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Ear, Nose, & Throat Journal 2019Necrotizing sialometaplasia (NSM) is a benign, reactive metaplastic condition of the minor salivary gland tissue typically seen in the setting of injury, chemical or...
Necrotizing sialometaplasia (NSM) is a benign, reactive metaplastic condition of the minor salivary gland tissue typically seen in the setting of injury, chemical or traumatic, and is nonneoplastic and self-limited. The diagnosis may be challenging as it may clinically mimic malignancy. We present the case of a 74-year-old male with a 1 pack per day smoking history for 60 years who presented with a reported 20-pound weight loss, dysphagia, and dysphonia progressing over the course of 6 months and found to have a 3.5-cm hypopharyngeal mass on computed tomography imaging and fiberoptic laryngoscopy. Initial frozen section of the mass was concerning for squamous cell carcinoma in situ, but permanent specimens returned as nondiagnostic. Repeat biopsy established a diagnosis of NSM. Two-month follow-up showed complete resolution of the mass. Clinicians should be aware that NSM may present in unusual locations when considering differential diagnoses for laryngeal masses and evaluating for malignancy.
Topics: Aged; Humans; Hypopharynx; Male; Pharyngeal Diseases; Sialometaplasia, Necrotizing
PubMed: 30966809
DOI: 10.1177/0145561319840826 -
Optics Letters Sep 2020Recently, laser-driven resonant fiber-optic sensors (FOSs) have been reported to reach the ultimate resolution limit, set by the thermal noise in fiber. However, they...
Recently, laser-driven resonant fiber-optic sensors (FOSs) have been reported to reach the ultimate resolution limit, set by the thermal noise in fiber. However, they are still far away from commercialization because of their dependence on expensive and ultra-narrow-linewidth lasers. In this Letter, a white-light-driven resonant FOS is proposed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. By using the white-light multi-beam interferometry, the resonant peaks of a fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer sensor are obtained, and the resonance drifts are tracked for sensor readout by using the Pound-Drever-Hall technique. The proposed FOS is adopted for strain measurement, and the achieved strain resolution (0.9ε/√ at 100 Hz) is comparable with that of laser-driven FOSs.
PubMed: 32932494
DOI: 10.1364/OL.400560 -
Journal of Cardiovascular... Feb 2022Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation has emerged as a mainstay for the management of atrial fibrillation. It has been shown to be clinically effective and...
Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation has emerged as a mainstay for the management of atrial fibrillation. It has been shown to be clinically effective and cost-effective in multiple trials.
Topics: Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Atrial Fibrillation; Catheter Ablation; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Humans
PubMed: 34897873
DOI: 10.1111/jce.15316 -
The Journal of Extra-corporeal... Jun 2020The U.S. healthcare system generates more than five billion pounds of waste each year. Waste disposal has become a serious environmental problem facing healthcare... (Review)
Review
The U.S. healthcare system generates more than five billion pounds of waste each year. Waste disposal has become a serious environmental problem facing healthcare institutions. The operating room is the second largest source of hospital waste, and no current standards exist regarding perfusion waste reuse or recycling. A typical perfusion circuit produces approximately 15 pounds of plastic that ends up incinerated once used. Contaminated perfusion circuits consisting primarily of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polycarbonate are difficult to sterilize, reuse, or recycle. A literature review of Internet-based and peer-reviewed publications was conducted to identify all resources that describe sterilizing, dechlorinating, reusing, and recycling of medical-grade disposable products. There are several chemical methods available to re-harvest PVC after it has been properly decontaminated and melted down. Dichlorination by near-critical methanol shows promise in the recovery of additives such as plasticizers, stabilizers, and lubricants. The reinjection of PVC may have ecological and economic advantages. Dechlorinated PVC also creates a less toxic by-product when incinerated. Although this process is not recycling, it lessens the impact of poisonous chlorine gas release into the atmosphere. Sterilizing, dechlorinating, and recycling the perfusion circuit may be a promising avenue for reducing the ecological impact of perfusion waste. Although an economically sensitive mode of reusing, reducing, and recycling a circuit does not currently exist, this presentation will explore the perfusion waste dilemma and present potential solutions in hopes of promoting future reuse and recycling opportunities.
Topics: Medical Waste; Polyvinyl Chloride; Recycling; Refuse Disposal
PubMed: 32669740
DOI: 10.1182/ject-1900023 -
Sports (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2022The evaluation of strike impact is important for optimal training, conditioning and tactical use. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate ground and pound...
The evaluation of strike impact is important for optimal training, conditioning and tactical use. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate ground and pound strikes, in terms of net force variability, across genders and performance levels. Eighty-one participants, professional men ( = 8, 37 ± 6 years, 195 ± 7 cm, 113 ± 27 kg), advanced men ( = 47, 26 ± 8 years, 180 ± 7 cm, 76 ± 11 kg), and advanced women ( = 26, 21 ± 1 years, 167 ± 6 cm, 61 ± 7 kg) performed three strikes from a kneeling position into a force plate on the ground. The elbow strike resulted in the highest impulse and the palm strike in the highest peak force for all three categories. These results support the recommendation that has previously been made to teach the palm strike to beginners and advanced tactical and combat athletes. The direct punch and elbow strike net force were characterized by a double peak curve, where the first peak variability explained 70.2-84% of the net force. The second peak was pronounced in professional men during elbow strikes, which explained 16% of net force variability. The strike type determines the impact net force and its characteristics, where palm strike is typical by highest peak impact tolerance and elbow strike by double force peak with high net force impulse.
