PET Imaging of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 with a Fluorine-18 Labeled Tryptophan Radiotracer.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a neurocutaneous disorder. Plexiform neurofibromas (PNFs) are benign tumors commonly formed in patients with NF1. PNFs have a high incidence of developing into malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) with a 5-year survival rate of only 30%.

Impact of intravenous fluid administration on cardiac output and oxygenation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Background: The effect of intravenous fluid (IVF) administration during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an unexplored factor that may improve cardiac output (CO) during CPR. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of IVF administration on CO and oxygenation during CPR.

Methods: This experimental animal study was performed in a critical care animal laboratory.

A Novel Agnostic Respiratory Stimulant as a Treatment for Apnea of Prematurity: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Aim/objective: ENA-001 is a novel selective antagonist of large-conductance BK (big potassium) channels located in the carotid bodies, where they act as chemoreceptors that sense low arterial oxygen levels and establish a feedback loop to brainstem nuclei responsible for initiating spontaneous breathing and maintaining adequate oxygen to tissues. ENA-001 attenuates respiratory depression induced by a variety of chemical agents, essentially "agnostic" to the precipitating drug (e.g.

Utilising pneuRIP device in determining the adequacy of respiratory support when weaning high-flow nasal cannula in paediatric patients with acute respiratory distress: A pilot study.

Aim: Recognition of paediatric respiratory distress and timely intervention is critical, especially during the weaning phase of support in paediatric acute respiratory failure, as weaning too aggressively can lead to further setbacks in a patient's recovery. We aimed to determine if pulmonary function measurements obtained with the pneuRIP device, a noninvasive pulmonary function testing device that provides measurements of labored breathing index (LBI), phase angle and %rib cage (%RC) contribution to breathing, will provide predictive values to assess the adequacy of respiratory support while weaning from HFNC.

Methods: We reviewed patients ages 0-18 years admitted to the PICU for respiratory distress due to respiratory infections receiving HFNC.

Administration of Drugs/Gene Products to the Respiratory System: A Historical Perspective of the Use of Inert Liquids.

The present review is a historical perspective of methodology and applications using inert liquids for respiratory support and as a vehicle to deliver biological agents to the respiratory system. As such, the background of using oxygenated inert liquids (considered a drug when used in the lungs) opposed to an oxygen-nitrogen gas mixture for respiratory support is presented. The properties of these inert liquids and the mechanisms of gas exchange and lung function alterations using this technology are described.

Effect of positive end-expiratory pressure on additional passive ventilation generated by CPR compressions in a porcine model.

Background: Compressions given during cardiopulmonary resuscitation generate small, ineffective passive ventilations through oscillating waves. Positive end-expiratory pressure increases the volume of these passive ventilations; however, its effect on passive ventilation is unknown. Our objective was to determine if increasing positive end-expiratory pressure during cardiopulmonary resuscitation increases passive ventilation generated by compressions to a clinically significant point.

Automated Assessment of Thoracic-Abdominal Asynchrony in Patients with Morquio Syndrome.

Morquio syndrome is a rare disease caused by a disorder in the storage of mucopolysaccharides that affects multiple organs, including musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, and digestive systems. Respiratory failure is one of the leading causes of mortality in Morquio patients; thus, respiratory function testing is vital to the management of the disease. An automated respiratory assessment methodology using the RIP device and a machine-learning algorithm was developed.

Point absorbers in Advanced LIGO.

Small, highly absorbing points are randomly present on the surfaces of the main interferometer optics in Advanced LIGO. The resulting nanometer scale thermo-elastic deformations and substrate lenses from these micron-scale absorbers significantly reduce the sensitivity of the interferometer directly though a reduction in the power-recycling gain and indirect interactions with the feedback control system. We review the expected surface deformation from point absorbers and provide a pedagogical description of the impact on power buildup in second generation gravitational wave detectors (dual-recycled Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometers).

Adjustment of high flow nasal cannula rates using real-time work of breathing indices in premature infants with respiratory insufficiency.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of real-time monitoring of work of breathing (WOB) indices and the impact of adjusting HFNC flow on breathing synchrony and oxygen stability in premature infants.

Study Design: A prospective, observational study of infants stable on HFNC. The flow adjusted per predetermined algorithm.

Pulmonary immune cell transcriptome changes in double-hit model of BPD induced by chorioamnionitis and postnatal hyperoxia.

Background: Preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have lifelong increased risk of respiratory morbidities associated with environmental pathogen exposure and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The resident immune cells of the lung play vital roles in host defense. However, the effect of perinatal events associated with BPD on pulmonary-specific immune cells is not well understood.

A novel noninvasive approach for evaluating work of breathing indices in a developmental rat model using respiratory inductance plethysmography.

Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is an important component for evaluating the outcome of experimental rodent models of respiratory diseases. Respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) provides a noninvasive method of PFT requiring minimal cooperation. RIP measures work of breathing (WOB) indices including phase angle (Ф), percent rib cage (RC %), breaths per minute (BPM), and labored breathing index (LBI) on an iPad.

DNA Methylation Profile in Human Cord Blood Mononuclear Leukocytes From Term Neonates: Effects of Histological Chorioamnionitis.

Histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) is an infection/inflammation of fetal membranes and complicates 5.2-28.5% of all live births.

