Three-dimensional changes of the upper airway in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome after a non-adjustable oral appliance treatment

The diagnosis, the therapy and the monitoring of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are to be considered as critical factors in order to prevent severe systemic complications that can be caused by this pathological condition. This work presents three cases of adult patients affected by OSAS, undergoing therapy with oral appliances (OAs), meant to remove the pharyngeal obstruction caused by mandibular retrusion and tongue collapse in nocturnal supine position. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the OAs both through the comparison of the polysomnographic analysis, in the presence and absence of the appliance in situ, and also through the volumetric measurements of the pharingeal airway thanks to the cone beam computed tomography

5-ARYLIDENE-2-IMINO-4-THIAZOLIDINONES: DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENTS.

The synthesis and pharmacological activity of 5-arylidene-2-imino-4- thiazolidinones (3a-8a) are described. All derivatives exhibited significant activity levels in models of acute inflammation such as carrageenan-induced paw and pleurisy edema in rats. In particular, 5-(3-methoxyphenylidene)-2- phenylimino-3-propyl-4-thiazolidinone (3a) displayed high levels of carrageenan-induced paw edema inhibition comparable to those of indomethacin. In addition the ability of such a new class of anti-inflammatory agents to inhibit COX isoforms was assessed in murine monocyte/macrophage J774 cell line assay. 5-(4-Methoxyphenylidene)-2-phenylimino-3-propyl-4-thiazolidinone (6a), the most interesting compound in such an experiment, was docked in the known active site of COX-2 protein and showed that its 4-methoxyarylidene moiety can easily occupy the COX-2 secondary pocket considered as the critical interaction for COX-2 selectivity. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Theory-inspired optimizations for privacy preserving distributed OLAP algorithms

Actually, a lot of attention focusing on the problem of computing privacy-preserving OLAP cubes effectively and efficiently arises. State-of-the-art proposals rather focus on an algorithmic vision of the problem, and neglect relevant theoretical aspects the investigated problem introduces naturally. In order to fulfill this gap, in this paper we provide algorithms for supporting privacy-preserving OLAP in distributed environments, based on the well-known CUR matrix decomposition method, enriched by some relevant theory-inspired optimizations that look at the intrinsic nature of the investigated problem in order to gain significant benefits, at both the (privacy-preserving) cube computation level and the (privacy-preserving) cube delivery level

Impact of COVID-19 on Cardiovascular Testing in the United States Versus the Rest of the World

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-U.S. institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection