The aims of this study were to measure the effects of a cardiac rehabilitation program based on a modification of a sport (tennis) on quality of life, on various laboratory test parameters and on an ...exercise stress test, and to determine if the results of this novel activity are equivalent to those of traditional programs (i.e., the use of the bicycle ergometer). The sample consisted of 79 patients with a low-risk acute coronary syndrome. They were divided into three groups: two experimental groups and one control group. One of the experimental groups used the bicycle ergometer as its main physical activity, whereas the other received training in a modified form of tennis lesson. By the end of the 3-month program, triglycerides, cholesterol LDL, cholesterol HDL, (-25 mg·dl(-1) and 32.3 mg·dl(-1) final, and 15.7 mg·dl(-1) and 23.3 mg·dl(-1) LDL final, respectively) and exercise capacity improved significantly (by 1.1 metabolic equivalents (METs) and 1.2 METs, respectively), in both experimental groups. We conclude that the application of a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program in patients with low-risk acute coronary syndrome based on a program of modified tennis improves exercise tolerance and metabolic parameters, as well as certain physical characteristics that reduce cardiovascular risk. Key PointsCardiac rehabilitation of low risk patients with acute coronary syndrome based on a program of modified tennis produces an improvement in quality of life, lipid profiles and in exercise toleranceA cardiac rehabilitation program based on a modification of tennis produces favourable changes in various anthropometric parameters related to the reduction of cardiovascular riskThe development of programs of cardiac rehabilitation based on modified versions of various sports would advantage the adherence to physical exercise.
The use of speech-triggered wake-up interfaces has grown significantly in the last few years for use in ubiquitous and mobile devices. Since these interfaces must always be active, power consumption ...is one of their primary design metrics. This article presents a complete mixed-signal system-on-chip, capable of directly interfacing to an analog microphone and performing keyword spotting (KWS) and speaker verification (SV), without any need for further external accesses. Through the use of: 1) an integrated single-chip digital-friendly design; b) hardware-aware algorithmic optimization; and c) memory- and power-optimized accelerators, ultra-low power is achieved while maintaining high accuracy for speech recognition tasks. The 65-nm implementation achieves 18.3-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{W} </tex-math></inline-formula> worst case power consumption or 10.6-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{W} </tex-math></inline-formula> power for typical real-time scenarios, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">10\times </tex-math></inline-formula> below state of the art (SoA).
Abstract
Late gestational exposure to Zika increases the odds of delay in the Bayley-II mental developmental index (MDI) in children with normal baseline neurologic assessments; 9-fold when comparing ...third and first trimester exposure. Risk of MDI developmental delay increases by 8% for each week of gestational age at time of exposure.
In this study, energetic interactions between activated carbon monoliths and various liquids were evaluated by determining immersion enthalpies in C
6
H
6
, H
2
O and aqueous solutions of NaOH and ...HCl. Immersion enthalpies depend on both the surface chemistry and the interactions between specific groups, and were compared with results from volumetric titrations. Immersion enthalpies of activated carbon monoliths were between −95.85 and −176.5 J g
−1
for C
6
H
6
and between −11.19 and −68.31 J g
−1
for H
2
O; whereas immersion enthalpies in NaOH and HCl solutions were between −20.36 and −82.25 J g
−1
and −18.81 and −96.16 J g
−1
, respectively. In support of these results, a high level of acidic groups was found on the surface of the activated carbon monoliths by Boehm volumetric titrations, with values between 719 and 1,290 g mol
−1
, in agreement with the higher immersion enthalpies observed in NaOH. Correlations were established between immersion enthalpies in the liquids and the surface chemistry properties of the activated carbon monoliths determined by volumetric titrations, demonstrating that immersion enthalpy is a useful parameter for characterisation of these materials in specific liquids.
The diffusion–reaction of aluminum (Al) and oxygen (O), to form thermally grown oxide (TGO) layers in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), is studied through an analytical model. A nonsymmetrical radial ...basis function approach is used to numerically solve the mass balance equations that predict the TGO growth. Correct boundary conditions for the Al and O reactions are laid out using scaling arguments. The Damköhler number shows that the O–Al reaction is several orders of magnitude faster than diffusion. In addition, a comparison between aluminum and oxygen diffusivities indicates that TGO growth is governed by aluminum diffusion. The results are compared with experimental measurements on air plasma spray-deposited TBCs treated at 1,373 K with exposure times ranging from 1 to 1700 hours. We found that, for several time decades, the thickness of the thermally grown layer has power law dependence of time with an exponent of ½, following the diffusion control mechanism. At later times, however, the presence of other oxides and additional kinetics modify the diffusive exponent.
