A novel translational bioinformatics framework for facilitating multimodal data analyses in preclinical models of neurological injury.

Pediatric neurological injury and disease is a critical public health issue due to increasing rates of survival from primary injuries (e.g., cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury) and a lack of monitoring technologies and therapeutics for treatment of secondary neurological injury.

Amplitude spectrum area is dependent on the electrocardiogram magnitude: evaluation of different normalization approaches.

Amplitude Spectrum Area (AMSA) of the electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform during ventricular fibrillation (VF) has shown promise as a predictor of defibrillation success during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). However, AMSA relies on the magnitude of the ECG waveform, raising concerns about reproducibility across different settings that may introduce magnitude bias. This study aimed to evaluate different AMSA normalization approaches and their impact on removing bias while preserving predictive value.

A Template for Translational Bioinformatics: Facilitating Multimodal Data Analyses in Preclinical Models of Neurological Injury.

Background: Pediatric neurological injury and disease is a critical public health issue due to increasing rates of survival from primary injuries (e.g., cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury) and a lack of monitoring technologies and therapeutics for the treatment of secondary neurological injury.

Prediction of Return of Spontaneous Circulation in a Pediatric Swine Model of Cardiac Arrest Using Low-Resolution Multimodal Physiological Waveforms.

Monitoring physiological waveforms, specifically hemodynamic variables (e.g., blood pressure waveforms) and end-tidal CO (EtCO), during pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been demonstrated to improve survival rates and outcomes when compared to standard depth-guided CPR.

Correlation between heart rate variability and polysomnography-derived scores of obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common sleep disorders and affects nearly a billion people worldwide. Furthermore, it is estimated that many patients with OSA are underdiagnosed, which contributes to the development of comorbidities, such as cardiac autonomic imbalance, leading to high cardiac risk. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive, widely used approach to evaluating neural control of the heart.

Heart rate variability as a biomarker in patients with Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy with or without concomitant digestive involvement and its relationship with the Rassi score.

Background: Dysautonomia plays an ancillary role in the pathogenesis of Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy (CCC), but is the key factor causing digestive organic involvement. We investigated the ability of heart rate variability (HRV) for death risk stratification in CCC and compared alterations of HRV in patients with isolated CCC and in those with the mixed form (CCC + digestive involvement). Thirty-one patients with CCC were classified into three risk groups (low, intermediate and high) according to their Rassi score.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation contributes to high-fat diet-induced vascular dysfunction.

Background And Purpose: Metabolic and vascular dysfunction are common features of obesity. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) regulates lipid metabolism and vascular homeostasis, but whether vascular AhR are activated in obesity or have a protective and/or harmful effects on vascular function in obesity are unknown. Our study addresses whether AhR activation contributes to obesity-associated vascular dysfunction and the mechanisms involved in these AhR effects.

Poor Sleep quality and health-related quality of life impact in adolescents with and without chronic immunosuppressive conditions during COVID-19 quarantine.

Objective: To assess the possible factors that influence sleep quality in adolescents with and without chronic immunosuppressive conditions quarantined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 305 adolescents with chronic immunocompromised conditions and 82 healthy adolescents. Online surveys were completed, which included questions on socio-demographic data and self-rated healthcare routine during COVID-19 quarantine and the following validated questionnaires: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.

Heart rate fragmentation, a novel approach in heart rate variability analysis, is altered in rats 4 and 12 weeks after myocardial infarction.

An approach recently proposed to assess ultra-rapid patterns of heart rate variability, namely heart rate fragmentation (HRF), is increased in aging and coronary disease. We aimed to evaluate and to correlate HRF with cardiac functional parameters in a rat model of myocardial infarction (MI). Wistar rats were submitted to MI (n = 18) or sham operation (n = 20), and after 4 or 12 weeks, their arterial pressure was recorded.

Idiopathic musculoskeletal pain, musculoskeletal pain syndromes, and use of electronic devices in adolescents with asthma.

Objective: To evaluate idiopathic musculoskeletal pain, musculoskeletal pain syndromes, and use of electronic devices in adolescents with asthma and healthy controls.

Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 asthmatic adolescents and 300 controls. Adolescents completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding painful symptoms, use of electronic devices, and physical activity.

Changes in Short-Term and Ultra-Short Term Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, and Time-Domain Heart Rate Variability Parameters during Sympathetic Nervous System Activity Stimulation in Elite Modern Pentathlonists-A Pilot Study.

Monitoring of markers reflecting cardiac autonomic activity before and during stressful situations may be useful for identifying the physiological state of an athlete and may have medical or performance implications. The study aimed to determine group and individual changes in short-term (5 min) and ultra-short-term (1 min) heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RespRate), and time-domain heart rate variability (HRV) parameters during sympathetic nervous system activity (SNSa) stimulation among professional endurance athletes. Electrocardiographic recordings were performed in stable measurement conditions (Baseline) and during SNSa stimulation via isometric handgrip in 12 elite modern pentathlonists.

A Pilot Study of the Reliability and Agreement of Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate and Short-Term Heart Rate Variability in Elite Modern Pentathlon Athletes.

Research on reliability of heart rate variability (HRV) parameters in athletes has received increasing attention. The aims of this study were to examine the inter-day reliability of short-term (5 min) and ultra-short-term (1 min) heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RespRate) and HRV parameters, agreement between short-term and ultra-short-term parameters, and association between differences in HR, RespRate and HRV parameters in elite modern pentathletes. Electrocardiographic recordings were performed in stable measurement conditions with a week interval between tests.

