EEG Features of Evoked Tactile Sensation: Two Cases Study.

Purpose: Sensory feedback for prosthetics is an important issue. The area of forearm stump skin that has evoked tactile sensation (ETS) of fingers is defined as the projected finger map (PFM), and the area close to the PFM region that does not have ETS is defined as the non-projected finger map (NPFM). Previous studies have confirmed that ETS can restore the tactile pathway of the lost finger, which was induced by stimulation of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on the end of stump skin. This study aims to reveal EEG features between the PFM and the NPFM regions of the stumps under the same TENS stimulation condition. Methods: The PFM and NPFM regions of the two subjects were stimulated with the same intensity of TENS, respectively. TENS as target stimuli are modulated according to the Oddball paradigm to evoke the P300 components. Result: The PFM regions of both subjects were able to elicit P300 components, while their NPFM regions were not able to elicit P300 components. However, this P300 appears early (249 ms for subject 1,230 ms for subject 2) and has continuous positive peaks (peak 1,139 ± 3 ms, peak 2,194 ± 0.5 ms) in front of it. Discussion: N30 and P300 can prove that the two subjects with PFM can perceive and recognize ETS. The heteromorphisms of the P300 waveform may be related to the difficulty in subjects' cognition of ETS or caused by the fusion of P150, P200, and P300.

Study of Tactile Sensation Somatotopy and Homology Between Projected Fingers in Residual Limb and Natural Fingers in Intact Limb.

OBJECT: Based on the comparisons of the somatosensory event-related potentials (ERPs), the object of this study is to investigate the underlying cognition mechanism of somatotopy and the homology of tactile sensation between the projected fingers in the residual limb and the natural fingers in the intact limb. METHODS: One amputee subject and three able-bodied subjects were recruited. The forearm amputee had a clear projected finger mapping (PFM) that could evoke the tactile sensation of the entire five missing fingers. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) was used to evoke the sensation pattern of touch. Stimulation locations were divided into three groups: the locations of Group PA (projected-finger of amputee-subject) were located on the entire five projected fingers for the amputee subject, the locations of Group NA (natural-finger of amputee-subject) were located on the entire five natural fingers for the amputee subject, and the locations of Group NH (natural-finger of healthy-subject) were located on the bilateral natural index fingers for the able-bodied subjects. The somatosensory ERPs evoked by the stimulations were recorded. We measured the latency and amplitude of the ERP components and made statistical analyses for them. MAIN RESULTS: Since the ERP components of the early-stage are similar for both the stimulation in the projected fingers and the natural fingers, it can infer that the delivery pathway of the projected finger was similar to that of the natural finger. The second finding of the study is that, as the processing of sensory sensation in the cortex of the three groups is similar, it can also infer that the somatosensory evoked by the external stimuli are also similar. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest that the somatotopy and the homology of tactile sensation between the projected fingers in the residual limb and the natural fingers in the intact limb have evident uniformity. We infer that the median nerve and the ulnar nerve of the peripheral nerve may divaricate new pathways, and these pathways would have been linked to the PFM.

Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting significant coronary artery stenosis in suspected non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary artery syndrome with low-to-intermediate risk stratification.

Background: Patients with non-ST-segment coronary artery syndrome (NSTE-ACS) have significant heterogeneity in their coronary arteries. A better assessment of significant coronary artery stenosis (SCAS) in low-to-intermediate risk NSTE-ACS patients would help identify who might benefit from invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Our study aimed to develop a multivariable-based model for pretesting SCAS in suspected NSTE-ACS with low-to-intermediate risk. Methods: This prediction nomogram was constructed retrospectively in 469 suspected NSTE-ACS patients with low-to-intermediate risk. Patients were divided into a development group (n = 331, patients admitted to hospital before 1 May 2021) and a temporal validation group (n = 138, patients admitted to hospital since 1 May 2021). The outcome was existing SCAS, including left main artery stenosis ≥50% or any subepicardial coronary artery stenosis ≥70%, all confirmed by invasive coronary angiography. Pretest predictors were selected using Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) and stepwise logistic regression. Results: Derivation analyses from the development group (n = 331, admitted before 1 May 2021) generated the 7 strongest predictors out of 25 candidate variables comprising smoker, diabetes, heart rate, cardiac troponin T, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and left atrial diameter. This nomogram model showed excellent discrimination ability with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.83 in the development set and 0.79 in the validation dataset. Good calibration was generally displayed, although it slightly overestimated patients' SCAS risk in the validation group. Decision curve analysis demonstrated the clinical benefit of this model, indicating its value in clinical practice. Furthermore, an optimal cut-off of prediction probability was assigned as 0.61 according to the Youden index. Conclusion: A prediction nomogram consisting of seven readily available clinical parameters was established to pretest the probability of SCAS in suspected NSTE-ACS patients with low-to-intermediate risk, which may serve as a cost-effective risk stratification tool and thus assist in initial decision making.

