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Study Objective: To assess whether deep endometriosis surgery affects the bladder function.Design: Prospective multicenter observational study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).Setting: Academic research centers.Patients: Thirty-two patients with diagnosis of deep endometriosis requiring surgery.Interventions: Women were evaluated with urodynamic studies, International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Urinary Incontinence Short Form, and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Overactive Bladder Module questionnaires before and 3 months after surgery.Measurements and Main Results: The main outcome measure was the impact of deep endometriosis surgery on urodynamic parameters. All cystomanometric parameters showed an improvement postoperatively: in particular, the first desire to void (120 vs 204 mL; p <.001) and the bladder capacity (358 vs 409 mL; p = .011) increased significantly after surgery. Of the uroflow parameters, the maximal voiding flow improved significantly postoperatively (19 vs 25 mL/s; p = .026). The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Urinary Incontinence Short Form (2.5 vs 0; p = .0005) and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Overactive Bladder Module (4.3 vs 1.2; p <.001) questionnaires showed a significant postoperative improvement too.Conclusion: Our data show that in a selected population of patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis (not requiring bowel or ureteral resection), the bladder function improves after surgery, both during filling and on voiding urodynamic phases. Postoperatively, patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis become aware of bladder filling later, have a higher bladder capacity, and have a higher maximal flow. The postoperative urodynamic results are corroborated by the improved scores on the bladder questionnaires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objective: Sacrocolpopexy (SCP) has become the standard procedure to correct uterovaginal prolapse in women, but techniques and approaches are not standardized. We report the results of the Austrian Sacrocolpopexy Registry, which aimed to collect data on surgical techniques and perioperative outcomes.Design: The Austrian Urogynecology Working Group initiated a registry to assess surgical variability and perioperative safety of SCP. The study was performed at 14 centers (13 in Austria,1 in Switzerland). Institutional review board approvals were obtained.Patients: Consecutive patients with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (POP).Interventions: SCP in the course of routine POP treatment.Measurements and Main Results: Preoperative assessment included demographic data, clinical data on bladder, and bowel functions and POP-Q status. Surgical data included surgical approach (open, laparoscopic, robotic), type of mesh, depth of dissection, nerve sparing techniques, suture materials, uterus or cervix-sparing techniques, peritoneal closure, and concomitant surgeries. A total of 401 patients were recruited into the study. The mean age was 57 years (range: 26-84) and mean body mass index was 34. A total of 137 (34%) patients had undergone previous surgery for prolapse and in 264 cases SCP was the primary procedure. A total of 170 (42%) patients had undergone previous hysterectomy; For patients with uterus, SCP was performed with subtotal (n = 148) or total (n = 3) hysterectomy. A total of 285 (71%) SCPs were done laparoscopically, 102 (25%) robotically and 10 (3%) per laparotomy. The conversion rate from laparoscopy to abdominal surgery was 4.5%. Various meshes and suture materials were used and fixation techniques also varied widely. Four patients underwent reoperation within 30 days (2 trocar herniations, and 1 bowel obstruction, 1 compartment syndrome). One patient died of aortic dissection 7 days after SCP.Conclusions: Most SCPs in this registry were performed laparoscopically, but there was considerable variation in surgical techniques. Perioperative morbidity appears modest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In military, police, security companies, and shooting sports, precision shooting training is of the outmost importance. In order to achieve high accuracy, trainees need to do a lot of training. Consequently, they will consume a great number of rounds (cartridges) and a considerable amount of professional coaches' time - both could cost much. Our motivation is to reduce the costs and shorten the training time by implementing an augmented biofeedback system based on machine learning techniques. We designed a biofeedback system, which can detect and give feedback about three kinds of errors that regularly occur during precision shooting practice: excessive hand movement error, aiming error and triggering error. The system provides concurrent feedback about the first error and terminal feedback about the last two errors. Machine learning techniques are used for the identification of hand movement errors. A precision shooting accuracy prediction model based on random forest (RF) has been found as the most appropriate. The experimental results show that: (a) the proposed RF