BACKGROUND: Research on intraoperative stressors has focused on external factors without considering individual differences in the ability to cope with stress. One individual difference that is implicated in adverse effects of stress on performance is "reinvestment," the propensity for conscious monitoring and control of movements. The aim of this study ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this preclinical study was to analyze the burst pressure of large in vivo sealed vessels, not just immediately, but also in the first 7 postoperative days. METHODS: In 26 anesthetized pigs, the right carotid artery was sealed and cut using a novel device that integrates bipolar ...

BACKGROUND: To determine whether there is a significant correlation between the pulse-wave analysis in the optic nerve head circulation determined by laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG), and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPVW), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and age. METHODS: Thirty-three patients who visited the Vascular Function Section in our hospital were ...

OBJECTIVES: Although hypertension has been shown to be one of the most important risk factors for atherosclerosis, data about the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis in normotensive offspring with parental history of hypertension are scarce. Accordingly, the current study was designated to evaluate flow-mediated dilatation and aortic stiffness, which are early ...

Tortuosity that often occurs in carotid and other arteries has been shown to be associated with high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and other diseases. However the mechanisms of tortuosity development are not clear. Our previous studies have suggested that arteries buckling could be a possible mechanism for the initiation of tortuous ...

Objective. Several new shunt technologies have been developed to optimize hydrocephalus treatment within the past few years. Overdrainage, however, still remains an unresolved problem. One new technology which may reduce the frequency of this complication is the use of a programmable shunt assistant (proSA). Inactive in a horizontal position, it ...

Objectives:  To evaluate aeration/ventilation in saline-lavaged piglets during a 3-h follow-up after a recruitment maneuver (RM)/PEEP titration compared with PEEP 10 cmH(2) O without a RM. Background:  Lung recruitment and PEEP titration are used to find a PEEP preventing repetitive opening/collapsing of lung. Methods:  Twenty-one lung-lavaged piglets, mean age 7 weeks and ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to establish the concentration of blood pressure regulating hormones in premenopausal women with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) related to hyperthyroidism (HT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: 61 females with HT were enrolled in the study, including 28 with ISH (Group A), 33 with normal arterial ...

The goal of this work is to study the influence of the main geometrical parameters on the radial force of a self-expanding stent, and using them to advance towards a new design of a variable radial force stent to improve the interaction vessel-device. Using finite element simulations, a parametric analysis ...

Mechanical ventilation using low tidal volumes has become universally accepted to prevent ventilator-induced lung injury. High frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) allows pulmonary gas exchange using very small tidal volume (1 - 2 mL/kg) with concomitant decreased risk of atelectrauma. However, its use in pediatric critical care varies between only 3% ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive value of the maximal inspiratory pressure obtained by a digital vacuometer under a unidirectional valve (PImaxUV) as to weaning outcome and to compare its performance with the ones of the respiratory drive under airway occlusion pressure (P0.1), and P0.1/PImaxUV ratio. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients on ...

BACKGROUND: Seasonal variations in the incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) have been reported. It has been suggested that changes in meteorological factors may explain this variation. Previous studies have provided inconsistent results, possibly as a result of a small number of observations in some studies and confounding factors. The aim ...

The statistical association between endurance exercise capacity and cardiovascular disease suggests that impaired aerobic metabolism underlies cardiovascular disease risk in men and women. To explore this connection we applied divergent artificial selection in rats to develop low capacity runner (LCR) and high capacity runner (HCR) rats and found that disease ...

Hypothesis: This study was designed to investigate the cardio-renal protective effect of AVE-0991, a non-peptide Mas-receptor agonist, and A-779, a Mas-receptor antagonist, in diabetic rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats treated with streptozotocin (50 mg/kg, i.p., once), developed diabetes mellitus after 1 week. After 8 weeks, myocardial functions were assessed ...

Background:Mean systemic filling pressure (Pmsf) can be determined at the bedside by measuring central venous pressure (Pcv) and cardiac output (CO) during inspiratory hold maneuvers. Critical closing pressure (Pcc) can be determined using the same method measuring arterial pressure (Pa) and CO. If Pcc > Pmsf, there is then a ...

Background:sBIS, the variability of the Bispectral Index (BIS), sEMG, the variability of facial electromyogram power (EMG), and the Composite Variability Index (CVI) are 3 new measures of electroencephalogram and EMG variability. CVI is a single measure of the combined variability in BIS and EMG. We investigated whether increases in these ...

