BACKGROUND Volume status assessment is an important aspect of patient management in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU). Echocardiologist-performed measurement of IVC collapsibility index (IVC-CI) provides useful information about filling pressures, but is limited by its portability, cost, and availability. Intensivist-performed bedside ultrasonography (INBU) examinations have the potential...

It is shown that for every undirected graph G over a nite set N and for every nonempty T N there exists an undirected graph G T over T, called the marginal graph of G for T, such that the class of marginal distributions for T of (discrete) G-Markovian distributions coincides with the class of G T-Markovian distributions. An example shows that this is not true within the framework of strictly po...

In this issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology, Kairaitis et al. (9) examine the control of pharyngeal extraluminal tissue pressure by mandibular advancement and jaw position. Utilizing a novel approach for measuring peripharyngeal tissue pressures, they demonstrated that mandibular advancement decreased tissue pressures anterior and lateral to the airway lumen. Decreases in the lateral per...

Hoffman et al. proposed a convenient collapsibility test in Cox regression [1]. Collapsibility tests have been considered as an effective way to select confounders to be included in multiplicative rate models [2]. However, it is not reasonable to expect that the performance of a confounder-selection procedure (CSP) using the Hoffman’s test is as shown in [2]. First, unlike multiplicative rate m...

BACKGROUND Central venous pressure (CVP) and right atrial pressure (RAP) are important parameters in the complete hemodynamic assessment of a patient. Sonographic measurement of the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter is a non-invasive method of estimating these parameters, but there are limited data summarizing its diagnostic accuracy across multiple studies. We performed a comprehensive review ...

The effects of [+/-]-2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoaminophentamine, a serotonin(2A/2C) receptor agonist, on pharyngeal airflow mechanics were examined in isoflurane-anesthetized lean and obese Zucker rats. The pharyngeal pressure associated with flow limitation, maximum inspiratory flow, oronasal resistance, genioglossus muscle activity, and arterial blood pressure (BP) were measured before and after the...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of selective electrical stimulation of the tensor veli palatini muscle on upper airway patency. METHODS Pressure-flow relationships were evaluated, in a feline isolated upper airway preparation, to determine the role of the soft palate musculature on airflow dynamics. The tensor veli palatini muscles were selectively stimulated while monitoring upper airway co...

Sleep-disordered breathing has been shown to be more prevalent in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) than the general population. The pathogenesis of increased sleep-disordered breathing in individuals with chronic SCI is unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine whether SCI level affects upper airway (UA) collapsibility and neuromuscular compensatory responses to obstruction. Twen...

The environmental problems caused by sewage sludge generated the growth of global population and urbanization are drawing attention scientific community worldwide to need developing sustainable solutions use that material. This work investigated possibilities using sludge, in wastewater treatment plants, as a strategy improve stabilize collapsible soils. Different soil–sludge mixtures, with 5%,...