Diminution of Heart Rate Variability in Bipolar Depression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brandon Hage

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Autonomic nervous system (ANS dysregulation in depression is associated with symptoms associated with the ANS. The beat-to-beat pattern of heart rate defined as heart rate variability (HRV provides a noninvasive portal to ANS function and has been proposed to represent a means of quantifying resting vagal tone. We quantified HRV in bipolar depressed (BDD patients as a measure of ANS dysregulation seeking to establish HRV as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for treatment outcome. Forty-seven BDD patients were enrolled. They were randomized to receive either escitalopram–celecoxib or escitalopram-placebo over 8 weeks in a double-blind study design. Thirty-five patients completed the HRV studies. Thirty-six healthy subjects served as controls. HRV was assessed at pretreatment and end of study and compared with that of controls. HRV was quantified and corrected for artifacts using an algorithm that incorporates time and frequency domains to address non-stationarity of the beat-to-beat heart rate pattern. Baseline high frequency-HRV (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia was lower in BDD patients than controls, although the difference did not reach significance. Baseline low-frequency HRV was significantly lower in BDD patients (ln4.20 than controls (ln = 5.50 (p < 0.01. Baseline heart period was significantly shorter (i.e., faster heart rate in BDD patients than controls. No significant change in HRV parameters were detected over the course of the study with either treatment. These findings suggest that components of HRV may be diminished in BDD patients.

Heart rate monitoring mobile applications

OpenAIRE

Chaudhry, Beenish M.

2016-01-01

Total number of times a heart beats in a minute is known as the heart rate. Traditionally, heart rate was measured using clunky gadgets but these days it can be measured with a smartphone?s camera. This can help you measure your heart rate anywhere and at anytime, especially during workouts so you can adjust your workout intensity to achieve maximum health benefits. With simple and easy to use mobile app, ?Unique Heart Rate Monitor?, you can also maintain your heart rate history for personal ...

Cartan frames for heart wall fiber motion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Samari, Babak; Aumentado-Armstrong, Tristan; Strijkers, Gustav J.; Froeling, Martijn; Siddiqi, Kaleem

2017-01-01

Current understanding of heart wall fiber geometry is based on ex vivo static data obtained through diffusion imaging or histology. Thus, little is known about the manner in which fibers rotate as the heart beats. Yet, the geometric organization of moving fibers in the heart wall is key to its

Effects of microirradiation of heart cells in culture at the mitochondrial level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salet, Christian; Moreno, Giuliana; Lampidis, T.J.

1980-01-01

The technique of micro-irradiation has been applied in irradiating the nucleus or the mitochondria of heart cells in tissue culture. Using classical or stimulated (laser) sources, variations in the beating rate have been utilized as an endpoint in assaying effects of micro-irradiation on the function of cardiac cells. The most important target for the stimulation of the beating rate of heart cells in vitro is the mitochondrion. When the mitochondrial oxidative system is perturbed with either KCN, ATP or adriamycin this stimulating effect is inhibited. Consequently, this combination of micro-irradiation and beating heart cells in culture is a powerful tool in determining the localization and investigating the mechanism of action of various drugs at the mitochondrial level

Adult Murine Skeletal Muscle Contains Cells That Can Differentiate into Beating Cardiomyocytes In Vitro

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Winitsky Steve O

2005-01-01

Full Text Available It has long been held as scientific fact that soon after birth, cardiomyocytes cease dividing, thus explaining the limited restoration of cardiac function after a heart attack. Recent demonstrations of cardiac myocyte differentiation observed in vitro or after in vivo transplantation of adult stem cells from blood, fat, skeletal muscle, or heart have challenged this view. Analysis of these studies has been complicated by the large disparity in the magnitude of effects seen by different groups and obscured by the recently appreciated process of in vivo stem-cell fusion. We now show a novel population of nonsatellite cells in adult murine skeletal muscle that progress under standard primary cell-culture conditions to autonomously beating cardiomyocytes. Their differentiation into beating cardiomyocytes is characterized here by video microscopy, confocal-detected calcium transients, electron microscopy, immunofluorescent cardiac-specific markers, and single-cell patch recordings of cardiac action potentials. Within 2 d after tail-vein injection of these marked cells into a mouse model of acute infarction, the marked cells are visible in the heart. By 6 d they begin to differentiate without fusing to recipient cardiac cells. Three months later, the tagged cells are visible as striated heart muscle restricted to the region of the cardiac infarct.

Adult murine skeletal muscle contains cells that can differentiate into beating cardiomyocytes in vitro.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steve O Winitsky

2005-04-01

Full Text Available It has long been held as scientific fact that soon after birth, cardiomyocytes cease dividing, thus explaining the limited restoration of cardiac function after a heart attack. Recent demonstrations of cardiac myocyte differentiation observed in vitro or after in vivo transplantation of adult stem cells from blood, fat, skeletal muscle, or heart have challenged this view. Analysis of these studies has been complicated by the large disparity in the magnitude of effects seen by different groups and obscured by the recently appreciated process of in vivo stem-cell fusion. We now show a novel population of nonsatellite cells in adult murine skeletal muscle that progress under standard primary cell-culture conditions to autonomously beating cardiomyocytes. Their differentiation into beating cardiomyocytes is characterized here by video microscopy, confocal-detected calcium transients, electron microscopy, immunofluorescent cardiac-specific markers, and single-cell patch recordings of cardiac action potentials. Within 2 d after tail-vein injection of these marked cells into a mouse model of acute infarction, the marked cells are visible in the heart. By 6 d they begin to differentiate without fusing to recipient cardiac cells. Three months later, the tagged cells are visible as striated heart muscle restricted to the region of the cardiac infarct.

"Non-heart-beating," or "cardiac death," organ donation: why we should care.

Science.gov (United States)

Rady, Mohamed Y; Verheijde, Joseph L; McGregor, Joan

2007-09-01

Organ donation after cessation of cardiac pump activity is referred to as non-heart-beating organ donation (NHBOD). NHBOD donors can be neurologically intact; they do not fulfill the brain death criteria prior to cessation of cardiac pump activity. For hospitals to participate in NHBOD, they must comply with a newly introduced federal requirement for ICU patients whose deaths are considered imminent after withdrawal of life support. This report describes issues related to NHBOD. A nonstructured review of selected publications and Web sites was undertaken. Scientific evidence from autoresuscitation and extracorporeal perfusion suggests that verifying cardiorespiratory arrest lasting 2-5 minutes does not uniformly comply with the dead donor rule, so that the process of organ procurement can be the irreversible event defining death in organ donors. The interest of organ procurement organizations and affiliates in maximizing recovery of transplantable organs introduces self-serving bias in gaining consent for organ donation and abandons the basic tenet of obtaining true informed consent. The impact of donor management and procurement protocols on end-of-life (EOL) care and the potential trade-off are not disclosed, raising concern about whether potential donors and their families are fully informed before consenting to donation. The use of comprehensive quality indicators for EOL care can determine the impact of NHBOD on care offered to donors and the effects on families and health care providers. Detailed evaluation of NHBOD will enable the public to make informed decisions about participating in this type of organ donation. (c) 2007 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Computer algorithms for automated detection and analysis of local Ca2+ releases in spontaneously beating cardiac pacemaker cells.

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Alexander V Maltsev

Full Text Available Local Ca2+ Releases (LCRs are crucial events involved in cardiac pacemaker cell function. However, specific algorithms for automatic LCR detection and analysis have not been developed in live, spontaneously beating pacemaker cells. In the present study we measured LCRs using a high-speed 2D-camera in spontaneously contracting sinoatrial (SA node cells isolated from rabbit and guinea pig and developed a new algorithm capable of detecting and analyzing the LCRs spatially in two-dimensions, and in time. Our algorithm tracks points along the midline of the contracting cell. It uses these points as a coordinate system for affine transform, producing a transformed image series where the cell does not contract. Action potential-induced Ca2+ transients and LCRs were thereafter isolated from recording noise by applying a series of spatial filters. The LCR birth and death events were detected by a differential (frame-to-frame sensitivity algorithm applied to each pixel (cell location. An LCR was detected when its signal changes sufficiently quickly within a sufficiently large area. The LCR is considered to have died when its amplitude decays substantially, or when it merges into the rising whole cell Ca2+ transient. Ultimately, our algorithm provides major LCR parameters such as period, signal mass, duration, and propagation path area. As the LCRs propagate within live cells, the algorithm identifies splitting and merging behaviors, indicating the importance of locally propagating Ca2+-induced-Ca2+-release for the fate of LCRs and for generating a powerful ensemble Ca2+ signal. Thus, our new computer algorithms eliminate motion artifacts and detect 2D local spatiotemporal events from recording noise and global signals. While the algorithms were developed to detect LCRs in sinoatrial nodal cells, they have the potential to be used in other applications in biophysics and cell physiology, for example, to detect Ca2+ wavelets (abortive waves, sparks and

Heart rate monitoring mobile applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhry, Beenish M

2016-01-01

Total number of times a heart beats in a minute is known as the heart rate. Traditionally, heart rate was measured using clunky gadgets but these days it can be measured with a smartphone's camera. This can help you measure your heart rate anywhere and at anytime, especially during workouts so you can adjust your workout intensity to achieve maximum health benefits. With simple and easy to use mobile app, 'Unique Heart Rate Monitor', you can also maintain your heart rate history for personal reflection and sharing with a provider.

Increasing T-type calcium channel activity by β-adrenergic stimulation contributes to β-adrenergic regulation of heart rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yingxin; Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Zhang, Chen; Zhang, Xiaoying; Li, Ying; Qi, Zhao; Szeto, Christopher; Tang, Mingxin; Peng, Yizhi; Molkentin, Jeffery D; Houser, Steven R; Xie, Mingxing; Chen, Xiongwen

2018-04-01

Cav3.1 T-type Ca 2+ channel current (I Ca-T ) contributes to heart rate genesis but is not known to contribute to heart rate regulation by the sympathetic/β-adrenergic system (SAS). We show that the loss of Cav3.1 makes the beating rates of the heart in vivo and perfused hearts ex vivo, as well as sinoatrial node cells, less sensitive to β-adrenergic stimulation; it also renders less conduction acceleration through the atrioventricular node by β-adrenergic stimulation. Increasing Cav3.1 in cardiomyocytes has the opposite effects. I Ca-T in sinoatrial nodal cells can be upregulated by β-adrenergic stimulation. The results of the present study add a new contribution to heart rate regulation by the SAS system and provide potential new mechanisms for the dysregulation of heart rate and conduction by the SAS in the heart. T-type Ca 2+ channel can be a target for heart disease treatments that aim to slow down the heart rate ABSTRACT: Cav3.1 (α 1G ) T-type Ca 2+ channel (TTCC) is expressed in mouse sinoatrial node cells (SANCs) and atrioventricular (AV) nodal cells and contributes to heart rate (HR) genesis and AV conduction. However, its role in HR regulation and AV conduction acceleration by the β-adrenergic system (SAS) is unclear. In the present study, L- (I Ca-L ) and T-type (I Ca-T ) Ca 2+ currents were recorded in SANCs from Cav3.1 transgenic (TG) and knockout (KO), and control mice. I Ca-T was absent in KO SANCs but enhanced in TG SANCs. In anaesthetized animals, different doses of isoproterenol (ISO) were infused via the jugular vein and the HR was recorded. The EC 50 of the HR response to ISO was lower in TG mice but higher in KO mice, and the maximal percentage of HR increase by ISO was greater in TG mice but less in KO mice. In Langendorff-perfused hearts, ISO increased HR and shortened PR intervals to a greater extent in TG but to a less extent in KO hearts. KO SANCs had significantly slower spontaneous beating rates than control SANCs before and after

Feeling the beat: premotor and striatal interactions in musicians and non-musicians during beat perception

Science.gov (United States)

Grahn, Jessica A.; Rowe, James B.

2009-01-01

Little is known about the underlying neurobiology of rhythm and beat perception, despite its universal cultural importance. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study rhythm perception in musicians and non-musicians. Three conditions varied in the degree to which external reinforcement versus internal generation of the beat was required. The ‘Volume’ condition strongly externally marked the beat with volume changes, the ‘Duration’ condition marked the beat with weaker accents arising from duration changes, and the ‘Unaccented’ condition required the beat to be entirely internally generated. In all conditions, beat rhythms compared to nonbeat control rhythms revealed putamen activity. The presence of a beat was also associated with greater connectivity between the putamen and the supplementary motor area (SMA), the premotor cortex (PMC) and auditory cortex. In contrast, the type of accent within the beat conditions modulated the coupling between premotor and auditory cortex, with greater modulation for musicians than non-musicians. Importantly, the putamen's response to beat conditions was not due to differences in temporal complexity between the three rhythm conditions. We propose that a cortico-subcortical network including the putamen, SMA, and PMC is engaged for the analysis of temporal sequences and prediction or generation of putative beats, especially under conditions that may require internal generation of the beat. The importance of this system for auditory-motor interaction and development of precisely timed movement is suggested here by its facilitation in musicians. PMID:19515922

Effect of oxygen treatment on heart rate after abdominal surgery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenberg-Adamsen, S; Lie, C; Bernhard, A

1999-01-01

BACKGROUND: Cardiac complications are common during the postoperative period and may be associated with hypoxemia and tachycardia. Preliminary studies in high-risk patients after operation have shown a possible beneficial effect of oxygen therapy on arterial oxygen saturation and heart rate....... METHODS: The authors studied the effect of oxygen therapy on arterial oxygen saturation and heart rate in 100 consecutive unselected patients randomly and double blindly allocated to receive air or oxygen therapy between the first and fourth day after major abdominal surgery. RESULTS: The median arterial...... oxygen saturation rate increased significantly from 96% to 99% (P heart rate decreased significantly from 85 beats/min to 81 beats/min (P heart rate occurred...

Using music structure to improve beat tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Dannenberg, Roger B.

2005-09-01

Beats are an important feature of most music. Beats are used in music information retrieval systems for genre classification, similarity search, and segmentation. However, beats can be difficult to identify, especially in music audio. Traditional beat trackers attempt to (1) match predicted beats to observations of likely beats, and (2) maintain a fairly steady tempo. A third criterion can be added: when repetitions of musical passages occur, the beats in the first repetition should align with the beats in all other repetitions. This third criterion improves beat tracking performance significantly. Repetitions of musical passages are discovered in audio data by searching for similar sequences of chroma vectors. Beats are ``tracked'' by first locating a sequence of likely beats in the music audio using high frequency energy as an indicator of beat likelihood. This beat sequence is then extended by searching forward and backward for more matching beats, allowing slight variations in tempo, and using a relaxation algorithm to optimize the proposed beat locations with respect to the three criteria. Other high-level music features may offer further improvements in beat identification.

Getting the beat: entrainment of brain activity by musical rhythm and pleasantness.

Science.gov (United States)

Trost, Wiebke; Frühholz, Sascha; Schön, Daniele; Labbé, Carolina; Pichon, Swann; Grandjean, Didier; Vuilleumier, Patrik

2014-12-01

Rhythmic entrainment is an important component of emotion induction by music, but brain circuits recruited during spontaneous entrainment of attention by music and the influence of the subjective emotional feelings evoked by music remain still largely unresolved. In this study we used fMRI to test whether the metric structure of music entrains brain activity and how music pleasantness influences such entrainment. Participants listened to piano music while performing a speeded visuomotor detection task in which targets appeared time-locked to either strong or weak beats. Each musical piece was presented in both a consonant/pleasant and dissonant/unpleasant version. Consonant music facilitated target detection and targets presented synchronously with strong beats were detected faster. FMRI showed increased activation of bilateral caudate nucleus when responding on strong beats, whereas consonance enhanced activity in attentional networks. Meter and consonance selectively interacted in the caudate nucleus, with greater meter effects during dissonant than consonant music. These results reveal that the basal ganglia, involved both in emotion and rhythm processing, critically contribute to rhythmic entrainment of subcortical brain circuits by music. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhanced Electrical Integration of Engineered Human Myocardium via Intramyocardial versus Epicardial Delivery in Infarcted Rat Hearts.

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Kaytlyn A Gerbin

Full Text Available Cardiac tissue engineering is a promising approach to provide large-scale tissues for transplantation to regenerate the heart after ischemic injury, however, integration with the host myocardium will be required to achieve electromechanical benefits. To test the ability of engineered heart tissues to electrically integrate with the host, 10 million human embryonic stem cell (hESC-derived cardiomyocytes were used to form either scaffold-free tissue patches implanted on the epicardium or micro-tissue particles (~1000 cells/particle delivered by intramyocardial injection into the left ventricular wall of the ischemia/reperfusion injured athymic rat heart. Results were compared to intramyocardial injection of 10 million dispersed hESC-cardiomyocytes. Graft size was not significantly different between treatment groups and correlated inversely with infarct size. After implantation on the epicardial surface, hESC-cardiac tissue patches were electromechanically active, but they beat slowly and were not electrically coupled to the host at 4 weeks based on ex vivo fluorescent imaging of their graft-autonomous GCaMP3 calcium reporter. Histologically, scar tissue physically separated the patch graft and host myocardium. In contrast, following intramyocardial injection of micro-tissue particles and suspended cardiomyocytes, 100% of the grafts detected by fluorescent GCaMP3 imaging were electrically coupled to the host heart at spontaneous rate and could follow host pacing up to a maximum of 300-390 beats per minute (5-6.5 Hz. Gap junctions between intramyocardial graft and host tissue were identified histologically. The extensive coupling and rapid response rate of the human myocardial grafts after intramyocardial delivery suggest electrophysiological adaptation of hESC-derived cardiomyocytes to the rat heart's pacemaking activity. These data support the use of the rat model for studying electromechanical integration of human cardiomyocytes, and they

Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking.

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Marc Leman

Full Text Available Inspired by a theory of embodied music cognition, we investigate whether music can entrain the speed of beat synchronized walking. If human walking is in synchrony with the beat and all musical stimuli have the same duration and the same tempo, then differences in walking speed can only be the result of music-induced differences in stride length, thus reflecting the vigor or physical strength of the movement. Participants walked in an open field in synchrony with the beat of 52 different musical stimuli all having a tempo of 130 beats per minute and a meter of 4 beats. The walking speed was measured as the walked distance during a time interval of 30 seconds. The results reveal that some music is 'activating' in the sense that it increases the speed, and some music is 'relaxing' in the sense that it decreases the speed, compared to the spontaneous walked speed in response to metronome stimuli. Participants are consistent in their observation of qualitative differences between the relaxing and activating musical stimuli. Using regression analysis, it was possible to set up a predictive model using only four sonic features that explain 60% of the variance. The sonic features capture variation in loudness and pitch patterns at periods of three, four and six beats, suggesting that expressive patterns in music are responsible for the effect. The mechanism may be attributed to an attentional shift, a subliminal audio-motor entrainment mechanism, or an arousal effect, but further study is needed to figure this out. Overall, the study supports the hypothesis that recurrent patterns of fluctuation affecting the binary meter strength of the music may entrain the vigor of the movement. The study opens up new perspectives for understanding the relationship between entrainment and expressiveness, with the possibility to develop applications that can be used in domains such as sports and physical rehabilitation.

Activating and Relaxing Music Entrains the Speed of Beat Synchronized Walking

Science.gov (United States)

Leman, Marc; Moelants, Dirk; Varewyck, Matthias; Styns, Frederik; van Noorden, Leon; Martens, Jean-Pierre

2013-01-01

Inspired by a theory of embodied music cognition, we investigate whether music can entrain the speed of beat synchronized walking. If human walking is in synchrony with the beat and all musical stimuli have the same duration and the same tempo, then differences in walking speed can only be the result of music-induced differences in stride length, thus reflecting the vigor or physical strength of the movement. Participants walked in an open field in synchrony with the beat of 52 different musical stimuli all having a tempo of 130 beats per minute and a meter of 4 beats. The walking speed was measured as the walked distance during a time interval of 30 seconds. The results reveal that some music is ‘activating’ in the sense that it increases the speed, and some music is ‘relaxing’ in the sense that it decreases the speed, compared to the spontaneous walked speed in response to metronome stimuli. Participants are consistent in their observation of qualitative differences between the relaxing and activating musical stimuli. Using regression analysis, it was possible to set up a predictive model using only four sonic features that explain 60% of the variance. The sonic features capture variation in loudness and pitch patterns at periods of three, four and six beats, suggesting that expressive patterns in music are responsible for the effect. The mechanism may be attributed to an attentional shift, a subliminal audio-motor entrainment mechanism, or an arousal effect, but further study is needed to figure this out. Overall, the study supports the hypothesis that recurrent patterns of fluctuation affecting the binary meter strength of the music may entrain the vigor of the movement. The study opens up new perspectives for understanding the relationship between entrainment and expressiveness, with the possibility to develop applications that can be used in domains such as sports and physical rehabilitation. PMID:23874469

Finger-to-beat coordination skill of non-dancers, street dancers, and the world champion of a street-dance competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akito eMiura

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The coordination of body movements to a musical beat is a common feature of many dance styles. However, the auditory-motor coordination skills of dancers remain largely uninvestigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the auditory-motor coordination skills of non-dancers, street dancers, and the winner of a celebrated international street dance competition, while coordinating their rhythmic finger movements to a beat. The beat rate of a metronome increased from 1.0 to 3.7 Hz. The participants were asked to either flex or extend their index fingers on the beat in each condition. Under the extend-on-the-beat condition, both the dancers and non-dancers showed a spontaneous transition from the extend-on-the-beat to the flex-on-the-beat or to a phase wandering pattern. However, the critical frequency at which the transition occurred was significantly higher in the dancers (3.3 Hz than in the non-dancers (2.6 Hz. Under the flex-on-the-beat condition, the dancers were able to maintain their coordination pattern more stably at high beat rates compared to the non-dancers. Furthermore, the world champion matched the timing of movement peak velocity to the beat across the different beat rates. This may give a sense of unity between the movement and the beat for the audience because the peak velocity of the rhythmic movement works as a temporal cue for the audiovisual synchrony perception. These results suggest that the skills of accomplished dancers lie in their small finger movements and that the sensorimotor learning of street dance is characterized by a stabilization of the coordination patterns, including the inhibition of an unintentional transition to other coordination patterns.

Evaluation of the influence of change in heart rate on left ventricular diastolic function indices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Motomasa; Yamagishi, Hiroaki; Seino, Yasuyuki; Odano, Ikuo; Sakai, Kunio; Yamamoto, Tomohiko; Tsuda, Takashi

1988-01-01

In order to assess the influence of change in heart rate on left ventricular diastolic function indices, ECG gated cardiac pool study was performed in 6 patients with implanted programmable AAI pacemakers. Heart rate was changed by atrial pacing from 50 to 120 beats/min, every 10 beats/min. The filling fraction during first third of diastole (1/3FF), the peak filling rate (PFR), mean first third filling rate (1/3FR-mean) and early filling volume ratio (%EFV), being used as the indices of left ventricular diastolic performance, were assessed. In accordance with increase in heart rate, 1/3FF decreased significantly. PFR were fairly stable from 50 to 80 beats/min, but increased significantly from 90 to 120 beats/min. 1/3FR-mean and %EFV did not change significantly, but 1/3FR-mean showed decreasing tendency and %EFV showed increasing tendency as the heart rate was increased. %EFV was more changeable index than other indices among clinical cases. These results indicate that PFR and 1/3FR-mean were appropriate diastolic phase indices at rest. (author)

High beat-to-beat blood pressure variability in atrial fibrillation compared to sinus rhythm.

Science.gov (United States)

Olbers, Joakim; Gille, Adam; Ljungman, Petter; Rosenqvist, Mårten; Östergren, Jan; Witt, Nils

2018-02-07

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, not entirely explained by thromboembolism. The underlying mechanisms for this association are largely unknown. Similarly, high blood pressure (BP) increases the risk for cardiovascular events. Despite this the interplay between AF and BP is insufficiently studied. The purpose of this study was to examine and quantify the beat-to-beat blood pressure variability in patients with AF in comparison to a control group of patients with sinus rhythm. We studied 33 patients - 21 in atrial fibrillation and 12 in sinus rhythm - undergoing routine coronary angiography. Invasive blood pressure was recorded at three locations: radial artery, brachial artery and ascending aorta. Blood pressure variability, defined as average beat-to-beat blood pressure difference, was calculated for systolic and diastolic blood pressure at each site. We observed a significant difference (p blood pressure variability between the atrial fibrillation and sinus rhythm groups at all locations. Systolic blood pressure variability roughly doubled in the atrial fibrillation group compared to the sinus rhythm group (4.9 and 2.4 mmHg respectively). Diastolic beat-to-beat blood pressure variability was approximately 6 times as high in the atrial fibrillation group compared to the sinus rhythm group (7.5 and 1.2 mmHg respectively). No significant difference in blood pressure variability was seen between measurement locations. Beat-to-beat blood pressure variability in patients with atrial fibrillation was substantially higher than in patients with sinus rhythm. Hemodynamic effects of this beat-to-beat variation in blood pressure may negatively affect vascular structure and function, which may contribute to the increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality seen in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Beat-to-beat left ventricular performance in atrial fibrillation: radionuclide assessment with the computerized nuclear probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, J.; Berger, H.J.; Sands, M.J.; Lachman, A.B.; Zaret, B.L.

1983-01-01

There is wide beat-to-beat variability in cycle length and left ventricular performance in patients with atrial fibrillation. In this study, left ventricular ejection fraction and relative left ventricular volumes were evaluated on a beat-to-beat basis with the computerized nuclear probe, an instrument with sufficiently high sensitivity to allow continuous evaluation of the radionuclide time-activity curve. Of 18 patients with atrial fibrillation, 5 had mitral stenosis, 6 had mitral regurgitation, and 7 had coronary artery disease. Fifty consecutive beats were analyzed in each patient. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction ranged from 17 to 51%. There was substantial beat-to-beat variation in cycle length and left ventricular ejection fraction in all patients, including those with marked left ventricular dysfunction. In 14 patients who also underwent multiple gated cardiac blood pool imaging, there was an excellent correlation between mean ejection fraction derived from the nuclear probe and gated ejection fraction obtained by gamma camera imaging (r . 0.90). Based on beat-to-beat analysis, left ventricular function was dependent on relative end-diastolic volume and multiple preceding cycle lengths, but not preceding end-systolic volumes. This study demonstrates that a single value for left ventricular ejection fraction does not adequately characterize left ventricular function in patients with atrial fibrillation. Furthermore, both the mean beat-to-beat and the gated ejection fraction may underestimate left ventricular performance at rest in such patients

Repair of double-chambered right ventricle using right ventricular outflow chamber ventriculotomy via left intercostal thoracotomy under beating heart in two dogs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keiichi Sato

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Double-chambered right ventricle was diagnosed in two dogs, one of them a pup and the other full grown. Both dogs underwent surgery using the novel approach of right ventricular outflow chamber ventriculotomy via left intercostal thoracotomy with moderate hypothermia and moderate pump flow cardiopulmonary bypass under beating heart. No major complication occurred during and after the operation. On continuous wave Doppler echocardiography, the pressure gradient across the stenosis in the right ventricle decreased from 130 mmHg pre-operatively to 40 mmHg post-operatively at 1 year 5 months in the adult dog, and from 209 mmHg pre-operatively to 47 mmHg post-operatively at 1 year in the pup. Both dogs are active without clinical signs.

moBeat: Using interactive music to guide and motivate users during aerobic exercising.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Vlist, Bram; Bartneck, Christoph; Mäueler, Sebastian

2011-06-01

An increasing number of people are having trouble staying fit and maintaining a healthy bodyweight because of lack of physical activity. Getting people to exercise is crucial. However, many struggle with developing healthy exercising habits, due to hurdles like having to leave the house and the boring character of endurance exercising. In this paper, we report on a design project that explores the use of audio to motivate and provide feedback and guidance during exercising in a home environment. We developed moBeat, a system that provides intensity-based coaching while exercising, giving real-time feedback on training pace and intensity by means of interactive music. We conducted a within-subject comparison between our moBeat system and a commercially available heart rate watch. With moBeat, we achieved a comparable success rate: our system has a significant, positive influence on intrinsic motivation and attentional focus, but we did not see significant differences with regard to either perceived exertion or effectiveness. Although promising, future research is needed.

Effect of etorphine on the spontaneous and field stimulation-mediated release of norepinephrine and total tritium from perfused guinea pig hearts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1986-01-01

Isolated guinea pig hearts were prelabeled with 3 H-norepinephrine ( 3 H-NE) and perfused with modified Krebs-bicarbonate solution at 37 0 C. Spontaneous release of total 3 H and field stimulation-mediated (supramax. V., 1 Hz, 2 msec duration for a total of 60 pulses) overflow of NE and 3 H-NE were measured in the absence or presence of etorphine. Etorphine (0.1 - 100 μM) was added to the perfusion fluid 15 min. before the stimulation. To study the effect of etorphine on spontaneous release of total 3 H, etorphine was added cumulatively without stimulation. Etorphine (1.0 - 100 μM) caused a significant decrease in the stimulation-mediated overflow of NE and the inhibition was dose-related. The overflow of NE was 5.1 +/- 0.3 ng in the absence and 4.0 +/- 0.2 ng in the presence of etorphine (1.0 μM). Low concentrations of etorphine (0.1 - 1.0 μM) had no effect on the spontaneous release of total 3 H while 10 μM and 100 μM caused a 3 and 6-fold increase respectively. The results show that etorphine inhibited neuronal release of NE at a dose which had no effect on spontaneous release. It is suggested that opiate receptors might be involved in the prejunctional modulation of the release of NE in the guinea pig heart

Adaptive control with self-tuning for non-invasive beat-by-beat blood pressure measurement.

Science.gov (United States)

Nogawa, Masamichi; Ogawa, Mitsuhiro; Yamakoshi, Takehiro; Tanaka, Shinobu; Yamakoshi, Ken-ichi

2011-01-01

Up to now, we have successfully carried out the non-invasive beat-by-beat measurement of blood pressure (BP) in the root of finger, superficial temporal and radial artery based on the volume-compensation technique with reasonable accuracy. The present study concerns with improvement of control method for this beat-by-beat BP measurement. The measurement system mainly consists of a partial pressurization cuff with a pair of LED and photo-diode for the detection of arterial blood volume, and a digital self-tuning control method. Using healthy subjects, the performance and accuracy of this system were evaluated through comparison experiments with the system using a conventional empirically tuned PID controller. The significant differences of BP measured in finger artery were not showed in systolic (SBP), p=0.52, and diastolic BP (DBP), p=0.35. With the advantage of the adaptive control with self-tuning method, which can tune the control parameters without disturbing the control system, the application area of the non-invasive beat-by-beat measurement method will be broadened.

Heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity in bilateral lung transplant recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Fontolliet, Timothée; Gianella, Pietro; Pichot, Vincent; Barthélémy, Jean-Claude; Gasche-Soccal, Paola; Ferretti, Guido; Lador, Frédéric

2018-01-09

The effects of lung afferents denervation on cardiovascular regulation can be assessed on bilateral lung transplantation patients. The high-frequency component of heart rate variability is known to be synchronous with breathing frequency. Then, if heart beat is neurally modulated by breathing frequency, we may expect disappearance of high frequency of heart rate variability in bilateral lung transplantation patients. On 11 patients and 11 matching healthy controls, we measured R-R interval (electrocardiography), blood pressure (Portapres ® ) and breathing frequency (ultrasonic device) in supine rest, during 10-min free breathing, 10-min cadenced breathing (0·25 Hz) and 5-min handgrip. We analysed heart rate variability and spontaneous variability of arterial blood pressure, by power spectral analysis, and baroreflex sensitivity, by the sequence method. Concerning heart rate variability, with respect to controls, transplant recipients had lower total power and lower low- and high-frequency power. The low-frequency/high-frequency ratio was higher. Concerning systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure variability, transplant recipients had lower total power (only for cadenced breathing), low frequency and low-frequency/high-frequency ratio during free and cadenced breathing. Baroreflex sensitivity was decreased. Denervated lungs induced strong heart rate variability reduction. The higher low-frequency/high-frequency ratio suggested that the total power drop was mostly due to high frequency. These results support the hypothesis that neural modulation from lung afferents contributes to the high frequency of heart rate variability. © 2018 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF FINDING ORGANS FOR TRANSPLANTATION AMONG NON-HEART BEATING DONORS UNDER UNSUCCESSFUL EXTRACORPOREAL RESUSCITATION (LITERATURE REVIEW)].

Science.gov (United States)

Khodeli, N; Chkhaidze, Z; Partsakhashvili, D; Pilishvili, O; Kordzaia, D

2016-05-01

The number of patients who are in the "Transplant Waiting List" is increasing each year. At the same time, as a result of the significant shortage of donor organs, part of the patients dies without waiting till surgery. According to the Maastricht classification for non-heart beating donors, the patients, who had cardiac arrest outside the hospital (in the uncontrolled by medical staff conditions) should be considered as a potential donors of category II. For these patients, the most effective resuscitation is recommended. The extracorporeal life support (ECLS) considers the connection to a special artificial perfusion system for the restoration of blood circulation out-of-hospital with further transportation to the hospital. If restoration of independent cardiac activity does not occur, in spite of the full range of resuscitative measures, these patients may be regarded as potential donors. The final decision should be received in the hospital, by the council of physicians, lawyers and patient's family members. Until the final decision, the prolongation of ECLS and maintaining adequate systemic and organic circulation is recommended.

Profitability of our lung retrieval program from non heart beating donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández, Elena; Calatayud, Joaquín; Jarabo, José Ramón; Hernando, Florentino; Rodríguez, Olga; Gómez, Ana María; Soria, Ana; Del Río, Francisco

2009-02-01

In 2002 the first lung transplant from non heart beating (NHB) donors took place in Madrid. The objective of this study was to analyse our Maastricht type I NHB lung donors retrieval program and to check out its profitability. Based on the NHB lung donors retrieval program carried out at Hospital Clínico San Carlos (Madrid) in association with Hospital Puerta de Hierro (Madrid), all lung donors from the beginning of the program from June 2002 to December 2006 have been analysed. When faced with a case of sudden death, advanced life support manoeuvres are initiated before 15 min. If the patient meets a given set of criteria, code 0/9 is activated. Arrival time to the hospital cannot exceed 90 min. Femoral artery and vein are cannulated, extracorporeal circulation is started and lungs are preserved. After the relatives' and judicial authorisation lungs are retrieved. Out of a total of 322 occurrences of code 0/9, 43 lung retrievals and 25 implants were reported. A total of 95% of donors were male, with an average age of 41 years and 91% with blood group A or O. 2004 saw the highest number of retrievals (14). January, May and December showed the highest number of retrievals. Incidence of sudden deaths was higher from 7 to 10 a.m. and from 7 to 10 p.m. Twenty-three implants at Hospital Puerta de Hierro and three more at Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla (Santander) were reported. A considerable amount of preserved lungs, valid for transplant, were not retrieved because of a lack of an appropriate recipient at the time. A total of 58.1% of preserved lungs were implanted. The ratio of obtained lungs was 11.4% of actual donors and 7.7% of total occurrences. However, this percentage could have been higher if we take into account the number of valid lungs that were not transplanted because of the lack of recipients.

Respiratory variations in the photoplethysmographic waveform: acute hypovolaemia during spontaneous breathing is not detected

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, Lena; Goscinski, Tomas; Lindenberger, Marcus; Länne, Toste; Johansson, Anders

2010-01-01

Recent studies using photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals from pulse oximeters have shown potential to assess hypovolaemia during spontaneous breathing. This signal is heavily filtered and reports are based on respiratory variations in the small pulse synchronous variation of PPG. There are stronger respiratory variations such as respiratory synchronous variation (PPGr) in the baseline of the unfiltered PPG signal. We hypothesized that PPGr would increase during hypovolaemia during spontaneous breathing. Hemodynamic and respiratory data were recorded together with PPG infrared signals from the finger, ear and forearm from 12 healthy male volunteers, at rest and during hypovolaemia created by the application of a lower body negative pressure (LBNP) of 15, 30 and 60 cmH 2 O. Hemodynamic and respiratory values changed significantly. From rest to the LBNP of 60 cmH 2 O systolic blood pressure fell from median (IQR) 116 (16) to 101 (23) mmHg, the heart rate increased from 58 (16) to 73 (16) beats min −1 , and the respiratory rate increased from 9.5 (2.0) to 11.5 (4.0) breaths min −1 . The amplitude of PPGr did not change significantly at any measurement site. The strongest effect was seen at the ear, where the LBNP of 60 cmH 2 O gave an amplitude increase from 1.0 (0.0) to 1.31 (2.24) AU. PPG baseline respiratory variations cannot be used for detecting hypovolaemia in spontaneously breathing subjects

Reduction in 2-year recurrent risk score and improved behavioral outcomes after participation in the "Beating Heart Problems" self-management program: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Barbara M; Worcester, Marian U C; Higgins, Rosemary O; Elliott, Peter C; Le Grande, Michael R; Mitchell, Fiona; Navaratnam, Hema; Turner, Alyna; Grigg, Leeanne; Tatoulis, James; Goble, Alan J

2013-01-01

While behavior change can improve risk factor profiles and prognosis after an acute cardiac event, patients need assistance to achieve sustained lifestyle changes. We developed the "Beating Heart Problems" cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing program to support patients to develop behavioral and cognitive self-management skills. We report the results of a randomized controlled trial of the program. Patients (n = 275) consecutively admitted to 2 Melbourne hospitals after acute myocardial infarction (32%), coronary artery bypass graft surgery (40%), or percutaneous coronary intervention (28%) were randomized to treatment (T; n = 139) or control (C; n = 136). T group patients were invited to participate in the 8-week group-based program. Patients underwent risk factor screening 6 weeks after hospital discharge (before randomization) and again 4 and 12 months later. At both the followups, T and C groups were compared on 2-year risk of a recurrent cardiac event and key behavioral outcomes, using both intention-to-treat and "completers only" analyses. Patients ranged in age from 32 to 75 years (mean = 59.0 years; SD - 9.1 years). Most patients (86%) were men. Compared with the C group patients, T group patients tended toward greater reduction in 2-year risk, at both the 4- and 12-month followups. Significant benefits in dietary fat intake and functional capacity were also evident. The "Beating Heart Problems" program showed modest but important benefit over usual care at 4 and, to a lesser extent, 12 months. Modifications to the program such as the inclusion of booster sessions and translation to online delivery are likely to improve outcomes.

Generation of the quadripartite Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger entangled state in quantum beat lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Fei

2013-01-01

In this letter, a scheme is presented to obtain quadripartite Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) entanglement via quantum beats in a four-level diamond configuration atomic system. When the top and the ground states are initially prepared in a coherent superposition, the four quantized fields coupling with four dipole-allowed transitions can be correlated with each other by using a strong microwave field to drive the dipole-forbidden transition. It is the combined effect of atomic coherence-controlled correlated-spontaneous emission and double quantum beats that results in the quadripartite GHZ-type entanglement. Our numerical results show that the quadripartite entanglement, which can be controlled effectively by varying the amplitude and phase of the microwave field, occurs in a very wide parameter range. In addition, using input–output theory, we find that the output quadripartite entanglement is robust against thermal fluctuations, which may be useful for long-distance quantum communications. (letter)

Heart rate detection from an electronic weighing scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

González-Landaeta, R; Casas, O; Pallàs-Areny, R

2008-01-01

We propose a novel technique for beat-to-beat heart rate detection based on the ballistocardiographic (BCG) force signal from a subject standing on a common electronic weighing scale. The detection relies on sensing force variations related to the blood acceleration in the aorta, works even if wearing footwear and does not require any sensors attached to the body because it uses the load cells in the scale. We have devised an approach to estimate the sensitivity and frequency response of three commercial weighing scales to assess their capability to detect the BCG force signal. Static sensitivities ranged from 490 nV V −1 N −1 to 1670 nV V −1 N −1 . The frequency response depended on the subject's mass but it was broad enough for heart rate estimation. We have designed an electronic pulse detection system based on off-the-shelf integrated circuits to sense heart-beat-related force variations of about 0.24 N. The signal-to-noise ratio of the main peaks of the force signal detected was higher than 30 dB. A Bland–Altman plot was used to compare the RR time intervals estimated from the ECG and BCG force signals for 17 volunteers. The error was ±21 ms, which makes the proposed technique suitable for short-term monitoring of the heart rate

Prognostic Significance of Blood Pressure Variability on Beat-to-Beat Monitoring After Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Alastair J S; Mazzucco, Sara; Li, Linxin; Rothwell, Peter M

2018-01-01

Visit-to-visit and day-to-day blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) predict an increased risk of cardiovascular events but only reflect 1 form of BPV. Beat-to-beat BPV can be rapidly assessed and might also be predictive. In consecutive patients within 6 weeks of transient ischemic attack or nondisabling stroke (Oxford Vascular Study), BPV (coefficient of variation) was measured beat-to-beat for 5 minutes (Finometer), day-to-day for 1 week on home monitoring (3 readings, 3× daily), and on awake ambulatory BP monitoring. BPV after 1-month standard treatment was related (Cox proportional hazards) to recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events for 2 to 5 years, adjusted for mean systolic BP. Among 520 patients, 26 had inadequate beat-to-beat recordings, and 22 patients were in atrial fibrillation. Four hundred five patients had all forms of monitoring. Beat-to-beat BPV predicted recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events independently of mean systolic BP (hazard ratio per group SD, stroke: 1.47 [1.12-1.91]; P =0.005; cardiovascular events: 1.41 [1.08-1.83]; P =0.01), including after adjustment for age and sex (stroke: 1.47 [1.12-1.92]; P =0.005) and all risk factors (1.40 [1.00-1.94]; P =0.047). Day-to-day BPV was less strongly associated with stroke (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.29 [0.97-1.71]; P =0.08) but similarly with cardiovascular events (1.41 [1.09-1.83]; P =0.009). BPV on awake ambulatory BP monitoring was nonpredictive (stroke: 0.89 [0.59-1.35]; P =0.59; cardiovascular events: 1.08 [0.77-1.52]; P =0.65). Despite a weak correlation ( r =0.119; P =0.02), beat-to-beat BPV was associated with risk of recurrent stroke independently of day-to-day BPV (1.41 [1.05-1.90]; P =0.02). Beat-to-beat BPV predicted recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events, independently of mean systolic BP and risk factors but short-term BPV on ambulatory BP monitoring did not. Beat-to-beat BPV may be a useful additional marker of cardiovascular risk. © 2017 The Authors.

Murine "cardiospheres" are not a source of stem cells with cardiomyogenic potential

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Ditte Caroline; Andersen, Peter; Schneider, Mikael

2009-01-01

that injured heart tissue may be repaired by stem cell therapy using autologous CS-derived cells. By further examining CSs from the original CS protocol using immunofluorescence, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and microscopic analysis, we here report a more mundane result......Recent remarkable studies have reported that clonogenic putative cardiac stem cells (CSCs) with cardiomyogenic potential migrate from heart tissue biopsies during ex vivo culture, and that these CSCs self-organize into spontaneously beating cardiospheres (CSs). Such data have provided clear promise......: that spontaneously beating CSs from neonatal rats likely consist of contaminating myocardial tissue fragments. Thus, filtering away these tissue fragments resulted in CSs without cardiomyogenic potential. Similar data were obtained with CSs derived from neonatal mice as wells as adult rats/mice. Additionally, using...

A comparison of auditory evoked potentials to acoustic beats and to binaural beats

OpenAIRE

Pratt, H; Starr, A; Michalewski, HJ; Dimitrijevic, A; Bleich, N; Mittelman, N

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare cortical brain responses evoked by amplitude modulated acoustic beats of 3 and 6 Hz in tones of 250 and 1000 Hz with those evoked by their binaural beats counterparts in unmodulated tones to indicate whether the cortical processes involved differ. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to 3- and 6-Hz acoustic and binaural beats in 2000 ms duration 250 and 1000 Hz tones presented with approximately 1 s intervals. Latency, amplitude and source cur...

The Harvard Beat Assessment Test (H-BAT): a battery for assessing beat perception and production and their dissociation

Science.gov (United States)

Fujii, Shinya; Schlaug, Gottfried

2013-01-01

Humans have the abilities to perceive, produce, and synchronize with a musical beat, yet there are widespread individual differences. To investigate these abilities and to determine if a dissociation between beat perception and production exists, we developed the Harvard Beat Assessment Test (H-BAT), a new battery that assesses beat perception and production abilities. H-BAT consists of four subtests: (1) music tapping test (MTT), (2) beat saliency test (BST), (3) beat interval test (BIT), and (4) beat finding and interval test (BFIT). MTT measures the degree of tapping synchronization with the beat of music, whereas BST, BIT, and BFIT measure perception and production thresholds via psychophysical adaptive stair-case methods. We administered the H-BAT on thirty individuals and investigated the performance distribution across these individuals in each subtest. There was a wide distribution in individual abilities to tap in synchrony with the beat of music during the MTT. The degree of synchronization consistency was negatively correlated with thresholds in the BST, BIT, and BFIT: a lower degree of synchronization was associated with higher perception and production thresholds. H-BAT can be a useful tool in determining an individual's ability to perceive and produce a beat within a single session. PMID:24324421

The Harvard Beat Assessment Test (H-BAT): a battery for assessing beat perception and production and their dissociation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujii, Shinya; Schlaug, Gottfried

2013-01-01

Humans have the abilities to perceive, produce, and synchronize with a musical beat, yet there are widespread individual differences. To investigate these abilities and to determine if a dissociation between beat perception and production exists, we developed the Harvard Beat Assessment Test (H-BAT), a new battery that assesses beat perception and production abilities. H-BAT consists of four subtests: (1) music tapping test (MTT), (2) beat saliency test (BST), (3) beat interval test (BIT), and (4) beat finding and interval test (BFIT). MTT measures the degree of tapping synchronization with the beat of music, whereas BST, BIT, and BFIT measure perception and production thresholds via psychophysical adaptive stair-case methods. We administered the H-BAT on thirty individuals and investigated the performance distribution across these individuals in each subtest. There was a wide distribution in individual abilities to tap in synchrony with the beat of music during the MTT. The degree of synchronization consistency was negatively correlated with thresholds in the BST, BIT, and BFIT: a lower degree of synchronization was associated with higher perception and production thresholds. H-BAT can be a useful tool in determining an individual's ability to perceive and produce a beat within a single session.

