Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a completely noninvasive, optical method of assessing blood flow dynamics in peripheral vasculature. Wearable devices for PPG recording are becoming increasingly popular, due to their cost-effectiveness and ease of use. For these reasons, many recent scientific studies have proposed the use of pulse rate variability (PRV) extracted from PPG as a surrogate for heart rate variability (HRV), in monitoring autonomic activity and cardiovascular health.In this work, we used a cross-mapping approach, a methodology based on chaos theory, to compare PRV and HRV dynamics, and investigate their agreement according to age and gender of healthy subjects. We used ECG and PPG data acquired from 57 subjects (41 young and 16 elderly) during resting state in the supine position. Signals were gathered from the publicly available VORTAL dataset. Our results showed a statistically significant decrease of PRV reliability as an HRV surrogate in old participants, which was confirmed as significant when only men subjects were analyzed (p-value<0.01).Our findings, although preliminary, suggest greater caution in the use of PPG devices for monitoring cardiovascular health, especially in elderly men.
Low-frequency non-syndromic hearing loss (LFNSHL) is a rare auditory disorder affecting frequencies ≤ 2000 Hz. To elucidate its genetic basis, we conducted whole-exome sequencing on nine Chinese families (31 affected individuals) with LFNSHL. Four heterozygous pathogenic variants, including two novel variants, were identified in common LFNSHL-related genes (WFS1, DIAPH1) and less common genes (TNC, EYA4), achieving a 44% genetic diagnosis rate.
Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PSA) is an inflammatory joint disease associated with psoriasis (PSO) that can be easily missed. Existing PSA screening tools ignore objective serologic indicators. The aim of this study was to develop a disease screening model and the Psoriatic Arthritis Inflammation Index (PSAII) based on serologic data to enhance the efficiency of PSA screening.
When processing lucuma (), waste such as shells and seeds is generated, which is a source of bioactive compounds. Recently, lucuma seed (LS), especially its oily fraction, has been studied for containing phytosterols and tocopherols, powerful antioxidants with health benefits. This study proposes lucuma seed oil (LSO) extraction using supercritical fluid (SCF) to improve the quality of the extract and minimize the environmental impact.
Introduction: Improved effectiveness and treatment adherence is needed in smoking cessation (SC) therapies. Another important challenge is to disrupt maladaptive drug-related memories. To achieve these goals, we developed a novel treatment strategy on the basis of motion-assisted memory desensitization and reprocessing (3MDR).
Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has emerged as a superior method to glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) monitoring for glycemic control assessment in type 1 diabetes (T1D). The association between CGM parameters and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has not been extensively researched. The aim of the present study was to compare CGM metrics between patients with stable and progressive DKD and T1D.
