110 research outputs found
Pneumothorax and mortality in the mechanically ventilated SARS patients: a prospective clinical study
INTRODUCTION: Pneumothorax often complicates the management of mechanically ventilated severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients in the isolation intensive care unit (ICU). We sought to determine whether pneumothoraces are induced by high ventilatory pressure or volume and if they are associated with mortality in mechanically ventilated SARS patients. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, clinical study. Forty-one mechanically ventilated SARS patients were included in our study. All SARS patients were sedated and received mechanical ventilation in the isolation ICU. RESULTS: The mechanically ventilated SARS patients were divided into two groups either with or without pneumothorax. Their demographic data, clinical characteristics, ventilatory variables such as positive end-expiratory pressure, peak inspiratory pressure, mean airway pressure, tidal volume, tidal volume per kilogram, respiratory rate and minute ventilation and the accumulated mortality rate at 30 days after mechanical ventilation were analyzed. There were no statistically significant differences in the pressures and volumes between the two groups, and the mortality was also similar between the groups. However, patients developing pneumothorax during mechanical ventilation frequently expressed higher respiratory rates on admission, and a lower PaO(2)/FiO(2 )ratio and higher PaCO(2 )level during hospitalization compared with those without pneumothorax. CONCLUSION: In our study, the SARS patients who suffered pneumothorax presented as more tachypnic on admission, and more pronounced hypoxemic and hypercapnic during hospitalization. These variables signaled a deterioration in respiratory function and could be indicators of developing pneumothorax during mechanical ventilation in the SARS patients. Meanwhile, meticulous respiratory therapy and monitoring were mandatory in these patients
Well-differentiated gall bladder hepatoid carcinoma producing alpha-fetoprotein: a case report
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Gall bladder carcinoma is rare, and metastatic gall bladder carcinoma from hepatocellular carcinoma has been reported in only a few patients.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present a 73-year-old man with a history of hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. He received transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, and was diagnosed to have an alpha-fetoprotein producing gall bladder tumor with intraluminal growth. Open cholecystectomy was performed. Pathologic examination of the lesion revealed a well-differentiated hepatoid carcinoma. The lesion was thought most likely to be a metastatic lesion from previous hepatocellular carcinoma. His alpha-fetoprotein level dropped to normal levels five months after the surgery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This unusual intraluminal growing tumor proved to be a well-differentiated hepatoid carcinoma, most likely a metastatic lesion from previous hepatocellular carcinoma. This case reminds clinicians that in looking for likely hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence, when no detectable hepatic lesion can account for an elevated alpha-fetoprotein level, the gall bladder should be included in the search for the site of metastasis.</p
Alpha adrenergic modulation on effects of norepinephrine transporter inhibitor reboxetine in five-choice serial reaction time task
The study examined the effects of a norepinephrine transporter (NET) inhibitor reboxetine (RBX) on an attentional performance test. Adult SD rats trained with five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) were administered with RBX (0, 3.0 and 10 mg/kg) in the testing day. Alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist PRA and alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist RX821002 were used to clarify the RBX effect. Results revealed that rat received RBX at 10 mg/kg had an increase in the percentage of the correct response and decreases in the numbers of premature response. Alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist Prazosin (PRA) at 0.1 mg/kg reversed the RBX augmented correct responding rate. However, alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist RX821002 at 0.05 and 0.1 mg/kg dose dependently reversed the RBX reduced impulsive responding. Our results suggested that RBX as a norepinephrine transporter inhibitor can be beneficial in both attentional accuracy and response control and alpha-1 and alpha-2 adrenergic receptors might be involved differently
VoiceBank-2023: A Multi-Speaker Mandarin Speech Corpus for Constructing Personalized TTS Systems for the Speech Impaired
Services of personalized TTS systems for the Mandarin-speaking speech
impaired are rarely mentioned. Taiwan started the VoiceBanking project in 2020,
aiming to build a complete set of services to deliver personalized Mandarin TTS
systems to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. This paper reports the
corpus design, corpus recording, data purging and correction for the corpus,
and evaluations of the developed personalized TTS systems, for the VoiceBanking
project. The developed corpus is named after the VoiceBank-2023 speech corpus
because of its release year. The corpus contains 29.78 hours of utterances with