INTRODUCTION Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) is heavily utilized in cervical spine surgery as a means to detect critical changes in the function of the neuraxis during decompression and ...instrumentation. The most common IONM modalities used include somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs). However, IONM is highly dependent upon anesthetic variables, costly, and at times is demonstrably unreliable with problematic false positives and false negatives. METHODS Billing records at our institution were queried for all posterior cervical operations performed between July 2015 and May 2019. We then queried surgical details, IONM reports, and documented post-operative examinations performed at two time-points within 24 hours of surgery. RESULTS We identified 755 posterior cervical operations with available IONM data. Of these, 677/755 (89.7%) involved decompression or fixation spanning the C4, C5, or C6 spinal level. IONM type utilized at this large academic center included SSEP-only in 497/677 (73.4%) and SSEP/MEP monitoring in 180/677 (26.6%). Among these, 24/677 (3.5%) patients demonstrated a new post-operative C5 palsy. Among cases of post-operative C5 palsy, baseline IONM signals were judged as reliable in bilateral upper extremities in 14/24 (58.3% SSEP-only) and 2/4 (50%, SSEP/MEP) cases. In the SSEP-only group, only one case of C5 palsy was notable for a correlative drop in SSEP signals in the upper extremities, while 2 cases were notable for drops in only the lower extremities. Neither of the 2 cases with SSEP plus MEP monitoring detected correlative upper extremity changes. CONCLUSION Unexpected post-operative C5 palsy is a relatively rare complication after posterior cervical surgery, and rarely detected by intra-operative SSEP signal changes. Our experience with using SSEP and MEP suggests that even in those patients with signals deemed reliable, the utility of IONM for detection of future C5 palsy is questionable.
To date, a small number of studies have examined the multifidus muscle and psoas muscle quality effects on patient-reported outcomes in anterolateral lumbar interbody fusion; however, their ...relationships with chronic disability and back pain remain questionable. The variability of clinical outcomes during a lumbar lateral interbody fusion and the possibility of developing transient iliopsoas weakness and femoral neuropraxia promotes the need for predictor factors before surgery.
Due to the variability of clinical outcomes following anterolateral lumbar interbody fusions, the need for predictive factors before spine surgery becomes relevant. The predictive powers of preoperative multifidus and psoas muscle qualities in terms of patient-reported outcomes (PROS) related to lumbar surgery remain unknown.
Retrospective Observational cohort.
One hundred.
Multivariate analysis Pearson correlation multiple linear regression analyses.
After IRB approval, this study retrospectively reviewed the records of 100 patients who underwent anterolateral lumbar interbody fusion, between L1 to S1 vertebras during a mean follow-up period of ≥ one year. Preoperative MRI scans were collected to analyze multifidus and psoas muscle qualities using two image analysis systems (Ambra and Image J); studied parameters included cross-sectional area (CSA) and fat infiltration indices (MFI) at the level of the superior endplate of L5. Pearson correlation analysis was utilized to investigate the univariate relationships between muscle qualities and PROS. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to study the potential confounding effects of independent variables, including age, history of prior spine surgery, gender, body mass index, smoking, and patient comorbidities.
A total of 100 patients with a median age of 68.1 years (43%, males and 57%, females) with a mean follow-up period of 1.07 years (ranged 0.82-5.42 years) were evaluated. 207 surgical levels were analyzed; L1-L2 (n = 9), L2-L3 (n = 39), L3-L4 (n = 68), L4-L5 (n = 61), and L5-S1 (n = 30) with 42 surgeries as stand-alone procedures and 58 required posterior instrumentation. A total of 42 patients had a prior history of a lumbar procedure. Univariate analyses including all data showed that decreased multifidus cross-sectional area (CSA) was significantly related to increased preoperative disability and preoperative back pain (p 0.2). Multifidus fat infiltration indices and psoas muscle morphology did not demonstrate any effect on PROs either pre- or postoperatively (p > 0.05). Stratification by surgical history showed that patients with prior surgery (n = 42) with greater multifidus CSAs had higher magnitudes of improvement in VAS back scores (p = 0.019 ImageJ; p = 0.039 Ambra).
We demonstrated significant relationships between multifidus CSA and preoperative disability and back pain prior to anterolateral lumbar interbody fusions; at the same time, in patients with prior surgery, increased multifidus CSA was significantly related to improvement in VAS back delta (ImageJ and Ambra). Psoas muscle features including fatty infiltration and CSA were not predictive of pre- or postoperative outcomes.
This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.
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