Data transforms for spectral analyses of heart rate variability.

Autoregressive and fast Fourier transform spectral analyses of high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) result in exponentially-distributed values that make standard parametric statistical analyses problematic. In this paper, we evaluate three transforms of raw HF-HRV spectral power. Two occur commonly in the literature (a natural log [ln] transform and a reactivity transform); a third is novel (a "percent deviation from the mean" transform).

Searching for evidence.

Purpose: There is a clear call for a single-source knowledge base linking literature on architecture and human outcomes. However, this seemingly simple need relies upon a vast source of information from multiple disciplines, each with their own vocabulary, structures, and modes of disciplinary thought.

Background: The "Information Age" provides an abundance of research from the sciences as well as the humanities.

Building health.

Biological and medical research offer rigorous techniques and scientific methodologies to explore how features of the built environment influence human health, performance, and well-being. Practice guidelines from evidence-based medicine and translational science provide models for translating biomedical information into design principles applicable to healthcare environments. Examples from recent scientific discoveries highlight how scientific evidence may inform healthcare design.