Study on the association between ambient air pollution and daily cardiovascular and respiratory mortality in an urban district of Beijing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Fengying; Li, Liping; Krafft, Thomas; Lv, Jinmei; Wang, Wuyi; Pei, Desheng

2011-06-01

The association between daily cardiovascular/respiratory mortality and air pollution in an urban district of Beijing was investigated over a 6-year period (January 2003 to December 2008). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of the major air pollutants [particulate matter (PM), SO2, NO2] as predictors of daily cardiovascular/respiratory mortality. The time-series studied comprises years with lower level interventions to control air pollution (2003-2006) and years with high level interventions in preparation for and during the Olympics/Paralympics (2007-2008). Concentrations of PM10, SO2, and NO2, were measured daily during the study period. A generalized additive model was used to evaluate daily numbers of cardiovascular/respiratory deaths in relation to each air pollutant, controlling for time trends and meteorological influences such as temperature and relative humidity. The results show that the daily cardiovascular/respiratory death rates were significantly associated with the concentration air pollutants, especially deaths related to cardiovascular disease. The current day effects of PM10 and NO2 were higher than that of single lags (distributed lags) and moving average lags for respiratory disease mortality. The largest RR of SO2 for respiratory disease mortality was in Lag02. For cardiovascular disease mortality, the largest RR was in Lag01 for PM10, and in current day (Lag0) for SO2 and NO2. NO2 was associated with the largest RRs for deaths from both cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease.

Air pollution and cardiovascular and respiratory emergency visits in Central Arkansas: A time-series analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodopoulou, Sophia; Samoli, Evangelia; Chalbot, Marie-Cecile G; Kavouras, Ilias G

2015-12-01

Heart disease and stroke mortality and morbidity rates in Arkansas are among the highest in the U.S. While the effect of air pollution on cardiovascular health was identified in traffic-dominated metropolitan areas, there is a lack of studies for populations with variable exposure profiles, demographic and disease characteristics. Determine the short-term effects of air pollution on cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity in the stroke and heart failure belt. We investigated the associations of fine particles and ozone with respiratory and cardiovascular emergency room visits during the 2002-2012 period for adults in Central Arkansas using Poisson generalized models adjusted for temporal, seasonal and meteorological effects. We evaluated sensitivity of the associations to mutual pollutant adjustment and effect modification patterns by sex, age, race and season. We found effects on cardiovascular and respiratory emergencies for PM2.5 (1.52% [95% (confidence interval) CI: -1.10%, 4.20%]; 1.45% [95%CI: -2.64%, 5.72%] per 10 μg/m3) and O3 (0.93% [95%CI: -0.87%, 2.76%]; 0.76 [95%CI: -1.92%, 3.52%] per 10 ppbv) during the cold period (October-March). The effects were stronger among whites, except for the respiratory effects of O3 that were higher among Blacks/African-Americans. Effect modification patterns by age and sex differed by association. Both pollutants were associated with increases in emergency room visits for hypertension, heart failure and asthma. Effects on cardiovascular and respiratory emergencies were observed during the cold period when particulate matter was dominated by secondary nitrate and wood burning. Outdoor particulate pollution during winter had an effect on cardiovascular morbidity in central Arkansas, the region with high stroke and heart disease incidence rates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Novel Parametric Model For The Human Respiratory System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clara Mihaela IONESCU

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this work is to present some recent results in an ongoing research project between Ghent University and Chess Medical Technology Company Belgium. The overall aim of the project is to provide a fast method for identification of the human respiratory system in order to allow for an instantaneously diagnosis of the patient by the medical staff. A novel parametric model of the human respiratory system as well as the obtained experimental results is presented in this paper. A prototype apparatus developed by the company, based on the forced oscillation technique is used to record experimental data from 4 patients in this paper. Signal processing is based on spectral analysis and is followed by the parametric identification of a non-linear mechanistic model. The parametric model is equivalent to the structure of a simple electrical RLC-circuit, containing a non-linear capacitor. These parameters have a useful and easy-to-interpret physical meaning for the medical staff members.

Risk assessment for cardiovascular and respiratory mortality due to air pollution and synoptic meteorology in 10 Canadian cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanos, Jennifer K; Hebbern, Christopher; Cakmak, Sabit

2014-02-01

Synoptic weather and ambient air quality synergistically influence human health. We report the relative risk of mortality from all non-accidental, respiratory-, and cardiovascular-related causes, associated with exposure to four air pollutants, by weather type and season, in 10 major Canadian cities for 1981 through 1999. We conducted this multi-city time-series study using Poisson generalized linear models stratified by season and each of six distinctive synoptic weather types. Statistically significant relationships of mortality due to short-term exposure to carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone were found, with significant modifications of risk by weather type, season, and mortality cause. In total, 61% of the respiratory-related mortality relative risk estimates were significantly higher than for cardiovascular-related mortality. The combined effect of weather and air pollution is greatest when tropical-type weather is present in the spring or summer. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on the Association between Ambient Air Pollution and Daily Cardiovascular and Respiratory Mortality in an Urban District of Beijing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Krafft

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The association between daily cardiovascular/respiratory mortality and air pollution in an urban district of Beijing was investigated over a 6-year period (January 2003 to December 2008. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of the major air pollutants [particulate matter (PM, SO2, NO2] as predictors of daily cardiovascular/respiratory mortality. The time-series studied comprises years with lower level interventions to control air pollution (2003–2006 and years with high level interventions in preparation for and during the Olympics/Paralympics (2007–2008. Concentrations of PM10, SO2, and NO2, were measured daily during the study period. A generalized additive model was used to evaluate daily numbers of cardiovascular/ respiratory deaths in relation to each air pollutant, controlling for time trends and meteorological influences such as temperature and relative humidity. The results show that the daily cardiovascular/respiratory death rates were significantly associated with the concentration air pollutants, especially deaths related to cardiovascular disease. The current day effects of PM10 and NO2 were higher than that of single lags (distributed lags and moving average lags for respiratory disease mortality. The largest RR of SO2 for respiratory disease mortality was in Lag02. For cardiovascular disease mortality, the largest RR was in Lag01 for PM10, and in current day (Lag0 for SO2 and NO2. NO2 was associated with the largest RRs for deaths from both cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease.

Influence of air pollution on hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in Niš, Serbia

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Milošević Zoran

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. In studies that investigate the health effects of short-term air pollution exposure, population-wide changes in acute outcomes such as mortality, hospital admissions and healthcare visits are linked to short-term variations in ambient pollutant concentrations. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between daily outdoor black smoke and sulphur dioxide levels and hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in Niš, within a period 2001-2005. Methods. A time series analysis was performed using separated regression models for each pollutant and disease group, by age groups and population as a whole. The effects of copollutant, meteorological factors and cyclic oscillations in hospitalization numbers were controlled. Results. A significant increase in hospital admissions was associated with a 10 μg/m3 increase in the concentration of black smoke, for cardiovascular diseases: 3.14% (< 0.01 in children and youth under 19 years of age, 1.85% (< 0.001 in 19-64 age group, and 0.84% (< 0.05 in all ages, and for respiratory diseases: 1.77% (< 0.05 in 19-64 age group, and 0.91% (< 0.05 in all ages. The effects on hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in children and youth under 19 years of age, and for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in the elderly were not statistically significant. The increase of sulphur dioxide level was associated with the increased number of hospitalizations, for both cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in all age groups, but the influence was not statistically significant. Conclusion. Outdoor pollutants concentrations in urban area of Niš were below regulated limit values during most of the investigated period days but it is shown that even such a level of pollution has a significant effect on hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

Does respiratory health contribute to the effects of long-term air pollution exposure on cardiovascular mortality?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heinrich Joachim

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is growing epidemiological evidence that short-term and long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution may increase cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In addition, epidemiological studies have shown an association between air pollution exposure and respiratory health. To what extent the association between cardiovascular mortality and air pollution is driven by the impact of air pollution on respiratory health is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether respiratory health at baseline contributes to the effects of long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution on cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of elderly women. Method We analyzed data from 4750 women, aged 55 at the baseline investigation in the years 1985–1994. 2593 of these women had their lung function tested by spirometry. Respiratory diseases and symptoms were asked by questionnaire. Ambient air pollution exposure was assessed by the concentrations of NO2 and total suspended particles at fixed monitoring sites and by the distance of residency to a major road. A mortality follow-up of these women was conducted between 2001 and 2003. For the statistical analysis, Cox' regression was used. Results Women with impaired lung function or pre-existing respiratory diseases had a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular causes. The impact of impaired lung function declined over time. The risk ratio (RR of women with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1 of less than 80% predicted to die from cardiovascular causes was RR = 3.79 (95%CI: 1.64–8.74 at 5 years survival time and RR = 1.35 (95%CI: 0.66–2.77 at 12 years. The association between air pollution levels and cardiovascular death rate was strong and statistically significant. However, this association did only change marginally when including indicators of respiratory health into the regression analysis. Furthermore, no interaction between air pollution and respiratory health

Does respiratory health contribute to the effects of long-term air pollution exposure on cardiovascular mortality?

Science.gov (United States)

Schikowski, Tamara; Sugiri, Dorothea; Ranft, Ulrich; Gehring, Ulrike; Heinrich, Joachim; Wichmann, H-Erich; Krämer, Ursula

2007-03-07

There is growing epidemiological evidence that short-term and long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution may increase cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In addition, epidemiological studies have shown an association between air pollution exposure and respiratory health. To what extent the association between cardiovascular mortality and air pollution is driven by the impact of air pollution on respiratory health is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether respiratory health at baseline contributes to the effects of long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution on cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of elderly women. We analyzed data from 4750 women, aged 55 at the baseline investigation in the years 1985-1994. 2593 of these women had their lung function tested by spirometry. Respiratory diseases and symptoms were asked by questionnaire. Ambient air pollution exposure was assessed by the concentrations of NO2 and total suspended particles at fixed monitoring sites and by the distance of residency to a major road. A mortality follow-up of these women was conducted between 2001 and 2003. For the statistical analysis, Cox' regression was used. Women with impaired lung function or pre-existing respiratory diseases had a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular causes. The impact of impaired lung function declined over time. The risk ratio (RR) of women with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of less than 80% predicted to die from cardiovascular causes was RR = 3.79 (95%CI: 1.64-8.74) at 5 years survival time and RR = 1.35 (95%CI: 0.66-2.77) at 12 years. The association between air pollution levels and cardiovascular death rate was strong and statistically significant. However, this association did only change marginally when including indicators of respiratory health into the regression analysis. Furthermore, no interaction between air pollution and respiratory health on cardiovascular mortality indicating a higher risk of

Shared early origins of cardiovascular and respiratory development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eising, J.B.

2014-01-01

Non-communicable diseases are often studied separately, but there is growing awareness that these diseases are closely linked. In this thesis we focused on two non-communicable diseases, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, which form a large contribution of the total morbidity and mortality of

A Two-Dimensional Human Minilung System (Model for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections

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Esmeralda Magro-Lopez

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV is a major cause of serious pediatric respiratory diseases that lacks effective vaccine or specific therapeutics. Although our understanding about HRSV biology has dramatically increased during the last decades, the need for adequate models of HRSV infection is compelling. We have generated a two-dimensional minilung from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs. The differentiation protocol yielded at least six types of lung and airway cells, although it is biased toward the generation of distal cells. We show evidence of HRSV replication in lung cells, and the induction of innate and proinflammatory responses, thus supporting its use as a model for the study of HRSV–host interactions.

Velocity profiles in idealized model of human respiratory tract

Science.gov (United States)

Elcner, J.; Jedelsky, J.; Lizal, F.; Jicha, M.

2013-04-01

This article deals with numerical simulation focused on velocity profiles in idealized model of human upper airways during steady inspiration. Three r gimes of breathing were investigated: Resting condition, Deep breathing and Light activity which correspond to most common regimes used for experiments and simulations. Calculation was validated with experimental data given by Phase Doppler Anemometry performed on the model with same geometry. This comparison was made in multiple points which form one cross-section in trachea near first bifurcation of bronchial tree. Development of velocity profile in trachea during steady inspiration was discussed with respect for common phenomenon formed in trachea and for future research of transport of aerosol particles in human respiratory tract.

Velocity profiles in idealized model of human respiratory tract

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Jicha M.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This article deals with numerical simulation focused on velocity profiles in idealized model of human upper airways during steady inspiration. Three r gimes of breathing were investigated: Resting condition, Deep breathing and Light activity which correspond to most common regimes used for experiments and simulations. Calculation was validated with experimental data given by Phase Doppler Anemometry performed on the model with same geometry. This comparison was made in multiple points which form one cross-section in trachea near first bifurcation of bronchial tree. Development of velocity profile in trachea during steady inspiration was discussed with respect for common phenomenon formed in trachea and for future research of transport of aerosol particles in human respiratory tract.

Cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations and mortality among users of tiotropium in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Luise, Cynthia; Lanes, Stephan F; Jacobsen, Jacob

2007-01-01

.17). Compared to periods of non-use, tiotropium was associated with reduced respiratory and overall mortality and was not associated with increased cardiac mortality. An increase in COPD hospitalization is inconsistent with clinical trial data and suggests preferential prescribing due to disease severity.......Tiotropium (Spiriva is an inhaled, once-daily anticholinergic medication for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We conducted a population-based cohort study to examine the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations and mortality with tiotropium. Using the Danish healthcare...... registries, we identified persons >/=40 years old in three counties who were hospitalized for COPD from 1/1/1977 to 12/31/2003. Respiratory and cardiovascular medications were assessed from dispensing records. Cox regression was used to compute incidence rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI...

Summer indoor heat exposure and respiratory and cardiovascular distress calls in New York City, NY, U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Uejio, C K; Tamerius, J D; Vredenburg, J; Asaeda, G; Isaacs, D A; Braun, J; Quinn, A; Freese, J P

2016-08-01

Most extreme heat studies relate outdoor weather conditions to human morbidity and mortality. In developed nations, individuals spend ~90% of their time indoors. This pilot study investigated the indoor environments of people receiving emergency medical care in New York City, NY, U.S., from July to August 2013. The first objective was to determine the relative influence of outdoor conditions as well as patient characteristics and neighborhood sociodemographics on indoor temperature and specific humidity (N = 764). The second objective was to determine whether cardiovascular or respiratory cases experience hotter and more humid indoor conditions as compared to controls. Paramedics carried portable sensors into buildings where patients received care to passively monitor indoor temperature and humidity. The case-control study compared 338 respiratory cases, 291 cardiovascular cases, and 471 controls. Intuitively, warmer and sunnier outdoor conditions increased indoor temperatures. Older patients who received emergency care tended to occupy warmer buildings. Indoor-specific humidity levels quickly adjusted to outdoor conditions. Indoor heat and humidity exposure above a 26 °C threshold increased (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 0.98-2.68, P = 0.056), but not significantly, the proportion of respiratory cases. Indoor heat exposures were similar between cardiovascular cases and controls. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

76 FR 62164 - VASRD Improvement Forum-Updating Disability Criteria for the Respiratory System, Cardiovascular...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-06

... Respiratory System, Cardiovascular System, Hearing Impairment, and Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases AGENCY... System, Cardiovascular System, Hearing Impairment, and Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases. The purpose of this...) the Cardiovascular System (38 CFR 4.100-4.104), (3) the Impairment of Auditory Acuity (38 CFR 4.85 and...

Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Human Metapneumovirus

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Luciana Helena Antoniassi da Silva

2009-08-01

Full Text Available The human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV and the human metapneumovírus (hMPV are main etiological agents of acute respiratory infections (ARI. The ARI is an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide.  hRSV and hMPV are members of the Paramyxoviridae. They are enveloped, non-segmented viruses, with negative-sense single stranded genomes. Respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV is the best characterized agent viral of this group, associated with respiratory diseases in lower respiratory tract. Recently, a new human pathogen belonging to the subfamily Pneumovirinae was identified, the human metapneumovirus (hMPV, which is structurally similar to the hRSV, in genomic organization, viral structure, antigenicity and clinical symptoms.  The subfamily Pneumovirinae contains two genera: genus Pneumovirus contains hRSV, the bovine (bRSV, as well as the ovine and caprine respiratory syncytial virus and pneumonia virus of mice, the second genus Metapneumovirus, consists of avian metapneumovirus (aMPV and human metapneumovirus (hMPV. In this work, we present a brief narrative review of the literature on important aspects of the biology, epidemiology and clinical manifestations of infections by two respiratory viruses.

Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Human Metapneumovirus

OpenAIRE

Luciana Helena Antoniassi da Silva; Fernando Rosado Spilki; Adriana Gut Lopes Riccetto; Emilio Elias Baracat; Clarice Weis Arns

2009-01-01

The human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and the human metapneumovírus (hMPV) are main etiological agents of acute respiratory infections (ARI). The ARI is an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide.  hRSV and hMPV are members of the Paramyxoviridae. They are enveloped, non-segmented viruses, with negative-sense single stranded genomes. Respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is the best characterized agent viral of this group, associated with respiratory diseases in...

Animal models of cardiovascular diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaragoza, Carlos; Gomez-Guerrero, Carmen; Martin-Ventura, Jose Luis; Blanco-Colio, Luis; Lavin, Begoña; Mallavia, Beñat; Tarin, Carlos; Mas, Sebastian; Ortiz, Alberto; Egido, Jesus

2011-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are the first leading cause of death and morbidity in developed countries. The use of animal models have contributed to increase our knowledge, providing new approaches focused to improve the diagnostic and the treatment of these pathologies. Several models have been developed to address cardiovascular complications, including atherothrombotic and cardiac diseases, and the same pathology have been successfully recreated in different species, including small and big animal models of disease. However, genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in cardiovascular pathophysiology, making difficult to match a particular disease, with a single experimental model. Therefore, no exclusive method perfectly recreates the human complication, and depending on the model, additional considerations of cost, infrastructure, and the requirement for specialized personnel, should also have in mind. Considering all these facts, and depending on the budgets available, models should be selected that best reproduce the disease being investigated. Here we will describe models of atherothrombotic diseases, including expanding and occlusive animal models, as well as models of heart failure. Given the wide range of models available, today it is possible to devise the best strategy, which may help us to find more efficient and reliable solutions against human cardiovascular diseases.

Human respiratory tract model for radiological protection: A revision of the ICRP Dosimetric Model for the Respiratory System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bair, W.J.

1989-01-01

In 1984, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) appointed a task group of Committee 2 to review and revise, as necessary, the ICRP Dosimetric Model for the Respiratory System. The model was originally published in 1966, modified slightly in Publication No. 19, and again in Publication No. 30 (in 1979). The task group concluded that research during the past 20 y suggested certain deficiencies in the ICRP Dosimetric Model for the Respiratory System. Research has also provided sufficient information for a revision of the model. The task group's approach has been to review, in depth, morphology and physiology of the respiratory tract; deposition of inhaled particles in the respiratory tract; clearance of deposited materials; and the nature and specific sites of damage to the respiratory tract caused by inhaled radioactive substances. This review has led to a redefinition of the regions of the respiratory tract for dosimetric purposes. The redefinition has a morphologic and physiological basis and is consistent with observed deposition and clearance of particles and with resultant pathology. Regions, as revised, are the extrathoracic (E-T) region, comprising the nasal and oral regions, the pharynx, larynx, and upper part of the trachea; the fast-clearing thoracic region (T[f]), comprising the remainder of the trachea and bronchi; and the slow-clearing thoracic region (T[s]), comprising the bronchioles, alveoli, and thoracic lymph nodes. A task group report will include models for calculating radiation doses to these regions of the respiratory tract following inhalation of representative alpha-, beta-, and gamma-emitting particulate and gaseous radionuclides. The models may be implemented as a package of computer codes available to a wide range of users

Equation Discovery for Model Identification in Respiratory Mechanics of the Mechanically Ventilated Human Lung

Science.gov (United States)

Ganzert, Steven; Guttmann, Josef; Steinmann, Daniel; Kramer, Stefan

Lung protective ventilation strategies reduce the risk of ventilator associated lung injury. To develop such strategies, knowledge about mechanical properties of the mechanically ventilated human lung is essential. This study was designed to develop an equation discovery system to identify mathematical models of the respiratory system in time-series data obtained from mechanically ventilated patients. Two techniques were combined: (i) the usage of declarative bias to reduce search space complexity and inherently providing the processing of background knowledge. (ii) A newly developed heuristic for traversing the hypothesis space with a greedy, randomized strategy analogical to the GSAT algorithm. In 96.8% of all runs the applied equation discovery system was capable to detect the well-established equation of motion model of the respiratory system in the provided data. We see the potential of this semi-automatic approach to detect more complex mathematical descriptions of the respiratory system from respiratory data.

Does respiratory health contribute to the effects of long-term air pollution exposure on cardiovascular mortality?

OpenAIRE

Heinrich Joachim; Gehring Ulrike; Ranft Ulrich; Sugiri Dorothea; Schikowski Tamara; Wichmann H-Erich; Krämer Ursula

2007-01-01

Abstract Background There is growing epidemiological evidence that short-term and long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution may increase cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In addition, epidemiological studies have shown an association between air pollution exposure and respiratory health. To what extent the association between cardiovascular mortality and air pollution is driven by the impact of air pollution on respiratory health is unknown. The aim of this study was to investi...

Animal Models of Cardiovascular Diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Zaragoza

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Cardiovascular diseases are the first leading cause of death and morbidity in developed countries. The use of animal models have contributed to increase our knowledge, providing new approaches focused to improve the diagnostic and the treatment of these pathologies. Several models have been developed to address cardiovascular complications, including atherothrombotic and cardiac diseases, and the same pathology have been successfully recreated in different species, including small and big animal models of disease. However, genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in cardiovascular pathophysiology, making difficult to match a particular disease, with a single experimental model. Therefore, no exclusive method perfectly recreates the human complication, and depending on the model, additional considerations of cost, infrastructure, and the requirement for specialized personnel, should also have in mind. Considering all these facts, and depending on the budgets available, models should be selected that best reproduce the disease being investigated. Here we will describe models of atherothrombotic diseases, including expanding and occlusive animal models, as well as models of heart failure. Given the wide range of models available, today it is possible to devise the best strategy, which may help us to find more efficient and reliable solutions against human cardiovascular diseases.

Evaluation of the educational value of YouTube videos about physical examination of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Azer, Samy A; Algrain, Hala A; AlKhelaif, Rana A; AlEshaiwi, Sarah M

2013-11-13

A number of studies have evaluated the educational contents of videos on YouTube. However, little analysis has been done on videos about physical examination. This study aimed to analyze YouTube videos about physical examination of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. It was hypothesized that the educational standards of videos on YouTube would vary significantly. During the period from November 2, 2011 to December 2, 2011, YouTube was searched by three assessors for videos covering the clinical examination of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. For each video, the following information was collected: title, authors, duration, number of viewers, and total number of days on YouTube. Using criteria comprising content, technical authority, and pedagogy parameters, videos were rated independently by three assessors and grouped into educationally useful and non-useful videos. A total of 1920 videos were screened. Only relevant videos covering the examination of adults in the English language were identified (n=56). Of these, 20 were found to be relevant to cardiovascular examinations and 36 to respiratory examinations. Further analysis revealed that 9 provided useful information on cardiovascular examinations and 7 on respiratory examinations: scoring mean 14.9 (SD 0.33) and mean 15.0 (SD 0.00), respectively. The other videos, 11 covering cardiovascular and 29 on respiratory examinations, were not useful educationally, scoring mean 11.1 (SD 1.08) and mean 11.2 (SD 1.29), respectively. The differences between these two categories were significant (P.86. A small number of videos about physical examination of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems were identified as educationally useful; these videos can be used by medical students for independent learning and by clinical teachers as learning resources. The scoring system utilized by this study is simple, easy to apply, and could be used by other researchers on similar topics.

Next Generation Respiratory Viral Vaccine System: Advanced and Emerging Bioengineered Human Lung Epithelia Model (HLEM) Organoid Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Goodwin, Thomas J.; Schneider, Sandra L.; MacIntosh, Victor; Gibbons, Thomas F.

2010-01-01

Acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia and influenza, are the S t" leading cause of United States and worldwide deaths. Newly emerging pathogens signaled the need for an advanced generation of vaccine technology.. Human bronchial-tracheal epithelial tissue was bioengineered to detect, identify, host and study the pathogenesis of acute respiratory viral disease. The 3-dimensional (3D) human lung epithelio-mesechymal tissue-like assemblies (HLEM TLAs) share characteristics with human respiratory epithelium: tight junctions, desmosomes, microvilli, functional markers villin, keratins and production of tissue mucin. Respiratory Syntial Virus (RSV) studies demonstrate viral growth kinetics and membrane bound glycoproteins up to day 20 post infection in the human lung-orgainoid infected cell system. Peak replication of RSV occurred on day 10 at 7 log10 particles forming units per ml/day. HLEM is an advanced virus vaccine model and biosentinel system for emergent viral infectious diseases to support DoD global surveillance and military readiness.

Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes Afford New Opportunities in Inherited Cardiovascular Disease Modeling

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Daniel R. Bayzigitov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Fundamental studies of molecular and cellular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease pathogenesis are required to create more effective and safer methods of their therapy. The studies can be carried out only when model systems that fully recapitulate pathological phenotype seen in patients are used. Application of laboratory animals for cardiovascular disease modeling is limited because of physiological differences with humans. Since discovery of induced pluripotency generating induced pluripotent stem cells has become a breakthrough technology in human disease modeling. In this review, we discuss a progress that has been made in modeling inherited arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies, studying molecular mechanisms of the diseases, and searching for and testing drug compounds using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Research Summary 3-D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Model Of The Human Respiratory System

Science.gov (United States)

The U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) has developed a 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the human respiratory system that allows for the simulation of particulate based contaminant deposition and clearance, while being adaptable for age, ethnicity,...

Seasonal mortality variations of cardiovascular, respiratory and malignant diseases in the City of Belgrade

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Stanišić-Stojić Svetlana

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to examine seasonal variations in mortality resulting from cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and cancer, as well as to provide a review of environmental factors underlying such phenomenon. The herein presented study was conducted on the territory of Belgrade based on the data on daily mortality rates obtained from the Institute of Public Health in Belgrade for the period 2009-2014, as well as the data on annual mortality rates provided by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2000-2014. The analysis of mortality variations was performed by the use of Theil-Sen method, smooth trend method and cubic spline interpolation, whereas desriptive tools, such as winter/summer ratio and dissimilarity index, were used to examine the seasonal pattern. According to the Institute of Public Health, over 113430 deaths were registered in Belgrade area for the period 2009-2014, out of which 53.25% is attributed to cardiovascular diseases, 4.01% to respiratory diseases and 27.50% to cancer. The annual mortality rates caused by cardiovascular diseases and cancer on the territory of Belgrade are among the highest ranking in Europe. The leading causes of death in the observed period included: cardiomyopathy, heart attack and stroke with accompanying complications, breast cancer in women, prostate and colorectal cancer in men, lung and bronchus cancer for both genders, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cardiovascular and respiratory mortality rates are significantly higher among people aged 65 and over, whereas more than one third of deaths caused by cancer is observed among younger people aged between 45 and 64 years. Research results show that seasonal variations were most pronounced in mortality resulting from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, with highest mortality rates recorded in February and March and lowest during the summer season. Also, the number of deaths due to

Burn Pit Emissions Exposure and Respiratory and Cardiovascular Conditions Among Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry Participants.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jason; Lezama, Nicholas; Gasper, Joseph; Kawata, Jennifer; Morley, Sybil; Helmer, Drew; Ciminera, Paul

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to determine how burn pit emissions exposure is associated with the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. We examined the associations between assumed geographic and self-reported burn pit emissions exposure and respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes in participants of the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. We found significant dose-response associations for higher risk of self-reported emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with increased days of deployment within 2 miles of selected burn pits (P-trend = 0.01) and self-reported burn pit smoke exposure (P-trend = 0.0005). We found associations between burn pit emissions exposure and higher incidence of post-deployment self-reported respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, but these findings should be interpreted with caution because the surrogate measurements of burn pit emissions exposure in this analysis may not reflect individual exposure levels.

Computational fluid dynamics modeling of Bacillus anthracis spore deposition in rabbit and human respiratory airways

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kabilan, S.; Suffield, S. R.; Recknagle, K. P.; Jacob, R. E.; Einstein, D. R.; Kuprat, A. P.; Carson, J. P.; Colby, S. M.; Saunders, J. H.; Hines, S. A.; Teeguarden, J. G.; Straub, T. M.; Moe, M.; Taft, S. C.; Corley, R. A.