Sympathetic neurons modulate the beat rate of pluripotent cell-derived cardiomyocytes in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeuchi, Akimasa; Shimba, Kenta; Mori, Masahide; Takayama, Yuzo; Moriguchi, Hiroyuki; Kotani, Kiyoshi; Lee, Jong-Kook; Noshiro, Makoto; Jimbo, Yasuhiko

2012-12-01

Although stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes have great potential for the therapy of heart failure, it is unclear whether their function after grafting can be controlled by the host sympathetic nervous system, a component of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Here we demonstrate the formation of functional connections between rat sympathetic superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons and pluripotent (P19.CL6) cell-derived cardiomyocytes (P19CMs) in compartmentalized co-culture, achieved using photolithographic microfabrication techniques. Formation of synapses between sympathetic neurons and P19CMs was confirmed by immunostaining with antibodies against β-3 tubulin, synapsin I and cardiac troponin-I. Changes in the beat rate of P19CMs were triggered after electrical stimulation of the co-cultured SCG neurons, and were affected by the pulse frequency of the electrical stimulation. Such changes in the beat rate were prevented when propranolol, a β-adrenoreceptor antagonist, was added to the culture medium. These results suggest that the beat rate of differentiated cardiomyocytes can be modulated by electrical stimulation of connected sympathetic neurons.

The relationship between phase and heart rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Underwood, S.R.; Walton, S.; Brown, N.J.G.; Laming, P.J.; Ell, P.J.; Emanuel, R.W.; Swanton, R.H.

1984-01-01

The Fourier phase image is used in rest and stress radionuclide angiocardiography to assess the timing of ventricular wall motion in a regional fashion, and areas of high phase are taken to reprensent areas of delayed contraction. However, phase increases with heart rate and this can make interpretation difficult. This study investigates the relationship between phase and heart rate. A heterogenous group of 43 subjects was studied by ECG-gated equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography, all of the subjects having normal extent of left ventricular wall motion as judged by normal ejection fraction and normal amplitude image. Mean left ventricular phase correlated well with mean time of end systole (r=0.92), but there was no correlation with time of end diastole.Thus phase reflects the time of end systole as a proportion of cycle length and should be linearly related to heart rate provided the duration of systole is unchanged. In 28 normal subjects mean left ventricular phase correlated linearly with resting rate (r=0.91), and when exercised the relationship was maintained up to 90 beats per minute. Above this rate the increases were less marked as the duration of systole shortened. The same was true in 4 subjects paced at different rates. Mean resting heart rate in the normal subjects was 70 beats per minute and correcting phase linearly to rate 70 did not change mean left ventricular phase but did decrease the standard deviation from 18 degree to 12 degree. It is concluded that correcting phase for heart rate below 90 beats per minute will increase the sensitivity of the phase image to abnormalities of the timing of ventricular contraction. This correction should be appropriate in resting, isometric exercise, and cold pressor studies but because of the higher heart rates involved will not be appropriate for bicycle exercise. (Author)

The timing statistics of spontaneous calcium release in cardiac myocytes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mesfin Asfaw

Full Text Available A variety of cardiac arrhythmias are initiated by a focal excitation that disrupts the regular beating of the heart. In some cases it is known that these excitations are due to calcium (Ca release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR via propagating subcellular Ca waves. However, it is not understood what are the physiological factors that determine the timing of these excitations at both the subcellular and tissue level. In this paper we apply analytic and numerical approaches to determine the timing statistics of spontaneous Ca release (SCR in a simplified model of a cardiac myocyte. In particular, we compute the mean first passage time (MFPT to SCR, in the case where SCR is initiated by spontaneous Ca sparks, and demonstrate that this quantity exhibits either an algebraic or exponential dependence on system parameters. Based on this analysis we identify the necessary requirements so that SCR occurs on a time scale comparable to the cardiac cycle. Finally, we study how SCR is synchronized across many cells in cardiac tissue, and identify a quantitative measure that determines the relative timing of SCR in an ensemble of cells. Using this approach we identify the physiological conditions so that cell-to-cell variations in the timing of SCR is small compared to the typical duration of an SCR event. We argue further that under these conditions inward currents due to SCR can summate and generate arrhythmogenic triggered excitations in cardiac tissue.

Electrocardiogram application based on heart rate variability ontology and fuzzy markup language

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, M.-H.; Lee, C.-S.; Acampora, G.; Loia, V.; Gacek, A.; Pedrycz, W.

2011-01-01

The electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is adopted extensively as a low-cost diagnostic procedure to provide information concerning the healthy status of the heart. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a physiological phenomenon where the time interval between heart beats varies. It is measured by the

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived beating cardiac tissues on paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li; Xu, Cong; Zhu, Yujuan; Yu, Yue; Sun, Ning; Zhang, Xiaoqing; Feng, Ke; Qin, Jianhua

2015-11-21

There is a growing interest in using paper as a biomaterial scaffold for cell-based applications. In this study, we made the first attempt to fabricate a paper-based array for the culture, proliferation, and direct differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into functional beating cardiac tissues and create "a beating heart on paper." This array was simply constructed by binding a cured multi-well polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold with common, commercially available paper substrates. Three types of paper material (print paper, chromatography paper and nitrocellulose membrane) were tested for adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of human-derived iPSCs. We found that hiPSCs grew well on these paper substrates, presenting a three-dimensional (3D)-like morphology with a pluripotent property. The direct differentiation of human iPSCs into functional cardiac tissues on paper was also achieved using our modified differentiation approach. The cardiac tissue retained its functional activities on the coated print paper and chromatography paper with a beating frequency of 40-70 beats per min for up to three months. Interestingly, human iPSCs could be differentiated into retinal pigment epithelium on nitrocellulose membrane under the conditions of cardiac-specific induction, indicating the potential roles of material properties and mechanical cues that are involved in regulating stem cell differentiation. Taken together, these results suggest that different grades of paper could offer great opportunities as bioactive, low-cost, and 3D in vitro platforms for stem cell-based high-throughput drug testing at the tissue/organ level and for tissue engineering applications.

Quantifying Net Synergy/Redundancy of Spontaneous Variability Regulation via Predictability and Transfer Entropy Decomposition Frameworks.

Science.gov (United States)

Porta, Alberto; Bari, Vlasta; De Maria, Beatrice; Takahashi, Anielle C M; Guzzetti, Stefano; Colombo, Riccardo; Catai, Aparecida M; Raimondi, Ferdinando; Faes, Luca

2017-11-01

Objective: Indexes assessing the balance between redundancy and synergy were hypothesized to be helpful in characterizing cardiovascular control from spontaneous beat-to-beat variations of heart period (HP), systolic arterial pressure (SAP), and respiration (R). Methods: Net redundancy/synergy indexes were derived according to predictability and transfer entropy decomposition strategies via a multivariate linear regression approach. Indexes were tested in two protocols inducing modifications of the cardiovascular regulation via baroreflex loading/unloading (i.e., head-down tilt at -25° and graded head-up tilt at 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°, respectively). The net redundancy/synergy of SAP and R to HP and of HP and R to SAP were estimated over stationary sequences of 256 successive values. Results: We found that: 1) regardless of the target (i.e., HP or SAP) redundancy was prevalent over synergy and this prevalence was independent of type and magnitude of the baroreflex challenge; 2) the prevalence of redundancy disappeared when decoupling inputs from output via a surrogate approach; 3) net redundancy was under autonomic control given that it varied in proportion to the vagal withdrawal during graded head-up tilt; and 4) conclusions held regardless of the decomposition strategy. Conclusion: Net redundancy indexes can monitor changes of cardiovascular control from a perspective completely different from that provided by more traditional univariate and multivariate methods. Significance: Net redundancy measures might provide a practical tool to quantify the reservoir of effective cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms sharing causal influences over a target variable. Objective: Indexes assessing the balance between redundancy and synergy were hypothesized to be helpful in characterizing cardiovascular control from spontaneous beat-to-beat variations of heart period (HP), systolic arterial pressure (SAP), and respiration (R). Methods: Net redundancy

Heart-pulse Biofeedback in Playful Exercise using a Wearable device and Modular Interactive Tiles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shimokakimoto, Tomoya; Lund, Henrik Hautop; Suzuki, Kenji

2014-01-01

interactive tiles. The system consists of a wearable device that measures heart-pulse via ear-mounted sensor, and modular interactive tiles which are used for physical rehabilitation exercise through playing a game. The wearable devise enables detection of heart pulse in real-time and therefore provides heart...... beat rate during playful activities, even if the heart pulse wave have motion artifacts. The tiles are designed to build flexible structures and to provide immediate feedback based on the users’ physical interaction with the tiles. We combine the two systems to provide users with heart pulse...... biofeedback in playful exercise. We show that using the developed system it is possible for the users to regulate the exercise intensity on their own with biofeedback, and also possible to analyze exercise activity using number of steps on the tiles and heart beat rate....

Screening for Coronary Heart Disease with Electrocardiography

Science.gov (United States)

... resting and completely still or while you are exercising. ECG is used to see whether the heart is beating and functioning normally. Potential Benefits and Harms The Task Force reviewed evidence to ...

Three-dimensional quantification of cardiac surface motion: a newly developed three-dimensional digital motion-capture and reconstruction system for beating heart surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Toshiki; Omata, Sadao; Odamura, Motoki; Okada, Masahumi; Nakamura, Yoshihiko; Yokoyama, Hitoshi

2006-11-01

This study aimed to evaluate our newly developed 3-dimensional digital motion-capture and reconstruction system in an animal experiment setting and to characterize quantitatively the three regional cardiac surface motions, in the left anterior descending artery, right coronary artery, and left circumflex artery, before and after stabilization using a stabilizer. Six pigs underwent a full sternotomy. Three tiny metallic markers (diameter 2 mm) coated with a reflective material were attached on three regional cardiac surfaces (left anterior descending, right coronary, and left circumflex coronary artery regions). These markers were captured by two high-speed digital video cameras (955 frames per second) as 2-dimensional coordinates and reconstructed to 3-dimensional data points (about 480 xyz-position data per second) by a newly developed computer program. The remaining motion after stabilization ranged from 0.4 to 1.01 mm at the left anterior descending, 0.91 to 1.52 mm at the right coronary artery, and 0.53 to 1.14 mm at the left circumflex regions. Significant differences before and after stabilization were evaluated in maximum moving velocity (left anterior descending 456.7 +/- 178.7 vs 306.5 +/- 207.4 mm/s; right coronary artery 574.9 +/- 161.7 vs 446.9 +/- 170.7 mm/s; left circumflex 578.7 +/- 226.7 vs 398.9 +/- 192.6 mm/s; P heart surface movement. This helps us better understand the complexity of the heart, its motion, and the need for developing a better stabilizer for beating heart surgery.

Auditory driving of the autonomic nervous system: Listening to theta-frequency binaural beats post-exercise increases parasympathetic activation and sympathetic withdrawal.

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McConnell, Patrick A; Froeliger, Brett; Garland, Eric L; Ives, Jeffrey C; Sforzo, Gary A

2014-01-01

Binaural beats are an auditory illusion perceived when two or more pure tones of similar frequencies are presented dichotically through stereo headphones. Although this phenomenon is thought to facilitate state changes (e.g., relaxation), few empirical studies have reported on whether binaural beats produce changes in autonomic arousal. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of binaural beating on autonomic dynamics [heart rate variability (HRV)] during post-exercise relaxation. Subjects (n = 21; 18-29 years old) participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study during which binaural beats and placebo were administered over two randomized and counterbalanced sessions (within-subjects repeated-measures design). At the onset of each visit, subjects exercised for 20-min; post-exercise, subjects listened to either binaural beats ('wide-band' theta-frequency binaural beats) or placebo (carrier tones) for 20-min while relaxing alone in a quiet, low-light environment. Dependent variables consisted of high-frequency (HF, reflecting parasympathetic activity), low-frequency (LF, reflecting sympathetic and parasympathetic activity), and LF/HF normalized powers, as well as self-reported relaxation. As compared to the placebo visit, the binaural-beat visit resulted in greater self-reported relaxation, increased parasympathetic activation and increased sympathetic withdrawal. By the end of the 20-min relaxation period there were no observable differences in HRV between binaural-beat and placebo visits, although binaural-beat associated HRV significantly predicted subsequent reported relaxation. Findings suggest that listening to binaural beats may exert an acute influence on both LF and HF components of HRV and may increase subjective feelings of relaxation.

Auditory driving of the autonomic nervous system: Listening to theta-frequency binaural beats post-exercise increases parasympathetic activation and sympathetic withdrawal

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Patrick eMcConnell

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Binaural beats are an auditory illusion perceived when two or more pure tones of similar frequencies are presented dichotically through stereo headphones. Although this phenomenon is thought to facilitate state changes (e.g., relaxation, few empirical studies have reported on whether binaural beats produce changes in autonomic arousal. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of binaural beating on autonomic dynamics (heart-rate variability (HRV during post-exercise relaxation. Subjects (n = 21; 18-29 years old participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study during which binaural beats and placebo were administered over two randomized and counterbalanced sessions (within-subjects repeated-measures design. At the onset of each visit, subjects exercised for 20-min; post-exercise, subjects listened to either binaural beats (‘wide-band’ theta-frequency binaural beats or placebo (carrier tone for 20-min while relaxing alone in a quiet, low-light environment. Dependent variables consisted of high frequency (HF, reflecting parasympathetic activity, low frequency (LF, reflecting sympathetic and parasympathetic activity and LF/HF normalized powers, as well as self-reported relaxation. As compared to the placebo visit, the binaural beat visit resulted in greater self-reported relaxation, as well as increased parasympathetic activation and sympathetic withdrawal. By the end of the 20-min relaxation period there were no observable differences in HRV between binaural beat and placebo visits, although binaural-beat associated HRV significantly predicted subsequent reported relaxation. Findings suggest that listening to binaural beats may exert an acute influence on both LF and HF components of HRV and may increase subjective feelings of relaxation.

Average beta-beating from random errors

CERN Document Server

Tomas Garcia, Rogelio; Langner, Andy Sven; Malina, Lukas; Franchi, Andrea; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

2018-01-01

The impact of random errors on average β-beating is studied via analytical derivations and simulations. A systematic positive β-beating is expected from random errors quadratic with the sources or, equivalently, with the rms β-beating. However, random errors do not have a systematic effect on the tune.

Effects of a hot-water extract of porcini (Boletus aestivalis) mushrooms on the blood pressure and heart rate of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Midoh, Naoki; Miyazawa, Noriko; Eguchi, Fumio

2013-01-01

The repeated once-daily oral administration of a hot-water extract of porcini, Boletus aestivalis, mushrooms (WEP) to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) for 18 weeks decreased the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate. The WEP administration also decreased blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cre), and triglyceride (TG), and increased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) in the blood, suggesting that WEP improved the status of hypertension, as well as the high heart rate and metabolic abnormalities involved in hypertension.

Biomechanical regulation of in vitro cardiogenesis for tissue-engineered heart repair.

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Zimmermann, Wolfram-Hubertus

2013-01-01

The heart is a continuously pumping organ with an average lifespan of eight decades. It develops from the onset of embryonic cardiogenesis under biomechanical load, performs optimally within a defined range of hemodynamic load, and fails if acutely or chronically overloaded. Unloading of the heart leads to defective cardiogenesis in utero, but can also lead to a desired therapeutic outcome (for example, in patients with heart failure under left ventricular assist device therapy). In light of the well-documented relevance of mechanical loading for cardiac physiology and pathology, it is plausible that tissue engineers have integrated mechanical stimulation regimens into protocols for heart muscle construction. To achieve optimal results, physiological principles of beat-to-beat myocardial loading and unloading should be simulated. In addition, heart muscle engineering, in particular if based on pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, may benefit from staggered tonic loading protocols to simulate viscoelastic properties of the prenatal and postnatal myocardial stroma. This review will provide an overview of heart muscle mechanics, summarize observations on the role of mechanical loading for heart development and postnatal performance, and discuss how physiological loading regimens can be exploited to advance myocardial tissue engineering towards a therapeutic application.

Roles of the creatine kinase system and myoglobin in maintaining energetic state in the working heart

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Beard Daniel A

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The heart is capable of maintaining contractile function despite a transient decrease in blood flow and increase in cardiac ATP demand during systole. This study analyzes a previously developed model of cardiac energetics and oxygen transport to understand the roles of the creatine kinase system and myoglobin in maintaining the ATP hydrolysis potential during beat-to-beat transient changes in blood flow and ATP hydrolysis rate. Results The theoretical investigation demonstrates that elimination of myoglobin only slightly increases the predicted range of oscillation of cardiac oxygenation level during beat-to-beat transients in blood flow and ATP utilization. In silico elimination of myoglobin has almost no impact on the cytoplasmic ATP hydrolysis potential (ΔGATPase. In contrast, disabling the creatine kinase system results in considerable oscillations of cytoplasmic ADP and ATP levels and seriously deteriorates the stability of ΔGATPase in the beating heart. Conclusion The CK system stabilizes ΔGATPase by both buffering ATP and ADP concentrations and enhancing the feedback signal of inorganic phosphate in regulating mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation.

Myofibril-Inducing RNA (MIR is essential for tropomyosin expression and myofibrillogenesis in axolotl hearts

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Lemanski Sharon L

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract The Mexican axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum, carries the naturally-occurring recessive mutant gene 'c' that results in a failure of homozygous (c/c embryos to form hearts that beat because of an absence of organized myofibrils. Our previous studies have shown that a noncoding RNA, Myofibril-Inducing RNA (MIR, is capable of promoting myofibrillogenesis and heart beating in the mutant (c/c axolotls. The present study demonstrates that the MIR gene is essential for tropomyosin (TM expression in axolotl hearts during development. Gene expression studies show that mRNA expression of various tropomyosin isoforms in untreated mutant hearts and in normal hearts knocked down with double-stranded MIR (dsMIR are similar to untreated normal. However, at the protein level, selected tropomyosin isoforms are significantly reduced in mutant and dsMIR treated normal hearts. These results suggest that MIR is involved in controlling the translation or post-translation of various TM isoforms and subsequently of regulating cardiac contractility.

Beat Keeping in a Sea Lion As Coupled Oscillation: Implications for Comparative Understanding of Human Rhythm.

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Rouse, Andrew A; Cook, Peter F; Large, Edward W; Reichmuth, Colleen

2016-01-01

Human capacity for entraining movement to external rhythms-i.e., beat keeping-is ubiquitous, but its evolutionary history and neural underpinnings remain a mystery. Recent findings of entrainment to simple and complex rhythms in non-human animals pave the way for a novel comparative approach to assess the origins and mechanisms of rhythmic behavior. The most reliable non-human beat keeper to date is a California sea lion, Ronan, who was trained to match head movements to isochronous repeating stimuli and showed spontaneous generalization of this ability to novel tempos and to the complex rhythms of music. Does Ronan's performance rely on the same neural mechanisms as human rhythmic behavior? In the current study, we presented Ronan with simple rhythmic stimuli at novel tempos. On some trials, we introduced "perturbations," altering either tempo or phase in the middle of a presentation. Ronan quickly adjusted her behavior following all perturbations, recovering her consistent phase and tempo relationships to the stimulus within a few beats. Ronan's performance was consistent with predictions of mathematical models describing coupled oscillation: a model relying solely on phase coupling strongly matched her behavior, and the model was further improved with the addition of period coupling. These findings are the clearest evidence yet for parity in human and non-human beat keeping and support the view that the human ability to perceive and move in time to rhythm may be rooted in broadly conserved neural mechanisms.

Beat Keeping in a Sea Lion as Coupled Oscillation: Implications for Comparative Understanding of Human Rhythm

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Andrew A Rouse

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Human capacity for entraining movement to external rhythms—i.e., beat keeping—is ubiquitous, but its evolutionary history and neural underpinnings remain a mystery. Recent findings of entrainment to simple and complex rhythms in non-human animals pave the way for a novel comparative approach to assess the origins and mechanisms of rhythmic behavior. The most reliable non-human beat keeper to date is a California sea lion, Ronan, who was trained to match head movements to isochronous repeating stimuli and showed spontaneous generalization of this ability to novel tempos and to the complex rhythms of music. Does Ronan’s performance rely on the same neural mechanisms as human rhythmic behavior? In the current study, we presented Ronan with simple rhythmic stimuli at novel tempos. On some trials, we introduced perturbations, altering either tempo or phase in the middle of a presentation. Ronan quickly adjusted her behavior following all perturbations, recovering her consistent phase and tempo relationships to the stimulus within a few beats. Ronan’s performance was consistent with predictions of mathematical models describing coupled oscillation: a model relying solely on phase coupling strongly matched her behavior, and the model was further improved with the addition of period coupling. These findings are the clearest evidence yet for parity in human and non-human beat keeping and support the view that the human ability to perceive and move in time to rhythm may be rooted in broadly conserved neural mechanisms.

Using a Phototransduction System to Monitor the Isolated Frog Heart

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Stephens, Philip J.

2015-01-01

A simple and inexpensive method of monitoring the movement of an isolated frog heart provides comparable results to those obtained with a force transducer. A commercially available photoresistor is integrated into a Wheatstone bridge circuit, and the output signal is interfaced directly with a recording device. An excised, beating frog heart is…

Aerobic exercise during pregnancy and presence of fetal-maternal heart rate synchronization.

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Peter Van Leeuwen

Full Text Available It has been shown that short-term direct interaction between maternal and fetal heart rates may take place and that this interaction is affected by the rate of maternal respiration. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of maternal aerobic exercise during pregnancy on the occurrence of fetal-maternal heart rate synchronization.In 40 pregnant women at the 36th week of gestation, 21 of whom exercised regularly, we acquired 18 min. RR interval time series obtained simultaneously in the mothers and their fetuses from magnetocardiographic recordings. The time series of the two groups were examined with respect to their heart rate variability, the maternal respiratory rate and the presence of synchronization epochs as determined on the basis of synchrograms. Surrogate data were used to assess whether the occurrence of synchronization was due to chance.In the original data, we found synchronization occurred less often in pregnancies in which the mothers had exercised regularly. These subjects also displayed higher combined fetal-maternal heart rate variability and lower maternal respiratory rates. Analysis of the surrogate data showed shorter epochs of synchronization and a lack of the phase coordination found between maternal and fetal beat timing in the original data.The results suggest that fetal-maternal heart rate coupling is present but generally weak. Maternal exercise has a damping effect on its occurrence, most likely due to an increase in beat-to-beat differences, higher vagal tone and slower breathing rates.

Aerobic exercise during pregnancy and presence of fetal-maternal heart rate synchronization.

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Van Leeuwen, Peter; Gustafson, Kathleen M; Cysarz, Dirk; Geue, Daniel; May, Linda E; Grönemeyer, Dietrich

2014-01-01

It has been shown that short-term direct interaction between maternal and fetal heart rates may take place and that this interaction is affected by the rate of maternal respiration. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of maternal aerobic exercise during pregnancy on the occurrence of fetal-maternal heart rate synchronization. In 40 pregnant women at the 36th week of gestation, 21 of whom exercised regularly, we acquired 18 min. RR interval time series obtained simultaneously in the mothers and their fetuses from magnetocardiographic recordings. The time series of the two groups were examined with respect to their heart rate variability, the maternal respiratory rate and the presence of synchronization epochs as determined on the basis of synchrograms. Surrogate data were used to assess whether the occurrence of synchronization was due to chance. In the original data, we found synchronization occurred less often in pregnancies in which the mothers had exercised regularly. These subjects also displayed higher combined fetal-maternal heart rate variability and lower maternal respiratory rates. Analysis of the surrogate data showed shorter epochs of synchronization and a lack of the phase coordination found between maternal and fetal beat timing in the original data. The results suggest that fetal-maternal heart rate coupling is present but generally weak. Maternal exercise has a damping effect on its occurrence, most likely due to an increase in beat-to-beat differences, higher vagal tone and slower breathing rates.

Aerobic Exercise during Pregnancy and Presence of Fetal-Maternal Heart Rate Synchronization

Science.gov (United States)

Van Leeuwen, Peter; Gustafson, Kathleen M.; Cysarz, Dirk; Geue, Daniel; May, Linda E.; Grönemeyer, Dietrich

2014-01-01

It has been shown that short-term direct interaction between maternal and fetal heart rates may take place and that this interaction is affected by the rate of maternal respiration. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of maternal aerobic exercise during pregnancy on the occurrence of fetal-maternal heart rate synchronization. Methods In 40 pregnant women at the 36th week of gestation, 21 of whom exercised regularly, we acquired 18 min. RR interval time series obtained simultaneously in the mothers and their fetuses from magnetocardiographic recordings. The time series of the two groups were examined with respect to their heart rate variability, the maternal respiratory rate and the presence of synchronization epochs as determined on the basis of synchrograms. Surrogate data were used to assess whether the occurrence of synchronization was due to chance. Results In the original data, we found synchronization occurred less often in pregnancies in which the mothers had exercised regularly. These subjects also displayed higher combined fetal-maternal heart rate variability and lower maternal respiratory rates. Analysis of the surrogate data showed shorter epochs of synchronization and a lack of the phase coordination found between maternal and fetal beat timing in the original data. Conclusion The results suggest that fetal-maternal heart rate coupling is present but generally weak. Maternal exercise has a damping effect on its occurrence, most likely due to an increase in beat-to-beat differences, higher vagal tone and slower breathing rates. PMID:25162592

Investigation of the interaction of radiation and cardiotoxic anticancer agents using a fetal mouse heart organ culture system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimler, B.F.; Rethorst, R.D.; Cox, G.G.

1985-01-01

The fetal mouse heart organ culture was utilized in an attempt to predict the cardiotoxic effects of combinations of radiation, Adriamycin (ADR), and Dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHAQ), antineoplastic agents which have been shown to produce clinical cardiomyopathy. Seventeen-day fetal hearts were removed and placed in a culture system of micro-titer plates. A single heart was placed in each well on a piece of aluminum mesh to keep the heart above the culture medium but bathed by capillary action. The plates were then placed in a 100% oxygen environment at 37 0 C. Treatments were performed on day 1 after culture: radiation doses (Cs-137) of 10, 20, or 40 Gy; drug treatment with 10, 30, or 100 μg/ml of ADR; 5, 20, or 50 μg/ml of DHAQ; and combinations and sequences of drug and radiation. Hearts were checked every day for functional activity as evidenced by a continuous heart beat. Untreated hearts beat rhythmically for up to 9 days; treated hearts stopped beating earlier. Using an endpoint of functional retention time, dose response curves were obtained for all individual agents and for combinations of agents. This system may help to predict the cardiotoxic effects that result from the use of these drugs and radiation. It may also aid in the development of new anthracycline chemotherapeutic agents that lack cardiotoxicity

HEART RATE VARIABILITY CLASSIFICATION USING SADE-ELM CLASSIFIER WITH BAT FEATURE SELECTION

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R Kavitha

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The electrical activity of the human heart is measured by the vital bio medical signal called ECG. This electrocardiogram is employed as a crucial source to gather the diagnostic information of a patient’s cardiopathy. The monitoring function of cardiac disease is diagnosed by documenting and handling the electrocardiogram (ECG impulses. In the recent years many research has been done and developing an enhanced method to identify the risk in the patient’s body condition by processing and analysing the ECG signal. This analysis of the signal helps to find the cardiac abnormalities, arrhythmias, and many other heart problems. ECG signal is processed to detect the variability in heart rhythm; heart rate variability is calculated based on the time interval between heart beats. Heart Rate Variability HRV is measured by the variation in the beat to beat interval. The Heart rate Variability (HRV is an essential aspect to diagnose the properties of the heart. Recent development enhances the potential with the aid of non-linear metrics in reference point with feature selection. In this paper, the fundamental elements are taken from the ECG signal for feature selection process where Bat algorithm is employed for feature selection to predict the best feature and presented to the classifier for accurate classification. The popular machine learning algorithm ELM is taken for classification, integrated with evolutionary algorithm named Self- Adaptive Differential Evolution Extreme Learning Machine SADEELM to improve the reliability of classification. It combines Effective Fuzzy Kohonen clustering network (EFKCN to be able to increase the accuracy of the effect for HRV transmission classification. Hence, it is observed that the experiment carried out unveils that the precision is improved by the SADE-ELM method and concurrently optimizes the computation time.

Analysis of the respiratory component of heart rate variability in the Cururu toad Rhinella schneideri.

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Zena, Lucas A; Leite, Cléo A C; Longhini, Leonardo S; Dias, Daniel P M; da Silva, Glauber S F; Hartzler, Lynn K; Gargaglioni, Luciane H; Bícego, Kênia C

2017-11-23

Beat-to-beat variation in heart rate (f H ) has been used as a tool for elucidating the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation of the heart. A portion of the temporal changes in f H is evidenced by a respiratory influence (cardiorespiratory interaction) on heart rate variability (HRV) with heartbeats increasing and decreasing within a respiratory cycle. Nevertheless, little is known about respiratory effects on HRV in lower vertebrates. By using frequency domain analysis, we provide the first evidence of a ventilatory component in HRV similar to mammalian respiratory sinus arrhythmia in an amphibian, the toad Rhinella schneideri. Increases in the heartbeats arose synchronously with each lung inflation cycle, an intermittent breathing pattern comprised of a series of successive lung inflations. A well-marked peak in the HRV signal matching lung inflation cycle was verified in toads whenever lung inflation cycles exhibit a regular rhythm. The cardiac beat-to-beat variation evoked at the moment of lung inflation accounts for both vagal and sympathetic influences. This cardiorespiratory interaction may arise from interactions between central and peripheral feedback mechanisms governing cardiorespiratory control and may underlie important cardiorespiratory adjustments for gas exchange improvement especially under extreme conditions like low oxygen availability.

Effects of thyroid state on respiration of perfused rat and guinea pig hearts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Read, L.C.; Wallace, P.G.; Berry, M.N.

1987-01-01

The effects of thyroid state on the respiration of the isolated heart were investigated using retrograde perfused rat and guinea pig hearts. In both species, hypothyroidism caused a marked depression in circulating thyroid hormone concentrations and in the respiration of the isolated, retrograde perfused heart. Hypothyroidism was caused by injecting animals with Na 131 I. The effects on myocardial respiration could be attributed to changes in the contraction frequency and in the oxygen consumption per beat, with little contribution from basal respiration. Treatment of animals with thyroxine elevated plasma thyroid hormones to a similar extent in rats and guinea pigs. In the latter, thyroxine treatment was associated with substantial increases in the contraction frequency and the oxygen consumption per beat of the isolated heart. In contrast, only small changes were apparent in the retrograde perfused rat heart, observations that were confirmed in rat hearts perfused at near physiological work loads. It was concluded that rat hearts isolated from normal animals function at near maximal thyroid state, in contrast to the guinea pig heart, which requires higher circulating concentrations of thyroid hormones to attain maximal responses

Comparison of the measurement of heart rate in adult free-range chickens (Gallus domesticus) by auscultation and electrocardiography.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, C F; Gavaghan, B J; McSweeney, D; Powell, V; Lisle, A

2014-12-01

To compare the heart rates of adult free-range chickens (Gallus domesticus) measured by auscultation with a stethoscope with those measured simultaneously using electrocardiography (ECG). With each bird in a standing position, estimation of the heart rate was performed by placing a mark on paper for every 4 beats for roosters and 8 beats for hens as detected by auscultation over 30 s, while simultaneous ECG was performed. Heart rates measured by auscultation showed a high correlation (r = 0.97) with those measured by ECG. There was a high correlation between the heart rates of adult free-range chickens measured by auscultation with a stethoscope and those measured simultaneously using ECG. © 2014 Australian Veterinary Association.

Effect of pre operative heart rate on post spinal hypotension in obsteric patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, S.; Zahoor, M.U.; Zaid, A.Y.; Buland, K.

2010-01-01

The purpose of the study was to determine the association between of preoperative heart rate and post spinal hypotension in women undergoing cesarean section, Two hundred patients undergoing caesarean were included in the study selected on non probability convenience sampling technique, The patients were divided into two groups depending upon their pre operative heart rate. Spinal anesthesia was administered and number of patients developing hypotension was noted. Among 200 patients, who were included in the study; 112 were placed in group A and 88 were placed in group B depending on mean heart rate of 90 beats per minute or less or 91 beats per minute or more respectively. In group A 14 (11.86%) patients developed hypotension where as in group B 28 (31,82%) patients developed hypotension. Pre operative heart rate is significantly associated with post spinal hypotension in obstetric patients undergoing cesarean section. (author)

Heart rate is a marker of amiodarone mortality reduction in severe heart failure. The GESICA-GEMA Investigators. Grupo de Estudio de la Sobrevida en la Insuficiencia Cardiaca en Argentina-Grupo de Estudios Multicéntricos en Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Nul, D R; Doval, H C; Grancelli, H O; Varini, S D; Soifer, S; Perrone, S V; Prieto, N; Scapin, O

1997-05-01

The impact of amiodarone on mortality in patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF) (New York Heart Association functional classes II [advanced], III and IV; left ventricular ejection fraction Insuficiencia Cardiaca en Argentina (GESICA) trial was analyzed in relation to initial mean baseline heart rate (BHR) and its change after 6 months of follow-up. Trials of amiodarone therapy in CHF have produced discordant results, suggesting that the effect is not uniform in all patient subgroups with regard to survival. The present analysis was carried out in 516 patients randomized to receive amiodarone, 300 mg/day (n = 260), or nonantiarrhythmic therapy (n = 256, control group) and followed up for 2 years. Survival was evaluated for patients with a BHR > or = 90 beats/min (control: n = 132; amiodarone: n = 122) and or = 90 beats/min, amiodarone therapy reduced mortality to 38.4% compared with 62.4% in control patients (relative risk [RR] 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.35 to 0.95, p or = 90 beats/min, which was reduced at 6 months. Elevated rest heart rates in severe CHF identify a subgroup of patients who benefit from treatment with amiodarone. Amiodarone-induced heart rate slowing may be an important benefit for patients.

Short-term Effects of High-Dose Caffeine on Cardiac Arrhythmias in Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

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Zuchinali, Priccila; Souza, Gabriela C; Pimentel, Maurício; Chemello, Diego; Zimerman, André; Giaretta, Vanessa; Salamoni, Joyce; Fracasso, Bianca; Zimerman, Leandro I; Rohde, Luis E

2016-12-01

The presumed proarrhythmic action of caffeine is controversial. Few studies have assessed the effect of high doses of caffeine in patients with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction at high risk for ventricular arrhythmias. To compare the effect of high-dose caffeine or placebo on the frequency of supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, both at rest and during a symptom-limited exercise test. Double-blinded randomized clinical trial with a crossover design conducted at the heart failure and cardiac transplant clinic of a tertiary-care university hospital. The trial included patients with chronic heart failure with moderate-to-severe systolic dysfunction (left ventricular ejection fraction capsules, in addition to 5 doses of 100 mL decaffeinated coffee at 1-hour intervals, for a total of 500 mg of caffeine or placebo during a 5-hour protocol. After a 1-week washout period, the protocol was repeated. Number and percentage of ventricular and supraventricular premature beats assessed by continuous electrocardiographic monitoring. We enrolled 51 patients (37 [74%] male; mean [SD] age, 60.6 [10.9] years) with predominantly moderate-to-severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction (mean [SD] left ventricular ejection fraction, 29% [7%]); 31 [61%] had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator device. No significant differences between the caffeine and placebo groups were observed in the number of ventricular (185 vs 239 beats, respectively; P = .47) and supraventricular premature beats (6 vs 6 beats, respectively; P = .44), as well as in couplets, bigeminal cycles, or nonsustained tachycardia during continuous electrocardiographic monitoring. Exercise test-derived variables, such as ventricular and supraventricular premature beats, duration of exercise, estimated peak oxygen consumption, and heart rate, were not influenced by caffeine ingestion. We observed no increases in ventricular premature beats (91 vs 223 vs 207 beats, respectively

Modulations of Heart Rate, ECG, and Cardio-Respiratory Coupling Observed in Polysomnography

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Thomas Penzel

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The cardiac component of cardio-respiratory polysomnography is covered by ECG and heart rate recordings. However their evaluation is often underrepresented in summarizing reports. As complements to EEG, EOG, and EMG, these signals provide diagnostic information for autonomic nervous activity during sleep. This review presents major methodological developments in sleep research regarding heart rate, ECG and cardio-respiratory couplings in a chronological (historical sequence. It presents physiological and pathophysiological insights related to sleep medicine obtained by new technical developments. Recorded nocturnal ECG facilitates conventional heart rate variability analysis, studies of cyclical variations of heart rate, and analysis of ECG waveform. In healthy adults, the autonomous nervous system is regulated in totally different ways during wakefulness, slow-wave sleep, and REM sleep. Analysis of beat-to-beat heart-rate variations with statistical methods enables us to estimate sleep stages based on the differences in autonomic nervous system regulation. Furthermore, up to some degree, it is possible to track transitions from wakefulness to sleep by analysis of heart-rate variations. ECG and heart rate analysis allow assessment of selected sleep disorders as well. Sleep disordered breathing can be detected reliably by studying cyclical variation of heart rate combined with respiration-modulated changes in ECG morphology (amplitude of R wave and T wave.

Modulations of Heart Rate, ECG, and Cardio-Respiratory Coupling Observed in Polysomnography.

Science.gov (United States)

Penzel, Thomas; Kantelhardt, Jan W; Bartsch, Ronny P; Riedl, Maik; Kraemer, Jan F; Wessel, Niels; Garcia, Carmen; Glos, Martin; Fietze, Ingo; Schöbel, Christoph

2016-01-01

The cardiac component of cardio-respiratory polysomnography is covered by ECG and heart rate recordings. However, their evaluation is often underrepresented in summarizing reports. As complements to EEG, EOG, and EMG, these signals provide diagnostic information for autonomic nervous activity during sleep. This review presents major methodological developments in sleep research regarding heart rate, ECG, and cardio-respiratory couplings in a chronological (historical) sequence. It presents physiological and pathophysiological insights related to sleep medicine obtained by new technical developments. Recorded nocturnal ECG facilitates conventional heart rate variability (HRV) analysis, studies of cyclical variations of heart rate, and analysis of ECG waveform. In healthy adults, the autonomous nervous system is regulated in totally different ways during wakefulness, slow-wave sleep, and REM sleep. Analysis of beat-to-beat heart-rate variations with statistical methods enables us to estimate sleep stages based on the differences in autonomic nervous system regulation. Furthermore, up to some degree, it is possible to track transitions from wakefulness to sleep by analysis of heart-rate variations. ECG and heart rate analysis allow assessment of selected sleep disorders as well. Sleep disordered breathing can be detected reliably by studying cyclical variation of heart rate combined with respiration-modulated changes in ECG morphology (amplitude of R wave and T wave).

Calcium-dependent arrhythmias in transgenic mice with heart failure.

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London, Barry; Baker, Linda C; Lee, Joon S; Shusterman, Vladimir; Choi, Bum-Rak; Kubota, Toru; McTiernan, Charles F; Feldman, Arthur M; Salama, Guy

2003-02-01

Transgenic mice overexpressing the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha (TNF-alpha mice) in the heart develop a progressive heart failure syndrome characterized by biventricular dilatation, decreased ejection fraction, atrial and ventricular arrhythmias on ambulatory telemetry monitoring, and decreased survival compared with nontransgenic littermates. Programmed stimulation in vitro with single extra beats elicits reentrant ventricular arrhythmias in TNF-alpha (n = 12 of 13 hearts) but not in control hearts. We performed optical mapping of voltage and Ca(2+) in isolated perfused ventricles of TNF-alpha mice to study the mechanisms that lead to the initiation and maintenance of the arrhythmias. When compared with controls, hearts from TNF-alpha mice have prolonged of action potential durations (action potential duration at 90% repolarization: 23 +/- 2 ms, n = 7, vs. 18 +/- 1 ms, n = 5; P < 0.05), no increased dispersion of refractoriness between apex and base, elevated diastolic and depressed systolic [Ca(2+)], and prolonged Ca(2+) transients (72 +/- 6 ms, n = 10, vs. 54 +/- 5 ms, n = 8; P < 0.01). Premature beats have diminished action potential amplitudes and conduct in a slow, heterogeneous manner. Lowering extracellular [Ca(2+)] normalizes conduction and prevents inducible arrhythmias. Thus both action potential prolongation and abnormal Ca(2+) handling may contribute to the initiation of reentrant arrhythmias in this heart failure model by mechanisms distinct from enhanced dispersion of refractoriness or triggered activity.

Classic electrocardiogram-based and mobile technology derived approaches to heart rate variability are not equivalent.

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Guzik, Przemyslaw; Piekos, Caroline; Pierog, Olivia; Fenech, Naiman; Krauze, Tomasz; Piskorski, Jaroslaw; Wykretowicz, Andrzej

2018-05-01

We compared classic ECG-derived versus a mobile approach to heart rate variability (HRV) measurement. 29 young adult healthy volunteers underwent a simultaneous recording of heart rate using an ECG and a chest heart rate monitor at supine rest, during mental stress and active standing. Mean RR interval, Standard Deviation of Normal-to-Normal (SDNN) of RR intervals, and Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences (RMSSD) between RR intervals were computed in 168 pairs of 5-minute epochs by in-house software on a PC (only sinus beats) and by mobile application "ELITEHRV" on a smartphone (no beat type identification). ECG analysis showed that 33.9% of the recordings contained at least one non-sinus beat or artefact, the mobile app did not report this. The mean RR intervals were significantly longer (p = 0.0378), while SDNN (p = 0.0001) and RMSSD (p = 0.0199) were smaller for the mobile approach. Measures of identical HRV parameters by ECG-based and mobile approaches are not equivalent. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Imaging cardiac activation sequence during ventricular tachycardia in a canine model of nonischemic heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Chengzong; Pogwizd, Steven M; Yu, Long; Zhou, Zhaoye; Killingsworth, Cheryl R; He, Bin

2015-01-15

Noninvasive cardiac activation imaging of ventricular tachycardia (VT) is important in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias in heart failure (HF) patients. This study investigated the ability of the three-dimensional cardiac electrical imaging (3DCEI) technique for characterizing the activation patterns of spontaneously occurring and norepinephrine (NE)-induced VTs in a newly developed arrhythmogenic canine model of nonischemic HF. HF was induced by aortic insufficiency followed by aortic constriction in three canines. Up to 128 body-surface ECGs were measured simultaneously with bipolar recordings from up to 232 intramural sites in a closed-chest condition. Data analysis was performed on the spontaneously occurring VTs (n=4) and the NE-induced nonsustained VTs (n=8) in HF canines. Both spontaneously occurring and NE-induced nonsustained VTs initiated by a focal mechanism primarily from the subendocardium, but occasionally from the subepicardium of left ventricle. Most focal initiation sites were located at apex, right ventricular outflow tract, and left lateral wall. The NE-induced VTs were longer, more rapid, and had more focal sites than the spontaneously occurring VTs. Good correlation was obtained between imaged activation sequence and direct measurements (averaged correlation coefficient of ∼0.70 over 135 VT beats). The reconstructed initiation sites were ∼10 mm from measured initiation sites, suggesting good localization in such a large animal model with cardiac size similar to a human. Both spontaneously occurring and NE-induced nonsustained VTs had focal initiation in this canine model of nonischemic HF. 3DCEI is feasible to image the activation sequence and help define arrhythmia mechanism of nonischemic HF-associated VTs. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Clinical study of Whole Heart MRCA. Evaluation of acquisition method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwai, Mitsuhiro; Tateishi, Toshiki; Takeda, Soji; Hayashi, Ryuji

2006-01-01

In CT coronary angiography (CTCA), image reconstruction is performed using the optimal phase with either the relative or the absolute delaying methods. Whole Heart MRCA is generally considered to set up the signal acquisition time when is only the middle-diastolic phase in the standstill state of the right coronary artery per cardiac beat as the conventional method. However, in the case of high cardiac beats, such as arrhythmia respiratory instability, etc., image acquisition can take long time and a good quality image may not be maintained. We use not only the middle-diastolic acquisition (conventional method) but also the systolic phase acquisition (systolic phase method) and the shortening method (total acquisition shortening (TASH) method). The aim of this study was to examine the depiction ability and the image quality in the images of 585 Whole Heart MRCA(s) acquired by three methods described above. Seventy percent of all exhibited good quality images in the middle of extension. The remaining images obtained by the systolic phase (at the time of high cardiac beats) and the TASH methods (respiratory instability etc.) were better than those obtained using the conventional method. The sensitivity and the specificity of coronary stenosis (75%) in the TASH, systolic-phase and the conventional methods were 90% and 96%, 96% and 97%, and 87% and 96%, respectively. These findings proved that no significant differences in the depiction of the coronary stenosis were apparent using the three methods. It was concluded that it was necessary to establish suitable signal time acquisition and to change the acquisition method depending on cardiac beats or the state of breathing for Whole Heart MRCA. (author)

Binaural auditory beats affect vigilance performance and mood.

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, J D; Kasian, S J; Owens, J E; Marsh, G R

1998-01-01

When two tones of slightly different frequency are presented separately to the left and right ears the listener perceives a single tone that varies in amplitude at a frequency equal to the frequency difference between the two tones, a perceptual phenomenon known as the binaural auditory beat. Anecdotal reports suggest that binaural auditory beats within the electroencephalograph frequency range can entrain EEG activity and may affect states of consciousness, although few scientific studies have been published. This study compared the effects of binaural auditory beats in the EEG beta and EEG theta/delta frequency ranges on mood and on performance of a vigilance task to investigate their effects on subjective and objective measures of arousal. Participants (n = 29) performed a 30-min visual vigilance task on three different days while listening to pink noise containing simple tones or binaural beats either in the beta range (16 and 24 Hz) or the theta/delta range (1.5 and 4 Hz). However, participants were kept blind to the presence of binaural beats to control expectation effects. Presentation of beta-frequency binaural beats yielded more correct target detections and fewer false alarms than presentation of theta/delta frequency binaural beats. In addition, the beta-frequency beats were associated with less negative mood. Results suggest that the presentation of binaural auditory beats can affect psychomotor performance and mood. This technology may have applications for the control of attention and arousal and the enhancement of human performance.

The effects of auditory stimulation with music on heart rate variability in healthy women

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Adriano L. Roque

2013-07-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: There are no data in the literature with regard to the acute effects of different styles of music on the geometric indices of heart rate variability. In this study, we evaluated the acute effects of relaxant baroque and excitatory heavy metal music on the geometric indices of heart rate variability in women. METHODS: We conducted this study in 21 healthy women ranging in age from 18 to 35 years. We excluded persons with previous experience with musical instruments and persons who had an affinity for the song styles. We evaluated two groups: Group 1 (n = 21, who were exposed to relaxant classical baroque musical and excitatory heavy metal auditory stimulation; and Group 2 (n = 19, who were exposed to both styles of music and white noise auditory stimulation. Using earphones, the volunteers were exposed to baroque or heavy metal music for five minutes. After the first music exposure to baroque or heavy metal music, they remained at rest for five minutes; subsequently, they were re-exposed to the opposite music (70-80 dB. A different group of women were exposed to the same music styles plus white noise auditory stimulation (90 dB. The sequence of the songs was randomized for each individual. We analyzed the following indices: triangular index, triangular interpolation of RR intervals and Poincaré plot (standard deviation of instantaneous beat-by-beat variability, standard deviation of the long-term RR interval, standard deviation of instantaneous beat-by-beat variability and standard deviation of the long-term RR interval ratio, low frequency, high frequency, low frequency/high frequency ratio, standard deviation of all the normal RR intervals, root-mean square of differences between the adjacent normal RR intervals and the percentage of adjacent RR intervals with a difference of duration greater than 50 ms. Heart rate variability was recorded at rest for 10 minutes. RESULTS: The triangular index and the standard deviation of

The effects of auditory stimulation with music on heart rate variability in healthy women.