model achieves the prediction accuracy of 91.27%, higher than any of the existing reference models, and (b) the hand movement is strongly related to the accuracy of the precision shooting. An appropriate use of our system can lead to the reduced number of rounds used and to the disburdening of coaches as the trainee can learn about the most common mistakes from the system during the training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this research is to find the requirements and the solution for the sensor system, which allows obtaining the key parameters for the temporal analysis of the movements in volleyball. Instead of professional optical motion tracking systems, we propose the use of a cheaper heterogeneous sensors system with inertial motion sensors and foot pressure sensors, which provide sufficient information for a temporal analysis in volleyball training. The article presents the first results of the field tests of the proposed system and their comparison with the reference optical measuring system. Based on these results, we find out that the proposed sensor system is suitable for use in biofeedback applications to assist professional volleyball coaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated sensor devices are becoming a valuable tool for monitoring, evaluation, and real-time feedback during various exercises in sports, physical rehabilitation, and injury prevention. In this paper, we present the design and development of an inertial sensor system integrated into a fitness ball called eQuilibrium. The main application of this system would be balance training, analysis, and monitoring. The sensor system is composed of an inertial measurement unit sensor with a microcontroller and a WiFi communication module. The wireless sensor device is sending data to LabView application running on a laptop computer. The gyroscope and accelerometer provide a variety of signals, and we defined and evaluated three possible metrics to match the signals with the actual execution of the exercises. The metrics include i) angle rotation range, ii) mean absolute angular velocity, mean absolute acceleration deviation, and iv) mean absolute acceleration gradient. For the initial evaluation of the system, we specified test protocol and tasks that were executed by test subjects and monitored by a trained tester. There are four tasks in the protocol, and each task was being executed for at least 5 seconds. The first task was a reference task, standing on the feet of both legs. In the remaining tasks, the subject was standing on the tips of the toes (both legs, single leg), with the heels as high as possible off the ground. We conducted initial tests to analyze the operation of the system and obtain the initial measurement results. Our preliminary results indicate that several scalar metrics derived from motion sensor data can be used to evaluate motion intensity in the control of body balance. Rotation angle range, mean absolute rotation speed, mean absolute acceleration standard deviation, and mean absolute acceleration gradient are scalar values and independent of sensor axis orientation. In the future, we plan to perform more test executions and compare the sensor results with subjective self-reports of the test subjects, as well as the physical rehabilitation expert evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional coaching techniques and methods are being challenged by new approaches supported by advances in science and technology. Augmented biofeedback applications are one such example. They enable accelerated motor learning and offer additional information to coaches. Our motivation is the use of wearable wireless inertial sensor devices that provide real-time swimming motion data to coaches. Wireless communication in the water environment is a challenging task because radio waves do not penetrate the water well. Our solution uses Wi-Fi communication modules in conjunction with an application layer communication protocol that ensures reliable sensor signals and data transmissions during swimming when the communication channel is cyclically unavailable. We first measured the conditions of the swimming environment in terms of channel availability and then designed a block-selective repeat protocol that ensures reliable real-time data transmission. We have carried out a series of measurements in the swimming pool with young professional swimmers. The results prove the correct functioning of our protocol. We also present some basic protocol features, such as protocol efficiency. The presented work is used in the current development of a coach-based augmented biofeedback application in swimming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During must fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains thousands of volatile aroma compounds are formed. The objective of the present work was to adapt computational approaches to analyze pheno-metabolomic diversity of a S. cerevisiae strain collection with different origins. Phenotypic and genetic characterization together with individual must fermentations were performed, and metabolites relevant to aromatic profiles were determined. Experimental results were projected onto a common coordinates