2016-09-01

Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics and Lagrangian particle deposition models were developed to compare the deposition of aerosolized Bacillus anthracis spores in the respiratory airways of a human with that of the rabbit, a species commonly used in the study of anthrax disease. The respiratory airway geometries for each species were derived respectively from computed tomography (CT) and µCT images. Both models encompassed airways that extended from the external nose to the lung with a total of 272 outlets in the human model and 2878 outlets in the rabbit model. All simulations of spore deposition were conducted under transient, inhalation–exhalation breathing conditions using average species-specific minute volumes. Two different exposure scenarios were modeled in the rabbit based upon experimental inhalation studies. For comparison, human simulations were conducted at the highest exposure concentration used during the rabbit experimental exposures. Results demonstrated that regional spore deposition patterns were sensitive to airway geometry and ventilation profiles. Due to the complex airway geometries in the rabbit nose, higher spore deposition efficiency was predicted in the nasal sinus compared to the human at the same air concentration of anthrax spores. In contrast, higher spore deposition was predicted in the lower conducting airways of the human compared to the rabbit lung due to differences in airway branching pattern. This information can be used to refine published and ongoing biokinetic models of inhalation anthrax spore exposures, which currently estimate deposited spore concentrations based solely upon exposure concentrations and inhaled doses that do not factor in species-specific anatomy and physiology for deposition.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Bacillus anthracis Spore Deposition in Rabbit and Human Respiratory Airways

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kabilan, Senthil; Suffield, Sarah R.; Recknagle, Kurtis P.; Jacob, Rick E.; Einstein, Daniel R.; Kuprat, Andrew P.; Carson, James P.; Colby, Sean M.; Saunders, James H.; Hines, Stephanie; Teeguarden, Justin G.; Straub, Tim M.; Moe, M.; Taft, Sarah; Corley, Richard A.

2016-09-30

Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics and Lagrangian particle deposition models were developed to compare the deposition of aerosolized Bacillus anthracis spores in the respiratory airways of a human with that of the rabbit, a species commonly used in the study of anthrax disease. The respiratory airway geometries for each species were derived from computed tomography (CT) or µCT images. Both models encompassed airways that extended from the external nose to the lung with a total of 272 outlets in the human model and 2878 outlets in the rabbit model. All simulations of spore deposition were conducted under transient, inhalation-exhalation breathing conditions using average species-specific minute volumes. The highest exposure concentration was modeled in the rabbit based upon prior acute inhalation studies. For comparison, human simulation was also conducted at the same concentration. Results demonstrated that regional spore deposition patterns were sensitive to airway geometry and ventilation profiles. Due to the complex airway geometries in the rabbit nose, higher spore deposition efficiency was predicted in the upper conducting airways compared to the human at the same air concentration of anthrax spores. As a result, higher particle deposition was predicted in the conducting airways and deep lung of the human compared to the rabbit lung due to differences in airway branching pattern. This information can be used to refine published and ongoing biokinetic models of inhalation anthrax spore exposures, which currently estimate deposited spore concentrations based solely upon exposure concentrations and inhaled doses that do not factor in species-specific anatomy and physiology.

Ferrets as a Novel Animal Model for Studying Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections in Immunocompetent and Immunocompromised Hosts

Science.gov (United States)

Stittelaar, Koert J.; de Waal, Leon; van Amerongen, Geert; Veldhuis Kroeze, Edwin J.B.; Fraaij, Pieter L.A.; van Baalen, Carel A.; van Kampen, Jeroen J.A.; van der Vries, Erhard; Osterhaus, Albert D.M.E.; de Swart, Rik L.

2016-01-01

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is an important cause of severe respiratory tract disease in immunocompromised patients. Animal models are indispensable for evaluating novel intervention strategies in this complex patient population. To complement existing models in rodents and non-human primates, we have evaluated the potential benefits of an HRSV infection model in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Nine- to 12-month-old HRSV-seronegative immunocompetent or immunocompromised ferrets were infected with a low-passage wild-type strain of HRSV subgroup A (105 TCID50) administered by intra-tracheal or intra-nasal inoculation. Immune suppression was achieved by bi-daily oral administration of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisolone. Throat and nose swabs were collected daily and animals were euthanized four, seven, or 21 days post-infection (DPI). Virus loads were determined by quantitative virus culture and qPCR. We observed efficient HRSV replication in both the upper and lower respiratory tract. In immunocompromised ferrets, virus loads reached higher levels and showed delayed clearance as compared to those in immunocompetent animals. Histopathological evaluation of animals euthanized 4 DPI demonstrated that the virus replicated in the respiratory epithelial cells of the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. These animal models can contribute to an assessment of the efficacy and safety of novel HRSV intervention strategies. PMID:27314379

Ferrets as a Novel Animal Model for Studying Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections in Immunocompetent and Immunocompromised Hosts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koert J. Stittelaar

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV is an important cause of severe respiratory tract disease in immunocompromised patients. Animal models are indispensable for evaluating novel intervention strategies in this complex patient population. To complement existing models in rodents and non-human primates, we have evaluated the potential benefits of an HRSV infection model in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo. Nine- to 12-month-old HRSV-seronegative immunocompetent or immunocompromised ferrets were infected with a low-passage wild-type strain of HRSV subgroup A (105 TCID50 administered by intra-tracheal or intra-nasal inoculation. Immune suppression was achieved by bi-daily oral administration of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisolone. Throat and nose swabs were collected daily and animals were euthanized four, seven, or 21 days post-infection (DPI. Virus loads were determined by quantitative virus culture and qPCR. We observed efficient HRSV replication in both the upper and lower respiratory tract. In immunocompromised ferrets, virus loads reached higher levels and showed delayed clearance as compared to those in immunocompetent animals. Histopathological evaluation of animals euthanized 4 DPI demonstrated that the virus replicated in the respiratory epithelial cells of the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. These animal models can contribute to an assessment of the efficacy and safety of novel HRSV intervention strategies.

Effect of Air Pollution on the Emergency Admissions of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Patients, Using the Air Quality Model: A Study in Tehran, 2005-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Majid Kermani

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Air pollution is one of the most important factors threatening the health of citizens. It increases the prevalence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as emergency admissions to hospitals in the polluted metropolitan cities. The present study was conducted using Air Quality (AirQ model and aimed to investigate the effects of air pollution on the number of emergency cardiovascular and respiratory patients admissions in Tehran hospitals during 2005-2014. Materials and Methods: This was cross-sectional study. First, the needed hourly information was received from the Bureau of Air Quality Control, and the Environmental Protection Agency of Tehran City. Then, the information was validated according to WHO criteria, and the statistical indicators and the stages required to quantify the harmful effects of air pollutants were calculated by using appropriate application. Results: According to the results, the number of cases admitted to the emergency ward of hospitals due to heart diseases (by exposure to particulate matter during the years 2005 to 2014 were respectively 1797, 1280, 1766, 1980, 2132, 2703, 2389, 2594, 2158, and 2291 cases, totaling 20990 persons, and for respiratory diseases (due to exposure to particulate matter during the same years were respectively 4643, 3301, 4650, 5117, 5511, 6999, 6180, 6452, 5577, and 5922 cases, totaling 54352 people. Also, the number of cases admitted to the emergency wards of hospitals due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by exposure to emissions of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone were respectively, 1806, 2454, and 2941 cases. Conclusion: Air pollution in Tehran increases the load of emergency visits to hospitals and increases the risk of respiratory and heart diseases. Therefore, measures to reduce and control air pollution and to prepare, equip, and mobilize hospitals, particularly emergency wards, are among important priorities that

A comparative meta-analysis of maximal aerobic metabolism of vertebrates: implications for respiratory and cardiovascular limits to gas exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillman, Stanley S; Hancock, Thomas V; Hedrick, Michael S

2013-02-01

Maximal aerobic metabolic rates (MMR) in vertebrates are supported by increased conductive and diffusive fluxes of O(2) from the environment to the mitochondria necessitating concomitant increases in CO(2) efflux. A question that has received much attention has been which step, respiratory or cardiovascular, provides the principal rate limitation to gas flux at MMR? Limitation analyses have principally focused on O(2) fluxes, though the excess capacity of the lung for O(2) ventilation and diffusion remains unexplained except as a safety factor. Analyses of MMR normally rely upon allometry and temperature to define these factors, but cannot account for much of the variation and often have narrow phylogenetic breadth. The unique aspect of our comparative approach was to use an interclass meta-analysis to examine cardio-respiratory variables during the increase from resting metabolic rate to MMR among vertebrates from fish to mammals, independent of allometry and phylogeny. Common patterns at MMR indicate universal principles governing O(2) and CO(2) transport in vertebrate cardiovascular and respiratory systems, despite the varied modes of activities (swimming, running, flying), different cardio-respiratory architecture, and vastly different rates of metabolism (endothermy vs. ectothermy). Our meta-analysis supports previous studies indicating a cardiovascular limit to maximal O(2) transport and also implicates a respiratory system limit to maximal CO(2) efflux, especially in ectotherms. Thus, natural selection would operate on the respiratory system to enhance maximal CO(2) excretion and the cardiovascular system to enhance maximal O(2) uptake. This provides a possible evolutionary explanation for the conundrum of why the respiratory system appears functionally over-designed from an O(2) perspective, a unique insight from previous work focused solely on O(2) fluxes. The results suggest a common gas transport blueprint, or Bauplan, in the vertebrate clade.

Assessment of the Possible Association of Air Pollutants PM10, O3, NO2 With an Increase in Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Diabetes Mortality in Panama City: A 2003 to 2013 Data Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zúñiga, Julio; Tarajia, Musharaf; Herrera, Víctor; Urriola, Wilfredo; Gómez, Beatriz; Motta, Jorge

2016-01-01

In recent years, Panama has experienced a marked economic growth, and this, in turn, has been associated with rapid urban development and degradation of air quality. This study is the first evaluation done in Panama on the association between air pollution and mortality. Our objective was to assess the possible association between monthly levels of PM10, O3, and NO2, and cardiovascular, respiratory, and diabetes mortality, as well as the seasonal variation of mortality in Panama City, Panama.The study was conducted in Panama City, using air pollution data from January 2003 to December 2013. We utilized a Poisson regression model based on generalized linear models, to evaluate the association between PM10, NO2, and O3 exposure and mortality from diabetes, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases. The sample size for PM10, NO2, and O2 was 132, 132, and 108 monthly averages, respectively.We found that levels of PM10, O3, and NO2 were associated with increases in cardiovascular, respiratory, and diabetes mortality. For PM10 levels ≥ 40 μg/m3, we found an increase in cardiovascular mortality of 9.7% (CI 5.8-13.6%), and an increase of 12.6% (CI 0.2-24.2%) in respiratory mortality. For O3 levels ≥ 20 μg/m3 we found an increase of 32.4% (IC 14.6-52.9) in respiratory mortality, after a 2-month lag period following exposure in the 65 to respiratory mortality of 11.2% (IC 1.9-21.3), after a 2-month lag period following exposure among those aged between 65 and pollution in Panama City and an increase in cardiovascular, respiratory, and diabetes mortality. This study confirms the urgent need to improve the measurement frequency of air pollutants in Panama.

Heat-related mortality projections for cardiovascular and respiratory disease under the changing climate in Beijing, China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tiantian; Ban, Jie; Horton, Radley M.; Bader, Daniel A.; Huang, Ganlin; Sun, Qinghua; Kinney, Patrick L.

2015-08-01

Because heat-related health effects tend to become more serious at higher temperatures, there is an urgent need to determine the mortality projection of specific heat-sensitive diseases to provide more detailed information regarding the variation of the sensitivity of such diseases. In this study, the specific mortality of cardiovascular and respiratory disease in Beijing was initially projected under five different global-scale General Circulation Models (GCMs) and two Representative Concentration Pathways scenarios (RCPs) in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s compared to the 1980s. Multi-model ensembles indicated cardiovascular mortality could increase by an average percentage of 18.4%, 47.8%, and 69.0% in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s under RCP 4.5, respectively, and by 16.6%,73.8% and 134% in different decades respectively, under RCP 8.5 compared to the baseline range. The same increasing pattern was also observed in respiratory mortality. The heat-related deaths under the RCP8.5 scenario were found to reach a higher number and to increase more rapidly during the 21st century compared to the RCP4.5 scenario, especially in the 2050s and the 2080s. The projection results show potential trends in cause-specific mortality in the context of climate change, and provide support for public health interventions tailored to specific climate-related future health risks.

Transmission of Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus in the Immunocompromised Ferret Model

Science.gov (United States)

de Waal, Leon; Smits, Saskia L.; Veldhuis Kroeze, Edwin J. B.; van Amerongen, Geert; Pohl, Marie O.; Osterhaus, Albert D. M. E.; Stittelaar, Koert J.

2018-01-01

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) causes substantial morbidity and mortality in vulnerable patients, such as the very young, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals of any age. Nosocomial transmission of HRSV remains a serious challenge in hospital settings, with intervention strategies largely limited to infection control measures, including isolation of cases, high standards of hand hygiene, cohort nursing, and use of personal protective equipment. No vaccines against HRSV are currently available, and treatment options are largely supportive care and expensive monoclonal antibody or antiviral therapy. The limitations of current animal models for HRSV infection impede the development of new preventive and therapeutic agents, and the assessment of their potential for limiting HRSV transmission, in particular in nosocomial settings. Here, we demonstrate the efficient transmission of HRSV from immunocompromised ferrets to both immunocompromised and immunocompetent contact ferrets, with pathological findings reproducing HRSV pathology in humans. The immunocompromised ferret-HRSV model represents a novel tool for the evaluation of intervention strategies against nosocomial transmission of HRSV. PMID:29301313

Chest associated to motor physiotherapy improves cardiovascular variables in newborns with respiratory distress syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Abreu Luiz

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We aimed to evaluate the effects of chest and motor physiotherapy treatment on hemodynamic variables in preterm newborns with respiratory distress syndrome. Methods We evaluated heart rate (HR, respiratory rate (RR, systolic (SAP, mean (MAP and diastolic arterial pressure (DAP, temperature and oxygen saturation (SO2% in 44 newborns with respiratory distress syndrome. We compared all variables between before physiotherapy treatment vs. after the last physiotherapy treatment. Newborns were treated during 11 days. Variables were measured 2 minutes before and 5 minutes after each physiotherapy treatment. We applied paired Student t test to compare variables between the two periods. Results HR (148.5 ± 8.5 bpm vs. 137.1 ± 6.8 bpm - p 2%. Conclusions Chest and motor physiotherapy improved cardiovascular parameters in respiratory distress syndrome newborns.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia stabilizes mean arterial blood pressure at high-frequency interval in healthy humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Elstad, Maja; Walløe, Lars; Holme, Nathalie L A; Maes, Elke; Thoresen, Marianne

2015-03-01

Arterial blood pressure variations are an independent risk factor for end organ failure. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a sign of a healthy cardiovascular system. However, whether RSA counteracts arterial blood pressure variations during the respiratory cycle remains controversial. We restricted normal RSA with non-invasive intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) to test the hypothesis that RSA normally functions to stabilize mean arterial blood pressure. Ten young volunteers were investigated during metronome-paced breathing and IPPV. Heart rate (ECG), mean arterial blood pressure and left stroke volume (finger arterial pressure curve) and right stroke volume (pulsed ultrasound Doppler) were recorded, while systemic and pulmonary blood flow were calculated beat-by-beat. Respiratory variations (high-frequency power, 0.15-0.40 Hz) in cardiovascular variables were estimated by spectral analysis. Phase angles and correlation were calculated by cross-spectral analysis. The magnitude of RSA was reduced from 4.9 bpm(2) (95% CI 3.0, 6.2) during metronome breathing to 2.8 bpm(2) (95% CI 1.1, 5.0) during IPPV (p = 0.03). Variations in mean arterial blood pressure were greater (2.3 mmHg(2) (95% CI 1.4, 3.9) during IPPV than during metronome breathing (1.0 mmHg(2) [95% CI 0.7, 1.3]) (p = 0.014). Respiratory variations in right and left stroke volumes were inversely related in the respiratory cycle during both metronome breathing and IPPV. RSA magnitude is lower and mean arterial blood pressure variability is greater during IPPV than during metronome breathing. We conclude that in healthy humans, RSA stabilizes mean arterial blood pressure at respiratory frequency.

Heat-Related Mortality Projections for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Disease Under the Changing Climate in Beijing, China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tiantian; Ban, Jie; Horton, Radley M.; Bader, Daniel A.; Huang, Ganlin; Sun, Qinghua; Kinney, Patrick L.

2015-01-01

Because heat-related health effects tend to become more serious at higher temperatures, there is an urgent need to determine the mortality projection of specific heat-sensitive diseases to provide more detailed information regarding the variation of the sensitivity of such diseases. In this study, the specific mortality of cardiovascular and respiratory disease in Beijing was initially projected under five different global-scale General Circulation Models (GCMs) and two Representative Concentration Pathways scenarios (RCPs) in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s compared to the 1980s. Multi-model ensembles indicated cardiovascular mortality could increase by an average percentage of 18.4 percent, 47.8 percent, and 69.0 percent in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s under RCP 4.5, respectively, and by 16.6 percent, 73.8 percent and 134 percent in different decades respectively, under RCP 8.5 compared to the baseline range. The same increasing pattern was also observed in respiratory mortality. The heat-related deaths under the RCP 8.5 scenario were found to reach a higher number and to increase more rapidly during the 21st century compared to the RCP4.5 scenario, especially in the 2050s and the 2080s. The projection results show potential trends in cause-specific mortality in the context of climate change, and provide support for public health interventions tailored to specific climate-related future health risks.

Ambient Air Pollution Exposure and Respiratory, Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Mortality in Cape Town, South Africa: 2001?2006

OpenAIRE

Wichmann, Janine; Voyi, Kuku

2012-01-01

Little evidence is available on the strength of the association between ambient air pollution exposure and health effects in developing countries such as South Africa. The association between the 24-h average ambient PM10, SO2 and NO2 levels and daily respiratory (RD), cardiovascular (CVD) and cerebrovascular (CBD) mortality in Cape Town (2001–2006) was investigated with a case-crossover design. For models that included entire year data, an inter-quartile range (IQR) increase in PM1...

Computational Fluid and Particle Dynamics in the Human Respiratory System

CERN Document Server

Tu, Jiyuan; Ahmadi, Goodarz

2013-01-01

Traditional research methodologies in the human respiratory system have always been challenging due to their invasive nature. Recent advances in medical imaging and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have accelerated this research. This book compiles and details recent advances in the modelling of the respiratory system for researchers, engineers, scientists, and health practitioners. It breaks down the complexities of this field and provides both students and scientists with an introduction and starting point to the physiology of the respiratory system, fluid dynamics and advanced CFD modeling tools. In addition to a brief introduction to the physics of the respiratory system and an overview of computational methods, the book contains best-practice guidelines for establishing high-quality computational models and simulations. Inspiration for new simulations can be gained through innovative case studies as well as hands-on practice using pre-made computational code. Last but not least, students and researcher...

Human herpesviruses respiratory infections in patients with acute respiratory distress (ARDS).

Science.gov (United States)

Bonizzoli, Manuela; Arvia, Rosaria; di Valvasone, Simona; Liotta, Francesco; Zakrzewska, Krystyna; Azzi, Alberta; Peris, Adriano

2016-08-01

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is today a leading cause of hospitalization in intensive care unit (ICU). ARDS and pneumonia are closely related to critically ill patients; however, the etiologic agent is not always identified. The presence of human herpes simplex virus 1, human cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus in respiratory samples of critically ill patients is increasingly reported even without canonical immunosuppression. The main aim of this study was to better understand the significance of herpesviruses finding in lower respiratory tract of ARDS patients hospitalized in ICU. The presence of this group of herpesviruses, in addition to the research of influenza viruses and other common respiratory viruses, was investigated in respiratory samples from 54 patients hospitalized in ICU, without a known microbiological causative agent. Moreover, the immunophenotype of each patient was analyzed. Herpesviruses DNA presence in the lower respiratory tract seemed not attributable to an impaired immunophenotype, whereas a significant correlation was observed between herpesviruses positivity and influenza virus infection. A higher ICU mortality was significantly related to the presence of herpesvirus infection in the lower respiratory tract as well as to impaired immunophenotype, as patients with poor outcome showed severe lymphopenia, affecting in particular T (CD3+) cells, since the first days of ICU hospitalization. In conclusion, these results indicate that herpesviruses lower respiratory tract infection, which occurs more frequently following influenza virus infection, can be a negative prognostic marker. An independent risk factor for ICU patients with ARDS is an impaired immunophenotype.

Transmission of human respiratory syncytial virus in the immunocompromised ferret model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Waal, L. (Leon); S.L. Smits (Saskia); E.J.B. Veldhuis Kroeze (Edwin); G. van Amerongen (Geert); Pohl, M.O. (Marie O.); Osterhaus, A.D.M.E. (Albert D. M. E.); K.J. Stittelaar (Koert)

2018-01-01

textabstractHuman respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) causes substantial morbidity and mortality in vulnerable patients, such as the very young, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals of any age. Nosocomial transmission of HRSV remains a serious challenge in hospital settings, with

Application of morphological and physiological parameters representative of a sample Brazilian population in the human respiratory tract model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reis, A.A.; Cardoso, J.C.S.; Lourenco, M.C.

2005-01-01

Full text: The Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM) proposed in ICRP Publication 66 account for the morphology and physiology of the respiratory tract. The characteristics of air drawn into the lungs and exhaled are greatly influenced by the morphology of the respiratory tract, which causes numerous changes in pressure, flow rate, direction and humidity as air moves into and out of the lungs. These changing characteristics can influence the rates and the sites of deposition. Concerning the respiratory physiological parameters the breathing characteristics influence the volume, the inhalation rate of air and the portion that enters through the nose and the mouth. These characteristics are important to determine the fractional deposition. The HRTM model uses morphological and physiological parameters from the Caucasian man to establish deposition fractions in the respiratory tract regions. lt is known that the morphology and physiology are influenced by environmental, occupational and economic conditions. The ICRP recommends for a reliable evaluation of the regional deposition the use of parameters from a local population when information is available. The main purpose of this study is to verify the influence in using the morphology and physiology parameters representative of a sample of the Brazilian population on the deposition model of ICRP Publication 66. The morphological and physiological data were obtained from the literature. The software EXCEL for Windows (version 2000) was used in order to implement the deposition model and also to allow the changes in parameters of interest. Initially, the implemented model was checked using the parameters defined in ICRP and the results of the fraction deposition in the respiratory tract compartments were compared. Finally, morphological and physiological parameters from Brazilian adult male were applied and the fractional deposition calculated. The respiratory values at different levels of activity for ages varying from

DigitalHuman (DH): An Integrative Mathematical Model ofHuman Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Hester, Robert L.; Summers, Richard L.; lIescu, Radu; Esters, Joyee; Coleman, Thomas G.

2010-01-01

Mathematical models and simulation are important tools in discovering the key causal relationships governing physiological processes and improving medical intervention when physiological complexity is a central issue. We have developed a model of integrative human physiology called DigitalHuman (DH) consisting of -5000 variables modeling human physiology describing cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, endocrine, neural and metabolic physiology. Users can view time-dependent solutions and interactively introduce perturbations by altering numerical parameters to investigate new hypotheses. The variables, parameters and quantitative relationships as well as all other model details are described in XML text files. All aspects of the model, including the mathematical equations describing the physiological processes are written in XML open source, text-readable files. Model structure is based upon empirical data of physiological responses documented within the peer-reviewed literature. The model can be used to understand proposed physiological mechanisms and physiological interactions that may not be otherwise intUitively evident. Some of the current uses of this model include the analyses of renal control of blood pressure, the central role of the liver in creating and maintaining insulin resistance, and the mechanisms causing orthostatic hypotension in astronauts. Additionally the open source aspect of the modeling environment allows any investigator to add detailed descriptions of human physiology to test new concepts. The model accurately predicts both qualitative and more importantly quantitative changes in clinically and experimentally observed responses. DigitalHuman provides scientists a modeling environment to understand the complex interactions of integrative physiology. This research was supported by.NIH HL 51971, NSF EPSCoR, and NASA

Cardiovascular oscillations: in search of a nonlinear parametric model

Science.gov (United States)

Bandrivskyy, Andriy; Luchinsky, Dmitry; McClintock, Peter V.; Smelyanskiy, Vadim; Stefanovska, Aneta; Timucin, Dogan

2003-05-01

We suggest a fresh approach to the modeling of the human cardiovascular system. Taking advantage of a new Bayesian inference technique, able to deal with stochastic nonlinear systems, we show that one can estimate parameters for models of the cardiovascular system directly from measured time series. We present preliminary results of inference of parameters of a model of coupled oscillators from measured cardiovascular data addressing cardiorespiratory interaction. We argue that the inference technique offers a very promising tool for the modeling, able to contribute significantly towards the solution of a long standing challenge -- development of new diagnostic techniques based on noninvasive measurements.

The ICRP task group respiratory tract model - an age-dependent dosimetric model for general application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, M.R.; Birchall, A.

1992-01-01

The ICRP Task Group on Human Respiratory Tract Models for Radiological Protection has developed a revised dosimetric model for the respiratory tract. Papers outlining the model, and describing each aspect of it were presented at the Third International Workshop on Respiratory Tract Dosimetry (Albuquerque 1-3 July 1990), the Proceedings of which were recently published in Radiation Protection Dosimetry Volume 38 Nos 1-3 (1991). Since the model had not changed substantially since the Workshop at Albuquerque, only a summary of the paper presented at Schloss Elmau is included in these Proceedings. (author)

Biomechanical investigation of different surgical strategies for the treatment of rib fractures using a three-dimensional human respiratory model.

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Kao-Shang; Truong, Thanh An; Hsu, Ching-Chi; Hou, Sheng-Mou

2017-11-02

Rib fracture is a common injury and can result in pain during respiration. Conservative treatment of rib fracture is applied via mechanical ventilation. However, ventilator-associated complications frequently occur. Surgical fixation is another approach to treat rib fractures. Unfortunately, this surgical treatment is still not completely defined. Past studies have evaluated the biomechanics of the rib cage during respiration using a finite element method, but only intact conditions were modelled. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a realistic numerical model of the human rib cage and to analyse the biomechanical performance of intact, injured and treated rib cages. Three-dimensional finite element models of the human rib cage were developed. Respiratory movement of the human rib cage was simulated to evaluate the strengths and limitations of different scenarios. The results show that a realistic human respiratory movement can be simulated and the predicted results were closely related to previous study (correlation coefficient>0.92). Fixation of two fractured ribs significantly decreased the fixation index (191%) compared to the injured model. This fixation may provide adequate fixation stability as well as reveal lower bone stress and implant stress compared with the fixation of three or more fractured ribs.

Evaluation of exercise-respiratory system modifications and integration schemes for physiological systems

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, R. R.

1974-01-01

Exercise subroutine modifications are implemented in an exercise-respiratory system model yielding improvement of system response to exercise forcings. A more physiologically desirable respiratory ventilation rate in addition to an improved regulation of arterial gas tensions and cerebral blood flow is observed. A respiratory frequency expression is proposed which would be appropriate as an interfacing element of the respiratory-pulsatile cardiovascular system. Presentation of a circulatory-respiratory system integration scheme along with its computer program listing is given. The integrated system responds to exercise stimulation for both nonstressed and stressed physiological states. Other integration possibilities are discussed with respect to the respiratory, pulsatile cardiovascular, thermoregulatory, and the long-term circulatory systems.

Long-Term PM2.5 Exposure and Respiratory, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality in Older US Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Pun, Vivian C; Kazemiparkouhi, Fatemeh; Manjourides, Justin; Suh, Helen H

2017-10-15

The impact of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5)) on respiratory disease and lung cancer mortality is poorly understood. In a cohort of 18.9 million Medicare beneficiaries (4.2 million deaths) living across the conterminous United States between 2000 and 2008, we examined the association between chronic PM2.5 exposure and cause-specific mortality. We evaluated confounding through adjustment for neighborhood behavioral covariates and decomposition of PM2.5 into 2 spatiotemporal scales. We found significantly positive associations of 12-month moving average PM2.5 exposures (per 10-μg/m3 increase) with respiratory, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pneumonia mortality, with risk ratios ranging from 1.10 to 1.24. We also found significant PM2.5-associated elevated risks for cardiovascular and lung cancer mortality. Risk ratios generally increased with longer moving averages; for example, an elevation in 60-month moving average PM2.5 exposures was linked to 1.33 times the lung cancer mortality risk (95% confidence interval: 1.24, 1.40), as compared with 1.13 (95% confidence interval: 1.11, 1.15) for 12-month moving average exposures. Observed associations were robust in multivariable models, although evidence of unmeasured confounding remained. In this large cohort of US elderly, we provide important new evidence that long-term PM2.5 exposure is significantly related to increased mortality from respiratory disease, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Bayesian Hierarchical Distributed Lag Models for Summer Ozone Exposure and Cardio-Respiratory Mortality

OpenAIRE

Yi Huang; Francesca Dominici; Michelle Bell

2004-01-01

In this paper, we develop Bayesian hierarchical distributed lag models for estimating associations between daily variations in summer ozone levels and daily variations in cardiovascular and respiratory (CVDRESP) mortality counts for 19 U.S. large cities included in the National Morbidity Mortality Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) for the period 1987 - 1994. At the first stage, we define a semi-parametric distributed lag Poisson regression model to estimate city-specific relative rates of CVDRESP ...

Noninvasive radiographic assessment of cardiovascular function in acute and chronic respiratory failure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berger, H.J.; Matthay, R.A.

