The psycho-physiological changes in brain-body interaction observed in most of meditative and relaxing practices rely on voluntary slowing down of breath frequency. However, the identification of ...mechanisms linking breath control to its psychophysiological effects is still under debate. This systematic review is aimed at unveiling psychophysiological mechanisms underlying slow breathing techniques (<10 breaths/minute) and their effects on healthy subjects.
A systematic search of MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases, using keywords related to both breathing techniques and to their psychophysiological outcomes, focusing on cardio-respiratory and central nervous system, has been conducted. From a pool of 2,461 abstracts only 15 articles met eligibility criteria and were included in the review. The present systematic review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
The main effects of slow breathing techniques cover autonomic and central nervous systems activities as well as the psychological status. Slow breathing techniques promote autonomic changes increasing Heart Rate Variability and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia paralleled by Central Nervous System (CNS) activity modifications. EEG studies show an increase in alpha and a decrease in theta power. Anatomically, the only available fMRI study highlights increased activity in cortical (e.g., prefrontal, motor, and parietal cortices) and subcortical (e.g., pons, thalamus, sub-parabrachial nucleus, periaqueductal gray, and hypothalamus) structures. Psychological/behavioral outputs related to the abovementioned changes are increased comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor and alertness, and reduced symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.
Slow breathing techniques act enhancing autonomic, cerebral and psychological flexibility in a scenario of mutual interactions: we found evidence of links between parasympathetic activity (increased HRV and LF power), CNS activities (increased EEG alpha power and decreased EEG theta power) related to emotional control and psychological well-being in healthy subjects. Our hypothesis considers two different mechanisms for explaining psychophysiological changes induced by voluntary control of slow breathing: one is related to a voluntary regulation of internal bodily states (enteroception), the other is associated to the role of mechanoceptors within the nasal vault in translating slow breathing in a modulation of olfactory bulb activity, which in turn tunes the activity of the entire cortical mantle.
Vibration measurements pose specific experimental challenges to be faced. In particular, optical methods can be used to obtain full-field vibration information. In this scenario, stereo-camera ...systems can be developed to obtain 3D displacement measurements. As vibration frequency increases, the common approach is to reduce camera exposure time to avoid blurred images, which can lead to under-exposed images and data loss, as well as issues with the synchronization of the stereo pair. Both of these problems can be solved by using high-intensity light pulses, which can produce high-quality images and guarantee camera synchronization since data is saved by both cameras only during the short-time light pulse. To this extent, high-power Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) can be used, but even if the LED itself can have a fast response time, specific electronic drivers are needed to ensure the desired timing of the light pulse. In this paper, a circuit is specifically designed to achieve high-intensity short-time light pulses in the range of 1 µs. A prototype of the designed board was assembled and tested to check its capability to respect the specification. Three different measurement methods are proposed and validated to achieve short-time light pulse measurements: shunt voltage measurement, direct photodiode measurement with a low-cost sensor, and indirect pulse measurement through a low-frame-rate digital camera.
The design of a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) to generate the clock reference for the new Spacefibre standard is presented in this paper. Spacefibre has been recently released by the European Space Agency ...(ESA) and supports up to 6.25 Gbps for on-board satellite communications. Taking as a starting point a rad-hard 6.25 GHz Voltage Controlled Oscillator in 65 nm technology, this work presents the design of the key blocks for an integrated PLL: a Triple Modular Redundancy Phase/Frequency Detector, a Charge Pump, and a passive Loop Filter. The modeling activities carried out in an Advanced Design System have proven that the proposed PLL can be completely integrated on-chip, with a Loop Filter area consumption of only 6000 µm2 (considering the 65 nm technology). The design of active circuits has been carried out at the transistor level in a Cadence Virtuoso environment, implementing both system and layout rad-hard techniques, and different solutions are discussed in this paper. As a result, a compact (0.09 mm2), low power (10.24 mW), dead zone free and rad-hard PLL is obtained with a Phase Noise below −80 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz. A preliminary block view and floor plan of the test chip is also proposed.
The positive effects of meditation on human wellbeing are indisputable, ranging from emotion regulation improvement to stress reduction and present-moment awareness enhancement. Changes in brain ...activity regulate and support these phenomena. However, the heterogeneity of meditation practices and their cultural background, as well as their poor categorization limit the generalization of results to all types of meditation. Here, we took advantage of a collaboration with the very singular and precious community of the Monks and Geshes of the Tibetan University of Sera-Jey in India to study the neural correlates of the two main types of meditation recognized in Tibetan Buddhism, namely concentrative and analytical meditation. Twenty-three meditators with different levels of expertise underwent to an ecological (i.e., within the monastery) EEG acquisition consisting of an analytical and/or concentrative meditation session at "their best," and with the only constraint of performing a 5-min-long baseline at the beginning of the session. Time-varying power-spectral-density estimates of each session were compared against the baseline (i.e., within session) and between conditions (i.e., analytical vs. concentrative). Our results showed that concentrative meditation elicited more numerous and marked changes in the EEG power compared to analytical meditation, and mainly in the form of an increase in the theta, alpha and beta frequency ranges. Moreover, the full immersion in the Monastery life allowed to share the results and discuss their interpretation with the best scholars of the Monastic University, ensuring the identification of the most expert meditators, as well as to highlight better the differences between the different types of meditation practiced by each of them.
