•Examines physiological responses, including frontal alpha activity during tasting.•Non-accepted taste stimuli evoked significantly higher heart rate.•Lower latency of electrodermal response for ...non-accepted taste stimuli.•Innovative use of physiological measures in sensory evaluation.•Stepping stone to examine differences between explicit and implicit evaluations.
Consumers’ physiological responses, such as heart rate, electrodermal responses and frontal alpha activity can enhance the understanding of the consumers’ food experience. This study looked at physiological responses of the autonomic nervous system (heart rate, electrodermal responses) as a measure for level of arousal, and to responses of the central nervous system (frontal alpha asymmetry, FAA) as a measure for approach/withdrawal motivational tendency, to accepted (liked) and non-accepted (disliked) solutions and drinks.
Participants (n = 32, age range: 18–34 years) were presented with a universally accepted (sucrose) and non-accepted (caffeine) solution, a personally selected accepted and non-accepted drink, and plain water. Heart rate, heart rate variability, electrodermal activity and electro-encephalography for FAA at F7 and F8 (10/20 system, 25 channels, 256 Hz) were registered during tasting. Statistical analysis consisted of linear mixed model analyses.
We found a significantly higher heart rate during tasting of the personally selected non-accepted drink and a significantly lower latency of the electrodermal response during tasting of the universally non-accepted solution and personally selected non-accepted drink. No significant results were observed for FAA.
This is one of the first studies that examined physiological responses including frontal alpha asymmetry during actual tasting. This study provides an exploratory method to obtain implicit measurement of acceptance and food product-elicited emotion through physiological responses and supports the importance of the inclusion of implicit measures, next to explicit measures, in sensory evaluation of food products.
Domestic animals are often repeatedly exposed to the same anthropogenic stressors. Based on cortisol secretion and heart rate, it has been demonstrated that transport is stressful for horses, but so ...far, changes in this stress response with repeated road transport have not been reported. We determined salivary cortisol concentrations, fecal cortisol metabolites, cardiac beat-to-beat (RR) interval, and heart rate variability (HRV) in transport-naive horses (N = 8) transported 4 times over a standardized course of 200 km. Immunoreactive salivary cortisol concentrations always increased in response to transport (
P < 0.001), but cortisol release decreased stepwise with each transport (
P < 0.05). Concentrations of fecal cortisol metabolites increased from 55.1 ± 4.6 ng/g before the first transport to 161 ± 17 ng/g the morning after (
P < 0.001). Subsequent transport did not cause further increases in fecal cortisol metabolites. In response to the first transport, mean RR interval decreased with loading of the horses and further with the onset of transport (1551 ± 23, 1304 ± 166, and 1101 ± 123 msec 1 d before, immediately preceeding, and after 60–90 min of transport, respectively;
P < 0.05). Decreases in RR interval during subsequent transports became less pronounced (
P < 0.001). Transport was associated with a short rise in the HRV variable standard deviation 2 (
P < 0.001 except transport 1), indicating sympathetic activation. No consistent changes were found for other HRV variables. In conclusion, a transport-induced stress response in horses decreased with repeated transport, indicating that animals habituated to the situation, but an increased cortisol secretion remained detectable.
•The central autonomic network is differently altered in generalized seizures compared to focal seizures.•In certain LGS patients we observed a sudden and severe pre-ictal parasympathetic overdrive ...prior to a generalized seizure.•Pre-ictal HRV measurements could serve as potential biomarkers for individual SUDEP risk determination.
Patients diagnosed with Lennox Gastaut syndrome (LGS), an epileptic encephalopathy characterized by usually drug resistant generalized and focal seizures, are often considered as candidates for vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). Recent research shows that heart rate variability (HRV) differs in epilepsy patients and is related to VNS treatment response. This study investigated pre-ictal HRV in generalized onset seizures of patients with LGS in correlation with their VNS response.
In drug resistant epilepsy (DRE) patients diagnosed with LGS video-electroencephalography recording was performed during their pre-surgical evaluation. Six HRV parameters (time and-, frequency domain, non-linear parameters) were evaluated for every seizure in epochs of 10 min at baseline (60 to 50 min before seizure onset) and pre-ictally (10 min prior to seizure onset). The results were correlated to VNS response after one year of VNS therapy.
Seven patients and 31 seizures were included, two patients were classified as VNS responders (≥ 50 % seizure reduction). No difference in pre-ictal HRV parameters between VNS responders and VNS non-responders could be found, but high frequency (HF) power, reflecting the parasympathetic tone increased significantly in the pre-ictal epoch in both VNS responders and VNS non-responders (p = 0.017, p = 0.004).
In this pilot data pre-ictal HRV did not differ in VNS responders compared to VNS non-responders, but showed a significant increase in HF power – a parasympathetic overdrive - in both VNS responders and VNS non-responders. This sudden autonomic imbalance might have an influence on the cardiovascular system in the ictal period. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures are regarded as the main risk factor for SUDEP and severe seizure-induced autonomic imbalance may play a role in the pathophysiological pathway.
Summary
Background Melanoma in situ (MIS) occurs on various body sites, in various age groups, and is managed by a variety of treatment modalities. Despite early treatment, recurrences may be ...encountered.
Objectives To evaluate the influence of sex, age, body site and treatment modalities on recurrence rate in MIS.
Methods Histologically confirmed cases of MIS from our dermatopathological database (n = 1351) from 1990 to 2000 were statistically analysed with respect to epidemiological characteristics, treatment modalities and outcome. Treatment modalities of the included MIS were evaluated by searching for data in the medical records and histopathological data sheets.