1981-01-01

Noninvasive radiographic techniques have provided a means of studying the natural history and pathogenesis of cardiovascular performance in acute and chronic respiratory failure. Chest radiography, radionuclide angiocardiography and thallium-201 imaging, and M mode and cross-sectional echocardiography have been employed. Each of these techniques has specific uses, attributes and limitations. For example, measurement of descending pulmonary arterial diameters on the plain chest radiograph allows determination of the presence or absence of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Right and left ventricular performance can be evaluated at rest and during exercise using radionuclide angiocardiography. The biventricular response to exercise and to therapeutic interventions also can be assessed with this approach. Evaluation of the pulmonary valve echogram and echocardiographic right ventricular dimensions have been shown to reflect right ventricular hemodynamics and size. Each of these noninvasive techniques has been applied to the study of patients with respiratory failure and has provided important physiologic data

High-throughput Gene Expression Analysis In Pigs As Model For Respiratory Infections

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skovgaard, Kerstin; Brogaard, Louise; Schou, Kirstine Klitgaard

model for disease and inflammation. Pigs are fully susceptible to human influenza, and have been demonstrated to be involved in influenza evolution and ecology. Pigs share many similarities with humans regarding lung physiology and innate immune cell infiltration of the respiratory system and thus seem...... to be an obvious large animal model for respiratory infections. This study aimed at providing a better understanding of the involvement of circulating non-coding RNA and innate immune factors in porcine blood leukocytes during influenza virus infection. By employing the pig as a model we were able to perform...

Willingness to pay for improved respiratory and cardiovascular health: a multiple-format, stated-preference approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, F R; Banzhaf, M R; Desvousges, W H

2000-06-01

This study uses stated-preference (SP) analysis to measure willingness to pay (WTP) to reduce acute episodes of respiratory and cardiovascular ill health. The SP survey employs a modified version of the health state descriptions used in the Quality of Well Being (QWB) Index. The four health state attributes are symptom, episode duration, activity restrictions and cost. Preferences are elicited using two different SP formats: graded-pair and discrete-choice. The different formats cause subjects to focus on different evaluation strategies. Combining two elicitation formats yields more valid and robust estimates than using only one approach. Estimates of indirect utility function parameters are obtained using advanced panel econometrics for each format separately and jointly. Socio-economic differences in health preferences are modelled by allowing the marginal utility of money relative to health attributes to vary across respondents. Because the joint model captures the combined preference information provided by both elicitation formats, these model estimates are used to calculate WTP. The results demonstrate the feasibility of estimating meaningful WTP values for policy-relevant respiratory and cardiac symptoms, even from subjects who never have personally experienced these conditions. Furthermore, because WTP estimates are for individual components of health improvements, estimates can be aggregated in various ways depending upon policy needs. Thus, using generic health attributes facilitates transferring WTP estimates for benefit-cost analysis of a variety of potential health interventions. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High-throughput gene expression analysis in pigs as model for respiratory infections

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skovgaard, Kerstin; Brogaard, Louise; Schou, Kirstine Klitgaard

for disease and inflammation. Pigs are fully susceptible to human influenza, and have been demonstrated to be involved in influenza evolution and ecology. Pigs share many similarities with humans regarding lung physiology and innate immune cell infiltration of the respiratory system and thus seem...... to be an obvious large animal model for respiratory infections. This study aimed at providing a better understanding of the involvement of circulating non-coding RNA and innate immune factors in porcine blood leukocytes during influenza virus infection. By employing the pig as a model we were able to perform...

Acute exacerbations and deaths in the group of respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases in the city of Lodzin relation to atmospheric pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swiatczak, J; Olejnik, A

1974-01-01

The effect of air pollution episodes (sulfur dioxide and dust) on the morbidity and mortality of a group of people suffering from upper respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease was studied by examining air monitoring data and health statistics (ambulance service records and death certificates) for the city of Lodz. During the month of January in 1971, when the atmospheric pollution reached a 7-year peak, ambulance station statistics revealed the incidnce of acute cardiovascular and respiratory diseases to be at a maximum. The number of deaths from these diseases reached a maximum of 18 on the first day of the episode; on subsequent days, however, the mortalities returned to average.

Human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus in hospitalized danish children with acute respiratory tract infection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Linstow, Marie-Louise; Henrik Larsen, Hans; Koch, Anders

2004-01-01

The newly discovered human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has been shown to be associated with respiratory illness. We determined the frequencies and clinical features of hMPV and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in 374 Danish children with 383 episodes of acute respiratory tract infection...... children 1-6 months of age. Asthmatic bronchitis was diagnosed in 66.7% of hMPV and 10.6% of RSV-infected children (p respiratory support. hMPV is present in young...

Practical application of the new ICRP Human Respiratory Tract Model (invited paper)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bailey, M.R.; Guilmette, R.A.; Jarvis, N.S.; Roy, M

1998-07-01

The ICRP Publication 66 Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM) has been applied to calculate general-purpose dose coefficients using default values of parameters relating to the material and the subjects. The ICRP Task Group on Internal Dosimetry is developing a 'Technical Document' giving guidance on application of the HRTM in situations where using specific information can improve dose assessment. It will include an analysis of the sensitivity of doses and bioassay quantities, lung retention and excretion rates, to relevant parameter values. Guidance will be given on characterising and sampling radioactive aerosols and on determining absorption rates. Examples will be given illustrating application of the HRTM in a wide range of situations. This paper provides a selective summary of the document at its current stage of development, with emphasis on determining absorption rates. (author)

Innovative characteristics of the new dosimetric model for the human respiratory tract studied by the ICRP appointed Task Group of Committee 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melandri, C.; Battisti, P.; Tarroni, G.

1991-02-01

In 1984, the ICRP appointed a Task Group of Committee 2 to review and revise, as necessary, the current lung dosimetric model. On the basis of the knowledge acquired during the past 20 years, the Task Group's approach has been to review, in depth, the morphology and physiology of the human respiratory tract, inspirability of aerosols and regional deposition of inhaled particles as functions of aerosol size and breathing parameters, clearance of deposited materials, nature and specific sites of damage to the respiratory system caused by inhaled radioactive substances. In the proposed model, clearance from the three regions of the respiratory tract (extrathoracic ET, fast-clearing thoracic T f and slow-clearing thoracic T s , comprising lymph nodes) is described in terms of competition between the mechanical processes moving particles, which do not depend on the substances, and those of absorption into the blood, determined solely by the material. A Task Group report will also include models for calculating radiation doses to tissues of the respiratory system following inhalation of α, β and γ emitting particulate and gaseous radionuclides. (author)

Particle deposition and clearance of atmospheric particles in the human respiratory tract during LACE 98

Science.gov (United States)

Bundke, U.; Hänel, G.

2003-04-01

During the LACE 98footnote{Lindenberg Aerosol Characterization Experiment, (Germany) 1998} experiment microphysical, chemical and optical properties of atmospheric particles were measured by several groups. (Bundke et al.). The particle deposition and clearance of the particles in the human respiratory tract was calculated using the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) deposition and clearance model (ICRP 1994). Particle growth as function of relative humidity outside the body was calculated from measurement data using the model introduced by Bundke et al.. Particle growth inside the body was added using a non-equilibrium particle growth model. As a result of the calculations, time series of the total dry particle mass and -size distribution were obtained for all compartments of the human respiratory tract defined by ICRP 1994. The combined ICRP deposition and clearance model was initialized for different probationers like man, woman, children of different ages and several circumstances like light work, sitting, sleeping etc. Keeping the conditions observed during LACE 98 constant a approximation of the aerosol burdens of the different compartments was calculated up to 4 years of exposure and compared to the results from Snipes et al. for the "Phoenix" and "Philadelphia" aerosol. References: footnotesize{ Bundke, U. et al.,it{Aerosol Optical Properties during the Lindenberg Aerosol Characterization Experiment (LACE 98)} ,10.1029/2000JD000188, JGR, 2002 ICRP,it{Human Respiratory Tract Model for Radiological Protection, Bd. ICRP Publication 66}, Annals of the ICRP, 24,1-3, Elsevier Science, Ocford, 1994 Snipes et al. ,it{The 1994 ICRP66 Human Respiratory Tract Model as a Tool for predicting Lung Burdens from Exposure to Environmental Aerosols}, Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg., 12, 547-553,1997}

Application of the physiological and morphological parameters of the brazilian population sample to the mathematical model of the human respiratory tract

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reis, Arlene Alves dos

2005-01-01

The Human Respiratory Tract Model proposed by the ICRP Publication 66 accounts for the morphology and physiology of the respiratory tract. The characteristics of air drawn into the lungs and exhaled are greatly influenced by the morphology of the respiratory tract, which causes numerous changes in pressure, flow rate, direction and humidity as air moves into and out of the lungs. Concerning the respiratory physiological parameters the breathing characteristics influence the volume, the inhalation rate of air and the portion that enters through the nose and the mouth. These characteristics are important to determine the fractional deposition. The model uses morphological and physiological parameters from the Caucasian man to establish deposition fractions in the respiratory tract regions. It is known that the morphology and physiology are influenced by environmental, occupational and economic conditions. The ICRP recommends, for a reliable evaluation of the regional deposition, the use of parameters from a local population when information is available. The main purpose of this study is to verify the influence in using the morphology and physiology parameters representative of a sample of the Brazilian population on the deposition model of the ICRP Publication 66. The morphological and physiological data were obtained from the literature. The software EXCEL for Windows (version 2000) was used in order to implement the deposition model and also to allow the changes in parameters of interest. Initially, the implemented model was checked using the parameters defined by the ICRP and the results of the fraction deposition in the respiratory tract compartments were compared. Finally, morphological and physiological parameters from Brazilian adult male were applied and the fractional deposition calculated. The results suggest a significant variation in fractional deposition when Brazilian parameters are applied in the model. (author)

Investigations of the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems on Board the International Space Station: Experiments Puls and Pneumocard

Science.gov (United States)

Baranov, V. M.; Baevsky, R. M.; Drescher, J.; Tank, J.

parameters describing the results of the function of these systems like heart rate, arterial pressure, cardiac output, or breathing frequency, concentration of O2 and CO2 , etc. Missing significant changes of these parameters during weightlessness supports the hypothesis that adaptational and compensatory mechanisms are sufficient and guarantee cardiovascular homeostasis under changing environmental conditions. characteristic changes of the vegetative balance and of the activity of different regulatory elements at the brainstem and subcortical level. This changes guaranteed the adaptation to long term weightlessness. However, it remains unclear to what extent the different levels are involved. Moreover, the criteria describing the efficacy of cardiorespiratory interaction for the different functional states are not defined yet. The investigation of this problems is highly relevant in order to improve the medical control, especially if considering that the disruption of regulatory systems mostly precedes dangerous destruction of homeostasis. cardiovascular and respiratory function on Board the International Space Station (ISS) aiming to obtain new insights into the interaction between different regulatory elements. "Puls" is measures ECG, photoplethysmogram (PPG), and the pneumotachogram (PTG). The ECG is used to measure time series of R-R intervals and to analyse HRV. PPG is used to define the pulse wave velocity, phases of the cardiac cycle, and an estimate of the filling of finger vessels. The variability of these parameters is also calculated and compared to HRV. The analysis of the PTG allows to describe the interaction of the regulatory parameters of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Hence, an important feature of the experiment "Puls" is the investigation of regulatory mechanisms rather than of cardiovascular homeostasis. cardiography) and left ventricular contractility (seismocardiography) will be obtained. This expansion is of major importance

The revised International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) dosimetric model for the human respiratory tract

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bair, W.J.

1992-05-01

A task group has revised the dosimetric model of the respiratory tract used to calculate annual limits on intake of radionuclides. The revised model can be used to project respiratory tract doses for workers and members of the public from airborne radionuclides and to assess past exposures. Doses calculated for specific extrathoracic and thoracic tissues can be adjusted to account for differences in radiosensitivity and summed to yield two values of dose for the respiratory tract that are applicable to the ICRP tissue weighted dosimetry system

Overall human mortality and morbidity due to exposure to air pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Samek, Lucyna

2016-01-01

Concentrations of particulate matter that contains particles with diameter ≤ 10 mm (PM10) and diameter ≤ 2.5 mm (PM2.5) as well as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have considerable impact on human mortality, especially in the cases when cardiovascular or respiratory causes are attributed. Additionally, they affect morbidity. An estimation of human mortality and morbidity due to the increased concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 between the years 2005-2013 was performed for the city of Kraków, Poland. For this purpose the Air Quality Health Impact Assessment Tool (AirQ) software was successfully applied. The Air Quality Health Impact Assessment Tool was used for the calculation of the total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality as well as hospital admissions related to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Data on concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and NO2, which was obtained from the website of the Voivodeship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (WIOS) in Kraków, was used in this study. Total mortality due to exposure to PM10 in 2005 was found to be 41 deaths per 100 000 and dropped to 30 deaths per 100 000 in 2013. Cardiovascular mortality was 2 times lower than the total mortality. However, hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases were more than an order of magnitude higher than the respiratory mortality. The calculated total mortality due to PM2.5 was higher than that due to PM10. Air pollution was determined to have a significant effect on human health. The values obtained by the use of the AirQ software for the city of Kraków imply that exposure to polluted air can result in serious health problems. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

CFD heat transfer simulation of the human upper respiratory tract for oronasal breathing condition

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Kambiz Farahmand

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Injuries due to inhalation of hot gas are commonly encountered when dealing with fire and combustible material, which is harmful and threatens human life. In the literature, various studies have been conducted to investigate heat and mass transfer characteristics in the human respiratory tract (HRT. This study focuses on assessing the injury taking place in the upper human respiratory tract and identifying acute tissue damage, based on level of exposure. A three-dimensional heat transfer simulation is performed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD software to study the temperature profile through the upper HRT consisting of the nasal cavity, oral cavity, trachea, and the first two generations of bronchi. The model developed is for the simultaneous oronasal breathing during the inspiration phase with a high volumetric flow rate of 90 liters/minute and the inspired air temperature of 100 degrees Celsius. The geometric model depicting the upper HRT is generated based on the data available and literature cited. The results of the simulation give the temperature distribution along the center and the surface tissue of the respiratory tract. This temperature distribution will help to assess the level of damage induced in the upper respiratory tract and appropriate treatment for the damage. A comparison of nasal breathing, oral breathing, and oronasal breathing is performed. Temperature distribution can be utilized in the design of the respirator systems where inlet temperature is regulated favoring the human body conditions.

Ocular Tropism of Respiratory Viruses

Science.gov (United States)

Rota, Paul A.; Tumpey, Terrence M.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Respiratory viruses (including adenovirus, influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, coronavirus, and rhinovirus) cause a broad spectrum of disease in humans, ranging from mild influenza-like symptoms to acute respiratory failure. While species D adenoviruses and subtype H7 influenza viruses are known to possess an ocular tropism, documented human ocular disease has been reported following infection with all principal respiratory viruses. In this review, we describe the anatomical proximity and cellular receptor distribution between ocular and respiratory tissues. All major respiratory viruses and their association with human ocular disease are discussed. Research utilizing in vitro and in vivo models to study the ability of respiratory viruses to use the eye as a portal of entry as well as a primary site of virus replication is highlighted. Identification of shared receptor-binding preferences, host responses, and laboratory modeling protocols among these viruses provides a needed bridge between clinical and laboratory studies of virus tropism. PMID:23471620

Innovative characteristics of the new dosimetric model for the human respiratory tract studied by the ICRP appointed Task Group of Committee 2

CERN Document Server

Melandri, C; Tarroni, G

1991-01-01

In 1984, the ICRP appointed a Task Group of Committee 2 to review and revise, as necessary, the current lung dosimetric model. On the basis of the knowledge acquired during the past 20 years, the Task Group's approach has been to review, in depth, the morphology and physiology of the human respiratory tract, inspirability of aerosols and regional deposition of inhaled particles as functions of aerosol size and breathing parameters, clearance of deposited materials, nature and specific sites of damage to the respiratory system caused by inhaled radioactive substances. In the proposed model, clearance from the three regions of the respiratory tract (extrathoracic ET, fast-clearing thoracic T sub f and slow-clearing thoracic T sub s , comprising lymph nodes) is described in terms of competition between the mechanical processes moving particles, which do not depend on the substances, and those of absorption into the blood, determined solely by the material. A Task Group report will also include models for calcula...

Human respiratory syncytial virus load normalized by cell quantification as predictor of acute respiratory tract infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Novo, Miriam; Boga, José A; Álvarez-Argüelles, Marta E; Rojo-Alba, Susana; Fernández, Ana; Menéndez, María J; de Oña, María; Melón, Santiago

2018-05-01

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is a common cause of respiratory infections. The main objective is to analyze the prediction ability of viral load of HRSV normalized by cell number in respiratory symptoms. A prospective, descriptive, and analytical study was performed. From 7307 respiratory samples processed between December 2014 to April 2016, 1019 HRSV-positive samples, were included in this study. Low respiratory tract infection was present in 729 patients (71.54%). Normalized HRSV load was calculated by quantification of HRSV genome and human β-globin gene and expressed as log10 copies/1000 cells. HRSV mean loads were 4.09 ± 2.08 and 4.82 ± 2.09 log10 copies/1000 cells in the 549 pharyngeal and 470 nasopharyngeal samples, respectively (P respiratory tract infection and 4.22 ± 2.28 log10 copies/1000 cells with upper respiratory tract infection or febrile syndrome (P < 0.05). A possible cut off value to predict LRTI evolution was tentatively established. Normalization of viral load by cell number in the samples is essential to ensure an optimal virological molecular diagnosis avoiding that the quality of samples affects the results. A high viral load can be a useful marker to predict disease progression. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effect of a smoking ban on hospitalization rates for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

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Katherine Gaudreau

Full Text Available This is the first study to have examined the effect of smoking bans on hospitalizations in the Atlantic Canadian socio-economic, cultural and climatic context. On June 1, 2003 Prince Edward Island (PEI enacted a province-wide smoking ban in public places and workplaces. Changes in hospital admission rates for cardiovascular (acute myocardial infarction, angina, and stroke and respiratory (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma conditions were examined before and after the smoking ban.Crude annual and monthly admission rates for the above conditions were calculated from April 1, 1995 to December 31, 2008 in all PEI acute care hospitals. Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average time series models were used to test for changes in mean and trend of monthly admission rates for study conditions, control conditions and a control province after the comprehensive smoking ban. Age- and sex-based analyses were completed.The mean rate of acute myocardial infarctions was reduced by 5.92 cases per 100,000 person-months (P = 0.04 immediately after the smoking ban. The trend of monthly angina admissions in men was reduced by -0.44 cases per 100,000 person-months (P = 0.01 in the 67 months after the smoking ban. All other cardiovascular and respiratory admission changes were non-significant.A comprehensive smoking ban in PEI reduced the overall mean number of acute myocardial infarction admissions and the trend of angina hospital admissions.

Dynamic interactions between musical, cardiovascular, and cerebral rhythms in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardi, Luciano; Porta, Cesare; Casucci, Gaia; Balsamo, Rossella; Bernardi, Nicolò F; Fogari, Roberto; Sleight, Peter

2009-06-30

Reactions to music are considered subjective, but previous studies suggested that cardiorespiratory variables increase with faster tempo independent of individual preference. We tested whether compositions characterized by variable emphasis could produce parallel instantaneous cardiovascular/respiratory responses and whether these changes mirrored music profiles. Twenty-four young healthy subjects, 12 musicians (choristers) and 12 nonmusician control subjects, listened (in random order) to music with vocal (Puccini's "Turandot") or orchestral (Beethoven's 9th Symphony adagio) progressive crescendos, more uniform emphasis (Bach cantata), 10-second period (ie, similar to Mayer waves) rhythmic phrases (Giuseppe Verdi's arias "Va pensiero" and "Libiam nei lieti calici"), or silence while heart rate, respiration, blood pressures, middle cerebral artery flow velocity, and skin vasomotion were recorded.Common responses were recognized by averaging instantaneous cardiorespiratory responses regressed against changes in music profiles and by coherence analysis during rhythmic phrases. Vocal and orchestral crescendos produced significant (P=0.05 or better) correlations between cardiovascular or respiratory signals and music profile, particularly skin vasoconstriction and blood pressures, proportional to crescendo, in contrast to uniform emphasis, which induced skin vasodilation and reduction in blood pressures. Correlations were significant both in individual and group-averaged signals. Phrases at 10-second periods by Verdi entrained the cardiovascular autonomic variables. No qualitative differences in recorded measurements were seen between musicians and nonmusicians. Music emphasis and rhythmic phrases are tracked consistently by physiological variables. Autonomic responses are synchronized with music, which might therefore convey emotions through autonomic arousal during crescendos or rhythmic phrases.

Solution of human respiratory tract model for chronic inhalation intake

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nadar, Minal Y.; Singh, I.S.; Rao, D.D.; Pradeepkumar, K.S.

2014-01-01

For the radiation workers of fuel reprocessing and fuel fabrication plants, inhalation is one of the major routes of intake of internal contamination. In case of routine monitoring which would result in lung activity above detection limit, it is assumed that intake has occurred at the midpoint of monitoring interval so that underestimation introduced by the unknown time of intake is less than a factor of three. In the plants, chronic intakes of 239 Pu are possible if low levels of 239 Pu activities remain undetected. In ICRP-78, the retention values are given as a function of time for continuous chronic inhalation of 239 Pu at 1.71 Bq/day that would result in Committed Effective Dose (CED) of 20 mSv. Retention values (R) are not given for inhalation intake at any other rate. Therefore, Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM) is solved for continuous chronic inhalation at 1 Bq/day rate for type M compounds of 239 Pu to estimate R as a function of time. These values will be useful in estimating intake from lung activity measurements in case of chronic intakes

Computational fluid dynamics modelling in cardiovascular medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Paul D; Narracott, Andrew; von Tengg-Kobligk, Hendrik; Silva Soto, Daniel Alejandro; Hsiao, Sarah; Lungu, Angela; Evans, Paul; Bressloff, Neil W; Lawford, Patricia V; Hose, D Rodney; Gunn, Julian P

2016-01-01

This paper reviews the methods, benefits and challenges associated with the adoption and translation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling within cardiovascular medicine. CFD, a specialist area of mathematics and a branch of fluid mechanics, is used routinely in a diverse range of safety-critical engineering systems, which increasingly is being applied to the cardiovascular system. By facilitating rapid, economical, low-risk prototyping, CFD modelling has already revolutionised research and development of devices such as stents, valve prostheses, and ventricular assist devices. Combined with cardiovascular imaging, CFD simulation enables detailed characterisation of complex physiological pressure and flow fields and the computation of metrics which cannot be directly measured, for example, wall shear stress. CFD models are now being translated into clinical tools for physicians to use across the spectrum of coronary, valvular, congenital, myocardial and peripheral vascular diseases. CFD modelling is apposite for minimally-invasive patient assessment. Patient-specific (incorporating data unique to the individual) and multi-scale (combining models of different length- and time-scales) modelling enables individualised risk prediction and virtual treatment planning. This represents a significant departure from traditional dependence upon registry-based, population-averaged data. Model integration is progressively moving towards 'digital patient' or 'virtual physiological human' representations. When combined with population-scale numerical models, these models have the potential to reduce the cost, time and risk associated with clinical trials. The adoption of CFD modelling signals a new era in cardiovascular medicine. While potentially highly beneficial, a number of academic and commercial groups are addressing the associated methodological, regulatory, education- and service-related challenges. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission

A human lung xenograft mouse model of Nipah virus infection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Valbuena

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Nipah virus (NiV is a member of the genus Henipavirus (family Paramyxoviridae that causes severe and often lethal respiratory illness and encephalitis in humans with high mortality rates (up to 92%. NiV can cause Acute Lung Injury (ALI in humans, and human-to-human transmission has been observed in recent outbreaks of NiV. While the exact route of transmission to humans is not known, we have previously shown that NiV can efficiently infect human respiratory epithelial cells. The molecular mechanisms of NiV-associated ALI in the human respiratory tract are unknown. Thus, there is an urgent need for models of henipavirus infection of the human respiratory tract to study the pathogenesis and understand the host responses. Here, we describe a novel human lung xenograft model in mice to study the pathogenesis of NiV. Following transplantation, human fetal lung xenografts rapidly graft and develop mature structures of adult lungs including cartilage, vascular vessels, ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium, and primitive "air" spaces filled with mucus and lined by cuboidal to flat epithelium. Following infection, NiV grows to high titers (10(7 TCID50/gram lung tissue as early as 3 days post infection (pi. NiV targets both the endothelium as well as respiratory epithelium in the human lung tissues, and results in syncytia formation. NiV infection in the human lung results in the production of several cytokines and chemokines including IL-6, IP-10, eotaxin, G-CSF and GM-CSF on days 5 and 7 pi. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that NiV can replicate to high titers in a novel in vivo model of the human respiratory tract, resulting in a robust inflammatory response, which is known to be associated with ALI. This model will facilitate progress in the fundamental understanding of henipavirus pathogenesis and virus-host interactions; it will also provide biologically relevant models for other respiratory viruses.

Cardiovascular Changes in Animal Models of Metabolic Syndrome

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Alexandre M. Lehnen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Metabolic syndrome has been defined as a group of risk factors that directly contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and/or type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance seems to have a fundamental role in the genesis of this syndrome. Over the past years to the present day, basic and translational research has used small animal models to explore the pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome and to develop novel therapies that might slow the progression of this prevalent condition. In this paper we discuss the animal models used for the study of metabolic syndrome, with particular focus on cardiovascular changes, since they are the main cause of death associated with the condition in humans.

Seasonal and pandemic human influenza viruses attach better to human upper respiratory tract epithelium than avian influenza viruses.

Science.gov (United States)

van Riel, Debby; den Bakker, Michael A; Leijten, Lonneke M E; Chutinimitkul, Salin; Munster, Vincent J; de Wit, Emmie; Rimmelzwaan, Guus F; Fouchier, Ron A M; Osterhaus, Albert D M E; Kuiken, Thijs

2010-04-01

Influenza viruses vary markedly in their efficiency of human-to-human transmission. This variation has been speculated to be determined in part by the tropism of influenza virus for the human upper respiratory tract. To study this tropism, we determined the pattern of virus attachment by virus histochemistry of three human and three avian influenza viruses in human nasal septum, conchae, nasopharynx, paranasal sinuses, and larynx. We found that the human influenza viruses-two seasonal influenza viruses and pandemic H1N1 virus-attached abundantly to ciliated epithelial cells and goblet cells throughout the upper respiratory tract. In contrast, the avian influenza viruses, including the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, attached only rarely to epithelial cells or goblet cells. Both human and avian viruses attached occasionally to cells of the submucosal glands. The pattern of virus attachment was similar among the different sites of the human upper respiratory tract for each virus tested. We conclude that influenza viruses that are transmitted efficiently among humans attach abundantly to human upper respiratory tract, whereas inefficiently transmitted influenza viruses attach rarely. These results suggest that the ability of an influenza virus to attach to human upper respiratory tract is a critical factor for efficient transmission in the human population.

The pressure gradient in the human respiratory tract

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Chovancová Michaela

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Respiratory airways cause resistance to air flow during inhalation and exhalation. The pressure gradient is necessary to transport the air from the mount (or nose to pulmonary alveoli. The knowledge of pressure gradient (i.e. respiratory airways resistance is also needed to solve the question of aerosol deposition in the human respiratory tract. The obtained data will be used as boundary conditions for CFD simulations of aerosol transport. Understanding of aerosol transport in the human lungs can help us to determine the health hazard of harmful particles. On the other hand it can be used to set the conditions for transport of medication to the desirable place. This article deals with the description of the mathematical equations defining the pressure gradient and resistance in the bronchial three and describes the geometry used in the calculation.

LUDEP 1. 0, a personal computer program to implement the new ICRP respiratory tract model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jarvis, N.S.; Birchall, A. (National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton (United Kingdom))

1994-01-01

The International Commission on Radiological Protection has recently approved a new model of the human respiratory tract. This model has been designed to represent realistically the deposition and biokinetic behaviour of inhaled radionuclides, and to calculate doses to the respiratory tract. In order to examine the practical application and radiological implications of the new model, a Personal Computer program has been developed. LUDEP 1.0 is a user-friendly program for the IBM-compatible PC which enables the user to calculate doses to the respiratory tract and to other organs. (author).

Zebrafish models of cardiovascular diseases and their applications in herbal medicine research.

