The use of information processes indices for prediction of sympathectomy efficiency in complex regional pain syndrome

Key significance of information processes for ensuring optimal sanogenesis was shown by wavelet-analysis of skin microvascular blood flow oscillations at 64 patients with complex regional pain syndrome after sympathectomy Early reorganization of information in trophotropic direction at the level of microvascular tissue systems, its predomination and conservation all along the microvascular networks facilitate optimal realization of adaptive reactions and, as a result, are conductive to maximum treatment efficiency. In these cases complete elimination of disease and achievement of excellent treatment results were possible. Maximum treatment efficiency could not be reached without the above-mentioned information changing. On the contrary predomination and conservation of ergotropic information at the early periods after surgery were unfavourable to prediction of clinical results of sympathectomy Tissue desympathisation is not required to formation of information trophotropic purposefulness in microvascular networks; it is enough to achieve certain threshold of sympathetic activity decrease. The results of this work may be useful for investigation of physiological mechanisms of information treatment technologies (homeopathy etc.).     

Oscillatory structures of blood flow reflect the dynamics of information processes in microcirculatory networks

Laser Doppler flowmetry with wavelet analysis of oscillations of the blood flow in the glabrous skin of the second and fifth fingertips of 30 healthy individuals and 57 patients before and after median and ulnar nerve sutures (n = 29) and after hand sympathectomy (n = 28). Information processes in microvascular networks include both the stationary and oscillatory components. This study is the first to apply wavelet analysis of the blood flow oscillatory organization to studying the dynamics of information processes in microcirculatory networks. A methodological approach was proposed to estimate the total quantity of information, the value and semantic features of different information channels and the information regime (multichannel or resonance) in microcirculatory networks. The deficit of both general information and its content (particularly, of external information), a decrease in the accessibility to the information and the system of self-organization were typical during the denervation syndrome. The semantic information signs changes mainly after sympathectomy. The dynamics of the information process reflects the functional significance of microcirculation in the course of nerve regeneration and skin reinnervation. The increment in information quantity with trophic content occurred at the preimpulse stage of nerve regeneration; it corresponds to the quantitative development of skin microvascular networks for trophic support of reinnervation. The semantic information content was predominantly modulated at the impulse stage due to the increase in homeostatic control intensity. Information peculiarities in the transitional period (from the preimpulse to impulse stage) included a decrease in sporadic processes, an increase in determinism in the system control, the predomination of the trophic content assimilation with the increment in the myogenic activity proper, and the possibility of both multichannel and resonance regimes. The general biological law of the antientropic importance of information for decreasing stochastic processes and the system control support has been confirmed.     

The problem of information value in microvascular networks

A novel methodology of quantitative estimation of the information value in microvascular networks is proposed. The methodology has been developed on the basis of the results of wavelet analysis of skin blood flow oscillations measured by means of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) in 30 healthy subjects and 56 patients with hand diseases or consequences of hand injuries. The method is based on the calculation of the relative indices of information preservation, dominance of the preserved information, and information effectiveness. The deviation from the multistable information regimen is the largest in the case of resonance oscillations: the total information quantity is significantly decreased; however, the preservation of dominant information and its effectiveness are improved. The preservation of trophic myogenic information predominates upon reduction of sympathetic influences. An increase in the number of information channels increases only the information quantity, whereas the degree of its preservation varies. Sensory peptidergic nerve fibers are activated in response to local heating of the dorsal forearm skin to 34°C. This information is the most effective at the beginning of the heating, when the blood flow increases to a plateau. The blood flow oscillations represented in the wavelet spectrum of microcirculatory oscillations serve as operators based on effective information. These oscillations not only play the hemodynamic role, but also carry information in microvascular networks.     

