Medication non-adherence remains a substantial obstacle in asthma care, prompting the exploration of novel therapeutic modalities that prioritize rapid symptom relief, anti-inflammatory activity, and facilitate patients' compliance. This task is well-served by the following new form of therapy: inhaled triple-combination medications ICS/LABA/LAMA (inhaled glucocorticosteroid/long-acting beta2-agonist/long-acting muscarinic antagonist). The integration of three medications within a singular inhalation device culminates in the reduction of the effective dose of the principal therapeutic agent for asthma management, namely ICS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of targeted therapies in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase, has increased the need for robust companion diagnostic tests. Nowadays, detection of actionable variants in exons 18-21 of the gene by qPCR and direct DNA sequencing is often replaced by next-generation sequencing (NGS). In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic usefulness of targeted NGS for druggable variants testing in clinical NSCLC material previously analyzed by the IVD-certified qPCR test with respect to DNA reference material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article describes a method for determining the geometric working volume of satellite positive displacement machines (pump and motor). The working mechanism of these machines is satellite mechanism consisting of two non-circular gears (rotor and curvature) and circular gears (satellites). Two variants of the satellite mechanism are presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article describes the results of a durability test of a hydraulic satellite motor supplied by rapeseed oil. The tests were carried out on a test stand in a power recuperation system. The tests of the motor were carried out at a constant shaft speed for three fixed pressure drops in the motor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article describes the phenomena affecting the wear of the rotor of the working mechanism in a hydraulic satellite motor. The basic geometrical relationships that allow the calculation of the coordinates of the points of contact between the satellite and the rotor and the curvature are presented. A method for calculating the number of contacts of the satellite teeth with the rotor teeth and of the satellite teeth with the curvature teeth during one revolution of the rotor is proposed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe task of ore transportation is performed in all mines, regardless of their type (open pit/underground) or mining process. A substantial number of enterprises utilize wheeled machines to perform ore haulage, especially haul trucks and loaders. These machines' work consists of repeating cycles, and each cycle can be divided into 4 operations: loading, driving with full box/bucket, unloading and driving with empty box/bucket.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Blood bicarbonate concentration plays an important role for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients to maintain acid-base balance. We investigated the association between arterial standard bicarbonate ([HCO3]) and nocturnal hypoxia as well as comorbid hypertension in OSA.
Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 3329 patients in the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA) was performed.
Systems that use automatic speech recognition in industry are becoming more and more popular. They bring benefits especially in cases when the user's hands are often busy or the environment does not allow the use of a keyboard. However, the accuracy of algorithms is still a big challenge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this paper is described a methodology of design of satellite mechanism consisting of two non-circular gears (externally toothed rotor and internally toothed curvature) and circular gears (satellites). In the presented methodology is assumed that the rotor pitch line is known, and the curvature pitch line is necessary to designate. The presented methodology applies to mechanisms for which the number of the curvature humps is at least one greater than the number of rotor humps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) improves survival in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe hypoxaemia. However, the best method of management of moderate hypoxaemia not qualifying for LTOT (including isolated nocturnal desaturation) is uncertain. We examined the effect of home oxygen (either LTOT or nocturnal oxygen therapy) on overall survival in patients with COPD and moderate hypoxaemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: In 2010, a questionnaire-based study on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) management in Europe identified differences regarding reimbursement, sleep specialist qualification, and titration procedures. Now, 10 years later, a follow-up study was conducted as part of the ESADA (European Sleep Apnea Database) network to explore the development of OSA management over time.
Methods: The 2010 questionnaire including questions on sleep diagnostic, reimbursement, treatment, and certification was updated with questions on telemedicine and distributed to European Sleep Centers to reflect European OSA management practice.
Enterprises today are increasingly seeking maintenance management strategies to ensure that their machines run faultlessly. This problem is particularly relevant in the mining sector, due to the demanding working conditions of underground mines and machines and equipment-operating regimes. Therefore, in this article, the authors proposed a new approach to mining machinery maintenance management, based on the concept of risk-based maintenance (RBM) and taking into account safety issues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bronchiectasis is a progressive chronic disease associated with an increased risk of mortality.
Objectives: To identify the prevalence of comorbidities in patients with bronchiectasis and the impact of these comorbidities on mortality.
Material And Methods: A cohort of 93 patients with computed tomography (CT)-confirmed bronchiectasis admitted consecutively to a tertiary teaching hospital was observed over a period of 5 years.
The term "carbon footprint" describes the emission of greenhouse gases into the environment as a result of human activities. The healthcare sector is responsible for 5-8% of the value of global greenhouse gas emissions, of which medical aerosols account for only 0.03% of the total emissions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBACKGROUND The association between sarcoidosis and pulmonary embolism (PE) has been described in the literature, but little is known about the origin of hypercoagulability and hypofibrinolysis in sarcoidosis. PE is a multifactorial disease that is rarely caused by a single risk factor, and might be expected in disabling sarcoidosis. No data are available, however, about sarcoidosis being a risk factor for venous thromboembolism in factor V Leiden thrombophilia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew findings on pathophysiology, epidemiology, and outcome have raised concerns on the relevance of the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) in the classification of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) severity. Recently, a multicomponent grading system decision integrating symptomatology and comorbidities (Baveno classification), was proposed to characterise OSA and to guide therapeutic decisions. We evaluated whether this system reflects the OSA population, whether it translates into differences in outcomes, and whether the addition of AHI improves the scheme.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAt the end of 2019, in Wuhan, the Hubei Province's capital city in China, the first cases of COVID-19 disease caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, were described. The rapid spread of the infection through the world resulted in the World Health Organization announcing the COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020. The main routes of transmission of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to current evidence, are via droplets inhalation, direct contact with contaminated surfaces, and transmission via the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and eyes, and probably through airborne particles from the respiratory tract, generated during coughing and sneezing of infected individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Objectives: It has been suggested that there might be a pathophysiological link and overlap between primary aldosteronism (PA) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Therefore, in a prospective study, we evaluated the frequency of PA in hypertensive patients suspected of having OSA.
Methods: We included 207 consecutive hypertensive patients (mean age 53.
Arch Bronconeumol (Engl Ed)
February 2021
Introduction: Control status may be a useful tool to assess response to treatment at each clinical visit in COPD. Control status has demonstrated to have long-term predictive value for exacerbations, but there is no information about the short-term predictive value of the lack of control and changes in control status over time.
Method: Prospective, international, multicenter study aimed at describing the short-term (6 months) prognostic value of control status in patients with COPD.
Study Objectives: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often report poor sleep quality, but they commonly exhibit OSA. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of OSA severity and of estimated glomerular filtration rate impairment on objective sleep quality in nondialyzed patients with CKD, defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73m².
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recent studies indicate that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a comorbidity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We hypothesized that the use of the classical muscle-dependent, creatinine-based equation to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in patients with OSA may be inaccurate due to the extreme body mass index (BMI) of some patients. The aim of this study was to establish the role of cystatin-C-based estimation of GFR for the detection of CKD in patients with OSA and typical comorbidities.
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