Science.gov (United States)

Seto, Sai-Wang; Kiat, Hosen; Lee, Simon M Y; Bensoussan, Alan; Sun, Yu-Ting; Hoi, Maggie P M; Chang, Dennis

2015-12-05

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has recently become a powerful animal model for cardiovascular research and drug discovery due to its ease of maintenance, genetic manipulability and ability for high-throughput screening. Recent advances in imaging techniques and generation of transgenic zebrafish have greatly facilitated in vivo analysis of cellular events of cardiovascular development and pathogenesis. More importantly, recent studies have demonstrated the functional similarity of drug metabolism systems between zebrafish and humans, highlighting the clinical relevance of employing zebrafish in identifying lead compounds in Chinese herbal medicine with potential beneficial cardiovascular effects. This paper seeks to summarise the scope of zebrafish models employed in cardiovascular studies and the application of these research models in Chinese herbal medicine to date. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Three-Dimensionally Engineered Normal Human Broncho-epithelial Tissue-Like Assemblies: Target Tissues for Human Respiratory Viral Infections

Science.gov (United States)

Goodwin, T. J.; McCarthy, M.; Lin, Y-H

2006-01-01

In vitro three-dimensional (3D) human broncho-epithelial (HBE) tissue-like assemblies (3D HBE TLAs) from this point forward referred to as TLAs were engineered in Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) technology to mimic the characteristics of in vivo tissues thus providing a tool to study human respiratory viruses and host cell interactions. The TLAs were bioengineered onto collagen-coated cyclodextran microcarriers using primary human mesenchymal bronchial-tracheal cells (HBTC) as the foundation matrix and an adult human bronchial epithelial immortalized cell line (BEAS-2B) as the overlying component. The resulting TLAs share significant characteristics with in vivo human respiratory epithelium including polarization, tight junctions, desmosomes, and microvilli. The presence of tissue-like differentiation markers including villin, keratins, and specific lung epithelium markers, as well as the production of tissue mucin, further confirm these TLAs differentiated into tissues functionally similar to in vivo tissues. Increasing virus titers for human respiratory syncytial virus (wtRSVA2) and parainfluenza virus type 3 (wtPIV3 JS) and the detection of membrane bound glycoproteins over time confirm productive infections with both viruses. Therefore, TLAs mimic aspects of the human respiratory epithelium and provide a unique capability to study the interactions of respiratory viruses and their primary target tissue independent of the host's immune system.

Interference Between Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Human Rhinovirus Infection in Infancy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Achten, Niek B.; Wu, Pingsheng; Bont, Louis; Blanken, Maarten O; Gebretsadik, Tebeb; Chappell, James D; Wang, Li; Yu, Chang; Larkin, Emma K; Carroll, Kecia N; Anderson, Larry J; Moore, Martin L; Sloan, Chantel D; Hartert, Tina V

2017-01-01

Background.: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human rhinovirus (HRV) are the most common viruses associated with acute respiratory tract infections in infancy. Viral interference is important in understanding respiratory viral circulation and the impact of vaccines. Methods.: To study viral

Roadmap for cardiovascular circulation model

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Christopher P.; Suresh, Vinod; Mithraratne, Kumar; Muller, Alexandre; Ho, Harvey; Ladd, David; Hellevik, Leif R.; Omholt, Stig W.; Chase, J. Geoffrey; Müller, Lucas O.; Watanabe, Sansuke M.; Blanco, Pablo J.; de Bono, Bernard; Hunter, Peter J.

2016-01-01

Abstract Computational models of many aspects of the mammalian cardiovascular circulation have been developed. Indeed, along with orthopaedics, this area of physiology is one that has attracted much interest from engineers, presumably because the equations governing blood flow in the vascular system are well understood and can be solved with well‐established numerical techniques. Unfortunately, there have been only a few attempts to create a comprehensive public domain resource for cardiovascular researchers. In this paper we propose a roadmap for developing an open source cardiovascular circulation model. The model should be registered to the musculo‐skeletal system. The computational infrastructure for the cardiovascular model should provide for near real‐time computation of blood flow and pressure in all parts of the body. The model should deal with vascular beds in all tissues, and the computational infrastructure for the model should provide links into CellML models of cell function and tissue function. In this work we review the literature associated with 1D blood flow modelling in the cardiovascular system, discuss model encoding standards, software and a model repository. We then describe the coordinate systems used to define the vascular geometry, derive the equations and discuss the implementation of these coupled equations in the open source computational software OpenCMISS. Finally, some preliminary results are presented and plans outlined for the next steps in the development of the model, the computational software and the graphical user interface for accessing the model. PMID:27506597

Acute effects on cardiovascular oscillations during controlled slow yogic breathing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Om Lata Bhagat

2017-01-01

Interpretation & conclusions: Significant increase in cardiovascular oscillations and baroreflex recruitments during-ANB suggested a dynamic interaction between respiratory and cardiovascular system. Enhanced phasic relationship with some delay indicated the complexity of the system. It indicated that respiratory and cardiovascular oscillations were coupled through multiple regulatory mechanisms, such as mechanical coupling, baroreflex and central cardiovascular control.

Impact of breath holding on cardiovascular respiratory and cerebrovascular health.

Science.gov (United States)

Dujic, Zeljko; Breskovic, Toni

2012-06-01

Human underwater breath-hold diving is a fascinating example of applied environmental physiology. In combination with swimming, it is one of the most popular forms of summer outdoor physical activities. It is performed by a variety of individuals ranging from elite breath-hold divers, underwater hockey and rugby players, synchronized and sprint swimmers, spear fishermen, sponge harvesters and up to recreational swimmers. Very few data currently exist concerning the influence of regular breath holding on possible health risks such as cerebrovascular, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. A literature search of the PubMed electronic search engine using keywords 'breath-hold diving' and 'apnoea diving' was performed. This review focuses on recent advances in knowledge regarding possibly harmful physiological changes and/or potential health risks associated with breath-hold diving. Available evidence indicates that deep breath-hold dives can be very dangerous and can cause serious acute health problems such a collapse of the lungs, barotrauma at descent and ascent, pulmonary oedema and alveolar haemorrhage, cardiac arrest, blackouts, nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness and death. Moreover, even shallow apnoea dives, which are far more frequent, can present a significant health risk. The state of affairs is disturbing as athletes, as well as recreational individuals, practice voluntary apnoea on a regular basis. Long-term health risks of frequent maximal breath holds are at present unknown, but should be addressed in future research. Clearly, further studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms related to the possible development or worsening of different clinical disorders in recreational or competitive breath holding and to determine the potential changes in training/competition regimens in order to prevent these adverse events.

Duration of daily TV/screen watching with cardiovascular, respiratory, mental and psychiatric health: Scottish Health Survey, 2012-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiue, Ivy

2015-01-01

The link of duration of TV and/or screen watching and chronic health conditions by subtypes is unclear. Therefore, the relationship between TV and/or screen watching hours and cardiovascular, respiratory, mental and psychiatric health and well-being (happiness) was assessed in an independent population-based survey to identify correlations of various hours with health conditions. Data was retrieved from the Scottish Health Survey, 2012-2013. Information on demographics, lifestyle factors, self-reported health conditions and TV and/or screen watching duration in both Scottish adults and children was collected by annual household interviews. Chi-square test and survey weighted logistic and multi-nominal modelling were performed. 5527 (57.0%) Scottish adults aged 16-99 watched TV and/or screen daily for 3 + h on average. There was a trend toward more hypertension, angina, stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and poor self-rated health and mental health. Reporting watching TV and/or screen for 4 + h, for 5 + h and for 8 + h was associated with higher rates of heart attack, heart murmur or other heart troubles and abnormal heart rhythms, respectively. 414 (20.7%) Scottish children aged 4-12 watched TV and/or screen for 3h or more. They tended to have poor self-rated health and life difficulties perceived as emotional and behavioural problems. There were associations between various hours of TV and/or screen watching (3+h) and poor health observed both in Scottish adults and children. Future educational and public health programmes minimising TV and/or screen watching in order to protect cardiovascular, respiratory, mental and psychiatric health might be considered. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization behavior of brainstem respiratory neurons. A cerebral neural network model.

Science.gov (United States)

Poon, C S

1991-01-01

A recent model of respiratory control suggested that the steady-state respiratory responses to CO2 and exercise may be governed by an optimal control law in the brainstem respiratory neurons. It was not certain, however, whether such complex optimization behavior could be accomplished by a realistic biological neural network. To test this hypothesis, we developed a hybrid computer-neural model in which the dynamics of the lung, brain and other tissue compartments were simulated on a digital computer. Mimicking the "controller" was a human subject who pedalled on a bicycle with varying speed (analog of ventilatory output) with a view to minimize an analog signal of the total cost of breathing (chemical and mechanical) which was computed interactively and displayed on an oscilloscope. In this manner, the visuomotor cortex served as a proxy (homolog) of the brainstem respiratory neurons in the model. Results in 4 subjects showed a linear steady-state ventilatory CO2 response to arterial PCO2 during simulated CO2 inhalation and a nearly isocapnic steady-state response during simulated exercise. Thus, neural optimization is a plausible mechanism for respiratory control during exercise and can be achieved by a neural network with cognitive computational ability without the need for an exercise stimulus.

Evaluation of Fentanyl Disposition and Effects in Newborn Piglets as an Experimental Model for Human Neonates

Science.gov (United States)

Valls-i-Soler, Adolfo; Encinas, Esther; Lukas, John C.; Vozmediano, Valvanera; Suárez, Elena

2014-01-01

Background Fentanyl is widely used off-label in NICU. Our aim was to investigate its cerebral, cardiovascular and pulmonary effects as well as pharmacokinetics in an experimental model for neonates. Methods Fentanyl (5 µg/kg bolus immediately followed by a 90 minute infusion of 3 µg/kg/h) was administered to six mechanically ventilated newborn piglets. Cardiovascular, ventilation, pulmonary and oxygenation indexes as well as brain activity were monitored from T = 0 up to the end of experiments (T = 225–300 min). Also plasma samples for quantification of fentanyl were drawn. Results A “reliable degree of sedation” was observed up to T = 210–240 min, consistent with the selected dosing regimen and the observed fentanyl plasma levels. Unlike cardiovascular parameters, which were unmodified except for an increasing trend in heart rate, some of the ventilation and oxygenation indexes as well as brain activity were significantly altered. The pulmonary and brain effects of fentanyl were mostly recovered from T = 210 min to the end of experiment. Conclusion The newborn piglet was shown to be a suitable experimental model for studying fentanyl disposition as well as respiratory and cardiovascular effects in human neonates. Therefore, it could be extremely useful for further investigating the drug behaviour under pathophysiological conditions. PMID:24595018

Evaluation of fentanyl disposition and effects in newborn piglets as an experimental model for human neonates.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Rey-Santano

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Fentanyl is widely used off-label in NICU. Our aim was to investigate its cerebral, cardiovascular and pulmonary effects as well as pharmacokinetics in an experimental model for neonates. METHODS: Fentanyl (5 µg/kg bolus immediately followed by a 90 minute infusion of 3 µg/kg/h was administered to six mechanically ventilated newborn piglets. Cardiovascular, ventilation, pulmonary and oxygenation indexes as well as brain activity were monitored from T = 0 up to the end of experiments (T = 225-300 min. Also plasma samples for quantification of fentanyl were drawn. RESULTS: A "reliable degree of sedation" was observed up to T = 210-240 min, consistent with the selected dosing regimen and the observed fentanyl plasma levels. Unlike cardiovascular parameters, which were unmodified except for an increasing trend in heart rate, some of the ventilation and oxygenation indexes as well as brain activity were significantly altered. The pulmonary and brain effects of fentanyl were mostly recovered from T = 210 min to the end of experiment. CONCLUSION: The newborn piglet was shown to be a suitable experimental model for studying fentanyl disposition as well as respiratory and cardiovascular effects in human neonates. Therefore, it could be extremely useful for further investigating the drug behaviour under pathophysiological conditions.

Cardiovascular Imaging: What Have We Learned From Animal Models?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnoldo eSantos

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Cardiovascular imaging has become an indispensable tool for patient diagnosis and follow up. Probably the wide clinical applications of imaging are due to the possibility of a detailed and high quality description and quantification of cardiovascular system structure and function. Also phenomena that involve complex physiological mechanisms and biochemical pathways, such as inflammation and ischemia, can be visualized in a nondestructive way. The widespread use and evolution of imaging would not have been possible without animal studies. Animal models have allowed for instance, i the technical development of different imaging tools, ii to test hypothesis generated from human studies and finally, iii to evaluate the translational relevance assessment of in vitro and ex-vivo results. In this review, we will critically describe the contribution of animal models to the use of biomedical imaging in cardiovascular medicine. We will discuss the characteristics of the most frequent models used in/for imaging studies. We will cover the major findings of animal studies focused in the cardiovascular use of the repeatedly used imaging techniques in clinical practice and experimental studies. We will also describe the physiological findings and/or learning processes for imaging applications coming from models of the most common cardiovascular diseases. In these diseases, imaging research using animals has allowed the study of aspects such as: ventricular size, shape, global function and wall thickening, local myocardial function, myocardial perfusion, metabolism and energetic assessment, infarct quantification, vascular lesion characterization, myocardial fiber structure, and myocardial calcium uptake. Finally we will discuss the limitations and future of imaging research with animal models.

Cardiovascular morbidity and the use of inhaled bronchodilators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine Macie

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Christine Macie, Kate Wooldrage, Jure Manfreda, Nicholas AnthonisenDepartment of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaAbstract: We used the Manitoba Health database to examine the relationship between use of inhaled respiratory drugs in people with chronic obstructive respiratory diseases and cardiovascular hospitalizations from 1996 through 2000. The drugs examined were beta agonists [BA], ipratropium bromide IB, and inhaled steroids (ICS. End points were first hospitalizations for supraventricular tachycardia, myocardial infarction, heart failure or stroke. A nested case control analysis was employed comparing people with and without cardiovascular events. Cases and controls were matched for gender and age, and conditional logistic regression was used in multivariate analysis considering other respiratory drugs, respiratory diagnosis and visit frequency, non-respiratory, non-cardiac comorbidities, and receipt of drugs for cardiovascular disease. In univariate analyses, BA, IB and ICS were all associated with hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease, but in multivariate analyses ICS did not increase risk while both BA and IB did. There were interactions between respiratory and cardiac drugs receipt in that bronchodilator associated risks were higher in people not taking cardiac drugs; this was especially true for stroke. There were strong interactions with specific cardiac drugs; for example, both BA and IB substantially increased the risk of supraventricular tachycardia in patients not anti-arryhthmic agents, but not in the presence of such agents. We conclude that bronchodilator therapy for chronic obstructive diseases is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, especially in patients without previous cardiovascular diagnoses, and that this is unlikely due to the severity of the respiratory disease, since risk was not increased with ICS.Keywords: bronchodilator therapy, inhaled corticosteroids, nested case

Inter-fraction variations in respiratory motion models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McClelland, J R; Modat, M; Ourselin, S; Hawkes, D J [Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London (United Kingdom); Hughes, S; Qureshi, A; Ahmad, S; Landau, D B, E-mail: j.mcclelland@cs.ucl.ac.uk [Department of Oncology, Guy' s and St Thomas' s Hospitals NHS Trust, London (United Kingdom)

2011-01-07

Respiratory motion can vary dramatically between the planning stage and the different fractions of radiotherapy treatment. Motion predictions used when constructing the radiotherapy plan may be unsuitable for later fractions of treatment. This paper presents a methodology for constructing patient-specific respiratory motion models and uses these models to evaluate and analyse the inter-fraction variations in the respiratory motion. The internal respiratory motion is determined from the deformable registration of Cine CT data and related to a respiratory surrogate signal derived from 3D skin surface data. Three different models for relating the internal motion to the surrogate signal have been investigated in this work. Data were acquired from six lung cancer patients. Two full datasets were acquired for each patient, one before the course of radiotherapy treatment and one at the end (approximately 6 weeks later). Separate models were built for each dataset. All models could accurately predict the respiratory motion in the same dataset, but had large errors when predicting the motion in the other dataset. Analysis of the inter-fraction variations revealed that most variations were spatially varying base-line shifts, but changes to the anatomy and the motion trajectories were also observed.

Mathematical modelling of a human external respiratory system

Science.gov (United States)

1977-01-01

A closed system of algebraic and common differential equations solved by computer is investigated. It includes equations which describe the activity pattern of the respiratory center, the phrenic nerve, the thrust produced by the diaphragm as a function of the lung volume and discharge frequency of the phrenic nerve, as well as certain relations of the lung stretch receptors and chemoreceptors on various lung and blood characteristics, equations for lung biomechanics, pulmonary blood flow, alveolar gas exchange and capillary blood composition equations to determine various air and blood flow and gas exchange parameters, and various gas mixing and arterial and venous blood composition equations, to determine other blood, air and gas mixing characteristics. Data are presented by means of graphs and tables, and some advantages of this model over others are demonstrated by test results.

Human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus in hospitalized danish children with acute respiratory tract infection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Linstow, Marie-Louise; Larsen, Hans Henrik; Eugen-Olsen, Jesper

2004-01-01

The newly discovered human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has been shown to be associated with respiratory illness. We determined the frequencies and clinical features of hMPV and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in 374 Danish children with 383 episodes of acute respiratory tract infection...... children 1-6 months of age. Asthmatic bronchitis was diagnosed in 66.7% of hMPV and 10.6% of RSV-infected children (p infected children required respiratory support. hMPV is present in young.......6%) ARTI episodes by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using primers targeting the hMPV N gene and the RSV L gene. Two children were co-infected with hMPV and RSV. They were excluded from statistical analysis. Hospitalization for ARTI caused by hMPV was restricted to very young...

Ecological Study on Hospitalizations for Cancer, Cardiovascular, and Respiratory Diseases in the Industrial Area of Etang-de-Berre in the South of France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurence Pascal

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The Etang-de-Berre area is a large industrialized area in the South of France, exposing 300,000 inhabitants to the plumes of its industries. The possible associated health risks are of the highest concern to the population, who asked for studies investigating their health status. A geographical ecological study based on standardized hospitalizations ratios for cancer, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases was carried out over the 2004–2007 period. Exposure to air pollution was assessed using dispersion models coupled with a geographic information system to estimate an annual mean concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO2 for each district. Results showed an excess risk of hospitalization for myocardial infarction in women living in districts with medium or high SO2 exposure, respectively, 38% [CI 95% 4 : 83] and 54% [14 : 110] greater than women living in districts at the reference level exposure. A 26% [2 : 57] excess risk of hospitalization for myocardial infarction was also observed in men living in districts with high SO2 levels. No excess risk of hospitalization for respiratory diseases or for cancer was observed, except for acute leukemia in men only. Results illustrate the impact of industrial air pollution on the cardiovascular system and call for an improvement of the air quality in the area.

A mouse model for MERS coronavirus-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Cockrell, Adam S; Yount, Boyd L; Scobey, Trevor; Jensen, Kara; Douglas, Madeline; Beall, Anne; Tang, Xian-Chun; Marasco, Wayne A; Heise, Mark T; Baric, Ralph S

2016-11-28

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel virus that emerged in 2012, causing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), severe pneumonia-like symptoms and multi-organ failure, with a case fatality rate of ∼36%. Limited clinical studies indicate that humans infected with MERS-CoV exhibit pathology consistent with the late stages of ARDS, which is reminiscent of the disease observed in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Models of MERS-CoV-induced severe respiratory disease have been difficult to achieve, and small-animal models traditionally used to investigate viral pathogenesis (mouse, hamster, guinea-pig and ferret) are naturally resistant to MERS-CoV. Therefore, we used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to modify the mouse genome to encode two amino acids (positions 288 and 330) that match the human sequence in the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 receptor, making mice susceptible to MERS-CoV infection and replication. Serial MERS-CoV passage in these engineered mice was then used to generate a mouse-adapted virus that replicated efficiently within the lungs and evoked symptoms indicative of severe ARDS, including decreased survival, extreme weight loss, decreased pulmonary function, pulmonary haemorrhage and pathological signs indicative of end-stage lung disease. Importantly, therapeutic countermeasures comprising MERS-CoV neutralizing antibody treatment or a MERS-CoV spike protein vaccine protected the engineered mice against MERS-CoV-induced ARDS.

Anatomy and bronchoscopy of the porcine lung. A model for translational respiratory medicine.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Judge, Eoin P

2014-09-01

The porcine model has contributed significantly to biomedical research over many decades. The similar size and anatomy of pig and human organs make this model particularly beneficial for translational research in areas such as medical device development, therapeutics and xenotransplantation. In recent years, a major limitation with the porcine model was overcome with the successful generation of gene-targeted pigs and the publication of the pig genome. As a result, the role of this model is likely to become even more important. For the respiratory medicine field, the similarities between pig and human lungs give the porcine model particular potential for advancing translational medicine. An increasing number of lung conditions are being studied and modeled in the pig. Genetically modified porcine models of cystic fibrosis have been generated that, unlike mouse models, develop lung disease similar to human cystic fibrosis. However, the scientific literature relating specifically to porcine lung anatomy and airway histology is limited and is largely restricted to veterinary literature and textbooks. Furthermore, methods for in vivo lung procedures in the pig are rarely described. The aims of this review are to collate the disparate literature on porcine lung anatomy, histology, and microbiology; to provide a comparison with the human lung; and to describe appropriate bronchoscopy procedures for the pig lungs to aid clinical researchers working in the area of translational respiratory medicine using the porcine model.

Respiratory trace deposition models. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeh, H.C.

1980-03-01

Respiratory tract characteristics of four mammalian species (human, dog, rat and Syrian hamster) were studied, using replica lung casts. An in situ casting techniques was developed for making the casts. Based on an idealized branch model, over 38,000 records of airway segment diameters, lengths, branching angles and gravity angles were obtained from measurements of two humans, two Beagle dogs, two rats and one Syrian hamster. From examination of the trimmed casts and morphometric data, it appeared that the structure of the human airway is closer to a dichotomous structure, whereas for dog, rat and hamster, it is monopodial. Flow velocity in the trachea and major bronchi in living Beagle dogs was measured using an implanted, subminiaturized, heated film anemometer. A physical model was developed to simulate the regional deposition characteristics proposed by the Task Group on Lung Dynamics of the ICRP. Various simulation modules for the nasopharyngeal (NP), tracheobronchial (TB) and pulmonary (P) compartments were designed and tested. Three types of monodisperse aerosols were developed for animal inhalation studies. Fifty Syrian hamsters and 50 rats were exposed to five different sizes of monodisperse fused aluminosilicate particles labeled with 169 Yb. Anatomical lung models were developed for four species (human, Beagle dog, rat and Syrian hamster) that were based on detailed morphometric measurements of replica lung casts. Emphasis was placed on developing a lobar typical-path lung model and on developing a modeling technique which could be applied to various mammalian species. A set of particle deposition equations for deposition caused by inertial impaction, sedimentation, and diffusion were developed. Theoretical models of particle deposition were developed based on these equations and on the anatomical lung models

Chronic stress impacts the cardiovascular system: animal models and clinical outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Golbidi, Saeid; Frisbee, Jefferson C; Laher, Ismail

2015-06-15

Psychological stresses are associated with cardiovascular diseases to the extent that cardiovascular diseases are among the most important group of psychosomatic diseases. The longstanding association between stress and cardiovascular disease exists despite a large ambiguity about the underlying mechanisms. An array of possibilities have been proposed including overactivity of the autonomic nervous system and humoral changes, which then converge on endothelial dysfunction that initiates unwanted cardiovascular consequences. We review some of the features of the two most important stress-activated systems, i.e., the humoral and nervous systems, and focus on alterations in endothelial function that could ensue as a result of these changes. Cardiac and hematologic consequences of stress are also addressed briefly. It is likely that activation of the inflammatory cascade in association with oxidative imbalance represents key pathophysiological components of stress-induced cardiovascular changes. We also review some of the commonly used animal models of stress and discuss the cardiovascular outcomes reported in these models of stress. The unique ability of animals for adaptation under stressful conditions lessens the extrapolation of laboratory findings to conditions of human stress. An animal model of unpredictable chronic stress, which applies various stress modules in a random fashion, might be a useful solution to this predicament. The use of stress markers as indicators of stress intensity is also discussed in various models of animal stress and in clinical studies. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

[The influence of music on the effectiveness of therapeutic physical exercises in patients with cardiovascular and respiratory pathologies].

Science.gov (United States)

Dzhuraeva, L A; Sadykova, Kh A; Maslova, G V

1989-01-01

Medical and pedagogical observation performed during hours of therapeutic exercise in groups of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases patients proved a beneficial effect of music accompaniment. This was most efficient when started from the very onset of the exercise course for the former group of patients and from the second week of the exercise course for the latter patients. It is stated that music should be used differentially at different stages of hospital conditioning.

A mathematical model of transport and regional uptake of radioactive gases in the human respiratory system

Science.gov (United States)

Baek, Inseok

The purpose of this research is to describe the development of a mathematical model of diffusion, convection, and lateral transport into the airway wall and alveolar absorption for inhaled radioactive gases in the human conductive and respiratory airways based on a Single Path Trumpet-bell model (SPM). Mathematical simulation models have been used successfully to study transport, absorption into the blood through alveoli, and lung tissue uptake of soluble and nonreactive radioactive gases. Results from such simulations also show clearly that inhaled radioactive gases are absorbed into the lung tissues as well as into the blood through the alveoli. In contrast to previous reports in the literature, the present study found that blood uptake through alveoli is much greater than that calculated previously. Regional depositions in the lung from inhaled radioactive gases are presented as the result of this simulation. The committed effective dose to lung tissue due to submersion in radioactive clouds has been newly defined using the results of this simulation.

Biology of Obesity: Lessons from Animal Models of Obesity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keizo Kanasaki

2011-01-01

problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory failure, muscle weakness, and cancer. The precise molecular mechanisms by which obesity induces these health problems are not yet clear. To better understand the pathomechanisms of human disease, good animal models are essential. In this paper, we will analyze animal models of obesity and their use in the research of obesity-associated human health conditions and diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Global Considerations in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Associated Respiratory Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Rylance, Jamie; Meghji, Jamilah; Miller, Robert F; Ferrand, Rashida A

2016-04-01

Respiratory tract infection, particularly tuberculosis, is a major cause of mortality among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has resulted in a dramatic increase in survival, although coverage of HIV treatment remains low in many parts of the world. There is a concurrent growing burden of chronic noninfectious respiratory disease as a result of increased survival. Many risk factors associated with the development of respiratory disease, such as cigarette smoking and intravenous drug use, are overrepresented among people living with HIV. In addition, there is emerging evidence that HIV infection may directly cause or accelerate the course of chronic lung disease. This review summarizes the clinical spectrum and epidemiology of respiratory tract infections and noninfectious pulmonary pathologies, and factors that explain the global variation in HIV-associated respiratory disease. The potential for enhancing diagnoses of noninfective chronic conditions through the use of clinical algorithms is discussed. We also consider issues in assessment and management of HIV-related respiratory disease in view of the increasing global scale up of ART. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: the importance of silence.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardi, L; Porta, C; Sleight, P

2006-04-01

To assess the potential clinical use, particularly in modulating stress, of changes in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems induced by music, specifically tempo, rhythm, melodic structure, pause, individual preference, habituation, order effect of presentation, and previous musical training. Measurement of cardiovascular and respiratory variables while patients listened to music. University research laboratory for the study of cardiorespiratory autonomic function. 12 practising musicians and 12 age matched controls. After a five minute baseline, presentation in random order of six different music styles (first for a two minute, then for a four minute track), with a randomly inserted two minute pause, in either sequence. Breathing rate, ventilation, carbon dioxide, RR interval, blood pressure, mid-cerebral artery flow velocity, and baroreflex. Ventilation, blood pressure, and heart rate increased and mid-cerebral artery flow velocity and baroreflex decreased with faster tempi and simpler rhythmic structures compared with baseline. No habituation effect was seen. The pause reduced heart rate, blood pressure, and minute ventilation, even below baseline. An order effect independent of style was evident for mid-cerebral artery flow velocity, indicating a progressive reduction with exposure to music, independent of style. Musicians had greater respiratory sensitivity to the music tempo than did non-musicians. Music induces an arousal effect, predominantly related to the tempo. Slow or meditative music can induce a relaxing effect; relaxation is particularly evident during a pause. Music, especially in trained subjects, may first concentrate attention during faster rhythms, then induce relaxation during pauses or slower rhythms.

Cardiovascular services and human resources in Puerto Rico - 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Palmieri, Mario R

2009-01-01

Available information (2004-2008) concerning population statistics, the occurrence of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular services and human resources in Puerto Rico is presented. Relevant information concerning life expectancy at birth, death by specific causes in a recent four years period, the commonest causes of death, and the related cardiovascular risk factors prevalence data available is included. The surgical and medical interventional services rendered to cardiovascular patients in different institutions and their locations in Puerto Rico in the year 2008 is presented. Some remarks concerning the productivity of physicians by our Schools of Medicine is included. Information about ACGME accredited postgraduate cardiovascular training programs conducted in Puerto Rico is presented. Data concerning the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, overweight and obesity obtained by BRFSS in presented.