The Ergotropic Activity Index as an Integral Indicator of the Suprasegmental Autonomic Activity

Thirty healthy males between 19 and 25 years of age were examined to develop a method for estimating the suprasegmental autonomic activity. Analysis of the data obtained revealed the most informative indices along with a factor that had positive correlations with the ergotropic autonomic activity indices and negative correlations with the trophotropic autonomic activity indices. This factor was termed the ergotropic activity index. The information content of this factor was analyzed in a thermal environment and clinically in 40 patients with autonomic crises. The effectiveness of this method was tested, and the method was judged to be sufficiently adequate for clinical practice. The procedure developed for estimating the suprasegmental autonomic activity was demonstrated to be a highly informative method for revealing the predominance of either ergotropic or trophotropic activity in healthy subjects and patients with autonomic dystonia and for forecasting heat tolerance in humans. This method can be used during physiological and neurophysiological observations and in clinical practice     

Late effects of ionizing radiation on the microvascular networks in normal tissue

Damage to the microvascular networks constitutes one of the most important components of ionizing radiation damage to normal tissue. Previously, we have reported the early (3, 7 and 30 days postirradiation) effects of ionizing radiation on the structure and function of normal tissue microvascular networks. Here we report on the late effects of ionizing radiation on the structural and functional changes in microvascular networks in locally irradiated (single 10-Gy dose) hamster cremaster muscles observed 60, 120 and 180 days postirradiation; age-matched animals were used as controls. As in the previous study, intravital microscopy was used to measure structural and functional parameters in complete microvascular networks in vivo. A factorial design was used to examine the effects of radiation status, time postirradiation, and network vessel type on the structure and function of microvascular networks. Our results indicate that the progression of radiation-induced microvascular damage continues during the late times but that there is partial recovery from radiation damage within 6 months postirradiation. Red blood cell flux, red blood cell velocity, and capillary blood flow in irradiated networks at 180 days postirradiation were significantly greater than control levels. As at the early times, all vessel types were not damaged equally by radiation at every time.     

An Ex Vivo Model for Anti-Angiogenic Drug Testing on Intact Microvascular Networks

New models of angiogenesis that mimic the complexity of real microvascular networks are needed. Recently, our laboratory demonstrated that cultured rat mesentery tissues contain viable microvascular networks and could be used to probe pericyte-endothelial cell interactions. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of the rat mesentery culture model for anti-angiogenic drug testing by time-lapse quantification of network growth. Mesenteric windows were harvested from adult rats, secured in place with an insert, and cultured for 3 days according to 3 experimental groups: 1) 10% serum (angiogenesis control), 2) 10% serum + sunitinib (SU11248), and 3) 10% serum + bevacizumab. Labeling with FITC conjugated BSI-lectin on Day 0 and 3 identified endothelial cells along blood and lymphatic microvascular networks. Comparison between day 0 (before) and 3 (after) in networks stimulated by 10% serum demonstrated a dramatic increase in vascular density and capillary sprouting. Growing networks contained proliferating endothelial cells and NG2+ vascular pericytes. Media supplementation with sunitinib (SU11248) or bevacizumab both inhibited the network angiogenic responses. The comparison of the same networks before and after treatment enabled the identification of tissue specific responses. Our results establish, for the first time, the ability to evaluate an anti-angiogenic drug based on time-lapse imaging on an intact microvascular network in an ex vivo scenario.     

Optimizing provider recruitment for influenza surveillance networks

The increasingly complex and rapid transmission dynamics of many infectious diseases necessitates the use of new, more advanced methods for surveillance, early detection, and decision-making. Here, we demonstrate that a new method for optimizing surveillance networks can improve the quality of epidemiological information produced by typical provider-based networks. Using past surveillance and Internet search data, it determines the precise locations where providers should be enrolled. When applied to redesigning the provider-based, influenza-like-illness surveillance network (ILINet) for the state of Texas, the method identifies networks that are expected to significantly outperform the existing network with far fewer providers. This optimized network avoids informational redundancies and is thereby more effective than networks designed by conventional methods and a recently published algorithm based on maximizing population coverage. We show further that Google Flu Trends data, when incorporated into a network as a virtual provider, can enhance but not replace traditional surveillance methods.     

