The present paper focused on the extraction of event-related potentials on a single sweep under extremely low S/N ratio. Two methods that can efficiently remove spontaneous EEG, ocular artifacts and power line interference were presented based on ARX modeling and independent component analysis (ICA). The former method applied ARX model to the measured compound signal that extensively contained the three kinds of ordinary noises mentioned above, and used ARX algorithm for parametric identification. The latter decomposed the signal by means of independent component analysis. Besides, some of ICA's important decomposing characters and its intrinsic causality were pointed out definitely. According to the practical situation, some modification on FastICA algorithm was also given, so as to implement auto-adaptive mapping of decomposed results to ERP component. Through simulation, both the two ways are proved to be highly capable of signal extraction and S/N ratio improving.
Electroencephalography ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Event-Related Potentials, P300 ; physiology ; Evoked Potentials ; physiology ; Humans ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

Objective To investigate the morphological changes of whole brain gray matter in patients with postherpetic neuralgia(PHN),and evaluate the correlation between morphological changes of whole brain gray matter,visual analogue scale (VAS) and duration of PHN.Methods By using VBM-DARTEL method,firstly the 3D T1WI structure images of 17 patients with PHN and 17 normal control were preprocessed,then the segmented gray matter volume was compared between the two groups, and the correlation between difference of cerebral gray matter volume,VAS and duration of PHN were analyzed.Results Compared with the normal control, gray matter decrease in PHN group was found in bilateral orbital frontal regions(orbital gyrus,rectus gyri),left inferior frontal gyrus,left insular lobe, left caudate, right cingulate gyrus,left superior temporal gyrus, left cuneus, bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe and bilateral cerebellum anterior lobe.And gray matter increase in PHN group was found in bilateral superior frontal gyri, left middle frontal gyrus, vermis, pons.The gyrus volume change for two hemispheres was asymmetric (the left side greater than the right side).These different brain region changes in gray matter volume for patients with PHN were not correlated with VAS and duration of PHN.

Objective To review the efficacy of bisphosphonates in reducing skeletal events in patients with multiple myeloma. Methods Two hundred and five patients with newly diagnosed MM were enrolled in this retrospective study,with bisphosphonates or not.Skeletal-related events,therapeutic reaction of myeloma bone disease and patient survival were analyzed. Results The occurrence of skeletal-related events (SRE) per patient year (P＜0.01) and the time to first SRE (P＜0.05)were significantly lower in the reatment group than in the untreated group. After 6 cycles of treatment, a significant higher percentage of effective and marked effect patients were observed through X ray in the treatment group (80.0 ％) compared to the untreated group (48.7 ％), P＜0.001. There was no overall significant difference in the level of serum calcium between the two groups (P=0.278). After 6 cycles of treatment, the patients who received bisphosphonates had significant decreases in bone pain and lower ECOG score (ECOG≤2) compared to the untreated group (P＜0.05). Bisphosphonates were tolerated well, and the common adverse reaction including gastrointestinal reaction (3 cases,3.3 ％),fever (lcase,1.1％) and skin rash (2 cases,2.2 ％).There was no significant difference in overall survival between the two treatment groups,(P=0.580).Conclusion Infusions of Bisphosphonates could reduce the occurrence of skeletal- related events (SRE), prolong the time to first SRE and improve the quality of life of patients with multiple myeloma. Bisphosphonates could not prolong survival time of myeloma patients.

Objective To explore the effective management method of venous-access port related blood infection in the children with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Methods A retrospective analysis investigated venous-access port related blood infection in the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation children who were admitted to the centre of hematology oncology,Beijing Children′s Hospital,Capital Medical University from June 2013 to June 2014.The Plan-Do-Check-Action (PDCA)cycle management approach was applied to find the fundamental cause of venous-access port related blood infection.The plan was made.The appropriate measures were taken on the transplantation children with implantable venous-access ports after July 2014,which was supervised and inspected.Finally,the experience was summarized.Results From July 2014 to July 2015 there were 26 transplantation children with implantable venous-access ports.No venous-access port related blood infection was found in the 26 children.Conclusions The PDCA cycle decreases the occurrence of venous-access port related blood infection in the transplantation children significantly.It is an effective method to improve nursing safety and quality management.

Objective To evaluate the degree of brain atrophy in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3(SCA3)patients based on artificial intelligence(AI)technology,and to explore the correlation between the degree of brain atrophy and the severity of the disease.Methods The clinical and imaging data of 23 SCA3 patients(SCA3 group)and 24 healthy controls(HC)(HC group)were collected.The International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale(ICARS)was used to evaluate the severity of ataxia in patients with SCA3.AI technology was used to process the 3D-T1 WI MR image data of the SCA3 and HC groups to segment and measure the volume and volume percentage of brain,followed by correlation analyses between brain structural alterations and the severity of ataxia in SCA3 patients.Results There were no significant differences in gender and age between the two groups(P＞0.05).The SCA3 group had a significant reduction in the volume and volume percentage of various brain regions,such as the frontal,temporal,parietal,occipital,limbic,right cerebral white mat-ter,subcortical gray matter,cerebellum and brainstem,compared to the HC group(multiple hypothesis testing adjusted P＜0.01).In the SCA3 group,the ICARS showed positive correlation with patient age(r=0.571,P=0.004)and negative correlation with the vol-ume of the left cerebellar white matter,vermis,medulla oblongata,and the volume percentages of bilateral cerebellar white matter,vermis,pons,medulla oblongata(P＜0.05).Conclusion The significant atrophy of the supratentorial and subtentorial regions of the brain in SCA3 patients.The globus pallidus exhibits the most substantial atrophy,suggesting its potential as an imaging diagnostic marker of SC A3.

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics,treatment and prognosis of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT)-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) in children.Methods The clinical information,treatment and prognosis of 9 cases with TA-TMA hospitalized following alloHSCT from January 2008 to November 2017 in Hematology Oncology Center,Beijing Children's Hospital,Capital Medical University were retrospectively analyzed.Results Of all the 283 allo-HSCT recipients,9 patients (3.2％) were diagnosed as TA-TMA.Among them,there were 5 male and 4 female,with a median age of 94 months (39-129 months).The median time to of diagnosis was 63 days (6-342 days) after HSCT.Additionally,the median platelet counts,hemoglobin and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) levels were 44 × 109/L [(7-75) × 109/L],76 g/L (40-105 g/L) and 594 U/L(445-1 386 U/L).Neurological symptoms were found in 5 of the patients,4 had kidney involvement,and 6 had gastrointestinal involvement.The major treatment of TA-TMA was plasma exchange,Rituximab and defibrotide instead of the use of calcineurin inhibitors.Finally,4 patients achieved response after treatment,5 children died of ineffective treatment.Conclusion TA-TMA is a fatal complication after allo-HSCT.It can lead to multiorgan and multi-systems dysfunction.If there are more than 2 systems involved in TA-TMA,it suggests poor prognosis.The combined therapy is better than monotherapy,and the selective individual treatment of TA-TMA is essential.