Science.gov (United States)

Roque, Adriano L; Valenti, Vitor E; Guida, Heraldo L; Campos, Mônica F; Knap, André; Vanderlei, Luiz Carlos M; Ferreira, Lucas L; Ferreira, Celso; Abreu, Luiz Carlos de

2013-07-01

There are no data in the literature with regard to the acute effects of different styles of music on the geometric indices of heart rate variability. In this study, we evaluated the acute effects of relaxant baroque and excitatory heavy metal music on the geometric indices of heart rate variability in women. We conducted this study in 21 healthy women ranging in age from 18 to 35 years. We excluded persons with previous experience with musical instruments and persons who had an affinity for the song styles. We evaluated two groups: Group 1 (n = 21), who were exposed to relaxant classical baroque musical and excitatory heavy metal auditory stimulation; and Group 2 (n = 19), who were exposed to both styles of music and white noise auditory stimulation. Using earphones, the volunteers were exposed to baroque or heavy metal music for five minutes. After the first music exposure to baroque or heavy metal music, they remained at rest for five minutes; subsequently, they were re-exposed to the opposite music (70-80 dB). A different group of women were exposed to the same music styles plus white noise auditory stimulation (90 dB). The sequence of the songs was randomized for each individual. We analyzed the following indices: triangular index, triangular interpolation of RR intervals and Poincaré plot (standard deviation of instantaneous beat-by-beat variability, standard deviation of the long-term RR interval, standard deviation of instantaneous beat-by-beat variability and standard deviation of the long-term RR interval ratio), low frequency, high frequency, low frequency/high frequency ratio, standard deviation of all the normal RR intervals, root-mean square of differences between the adjacent normal RR intervals and the percentage of adjacent RR intervals with a difference of duration greater than 50 ms. Heart rate variability was recorded at rest for 10 minutes. The triangular index and the standard deviation of the long-term RR interval indices were reduced

Beat-to-beat variability of QT intervals is increased in patients with drug-induced long-QT syndrome

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Hinterseer, Martin; Thomsen, Morten Bækgaard; Beckmann, Britt-Maria

2008-01-01

Torsades de pointes arrhythmias (TdP) occur by definition in the setting of prolonged QT intervals. Animal models of drug induced Long-QT syndrome (dLQTS) have shown higher predictive value for proarrhythmia with beat-to-beat variability of repolarization duration (BVR) when compared with QT inte...... intervals. Here, we evaluate variability of QT intervals in patients with a history of drug-induced long QT syndrome (dLQTS) and TdP in absence of a mutation in any of the major LQTS genes.......Torsades de pointes arrhythmias (TdP) occur by definition in the setting of prolonged QT intervals. Animal models of drug induced Long-QT syndrome (dLQTS) have shown higher predictive value for proarrhythmia with beat-to-beat variability of repolarization duration (BVR) when compared with QT...

Sensitivity analysis and comparison of two methods of using heart rate to represent energy expenditure during walking.

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Karimi, Mohammad Taghi

2015-01-01

Heart rate is an accurate and easy to use method to represent the energy expenditure during walking, based on physiological cost index (PCI). However, in some conditions the heart rate during walking does not reach to a steady state. Therefore, it is not possible to determine the energy expenditure by use of the PCI index. The total heart beat index (THBI) is a new method to solve the aforementioned problem. The aim of this research project was to find the sensitivity of both the physiological cost index (PCI) and total heart beat index (THBI). Fifteen normal subjects and ten patients with flatfoot disorder and two subjects with spinal cord injury were recruited in this research project. The PCI and THBI indexes were determined by use of heart beats with respect to walking speed and total distance walked, respectively. The sensitivity of PCI was more than that of THBI index in the three groups of subjects. Although the PCI and THBI indexes are easy to use and reliable parameters to represent the energy expenditure during walking, their sensitivity is not high to detect the influence of some orthotic interventions, such as use of insoles or using shoes on energy expenditure during walking.

Reduced Dietary Sodium Intake Increases Heart Rate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Graudal, Niels A; Hubeck-Graudal, Thorbjørn; Jürgens, Gesche

2016-01-01

Reduced dietary sodium intake (sodium reduction) increases heart rate in some studies of animals and humans. As heart rate is independently associated with the development of heart failure and increased risk of premature death a potential increase in heart rate could be a harmful side......-effect of sodium reduction. The purpose of the present meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of sodium reduction on heart rate. Relevant studies were retrieved from an updated pool of 176 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the period 1973-2014. Sixty-three of the RCTs including 72 study...... populations reported data on heart rate. In a meta-analysis of these data sodium reduction increased heart rate with 1.65 beats per minute [95% CI: 1.19, 2.11], p heart rate. This effect was independent of baseline blood pressure. In conclusion sodium reduction...

Cortical evoked potentials to an auditory illusion: binaural beats.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Hillel; Starr, Arnold; Michalewski, Henry J; Dimitrijevic, Andrew; Bleich, Naomi; Mittelman, Nomi

2009-08-01

To define brain activity corresponding to an auditory illusion of 3 and 6Hz binaural beats in 250Hz or 1000Hz base frequencies, and compare it to the sound onset response. Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded in response to unmodulated tones of 250 or 1000Hz to one ear and 3 or 6Hz higher to the other, creating an illusion of amplitude modulations (beats) of 3Hz and 6Hz, in base frequencies of 250Hz and 1000Hz. Tones were 2000ms in duration and presented with approximately 1s intervals. Latency, amplitude and source current density estimates of ERP components to tone onset and subsequent beats-evoked oscillations were determined and compared across beat frequencies with both base frequencies. All stimuli evoked tone-onset P(50), N(100) and P(200) components followed by oscillations corresponding to the beat frequency, and a subsequent tone-offset complex. Beats-evoked oscillations were higher in amplitude with the low base frequency and to the low beat frequency. Sources of the beats-evoked oscillations across all stimulus conditions located mostly to left lateral and inferior temporal lobe areas in all stimulus conditions. Onset-evoked components were not different across stimulus conditions; P(50) had significantly different sources than the beats-evoked oscillations; and N(100) and P(200) sources located to the same temporal lobe regions as beats-evoked oscillations, but were bilateral and also included frontal and parietal contributions. Neural activity with slightly different volley frequencies from left and right ear converges and interacts in the central auditory brainstem pathways to generate beats of neural activity to modulate activities in the left temporal lobe, giving rise to the illusion of binaural beats. Cortical potentials recorded to binaural beats are distinct from onset responses. Brain activity corresponding to an auditory illusion of low frequency beats can be recorded from the scalp.

Noise in Optical Amplifiers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeppesen, Palle

1997-01-01

Noise in optical amplifiers is discussed on the basis of photons and electromagntic fields. Formulas for quantum noise from spontaneous emission, signal-spontaneous beat noise and spontaneous-spontaneous beat noise are derived.......Noise in optical amplifiers is discussed on the basis of photons and electromagntic fields. Formulas for quantum noise from spontaneous emission, signal-spontaneous beat noise and spontaneous-spontaneous beat noise are derived....

Beats on the Table: Beat Writing in the Chicago Review and Big Table

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Jaap van der Bent

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 21 false false false NL X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Kleine literaire tijdschriften, zogenaamde little magazines, hebben een belangrijke rol gespeeld bij de doorbraak, in de loop van de jaren vijftig, van de Amerikaanse Beat Generation. Aangezien grotere uitgeverijen en de gevestigde tijdschriften lange tijd terugschrokken voor de zowel inhoudelijk als formeel van de norm afwijkende uitingen van de Beats, verscheen hun werk aanvankelijk vooral in kleinere tijdschriften als de twee waaraan in dit artikel aandacht wordt besteed: de Chicago Review en Big Table. Aan de hand van een beschrijving van de inhoud van deze twee tijdschriften wordt geprobeerd duidelijk te maken hoe het werk van de Beat Generation zich in deze tijdschriften gaandeweg een eigen plaats verwierf. Speciale aandacht wordt besteed aan de rol van de redacteuren Irving Rosenthal en Paul Carroll; door zijn uitgekiende strategie om voor het omstreden werk van Beat-auteur William S. Burroughs geleidelijk een steeds grotere plaats in te ruimen, bepaalde vooral Rosenthal het veranderende karakter van de Chicago Review. De veranderingen bij dat tijdschrift verliepen niet zonder slag of stoot en waren voor de eigenaar ervan, de University of Chicago, op een gegeven moment aanleiding om de Chicago Review aan censuur te onderwerpen. Ook deze censuur en de reactie erop, de oprichting van Big Table, worden in het artikel belicht.

Assessing Metabolic Syndrome Through Increased Heart Rate During Exercise

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Masoumeh Sadeghi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The present study aimed to assess changes in resting and maximum heart rates as primary indicators of cardiac autonomic function in metabolic syndrome (MetS patients and to determine their value for discriminating MetS from non-MetS. 468 participants were enrolled in this cross-sectional study and assessed according to the updated adult treatment panel III (ATP-III definition of MetS. Resting and maximum heart rates were recorded following the Bruce protocol during an exercise. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve was used to identify the best cutoff point for discriminating MetS from the non-MetS state. 194 participants (41.5% were diagnosed as MetS. The mean resting heart rate (RHR was not statistically different between the two groups (P=0.078. However, the mean maximum heart (MHR rate was considerably higher in participants with MetS (142.37±14.84 beats per min compared to the non-MetS group (134.62±21.63 beats per min (P<0.001. In the MetS group, the MHR was positively correlated with the serum triglyceride level (β=0.185, P=0.033 and was inversely associated with age (β=-0.469, P<0.001. The MHR had a moderate value for discriminating MetS from the non-MetS state (c=0.580, P=0.004 with the optimal cutoff point of 140 beats per min. In MetS patients, the MHR was significantly greater compared to non-MetS subjects and was directly correlated with serum triglyceride levels and inversely with advanced age. Moreover, MHR can be used as a suspicious indicator for identifying MetS.

Assessing Metabolic Syndrome Through Increased Heart Rate During Exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghi, Masoumeh; Gharipour, Mojgan; Nezafati, Pouya; Shafie, Davood; Aghababaei, Esmaeil; Sarrafzadegan, Nizal

2016-11-01

The present study aimed to assess changes in resting and maximum heart rates as primary indicators of cardiac autonomic function in metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients and to determine their value for discriminating MetS from non-MetS. 468 participants were enrolled in this cross-sectional study and assessed according to the updated adult treatment panel III (ATP-III) definition of MetS. Resting and maximum heart rates were recorded following the Bruce protocol during an exercise. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to identify the best cutoff point for discriminating MetS from the non-MetS state. 194 participants (41.5%) were diagnosed as MetS. The mean resting heart rate (RHR) was not statistically different between the two groups (P=0.078). However, the mean maximum heart (MHR) rate was considerably higher in participants with MetS (142.37±14.84 beats per min) compared to the non-MetS group (134.62±21.63 beats per min) (P<0.001). In the MetS group, the MHR was positively correlated with the serum triglyceride level (β=0.185, P=0.033) and was inversely associated with age (β=-0.469, P<0.001). The MHR had a moderate value for discriminating MetS from the non-MetS state (c=0.580, P=0.004) with the optimal cutoff point of 140 beats per min. In MetS patients, the MHR was significantly greater compared to non-MetS subjects and was directly correlated with serum triglyceride levels and inversely with advanced age. Moreover, MHR can be used as a suspicious indicator for identifying MetS.

Physiological importance of the coronary arterial blood supply to the rattlesnake heart

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hagensen, Mette; Abe, Augusto S.; Falk, Erling

2008-01-01

Pa and 58.2±2.2 beats min-1, respectively, during activity and the ECG was not affected. This was not different from sham-operated snakes. Thus, while the outer compact layer of the rattlesnake heart clearly has an extensive coronary supply, rattlesnakes sustain a high blood pressure and heart rate during...

Maximum heart rate in brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) is not limited by firing rate of pacemaker cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Haverinen, Jaakko; Abramochkin, Denis V; Kamkin, Andre; Vornanen, Matti

2017-02-01

Temperature-induced changes in cardiac output (Q̇) in fish are largely dependent on thermal modulation of heart rate (f H ), and at high temperatures Q̇ collapses due to heat-dependent depression of f H This study tests the hypothesis that firing rate of sinoatrial pacemaker cells sets the upper thermal limit of f H in vivo. To this end, temperature dependence of action potential (AP) frequency of enzymatically isolated pacemaker cells (pacemaker rate, f PM ), spontaneous beating rate of isolated sinoatrial preparations (f SA ), and in vivo f H of the cold-acclimated (4°C) brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) were compared under acute thermal challenges. With rising temperature, f PM steadily increased because of the acceleration of diastolic depolarization and shortening of AP duration up to the break point temperature (T BP ) of 24.0 ± 0.37°C, at which point the electrical activity abruptly ceased. The maximum f PM at T BP was much higher [193 ± 21.0 beats per minute (bpm)] than the peak f SA (94.3 ± 6.0 bpm at 24.1°C) or peak f H (76.7 ± 2.4 at 15.7 ± 0.82°C) (P brown trout in vivo. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

AUTONOMIC CONTROL OF HEART RATE AFTER EXERCISE IN TRAINED WRESTLERS

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Carlos F Henríquez

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to establish differences in vagal reactivation, through heart rate recovery and heart rate variability post exercise, in Brazilian jiu-jitsu wrestlers (BJJW. A total of 18 male athletes were evaluated, ten highly trained (HT and eight moderately trained (MT, who performed a maximum incremental test. At the end of the exercise, the R-R intervals were recorded during the first minute of recovery. We calculated heart rate recovery (HRR60s, and performed linear and non-linear (standard deviation of instantaneous beat-to-beat R-R interval variability – SD1 analysis of heart rate variability (HRV, using the tachogram of the first minute of recovery divided into four segments of 15 s each (0-15 s, 15-30 s, 30-45 s, 45-60 s. Between HT and MT individuals, there were statistically significant differences in HRR60s (p <0.05 and in the non linear analysis of HRV from SD130-45s (p <0.05 and SD145-60s (p <0.05. The results of this research suggest that heart rate kinetics during the first minute after exercise are related to training level and can be used as an index for autonomic cardiovascular control in BJJW.

The Impact of Monaural Beat Stimulation on Anxiety and Cognition

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Leila Chaieb

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Application of auditory beat stimulation has been speculated to provide a promising new tool with which to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and to enhance cognition. In spite of reportedly similar EEG effects of binaural and monaural beats, data on behavioral effects of monaural beats are still lacking. Therefore, we examined the impact of monaural beat stimulation on anxiety, mood and memory performance. We aimed to target states related to anxiety levels and general well-being, in addition to long-term and working memory processes, using monaural beats within the range of main cortical rhythms. Theta (6 Hz, alpha (10 Hz and gamma (40 Hz beat frequencies, as well as a control stimulus were applied to healthy participants for 5 min. After each stimulation period, participants were asked to evaluate their current mood state and to perform cognitive tasks examining long-term and working memory processes, in addition to a vigilance task. Monaural beat stimulation was found to reduce state anxiety. When evaluating responses for the individual beat frequencies, positive effects on state anxiety were observed for all monaural beat conditions compared to control stimulation. Our results indicate a role for monaural beat stimulation in modulating state anxiety and are in line with previous studies reporting anxiety-reducing effects of auditory beat stimulation.

The Impact of Monaural Beat Stimulation on Anxiety and Cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaieb, Leila; Wilpert, Elke C; Hoppe, Christian; Axmacher, Nikolai; Fell, Juergen

2017-01-01

Application of auditory beat stimulation has been speculated to provide a promising new tool with which to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and to enhance cognition. In spite of reportedly similar EEG effects of binaural and monaural beats, data on behavioral effects of monaural beats are still lacking. Therefore, we examined the impact of monaural beat stimulation on anxiety, mood and memory performance. We aimed to target states related to anxiety levels and general well-being, in addition to long-term and working memory processes, using monaural beats within the range of main cortical rhythms. Theta (6 Hz), alpha (10 Hz) and gamma (40 Hz) beat frequencies, as well as a control stimulus were applied to healthy participants for 5 min. After each stimulation period, participants were asked to evaluate their current mood state and to perform cognitive tasks examining long-term and working memory processes, in addition to a vigilance task. Monaural beat stimulation was found to reduce state anxiety. When evaluating responses for the individual beat frequencies, positive effects on state anxiety were observed for all monaural beat conditions compared to control stimulation. Our results indicate a role for monaural beat stimulation in modulating state anxiety and are in line with previous studies reporting anxiety-reducing effects of auditory beat stimulation.

Mitral valve m-mode echo in complete heart block with atrial tachycardia

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Kalathingathodika Sajeer

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We report a 48-year-old man who presented with history of syncope. Electrocardiogram on admission showed infrahisian complete heart block with a ventricular rate of 36 beats per min with wide QRS junctional escape and atrial rate was 188 beats per min. Transthoracic echocardiogram showed fine vibratory movement of both mitral leaflet tips. M-mode evaluation of mitral leaflets showed multiple ′a′ waves corresponding to atrial tachycardia rate.

Effect of a novel intracycle motion correction algorithm on dual-energy spectral coronary CT angiography: A study with pulsating coronary artery phantom at high heart rates

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Xing, Yan; Zhao, Yuan; Pan, Cun Xue; Azati, Gulina; Wang, Yan Wei; Liu, Wen Ya [Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Xinjiang (China); Guo, Ning [CT Imaging Research Center, GE Healthcare, Beijing (China)

2017-11-15

Using a pulsating coronary artery phantom at high heart rate settings, we investigated the efficacy of a motion correction algorithm (MCA) to improve the image quality in dual-energy spectral coronary CT angiography (CCTA). Coronary flow phantoms were scanned at heart rates of 60–100 beats/min at 10-beats/min increments, using dual-energy spectral CT mode. Virtual monochromatic images were reconstructed from 50 to 90 keV at 10-keV increments. Two blinded observers assessed image quality using a 4-point Likert Scale (1 = non-diagnostic, 4 = excellent) and the fraction of interpretable segments using MCA versus conventional algorithm (CA). Comparison of variables was performed with the Wilcoxon rank sum test and McNemar test. At heart rates of 70, 80, 90, and 100 beats/min, images with MCA were rated as higher image scores compared to those with CA on monochromatic levels of 50, 60, and 70 keV (each p < 0.05). Meanwhile, at a heart rate of 90 beats/min, image interpretability was improved by MCA at a monochromatic level of 60 keV (p < 0.05) and 70 keV (p < 0.05). At a heart rate of 100 beats/min, image interpretability was improved by MCA at monochromatic levels of 50 keV (from 69.4% to 86.1%, p < 0.05), 60 keV (from 55.6% to 83.3%, p < 0.05) and 70 keV (from 33.3% to 69.3%, p < 0.05). Low-keV monochromatic images combined with MCA improves image quality and image interpretability in CCTAs at high heart rates.

Immunohistochemical Distribution of Serum Proteins in Living Mouse Heart with In Vivo Cryotechnique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Liye; Terada, Nobuo; Saitoh, Yurika; Saitoh, Sei; Ohno, Shinichi

2011-01-01

In vivo cryotechnique (IVCT), which immediately cryofixes target organs in situ, was used to clarify the morphological features of beating heart tissue of living mice. IVCT was performed for diastolic heart tissue under the condition of monitoring with electrocardiogram (ECG). Other mouse hearts were prepared with conventional perfusion-fixation (PF-DH) or immersion-fixation followed by dehydration (IM-DH), and quick-freezing of resected heart tissues (FQF). Immunolocalizations of albumin, immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), intravenously injected bovine serum albumin (BSA), and connexin 43 were examined after different intervals of BSA injection. In the case of IVCT, the exact stop time of beating mouse hearts was recorded by ECG, and open blood vessels with flowing erythrocytes were observed with less artificial tissue shrinkage than with conventional preparation methods. Both albumin and BSA were well preserved in intercalated discs and t-tubules of cardiomyocytes in addition to blood vessels and interstitial matrices. IgG1 was immunolocalized in interstitial matrices of heart tissues in addition to their blood vessels. At 4 hr after BSA injection, it was immunolocalized in the intercalated discs of cardiomyocytes and lost later at 8 hr. IVCT should prove to be more useful for the morphofunctional examination of dynamically changing heart tissue than conventional preparation methods

The impact of beat-to-beat variability in optimising the acute hemodynamic response in cardiac resynchronisation therapy

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Steven Niederer

2015-12-01

Conclusion: The beat-to-beat variation in AHR is significant in the context of CRT cut off values. A LOS optimisation offers a novel index to identify the optimal pacing site that accounts for both the mean and variation of the baseline measurement and pacing protocol.

Heart Rate Variability - A Historical Perspective

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George E Billman

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Heart rate variability (HRV, the beat-to-beat variation in either heart rate or the duration of the R-R interval – the heart period, has become a popular clinical and investigational tool. The temporal fluctuations in heart rate exhibit a marked synchrony with respiration (increasing during inspiration and decreasing during expiration – the so called respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA and are widely believed to reflect changes in cardiac autonomic regulation. Although the exact contributions of the parasympathetic and the sympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system to this variability are controversial and remain the subject of active investigation and debate, a number of time and frequency domain techniques have been developed to provide insight into cardiac autonomic regulation in both health and disease. It is the purpose of this essay to provide an historical overview of the evolution in the concept of heart rate variability. Briefly, pulse rate was first measured by ancient Greek physicians and scientists. However, it was not until the invention of the Physician’s Pulse Watch (a watch with a second hand that could be stopped in 1707 that changes in pulse rate could be accurately assessed. The Rev. Stephen Hales (1733 was the first to note that pulse varied with respiration and in 1847 Carl Ludwig was the first to record RSA. With the measurement of the ECG (1895 and advent of digital signal processing techniques in the 1960’s, investigation of HRV and its relationship to health and disease has exploded. This essay will conclude with a brief description of time domain, frequency domain, and non-linear dynamic analysis techniques (and their limitations that are commonly used to measure heart rate variability.

Coronary artery bypass grafting on the beating heart using the Octopus method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thijssens, K. M.; Rodrigus, I. E.; Amsel, B. J.; de Hert, S. G.; Moulijn, A. C.

2000-01-01

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To study the usefulness and effectiveness of off-pump coronary bypass grafting with the Octopus heart stabilizing device. METHOD: The files of thirty-one patients undergoing coronary artery bypass with the aid of the Octopus heart stabilizing device between April 1996 and October

Beating time: How ensemble musicians' cueing gestures communicate beat position and tempo.

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Laura; Goebl, Werner

2018-01-01

Ensemble musicians typically exchange visual cues to coordinate piece entrances. "Cueing-in" gestures indicate when to begin playing and at what tempo. This study investigated how timing information is encoded in musicians' cueing-in gestures. Gesture acceleration patterns were expected to indicate beat position, while gesture periodicity, duration, and peak gesture velocity were expected to indicate tempo. Same-instrument ensembles (e.g., piano-piano) were expected to synchronize more successfully than mixed-instrument ensembles (e.g., piano-violin). Duos performed short passages as their head and (for violinists) bowing hand movements were tracked with accelerometers and Kinect sensors. Performers alternated between leader/follower roles; leaders heard a tempo via headphones and cued their partner in nonverbally. Violin duos synchronized more successfully than either piano duos or piano-violin duos, possibly because violinists were more experienced in ensemble playing than pianists. Peak acceleration indicated beat position in leaders' head-nodding gestures. Gesture duration and periodicity in leaders' head and bowing hand gestures indicated tempo. The results show that the spatio-temporal characteristics of cueing-in gestures guide beat perception, enabling synchronization with visual gestures that follow a range of spatial trajectories.

In vivo cardiac nano-imaging: A new technology for high-precision analyses of sarcomere dynamics in the heart.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimozawa, Togo; Hirokawa, Erisa; Kobirumaki-Shimozawa, Fuyu; Oyama, Kotaro; Shintani, Seine A; Terui, Takako; Kushida, Yasuharu; Tsukamoto, Seiichi; Fujii, Teruyuki; Ishiwata, Shin'ichi; Fukuda, Norio

2017-03-01

The cardiac pump function is a result of a rise in intracellular Ca 2+ and the ensuing sarcomeric contractions [i.e., excitation-contraction (EC) coupling] in myocytes in various locations of the heart. In order to elucidate the heart's mechanical properties under various settings, cardiac imaging is widely performed in today's clinical as well as experimental cardiology by using echocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. However, because these common techniques detect local myocardial movements at a spatial resolution of ∼100 μm, our knowledge on the sub-cellular mechanisms of the physiology and pathophysiology of the heart in vivo is limited. This is because (1) EC coupling occurs in the μm partition in a myocyte and (2) cardiac sarcomeres generate active force upon a length change of ∼100 nm on a beat-to-beat basis. Recent advances in optical technologies have enabled measurements of intracellular Ca 2+ dynamics and sarcomere length displacements at high spatial and temporal resolution in the beating heart of living rodents. Future studies with these technologies are warranted to open a new era in cardiac research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Smartphone-based photoplethysmographic imaging for heart rate monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Alafeef, Maha

2017-07-01

The purpose of this study is to make use of visible light reflected mode photoplethysmographic (PPG) imaging for heart rate (HR) monitoring via smartphones. The system uses the built-in camera feature in mobile phones to capture video from the subject's index fingertip. The video is processed, and then the PPG signal resulting from the video stream processing is used to calculate the subject's heart rate. Records from 19 subjects were used to evaluate the system's performance. The HR values obtained by the proposed method were compared with the actual HR. The obtained results show an accuracy of 99.7% and a maximum absolute error of 0.4 beats/min where most of the absolute errors lay in the range of 0.04-0.3 beats/min. Given the encouraging results, this type of HR measurement can be adopted with great benefit, especially in the conditions of personal use or home-based care. The proposed method represents an efficient portable solution for HR accurate detection and recording.

Chemical effects produced by the ionizing radiation in the mercury beating heart reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castillo-Rojas, S.; Burillo, G.; Gonzalez-Chavez, J.L.; Vicente, L.

2002-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. In a recent paper we have shown the existence of complex modes of oscillation in the study of the extinction dynamics of the mercury beating heart reaction. It was proposed that one of the species responsible for the oscillatory movements of this reaction is the mercury(I), in anyone in their forms, either free or molecular. the formation of Hg 2 2+ from γ irradiation of 60 Co to the system Hg 0 /H 2 SO 4 (6M) allowed to elucidate the probable mechanism of reaction. The objective of this work is to study how the ionizing radiation affects the dynamics of extinction of this reaction, which is related with the existence of certain chemical species. The study was carried out in 2 ways: a) Method I: H 2 SO 4 (6M) was first irradiated and to the irradiated solution the Hg 0 was added and b) Method II: the system Hg 0 /H 2 SO 4 (6M) was irradiated. The different irradiated systems were put into reaction with Fe 0 to investigate if there were differences between the two irradiated systems and how the complex modes of oscillation of the reaction were affected. The quantity of Hg 2 2+ produced by method I is bigger than in method II. This is explained because the majority species produced by radiolysis of H 2 SO 4 are sulfate radical and H 2 O 2 that act as oxidizer agents and their potential values allow to suppose that these substances react with Hg 0 to produce Hg 2 2+ . On the other hand, by method II mercury clusters (Hg 4 3+ ) are formed as was reported by Sukhov and Ershov in pulse radiolysis of aqueous Hg 2 2+ solutions. We assume that the formation of these mercury clusters has to be observed with the decrease of the Hg 2 2+ concentration when one makes the radiolysis by method II. In general, the preliminary studies allow establishing that the ionizing radiation does not affect the extinction dynamics but it increases the half-life of this reaction

The Simplest Demonstration on Acoustic Beats

Science.gov (United States)

Ganci, Alessio; Ganci, Salvatore

2015-01-01

The classical demonstration experiment on acoustic beats using two signal generators and a dual trace oscilloscope is an important ingredient in teaching the subject. This short laboratory note aims to point out what may be the simplest demonstrative experiment on acoustic beats to carry out in a classroom without employing any lab apparatus.

smRithm: Graphical user interface for heart rate variability analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nara, Sanjeev; Kaur, Manvinder; Datta, Saurav

2015-01-01

Over the past 25 years, Heart rate variability (HRV) has become a non-invasive research and clinical tool for indirectly carrying out investigation of both cardiac and autonomic system function in both healthy and diseased. It provides valuable information about a wide range of cardiovascular disorders, pulmonary diseases, neurological diseases, etc. Its primary purpose is to access the functioning of the nervous system. The source of information for HRV analysis is the continuous beat to beat measurement of inter-beat intervals. The electrocardiography (ECG or EKG) is considered as the best way to measure inter-beat intervals. This paper proposes an open source Graphical User Interface (GUI): smRithm developed in MATLAB for HRV analysis that will apply effective techniques on the raw ECG signals to process and decompose it in a simpler manner to obtain more useful information out of signals that can be utilized for more powerful and efficient applications in the near future related to HRV.

Unconstrained monitoring of long-term heart and breath rates during sleep

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Wenxi; Zhu, Xin; Wei, Daming; Nemoto, Tetsu; Sugitani, Kayo; Kitamura, Kei-ichiro

2008-01-01

An unconstrained method for the long-term monitoring of heart and breath rates during sleep is proposed. The system includes a sensor unit and a web-based network module. The sensor unit is set beneath a pillow to pick up the pressure variations from the head induced by inhalation/exhalation movements and heart pulsation during sleep. The measured pressure signal was digitized and transferred to a remote database server via the network module. A wavelet-based algorithm was employed to detect the heart and breath rates, as well as body movement, during sleep. The overall system was utilized for a total six-month trial operation delivered to a female subject. The profiles of the heart and breath rates on a beat-by-beat and daily basis were obtained. Movements during sleep were also estimated. The results show that the daily average percentage of undetectable periods (UPs) during 881.6 sleep hours over a 180 day period was 17.2%. A total of 89.2% of sleep hours had a UP of not more than 25%. The profile of the heart rate revealed a periodic property that corresponded to the female monthly menstrual cycle. Our system shows promise as a long-term unconstrained monitor for heart and breath rates, and for other physiological parameters related to the quality of sleep and the regularity of the menstrual cycle. (note)

Usefulness of short-term variability of QT intervals as a predictor for electrical remodeling and proarrhythmia in patients with nonischemic heart failure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hinterseer, Martin; Beckmann, Britt-Maria; Thomsen, Morten Bækgaard

2010-01-01

and moderate HF (New York Heart Association classes II to III) were compared to matched controls. Twenty patients had implantable cardiac defibrillators secondary to a history of ventricular tachycardia (VT). Two cardiologists blinded to diagnosis manually measured QT intervals. Beat-to-beat variability...

Chaotic data analysis of heart R-R interval EKG data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frison, T.W.; Peng, C.K.; Goldberger, A.; Katz, R.A.

1996-01-01

Cardiac beat-to-beat interval data is analyzed with a chaotic data analysis toolkit. The embedding dimension of ten data sets from healthy subjects is 7 or at most 8. Ten of the eleven pathological data sets have an embedding dimension of 9 or greater. Statistically, the first local minimum of average mutual information for healthy hearts is larger than the pathological cases. But, there is a large standard deviation for this metric that blurs the distinction between the healthy and pathological data. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

The Effect of Live Spontaneous Harp Music on Patients in the Intensive Care Unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann Marie Chiasson

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study was performed to investigate the effect of live, spontaneous harp music on individual patients in an intensive care unit (ICU, either pre- or postoperatively. The purpose was to determine whether this intervention would serve as a relaxation or healing modality, as evidenced by the effect on patient’s pain, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and heart rate variability. Each consenting patient was randomly assigned to receive either a live 10-minute concert of spontaneous music played by an expert harpist or a 10-minute rest period. Spontaneous harp music significantly decreased patient perception of pain by 27% but did not significantly affect heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, or heart rate variability. Trends emerged, although being not statistically significant, that systolic blood pressure increased while heart rate variability decreased. These findings may invoke patient engagement, as opposed to relaxation, as the underlying mechanism of the decrease in the patients’ pain and of the healing benefit that arises from the relationship between healer, healing modality, and patient.

Binaural auditory beats affect long-term memory.

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Garcia-Argibay, Miguel; Santed, Miguel A; Reales, José M

2017-12-08

The presentation of two pure tones to each ear separately with a slight difference in their frequency results in the perception of a single tone that fluctuates in amplitude at a frequency that equals the difference of interaural frequencies. This perceptual phenomenon is known as binaural auditory beats, and it is thought to entrain electrocortical activity and enhance cognition functions such as attention and memory. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of binaural auditory beats on long-term memory. Participants (n = 32) were kept blind to the goal of the study and performed both the free recall and recognition tasks after being exposed to binaural auditory beats, either in the beta (20 Hz) or theta (5 Hz) frequency bands and white noise as a control condition. Exposure to beta-frequency binaural beats yielded a greater proportion of correctly recalled words and a higher sensitivity index d' in recognition tasks, while theta-frequency binaural-beat presentation lessened the number of correctly remembered words and the sensitivity index. On the other hand, we could not find differences in the conditional probability for recall given recognition between beta and theta frequencies and white noise, suggesting that the observed changes in recognition were due to the recollection component. These findings indicate that the presentation of binaural auditory beats can affect long-term memory both positively and negatively, depending on the frequency used.

Human engineered heart tissue as a versatile tool in basic research and preclinical toxicology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian Schaaf

Full Text Available Human embryonic stem cell (hESC progenies hold great promise as surrogates for human primary cells, particularly if the latter are not available as in the case of cardiomyocytes. However, high content experimental platforms are lacking that allow the function of hESC-derived cardiomyocytes to be studied under relatively physiological and standardized conditions. Here we describe a simple and robust protocol for the generation of fibrin-based human engineered heart tissue (hEHT in a 24-well format using an unselected population of differentiated human embryonic stem cells containing 30-40% α-actinin-positive cardiac myocytes. Human EHTs started to show coherent contractions 5-10 days after casting, reached regular (mean 0.5 Hz and strong (mean 100 µN contractions for up to 8 weeks. They displayed a dense network of longitudinally oriented, interconnected and cross-striated cardiomyocytes. Spontaneous hEHT contractions were analyzed by automated video-optical recording and showed chronotropic responses to calcium and the β-adrenergic agonist isoprenaline. The proarrhythmic compounds E-4031, quinidine, procainamide, cisapride, and sertindole exerted robust, concentration-dependent and reversible decreases in relaxation velocity and irregular beating at concentrations that recapitulate findings in hERG channel assays. In conclusion this study establishes hEHT as a simple in vitro model for heart research.

The modulatory effects of noradrenaline on vagal control of heart rate in the dogfish, Squalus acanthias.

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Agnisola, Claudio; Randall, David J; Taylor, Edwin W

2003-01-01

The possible interactions between inhibitory vagal control of the heart and circulating levels of catecholamines in dogfish (Squalus acanthias) were studied using an in situ preparation of the heart, which retained intact its innervation from centrally cut vagus nerves. The response to peripheral vagal stimulation typically consisted of an initial cardiac arrest, followed by an escape beat, leading to renewed beating at a mean heart rate lower than the prestimulation rate (partial recovery). Cessation of vagal stimulation led to a transient increase in heart rate, above the prestimulation rate. This whole response was completely abolished by 10(-4) M atropine (a muscarinic cholinergic antagonist). The degree of vagal inhibition was evaluated in terms of both the initial, maximal cardiac interval and the mean heart rate during partial recovery, both expressed as a percentage of the prestimulation heart rate. The mean prestimulation heart rate of this preparation (36+/-4 beats min(-1)) was not affected by noradrenaline but was significantly reduced by 10(-4) M nadolol (a beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist), suggesting the existence of a resting adrenergic tone arising from endogenous catecholamines. The degree of vagal inhibition of heart rate varied with the rate of stimulation and was increased by the presence of 10(-8) M noradrenaline (the normal in vivo level in routinely active fish), while 10(-7) M noradrenaline (the in vivo level measured in disturbed or deeply hypoxic fish) reduced the cardiac response to vagal stimulation. In the presence of 10(-7) M noradrenaline, 10(-4) M nadolol further reduced the vagal response, while 10(-4) M nadolol + 10(-4) M phentolamine had no effect, indicating a complex interaction between adrenoreceptors, possibly involving presynaptic modulation of vagal inhibition.

On binaural beats.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritze, W

1985-01-01

Binaural beats have been investigated in normal volunteers using high-stable synthesizers. There are considerable differences between the subjective rhythm heard and the difference of the two frequencies, indicating that this dissimilarity must be caused centrally.

Determination of heart rate variability with an electronic stethoscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamran, Haroon; Naggar, Isaac; Oniyuke, Francisca; Palomeque, Mercy; Chokshi, Priya; Salciccioli, Louis; Stewart, Mark; Lazar, Jason M

2013-02-01

Heart rate variability (HRV) is widely used to characterize cardiac autonomic function by measuring beat-to-beat alterations in heart rate. Decreased HRV has been found predictive of worse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. HRV is determined from time intervals between QRS complexes recorded by electrocardiography (ECG) for several minutes to 24 h. Although cardiac auscultation with a stethoscope is performed routinely on patients, the human ear cannot detect heart sound time intervals. The electronic stethoscope digitally processes heart sounds, from which cardiac time intervals can be obtained. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of obtaining HRV from electronically recorded heart sounds. We prospectively studied 50 subjects with and without CV risk factors/disease and simultaneously recorded single lead ECG and heart sounds for 2 min. Time and frequency measures of HRV were calculated from R-R and S1-S1 intervals and were compared using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). The majority of the indices were strongly correlated (ICC 0.73-1.0), while the remaining indices were moderately correlated (ICC 0.56-0.63). In conclusion, we found HRV measures determined from S1-S1 are in agreement with those determined by single lead ECG, and we demonstrate and discuss differences in the measures in detail. In addition to characterizing cardiac murmurs and time intervals, the electronic stethoscope holds promise as a convenient low-cost tool to determine HRV in the hospital and outpatient settings as a practical extension of the physical examination.

Rhythmic regularity revisited : Is beat induction indeed pre-attentive?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwer, F.; Honing, H.; Cambouropoulos, E.; Tsougras, C.; Mavromatis, P.; Pastiadis, K.

2012-01-01

When listening to musical rhythm, regularity in time is often perceived in the form of a beat or pulse. External rhythmic events can give rise to the perception of a beat, through a process known as beat induction. In addition, internal processes, like long-term memory, working memory and automatic

Atenolol Is Associated with Lower Day of Surgery Heart Rate as compared to Long and Short-acting Metoprolol

Science.gov (United States)

Schonberger, Robert B.; Brandt, Cynthia; Feinleib, Jessica; Dai, Feng; Burg, Matthew M.

2012-01-01

Objectives We analyzed the association between outpatient beta-blocker type and day-of-surgery heart rate in ambulatory surgical patients. We further investigated whether differences in day of surgery heart rate between atenolol and metoprolol could be explained by once-daily versus twice-daily dosing regimens. Design Retrospective observational study. Setting VA Hospital Participants Ambulatory surgical patients on chronic atenolol or metoprolol. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results Using a propensity-score matched cohort, we compared day of surgery heart rates of patients prescribed atenolol versus metoprolol. We then differentiated between once-daily and twice-daily metoprolol formulations and compared day of surgery heart rates within a general linear model. Day of surgery heart rates in patients prescribed atenolol vs. any metoprolol formulation were slower by a mean of 5.1 beats/min (66.6 vs. 71.7; 95% CI of difference 1.9 to 8.3, p=0.002), a difference that was not observed in preoperative primary care visits. The general linear model demonstrated that patients prescribed atenolol (typically QD dosing) had a mean day of surgery heart rate 5.6 beats/min lower compared to patients prescribed once-daily metoprolol succinate (68.9 vs. 74.5; 95% CI of difference: −8.6 to −2.6, p<0.001) and 3.8 beats/minute lower compared to patients prescribed twice-daily metoprolol tartrate (68.9 vs. 72.7; 95% CI of difference: −6.1 to −1.6, p<0.001). Day of surgery heart rates were similar between different formulations of metoprolol (95% CI of difference: −1.0 to +4.6, p=0.22). Conclusions Atenolol is associated with lower day of surgery heart rate vs. metoprolol. The heart rate difference is specific to the day of surgery and is not explained by once-daily versus twice-daily dosing regimens. PMID:22889605

Experimental Observation of Chaotic Beats in Oscillators Sharing Nonlinearity

Science.gov (United States)

Paul Asir, M.; Jeevarekha, A.; Philominathan, P.

This paper deals with the generation of chaotic beats in a system of two forced dissipative LCR oscillators sharing a nonlinear element. The presence of two external periodic excitations and a common nonlinear element in the chosen system enables the facile generation of chaotic beats. Thus rendered chaotic beats were characterized in both time domain and phase space. Lyapunov exponents and envelope of the beats were computed to diagnose the chaotic nature of the signals. The role of common nonlinearity on the complexity of the generated beats is discussed. Real-time experimental hardware implementation has also been done to confirm the subsistence of the phenomenon, for the first time. Extensive Multisim simulations were carried out to understand, a bit more about the shrinkage and revivals of state variables in phase space.

[Effect of dexmedetomidine and midazolam on respiration and circulation functions in patients undergoing open heart surgery under acupuncture-assisted general anesthesia].

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Wei; Wang, Jian; Fu, Guo-Qiang; Yuan, Lan

2014-06-01

To evaluate the effect of Dexmedetomidine and Midazolam on respiratory and circulation in patients experiencing open heart surgery under acupuncture-assisted general anesthesia. Sixty patients undergoing open heart surgery (cardiac valve replacement surgery and aortic valve replacement surgery) were randomly and equally divided into Dexmedetomidine (D) and Midazolam (M) groups. Electroacupuncture (EA) was applied to bilateral Yunmen (LU 2), Zhongfu (LU1), Lieque (LU7) and Neiguan (PC6). For patients of group D, Dexmedetomidine (i.v., loading dose: 1 microg/kg, and succedent dose: 0.2-1 microg x kg(-1) x h(-1)) was given. For patients of group M, Midazolam (i.v., loading dose: 0.05 mg/kg, succedent dose: 0.01-0.03 mg x kg(-1) x h(-1)) was given. Arterial oxygen pressure (PaO2), arterial carbondioxide tension (PaCO2), O2 saturation (SPO2), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), anesthetic effect, time of spontaneous breathing recovery, and time of resuscitation were recorded before operation (T0), immediately after skin incision (T1), immediately after sternotomy (T2), before suspension of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB, T3), immediately after cardiac re-beating (T4), immediately after CPB cessation (T5), and at the end of surgery (T6). Before operation, no significant differences were found between the group D and M in the levels of PaO2, PaCO2 and SPO2 (P > 0.05). The PaO2 and SPO2 levels after skin incision, sternotomy, before suspension of CPB and at the end of surgery were significantly lower in group M than in group D (P heart re-beating,after CPB cessation and at the end of surgery in group M were considerably higher than those in group D (P 0.05). It suggested that the respiration and circulation states in group D were more smoothly than those in group M. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the time of resuscitation (P > 0.05). Dexmedetomidine is superior to Midazolam in analgesia, and improving respiration and circulation

Effects of atomoxetine on heart rhythm in children and adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanidir, Ibrahim Cansaran; Tanidir, Canan; Ozturk, Erkut; Bahali, Kayhan; Gunes, Hatice; Ergul, Yakup; Uneri, Ozden Sukran; Akdeniz, Celal; Tuzcu, Volkan

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of atomoxetine on heart rhythm using 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) and 24 h Holter monitoring. Children and adolescents who were diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder according to DSM-IV-TR were referred to a pediatric cardiology clinic for cardiologic examination before and after 4 or 5 weeks of atomoxetine treatment. Cardiac examination, complete blood count, biochemistry, thyroid function tests, 12-lead ECG and 24 h Holter monitoring were performed routinely in all patients. Each subject underwent 24 h Holter ECG monitoring before atomoxetine was started and after 4 or 5 weeks of effective dose atomoxetine treatment. Forty-one patients were included in this prospective study. No statistically significant change was found in QT, QTc or QT interval dispersion or blood pressure before and after 4 or 5 weeks of atomoxetine treatment. There was a statistically significant increase in heart rate (both during the day and at night) and QRS duration, and a statistically significant decrease in P wave dispersion. Three patients had rhythm disturbances. All of these three patients were asymptomatic and none of these arrhythmias reached clinical significance. Atomoxetine did not cause significant changes in ECG or Holter variables. In two patients, who had undiagnosed subclinical extrasystoles, extra beats were increased after 4th week of treatment, but still remained clinically insignificant. Before and after atomoxetine treatment, listening to the heart sounds for a longer time, may help clinicians to notice an extra beat. If an extra beat is identified then 24 Holter monitoring is recommended. © 2015 Japan Pediatric Society.

