Fractal Dynamics in the RR Interval of Craniopharyngioma and Adrenal Tumor in Adolescence.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is the physiological phenomenon of variation in the time interval between heartbeats. It is measured by the variation in the beat-to-beat interval and/or RR variability (where R is a point corresponding to the peak of the QRS complex of the ECG wave and RR is the interval between successive Rs) and other components extracted from these. HRV is a field of research interest in pathophysiology (in general) and cancer prognosis (more specifically). Adolescents with adrenal tumor or craniopharyngioma were investigated, herein. Αutonomic nervous system recordings were performed with Task Force® Monitor (gold standard of the Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Electrophysiology). The RR interval (RRI) time series calculations were performed with the MatLab® computational environment and included the estimation of fractal dimension and Lyapunov exponent. Fractal dimensions were calculated by estimating N and R, where N represents the number of "squares" needed for a fractal shape to be completed and their respective "square size" R. By definition, if the first derivative of d ln N/d ln R remains constant for a space of R, this is the fractal dimension of the shape, in the present case of the time series trajectory. We found that RRI manifested different fractal dynamics, thus, a complex pattern of progression in these two morbid entities, suggesting the need for further investigation in ANS contribution to tumor pathophysiology.

Design and Validation of a New Diagnostic Tool for the Differentiation of Pathological Voices in Parkinsonian Patients.

Pathological speech, in its many forms, is a symptom of numerous serious diseases affecting millions of people worldwide, including more than 10 million Parkinson patients. Here, a powerful method is proposed for detecting pathological speech, using a two-dimensional (2D) convolutional neural network (CNN). Spectrograms are extracted from voice recordings of healthy and Parkinson diagnosed patients, which are fed into the CNN architecture. The voice samples comprise a subset of the benchmark mobile Parkinson Disease (mPower) study. The proposed model achieves 98% accuracy in Parkinson detection (i.e., a two-class problem). Moreover, an average accuracy exceeding 94% is measured in binary tests (i.e., pathological versus healthy) employing six voice pathologies conducted on the Saarbruecken Voice Database. These pathologies are dysphonia, functional dysphonia, hyperfunctional dysphonia, spasmodic dysphonia, vocal fold polyp, and dysody.

Stress System Activation Analysis in Greek Female Adolescents: A Bioimpedance Study.

Adolescence is a developmental stage characterized by endocrine-induced physical and psychosocial changes in stress responsiveness. The stress-sensitive cortical and limbic brain regions, which continue to develop during adolescence and young adulthood, may be vulnerable to such changes, yet have not yet been extensively investigated. To examine the activation state of the stress system in adolescence and to show its physiologic relevance, we employed Electrolytic Extracellular Tomography measurement cycles by bioimpedance (TomEEx, BioTekna Co, Venice). Analysis of changes in Basal Extracellular Conductance (BEC) and systemic hydroelectrolytic distribution (DECW + and DECW-) markers were obtained. The statistical analysis was performed using nonparametric tests. The highest possible precision (in statistics) was detected by a meta-analytic tool: Hedge's g correction for small samples bias. Stress system activity, BMI, and BEC, a biomarker of systemic inflammation, were significantly different in adolescents classified according to their depressive symptoms or self-preoccupation (p < 0.05). Importantly, BEC measures were predicted by stress activation system (p < 0.05). The results contribute to the understanding of the mediating processes in different stress activation-related states and inflammation during adolescence.

Kisspeptin and the Genetic Obesity Interactome.

BACKGROUND: Kisspeptin (encoded by the KISS1 gene in humans) is an excitatory neuromodulatory peptide implicated in multiple homeostatic systems, including anti-oxidation, glucose homeostasis, nutrition, locomotion, etc. Therefore, in the current obesity epidemic, kisspeptin is gaining increasing interest as a research objective. AIM: To construct an updated interactome of genetic obesity, including the kisspeptin signal transduction pathway. METHODS: Kisspeptin and obesity-related genes or gene products were extracted from the biomedical literature, and a network of functional associations was created. RESULTS: The generated network contains 101 nodes corresponding to gene/gene products with known and/or predicted interactions. In this interactome, KISS1 and KISS1R are connected directly to the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHCGR), gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GNRH1), and indirectly, through the latter, to proopiomelanocortin (POMC), glucagon, leptin (LEP), and/or pro-protein convertase subtilisin/kexin-type 1 (PCSK1), all of which are critically implicated in obesity disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Our updated obesidome includes kisspeptin and its connections to the genetic obesity signalosome with 12 major hubs: glucagon (GCG), insulin (INS), arginine vasopressin (AVP), G protein subunit beta 1 (GNB1) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC), melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R), leptin (LEP), gonadotropin-releasing hormone 1 (GNRH1), adrenoceptor beta 2 and 3 (ADRB2-3), glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP1R), and melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3R) genes were identified as major "hubs" for genetic obesity, providing novel insight into the body's energy homeostasis.

Entropy in Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System of Adolescents with General Learning Disabilities or Dyslexia.

Heart rate variability (HRV) represents one of the two key markers of the autonomic nervous system. It is measured by the time variation in the beat-to-beat interval, while the period between successive beats is defined as the RR interval (RRI). Its components are classified as linear and non-linear. In the field of psychophysiology, HRV is investigated as a key player of possible predictive or diagnostic value. Female adolescents with general learning disabilities or dyslexia were recruited at the Center for Adolescent Medicine and UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Adolescents were further assessed for HRV. Data were collected with the Task Force® Monitor at the Cardiovascular Laboratory of the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens. The RRI time-series were estimated for approximate entropy (AE), conditional entropy (CE), corrected conditional entropy (CCE), fuzzy entropy (FE), permutation entropy (PE), sample entropy (SE), and Shannon's entropy (ShE). RRI manifested complex dynamics, indicating a complex pattern of progression. This finding suggests that RRI conceals non-linear dynamics, which if investigated in depth could provide more knowledge on the relation between RRI and learning disorders.

Chronic Systemic Inflammation Measured by Bioimpedance Technology Before and After Sleeve Gastrectomy: A Feasibility Study.

Stress induces obesity, while extreme obesity causes stress, anxiety, and even depression. Yet, knowledge on the underlying mechanism(s) has many gaps. To this end, we designed a feasibility study, focused on 18 bariatric patients recruited by the First Propaideutic Department of Surgery at the Hippokration University Hospital in Athens, Greece. The patients (aged 23-58 y, weight 101-185.4 kg before surgery) were weighted and evaluated by advanced bioimpedance technology 2-3 days before surgery at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens. We employed Bioimpedance Electrolytic Extracellular Tomography (Tomeex), which characterizes (a) neurodegenerative responsiveness to stress, (b) sensory and autonomic tones by basal extracellular conductance (BEC), and (c) activity of limbic and cortical brain areas. The patients' mean body weight loss after 6 months was 48.8 ± 3.1Kg, while stress levels evaluated by appropriate questionnaires decreased (Spearman coefficient significance level p < 0.05). Anxiety and depressive symptoms decreased by 70%, accompanied by changes in measured sensory and autonomic tones (p = 0.003). Baseline blood markers, such as hsCRP and glucose, predicted lower abdominal inflammation (p = 0.034 and p = 0.058, respectively) 6 months postoperatively. In conclusion, chronic inflammation measures by bioimpedance are a useful non-invasive monitoring tool in bariatric surgery.