Assessing Pulmonary Function in ALS using Electrical Impedance Tomography.

This study aimed to determine an optimal model involving thoracic electrical impedance tomography (EIT) metrics and patient geometric information to best correlate to standard pulmonary function test (PFT) measures in a cohort of 32 ALS patients and 32 age-matched healthy controls. Thoracic EIT is a non-invasive technology in which an electrode belt chest allows for real-time impedance imaging of respiratory function. The optimal form of the model was determined via a genetic algorithm a novel technique for model generation in EIT applications.

Thoracic electrical impedance tomography for assessing progression of pulmonary dysfunction in ALS.

: We compared thoracic electrical impedance tomography (EIT) with slow vital capacity (SVC) to determine if EIT could monitor pulmonary function in ALS patients longitudinally. : Of 32 ALS patients and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) initially enrolled in the Pulmonary Function via Impedance Tomography (PuFIT) study, 22 ALS and 20 HCs returned for a follow-up visit ∼3.9 months later.

Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction: A Review.

Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) is an established treatment modality for the management of advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by severe emphysema and hyperinflation refractory to other therapies. BLVR aims to reduce hyperinflation and residual volume, thereby improving pulmonary function, symptom control, and quality of life. Multiple distinct devices and technologies, including endobronchial coils, thermal vapor ablation, bio-lung volume reduction, and airway bypass stenting, have been developed to achieve lung volume reduction with varying degrees of accessibility and evidence.

Assessing pulmonary function in ALS using electrical impedance tomography.

Objective: We sought to determine whether thoracic electrical impedance tomography (EIT) could characterize pulmonary function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, including those with facial weakness. Thoracic EIT is a noninvasive, technology in which a multi-electrode belt is placed across the chest, producing real-time impedance imaging of the chest during breathing.

Methods: We enrolled 32 ALS patients and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) without underlying lung disease.

Electrical impedance myography in healthy dogs: Normative values, repeatability, and the impact of age.

Convenient tools to assess canine skeletal muscle health would be useful for a variety of applications, including standard veterinary assessments of dog fitness, as well as studies of muscle deterioration due to age or disease. One technology that can be applied conveniently to awake dogs with minimal restraint is electrical impedance myography (EIM). In EIM, a weak electrical current is applied surface electrodes to a muscle of interest and consequent impedance characteristics of the muscle are obtained, providing insight into muscle condition and composition.

The threshold tracking nerve conduction study technique: Experience of clinical users unfamiliar with a research-grade neuronal excitability system.

Objective: To 1) explore if clinical electrophysiologists with different degrees of experience performing standard nerve conduction studies could run a threshold tracking nerve conduction study (TTNCS) protocol and 2) learn how clinical users view a research-grade TTNCSs neuronal excitability system.

Methods: Five clinical electrophysiologists conducted a TTNCS session using QTracS and then completed a questionnaire describing their impressions.

Results: All of the electrophysiologists completed the QTracS protocol on an initial attempt.

Electrical Impedance Myography in Dogs With Degenerative Myelopathy.

Canine degenerative myelopathy (DM) leads to disuse and neurogenic muscle atrophy. Currently there is a lack of non-invasive quantitative measures of muscle health in dogs with DM. Muscle pathology has been previously quantified in other disorders using the technique of electrical impedance myography (EIM) but it has not been reported for DM.

The family system seeking to transform its eating behavior in the face of childhood obesity.

Objectives: to understand families' behaviors and eating practices in the face of childhood obesity.

Methods: a qualitative study, which used the Grounded Theory as a methodological framework and the Complexity Theory as a theoretical framework. Twenty-six informants participated in the study, who were part of two sample groups.

Efficacy and safety of virtual bronchoscopic navigation with fused fluoroscopy and vessel mapping for access of pulmonary lesions.

Background And Objective: Virtual bronchoscopic navigation (VBN) with fused fluoroscopy and vessel mapping provides a point of entry (POE) for puncturing airway wall to biopsy lesions. The study was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this technology to diagnose peripheral pulmonary lesions.

Methods: It was a prospective, single-arm, multicentre study.

Device profile of the Zephyr endobronchial valve in heterogenous emphysema: overview of its safety and efficacy.

Introduction: Emphysema affects millions of people; the underlying pathophysiology is hyperinflation due to destruction of lung parenchyma. The mainstay of treatment is medical therapy however there are two surgical treatment strategies approved by the FDA to reduce lung hyperinflation. First being lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS), which carries higher risk of mortality versus bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR).

Exploring SnTiO Solid Solutions Grown onto Graphene Oxide (GO) as Selective Toluene Gas Sensors.

The major drawback of oxide-based sensors is the lack of selectivity. In this context, SnTiO/graphene oxide (GO)-based materials were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal route, varying the titanium content in the tin dioxide matrix. Then, toluene and acetone gas sensing performances of the as-prepared sensors were systematically investigated.

A robust and novel electrical impedance metric of pulmonary function in ALS patients.

Objective: Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are important for assessing respiratory function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. However, weakness of oral and glottal closure, due to concomitant bulbar dysfunction, may result in unreliable PFT values stemming from leakage of air around the breathing tube and through the glottis. In this study, we assessed whether standard thoracic electrical impedance tomography (EIT) could serve as a surrogate measure for PFTs.

