A Clinical Prediction Formula for Apnea-Hypopnea Index

Objectives. There are many studies regarding unnecessary polysomnography (PSG) when obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is suspected. In order to reduce unnecessary PSG, this study aims to predict the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) via simple clinical data for patients who complain of OSAS symptoms.Method. Demographic, anthropometric, physical examination and laboratory data of a total of 390 patients (290 men, average age 50 ± 11) who were subject to diagnostic PSG were obtained and evaluated retrospectively. The relationship between these data and the PSG results was analyzed. A multivariate linear regression analysis was performed step by step to identify independent AHI predictors.Results. Useful parameters were found in this analysis in terms of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), neck circumference (NC), oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry (SpO2), and tonsil size (TS) to predict the AHI. The formula derived from these parameters was the predicted AHI = (0.797 × BMI) + (2.286 × NC) − (1.272 × SpO2) + (5.114 × TS) + (0.314 × WC).Conclusion. This study showed a strong correlation between AHI score and indicators of obesity. This formula, in terms of predicting the AHI for patients who complain about snoring, witnessed apneas, and excessive daytime sleepiness, may be used to predict OSAS prior to PSG and prevent unnecessary PSG.</jats:p

Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and rickettsia spp. in ticks collected from european part of turkey

This study was performed in ticks collected with the flagging method from localities situated along Anatolian side of Istanbul to the Bulgarian border of Turkey which is under the effect of Black Sea climate. All ticks which were collected seasonally were screened for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. and Rickettsia spp. in pools. As a result, indicated agents were revealed to be common in ticks of studied localities, Ixodes ricinus being the predominant tick which was active throughout the year

Characteristics of Different Systems for the Solar Drying of Crops

Solar dryers are used to enable the preservation of agricultural crops, food processing industries for dehydration of fruits and vegetables, fish and meat drying, dairy industries for production of milk powder, seasoning of wood and timber, textile industries for drying of textile materials. The fundamental concepts and contexts of their use to dry crops is discussed in the chapter. It is shown that solar drying is the outcome of complex interactions particular between the intensity and duration of solar energy, the prevailing ambient relative humidity and temperature, the characteristics of the particular crop and its pre-preparation and the design and operation of the solar dryer

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

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Mathematical modeling of convective air drying of quinoa-supplemented feed for laboratory rats

Drying kinetics of quinoa-supplemented feed for laboratory rats during processing at 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90ºC was studied and modeled in this work. Desorption isotherm was obtained at 60ºC giving a monolayer moisture content of 0.04 g water/g d.m. The experimental drying curves showed that drying process took place only in the falling rate period. Several thin-layer drying equations available in the literature were evaluated based on determination coefficient (r²), sum squared errors (SSE) and Chi-square (&#967;2) statisticals. In comparison to the experimental moisture values, the values estimated with the Logarithmic model gave the best fit quality (r² >0.994, SSE < 0.00015 and &#967;2 < 0.00018), showing this equation could predict very accurately the drying time of rat feed under the operative conditions applied