A novel approach for acoustic estimation of neck fluid volume between men and women

Obstructive Sleep apnea can be caused by fluid shift from the legs to the neck that narrows the upper airway (UA) and contributes to changes in tracheal sound. Tracheal sound is generated from the turbulent airflow in the pharynx and respiratory airways and it has recently been used to estimate increases in neck fluid volume (NFV). However, tracheal sound is also highly variable among people, especially across the sexes. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to select tracheal sound features towards estimating NFV in men and women separately. To validate this method, it was applied to the tracheal sound data of 28 healthy individuals. Our proposed feature selection algorithm is based on sparse representations and incorporates NFV to maximize the relevance of selected features. This feature selection eliminates the dependence of the previous methods on calibrating the model for every individual. Two models, regression and Kalman filters, are then used to estimate NFV from selected features. Kalman filter obtains the highest performance, estimating NFV with more than 90% accuracy in both men and women. This algorithm can be used to develop non-invasive acoustic technologies to investigate the effects of fluid on UA anatomy in general applications. These results could be used to develop convenient devices to monitor the neck edema and its contribution to sleep apnea severity in fluid retaining patients such as heart or renal failure.     

Interaction of opioid with insulin/IGFs signaling in Alzheimer's disease

Journal of Molecular Neuroscience - Alzheimer's disease is associated with biochemical and histopathological changes characterized by molecular abnormalities. Due to the lack of effective...     

A technique for temporary control of hemorrhage

Traumatic injury to blood vessels is a common presentation in the Emergency Department. Control of hemorrhage is generally attempted using tight absorbent compression dressings. This may be a cause of inefficient control of hemorrhage and also contributes to tissue ischemia. We present a simple technique to control hemorrhage that does not cause tissue ischemia, which frequently accompanies the tight compression bandages applied for vascular injuries.     

Structure–properties relationships in dental adhesives: Effect of initiator,matrix monomer structure,and nano-filler incorporation

Objectives

This is a confirmatory study to evaluate the effect of photoinitiator type and concentration, matrix monomer chemical structure, and nanoparticle incorporation on the physical and mechanical properties of an experimental dentin bonding agent.

Ischemic optic neuropathy and implications for plastic surgeons: report of a new case and review of the literature

The healing process of structural pasteurized autogenous bone graft has not been studied in detail. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the reparative process of pasteurized bone graft histologically, and clarify the factors influencing the outcome. From among 51 cases using pasteurized autogenous bone graft since 1992, 10 specimens were retrieved after lower extremity reconstruction of tibia or femur with or without simultaneous fibula flap, and subjected to the analysis. Regeneration of the grafted bone was assessed as the ratio of the number of viable cells to that of whole cells. Pasteurized bone combined with a vascularized fibula showed markedly better repair. Long duration from implantation to retrieval was associated with a better reparative process with vascularized fibula (P = 0.03), whereas other factors had no significant impact. This study demonstrated that pasteurized autogenous bone graft remained structurally stable for many years, although facilitators such as the combined use of a vascularized fibula are required to promote regeneration of the graft.