Proteinuria is independently associated with carotid atherosclerosis: a multicentric study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Atherosclerosis is a vital cause of cardiovascular diseases. The correlation between proteinuria and atherosclerosis, however, has not been confirmed. This study aimed to assess whether there is a relationship between proteinuria and atherosclerosis. METHODS: From January 2016 to September 2020, 13,545 asymptomatic subjects from four centres in southern China underwent dipstick proteinuria testing and carotid atherosclerosis examination. Data on demography and past medical history were collected, and laboratory examinations were performed. The samples consisted of 7405 subjects (4875 males and 2530 females), excluding subjects failing to reach predefined standards and containing enough information. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to adjust the influence of traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis on the results. RESULTS: Compared with proteinuria-negative subjects, proteinuria-positive subjects had a higher prevalence rate of carotid atherosclerosis. The differences were statistically significant (22.6% vs. 26.7%, χ2 = 10.03, p = 0.002). After adjusting for common risk factors for atherosclerosis, age, sex, BMI, blood lipids, blood pressure, renal function, hypertensive disease, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidaemia, proteinuria was an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis (OR = 1.191, 95% CI 1.015-1.398, p = 0.033). The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to test the risk prediction model of atherosclerosis, and the results showed that the model has high goodness of fit and strong independent variable prediction ability. CONCLUSIONS: Proteinuria is independently related to carotid atherosclerosis. With the increase in proteinuria level, the risk of carotid atherosclerotic plaque increases. For patients with positive proteinuria, further examination of atherosclerosis should not be ignored.

A Comparison of Three-Dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography Parameters in Predicting Left Ventricular Remodeling.

Three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D STE) is an emerging noninvasive method for predicting left ventricular remodeling (LVR) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Previous studies analyzed the predictive value of 3D STE with traditional models. However, no models that contain comprehensive risk factors were assessed, and there are limited data on the comparison of different 3D STE parameters. In this study, we sought to build a machine learning model for predicting LVR in AMI patients after effective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) that contains the majority of the clinical risk factors and compare 3D STE parameters values for LVR prediction. We enrolled 135 first-onset AMI patients (120 males, mean age 54 ± 9 years). All patients went through a 3D STE and a traditional transthoracic echocardiography 24 hours after reperfusion. A second echocardiography was repeated at the three-month follow-up to detect LVR (defined as a 20 percent increase in left ventricular end-diastolic volume). Six models were constructed using 15 risk factors. A receiver operator characteristic curve and four performance measurements were used as evaluation methods. Feature importance was used to compare 3D STE parameters. 26 patients (19.3%) had LVR. Our evaluation showed that RF can best predict LVR with the best AUC of 0.96. 3D GLS was the most valuable 3D STE parameters, followed by GCS, global area strain, and global radial strain (feature importance 0.146, 0.089, 0.087, and 0.069, respectively). To sum up, RF models can accurately predict the LVR after AMI, and 3D GLS was the best 3D STE parameters in predicting the LVR.

[Eco-geographic landscapes of natural plague foci in China v. biological characteristics of major natural reservoirs of Yesinia pestis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the biological characteristics of natural reservoirs of Yesinia (Y.) pestis in China. METHODS: Species and genera of natural reservoirs of Y. pestis in China and their faunal distribution were characterized with modern taxonomic techniques. The ecological roles of natural reservoirs of Y. pestis in the natural plague foci were determined according to the animal ecological experiments. RESULTS: There were 86 species of natural reservoirs of Y. pestis including 14 major reservoirs and 72 kinds of the secondary or occasional reservoirs. CONCLUSION: The biological characteristics of major reservoirs of Y. pestis and their roles in natural plague foci were defined.

[Ecological-geographic landscapes of natural plague foci in China VII. Typing of natural plague foci].

OBJECTIVE: To group and characterize natural plague foci in China. METHODS: A novel two-class typing method as well as a three-indication nomenclature method were established to group and characterize the natural plague foci, on the basis of eco-geographical landscapes of plague foci, genetics of Yersinia pestis, zoology of rodent reservoirs and the entomology of flea vectors. RESULTS: A total of 12 distinct natural plague foci (including 19 subtypes) as well as their biological features were characterized. CONCLUSION: Natural plague foci in China were grouped and characterized in this study.