1,720,969 research outputs found
Elliptic fourier analysis of cell and nuclear shapes.
No full textThe elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) is proposed to characterize the cell and nuclear shape. The principal feature of this method is that it decomposes shapes with a closed contour into subshapes each of which maintains a closed contour. A set of homogeneous, nonredundant descriptors, independent of the contour rotation and translation, is computed from the elliptic Fourier coefficients. These descriptors also account for the contour size and resolution. The paired analysis of the cell and nuclear shape provides an exhaustive and accurate definition of the nucleoplasmic configuration
Early insulin secretion is a determinant of glucose tolerance in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects
No full textClinical features and management of Luc's abscess: Case report and systematic review of the literature
No full textObjectives: Luc's abscess is a rare complication of acute otitis media, with a challenging diagnosis and a controversial surgical treatment. The aim of the present study was to review the published literature in order to clarify the clinical features and the surgical management of those patients. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was carried out for published reports or case series in English language, describing a temporo-zygomatic (or Luc's) abscess which complicated an acute or chronic otitis media and/or mastoiditis, confirmed through CT scan or MRI of the petrous bone. The collected clinical and radiological data were merged and critically appraised. Results: Eighteen reports of Luc's abscess were included. Adding our case report, a total of 21 cases were included in the analysis. Abscess drainage plus myringotomy alone vs. abscess drainage plus myringotomy and mastoidectomy were the two surgical management approaches described in the literature. Patients undergoing first line mastoidectomy were successfully treated in all cases, while among those undergoing a more conservative approach, one failure required subsequent mastoidectomy. Conclusions: The clinical features of Luc's abscess are rather constant and help in rising the suspicion before the radiological diagnosis. Although cases with associated intra-cranic complications have been reported, the limited existing data do not permit to advocate the mastoidectomy over a more conservative surgical approach. However, the decision to avoid mastoidectomy as the first line surgical treatment should be based on the clinical and radiologic assessment, after an accurate counseling, particularly in the case of a pediatric patient
Relationship between cephalometric parameters and the apnoea-hypopnoea index in OSA patients: a retrospective cohort study
Full text linkOBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between cephalometric parameters and apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) controlling for the effect of gender, age, and body mass index (BMI) on a large sample of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on the lateral cephalograms of 253 Caucasian adult OSA patients. Cephalometric analyses were performed using 14 parameters for skeletal and soft tissue morphology, including antero-posterior and vertical jaw relationships, hyoid bone position, soft palate length and thickness, airway space, and tongue length and height. A hierarchical regression was run to examine the amount of variability in AHI that cephalometric variables explained after controlling for patients' general characteristics (gender, age, and BMI). RESULTS: After controlling for gender, age, and BMI, the increase in AHI variance accounted for by cephalometric parameters was equal to 0.103. Among the cephalometric variables, only MP-H and PNS-P were statistically significant (P < 0.05). LIMITATIONS: Given the retrospective nature of the study, it is difficult to assess whether other confounding variables not considered in the present study could have influenced the relationship between cephalometric parameters and AHI. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the existence of a relationship between OSA severity and some cephalometric parameters. Indeed soft palate length and vertical position of the hyoid bone were significant predictors of AHI in adult Caucasian OSA patients
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
EXPANSION SPHINCTER PHARYNGOPLASTY (ESP) PLUS ANTERIOR PHARYNGOPLASTY (AP) IN THE TREATMENT OF OSAHS
No full textRetropalatal airway segment is the main contributor to airway obstruction in sleep apnea. Direct visualization of the pharynx
during drug-induced sleep and pathophysiological studies emphasized the role of the lateral pharyngeal wall collapse in the
origin of obstructive events. Based on these findings, new surgical techniques which create adequate lateral pharyngeal wall
tension to prevent its collapse have been proposed. The expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty (ESP), consists in creating a
palatopharyngeus muscular flap and its superolaterally rotation, aimed to stenting lateral pharyngeal wall and increasing
retropalatal airway space; the procedure allows to achieve better functional outcome than UPPP on pharyngeal collapsibility
without pharyngeal discomfort and swallowing disturbance. The reported success rate in appropriately (video sleep endoscopy)
selected patients is 80%. Many patients selected for ESP who present a remarkable redundancy of the soft palate or a
narrowing in the upper retropalatal segment, require an additional surgical procedure in order to remove the bulky palatal
tissue and stiffen the proximal soft palate. The Anterior Pharyngoplasty, a modified CAPSO (Cautery Assisted Palatal Stiffening
Operation)technique used for snoring and mild OSAS treatment and based on removal of a mucosal rectangle of the anterior
surface of the soft palate and subsequent suture of the margins with sparing of the underlying muscular plain, allows to obtain
this aim avoiding retracting scars with abnormal persistent narrowing at the level of the palate arch as observed in many
patient treated with a classic or modified UPPP. Moreover this technique is able to amplify the functional effect of the ESP
without additional morbidity. The authors propose a surgical technique that combines the ESP plus AP in patients with OSAHS
due to lateral pharyngeal wall collapse and proximal retropalatal narrowing. The video shows the surgical steps and the
functional and anatomical outcome of the ESP plus AP in a patient with severe OSAHS caused by retropalatal obstruction
“THE SARDINIAN NEWBORN-IDDM (SNI) STUDY”. PREVALENZA DI AUTOANTICORPI ANTI-ISOLA PANCREATICA (ICA), ANTI GAD (GADA) E ANTI IA2 (IA-2A) IN UNA POPOLAZIONE DI BAMBINI ALLA NASCITA, AL PRIMO E AL SECONDO ANNO DI FOLLOW UP
No full textMaximum voluntary retrusion or habitual bite position for mandibular advancement assessment in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea patients
No full textBackground: There is no consensus on whether the range of mandibular advancement for the construction of mandibular advancement devices in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients should be measured from a starting position of maximum voluntary retrusion or habitual bite position. Objective: The purposes of this study were to investigate the differences in mandibular advancement registrations starting from maximum voluntary retrusion or from habitual bite position and to evaluate the reliability of these assessments. Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of 126 patients with OSA was performed. All patients had their mandibular range of motion evaluated twice (starting from maximum voluntary retrusion and from habitual bite position) through the George Gauge before undergoing drug-induced sleep endoscopy. The Dahlberg formula and paired t test were used to calculate random and systematic errors of dental positions assessment. Test-retest reliability was quantified using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: The mean mandibular range starting from maximum voluntary retrusion and from habitual bite position were 12.49 ± 2.19 mm and 7.68 ± 2.29 mm, respectively, with a mean distance between the two starting positions of 4.81 ± 1.75 mm. No systematic error was found (P >.05), and random errors ranged from 0.30 to 0.95 mm. ICC values were excellent for maximum voluntary protrusion (ICC = 0.986) and maximum voluntary retrusion (ICC = 0.956), whereas habitual bite position showed a good value (ICC = 0.818). Conclusion: The difference between maximum voluntary retrusion and habitual bite position is potentially relevant. Maximum retrusion is advisable as starting point of the mandibular advancement registration since it provides a more reliable measure
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