TRPV1 Promotes Periodontitis Tissue Inflammation and Oxidative Damage by Regulating STAT3 Signaling Pathway.

Aims: Periodontitis is a chronic disease affecting adult oral health. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) expression is shown to upregulate in many inflammatory diseases. Nevertheless, its biological potential along with the molecular mechanism in periodontitis is unclear.

Factors affecting obstructive sleep apnea patients' use of upper airway stimulation treatment.

Study Objectives: Upper airway stimulation (UAS) is an alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnea that must be activated nightly. Although the implanted device offsets the mask- or pressure-related side effects often associated with continuous positive airway pressure therapy, some UAS recipients do not use the therapy consistently. This study qualitatively explored factors associated with UAS usage in obstructive sleep apnea patients.

Does race-ethnicity affect upper airway stimulation adherence and treatment outcome of obstructive sleep apnea?

Study Objectives: Untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with excessive daytime sleepiness, decreased quality of life, and cardiovascular disease. Positive airway pressure is the first-line therapy for OSA; however, adherence is difficult. Upper airway stimulation is a Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment of OSA.

Cluster analysis of upper airway stimulation adherence patterns and implications on clinical care.

Study Objectives: Upper airway stimulation (UAS) therapy is effective for a subset of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) intolerance. While overall adherence is high, some patients have suboptimal adherence, which limits efficacy. Our goal was to identify therapy usage patterns during the first 3 months of therapy to enable targeted strategies for improved adherence.

Neurophysiological profiles of responders and nonresponders to hypoglossal nerve stimulation: a single-institution study.

Study Objectives: Hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) is an effective alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnea that acts by opening the airway via selective stimulation of nerve fibers that innervate tongue muscles that protrude (genioglossus) and stiffen the tongue (transverse and vertical) while avoiding nerve fibers that innervate tongue muscles that retract the tongue (styloglossus and hyoglossus). There remains a subset of postoperative patients who fail to adequately respond to HGNS, in some cases due to mixed activation of muscles that simultaneously protrude and retract the tongue. This study aims to characterize the relationship between neurophysiological data from individual tongue muscle activation during intraoperative electromyographic recordings and postoperative apnea-hypopnea index responses to HGNS.

Model-based analysis of implanted hypoglossal nerve stimulation for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Objectives: Individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), characterized by frequent sleep disruptions from tongue muscle relaxation and airway blockage, are known to benefit from on-demand electrical stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve. Hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS) therapy, which activates the protrusor muscles of the tongue during inspiration, has been established in multiple clinical studies as safe and effective, but the mechanistic understanding for why some stimulation parameters work better than others has not been thoroughly investigated.

Methods: In this study, we developed a detailed biophysical model that can predict the spatial recruitment of hypoglossal nerve fascicles and axons within these fascicles during stimulation through nerve cuff electrodes.

Anatomic predictors of response and mechanism of action of upper airway stimulation therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Objectives: Upper airway stimulation has been shown to be an effective treatment for some patients with obstructive sleep apnea. However, the mechanism by which hypoglossal nerve stimulation increases upper airway caliber is not clear. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the mechanism of action of upper airway stimulation.

Initial Field Test of a Cloud-Based Cardiac Auscultation System to Determine Murmur Etiology in Rural China.

A system for collection, distribution, and long distant, asynchronous interpretation of cardiac auscultation has been developed and field-tested in rural China. We initiated a proof-of-concept test as a critical component of design of a system to allow rural physicians with little experience in evaluation of congenital heart disease (CHD) to obtain assistance in diagnosis and management of children with significant heart disease. The project tested the hypothesis that acceptable screening of heart murmurs could be accomplished using a digital stethoscope and internet cloud transmittal to deliver phonocardiograms to an experienced observer.

Effect of upper-airway stimulation for obstructive sleep apnoea on airway dimensions.

Upper-airway stimulation (UAS) using a unilateral implantable neurostimulator for the hypoglossal nerve is an effective therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea patients with continuous positive airway pressure intolerance. This study evaluated stimulation effects on retropalatal and retrolingual dimensions during drug-induced sedation compared with wakefulness to assess mechanistic relationships in response to UAS. Patients with an implanted stimulator underwent nasal video endoscopy while awake and/or during drug-induced sedation in the supine position.

[Ectodermal dysplasia syndrome: a case report].