The design and test of a radio detection and ranging (Radar) sensor signal acquisition and processing platform is presented in this paper. The Radar sensor operates in real time and is suited for ...surveillance applications in transport systems. It includes a front-end with a continuous-wave frequency-modulated transceiver operating in X-band, with a single transmitter and multiple receivers, and a multichannel high-speed A/D converter. Sensor signal processing and data communication tasks with external hosts are managed by a field-programmable gate array. The signal processing chain includes region of interest selection, multidimensional fast Fourier transform, peak detection, alarm decision logic, data calibration, and diagnostic. By configuring the Radar sensing platform in low-power mode (7-dBm transmitted power), it is possible to detect still and moving targets with a covered range up to 300-m and 30-cm resolution. The measuring range can be increased up to 2 km by adding an extra 34.5-dBm power amplifier. The Radar sensing platform can be configured for a maximum detected speed of 200 km/h, with a resolution of 1.56 km/h, or a speed up to 50 km/h with a resolution of 0.4 km/h. The cross-range resolution depends on the number of receiving channels; a tradeoff can be found between cross-range resolution of the Radar sensor and its complexity and power consumption. With respect to the state of the art of surveillance Radar sensors and light detection and ranging, the proposed solution stands for its high configurability and for the better tradeoff that can be found in terms of covered distance and power consumption.
Objectives
Sunitinib is the standard care for first‐line treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The aim of this study was to determine whether a sunitinib regimen of 50 mg/day 2‐weeks ...on/1‐week off could maintain the same dose‐intensity as the standard 4‐weeks on/2‐weeks off schedule, and provide the same efficacy in terms of objective response, progression‐free survival and overall survival, while reducing drug‐related toxicity.
Methods
A total of 31 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma received sunitinib orally at the dose of 50 mg/day in a 2‐weeks on/1‐week off regimen until disease progression or intolerable toxicities occurred.
Results
All enrolled patients were assessable in terms of toxicity and response. They received treatment for a median of 16 months (range 2.0–36.0+ months). A total of 13 patients (42%) obtained an objective response; disease stabilization was achieved in 10 patients (32%), whereas eight patients (26%) experienced disease progression. The most important toxicities were anemia, gastrointestinal effects, fatigue and hypertension, but they were all controlled.
Conclusions
Sunitinib 50 mg given orally in a 2‐weeks on/1‐week off regimen can provide a high response rate and avoid drug‐related toxicities, achieving the same dose intensity as the standard schedule, and probably longer disease control.
A full and rigorous treatment of conditional and unconditional stability and instability for an active 3-port microwave circuit, represented at a given frequency by <inline-formula> <tex-math ...notation="LaTeX">S</tex-math> </inline-formula>-parameters, is carried out. By terminating a given port with a variable termination one may study at the input and the output of the resulting 2-port circuit the occurrence of unconditional stability and instability, as well as of special cases of conditional stability, defined as reactive unconditional stability or instability. Such conditions are especially relevant in microwave oscillator design and were exhaustively identified for the first time and treated in previous analysis by the authors. Drawing from its conclusions, one obtains in the plane of the variable termination and with a simple algorithm, a single parametric representation, providing at once, in a closed and direct form, the entire collection of boundaries of the regions, wherein the listed conditions occur at ports of the resulting 2-port circuit. Guidelines for the design of microwave amplifiers and oscillators, both in series and shunt configuration, are sketched. Numerical examples, validated by simulations, are also presented.
Bisphenol A (BPA) and some of its analogues are well known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), i.e., compounds that can affect the physiological hormonal pathways in both animals and humans, ...causing adverse health effects. The intake of these substances through diet represents a public concern, compounded by the scarce data in the literature about contamination levels in food. In the framework of a research project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, we determined the contamination levels of BPA and 19 EDCs in the production chain of buffalo milk, analysing feed, drinking water, buffalo milk, and blood sera. Overall, 201 feed, 9 feed additive, 62 drinking water, 46 milk, and 190 blood serum samples were collected from 10 buffalo farms in the Campania region, Southern Italy, between 2019 and 2020, and analysed. Moreover, 15 retail bovine milk samples packaged both in Tetra Pak and in PET were analysed to further evaluate consumers' exposure to EDCs. The results of our work showed no contamination by EDCs in drinking water samples, whereas in 43% of all of the other samples from the farms at least one bisphenol was detected. The most abundant bisphenol detected was BPA (32% of the samples from the farms and 80% of the retail milk samples), thus proving that this compound is still widely used for plastic production.
Silver nanoparticles functionalized with thiolated β-cyclodextrin (CD-SH) were employed for the detection of bisphenols (BPs) A, B, and S by means of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The ...functionalization of Ag nanoparticles with CD-SH leads to an improvement of the sensitivity of the implemented SERS nanosensor. Using a multivariate analysis of the SERS data, the limit of detection of these compounds was estimated at about 10
M, in the range of the tens of ppb. Structural analysis of the CD-SH/BP complex was performed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Theoretical results allowed the assignment of key structural vibrational bands related to ring breathing motions and the inter-ring vibrations and pointed out an external interaction due to four hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups of BP and CD located at the external top of the CD cone. DFT calculations allowed also checking the interaction energies of the different molecular species on the Ag surface and testing the effect of the presence of CD-SH on the BPs' affinity. These findings were in agreement with the experimental evidences that there is not an actual inclusion of BP inside the CD cavity. The SERS sensor and the analysis procedure of data based on partial least square regression proposed here were tested in a real sample consisting of the detection of BPs in milk extracts to validate the detection performance of the SERS sensor.
In this paper, relationships between conditional stability at the input and at the output of a linear non-unilateral 2-port are analyzed for the first time. For this purpose, the existence of a ...duality mapping between the two ports is shown and, by using the main properties of Möbius transforms, new mutual relationships between conditional stability configurations at input and output ports are demonstrated. Such new relationships add to the case of unconditional stability for which it is well known that unconditional stability at the input implies unconditional stability at the output (and vice versa). To this end, all the possible cases of reciprocal position between the stability area and the Smith circle have been analyzed showing that, for a given situation at the input, only one corresponding situation can be observed at the output (and vice versa). Limit cases are further considered.
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