Modified multiscale fuzzy entropy: A robust method for short-term physiologic signals.

The introduction of the multiscale entropy (MSE) method was a milestone in the field of complex physiological signal analysis. However, since MSE is inapplicable for short signals, several variants of MSE have been proposed. One of the most important variants of MSE is the modified multiscale entropy (MMSE), even though it can still produce biased estimates due to the hard similarity criteria of sample entropy.

PyBioS: A freeware computer software for analysis of cardiovascular signals.

Background And Objective: Several software applications have been proposed in the past years as computational tools for assessing biomedical signals. Many of them are focused on heart rate variability series only, with their strengths and limitations depending on the necessity of the user and the scope of the application. Here, we introduce new software, named PyBioS, intended for the analysis of cardiovascular signals, even though any type of biomedical signal can be used.

Author Correction: Baroreceptor denervation reduces inflammatory status but worsens cardiovascular collapse during systemic inflammation.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Electrical stimulation of the carotid sinus lowers arterial pressure and improves heart rate variability in L-NAME hypertensive conscious rats.

We evaluated the effects of long-term (48 h) electrical stimulation of the carotid sinus (CS) in hypertensive rats. L-NAME-treated (10 days) Wistar rats were implanted with a catheter in the femoral artery and a miniaturized electrical stimulator attached to electrodes positioned around the left CS, encompassing the CS nerve. One day after implantation, arterial pressure (AP) was directly recorded in conscious animals for 60 min.

Baroreceptor denervation reduces inflammatory status but worsens cardiovascular collapse during systemic inflammation.

Beyond the regulation of cardiovascular function, baroreceptor afferents play polymodal roles in health and disease. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition characterized by systemic inflammation (SI) and hemodynamic dysfunction. We hypothesized that baroreceptor denervation worsens lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced-hemodynamic collapse and SI in conscious rats.

Heart Rate Variability in Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy-A Systematic Literature Review.

Cardiac autonomic dysfunction has been reported in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this study was to assess the existing literature on heart rate variability (HRV) in pediatric patients with CP and a special attention was paid to the compliance of the studies with the current HRV assessment and interpretation guidelines. A systematic review was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases searched for English language publications from 1996 to 2019 using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms "heart rate variability" and "cerebral palsy" in conjunction with additional inclusion criteria: studies limited to humans in the age range of 0-18 years and empirical investigations.

Cardiac sympathetic drive is increased in cafeteria diet-fed rats independent of impairment in peripheral baroreflex and chemoreflex functions.

Background And Aims: Consumption of a high caloric diet induces autonomic imbalance, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. Impaired arterial baroreflex control is suggested to play an important role in cardiovascular autonomic imbalance, often seen in obesity. We previously demonstrated that cafeteria diets increase the sympathetic drive to white and brown adipose tissue.

Hygiene protocols for the treatment of denture-related stomatitis: local and systemic parameters analysis - a randomized, double-blind trial protocol.

Background: Denture-related stomatitis (DS) is chronic multifactorial inflammation, strongly related to the presence of the biofilm that is the complex structure formed by microorganisms held together by a mucus-like matrix of carbohydrate that adheres to different surfaces, including the denture surface. DS has recently been correlated with deleterious cardiovascular alterations. The potential effect of hygiene protocols in the control of DS and randomized clinical trials that address this oral condition with cardiovascular complications are important in clinical decision-making.

Heart failure developed after myocardial infarction does not affect gut microbiota composition in the rat.

There is a body of evidence that supports the notion that gut dysbiosis plays a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Decreased cardiac function can reduce intestinal perfusion, resulting in morphological alterations, which may contribute to changes in the gut microbiota composition in patients with heart failure (HF). In this regard, a germane question is whether changes in gut microbiota composition are a cause or consequence of the cardiovascular disturbance.

Neuroinflammation in the NTS is associated with changes in cardiovascular reflexes during systemic inflammation.

Background: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation (SI) is associated with neuroinflammation in the brain, hypotension, tachycardia, and multiple organs dysfunctions. Considering that during SI these important cardiovascular and inflammatory changes take place, we measured the sensitivity of the cardiovascular reflexes baroreflex, chemoreflex, and Bezold-Jarisch that are key regulators of hemodynamic function. We also evaluated neuroinflammation in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), the first synaptic station that integrates peripheral signals arising from the cardiovascular and inflammatory status.

Revisiting the Sequence Method for Baroreflex Analysis.

The sequence method is an important approach to assess the baroreflex function, mainly because it is based on the spontaneous fluctuations of beat-by-beat arterial pressure (for example, systolic arterial pressure or SAP) and pulse interval (PI). However, some studies revealed that the baroreflex effectiveness index (BEI), calculated through the sequence method, shows an intriguing oscillatory pattern as function of the delay between SAP and PI. It has been hypothesized that this pattern is related to the respiratory influence on SAP and/or PI variability, limiting the SAP ramps to 3 or 4 beats of length.

Bi-dimensional multiscale entropy: Relation with discrete Fourier transform and biomedical application.

The multiscale entropy (MSE) measure is now widely used to quantify the complexity of time series. The development of complexity measures for images is also a long-standing goal. Recently, the bi-dimensional version of MSE has been proposed (MSE) to analyze images.