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Background: Mandibular advancement devices for obstructive sleep apnea treatment are becoming increasingly popular among patients who do not prefer CPAP devices or surgery. Our study aims to evaluate the literature regarding potential dental and skeletal side effects caused by mandibular advancement appliances used for adult OSA treatment. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for published and unpublished literature along with the reference lists of the eligible studies. Randomized clinical trials and non-randomized trials assessing dental and skeletal changes by comparing cephalometric radiographs were selected. Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were performed individually and in duplicate. Fourteen articles were finally selected (two randomized clinical trials and 12 non-randomized trials). Results: The results suggest that mandibular advancement devices used for OSA treatment increase the lower incisor proclination by 1.54 ± 0.16°, decrease overjet by 0.89 ± 0.04 mm and overbite by 0.68 ± 0.04 mm, rotate the mandible downward and forward, and increase the SNA angle by to 0.06 ± 0.03°. The meta-analysis revealed high statistical heterogeneity. Conclusions: The MADs affect the lower incisor proclination, overjet, overbite, the rotation of the mandible and the SNA angle. More randomized clinical trials providing high-quality evidence are needed to support those findings. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS), also known as anterior knee pain and patellofemoral joint syndrome, is the most common major cause of anterior knee pain. Diagnosis is mainly clinical and based on the presence of retropatellar or peripatellar pain without signs of any other pathology. Physical exercise has a positive influence on its prevention and treatment. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticoids and glucosamine are alternatives for use in acute phases; however there is insufficient scientific data to endorse their long-term efficacy. Similarly, no studies have been performed that allow taping therapies, foot and knee orthoses, to be recommended as a standard PFPS treatment. Recent reports have shown that satisfactory results have been obtained by applying botulinum toxin into the vastus lateralis. Surgical treatment could be considered, as long as that there are indications it could provide benefit, if conservative therapy proves unsuccessful after 6 to 12 months. Yes El Síndrome Doloroso Rotuliano (SDR) constituye la causa más común de dolor anterior de rodilla. Su diagnóstico es fundamentalmente clínico y se basa en la presencia de dolor retrorrotuliano o perirrotuliano en ausencia de signos propios de otra patología. El ejercicio físico influye positivamente en su prevención y tratamiento. Los AINES, los corticoides y la glucosamina representan una alternativa en la fase aguda, pero no se disponen de datos científicos que avalen su eficacia a largo plazo. De igual manera, no se han realizado trabajos que permitan recomendar las terapias taping, las ortesis plantares y las rodilleras como tratamiento habitual en el SDR. Recientemente se ha promulgado la aplicación de toxina botulínica en el vasto lateral con resultados satisfactorios. El tratamiento quirúrgico podría plantearse tras haber realizado de 6 a 12 meses de tratamiento conservador con resultados fallidos y siempre que exista un hallazgo susceptible de ser corregido.

This paper is the result of a study promoted by the European Space Agency, aimed at research, design, development, and demonstration of a state-of-the-art receiver chain for telecommand (TC) links in space missions. The introduction of new, very powerful low-density parity-check codes for error correction, recently approved for the TC standard, allows to operate at significantly lower signal-to-noise ratios. This implies a number of challenges for the receivers in terms of frame synchronization, carrier acquisition, and tracking loops. Both the decoding and the receiver algorithms must be optimized as well, in view of permitting efficient hardware and software implementation, while ensuring excellent error rate performances. All these issues are faced in the present study through a fruitful co-operation between industry, research centers and universities. This paper presents a survey of the main results achieved, covering receiver enhancement investigation, simulation, implementation and breadboard description, © 2017 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.

Introduction Upper airway measurement can be important for the diagnosis of breathing disorders. Acoustic reflection (AR) is an accepted tool for studying the airway. Our objective was to investigate the differences between cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and AR in calculating airway volumes and areas. Methods Subjects with prescribed CBCT images as part of their records were also asked to have AR performed. A total of 59 subjects (mean age, 15 ± 3.8 years) had their upper airway (5 areas) measured from CBCT images, acoustic rhinometry, and acoustic pharyngometry. Volumes and minimal cross-sectional areas were extracted and compared with software. Results Intraclass correlation on 20 randomly selected subjects, remeasured 2 weeks apart, showed high reliability (r >0.77). Means of total nasal volume were significantly different between the 2 methods (P = 0.035), but anterior nasal volume and minimal cross-sectional area showed no differences (P = 0.532 and P = 0.066, respectively). Pharyngeal volume showed significant differences (P = 0.01) with high correlation (r = 0.755), whereas pharyngeal minimal cross-sectional area showed no differences (P = 0.109). The pharyngeal volume difference may not be considered clinically significant, since it is 758 mm3 for measurements showing means of 11,000 ± 4000 mm3. Conclusions CBCT is an accurate method for measuring anterior nasal volume, nasal minimal cross-sectional area, pharyngeal volume, and pharyngeal minimal cross-sectional area. © 2016 American Association of Orthodontists

This paper deals with the feasibility of the new receiver scheme for telecommand space links, based on the adoption of short low-density parity-check codes recently introduced in the standard. Being able to reduce significantly the required signal-to-noise ratio, these codes have an impact on the acquisition, tracking and synchronization issues. All these aspects have been faced, both theoretically and practically through the realization of a breadboard that implements the core elements of the on-board receiver, and is able to demodulate and decode uplink signals employing the new codes. The breadboard incorporates innovative solutions to cope with the acquisition and synchronization problems, and a pioneering implementation of non-iterative decoders based on the most reliable basis algorithm.

The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems has recently updated its recommendation for uplink communication systems, to cope with new requirements for telecommand and modern profiles and applications. Two short Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes have been added to the Coding and Synchronization sublayer options, to improve the link performance. In this paper we focus on the real-time implementation of the transmitter for the Ground Station segment. We analyze the critical modules, in particular LDPC encoding, for which two efficient solutions based on a Shift Register Adder Accumulator and on Winograd convolution are considered. We then discuss the selection of a proper hardware or software platform, and we show that a Central Processing Unit-based solution is able to achieve the high data-rates required by the new uplink applications.