Head banging persisting during adolescence: A case with polysomnographic findings

Head banging is a sleep-related rhythmic movement disorder of unknown etiology. It is common during infancy; however, available literature suggests that prevalence decreases dramatically after childhood. We report the case of a 16-year-old male who presented with head banging. The symptoms were interfering with his functioning and he had been injured because of the same in the past. We are presenting the video-polysomnographic data of the case. Possible differential diagnoses, etiology, and treatment modalities are discussed. The boy was prescribed clonazepam and followed up for 3 months. Parents did not report any episode afterward

Sleep-patterns, co-sleeping and parent's perception of sleep among school children: Comparison of domicile and gender

This study was aimed at assessment of sleep schedule, pre-sleep behavior, co-sleeping and parent’s perception of sleep of school going children. Method: Four schools each, from urban and rural area were included. Sleep patterns were assessed using the validated Hindi version of Childhood-Sleep-Habit-Questionnaire. Comparison was made between urban and rural group and between boys and girls. Interaction of gender, domicile and school-type was examined on the sleep patterns. Results: This study included 831 school children with mean age of 8.9 years. Nearly half of the subjects were boys in this study. Urban children outnumbered those from rural area. Total sleep time on weekdays was 8.3 h that increased to 9.5 h on weekends. Rural children spent more time in sleep than urban children on weekdays and weekends. A higher proportion of urban children felt sleepy during the day. Television watching before bedtime was more common in urban settings. Room sharing was more common among rural children. Nearly 65% rural parents as compared to 77.5% urban parents reported that their child was sleeping sufficient enough. Gender did not affect sleep-schedule and parent’s perception regarding their child’s sleep. Interaction between gender, domicile and school-type did not have any significant effect on sleep patterns. Conclusion: Television watching before bedtime was more common among urban school children and they had shorter total sleep time. They had signs of sleep deprivation. Room sharing was more common among rural children. Despite longer sleep time, parents of rural children felt the need for more sleep

Principles of ultrasound elastography

Abstract Tissue stiffness has long been known to be a biomarker of tissue pathology. Ultrasound elastography measures tissue mechanical properties by monitoring the response of tissue to acoustic energy. Different elastographic techniques have been applied to many different tissues and diseases. Depending on the pathology, patient-based factors, and ultrasound operator-based factors, these techniques vary in accuracy and reliability. In this review, we discuss the physical principles of ultrasound elastography, discuss differences between different ultrasound elastographic techniques, and review the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques in clinical practice

Machine learning for medical ultrasound: status, methods, and future opportunities

Abstract Ultrasound (US) imaging is the most commonly performed cross-sectional diagnostic imaging modality in the practice of medicine. It is low-cost, non-ionizing, portable, and capable of real-time image acquisition and display. US is a rapidly evolving technology with significant challenges and opportunities. Challenges include high inter- and intra-operator variability and limited image quality control. Tremendous opportunities have arisen in the last decade as a result of exponential growth in available computational power coupled with progressive miniaturization of US devices. As US devices become smaller, enhanced computational capability can contribute significantly to decreasing variability through advanced image processing. In this paper, we review leading machine learning (ML) approaches and research directions in US, with an emphasis on recent ML advances. We also present our outlook on future opportunities for ML techniques to further improve clinical workflow and US-based disease diagnosis and characterization

Improved Antiulcer and Anticancer Properties of a trans- Resveratrol Analog in Mice

ABSTRACT Despite its potential, use of trans-resveratrol as an anticancer drug is severely constrained because of its tendency to prolong gastric ulceration. We found that in addition to delaying ulcer healing, trans-resveratrol also aggravated acute gastric ulceration induced by the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by reducing the synthesis of prostaglandin (PG) E 2 via a specific inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 that also hampered angiogenesis. However, for the first time, we showed that the 3Ј-5Ј-hydroxylated congener [(E)-HST-1] of trans-resveratrol, synthesized in multigram scale, exerted potential chemotherapeutic property but was nonulcerogenic in nature, rather moderately accelerated healing of indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration. HST-1 did not suppress COX-1, COX-2 expression, and PGE 2 synthesis but reduced the level of inflammatory myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. The healing was augmented primarily through the nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-dependent pathway. HST-1 treatment induced endothelial NOS (eNOS) expression and reduced inducible NOS (iNOS), resulting in increased eNOS/iNOS ratio. The selective iNOS inhibitor [L-N 6 -(1-iminoethyl) lysine hydrochloride] and nonselective NOS inhibitor (N -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester) treatment revealed that eNOS could be the probable molecular switch to accelerate the indomethacin-induced ulcer healing in HST-1-treated mice. Furthermore, the anticancer effect of HST-1 on U937 and K562 leukemia cell lines was found to be significantly better than that of trans-resveratrol. Overall, these established HST-1 as a potentially better anticancer compound than trans-resveratrol, considering it is devoid of any ulcerogenic side effects. In conclusion, for the first time, we showed that a novel analog of trans-resveratrol, HST-1, was devoid of ulcerogenic adversative effects of trans-resveratrol but retained potentially better anticancer property

Performance of hybrid glass/steel fibre self-compacting concrete beams under static flexural loading

In this paper, it is proposed to study the static flexural performance of hybrid (glass and steel) fiber reinforced M30 grade self-compacting concrete (SCC) beams made with glass fiber reinforcement polymer (GFRP) re-bars. Nan Su mix design approach is adopted to develop the M30 grade plain SCC (PSCC) mixes. Glass fibre SCC (GFRSCC), steel fibre SCC (GFRSCC) and hybrid fibre SCC (HFRSCC) mixes are prepared using the optimum dosages of glass (0.05%) and steel fibres (1%) by volume fraction. HFRSCC reinforced beams of size 1200 *200*150 mm will be casted with steel and GFRB rebars and tested to study the flexural properties such as ultimate flexural strength, load at first crack, deflection at the center, crack width and crack patterns. For the above fibred beams, load-deflection relations will be established. The HFRSCC beam made with GFRP rebars have the load carrying capacity 37.03% more than HFRSCC beam made with steel rebars. The deflection for the HFRSCC beam made with GFRP rebars is 61.52% more than beam made with steel rebar HFRSCC beam made with GFRP rebars increases the load at first crack, ultimate flexural strength, and deflection at the centre at failure and the crack width for same HFRSCC beam made with steel rebar