Optimizing topological cascade resilience based on the structure of terrorist networks

Complex socioeconomic networks such as information, finance and even terrorist networks need resilience to cascades--to prevent the failure of a single node from causing a far-reaching domino effect. We show that terrorist and guerrilla networks are uniquely cascade-resilient while maintaining high efficiency, but they become more vulnerable beyond a certain threshold. We also introduce an optimization method for constructing networks with high passive cascade resilience. The optimal networks are found to be based on cells, where each cell has a star topology. Counterintuitively, we find that there are conditions where networks should not be modified to stop cascades because doing so would come at a disproportionate loss of efficiency. Implementation of these findings can lead to more cascade-resilient networks in many diverse areas.     

The phasic structure of early disorders of functional capacity following irradiation in rats

In experiments with rats it was shown that an early decrease in physical efficiency after irradiation involves some partially mutually superimposed phases. Phases of excitation, hypokinesia and neurological disorders are identified in early transient inefficiency followed by phases of an early transient diminution of efficiency and a reversible disturbance of the accomplishment of the known operations. Simultaneously, there is a phase of an irreversible decrease of the informational capacity of CNS as well as the tolerance to early transient in efficiency upon repeated exposure.     

A maximum entropy criterion of filtering and coding for stationary autoregressive signals: Its physical interpretations and suggestions for its application to neural information transmission

The operations of encoding and decoding in communication agree with filtering operations of convolution and deconvolution for Gaussian signal processing. In an analogy with power transmission in thermodynamics, an autoregressive model of information transmission is proposed for representing a continuous communication system which requires a pair of an internal noise source and a signal source to encode or decode a message. In this model transinformation (informational entropy) equals the increase in stationary nonequilibrium organization formed through the amplification of white noise by a positive feedback system. The channel capacity is finite due to the existence of inherent noise in the system. The maximum entropy criterion in information dynamics corresponds to the 2^nd law of thermodynamics. If the process is stationary, the communication system is invertible, and has the maximum efficiency of transformation. The total variation in informational entropy is zero in the cycle of the invertible system, while in the noninvertible system the entropy of decoding is less than that of encoding. A noisy autoregressive coding which maximizes transinformation is optimum, but is also ideal.     

Using Informational Connectivity to Measure the Synchronous Emergence of fMRI Multi-voxel Information Across Time

It is now appreciated that condition-relevant information can be present within distributed patterns of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain activity, even for conditions with similar levels of univariate activation. Multi-voxel pattern (MVP) analysis has been used to decode this information with great success. FMRI investigators also often seek to understand how brain regions interact in interconnected networks, and use functional connectivity (FC) to identify regions that have correlated responses over time. Just as univariate analyses can be insensitive to information in MVPs, FC may not fully characterize the brain networks that process conditions with characteristic MVP signatures. The method described here, informational connectivity (IC), can identify regions with correlated changes in MVP-discriminability across time, revealing connectivity that is not accessible to FC. The method can be exploratory, using searchlights to identify seed-connected areas, or planned, between pre-selected regions-of-interest. The results can elucidate networks of regions that process MVP-related conditions, can breakdown MVPA searchlight maps into separate networks, or can be compared across tasks and patient groups.     

The Role of Sympathectomy in the Treatment of Obliterative Peripheral Vascular Disease

The immediate good results of endarterectomy and vascular grafting have pushed sympathectomy into the background as a form of treatment for peripheral obliterative arterial diseases. There are, however, many instances in which the nature of the arterial disease prevents performance of direct arterial surgery. In these cases an increase in circulation to the skin may not only relieve pain and heal ulcers but also, not infrequently, save the limb from amputation or permit a minor rather than a major amputation.A consecutive group of 90 lumbar and cervicodorsal sympathectomies was reviewed. The majority of patients suffered from atherosclerosis; smaller numbers had Buerger''s or Raynaud''s disease. The assessment of patients, selection for surgery, technique of operation, its complications and early results are discussed. There was one death in this series of patients who ranged in age from 17 to 81 years. This study indicates that, although sympathectomy is not a panacea for obliterative arterial disease, neither is it an obsolete procedure.     