Noninvasive reconstruction of the three-dimensional ventricular activation sequence during pacing and ventricular tachycardia in the canine heart.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Chengzong; Pogwizd, Steven M; Killingsworth, Cheryl R; He, Bin

2012-01-01

Single-beat imaging of myocardial activation promises to aid in both cardiovascular research and clinical medicine. In the present study we validate a three-dimensional (3D) cardiac electrical imaging (3DCEI) technique with the aid of simultaneous 3D intracardiac mapping to assess its capability to localize endocardial and epicardial initiation sites and image global activation sequences during pacing and ventricular tachycardia (VT) in the canine heart. Body surface potentials were measured simultaneously with bipolar electrical recordings in a closed-chest condition in healthy canines. Computed tomography images were obtained after the mapping study to construct realistic geometry models. Data analysis was performed on paced rhythms and VTs induced by norepinephrine (NE). The noninvasively reconstructed activation sequence was in good agreement with the simultaneous measurements from 3D cardiac mapping with a correlation coefficient of 0.74 ± 0.06, a relative error of 0.29 ± 0.05, and a root mean square error of 9 ± 3 ms averaged over 460 paced beats and 96 ectopic beats including premature ventricular complexes, couplets, and nonsustained monomorphic VTs and polymorphic VTs. Endocardial and epicardial origins of paced beats were successfully predicted in 72% and 86% of cases, respectively, during left ventricular pacing. The NE-induced ectopic beats initiated in the subendocardium by a focal mechanism. Sites of initial activation were estimated to be ∼7 mm from the measured initiation sites for both the paced beats and ectopic beats. For the polymorphic VTs, beat-to-beat dynamic shifts of initiation site and activation pattern were characterized by the reconstruction. The present results suggest that 3DCEI can noninvasively image the 3D activation sequence and localize the origin of activation of paced beats and NE-induced VTs in the canine heart with good accuracy. This 3DCEI technique offers the potential to aid interventional therapeutic procedures for

General anesthesia suppresses normal heart rate variability in humans

Science.gov (United States)

Matchett, Gerald; Wood, Philip

2014-06-01

The human heart normally exhibits robust beat-to-beat heart rate variability (HRV). The loss of this variability is associated with pathology, including disease states such as congestive heart failure (CHF). The effect of general anesthesia on intrinsic HRV is unknown. In this prospective, observational study we enrolled 100 human subjects having elective major surgical procedures under general anesthesia. We recorded continuous heart rate data via continuous electrocardiogram before, during, and after anesthesia, and we assessed HRV of the R-R intervals. We assessed HRV using several common metrics including Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), Multifractal Analysis, and Multiscale Entropy Analysis. Each of these analyses was done in each of the four clinical phases for each study subject over the course of 24 h: Before anesthesia, during anesthesia, early recovery, and late recovery. On average, we observed a loss of variability on the aforementioned metrics that appeared to correspond to the state of general anesthesia. Following the conclusion of anesthesia, most study subjects appeared to regain their normal HRV, although this did not occur immediately. The resumption of normal HRV was especially delayed on DFA. Qualitatively, the reduction in HRV under anesthesia appears similar to the reduction in HRV observed in CHF. These observations will need to be validated in future studies, and the broader clinical implications of these observations, if any, are unknown.

Increased Short-Term Beat-To-Beat Variability of QT Interval in Patients with Acromegaly

Science.gov (United States)

Orosz, Andrea; Csajbók, Éva; Czékus, Csilla; Gavallér, Henriette; Magony, Sándor; Valkusz, Zsuzsanna; Várkonyi, Tamás T.; Nemes, Attila; Baczkó, István; Forster, Tamás; Wittmann, Tibor; Papp, Julius Gy.; Varró, András; Lengyel, Csaba

2015-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases, including ventricular arrhythmias are responsible for increased mortality in patients with acromegaly. Acromegaly may cause repolarization abnormalities such as QT prolongation and impairment of repolarization reserve enhancing liability to arrhythmia. The aim of this study was to determine the short-term beat-to-beat QT variability in patients with acromegaly. Thirty acromegalic patients (23 women and 7 men, mean age±SD: 55.7±10.4 years) were compared with age- and sex-matched volunteers (mean age 51.3±7.6 years). Cardiac repolarization parameters including frequency corrected QT interval, PQ and QRS intervals, duration of terminal part of T waves (Tpeak-Tend) and short-term variability of QT interval were evaluated. All acromegalic patients and controls underwent transthoracic echocardiographic examination. Autonomic function was assessed by means of five standard cardiovascular reflex tests. Comparison of the two groups revealed no significant differences in the conventional ECG parameters of repolarization (QT: 401.1±30.6 ms vs 389.3±16.5 ms, corrected QT interval: 430.1±18.6 ms vs 425.6±17.3 ms, QT dispersion: 38.2±13.2 ms vs 36.6±10.2 ms; acromegaly vs control, respectively). However, short-term beat-to-beat QT variability was significantly increased in acromegalic patients (4.23±1.03 ms vs 3.02±0.80, Pacromegaly in spite of unchanged conventional parameters of ventricular repolarization. This enhanced temporal QT variability may be an early indicator of increased liability to arrhythmia. PMID:25915951

Beat gestures help preschoolers recall and comprehend discourse information.

Science.gov (United States)

Llanes-Coromina, Judith; Vilà-Giménez, Ingrid; Kushch, Olga; Borràs-Comes, Joan; Prieto, Pilar

2018-08-01

Although the positive effects of iconic gestures on word recall and comprehension by children have been clearly established, less is known about the benefits of beat gestures (rhythmic hand/arm movements produced together with prominent prosody). This study investigated (a) whether beat gestures combined with prosodic information help children recall contrastively focused words as well as information related to those words in a child-directed discourse (Experiment 1) and (b) whether the presence of beat gestures helps children comprehend a narrative discourse (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, 51 4-year-olds were exposed to a total of three short stories with contrastive words presented in three conditions, namely with prominence in both speech and gesture, prominence in speech only, and nonprominent speech. Results of a recall task showed that (a) children remembered more words when exposed to prominence in both speech and gesture than in either of the other two conditions and that (b) children were more likely to remember information related to those words when the words were associated with beat gestures. In Experiment 2, 55 5- and 6-year-olds were presented with six narratives with target items either produced with prosodic prominence but no beat gestures or produced with both prosodic prominence and beat gestures. Results of a comprehension task demonstrated that stories told with beat gestures were comprehended better by children. Together, these results constitute evidence that beat gestures help preschoolers not only to recall discourse information but also to comprehend it. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Heart Rate and Oxygen Saturation Change Patterns During 6-min Walk Test in Subjects With Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Inagaki, Takeshi; Terada, Jiro; Yahaba, Misuzu; Kawata, Naoko; Jujo, Takayuki; Nagashima, Kengo; Sakao, Seiichiro; Tanabe, Nobuhiro; Tatsumi, Koichiro

2017-12-26

The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is commonly performed to assess functional status in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. However, changes in heart rate and oxygen saturation ( S pO 2 ) patterns during 6MWT in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension remain unclear. Thirty-one subjects with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension were retrospectively evaluated to examine the relationships between the change in heart rate (Δheart rate), heart rate acceleration time, slope of heart rate acceleration, heart rate recovery during the first minute after 6MWT (HRR1), change in S pO 2 (Δ S pO 2 ), S pO 2 reduction time, and S pO 2 recovery time during 6MWT, and the severity of pulmonary hemodynamics assessed by right heart catheterization and echocardiography. Subjects with severe chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension had significantly longer heart rate acceleration time (144.9 ± 63.9 s vs 96.0 ± 42.5 s, P = .033), lower Δheart rate (47.4 ± 16.9 vs 61.8 ± 13.6 beats, P = .02), and lower HRR1 (13.3 ± 9.0 beats vs 27.1 ± 9.2 beats, P pulmonary hypertension. Subjects with severe chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension also had significantly longer S pO 2 reduction time (178.3 ± 70.3 s vs 134.3 ± 58.4 s, P = .03) and S pO 2 recovery time (107.6 ± 35.3 s vs 69.8 ± 32.7 s, P = .004) than did subjects with mild chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed only mean pulmonary arterial pressure independently was associated with heart rate acceleration time and slope of heart rate acceleration. Heart rate and S pO 2 change patterns during 6MWT is predominantly associated with pulmonary hemodynamics in subjects with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Evaluating heart rate and S pO 2 change patterns during 6MWT may serve a safe and convenient way to follow the change in pulmonary hemodynamics. Copyright © 2017 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Three-dimensional engineered heart tissue from neonatal rat cardiac myocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, W H; Fink, C; Kralisch, D; Remmers, U; Weil, J; Eschenhagen, T

2000-04-05

A technique is presented that allows neonatal rat cardiac myocytes to form spontaneously and coherently beating 3-dimensional engineered heart tissue (EHT) in vitro, either as a plane biconcaval matrix anchored at both sides on Velcro-coated silicone tubes or as a ring. Contractile activity was monitored in standard organ baths or continuously in a CO(2) incubator for up to 18 days (=26 days after casting). Long-term measurements showed an increase in force between days 8 and 18 after casting and stable forces thereafter. At day 10, the twitch amplitude (TA) of electrically paced EHTs (average length x width x thickness, 11 x 6 x 0.4 mm) was 0.51 mN at length of maximal force development (L(max)) and a maximally effective calcium concentration. EHTs showed typical features of neonatal rat heart: a positive force-length and a negative force-frequency relation, high sensitivity to calcium (EC(50) 0.24 mM), modest positive inotropic (increase in TA by 46%) and pronounced positive lusitropic effect of isoprenaline (decrease in twitch duration by 21%). Both effects of isoprenaline were sensitive to the muscarinic receptor agonist carbachol in a pertussis toxin-sensitive manner. Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of beta-galactosidase into EHTs reached 100% efficiency. In summary, EHTs retain many of the physiological characteristics of rat cardiac tissue and allow efficient gene transfer with subsequent force measurement. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Left ventricular beat-to-beat performance in atrial fibrillation: Contribution of Frank-Starling mechanism after short rather than long intervals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gosselink, A.T.M.; Blanksma, P.K.; Crijns, H.J.G.M.; Gelder, I.C. van; Kam, P.J. de; Hillege, H.L.; Niemeijer, M.G.; Lie, K.I.; Meijler, F.L.

1995-01-01

This study sought to evaluate control mechanisms of the varying left ventricular performance in atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is characterized by a randomly irregular ventricular response, resulting in continuous variation in left ventricular beat-to-beat mechanical behavior and

Effect of spontaneous saliva swallowing on short-term heart rate variability (HRV) and reliability of HRV analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yildiz, Metin; Doma, Serian

2017-09-26

The effects of effortful swallowing and solid meal ingestions on heart rate variability (HRV) have been examined previously. The effects of spontaneous saliva swallowing on short-term HRV and reliability of HRV analysis have not been studied before. The effect of saliva swallowing on HRV analyses parameters [meanRRI, SDNN (standard deviation of normal-to-normal), LF (low frequency), HF (high frequency) powers, LH/HF] and the reliability of LF and HF powers were investigated by frequency, time-frequency and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analyses. Electrocardiogram and swallowing signal that obtained from an electronic stethoscope placed on the necks of subjects were recorded simultaneously from 30 healthy and young volunteers in sitting position during 15 min. Spontaneous swallowing has been shown to significantly alter some HRV parameters (SDNN, LF power and LF/HF ratio). Time-frequency analysis results showed that the contribution of saliva swallowing to LF (1-58%) and HF (2-42%) powers could change significantly depending on the number of swallowing. The ICC of the LF and HF powers for the successive 5-min signal segments were found 0·89, 0·92, respectively. These values decreased to 0·73 and 0·90 in the subjects with more swallowing rate. When the analyses were made for 2-min signal periods, these values decreased to 0·63 and 0·67. We concluded that spontaneous saliva swallowing can change HRV parameters. We have also seen that changes in swallowing rate and use of short signal segments may reduce the reliability of HRV analyses. © 2017 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Heart rate variability - a historical perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Billman, George E

2011-01-01

Heart rate variability (HRV), the beat-to-beat variation in either heart rate or the duration of the R-R interval - the heart period, has become a popular clinical and investigational tool. The temporal fluctuations in heart rate exhibit a marked synchrony with respiration (increasing during inspiration and decreasing during expiration - the so called respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) and are widely believed to reflect changes in cardiac autonomic regulation. Although the exact contributions of the parasympathetic and the sympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system to this variability are controversial and remain the subject of active investigation and debate, a number of time and frequency domain techniques have been developed to provide insight into cardiac autonomic regulation in both health and disease. It is the purpose of this essay to provide an historical overview of the evolution in the concept of HRV. Briefly, pulse rate was first measured by ancient Greek physicians and scientists. However, it was not until the invention of the "Physician's Pulse Watch" (a watch with a second hand that could be stopped) in 1707 that changes in pulse rate could be accurately assessed. The Rev. Stephen Hales (1733) was the first to note that pulse varied with respiration and in 1847 Carl Ludwig was the first to record RSA. With the measurement of the ECG (1895) and advent of digital signal processing techniques in the 1960s, investigation of HRV and its relationship to health and disease has exploded. This essay will conclude with a brief description of time domain, frequency domain, and non-linear dynamic analysis techniques (and their limitations) that are commonly used to measure HRV.

Multicellular automaticity of cardiac cell monolayers: effects of density and spatial distribution of pacemaker cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duverger, James Elber; Boudreau-Béland, Jonathan; Le, Minh Duc; Comtois, Philippe

2014-01-01

Self-organization of pacemaker (PM) activity of interconnected elements is important to the general theory of reaction–diffusion systems as well as for applications such as PM activity in cardiac tissue to initiate beating of the heart. Monolayer cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) are often used as experimental models in studies on cardiac electrophysiology. These monolayers exhibit automaticity (spontaneous activation) of their electrical activity. At low plated density, cells usually show a heterogeneous population consisting of PM and quiescent excitable cells (QECs). It is therefore highly probable that monolayers of NRVMs consist of a heterogeneous network of the two cell types. However, the effects of density and spatial distribution of the PM cells on spontaneous activity of monolayers remain unknown. Thus, a simple stochastic pattern formation algorithm was implemented to distribute PM and QECs in a binary-like 2D network. A FitzHugh–Nagumo excitable medium was used to simulate electrical spontaneous and propagating activity. Simulations showed a clear nonlinear dependency of spontaneous activity (occurrence and amplitude of spontaneous period) on the spatial patterns of PM cells. In most simulations, the first initiation sites were found to be located near the substrate boundaries. Comparison with experimental data obtained from cardiomyocyte monolayers shows important similarities in the position of initiation site activity. However, limitations in the model that do not reflect the complex beat-to-beat variation found in experiments indicate the need for a more realistic cardiomyocyte representation. (paper)

Multicellular automaticity of cardiac cell monolayers: effects of density and spatial distribution of pacemaker cells

Science.gov (United States)

Elber Duverger, James; Boudreau-Béland, Jonathan; Le, Minh Duc; Comtois, Philippe

2014-11-01

Self-organization of pacemaker (PM) activity of interconnected elements is important to the general theory of reaction-diffusion systems as well as for applications such as PM activity in cardiac tissue to initiate beating of the heart. Monolayer cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) are often used as experimental models in studies on cardiac electrophysiology. These monolayers exhibit automaticity (spontaneous activation) of their electrical activity. At low plated density, cells usually show a heterogeneous population consisting of PM and quiescent excitable cells (QECs). It is therefore highly probable that monolayers of NRVMs consist of a heterogeneous network of the two cell types. However, the effects of density and spatial distribution of the PM cells on spontaneous activity of monolayers remain unknown. Thus, a simple stochastic pattern formation algorithm was implemented to distribute PM and QECs in a binary-like 2D network. A FitzHugh-Nagumo excitable medium was used to simulate electrical spontaneous and propagating activity. Simulations showed a clear nonlinear dependency of spontaneous activity (occurrence and amplitude of spontaneous period) on the spatial patterns of PM cells. In most simulations, the first initiation sites were found to be located near the substrate boundaries. Comparison with experimental data obtained from cardiomyocyte monolayers shows important similarities in the position of initiation site activity. However, limitations in the model that do not reflect the complex beat-to-beat variation found in experiments indicate the need for a more realistic cardiomyocyte representation.

Physiological and performance adaptations to an in-season soccer camp in the heat: Associations with heart rate and heart rate variability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buchheit, M; Voss, S C; Nybo, Lars

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between adaptive responses to an in-season soccer training camp in the heat and changes in submaximal exercising heart rate (HRex, 5-min run at 9 ¿km/h), postexercise HR recovery (HRR) and HR variability (HRV). Fifteen well-trained but ......The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between adaptive responses to an in-season soccer training camp in the heat and changes in submaximal exercising heart rate (HRex, 5-min run at 9 ¿km/h), postexercise HR recovery (HRR) and HR variability (HRV). Fifteen well......-trained but non-heat-acclimatized male adult players performed a training week in Qatar (34.6¿±¿1.9°C wet bulb globe temperature). HRex, HRR, HRV (i.e. the standard deviation of instantaneous beat-to-beat R-R interval variability measured from Poincaré plots SD1, a vagal-related index), creatine kinase (CK...... at the beginning and at the end of the training week. Throughout the intervention, HRex and HRV showed decreasing (P¿...

Auditory beat stimulation and its effects on cognition and mood states

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila eChaieb

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Auditory beat stimulation may be a promising new tool for the manipulation of cognitive processes and the modulation of mood-states. Here we aim to review the literature examining the most current applications of auditory beat stimulation and its targets. We give a brief overview of research on auditory steady-state responses and its relationship to auditory beat stimulation. We have summarized relevant studies investigating the neurophysiological changes related to auditory beat stimulation and how they impact upon the design of appropriate stimulation protocols. Focusing on binaural beat stimulation, we then discuss the role of monaural and binaural beat frequencies in cognition and mood-states, in addition to their efficacy in targeting disease symptoms. We aim to highlight important points concerning stimulation parameters and try to address why there are often contradictory findings with regard to the outcomes of auditory beat stimulation.

Binaural beats at high frequencies.

Science.gov (United States)

McFadden, D; Pasanen, E G

1975-10-24

Binaural beats have long been believed to be audible only at low frequencies, but an interaction reminiscent of a binaural beat can sometimes be heard when different two-tone complexes of high frequency are presented to the two ears. The primary requirement is that the frequency separation in the complex at one ear be slightly different from that in the other--that is, that there be a small interaural difference in the envelope periodicities. This finding is in accord with other recent demonstrations that the auditory system is not deaf to interaural time differences at high frequencies.

The effect of beat frequency on eye movements during free viewing.

Science.gov (United States)

Maróti, Emese; Knakker, Balázs; Vidnyánszky, Zoltán; Weiss, Béla

2017-02-01

External periodic stimuli entrain brain oscillations and affect perception and attention. It has been shown that background music can change oculomotor behavior and facilitate detection of visual objects occurring on the musical beat. However, whether musical beats in different tempi modulate information sampling differently during natural viewing remains to be explored. Here we addressed this question by investigating how listening to naturalistic drum grooves in two different tempi affects eye movements of participants viewing natural scenes on a computer screen. We found that the beat frequency of the drum grooves modulated the rate of eye movements: fixation durations were increased at the lower beat frequency (1.7Hz) as compared to the higher beat frequency (2.4Hz) and no music conditions. Correspondingly, estimated visual sampling frequency decreased as fixation durations increased with lower beat frequency. These results imply that slow musical beats can retard sampling of visual information during natural viewing by increasing fixation durations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Direct Visualization of Mechanical Beats by Means of an Oscillating Smartphone

Science.gov (United States)

Giménez, Marcos H.; Salinas, Isabel; Monsoriu, Juan A.; Castro-Palacio, Juan C.

2017-10-01

The resonance phenomenon is widely known in physics courses. Qualitatively speaking, resonance takes place in a driven oscillating system whenever the frequency approaches the natural frequency, resulting in maximal oscillatory amplitude. Very closely related to resonance is the phenomenon of mechanical beating, which occurs when the driving and natural frequencies of the system are slightly different. The frequency of the beat is just the difference of the natural and driving frequencies. Beats are very familiar in acoustic systems. There are several works in this journal on visualizing the beats in acoustic systems. For instance, the microphone and the speaker of two mobile devices were used in previous work to analyze the acoustic beats produced by two signals of close frequencies. The formation of beats can also be visualized in mechanical systems, such as a mass-spring system or a double-driven string. Here, the mechanical beats in a smartphone-spring system are directly visualized in a simple way. The frequency of the beats is measured by means of the acceleration sensor of a smartphone, which hangs from a spring attached to a mechanical driver. This laboratory experiment is suitable for both high school and first-year university physics courses.

LEFT-VENTRICULAR BEAT-TO-BEAT PERFORMANCE IN ATRIAL-FIBRILLATION - CONTRIBUTION OF FRANK-STARLING MECHANISM AFTER SHORT RATHER THAN LONG RR INTERVALS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

GOSSELINK, ATM; BLANKSMA, PK; CRIJNS, HJGM; VANGELDER, IC; DEKAM, PJ; HILLEGE, HL; NIEMEIJER, MG; LIE, KI; MEIJLER, FL

1995-01-01

Objectives. This study sought to evaluate control mechanisms of the varying left ventricular performance in atrial fibrillation. Background. Atrial fibrillation is characterized by a randomly irregular ventricular response, resulting in continuous variation in left ventricular beat-to-beat

Relationship between age and location of the apex beat among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Location of apex beat is an integral part of routine cardiovascular system examination in clinical practice. However, there is paucity of ... Apex beat location in the intercostal space was determined and distance of apex beat from the midline, midclavicular line and nipple lines were measured. The measured distances were ...

Beat-to-beat assessment of left ventricular ejection in atrial fibrillation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benjelloun, H.; Brochier, M.; Itti, R.; Philippe, L.; Lorgeron, J.M.

1983-01-01

Beat-to-beat left ventricular ejection was evaluated in a group of 20 patients with chronic atrial fibrillation using a computerized single probe detector. The reference group consisted of 10 patients with sinus rhythm. For each patient 30 successive cardiac cycles were analyzed and the relative variations of four parameters were assessed: R-R interval, diastolic and systolic time intervals, and ejection amplitude, corresponding to the left ventricular stroke volume. The mean variations were respectively 3.4%, 10.4%, 8.4%, and 11.8% in patients with sinus rhythm, and 21.9%, 37.9%, 10.6% and 30.5% in patients with artrial fibrillation. This demonstrates that changes in ejection are mainly related to the duration of the filling phase, with nearly constant systolic times. Correlations between R-R intervals and systolic ejection amplitudes were highly significant (P<0.001) in patients with atrial fibrillation in 85% of cases. This information complements the average ejection fraction obtained from multiple cycle superimposition. (orig.)

Beat-to-beat assessment of left ventricular ejection in atrial fibrillation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benjelloun, H; Brochier, M; Itti, R; Philippe, L; Lorgeron, J M

1983-05-01

Beat-to-beat left ventricular ejection was evaluated in a group of 20 patients with chronic atrial fibrillation using a computerized single probe detector. The reference group consisted of 10 patients with sinus rhythm. For each patient 30 successive cardiac cycles were analyzed and the relative variations of four parameters were assessed: R-R interval, diastolic and systolic time intervals, and ejection amplitude, corresponding to the left ventricular stroke volume. The mean variations were respectively 3.4%, 10.4%, 8.4%, and 11.8% in patients with sinus rhythm, and 21.9%, 37.9%, 10.6% and 30.5% in patients with artrial fibrillation. This demonstrates that changes in ejection are mainly related to the duration of the filling phase, with nearly constant systolic times. Correlations between R-R intervals and systolic ejection amplitudes were highly significant (P<0.001) in patients with atrial fibrillation in 85% of cases. This information complements the average ejection fraction obtained from multiple cycle superimposition.

Brief, recurrent, and spontaneous episodes of loss of consciousness in a healthy young male

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sherly Abraham

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Sherly Abraham1, Sarath Reddy2, Joseph Abboud2, Krishnamurthy Jonnalagadda3, Sasi K Ghanta1, Vasantha Kondamudi11Family Medicine Department, 2Faculty Attending Cardiology Department, 3Internal Medicine Department, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY, USAIntroduction: Lyme disease is caused by bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted by Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus ticks, which get infected while feeding on the reservoir host of the bacteria.1 About 248,074 cases of Lyme disease were reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1992–2006.2 Over 95% of these cases are reported from the Northeastern and upper Midwestern United States.3 Carditis is usually a clinical manifestation/complication of Lyme disease and is seen in approximately 5% of untreated cases.4Case presentation: A 32-year-old male Hispanic from Chile presented with brief episodes of loss of consciousness and awareness of irregular heart beat, and denied any history of tick bite. The patient was found to have a heart rate of 40 beats per minute and fluctuating variable atrioventricular blocks. A transvenous pacemaker was placed with good capture. The diagnosis was made with serological testing and gallium scanning. Treatment with antibiotics and continuous cardiac monitoring resulted in remarkable symptomatic improvement of the patient.Conclusion: Absence of history or evidence of tick bite must not rule out the possibility of Lyme carditis in a patient with a transient heart block. Prompt recognition of this reversible cause of heart block is essential for avoiding implantation of an unnecessary, permanent pacemaker.Keywords: Lyme carditis, transient heart block

Noninvasive beat-to-beat finger arterial pressure monitoring during orthostasis : a comprehensive review of normal and abnormal responses at different ages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Wijnen, V K; Finucane, C; Harms, M P M; Nolan, H; Freeman, R L; Westerhof, B. E.; Kenny, R A; Ter Maaten, J C; Wieling, W

2017-01-01

Over the past 30years, noninvasive beat-to-beat blood pressure (BP) monitoring has provided great insight into cardiovascular autonomic regulation during standing. Although traditional sphygmomanometric measurement of BP may be sufficient for detection of sustained orthostatic hypotension, it fails

The Effect of Binaural Beats on Visuospatial Working Memory and Cortical Connectivity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine Beauchene

Full Text Available Binaural beats utilize a phenomenon that occurs within the cortex when two different frequencies are presented separately to each ear. This procedure produces a third phantom binaural beat, whose frequency is equal to the difference of the two presented tones and which can be manipulated for non-invasive brain stimulation. The effects of binaural beats on working memory, the system in control of temporary retention and online organization of thoughts for successful goal directed behavior, have not been well studied. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated the effects of binaural beats on brain connectivity during working memory tasks. In this study, we determined the effects of different acoustic stimulation conditions on participant response accuracy and cortical network topology, as measured by EEG recordings, during a visuospatial working memory task. Three acoustic stimulation control conditions and three binaural beat stimulation conditions were used: None, Pure Tone, Classical Music, 5Hz binaural beats, 10Hz binaural beats, and 15Hz binaural beats. We found that listening to 15Hz binaural beats during a visuospatial working memory task not only increased the response accuracy, but also modified the strengths of the cortical networks during the task. The three auditory control conditions and the 5Hz and 10Hz binaural beats all decreased accuracy. Based on graphical network analyses, the cortical activity during 15Hz binaural beats produced networks characteristic of high information transfer with consistent connection strengths throughout the visuospatial working memory task.

The Effect of Binaural Beats on Visuospatial Working Memory and Cortical Connectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Beauchene, Christine; Abaid, Nicole; Moran, Rosalyn; Diana, Rachel A; Leonessa, Alexander

2016-01-01

Binaural beats utilize a phenomenon that occurs within the cortex when two different frequencies are presented separately to each ear. This procedure produces a third phantom binaural beat, whose frequency is equal to the difference of the two presented tones and which can be manipulated for non-invasive brain stimulation. The effects of binaural beats on working memory, the system in control of temporary retention and online organization of thoughts for successful goal directed behavior, have not been well studied. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated the effects of binaural beats on brain connectivity during working memory tasks. In this study, we determined the effects of different acoustic stimulation conditions on participant response accuracy and cortical network topology, as measured by EEG recordings, during a visuospatial working memory task. Three acoustic stimulation control conditions and three binaural beat stimulation conditions were used: None, Pure Tone, Classical Music, 5Hz binaural beats, 10Hz binaural beats, and 15Hz binaural beats. We found that listening to 15Hz binaural beats during a visuospatial working memory task not only increased the response accuracy, but also modified the strengths of the cortical networks during the task. The three auditory control conditions and the 5Hz and 10Hz binaural beats all decreased accuracy. Based on graphical network analyses, the cortical activity during 15Hz binaural beats produced networks characteristic of high information transfer with consistent connection strengths throughout the visuospatial working memory task.

The Effect of Heart Rate on the Heart Rate Variability Response to Autonomic Interventions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George E Billman

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Heart rate variability (HRV, the beat-to-beat variation in either heart rate (HR or heart period (R-R interval, has become a popular clinical and investigational tool to quantify cardiac autonomic regulation. However, it is not widely appreciated that, due to the inverse curvilinear relationship between HR and R-R interval, HR per se can profoundly influence HRV. It is, therefore, critical to correct HRV for the prevailing HR particularly, as HR changes in response to autonomic neural activation or inhibition. The present study evaluated the effects of HR on the HRV response to autonomic interventions that either increased (submaximal exercise, n = 25 or baroreceptor reflex activation, n = 20 or reduced (pharmacological blockade: β-adrenergic receptor, muscarinic receptor antagonists alone and in combination, n = 25, or bilateral cervical vagotomy, n = 9 autonomic neural activity in a canine model. Both total (RR interval standard deviation, RRSD and the high frequency variability (HF, 0.2 to 1.04 Hz were determined before and in response to an autonomic intervention. All interventions that reduced or abolished cardiac parasympathetic regulation provoked large reductions in HRV even after HR correction [division by mean RRsec or (mean RRsec2 for RRSD and HF, respectively] while interventions that reduced HR yielded mixed results. β-adrenergic receptor blockade reduced HRV (RRSD but not HF while both RRSD and HF increased in response to increases in arterial blood (baroreceptor reflex activation even after HR correction. These data suggest that the physiological basis for HRV is revealed after correction for prevailing HR and, further, that cardiac parasympathetic activity is responsible for a major portion of the HRV in the dog.

Non-model-based correction of respiratory motion using beat-to-beat 3D spiral fat-selective imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Keegan, Jennifer; Gatehouse, Peter D; Yang, Guang-Zhong; Firmin, David N

2007-09-01

To demonstrate the feasibility of retrospective beat-to-beat correction of respiratory motion, without the need for a respiratory motion model. A high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) spiral black-blood scan of the right coronary artery (RCA) of six healthy volunteers was acquired over 160 cardiac cycles without respiratory gating. One spiral interleaf was acquired per cardiac cycle, prior to each of which a complete low-resolution fat-selective 3D spiral dataset was acquired. The respiratory motion (3D translation) on each cardiac cycle was determined by cross-correlating a region of interest (ROI) in the fat around the artery in the low-resolution datasets with that on a reference end-expiratory dataset. The measured translations were used to correct the raw data of the high-resolution spiral interleaves. Beat-to-beat correction provided consistently good results, with the image quality being better than that obtained with a fixed superior-inferior tracking factor of 0.6 and better than (N = 5) or equal to (N = 1) that achieved using a subject-specific retrospective 3D translation motion model. Non-model-based correction of respiratory motion using 3D spiral fat-selective imaging is feasible, and in this small group of volunteers produced better-quality images than a subject-specific retrospective 3D translation motion model. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Human auditory steady state responses to binaural and monaural beats.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, D W F; Taylor, P

2005-03-01

Binaural beat sensations depend upon a central combination of two different temporally encoded tones, separately presented to the two ears. We tested the feasibility to record an auditory steady state evoked response (ASSR) at the binaural beat frequency in order to find a measure for temporal coding of sound in the human EEG. We stimulated each ear with a distinct tone, both differing in frequency by 40Hz, to record a binaural beat ASSR. As control, we evoked a beat ASSR in response to both tones in the same ear. We band-pass filtered the EEG at 40Hz, averaged with respect to stimulus onset and compared ASSR amplitudes and phases, extracted from a sinusoidal non-linear regression fit to a 40Hz period average. A 40Hz binaural beat ASSR was evoked at a low mean stimulus frequency (400Hz) but became undetectable beyond 3kHz. Its amplitude was smaller than that of the acoustic beat ASSR, which was evoked at low and high frequencies. Both ASSR types had maxima at fronto-central leads and displayed a fronto-occipital phase delay of several ms. The dependence of the 40Hz binaural beat ASSR on stimuli at low, temporally coded tone frequencies suggests that it may objectively assess temporal sound coding ability. The phase shift across the electrode array is evidence for more than one origin of the 40Hz oscillations. The binaural beat ASSR is an evoked response, with novel diagnostic potential, to a signal that is not present in the stimulus, but generated within the brain.

Smart pillow for heart-rate monitoring using a fiber optic sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhihao; Teo, Ju Teng; Ng, Soon Huat; Yim, Huiqing

2011-03-01

In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a new method to monitor heart rate using fiber optic microbending based sensor for in-bed non-intrusive monitoring. The sensing system consists of transmitter, receiver, sensor mat, National Instrument (NI) data acquisition (DAQ) card and a computer for signal processing. The sensor mat is embedded inside a commercial pillow. The heart rate measurement system shows an accuracy of +/-2 beats, which has been successfully demonstrated in a field trial. The key technological advantage of our system is its ability to measure heart rate with no preparation and minimal compliance by the patient.

Study of foetal heart rate patterns in pregnancy with intra-uterine growth restriction during antepartum period

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fardiazar, Z.; Abassalizade, F.

2013-01-01

Objectives: To evaluate foetal heart rate pattern during antepartum period in pregnancies suffering from intra-uterine growth restriction. Methods: The case control study was conducted at the Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran from April 2008 to April 2011. It comprised 100 pregnancies with intra-uterine growth restriction and 92 normal pregnancies. The foetal heart rate pattern including basal heart rate, beat-to-beat variation, non-stress test (NST) result and acceleration and deceleration patterns of the heart rate were determined in both groups during the antepartum period. Findings were compared between the two groups and their relation with pregnancy-foetal outcomes was specified in the case group. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the foetus mean basal heart rate in the two groups (p <0.960). Frequency of cases with non-reactive non-stress test in the Cases was significantly higher than Controls (p <0.005). The difference in heart rate acceleration was also not statistically significant (p <0.618). Frequency of cases with low birth weight and caesarian was non-significantly but borderline higher among the Cases (p <0.081 and 0.060, respectively). Conclusion: Abnormal foetal heart rate pattern is more common in pregnancies marked by intra-uterine growth restriction and is directly associated with worse pregnancy/foetal outcomes. (author)

Functional imaging of murine hearts using accelerated self-gated UTE cine MRI

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Motaal, Abdallah G.; Noorman, Nils; de Graaf, Wolter L.; Hoerr, Verena; Florack, Luc M. J.; Nicolay, Klaas; Strijkers, Gustav J.

2015-01-01

We introduce a fast protocol for ultra-short echo time (UTE) Cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the beating murine heart. The sequence involves a self-gated UTE with golden-angle radial acquisition and compressed sensing reconstruction. The self-gated acquisition is performed asynchronously

Measuring and characterizing beat phenomena with a smartphone

Science.gov (United States)

Osorio, M.; Pereyra, C. J.; Gau, D. L.; Laguarda, A.

2018-03-01

Nowadays, smartphones are in everyone’s life. Apart from being excellent tools for work and communication, they can also be used to perform several measurements of simple physical magnitudes, serving as a mobile and inexpensive laboratory, ideal for use physics lectures in high schools or universities. In this article, we use a smartphone to analyse the acoustic beat phenomena by using a simple experimental setup, which can complement lessons in the classroom. The beats were created by the superposition of the waves generated by two tuning forks, with their natural frequencies previously characterized using different applications. After the characterization, we recorded the beats and analysed the oscillations in time and frequency.

A quantitative electroencephalographic study of meditation and binaural beat entrainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavallee, Christina F; Koren, Stanley A; Persinger, Michael A

2011-04-01

The study objective was to determine the quantitative electroencephalographic correlates of meditation, as well as the effects of hindering (15 Hz) and facilitative (7 Hz) binaural beats on the meditative process. The study was a mixed design, with experience of the subject as the primary between-subject measure and power of the six classic frequency bands (δ, θ, low α, high α, β, γ), neocortical lobe (frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital), hemisphere (left, right), and condition (meditation only, meditation with 7-Hz beats, meditation with 15-Hz beats) as the within-subject measures. The study was conducted at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The subjects comprised novice (mean of 8 months experience) and experienced (mean of 18 years experience) meditators recruited from local meditation groups. Experimental manipulation included application of hindering and facilitative binaural beats to the meditative process. Experienced meditators displayed increased left temporal lobe δ power when the facilitative binaural beats were applied, whereas the effect was not observed for the novice subjects in this condition. When the hindering binaural beats were introduced, the novice subjects consistently displayed more γ power than the experienced subjects over the course of their meditation, relative to baseline. Based on the results of this study, novice meditators were not able to maintain certain levels of θ power in the occipital regions when hindering binaural beats were presented, whereas when the facilitative binaural beats were presented, the experienced meditators displayed increased θ power in the left temporal lobe. These results suggest that the experienced meditators have developed techniques over the course of their meditation practice to counter hindering environmental stimuli, whereas the novice meditators have not yet developed those techniques.

Mice lacking melanin-concentrating hormone receptor 1 demonstrate increased heart rate associated with altered autonomic activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Astrand, Annika; Bohlooly-Y, Mohammad; Larsdotter, Sara; Mahlapuu, Margit; Andersén, Harriet; Tornell, Jan; Ohlsson, Claes; Snaith, Mike; Morgan, David G A

2004-10-01

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) plays an important role in energy balance. The current studies were carried out on a new line of mice lacking the rodent MCH receptor (MCHR1(-/-) mice). These mice confirmed the previously reported lean phenotype characterized by increased energy expenditure and modestly increased caloric intake. Because MCH is expressed in the lateral hypothalamic area, which also has an important role in the regulation of the autonomic nervous system, heart rate and blood pressure were measured by a telemetric method to investigate whether the increased energy expenditure in these mice might be due to altered autonomic nervous system activity. Male MCHR1(-/-) mice demonstrated a significantly increased heart rate [24-h period: wild type 495 +/- 4 vs. MCHR1(-/-) 561 +/- 8 beats/min (P dark phase: wild type 506 +/- 8 vs. MCHR1(-/-) 582 +/- 9 beats/min (P light phase: wild type 484 +/- 13 vs. MCHR1(-/-) 539 +/- 9 beats/min (P vs. MCHR1(-/-) 113 +/- 0.4 mmHg (P > 0.05)]. Locomotor activity and core body temperature were higher in the MCHR1(-/-) mice during the dark phase only and thus temporally dissociated from heart rate differences. On fasting, wild-type animals rapidly downregulated body temperature and heart rate. MCHR1(-/-) mice displayed a distinct delay in the onset of this downregulation. To investigate the mechanism underlying these differences, autonomic blockade experiments were carried out. Administration of the adrenergic antagonist metoprolol completely reversed the tachycardia seen in MCHR1(-/-) mice, suggesting an increased sympathetic tone.

Effects of single cycle binaural beat duration on auditory evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Mihajloski, Todor; Bohorquez, Jorge; Özdamar, Özcan

2014-01-01

Binaural beat (BB) illusions are experienced as continuous central pulsations when two sounds with slightly different frequencies are delivered to each ear. It has been shown that steady-state auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) to BBs can be captured and investigated. The authors recently developed a new method of evoking transient AEPs to binaural beats using frequency modulated stimuli. This methodology was able to create single BBs in predetermined intervals with varying carrier frequencies. This study examines the effects of the BB duration and the frequency modulating component of the stimulus on the binaural beats and their evoked potentials. Normal hearing subjects were tested with a set of four durations (25, 50, 100, and 200 ms) with two stimulation configurations, binaural dichotic (binaural beats) and diotic (frequency modulation). The results obtained from the study showed that out of the given durations, the 100 ms beat, was capable of evoking the largest amplitude responses. The frequency modulation effect showed a decrease in peak amplitudes with increasing beat duration until their complete disappearance at 200 ms. Even though, at 200 ms, the frequency modulation effects were not present, the binaural beats were still perceived and captured as evoked potentials.

Auxotonic to isometric contraction transitioning in a beating heart causes myosin step-size to down shift.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas P Burghardt

Full Text Available Myosin motors in cardiac ventriculum convert ATP free energy to the work of moving blood volume under pressure. The actin bound motor cyclically rotates its lever-arm/light-chain complex linking motor generated torque to the myosin filament backbone and translating actin against resisting force. Previous research showed that the unloaded in vitro motor is described with high precision by single molecule mechanical characteristics including unitary step-sizes of approximately 3, 5, and 8 nm and their relative step-frequencies of approximately 13, 50, and 37%. The 3 and 8 nm unitary step-sizes are dependent on myosin essential light chain (ELC N-terminus actin binding. Step-size and step-frequency quantitation specifies in vitro motor function including duty-ratio, power, and strain sensitivity metrics. In vivo, motors integrated into the muscle sarcomere form the more complex and hierarchically functioning muscle machine. The goal of the research reported here is to measure single myosin step-size and step-frequency in vivo to assess how tissue integration impacts motor function. A photoactivatable GFP tags the ventriculum myosin lever-arm/light-chain complex in the beating heart of a live zebrafish embryo. Detected single GFP emission reports time-resolved myosin lever-arm orientation interpreted as step-size and step-frequency providing single myosin mechanical characteristics over the active cycle. Following step-frequency of cardiac ventriculum myosin transitioning from low to high force in relaxed to auxotonic to isometric contraction phases indicates that the imposition of resisting force during contraction causes the motor to down-shift to the 3 nm step-size accounting for >80% of all the steps in the near-isometric phase. At peak force, the ATP initiated actomyosin dissociation is the predominant strain inhibited transition in the native myosin contraction cycle. The proposed model for motor down-shifting and strain sensing involves ELC N

The brain responses to different frequencies of binaural beat sounds on QEEG at cortical level.

Science.gov (United States)

Jirakittayakorn, Nantawachara; Wongsawat, Yodchanan

2015-01-01

Beat phenomenon is occurred when two slightly different frequency waves interfere each other. The beat can also occur in the brain by providing two slightly different frequency waves separately each ear. This is called binaural beat. The brain responses to binaural beat are in discussion process whether the brain side and the brain area. Therefore, this study aims to figure out the brain responses to binaural beat by providing different binaural beat frequencies on 250 carrier tone continuously for 30 minutes to participants and using quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) to interpret the data. The result shows that different responses appear in different beat frequency. Left hemisphere dominance occur in 3 Hz beat within 15 minutes and 15 Hz beat within 5 minutes. Right hemisphere dominance occurs in 10 Hz beat within 25 minute. 6 Hz beat enhances all area of the brain within 10 minutes. 8 Hz and 25 Hz beats have no clearly responses while 40 Hz beat enhances the responses in frontal lobe. These brain responses can be used for brain modulation application to induce the brain activity in further studies.

The effect of binaural beats on verbal working memory and cortical connectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Beauchene, Christine; Abaid, Nicole; Moran, Rosalyn; Diana, Rachel A; Leonessa, Alexander

2017-04-01

Synchronization in activated regions of cortical networks affect the brain's frequency response, which has been associated with a wide range of states and abilities, including memory. A non-invasive method for manipulating cortical synchronization is binaural beats. Binaural beats take advantage of the brain's response to two pure tones, delivered independently to each ear, when those tones have a small frequency mismatch. The mismatch between the tones is interpreted as a beat frequency, which may act to synchronize cortical oscillations. Neural synchrony is particularly important for working memory processes, the system controlling online organization and retention of information for successful goal-directed behavior. Therefore, manipulation of synchrony via binaural beats provides a unique window into working memory and associated connectivity of cortical networks. In this study, we examined the effects of different acoustic stimulation conditions during an N-back working memory task, and we measured participant response accuracy and cortical network topology via EEG recordings. Six acoustic stimulation conditions were used: None, Pure Tone, Classical Music, 5 Hz binaural beats, 10 Hz binaural beats, and 15 Hz binaural beats. We determined that listening to 15 Hz binaural beats during an N-Back working memory task increased the individual participant's accuracy, modulated the cortical frequency response, and changed the cortical network connection strengths during the task. Only the 15 Hz binaural beats produced significant change in relative accuracy compared to the None condition. Listening to 15 Hz binaural beats during the N-back task activated salient frequency bands and produced networks characterized by higher information transfer as compared to other auditory stimulation conditions.

Global beta-beating compensation of the ALS W16 wiggler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robin, D.; Decking, W.; Nishimura, H.

1997-05-01

The W16 wiggler is the first wiggler and highest field insertion device to be installed in the ALS storage ring. When the gaps of the W16 wiggler are closed, the vertical tune increases by 0.065 and the vertical beta function is distorted by up to ±37%. There are 48 quadrupoles in the ring whose fields can be adjusted individually to restore the tunes and partially compensate the beta-beating. In order to adjust the quadrupole field strengths to accurately compensate the focusing, it is necessary to have a method to precisely determine the beta-beating. In this paper we compare measurements of the induced beta-beating using two methods: measuring the tune dependence on quadrupole field strength and fitting a lattice model with measured response matrices. The fitted model also allows us to predict quadrupole field strengths that will best compensate the beta beating. These quadrupole field strengths are then applied and the resultant beta-beating is measured

Beat-wave generation of plasmons in semiconductor plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berezhiani, V.I.; Mahajan, S.M.

1995-08-01

It is shown that in semiconductor plasmas, it is possible to generate large amplitude plasma waves by the beating of two laser beams with frequency difference close to the plasma frequency. For narrow gap seimconductors (for example n-type InSb), the system can simulate the physics underlying beat wave generation in relativistic gaseous plasmas

Keeping the Beat: A Large Sample Study of Bouncing and Clapping to Music

Science.gov (United States)

Tranchant, Pauline; Vuvan, Dominique T.; Peretz, Isabelle

2016-01-01

The vast majority of humans move in time with a musical beat. This behaviour has been mostly studied through finger-tapping synchronization. Here, we evaluate naturalistic synchronization responses to music–bouncing and clapping–in 100 university students. Their ability to match the period of their bounces and claps to those of a metronome and musical clips varying in beat saliency was assessed. In general, clapping was better synchronized with the beat than bouncing, suggesting that the choice of a specific movement type is an important factor to consider in the study of sensorimotor synchronization processes. Performance improved as a function of beat saliency, indicating that beat abstraction plays a significant role in synchronization. Fourteen percent of the population exhibited marked difficulties with matching the beat. Yet, at a group level, poor synchronizers showed similar sensitivity to movement type and beat saliency as normal synchronizers. These results suggest the presence of quantitative rather than qualitative variations when losing the beat. PMID:27471854

Keeping the Beat: A Large Sample Study of Bouncing and Clapping to Music.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pauline Tranchant

Full Text Available The vast majority of humans move in time with a musical beat. This behaviour has been mostly studied through finger-tapping synchronization. Here, we evaluate naturalistic synchronization responses to music-bouncing and clapping-in 100 university students. Their ability to match the period of their bounces and claps to those of a metronome and musical clips varying in beat saliency was assessed. In general, clapping was better synchronized with the beat than bouncing, suggesting that the choice of a specific movement type is an important factor to consider in the study of sensorimotor synchronization processes. Performance improved as a function of beat saliency, indicating that beat abstraction plays a significant role in synchronization. Fourteen percent of the population exhibited marked difficulties with matching the beat. Yet, at a group level, poor synchronizers showed similar sensitivity to movement type and beat saliency as normal synchronizers. These results suggest the presence of quantitative rather than qualitative variations when losing the beat.

Regulation of basal and reserve cardiac pacemaker function by interactions of cAMP mediated PKA-dependent Ca2+ cycling with surface membrane channels

Science.gov (United States)

Vinogradova, Tatiana M.; Lakatta, Edward G.