Inadvertent ventilator triggering can occur for various reasons. Leaks in the ventilator circuit, endotracheal tube leaks, tracheal cuff leaks, cardiac oscillations, water condensate causing oscillations in the circuit tubing, ventilator expiratory valve integrity, and overly sensitive triggering mechanism settings may precipitate this phenomena.1-5 We present a case of inadvertent ventilator ...

During increased gravitoinertial (G) load in the head-to-foot direction, pressures in dependent vascular beds are commonly raised to levels capable of distending precapillary vessels, which, in turn, may reduce arterial pressure, and hence compromise the capacity to withstand G load (G tolerance). We hypothesized that distensibility in precapillary leg vessels ...

BACKGROUND: Several adult studies have shown that sickle cell disease is associated with cardiac abnormalities and premature death. The aim of this study was to use speckle-tracking strain, a relatively load independent parameter, to evaluate systolic left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function in a pediatric sickle cell disease ...

BackgroundHypertension is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Little information exists on the status of hypertension among southern Chinese. We therefore investigated the hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, control, and associated factors in a southern Chinese population with 85 million residents.MethodsStratified multistage cluster sampling with probability proportional to size ...

Severe stress experienced in early life may have long-term consequences on adult physiological functions. We studied the long-term effects of separation on blood pressure levels in non-obese subjects who were separated temporarily in childhood from their parents during World War II (WWII). The original clinical study cohort consists of people ...

High intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk. A number of fruits and vegetables are rich in anthocyanins, which constitute a subgroup of the flavonoids. Anthocyanins have demonstrated anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties, and anthocyanin-rich interventions have indicated beneficial effects on blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk ...

The objective of this study was to use a pressure plate to quantify the toe-heel load redistribution in the forelimbs of sound warmblood horses with normal shoes and shoes with a wide toe and narrow branches, used empirically in the treatment of superficial digital flexor tendon or suspensory ligament injuries. ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Cricoid pressure is considered to be the gold standard means of preventing aspiration of gastric content during Rapid Sequence Intubation (RSI). Its effectiveness has only been demonstrated in cadaveric studies and case reports. No randomised controlled trials comparing the incidence of gastric aspiration following emergent RSI, with or ...

williams a., manias e., walker r. & gorelik a. (2012) A multifactorial intervention to improve blood pressure control in co-existing diabetes and kidney disease: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Journal of Advanced Nursing00(0), 000-000. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2012.05950.x ABSTRACT: Aims.  The aim of this study was to test the feasibility and impact ...

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to establish normative data on pressure distribution under the feet (plantar pressure) in standing using a free-mapping device and to find out the association of arch type to that of the plantar pressures. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 628 participants ...

OBJECTIVE: Validated automated oscillometric sphygmomanometers have been recommended by clinical guidelines to replace mercury sphygmomanometers. No studies have been conducted to evaluate whether these validated devices designed for use at normal altitude are also suitable at high altitudes. METHODS: In Dangxiong County in Tibet, 4300 m above sea level, two ...

OBJECTIVE: The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is the most useful and efficient tool for assessing the presence of peripheral artery disease (PAD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of multiple sequential blood pressure (BP) measurements on the estimation of the ABI and the consequent diagnosis of PAD ...

Western dietary pattern, and particularly high dietary sodium intake (DSI), is recognized for its detrimental impact on blood pressure (BP). This paper examined the association of DSI with BP in Nunavik Inuit (Québec), a population known to have an optimal BP on average. In a population-based study, we recruited 421 ...

Tracheal reconstruction is indicated in cases of malignancy, traumatic injury and subglottic or tracheal stenosis. Recent progress in airway transplantation has provided renewed optimism for potential solutions for defects involving more than half of the tracheal length in adults or one-third of the tracheal length in children. Biologic scaffolds derived ...

The objective of this study was to assess long-term blood pressure control in resistant hypertension patients receiving Baroreflex Activation Therapy (BAT). Following completion of the randomized Rheos Pivotal Trial, patients participated in open-label, nonrandomized follow-up to assess safety and efficacy of BAT. Blood pressure reductions were measured relative to a ...

Especially in critically ill children with cardiac diseases, fluid management and monitoring of cardiovascular function are essential. Ultrasound dilution technique (UDT) was recently introduced to measure cardiac output (CO) and volumetric parameters, such as intrathoracic and end-diastolic blood volume. We compared UDT with the well-established transpulmonary thermodilution (TPTD) method (PiCCO) ...

INTRODUCTION: It is known that reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a crucial factor to limit the blood pressure lowering effect of antihypertensives. In the present study, we tested whether the effects of monotherapy with an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) to lower proteinuria could be restricted by reduced GFR. MATERIALS ...