Salvage of ischemic digits using a lateral arm fascial flap

Four patients underwent microvascular transfer of a lateral arm fascial flap to salvage severely ischemic digits by means of induction of neovascularization. The cause of the digital ischemia was direct trauma (crush injury) in one patient and chronic embolic phenomena (proximal arterial occlusion) in three patients. None of the patients had responded to traditional therapy, including treatment with one or more of the following: anticoagulation, lytic therapy, oral vasodilators, digital sympathectomy, and vein bypass grafting. Each patient underwent noninvasive (Doppler ultrasound, digital pressures, digital temperatures, vascular refill) and invasive (angiogram) vascular assessment preoperatively. After microvascular transfer of the lateral arm fascial flap, all patients reported symptomatic relief, and objective improvements were documented by both noninvasive and invasive assessment criteria. One patient developed a seroma at the donor site; another experienced a late complication of thrombosis of the flap after his wound dehisced. A 6-month follow-up evaluation demonstrated neovascular collateralization and stable improvement without regression in the remaining patients. The authors present their clinical experience and propose a treatment algorithm for patients with chronic digital ischemia.     

交感神经损毁术对自发性高血压大鼠血压和红细胞Na~＋外流动力学的影响

本实验研究了皮下注射６—羟多巴胺（６—ＯＨＤＡ）施行交感神经损毁术对成年自发性高血压大鼠（ＳＨＲ）血压和红细胞Ｎａ＋外流动力学的影响。结果表明,在幼年期施行交感神经损毁术的ＳＨＲ血压显著低于未损毁组,同时红细胞Ｎａ泵驱动的的Ｎａ＋外流最大速率显著下降、Ｎａ＋－Ｋ＋外向协同转运系统的单位活性升高。三者均接近ＷＫＹ大鼠的测定值。相反,损毁成年ＳＨＲ交感神经不影响上述两个动力学参数,血压也未见明显改变。此外,不论幼年或成年期注射６—ＯＨＤＡ均可降低Ｎａ＋—Ｌｉ＋对向转运系统驱动的Ｎａ＋外流最大速率。上述结果提示,在ＳＨＲ早期发育过程中,交感神经营养因子可能降低Ｎａ＋—Ｋ＋外向协同转运活性,继而刺激Ｎａ泵代偿功能增强。这种现象可能同时存在于ＳＨＲ动脉平滑肌,因而是高血压产生的一个原因。关于交感神经损毁术后ＳＨＲ红细胞Ｎａ＋—Ｌｉ＋对向转运最大速率下降的机制尚不清楚,但与交感神经早期营养作用的消除无关。     

Density-dependence of functional development in spiking cortical networks grown in vitro

During development, the mammalian brain differentiates into specialized regions with distinct functional abilities. While many factors contribute to functional specialization, we explore the effect of neuronal density on the development of neuronal interactions in vitro. Two types of cortical networks, namely, dense and sparse with 50,000 and 12,500 total cells, respectively, are studied. Activation graphs that represent pairwise neuronal interactions are constructed using a competitive first response model. These graphs reveal that, during development in vitro, dense networks form activation connections earlier than sparse networks. Link entropy analysis of dense network activation graphs suggests that the majority of connections between electrodes are reciprocal in nature. Information theoretic measures reveal that early functional information interactions (among three electrodes) are synergetic in both dense and sparse networks. However, during later stages of development, previously synergetic relationships become primarily redundant in dense, but not in sparse networks. Large link entropy values in the activation graph are related to the domination of redundant ensembles in late stages of development in dense networks. Results demonstrate differences between dense and sparse networks in terms of informational groups, pairwise relationships, and activation graphs. These differences suggest that variations in cell density may result in different functional specializations of nervous system tissue in vivo.     