2009-01-01

Decades of intensive research of primary cardiac pacemaker, the sinoatrial node, have established potential roles of specific membrane channels in the generation of the diastolic depolarization, the major mechanism allowing sinoatrial node cells generate spontaneous beating. During the last three decades, multiple studies made either in the isolated sinoatrial node or sinoatrial node cells have demonstrated a pivotal role of Ca2+ and, specifically Ca2+-release from sarcoplasmic reticulum, for spontaneous beating of cardiac pacemaker. Recently, spontaneous, rhythmic local subsarcolemmal Ca2+ releases from ryanodine receptors during late half of the diastolic depolarization have been implicated as a vital factor in the generation of sinoatrial node cells spontaneous firing. Local Ca2+ releases are driven by a unique combination of high basal cAMP production by adenylyl cyclases, high basal cAMP degradation by phosphodiesterases and a high level of cAMP-mediated PKA-dependent phosphorylation. These local Ca2+ releases activate an inward Na+-Ca2+ exchange current which accelerates the terminal diastolic depolarization rate and, thus, controls the spontaneous pacemaker firing. Both the basal primary pacemaker beating rate and its modulation via β-adrenergic receptor stimulation appear to be critically dependent upon intact RyR function and local subsarcolemmal sarcoplasmic reticulum generated Ca2+ releases. This review aspires to integrate the traditional viewpoint that has emphasized the supremacy of the ensemble of surface membrane ion channels in spontaneous firing of the primary cardiac pacemaker, and these novel perspectives of cAMP-mediated PKA-dependent Ca2+ cycling in regulation of the heart pacemaker clock, both in the basal state and during β-adrenergic receptor stimulation. PMID:19573534

Characterizing Spatial Dynamics of Bifurcation to Alternans in Isolated Whole Rabbit Hearts Based on Alternate Pacing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanchan Kulkarni

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Sudden cardiac death instigated by ventricular fibrillation (VF is the largest cause of natural death in the USA. Alternans, a beat-to-beat alternation in the action potential duration, has been implicated as being proarrhythmic. The onset of alternans is mediated via a bifurcation, which may occur through either a smooth or a border-collision mechanism. The objective of this study was to characterize the mechanism of bifurcation to alternans based on experiments in isolated whole rabbit hearts. High resolution optical mapping was performed and the electrical activity was recorded from the left ventricle (LV epicardial surface of the heart. Each heart was paced using an “alternate pacing protocol,” where the basic cycle length (BCL was alternatively perturbed by ±δ. Local onset of alternans in the heart, BCLstart, was measured in the absence of perturbations (δ=0 and was defined as the BCL at which 10% of LV exhibited alternans. The influences of perturbation size were investigated at two BCLs: one prior to BCLstart (BCLprior=BCLstart+20 ms and one preceding BCLprior (BCLfar=BCLstart+40 ms. Our results demonstrate significant spatial correlation of the region exhibiting alternans with smooth bifurcation characteristics, indicating that transition to alternans in isolated rabbit hearts occurs predominantly through smooth bifurcation.

Spontaneous Recanalization of Complete Internal Carotid Artery: A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

examination revealed global aphasia and right hemiplegia. No carotid bruits or heart murmurs were. ABSTRACT. Spontaneous recanalization of atherothrombotic extracranial cerebral arteries is rare vis-à-vis recanalization of intracranial vessels. The time course is unknown. The question is the advisability and timing of ...

What makes a rhythm complex? The influence of musical training and accent type on beat perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouwer, Fleur L; Burgoyne, J Ashley; Odijk, Daan; Honing, Henkjan; Grahn, Jessica A

2018-01-01

Perception of a regular beat in music is inferred from different types of accents. For example, increases in loudness cause intensity accents, and the grouping of time intervals in a rhythm creates temporal accents. Accents are expected to occur on the beat: when accents are "missing" on the beat, the beat is more difficult to find. However, it is unclear whether accents occurring off the beat alter beat perception similarly to missing accents on the beat. Moreover, no one has examined whether intensity accents influence beat perception more or less strongly than temporal accents, nor how musical expertise affects sensitivity to each type of accent. In two experiments, we obtained ratings of difficulty in finding the beat in rhythms with either temporal or intensity accents, and which varied in the number of accents on the beat as well as the number of accents off the beat. In both experiments, the occurrence of accents on the beat facilitated beat detection more in musical experts than in musical novices. In addition, the number of accents on the beat affected beat finding more in rhythms with temporal accents than in rhythms with intensity accents. The effect of accents off the beat was much weaker than the effect of accents on the beat and appeared to depend on musical expertise, as well as on the number of accents on the beat: when many accents on the beat are missing, beat perception is quite difficult, and adding accents off the beat may not reduce beat perception further. Overall, the different types of accents were processed qualitatively differently, depending on musical expertise. Therefore, these findings indicate the importance of designing ecologically valid stimuli when testing beat perception in musical novices, who may need different types of accent information than musical experts to be able to find a beat. Furthermore, our findings stress the importance of carefully designing rhythms for social and clinical applications of beat perception, as not

Small functional If current in sinoatrial pacemaker cells of the brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) heart despite strong expression of HCN channel transcripts.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassinen, Minna; Haverinen, Jaakko; Vornanen, Matti

2017-12-01

Funny current ( I f ), formed by hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (HCN channels), is supposed to be crucial for the membrane clock regulating the cardiac pacemaker mechanism. We examined the presence and activity of HCN channels in the brown trout ( Salmo trutta fario ) sinoatrial (SA) pacemaker cells and their putative role in heart rate ( f H ) regulation. Six HCN transcripts (HCN1, HCN2a, HCN2ba, HCN2bb, HCN3, and HCN4) were expressed in the brown trout heart. The total HCN transcript abundance was 4.0 and 4.9 times higher in SA pacemaker tissue than in atrium and ventricle, respectively. In the SA pacemaker, HCN3 and HCN4 were the main isoforms representing 35.8 ± 2.7 and 25.0 ± 1.5%, respectively, of the total HCN transcripts. Only a small I f with a mean current density of -1.2 ± 0.37 pA/pF at -140 mV was found in 4 pacemaker cells out of 16 spontaneously beating cells examined, despite the optimization of recording conditions for I f activity. I f was not found in any of the 24 atrial myocytes and 21 ventricular myocytes examined. HCN4 coexpressed with the MinK-related peptide 1 (MiRP1) β-subunit in CHO cells generated large I f currents. In contrast, HCN3 (+MiRP1) failed to produce I f in the same expression system. Cs + (2 mM), which blocked 84 ± 12% of the native I f , reversibly reduced f H 19.2 ± 3.6% of the excised multicellular pacemaker tissue from 53 ± 5 to 44 ± 5 beats/min ( P brown trout heart is largely independent on I f . Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Mathematical Modeling of Flow Characteristics in the Embryonic Chick Heart

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heebøll-Christensen, Jesper

This ph.d. thesis contains the mathematical modeling of fluid dynamical phenomena in the tubular embryonic chick heart at HH-stages 10, 12, 14, and 16. The models are constructed by application of energy bond technique and involve the elasticity of heart walls with elliptic cross-section, Womersley...... modified inertia, and resistance due to friction and curvature of the multilayered tubular heart. Through the modeling, flow conditions in the embryonic heart are characterized. The models suggest that eccentric rather than concentric deformation of the beating heart is optimal for mean flows induced...... the models are not conclusive on this point. In addition the Liebau effect is investigated in a simpler system containing two elastic tubes joined to form a liquid filled ring, with a compression pump at an asymmetric location. Through comparison to other reports the system validates model construction...

Deep learning based beat event detection in action movie franchises

Science.gov (United States)

Ejaz, N.; Khan, U. A.; Martínez-del-Amor, M. A.; Sparenberg, H.

2018-04-01

Automatic understanding and interpretation of movies can be used in a variety of ways to semantically manage the massive volumes of movies data. "Action Movie Franchises" dataset is a collection of twenty Hollywood action movies from five famous franchises with ground truth annotations at shot and beat level of each movie. In this dataset, the annotations are provided for eleven semantic beat categories. In this work, we propose a deep learning based method to classify shots and beat-events on this dataset. The training dataset for each of the eleven beat categories is developed and then a Convolution Neural Network is trained. After finding the shot boundaries, key frames are extracted for each shot and then three classification labels are assigned to each key frame. The classification labels for each of the key frames in a particular shot are then used to assign a unique label to each shot. A simple sliding window based method is then used to group adjacent shots having the same label in order to find a particular beat event. The results of beat event classification are presented based on criteria of precision, recall, and F-measure. The results are compared with the existing technique and significant improvements are recorded.

Beat-wave generation of plasmons in semiconductor plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berezhiani, V.I.; Mahajan, S.M.

1995-08-01

It is shown that in semiconductor plasmas, it is possible to generate large amplitude plasma waves by the beating of two laser beams with frequency difference close to the plasma frequency. For narrow gap semiconductor (for example n-type InSb), the system can simulate the physics underlying beat wave generation in relativistic gaseous plasmas. (author). 7 refs

Effects of digoxin and. beta. -methyldigoxin on the heart rate of decompensated patients with atrial fibrillation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, K E; Johansson, B W; Ledermann, H; von Schenck, H; Thorell, J I [Lund Univ. (Sweden). Clinical Pharmacological Lab.; Allmaenna Sjukhuset, Malmoe (Sweden). Heat Lab.; Allmaenna Sjukhuset, Malmoe (Sweden). Dept. of Clinical Chemistry)

1977-02-01

Eighteen patients with atrial fibrillation were given digoxin 0.13 mg twice daily for 3 weeks and ..beta..-methyldigoxin 0.10 mg twice daily for another 3 weeks. At the end of each 3 week period an exercise test was performed and the effects on the heart rate of the two drugs were compared. No difference in heart rate was obtained at rest, wheareas the heart rate after 6 min of exercise was higher during treatment with digoxin (131 beats/min) than when the patients were taking ..beta..-methyldigoxin (124 beats/min). There were no significant differences between digoxin and ..beta..-methyldigoxin in their effects on the ECT (R-R intervals, T-wave, Q-T duration). The plasma concentrations of the two glycosides were determined by radioimmunoassay and by /sup 86/Rb-uptake inhibition assay. Comparable plasma concentration values (1.0 ng/ml for digoxin, 1.1 ng/ml for ..beta..-methyldigoxin, mean values) were obtained by radioimmunoassay, but the /sup 86/Rb-technique gave significantly higher values (mean 1.5 ng/ml) for ..beta..-methyldigoxin. It is concluded that ..beta..-methyldigoxin is equal to digoxin for producing slowing of the heart rate in patients with atrial fibrillation.

The effect of binaural beats on verbal working memory and cortical connectivity

Science.gov (United States)

Beauchene, Christine; Abaid, Nicole; Moran, Rosalyn; Diana, Rachel A.; Leonessa, Alexander

2017-04-01

Objective. Synchronization in activated regions of cortical networks affect the brain’s frequency response, which has been associated with a wide range of states and abilities, including memory. A non-invasive method for manipulating cortical synchronization is binaural beats. Binaural beats take advantage of the brain’s response to two pure tones, delivered independently to each ear, when those tones have a small frequency mismatch. The mismatch between the tones is interpreted as a beat frequency, which may act to synchronize cortical oscillations. Neural synchrony is particularly important for working memory processes, the system controlling online organization and retention of information for successful goal-directed behavior. Therefore, manipulation of synchrony via binaural beats provides a unique window into working memory and associated connectivity of cortical networks. Approach. In this study, we examined the effects of different acoustic stimulation conditions during an N-back working memory task, and we measured participant response accuracy and cortical network topology via EEG recordings. Six acoustic stimulation conditions were used: None, Pure Tone, Classical Music, 5 Hz binaural beats, 10 Hz binaural beats, and 15 Hz binaural beats. Main results. We determined that listening to 15 Hz binaural beats during an N-Back working memory task increased the individual participant’s accuracy, modulated the cortical frequency response, and changed the cortical network connection strengths during the task. Only the 15 Hz binaural beats produced significant change in relative accuracy compared to the None condition. Significance. Listening to 15 Hz binaural beats during the N-back task activated salient frequency bands and produced networks characterized by higher information transfer as compared to other auditory stimulation conditions.

Enhanced timing abilities in percussionists generalize to rhythms without a musical beat.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Daniel J; Grahn, Jessica A

2014-01-01

The ability to entrain movements to music is arguably universal, but it is unclear how specialized training may influence this. Previous research suggests that percussionists have superior temporal precision in perception and production tasks. Such superiority may be limited to temporal sequences that resemble real music or, alternatively, may generalize to musically implausible sequences. To test this, percussionists and nonpercussionists completed two tasks that used rhythmic sequences varying in musical plausibility. In the beat tapping task, participants tapped with the beat of a rhythmic sequence over 3 stages: finding the beat (as an initial sequence played), continuation of the beat (as a second sequence was introduced and played simultaneously), and switching to a second beat (the initial sequence finished, leaving only the second). The meters of the two sequences were either congruent or incongruent, as were their tempi (minimum inter-onset intervals). In the rhythm reproduction task, participants reproduced rhythms of four types, ranging from high to low musical plausibility: Metric simple rhythms induced a strong sense of the beat, metric complex rhythms induced a weaker sense of the beat, nonmetric rhythms had no beat, and jittered nonmetric rhythms also had no beat as well as low temporal predictability. For both tasks, percussionists performed more accurately than nonpercussionists. In addition, both groups were better with musically plausible than implausible conditions. Overall, the percussionists' superior abilities to entrain to, and reproduce, rhythms generalized to musically implausible sequences.

Enhanced Timing Abilities in Percussionists Generalize to Rhythms Without a Musical Beat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel J Cameron

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The ability to entrain movements to music is arguably universal, but it is unclear how specialized training may influence this. Previous research suggests that percussionists have superior temporal precision in perception and production tasks. Such superiority may be limited to temporal sequences that resemble real music or, alternatively, may generalize to musically implausible sequences. To test this, percussionists and nonpercussionists completed two tasks that used rhythmic sequences varying in musical plausibility. In the beat tapping task, participants tapped with the beat of a rhythmic sequence over 3 stages: finding the beat (as an initial sequence played, continuation of the beat (as a second sequence was introduced and played simultaneously, and switching to a second beat (the initial sequence finished, leaving only the second. The metres of the two sequences were either congruent or incongruent, as were their tempi (minimum inter-onset intervals. In the rhythm reproduction task, participants reproduced rhythms of four types, ranging from high to low musical plausibility: Metric simple rhythms induced a strong sense of the beat, metric complex rhythms induced a weaker sense of the beat, nonmetric rhythms had no beat, and jittered nonmetric rhythms also had no beat as well as low temporal predictability. For both tasks, percussionists performed more accurately than nonpercussionists. In addition, both groups were better with musically plausible than implausible conditions. Overall, the percussionists’ superior abilities to entrain to, and reproduce, rhythms generalized to musically implausible sequences.

Accelerated high-frame-rate mouse heart cine-MRI using compressed sensing reconstruction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Motaal, Abdallah G.; Coolen, Bram F.; Abdurrachim, Desiree; Castro, Rui M.; Prompers, Jeanine J.; Florack, Luc M. J.; Nicolay, Klaas; Strijkers, Gustav J.

2013-01-01

We introduce a new protocol to obtain very high-frame-rate cinematographic (Cine) MRI movies of the beating mouse heart within a reasonable measurement time. The method is based on a self-gated accelerated fast low-angle shot (FLASH) acquisition and compressed sensi ng reconstruction. Key to our

Study on the Relationship among Parents' Cognition on China Anti-Domestic Violence, Attitude of Beating Children and Frequency of Beating Children

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Shi

2018-01-01

This research aims at analyzing the correlation between parents' awareness of anti-domestic violence in China, attitude and frequency of beating children. According to the literature analysis, this paper sets children's parents' anti-domestic violence cognition and attitude of beating children as independent variable, and the frequency of beating…

[Increased sympathetic activity assessed by spectral analysis of heart rate variability in patients with CRPS I].

Science.gov (United States)

Schulze, J; Troeger, C

2010-02-01

The complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS I) is a painful neuropathic disorder with an antecedent disproportionate trauma leading to spontaneous pain, hyperalgesia, impaired motor function, swelling, changes in sweating and vascular abnormalities without nerve injury. Whether this syndrome is the result of central or peripheral autonomic dysfunction is still a matter of debate. The purpose of this study was to determine the activity of the sympathetic nervous system in patients with CRPS I by power spectral analysis of heart rate variability. This is a pilot study on 6 patients (mean age 50 years; 4 female, 2 male) diagnosed as suffering from CRPS I and 6 age-matched healthy controls. In the pain-free interval and after taking rest for 5 min, 512 subsequent heart beats were obtained with an ECG standard lead II in the supine and then sitting position. Using an autoregressive model, power spectral densities were calculated for the following frequency bands: CRPS I compared to the healthy controls in the supine position (LF/HF=4.01 vs. LF/HF=1.27; p=0.041). The application of stress by changing to the sitting position even increased that difference (6.72 vs. 1.93). Our results support the hypothesis that the pathogenesis of the early stage CRPS I might be related to an increased sympathetic activity. By assessing the autonomic influence on the heart rate variability in CRPS I patients we could also conclude that this disturbance occurs rather at a central level. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York.

Changes in Heart Rhythm and Breathing in Acute Systemic Injury Due to Cold

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Yu. Konnov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: to reveal the patterns of a change in heart rhythm and breathing in patients with acute systemic injury due to cold in hypothermic and early posthypothermic periods.Subjects and methods. Thirty patients aged 18 to 60 years (3 groups of 10 patients with mild, moderate, and severe cold injury were examined in hypothermic and posthypothermic periods. The patient groups did not differ in gender, age, and weight. Within the first 24 hours after admission, all the patients underwent high-resolution Holter electrocardiographic monitoring that recorded cardiac arrhythmias and breathing disorders.Results. During the therapy performed, as the degree of acute systemic cold injury increased, the patients were found to have a heart rate reduction (from 102 [90; 122] beats/min in Group 1 to 49 [38; 58] beats/min in Group 3 and a circadian index increase (from 105 [88; 125]% in Group 1 to 210 [185; 223]% in Group 3. With increased hypothermia, the victims were detected to have progressive cardiac rhythm and cardiac electrical conduction disturbances, such as supraventricular pacemaker migration, single and paired supraventricular premature beats, paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, atrial fibrillations, and ventricular premature beats. There was decreased heart rhythm variability in all the study groups, to the greatest extent in the patents with severe systemic cold injury. Late ventricular potentials were found in 2 and 7 patients with moderate and severe cold injury, respectively. Breathing disorders were recorded in all the study groups, the greatest increase in the frequency and duration of apnea/hypopnea episodes was noted in the patients with severe hypothermia. A fatal outcome occurred in 4 of the 10 patients with critical hypothermia due to the occurrence of idioventricular rhythm with transition to asystole.Conclusion. Systemic hypothermia is accompanied by cardiac rhythm and cardiac electrical conduction disturbances and respiratory depression

Reduction of heart volume during neoadjuvant chemoradiation in patients with resectable esophageal cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haj Mohammad, Nadia; Kamphuis, Martijn; Hulshof, Maarten C.C.M.; Lutkenhaus, Lotte J.; Gisbertz, Suzanne S.; Bergman, Jacques J.G.H.M.; Bruin-Bon, H.A.C.M. Rianne de; Geijsen, Elisabeth D.; Bel, Arjan; Boekholdt, S. Mathijs; Laarhoven, Hanneke W.M. van

2015-01-01

Background and purpose: Neoadjuvant chemoradiation (nCRT) followed by surgery is considered curative intent treatment for patients with resectable esophageal cancer. The aim was to establish hemodynamic aspects of changes in heart volume and to explore whether changes in heart volume resulted in clinically relevant changes in the dose distribution of radiotherapy. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in patients who were treated with nCRT consisting of carboplatin and paclitaxel concomitant with radiotherapy (41.4 Gy/1.8 Gy per fraction). Physical parameters, cardiac volume on CT and Cone beam CT, cardiac blood markers and cardiac ultrasound were obtained. Results: In 23 patients a significant decrease of 55.3 ml in heart volume was detected (95% CI 36.7–73.8 ml, p < 0.001). There was a decrease in both systolic (mean decrease 18 mmHg, 95% CI 11–26 mmHg, p < 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (mean decrease 8 mmHg, 95% CI 2–14 mmHg, p = 0.008) and an increase in heart rate with 6 beats/min (95% CI 1–11 beats/min, p = 0.021). Except for Troponin T, no change in other cardiac markers and echocardiography parameters were observed. The change in heart volume did not result in a clinically relevant change in radiation dose distribution. Conclusion: Heart volume was significantly reduced, but was not accompanied by overt cardiac dysfunction. All observed changes in hemodynamic parameters are consistent with volume depletion. Adaptation of the treatment plan during the course of radiotherapy is not advocated

Beat Dreams?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Bent

2009-01-01

Two of the founding members of the Beat Generation of the 1950s wrote dream books with almost identical titles: Jack Kerouac's Book of Dreams (1961) and William Burroughs' My Education: A Book of Dreams (1995). This paper queries the function of such dream books, both from a perspective of seeing...... dream writing as a confessional genre, and from the perspective of didacticism implicit in sharing one's dream life with one's readers. What role does memory, politics, fantasies and reality play in communicating with and via dreams?...

Auditory beat stimulation and its effects on cognition and mood States.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaieb, Leila; Wilpert, Elke Caroline; Reber, Thomas P; Fell, Juergen

2015-01-01

Auditory beat stimulation may be a promising new tool for the manipulation of cognitive processes and the modulation of mood states. Here, we aim to review the literature examining the most current applications of auditory beat stimulation and its targets. We give a brief overview of research on auditory steady-state responses and its relationship to auditory beat stimulation (ABS). We have summarized relevant studies investigating the neurophysiological changes related to ABS and how they impact upon the design of appropriate stimulation protocols. Focusing on binaural-beat stimulation, we then discuss the role of monaural- and binaural-beat frequencies in cognition and mood states, in addition to their efficacy in targeting disease symptoms. We aim to highlight important points concerning stimulation parameters and try to address why there are often contradictory findings with regard to the outcomes of ABS.

Plasma protein concentration and control of coronary vascular resistance in isolated rat heart

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Avolio, A. P.; Spaan, J. A.; Laird, J. D.

1980-01-01

Isolated externally paced (300 beats/min) rat hearts were perfused at constant pressure (70 mmHg) using a modified Krebs-Henseleit solution with (n = 52) and without (n = 15) washed bovine red cells. Albumin concentration varied from 1 to 10 g/dl. With increasing albumin concentration in

Aerobic exercise training improves oxidative stress and ubiquitin proteasome system activity in heart of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Science.gov (United States)

de Andrade, Luiz Henrique Soares; de Moraes, Wilson Max Almeida Monteiro; Matsuo Junior, Eduardo Hiroshi; de Orleans Carvalho de Moura, Elizabeth; Antunes, Hanna Karen Moreira; Montemor, Jairo; Antonio, Ednei Luiz; Bocalini, Danilo Sales; Serra, Andrey Jorge; Tucci, Paulo José Ferreira; Brum, Patricia Chakur; Medeiros, Alessandra

2015-04-01

The activity of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) and the level of oxidative stress contribute to the transition from compensated cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure in hypertension. Moreover, aerobic exercise training (AET) is an important therapy for the treatment of hypertension, but its effects on the UPS are not completely known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of AET on UPS's activity and oxidative stress level in heart of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). A total of 53 Wistar and SHR rats were randomly divided into sedentary and trained groups. The AET protocol was 5×/week in treadmill for 13 weeks. Exercise tolerance test, non-invasive blood pressure measurement, echocardiographic analyses, and left ventricle hemodynamics were performed during experimental period. The expression of ubiquitinated proteins, 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), Akt, phospho-Akt(ser473), GSK3β, and phospho-GSK3β(ser9) were analyzed by western blotting. The evaluation of lipid hydroperoxide concentration was performed using the xylenol orange method, and the proteasomal chymotrypsin-like activity was measured by fluorimetric assay. Sedentary hypertensive group presented cardiac hypertrophy, unaltered expression of total Akt, phospho-Akt, total GSK3β and phospho-GSK3β, UPS hyperactivity, increased lipid hydroperoxidation as well as elevated expression of 4-HNE but normal cardiac function. In contrast, AET significantly increased exercise tolerance, decreased resting systolic blood pressure and heart rate in hypertensive animals. In addition, the AET increased phospho-Akt expression, decreased phospho-GSK3β, and did not alter the expression of total Akt, total GSK3β, and ubiquitinated proteins, however, significantly attenuated 4-HNE levels, lipid hydroperoxidation, and UPS's activity toward normotensive group levels. Our results provide evidence for the main effect of AET on attenuating cardiac ubiquitin proteasome hyperactivity and oxidative stress in SHR

Intracranial electroencephalography power and phase synchronization changes during monaural and binaural beat stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Becher, Ann-Katrin; Höhne, Marlene; Axmacher, Nikolai; Chaieb, Leila; Elger, Christian E; Fell, Juergen

2015-01-01

Auditory stimulation with monaural or binaural auditory beats (i.e. sine waves with nearby frequencies presented either to both ears or to each ear separately) represents a non-invasive approach to influence electrical brain activity. It is still unclear exactly which brain sites are affected by beat stimulation. In particular, an impact of beat stimulation on mediotemporal brain areas could possibly provide new options for memory enhancement or seizure control. Therefore, we examined how electroencephalography (EEG) power and phase synchronization are modulated by auditory stimulation with beat frequencies corresponding to dominant EEG rhythms based on intracranial recordings in presurgical epilepsy patients. Monaural and binaural beat stimuli with beat frequencies of 5, 10, 40 and 80 Hz and non-superposed control signals were administered with low amplitudes (60 dB SPL) and for short durations (5 s). EEG power was intracranially recorded from mediotemporal, temporo-basal and temporo-lateral and surface sites. Evoked and total EEG power and phase synchronization during beat vs. control stimulation were compared by the use of Bonferroni-corrected non-parametric label-permutation tests. We found that power and phase synchronization were significantly modulated by beat stimulation not only at temporo-basal, temporo-lateral and surface sites, but also at mediotemporal sites. Generally, more significant decreases than increases were observed. The most prominent power increases were seen after stimulation with monaural 40-Hz beats. The most pronounced power and synchronization decreases resulted from stimulation with monaural 5-Hz and binaural 80-Hz beats. Our results suggest that beat stimulation offers a non-invasive approach for the modulation of intracranial EEG characteristics. © 2014 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Regeneration of the ciliary beat of human ciliated cells].

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, G; Koidl, B; Pelzmann, B

1991-10-01

The influence of an isotonic, alkaline saline solution (diluted "Emser Sole" or brine from the spa of Bad Ems) on the ciliary beat of isolated cultured human ciliated cells of the upper respiratory tract was investigated. The ciliary beat was observed via an inverted phase contrast microscope (Zeiss Axiomat IDPC) and measured microphotometrically under physiological conditions and after the damaging influence of 1% propanal solution. Under physiological conditions the saline solution had a positive, although statistically not significant influence on the frequency of the ciliary beat. After damage of the cultivated cells by 1% propanal solution, the saline solution had a significant better influence on the regeneration of the cultured cells than a physiological sodium chloride solution. It is concluded that diluted brine from Bad Ems has a positive effect on the ciliary beat of the respiratory epithelium and accelerates its regeneration after damage by viral and bacterial infections, surgery or inhaled noxae.

[Study of biometric identification of heart sound base on Mel-Frequency cepstrum coefficient].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Zhao, Yihua; Lei, Sheng; Zhao, Zikai; Pan, Min

2012-12-01

Heart sound is a physiological parameter with individual characteristics generated by heart beat. To do the individual classification and recognition, in this paper, we present our study of using wavelet transform in the signal denoising, with the Mel-Frequency cepstrum coefficients (MFCC) as the feature parameters, and propose a research of reducing the dimensionality through principal components analysis (PCA). We have done the preliminary study to test the feasibility of biometric identification method using heart sound. The results showed that under the selected experimental conditions, the system could reach a 90% recognition rate. This study can provide a reference for further research.

Transplantation of Hearts Donated after Circulatory Death

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher W. White

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Cardiac transplantation has become limited by a critical shortage of suitable organs from brain-dead donors. Reports describing the successful clinical transplantation of hearts donated after circulatory death (DCD have recently emerged. Hearts from DCD donors suffer significant ischemic injury prior to organ procurement; therefore, the traditional approach to the transplantation of hearts from brain-dead donors is not applicable to the DCD context. Advances in our understanding of ischemic post-conditioning have facilitated the development of DCD heart resuscitation strategies that can be used to minimize ischemia-reperfusion injury at the time of organ procurement. The availability of a clinically approved ex situ heart perfusion device now allows DCD heart preservation in a normothermic beating state and minimizes exposure to incremental cold ischemia. This technology also facilitates assessments of organ viability to be undertaken prior to transplantation, thereby minimizing the risk of primary graft dysfunction. The application of a tailored approach to DCD heart transplantation that focuses on organ resuscitation at the time of procurement, ex situ preservation, and pre-transplant assessments of organ viability has facilitated the successful clinical application of DCD heart transplantation. The transplantation of hearts from DCD donors is now a clinical reality. Investigating ways to optimize the resuscitation, preservation, evaluation, and long-term outcomes is vital to ensure a broader application of DCD heart transplantation in the future.

Asynchronous beating of cilia enhances particle capture rate

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Yang; Kanso, Eva

2014-11-01

Many aquatic micro-organisms use beating cilia to generate feeding currents and capture particles in surrounding fluids. One of the capture strategies is to ``catch up'' with particles when a cilium is beating towards the overall flow direction (effective stroke) and intercept particles on the downstream side of the cilium. Here, we developed a 3D computational model of a cilia band with prescribed motion in a viscous fluid and calculated the trajectories of the particles with different sizes in the fluid. We found an optimal particle diameter that maximizes the capture rate. The flow field and particle motion indicate that the low capture rate of smaller particles is due to the laminar flow in the neighbor of the cilia, whereas larger particles have to move above the cilia tips to get advected downstream which decreases their capture rate. We then analyzed the effect of beating coordination between neighboring cilia on the capture rate. Interestingly, we found that asynchrony of the beating of the cilia can enhance the relative motion between a cilium and the particles near it and hence increase the capture rate.

The effects of digoxin and β-methyldigoxin on the heart rate of decompensated patients with atrial fibrillation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, K.E.; Johansson, B.W.; Ledermann, H.; Schenck, H. von; Thorell, J.I.; Allmaenna Sjukhuset, Malmoe; Allmaenna Sjukhuset, Malmoe

1977-01-01

Eighteen patients with atrial fibrillation were given digoxin 0.13 mg twice daily for 3 weeks and β-methyldigoxin 0.10 mg twice daily for another 3 weeks. At the end of each 3 week period an exercise test was performed and the effects on the heart rate of the two drugs were compared. No difference in heart rate was obtained at rest, wheareas the heart rate after 6 min of exercise was higher during treatment with digoxin (131 beats/min) than when the patients were taking β-methyldigoxin (124 beats/min). There were no significant differences between digoxin and β-methyldigoxin in their effects on the ECT (R-R intervals, T-wave, Q-T duration). The plasma concentrations of the two glycosides were determined by radioimmunoassay and by 86 Rb-uptake inhibition assay. Comparable plasma concentration values (1.0 ng/ml for digoxin, 1.1 ng/ml for β-methyldigoxin, mean values) were obtained by radioimmunoassay, but the 86 Rb-technique gave significantly higher values (mean 1.5 ng/ml) for β-methyldigoxin. It is concluded that β-methyldigoxin is equal to digoxin for producing slowing of the heart rate in patients with atrial fibrillation. (orig.) [de

A novel recursive Fourier transform for nonuniform sampled signals: application to heart rate variability spectrum estimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, Alexander; Aboy, Mateo

2009-07-01

We present a novel method to iteratively calculate discrete Fourier transforms for discrete time signals with sample time intervals that may be widely nonuniform. The proposed recursive Fourier transform (RFT) does not require interpolation of the samples to uniform time intervals, and each iterative transform update of N frequencies has computational order N. Because of the inherent non-uniformity in the time between successive heart beats, an application particularly well suited for this transform is power spectral density (PSD) estimation for heart rate variability. We compare RFT based spectrum estimation with Lomb-Scargle Transform (LST) based estimation. PSD estimation based on the LST also does not require uniform time samples, but the LST has a computational order greater than Nlog(N). We conducted an assessment study involving the analysis of quasi-stationary signals with various levels of randomly missing heart beats. Our results indicate that the RFT leads to comparable estimation performance to the LST with significantly less computational overhead and complexity for applications requiring iterative spectrum estimations.

A New MRI-Based Model of Heart Function with Coupled Hemodynamics and Application to Normal and Diseased Canine Left Ventricles

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Young Joon; Constantino, Jason; Vedula, Vijay; Trayanova, Natalia; Mittal, Rajat

2015-01-01

A methodology for the simulation of heart function that combines an MRI-based model of cardiac electromechanics (CE) with a Navier–Stokes-based hemodynamics model is presented. The CE model consists of two coupled components that simulate the electrical and the mechanical functions of the heart. Accurate representations of ventricular geometry and fiber orientations are constructed from the structural magnetic resonance and the diffusion tensor MR images, respectively. The deformation of the ventricle obtained from the electromechanical model serves as input to the hemodynamics model in this one-way coupled approach via imposed kinematic wall velocity boundary conditions and at the same time, governs the blood flow into and out of the ventricular volume. The time-dependent endocardial surfaces are registered using a diffeomorphic mapping algorithm, while the intraventricular blood flow patterns are simulated using a sharp-interface immersed boundary method-based flow solver. The utility of the combined heart-function model is demonstrated by comparing the hemodynamic characteristics of a normal canine heart beating in sinus rhythm against that of the dyssynchronously beating failing heart. We also discuss the potential of coupled CE and hemodynamics models for various clinical applications. PMID:26442254

Clinical efficacy of efonidipine hydrochloride, a T-type calcium channel inhibitor, on sympathetic activities. Examination using spectral analysis of heart rate/blood pressure variabilities and 123I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harada, Kenji; Nomura, Masahiro; Nishikado, Akiyoshi; Uehara, Kouzoh; Nakaya, Yutaka; Ito, Susumu

2003-01-01

Dihydropyridine Ca antagonists cause reflex tachycardia related to their hypotensive effects. Efonidipine hydrochloride has inhibitory effects on T-type Ca channels, even as it inhibits reflex tachycardia. In the present study, the influence of efonidipine hydrochloride on heart rate and autonomic nervous function was investigated. Using an electrocardiogram and a tonometric blood pressure measurement, autonomic nervous activity was evaluated using spectral analysis of heart rate/systolic blood pressure variability. Three protocols were used: a single dose of efonidipine hydrochloride was administered orally to healthy subjects with resting heart rate values of 75 beats/min or more (high-heart rate (HR) group) and to healthy subjects with resting heart rate values less than 75 beats/min (low-HR group); efonidipine hydrochloride was newly administered to untreated patients with essential hypertension, and autonomic nervous activity was investigated after a 4-week treatment period; and patients with high heart rate values (≥75 beats/min) who had been treated with a dihydropyridine L-type Ca channel inhibitor for 1 month or more were switched to efonidipine hydrochloride and any changes in autonomic nervous activity were investigated. In all protocols, administration of efonidipine hydrochloride decreased the heart rate in patients with a high heart rate, reduced sympathetic nervous activity, and enhanced parasympathetic nervous activity. In addition, myocardial scintigraphy with 123 I-metaiodobenzylguanidine showed significant improvement in the washout rate and heart to mediastinum (H/M) ratio of patients who were switched from other dihydropyridine Ca antagonists to efonidipine hydrochloride. Efonidipine hydrochloride inhibits increases in heart rate and has effects on the autonomic nervous system. It may be useful for treating hypertension and angina pectoris, and may also have a cardiac protective function. (author)

Some nonlinear processes relevant to the beat wave accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bingham, R.; Mori, W.B.

1985-03-01

The beat wave accelerator depends on the generation of a large amplitude plasma wave with a phase velocity close to the velocity of light c. The plasma wave (ωsub(p), ksub(p)) is generated by beating colinear laser beams (ω 1 , k 1 ) and (ω 2 ,k 2 ) with ωsub(p) = ω 1 -ω 2 , ksub(p) = k 1 -k 2 . Since the process involves both large amplitude transverse and longitudinal waves, various nonlinear instabilities associated with either wave may occur. The object of the article is to discuss some of the processes that may compete with the beat wave generation listing their threshold and growth rate. (author)

Complete atrio-ventricular septal defect and Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gudrun Björkhem

2006-09-01

Full Text Available A full term female infant was born after 41 weeks of gestation, with a birth weight of 3815g and normal Apgar scores (9-10-10. Immediately after birth tachycardia was noted. An electrocardiogram (ECG showed a heart rate of 300 beats per minute (bpm and narrow QRS complexes. The newborn was clinically stable. She was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unite and an intravenous line was inserted for treatment with Adenosine. While preparing for Adenosine infusion her heart rate spontaneously decreased. Her ECG at presentation with normal heart rate is shown in figure1a. On auscultation, a soft systolic murmur was heard.

Relation between heart beat fluctuations and cyclic alternating pattern during sleep in insomnia patients.

Science.gov (United States)

de Leon-Lomeli, R; Murguia, J S; Chouvarda, I; Mendez, M O; Gonzalez-Galvan, E; Alba, A; Milioli, G; Grassi, A; Terzano, M G; Parrino, L

2014-01-01

Insomnia is a condition that affects the nervous and muscular system. Thirty percent of the population between 18 and 60 years suffers from insomnia. The effects of this disorder involve problems such as poor school or job performance and traffic accidents. In addition, patients with insomnia present changes in the cardiac function during sleep. Furthermore, the structure of electroencephalographic A-phases, which builds up the Cyclic Alternating Pattern during sleep, is related to the insomnia events. Therefore, the relationship between these brain activations (A-phases) and the autonomic nervous system would be of interest, revealing the interplay of central and autonomic activity during insomnia. With this goal, a study of the relationship between A-phases and heart rate fluctuations is presented. Polysomnography recording of five healthy subjects, five sleep misperception patients and five patients with psychophysiological insomnia were used in the study. Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) was used in order to evaluate the heart rate dynamics and this was correlated with the number of A-phases. The results suggest that pathological patients present changes in the dynamics of the heart rate. This is reflected in the modification of A-phases dynamics, which seems to modify of heart rate dynamics.

Changes in heart rate and heart rate variability during transportation of horses by road and air.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohmura, Hajime; Hobo, Seiji; Hiraga, Atsushi; Jones, James H

2012-04-01

To determine the influence of transportation by road and air on heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) in horses. Animals-6 healthy horses. ECG recordings were obtained from horses before (quarantine with stall rest [Q]; 24 hours) and during a journey that included transportation by road (RT; 4.5 hours), waiting on the ground in an air stall (W; 5.5 hours), and transportation by air (AT; 11 hours); HR was determined, and HRV indices of autonomic nervous activity (low-frequency [LF; 0.01 to 0.07 Hz] and high-frequency [HF; 0.07 to 0.6 Hz] power) were calculated. Mean ± SD HRs during Q, RT, W, and AT were 38.9 ± 1.5 beats/min, 41.7 ± 5.6 beats/min, 41.5 ± 4.3 beats/min, and 48.8 ± 5.6 beats/min, respectively; HR during AT was significantly higher than HR during Q. The LF power was significantly higher during Q (3,454 ± 1,087 milliseconds(2)) and AT (3,101 ± 567 milliseconds(2)) than it was during RT (1,824 ± 432 milliseconds(2)) and W (2,072 ± 616 milliseconds(2)). During Q, RT, W, and AT, neither HF powers (range, 509 to 927 milliseconds(2)) nor LF:HF ratios (range, 4.1 to 6.2) differed significantly. The HR during RT was highly correlated with LF power (R(2) = 0.979), and HR during AT was moderately correlated with the LF:HF ratio (R(2) = 0.477). In horses, HR and HRV indices during RT and AT differed, suggesting that exposure to different stressors results in different autonomic nervous influences on HR.

Evaluation of heart rhythm variability and arrhythmia in children with systemic and localized scleroderma.

Science.gov (United States)

Wozniak, Jacek; Dabrowski, Rafal; Luczak, Dariusz; Kwiatkowska, Malgorzata; Musiej-Nowakowska, Elzbieta; Kowalik, Ilona; Szwed, Hanna

2009-01-01

To evaluate possible disturbances in autonomic regulation and cardiac arrhythmias in children with localized and systemic scleroderma. There were 40 children included in the study: 20 with systemic and 20 with localized scleroderma. The control group comprised 20 healthy children. In 24-hour Holter recording, the average rate of sinus rhythm was significantly higher in the groups with systemic and localized scleroderma than in the control group, but there was no significant difference between them. The variability of heart rhythm in both groups was significantly decreased. In the group with systemic scleroderma, single supraventricular ectopic beats were observed in 20% and runs were seen in 40% of patients. In the group with localized scleroderma, supraventricular single ectopic beats occurred in 35% of patients and runs in 45% of those studied. Ventricular arrhythmia occurred in 2 children with systemic scleroderma, but in 1 child, it was complex. The most frequent cardiac arrhythmias in both types of scleroderma in children were of supraventricular origin, whereas ventricular arrhythmias did not occur very often. There were no significant differences in autonomic disturbances manifesting as a higher heart rate and decreased heart rate variability between localized and systemic scleroderma.

A comparison of the cardiovascular effects of simulated and spontaneous laughter.

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Mikaela M; Broadbent, Elizabeth A; Sollers, John J

2018-04-01

Laughter has long been regarded as beneficial for health, but the mechanisms are not clearly understood. The current study aimed to compare the acute cardiovascular effects of spontaneous and simulated laughter. A mixed factorial experiment was performed to examine changes in cardiovascular variables in response to experimental tasks across conditions. A sample of 72 participants were randomised to one of three 6 min interventions. Participants in the simulated laughter condition were asked to generate fake laughter, the spontaneous laughter condition viewed a humorous video, and the control condition watched a non-humorous documentary. This was followed by a laboratory stress task. Heart rate and heart rate variability (as indexed by rMSSD) were monitored continuously throughout the experiment using ECG. The simulated laughter condition had a significantly higher heart rate (p laughter task compared to the other two conditions. Follow-up hierarchical regressions indicated that the difference in heart rate was due to the fact that the simulated condition produced more laughter. The difference in rMSSD, however, was unique to the simulated condition even when controlling for the amount of laughter. The simulated laughter condition had a significantly lower mean HR during the stress task but this was not significant after controlling amount of laughter produced. Laughter leads to increased heart rate and reduced heart rate variability, which is similar to the effects of exercise. This finding is more pronounced in simulated laughter. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the interface of beating heart with total artificial heart using magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komoda, Tsuyoshi; Maeta, Hajime; Uyama, Chikao; Sanou, Kazuo.

1992-01-01

We have studied three-dimensionally (3-D) reconstructed images of atrioventricular (AV) annuli based on four-chamber magnetic resonance (MR) images for total artificial heart (TAH) implantation. To assess the interrelationship among the AV annuli and the thorax, we applied the frame of reference of the vertebral canal to these images. The Z-axis was along the vertebral canal, the Y-axis in the anteroposterior direction. The angle alpha was defined as the angle between the X-axis and the intersection between the plane of the annulus and the X-Y plane. The angle beta was defined as the angle between the Z-axis and the intersection between the plane of annulus and X-Z plane. The angle gamma was defined as the angle between the plane of the annulus and the anterior thoracic wall. We determined each angle for the mitral annulus (MVA) and tricuspid annulus (TVA) in four normal subjects to be as follows: alpha-MVA, 20.5-39.5 degrees; alpha-TVA, 26.1-43.5 degrees; beta-MVA, 4.7-49.4 degrees; beta-TVA, 4.4-40.9 degrees; and gamma-TVA, 35.2-44.1 degrees. It is suggested that reconstruction of the thoracic wall and AV annuli using the frame of reference of the diaphragmatic surface of the heart would facilitate evaluation of the spacial requirements for TAH implantation. Research to define this new frame of reference is in progress. (author)

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: Current State of the Science: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Sharonne N; Kim, Esther S H; Saw, Jacqueline; Adlam, David; Arslanian-Engoren, Cynthia; Economy, Katherine E; Ganesh, Santhi K; Gulati, Rajiv; Lindsay, Mark E; Mieres, Jennifer H; Naderi, Sahar; Shah, Svati; Thaler, David E; Tweet, Marysia S; Wood, Malissa J

2018-05-08

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) has emerged as an important cause of acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction, and sudden death, particularly among young women and individuals with few conventional atherosclerotic risk factors. Patient-initiated research has spurred increased awareness of SCAD, and improved diagnostic capabilities and findings from large case series have led to changes in approaches to initial and long-term management and increasing evidence that SCAD not only is more common than previously believed but also must be evaluated and treated differently from atherosclerotic myocardial infarction. High rates of recurrent SCAD; its association with female sex, pregnancy, and physical and emotional stress triggers; and concurrent systemic arteriopathies, particularly fibromuscular dysplasia, highlight the differences in clinical characteristics of SCAD compared with atherosclerotic disease. Recent insights into the causes of, clinical course of, treatment options for, outcomes of, and associated conditions of SCAD and the many persistent knowledge gaps are presented. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

A high-density EEG investigation into steady state binaural beat stimulation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Goodin

Full Text Available Binaural beats are an auditory phenomenon that has been suggested to alter physiological and cognitive processes including vigilance and brainwave entrainment. Some personality traits measured by the NEO Five Factor Model have been found to alter entrainment using pulsing light stimuli, but as yet no studies have examined if this occurs using steady state presentation of binaural beats for a relatively short presentation of two minutes. This study aimed to examine if binaural beat stimulation altered vigilance or cortical frequencies and if personality traits were involved. Thirty-one participants were played binaural beat stimuli designed to elicit a response at either the Theta (7 Hz or Beta (16 Hz frequency bands while undertaking a zero-back vigilance task. EEG was recorded from a high-density electrode cap. No significant differences were found in vigilance or cortical frequency power during binaural beat stimulation compared to a white noise control period. Furthermore, no significant relationships were detected between the above and the Big Five personality traits. This suggests a short presentation of steady state binaural beats are not sufficient to alter vigilance or entrain cortical frequencies at the two bands examined and that certain personality traits were not more susceptible than others.

A high-density EEG investigation into steady state binaural beat stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodin, Peter; Ciorciari, Joseph; Baker, Kate; Carey, Anne-Marie; Carrey, Anne-Marie; Harper, Michelle; Kaufman, Jordy

2012-01-01

Binaural beats are an auditory phenomenon that has been suggested to alter physiological and cognitive processes including vigilance and brainwave entrainment. Some personality traits measured by the NEO Five Factor Model have been found to alter entrainment using pulsing light stimuli, but as yet no studies have examined if this occurs using steady state presentation of binaural beats for a relatively short presentation of two minutes. This study aimed to examine if binaural beat stimulation altered vigilance or cortical frequencies and if personality traits were involved. Thirty-one participants were played binaural beat stimuli designed to elicit a response at either the Theta (7 Hz) or Beta (16 Hz) frequency bands while undertaking a zero-back vigilance task. EEG was recorded from a high-density electrode cap. No significant differences were found in vigilance or cortical frequency power during binaural beat stimulation compared to a white noise control period. Furthermore, no significant relationships were detected between the above and the Big Five personality traits. This suggests a short presentation of steady state binaural beats are not sufficient to alter vigilance or entrain cortical frequencies at the two bands examined and that certain personality traits were not more susceptible than others.