The effect of positive end-expiratory pressure on cardiac output and oxygen delivery during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Background: Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is used to optimize oxygenation by preventing alveolar collapse. However, PEEP can potentially decrease cardiac output through cardiopulmonary interactions. The effect of PEEP on cardiac output during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is not known.

Machine learning for automatic identification of thoracoabdominal asynchrony in children.

Background: The current methods for assessment of thoracoabdominal asynchrony (TAA) require offline analysis on the part of physicians (respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP)) or require experts for interpretation of the data (sleep apnea detection).

Methods: To assess synchrony between the thorax and abdomen, the movements of the two compartments during quiet breathing were measured using pneuRIP. Fifty-one recordings were obtained: 20 were used to train a machine-learning (ML) model with elastic-net regularization, and 31 were used to test the model's performance.

Perfluorochemical-facilitated plasminogen activator delivery to the airways: A novel treatment for inhalational smoke-induced acute lung injury.

Background: Effective clinical management of airway clot and fibrinous cast formation of severe inhalational smoke-induced acute lung injury (ISALI) is lacking. Aerosolized delivery of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is confounded by airway bleeding; single-chain urokinase plasminogen activator (scuPA) moderated this adverse effect and supported transient improvement in gas exchange and lung mechanics. However, neither aerosolized plasminogen activator (PA) yielded durable improvements in physiologic responses or reduction in cast burden.

Tracking Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation and Completion Among Medicare Beneficiaries to Inform the Efforts of a National Initiative.

Background: Despite cardiac rehabilitation (CR) being shown to improve health outcomes among patients with heart disease, its use has been suboptimal. In response, the Million Hearts Cardiac Rehabilitation Collaborative developed a road map to improve CR use, including increasing participation rates to ≥70% by 2022. This observational study provides current estimates to measure progress and identifies the populations and regions most at risk for CR service underutilization.

Diagnostic differences in respiratory breathing patterns and work of breathing indices in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Rationale: Pulmonary function testing (PFT) provides diagnostic information regarding respiratory physiology. However, many forms of PFT are time-intensive and require patient cooperation. Respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) provides thoracoabdominal asynchrony (TAA) and work of breathing (WOB) data.

Histological Chorioamnionitis Induces Differential Gene Expression in Human Cord Blood Mononuclear Leukocytes from Term Neonates.

Histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) is an infection of fetal membranes and complicates 5.2% to 28.5% of all live births.

Age-related ranges of respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) reference values for infants and children.

The current noninvasive method for respiratory monitoring is respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP); two bands are connected, one each to the chest and the abdomen, to measure the breathing pattern. RIP requires post hoc analysis to calculate indices such as respiratory rate, phase angle, labored breathing index, and percent of rib cage contribution to breathing. Clinical studies have provided patient RIP values and age-matched normal values, but they lack global evaluation of normative data for a wide age range of pediatric subjects.

Nebulization of Single-Chain Tissue-Type and Single-Chain Urokinase Plasminogen Activator for Treatment of Inhalational Smoke-Induced Acute Lung Injury.

Single-chain tissue-type plasminogen activator (sctPA) and single-chain urokinase plasminogen activator (scuPA) have attracted interest as enzymes for the treatment of inhalational smoke-induced acute lung injury (ISALI). In this study, the pulmonary delivery of commercial human sctPA and lyophilized scuPA and their reconstituted solution forms were demonstrated using vibrating mesh nebulizers (Aeroneb® Pro (active) and EZ Breathe® (passive)). Both the Aeroneb® Pro and EZ Breathe® vibrating mesh nebulizers produced atomized droplets of protein solution of similar size of less than about 5 μm, which is appropriate for pulmonary delivery.

Impact of endotracheal tube biofilm and respiratory secretions on airway resistance and mechanics of breathing in a neonatal lung model.

Endotracheal tube (ETT) obstruction from biofilm formation is a theoretical risk for intubated preterm neonates. The objective of this study is to determine the impact of ETT biofilm on ETT resistance and minute ventilation in a neonatal respiratory model. Postextubation 2.

Measures of respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) in children with neuromuscular disease.

Background: Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is essential for the clinical assessment of respiratory problems. Respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) is a non-invasive method of PFT requiring minimal patient cooperation. RIP measures the volumetric change in the ribcage and abdomen, from which work of breathing (WOB) indices are derived.

Quantitative Analysis of Thoracoabdominal Asynchrony in Pediatric Polysomnography.

Study Objectives: Objective measurements of thoracoabdominal asynchrony (TAA), such as average phase angle (θavg), can quantify airway obstruction. This study demonstrates and evaluates use of θavg for predicting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in pediatric polysomnography (PSG).

Methods: This prospective observational study recruited otherwise healthy 3- to 8-year-old children presenting for PSG due to snoring, behavioral problems, difficulty sleeping, and/or enlarged tonsils.

Inflammatory Response of Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells Exposed to Oxidative and Biophysical Stress.

Pulmonary hypertension in the neonate requires treatment with oxygen and positive pressure ventilation, both known to induce lung injury. The direct response of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells, the most abundant cells in the artery wall, to the stress of positive pressure and hyperoxia has not been previously studied. Pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells were cultured in temperature- and pressure-controlled air-tight chambers under conditions of positive pressure or hyperoxia for 24 h.