Prospective clinical validation of the Empatica EmbracePlus wristband as a reflective pulse oximeter.

Introduction: Respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, and COVID-19 may cause a decrease in arterial oxygen saturation (SaO). The continuous monitoring of oxygen levels may be beneficial for the early detection of hypoxemia and timely intervention. Wearable non-invasive pulse oximetry devices measuring peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO) have been garnering increasing popularity.

Distensibility of Deformable Aortic Replicas Assessed by an Integrated In-Vitro and In-Silico Approach.

The correct estimation of the distensibility of deformable aorta replicas is a challenging issue, in particular when its local characterization is necessary. We propose a combined in-vitro and in-silico approach to face this problem. First, we tested an aortic silicone arch in a pulse-duplicator analyzing its dynamics under physiological working conditions.

Ventricular outflow tract obstruction: An in-silico model to relate the obstruction to hemodynamic quantities in cardiac paediatric patients.

Background: Right (R) or left (L) ventricular outflow tract (VOT) obstruction can be either a dynamic phenomenon or a congenital anatomic lesion, which requires a prompt and optimal timing of treatment to avoid a pathological ventricular remodelling.

Objective: To develop a simple and reliable numerical tool able to relate the R/L obstruction size with the pressure gradient and the cardiac output. To provide indication of the obstruction severity and be of help in the clinical management of patients and designing the surgical treatment for obstruction mitigation.

Ventricular wall stress and wall shear stress homeostasis predicts cardiac remodeling during pregnancy: A modeling study.

Pregnancy is a unique and dynamic process characterized by significant changes in the maternal cardiovascular system that are required to satisfy the increased maternal and fetal metabolic demands. Profound structural and hemodynamic adaptations occur during healthy pregnancy that allows the mother to maintain healthy hemodynamics and provide an adequate uteroplacental blood circulation to ensure physiological fetal development. Investigating these adaptations is crucial for understanding the physiology of pregnancy and may provide important insights for the management of high-risk pregnancies.

Numerical Models Can Assist Choice of an Aortic Phantom for In Vitro Testing.

(1) Background: The realization of appropriate aortic replicas for in vitro experiments requires a suitable choice of both the material and geometry. The matching between the grade of details of the geometry and the mechanical response of the materials is an open issue that deserves attention. (2) Methods: To explore this issue, we performed a series of Fluid-Structure Interaction simulations, which compared the dynamics of three aortic models.

Understanding and recognition of the right ventricular function and dysfunction via a numerical study.

The role played by the right ventricular (RV) dysfunction has long been underestimated in clinical practice. Recent findings are progressively confirming that when the RV efficiency deteriorates both the right and the left circulation is (significantly) affected, but studies dedicated to a detailed description of RV hemodynamic role still lack. In response to such a gap in knowledge, this work proposes a numerical model that for the first time evaluates the effect of isolated RV dysfunction on the whole circulation.

A female-specific cardiovascular lumped-parameter model.

Historically, cardiovascular computational models have been developed considering the case of a 70 Kg male patient. However, hemodynamic quantities differ widely due to sex, age, and weight. In this study, we developed a female-specific model of the blood circulation of a young (18-40 y.

Protein phasing at non-atomic resolution by combining Patterson and VLD techniques.

Phasing proteins at non-atomic resolution is still a challenge for any ab initio method. A variety of algorithms [Patterson deconvolution, superposition techniques, a cross-correlation function (C map), the VLD (vive la difference) approach, the FF function, a nonlinear iterative peak-clipping algorithm (SNIP) for defining the background of a map and the free lunch extrapolation method] have been combined to overcome the lack of experimental information at non-atomic resolution. The method has been applied to a large number of protein diffraction data sets with resolutions varying from atomic to 2.

The use of VLD (vive la difference) in the molecular-replacement approach: a pipeline.

VLD (vive la difference) is a novel ab initio phasing approach that is able to drive random phases to the correct values. It has been applied to small, medium and protein structures provided that the data resolution was atomic. It has never been used for non-ab initio cases in which some phase information is available but the data resolution is usually very far from 1 Å.

On the use of the C map in Patterson deconvolution procedures.

The cross-correlation function between the target and a model electron density, denoted as the C map, has been crystallographically characterized. In particular, a study of its interatomic vectors and of their relation with the Patterson vectors has been undertaken. Since the C map is not available during the phasing process, the C' map, its centric modification, is considered.

Estimation of the variance in any point of an electron-density map for any space group.

In a recent paper [Giacovazzo & Mazzone (2011). Acta Cryst. A67, 210-218] a mathematical expression of the variance at any point of the unit cell has been described.

Work of breathing-tidal volume relationship: analysis on an in vitro model and clinical implications.

Objective: Work of breathing (WoB) is currently employed to assess the afterload on the respiratory muscles and to estimate the energy expenditure for breathing. Since WoB depends on the ventilated tidal volume (TV), WoB*L(-1), the indicized form of WoB has been employed as a measure of WoB which is independent of TV. Actually, the independence of WoB*L(-1) from the ventilated TV has never been demonstrated.

The joint probability distribution function of structure factors with rational indices. V. The estimates.

The probabilistic formulae [Giacovazzo, Siliqi & Fernández-Castaño (1999). Acta Cryst. A55, 512-524] relating standard and half-integral index reflections are modified for practical applications.

Evidence for alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) receptors on human malignant melanoma cells.

The presence of alpha-MSH receptors on human melanoma has so far been suggested in the literature but not proved. We describe a reproducible and specific binding assay of alpha-MSH on human melanoma cells, using a high-specific-activity 125I-labelled hormone (1.5 to 2 mCi/micrograms) with consistent receptor binding (usually exceeding 2 pg/10(6) cells) and stable for 3 weeks.