Continuing studies of the plasma beat wave accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joshi, C.

1990-01-01

This is a proposal for the release of third year funds for the ''Plasma Beat Wave Accelerator'' program (PBWA) at UCLA under the direction of Professor C. Joshi. This report is also a summary of progress on this project since March 1990; i.e., the date of the last report to the DOE. Once again we note that although the program is for historical reasons called the Plasma Beat Wave Accelerator Program, our group is active in all areas of applications of lasers and plasmas in future high energy accelerators. These are as follows: heat gradient plasma structures; excited by plasma beat wave technique; laser wake field technique; and plasma wake field technique. Development of a photoinjector-driven, 20 MeV linac; and theoretical studies of the plasma lens and use of plasmas at the final focus

Individual Differences in Beat Perception Affect Gait Responses to Low- and High-Groove Music

Science.gov (United States)

Leow, Li-Ann; Parrott, Taylor; Grahn, Jessica A.

2014-01-01

Slowed gait in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be improved when patients synchronize footsteps to isochronous metronome cues, but limited retention of such improvements suggest that permanent cueing regimes are needed for long-term improvements. If so, music might make permanent cueing regimes more pleasant, improving adherence; however, music cueing requires patients to synchronize movements to the “beat,” which might be difficult for patients with PD who tend to show weak beat perception. One solution may be to use high-groove music, which has high beat salience that may facilitate synchronization, and affective properties, which may improve motivation to move. As a first step to understanding how beat perception affects gait in complex neurological disorders, we examined how beat perception ability affected gait in neurotypical adults. Synchronization performance and gait parameters were assessed as healthy young adults with strong or weak beat perception synchronized to low-groove music, high-groove music, and metronome cues. High-groove music was predicted to elicit better synchronization than low-groove music, due to its higher beat salience. Two musical tempi, or rates, were used: (1) preferred tempo: beat rate matched to preferred step rate and (2) faster tempo: beat rate adjusted to 22.5% faster than preferred step rate. For both strong and weak beat-perceivers, synchronization performance was best with metronome cues, followed by high-groove music, and worst with low-groove music. In addition, high-groove music elicited longer and faster steps than low-groove music, both at preferred tempo and at faster tempo. Low-groove music was particularly detrimental to gait in weak beat-perceivers, who showed slower and shorter steps compared to uncued walking. The findings show that individual differences in beat perception affect gait when synchronizing footsteps to music, and have implications for using music in gait rehabilitation. PMID:25374521

Individual differences in beat perception affect gait responses to low- and high-groove music.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-Ann eLeow

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Slowed gait in Parkinson’s disease (PD patients can be improved when patients synchronize footsteps to isochronous metronome cues, but limited retention of such improvements suggest that permanent cueing regimes are needed for long-term improvements. If so, music might make permanent cueing regimes more pleasant, improving adherence; however, music cueing requires patients to synchronize movements to the beat, which might be difficult for PD patients who tend to show weak beat perception. One solution may be to use high groove music, which has high beat salience that may facilitate synchronization, and affective properties which may improve motivation to move. As a first step in understanding how beat perception affects gait in complex neurological disorders, we examined how beat perception ability affected gait in neurotypical adults. Synchronization performance and gait parameters were assessed as healthy young adults with strong or weak beat perception synchronized to low groove music, high groove music, and metronome cues. High groove music was predicted to elicit better synchronization than low groove music, due to its higher beat salience. Two musical tempi, or rates, were used: (1 preferred tempo: beat rate matched to preferred step rate and (2 faster tempo: beat rate adjusted to 22.5% faster than preferred step rate. For both strong and weak beat-perceivers, synchronization performance was best with metronome cues, followed by high groove music, and worst with low groove music. In addition, high groove music elicited longer and faster steps than low groove music, both at preferred tempo and at faster tempo. Low groove music was particularly detrimental to gait in weak beat-perceivers, who showed slower and shorter steps compared to uncued walking. The findings show that individual differences in beat perception affect gait when synchronizing footsteps to music, and have implications for using music in gait rehabilitation.

Myocardial Creatine Levels Do Not Influence Response to Acute Oxidative Stress in Isolated Perfused Heart

Science.gov (United States)

Aksentijević, Dunja; Zervou, Sevasti; Faller, Kiterie M. E.; McAndrew, Debra J.; Schneider, Jurgen E.; Neubauer, Stefan; Lygate, Craig A.

2014-01-01

Background Multiple studies suggest creatine mediates anti-oxidant activity in addition to its established role in cellular energy metabolism. The functional significance for the heart has yet to be established, but antioxidant activity could contribute to the cardioprotective effect of creatine in ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Objectives To determine whether intracellular creatine levels influence responses to acute reactive oxygen species (ROS) exposure in the intact beating heart. We hypothesised that mice with elevated creatine due to over-expression of the creatine transporter (CrT-OE) would be relatively protected, while mice with creatine-deficiency (GAMT KO) would fare worse. Methods and Results CrT-OE mice were pre-selected for creatine levels 20–100% above wild-type using in vivo 1H–MRS. Hearts were perfused in isovolumic Langendorff mode and cardiac function monitored throughout. After 20 min equilibration, hearts were perfused with either H2O2 0.5 µM (30 min), or the anti-neoplastic drug doxorubicin 15 µM (100 min). Protein carbonylation, creatine kinase isoenzyme activities and phospho-PKCδ expression were quantified in perfused hearts as markers of oxidative damage and apoptotic signalling. Wild-type hearts responded to ROS challenge with a profound decline in contractile function that was ameliorated by co-administration of catalase or dexrazoxane as positive controls. In contrast, the functional deterioration in CrT-OE and GAMT KO hearts was indistinguishable from wild-type controls, as was the extent of oxidative damage and apoptosis. Exogenous creatine supplementation also failed to protect hearts from doxorubicin-induced dysfunction. Conclusions Intracellular creatine levels do not influence the response to acute ROS challenge in the intact beating heart, arguing against creatine exerting (patho-)physiologically relevant anti-oxidant activity. PMID:25272153

Binaural beats and frequency-coding.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritze, W; Köhler, W

1986-01-01

Binaural beats were studied before and during a situation of temporary threshold shift, and no frequency shift could be found. In contrast, subjective binaural frequency comparison revealed a distinct shift. These findings demonstrate the two known modes of perception.

Spontaneous, local diastolic subsarcolemmal calcium releases in single, isolated guinea-pig sinoatrial nodal cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Sirenko, Syevda G; Yang, Dongmei; Maltseva, Larissa A; Kim, Mary S; Lakatta, Edward G; Maltsev, Victor A

2017-01-01

Uptake and release calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) (dubbed "calcium clock"), in the form of spontaneous, rhythmic, local diastolic calcium releases (LCRs), together with voltage-sensitive ion channels (membrane clock) form a coupled system that regulates the action potential (AP) firing rate. LCRs activate Sodium/Calcium exchanger (NCX) that accelerates diastolic depolarization and thus participating in regulation of the time at which the next AP will occur. Previous studies in rabbit SA node cells (SANC) demonstrated that the basal AP cycle length (APCL) is tightly coupled to the basal LCR period (time from the prior AP-induced Ca2+ transient to the diastolic LCR occurrence), and that this coupling is further modulated by autonomic receptor stimulation. Although spontaneous LCRs during diastolic depolarization have been reported in SANC of various species (rabbit, cat, mouse, toad), prior studies have failed to detect LCRs in spontaneously beating SANC of guinea-pig, a species that has been traditionally used in studies of cardiac pacemaker cell function. We performed a detailed investigation of whether guinea-pig SANC generate LCRs and whether they play a similar key role in regulation of the AP firing rate. We used two different approaches, 2D high-speed camera and classical line-scan confocal imaging. Positioning the scan-line beneath sarcolemma, parallel to the long axis of the cell, we found that rhythmically beating guinea-pig SANC do, indeed, generate spontaneous, diastolic LCRs beneath the surface membrane. The average key LCR characteristics measured in confocal images in guinea-pig SANC were comparable to rabbit SANC, both in the basal state and in the presence of β-adrenergic receptor stimulation. Moreover, the relationship between the LCR period and APCL was subtended by the same linear function. Thus, LCRs in guinea-pig SANC contribute to the diastolic depolarization and APCL regulation. Our findings indicate that coupled-clock system

More attentional focusing through binaural beats: evidence from the global-local task.

Science.gov (United States)

Colzato, Lorenza S; Barone, Hayley; Sellaro, Roberta; Hommel, Bernhard

2017-01-01

A recent study showed that binaural beats have an impact on the efficiency of allocating attention over time. We were interested to see whether this impact affects attentional focusing or, even further, the top-down control over irrelevant information. Healthy adults listened to gamma-frequency (40 Hz) binaural beats, which are assumed to increase attentional concentration, or a constant tone of 340 Hz (control condition) for 3 min before and during a global-local task. While the size of the congruency effect (indicating the failure to suppress task-irrelevant information) was unaffected by the binaural beats, the global-precedence effect (reflecting attentional focusing) was considerably smaller after gamma-frequency binaural beats than after the control condition. Our findings suggest that high-frequency binaural beats bias the individual attentional processing style towards a reduced spotlight of attention.

Heart rate effects of intraosseous injections using slow and fast rates of anesthetic solution deposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Susi, Louis; Reader, Al; Nusstein, John; Beck, Mike; Weaver, Joel; Drum, Melissa

2008-01-01

The authors, using a crossover design, randomly administered, in a single-blind manner, 3 primary intraosseous injections to 61 subjects using: the Wand local anesthetic system at a deposition rate of 45 seconds (fast injection); the Wand local anesthetic system at a deposition rate of 4 minutes and 45 seconds (slow injection); a conventional syringe injection at a deposition rate of 4 minutes and 45 seconds (slow injection), in 3 separate appointments spaced at least 3 weeks apart. A pulse oximeter measured heart rate (pulse). The results demonstrated the mean maximum heart rate was statistically higher with the fast intraosseous injection (average 21 to 28 beats/min increase) than either of the 2 slow intraosseous injections (average 10 to 12 beats/min increase). There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 slow injections. We concluded that an intraosseous injection of 1.4 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1 : 100,000 epinephrine with the Wand at a 45-second rate of anesthetic deposition resulted in a significantly higher heart rate when compared with a 4-minute and 45-second anesthetic solution deposition using either the Wand or traditional syringe.

Cardiorespiratory functional assessment after pediatric heart transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pastore, E; Turchetta, A; Attias, L; Calzolari, A; Giordano, U; Squitieri, C; Parisi, F

2001-12-01

Limited data are available on the exercise capacity of young heart transplant recipients. The aim of this study was therefore to assess cardiorespiratory responses to exercise in this group of patients. Fourteen consecutive heart transplant recipients (six girls and eight boys, age-range 5-15 yr) and 14 healthy matched controls underwent a Bruce treadmill test to determine: duration of test; resting and maximum heart rates; maximum systolic blood pressure; peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak); and cardiac output. Duration of test and heart rate increase were then compared with: time since transplantation, rejections per year, and immunosuppressive drugs received. The recipients also underwent the following lung function tests: forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). When compared with healthy controls, transplant recipients had tachycardia at rest (126 +/- 3.7 beats/min; p physical activity, possibly owing to over-protective parents and teachers and to a lack of suitable supervised facilities. The authors stress the importance of a cardiorespiratory functional evaluation for assessment of health status and to encourage recipients, if possible, to undertake regular physical activity.

Effect of Inhalation of Lavender Essential Oil on Vital Signs in Open Heart Surgery ICU.

Science.gov (United States)

Salamati, Armaiti; Mashouf, Soheyla; Mojab, Faraz

2017-01-01

This study evaluated the effects of inhalation of Lavender essential oil on vital signs in open heart surgery ICU. The main complaint of patients after open-heart surgery is dysrhythmia, tachycardia, and hypertension due to stress and pain. Due to the side effects of chemical drugs, such as opioids, use of non-invasive methods such as aromatherapy for relieving stress and pain parallel to chemical agents could be an important way to decrease the dose and side effects of analgesics. In a multicenter, single-blind trial, 40 patients who had open-heart surgery were recruited. Inclusion criteria were full consciousness, lack of hemorrhage, heart rate >60 beats/min, systolic blood pressure > 100 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure > 60 mmHg, not using beta blockers in the operating room or ICU, no history of addiction to opioids or use of analgesics in regular, spontaneous breathing ability and not receiving synthetic opioids within 2 h before extubation. Ten minutes after extubation, the patients› vital signs [including BP, HR, Central Venous Pressure (CVP), SPO2, and RR] were measured. Then, a cotton swab, which was impregnated with 2 drops of Lavender essential oil 2%, was placed in patients' oxygen mask and patients breathed for 10 min. Thirty minutes after aromatherapy, the vital signs were measured again. Main objective of this study was the change in vital sign before and after aromatherapy. Statistical significance was accepted for P 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.001), and heart rate (p = 0.03) before and after the intervention using paired t-test. Although, the results did not show any significant difference in respiratory rate (p = 0.1), SpO2 (p = 0.5) and CVP (p = 0.2) before and after inhaling Lavender essential oil. Therefore, the aromatherapy could effectively reduce blood pressure and heart rate in patients admitted to the open heart surgery ICU and can be used as an independent nursing intervention in stabilizing mentioned vital signs. The

Nonlinear and Stochastic Dynamics in the Heart

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Zhilin; Hu, Gang; Garfinkel, Alan; Weiss, James N.

2014-01-01

In a normal human life span, the heart beats about 2 to 3 billion times. Under diseased conditions, a heart may lose its normal rhythm and degenerate suddenly into much faster and irregular rhythms, called arrhythmias, which may lead to sudden death. The transition from a normal rhythm to an arrhythmia is a transition from regular electrical wave conduction to irregular or turbulent wave conduction in the heart, and thus this medical problem is also a problem of physics and mathematics. In the last century, clinical, experimental, and theoretical studies have shown that dynamical theories play fundamental roles in understanding the mechanisms of the genesis of the normal heart rhythm as well as lethal arrhythmias. In this article, we summarize in detail the nonlinear and stochastic dynamics occurring in the heart and their links to normal cardiac functions and arrhythmias, providing a holistic view through integrating dynamics from the molecular (microscopic) scale, to the organelle (mesoscopic) scale, to the cellular, tissue, and organ (macroscopic) scales. We discuss what existing problems and challenges are waiting to be solved and how multi-scale mathematical modeling and nonlinear dynamics may be helpful for solving these problems. PMID:25267872

Nonlinear and stochastic dynamics in the heart

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qu, Zhilin, E-mail: zqu@mednet.ucla.edu [Department of Medicine (Cardiology), David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Hu, Gang [Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Garfinkel, Alan [Department of Medicine (Cardiology), David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Weiss, James N. [Department of Medicine (Cardiology), David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)

2014-10-10

In a normal human life span, the heart beats about 2–3 billion times. Under diseased conditions, a heart may lose its normal rhythm and degenerate suddenly into much faster and irregular rhythms, called arrhythmias, which may lead to sudden death. The transition from a normal rhythm to an arrhythmia is a transition from regular electrical wave conduction to irregular or turbulent wave conduction in the heart, and thus this medical problem is also a problem of physics and mathematics. In the last century, clinical, experimental, and theoretical studies have shown that dynamical theories play fundamental roles in understanding the mechanisms of the genesis of the normal heart rhythm as well as lethal arrhythmias. In this article, we summarize in detail the nonlinear and stochastic dynamics occurring in the heart and their links to normal cardiac functions and arrhythmias, providing a holistic view through integrating dynamics from the molecular (microscopic) scale, to the organelle (mesoscopic) scale, to the cellular, tissue, and organ (macroscopic) scales. We discuss what existing problems and challenges are waiting to be solved and how multi-scale mathematical modeling and nonlinear dynamics may be helpful for solving these problems.

Nonlinear and stochastic dynamics in the heart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qu, Zhilin; Hu, Gang; Garfinkel, Alan; Weiss, James N.

2014-01-01

In a normal human life span, the heart beats about 2–3 billion times. Under diseased conditions, a heart may lose its normal rhythm and degenerate suddenly into much faster and irregular rhythms, called arrhythmias, which may lead to sudden death. The transition from a normal rhythm to an arrhythmia is a transition from regular electrical wave conduction to irregular or turbulent wave conduction in the heart, and thus this medical problem is also a problem of physics and mathematics. In the last century, clinical, experimental, and theoretical studies have shown that dynamical theories play fundamental roles in understanding the mechanisms of the genesis of the normal heart rhythm as well as lethal arrhythmias. In this article, we summarize in detail the nonlinear and stochastic dynamics occurring in the heart and their links to normal cardiac functions and arrhythmias, providing a holistic view through integrating dynamics from the molecular (microscopic) scale, to the organelle (mesoscopic) scale, to the cellular, tissue, and organ (macroscopic) scales. We discuss what existing problems and challenges are waiting to be solved and how multi-scale mathematical modeling and nonlinear dynamics may be helpful for solving these problems

Short-term versus long-term heart rate variability in ischemic cardiomyopathy risk stratification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas eVoss

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In industrialized countries with aging populations, heart failure affects 0.3%-2% of the general population. The investigation of 24h-ECG recordings revealed the potential of nonlinear indices of heart rate variability (HRV for enhanced risk stratification in patients with ischemic heart failure (IHF. However, long-term analyses are time-consuming, expensive and delay the initial diagnosis. The objective of this study was to investigate whether 30min short-term HRV analysis is sufficient for comparable risk stratification in IHF in comparison to 24h-HRV analysis. From 256 IHF patients (221 at low risk (IHFLR and 35 at high risk (IHFHR a 24h beat-to-beat time series b the first 30min segment c the 30min most stationary day segment and d the 30min most stationary night segment were investigated. We calculated linear (time and frequency domain and nonlinear HRV analysis indices. Optimal parameter sets for risk stratification in IHF were determined for 24 hours and for each 30min segment by applying discriminant analysis on significant clinical and non-clinical indices. Long- and short-term HRV indices from frequency domain and particularly from nonlinear dynamics revealed high univariate significances (p

Beat-wave excitation and current driven in tokamak plasma. Vol. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohamed, B F [Plasma physics Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

1996-03-01

Wave heating current drive in tokamaks is a growing subject in the plasma physics literature. For current drive in tokamaks by electromagnetic waves, different methods have been proposed recently. One of the promising schemes for current drive remains the beat wave scheme. This technique employs two CO- or counterpropagating monochromatic laser beams (or microwaves) whose frequency difference matches the plasma frequency, while the wave number difference (or sum, in the case of counterpropagating) determine the wave number of the resulting plasma beat wave. In this work, the basic analysis of a beat wave current drive scheme in which collinear waves are used is discussed. by assuming a Gaussian profile for the amplitude of these pump waves, the amplitudes of the longitudinal and radial fields of the beat wave due to the nonlinear wave interactions have been calculated. Besides, the transfer of momentum flux that accompanies the transfer of wave action in beat-wave scattering will be used to drive the toroidal radial currents in tokamaks. self-generated magnetic fields due to those currents were also calculated. 1 fig.

Volumetric Single-Beat Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography: Relationship of Image Quality, Heart Rate, and Body Mass Index. Initial Patient Experience With a New Computed Tomography Scanner.

Science.gov (United States)

Latif, Muhammad Aamir; Sanchez, Frank W; Sayegh, Karl; Veledar, Emir; Aziz, Muhammad; Malik, Rehan; Haider, Imran; Agatston, Arthur S; Batlle, Juan C; Janowitz, Warren; Peña, Constantino; Ziffer, Jack A; Nasir, Khurram; Cury, Ricardo C

2016-01-01

Cardiac computed tomography (CT) image quality (IQ) is very important for accurate diagnosis. We propose to evaluate IQ expressed as Likert scale, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) from coronary CT angiography images acquired with a new volumetric single-beat CT scanner on consecutive patients and assess the IQ dependence on heart rate (HR) and body mass index (BMI). We retrospectively analyzed the data of the first 439 consecutive patients (mean age, 55.13 [SD, 12.1] years; 51.47% male), who underwent noninvasive coronary CT angiography in a new single-beat volumetric CT scanner (Revolution CT) to evaluate chest pain at West Kendall Baptist Hospital. Based on patient BMI (mean, 29.43 [SD, 5.81] kg/m), the kVp (kilovolt potential) value and tube current were adjusted within a range of 80 to 140 kVp and 122 to 720 mA, respectively. Each scan was performed in a single-beat acquisition within 1 cardiac cycle, regardless of the HR. Motion correction software (SnapShot Freeze) was used for correcting motion artifacts in patients with higher HRs. Autogating was used to automatically acquire systolic and diastolic phases for higher HRs with electrocardiographic milliampere dose modulation. Image quality was assessed qualitatively by Likert scale and quantitatively by SNR and CNR for the 4 major vessels right coronary, left main, left anterior descending, and left circumflex arteries on axial and multiplanar reformatted images. Values for Likert scale were as follows: 1, nondiagnostic; 2, poor; 3, good; 4, very good; and 5, excellent. Signal-to-noise ratio and CNR were calculated from the average 2 CT attenuation values within regions of interest placed in the proximal left main and proximal right coronary artery. For contrast comparison, a region of interest was selected from left ventricular wall at midcavity level using a dedicated workstation. We divided patients in 2 groups related to the HR: less than or equal to 70 beats/min (bpm) and

Beat gestures and prosodic prominence: impact on learning

OpenAIRE

Kushch, Olga

2018-01-01

Previous research has shown that gestures are beneficial for language learning. This doctoral thesis centers on the effects of beat gestures– i.e., hand and arm gestures that are typically associated with prosodically prominent positions in speech - on such processes. Little is known about how the two central properties of beat gestures, namely how they mark both information focus and rhythmic positions in speech, can be beneficial for learning either a first or a second language. The main go...

Body Mass Index and spontaneous miscarriage.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Turner, Michael J

2012-02-01

OBJECTIVE: We compared the incidence of spontaneous miscarriage in women categorised as obese, based on a Body Mass Index (BMI) >29.9 kg\\/m(2), with women in other BMI categories. STUDY DESIGN: In a prospective observational study conducted in a university teaching hospital, women were enrolled at their convenience in the first trimester after a sonogram confirmed an ongoing singleton pregnancy with fetal heart activity present. Maternal height and weight were measured digitally and BMI calculated. Maternal body composition was measured by advanced bioelectrical impedance analysis. RESULTS: In 1200 women, the overall miscarriage rate was 2.8% (n=33). The mean gestational age at enrolment was 9.9 weeks. In the obese category (n=217), the miscarriage rate was 2.3% compared with 3.3% in the overweight category (n=329), and 2.3% in the normal BMI group (n=621). There was no difference in the mean body composition parameters, particularly fat mass parameters, between those women who miscarried and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: In women with sonographic evidence of fetal heart activity in the first trimester, the rate of spontaneous miscarriage is low and is not increased in women with BMI>29.9 kg\\/m(2) compared to women in the normal BMI category.

A binaural beat constructed from a noise

Science.gov (United States)

Akeroyd, Michael A

2012-01-01

The binaural beat has been used for over one hundred years as a stimulus for generating the percept of motion. Classically the beat consists of a pure tone at one ear (e.g. 500 Hz) and the same pure tone at the other ear but shifted upwards or downwards in frequency (e.g., 501 Hz). An experiment and binaural computational analysis are reported which demonstrate that a more powerful motion percept can be obtained by applying the concept of the frequency shift to a noise, via an upwards or downwards shift in the frequency of the Fourier components of its spectrum. PMID:21218863

Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking

OpenAIRE

Leman, Marc; Moelants, Dirk; Varewyck, Matthias; Styns, Frederik; van Noorden, Leon; Martens, Jean-Pierre

2013-01-01

Inspired by a theory of embodied music cognition, we investigate whether music can entrain the speed of beat synchronized walking. If human walking is in synchrony with the beat and all musical stimuli have the same duration and the same tempo, then differences in walking speed can only be the result of music-induced differences in stride length, thus reflecting the vigor or physical strength of the movement. Participants walked in an open field in synchrony with the beat of 52 different musi...

The role of nonlinear beating currents on parametric instabilities in magnetoplasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuo, S.P.

1996-01-01

A general coupled mode equation for the low-frequency decay modes of parametric instabilities in magnetoplasmas is derived. The relative importance of the nonlinear contributions from the ponderomotive force, nonlinear beating current, and anisotropic effect to the parametric coupling is then manifested by the coupling terms of the equation. It is first shown in the unmagnetized case, that the contribution of the nonlinear beating current is negligibly small because of the small coefficient (i.e., weight) of this current contribution, instead of the beating current itself. It then follows that the weight of the beating current contribution increases significantly in the magnetized case, and consequently, this contribution to the parametric coupling is found to be important, as exemplified by two specific examples. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Beat map drawing method for large oriental bell based on operational deflection shape method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Joong Hyeok; Kim, Seock Hyun [Dept. of Advanced Mechanical Engineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon (Korea, Republic of); Park, In Seok [TB Tires Development 1 Team, R and D Center, Kumho Tire, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

Oriental bells produce a peculiar sound in the form of beats, which are periodic repetitions of strong and weak sounds. A beating sound with a proper period gives the illusion of the bell being alive and breathing. To produce a good beating sound, appropriate modal parameters are required for beat tuning after casting the bell. Conventionally, modal parameters were extracted using frequency response functions of the excitation and response signals. However, a large oriental bell is usually struck by a heavy wooden hammer and hence, only the response signal can be measured. In this study, we extract the modal parameters using the response signal only and employ the data to predict the beat properties of the bell sound. Finally, the validity of the predicted beat properties is experimentally verified for a large oriental bell.

Measurement of the ejection fraction of the left ventricle with the isotope stethoscope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marving, J.; Hoeilund-Carlsen, P.F.; Jensen, G. (Koebenhavns Amts Sygehus, Glostrup (Denmark))

1982-01-01

Non-invasive measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction was performed in 21 patients by two observers with the Nuclear Stethoscope, a new, mobile, non-imaging single probe equipment. sup 99mTc was used for erythrocyte-labelling. Measurements were carried out in two different ways: beat-to-beat mode (i.e. for individual beats or a few beats at a time) and by ventricular function mode (i.e. for a composite beat, registered over a preselected period of time). There was good correlation between the two Nuclear Stethoscope modes (r=0.97) and between these and a simultaneous measurement made by gammacamera (r=0.90 and r=0.88). Despite uncertainties in the determination of correct background-level and centering over the left ventricle, there was no difference between the accuracy of the results of the two observers, compared with gammacamera measurements. The Nuclear Stethoscope is considerably cheaper than a gammacamera with computer-system, it is simple to operate, and can easily be used at the bedside, even in severely ill patients. A special feature is its capability of measuring sudden alterations in heart contractility on a beat-to-beat basis. Clinically it can be employed for both diagnostic purposes and for the monitoring of spontaneous courses and the effect of therapeutic interventions.

Measurement of the ejection fraction of the left ventricle with the isotope stethoscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marving, J.; Hoeilund-Carlsen, P.F.; Jensen, G.

1982-01-01

Non-invasive measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction was performed in 21 patients by two observers with the Nuclear Stethoscope, a new, mobile, non-imaging single probe equipment. sup 99mTc was used for erythrocyte-labelling. Measurements were carried out in two different ways: beat-to-beat mode (i.e. for individual beats or a few beats at a time) and by ventricular function mode (i.e. for a composite beat, registered over a preselected period of time). There was good correlation between the two Nuclear Stethoscope modes (r=0.97) and between these and a simultaneous measurement made by gammacamera (r=0.90 and r=0.88). Despite uncertainties in the determination of correct background-level and centering over the left ventricle, there was no difference between the accuracy of the results of the two observers, compared with gammacamera measurements. The Nuclear Stethoscope is considerably cheaper than a gammacamera with computer-system, it is simple to operate, and can easily be used at the bedside, even in severely ill patients. A special feature is its capability of measuring sudden alterations in heart contractility on a beat-to-beat basis. Clinically it can be employed for both diagnostic purposes and for the monitoring of spontaneous courses and the effect of therapeutic interventions. (authors)

[Assessment of the right ventricular function in healthy volunteers with one beat full-volume real-time three-dimensional echocardiography].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Wei-hong; Zhang, Jin; Tong, Kai; Zhi, Guang; He, Kun-lun

2012-08-01

To determine the normal value of right ventricle using one beat full-volume real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT-3DE) and assess the feasibility of this technique. One beat full volume images were acquired at the apical 4 chamber view in 129 healthy volunteers. The right and left ventricular volumes were examined with the eSie LVA and RVA. The subjects were divided into 2 gender groups (male and female) and 3 age groups (20 - 39 years old, 40 - 59 years old, 60 years old and above). Adequate data were obtained in 129 subjects. The RV-EDV was (92.4 ± 21.3) ml, RV-ESV (34.6 ± 9.2) ml, RV-SV (57.8 ± 13.9) ml, RV-EF (62.5 ± 5.0) ml. EDV, ESV, and EF were significant different while SV was similar between RV and LV (all P Right ventricle function can be measured noninvasively by RT-3DE with high feasibility. This novel method contributes to the detailed study of right heart function in various cardiovascular diseases.

Beat frequency ultrasonic microsphere contrast agent detection system

Science.gov (United States)

Pretlow, III, Robert A. (Inventor); Yost, William T. (Inventor); Cantrell, Jr., John H. (Inventor)

1997-01-01

A system for and method of detecting and measuring concentrations of an ultrasonically-reflective microsphere contrast agent involving detecting non-linear sum and difference beat frequencies produced by the microspheres when two impinging signals with non-identical frequencies are combined by mixing. These beat frequencies can be used for a variety of applications such as detecting the presence of and measuring the flow rates of biological fluids and industrial liquids, including determining the concentration level of microspheres in the myocardium.

Amyloidosis and spontaneous hepatic bleeding, transcatheter therapy for hepatic parenchymal bleeding with massive intraperitoneal hemorrhage: a case report and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Mousa, Albeir Y; Abu-Halimah, Shadi; Alhalbouni, Saadi; Hass, Stephen M; Yang, Calvin; Gill, Gurpreet; AbuRahma, Ali F; Bates, Mark

2014-10-01

Hepatic hemorrhage can be devastating, especially in patients with underlying hepatic pathology. This is a case report of a 50-year-old man who presented to the emergency room with Stage 3 shock as evidenced by a systolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg, a heart rate of 125 beats per minute, respiration of 32, with delayed capillary refill and agitation. At this time, he was found to have a massive spontaneous intra-abdominal hemorrhage with an advanced stage of amyloidosis with multiple organ malfunctions. The initial diagnosis was based on an abdominal computed tomography scan and the patient was taken expeditiously to a hybrid angiography suite for a celiac angiogram. An intraoperative diagnosis of extravasation from amyloid related vasculopathy was made based on the angiographic appearance of hepatic circulation. Coil embolization of the feeding branch of the bleeder was achieved using the interlock coil system and a completion angiogram was done showing complete cessation of active bleeding. The postoperative phase was uneventful and the patient was discharged home on postoperative day three. His postoperative visit at five months later was unremarkable. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Heart rate recovery in elite Spanish male athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Peinado, A B; Benito, P J; Barriopedro, M; Lorenzo, I; Maffulli, N; Calderón, F J

2014-06-01

During postexercise recovery, heart rate (HR) initially falls rapidly, followed by a period of slower decrease, until resting values are reached. The aim of the present work was to examine the differences in the recovery heart rate (RHR) between athletes engaged in static and dynamic sports. The study subjects were 294 federated sportsmen competing at the national and international level in sports classified using the criteria of Mitchell et al. as either prevalently static (N.=89) or prevalently dynamic (N.=205). Within the dynamic group, the subjects who practised the most dynamic sports were assigned to further subgroups: triathlon (N.=20), long distance running (N.=58), cycling (N.=28) and swimming (N.=12). All athletes were subjected to a maximum exertion stress test and their HR recorded at 1, 2, 3 and 4 min (RHR1,2,3,4) into the HR recovery period. The following indices of recovery (IR) were then calculated: IR1=(HRpeak-RHR1,2,3,4)/(HRmax-HRrest)*100, IR2=(HRpeak-RHR1,2,3,4)/(HRmax/HRpeak), and IR3=HRpeak-RHR1,2,3,4. The differences in the RHR and IR for the static and dynamic groups were examined using two way ANOVA. The RHR at minutes 2 (138.7±15.2 vs. 134.8±14.4 beats·min⁻¹) and 3 (128.5±15.2 vs. 123.3±14.4 beats·min⁻¹) were significantly higher for the static group (Group S) than the dynamic group (Group D), respectively. Significant differences were seen between Group D and S with respect to IR1 at minutes 1 (26.4±8.7 vs. 24.8±8.4%), 2 (43.8±8.1 vs. 41.5±7.8%), 3 (52.1±8.3 vs. 49.1±8%) and 4 (56.8±8.6 vs. 55.4±7.4%) of recovery. For IR2, significant differences were seen between the same groups at minutes 2 (59.7±12.5 vs. 55.9±10.8 beats·min⁻¹) and 3 (71.0±13.5 vs. 66.1±11.4 beats·min⁻¹) of recovery. Finally, for IR3, the only significant difference between Group D and S was recorded at minute 3 of recovery (72.2±12.5 vs. 66.2±11.5 beats·min⁻¹). This work provides information on RHR of a large population of elite

Spontaneous indices are inconsistent with arterial baroreflex gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipman, Ruth D; Salisbury, Julie K; Taylor, J Andrew

2003-10-01

Spontaneously occurring, parallel fluctuations in arterial pressure and heart period are frequently used as indices of baroreflex function. Despite the convenience of spontaneous indices, their relation to the arterial baroreflex remains unclear. Therefore, in 97 volunteers, we derived 5 proposed indices (sequence method, alpha-index, transfer function, low-frequency transfer function, and impulse response function), compared them with arterial baroreflex gain (by the modified Oxford pharmacologic technique), and examined their relation to carotid distensibility and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. The subjects comprised men and women (n=41) aged 25 to 86 years, 30% of whom had established coronary artery disease. Generally, the indices were correlated with each other (except alpha-index and low-frequency transfer function) and with baroreflex gain. However, the Bland-Altman method demonstrated that the spontaneous indices had limits of agreement as large as the baroreflex gain itself. Even in individuals within the lowest tertile of baroreflex gain for whom baroreflex gain appears to be the most clinically relevant, spontaneous indices failed to relate to baroreflex gain. In fact, for these individuals, there was no correlation between any index and baroreflex gain. Forward stepwise linear regression showed that all spontaneous indices and baroreflex gain were related to respiratory sinus arrhythmia, but only baroreflex gain was related to carotid distensibility. Therefore, these data suggest that spontaneous indices are inadequate estimates of gain and are inconsistent with arterial baroreflex function.

Multiscale time irreversibility of heart rate and blood pressure variability during orthostasis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chladekova, L; Czippelova, B; Turianikova, Z; Tonhajzerova, I; Calkovska, A; Javorka, M; Baumert, M

2012-01-01

Time irreversibility is a characteristic feature of non-equilibrium, complex systems such as the cardiovascular control mediated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Time irreversibility analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV) represents a new approach to assess cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms. The aim of this paper was to assess the changes in HRV and BPV irreversibility during the active orthostatic test (a balance of ANS shifted towards sympathetic predominance) in 28 healthy young subjects. We used three different time irreversibility indices—Porta’s, Guzik's and Ehler's indices (P%, G% and E, respectively) derived from data segments containing 1000 beat-to-beat intervals on four timescales. We observed an increase in the HRV and a decrease in the BPV irreversibility during standing compared to the supine position. The postural change in irreversibility was confirmed by surrogate data analysis. The differences were more evident in G% and E than P% and for higher scale factors. Statistical analysis showed a close relationship between G% and E. Contrary to this, the association between P% and G% and P% and E was not proven. We conclude that time irreversibility of beat-to-beat HRV and BPV is significantly altered during orthostasis, implicating involvement of the autonomous nervous system in its generation. (paper)

Spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity estimates during graded bicycle exercise: a comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallais, Frederic; Baselli, Giuseppe; Lucini, Daniela; Pagani, Massimo; Porta, Alberto

2009-01-01

In the literature, several methods have been proposed for the assessment of the baroreflex sensitivity from spontaneous variability of heart period and systolic arterial pressure. The present study compares the most utilized approaches for the evaluation of the spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (i.e. sequence-based, spectral, cross-spectral and model-based techniques) over a protocol capable of inducing a progressive decrease of the baroreflex sensitivity in the presence of a relevant respiratory drive (i.e. a stepwise dynamic bicycle exercise at 10%, 20% and 30% of the maximum nominal individual effort) in 16 healthy humans. Results demonstrated that the degree of correlation among the estimates is related to the structure of the model explicitly or implicitly assumed by the method and depends on the experimental condition (i.e. on the physiological mechanisms contemporaneously active with baroreflex, e.g. cardiopulmonary reflexes). However, even in the presence of a significant correlation, proportional and/or constant biases can be present, thus rendering spontaneous baroreflex estimates not interchangeable. We suggest that the comparison among different baroreflex sensitivity estimates might elucidate physiological mechanisms responsible for the relationship between heart period and systolic arterial pressure

Beating of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a closed-loop interferometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jo, Sanghyun; Chang, Dong-In; Lee, Hu-Jong; Khym, Gyong Luck; Kang, Kicheon; Chung, Yunchul; Mahalu, Diana; Umansky, Vladimir

2007-01-01

One of the points at issue with closed-loop-type interferometers is beating in the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations. Recent observations suggest the possibility that the beating results from the Berry-phase pickup by the conducting electrons in materials with the strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI). In this study, we also observed beats in the AB oscillations in a gate-defined closed-loop interferometer fabricated on a GaAs/Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 As two-dimensional electron-gas heterostructure. Since this heterostructure has very small SOI, the picture of the Berry-phase pickup is ruled out. The observation of beats in this study, with the controllability of forming a single transverse subband mode in both arms of our gate-defined interferometer, also rules out the often-claimed multiple transverse subband effect. It is observed that nodes of the beats with an h/2e period exhibit a parabolic distribution for varying the side gate. These results are shown to be well interpreted, without resorting to the SOI effect, by the existence of two-dimensional multiple longitudinal modes in a single transverse subband. The Fourier spectrum of measured conductance, despite showing multiple h/e peaks with the magnetic-field dependence that are very similar to that from strong-SOI materials, can also be interpreted as the two-dimensional multiple-longitudinal-modes effect

Cross-cultural influences on rhythm processing: reproduction, discrimination, and beat tapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Daniel J; Bentley, Jocelyn; Grahn, Jessica A

2015-01-01

The structures of musical rhythm differ between cultures, despite the fact that the ability to entrain movement to musical rhythm occurs in virtually all individuals across cultures. To measure the influence of culture on rhythm processing, we tested East African and North American adults on perception, production, and beat tapping for rhythms derived from East African and Western music. To assess rhythm perception, participants identified whether pairs of rhythms were the same or different. To assess rhythm production, participants reproduced rhythms after hearing them. To assess beat tapping, participants tapped the beat along with repeated rhythms. We expected that performance in all three tasks would be influenced by the culture of the participant and the culture of the rhythm. Specifically, we predicted that a participant's ability to discriminate, reproduce, and accurately tap the beat would be better for rhythms from their own culture than for rhythms from another culture. In the rhythm discrimination task, there were no differences in discriminating culturally familiar and unfamiliar rhythms. In the rhythm reproduction task, both groups reproduced East African rhythms more accurately than Western rhythms, but East African participants also showed an effect of cultural familiarity, leading to a significant interaction. In the beat tapping task, participants in both groups tapped the beat more accurately for culturally familiar than for unfamiliar rhythms. Moreover, there were differences between the two participant groups, and between the two types of rhythms, in the metrical level selected for beat tapping. The results demonstrate that culture does influence the processing of musical rhythm. In terms of the function of musical rhythm, our results are consistent with theories that musical rhythm enables synchronization. Musical rhythm may foster musical cultural identity by enabling within-group synchronization to music, perhaps supporting social cohesion.

ECG Based Heart Arrhythmia Detection Using Wavelet Coherence and Bat Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Kora, Padmavathi; Sri Rama Krishna, K.

2016-12-01

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a type of heart abnormality, during the AF electrical discharges in the atrium are rapid, results in abnormal heart beat. The morphology of ECG changes due to the abnormalities in the heart. This paper consists of three major steps for the detection of heart diseases: signal pre-processing, feature extraction and classification. Feature extraction is the key process in detecting the heart abnormality. Most of the ECG detection systems depend on the time domain features for cardiac signal classification. In this paper we proposed a wavelet coherence (WTC) technique for ECG signal analysis. The WTC calculates the similarity between two waveforms in frequency domain. Parameters extracted from WTC function is used as the features of the ECG signal. These features are optimized using Bat algorithm. The Levenberg Marquardt neural network classifier is used to classify the optimized features. The performance of the classifier can be improved with the optimized features.

Effect of Zhen-wu decoction on chronic heart failure in rats | Liu ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Results: Compared with normal control group, ZWD group showed decreased arterial systolic pressure (SBP, 89.16 ± 17.27 mmHg), diastolic pressure (DBP, 72.54 ± 22.36 mmHg), mean arterial pressure (MAP, 72.64 ± 11.87 mmHg), heart rate (HR, 368.25 ± 39.12 beats/min), left ventricular systolic peak (LVSP, 105.27 ...

Congenital Heart Disease: Causes, Diagnosis, Symptoms, and Treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, RongRong; Liu, Min; Lu, Lei; Zheng, Yi; Zhang, Peiying

2015-07-01

The congenital heart disease includes abnormalities in heart structure that occur before birth. Such defects occur in the fetus while it is developing in the uterus during pregnancy. About 500,000 adults have congenital heart disease in USA (WebMD, Congenital heart defects medications, www.WebMD.com/heart-disease/tc/congenital-heart-defects-medications , 2014). 1 in every 100 children has defects in their heart due to genetic or chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. The excessive alcohol consumption during pregnancy and use of medications, maternal viral infection, such as Rubella virus, measles (German), in the first trimester of pregnancy, all these are risk factors for congenital heart disease in children, and the risk increases if parent or sibling has a congenital heart defect. These are heart valves defects, atrial and ventricular septa defects, stenosis, the heart muscle abnormalities, and a hole inside wall of the heart which causes defect in blood circulation, heart failure, and eventual death. There are no particular symptoms of congenital heart disease, but shortness of breath and limited ability to do exercise, fatigue, abnormal sound of heart as heart murmur, which is diagnosed by a physician while listening to the heart beats. The echocardiogram or transesophageal echocardiogram, electrocardiogram, chest X-ray, cardiac catheterization, and MRI methods are used to detect congenital heart disease. Several medications are given depending on the severity of this disease, and catheter method and surgery are required for serious cases to repair heart valves or heart transplantation as in endocarditis. For genetic study, first DNA is extracted from blood followed by DNA sequence analysis and any defect in nucleotide sequence of DNA is determined. For congenital heart disease, genes in chromosome 1 show some defects in nucleotide sequence. In this review the causes, diagnosis, symptoms, and treatments of congenital heart disease are described.

“Would you like to meet the secret Beat?” – Tram Combs and a Beat poetry less celebrated

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Bent

of the poetry of Tram Combs, “the secret Beat”, whose 1957 collection Pilgrim’s Terrace contained forewords by both William Carlos Williams and Kenneth Rexroth, and whose collaborators included Allen Ginsberg – yet whose name is persistently left out of the Beat canon. One wonders why, when he is an example...... directly at Gorm, and asked: “Would you like to meet the secret Beat, then?” The old gentleman proceeded to introduce himself as Tram Combs, poet, bookseller, nude model and gay man about town, and for the next few days he took Gorm to art museums, gallery openings and story-telling sessions in his...

Robust electrocardiogram (ECG) beat classification using discrete wavelet transform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minhas, Fayyaz-ul-Amir Afsar; Arif, Muhammad

2008-01-01

This paper presents a robust technique for the classification of six types of heartbeats through an electrocardiogram (ECG). Features extracted from the QRS complex of the ECG using a wavelet transform along with the instantaneous RR-interval are used for beat classification. The wavelet transform utilized for feature extraction in this paper can also be employed for QRS delineation, leading to reduction in overall system complexity as no separate feature extraction stage would be required in the practical implementation of the system. Only 11 features are used for beat classification with the classification accuracy of ∼99.5% through a KNN classifier. Another main advantage of this method is its robustness to noise, which is illustrated in this paper through experimental results. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) has been used for feature reduction, which reduces the number of features from 11 to 6 while retaining the high beat classification accuracy. Due to reduction in computational complexity (using six features, the time required is ∼4 ms per beat), a simple classifier and noise robustness (at 10 dB signal-to-noise ratio, accuracy is 95%), this method offers substantial advantages over previous techniques for implementation in a practical ECG analyzer

Effects of Adiposity and Prader-Willi Syndrome on Postexercise Heart Rate Recovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diobel M. Castner

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Heart rate recovery (HRR is an indicator of all-cause mortality in children and adults. We aimed to determine the effect of adiposity and Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS, a congenital form of obesity, on HRR. Sixteen children of normal weight (NW = body fat % ≤85th percentile, 9.4 ± 1.1 y, 18 children with obesity (OB = body fat % >95th percentile, 9.3 ± 1.1 y, and 11 PWS youth (regardless of body fat %; 11.4 ± 2.5 y completed peak and submaximal bike tests on separate visits. HRR was recorded one minute following peak and submaximal exercises. All groups displayed similar HRR from peak exercise, while NW (54 ± 16 beats and OB (50 ± 12 beats exhibited a significantly faster HRR from submaximal exercise than PWS (37 ± 14 beats. These data suggest that excess adiposity does not influence HRR in children, but other factors such as low cardiovascular fitness and/or autonomic dysfunction might be more influential.