system, revealing 17 statistical-relevant multi-dimensional modules, combining sets of most-correlated features of noteworthy biological importance. The present method allowed, as a breakthrough, to combine genetic, phenotypic and metabolomic data, which has not been possible so far due to difficulties in comparing different types of data. Therefore, the proposed computational approach revealed as successful to shed light into the holistic characterization of S. cerevisiae pheno-metabolome in must fermentative conditions. This will allow the identification of combined relevant features with application in selection of good winemaking strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective We performed a randomised controlled trial of percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) versus tolterodine for treating treatment naïve women with overactive bladder (OAB). Study design 36 patients with symptoms of OAB were randomised to 3 months of treatment with weekly PTNS or tolterodine (2 mg bid p.o.). The primary outcome measure was the difference of micturitions per 24 h. The secondary outcome measure was the impact on quality of life (QoL) measured with a visual analogue scale (VAS) between baseline and after 3 months of therapy. Results Micturition frequencies did not decline significantly ( p = 0.13) over time and there were no significant treatment differences ( p = 0.96). QoL was significantly dependent from its level at baseline ( p = 0.002) and showed improvement over time compared to baseline measurements but no significant differences between both treatment groups ( p = 0.07). Incontinence episodes per 24 h depended significantly on the level at baseline ( p = 0.0001) and declined significantly ( p = 0.03) during 3 months of therapy in both therapy groups. However no significant treatment differences on the reduction of incontinence episodes in 24 h could be shown between both therapy groups ( p = 0.89). PTNS had fewer side effects than tolterodine ( p = 0.04). Conclusion PTNS and tolterodine were both effective in reducing incontinence episodes and improving QoL in patients with OAB but not micturition frequencies. PTNS had fewer side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas sensors based on WO3 thick films were studied. WO3 was synthesized following different procedures, yielding different morphologies. The obtained nanostructures were characterized by means of HRTEM and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The WO3 inks were prepared by dispersing the different WO3 nanopowders into terpineol with dispersion additives. The sensors were prepared by screen-printing of WO3 inks on alumina substrates fitted with gold electrodes and a platinum heater. The sensors were then annealed in air at 400¡C. The results of the exposure to 1-10ppm SO2 at different operating temperatures (200-300¡C) at 50% relative humidity are shown. The sensors exhibit good responses to 1–10ppm SO2 at 200–300¡C which is strongly dependent on the morphology of the WO3. The response of the sensors, response and recovery times are reported and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This work summarizes the preparation of two dimensional WO3 nanostructures by hydrothermal method and their NO2 sensing characterization in the ppb level (90-310 ppb). WO3 ultra-thin nanoplates with 100nm of lateral size and about 10nm of thickness were synthesized and characterized. Hydrothermal treatment (180°C, 48hours) was carried out on tungstic acid which obtained by direct precipitation of sodium tungstate dihydrate in hydrochloric acid. The morphology of the obtained WO3 was observed by SEM and TEM and their crystal structures were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thick films (∼ 5μm and 20μm) of the synthesized WO3 were prepared by screen-printing, the NO2 sensing characterizations of the sensors in the ppb level (90-310 ppb) were performed under different operating conditions (temperature from 200°C to 280°C and relative humidity from 0% to 100%). The sensitivity of the sensors, response and recovery times are reported and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The effect of heat treatment on the structure and morphology of α-MnO2 nanorods with different potassium contents was investigated. These nanorods, prepared by ion exchange, were thermally treated at 500, 800, 1000 and 1100°C, and characterized with X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. The structure and morphology of the starting sample remained preserved up to 500°C. The first structural and morphological changes were observed when α-MnO2 nanorods with different potassium contents were heated at 800°C. The sample with the highest potassium content decomposed only partially to α-Mn2O3, while the decomposition of the α-MnO2 to α-Mn2O3 was complete in the sample with the lowest potassium content. Morphologically, both samples were composed of nanorods and grains. When the temperature was increased to 1000 and 1100°C, both the structure and morphology changed: the α-MnO2 nanorods completely decomposed to Mn3O4 grains. The acidic media in which the ion exchange took place shortened the α-MnO2 nanorods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]