Validation of a small cough detector

Research question The assessment of cough frequency in clinical practice relies predominantly on the patient's history. Currently, objective evaluation of cough is feasible with bulky equipment during a brief time (i.e., hours up to one day). Thus, monitoring of cough has been rarely performed outside clinical studies. We developed a small wearable cough detector (SIVA-P3) that uses deep neural networks for the automatic counting of coughs. This study examined the performance of the SIVA-P3 in an outpatient setting. Methods We recorded cough epochs with SIVA-P3 over eight consecutive days in patients suffering from chronic cough. During the first 24 h, the detector was validated against cough events counted by trained human listeners. The wearing comfort and the device usage were assessed by a questionnaire. Results In total, 27 participants (50±14 years) with either chronic unexplained cough (n=12), COPD (n=4), asthma (n=5) or interstitial lung disease (n=6) were studied. During the daytime, the sensitivity of SIVA-P3 cough detection was 88.5±2.49%, and the specificity was 99.97±0.01%. During the night-time, the sensitivity was 84.15±5.04% and the specificity was 99.97±0.02%. The wearing comfort and usage of the device was rated as very high by most participants. Conclusion SIVA-P3 enables automatic continuous cough monitoring in an outpatient setting for objective assessment of cough over days and weeks. It shows comparable or higher sensitivity than other devices with fully automatic cough counting. Thanks to its wearing comfort and the high performance for cough detection, it has the potential for being used in routine clinical practice

Tunç Fındık’ın gözünden Türkiye’de dağcılık ve “14x8000” projesi

Ankara : İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent Üniversitesi İktisadi, İdari ve Sosyal Bilimler Fakültesi, Tarih Bölümü, 2015.This work is a student project of the The Department of History, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University.by Özer, Abdürrahim

Magnesium substituted cobalt spinel nanostructures for electrocatalytic water oxidation

Two MgCo2O4 nanostructures in different morphologies have been synthesized by using two different structure-directing agents (urea (U) and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA)) as new catalysts for water oxidation reactions. The properties of these nanostructures were discovered and characterized by a combination of analytical techniques, being TEM, SEM, EDX, XRD, XPS, and BET. While the urea-stabilized MgCo2O4 (U-MgCo2O4) nanostructures have spiky morphology, the NTA-stabilized ones (NTA-MgCo2O4) have wire-like structures. The synthesized nanostructures were utilized to modify glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs), and the electrochemical activities of the modified electrodes in water oxidation reactions were investigated in an alkaline medium by recording linear sweep voltammograms (LSVs). Even though both modified GCEs had almost the same onset potentials (1.67V vs. RHE for U-MgCo2O4/GCE and 1.63V vs. RHE for NTA-MgCo2O4/GCE), NTA-MgCo2O4/GCE required a lower overpotential (463mV vs. 573mV) to drive 10 mA cm(-2) catalytic current density. Besides being catalytically more active than U-MgCo2O4/GCE, NTA-MgCo2O4/GCE was also found to be more stable in constant potential electrolysis. Moreover, it demonstrated a comparable performance to that of RuO2 and has the advantage of being significantly economic

Validation of a small cough detector

Research question The assessment of cough frequency in clinical practice relies predominantly on the patient's history. Currently, objective evaluation of cough is feasible with bulky equipment during a brief time (i.e. hours up to 1 day). Thus, monitoring of cough has been rarely performed outside clinical studies. We developed a small wearable cough detector (SIVA-P3) that uses deep neural networks for the automatic counting of coughs. This study examined the performance of the SIVA-P3 in an outpatient setting. Methods We recorded cough epochs with SIVA-P3 over eight consecutive days in patients suffering from chronic cough. During the first 24 h, the detector was validated against cough events counted by trained human listeners. The wearing comfort and the device usage were assessed using a questionnaire. Results In total, 27 participants (mean±sd age 50±14 years) with either chronic unexplained cough (n=12), COPD (n=4), asthma (n=5) or interstitial lung disease (n=6) were studied. During the daytime, the sensitivity of SIVA-P3 cough detection was 88.5±2.49% and the specificity was 99.97±0.01%. During the night-time, the sensitivity was 84.15±5.04% and the specificity was 99.97±0.02%. The wearing comfort and usage of the device was rated as very high by most participants. Conclusion SIVA-P3 enables automatic continuous cough monitoring in an outpatient setting for objective assessment of cough over days and weeks. It shows comparable sensitivity or higher sensitivity than other devices with fully automatic cough counting. Thanks to its wearing comfort and the high performance for cough detection, it has the potential for being used in routine clinical practice

The relation of echo-derived lateral MAPSE to left heart functions and biochemical markers in patients with preserved ejection fraction: Short-term prognostic implications

Objective Mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) is a simple way to evaluate-left ventricle (LV) function. Our aim was to explain the relationship of MAPSE with LV function and biochemical markers in patients with preserved ejection fraction (EF), and to determine whether it has an effect on prognosis in echocardiography (echo) practice. Methods Consecutive patients referred to the echo laboratory between November 2020 and March 2021 were included in the study. In addition to conventional parameters, MAPSE of the lateral mitral annulus was measured in all patients. Patients were divided into three groups according to lateral MAPSE: low (= 15 mm). Results A total of 512 patients with preserved EF were included in the study. MAPSE was low in 44 patients (9%), relatively preserved in 231 patients (45%), and high in 237 patients (46%). The mean age was higher in the low group compared to the other two groups (p < 0.001) and the body mass index was increased in the low group compared to the high group (p = 0.010). Atrial fibrillation and hypertension were more common in patients with low MAPSE. The rate of diastolic dysfunction (DD) and all-cause hospitalization were higher in the low and relatively preserved groups than in the high group (p < 0.001, p = 0.002; respectively). The pro-BNP level and mortality rate were higher in the low group compared to the relatively preserved and high groups (p = 0.007, p = 0.005; respectively). MAPSE was identified as independent predictor of hospitalization (OR: 0.284, 95% CI: 0.093-0.862, p = 0.026) via multivariate analysis and independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (HR: 0.002, 95% CI: 0-0.207, p = 0.008). Conclusions Analysis of LV longitudinal function by echo-derived lateral MAPSE when LV ejection fraction is normal provides important information about DD and related heart failure and may predict prognosis in echo practice

Wide QRS Complex and Lateral ST-T Segment Abnormality Are Associated With Worse Clinical Outcomes in COVID-19 Patients

Background: The information on electrocardiographic features of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Our aim was to determine if baseline electrocardiographic features of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are associated with markers of myocardial injury and clinical outcomes