Association between resting heart rate and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in a community-based population study in Beijing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cao R

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Ruihua Cao, Yongyi Bai, Ruyi Xu, Ping Ye Department of Geriatric Cardiology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China Background: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP is associated with an increased risk of cardiac insufficiency, which possibly leads to heart failure. However, the relationship between resting heart rate and NT-proBNP is unclear.Objective: This study focuses on this relativity between resting heart rate and plasma NT-proBNP levels in a surveyed community-based population.Methods: We evaluated the relativity between resting heart rate and plasma levels of NT-proBNP in 1,567 participants (mean age 61.0 years, range 21–96 years from a community-based population in Beijing, People’s Republic of China.Results: In patients with high resting heart rate (≥75 beats/min, NT-proBNP was higher than in those having low resting heart rate (<75 beats/min. In multiple linear stepwise regression analysis, plasma NT-proBNP was associated with resting heart rate (partial correlation coefficient, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.18–1.51; P=0.011. A subsequent subgroup analysis revealed that the association between resting heart rate and plasma NT-proBNP was strengthened in subjects over 60 years old (partial correlation coefficient 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 0.49–2.36; P=0.031; while the relativity between resting heart rate and plasma NT-proBNP was not emerged in the younger subgroup (<60 years old.Conclusions: Resting heart rate was associated with plasma NT-proBNP in the elderly, which indicated a relationship between resting heart rate and cardiac function damage. Keywords: resting heart rate, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, epidemiology, cardiac function, relationship

Beat processing is pre-attentive for metrically simple rhythms with clear accents: an ERP study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fleur L Bouwer

Full Text Available The perception of a regular beat is fundamental to music processing. Here we examine whether the detection of a regular beat is pre-attentive for metrically simple, acoustically varying stimuli using the mismatch negativity (MMN, an ERP response elicited by violations of acoustic regularity irrespective of whether subjects are attending to the stimuli. Both musicians and non-musicians were presented with a varying rhythm with a clear accent structure in which occasionally a sound was omitted. We compared the MMN response to the omission of identical sounds in different metrical positions. Most importantly, we found that omissions in strong metrical positions, on the beat, elicited higher amplitude MMN responses than omissions in weak metrical positions, not on the beat. This suggests that the detection of a beat is pre-attentive when highly beat inducing stimuli are used. No effects of musical expertise were found. Our results suggest that for metrically simple rhythms with clear accents beat processing does not require attention or musical expertise. In addition, we discuss how the use of acoustically varying stimuli may influence ERP results when studying beat processing.

The Effect of Binaural Beats on Visuospatial Working Memory and Cortical Connectivity

OpenAIRE

Beauchene, Christine; Abaid, Nicole; Moran, Rosalyn; Diana, Rachel A.; Leonessa, Alexander

2016-01-01

Binaural beats utilize a phenomenon that occurs within the cortex when two different frequencies are presented separately to each ear. This procedure produces a third phantom binaural beat, whose frequency is equal to the difference of the two presented tones and which can be manipulated for non-invasive brain stimulation. The effects of binaural beats on working memory, the system in control of temporary retention and online organization of thoughts for successful goal directed behavior, hav...

Continuous ambulatory right heart pressure measurements with an implantable hemodynamic monitor: a multicenter, 12-month follow-up study of patients with chronic heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Magalski, Anthony; Adamson, Philip; Gadler, Frederick; Böehm, Michael; Steinhaus, David; Reynolds, Dwight; Vlach, Kathryn; Linde, Cecilia; Cremers, Bodo; Sparks, Brandon; Bennett, Tom

2002-04-01

We describe the performance of an implantable hemodynamic monitor (IHM) that allows continuous recording of heart rate, patient activity levels, and right ventricular systolic, right ventricular diastolic, and estimated pulmonary artery diastolic pressures. Pressure parameters derived from the implantable monitor were correlated to measurements made with a balloon-tipped catheter to establish accuracy and reproducibility over time in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). IHM devices were implanted in 32 patients with CHF (left ventricular ejection fraction, 29% +/- 11%; range, 14%-62%) and were tested with right heart catheterization at implantation and 3, 6, and 12 months later. Hemodynamic variables were digitally recorded simultaneously from the IHM and catheter. Values were recorded during supine rest, peak response of Valsalva maneuver, sitting, peak of a 2-stage (25-50 W) bicycle exercise test, and final rest period. The median of 21 paired beat-to-beat cardiac cycles was analyzed for each intervention. A total of 217 paired data values from all maneuvers were analyzed for 32 patients at implantation and 129 paired data values for 20 patients at 1 year. The IHM and catheter values were not different at baseline or at 1 year (P >.05). Combining all interventions, correlation coefficients were 0.96 and 0.94 for right ventricular systolic pressure, 0.96 and 0.83 for right ventricular diastolic pressure, and 0.87 and 0.87 for estimated pulmonary artery diastolic pressure at implantation and 1 year, respectively. The IHM and a standard reference pressure system recorded comparable right heart pressure values in patients with CHF. This implantable pressure transducer is accurate over time and provides a means to precisely monitor the hemodynamic condition of patients with CHF in a continuous fashion.

Wife beating refusal among women of reproductive age in urban and rural Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurmu, Eshetu; Endale, Senait

2017-03-16

Wife beating is the most common and widespread form of intimate partner violence in Ethiopia. It results in countless severe health, socio-economic and psychological problems and has contributed to the violation of human rights including the liberty of women to enjoy conjugal life. The main purpose of this study is to assess the levels and patterns of wife beating refusal and its associated socio-cultural and demographic factors in rural and urban Ethiopia. The 2011 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) data based on 11,097 and 5287 women in the reproductive age group (i.e. 15-49 years) living in rural and urban areas, respectively,were used in this study. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the internal consistency of the measure of women's attitudes towards wife beating. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences was applied to analyze the data. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify variables that significantly predict respondents' refusal of wife beating. Separate analysis by a place of residence was undertaken as attitude towards wife beating vary between rural and urban areas. The likelihood of refusing wife beating in Ethiopia was significantly higher among urban women (54.2%) than rural women (24.5%). Although there was a significant variations in attitude towards refusing wife beating among different regions in Ethiopia, increasing educational level, high access to media, age of respondents were associated with high level of refusal of wife beating. In contrast, rural residence, being in marital union, high number of living children, being followers of some religions (Muslim followers in urban and Protestants in rural) were associated with low level of refusal of wife beating. The findings of this study reveal that wife beating in Ethiopia is a function of demographic and socio-cultural factors among which age and educational attainment of respondents, number of living children, religious affiliation, marital commitment and

Echocardiographic Follow-Up of Patent Foramen Ovale and the Factors Affecting Spontaneous Closure.

Science.gov (United States)

Yildirim, Ali; Aydin, Alperen; Demir, Tevfik; Aydin, Fatma; Ucar, Birsen; Kilic, Zubeyir

2016-11-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the echocardiographic follow-up of patent foramen ovale, which is considered a potential etiological factor in various diseases, and to determine the factors affecting spontaneous closure. Between January 2000 and June 2012, records of 918 patients with patent foramen ovale were retrospectively reviewed. Patency of less than 3 mm around the fossa ovalis is called patent foramen ovale. Patients with cyanotic congenital heart diseases, severe heart valve disorders and severe hemodynamic left to right shunts were excluded from the study. The patients were divided into three groups based on age; 1 day-1 month in group 1, 1 month-12 months in group 2, and more than 12 months in group 3. Of the 918 patients, 564 (61.4%) had spontaneous closure, 328 (35.8%) had patent foramen ovale continued, 15 (1.6%) patients had patent foramen ovale enlarged to 3-5 mm, 6 patients were enlarged to 5-8 mm, and in one patient patent foramen ovale reached to more than 8 mm size. Defect was spontaneously closed in 65.9% of the patients in group 1, 66.7% of the patients in group 2, and 52.3% of the patients in group 3. There was a negative correlation between the age of diagnosis and spontaneous closure (p patent ductus arteriosus and atrial septal aneurysm did not have any effect on spontaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (p > 0.05). However, ventricular septal defect and spontaneous closure of patent foramen ovale had a positive correlation (p closure rate of patent foramen ovale is high. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between spontaneous closure of patent foramen ovale with early diagnosis and small defect size.

Far beyond the Sun - I. The beating magnetic heart in Horologium

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarado-Gómez, Julián D.; Hussain, Gaitee A. J.; Drake, Jeremy J.; Donati, Jean-François; Sanz-Forcada, Jorge; Stelzer, Beate; Cohen, Ofer; Amazo-Gómez, Eliana M.; Grunhut, Jason H.; Garraffo, Cecilia; Moschou, Sofia P.; Silvester, James; Oksala, Mary E.

2018-02-01

A former member of the Hyades cluster, ι Horologii (ι Hor) is a planet-hosting Sun-like star which displays the shortest coronal activity cycle known to date (Pcyc ∼ 1.6 yr). With an age of ∼625 Myr, ι Hor is also the youngest star with a detected activity cycle. The study of its magnetic properties holds the potential to provide fundamental information to understand the origin of cyclic activity and stellar magnetism in late-type stars. In this series of papers, we present the results of a comprehensive project aimed at studying the evolving magnetic field in this star and how this evolution influences its circumstellar environment. This paper summarizes the first stage of this investigation, with results from a long-term observing campaign of ι Hor using ground-based high-resolution spectropolarimetry. The analysis includes precise measurements of the magnetic activity and radial velocity of the star, and their multiple time-scales of variability. In combination with values reported in the literature, we show that the long-term chromospheric activity evolution of ι Hor follows a beating pattern, caused by the superposition of two periodic signals of similar amplitude at P1 ≃ 1.97 ± 0.02 yr and P2 ≃ 1.41 ± 0.01 yr. Additionally, using the most recent parameters for ι Hor b in combination with our activity and radial velocity measurements, we find that stellar activity dominates the radial velocity residuals, making the detection of additional planets in this system challenging. Finally, we report here the first measurements of the surface longitudinal magnetic field strength of ι Hor, which displays varying amplitudes within ±4 G and served to estimate the rotation period of the star (P_rot = 7.70^{+0.18}_{-0.67} d).

Influences of rolling method on deformation force in cold roll-beating forming process

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Yongxiang; Cui, Fengkui; Liang, Xiaoming; Li, Yan

2018-03-01

In process, the research object, the gear rack was selected to study the influence law of rolling method on the deformation force. By the mean of the cold roll forming finite element simulation, the variation regularity of radial and tangential deformation was analysed under different rolling methods. The variation of deformation force of the complete forming racks and the single roll during the steady state under different rolling modes was analyzed. The results show: when upbeating and down beating, radial single point average force is similar, the tangential single point average force gap is bigger, the gap of tangential single point average force is relatively large. Add itionally, the tangential force at the time of direct beating is large, and the dire ction is opposite with down beating. With directly beating, deformation force loading fast and uninstall slow. Correspondingly, with down beating, deformat ion force loading slow and uninstall fast.

4D blood flow mapping using SPIM-microPIV in the developing zebrafish heart

Science.gov (United States)

Zickus, Vytautas; Taylor, Jonathan M.

2018-02-01

Fluid-structure interaction in the developing heart is an active area of research in developmental biology. However, investigation of heart dynamics is mostly limited to computational uid dynamics simulations using heart wall structure information only, or single plane blood ow information - so there is a need for 3D + time resolved data to fully understand cardiac function. We present an imaging platform combining selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) with micro particle image velocimetry (μPIV) to enable 3D-resolved flow mapping in a microscopic environment, free from many of the sources of error and bias present in traditional epi uorescence-based μPIV systems. By using our new system in conjunction with optical heart beat synchronization, we demonstrate the ability obtain non-invasive 3D + time resolved blood flow measurements in the heart of a living zebrafish embryo.

Relationship between heart rate and preference for tempo of music.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwanaga, M

1995-10-01

People prefer music with tempi ranging from 70 to 100 cycles per minute similar to that of adults' heart rate within normal daily situations. Previous studies of the relation between preferred tempi and heart rates using a pure tone also have indicated that subjects tended to prefer tempi similar to their heart rates. The present study examined this relationship using a musical piece (the theme of "It's a small world") as a stimulus. 14 undergraduate women were subjects who searched for their favorite tempi by controlling the musical tempo by themselves. The most preferred tempo was close to their cycle of heart beats, however, tempi that were one and a half and twice as fast as the heart rate were less preferred in the present study than in a previous study using a tone. Subjects preferred faster tempi in the descending series of stimuli than in the ascending one, and hence were influenced by the initial value of the tempo in the trial sequence. The effects due to the differences of the meaning of the stimuli are considered.

Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitors For Spaceflight

Science.gov (United States)

Buxton, R. E.; West, M. R.; Kalogera, K. L.; Hanson, A. M.

2016-01-01

Heart rate monitoring is required for crewmembers during exercise aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and will be for future exploration missions. The cardiovascular system must be sufficiently stressed throughout a mission to maintain the ability to perform nominal and contingency/emergency tasks. High quality heart rate data are required to accurately determine the intensity of exercise performed by the crewmembers and show maintenance of VO2max. The quality of the data collected on ISS is subject to multiple limitations and is insufficient to meet current requirements. PURPOSE: To evaluate the performance of commercially available Bluetooth heart rate monitors (BT_HRM) and their ability to provide high quality heart rate data to monitor crew health aboard the ISS and during future exploration missions. METHODS: Nineteen subjects completed 30 data collection sessions of various intensities on the treadmill and/or cycle. Subjects wore several BT_HRM technologies for each testing session. One electrode-based chest strap (CS) was worn, while one or more optical sensors (OS) were worn. Subjects were instrumented with a 12-lead ECG to compare the heart rate data from the Bluetooth sensors. Each BT_HRM data set was time matched to the ECG data and a +/-5bpm threshold was applied to the difference between the 2 data sets. Percent error was calculated based on the number of data points outside the threshold and the total number of data points. RESULTS: The electrode-based chest straps performed better than the optical sensors. The best performing CS was CS1 (1.6% error), followed by CS4 (3.3% error), CS3 (6.4% error), and CS2 (9.2% error). The OS resulted in 10.4% error for OS1 and 14.9% error for OS2. CONCLUSIONS: The highest quality data came from CS1, but unfortunately it has been discontinued by the manufacturer. The optical sensors have not been ruled out for use, but more investigation is needed to determine how to obtain the best quality data. CS2 will be

Implications of the Hemodynamic Optimization Approach Guided by Right Heart Catheterization in Patients with Severe Heart Failure

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Luís E. Rohde

2002-03-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To report the hemodynamic and functional responses obtained with clinical optimization guided by hemodynamic parameters in patients with severe and refractory heart failure. METHODS: Invasive hemodynamic monitoring using right heart catheterization aimed to reach low filling pressures and peripheral resistance. Frequent adjustments of intravenous diuretics and vasodilators were performed according to the hemodynamic measurements. RESULTS: We assessed 19 patients (age = 48±12 years and ejection fraction = 21±5% with severe heart failure. The intravenous use of diuretics and vasodilators reduced by 12 mm Hg (relative reduction of 43% pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (P<0.001, with a concomitant increment of 6 mL per beat in stroke volume (relative increment of 24%, P<0.001. We observed significant associations between pulmonary artery occlusion pressure and mean pulmonary artery pressure (r=0.76; P<0.001 and central venous pressure (r=0.63; P<0.001. After clinical optimization, improvement in functional class occurred (P< 0.001, with a tendency towards improvement in ejection fraction and no impairment to renal function. CONCLUSION: Optimization guided by hemodynamic parameters in patients with refractory heart failure provides a significant improvement in the hemodynamic profile with concomitant improvement in functional class. This study emphasizes that adjustments in blood volume result in imme-diate benefits for patients with severe heart failure.

Cross-Cultural Influences on Rhythm Processing: Reproduction, Discrimination, and Beat Tapping

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Daniel J Cameron

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The structures of musical rhythm differ between cultures, despite the fact that the ability to synchronize one’s movements to musical rhythms appears to be universal. To measure the influence of culture on rhythm processing, we tested East African and North American adults on the perception, production, and beat tapping of rhythms derived from East African and Western music. To assess rhythm perception, participants identified whether pairs of rhythms were same or different. To assess rhythm production, participants reproduced rhythms after hearing them. To assess beat tapping, participants tapped the beat along with repeated rhythms. We expected that performance in all three tasks would be influenced both by the culture of the participant and by the culture of the rhythm. Specifically, we predicted that a participant’s ability to discriminate, reproduce, and accurately tap the beat would be better for rhythms from their own culture than for rhythms from another culture. In the rhythm discrimination task, there were no differences in discriminating culturally familiar and unfamiliar rhythms. In the rhythm reproduction task, both groups reproduced East African rhythms more accurately than Western rhythms, but East African participants also showed an effect of cultural familiarity, leading to a significant interaction. In the beat tapping task, participants in both groups tapped the beat more accurately for culturally familiar than unfamiliar rhythms. The results demonstrate that culture does influence the processing of musical rhythm. In terms of the function of musical rhythm, our results are consistent with theories that musical rhythm enables synchronization. Musical rhythm may foster musical cultural identity by enabling within-group synchronization to music, perhaps supporting social cohesion.

Tracking EEG changes in response to alpha and beta binaural beats.

Science.gov (United States)

Vernon, D; Peryer, G; Louch, J; Shaw, M

2014-07-01

A binaural beat can be produced by presenting two tones of a differing frequency, one to each ear. Such auditory stimulation has been suggested to influence behaviour and cognition via the process of cortical entrainment. However, research so far has only shown the frequency following responses in the traditional EEG frequency ranges of delta, theta and gamma. Hence a primary aim of this research was to ascertain whether it would be possible to produce clear changes in the EEG in either the alpha or beta frequency ranges. Such changes, if possible, would have a number of important implications as well as potential applications. A secondary goal was to track any observable changes in the EEG throughout the entrainment epoch to gain some insight into the nature of the entrainment effects on any changes in an effort to identify more effective entrainment regimes. Twenty two healthy participants were recruited and randomly allocated to one of two groups, each of which was exposed to a distinct binaural beat frequency for ten 1-minute epochs. The first group listened to an alpha binaural beat of 10 Hz and the second to a beta binaural beat of 20 Hz. EEG was recorded from the left and right temporal regions during pre-exposure baselines, stimulus exposure epochs and post-exposure baselines. Analysis of changes in broad-band and narrow-band amplitudes, and frequency showed no effect of binaural beat frequency eliciting a frequency following effect in the EEG. Possible mediating factors are discussed and a number of recommendations are made regarding future studies, exploring entrainment effects from a binaural beat presentation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wife beating amongst Africans as a challenge to pastoral care

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Magezi E. Baloyi

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Traditional African people are known for respecting their marriage. Even though marriage is so highly regarded, it is astonishing to realise that wife beating has become an extremely common practice amongst them. It therefore becomes an important research question to ask about the extent to which deeply-seated traditional customs regarding wife beating as a form of stamping down authority and of trying to keep the household in order, will have to be confronted with what is deemed to be good practice from the perspective of the law, community and pastoral caregivers. There are women who live with scars on their faces and bodies, having been beaten by their husbands. Although there are many forms of abuse towards women in family situations, this article aims particularly to focus on wife beating that is practiced for traditional as well as other related reasons. This research will involve itself with establishing whether the reasons for wife beating are part of the traditional system for keeping the household in order and interrogate both legal and pastoral interventions that attempt to eliminate or avoid such behaviour.

Beating motion of a circular cylinder in vortex-induced vibrations

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Linwei; Chan, Eng-Soon; Wei, Yan

2018-04-01

In this paper, beating phenomenon of a circular cylinder in vortex-induced vibration is studied by numerical simulations in a systematic manner. The cylinder mass coefficients of 2 and 10 are considered, and the Reynolds number is 150. Two distinctive frequencies, namely cylinder oscillation and vortex shedding frequencies, are obtained from the harmonic analysis of the cylinder displacement. The result is consistent with that observed in laboratory experiments. It is found that the cylinder oscillation frequency changes with the natural frequency of the cylinder while the reduced velocity is varied. The added-mass coefficient of the cylinder in beating motion is therefore estimated. Meanwhile, the vortex shedding frequency does not change dramatically in the beating situations. In fact, it is very close to 0.2. Accordingly, the lift force coefficient has two main components associated with these two frequencies. Besides, higher harmonics of the cylinder oscillation frequency appear in the spectrum of the lift coefficient. Moreover, the vortex shedding timing is studied in the beating motion by examining the instantaneous flow fields in the wake, and two scenarios of the vortex formation are observed.

Atrial fibrillation detection by heart rate variability in Poincare plot.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jinho; Lee, Sangwook; Jeon, Moongu

2009-12-11

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is one of the prominent causes of stroke, and its risk increases with age. We need to detect AFib correctly as early as possible to avoid medical disaster because it is likely to proceed into a more serious form in short time. If we can make a portable AFib monitoring system, it will be helpful to many old people because we cannot predict when a patient will have a spasm of AFib. We analyzed heart beat variability from inter-beat intervals obtained by a wavelet-based detector. We made a Poincare plot using the inter-beat intervals. By analyzing the plot, we extracted three feature measures characterizing AFib and non-AFib: the number of clusters, mean stepping increment of inter-beat intervals, and dispersion of the points around a diagonal line in the plot. We divided distribution of the number of clusters into two and calculated mean value of the lower part by k-means clustering method. We classified data whose number of clusters is more than one and less than this mean value as non-AFib data. In the other case, we tried to discriminate AFib from non-AFib using support vector machine with the other feature measures: the mean stepping increment and dispersion of the points in the Poincare plot. We found that Poincare plot from non-AFib data showed some pattern, while the plot from AFib data showed irregularly irregular shape. In case of non-AFib data, the definite pattern in the plot manifested itself with some limited number of clusters or closely packed one cluster. In case of AFib data, the number of clusters in the plot was one or too many. We evaluated the accuracy using leave-one-out cross-validation. Mean sensitivity and mean specificity were 91.4% and 92.9% respectively. Because pulse beats of ventricles are less likely to be influenced by baseline wandering and noise, we used the inter-beat intervals to diagnose AFib. We visually displayed regularity of the inter-beat intervals by way of Poincare plot. We tried to design an

Analysis of fluid flow around a beating artificial cilium

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Mojca Vilfan

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Biological cilia are found on surfaces of some microorganisms and on surfaces of many eukaryotic cells where they interact with the surrounding fluid. The periodic beating of the cilia is asymmetric, resulting in directed swimming of unicellular organisms or in generation of a fluid flow above a ciliated surface in multicellular ones. Following the biological example, externally driven artificial cilia have recently been successfully implemented as micropumps and mixers. However, biomimetic systems are useful not only in microfluidic applications, but can also serve as model systems for the study of fundamental hydrodynamic phenomena in biological samples. To gain insight into the basic principles governing propulsion and fluid pumping on a micron level, we investigated hydrodynamics around one beating artificial cilium. The cilium was composed of superparamagnetic particles and driven along a tilted cone by a varying external magnetic field. Nonmagnetic tracer particles were used for monitoring the fluid flow generated by the cilium. The average flow velocity in the pumping direction was obtained as a function of different parameters, such as the rotation frequency, the asymmetry of the beat pattern, and the cilium length. We also calculated the velocity field around the beating cilium by using the analytical far-field expansion. The measured average flow velocity and the theoretical prediction show an excellent agreement.

Origin of heart rate variability and turbulence: an appraisal of autonomic modulation of cardiovascular function.

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Federico eLombardi

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Assessment of autonomic modulation of sinus node by non-invasive techniques has provided relevant clinical information in patients with several cardiac and non-cardiac diseases and has facilitated the appraisal of neural regulatory mechanisms in normal and diseased subjects. The finding that even during resting conditions the heart period changes on a beat to beat basis and that after a premature ventricular beat there are small variations in RR interval whose measurements may be utilised to evaluate the autonomic modulation of sinus node, has provided unprecedented clinical and pathophysiological information. Heart rate variability (HRV and Heart Rate Turbulence (HRT have been extensively utilised in the clinical setting. To explain the negative predictive value of a reduced HRV it was determined that overall HRV was largely dependent on vagal mechanisms and that a reduction in HRV could reflect an increased sympathetic and a reduced vagal modulation of sinus node; i.e. an autonomic alteration favouring cardiac electrical instability. This initial interpretation was challenged by several findings indicating a greater complexity of the relationship between neural input and sinus node responsiveness as well as the possible interference with non-neural mechanisms.Under controlled conditions, however, the computation of low and high frequency components and of their ratio seems capable of providing adequate information on sympatho-vagal balance in normal subjects as well as in most patients with a preserved left ventricular function, thus providing a unique tool to investigate neural control mechanisms. Analysis on non-linear dynamics of HRV has also been utilised to describe the fractal like characteristic of the variability signal and proven effective to identify patients at risk for sudden cardiac death. A reduction on HRT parameters reflecting reduced baroreflex sensitivity as a likely result of a reduced vagal and of an increased sympathetic

Neural Entrainment and Sensorimotor Synchronization to the Beat in Children with Developmental Dyslexia: An EEG Study

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Lincoln J. Colling

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Tapping in time to a metronome beat (hereafter beat synchronization shows considerable variability in child populations, and individual differences in beat synchronization are reliably related to reading development. Children with developmental dyslexia show impairments in beat synchronization. These impairments may reflect deficiencies in auditory perception of the beat which in turn affect auditory-motor mapping, or may reflect an independent motor deficit. Here, we used a new methodology in EEG based on measuring beat-related steady-state evoked potentials (SS-EPs, Nozaradan et al., 2015 in an attempt to disentangle neural sensory and motor contributions to behavioral beat synchronization in children with dyslexia. Children tapped with both their left and right hands to every second beat of a metronome pulse delivered at 2.4 Hz, or listened passively to the beat. Analyses of preferred phase in EEG showed that the children with dyslexia had a significantly different preferred phase compared to control children in all conditions. Regarding SS-EPs, the groups differed significantly for the passive Auditory listening condition at 2.4 Hz, and showed a trend toward a difference in the Right hand tapping condition at 3.6 Hz (sensorimotor integration measure. The data suggest that neural rhythmic entrainment is atypical in children with dyslexia for both an auditory beat and during sensorimotor coupling (tapping. The data are relevant to a growing literature suggesting that rhythm-based interventions may help language processing in children with developmental disorders of language learning.

Heart rate variability alters cardiac repolarization and electromechanical dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Phadumdeo, Vrishti M; Weinberg, Seth H

2018-04-07

Heart rate continuously varies due to autonomic regulation, stochasticity in pacemaking, and circadian rhythm, collectively termed heart rate variability (HRV), during normal physiological conditions. Low HRV is clinically associated with an elevated risk of cardiac arrhythmias. Alternans, a beat-to-beat alternation in action potential duration (APD) and/or intracellular calcium (Ca) transient, is a well-known risk factor associated with cardiac arrhythmias that is typically studied under conditions of a constant pacing rate, i.e., the absence of HRV. In this study, we investigate the effects of HRV on the interplay between APD, Ca, and electromechanical properties, employing a nonlinear discrete-time map model that governs APD and intracellular Ca cycling with a stochastic pacing period. We find that HRV can decrease variation in APD and peak Ca at fast pacing rates for which alternans is present. Further, increased HRV typically disrupts the alternating pattern for both APD and peak Ca and weakens the correlation between APD and peak Ca, thus decoupling Ca-mediated instabilities from repolarization alternation. We find that the efficacy of these effects is regulated by the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca uptake rate. Overall, these results demonstrate that HRV disrupts arrhythmogenic alternans and suggests that HRV may be a significant factor in preventing life-threatening arrhythmias. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Beats as Cultural Others/Exotics in Recent Memoirs by Exile Poets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Bent

Poets who have come to the USA during the 1950s and 60s as expatriates or exiles from central European countries dominated by Communist regimes have often looked to Beat Generation writers as role models and inspirational figures. This is no doubt due to the spirit of individuality, non-conformis......Poets who have come to the USA during the 1950s and 60s as expatriates or exiles from central European countries dominated by Communist regimes have often looked to Beat Generation writers as role models and inspirational figures. This is no doubt due to the spirit of individuality, non......-conformism and jubilant celebration of difference and otherness which permeates the writings of poets such as Allen Ginsberg, and which resonated with dissident poets often oppressed by totalitarian regimes. Authors such as Andrei Codrescu and Charles Simic have published memoirs and poems detailing their fascination...... with figures associated with the Beat Generation. This paper examines the representation of Beat writers such as Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac in Codrescu and Simic's texts, and argues that the exile poets overlay the well-known figures of the Beat writers with yet another dimension of otherness and exoticism...

Binaural beat technology in humans: a pilot study to assess neuropsychologic, physiologic, and electroencephalographic effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Wahbeh, Helané; Calabrese, Carlo; Zwickey, Heather; Zajdel, Dan

2007-03-01

When two auditory stimuli of different frequency are presented to each ear, binaural beats are perceived by the listener. The binaural beat frequency is equal to the difference between the frequencies applied to each ear. Our primary objective was to assess whether steady-state entrainment of electroencephalographic activity to the binaural beat occurs when exposed to a specific binaural beat frequency as has been hypothesized. Our secondary objective was to gather preliminary data on neuropsychologic and physiologic effects of binaural beat technology. A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled crossover experiment in 4 healthy adult subjects. Subjects were randomized to experimental auditory stimulus of 30 minutes of binaural beat at 7 Hz (carrier frequencies: 133 Hz L; 140 Hz R) with an overlay of pink noise resembling the sound of rain on one session and control stimuli of the same overlay without the binaural beat carrier frequencies on the other session. Data were collected during two separate sessions 1 week apart. Neuropsychologic and blood pressure data were collected before and after the intervention; electroencephalographic data were collected before, during, and after listening to either binaural beats or control. Neuropsychologic measures included State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Profile of Mood States, Rey Auditory Verbal List Test, Stroop Test, and Controlled Oral Word Association Test. Spectral and coherence analysis was performed on the electroencephalogram (EEG), and all measures were analyzed for changes between sessions with and without binaural beat stimuli. There were no significant differences between the experimental and control conditions in any of the EEG measures. There was an increase of the Profile of Mood States depression subscale in the experimental condition relative to the control condition (p = 0.02). There was also a significant decrease in immediate verbal memory recall (p = 0.03) in the experimental condition compared to control

Beat my bass, pluck my drum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hengeveld, B.J.; Funk, M.; Doing, V.

2014-01-01

Beating a bass, plucking a drum -- new systems of instruments make it possible. In this paper we describe recent research into networked musical instruments for group improvisation; instruments that reciprocally influence each other's behaviour, making, contrary to what we are used to, the

Spectral analyses of systolic blood pressure and heart rate variability and their association with cognitive performance in elderly hypertensive subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, W B; Matoso, J M D; Maltez, M; Gonçalves, T; Casanova, M; Moreira, I F H; Lourenço, R A; Monteiro, W D; Farinatti, P T V; Soares, P P; Oigman, W; Neves, M F T; Correia, M L G

2015-08-01

Systolic hypertension is associated with cognitive decline in the elderly. Altered blood pressure (BP) variability is a possible mechanism of reduced cognitive performance in elderly hypertensives. We hypothesized that altered beat-to-beat systolic BP variability is associated with reduced global cognitive performance in elderly hypertensive subjects. In exploratory analyses, we also studied the correlation between diverse discrete cognitive domains and indices of systolic BP and heart rate variability. Disproving our initial hypothesis, we have shown that hypertension and low education, but not indices of systolic BP and heart rate variability, were independent predictors of lower global cognitive performance. However, exploratory analyses showed that the systolic BP variability in semi-upright position was an independent predictor of matrix reasoning (B = 0.08 ± .03, P-value = 0.005), whereas heart rate variability in semi-upright position was an independent predictor of the executive function score (B = -6.36 ± 2.55, P-value = 0.02). We conclude that myogenic vascular and sympathetic modulation of systolic BP do not contribute to reduced global cognitive performance in treated hypertensive subjects. Nevertheless, our results suggest that both systolic BP and heart rate variability might be associated with modulation of frontal lobe cognitive domains, such as executive function and matrix reasoning.

Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on resting heart rate, heart rate recovery after exercise, and heart rate variability in men with healed myocardial infarctions and depressed ejection fractions.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Keefe, James H; Abuissa, Hussam; Sastre, Antonio; Steinhaus, David M; Harris, William S

2006-04-15

We explored possible mechanisms by which recommended intakes of omega-3 fatty acids may decrease the risk for sudden cardiac death in patients with documented coronary heart disease. The cardioprotective effects of omega-3 fatty acids have been documented in epidemiologic and randomized controlled trials. These fatty acids are presumed to decrease susceptibility to fatal arrhythmias, but whether this is mediated by classic risk factors or direct cardiac mechanisms is not known. Eighteen white men with a history of myocardial infarction and ejection fractions <40% were randomized to placebo or omega-3 fatty acids (585 mg of docosahexaenoic acid and 225 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid) for two 4-month periods in a crossover design. At the end of each period, heart rate (HR), HR variability, and rate of HR recovery after exercise were determined, as were effects on arterial compliance, blood pressure, cardiac function, and fasting serum levels of lipids and inflammatory markers. Omega-3 fatty acids decreased HR at rest from 73 +/- 13 to 68 +/- 13 beats/min (p <0.0001) and improved 1-minute HR recovery after exercise (-27 +/- 10 to -32 +/- 12 beats/min, p <0.01). HR variability in the high-frequency band increased (p <0.02), but no change was noted in overall HR variability. There were no significant effects on blood pressure, arterial compliance, lipids, or inflammatory markers. These changes are consistent with an increase in vagal activity and may in part explain the observed decrease in risk for sudden cardiac death seen with omega-3 fatty acid supplementation.

Modeling of Nonlinear Beat Signals of TAE's

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bo; Berk, Herbert; Breizman, Boris; Zheng, Linjin

2012-03-01

Experiments on Alcator C-Mod reveal Toroidal Alfven Eigenmodes (TAE) together with signals at various beat frequencies, including those at twice the mode frequency. The beat frequencies are sidebands driven by quadratic nonlinear terms in the MHD equations. These nonlinear sidebands have not yet been quantified by any existing codes. We extend the AEGIS code to capture nonlinear effects by treating the nonlinear terms as a driving source in the linear MHD solver. Our goal is to compute the spatial structure of the sidebands for realistic geometry and q-profile, which can be directly compared with experiment in order to interpret the phase contrast imaging diagnostic measurements and to enable the quantitative determination of the Alfven wave amplitude in the plasma core

The effect of gamma-enhancing binaural beats on the control of feature bindings.

Science.gov (United States)

Colzato, Lorenza S; Steenbergen, Laura; Sellaro, Roberta

2017-07-01

Binaural beats represent the auditory experience of an oscillating sound that occurs when two sounds with neighboring frequencies are presented to one's left and right ear separately. Binaural beats have been shown to impact information processing via their putative role in increasing neural synchronization. Recent studies of feature-repetition effects demonstrated interactions between perceptual features and action-related features: repeating only some, but not all features of a perception-action episode hinders performance. These partial-repetition (or binding) costs point to the existence of temporary episodic bindings (event files) that are automatically retrieved by repeating at least one of their features. Given that neural synchronization in the gamma band has been associated with visual feature bindings, we investigated whether the impact of binaural beats extends to the top-down control of feature bindings. Healthy adults listened to gamma-frequency (40 Hz) binaural beats or to a constant tone of 340 Hz (control condition) for ten minutes before and during a feature-repetition task. While the size of visuomotor binding costs (indicating the binding of visual and action features) was unaffected by the binaural beats, the size of visual feature binding costs (which refer to the binding between the two visual features) was considerably smaller during gamma-frequency binaural beats exposure than during the control condition. Our results suggest that binaural beats enhance selectivity in updating episodic memory traces and further strengthen the hypothesis that neural activity in the gamma band is critically associated with the control of feature binding.

Comparison of NASA-TLX scale, Modified Cooper-Harper scale and mean inter-beat interval as measures of pilot mental workload during simulated flight tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Mansikka, Heikki; Virtanen, Kai; Harris, Don

2018-04-30

The sensitivity of NASA-TLX scale, modified Cooper-Harper (MCH) scale and the mean inter-beat interval (IBI) of successive heart beats, as measures of pilot mental workload (MWL), were evaluated in a flight training device (FTD). Operational F/A-18C pilots flew instrument approaches with varying task loads. Pilots' performance, subjective MWL ratings and IBI were measured. Based on the pilots' performance, three performance categories were formed; high-, medium- and low-performance. Values of the subjective rating scales and IBI were compared between categories. It was found that all measures were able to differentiate most task conditions and there was a strong, positive correlation between NASA-TLX and MCH scale. An explicit link between IBI, NASA-TLX, MCH and performance was demonstrated. While NASA-TLX, MCH and IBI have all been previously used to measure MWL, this study is the first one to investigate their association in a modern FTD, using a realistic flying mission and operational pilots.

Does training with beat gestures favour children's narrative discourse abilities?

OpenAIRE

Vilà Giménez, Ingrid

2016-01-01

There is consensus evidence that gestures and prosody are important precursors of children’s early language abilities and development. Previous literature has investigated the beneficial role of beat gestures in the recall of information by preschoolers (Igualada, Esteve-Gibert, & Prieto, under review; Austin & Sweller, 2014). However, to our knowledge, little is known about whether the use of beat gestures can promote children’s later linguistic abilities and specifically whether training wi...

Amplitude differences least squares method applied to temporal cardiac beat alignment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Correa, R O; Laciar, E; Valentinuzzi, M E

2007-01-01

High resolution averaged ECG is an important diagnostic technique in post-infarcted and/or chagasic patients with high risk of ventricular tachycardia (VT). It calls for precise determination of the synchronism point (fiducial point) in each beat to be averaged. Cross-correlation (CC) between each detected beat and a reference beat is, by and large, the standard alignment procedure. However, the fiducial point determination is not precise in records contaminated with high levels of noise. Herein, we propose an alignment procedure based on the least squares calculation of the amplitude differences (LSAD) between the ECG samples and a reference or template beat. Both techniques, CC and LSAD, were tested in high resolution ECG's corrupted with white noise and 50 Hz line interference of varying amplitudes (RMS range: 0-100μV). Results point out that LSDA produced a lower alignment error in all contaminated records while in those blurred by power line interference better results were found only within the 0-40 μV range. It is concluded that the proposed method represents a valid alignment alternative

Myocardial Po2 does not limit aerobic metabolism in the postischemic heart.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Youngran

2016-01-15

Reperfused hypertrophic hearts are prone to develop reflow abnormalities, which are likely to impair O2 return to the myocardium. Yet, reflow deficit may not be the only factor determining postischemic oxygenation in the hypertrophic heart. Altered O2 demand may also contribute to hypoxia. In addition, the extent to which myocardial Po2 dictates energy and functional recovery in the reperfused heart remains uncertain. In the present study, moderately hypertrophied hearts from spontaneously hypertensive rats were subjected to ischemia-reperfusion, and the recovery time courses of pH and high-energy phosphates were followed by (31)P NMR. (1)H NMR measurement of intracellular myoglobin assessed tissue O2 levels. The present study found that the exacerbation of hypoxia in the postischemic spontaneously hypertensive rat heart arises mostly from impaired microvascular supply of O2. However, postischemic myocardial Po2, at least when it exceeds ∼18% of the preischemic level, does not limit mitochondrial respiration and high-energy phosphate resynthesis. It only passively reflects changes in the O2 supply-demand balance. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Beating HF waves to generate VLF waves in the ionosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Spencer; Snyder, Arnold; Kossey, Paul; Chang, Chia-Lie; Labenski, John

2012-03-01

Beat-wave generation of very low frequency (VLF) waves by two HF heaters in the ionosphere is formulated theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. The heater-induced differential thermal pressure force and ponderomotive force, which dominate separately in the D and F regions of the ionosphere, drive an electron current for the VLF emission. A comparison, applying appropriate ionospheric parameters shows that the ponderomotive force dominates in beat-wave generation of VLF waves. Three experiments, one in the nighttime in the absence of D and E layers and two in the daytime in the presence of D and E layers, were performed. X mode HF heaters of slightly different frequencies were transmitted at CW full power. VLF waves at 10 frequencies ranging from 3.5 to 21.5 kHz were generated. The frequency dependencies of the daytime and nighttime radiation intensities are quite similar, but the nighttime radiation is much stronger than the daytime one at the same radiation frequency. The intensity ratio is as large as 9 dB at 11.5 kHz. An experiment directly comparing VLF waves generated by the beat-wave approach and by the amplitude modulation (AM) approach was also conducted. The results rule out the likely contribution of the AM mechanism acting on the electrojet and indicate that beat-wave in the VLF range prefers to be generated in the F region of the ionosphere through the ponderomotive nonlinearity, consistent with the theory. In the nighttime experiment, the ionosphere was underdense to the HF heaters, suggesting a likely setting for effective beat-wave generation of VLF waves by the HF heaters.

Efficiency of brainwave entrainment by binaural beats in reducing anxiety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Alipoor

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Anxiety is a fundamental phenomenon that is a common symptom in all mental disorders. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of brainwave entrainment on anxiety reduction using binaural beats. Methods: In this experimental double-blind study, 30 employees were selected from an engineering research firm through random sampling and replacement and divided into two groups: control group and experimental group. All participants completed the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI. Then, the experimental group listened to binaural beats which was recorded on a non-vocal piece of music for 4 weeks, 3 sessions each week. Each session lasted about 20 minutes. At the same time, the control group listened to the background music without any entrainment sound. At the end, both groups completed the anxiety questionnaire and the anxiety scores of both groups obtained before and after intervention were analyzed by ANCOVA. Results: The findings showed that the brainwave entrainment using binaural beats led to the significant reduction of state anxiety (P<0.001 and trait anxiety (P<0.018. Conclusion: Brainwave entrainment using binaural beats is an effective factor in decreasing state and trait anxiety; so, it can be used to reduce anxiety in mental health centers.

SR calcium handling and calcium after-transients in a rabbit model of heart failure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baartscheer, Antonius; Schumacher, Cees A.; Belterman, Charly N. W.; Coronel, Ruben; Fiolet, Jan W. T.

2003-01-01

Objective: After-depolarization associated arrhythmias are frequently observed in heart failure and associated with spontaneous calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), calcium after-transients. We hypothesize that disturbed SR calcium handling underlies calcium after-transients in heart

The effect of low-dose β-blocker on heart rate and heart rate variability in health subjects wth a resting heart rate of less than 65 beats per minute: Effect on the quality of prospective electrocardiography-gated coronary CT angiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Chul Hwan; Kim, Tae Hoon [Dept. of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiological Science, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sang Min [Dept. of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Yoo Jin [Dept. of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiological Science, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-02-15

We assessed the effect of a low-dose β-blocker on heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV) and image quality of prospective electrocardiography-gated coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in healthy subjects with low HR. CCTA was performed with a 64-slice CT in 75 subjects with a HR of less than 65 beats per minute (bpm). Subjects were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (G1), 35 with a low dose β-blocker; and Group 2 (G2), 40 without pre-medication. The image quality (IQ) of the CCTA was assessed on a 4-point grading scale (1, poor; 4, excellent). Initial HR (bpm) was not different between the 2 groups. HR during CCTA was lower in G1 than G2 (50.3 ± 5.6 vs. 53.3 ± 4.8, p = 0.016). HRV was not different between the 2 groups. Per-segment analysis showed better IQ at the mid-segment of the right coronary artery (3.0 ± 0.9 vs. 2.5 ± 1.1, p = 0.039) and the first diagonal branch (3.4 ± 0.6 vs. 3.1 ± 0.7, p = 0.024), in the G1 than the G2 group, respectively. The IQ was negatively correlated with HR, but no correlation was found between HRV and IQ. The IQs in the per-vessel analysis were not different between the 2 groups. Low-dose β-blocker reduced HR and improved the IQ of CCTA in a few segments, even at a HR of less than 65 bpm. However the effect was limited.

The effect of low-dose β-blocker on heart rate and heart rate variability in health subjects wth a resting heart rate of less than 65 beats per minute: Effect on the quality of prospective electrocardiography-gated coronary CT angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Chul Hwan; Kim, Tae Hoon; Lee, Sang Min; Hong, Yoo Jin

2015-01-01

We assessed the effect of a low-dose β-blocker on heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV) and image quality of prospective electrocardiography-gated coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in healthy subjects with low HR. CCTA was performed with a 64-slice CT in 75 subjects with a HR of less than 65 beats per minute (bpm). Subjects were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (G1), 35 with a low dose β-blocker; and Group 2 (G2), 40 without pre-medication. The image quality (IQ) of the CCTA was assessed on a 4-point grading scale (1, poor; 4, excellent). Initial HR (bpm) was not different between the 2 groups. HR during CCTA was lower in G1 than G2 (50.3 ± 5.6 vs. 53.3 ± 4.8, p = 0.016). HRV was not different between the 2 groups. Per-segment analysis showed better IQ at the mid-segment of the right coronary artery (3.0 ± 0.9 vs. 2.5 ± 1.1, p = 0.039) and the first diagonal branch (3.4 ± 0.6 vs. 3.1 ± 0.7, p = 0.024), in the G1 than the G2 group, respectively. The IQ was negatively correlated with HR, but no correlation was found between HRV and IQ. The IQs in the per-vessel analysis were not different between the 2 groups. Low-dose β-blocker reduced HR and improved the IQ of CCTA in a few segments, even at a HR of less than 65 bpm. However the effect was limited.

Beat Synchronization across the Lifespan: Intersection of Development and Musical Experience.

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Elaine C Thompson

Full Text Available Rhythmic entrainment, or beat synchronization, provides an opportunity to understand how multiple systems operate together to integrate sensory-motor information. Also, synchronization is an essential component of musical performance that may be enhanced through musical training. Investigations of rhythmic entrainment have revealed a developmental trajectory across the lifespan, showing synchronization improves with age and musical experience. Here, we explore the development and maintenance of synchronization in childhood through older adulthood in a large cohort of participants (N = 145, and also ask how it may be altered by musical experience. We employed a uniform assessment of beat synchronization for all participants and compared performance developmentally and between individuals with and without musical experience. We show that the ability to consistently tap along to a beat improves with age into adulthood, yet in older adulthood tapping performance becomes more variable. Also, from childhood into young adulthood, individuals are able to tap increasingly close to the beat (i.e., asynchronies decline with age, however, this trend reverses from younger into older adulthood. There is a positive association between proportion of life spent playing music and tapping performance, which suggests a link between musical experience and auditory-motor integration. These results are broadly consistent with previous investigations into the development of beat synchronization across the lifespan, and thus complement existing studies and present new insights offered by a different, large cross-sectional sample.

Predictors of incident heart failure in patients after an acute coronary syndrome: The LIPID heart failure risk-prediction model.