Propagation of respiratory viruses in human airway epithelia reveals persistent virus-specific signatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Essaidi-Laziosi, Manel; Brito, Francisco; Benaoudia, Sacha; Royston, Léna; Cagno, Valeria; Fernandes-Rocha, Mélanie; Piuz, Isabelle; Zdobnov, Evgeny; Huang, Song; Constant, Samuel; Boldi, Marc-Olivier; Kaiser, Laurent; Tapparel, Caroline

2018-06-01

The leading cause of acute illnesses, respiratory viruses, typically cause self-limited diseases, although severe complications can occur in fragile patients. Rhinoviruses (RVs), respiratory enteroviruses (EVs), influenza virus, respiratory syncytial viruses (RSVs), and coronaviruses are highly prevalent respiratory pathogens, but because of the lack of reliable animal models, their differential pathogenesis remains poorly characterized. We sought to compare infections by respiratory viruses isolated from clinical specimens using reconstituted human airway epithelia. Tissues were infected with RV-A55, RV-A49, RV-B48, RV-C8, and RV-C15; respiratory EV-D68; influenza virus H3N2; RSV-B; and human coronavirus (HCoV)-OC43. Replication kinetics, cell tropism, effect on tissue integrity, and cytokine secretion were compared. Viral adaptation and tissue response were assessed through RNA sequencing. RVs, RSV-B, and HCoV-OC43 infected ciliated cells and caused no major cell death, whereas H3N2 and EV-D68 induced ciliated cell loss and tissue integrity disruption. H3N2 was also detected in rare goblet and basal cells. All viruses, except RV-B48 and HCoV-OC43, altered cilia beating and mucociliary clearance. H3N2 was the strongest cytokine inducer, and HCoV-OC43 was the weakest. Persistent infection was observed in all cases. RNA sequencing highlighted perturbation of tissue metabolism and induction of a transient but important immune response at 4 days after infection. No majority mutations emerged in the viral population. Our results highlight the differential in vitro pathogenesis of respiratory viruses during the acute infection phase and their ability to persist under immune tolerance. These data help to appreciate the range of disease severity observed in vivo and the occurrence of chronic respiratory tract infections in immunocompromised hosts. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the Educational Value of YouTube Videos About Physical Examination of the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems

OpenAIRE

Azer, Samy A; AlGrain, Hala A; AlKhelaif, Rana A; AlEshaiwi, Sarah M

2013-01-01

Background A number of studies have evaluated the educational contents of videos on YouTube. However, little analysis has been done on videos about physical examination. Objective This study aimed to analyze YouTube videos about physical examination of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. It was hypothesized that the educational standards of videos on YouTube would vary significantly. Methods During the period from November 2, 2011 to December 2, 2011, YouTube was searched by three ass...

Ozone exposure increases respiratory epithelial permeability in humans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kehrl, H.R.; Vincent, L.M.; Kowalsky, R.J.; Horstman, D.H.; O'Neil, J.J.; McCartney, W.H.; Bromberg, P.A.

1987-01-01

Ozone is a respiratory irritant that has been shown to cause an increase in the permeability of the respiratory epithelium in animals. We used inhaled aerosolized /sup 99m/Tc-labeled diethylene triamine pentacetic acid (/sup 99m/Tc-DTPA) to investigate whether human respiratory epithelial permeability is similarly affected by exposure to ozone. In a randomized, crossover double-blinded study, 8 healthy, nonsmoking young men were exposed for 2 h to purified air and 0.4 ppm ozone while performing intermittent high intensity treadmill exercise (minute ventilation = 66.8 L/min). SRaw and FVC were measured before and at the end of exposures. Seventy-five minutes after the exposures, the pulmonary clearance of /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA was measured by sequential posterior lung imaging with a computer-assisted gamma camera. Ozone exposure caused respiratory symptoms in all 8 subjects and was associated with a 14 +/- 2.8% (mean +/- SEM) decrement in FVC (p less than 0.001) and a 71 +/- 22% increase in SRaw (p = 0.04). Compared with the air exposure day, 7 of the 8 subjects showed increased /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA clearance after the ozone exposure, with the mean value increasing from 0.59 +/- 0.08 to 1.75 +/- 0.43%/min (p = 0.03). These data show that ozone exposure sufficient to produce decrements in the pulmonary function of human subjects also causes an increase in /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA clearance

Reference respiratory waveforms by minimum jerk model analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anetai, Yusuke, E-mail: anetai@radonc.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Sumida, Iori; Takahashi, Yutaka; Yagi, Masashi; Mizuno, Hirokazu; Ogawa, Kazuhiko [Department of Radiation Oncology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamadaoka 2-2, Suita-shi, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Ota, Seiichi [Department of Medical Technology, Osaka University Hospital, Yamadaoka 2-15, Suita-shi, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)

2015-09-15

Purpose: CyberKnife{sup ®} robotic surgery system has the ability to deliver radiation to a tumor subject to respiratory movements using Synchrony{sup ®} mode with less than 2 mm tracking accuracy. However, rapid and rough motion tracking causes mechanical tracking errors and puts mechanical stress on the robotic joint, leading to unexpected radiation delivery errors. During clinical treatment, patient respiratory motions are much more complicated, suggesting the need for patient-specific modeling of respiratory motion. The purpose of this study was to propose a novel method that provides a reference respiratory wave to enable smooth tracking for each patient. Methods: The minimum jerk model, which mathematically derives smoothness by means of jerk, or the third derivative of position and the derivative of acceleration with respect to time that is proportional to the time rate of force changed was introduced to model a patient-specific respiratory motion wave to provide smooth motion tracking using CyberKnife{sup ®}. To verify that patient-specific minimum jerk respiratory waves were being tracked smoothly by Synchrony{sup ®} mode, a tracking laser projection from CyberKnife{sup ®} was optically analyzed every 0.1 s using a webcam and a calibrated grid on a motion phantom whose motion was in accordance with three pattern waves (cosine, typical free-breathing, and minimum jerk theoretical wave models) for the clinically relevant superior–inferior directions from six volunteers assessed on the same node of the same isocentric plan. Results: Tracking discrepancy from the center of the grid to the beam projection was evaluated. The minimum jerk theoretical wave reduced the maximum-peak amplitude of radial tracking discrepancy compared with that of the waveforms modeled by cosine and typical free-breathing model by 22% and 35%, respectively, and provided smooth tracking for radial direction. Motion tracking constancy as indicated by radial tracking discrepancy

Reference respiratory waveforms by minimum jerk model analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anetai, Yusuke; Sumida, Iori; Takahashi, Yutaka; Yagi, Masashi; Mizuno, Hirokazu; Ogawa, Kazuhiko; Ota, Seiichi

2015-01-01

Purpose: CyberKnife"® robotic surgery system has the ability to deliver radiation to a tumor subject to respiratory movements using Synchrony"® mode with less than 2 mm tracking accuracy. However, rapid and rough motion tracking causes mechanical tracking errors and puts mechanical stress on the robotic joint, leading to unexpected radiation delivery errors. During clinical treatment, patient respiratory motions are much more complicated, suggesting the need for patient-specific modeling of respiratory motion. The purpose of this study was to propose a novel method that provides a reference respiratory wave to enable smooth tracking for each patient. Methods: The minimum jerk model, which mathematically derives smoothness by means of jerk, or the third derivative of position and the derivative of acceleration with respect to time that is proportional to the time rate of force changed was introduced to model a patient-specific respiratory motion wave to provide smooth motion tracking using CyberKnife"®. To verify that patient-specific minimum jerk respiratory waves were being tracked smoothly by Synchrony"® mode, a tracking laser projection from CyberKnife"® was optically analyzed every 0.1 s using a webcam and a calibrated grid on a motion phantom whose motion was in accordance with three pattern waves (cosine, typical free-breathing, and minimum jerk theoretical wave models) for the clinically relevant superior–inferior directions from six volunteers assessed on the same node of the same isocentric plan. Results: Tracking discrepancy from the center of the grid to the beam projection was evaluated. The minimum jerk theoretical wave reduced the maximum-peak amplitude of radial tracking discrepancy compared with that of the waveforms modeled by cosine and typical free-breathing model by 22% and 35%, respectively, and provided smooth tracking for radial direction. Motion tracking constancy as indicated by radial tracking discrepancy affected by respiratory

A cross-sectional survey to study the relationship of periodontal disease with cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes mellitus.

Science.gov (United States)

Oberoi, Sukhvinder Singh; Harish, Yashoda; Hiremath, Shivalingaswamy; Puranik, Manjunath

2016-01-01

Periodontal deterioration has been reported to be associated with systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus, respiratory disease, liver cirrhosis, bacterial pneumonia, nutritional deficiencies, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The present study assessed the periodontal disease among patients with systemic conditions such as diabetes, CVD, and respiratory disease. The study population consisted of 220 patients each of CVD, respiratory disease, and diabetes mellitus, making a total of 660 patients in the systemic disease group. A control group of 340 subjects were also included in the study for comparison purpose. The periodontal status of the patients with these confirmed medical conditions was assessed using the community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITNs) index. The prevalence of CPITN code 4 was found to be greater among the patients with respiratory disease whereas the mean number of sextants with score 4 was found to be greater among the patients with diabetes mellitus and CVD. The treatment need 0 was found to be more among the controls (1.18%) whereas the treatment need 1, 2, and 3 were more among the patients with respiratory disease (100%, 97.73%, and 54.8%), diabetes mellitus (100%, 100% and 46.4%), and CVD (100%, 97.73%, and 38.1%), in comparison to the controls (6.18%). From the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that diabetes mellitus, CVD, and respiratory disease are associated with a higher severity of periodontal disease.

A cross-sectional survey to study the relationship of periodontal disease with cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes mellitus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhvinder Singh Oberoi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Periodontal deterioration has been reported to be associated with systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD, diabetes mellitus, respiratory disease, liver cirrhosis, bacterial pneumonia, nutritional deficiencies, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Aim: The present study assessed the periodontal disease among patients with systemic conditions such as diabetes, CVD, and respiratory disease. Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of 220 patients each of CVD, respiratory disease, and diabetes mellitus, making a total of 660 patients in the systemic disease group. A control group of 340 subjects were also included in the study for comparison purpose. The periodontal status of the patients with these confirmed medical conditions was assessed using the community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITNs index. Results: The prevalence of CPITN code 4 was found to be greater among the patients with respiratory disease whereas the mean number of sextants with score 4 was found to be greater among the patients with diabetes mellitus and CVD. The treatment need 0 was found to be more among the controls (1.18% whereas the treatment need 1, 2, and 3 were more among the patients with respiratory disease (100%, 97.73%, and 54.8%, diabetes mellitus (100%, 100% and 46.4%, and CVD (100%, 97.73%, and 38.1%, in comparison to the controls (6.18%. Conclusion: From the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that diabetes mellitus, CVD, and respiratory disease are associated with a higher severity of periodontal disease.

Credit scores, cardiovascular disease risk, and human capital.

Science.gov (United States)

Israel, Salomon; Caspi, Avshalom; Belsky, Daniel W; Harrington, HonaLee; Hogan, Sean; Houts, Renate; Ramrakha, Sandhya; Sanders, Seth; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie E

2014-12-02

Credit scores are the most widely used instruments to assess whether or not a person is a financial risk. Credit scoring has been so successful that it has expanded beyond lending and into our everyday lives, even to inform how insurers evaluate our health. The pervasive application of credit scoring has outpaced knowledge about why credit scores are such useful indicators of individual behavior. Here we test if the same factors that lead to poor credit scores also lead to poor health. Following the Dunedin (New Zealand) Longitudinal Study cohort of 1,037 study members, we examined the association between credit scores and cardiovascular disease risk and the underlying factors that account for this association. We find that credit scores are negatively correlated with cardiovascular disease risk. Variation in household income was not sufficient to account for this association. Rather, individual differences in human capital factors—educational attainment, cognitive ability, and self-control—predicted both credit scores and cardiovascular disease risk and accounted for ∼45% of the correlation between credit scores and cardiovascular disease risk. Tracing human capital factors back to their childhood antecedents revealed that the characteristic attitudes, behaviors, and competencies children develop in their first decade of life account for a significant portion (∼22%) of the link between credit scores and cardiovascular disease risk at midlife. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy debates about data privacy, financial literacy, and early childhood interventions.

Computational Models and Emergent Properties of Respiratory Neural Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Lindsey, Bruce G.; Rybak, Ilya A.; Smith, Jeffrey C.

2012-01-01

Computational models of the neural control system for breathing in mammals provide a theoretical and computational framework bringing together experimental data obtained from different animal preparations under various experimental conditions. Many of these models were developed in parallel and iteratively with experimental studies and provided predictions guiding new experiments. This data-driven modeling approach has advanced our understanding of respiratory network architecture and neural mechanisms underlying generation of the respiratory rhythm and pattern, including their functional reorganization under different physiological conditions. Models reviewed here vary in neurobiological details and computational complexity and span multiple spatiotemporal scales of respiratory control mechanisms. Recent models describe interacting populations of respiratory neurons spatially distributed within the Bötzinger and pre-Bötzinger complexes and rostral ventrolateral medulla that contain core circuits of the respiratory central pattern generator (CPG). Network interactions within these circuits along with intrinsic rhythmogenic properties of neurons form a hierarchy of multiple rhythm generation mechanisms. The functional expression of these mechanisms is controlled by input drives from other brainstem components, including the retrotrapezoid nucleus and pons, which regulate the dynamic behavior of the core circuitry. The emerging view is that the brainstem respiratory network has rhythmogenic capabilities at multiple levels of circuit organization. This allows flexible, state-dependent expression of different neural pattern-generation mechanisms under various physiological conditions, enabling a wide repertoire of respiratory behaviors. Some models consider control of the respiratory CPG by pulmonary feedback and network reconfiguration during defensive behaviors such as cough. Future directions in modeling of the respiratory CPG are considered. PMID:23687564

Nation-wide surveillance of human acute respiratory virus infections between 2013 and 2015 in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeong-Min; Jung, Hee-Dong; Cheong, Hyang-Min; Lee, Anna; Lee, Nam-Joo; Chu, Hyuk; Lee, Joo-Yeon; Kim, Sung Soon; Choi, Jang-Hoon

2018-07-01

The prevalence of eight respiratory viruses detected in patients with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in Korea was investigated through analysis of data recorded by the Korea Influenza and Respiratory Viruses Surveillance System (KINRESS) from 2013 to 2015. Nasal aspirate and throat swabs specimens were collected from 36 915 patients with ARIs, and viral nucleic acids were detected by real-time (reverse-transcription) polymerase chain reaction for eight respiratory viruses, including human respiratory syncytial viruses (HRSVs), influenza viruses (IFVs), human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs), human coronaviruses (HCoVs), human rhinovirus (HRV), human adenovirus (HAdV), human bocavirus (HBoV), and human metapneumovirus (HMPV). The overall positive rate of patient specimens was 49.4% (18 236/36 915), 5% of which carried two or more viruses simultaneously. HRV (15.6%) was the most predominantly detected virus, followed by IFVs (14.6%), HAdV (7.5%), HPIVs (5.8%), HCoVs (4.2%), HRSVs (3.6%), HBoV (1.9%), and HMPV (1.6%). Most of the ARIs were significantly correlated with clinical symptoms of fever, cough, and runny nose. Although HRV and HAdV were frequently detected throughout the year in patients, other respiratory viruses showed apparent seasonality. HRSVs and IFVs were the major causative agents of acute respiratory diseases in infants and young children. Overall, this study demonstrates a meaningful relationship between viral infection and typical manifestations of known clinical features as well as seasonality, age distribution, and co-infection among respiratory viruses. Therefore, these data could provide useful information for public health management and to enhance patient care for primary clinicians. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A histological ontology of the human cardiovascular system.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazo, Claudia; Salazar, Liliana; Corcho, Oscar; Trujillo, Maria; Alegre, Enrique

2017-10-02

In this paper, we describe a histological ontology of the human cardiovascular system developed in collaboration among histology experts and computer scientists. The histological ontology is developed following an existing methodology using Conceptual Models (CMs) and validated using OOPS!, expert evaluation with CMs, and how accurately the ontology can answer the Competency Questions (CQ). It is publicly available at http://bioportal.bioontology.org/ontologies/HO and https://w3id.org/def/System . The histological ontology is developed to support complex tasks, such as supporting teaching activities, medical practices, and bio-medical research or having natural language interactions.

Human torso phantom for imaging of heart with realistic modes of cardiac and respiratory motion

Science.gov (United States)

Boutchko, Rostyslav; Balakrishnan, Karthikayan; Gullberg, Grant T; O& #x27; Neil, James P

2013-09-17

A human torso phantom and its construction, wherein the phantom mimics respiratory and cardiac cycles in a human allowing acquisition of medical imaging data under conditions simulating patient cardiac and respiratory motion.

Respiratory nanoparticle-based vaccines and challenges associated with animal models and translation.

Science.gov (United States)

Renukaradhya, Gourapura J; Narasimhan, Balaji; Mallapragada, Surya K

2015-12-10

Vaccine development has had a huge impact on human health. However, there is a significant need to develop efficacious vaccines for several existing as well as emerging respiratory infectious diseases. Several challenges need to be overcome to develop efficacious vaccines with translational potential. This review focuses on two aspects to overcome some barriers - 1) the development of nanoparticle-based vaccines, and 2) the choice of suitable animal models for respiratory infectious diseases that will allow for translation. Nanoparticle-based vaccines, including subunit vaccines involving synthetic and/or natural polymeric adjuvants and carriers, as well as those based on virus-like particles offer several key advantages to help overcome the barriers to effective vaccine development. These include the ability to deliver combinations of antigens, target the vaccine formulation to specific immune cells, enable cross-protection against divergent strains, act as adjuvants or immunomodulators, allow for sustained release of antigen, enable single dose delivery, and potentially obviate the cold chain. While mouse models have provided several important insights into the mechanisms of infectious diseases, they are often a limiting step in translation of new vaccines to the clinic. An overview of different animal models involved in vaccine research for respiratory infections, with advantages and disadvantages of each model, is discussed. Taken together, advances in nanotechnology, combined with the right animal models for evaluating vaccine efficacy, has the potential to revolutionize vaccine development for respiratory infections. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fluid-structure interaction including volumetric coupling with homogenised subdomains for modeling respiratory mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshihara, Lena; Roth, Christian J; Wall, Wolfgang A

2017-04-01

In this article, a novel approach is presented for combining standard fluid-structure interaction with additional volumetric constraints to model fluid flow into and from homogenised solid domains. The proposed algorithm is particularly interesting for investigations in the field of respiratory mechanics as it enables the mutual coupling of airflow in the conducting part and local tissue deformation in the respiratory part of the lung by means of a volume constraint. In combination with a classical monolithic fluid-structure interaction approach, a comprehensive model of the human lung can be established that will be useful to gain new insights into respiratory mechanics in health and disease. To illustrate the validity and versatility of the novel approach, three numerical examples including a patient-specific lung model are presented. The proposed algorithm proves its capability of computing clinically relevant airflow distribution and tissue strain data at a level of detail that is not yet achievable, neither with current imaging techniques nor with existing computational models. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparison of old and new ICRP models for respiratory tract dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boecker, B.B.

1993-01-01

This paper examines the historical development and application of respiratory tract dosimetry models by the International Commission for Radiological Protection, ICRP, for health protection from inhaled radioactive aerosols. Three different models are discussed, those that were included in ICRP recommendations published in 1960 and 1979, and the new ICRP Publication 66. Basic features of these models are compared and contrasted. These features include model structure, sites and frequencies of particle deposition, processes and rates of clearance of the deposited material from the respiratory tract, and consideration of the parameters involved in these processes and how various factors can influence these parameters. All three models lead to the calculation of absorbed radiation doses with differing degrees of regional and local specificity. These calculations are achieved using different tools ranging from quick hand calculations to sophisticated computerized modeling approaches. A side-by-side review of these models indicates several important trends in respiratory tract dosimetry models, the most obvious of which is the increased complexity of each new model over the past 30+ years. These increases reflect both the increasing size of the knowledge base derived from studies in laboratory animals and in human subjects and the need for models more broadly applicable for both occupational and environmental exposures. It is likely that future research will be directed to those key aspects of the new model having the largest uncertainties. The detailed design of the new model and its associated software provide excellent means of identifying useful research areas and using the resulting new information in organized and productive ways

Overall human mortality and morbidity due to exposure to air pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucyna Samek

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Concentrations of particulate matter that contains particles with diameter ≤ 10 mm (PM10 and diameter ≤ 2.5 mm (PM2.5 as well as nitrogen dioxide (NO2 have considerable impact on human mortality, especially in the cases when cardiovascular or respiratory causes are attributed. Additionally, they affect morbidity. An estimation of human mortality and morbidity due to the increased concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 between the years 2005–2013 was performed for the city of Kraków, Poland. For this purpose the Air Quality Health Impact Assessment Tool (AirQ software was successfully applied. Material and Methods: The Air Quality Health Impact Assessment Tool was used for the calculation of the total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality as well as hospital admissions related to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Data on concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and NO2, which was obtained from the website of the Voivodeship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (WIOS in Kraków, was used in this study. Results: Total mortality due to exposure to PM10 in 2005 was found to be 41 deaths per 100 000 and dropped to 30 deaths per 100 000 in 2013. Cardiovascular mortality was 2 times lower than the total mortality. However, hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases were more than an order of magnitude higher than the respiratory mortality. Conclusions: The calculated total mortality due to PM2.5 was higher than that due to PM10. Air pollution was determined to have a significant effect on human health. The values obtained by the use of the AirQ software for the city of Kraków imply that exposure to polluted air can result in serious health problems.

Computational Breakthrough of Natural Lead Hits from the Genus of Arisaema against Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kant, Kamal; Lal, Uma Ranjan; Ghosh, Manik

2018-01-01

To date, efforts for the prevention and treatment of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection have been still vain, and there is no safe and effective clinical accepted vaccine. Arisaema genus has claimed for various traditional bioactivities, but scientific assessments are quite limited. This encouraged us to carry out our present study on around 60 phytoconstituents of different Arisaema species as a natural inhibitor against the human RSV. Selected 60 phytochemical entities were evaluated on the docking behavior of human RSV receptor (PDB: 4UCC) using Maestro 9.3 (Schrödinger, LLC, Cambridge, USA). Furthermore, kinetic properties and toxicity nature of top graded ligands were analyzed through QikProp and ProTox tools. Notably, rutin (glide score: -8.49), schaftoside (glide score: -8.18) and apigenin-6,8-di-C-β-D-galactoside (glide score - 7.29) have resulted in hopeful natural lead hits with an ideal range of kinetic descriptors values. ProTox tool (oral rodent toxicity) has resulted in likely toxicity targets of apex-graded tested ligands. Finally, the whole efforts can be explored further as a model to confirm its anti-human RSV potential with wet laboratory experiments. Rutin, schaftoside, and apigenin-6,8-di-C-β-D-galactoside showed promising top hits docking profile against human respiratory syncytial virusMoreover, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion properties (QikProp) of top hits resulted within an ideal range of kinetic descriptorsProTox tool highlighted toxicity class ranges, LD 50 values, and possible toxicity targets of apex-graded tested ligands. Abbreviations used: RSV: Respiratory syncytial virus, PRRSV: Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus, ADME-T: Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity.

Optimizing Cardiovascular Benefits of Exercise: A Review of Rodent Models

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Brittany; Moriguchi, Takeshi; Sumpio, Bauer

2013-01-01

Although research unanimously maintains that exercise can ward off cardiovascular disease (CVD), the optimal type, duration, intensity, and combination of forms are yet not clear. In our review of existing rodent-based studies on exercise and cardiovascular health, we attempt to find the optimal forms, intensities, and durations of exercise. Using Scopus and Medline, a literature review of English language comparative journal studies of cardiovascular benefits and exercise was performed. This review examines the existing literature on rodent models of aerobic, anaerobic, and power exercise and compares the benefits of various training forms, intensities, and durations. The rodent studies reviewed in this article correlate with reports on human subjects that suggest regular aerobic exercise can improve cardiac and vascular structure and function, as well as lipid profiles, and reduce the risk of CVD. Findings demonstrate an abundance of rodent-based aerobic studies, but a lack of anaerobic and power forms of exercise, as well as comparisons of these three components of exercise. Thus, further studies must be conducted to determine a truly optimal regimen for cardiovascular health. PMID:24436579

A method for rapid estimation of internal dose to members of the public from inhalation of mixed fission products (based on the ICRP 1994 human respiratory tract model for radiological protection)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou Jieli

1999-01-01

Based on the computing principle given in ICRP-30, a method had been given by the author for fast estimating internal dose from an intake of mixed fission products after nuclear accident. Following the ICRP-66 Human respiratory tract model published in 1994, the method was reconstructed. The doses of 1 Bq intake of mixed fission products (its AMAD = 1 μm, decay rate coefficient n = 0.2∼2.0) during the period of 1∼15 d after an accident were calculated. It is lower slightly based on ICRP 1994 respiratory tract model than that based on ICRP-30 model

SRS-A leukotrienes decrease the activity of human respiratory cilia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bisgaard, H; Pedersen, M

1987-01-01

We have studied the effects of the slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A) constituents leukotrienes (LT) C4 and D4 on the ciliary activity of human respiratory cells. The ciliary beat frequency on human nasal cells harvested by cell scraping from the inferior turbinate was measured...

A literature review on cardiovascular risk in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients: implications for clinical management

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Mansueto Gomes Neto

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: In recent years, there has been growing concern about an increasing rate of cardiovascular diseases in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients, which could be associated with side effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy. It is likely that the metabolic disorders related to anti-human immunodeficiency virus treatment will eventually translate into a increased cardiovascular risk in patients submitted to such regimens. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy are at higher risk of cardiovascular diseases than human immunodeficiency virus infected patients not receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy, or the general population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a computer-based search in representative databases, and also performed manual tracking of citations in selected articles. RESULT: The available evidence suggests an excess risk of cardiovascular events in human immunodeficiency virus-infected persons compared to non-human immunodeficiency virus infected individuals. The use of highly active antiretroviral therapy is associated with increased levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein and morphological signs of cardiovascular diseases. Some evidence suggested that human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals on highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens are at increased risk of dyslipidemia, ischemic heart disease, and myocardial infarction, particularly if the highly active antiretroviral therapy regimen contains a protease inhibitor. CONCLUSION: Physicians must weigh the cardiovascular risk against potential benefits when prescribing highly active antiretroviral therapy. Careful cardiac screening is warranted for patients who are being evaluated for, or who are receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens, particularly for those with known underlying cardiovascular risk

Effect of human milk prostaglandins and lactoferrin on respiratory syncytial virus and rotavirus.

Science.gov (United States)

Grover, M; Giouzeppos, O; Schnagl, R D; May, J T

1997-03-01

The effect of lactoferrin and prostaglandins E and F2 alpha on the growth of rotavirus and respiratory syncytial virus in cell culture was investigated. Lactoferrin inhibited the growth of respiratory syncytial virus at a concentration tenfold lower than that normally present in human milk. The prostaglandins had no effect on either virus growth, even at a concentration of 100-fold more than that found in human milk. Lactoferrin may have some antiviral properties in human milk in addition to its known antibacterial functions.

Streptococcus pneumoniae enhances human respiratory syncytial virus infection in vitro and in vivo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.T. Nguyen (Tien); R.P.L. Louwen (Rogier); Elberse, K. (Karin); G. van Amerongen (Geert); S. Yüksel (Selma); A. Luijendijk (Ad); A.D.M.E. Osterhaus (Albert); W.P. Duprex (William Paul); R.L. de Swart (Rik)

2015-01-01

textabstractHuman respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) and Streptococcus pneumoniae are important causative agents of respiratory tract infections. Both pathogens are associated with seasonal disease outbreaks in the pediatric population, and can often be detected simultaneously in infants

Replication and clearance of respiratory syncytial virus - Apoptosis is an important pathway of virus clearance after experimental infection with bovine respiratory syncytial virus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Viuff, B.; Tjørnehøj, Kirsten; Larsen, Lars Erik

2002-01-01

and clearance in a natural target animal. Replication of BRSV was demonstrated in the luminal part of the respiratory epithelial cells and replication in the upper respiratory tract preceded the replication in the lower respiratory tract. Virus excreted to the lumen of the respiratory tract was cleared...... and the infections with human respiratory syncytial. virus and BRSV have similar clinical, pathological, and epidemiological characteristics. In this study we used experimental BRSV infection in calves as a model of respiratory syncytial virus infection to demonstrate important aspects of viral replication......Human respiratory syncytial virus is an important cause of severe respiratory disease in young children, the elderly, and in immunocompromised adults. Similarly, bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) is causing severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease in calves. Both viruses are pneumovirus...

Effects of PM10 on human health in the western half of Iran (Ahwaz, Bushehr and Kermanshah Cities

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Sahar Geravandi

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: Particulate matter pollutants have harmful effects on human health and can intensify mortality and disease. The aim of this study is evaluate to adverse health effects caused by exposure to PM 10 in Ahwaz, Bushehr and Kermanshah Cities during 2011. Materials & Methods: In this study, the Air Q2.2.3 model was used for estimated adverse health effects of exposure to PM 10 . Air Q model provided by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH. Air Q software proved to be a valid and reliable tool to estimate the potential short term effects of air pollution. Daily concentrations of PM 10 were taken from Department of Environment (ADoE. Then processing data’s and finally the cardiovascular and respiratory disease attributable to this pollutant were calculated.   Results: Results show that the non hospitalized patients suffer from the cardiovascular and respiratory diseases attributable to Pm 10 . The patients from Ahwaz allocate the highest rate of hospital admittance to themselves with 19% respiratory and 20% cardiovascular charts those from Bushehr refer to hospitals 14% for respiratory illness and 15% for cardiac disease and the subjects from Kermanshah go to the hospitals 12% for respiratory complications and 14% for cardiac failures. Conclusions: The results indicate a direct relationship between the concentration of PM 10 and health effects resulting from exposure to them. The highest rate belongs to Ahwaz becomes it has greater concentration of dusty air. Therefore, the higher relative risk value can depict mismanagement in urban air quality.