PubMed: 36548502
DOI: 10.3390/sports10120205 -
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical... Jun 2020
Topics: Case-Control Studies; Food Hypersensitivity; Humans; Immunoglobulin E; Vaccination; Whooping Cough
PubMed: 32499040
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2020.01.005 -
Case Reports in Gastrointestinal... 2021A 49-year-old man presented with abdominal pain and rectal bleeding for two days associated with a 50-pound unintentional weight loss. History was notable for...
A 49-year-old man presented with abdominal pain and rectal bleeding for two days associated with a 50-pound unintentional weight loss. History was notable for hypertension, chronic kidney disease, obesity, gout, and acute cholecystitis status post cholecystectomy. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis showed rectal wall thickening. Colonoscopy showed proctitis with superficial ulcerations. In the setting of renal insufficiency, malabsorption, and low-voltage QRS complexes on electrocardiogram (ECG), amyloidosis was considered in the differential diagnosis. Rectal and renal biopsies with subsequent retrospective staining of gallbladder tissue confirmed amyloid deposition. Gastrointestinal involvement of amyloidosis is relatively uncommon. Particularly, amyloid deposition in the gallbladder and rectum is very rare. The development of AA amyloidosis in our patient may have been related to gout, obesity, and the presence of a heterozygous complex variant for the MEFV (familial Mediterranean fever) gene. Awareness of this atypical presentation of amyloidosis is important, as additional staining of biopsy samples is necessary, and diagnosis allows for directed treatment.
PubMed: 33927906
DOI: 10.1155/2021/6663391 -
IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering 2024Ulcers and chronic wounds are a large and expensive problem, costing billions of pounds a year and affecting millions of people. Electrical stimulation has been known to... (Review)
Review
Ulcers and chronic wounds are a large and expensive problem, costing billions of pounds a year and affecting millions of people. Electrical stimulation has been known to have a positive effect on wound healing since the 1960s and this has been confirmed in numerous studies, reducing the time to heal, and the incidence of adverse events such as infections. However, because each study used different parameters for the treatment, inclusion criteria and metrics for quantifying the success, it is currently hard to combine them statistically and gain a true picture of its efficacy. As such, electrical stimulation has not been universally adopted as a recommended treatment for various types of wound. This paper summarises the biological basis for electrical simulation treatment and reviews the clinical evidence for its effectiveness. Notable is the lack of research focused on the electrodes used to deliver electrostimulation treatment. However, a significant amount of work has been conducted on electrodes for other medical applications in the field of e-textiles. This e-textile work is reviewed with a focus on its potential in electrostimulation and proposals are made for future developments to improve future studies and applications for wound healing via electrical stimulation.
Topics: Humans; Wound Healing; Electric Stimulation
PubMed: 36173786
DOI: 10.1109/RBME.2022.3210598 -
Annual Review of Food Science and... Mar 2022Almonds ( are one of the most consumed tree-nuts worldwide, with commercial production in arid environments such as California, Spain, and Australia. The high... (Review)
Review
Almonds ( are one of the most consumed tree-nuts worldwide, with commercial production in arid environments such as California, Spain, and Australia. The high consumption of almonds is partly due to their versatile usage in products such as gluten-free flour and dairy alternatives as well as them being a source of protein in vegetarian diets. They contain high concentrations of health-promoting compounds such as Vitamin E and have demonstrated benefits for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and improving vascular health. In addition, almonds are the least allergenic tree nut and contain minute quantities of cyanogenic glycosides. Production has increased significantly in the past two decades with 3.12 billion pounds of kernel meat produced in California alone in 2020 (USDA 2021), leading to a new emphasis on the valorization of the coproducts (e.g., hulls, shells, skins, and blanch water). This article presents a review of the chemical composition of almond kernels (e.g., macro and micronutrients, phenolic compounds, cyanogenic glycosides, and allergens) and the current research exploring the valorization of almond coproducts.
Topics: Nuts; Phenols; Prunus dulcis; Water
PubMed: 34936815
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-food-052720-111942 -
Journal of Biomolecular NMR Dec 2022For the past decade chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) experiments have been successfully applied to study exchange processes in biomolecules involving...
For the past decade chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) experiments have been successfully applied to study exchange processes in biomolecules involving sparsely populated, transiently formed conformers. Initial implementations focused on extensive sampling of the CEST frequency domain, requiring significant measurement times. Here we show that the lengthy sampling schemes often used are not optimal and that reduced frequency sampling schedules can be developed without a priori knowledge of the exchange parameters, that only depend on the chosen B field, and, to a lesser extent, on the intrinsic transverse relaxation rates of ground state spins. The reduced sampling approach described here can be used synergistically with other methods for reducing measurement times such as those that excite multiple frequencies in the CEST dimension simultaneously, or make use of non-uniform sampling of indirectly detected time domains, to further decrease measurement times. The proposed approach is validated by analysis of simulated and experimental datasets.
Topics: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; Proteins; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 36192571
DOI: 10.1007/s10858-022-00403-2