Sensium: an ultra-low-power wireless body sensor network platform: design & application challenges

In this paper we present a system-on-chip for wireless body sensor networks, which integrates a transceiver, hardware MAC protocol, microprocessor, IO peripherals, memories, ADC and custom sensor interfaces. Addressing the challenges in the design, this paper will continue to discuss the issues in the applications of this technology to body worn monitoring for real-time measurement of ECG, heart rate, physical activity, respiration and/or skin temperature. Two application challenges are described; the real-time measurement of energy expenditure using the LifePebble, and; the development issues surrounding the 'Digital Patch'.

Detection of caseinophosphopeptides in the distal ileostomy fluid of human subjects

Caseinophosphopeptides (CPP) were detected for the first time in ileostomy fluid, collected at 2 h intervals for 10 h post milk and CPP ingestion, from human volunteers with an ileostomy. The level of CPP present in ileostomy fluid obtained from milk-fed volunteers was markedly higher than that from volunteers fed with selected CPP preparations. The findings are based on HPLC analysis in combination with peptide-bound P determination, thin-layer electrophoresis and amino acid analysis, together with ELISA studies using polyclonal antibodies raised against a set of CPP to detect immunoreactive CPP in ileostomy fluid. These procedures allowed the detection of nm concentrations of CPP. CPP, which can be released during intestinal digestion, may function as bioactive constituents and carriers for different minerals, especially Ca, and may be used as ingredients in functional foods or pharmaceutical preparations.

The effect of high intakes of casein and casein phosphopeptide on calcium absorption in the rat

The effect of the level or source of dietary protein or protein-derived peptides on Ca absorption is not well understood. We determined, therefore, the influence of habitual dietary casein level, meal casein and meal casein phosphopeptide (CPP) on Ca absorption in the rat. True fractional Ca absorption was investigated in male 7-week-old rats, Wistar strain, in three separate studies using a faecal 47Sc: 47Ca ratio method. In studies A and C, rats (n 8 per group) were fed on a purified diet containing 200 g casein/kg for 2 weeks. Rats were then given a 47Ca-labelled meal (10 g) containing (per kg) either 0, 100, 200, or 300 g casein (study A) or 0, 100, 200, 350 or 500 g CPP (study C). In study B, rats (n 24 per group) were fed on a purified diet containing (per kg) either 200, 350 or 500 g casein for 2 weeks. Each group was then further randomized into three groups (n 8 per group) and given a 47Ca-labelled meal (10 g of the same diet) containing (per kg) either 200, 350 or 500 g casein. Ca absorption from a meal was unaffected by increasing meal casein concentration from 0 to 300 g/kg (study A), but was increased with a meal casein content of 500 g/kg (study B). Fractional Ca absorption decreased with increasing usual dietary casein intake in the range 200-500 g/kg (study B), suggesting intestinal adaptation. Ca absorption was unaffected by inclusion of 100 g CPP/kg in a single meal but was significantly (P < 0.001) reduced by 200, 350 and 500 g CPP/kg meal, with no evident dose-relationship. Thus, while Ca absorption was enhanced by high-casein meals, the mechanism remains unclear.

Acute treatment of whiplash neck sprain injuries. A randomized trial of treatment during the first 14 days after a car accident

STUDY DESIGN

A single-blinded, randomized treatment study with a follow-up period of 6 months.

OBJECTIVE

To study the long-term consequences of whiplash neck sprain injuries in patients treated with two different regimes during the first 14 days after the car accident. Patients in the first group were encouraged to act as usual, i.e., continue to engage in their normal, pre-injury activities; that group was compared with another group of patients who were given time off from work and who were immobilized using a soft neck collar. The end point of the comparison was the evaluation of subjective symptoms 6 months after the accident.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Few randomized treatment studies have been performed to evaluate the clinical outcome for patients with neck sprain.

METHOD

Patients who participated in the study were recruited from the Emergency Clinic at the University Hospital in Trondheim, Norway. The study group included 201 patients (47% of the study group) with neck sprain that resulted from a car accident. Neck and shoulder movements and subjective symptoms, which were assessed using several different measurements, were assessed during the follow-up period.

