EgoActive: Integrated Wireless Wearable Sensors for Capturing Infant Egocentric Auditory-Visual Statistics and Autonomic Nervous System Function 'in the Wild'

There have been sustained efforts toward using naturalistic methods in developmental science to measure infant behaviors in the real world from an egocentric perspective because statistical regularities in the environment can shape and be shaped by the developing infant. However, there is no user-friendly and unobtrusive technology to densely and reliably sample life in the wild. To address this gap, we present the design, implementation and validation of the EgoActive platform, which addresses limitations of existing wearable technologies for developmental research. EgoActive records the active infants' egocentric perspective of the world via a miniature wireless head-mounted camera concurrently with their physiological responses to this input via a lightweight, wireless ECG/acceleration sensor. We also provide software tools to facilitate data analyses. Our validation studies showed that the cameras and body sensors performed well. Families also reported that the platform was comfortable, easy to use and operate, and did not interfere with daily activities. The synchronized multimodal data from the EgoActive platform can help tease apart complex processes that are important for child development to further our understanding of areas ranging from executive function to emotion processing and social learning.

A new antiglycolytic agent

BACKGROUND

Glycolysis is not completely or predictably inhibited by the glucose preservative currently in use, with glucose values falling by as much as 0.5 mmol/L during a 2-4-h period after sample collection. Immediate centrifugation of all samples is also impractical and therefore misdiagnosis of disease can occur, especially if more emphasis is being placed on fasting glucose for the diagnosis of diabetes.

METHODS

Glycolysis at room temperature was evaluated over time using glyceraldehyde alone as well as in conjunction with standard antiglycolytic agents.

RESULTS

Glyceraldehyde alone does not inhibit glycolysis completely. The combination of 11 mmol/L glyceraldehyde, 119 mmol/L sodium fluoride and 21.7 mmol/L potassium oxalate gave the best antiglycolytic results. The glucose values measured in samples stored at room temperature for 48 h was no different from those measured in samples centrifuged immediately after venepuncture and this is clinically superior to conventionally used sodium fluoride and potassium oxalate.

CONCLUSION

Plasma glucose concentrations obtained from blood collected into tubes containing glyceraldehyde, sodium fluoride and potassium oxalate will more closely reflect those of the patient at venepuncture.

Analysis of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme

Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (SACE) levels are influenced by genetic polymorphism. Interpretation of serum levels with the appropriate genotypic reference range improves the diagnostic sensitivity of the assay for sarcoidosis. SACE assays are performed by a large number of routine clinical laboratories. However, there is no external quality assessment (EQA) for SACE other than an informal regional scheme. This showed analytical performance of SACE assays to be poor, with a diversity of reference ranges, leading to widely disparate clinical classification of EQA samples. Genetic polymorphism combined with poor analytical performance suggest that perhaps SACE assays should revert to being the province of specialized laboratories.

Cataract formation in the Cronkhite-Canada syndrome

A 69-year-old man with Cronkhite-Canada syndrome presented with a 6 month history of gradually blurring vision resulting from early lens opacities that 1 month later had reduced visual acuity to hand movement in both eyes. Extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation resulted in good visual rehabilitation.

Prevalence of haemochromatosis amongst patients with diabetes mellitus

Four hundred and six white caucasian patients with diabetes mellitus (243 male, mean age 54 +/- 16 (SD) years) were screened for haemochromatosis. Four patients had a fasting transferrin saturation > 62% and all were HLA A3 positive. Two were probable homozygotes for haemochromatosis and two heterozygotes. Homozygote haemochromatosis prevalence in this diabetic population was therefore 2/406 (0.0049) which is identical to that reported in the general population. These findings do not support a genetic relationship between the two conditions.

Acute phase proteins in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms

Both stenosis and aneurysmal dilatation are associated with atherosclerosis of the distal aorta. As part of an investigation into factors predisposing to aneurysmal dilatation we compared the levels of acute phase proteins in patients with stenosing and aneurysmal disease. Increased levels of acute phase proteins were found in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms compared with patients with stenosing aortic disease. In 20 aneurysm patients the C-reactive protein was 56 +/- 10 mg/l, alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor 2.5 +/- 0.13 g/l and ceruloplasmin 0.41 +/- 0.01 g/l. In 20 patients with stenosing aortic disease the C-reactive protein was 28 +/- 8 mg/l, alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor 1.65 +/- 0.11 g/l and ceruloplasmin 0.35 +/- 0.03 g/l. These results argue for the participation of an inflammatory process in the aortic wall in the pathogenesis of all aneurysms.

Urinary iron loss in the nephrotic syndrome--an unusual cause of iron deficiency with a note on urinary copper losses

Two patients with long-standing nephrotic syndrome are described in whom urinary iron losses may have contributed towards an iron deficiency state. Seven other nephrotic patients were also studied. Increased urinary iron excretion was found in six out of nine patients and increased urinary copper excretion in all eight patients in whom it was measured. Trace metal losses in the urine in nephrotics may be important clinically.

IgG ratios and oligoclonal IgG in multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders

The findings are reported of various CSF abnormalities, including IgG indices and oligoclonal IgG, in 160 patients with multiple sclerosis of differing diagnostic certainty and 146 patients with other neurological disorders. An abnormal IgG index, defined as the ratio of IgG/albumin in CSF to that in serum, has been found in 77.7% of definite MS cases, falling to a figure of 32.1% in the single lesion group. A tendency, reported previously, for IgG levels to be higher in disabled patients, particularly those with a short history or early onset, has been confirmed. Oligoclonal IgG, on the other hand, has been found in 56% of definite MS cases, less frequently than in most other reported series. Analysis of the literature suggests considerable variability in the finding of oligoclonal IgG in other than definite MS, and in other neurological disorders. The possibility that subjective factors are partly responsible for this variability, rather than discrepancies in patient selection requires consideration, and suggests that CSF electrophoresis and IgG estimations are complementary aids in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Differences have been expressed regarding the relationship of oligoclonal IgG to clinical parameters of the disease. Further sequential analysis of the development and variability of the oligoclonal pattern in MS is required.

Early time course of the acute phase protein response in man

The rate at which the acute phase protein response occurred after both major and minor surgery was explored. Increases in the plasma concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (alpha 1 AG) and fibrinogen were not detected until 6-8 h after the initial incision. The peak concentration of CRP occurred at 48 h and that of fibrinogen at 96 h; alpha 1 AG concentrations rose rapidly until 48 h followed by little change until about 120 h. Although there was widespread variation in the concentrations of individual proteins in patients, severity of injury did not seem to have a significant effect on the time course of the change. Plasma cortisol concentration and the total white blood cell count (WBC) reached their peaks before the acute phase proteins, cortisol at 6 h and WBC at 12 h.

Identification and incidence of a urinary fragment of IgG

Urine from some patients, when concentrated approximately three hundred fold and immunoelectrophoresed against anti-IgG, shows an unexpected additional precipitin line in the alpha-globulin region. This reaction has been shown to be due to the presence of a low molecular weight (approximately 20 000) fragment of the heavy chain of IgG. A retrospective examination of immunoelectrophoretic plates run over a period of five years has revealed that this fragment was present in 30 out of 110 patients.