Acceleration has been measured both noninvasively and invasively, during both isovolumic contraction and early ejection and has been shown to reflect contractility, especially through correlation with dP/dt(max) . In this study timing and amplitude of mitral valve annulus acceleration assessed by tissue Doppler were measured and related to diastolic and ...

Pulmonary hypertension is a common co-morbidity of sickle cell disease with an associated increased mortality risk, but its etiology is not well-understood. To evaluate the hemodynamic characteristics, clinical predictors, and cardiovascular manifestations of elevated pulmonary arterial pressure in this population, we performed noninvasive hemodynamic assessments of 135 patients with sickle ...

Airborne fungal spores are well known to cause respiratory allergic diseases particularly bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, rhino-conjunctivitis and allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis in both adults and children. In order to monitor and analyze airborne fungal flora of the Karachi environment, an aeromycological study was conducted using a Burkard 7-Day Recording Volumetric ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the interaction of intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering medications with physiologic day and night changes in aqueous humor dynamics in participants with ocular hypertension. METHODS: Thirty participants were enrolled in this double-masked, randomized, crossover study. Each participant underwent aqueous humor dynamics measurements at baseline and at 2 weeks of ...

Purpose:To determine if focused ultrasound disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) can be safely controlled by using real-time modulation of treatment pressures on the basis of acoustic emissions from the exposed microbubbles.Materials and Methods:All experiments were performed with the approval of the institutional animal care committee. Transcranial focused ultrasound (551.5 ...

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is one of the most common types of glaucoma. Glaucoma is a progressive neuropathy of the optic nerve with characteristic visual area disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the correlations between rheological parameters of blood and other parameters such as: intraocular pressure, visual ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the pressure required to rupture the posterior lamella obtained during the presumed Descemet membrane-baring big-bubble technique of deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK). METHODS: DALK using the big-bubble technique was carried out on donor corneoscleral discs mounted on an artificial anterior chamber. Once the anterior lamella was removed, ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes to the Eustachian tube and middle ear function and hearing level in individuals undergoing Le Fort I osteotomy. 20 consecutive patients underwent Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy with advancement, impaction or a combination of both. All individuals underwent hearing sensitivity tests, ...

Background: Healthy, but sedentary aging leads to marked atrophy and stiffening of the heart, with substantially reduced cardiac compliance; but the time course of when this process occurs during normal aging is unknown. Methods: Seventy healthy sedentary subjects (39f; 21-77 years) were recruited from the Dallas Heart Study, a population ...

Syncope is a common clinical condition occurring even in healthy people without manifest cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of cardiac output and sympathetic vasoconstriction in neurally mediated (pre)syncope. Twenty-five subjects (age 15 - 51) with no history of recurrent syncope but who had ...

Higher midlife blood pressure increases risk for dementia. To further understand the relation between blood pressure and dementia, it is necessary to examine evolution of blood pressure from midlife to late life. We examined blood pressure trajectories using linear mixed models in a representative sample of middle-aged women (N=1462) who ...

The use of atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma represents an interesting and novel approach for the decontamination of surfaces colonised with microbial biofilms which exhibit enhanced tolerance to antimicrobial challenge. In this study, the influence of an atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma jet, operated in a helium and oxygen gas mixture under ...

One objective of the European Union (EU)'s Water Framework Directive (WFD: Directive 2000/60/EC) is for all European surface waters to achieve 'good status' by 2015. In support of this objective, the EU has facilitated an intercalibration exercise to ensure harmonized definitions of the status of water bodies, reflecting the deviation ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Non-invasive high frequency high frequency oscillatory ventilation through nasal prongs (nHFOV) has been proposed to combine the advantages of oscillatory pressure waveform and non-invasive interface. We studied the effect of oscillation amplitude and inspiratory time on the pressure transmission and tidal volume delivery through different nasal prongs. ...

INTRODUCTION: Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is common in children with airway disorders. Previous studies have shown an association between upper airway obstruction and GER in experimental animal models. However, the cause and effect relationship between intrathoracic airway obstruction (IAO) and GER is obscure. The goal of this study is to investigate ...

Objectives.  B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the amino-terminal fragment (NTproBNP) correlate with clinical variables, but have not been simultaneously studied in a large number of pediatric patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The purpose of our investigation was to compare BNP and NTproBNP with clinical indicators of disease in a ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness is a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Because current methods of measuring arterial stiffness are technically demanding, the purpose of this study was to develop a simple method of evaluating arterial stiffness using oscillometric blood pressure measurement. METHODS: Blood pressure was conventionally measured in the left ...