A novel application of PageRank and user preference algorithms for assessing the relative performance of track athletes in competition.

Ranking enables coaches, sporting authorities, and pundits to determine the relative performance of individual athletes and teams in comparison to their peers. While ranking is relatively straightforward in sports that employ traditional leagues, it is more difficult in sports where competition is fragmented (e.g.

The use of kurtosis de-noising for EEG analysis of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

The use of electroencephalograms (EEGs) to diagnose and analyses Alzheimer's disease (AD) has received much attention in recent years. The sample entropy (SE) has been widely applied to the diagnosis of AD. In our study, nine EEGs from 21 scalp electrodes in 3 AD patients and 9 EEGs from 3 age-matched controls are recorded.

Dirty-Appearing White Matter in the Brain is Associated with Altered Cerebrospinal Fluid Pulsatility and Hypertension in Individuals without Neurologic Disease.

Background And Purpose: Aging of the healthy brain is characterized by focal or nonfocal white matter (WM) signal abnormality (SA) changes, which are typically detected as leukoaraiosis (LA). Hypertension is a risk factor for WM lesion formation. This study investigated whether LA might be associated with increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pulsatility linked to arterial hypertension.

Aqueductal cerebrospinal fluid pulsatility in healthy individuals is affected by impaired cerebral venous outflow.

Purpose: To investigate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics in the aqueduct of Sylvius (AoS) in chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI)-positive and -negative healthy individuals using cine phase contrast imaging.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-one healthy individuals (32 CCSVI-negative and 19 age-matched CCSVI-positive subjects) were examined using Doppler sonography (DS). Diagnosis of CCSVI was established if subjects fulfilled ≥2 venous hemodynamic criteria on DS.

Sensitivity and specificity of SWI venography for detection of cerebral venous alterations in multiple sclerosis.

Objectives: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of decreased venous vasculature visibility (VVV) on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) venography in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients versus controls, and to compare this with assessment of whole brain atrophy.

Methods: Forty MS patients and 22 controls without known central nervous system (CNS) disease who had non-specific white-matter (WM) lesions were imaged on a 3T GE scanner using SWI venography. Apparent total venous volume (ATVV) and increased average distance from vein (DFV) were calculated for various vein mean diameter categories: <0·3, 0·3-0·6, 0·6-0·9, and >0·9 mm.

Cerebral hydrodynamics are at a most a third order system.

The human body employs a sophisticated windkessel mechanism to dampen the arterial pulse entering the brain, thus ensuring the smooth flow of blood through the cerebral capillary bed. The energy from the arterial pulse is transferred to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which pulses backwards and forwards across the foramen magnum. The dynamics associated with this system are complex and poorly understood.

Potential for airborne transmission of infection in the waiting areas of healthcare premises: stochastic analysis using a Monte Carlo model.

Background: Although many infections that are transmissible from person to person are acquired through direct contact between individuals, a minority, notably pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), measles and influenza are known to be spread by the airborne route. Airborne infections pose a particular threat to susceptible individuals whenever they are placed together with the index case in confined spaces. With this in mind, waiting areas of healthcare facilities present a particular challenge, since large numbers of people, some of whom may have underlying conditions which predispose them to infection, congregate in such spaces and can be exposed to an individual who may be shedding potentially pathogenic microorganisms.

Effect of negative air ions on the potential for bacterial contamination of plastic medical equipment.

Background: In recent years there has been renewed interest in the use of air ionizers to control the spread of infection in hospitals and a number of researchers have investigated the biocidal action of ions in both air and nitrogen. By comparison, the physical action of air ions on bacterial dissemination and deposition has largely been ignored. However, there is clinical evidence that air ions might play an important role in preventing the transmission of Acinetobacter infection.

How does healthcare worker hand hygiene behaviour impact upon the transmission of MRSA between patients?: an analysis using a Monte Carlo model.

Background: Good hand hygiene has for many years been considered to be the most important measure that can be applied to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infection (HAI). Continuous emphasis on this intervention has lead to the widespread opinion that HAI rates can be greatly reduced by increased hand hygiene compliance alone. However, this assumes that the effectiveness of hand hygiene is not constrained by other factors and that improved compliance in excess of a given level, in itself, will result in a commensurate reduction in the incidence of HAI.

Increasing the frequency of hand washing by healthcare workers does not lead to commensurate reductions in staphylococcal infection in a hospital ward.

Background: Hand hygiene is generally considered to be the most important measure that can be applied to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infection (HAI). Continuous emphasis on this intervention has lead to the widespread opinion that HAI rates can be greatly reduced by increased hand hygiene compliance alone. However, this assumes that the effectiveness of hand hygiene is not constrained by other factors and that improved compliance in excess of a given level, in itself, will result in a commensurate reduction in the incidence of HAI.

Bactericidal action of positive and negative ions in air.

Background: In recent years there has been renewed interest in the use of air ionisers to control of the spread of airborne infection. One characteristic of air ions which has been widely reported is their apparent biocidal action. However, whilst the body of evidence suggests a biocidal effect in the presence of air ions the physical and biological mechanisms involved remain unclear.

The influence of nurse cohorting on hand hygiene effectiveness.

Background: Direct contact between health care staff and patients is generally considered to be the primary route by which most exogenously-acquired infections spread within and between wards. Handwashing is therefore perceived to be the single most important infection control measure that can be adopted, with the continuing high infection rates generally attributed to poor hand hygiene compliance.

Methods: Through the use of simple mathematical models, this paper demonstrates that under conditions of high patient occupancy or understaffing, handwashing alone is unlikely to prevent the transmission of infection.