Multi-atlas segmentation of the skeleton from whole-body MRI-Impact of iterative background masking.

Purpose: To improve multi-atlas segmentation of the skeleton from whole-body MRI. In particular, we study the effect of employing the atlas segmentations to iteratively mask tissues outside of the region of interest to improve the atlas alignment and subsequent segmentation.

Methods: An improved atlas registration scheme is proposed.

Palliative care education in U.S. adult neuro-oncology fellowship programs.

Introduction: Palliative care (PC) for patients with neuro-oncological diseases positively impacts morbidity and mortality. No studies have evaluated whether neuro-oncology fellows receive formal PC education during fellowship. The purpose of this study was to describe the PC education and identify education needs of US neuro-oncology fellowship programs.

Validation of a food frequency questionnaire for use in Italian adults living in Sicily.

The objective of this study was to validate two interviewer-led food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) of very different lengths: a medium-length FFQ (medium-FFQ) of 36 items and a short-length FFQ (short-FFQ) of 18 items, intending to measure levels of intakes in a local population. Both FFQs were validated against intakes derived from a 3-day dietary record (3-day DR). Sixty-five non-diabetic adults with no known cardiovascular, renal or other systemic diseases were included.

Endothelial function and serum concentration of toxic metals in frequent consumers of fish.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Consumption of fish is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk, but there is paucity of data concerning its effect on endothelial function. Furthermore, investigation of the effects of fish consumption on health must take into account the ingestion of contaminants, including transition metals and some metalloids, which may have unfavorable effects on health, including those on the cardiovascular system.

Resting energy expenditure in type 2 diabetic patients and the effect of insulin bolus.

Aims: Resting energy expenditure (REE) plays a critical role in the regulation of body weight, with important implications in type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the relationships between REE and T2D have not been extensively evaluated. We compared REE in persons with diabetes and in persons without diabetes.

SHIP2: a "new" insulin pathway target for aging research.

Strong evidence suggests that systemic inflammation and central adiposity contribute to and perpetuate metabolic syndrome. All of these alterations predispose individuals to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular disease, as well as Alzheimer's disease (AD), all characterized by chronic inflammatory status. On the other hand, extensive abnormalities in insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and IGF-II signaling mechanisms in brains with AD have been demonstrated, suggesting that AD could be a third form of diabetes.

Association of dietary patterns with insulin resistance and clinically silent carotid atherosclerosis in apparently healthy people.

Background/objectives: Dietary habits are important determinants of individual cardiovascular and metabolic risk. This study investigated the association between dietary patterns and asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis, defined as the presence of plaques and/or increased intima-media thickness, and metabolic biomarkers of insulin resistance, including the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and the trygliceride/high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (Tg/HDL) ratio in a cohort of adults without known diabetes or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Subjects/methods: Nine hundred and twenty-nine randomly selected participants were cross-sectionally investigated.

Effects of hypocaloric diets with different glycemic indexes on endothelial function and glycemic variability in overweight and in obese adult patients at increased cardiovascular risk.

Background & Aims: The role of glycemic index of the diet in glucose control and cardiovascular prevention is still not clear. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of hypocaloric diets with different glycemic indexes and glycemic loads on endothelial function and glycemic variability in nondiabetic participants at increased cardiovascular risk.

Methods: Forty nondiabetic obese participants were randomly assigned to a three-month treatment with either a low glycemic index (LGI; n=19) or high glycemic index (HGI; n=21) hypocaloric diet with similar macronutrient and fiber content.

Endothelial function and other biomarkers of cardiovascular risk in frequent consumers of street food.

Background & Aims: Street food (SF) is defined as out-of-home food consumption, and generally consists of energy dense meals rich in saturated fats, and poor in fibers, vitamins and anti-oxidants. Though SF consumption may have unfavorable metabolic and cardiovascular effects, its possible association with endothelial function has not been considered.

Methods: Participants were recruited among those who took part in a previous study of ours, done in Palermo, Italy, which investigated the association between consumption of SF and health in 1002 people.

Effects of red orange juice intake on endothelial function and inflammatory markers in adult subjects with increased cardiovascular risk.

Background: Oxidative and inflammatory stresses are involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with improved health and reduced cardiovascular risk. Red oranges have a high content of antioxidant and antiinflammatory substances, but there is a paucity of data concerning their effects on cardiovascular biomarkers in subjects with increased cardiovascular risk.

Influence of a new bicycle crank design on aerobic parameters of non-cyclists.

Aim: A well known problem in conventional cycling crank systems is the pedalling dead spot when the crank arms are in vertical position. The pedalling dead spot mitigates the power output during the propulsion phase of pedalling. The aim of this study was to verify the effects of a new design of crank system on aerobic parameters of performance in healthy non-cyclists.

Characterization of street food consumption in Palermo: possible effects on health.

Background: Street Food (SF) consists of out-of-home food consumption and has old, historical roots with complex social-economic and cultural implications. Despite the emergence of modern fast food, traditional SF persists worldwide, but the relationship of SF consumption with overall health, well-being, and obesity is unknown.

Methods: This is an observational, cross-sectional study.