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Driscoll, Andrea; Barnes, Elizabeth H; Blankenberg, Stefan; Colquhoun, David M; Hunt, David; Nestel, Paul J; Stewart, Ralph A; West, Malcolm J; White, Harvey D; Simes, John; Tonkin, Andrew

2017-12-01

Coronary heart disease is a major cause of heart failure. Availability of risk-prediction models that include both clinical parameters and biomarkers is limited. We aimed to develop such a model for prediction of incident heart failure. A multivariable risk-factor model was developed for prediction of first occurrence of heart failure death or hospitalization. A simplified risk score was derived that enabled subjects to be grouped into categories of 5-year risk varying from 20%. Among 7101 patients from the LIPID study (84% male), with median age 61years (interquartile range 55-67years), 558 (8%) died or were hospitalized because of heart failure. Older age, history of claudication or diabetes mellitus, body mass index>30kg/m 2 , LDL-cholesterol >2.5mmol/L, heart rate>70 beats/min, white blood cell count, and the nature of the qualifying acute coronary syndrome (myocardial infarction or unstable angina) were associated with an increase in heart failure events. Coronary revascularization was associated with a lower event rate. Incident heart failure increased with higher concentrations of B-type natriuretic peptide >50ng/L, cystatin C>0.93nmol/L, D-dimer >273nmol/L, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein >4.8nmol/L, and sensitive troponin I>0.018μg/L. Addition of biomarkers to the clinical risk model improved the model's C statistic from 0.73 to 0.77. The net reclassification improvement incorporating biomarkers into the clinical model using categories of 5-year risk was 23%. Adding a multibiomarker panel to conventional parameters markedly improved discrimination and risk classification for future heart failure events. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dogs with macroadenomas have lower body temperature and heart rate than dogs with microadenomas.

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Benchekroun, Ghita; Desquilbet, Loic; Herrtage, Michael E; Jeffery, Nick D; Rosenberg, Dan; Granger, Nicolas

2017-09-01

Pituitary macroadenomas compress the hypothalamus, which partly regulates heart rate and body temperature. The aim of this study was to investigate whether heart rate and/or body temperature could aid in clinically differentiating dogs with macroadenomas from dogs with microadenomas (i.e. small non-compressive pituitary mass). Two groups of dogs diagnosed with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism (i.e. Cushing's disease) were included. Heart rate and body temperature were collected on initial presentation before any procedure. Dogs with macroadenoma had a significantly lower heart rate and body temperature (Pdogs with microadenoma. We suggest that the combined cut-off values of 84 beats per minutes and 38.3°C in dogs with Cushing's disease, especially with vague neurological signs (nine of 12 dogs=75%), might help to suspect the presence of a macroadenoma. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spontaneous group synchronization of movements and respiratory rhythms.

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Erwan Codrons

Full Text Available We tested whether pre-assigned arm movements performed in a group setting spontaneously synchronized and whether synchronization extended to heart and respiratory rhythms. We monitored arm movements, respiration and electrocardiogram at rest and during spontaneous, music and metronome-associated arm-swinging. No directions were given on whether or how the arm swinging were to be synchronized between participants or with the external cues. Synchronization within 3 groups of 10 participants studied collectively was compared with pseudo-synchronization of 3 groups of 10 participants that underwent an identical protocol but in an individual setting. Motor synchronization was found to be higher in the collective groups than in the individuals for the metronome-associated condition. On a repetition of the protocol on the following day, motor synchronization in the collective groups extended to the spontaneous, un-cued condition. Breathing was also more synchronized in the collective groups than in the individuals, particularly at rest and in the music-associated condition. Group synchronization occurs without explicit instructions, and involves both movements and respiratory control rhythms.

Large animal model of functional tricuspid regurgitation in pacing induced end-stage heart failure.

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Malinowski, Marcin; Proudfoot, Alistair G; Langholz, David; Eberhart, Lenora; Brown, Michael; Schubert, Hans; Wodarek, Jeremy; Timek, Tomasz A

2017-06-01

Functional tricuspid regurgitation (FTR) is common in patients with advanced heart failure and frequently complicates left ventricular assist device implantation yet remains poorly understood. We set out to establish large animal model of FTR that could serve as a research platform to investigate the pathogenesis of FTR associated with end-stage heart failure. : Through right thoracotomy, ten adult sheep underwent implantation of pacemaker with epicardial LV lead, five sonomicrometry crystals on the right ventricle, and left and right ventricular telemetry pressure sensors during a beating heart off-pump procedure. After 5 ± 1 days of recovery, baseline haemodynamic, echocardiographic and sonomicrometry data were collected. Animals were paced thereafter at a rate of 220-240 beats/min until the development of heart failure and concomitant tricuspid regurgitation. : Three animals died during early recovery period and one during the pacing phase. Six surviving animals were paced for a mean of 14 ± 5 days. Cardiac function was significantly depressed compared to baseline, with LV ejection fraction falling from 69 ± 2% to 22 ± 4% ( P  tricuspid annulus (from 29.5 ± 1.6 to 36.5 ± 4.5 mm; P  = 0.01) and right ventricle (from 21.9 ± 0.2 to 30.3 ± 0.6 mm; P  = 0.03). Sonomicrometry derived contractility of RV free wall was depressed and at least moderate tricuspid insufficiency developed in all animals. : Biventricular dysfunction, tricuspid annular dilatation and significant FTR were observed in our model of ovine tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy. This animal model reflects the clinical situation of end-stage heart failure patients presenting for mechanical support. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Beat-wave laser accelerators, further comment including note on the 'Surfatron' concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawson, J.D.

1984-07-01

The paper deals with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) study of the beat-wave particle accelerator, intended for high energy physics. Three factors; the build-up of beat-wave, the surfatron concept and the self-focusing effects are considered in the context of the RAL study. (U.K.)

Human sperm steer with second harmonics of the flagellar beat.

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Saggiorato, Guglielmo; Alvarez, Luis; Jikeli, Jan F; Kaupp, U Benjamin; Gompper, Gerhard; Elgeti, Jens

2017-11-10

Sperm are propelled by bending waves traveling along their flagellum. For steering in gradients of sensory cues, sperm adjust the flagellar waveform. Symmetric and asymmetric waveforms result in straight and curved swimming paths, respectively. Two mechanisms causing spatially asymmetric waveforms have been proposed: an average flagellar curvature and buckling. We image flagella of human sperm tethered with the head to a surface. The waveform is characterized by a fundamental beat frequency and its second harmonic. The superposition of harmonics breaks the beat symmetry temporally rather than spatially. As a result, sperm rotate around the tethering point. The rotation velocity is determined by the second-harmonic amplitude and phase. Stimulation with the female sex hormone progesterone enhances the second-harmonic contribution and, thereby, modulates sperm rotation. Higher beat frequency components exist in other flagellated cells; therefore, this steering mechanism might be widespread and could inspire the design of synthetic microswimmers.

A RAT MODEL OF HEART FAILURE INDUCED BY ISOPROTERENOL AND A HIGH SALT DIET

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Rat models of heart failure (HF) show varied pathology and time to disease outcome, dependent on induction method. We found that subchronic (4wk) isoproterenol (ISO) infusion in Spontaneously Hypertensive Heart Failure (SHHF) rats caused cardiac injury with minimal hypertrophy. O...

Work Hardening Behavior of 1020 Steel During Cold-Beating Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

CUI, Fengkui; LING, Yuanfei; XUE, Jinxue; LIU, Jia; LIU, Yuhui; LI, Yan

2017-03-01

The present research of cold-beating formation mainly focused on roller design and manufacture, kinematics, constitutive relation, metal flow law, thermo-mechanical coupling, surface micro-topography and microstructure evolution. However, the research on surface quality and performance of workpieces in the process of cold-beating is rare. Cold-beating simulation experiment of 1020 steel is conducted at room temperature and strain rates ranging from 2000 to 4000 s-1 base on the law of plastic forming. According to the experimental data, the model of strain hardening of 1020 steel is established, Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM) is conducted, the mechanism of the work hardening of 1020 steel is clarified by analyzing microstructure variation of 1020 steel. It is found that the strain rate hardening effect of 1020 steel is stronger than the softening effect induced by increasing temperatures, the process of simulation cold-beating cause the grain shape of 1020 steel significant change and microstructure elongate significantly to form a fibrous tissue parallel to the direction of deformation, the higher strain rate, the more obvious grain refinement and the more hardening effect. Additionally, the change law of the work hardening rate is investigated, the relationship between dislocation density and strain, the relationship between work hardening rate and dislocation density is obtained. Results show that the change trend of the work hardening rate of 1020 steel is divided into two stages, the work hardening rate decreases dramatically in the first stage and slowly decreases in the second stage, finally tending toward zero. Dislocation density increases with increasing strain and strain rate, work hardening rate decreases with increasing dislocation density. The research results provide the basis for solving the problem of improving the surface quality and performance of workpieces under cold-beating formation of 1020 steel.

Electrophysiological measurement of binaural beats: effects of primary tone frequency and observer age.

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Grose, John H; Mamo, Sara K

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the electrophysiological binaural beat steady state response as a gauge of temporal fine structure coding, particularly as it relates to the aging auditory system. The hypothesis was that the response would be more robust in a lower, than in a higher, frequency region and in younger, than in older, adults. Two experiments were undertaken. The first measured the 40 Hz binaural beat steady state response elicited by tone pairs in two frequency regions: lower (390 and 430 Hz tone pair) and higher (810 and 850 Hz tone pair). Frequency following responses (FFRs) evoked by the tones were also recorded. Ten young adults with normal hearing participated. The second experiment measured the binaural beat and FFRs in older adults but only in the lower frequency region. Fourteen older adults with relatively normal hearing participated. Response metrics in both experiments included response component signal-to-noise ratio (F statistic) and magnitude-squared coherence. Experiment 1 showed that FFRs were elicited in both frequency regions but were more robust in the lower frequency region. Binaural beat responses elicited by the lower frequency pair of tones showed greater amplitude fluctuation within a participant than the respective FFRs. Experiment 2 showed that older adults exhibited similar FFRs to younger adults, but proportionally fewer older participants showed binaural beat responses. Age differences in onset responses were also observed. The lower prevalence of the binaural beat response in older adults, despite the presence of FFRs, provides tentative support for the sensitivity of this measure to age-related deficits in temporal processing. However, the lability of the binaural beat response advocates caution in its use as an objective measure of fine structure coding.

Emergence of flagellar beating from the collective behavior of individual ATP-powered dyneins

Science.gov (United States)

Namdeo, S.; Onck, P. R.

2016-10-01

Flagella are hair-like projections from the surface of eukaryotic cells, and they play an important role in many cellular functions, such as cell-motility. The beating of flagella is enabled by their internal architecture, the axoneme, and is powered by a dense distribution of motor proteins, dyneins. The dyneins deliver the required mechanical work through the hydrolysis of ATP. Although the dynein-ATP cycle, the axoneme microstructure, and the flagellar-beating kinematics are well studied, their integration into a coherent picture of ATP-powered flagellar beating is still lacking. Here we show that a time-delayed negative-work-based switching mechanism is able to convert the individual sliding action of hundreds of dyneins into a regular overall beating pattern leading to propulsion. We developed a computational model based on a minimal representation of the axoneme consisting of two representative doublet microtubules connected by nexin links. The relative sliding of the microtubules is incorporated by modeling two groups of ATP-powered dyneins, each responsible for sliding in opposite directions. A time-delayed switching mechanism is postulated, which is key in converting the local individual sliding action of multiple dyneins into global beating. Our results demonstrate that an overall nonreciprocal beating pattern can emerge with time due to the spatial and temporal coordination of the individual dyneins. These findings provide insights in the fundamental working mechanism of axonemal dyneins and could possibly open new research directions in the field of flagellar motility.

Quantum beat and entanglement of multi-qubits interacting with a common reservoir

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Arata; Ishi-Hayase, Junko; Minami, Fujio; Sasaki, Masahide

2006-01-01

The qubits can be entangled when they interact with a common Ohmic reservoir. We analyze how the reservoir-induced entanglement of qubits can be observed as the beat signal in the decay curve of the macroscopic polarization. The origin of this effect is the Lamb phase shift on the qubit array. We quantify the amount of the reservoir-induced entanglement and show how to experimentally evaluate it from the decay curve of the macroscopic polarization. We discuss how the beat signal can be discriminated from the other kinds of beat signals. We also show that our analysis can be used to estimate the reservoir characteristics

An empirical investigation of attitudes towards wife-beating among men and women in seven sub-Saharan African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Rani, Manju; Bonu, Sekhar; Diop-Sidibe, Nafissatou

2004-12-01

This study used data from the demographic and health surveys (DHS) conducted between 1999 and 2001 in Benin, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe, to examine the magnitude and correlates of conditional acceptance of wife-beating among both men and women. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to investigate the independent association between different socio-demographic characteristics and acceptance of wife-beating. The acceptance of wife-beating for transgressing certain gender roles was widespread in all the countries. Men were consistently less likely to justify wife-beating than women. Household wealth and education emerged as strongest and most consistent negative predictors of acceptance of wife-beating among both men and women. Older men and women were less likely to justify wife-beating. Men and women in the polygamous union were more likely to accept wife-beating, though the association was not always significant. With the exception of Uganda, women working for pay were more likely to justify wife-beating than non-working women were. The results indicate that dominant social and cultural norms create images of "ideal" women among both men and women that include definition and widespread acceptance of gender roles as well as sanction use of force to enforce these gender roles. The State and its different institutions may fail to mitigate wife-beating, as sensitivity to objectively address wife-beating may be tellingly lacking. Though education, economic growth, etc, can reduce acceptance of wife-beating, the process may be too slow and too late to make a substantial difference in the near future. Proactive measures may be required to change attitudes towards wife-beating among both men and women.

Multidetector-row computed tomography coronary angiography. Optimization of image reconstruction phase according to the heart rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagatani, Yukihiro; Takahashi, Masashi; Takazakura, Ryutaro; Nitta, Norihisa; Murata, Kiyoshi; Ushio, Noritoshi; Matsuo, Shinro; Yamamoto, Takashi; Horie, Minoru

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to optimize the image reconstruction phase of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) coronary angiography according to the heart rate is crucial. Scan data were reconstructed for 10 different phases in 58 sequential patients who under went 8-row cardiac MDCT. The obtained images were scored and compared in terms of motion artifacts and visibility of the vessels, and moreover, electrocardiogram (ECG) record-based evaluations were added for clarification of the temporal relationships among these 10 phases. In the cases with lower heart rates ( 65 beats/mm), they were obtained in the late systolic period. As the heart rate increased, the optimal image reconstruction phase changed from mid diastole to late systole. However, it is recommended to try to decrease the heart rate of patients before data acquisition. (author)

Heart Performance Determination by Visualization in Larval Fishes: Influence of Alternative Models for Heart Shape and Volume

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Prescilla Perrichon

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Understanding cardiac function in developing larval fishes is crucial for assessing their physiological condition and overall health. Cardiac output measurements in transparent fish larvae and other vertebrates have long been made by analyzing videos of the beating heart, and modeling this structure using a conventional simple prolate spheroid shape model. However, the larval fish heart changes shape during early development and subsequent maturation, but no consideration has been made of the effect of different heart geometries on cardiac output estimation. The present study assessed the validity of three different heart models (the “standard” prolate spheroid model as well as a cylinder and cone tip + cylinder model applied to digital images of complete cardiac cycles in larval mahi-mahi and red drum. The inherent error of each model was determined to allow for more precise calculation of stroke volume and cardiac output. The conventional prolate spheroid and cone tip + cylinder models yielded significantly different stroke volume values at 56 hpf in red drum and from 56 to 104 hpf in mahi. End-diastolic and stroke volumes modeled by just a simple cylinder shape were 30–50% higher compared to the conventional prolate spheroid. However, when these values of stroke volume multiplied by heart rate to calculate cardiac output, no significant differences between models emerged because of considerable variability in heart rate. Essentially, the conventional prolate spheroid shape model provides the simplest measurement with lowest variability of stroke volume and cardiac output. However, assessment of heart function—especially if stroke volume is the focus of the study—should consider larval heart shape, with different models being applied on a species-by-species and developmental stage-by-stage basis for best estimation of cardiac output.

Energetic Interrelationship between Spontaneous Low-Frequency Fluctuations in Regional Cerebral Blood Volume, Arterial Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Respiratory Rhythm

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Katura, Takusige; Yagyu, Akihiko; Obata, Akiko; Yamazaki, Kyoko; Maki, Atsushi; Abe, Masanori; Tanaka, Naoki

2007-07-01

Strong spontaneous fluctuations around 0.1 and 0.3 Hz have been observed in blood-related brain-function measurements such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and optical topography (or functional near-infrared spectroscopy). These fluctuations seem to reflect the interaction between the cerebral circulation system and the systemic circulation system. We took an energetic viewpoint in our analysis of the interrelationships between fluctuations in cerebral blood volume (CBV), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and respiratory rhythm based on multivariate autoregressive modeling. This approach involves evaluating the contribution of each fluctuation or rhythm to specific ones by performing multivariate spectral analysis. The results we obtained show MAP and HR can account slightly for the fluctuation around 0.1 Hz in CBV, while the fluctuation around 0.3 Hz is derived mainly from the respiratory rhythm. During our presentation, we will report on the effects of posture on the interrelationship between the fluctuations and the respiratory rhythm.

Remission of congenital complete heart block without anti-Ro/La antibodies: A case report

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Souvik Mitra

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Anti-Ro/La negative congenital heart block (CHB is uncommon. We report one such case of CHB, with no associated structural heart disease or maternal autoantibodies. The heart block reverted to sinus rhythm spontaneously at two weeks of age, and the patient remains in sinus rhythm at a one year followup. Whether patients with antibody negative complete heart block have a different clinical course is conjectural.

The effect of metaprolol alone and metaprolol plus bromazepam on heart rate and heart rate variability during multislice computed tomography angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuyyab, F.; Naeem, M.Y.; Maken, G.R.; Najfi, M.H.; Hassan, F.

2012-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of metaprolol alone and metaprolol plus bromazepam on heart rate and heart rate variability during multi slice computed tomography (MSCT) angiography. Methodology: This was a Double blind randomized controlled trial was conducted at AFIC/NIHD, Rawalpindi, from May 2011 to November 2011. Patients undergoing first MSCT angiography meeting inclusion criteria with heart rates (HR) more than 80 beats/min were included. Patients were randomized in to two groups using random numbers table. Group 1 was administered metaprolol plus placebo while group 2 was administered metaprolol plus bromazepam one hour before the scan. Both groups had scans under strictly similar conditions. HR before and during scan along with heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded. Results: A total of 80 patients were included. Patients mean age was 49 + 13, 57 % were males while 43 % were females. Risk factor profile was similar in both groups. HR reduction in group 1 was 15+ 6.0 and in group 2, was 21+9.0 (p= 0.002). HRV in group 1 was 3.9 + 1.32 and in group 2 was 2.3 + 1.0 (p= 0.003). Group 2 had significantly lower HR and significantly less HRV as compared with group 1. Conclusion: Combination of bromazepam and metaprolol results in significant and further reduction in heart rate and heart rate variability than metaprolol alone. Both drugs can be used together for a better control of heart rate and heart rate variability during MSCT angiography for improving the quality of images. (author)

Behavioral correlates of heart rates of free-living Greater White-fronted Geese

Science.gov (United States)

Ely, Craig R.; Ward, D.H.; Bollinger, K.S.

1999-01-01

We simultaneously monitored the heart rate and behavior of nine free-living Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) on their wintering grounds in northern California. Heart rates of wild geese were monitored via abdominally-implanted radio transmitters with electrodes that received electrical impulses of the heart and emitted a radio signal with each ventricular contraction. Post-operative birds appeared to behave normally, readily rejoining flocks and flying up to 15 km daily from night-time roost sites to feed in surrounding agricultural fields. Heart rates varied significantly among individuals and among behaviors, and ranged from less than 100 beats per minute (BPM) during resting, to over 400 BPM during flight. Heart rates varied from 80 to 140 BPM during non-strenuous activities such as walking, feeding, and maintenance activities, to about 180 BPM when birds became alert, and over 400 BPM when birds were startled, even if they did not take flight. Postflight heart rate recovery time averaged postures, as heart rates were context-dependent, and were highest in initial encounters among individuals. Instantaneous measures of physiological parameters, such as heart rate, are often better indicators of the degree of response to external stimuli than visual observations and can be used to improve estimates of energy expenditure based solely on activity data.

Association between smoking and heart rate variability among individuals with depression.

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Harte, Christopher B; Liverant, Gabrielle I; Sloan, Denise M; Kamholz, Barbara W; Rosebrock, Laina E; Fava, Maurizio; Kaplan, Gary B

2013-08-01

Both depression and smoking have been independently associated with lower heart rate variability (HRV), suggesting dysregulation of cardiac autonomic function. However, no studies have systematically explored the effects of smoking on HRV among depressed patients. This study examined differences in HRV based on smoking status among depressed individuals. Electrophysiological data were examined among 77 adult outpatients without a history of myocardial infarction, who met criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymia. Frequency domain [low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), LF/HF ratio, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)] parameters of HRV, and heart rate and inter-beat interval (IBI) data were compared between depressed smokers (n = 34) and depressed nonsmokers (n = 44). After controlling for covariates, depressed smokers, compared to depressed nonsmokers, displayed significantly lower LF, HF, and RSA. Among depressed patients, smoking is associated with significantly lower HRV, indicating dysregulated autonomic modulation of the heart.

Creation of Cardiac Tissue Exhibiting Mechanical Integration of Spheroids Using 3D Bioprinting.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, Chin Siang; Fukunishi, Takuma; Nashed, Andrew; Blazeski, Adriana; Zhang, Huaitao; Hardy, Samantha; DiSilvestre, Deborah; Vricella, Luca; Conte, John; Tung, Leslie; Tomaselli, Gordon; Hibino, Narutoshi

2017-07-02

This protocol describes 3D bioprinting of cardiac tissue without the use of biomaterials, using only cells. Cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and fibroblasts are first isolated, counted and mixed at desired cell ratios. They are co-cultured in individual wells in ultra-low attachment 96-well plates. Within 3 days, beating spheroids form. These spheroids are then picked up by a nozzle using vacuum suction and assembled on a needle array using a 3D bioprinter. The spheroids are then allowed to fuse on the needle array. Three days after 3D bioprinting, the spheroids are removed as an intact patch, which is already spontaneously beating. 3D bioprinted cardiac patches exhibit mechanical integration of component spheroids and are highly promising in cardiac tissue regeneration and as 3D models of heart disease.

What makes a rhythm complex? The influence of musical training and accent type on beat perception

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwer, F.L.; Burgoyne, J.A.; Odijk, D.; Honing, H.; Grahn, J.A.

2018-01-01

Perception of a regular beat in music is inferred from different types of accents. For example, increases in loudness cause intensity accents, and the grouping of time intervals in a rhythm creates temporal accents. Accents are expected to occur on the beat: when accents are “missing” on the beat,

A simple test of one minute heart rate variability during deep breathing for evaluation of sympathovagal imbalance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fareedabanu, A.B.

2011-01-01

Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the magnitude of the fluctuation in the number of heart beats per minute in conjunction with respiration. HRV with deep breathing (HRVdb) has recently become a popular non-invasive research tool in cardiology. This study was carried out to determine and compare the HRV in patients with Type 2 DM with those of Non diabetic controls. Methods: Sixty diabetic patients attending out patient department in Karnataka Institute of Diabetology, Bangalore and 60 age-matched controls were enrolled. HRV was performed on all the subjects and the results obtained were compared between the groups. The One minute HRV was analysed during deep breathing and defined as the difference in beats/minute between the shortest and the longest heart rate interval measured by lead II electrocardiographic recording during six cycles of deep breathing. Results: Statistically significant decrease in mean minimal heart rate and 1 minute HRV (16.30 +- 6.42 vs 29.33 +- 8.39) was observed during deep breathing among Type 2 Diabetic patients on comparison with that of healthy controls. There was no significant difference in mean maximal heart rate between the groups. Conclusion: Significant decrease in HRV in Type 2 DM patients is suggestive of reduced parasympathetic activity or an imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic neural activity in them. Hence HRVdb provides a sensitive screening measure for parasympathetic dysfunction in many autonomic disorders. (author)

Orthogonal linear polarization tunable-beat ring laser with a superluminescent diode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, Y.; Yoshino, T. [Department of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjin-cho, Kiryu, Gunma 376 (Japan)

1997-09-01

An orthogonal linear polarization operated ring laser with a superluminescent diode has been demonstrated to generate a tunable optical beat signal. The ring cavity contains a superluminescent diode as the optical gain medium, Faraday rotators, and a variable phase retarder (Babinet-Soleil compensator). By controlling the retarder, we changed the beat frequency in the range from a few tens of megahertz to 100 MHz. {copyright} 1997 Optical Society of America

Construction and use of a zebrafish heart voltage and calcium optical mapping system, with integrated electrocardiogram and programmable electrical stimulation

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Lin, Eric; Craig, Calvin; Lamothe, Marcel; Sarunic, Marinko V.; Beg, Mirza Faisal

2015-01-01

Zebrafish are increasingly being used as a model of vertebrate cardiology due to mammalian-like cardiac properties in many respects. The size and fecundity of zebrafish make them suitable for large-scale genetic and pharmacological screening. In larger mammalian hearts, optical mapping is often used to investigate the interplay between voltage and calcium dynamics and to investigate their respective roles in arrhythmogenesis. This report outlines the construction of an optical mapping system for use with zebrafish hearts, using the voltage-sensitive dye RH 237 and the calcium indicator dye Rhod-2 using two industrial-level CCD cameras. With the use of economical cameras and a common 532-nm diode laser for excitation, the rate dependence of voltage and calcium dynamics within the atrial and ventricular compartments can be simultaneously determined. At 140 beats/min, the atrial action potential duration was 36 ms and the transient duration was 53 ms. With the use of a programmable electrical stimulator, a shallow rate dependence of 3 and 4 ms per 100 beats/min was observed, respectively. In the ventricle the action potential duration was 109 ms and the transient duration was 124 ms, with a steeper rate dependence of 12 and 16 ms per 100 beats/min. Synchronous electrocardiograms and optical mapping recordings were recorded, in which the P-wave aligns with the atrial voltage peak and R-wave aligns with the ventricular peak. A simple optical pathway and imaging chamber are detailed along with schematics for the in-house construction of the electrocardiogram amplifier and electrical stimulator. Laboratory procedures necessary for zebrafish heart isolation, cannulation, and loading are also presented. PMID:25740339

Bluetooth(Registered Trademark) Heart Rate Monitors for Spaceflight

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Buxton, Roxanne E.; West, Michael R.; Kalogera, Kent L.; Hanson, Andrea M.

2016-01-01

Heart rate monitoring is required during exercise for crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and will be for future exploration missions. The cardiovascular system must be sufficiently stressed throughout a mission to maintain the ability to perform nominal and contingency/emergency tasks. High quality heart rate data is required to accurately determine the intensity of exercise performed by the crewmembers and show maintenance of VO2max. The quality of the data collected on ISS is subject to multiple limitations and is insufficient to meet current requirements. PURPOSE: To evaluate the performance of commercially available Bluetooth® heart rate monitors (BT_HRM) and their ability to provide high quality heart rate data to monitor crew health on board ISS and during future exploration missions. METHODS: Nineteen subjects completed 30 data collection sessions of various intensities on the treadmill and/or cycle. Subjects wore several BT_HRM technologies for each testing session. One electrode-based chest strap (CS) was worn, while one or more optical sensors (OS) was worn. Subjects were instrumented with a 12-lead ECG to compare the heart rate data from the Bluetooth sensors. Each BT_RHM data set was time matched to the ECG data and a +/-5bpm threshold was applied to the difference between the two data sets. Percent error was calculated based on the number of data points outside the threshold and the total number of data points. REULTS: The electrode-based chest straps performed better than the optical sensors. The best performing CS was CS1 (1.6%error), followed by CS4 (3.3%error), CS3 (6.4%error), and CS2 (9.2%error). The OS resulted in 10.4% error for OS1 and 14.9% error for OS2. CONCLUSIONS: The highest quality data came from CS1, unfortunately it has been discontinued by the manufacturer. The optical sensors have not been ruled out for use, but more investigation is needed to determine how to get the best quality data. CS2 will be used in an

Changes in cortisol release and heart rate variability in sport horses during long-distance road transport.

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Schmidt, A; Biau, S; Möstl, E; Becker-Birck, M; Morillon, B; Aurich, J; Faure, J-M; Aurich, C

2010-04-01

It is widely accepted that transport is stressful for horses, but only a few studies are available involving horses that are transported regularly and are accustomed to transport. We determined salivary cortisol immunoreactivity (IR), fecal cortisol metabolites, beat-to-beat (RR) interval, and heart rate variability (HRV) in transport-experienced horses (N=7) in response to a 2-d outbound road transport over 1370 km and 2-d return transport 8 d later. Salivary cortisol IR was low until 60 min before transport but had increased (PHRV variable standard deviation 2 (SD2) occurred (PHRV, which is indicative of stress. The degree of these changes tended to be most pronounced on the first day of both outbound and return transport. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

First Beta-Beating Measurement in the LHC

CERN Document Server

Aiba, M; Franchi, A; Giovannozzi, M; Kain, V; Morita, A; Tomás, R; Vanbavinckhove, G; Wenninger, J

2009-01-01

This note reports on the first LHC beta-beating and coupling measurements. Thanks to an excellent functioning of the BPM system and the related software, injection oscillations were recorded for the first 90 turns at all BPMs of Beam 2. Three different algorithms are used to measure the optics parameters from the BPM data. All algorithms show consistent measurements but feature different accuracy. The Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) approach shows a high resolution despite the limited number of turns. The vertical beta-beating is observed to be about a factor of two larger than in the horizontal plane. This asymetry is partly due to sextupoles misalignments but also suggests the possible existance of focusing errors at defocussing locations. Rather large coupling is observed since no skew quadrupole was excited at the time of the data acquisition. We also report a list of suspected malfunctioning BPMs identified through various analyses.

Polypyrrole-chitosan conductive biomaterial synchronizes cardiomyocyte contraction and improves myocardial electrical impulse propagation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Zhi; Ni, Nathan C; Wu, Jun; Du, Guo-Qing; He, Sheng; Yau, Terrence M; Weisel, Richard D; Sung, Hsing-Wen; Li, Ren-Ke

2018-01-01

Background: The post-myocardial infarction (MI) scar interrupts electrical impulse propagation and delays regional contraction, which contributes to ventricular dysfunction. We investigated the potential of an injectable conductive biomaterial to restore scar tissue conductivity and re-establish synchronous ventricular contraction. Methods: A conductive biomaterial was generated by conjugating conductive polypyrrole (PPY) onto chitosan (CHI) backbones. Trypan blue staining of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (CMs) cultured on biomaterials was used to evaluate the biocompatibility of the conductive biomaterials. Ca 2+ imaging was used to visualize beating CMs. A cryoablation injury rat model was used to investigate the ability of PPY:CHI to improve cardiac electrical propagation in the injured heart in vivo . Electromyography was used to evaluate conductivity of scar tissue ex vivo . Results: Cell survival and morphology were similar between cells cultured on biomaterials-coated and uncoated-control dishes. PPY:CHI established synchronous contraction of two distinct clusters of spontaneously-beating CMs. Intramyocardial PPY:CHI injection into the cryoablation-induced injured region improved electrical impulse propagation across the scarred tissue and decreased the QRS interval, whereas saline- or CHI-injected hearts continued to have delayed propagation patterns and significantly reduced conduction velocity compared to healthy controls. Ex vivo evaluation found that scar tissue from PPY:CHI-treated rat hearts had higher signal amplitude compared to those from saline- or CHI-treated rat heart tissue. Conclusions: The PPY:CHI biomaterial is electrically conductive, biocompatible and injectable. It improved synchronous contraction between physically separated beating CM clusters in vitro . Intra-myocardial injection of PPY:CHI following cardiac injury improved electrical impulse propagation of scar tissue in vivo .

Patterns of Interspecific Variation in the Heart Rates of Embryonic Reptiles

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Du, Wei-Guo; Ye, Hua; Zhao, Bo; Pizzatto, Ligia; Ji, Xiang; Shine, Richard

2011-01-01

New non-invasive technologies allow direct measurement of heart rates (and thus, developmental rates) of embryos. We applied these methods to a diverse array of oviparous reptiles (24 species of lizards, 18 snakes, 11 turtles, 1 crocodilian), to identify general influences on cardiac rates during embryogenesis. Heart rates increased with ambient temperature in all lineages, but (at the same temperature) were faster in lizards and turtles than in snakes and crocodilians. We analysed these data within a phylogenetic framework. Embryonic heart rates were faster in species with smaller adult sizes, smaller egg sizes, and shorter incubation periods. Phylogenetic changes in heart rates were negatively correlated with concurrent changes in adult body mass and residual incubation period among the lizards, snakes (especially within pythons) and crocodilians. The total number of embryonic heart beats between oviposition and hatching was lower in squamates than in turtles or the crocodilian. Within squamates, embryonic iguanians and gekkonids required more heartbeats to complete development than did embryos of the other squamate families that we tested. These differences plausibly reflect phylogenetic divergence in the proportion of embryogenesis completed before versus after laying. PMID:22174948

Effect of depth beating on the fiber properties and enzymatic saccharification efficiency of softwood kraft pulp.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Wenhua; Xiang, Zhouyang; Chen, Kefu; Yang, Rendang; Yang, Fei

2015-01-01

Commercial bleached softwood kraft pulp was mechanically fibrillated by a PFI-mill with beating revolution from 5000 to 30,000 r. The extent of fibrillating on the pulp was evaluated by beating degree, fiber morphological properties (fiber length, width, coarseness and curls index), water retention value (WRV) and physical properties of paper made from the pulp. Depth beating process significantly affected the pulp fibrillations as showed by the decreased fiber length and width as well as the SEM analysis, but the effects were limited after beating revolution of 15,000. Depth beating process also improved the total internal pore and inter-fibril surface areas as shown by the increased WRV values. Substrate enzymatic digestibility (SED) of beaten pulp at 5000 revolutions could reach 95% at cellulase loading of 15 FPU/g of glucan. After the enzymatic hydrolysis, the size of the pulp residues was reduced to micro-scale, and a relative uniform size distribution of the residues appeared at 10,000 r beating revolution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE: Acceleration by plasma beat waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

An experiment by a multi-disciplinary team including laser, plasma, accelerator and particle detector specialists at the École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France, has confirmed the principle of particle acceleration by the 'beating' of laser waves. The first accelerated electrons were detected in May 1994, just after the apparatus had been completely assembled, during the subsequent set of experiments in July, and again in January. In the continual quest for new acceleration methods, such ideas had been proposed for several decades, but it was only about ten years ago that experimental verification of these effects began. In existing accelerators using radiofrequency cavities the electric field is limited to some hundred megavolts per metre, beyond which breakdowns occur. The joint use of power lasers and plasmas, however, should make it possible to generate fields very much greater than a GV/m. The light wave fulfils the same purpose as radiofrequency and the material medium required to couple the electromagnetic energy to the particle beam is provided by the plasma which - already fully ionized - is not destroyed by a breakdown. In the wave-beating method, proposed in 1979 by Dawson and Tajima, two laser waves of adjacent frequencies are transmitted and produce 'beats'. If the frequency of these is equal to the natural oscillation frequency of the plasma electrons, there is resonant energy transfer. The resultant longitudinal electric field is propagated at slightly below the speed of light and may be used to accelerate particles injected into the plasma in the right phase

Mismatch negativity to acoustical illusion of beat: how and where the change detection takes place?

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Chakalov, Ivan; Paraskevopoulos, Evangelos; Wollbrink, Andreas; Pantev, Christo

2014-10-15

In case of binaural presentation of two tones with slightly different frequencies the structures of brainstem can no longer follow the interaural time differences (ITD) resulting in an illusionary perception of beat corresponding to frequency difference between the two prime tones. Hence, the beat-frequency does not exist in the prime tones presented to either ear. This study used binaural beats to explore the nature of acoustic deviance detection in humans by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG). Recent research suggests that the auditory change detection is a multistage process. To test this, we employed 26 Hz-binaural beats in a classical oddball paradigm. However, the prime tones (250 Hz and 276 Hz) were switched between the ears in the case of the deviant-beat. Consequently, when the deviant is presented, the cochleae and auditory nerves receive a "new afferent", although the standards and the deviants are heard identical (26 Hz-beats). This allowed us to explore the contribution of auditory periphery to change detection process, and furthermore, to evaluate its influence on beats-related auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs). LORETA-source current density estimates of the evoked fields in a typical mismatch negativity time-window (MMN) and the subsequent difference-ASSRs were determined and compared. The results revealed an MMN generated by a complex neural network including the right parietal lobe and the left middle frontal gyrus. Furthermore, difference-ASSR was generated in the paracentral gyrus. Additionally, psychophysical measures showed no perceptual difference between the standard- and deviant-beats when isolated by noise. These results suggest that the auditory periphery has an important contribution to novelty detection already at sub-cortical level. Overall, the present findings support the notion of hierarchically organized acoustic novelty detection system. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Electrocardiogram: his bundle potentials can be recorded noninvasively beat by beat on surface electrocardiogram.

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Wang, Gaopin; Liu, Renguang; Chang, Qinghua; Xu, Zhaolong; Zhang, Yingjie; Pan, Dianzhu

2017-03-15

The micro waveform of His bundle potential can't be recorded beat-to-beat on surface electrocardiogram yet. We have found that the micro-wavelets before QRS complex may be related to atrioventricular conduction system potentials. This study is to explore the possibility of His bundle potential can be noninvasively recorded on surface electrocardiogram. We randomized 65 patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation of paroxysmal superventricular tachycardia (exclude overt Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome) to receive "conventional electrocardiogram" and "new electrocardiogram" before the procedure. His bundle electrogram was collected during the procedure. Comparative analysis of PA s (PA interval recorded on surface electrocardiogram), AH s (AH interval recorded on surface electrocardiogram) and HV s (HV interval recorded on surface electrocardiogram) interval recorded on surface "new electrocardiogram" and PA, AH, HV interval recorded on His bundle electrogram was investigated. There was no difference (P > 0.05) between groups in HV s interval (49.63 ± 6.19 ms) and HV interval (49.35 ± 6.49 ms). Results of correlational analysis found that HV S interval was significantly positively associated with HV interval (r = 0.929; P electrocardiogram. Noninvasive His bundle potential tracing might represent a new method for locating the site of atrioventricular block and identifying the origin of a wide QRS complex.

Binaural beat technology in humans: a pilot study to assess psychologic and physiologic effects.

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Wahbeh, Helané; Calabrese, Carlo; Zwickey, Heather

2007-01-01

Binaural beat technology (BBT) products are sold internationally as personal development and health improvement tools. Producers suggest benefit from regular listening to binaural beats including reduced stress and anxiety, and increased focus, concentration, motivation, confidence, and depth in meditation. Binaural beats are auditory brainstem responses that originate in the superior olivary nucleus as a result of different frequency auditory stimuli provided to each ear. Listeners to binaural beat "hear" a beat at a frequency equal to the difference between the frequencies of the applied tones. The objectives of this pilot study were to gather preliminary data on psychologic and physiologic effects of 60 days daily use of BBT for hypothesis generation and to assess compliance, feasibility, and safety for future studies. Uncontrolled pilot study. Eight healthy adults participated in the study. Participants listened to a CD with delta (0-4 Hz) binaural beat frequencies daily for 60 days. Psychologic and physiological data were collected before and after a 60-day intervention. PSYCHOLOGIC: Depression (Beck Depression Inventory-2), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), mood (Profile of Mood States), absorption (Tellegen Absorption Scale) and quality of Life (World Health Organization-Quality of Life Inventory). PHYSIOLOGICAL: Cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone, melatonin, insulin-like growth factor-1, serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, weight, blood pressure, high sensitivity C-reactive protein. There was a decrease in trait anxiety (p = 0.004), an increase in quality of life (p = 0.03), and a decrease in insulin-like growth factor-1 (p = 0.01) and dopamine (p = 0.02) observed between pre- and postintervention measurements. Binaural beat technology may exhibit positive effect on self-reported psychologic measures, especially anxiety. Further research is warranted to explore the effects on anxiety using a larger, randomized and controlled trial.

Ivabradine, a novel heart rate slower: is it a sword of double blades in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy?

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Rayan, Mona; Tawfik, Mazen; Alabd, Ali; Gamal, Amr

2011-08-01

To prospectively assess the safety and efficacy of ivabradine in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. We included 35 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy with an ejection fraction (EF) 70 beats/min despite optimal medical therapy, according to the international guidelines in this prospective, non-randomized, single-arm, open-label safety study. Ivabradine was used as an add-on therapy to the maximally tolerated b-blocker in an increasing titrated dose till a target dose of 15 mg/day or resting heart rate of 60 beats/min for 3 months. During follow-up period the safety, patient tolerance and efficacy of this drug were assessed. All patients underwent 12-lead resting electrocardiography and Holter monitoring at inclusion and after 3 months. Statistical analysis was accomplished using paired t-test and Pearson correlation analysis. We found a significant reduction in the resting heart rate by a mean of 25.9 ± 9.4%, without a significant change of blood pressure. There was no prolongation of PR, QTc or QRS durations. Ventricular ectopic activity showed significant reduction (p<0.001). There was a significant correlation between the resting heart rate, NYHA and left ventricular ejection fraction (p<0.001 for both). One patient developed photopsia and decompensation was observed in another patient. Ivabradine is a safe and effective drug in reducing resting heart rate, improving NYHA functional class without undesirable effects on conduction parameters or ectopic activity.

The Influence of a High Salt Diet on a Rat Model of Isoproterenol-Induced Heart Failure

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Rat models of heart failure (HF) show varied pathology and time to disease outcome, dependent on induction method. We found that subchronic (4 weeks) isoproterenol (ISO) infusion exacerbated cardiomyopathy in Spontaneously Hypertensive Heart Failure (SHHF) rats. Others have shown...

Disentangling beat perception from sequential learning and examining the influence of attention and musical abilities on ERP responses to rhythm.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouwer, Fleur L; Werner, Carola M; Knetemann, Myrthe; Honing, Henkjan

2016-05-01

Beat perception is the ability to perceive temporal regularity in musical rhythm. When a beat is perceived, predictions about upcoming events can be generated. These predictions can influence processing of subsequent rhythmic events. However, statistical learning of the order of sounds in a sequence can also affect processing of rhythmic events and must be differentiated from beat perception. In the current study, using EEG, we examined the effects of attention and musical abilities on beat perception. To ensure we measured beat perception and not absolute perception of temporal intervals, we used alternating loud and soft tones to create a rhythm with two hierarchical metrical levels. To control for sequential learning of the order of the different sounds, we used temporally regular (isochronous) and jittered rhythmic sequences. The order of sounds was identical in both conditions, but only the regular condition allowed for the perception of a beat. Unexpected intensity decrements were introduced on the beat and offbeat. In the regular condition, both beat perception and sequential learning were expected to enhance detection of these deviants on the beat. In the jittered condition, only sequential learning was expected to affect processing of the deviants. ERP responses to deviants were larger on the beat than offbeat in both conditions. Importantly, this difference was larger in the regular condition than in the jittered condition, suggesting that beat perception influenced responses to rhythmic events in addition to sequential learning. The influence of beat perception was present both with and without attention directed at the rhythm. Moreover, beat perception as measured with ERPs correlated with musical abilities, but only when attention was directed at the stimuli. Our study shows that beat perception is possible when attention is not directed at a rhythm. In addition, our results suggest that attention may mediate the influence of musical abilities on beat

Sensitivity, Specificity and Predictive Value of Heart Rate Variability Indices in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Kastelianne França da Silva

Full Text Available Abstract Background: Heart rate variability (HRV indices may detect autonomic changes with good diagnostic accuracy. Type diabetes mellitus (DM individuals may have changes in autonomic modulation; however, studies of this nature in this population are still scarce. Objective: To compare HRV indices between and assess their prognostic value by measurements of sensitivity, specificity and predictive values in young individuals with type 1 DM and healthy volunteers. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, physical and clinical assessment was performed in 39 young patients with type 1 DM and 43 young healthy controls. For HRV analysis, beat-to-beat heart rate variability was measured in dorsal decubitus, using a Polar S810i heart rate monitor, for 30 minutes. The following indices were calculated: SDNN, RMSSD, PNN50, TINN, RRTri, LF ms2, HF ms2, LF un, HF un, LF/HF, SD1, SD2, SD1/SD2, and ApEn. Results: Type 1 DM subjects showed a decrease in sympathetic and parasympathetic activities, and overall variability of autonomic nervous system. The RMSSD, SDNN, PNN50, LF ms2, HF ms2, RRTri, SD1 and SD2 indices showed greater diagnostic accuracy in discriminating diabetic from healthy individuals. Conclusion: Type 1 DM individuals have changes in autonomic modulation. The SDNN, RMSSD, PNN50, RRtri, LF ms2, HF ms2, SD1 and SD2 indices may be alternative tools to discriminate individuals with type 1 DM.

A Good Suit Beats a Good Idea.

Science.gov (United States)

Machiavelli, Nick

1992-01-01

Inspired by Niccolo Machiavelli, this column offers beleaguered school executives advice on looking good, dressing well, losing weight, beating the proper enemy, and saying nothing. Administrators who follow these simple rules should have an easier life, jealous colleagues, well-tended gardens, and respectful board members. (MLH)

Technical Note: A 3-D rendering algorithm for electromechanical wave imaging of a beating heart.

Science.gov (United States)

Nauleau, Pierre; Melki, Lea; Wan, Elaine; Konofagou, Elisa

2017-09-01

Arrhythmias can be treated by ablating the heart tissue in the regions of abnormal contraction. The current clinical standard provides electroanatomic 3-D maps to visualize the electrical activation and locate the arrhythmogenic sources. However, the procedure is time-consuming and invasive. Electromechanical wave imaging is an ultrasound-based noninvasive technique that can provide 2-D maps of the electromechanical activation of the heart. In order to fully visualize the complex 3-D pattern of activation, several 2-D views are acquired and processed separately. They are then manually registered with a 3-D rendering software to generate a pseudo-3-D map. However, this last step is operator-dependent and time-consuming. This paper presents a method to generate a full 3-D map of the electromechanical activation using multiple 2-D images. Two canine models were considered to illustrate the method: one in normal sinus rhythm and one paced from the lateral region of the heart. Four standard echographic views of each canine heart were acquired. Electromechanical wave imaging was applied to generate four 2-D activation maps of the left ventricle. The radial positions and activation timings of the walls were automatically extracted from those maps. In each slice, from apex to base, these values were interpolated around the circumference to generate a full 3-D map. In both cases, a 3-D activation map and a cine-loop of the propagation of the electromechanical wave were automatically generated. The 3-D map showing the electromechanical activation timings overlaid on realistic anatomy assists with the visualization of the sources of earlier activation (which are potential arrhythmogenic sources). The earliest sources of activation corresponded to the expected ones: septum for the normal rhythm and lateral for the pacing case. The proposed technique provides, automatically, a 3-D electromechanical activation map with a realistic anatomy. This represents a step towards a