Biometric systems have for objective to perform identification, or verification of identity of individuals. Human electrocardiogram (ECG) has been recently proposed as an additional tool for biometric applications. Then, a set of ECG-based biometric studies has occurred in the literature but they are difficult to compare because they use various values of: the number of ECG leads, the length of...

This study evaluated whether small shifts in cardiac autonomic balance with standing, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV), were prospectively associated with incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and mortality. Both Black and White men and women aged 45-64 years from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (n = 9,267) were followed from 1987 to 1997 for myocardial infarction (n = ...

Introduction: Radiation therapy is one of the main treatments for rectal cancer. In three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, exposure of healthy tissue around the tumor is unavoidable. The small intestine is the most important organ at risk of rectal cancer radiotherapy. Intestinal complications are a major factor limiting the dose radiotherapy for rectal cancer. The most com...

Pleural effusion, a complicating feature of many diseases of the lung and pleura, adversely affects the pressure-generating capacity of the diaphragm in supine dogs. The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of body position on this effect and to evaluate the adaptation to effusion of the inspiratory muscle pump during breathing. Two experiments were performed. In the first, p...

CONTEXT Patient recovery time after anesthesia depends on problem-oriented monitoring and individual assessment. OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of patient positioning on post-anesthesia recovery time. TYPE OF STUDY Retrospective. SETTING Post-anesthesia care unit, Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo. METHODS Data were obtained from patients recovering from anesthesia in a supine ho...

BACKGROUND Traditionally the radiological assessment of diaphragmatic movement has relied on fluoroscopy. Ultrasound scanning has recently been shown to be a sensitive and reproducible method of assessing hemidiaphragmatic movement in normal subjects. A study was undertaken to examine how movement of the diaphragm measured by ultrasound scanning relates to inspired lung volumes measured by spir...

The mechanical advantage (mu) of a respiratory muscle is defined as the respiratory pressure generated per unit muscle mass and per unit active stress. The value of mu can be obtained by measuring the change in the length of the muscle during inflation of the passive lung and chest wall. We report values of mu for the muscles of the canine diaphragm that were obtained by measuring the lengths o...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To compare organ-at-risk doses and setup reproducibility using the prone and supine orientations in volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for rectal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventeen consecutive rectal cancer patients undergoing preoperative radiation were selected and setup in either the prone (N = 8) or supine (N = 9) position. All patients were treated using ...

The shape of the passive chest wall of six anesthetized dogs was determined at total lung capacity (TLC) and functional residual capacity (FRC) in the prone and supine body positions by use of volumetric-computed tomographic images. The transverse cross-sectional areas of the rib cage, mediastinum, and diaphragm were calculated every 1.6 mm along the length of the thorax. The changes in the vol...

OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of prone positioning on cardiorespiratory stability and weaning outcome of preterm infants during weaning from mechanical ventilation. METHODS From January to December 1999, a sample of 42 preterm infants, with birthweight < 2,000 g, mechanically ventilated in the first week of life, were randomly divided, in the beginning of the weaning process, into two gr...