RESULTS

There was a significant reduction of symptoms from the time of intake to 24 weeks after the treatment period in both groups. There was a significantly better outcome for the act-as-usual group in terms of subjective symptoms, including pain localization, pain during daily activities, neck stiffness, memory, and concentration, and in terms of visual analog scale measurements of neck pain and headache.

CONCLUSIONS

The outcome was better for patients who were encouraged to continue engaging in their normal, pre-injury activities as usual than for patients who took sick leave from work and who were immobilized during the first 14 days after the neck sprain injury.

Secondary tumors of the gastrointestinal tract: surgical pathologic findings and comparison with autopsy survey

Secondary tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are unusual but are probably more common than clinically suspected. Comparison of surgical pathologic findings and autopsy experience over a 14-yr period revealed a different spectrum of tumors, which may reflect clinical practice issues and the pathophysiology of individual tumors. Seventy-three surgical resection or biopsy cases with clinically evident secondary tumors were compared with 108 autopsy cases with secondary malignancies involving the GI tract. The most common tumors in surgical specimens were melanoma (22 cases), ovary (11 cases), bladder (eight cases), breast (six cases), and lung (five cases). The most common primary tumors at autopsy were lung (21 cases), gynecologic malignancies (18 cases), breast (14 cases), and pancreas (nine cases). In most cases, routine histologic examination yielded clues to the primary tumor. Metastatic breast carcinoma cases had a high potential for misinterpretation because most metastases consisted of infiltrating strands of pleomorphic cells without gland formation. Signet ring cells were present in most metastases (all six surgical cases and seven of 14 autopsies), regardless of the histologic type of the primary breast carcinoma. The time from diagnosis of the primary tumor to development of GI involvement varied widely, from presentation with GI metastases to more than 30 yr for metastatic malignant melanoma. Survival after development of GI involvement was generally poor, with most patients surviving less than 1 yr. However, long-term palliation may be achieved in a small subset of patients, chiefly those with single small bowel deposits of malignant melanoma or patients with breast carcinoma responsive to tamoxifen.

Inflammatory cloacogenic polyp in a child: part of the spectrum of solitary rectal ulcer syndrome

A 15-year-old boy with Marshall-Smith syndrome presented with increased frequency and urgency of stooling, hematochezia, and rectal pain. A polypoid mass was found at the anorectal junction and excised. Microscopically, the lesion was covered by both squamous and columnar mucosa. It was villiform in configuration with focal ulceration and strands of smooth muscle in the lamina propria. These features are characteristic of an inflammatory cloacogenic polyp, a lesion not previously reported in the pediatric age group. Inflammatory cloacogenic polyp is related to solitary rectal ulcer syndrome and is most likely due to prolapse of the anorectal transition zone. Although rare in this age group, solitary rectal ulcer and its variants should be considered in the differential diagnosis of anorectal and rectal lesions in the pediatric patient.

Intercellular junctions and tumor behavior in lung cancer

We examined the ultrastructure of 76 lung cancers and counted the number of intercellular junctions per area of tissue section. The total number of desmosomes, intermediate junctions, and tight junctions ranged from zero to 300 per 0.157 cm2 of tissue section area, and each type of carcinoma showed a considerable range in concentration of intercellular junctions. Multivariate analysis showed that the number of junctions was significantly tied to the probability of the patient's having extensive stage and to survival time, even after accounting for the routine light microscopic diagnosis of small cell versus non-small cell carcinoma. These results suggest that a tumor's ability to spread and metastasize is inversely related to its number of intercellular junctions, and this conclusion appears to apply to both small cell and non-small cell carcinomas.

Kartagener's syndrome

Kartagener's syndrome, characterized by situs inversus, paranasal sinusitis, and bronchiectasis, is part of a more generalized syndrome characterized by sterility in men, chronic bronchitis or bronchiectasis, chronic sinusitis, and chronic otitis media; it is referred to as the immotile-cilia syndrome. Those patients with situs inversus will give a typical radiological appearance allowing an early diagnosis; however, in those patients with immotile-cilia syndrome who have normal visceral situs, a high index of suspicion and early electron microscopic examination of respiratory tract cilia will be necessary for early diagnosis and therapy to prevent irreversible bronchiectasis and lung destruction. We describe a young woman with bronchiectasis associated with situs inversus and chronic sinusitis, found to have abnormal respiratory epithelium cilia.