Heat-moulded versus custom-made mandibular advancement devices for obstructive sleep apnoea: a randomised non-inferiority trial.

Rationale: Custom-made mandibular advancement devices (MADs) are reported as providing higher efficacy rates compared with thermoplastic heat-moulded MADs but at the price of higher costs and treatment delays.

Objective: To determine whether a thermoplastic heat-moulded titratable MAD (ONIRIS; ONIRIS SAS, Rueil Malmaison, France) is non-inferior to a custom-made acrylic titratable MAD (TALI; ONIRIS SAS, Rueil Malmaison, France) for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

Methods: We conducted a multicentre, open, randomised controlled trial of patients with OSA refusing or not tolerating continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

How is norepinephrine used in intensive care? A field study.

Objective: To assess how norepinephrine (NE), an emergency treatment of cardiovascular collapse, is used in intensive care.

Methods: Nurses and physicians of 14 intensive care units of the Bordeaux University Hospital were given questionnaires on the way they say they use NE and on actual NE treatment of patients.

Results: The clinical monitoring parameters cited were blood pressure, heart rate and hourly urine flow.

Lithium-ion batteries: runaway risk of forming toxic compounds.

Lithium-ion batteries are stabilized by an ultrathin protective film that is 10-50 nanometers thick and coats both electrodes. Here we artificially simulate the 'thermal-runaway' conditions that would arise should this coating be destroyed, which could happen in a battery large enough to overheat beyond 80 degrees C. We find that under these conditions the reaction of the battery electrolyte with the material of the unprotected positive electrode results in the formation of toxic fluoro-organic compounds.