Arterial smooth muscle cells in vivo: relationship between actin isoform expression and mitogenesis and their modulation by heparin

Quiescent smooth muscle cells (SMC) in normal artery express a pattern of actin isoforms with alpha-smooth muscle (alpha SM) predominance that switches to beta predominance when the cells are proliferating. We have examined the relationship between the change in actin isoforms and entry of SMC into the growth cycle in an in vivo model of SMC proliferation (balloon injured rat carotid artery). alpha SM actin mRNA declined and cytoplasmic (beta + gamma) actin mRNAs increased in early G0/G1 (between 1 and 8 h after injury). In vivo synthesis and in vitro translation experiments demonstrated that functional alpha SM mRNA is decreased 24 h after injury and is proportional to the amount of mRNA present. At 36 h after injury, SMC prepared by enzymatic digestion were sorted into G0/G1 and S/G2 populations; only the SMC committed to proliferate (S/G2 fraction) showed a relative slight decrease in alpha SM actin and, more importantly, a large decrease in alpha SM actin mRNA. A switch from alpha SM predominance to beta predominance was present in the whole SMC population 5 d after injury. To determine if the change in actin isoforms was associated with proliferation, we inhibited SMC proliferation by approximately 80% with heparin, which has previously been shown to block SMC in late G0/G1 and to reduce the growth fraction. The switch in actin mRNAs and synthesis at 24 h was not prevented; however, alpha SM mRNA and protein were reinduced at 5 d in the heparin-treated animals compared to saline-treated controls. These results suggest that in vivo the synthesis of actin isoforms in arterial SMC depends on the mRNA levels and changes after injury in early G0/G1 whether or not the cells subsequently proliferate. The early changes in actin isoforms are not prevented by heparin, but they are eventually reversed if the SMC are kept in the resting state by the heparin treatment.     

Cardiovascular, metabolic and endocrine effects of chemical sympathectomy and of adrenal demedullation in fetal sheep

A procedure in fetal sheep for causing peripheral sympathectomy by regular intravascular guanethidine sulphate administration and for causing adrenal demedullation by intragland injection of acid formalin is reported. Demedullation substantially removed adrenaline from the fetal circulation, but has a small effect only on noradrenaline. Plasma noradrenaline levels were depressed by 50% when demedullated fetuses were also subject to peripheral sympathectomy by guanethidine sulphate treatment. This provides some evidence that the paraganglia in the sheep fetus contributes to resting plasma catecholamines. Furthermore the ability of adrenal demedullation to increase markedly this pool of extra-adrenal chromaffin tissue indicates that in the fetus adrenal activity regulates the growth of these para-aortic bodies. In response to sympathectomy plasma vasopressin concentrations rose substantially, whilst adrenal demedullation caused a small rise. Demedullation and sympathectomy depressed fetal plasma glucose and elevated plasma cortisol. In both sympathectomised and adrenal demedullated fetuses resting heart rate and blood pressure was not depressed. However in those with a depleted peripheral nervous system periods of cardiovascular instability were apparent after 2-3 days of treatment with guanethidine sulphate. Hence there were regular episodes where fetal blood pressure and heart rate fell sharply followed 60-90s later by very large increases in blood pressure sustained for up to 10 min and associated with substantial production of plasma vasopressin and catecholamines. These results show that fine cardiovascular control in the fetus requires an intact sympathetic system as the endocrine system is too slow responding to effectively maintain reflex vascular control.     

Morphological characteristics of cultured fresh and thawed pericardium cells

The need for selection of the optimal material for the manufacturing of cardio-patches can be resolved by the use of cryostored autologous pericardial tissue. This short communication is a concise fragment of a large-scale research and demonstrates only the efficiency of cell culturing before and after pericardial preservation in the low temperature conditions.     

Evolution of longevity through optimal resource allocation

Models of life history evolution predict optimal traits of a simplified organism under various environmental conditions, but they at most acknowledge the existence of ageing. On the other hand, genetic models of ageing do not consider the effects of ageing on life histroy traits other than fecundity and longevity. This paper reports the results of a dynamic programming model which optimizes resource allocation to growth, reproduction and somatic repair. A low extrinsic (environmentally caused) mortality rate and high repair efficiency promote allocation to repair, especially early in life, resulting in delayed ageing and low growth rates, delayed maturity, large body size and dramatic enhancement of survival and maximum lifespan. The results are generally consistent with field, comprative and experimental data. They also suggest that the relationships between maximum lifespan and age at maturity and body size observed in nature may be by-products of optimal allocation strategies.