Spatial variation of multiple air pollutants and their potential contributions to all-cause, respiratory, and cardiovascular mortality across China in 2015-2016

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Huan; Lin, Yun; Su, Qiong; Cheng, Liqiu

2017-11-01

Association of serious air pollution with adverse health effects in China has become a matter of public concern. However, many of studies that focused on a single air pollutant or a single city in China have rarely reflected the overall potential contribution of air pollution to unfavorable health outcomes. Therefore, our study estimated the spatial variation of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and gaseous pollutants (SO2, NO2, CO, and O3). Moreover, an additive approach was conducted to evaluate their overall potential contributions to mortality across China in 2015-2016 using the exposure-response coefficients. The results showed that cities with relatively high PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were mainly distributed in the North China Plain (NCP). The average annual PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in the NCP was 75.0 ± 14.7 and 131.2 ± 21.6 μg m-3. The potential contributions of six air pollutants ranged from 6.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 5.4-7.5%) to 25.7% (95% CI: 22.2-28.9%) in all-cause mortality, from 6.5% (95% CI: 4.7-8.3%) to 24.9% (95% CI: 18.6-30.9%) in respiratory mortality, and from 7.0% (95% CI: 5.3-8.6%) to 29.5% (95% CI: 24.3-34.5%) in cardiovascular mortality. Many cities with high potential contributions of the multiple air pollutants were in the NCP. NCP had the average potential contribution of 20.0% (95% CI: 17.2-22.6%) in all-cause mortality, 19.5% (95% CI: 14.5-24.3%) in respiratory mortality, and 23.0% (95% CI: 18.8-27.0%) in cardiovascular mortality. Besides, the Taklimakan Desert (TD) also had high potential contribution of 19.9% (95% CI: 17.1-22.4%) in all-cause mortality, 19.5% (95% CI: 14.3-24.3%) in respiratory mortality, and 23.5% (95% CI: 19.2-27.5%) in cardiovascular mortality.

A Triple Co-Culture Model of the Human Respiratory Tract to Study Immune-Modulatory Effects of Liposomes and Virosomes.

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Rebecca A M Blom

Full Text Available The respiratory tract with its ease of access, vast surface area and dense network of antigen-presenting cells (APCs represents an ideal target for immune-modulation. Bio-mimetic nanocarriers such as virosomes may provide immunomodulatory properties to treat diseases such as allergic asthma. In our study we employed a triple co-culture model of epithelial cells, macrophages and dendritic cells to simulate the human airway barrier. The epithelial cell line 16HBE was grown on inserts and supplemented with human blood monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs and dendritic cells (MDDCs for exposure to influenza virosomes and liposomes. Additionally, primary human nasal epithelial cells (PHNEC and EpCAM+ epithelial progenitor cell mono-cultures were utilized to simulate epithelium from large and smaller airways, respectively. To assess particle uptake and phenotype change, cell cultures were analyzed by flow cytometry and pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations were measured by ELISA. All cell types internalized virosomes more efficiently than liposomes in both mono- and co-cultures. APCs like MDMs and MDDCs showed the highest uptake capacity. Virosome and liposome treatment caused a moderate degree of activation in MDDCs from mono-cultures and induced an increased cytokine production in co-cultures. In epithelial cells, virosome uptake was increased compared to liposomes in both mono- and co-cultures with EpCAM+ epithelial progenitor cells showing highest uptake capacity. In conclusion, all cell types successfully internalized both nanocarriers with virosomes being taken up by a higher proportion of cells and at a higher rate inducing limited activation of MDDCs. Thus virosomes may represent ideal carrier antigen systems to modulate mucosal immune responses in the respiratory tract without causing excessive inflammatory changes.

DEFEAT OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM IN VIRAL INFECTIONS

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E. V. Sharipova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Article is devoted to studying of the submitted epidemiological, clinical, tool, laboratory data on pathology of cardiovascular system at various viral infections. The review is based on results of domestic and foreign researches. At viral infections damage of heart and his carrying-out system perhaps as during the sharp period of a disease, and the period of a convalescence or at the chronic course of virus process. The greatest cardiothrogenism is possessed by enteroviruses, which affect the myocardium in 5–15% of cases. Much attention is paid to herpesviruses, widespread, persistently persistent in the body, as one of the reasons for the development of dilated cardiomyopathy, coronary vasculitis, early atherosclerosis, cardiac rhythm disturbance. Other infections that may affect the cardiovascular system include influenza viruses, adenovirus, poliovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis, mumps, rubella, herpes simplex, varicella, arbovirus, respiratory-syntial virus, yellow fever virus et al. Complications from cardiovascular system can come to light at various age.

Water extract of Pueraria lobata Ohwi has anti-viral activity against human respiratory syncytial virus in human respiratory tract cell lines

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Tzeng-Jih Lin

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV infects all age groups and causes bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome with a significant mortality rate. To date, only ribavirin has been used to manage HRSV infection. However, ribavirin is expensive with an only modest effect. Furthermore, ribavirin has several side effects, which means it has limited clinical benefit. Pueraria lobata Ohwi (P. lobata is a common ingredient of Ge-Gen-Tang (Kakkon-to and Sheng-Ma-Ge-Gen-Tang (Shoma-kakkon-to, which are prescriptions of Chinese traditional medicine proven to have antiviral activity against HRSV. Therefore, it was hypothesized that P. lobata might be effective against HRSV. To find a cost-effective therapeutic modality, both human upper (HEp-2 and lower (A549 respiratory tract cell lines were used to test the hypothesis that P. lobata could inhibit HRSV-induced plaque formation. Results showed that the water extract of P. lobata was effective (p < 0.0001 against HRSV-induced plaque formation. P. lobata was more effective when given prior to viral inoculation (p < 0.0001 by inhibiting viral attachment (p < 0.0001 and penetration (p < 0.0001. However, supplementation with P. lobata could not stimulate interferon secretion after HRSV infection. In conclusion, P. lobata has antiviral activity against HRSV-induced plaque formation in airway mucosa mainly by inhibiting viral attachment and internalization. Further identification of effective constituents could contribute to the prevention of HRSV infection.

LITTLE FISH, BIG DATA: ZEBRAFISH AS A MODEL FOR CARDIOVASCULAR AND METABOLIC DISEASE.

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Gut, Philipp; Reischauer, Sven; Stainier, Didier Y R; Arnaout, Rima

2017-07-01

The burden of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases worldwide is staggering. The emergence of systems approaches in biology promises new therapies, faster and cheaper diagnostics, and personalized medicine. However, a profound understanding of pathogenic mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels remains a fundamental requirement for discovery and therapeutics. Animal models of human disease are cornerstones of drug discovery as they allow identification of novel pharmacological targets by linking gene function with pathogenesis. The zebrafish model has been used for decades to study development and pathophysiology. More than ever, the specific strengths of the zebrafish model make it a prime partner in an age of discovery transformed by big-data approaches to genomics and disease. Zebrafish share a largely conserved physiology and anatomy with mammals. They allow a wide range of genetic manipulations, including the latest genome engineering approaches. They can be bred and studied with remarkable speed, enabling a range of large-scale phenotypic screens. Finally, zebrafish demonstrate an impressive regenerative capacity scientists hope to unlock in humans. Here, we provide a comprehensive guide on applications of zebrafish to investigate cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. We delineate advantages and limitations of zebrafish models of human disease and summarize their most significant contributions to understanding disease progression to date. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for cardiovascular disease modeling and drug screening.

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Sharma, Arun; Wu, Joseph C; Wu, Sean M

2013-12-24

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have emerged as a novel tool for drug discovery and therapy in cardiovascular medicine. hiPSCs are functionally similar to human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and can be derived autologously without the ethical challenges associated with hESCs. Given the limited regenerative capacity of the human heart following myocardial injury, cardiomyocytes derived from hiPSCs (hiPSC-CMs) have garnered significant attention from basic and translational scientists as a promising cell source for replacement therapy. However, ongoing issues such as cell immaturity, scale of production, inter-line variability, and cell purity will need to be resolved before human clinical trials can begin. Meanwhile, the use of hiPSCs to explore cellular mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases in vitro has proven to be extremely valuable. For example, hiPSC-CMs have been shown to recapitulate disease phenotypes from patients with monogenic cardiovascular disorders. Furthermore, patient-derived hiPSC-CMs are now providing new insights regarding drug efficacy and toxicity. This review will highlight recent advances in utilizing hiPSC-CMs for cardiac disease modeling in vitro and as a platform for drug validation. The advantages and disadvantages of using hiPSC-CMs for drug screening purposes will be explored as well.

Human airway xenograft models of epithelial cell regeneration

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Puchelle Edith

2000-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Regeneration and restoration of the airway epithelium after mechanical, viral or bacterial injury have a determinant role in the evolution of numerous respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis, asthma and cystic fibrosis. The study in vivo of epithelial regeneration in animal models has shown that airway epithelial cells are able to dedifferentiate, spread, migrate over the denuded basement membrane and progressively redifferentiate to restore a functional respiratory epithelium after several weeks. Recently, human tracheal xenografts have been developed in immunodeficient severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID and nude mice. In this review we recall that human airway cells implanted in such conditioned host grafts can regenerate a well-differentiated and functional human epithelium; we stress the interest in these humanized mice in assaying candidate progenitor and stem cells of the human airway mucosa.

An object-oriented computational model to study cardiopulmonary hemodynamic interactions in humans.

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Ngo, Chuong; Dahlmanns, Stephan; Vollmer, Thomas; Misgeld, Berno; Leonhardt, Steffen

2018-06-01

This work introduces an object-oriented computational model to study cardiopulmonary interactions in humans. Modeling was performed in object-oriented programing language Matlab Simscape, where model components are connected with each other through physical connections. Constitutive and phenomenological equations of model elements are implemented based on their non-linear pressure-volume or pressure-flow relationship. The model includes more than 30 physiological compartments, which belong either to the cardiovascular or respiratory system. The model considers non-linear behaviors of veins, pulmonary capillaries, collapsible airways, alveoli, and the chest wall. Model parameters were derisved based on literature values. Model validation was performed by comparing simulation results with clinical and animal data reported in literature. The model is able to provide quantitative values of alveolar, pleural, interstitial, aortic and ventricular pressures, as well as heart and lung volumes during spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation. Results of baseline simulation demonstrate the consistency of the assigned parameters. Simulation results during mechanical ventilation with PEEP trials can be directly compared with animal and clinical data given in literature. Object-oriented programming languages can be used to model interconnected systems including model non-linearities. The model provides a useful tool to investigate cardiopulmonary activity during spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal modelling of respiratory symptoms in children

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Schlink, Uwe; Fritz, Gisela; Herbarth, Olf; Richter, Matthias

2002-08-01

A panel of 277 children, aged 3-7 years, was used to study the association between air pollution (O3, SO2, NO2, and total suspended particles), meteorological factors (global radiation, maximum daytime temperature, daily averages of vapour pressure and air humidity) and respiratory symptoms. For 759 days the symptoms were recorded in a diary and modelling was based on a modification of the method proposed by Korn and Whittemore (Biometrics 35: 795-798, 1979). This approach (1) comprises an extension using environmental parameters at different time scales, (2) addresses the suitability of using the daily fraction of symptomatic individuals to account for inter-individual interactions and (3) enables the most significant weather effects to be identified. The resulting model consisted of (1) an individual specific intercept that takes account of the population's heterogeneity, (2) the individual's health status the day before, (3) a long-term meteorological effect, which may be either the squared temperature or global radiation in interaction with temperature, (4) the short-term effect of sulfur dioxide, and (5) the short-term effect of an 8-h ozone concentration above 60 µg/m3. Using the estimated parameters as input to a simulation study, we checked the quality of the model and demonstrate that the annual cycle of the prevalence of respiratory symptoms is associated to atmospheric covariates. Individuals suffering from allergy have been identified as a group of a particular susceptibility to ozone. The duration of respiratory symptoms appears to be free of scale and follows an exponential distribution function, which confirms that the symptom record of each individual follows a Poisson point-process. This supports the assumption that not only respiratory diseases, but also respiratory symptoms can be considered an independent measure for the health status of a population sample. Since a point process is described by only one parameter (namely the intensity of the

Respiratory health in Latin America: number of specialists and human resources training.

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Vázquez-García, Juan-Carlos; Salas-Hernández, Jorge; Pérez Padilla, Rogelio; Montes de Oca, María

2014-01-01

Latin America is made up of a number of developing countries. Demographic changes are occurring in the close to 600 million inhabitants, in whom a significant growth in population is combined with the progressive ageing of the population. This part of the world poses great challenges for general and respiratory health. Most of the countries have significant, or even greater, rates of chronic respiratory diseases or exposure to risk. Human resources in healthcare are not readily available, particularly in the area of respiratory disease specialists. Academic training centers are few and even non-existent in the majority of the countries. The detailed analysis of these conditions provides a basis for reflection on the main challenges and proposals for the management and training of better human resources in this specialist area. Copyright © 2013 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Associations between air temperature and cardio-respiratory mortality in the urban area of Beijing, China: a time-series analysis.

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Liu, Liqun; Breitner, Susanne; Pan, Xiaochuan; Franck, Ulrich; Leitte, Arne Marian; Wiedensohler, Alfred; von Klot, Stephanie; Wichmann, H-Erich; Peters, Annette; Schneider, Alexandra

2011-05-25

Associations between air temperature and mortality have been consistently observed in Europe and the United States; however, there is a lack of studies for Asian countries. Our study investigated the association between air temperature and cardio-respiratory mortality in the urban area of Beijing, China. Death counts for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases for adult residents (≥15 years), meteorological parameters and concentrations of particulate air pollution were obtained from January 2003 to August 2005. The effects of two-day and 15-day average temperatures were estimated by Poisson regression models, controlling for time trend, relative humidity and other confounders if necessary. Effects were explored for warm (April to September) and cold periods (October to March) separately. The lagged effects of daily temperature were investigated by polynomial distributed lag (PDL) models. We observed a J-shaped exposure-response function only for 15-day average temperature and respiratory mortality in the warm period, with 21.3°C as the threshold temperature. All other exposure-response functions could be considered as linear. In the warm period, a 5°C increase of two-day average temperature was associated with a RR of 1.098 (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.057-1.140) for cardiovascular and 1.134 (95%CI: 1.050-1.224) for respiratory mortality; a 5°C decrease of 15-day average temperature was associated with a RR of 1.040 (95%CI: 0.990-1.093) for cardiovascular mortality. In the cold period, a 5°C increase of two-day average temperature was associated with a RR of 1.149 (95%CI: 1.078-1.224) for respiratory mortality; a 5°C decrease of 15-day average temperature was associated with a RR of 1.057 (95%CI: 1.022-1.094) for cardiovascular mortality. The effects remained robust after considering particles as additional confounders. Both increases and decreases in air temperature are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. The effects of

Associations between air temperature and cardio-respiratory mortality in the urban area of Beijing, China: a time-series analysis

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Wiedensohler Alfred

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Associations between air temperature and mortality have been consistently observed in Europe and the United States; however, there is a lack of studies for Asian countries. Our study investigated the association between air temperature and cardio-respiratory mortality in the urban area of Beijing, China. Methods Death counts for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases for adult residents (≥15 years, meteorological parameters and concentrations of particulate air pollution were obtained from January 2003 to August 2005. The effects of two-day and 15-day average temperatures were estimated by Poisson regression models, controlling for time trend, relative humidity and other confounders if necessary. Effects were explored for warm (April to September and cold periods (October to March separately. The lagged effects of daily temperature were investigated by polynomial distributed lag (PDL models. Results We observed a J-shaped exposure-response function only for 15-day average temperature and respiratory mortality in the warm period, with 21.3°C as the threshold temperature. All other exposure-response functions could be considered as linear. In the warm period, a 5°C increase of two-day average temperature was associated with a RR of 1.098 (95% confidence interval (95%CI: 1.057-1.140 for cardiovascular and 1.134 (95%CI: 1.050-1.224 for respiratory mortality; a 5°C decrease of 15-day average temperature was associated with a RR of 1.040 (95%CI: 0.990-1.093 for cardiovascular mortality. In the cold period, a 5°C increase of two-day average temperature was associated with a RR of 1.149 (95%CI: 1.078-1.224 for respiratory mortality; a 5°C decrease of 15-day average temperature was associated with a RR of 1.057 (95%CI: 1.022-1.094 for cardiovascular mortality. The effects remained robust after considering particles as additional confounders. Conclusions Both increases and decreases in air temperature are associated with an

Human neonatal cardiovascular progenitors: unlocking the secret to regenerative ability.

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Tania I Fuentes

Full Text Available Although clinical benefit can be achieved after cardiac transplantation of adult c-kit+ or cardiosphere-derived cells for myocardial repair, these stem cells lack the regenerative capacity unique to neonatal cardiovascular stem cells. Unraveling the molecular basis for this age-related discrepancy in function could potentially transform cardiovascular stem cell transplantation. In this report, clonal populations of human neonatal and adult cardiovascular progenitor cells were isolated and characterized, revealing the existence of a novel subpopulation of endogenous cardiovascular stem cells that persist throughout life and co-express both c-kit and isl1. Epigenetic profiling identified 41 microRNAs whose expression was significantly altered with age in phenotypically-matched clones. These differences were correlated with reduced proliferation and a limited capacity to invade in response to growth factor stimulation, despite high levels of growth factor receptor on progenitors isolated from adults. Further understanding of these differences may provide novel therapeutic targets to enhance cardiovascular regenerative capacity.

Induction and Subversion of Human Protective Immunity: Contrasting Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus

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Stephanie Ascough

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV and influenza are among the most important causes of severe respiratory disease worldwide. Despite the clinical need, barriers to developing reliably effective vaccines against these viruses have remained firmly in place for decades. Overcoming these hurdles requires better understanding of human immunity and the strategies by which these pathogens evade it. Although superficially similar, the virology and host response to RSV and influenza are strikingly distinct. Influenza induces robust strain-specific immunity following natural infection, although protection by current vaccines is short-lived. In contrast, even strain-specific protection is incomplete after RSV and there are currently no licensed RSV vaccines. Although animal models have been critical for developing a fundamental understanding of antiviral immunity, extrapolating to human disease has been problematic. It is only with recent translational advances (such as controlled human infection models and high-dimensional technologies that the mechanisms responsible for differences in protection against RSV compared to influenza have begun to be elucidated in the human context. Influenza infection elicits high-affinity IgA in the respiratory tract and virus-specific IgG, which correlates with protection. Long-lived influenza-specific T cells have also been shown to ameliorate disease. This robust immunity promotes rapid emergence of antigenic variants leading to immune escape. RSV differs markedly, as reinfection with similar strains occurs despite natural infection inducing high levels of antibody against conserved antigens. The immunomodulatory mechanisms of RSV are thus highly effective in inhibiting long-term protection, with disturbance of type I interferon signaling, antigen presentation and chemokine-induced inflammation possibly all contributing. These lead to widespread effects on adaptive immunity with impaired B cell memory and reduced T cell

Induction and Subversion of Human Protective Immunity: Contrasting Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus

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Ascough, Stephanie; Paterson, Suzanna; Chiu, Christopher

2018-01-01

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza are among the most important causes of severe respiratory disease worldwide. Despite the clinical need, barriers to developing reliably effective vaccines against these viruses have remained firmly in place for decades. Overcoming these hurdles requires better understanding of human immunity and the strategies by which these pathogens evade it. Although superficially similar, the virology and host response to RSV and influenza are strikingly distinct. Influenza induces robust strain-specific immunity following natural infection, although protection by current vaccines is short-lived. In contrast, even strain-specific protection is incomplete after RSV and there are currently no licensed RSV vaccines. Although animal models have been critical for developing a fundamental understanding of antiviral immunity, extrapolating to human disease has been problematic. It is only with recent translational advances (such as controlled human infection models and high-dimensional technologies) that the mechanisms responsible for differences in protection against RSV compared to influenza have begun to be elucidated in the human context. Influenza infection elicits high-affinity IgA in the respiratory tract and virus-specific IgG, which correlates with protection. Long-lived influenza-specific T cells have also been shown to ameliorate disease. This robust immunity promotes rapid emergence of antigenic variants leading to immune escape. RSV differs markedly, as reinfection with similar strains occurs despite natural infection inducing high levels of antibody against conserved antigens. The immunomodulatory mechanisms of RSV are thus highly effective in inhibiting long-term protection, with disturbance of type I interferon signaling, antigen presentation and chemokine-induced inflammation possibly all contributing. These lead to widespread effects on adaptive immunity with impaired B cell memory and reduced T cell generation and

The respiratory tract deposition model proposed by the ICRP Task Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, A.C.; Briant, J.K.; Stahlhofen, W.; Rudolf, G.; Gehr, P.

1990-11-01

The Task Group has developed a new model of the deposition of inhaled aerosols in each anatomical region of the respiratory tract. The model is used to evaluate the fraction of airborne activity that is deposited in respiratory regions having distinct retention characteristics and clearance pathways: the anterior nares, the extrathoracic airways of the naso- and oropharynx and larynx, the bronchi, the bronchioles, and the alveolated airways of the lung. Drawn from experimental data on total and regional deposition in human subjects, the model is based on extrapolation of these data by means of a detailed theoretical model of aerosol transport and deposition within the lung. The Task Group model applies to all practical conditions, and for aerosol particles and vapors from atomic size up to very coarse aerosols with an activity median aerodynamic diameter of 100 μm. The model is designed to predict regional deposition in different subjects, including adults of either sex, children of various ages, and infants, and also to account for anatomical differences among Caucasian and non-Caucasian subjects. The Task Group model represents aerosol inhalability and regional deposition in different subjects by algebraic expressions of aerosol size, breathing rates, standard lung volumes, and scaling factors for airway dimensions. 35 refs., 13 figs., 2 tabs

Main features of the proposed NCRP respiratory tract model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phalen, R.F.; Fisher, G.L.; Moss, O.R.; Schlesinger, R.B.; Swift, D.L.

1991-01-01

The proposed NCRP respiratory tract dosimetry model regions include the naso-oro-pharyngo-laryngeal (NOPL), the tracheobronchial (TB), the pulmonary (P), and the lymph nodes (LN). Input aerosol concentrations are derived from a consideration of particle-size-dependent inspirability. Particle deposition in the respiratory tract is modelled using the mechanisms of inertial impaction, sedimentation and diffusion. The rates of absorption of particles, and transport to the blood, have been derived from clearance data from people and laboratory animals. The effect of body growth on particle deposition is considered. Particle clearance rates are assumed to be independent of age. The proposed respiratory tract model differs significantly from the 1966 Task Group Model in that (1) inspirability is considered; (2) new sub-regions of the respiratory tract are considered; (3) absorption of materials by the blood is treated in a more sophisticated fashion; and (4) body size (and thus age) is taken into account. (author)

Atorvastatin affects negatively respiratory function of isolated endothelial mitochondria.

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Broniarek, Izabela; Jarmuszkiewicz, Wieslawa

2018-01-01

The purpose of this research was to elucidate the direct effects of two popular blood cholesterol-lowering drugs used to treat cardiovascular diseases, atorvastatin and pravastatin, on respiratory function, membrane potential, and reactive oxygen species formation in mitochondria isolated from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (EA.hy926 cell line). Hydrophilic pravastatin did not significantly affect endothelial mitochondria function. In contrast, hydrophobic calcium-containing atorvastatin induced a loss of outer mitochondrial membrane integrity, an increase in hydrogen peroxide formation, and reductions in maximal (phosphorylating or uncoupled) respiratory rate, membrane potential and oxidative phosphorylation efficiency. The atorvastatin-induced changes indicate an impairment of mitochondrial function at the level of ATP synthesis and at the level of the respiratory chain, likely at complex I and complex III. The atorvastatin action on endothelial mitochondria was highly dependent on calcium ions and led to a disturbance in mitochondrial calcium homeostasis. Uptake of calcium ions included in atorvastatin molecule induced mitochondrial uncoupling that enhanced the inhibition of the mitochondrial respiratory chain by atorvastatin. Our results indicate that hydrophobic calcium-containing atorvastatin, widely used as anti-atherosclerotic agent, has a direct negative action on isolated endothelial mitochondria. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Sleep apnea and cardiovascular risk.

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Floras, John S

2014-01-01

Sleep apnea is evident in approximately 10% of adults in the general population, but in certain cardiovascular diseases, and in particular those characterized by sodium and water retention, its prevalence can exceed 50%. Although sleep apnea is not as yet integrated into formal cardiovascular risk assessment algorithms, there is increasing awareness of its importance in the causation or promotion of hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, atrial arrhythmias, and stroke, and thus, not surprisingly, as a predictor of premature cardiovascular death. Sleep apnea manifests as two principal phenotypes, both characterized by respiratory instability: obstructive (OSA), which arises when sleep-related withdrawal of respiratory drive to the upper airway dilator muscles is superimposed upon a narrow and highly compliant airway predisposed to collapse, and central (CSA), which occurs when the partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide falls below the apnea threshold, resulting in withdrawal of central drive to respiratory muscles. The present objectives are to: (1) review the epidemiology and patho-physiology of OSA and CSA, with particular emphasis on the role of renal sodium retention in initiating and promoting these processes, and on population studies that reveal the long-term consequences of untreated OSA and CSA; (2) illustrate mechanical, autonomic, chemical, and inflammatory mechanisms by which OSA and CSA can increase cardiovascular risk and event rates by initiating or promoting hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, and stroke; (3) highlight insights from randomized trials in which treating sleep apnea was the specific target of therapy; (4) emphasize the present lack of evidence that treating sleep apnea reduces cardiovascular risk and the current clinical equipoise concerning treatment of asymptomatic patients with sleep apnea; and (5) consider clinical implications and future directions of clinical

Intermittent hypoxia, respiratory plasticity and sleep apnea in humans: present knowledge and future investigations.

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Mateika, Jason H; Syed, Ziauddin

2013-09-15

This review examines the role that respiratory plasticity has in the maintenance of breathing stability during sleep in individuals with sleep apnea. The initial portion of the review considers the manner in which repetitive breathing events may be initiated in individuals with sleep apnea. Thereafter, the role that two forms of respiratory plasticity, progressive augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response and long-term facilitation of upper airway and respiratory muscle activity, might have in modifying breathing events in humans is examined. In this context, present knowledge regarding the initiation of respiratory plasticity in humans during wakefulness and sleep is addressed. Also, published findings which reveal that exposure to intermittent hypoxia promotes breathing instability, at least in part, because of progressive augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response and the absence of long-term facilitation, are considered. Next, future directions are presented and are focused on the manner in which forms of plasticity that stabilize breathing might be promoted while diminishing destabilizing forms, concurrently. These future directions will consider the potential role of circadian rhythms in the promotion of respiratory plasticity and the role of respiratory plasticity in enhancing established treatments for sleep apnea. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Intermittent hypoxia, respiratory plasticity and sleep apnea in humans; present knowledge and future investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Mateika, Jason H.; Syed, Ziauddin

2013-01-01

This review examines the role that respiratory plasticity has in the maintenance of breathing stability during sleep in individuals with sleep apnea. The initial portion of the review considers the manner in which repetitive breathing events may be initiated in individuals with sleep apnea. Thereafter, the role that two forms of respiratory plasticity, progressive augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response and long-term facilitation of upper airway and respiratory muscle activity, might have in modifying breathing events in humans is examined. In this context, present knowledge regarding the initiation of respiratory plasticity in humans during wakefulness and sleep is addressed. Also, published findings which reveal that exposure to intermittent hypoxia promotes breathing instability, at least in part, because of progressive augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response and the absence of long-term facilitation, are considered. Next, future directions are presented and are focused on the manner in which forms of plasticity that stabilize breathing might be promoted while diminishing destabilizing forms, concurrently. These future directions will consider the potential role of circadian rhythms in the promotion of respiratory plasticity and the role of respiratory plasticity in enhancing established treatments for sleep apnea. PMID:23587570

The significance of Candida in the human respiratory tract: our evolving understanding.

