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The goal of the current investigation was to develop a systematic method to validate the accuracy of an automated method of sleep spindle detection that takes into consideration individual differences in spindle amplitude. The benchmarking approach used here could be employed more generally to validate automated spindle scoring from other detection algorithms. In a sample of Stage 2 sleep from 10 healthy young subjects, spindles were identified both manually and automatically. The minimum amplitude threshold used by theprana® (PhiTools, Strasbourg, France) software spindle detection algorithm to identify a spindle was subject-specific and determined based upon each subject’s mean peak spindle amplitude. Overall sensitivity and specificity values were 98.96 and 88.49%, respectively, when compared to manual scoring. Selecting individual amplitude thresholds for spindle detection based on systematic benchmarking data may validate automated spindle detection methods and improve reproducibility of experimental results. Given that interindividual differences are accounted for, we feel that automatic spindle detection provides an accurate and efficient alternative approach for detecting sleep spindles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By utilizing the professional career of one individual, Jean de Lanessan, this paper discusses some aspects of positivism and criminal legislation in France between 1880 and World War I. Lanessan was a biologist by training who possessed a long-standing interest in social issues that led to a second caster as a politician. Lanessan, the biologist, influenced the practice of French criminology, whereas Lanessan, the politician, was instrumental in shaping legislation on crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Exercise prescriptions for spaceflight include aerobic and resistive countermeasures, yet few studies have evaluated their combined effects on exercise responses after real or simulated microgravity. We hypothesized that upright aerobic capacity (VO2pk) is protected during a 60-d bed rest (BR) in which intermittent (40%-80% pre-BR VO2pk) aerobic exercise (supine treadmill exercise against lower body negative pressure) was performed 2-4 d x wk(-1) and resistive exercise (inertial flywheel exercises) was performed 2-3 d x wk(-1). Further, we hypothesized that ingestion of an amino acid supplement that was shown previously to counteract muscle atrophy, would reduce the decline in VO2pk in nonexercising subjects during BR., Methods: Twenty-four healthy women (8 nonexercise controls (CON), 8 exercisers (EX), and 8 nonexercisers with nutritional supplementation (NUT)) underwent a 20-d ambulatory baseline period, 60 d of 6 degrees head-down tilt BR, and 21 d of ambulatory recovery. VO2pk was measured pre-BR and on the third day of recovery from BR (R3)., Results: In the EX group, VO2pk (mean +/- SE) was not different from pre-BR (-3.3 +/- 1.2%) on R3, although it decreased significantly in the CON (-21.2 +/- 2.1%) and NUT (-25.6 +/- 1.6%) groups., Conclusions: These results indicate that alternating aerobic and resistive exercise on most days during prolonged microgravity simulated by BR is sufficient to preserve or allow quick recovery of upright aerobic capacity in women but that a nutritional supplementation alone is not effective.

Rated number one in overall health system performance by the World Health Organization, the French spend less than half the amount on annual health care per capita that the United States spends. One contributing factor may be the attention given to chronic care. Since the mid-1900s, the French have developed regional community-based specialty systems for patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency or failure. COPD is the major cause of respiratory failure, the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, and its prevalence is increasing. Despite the clinical success of home mechanical ventilation and the potential for cost savings, providing such services in the United States remains a challenge. Lessons from France can inform the development of cost-effective chronic care models in the United States In this article, we review the French experience in the context of the United States Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, mandating that people in "more restrictive settings" such as nursing homes be offered community-based supports. We suggest that regional demonstration projects for patients with chronic respiratory failure or insufficiency can provide an important step in the development of effective chronic care systems in the United States