We characterized the passive structural and active neuromuscular control of pharyngeal collapsibility in mice and hypothesized that pharyngeal collapsibility, which is elevated by anatomic loads, is reduced by active neuromuscular responses to airflow obstruction. To address this hypothesis, we examined the dynamic control of upper airway function in the isolated upper airway of anesthetized C5...

Early stage acute kidney injury (AKI) is an independent risk factor for an increase in mortality. Accurate assessment of volume status is a major challenge during the early stages of acute renal injury. Determining volume status based on the history and physical exam lacks accuracy. Urine sodium and free excretion of sodium (FENa) provide objective evidence of intravascular volume status when i...

BACKGROUND To explore the feasibility, the efficacy, and the mechanism of mandibular advancement devices (MAD) in the treatment of persistent sleep apnea after surgery. METHODS Nineteen patients who failed uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) or UPPP plus genioglossus advancement and hyoid myotomy (GAHM) were given a non-adjustable MAD for treatment. All patients had polysomnography (PSG) at leas...

Marfan's syndrome is a hereditary disorder characterized by a defect in connective tissue, resulting in tissue laxity. It is associated with a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The aim of this study was to determine whether excessive upper airway collapsibility during sleep is an important pathophysiologic factor predisposing these individuals to OSA. We measured upper airway cl...

Microfluidic flow focusing devices have been utilized for droplet generation on account of its superior control over droplet size. Droplet based microfluidics addressed many scientific issues by providing a novel technological platform for applications such as biology, pharmaceutical industry, biomedical studies and drug delivery. This study numerically investigated the droplet generation proce...

We prove a sufficient condition for finite clique complex to collapse k-dimensional complex, and use this exhibit thresholds (k+1)-collapsibility in sparse random complex. In particular, if every strongly connected, pure (k+1)-dimensional subcomplex of X has vertex degree at most 2k+1, then is (k+1)-collapsible. the model X(n,p) complexes an Erdős–Rényi graph G(n,p), we show that any fixed k≥0,...