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Pendleton, Kathryn M; Huffnagle, Gary B; Dickson, Robert P

2017-04-01

Candida is an opportunistic pathogen and the most commonly isolated fungal genus in humans. Though Candida is often detected in respiratory specimens from humans with and without lung disease, its significance remains undetermined. While historically considered a commensal organism with low virulence potential, the status of Candida as an innocent bystander has recently been called into question by both clinical observations and animal experimentation. We here review what is currently known and yet to be determined about the clinical, microbiological and pathophysiological significance of the detection of Candida spp. in the human respiratory tract. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Clinical characteristics of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems in patients with combination of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure

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I. I. Vyshnyvetskyy

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of our work was to assess the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of patients with a combination of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD and congestive heart failure (CHF. Materials and methods. The study included 177 patients who had been diagnosed COPD by criteria GOLD. CHF was diagnosed in 77 (43.5 % cases – 29 (16.4 % with reduced systolic function and 48 (27.1 % with preserved systolic function. We analyzed some important parameters characterizing respiratory and cardiovascular systems. We tried to identify statistically significant difference of parameters between patients with COPD and those with COPD and CHF. Moreover, patients with CHF were evaluated as a whole, and separately with reduced and with preserved systolic function. Results. Thus, we observed significant deterioration in general clinical, laboratory, spirometric and echocardiographic parameters depending on the presence and severity of CHF in patients with COPD. In particular, the presence of CHF, especially with impaired systolic function significantly impair indicators such as incidence of cardiac arrhythmias and signs of ischemia on the ECG, NT-proBNP levels, prevalence of concentric, eccentric hypertrophy and concentric LV remodeling and diastolic dysfunction type "relaxation disorder", and incidence of a-wave absence during assessment of motion of the rear pulmonary artery valve wall. Listed changes as well as some of the tendencies that have not reached a certain level of significance, indicate that patients with COPD and concomitant CHF, especially with impaired systolic function, worsens general clinical parameters (breath rate, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, frequency arrhythmias and myocardial ischemia on ECG; laboratory levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, cholesterol, glomerular filtration rate; spirometric indicators of bronchial obstruction (FEV1, FVC, instant volume expiratory flow rates; echocardiographic indicators suggest the

Biophysical Assessment of Single Cell Cytotoxicity: Diesel Exhaust Particle-Treated Human Aortic Endothelial Cells

OpenAIRE

Wu, Yangzhe; Yu, Tian; Gilbertson, Timothy A.; Zhou, Anhong; Xu, Hao; Nguyen, Kytai Truong

2012-01-01

Exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEPs), a major source of traffic-related air pollution, has become a serious health concern due to its adverse influences on human health including cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. To elucidate the relationship between biophysical properties (cell topography, cytoskeleton organizations, and cell mechanics) and functions of endothelial cells exposed to DEPs, atomic force microscope (AFM) was applied to analyze the toxic effects of DEPs on a model ...

The Viral Transcription Group Determines the HLA Class I Cellular Immune Response Against Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus*

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Johnstone, Carolina; Lorente, Elena; Barriga, Alejandro; Barnea, Eilon; Infantes, Susana; Lemonnier, François A.; David, Chella S.; Admon, Arie; López, Daniel

2015-01-01

The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated killing of virus-infected cells requires previous recognition of short viral antigenic peptides bound to human leukocyte antigen class I molecules that are exposed on the surface of infected cells. The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response is critical for the clearance of human respiratory syncytial virus infection. In this study, naturally processed viral human leukocyte antigen class I ligands were identified with mass spectrometry analysis of complex human leukocyte antigen-bound peptide pools isolated from large amounts of human respiratory syncytial virus-infected cells. Acute antiviral T-cell response characterization showed that viral transcription determines both the immunoprevalence and immunodominance of the human leukocyte antigen class I response to human respiratory syncytial virus. These findings have clear implications for antiviral vaccine design. PMID:25635267

Modeling Respiratory Toxicity of Authentic Lunar Dust

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Santana, Patricia A.; James, John T.; Lam, Chiu-Wing

2010-01-01

The lunar expeditions of the Apollo operations from the 60 s and early 70 s have generated awareness about lunar dust exposures and their implication towards future lunar explorations. Critical analyses on the reports from the Apollo crew members suggest that lunar dust is a mild respiratory and ocular irritant. Currently, NASA s space toxicology group is functioning with the Lunar Airborne Dust Toxicity Assessment Group (LADTAG) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to investigate and examine toxic effects to the respiratory system of rats in order to establish permissible exposure levels (PELs) for human exposure to lunar dust. In collaboration with the space toxicology group, LADTAG and NIOSH the goal of the present research is to analyze dose-response curves from rat exposures seven and twenty-eight days after intrapharyngeal instillations, and model the response using BenchMark Dose Software (BMDS) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Via this analysis, the relative toxicities of three types of Apollo 14 lunar dust samples and two control dust samples, titanium dioxide (TiO2) and quartz will be determined. This will be executed for several toxicity endpoints such as cell counts and biochemical markers in bronchoaveolar lavage fluid (BALF) harvested from the rats.

The influence of dietary fatty acid composition on the respiratory and cardiovascular physiology of Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii): a review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McKenzie, DJ; Piraccini, G; Agnisola, C

1999-01-01

as 15% of dry feed weight), with an elevated content of highly unsaturated fatty acids of the co3 series (¿3 HUFA), had a significantly lower standard metabolic rate (SMR) and routine oxygen consumption (Mo2) than those fed a diet enriched with the same quantity of hydrogenated coconut oil......This paper reviews evidence that the fatty acid composition of dietary lipids influences the respiratory and cardiovascular physiology of Adriatic sturgeon {Acipenser naccarii) and, thereby, their tolerance of the stress of hypoxia. Sturgeon fed a commercial diet enriched in fish oil (menhaden oil...

Respiratory hazard assessment of combined exposure to complete gasoline exhaust and respirable volcanic ash in a multicellular human lung model at the air-liquid interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomašek, Ines; Horwell, Claire J; Bisig, Christoph; Damby, David E; Comte, Pierre; Czerwinski, Jan; Petri-Fink, Alke; Clift, Martin J D; Drasler, Barbara; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara

2018-07-01

Communities resident in urban areas located near active volcanoes can experience volcanic ash exposures during, and following, an eruption, in addition to sustained exposures to high concentrations of anthropogenic air pollutants (e.g., vehicle exhaust emissions). Inhalation of anthropogenic pollution is known to cause the onset of, or exacerbate, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. It is further postulated similar exposure to volcanic ash can also affect such disease states. Understanding of the impact of combined exposure of volcanic ash and anthropogenic pollution to human health, however, remains limited. The aim of this study was to assess the biological impact of combined exposure to respirable volcanic ash (from Soufrière Hills volcano (SHV), Montserrat and Chaitén volcano (ChV), Chile; representing different magmatic compositions and eruption styles) and freshly-generated complete exhaust from a gasoline vehicle. A multicellular human lung model (an epithelial cell-layer composed of A549 alveolar type II-like cells complemented with human blood monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells cultured at the air-liquid interface) was exposed to diluted exhaust (1:10) continuously for 6 h, followed by immediate exposure to the ash as a dry powder (0.54 ± 0.19 μg/cm 2 and 0.39 ± 0.09 μg/cm 2 for SHV and ChV ash, respectively). After an 18 h incubation, cells were exposed again for 6 h to diluted exhaust, and a final 18 h incubation (at 37 °C and 5% CO 2 ). Cell cultures were then assessed for cytotoxic, oxidative stress and (pro-)inflammatory responses. Results indicate that, at all tested (sub-lethal) concentrations, co-exposures with both ash samples induced no significant expression of genes associated with oxidative stress (HMOX1, NQO1) or production of (pro-)inflammatory markers (IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α) at the gene and protein levels. In summary, considering the employed experimental conditions, combined exposure of

Respiratory hazard assessment of combined exposure to complete gasoline exhaust and respirable volcanic ash in a multicellular human lung model at the air-liquid interface

Science.gov (United States)

Tomasek, Ines; Horwell, Claire J.; Bisig, Christoph; Damby, David; Comte, Pierre; Czerwinski, Jan; Petri-Fink, Alke; Clift, Martin J D; Drasler, Barbara; Rothen-Rutishauer, Barbara

2018-01-01

Communities resident in urban areas located near active volcanoes can experience volcanic ash exposures during, and following, an eruption, in addition to sustained exposures to high concentrations of anthropogenic air pollutants (e.g., vehicle exhaust emissions). Inhalation of anthropogenic pollution is known to cause the onset of, or exacerbate, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. It is further postulated similar exposure to volcanic ash can also affect such disease states. Understanding of the impact of combined exposure of volcanic ash and anthropogenic pollution to human health, however, remains limited.The aim of this study was to assess the biological impact of combined exposure to respirable volcanic ash (from Soufrière Hills volcano (SHV), Montserrat and Chaitén volcano (ChV), Chile; representing different magmatic compositions and eruption styles) and freshly-generated complete exhaust from a gasoline vehicle. A multicellular human lung model (an epithelial cell-layer composed of A549 alveolar type II-like cells complemented with human blood monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells cultured at the air-liquid interface) was exposed to diluted exhaust (1:10) continuously for 6 h, followed by immediate exposure to the ash as a dry powder (0.54 ± 0.19 μg/cm2 and 0.39 ± 0.09 μg/cm2 for SHV and ChV ash, respectively). After an 18 h incubation, cells were exposed again for 6 h to diluted exhaust, and a final 18 h incubation (at 37 °C and 5% CO2). Cell cultures were then assessed for cytotoxic, oxidative stress and (pro-)inflammatory responses.Results indicate that, at all tested (sub-lethal) concentrations, co-exposures with both ash samples induced no significant expression of genes associated with oxidative stress (HMOX1, NQO1) or production of (pro-)inflammatory markers (IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α) at the gene and protein levels. In summary, considering the employed experimental conditions, combined exposure of

Acute respiratory and cardiovascular admissions after a public smoking ban in Geneva, Switzerland.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Paul Humair

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Many countries have introduced legislations for public smoking bans to reduce the harmful effects of exposure to tobacco smoke. Smoking bans cause significant reductions in admissions for acute coronary syndromes but their impact on respiratory diseases is unclear. In Geneva, Switzerland, two popular votes led to a stepwise implementation of a state smoking ban in public places, with a temporary suspension. This study evaluated the effect of this smoking ban on hospitalisations for acute respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: This before and after intervention study was conducted at the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, across 4 periods with different smoking legislations. It included 5,345 patients with a first hospitalisation for acute coronary syndrome, ischemic stroke, acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and acute asthma. The main outcomes were the incidence rate ratios (IRR of admissions for each diagnosis after the final ban compared to the pre-ban period and adjusted for age, gender, season, influenza epidemic and secular trend. RESULTS: Hospitalisations for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease significantly decreased over the 4 periods and were lowest after the final ban (IRR=0.54 [95%CI: 0.42-0.68]. We observed a trend in reduced admissions for acute coronary syndromes (IRR=0.90 [95%CI: 0.80-1.00]. Admissions for ischemic stroke, asthma and pneumonia did not significantly change. CONCLUSIONS: A legislative smoking ban was followed by a strong decrease in hospitalisations for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a trend for reduced admissions for acute coronary syndrome. Smoking bans are likely to be very beneficial for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Seasonal and pandemic human influenza viruses attach better to human upper respiratory tract epithelium than avian influenza viruses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.A.J. van Riel (Debby); M.A. den Bakker (Michael); L.M.E. Leijten (Lonneke); S. Chutinimitkul (Salin); V.J. Munster (Vincent); E. de Wit (Emmie); G.F. Rimmelzwaan (Guus); R.A.M. Fouchier (Ron); A.D.M.E. Osterhaus (Albert); T. Kuiken (Thijs)

2010-01-01

textabstractInfluenza viruses vary markedly in their efficiency of human-to-human transmission. This variation has been speculated to be determined in part by the tropism of influenza virus for the human upper respiratory tract. To study this tropism, we determined the pattern of virus attachment by

Structural identifiability analysis of a cardiovascular system model.

Science.gov (United States)

Pironet, Antoine; Dauby, Pierre C; Chase, J Geoffrey; Docherty, Paul D; Revie, James A; Desaive, Thomas

2016-05-01

The six-chamber cardiovascular system model of Burkhoff and Tyberg has been used in several theoretical and experimental studies. However, this cardiovascular system model (and others derived from it) are not identifiable from any output set. In this work, two such cases of structural non-identifiability are first presented. These cases occur when the model output set only contains a single type of information (pressure or volume). A specific output set is thus chosen, mixing pressure and volume information and containing only a limited number of clinically available measurements. Then, by manipulating the model equations involving these outputs, it is demonstrated that the six-chamber cardiovascular system model is structurally globally identifiable. A further simplification is made, assuming known cardiac valve resistances. Because of the poor practical identifiability of these four parameters, this assumption is usual. Under this hypothesis, the six-chamber cardiovascular system model is structurally identifiable from an even smaller dataset. As a consequence, parameter values computed from limited but well-chosen datasets are theoretically unique. This means that the parameter identification procedure can safely be performed on the model from such a well-chosen dataset. Thus, the model may be considered suitable for use in diagnosis. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multistructure index in revealing complexity of regulatory mechanisms of human cardiovascular system at rest and orthostatic stress in healthy humans

Science.gov (United States)

Makowiec, Danuta; Graff, Beata; Struzik, Zbigniew R.

2017-02-01

Biological regulation is sufficiently complex to pose an enduring challenge for characterization of both its equilibrium and transient non-equilibrium dynamics. Two univariate but coupled observables, heart rate and systolic blood pressure, are commonly characterized in the benchmark example of the human cardiovascular regulatory system. Asymmetric distributions of accelerations and decelerations of heart rate, as well as rises and falls in systolic blood pressure, recorded in humans during a head-up tilt test provide insights into the dynamics of cardiovascular response to a rapid, controlled deregulation of the system's homeostasis. The baroreflex feedback loop is assumed to be the fundamental physiological mechanism for ensuring homeostatic blood supply to distant organs at rest and during orthostatic stress, captured in a classical beat-to-beat autoregressive model of baroreflex by de Boer et al. (1987). For model corroboration, a multistructure index statistic is proposed, seamlessly evaluating the size spectrum of magnitudes of neural reflexes such as baroreflex, responsible for maintaining the homeostatic dynamics. The multistructure index exposes a distinctly different dynamics of multiscale asymmetry between results obtained from real-life signals recorded from healthy subjects and those simulated using both the classical and perturbed versions of the model. Nonlinear effects observed suggest the pronounced presence of complex mechanisms resulting from baroreflex regulation when a human is at rest, which is aggravated in the system's response to orthostatic stress. Using our methodology of multistructure index, we therefore show a marked difference between model and real-life scenarios, which we attribute to multiscale asymmetry of non-linear origin in real-life signals, which we are not reproducible by the classical model.

The viral transcription group determines the HLA class I cellular immune response against human respiratory syncytial virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnstone, Carolina; Lorente, Elena; Barriga, Alejandro; Barnea, Eilon; Infantes, Susana; Lemonnier, François A; David, Chella S; Admon, Arie; López, Daniel

2015-04-01

The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated killing of virus-infected cells requires previous recognition of short viral antigenic peptides bound to human leukocyte antigen class I molecules that are exposed on the surface of infected cells. The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response is critical for the clearance of human respiratory syncytial virus infection. In this study, naturally processed viral human leukocyte antigen class I ligands were identified with mass spectrometry analysis of complex human leukocyte antigen-bound peptide pools isolated from large amounts of human respiratory syncytial virus-infected cells. Acute antiviral T-cell response characterization showed that viral transcription determines both the immunoprevalence and immunodominance of the human leukocyte antigen class I response to human respiratory syncytial virus. These findings have clear implications for antiviral vaccine design. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Application of morphological and physiological parameters representative of a Brazilian population sample in the respiratory tract model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dos Reis, A. A.; Cardoso, J. C. S.; Lourenco, M. C.

2007-01-01

The human respiratory tract model (HRTM) adopted by ICRP in its Publication 66 accounts for the morphology and physiology of the respiratory tract. The characteristics of air drawn into the lungs and exhaled are greatly influenced by the morphology of the respiratory tract, which causes numerous changes in pressure, flow rate, direction and humidity as air moves into and out of the lungs. These characteristics are important to determine the fractional deposition. It is known that the morphology and physiology are influenced by environmental, occupational and economic conditions. The ICRP recommends, for a reliable evaluation of the regional deposition, the use of parameters from a local population wherever such information is available. The main purpose of this study is to verify the influence of using the morphology and physiology parameters representative of a sample of the Brazilian population on the deposition model of the ICRP Publication 66 model. (authors)

A novel approach to modeling and diagnosing the cardiovascular system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keller, P.E.; Kangas, L.J.; Hashem, S.; Kouzes, R.T. [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States); Allen, P.A. [Life Link, Richland, WA (United States)

1995-07-01

A novel approach to modeling and diagnosing the cardiovascular system is introduced. A model exhibits a subset of the dynamics of the cardiovascular behavior of an individual by using a recurrent artificial neural network. Potentially, a model will be incorporated into a cardiovascular diagnostic system. This approach is unique in that each cardiovascular model is developed from physiological measurements of an individual. Any differences between the modeled variables and the variables of an individual at a given time are used for diagnosis. This approach also exploits sensor fusion to optimize the utilization of biomedical sensors. The advantage of sensor fusion has been demonstrated in applications including control and diagnostics of mechanical and chemical processes.

Effects of intravenous hyperosmotic sodium bicarbonate on arterial and cerebrospinal fluid acid-base status and cardiovascular function in calves with experimentally induced respiratory and strong ion acidosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Berchtold, Joachim F; Constable, Peter D; Smith, Geoffrey W; Mathur, Sheerin M; Morin, Dawn E; Tranquilli, William J

2005-01-01

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of hyperosmotic sodium bicarbonate (HSB) administration on arterial and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) acid-base balance and cardiovascular function in calves with experimentally induced respiratory and strong ion (metabolic) acidosis. Ten healthy male Holstein calves (30-47 kg body weight) were instrumented under halothane anesthesia to permit cardiovascular monitoring and collection of blood samples and CSE Respiratory acidosis was induced by allowing the calves to spontaneously ventilate, and strong ion acidosis was subsequently induced by i.v. administration of L-lactic acid. Calves were then randomly assigned to receive either HSB (8.4% NaHCO3; 5 ml/kg over 5 minutes, i.v.; n=5) or no treatment (controls, n=5) and monitored for 1 hour. Mixed respiratory and strong ion acidosis was accompanied by increased heart rate, cardiac index, mean arterial pressure, cardiac contractility (maximal rate of change of left ventricular pressure), and mean pulmonary artery pressure. Rapid administration of HSB immediately corrected the strong ion acidosis, transiently increased arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (P(CO2)), and expanded the plasma volume. The transient increase in arterial P(CO2) did not alter CSF P(CO2) or induce paradoxical CSF acidosis. Compared to untreated control calves, HSB-treated calves had higher cardiac index and contractility and a faster rate of left ventricular relaxation for 1 hour after treatment, indicating that HSB administration improved myocardial systolic function. We conclude that rapid i.v. administration of HSB provided an effective and safe method for treating strong ion acidosis in normovolemic halothane-anesthetized calves with experimentally induced respiratory and strong ion acidosis. Fear of inducing paradoxical CSF acidosis is not a valid reason for withholding HSB administration in calves with mixed respiratory and strong ion acidosis.

Salt, Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Changes in Human and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Salt, Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Changes in Human and Experimental Studies – A Review. ... Some of the pathophysiological changes include cardiac hypertrophy and enhanced cardiac contractility, enhanced contraction of blood vessels and veins in response to constrictor agonists and diminished relaxation of ...

Metabolism of model organic pollutants in canine respiratory tract mucosa slices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thornton-Manning, J.R.; Gerde, P.; Chen, S.T.; Dahl, A.R.

1994-01-01

The high incidence of human bronchial tumors has been correlated with the high fractional deposition of inhaled particles in the bronchi. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are frequently bound to airborne particles due to their low vapor pressures. It is thought that tumorigenicity may result from the release and subsequent bioactivation of these particle-associated organic compounds in the respiratory tract. Previous studies at ITRI examined the clearance of organic toxicants from various regions of the canine respiratory tract. Their results indicated that, while clearance of a highly lipophilic PAH such as benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) from the thin alveolar epithelium took only a few minutes, clearance through the thicker epithelium of the conducting airways took hours. Slower, diffusion-limited clearance results in higher concentrations of lipophilic compounds in the epithelium of the bronchi. Hence, the ability of these tissues to metabolize organic compounds to water-soluble metabolites or reactive intermediates may be extremely important in their clearance from the respiratory tract and the potential susceptibility of this region of the respiratory tract to cancer. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the ability of bronchial mucosa to metabolize a model organic pulmonary carcinogen, BaP, to reactive and nonreactive metabolites and to evaluate the diffusion of the parent compound and metabolites through the bronchial mucosa

Assessing the effects of pharmacological agents on respiratory dynamics using time-series modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Kin Foon Kevin; Gong, Jen J; Cotten, Joseph F; Solt, Ken; Brown, Emery N

2013-04-01

Developing quantitative descriptions of how stimulant and depressant drugs affect the respiratory system is an important focus in medical research. Respiratory variables-respiratory rate, tidal volume, and end tidal carbon dioxide-have prominent temporal dynamics that make it inappropriate to use standard hypothesis-testing methods that assume independent observations to assess the effects of these pharmacological agents. We present a polynomial signal plus autoregressive noise model for analysis of continuously recorded respiratory variables. We use a cyclic descent algorithm to maximize the conditional log likelihood of the parameters and the corrected Akaike's information criterion to choose simultaneously the orders of the polynomial and the autoregressive models. In an analysis of respiratory rates recorded from anesthetized rats before and after administration of the respiratory stimulant methylphenidate, we use the model to construct within-animal z-tests of the drug effect that take account of the time-varying nature of the mean respiratory rate and the serial dependence in rate measurements. We correct for the effect of model lack-of-fit on our inferences by also computing bootstrap confidence intervals for the average difference in respiratory rate pre- and postmethylphenidate treatment. Our time-series modeling quantifies within each animal the substantial increase in mean respiratory rate and respiratory dynamics following methylphenidate administration. This paradigm can be readily adapted to analyze the dynamics of other respiratory variables before and after pharmacologic treatments.

Effect of compounds with antibacterial activities in human milk on respiratory syncytial virus and cytomegalovirus in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Portelli, J; Gordon, A; May, J T

1998-11-01

The effect of some antibacterial compounds present in human milk were tested for antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus, Semliki Forest virus and cytomegalovirus. These included the gangliosides GM1, GM2 and GM3, sialyl-lactose, lactoferrin and chondroitin sulphate A, B and C, which were all tested for their ability to inhibit the viruses in cell culture. Of the compounds tested, only the ganglioside GM2, chondroitin sulphate B and lactoferrin inhibited the absorption and growth of respiratory syncytial virus in cell culture, and none inhibited the growth of Semliki Forest virus, indicating that lipid antiviral activity was not associated with any of the gangliosides. While the concentrations of these two compounds required to inhibit respiratory syncytial virus were in excess of those present in human milk, sialyl-lactose concentrations similar to those present in human milk increased the growth of cytomegalovirus. Lactoferrin was confirmed as inhibiting both respiratory syncytial virus and cytomegalovirus growth in culture even when used at lower concentrations than those present in human milk. The antiviral activities of GM2, chondroitin sulphate B and lactoferrin were tested when added to an infant formula. Lactoferrin continued to have antiviral activity against cytomegalovirus, but a lower activity against respiratory syncytial virus; ganglioside GM2 and chondroitin sulphate B still maintained antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus.

Metabolic flexibility of mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders predicted by computer modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Zieliński, Łukasz P; Smith, Anthony C; Smith, Alexander G; Robinson, Alan J

2016-11-01

Mitochondrial respiratory chain dysfunction causes a variety of life-threatening diseases affecting about 1 in 4300 adults. These diseases are genetically heterogeneous, but have the same outcome; reduced activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes causing decreased ATP production and potentially toxic accumulation of metabolites. Severity and tissue specificity of these effects varies between patients by unknown mechanisms and treatment options are limited. So far most research has focused on the complexes themselves, and the impact on overall cellular metabolism is largely unclear. To illustrate how computer modelling can be used to better understand the potential impact of these disorders and inspire new research directions and treatments, we simulated them using a computer model of human cardiomyocyte mitochondrial metabolism containing over 300 characterised reactions and transport steps with experimental parameters taken from the literature. Overall, simulations were consistent with patient symptoms, supporting their biological and medical significance. These simulations predicted: complex I deficiencies could be compensated using multiple pathways; complex II deficiencies had less metabolic flexibility due to impacting both the TCA cycle and the respiratory chain; and complex III and IV deficiencies caused greatest decreases in ATP production with metabolic consequences that parallel hypoxia. Our study demonstrates how results from computer models can be compared to a clinical phenotype and used as a tool for hypothesis generation for subsequent experimental testing. These simulations can enhance understanding of dysfunctional mitochondrial metabolism and suggest new avenues for research into treatment of mitochondrial disease and other areas of mitochondrial dysfunction. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exercise training on cardiovascular diseases: Role of animal models in the elucidation of the mechanisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Rodrigues

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Cardiovascular diseases, which include hypertension, coronary artery disease/myocardial infarction and heart failure, are one of the major causes of disability and death worldwide. On the other hand, physical exercise acts in the preventionand treatment of these conditions. In fact, several experiments performed in human beings have demonstrated the efficiency of physical exercise to alter clinical signals observed in these diseases, such as high blood pressure and exercise intolerance. However, even if human studies demonstrated the clinical efficiency of physical exercise, most extensive mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon still have to be elucidated. In this sense, studies using animal models seem to be a good option to demonstrate such mechanisms. Therefore, the aims of the present study are describing the main pathophysiological characteristics of the animal models used in the study of cardiovascular diseases, as well as the main mechanismsassociated with the benefits of physical exercise.

Surfactant Protein D in Respiratory and Non-Respiratory Diseases

Science.gov (United States)

Sorensen, Grith L.

2018-01-01

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a multimeric collectin that is involved in innate immune defense and expressed in pulmonary, as well as non-pulmonary, epithelia. SP-D exerts antimicrobial effects and dampens inflammation through direct microbial interactions and modulation of host cell responses via a series of cellular receptors. However, low protein concentrations, genetic variation, biochemical modification, and proteolytic breakdown can induce decomposition of multimeric SP-D into low-molecular weight forms, which may induce pro-inflammatory SP-D signaling. Multimeric SP-D can decompose into trimeric SP-D, and this process, and total SP-D levels, are partly determined by variation within the SP-D gene, SFTPD. SP-D has been implicated in the development of respiratory diseases including respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, allergic asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Disease-induced breakdown or modifications of SP-D facilitate its systemic leakage from the lung, and circulatory SP-D is a promising biomarker for lung injury. Moreover, studies in preclinical animal models have demonstrated that local pulmonary treatment with recombinant SP-D is beneficial in these diseases. In recent years, SP-D has been shown to exert antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects in various non-pulmonary organs and to have effects on lipid metabolism and pro-inflammatory effects in vessel walls, which enhance the risk of atherosclerosis. A common SFTPD polymorphism is associated with atherosclerosis and diabetes, and SP-D has been associated with metabolic disorders because of its effects in the endothelium and adipocytes and its obesity-dampening properties. This review summarizes and discusses the reported genetic associations of SP-D with disease and the clinical utility of circulating SP-D for respiratory disease prognosis. Moreover, basic research on the mechanistic links between SP-D and respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases

Impacts of temperature extremes on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the Czech Republic

Science.gov (United States)

Davídkovová, H.; Kyselý, J.; Plavcová, E.; Urban, A.; Kriz, B.; Kyncl, J.

2012-04-01

Elevated mortality associated with high ambient temperatures in summer represents one of the main impacts of weather extremes on human society. Increases in cardiovascular mortality during heat waves have been reported in many European countries; much less is known about which particular cardiovascular disorders are most affected during heat waves, and whether similar patterns are found for morbidity (hospital admissions). Relatively less understood is also cold-related mortality and morbidity in winter, when the relationships between weather and human health are more complex, less direct, and confounded by other factors such as epidemics of influenza/acute respiratory infections. The present study analyses relationships between temperature extremes and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We make use of the datasets on hospital admissions and daily mortality in the population of the Czech Republic (about 10.3 million) over 1994-2009. The data have been standardized to remove the effects of the long-term trend and the seasonal and weekly cycles. Periods when the morbidity/mortality data were affected by epidemics of influenza and other acute respiratory infections have been removed from the analysis. We use analogous definitions for hot and cold spells based on quantiles of daily average temperature anomalies, which allows for a comparison of the findings for summer hot spells and winter cold spells. The main aims of the study are (i) to identify deviations of mortality and morbidity from the baseline associated with hot and cold spells, (ii) to compare the hot- and cold-spell effects for individual cardiovascular diseases (e.g. ischaemic heart disease I20-I25, cerebrovascular disease I60-I69, hypertension I10, aterosclerosis I70) and to identify those diagnoses that are most closely linked to temperature extremes, (iii) to identify population groups most vulnerable to temperature extremes, and (iv) to compare the links to temperature extremes for morbidity and

Respiratory allergen from house dust mite is present in human milk and primes for allergic sensitization in a mouse model of asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

Macchiaverni, P; Rekima, A; Turfkruyer, M; Mascarell, L; Airouche, S; Moingeon, P; Adel-Patient, K; Condino-Neto, A; Annesi-Maesano, I; Prescott, S L; Tulic, M K; Verhasselt, V

2014-03-01

There is an urgent need to identify environmental risk and protective factors in early life for the prevention of allergy. Our study demonstrates the presence of respiratory allergen from house dust mite, Der p 1, in human breast milk. Der p 1 in milk is immunoreactive, present in similar amounts as dietary egg antigen, and can be found in breast milk from diverse regions of the world. In a mouse model of asthma, oral exposure to Der p through breast milk strongly promotes sensitization rather than protect the progeny as we reported with egg antigen. These data highlight that antigen administration to the neonate through the oral route may contribute to child allergic sensitization and have important implications for the design of studies assessing early oral antigen exposure for allergic disease prevention. The up-to-now unknown worldwide presence of respiratory allergen in maternal milk allows new interpretation and design of environmental control epidemiological studies for allergic disease prevention. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Tei index in neonatal respiratory distress and perinatal asphyxia

OpenAIRE

Ahmed Anwer Attia Khattab

2015-01-01

Cardiovascular compromise is a common complication of neonatal respiratory distress and perinatal asphyxia. Tei index is a Doppler-derived index for the assessment of overall left ventricular function that combines systolic and diastolic time intervals. Aim: Assess the role of MPI versus cardiac troponin I as early indicator of hypoxic cardiac damage in neonates with respiratory distress or perinatal asphyxia. The present work was conducted on forty neonates, 15 with neonatal respiratory dist...