prompts of short paragraphs and common phrases spoken by 111 native Mandarin
speakers. The corpus is labeled with information about gender, degree of speech
impairment, types of users, transcription, SNRs, and speaking rates. The
VoiceBank-2023 is available by request for non-commercial use and welcomes all
parties to join the VoiceBanking project to improve the services for the speech
impaired.Comment: submitted to 26th International Conference of the ORIENTAL-COCOSD
Predicting new-onset post-stroke depression from real-world data using machine learning algorithm
IntroductionPost-stroke depression (PSD) is a serious mental disorder after ischemic stroke. Early detection is important for clinical practice. This research aims to develop machine learning models to predict new-onset PSD using real-world data.MethodsWe collected data for ischemic stroke patients from multiple medical institutions in Taiwan between 2001 and 2019. We developed models from 61,460 patients and used 15,366 independent patients to test the modelsâ performance by evaluating their specificities and sensitivities. The predicted targets were whether PSD occurred at 30, 90, 180, and 365 days post-stroke. We ranked the important clinical features in these models.ResultsIn the studyâs database sample, 1.3% of patients were diagnosed with PSD. The average specificity and sensitivity of these four models were 0.83â0.91 and 0.30â0.48, respectively. Ten features were listed as important features related to PSD at different time points, namely old age, high height, low weight post-stroke, higher diastolic blood pressure after stroke, no pre-stroke hypertension but post-stroke hypertension (new-onset hypertension), post-stroke sleep-wake disorders, post-stroke anxiety disorders, post-stroke hemiplegia, and lower blood urea nitrogen during stroke.DiscussionMachine learning models can provide as potential predictive tools for PSD and important factors are identified to alert clinicians for early detection of depression in high-risk stroke patients
Changes in Corneal Basal Epithelial Phenotypes in an Altered Basement Membrane
To examine the corneal epithelial phenotype in an altered basement membrane.Corneas from 9 patients with symptoms of continuous unstable corneal curvature (CUCC) were harvested by penetrating keratoplasty and subjected to histology examination and immunohistochemical staining with transactivating and N-terminally truncated pP63 transcript (ÎNp63), cytokeratin 3 (Krt3), ATP-binding cassette sub-family G member 2 (ABCG2), connexin 43 (CX43), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38MAPK), activating protein 2 (TFAP2), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk1/2) monoclonal antibodies. Positive immunostaining with ABCG2, p38MAPK, and TFAP2 monoclonal antibodies was observed in the basal epithelial cells of CUCC patients, and CX43 and ÎNp63 were detected in the full-thickness epithelial cells of CUCC patients.Our results indicate that alteration of the corneal basement membrane induces a de-differentiation-like phenotype in corneal basal epithelial cells
International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis
Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICARâRS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICARâRSâ2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidenceâbased findings of the document. Methods: ICARâRS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidenceâbased reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidenceâbased reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICARâRSâ2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidenceâbased management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICARâRSâ2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidenceâbased recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS
Battery-Operated, Portable, and Flexible Air Microplasma Generation Device for Fabrication of Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Devices on Demand
A portable microplasma generation device (MGD) operated in ambient
air is introduced for making a microfluidic paper-based analytical
device (ÎŒPAD) that serves as a primary healthcare platform.
By utilizing a printed circuit board fabrication process, a flexible
and lightweight MGD can be fabricated within 30 min with ultra low-cost.
This MGD can be driven by a portable power supply (less than two pounds),
which can be powered using 12 V-batteries or ac-dc converters. This
MGD is used to perform maskless patterning of hydrophilic patterns
with sub-millimeter spatial resolution on hydrophobic paper substrates
with good pattern transfer fidelity. Using this MGD to fabricate ÎŒPADs
is demonstrated. With a proper design of the MGD electrode geometry,
ÎŒPADs with 500-ÎŒm-wide flow channels can be fabricated
within 1 min and with a cost of less than $USD 0.05/device. We then
test the ÎŒPADs by performing quantitative colorimetric assay
tests and establish a calibration curve for detection of glucose and
nitrite. The results show a linear response to a glucose assay for
1â50 mM and a nitrite assay for 0.1â5 mM. The low cost,
miniaturized, and portable MGD can be used to fabricate ÎŒPADs
on demand, which is suitable for in-field diagnostic tests. We believe
this concept brings impact to the field of biomedical analysis, environmental
monitoring, and food safety survey
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