Results There was a predominance of female patients (60·8%), and of involvement of the head and neck (53·4%). Total excision was performed in 95·9% of all patients; the remainder received cryotherapy, laser therapy or radiotherapy. In 265 patients, no data on definitive treatment were available. Alternatives to total excision were particularly performed in patients with advanced age and with lesions localized on the face. The mean ± SD 5‐year recurrence rate was 6·8 ± 1·3% for surgically removed lesions, but was 31·3 ± 8·5% for lesions treated by other modalities (log rank test: P < 0·0001). In a multivariate approach, mode of therapy and site of involvement, but not age, were significant prognostic variables (Cox proportional hazard model: P < 0·01).
Conclusions In MIS, treatment modalities other than surgical excision may be used in certain situations, but carry a significantly increased risk of local recurrence.
Background and purpose
In patients treated with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for drug resistant epilepsy (DRE), up to a third of patients will eventually not respond to the therapy. As VNS therapy ...requires surgery for device implantation, prediction of response prior to surgery is desirable. It is hypothesized that neurophysiological investigations related to the mechanisms of action of VNS may help to differentiate VNS responders from non‐responders prior to the initiation of therapy.
Methods
In a prospective series of DRE patients, polysomnography, heart rate variability (HRV) and cognitive event related potentials were recorded. Polysomnography and HRV were repeated after 1 year of treatment with VNS. Polysomnography, HRV and cognitive event related potentials were compared between VNS responders (≥50% reduction in seizure frequency) and non‐responders.
Results
Fifteen out of 30 patients became VNS responders after 1 year of VNS treatment. Prior to treatment with VNS, the amount of deep sleep (NREM 3), the HRV high frequency (HF) power and the P3b amplitude were significantly different in responders compared to non‐responders (P = 0.007; P = 0.001; P = 0.03).
Conclusion
Three neurophysiological parameters, NREM 3, HRV HF and P3b amplitude, were found to be significantly different in DRE patients who became responders to VNS treatment prior to initiation of their treatment with VNS. These non‐invasive recordings may be used as characteristics for response in future studies and help avoid unsuccessful implantations. Mechanistically these findings may be related to changes in brain regions involved in the so‐called vagal afferent network.
Mycosis fungoides (MF) can progress to a large-cell malignant lymphoma (LCL). This transformation is associated with a more aggressive biologic behavior and course. We reviewed cutaneous tumors of 36 ...MF patients and divided them into two groups, one showing histologic evidence of transformation into LCL, another characterized by infiltrates of small- to medium-sized cerebriform cells (nontransformed cases). Biopsies of patches or plaques from early MF stages were available from 34 patients. Twenty of the 36 cases (55.6%) showed transformation to a large-cell variant: nine tumor-stage (T) medium-sized and large-cell pleomorphic, five T immunoblastic, two T large-cell anaplastic, and four unclassified T LCL. Sixteen cases represented nontransformed tumor stage MF. In 23 cases, including both nontransformed (n = 6) and LCL (n = 17) groups, immunohistochemical investigations revealed aberrant patterns of antigen expression (partial loss of one or more T cell-associated antigens) and the presence of activation- and proliferation-associated antigens. Clusters of B-lymphocytes formed a distinctive component of the infiltrate in two nontransformed and nine LCL biopsies. Although survival rates after tumor onset did not significantly differ between the two groups (5-year survival rate 23% for nontransformed patients, 11.1% for LCL patients, p greater than 0.05), overall survival from first biopsy diagnostic of MF showed a statistically significant difference between patients with nontransformed tumor stage MF compared with LCL patients (10-year survival rate 46.6% and 11.2%, respectively, p less than 0.02). The recognition of transformation to LCL in MF should provide a better assessment of future therapeutic approaches.
Morphological stages of pilomatricoma KADDU, S; SOYER, H. P; HÖDL, S ...
The American journal of dermatopathology,
08/1996, Letnik:
18, Številka:
4
Conference Proceeding, Journal Article
Recenzirano
In 1983, Ackerman proposed that pilomatricoma represents an infundibular-matrix cyst in its early stages. To study the evolution of this cystic neoplasm, we examined 118 lesions from 116 patients ...with pilomatricoma histopathologically and categorized the lesions into four distinct and chronological stages: early, fully developed, early regressive, and late regressive. Early lesions (eight cases) were small cystic structures lined by squamoid and basaloid epithelium containing keratin filaments and faulty hair matrix material composed of shadow cells. Fully developed lesions (27 cases) were large neoplasms lined by basaloid epithelium at their periphery, and within, composed of irregularly shaped, densely packed zones of cornified masses containing shadow cells. Early regressive lesions (37 cases) had no apparent epithelial lining but did have basaloid cell foci at the periphery; within, they were composed of pink hair matrix material with shadow cells surrounded by granulation tissue with inflammatory infiltrate and multinucleated histiocytic giant cells. Late regressive lesions (42 cases) had no epithelial component and were composed of irregularly shaped, partially confluent masses of faulty hair material, and calcified (and sometimes metaplastically ossified) shadow cells embedded in a desmoplastic stroma, with little or no inflammatory infiltrate. In four cases, there was a relatively large dermal nodule composed of several interconnected lobules that consisted largely of basaloid cells with only a few areas of shadow cells. We interpreted these lesions as proliferating pilomatricomas. Based upon our histopathologic findings, we propose that pilomatricomas may be categorized into four distinct morphological stages and that these stages reflect the "life" of a pilomatricoma. Thus, the lesion begins as an infundibular matrix cyst and ends up as a calcified and ossified nodule with no visible epithelial component.
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