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Background: Heart rate is an essential diagnostic parameter indicating a patient's condition. The assessment of heart rate is also a crucial parameter in the diagnostics of various sleep disorders, including sleep apnoea, as well as sleep/wake pattern analysis. It is usually measured using an electrocardiograph (ECG)-a device monitoring the electrical activity of the heart using several electrodes attached to a patient's upper body-or photoplethysmography (PPG)., Methods: The following paper investigates an alternative method for heart rate detection and monitoring that operates on tracheal audio recordings. Datasets for this research were obtained from six participants along with ECG Holter (for validation), as well as from fifty participants undergoing a full night polysomnography testing, during which both heart rate measurements and audio recordings were acquired., Results: The presented method implements a digital filtering and peak detection algorithm applied to audio recordings obtained with a wireless sensor using a contact microphone attached in the suprasternal notch. The system was validated using ECG Holter data, achieving over 92% accuracy. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm was evaluated against whole-night polysomnography-derived HR using Bland-Altman's plots and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, reaching the average of 0.82 (0.93 maximum) with 0 BPM error tolerance and 0.89 (0.97 maximum) at ±3 BPM., Conclusions: The results prove that the proposed system serves the purpose of a precise heart rate monitoring tool that can conveniently assess HR during sleep as a part of a home-based sleep disorder diagnostics process.

Objectives: Contributions of TGFβ to cancer progression are well documented. However, plasma TGFβ levels often do not correlate with clinicopathological data. We examine the role of TGFβ carried in exosomes isolated from murine and human plasma as a contributor to disease progression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)., Materials and Methods: The 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO) mouse model was used to study changes in TGFβ expression levels during oral carcinogenesis. In human HNSCC, TGFβ and Smad3 protein expression levels and TGFB1 gene expression were determined. Soluble TGFβ levels were evaluated by ELISA and TGFβ bioassays. Exosomes were isolated from plasma using size exclusion chromatography, and TGFβ content was quantified using bioassays and bioprinted microarrays., Results: During 4-NQO carcinogenesis, TGFβ levels in tumour tissues and in serum increased as the tumour progressed. The TGFβ content of circulating exosomes also increased. In HNSCC patients, TGFβ, Smad3 and TGFB1 were overexpressed in tumour tissues and correlated with increased soluble TGFβ levels. Neither TGFβ expression in tumours nor levels of soluble TGFβ correlated with clinicopathological data or survival. Only exosome-associated TGFβ reflected tumour progression and correlated with tumour size., Conclusions: Circulating TGFβ + exosomes in the plasma of patients with HNSCC emerge as potential non-invasive biomarkers of disease progression in HNSCC., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Salivary gland tumours (SGTs) are a heterogeneous group of benign tumours of various origins and pathologies, showing a number of DNA modifications. Previously, in malignant head and neck cancer (HNSCC), we found overexpression of ALKBH proteins, the homologs of Escherichia coli AlkB 2-oxoglutarate and Fe(II) dependent dioxygenase. Moreover, we proved the connection of some of these dioxygenases with cancer development. Here, we studied the expression of five of these ALKBH dioxygenases: 1, 3, 4, 5, and FTO in benign SGTs. Using Western blot analysis, we found overexpression of three proteins: ALKBH1, 4, and FTO in SGT as compared to the surrounding, unaffected tissue. ALKBH4 was overexpressed in 76% of patient samples, whereas ALKBH1 and FTO in 65% of the samples. These results differ from those obtained in HNSCC, where FTO overexpression has been observed in 90% of patient samples. We also investigated the relationships between ALKBHs' expression levels in normal and SGT tissues and identified two correlated pairs: ALKBH1-ALKBH3 and ALKBH1-ALKBH5. Additionally, in tumour tissue ALKBHs: ALKBH1, ALKBH3, ALKBH4, and ALKBH5 levels were correlated with each other. Together, these findings show that the ALKBH proteins exhibit pro cancerogenic action in SGT, even though the levels ALKBHs are generally lower in benign SGT than in malignant HNSCC. We suggest that the overexpression of the ALKBHs, especially FTO, may be used as a cancer marker and for its grading.

