OBJECTIVE To identify parameters associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) (>48 h) after off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) in our patient population. MATERIALS AND METHODS From February 2001 to November 2005, we operated on 1359 patients for isolated coronary revascularization with the pi-circuit technique, consisting of: (1) beating heart, (2) OPCAB, (3) aorta no-touch, (4...

For this study, empirical data on the thermal comfort parameters (i.e. room space temperature, velocity and relative humidity) was collected for the computation of the PMV and PPD thermal comfort index for the three flat types. The study shows that wind ventilation has a great effect on the interior comfort condition. This is evident from the diurnal variations of PMV values. Majority of the da...

The pathogenesis and tissue damage that accompanies destruction of platelets in immune thrombocytopenias (IT) is still not understood very well and in addition to platelets, other cells (e.g. endothelial cells, CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitors) may also become affected. Based on our previous work that platelet antigens (e.g., CD41) may be transferred by platelet-derived microvesicles (PMV) ...

The detection of hypoglycemia stems from sensors located in both the periphery and within the central nervous system and likely involves a complex circuit that incorporates information from both peripheral and central components. Glucose sensors located in each of these regions play a unique role in hypoglycemia detection that appears to be at least in part dependent on the rate of fall of bloo...

BACKGROUND This study investigated prognosis among patients under prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) through exploring the following issues: (1) post-PMV survival rates, (2) factors associated with survival after PMV, and (3) the number of days alive free of hospital stays requiring mechanical ventilation (MV) care after PMV. METHODS This is a retrospective cohort study based on secondary...

Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are single-celled parasites that, between them, are responsible for the vast majority of malaria cases in humans. Of the two, P. falciparum often provokes the most acute symptoms, whereas P. vivax is associated with a recurring, chronic version of malarial disease. Both parasites spend a large portion of their life cycle living and replicating within h...

BACKGROUND The persistence of significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) is known to be an independent predictor of adverse outcome in mitral stenosis (MS). However, it remains unclear whether mitral valve (MV) surgery combined with surgical correction of TR is the better treatment option than PMV in patients with severe MS and severe functional TR. ...

We examined neuronal activity in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex (PMd and PMv, respectively) to explore the role of each motor area in processing visual signals for action planning. We recorded neuronal activity while monkeys performed a behavioral task during which two visual instruction cues were given successively with an intervening delay. One cue instructed the location of the targe...

The cortical visuomotor grasping circuit, comprising the anterior intraparietal area (AIP), ventral premotor (PMv), and primary motor cortex (M1) allows transformation of an object's physical properties into a suitable motor command for grasp [1-9]. However, little is known about how AIP contributes to the processing of grasp-related information conveyed through the cortical grasping circuit. W...

Caring for prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) patients imposes heavy psychological, physical, social, and financial burdens on caregivers. Currently, studies regarding the burden on caregivers of PMV patients are scant; therefore, the present study investigated the burden on caregivers of PMV patients.This cross-sectional study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Zuoying Armed...