BACKGROUND Despite accuracy standards, there are performance differences among commercially available blood glucose monitoring (BGM) systems. The objective of this analysis was to assess the potential clinical and economic impact of accuracy differences of various BGM systems using a modeling approach. METHODS We simulated additional risk of hypoglycemia due to blood glucose (BG) measurement ...

In 1956, Riker Laboratories, Inc., (now 3 M Drug Delivery Systems) introduced the first pressurized metered dose inhaler (MDI). In many respects, the introduction of the MDI marked the beginning of the modern pharmaceutical aerosol industry. The MDI was the first truly portable and convenient inhaler that effectively delivered drug to the lung and quickly gained widespread acceptance. Since 195...

The development and progression of invasive breast cancer is characterized by alterations to the genome and epigenome. However, the relationship between breast tumor characteristics, disease subtypes, and patient outcomes with the cumulative burden of these molecular alterations are not well characterized. We determined the average departure of tumor DNA methylation from adjacent normal breast ...

The bottom-up saliency, an early stage of humans’ visual attention, can be considered as a binary classification problem between center and surround classes. Discriminant power of features for the classification is measured as mutual information between features and two classes distribution. The estimated discrepancy of two feature classes very much depends on considered scale levels; then, mul...

BACKGROUND The proliferation of inhaler devices has resulted in a confusing number of choices for clinicians who are selecting a delivery device for aerosol therapy. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with each device category. Evidence-based guidelines for the selection of the appropriate aerosol delivery device in specific clinical settings are needed. AIM (1) To compare the ...

An experimental in vitro model was used to determine the effects of intraluminal catheter diameter and length on the delivered dose and particle-size characteristics of salbutamol (albuterol) aerosol delivered by metered dose inhaler (MDI) (Ventolin, 100 micrograms per puff). The dose of aerosolized drug that exited a 16-cm-long tracheal tube with an inner diameter (ID) of 6 mm was compared wit...

I s the very successful brainchild of a 9-year-old asthmatic patientt doomed to extinction? In 1956,2 the chiorofluorocarbon (CFC)-propelled metered dose inhaler (MDI) was introduced to the world as a result of a suggestion from this young child. The growth in sales of M DIs, for the purpose of administering drugs directly to the upper and lower airways, has been impressive. Currently, the MDI ...

The surface of Mercury has been heavily modified by impact cratering and volcanic plains since the initial formation of its lithosphere and crust. As in the case of the Moon, the origin of early plains deposits has been difficult to determine because ponded impact basin ejecta and impact melt deposits can mimic the topography and texture of extrusive volcanic plains. In order to understand bett...

OBJECTIVE We sought to determine whether a standardized emergency department (ED) asthma care pathway (ACP) for adults would be accepted by ED staff, improve adherence to Canadian ED asthma management guidelines and improve patient outcomes. METHODS Ten Ontario hospital EDs (5 intervention, 5 control) participated in a 5-month pre-post intervention study. Emergency department management, admi...

The term "aerosol" has a precise scientific definition as liquid or solid particles suspended in air [1], but has in the last few decades acquired a new non-scientific meaning as a self-contained, sprayable product in which the propellant force is supplied by liquefied gas [2]. The propellants used in these aerosol canisters are of several types, namely: a) chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs); b) hydroc...