Purpose: Polysomnography (PSG) is considered the best objective study to diagnose and quantify sleep disorders. However, PSG involves multiple electrodes and is usually performed in a sleep laboratory that in itself may change the physiology of sleep. One of the parameters that can change during PSG is the sleep position, leading to more supine sleep. The aim of this study was to quantify the amount of supine sleep during PSG and compare it to consecutive nights of a home sleep apnea test (HSAT) in the same patients., Methods: This prospective study evaluated 22 consecutive patients undergoing PSG followed by HSAT. Sleep position was analyzed during PSG and subsequently on 2 to 6 nights (mean 3.7 nights) at home, and the amount of supine sleep was recorded during each night., Results: Of 22 patients, there were 12 men (55%). The median age was 60.0 years for women and 45.5 years for men. Median proportion of supine sleep during PSG and HSAT was 61% and 26% (p < 0.001), respectively. Four "phenotypes" were identified according to their sleep position during PSG and HSAT, with 5 patients sleeping mainly supine during all nights, 7 patients sleeping mainly non-supine during all nights, 3 patients sleeping in different positions during each night, and 7 patients sleeping supine during PSG but non-supine at home, during HSAT., Conclusions: There is a higher proportion of supine sleep during PSG compared to home sleep. We identified a subgroup of patients who slept mainly supine during PSG and mainly non-supine during HSAT. PSG may overestimate OSA severity in a specific phenotype of patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

INTRODUCTION Tumors of the salivary glands account for approximately 3 to 4% of all head and neck neoplasms. It is estimated that 10-15% of them are malignant. The most common benign tumor is pleomorphic adenoma, while the most common malignant tumors are adenoid cystic carcinoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Neoplasms of the salivary glands are extremely histologically diverse, which results from the complex embryogenesis of the salivary glands. The identified risk factors for tumors of the salivary glands are: ultraviolet radiation, ionizing radiation, viral infections, nicotine and alcohol. MATERIAL AND METHOD The aim of the study was an epidemiological analysis of patients with salivary gland neoplasms, the distribution and histopathological characteristics of individual neoplasms treated at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Medical University of Warsaw in 2010-2020. The diagnoses were analyzed according to the latest WHO 2017 histological classification of salivary gland tumors. In addition, the material was supplemented with data on the 5-year survival rates of patients with malignant neoplasms obtained from the Registry of Marital Status. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The material contained 407 neoplasms of the salivary glands over a 11-year period, of which malignant neoplasms accounted for 17.4%. The malignant tumors were dominated by: adenoid cystic carcinoma (28,2%), mucoepidermoid carcinoma (12,7%), and acinic cell carcinoma (9,9%). Lymphomas (15,5%) were also a large group. The benign neoplasms were dominated by pleomorphic adenoma (54.1%) and Warthin&apos;s tumor (36%). Tumors of the salivary gland the most often affected the parotid gland (92%). CONCLUSIONS The obtained data are consistent with the general epidemiological data described in the current literature.

(1) Background: The aim of the present study was to assess the cancer stem cell (CSC) markers CD24, CD44, CD133, and ALDH1A1 in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in children and to define their prognostic role in this group of patients. (2) Methods: The study material was archival tissue specimens collected from 49 patients under 18 years of age and who had been diagnosed with RMS. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to evaluate the expression of the selected CSC markers in the tumor tissue. Expression was evaluated using a semiquantitative IRS scale based on the one developed by Remmele and Stenger and was correlated with the clinical and pathomorphological parameters of prognostic importance in RMS. (3) Results: Expression of the selected CSC markers CD24, CD44, CD133, and ALDH1A1 was demonstrated in 83.7%, 55.1%, 81.6%, and 100% of the RMS patients, respectively. The expression of all of the assessed CSC markers was statistically significantly higher in the study group versus the control group. No significant correlation was found between the expression of the selected CSC markers and clinical and pathological prognostic factors that were analyzed. The expression of the CSC markers did not have a significant influence on RMS survival rates. (4) Conclusions: The results of the conducted study confirm the expression of selected CSC markers in rhabdomyosarcoma tissue in children. The study did not support the prognostic relevance of the expression of any of the assessed CSC markers. However, further studies are needed to fully understand the relevance of the selected CSC markers in RMS carcinogenesis.

It is well documented that body position significantly affects breathing indices during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. They usually worsen while changing from a non-supine to a supine position. Therefore, body position should be an accurately measured and credible parameter in all types of sleep studies. The aim of this study was to specify the accuracy of a neck-based monitoring device (Clebre, Olsztyn, Poland) mounted at the suprasternal notch, in determining a supine and non-supine sleeping position, as well as specific body positions during sleep, in comparison to polysomnography (PSG). A sleep study (PSG along with a neck-based audio-motion sensor) was performed on 89 consecutive patients. The accuracy in determining supine and non-supine positions was 96.9%±3.9% and 97.0%±3.6%, respectively. For lateral positions, the accuracy was 98.6%±2% and 97.4%±4.5% for the right and left side, respectively. The prone position was detected with an accuracy of 97.3%±5.6%. The study showed a high accuracy in detecting supine, as well as other gross positions, during sleep based on a sensor attached to the suprasternal notch, compared to the PSG study. We feel that the suprasternal notch is a promising area for placing wireless sleep study devices.