A case of ectodermal dysplasia syndrome was reported in this article. This case report and relevant literature of ectodermal dysplasia syndrome let us know the clinical symptom, etiology and effect factors of heredity of this disease.

Cardiovascular implications in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Epidemiological studies provide strong evidence that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with cardiovascular complications such as systemic hypertension, congestive heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. Successful OSA treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has resulted in coincident reductions in systemic hypertension, improvements in left ventricular systolic function, and reductions in sympathetic nervous activity. These data suggest that successful treatment of OSA may reduce cardiovascular morbidity in such patients.

Career development of biomedical engineers in medical device industry.

With concerns of the current health care system, biomedical engineers have expertise, opportunity and responsibility in developing innovations that may improve cost, coverage and quality of health care delivery. This paper reviews the product development process in the medical device industry, and the associated training and experience required for biomedical engineers involved at each stage of the process. This paper also provides personal perspectives of some of the differences between established device companies and start-ups in the product development process and career paths for biomedical engineers.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas: a case series of 26 consecutive patients.

Objective: Solid pseudopapillary tumor (SPT) of the pancreas, which predominantly affects young women, is a relatively indolent entity with favorable prognosis. The aim of this study is to describe the clinicopathologic features and surgical management of this disease in our institution.

Methods: A retrospective study of clinical data from 26 consecutive patients with SPT managed in a tertiary academic center between January 2002 and December 2007 was performed.

Experimental measures of ventricular activation and synchrony.

Background: A widened QRS complex as a primary indication for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) for heart failure patients has been reported to be an inconsistent indicator for dyssynchronous ventricular activation. The purpose of this study was to conduct a detailed experimental investigation of total ventricular activation time (TVAT), determine how to measure it accurately, and compare it to the commonly used measure of QRS width. In addition, we investigated a measure of electrical synchrony and determined its relationship to the duration of ventricular activation.

[The cytotoxicity of Her-2 pulsed DCIKS against breast cancer cells].

To study DCIK co-culture system with Her-2 as the pulsing antigen peptide of DC and the cytotoxicity of DCIKs against the breast cancer cells, CIK and DC were first induced and isolated from human peripheral blood. CIK and DC pulsed with antigen Her-2 peptide were then co-cultured to prepare CIK-DC co-culture system (DCIK-P). Using DCIK-P as effect cells and breast tumor cells (MDA-MB-231, SK-BR-3, MCF-7) as target cells,the antigen-specicfic cytotox-icity of DCIK-P was analysed by cell viability and cytotoxicity assay.

Magnetic lymphatic targeting drug delivery system using carbon nanotubes.

By controlling size, nanoparticles can be effectively taken up into lymphatics. On this basis, various nanoparticles have been investigated for transporters of chemotherapeutic pharmaceuticals, but only a few were retained in the draining lymph node. Here, we present a technology using a magnetic carbon nanotubes (MNTs) delivery system, and it may be possible to facilitate the targeted delivery of drugs in the lymphatic tissue more effectively.

Feasibility of automated detection of advanced sleep disordered breathing utilizing an implantable pacemaker ventilation sensor.

Objectives: This study tested the feasibility of automatically detecting advanced sleep disordered breathing (SDB) from a pacemaker trans-thoracic impedance sensor.

Background: SDB is prevalent yet under-diagnosed in patients with cardiovascular disease. The potential for automated detection of SDB in patients receiving pacemakers with respiration sensors has not been fully explored.

Comparison of impedance minute ventilation and direct measured minute ventilation in a rate adaptive pacemaker.

Respiration rate (RR) and minute ventilation (MV) provide important clinical information on the state of the patient. This study evaluated the accuracy of determining these using a pacemaker impedance sensor. In 20 patients who were previously implanted with a Guidant PULSAR MAX group of pacemakers, the telemetered impedance sensor waveform was recorded simultaneously with direct volume respiration waveforms as measured by a pneumatometer.

Spatial methods of epicardial activation time determination in normal hearts.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate errors in activation time maps created using the time derivative method on fractionated unipolar electrograms, to characterize the epicardial distribution of those fractionated electrograms, and to investigate spatial methods of activation time determination. Electrograms (EGs) were recorded using uniform grids of electrodes (1 or 2 mm spacing) on the epicardial surface of six normal canine hearts. Activation times were estimated using the time of the minimum time derivative, maximum spatial gradient, and zero Laplacian and compared with the time of arrival of the activation wave front as assessed from a time series of potential maps as the standard.