Air pollution and cardiovascular and respiratory disease: Rationale and methodology of CAPACITY study

Science.gov (United States)

Rabiei, Katayoun; Hosseini, Sayed Mohsen; Sadeghi, Erfan; Jafari-Koshki, Tohid; Rahimi, Mojtaba; Shishehforoush, Mansour; Lahijanzadeh, Ahmadreza; Sadeghian, Babak; Moazam, Elham; Mohebi, Mohammad Bagher; Ezatian, Victoria; Sarrafzadegan, Nizal

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND Considering the high level of air pollution and its impact on health, we aimed to study the correlation of air pollution with hospitalization and mortality of cardiovascular (CVD) and respiratory diseases (ResD) (CAPACITY) to determine the effects of air pollutants on CVD and ResD hospitalizations and deaths in Isfahan, Iran. METHODS Hourly levels of air pollutants including particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3), information of CVD and ResD admissions and death certificate were obtained respectively from Department of Environment (DOE), Iran, hospitals and cemetery. Time series and case-crossover model were used to find the impact of air pollutants. This paper only summarizes the descriptive findings of the CAPACITY study. RESULTS The total number of hospitalized patients were 23781 in 2010 and 22485 in 2011. The most frequent cause of hospitalization and death was ischemic heart diseases in both years. While the mean annual levels of O3, CO, and PM10 were lower in 2011 than in 2010, NO2 and SO2 levels higher in 2011. In both years, PM10 was similarly increased during last month of fall, late spring and early summer. In 2011, the PM2.5 and PM10 monthly trend of change were similar. CONCLUSION The CAPACITY study is one of the few large-scale studies that evaluated the effects of air pollutants on a variety of CVD and ResD in a large city of Iran. This study can provide many findings that could clarify the effects of these pollutants on the incidence and burden of both disease groups. PMID:29643921

Air pollution and cardiovascular and respiratory disease: Rationale and methodology of CAPACITY study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabiei, Katayoun; Hosseini, Sayed Mohsen; Sadeghi, Erfan; Jafari-Koshki, Tohid; Rahimi, Mojtaba; Shishehforoush, Mansour; Lahijanzadeh, Ahmadreza; Sadeghian, Babak; Moazam, Elham; Mohebi, Mohammad Bagher; Ezatian, Victoria; Sarrafzadegan, Nizal

2017-11-01

Considering the high level of air pollution and its impact on health, we aimed to study the correlation of air pollution with hospitalization and mortality of cardiovascular (CVD) and respiratory diseases (ResD) (CAPACITY) to determine the effects of air pollutants on CVD and ResD hospitalizations and deaths in Isfahan, Iran. Hourly levels of air pollutants including particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3), information of CVD and ResD admissions and death certificate were obtained respectively from Department of Environment (DOE), Iran, hospitals and cemetery. Time series and case-crossover model were used to find the impact of air pollutants. This paper only summarizes the descriptive findings of the CAPACITY study. The total number of hospitalized patients were 23781 in 2010 and 22485 in 2011. The most frequent cause of hospitalization and death was ischemic heart diseases in both years. While the mean annual levels of O3, CO, and PM10 were lower in 2011 than in 2010, NO2 and SO2 levels higher in 2011. In both years, PM10 was similarly increased during last month of fall, late spring and early summer. In 2011, the PM2.5 and PM10 monthly trend of change were similar. The CAPACITY study is one of the few large-scale studies that evaluated the effects of air pollutants on a variety of CVD and ResD in a large city of Iran. This study can provide many findings that could clarify the effects of these pollutants on the incidence and burden of both disease groups.

Air pollution and cardiovascular and respiratory disease: Rationale and methodology of CAPACITY study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katayoun Rabiei

2017-11-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Considering the high level of air pollution and its impact on health, we aimed to study the correlation of air pollution with hospitalization and mortality of cardiovascular (CVD and respiratory diseases (ResD (CAPACITY to determine the effects of air pollutants on CVD and ResD hospitalizations and deaths in Isfahan, Iran.METHODS: Hourly levels of air pollutants including particulate matter (PM, carbon monoxide (CO, nitrogen dioxide (NO2, sulfur dioxide (SO2, and ozone (O3, information of CVD and ResD admissions and death certificate were obtained respectively from Department of Environment (DOE, Iran, hospitals and cemetery. Time series and case-crossover model were used to find the impact of air pollutants. This paper only summarizes the descriptive findings of the CAPACITY study.RESULTS: The total number of hospitalized patients were 23781 in 2010 and 22485 in 2011. The most frequent cause of hospitalization and death was ischemic heart diseases in both years. While the mean annual levels of O3, CO, and PM10 were lower in 2011 than in 2010, NO2 and SO2 levels higher in 2011. In both years, PM10 was similarly increased during last month of fall, late spring and early summer. In 2011, the PM2.5 and PM10 monthly trend of change were similar.CONCLUSION: The CAPACITY study is one of the few large-scale studies that evaluated the effects of air pollutants on a variety of CVD and ResD in a large city of Iran. This study can provide many findings that could clarify the effects of these pollutants on the incidence and burden of both disease groups. 

Detection of Severe Respiratory Disease Epidemic Outbreaks by CUSUM-Based Overcrowd-Severe-Respiratory-Disease-Index Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Polanco

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A severe respiratory disease epidemic outbreak correlates with a high demand of specific supplies and specialized personnel to hold it back in a wide region or set of regions; these supplies would be beds, storage areas, hemodynamic monitors, and mechanical ventilators, as well as physicians, respiratory technicians, and specialized nurses. We describe an online cumulative sum based model named Overcrowd-Severe-Respiratory-Disease-Index based on the Modified Overcrowd Index that simultaneously monitors and informs the demand of those supplies and personnel in a healthcare network generating early warnings of severe respiratory disease epidemic outbreaks through the interpretation of such variables. A post hoc historical archive is generated, helping physicians in charge to improve the transit and future allocation of supplies in the entire hospital network during the outbreak. The model was thoroughly verified in a virtual scenario, generating multiple epidemic outbreaks in a 6-year span for a 13-hospital network. When it was superimposed over the H1N1 influenza outbreak census (2008–2010 taken by the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran in Mexico City, it showed that it is an effective algorithm to notify early warnings of severe respiratory disease epidemic outbreaks with a minimal rate of false alerts.

Detection of Severe Respiratory Disease Epidemic Outbreaks by CUSUM-Based Overcrowd-Severe-Respiratory-Disease-Index Model

Science.gov (United States)

Castañón-González, Jorge Alberto; Macías, Alejandro E.; Samaniego, José Lino; Buhse, Thomas; Villanueva-Martínez, Sebastián

2013-01-01

A severe respiratory disease epidemic outbreak correlates with a high demand of specific supplies and specialized personnel to hold it back in a wide region or set of regions; these supplies would be beds, storage areas, hemodynamic monitors, and mechanical ventilators, as well as physicians, respiratory technicians, and specialized nurses. We describe an online cumulative sum based model named Overcrowd-Severe-Respiratory-Disease-Index based on the Modified Overcrowd Index that simultaneously monitors and informs the demand of those supplies and personnel in a healthcare network generating early warnings of severe respiratory disease epidemic outbreaks through the interpretation of such variables. A post hoc historical archive is generated, helping physicians in charge to improve the transit and future allocation of supplies in the entire hospital network during the outbreak. The model was thoroughly verified in a virtual scenario, generating multiple epidemic outbreaks in a 6-year span for a 13-hospital network. When it was superimposed over the H1N1 influenza outbreak census (2008–2010) taken by the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran in Mexico City, it showed that it is an effective algorithm to notify early warnings of severe respiratory disease epidemic outbreaks with a minimal rate of false alerts. PMID:24069063

Human and avian influenza viruses target different cells in the lower respiratory tract of humans and other mammals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.A.J. van Riel (Debby); V.J. Munster (Vincent); E. de Wit (Emmie); G.F. Rimmelzwaan (Guus); R.A.M. Fouchier (Ron); A.D.M.E. Osterhaus (Albert); T. Kuiken (Thijs)

2007-01-01

textabstractViral attachment to the host cell is critical for tissue and species specificity of virus infections. Recently, pattern of viral attachment (PVA) in human respiratory tract was determined for highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of subtype H5N1. However, PVA of human influenza viruses

Tetratrichomonads from the oral cavity and respiratory tract of humans

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kutišová, K.; Kulda, J.; Čepička, I.; Flegr, J.; Koudela, Břetislav; Teras, J.; Tachezy, J.

2005-01-01

Roč. 131, č. 1 (2005), s. 1-11 ISSN 0031-1820 Grant - others:Grantová agentura Karlovy univerzity v Praze(CZ) 264/1999 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518 Keywords : Tetratrichomonas spp. * human respiratory tract * oral cavity Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 1.703, year: 2005

Respiratory Depression Caused by Heroin Use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kadir Hakan Cansiz

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Summary Heroin is a semisynthetic narcotic analgesic and heroin abuse is common due to its pleasure-inducing effect. For the last 30 years heroin abuse has become an important worldwide public health problem. Heroin can be administered in many different ways as preferred. Heroin affects many systems including respiratory system, cardiovascular system and particulary the central nervous system. Overdose use of heroin intravenously can be fatal due to respiratory depression. In this letter, we wanted to engage attention to respiratory depression caused by heroin abuse and potential benefits of using naloxone. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2012; 11(2.000: 248-250

Dynamic Coupling Between Respiratory and Cardiovascular System

Science.gov (United States)

Censi, Federica; Calcagnini, Giovanni; Cerutti, Sergio

The analysis of non-linear dynamics of the coupling among interacting quantities can be very useful for understanding the cardiorespiratory and cardiovascular control mechanisms. In this chapter RP is used to detect and quantify the degree of non-linear coupling between respiration and spontaneous rhythms of both heart rate and blood pressure variability signals. RQA turned out to be suitable for a quantitative evaluation of the observed coupling patterns among rhythms, both in simulated and real data, providing different degrees of coupling. The results from the simulated data showed that the increased degree of coupling between the signals was marked by the increase of PR and PD, and by the decrease of ER. When the RQA was applied to experimental data, PD and ER turned out to be the most significant variables, compared to PR. A remarkable finding is the detection of transient 1:2 PL episodes between respiration and cardiovascular variability signals. This phenomenon can be associated to a sub-harmonic synchronization between the two main rhythms of HR and BP variability series.

Respiratory system

Science.gov (United States)

Bartlett, R. G., Jr.

1973-01-01

The general anatomy and function of the human respiratory system is summarized. Breathing movements, control of breathing, lung volumes and capacities, mechanical relations, and factors relevant to respiratory support and equipment design are discussed.

An interactive videogame designed to improve respiratory navigator efficiency in children undergoing cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamlet, Sean M; Haggerty, Christopher M; Suever, Jonathan D; Wehner, Gregory J; Grabau, Jonathan D; Andres, Kristin N; Vandsburger, Moriel H; Powell, David K; Sorrell, Vincent L; Fornwalt, Brandon K

2016-09-06

Advanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) acquisitions often require long scan durations that necessitate respiratory navigator gating. The tradeoff of navigator gating is reduced scan efficiency, particularly when the patient's breathing patterns are inconsistent, as is commonly seen in children. We hypothesized that engaging pediatric participants with a navigator-controlled videogame to help control breathing patterns would improve navigator efficiency and maintain image quality. We developed custom software that processed the Siemens respiratory navigator image in real-time during CMR and represented diaphragm position using a cartoon avatar, which was projected to the participant in the scanner as visual feedback. The game incentivized children to breathe such that the avatar was positioned within the navigator acceptance window (±3 mm) throughout image acquisition. Using a 3T Siemens Tim Trio, 50 children (Age: 14 ± 3 years, 48 % female) with no significant past medical history underwent a respiratory navigator-gated 2D spiral cine displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) CMR acquisition first with no feedback (NF) and then with the feedback game (FG). Thirty of the 50 children were randomized to undergo extensive off-scanner training with the FG using a MRI simulator, or no off-scanner training. Navigator efficiency, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and global left-ventricular strains were determined for each participant and compared. Using the FG improved average navigator efficiency from 33 ± 15 to 58 ± 13 % (p < 0.001) and improved SNR by 5 % (p = 0.01) compared to acquisitions with NF. There was no difference in navigator efficiency (p = 0.90) or SNR (p = 0.77) between untrained and trained participants for FG acquisitions. Circumferential and radial strains derived from FG acquisitions were slightly reduced compared to NF acquisitions (-16 ± 2 % vs -17 ± 2 %, p < 0.001; 40 ± 10�

Modelling of polysomnographic respiratory measurements for artefact detection and signal restoration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rathnayake, S I; Abeyratne, U R; Hukins, C; Duce, B

2008-01-01

Polysomnography (PSG), which incorporates measures of sleep with measures of EEG arousal, air flow, respiratory movement and oxygenation, is universally regarded as the reference standard in diagnosing sleep-related respiratory diseases such as obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. Over 15 channels of physiological signals are measured from a subject undergoing a typical overnight PSG session. The signals often suffer from data losses, interferences and artefacts. In a typical sleep scoring session, artefact-corrupted signal segments are visually detected and removed from further consideration. This is a highly time-consuming process, and subjective judgement is required for the job. During typical sleep scoring sessions, the target is the detection of segments of diagnostic interest, and signal restoration is not utilized for distorted segments. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for artefact detection and signal restoration based on the redundancy among respiratory flow signals. We focus on the air flow (thermistor sensors) and nasal pressure signals which are clinically significant in detecting respiratory disturbances. The method treats the respiratory system and other organs that provide respiratory-related inputs/outputs to it (e.g., cardiovascular, brain) as a possibly nonlinear coupled-dynamical system, and uses the celebrated Takens embedding theorem as the theoretical basis for signal prediction. Nonlinear prediction across time (self-prediction) and signals (cross-prediction) provides us with a mechanism to detect artefacts as unexplained deviations. In addition to detection, the proposed method carries the potential to correct certain classes of artefacts and restore the signal. In this study, we categorize commonly occurring artefacts and distortions in air flow and nasal pressure measurements into several groups and explore the efficacy of the proposed technique in detecting/recovering them. The results we obtained from a database of clinical

NASAL-Geom, a free upper respiratory tract 3D model reconstruction software

Science.gov (United States)

Cercos-Pita, J. L.; Cal, I. R.; Duque, D.; de Moreta, G. Sanjuán

2018-02-01

The tool NASAL-Geom, a free upper respiratory tract 3D model reconstruction software, is here described. As a free software, researchers and professionals are welcome to obtain, analyze, improve and redistribute it, potentially increasing the rate of development, and reducing at the same time ethical conflicts regarding medical applications which cannot be analyzed. Additionally, the tool has been optimized for the specific task of reading upper respiratory tract Computerized Tomography scans, and producing 3D geometries. The reconstruction process is divided into three stages: preprocessing (including Metal Artifact Reduction, noise removal, and feature enhancement), segmentation (where the nasal cavity is identified), and 3D geometry reconstruction. The tool has been automatized (i.e. no human intervention is required) a critical feature to avoid bias in the reconstructed geometries. The applied methodology is discussed, as well as the program robustness and precision.

Comparison of the respiratory tract models of ICRP and US EPA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Tao

2000-01-01

An index for the integral characterization of risk is necessary for improving risk management, comparing the effects of various practices on the environment and keeping risk as low as reasonably achievable while allowing economic development. Public health risk has been used as an index to compare and combine the risks from the presence of a variety of contaminants. In 1994, International Commission on Radiological Protection published the Publication 66 'Human Respiratory Tract Model for Radiological Protection'. Meanwhile US EPA published 'Methods for Derivation of Inhalation Reference Concentrations and Application of Inhalation Dosimetry'. Basically the concept of Reference Concentration (RfC) is similar to that of DAC used in radiation protection. Both of them are derived from the deposited amount of interested contaminants in the respiratory tract. In an attempt to assess the public health risk by combining the ICRP model and the deposited amount corresponding to values of RfC, the main application, especially the fractional deposition, of the respiratory tract model of US EPA is compared with the new respiratory tract model of ICRP. For normal nose breather, when the AMADs of monodisperse aerosol are 0.5 η m, 1 η m, 2 η m, 3 η m, 5 η m, 7 η m and 10 η m, minute volume is 1.2m 3 /h (20L/mim), the corresponding total fractional depositions calculated by the model of the US EPA are 0.33, 0.50, 0.72, 0.85, 0.95, 0.97 and 0.93. With the same condition, the total fractional deposition calculated by the ICRP model is 0.35, 0.51, 0.70, 0.78, 0.82, 0.81 and 0.77. For polydisperse aerosol with default values of ICRP for occupational and environmental exposures, the fractional depositions calculated by US EPA model are 0.82 and 0.50 while that by ICRP are 0.82 and 0.47. In conclusion, (1) The ICRP model is more accurate than the US EPA model and has a wider application. (2) For monodisperse aerosol, when the AMAD of aerosol is less than 3 η m there is no

Human nasal turbinates as a viable source of respiratory epithelial cells using co-culture system versus dispase-dissociation technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Noruddin, Nur Adelina Ahmad; Saim, Aminuddin B; Chua, Kien Hui; Idrus, Ruszymah

2007-12-01

To compare a co-culture system with a conventional dispase-dissociation method for obtaining functional human respiratory epithelial cells from the nasal turbinates for tissue engineering application. Human respiratory epithelial cells were serially passaged using a co-culture system and a conventional dispase-dissociation technique. The growth kinetics and gene expression levels of the cultured respiratory epithelial cells were compared. Four genes were investigated, namely cytokeratin-18, a marker for ciliated and secretory epithelial cells; cytokeratin-14, a marker for basal epithelial cells; MKI67, a proliferation marker; and MUC5B, a marker for mucin secretion. Immunocytochemical analysis was performed using monoclonal antibodies against the high molecular-weight cytokeratin 34 beta E12, cytokeratin 18, and MUC5A to investigate the protein expression from cultured respiratory epithelial cells. Respiratory epithelial cells cultured using both methods maintained polygonal morphology throughout the passages. At passage 1, co-cultured respiratory epithelial showed a 2.6-times higher growth rate compared to conventional dispase dissociation technique, and 7.8 times higher at passage 2. Better basal gene expression was observed by co-cultured respiratory epithelial cells compared to dispase dissociated cells. Immunocytochemical analyses were positive for the respiratory epithelial cells cultured using both techniques. Co-culture system produced superior quality of cultured human respiratory epithelial cells from the nasal turbinates as compared to dispase dissociation technique.

The microbiota of the respiratory tract : Gatekeeper to respiratory health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Man, Wing Ho; De Steenhuijsen Piters, Wouter A.A.; Bogaert, Debby

2017-01-01

The respiratory tract is a complex organ system that is responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The human respiratory tract spans from the nostrils to the lung alveoli and is inhabited by niche-specific communities of bacteria. The microbiota of the respiratory tract probably acts

Modeling acute respiratory illness during the 2007 San Diego wildland fires using a coupled emissions-transport system and generalized additive modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Thelen, Brian; French, Nancy H F; Koziol, Benjamin W; Billmire, Michael; Owen, Robert Chris; Johnson, Jeffrey; Ginsberg, Michele; Loboda, Tatiana; Wu, Shiliang

2013-11-05

A study of the impacts on respiratory health of the 2007 wildland fires in and around San Diego County, California is presented. This study helps to address the impact of fire emissions on human health by modeling the exposure potential of proximate populations to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) from vegetation fires. Currently, there is no standard methodology to model and forecast the potential respiratory health effects of PM plumes from wildland fires, and in part this is due to a lack of methodology for rigorously relating the two. The contribution in this research specifically targets that absence by modeling explicitly the emission, transmission, and distribution of PM following a wildland fire in both space and time. Coupled empirical and deterministic models describing particulate matter (PM) emissions and atmospheric dispersion were linked to spatially explicit syndromic surveillance health data records collected through the San Diego Aberration Detection and Incident Characterization (SDADIC) system using a Generalized Additive Modeling (GAM) statistical approach. Two levels of geographic aggregation were modeled, a county-wide regional level and division of the county into six sub regions. Selected health syndromes within SDADIC from 16 emergency departments within San Diego County relevant for respiratory health were identified for inclusion in the model. The model captured the variability in emergency department visits due to several factors by including nine ancillary variables in addition to wildfire PM concentration. The model coefficients and nonlinear function plots indicate that at peak fire PM concentrations the odds of a person seeking emergency care is increased by approximately 50% compared to non-fire conditions (40% for the regional case, 70% for a geographically specific case). The sub-regional analyses show that demographic variables also influence respiratory health outcomes from smoke. The model developed in this study allows a

[Etiological analysis and establishment of a discriminant model for lower respiratory tract infections in hospitalized patients].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y S; Lin, X H; Li, H R; Hua, Z D; Lin, M Q; Huang, W S; Yu, T; Lyu, H Y; Mao, W P; Liang, Y Q; Peng, X R; Chen, S J; Zheng, H; Lian, S Q; Hu, X L; Yao, X Q

2017-12-12

Objective: To analyze the pathogens of lower respiratory tract infection(LRTI) including bacterial, viral and mixed infection, and to establish a discriminant model based on clinical features in order to predict the pathogens. Methods: A total of 243 hospitalized patients with lower respiratory tract infections were enrolled in Fujian Provincial Hospital from April 2012 to September 2015. The clinical data and airway (sputum and/or bronchoalveolar lavage) samples were collected. Microbes were identified by traditional culture (for bacteria), loop-mediated isothermal amplification(LAMP) and gene sequencing (for bacteria and atypical pathogen), or Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR)for viruses. Finally, a discriminant model was established by using the discriminant analysis methods to help to predict bacterial, viral and mixed infections. Results: Pathogens were detected in 53.9% (131/243) of the 243 cases.Bacteria accounted for 23.5%(57/243, of which 17 cases with the virus, 1 case with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and virus), mainly Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Klebsiella Pneumonia. Atypical pathogens for 4.9% (12/243, of which 3 cases with the virus, 1 case of bacteria and viruses), all were mycoplasma pneumonia. Viruses for 34.6% (84/243, of which 17 cases of bacteria, 3 cases with Mycoplasma pneumoniae, 1 case with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and bacteria) of the cases, mainly Influenza A virus and Human Cytomegalovirus, and other virus like adenovirus, human parainfluenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, human boca virus were also detected fewly. Seven parameters including mental status, using antibiotics prior to admission, complications, abnormal breath sounds, neutrophil alkaline phosphatase (NAP) score, pneumonia severity index (PSI) score and CRUB-65 score were enrolled after univariate analysis, and discriminant analysis was used to establish the discriminant model by applying the identified pathogens as the

Human coronavirus and severe acute respiratory infection in Southern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Trombetta, Hygor; Faggion, Heloisa Z; Leotte, Jaqueline; Nogueira, Meri B; Vidal, Luine R R; Raboni, Sonia M

2016-05-01

Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) are an important cause of respiratory tract infection and are responsible for causing the common cold in the general population. Thus, adequate surveillance of HCoV is essential. This study aimed to analyze the impact of HCoV infections and their relation to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in a hospitalized population in Southern Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, and assessed inpatients under investigation for SARI by the hospital epidemiology department, and all patients who had nasopharyngeal aspirates collected from January 2012 to December 2013 to detect respiratory viruses (RVs). Viral infection was detected by multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), with primers specific to the subtypes HCoV-229E/NL63 and OC43/HKU1. The overall positivity rate was 58.8% (444/755), and HCoVs were detected in 7.6% (n = 34) of positive samples. Children below two years of age were most frequently affected (62%). Comorbidities were more likely to be associated with HCoVs than with other RVs. Immunosuppression was an independent risk factor for HCoV infection (OR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.6-7.6). Dyspnea was less frequently associated with HCoV infection (p infected with HCoV (9%) died from respiratory infection. HCoVs are important respiratory pathogens, especially in hospitalized children under 2 years of age and in immunosuppressed patients. They may account for a small proportion of SARI diagnoses, increased need for mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit admission, and death.

Indoor aerosol modeling for assessment of exposure and respiratory tract deposited dose

Science.gov (United States)

Hussein, Tareq; Wierzbicka, Aneta; Löndahl, Jakob; Lazaridis, Mihalis; Hänninen, Otto

2015-04-01

Air pollution is one of the major environmental problems that influence people's health. Exposure to harmful particulate matter (PM) occurs both outdoors and indoors, but while people spend most of their time indoors, the indoor exposures tend to dominate. Moreover, higher PM concentrations due to indoor sources and tightness of indoor environments may substantially add to the outdoor originating exposures. Empirical and real-time assessment of human exposure is often impossible; therefore, indoor aerosol modeling (IAM) can be used as a superior method in exposure and health effects studies. This paper presents a simple approach in combining available aerosol-based modeling techniques to evaluate the real-time exposure and respiratory tract deposited dose based on particle size. Our simple approach consists of outdoor aerosol data base, IAM simulations, time-activity pattern data-base, physical-chemical properties of inhaled aerosols, and semi-empirical deposition fraction of aerosols in the respiratory tract. These modeling techniques allow the characterization of regional deposited dose in any metric: particle mass, particle number, and surface area. The first part of this presentation reviews recent advances in simple mass-balance based modeling methods that are needed in analyzing the health relevance of indoor exposures. The second part illustrates the use of IAM in the calculations of exposure and deposited dose. Contrary to previous methods, the approach presented is a real-time approach and it goes beyond the exposure assessment to provide the required information for the health risk assessment, which is the respiratory tract deposited dose. This simplified approach is foreseen to support epidemiological studies focusing on exposures originating from both indoor and outdoor sources.

The draft genome sequence of the ferret (Mustela putorius furo) facilitates study of human respiratory disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Xinxia; Alföldi, Jessica; Gori, Kevin; Eisfeld, Amie J; Tyler, Scott R; Tisoncik-Go, Jennifer; Brawand, David; Law, G Lynn; Skunca, Nives; Hatta, Masato; Gasper, David J; Kelly, Sara M; Chang, Jean; Thomas, Matthew J; Johnson, Jeremy; Berlin, Aaron M; Lara, Marcia; Russell, Pamela; Swofford, Ross; Turner-Maier, Jason; Young, Sarah; Hourlier, Thibaut; Aken, Bronwen; Searle, Steve; Sun, Xingshen; Yi, Yaling; Suresh, M; Tumpey, Terrence M; Siepel, Adam; Wisely, Samantha M; Dessimoz, Christophe; Kawaoka, Yoshihiro; Birren, Bruce W; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin; Di Palma, Federica; Engelhardt, John F; Palermo, Robert E; Katze, Michael G

2014-12-01

The domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) is an important animal model for multiple human respiratory diseases. It is considered the 'gold standard' for modeling human influenza virus infection and transmission. Here we describe the 2.41 Gb draft genome assembly of the domestic ferret, constituting 2.28 Gb of sequence plus gaps. We annotated 19,910 protein-coding genes on this assembly using RNA-seq data from 21 ferret tissues. We characterized the ferret host response to two influenza virus infections by RNA-seq analysis of 42 ferret samples from influenza time-course data and showed distinct signatures in ferret trachea and lung tissues specific to 1918 or 2009 human pandemic influenza virus infections. Using microarray data from 16 ferret samples reflecting cystic fibrosis disease progression, we showed that transcriptional changes in the CFTR-knockout ferret lung reflect pathways of early disease that cannot be readily studied in human infants with cystic fibrosis disease.

Economy-Wide estimates of the implications of climate change: Human health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosello, F.; Roson, R.; Tol, R.S.J.

2006-01-01

We study the economic impacts of climate-change-induced change in human health, viz. cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, diarrhoea, malaria, dengue fever and schistosomiasis. Changes in morbidity and mortality are interpreted as changes in labour productivity and demand for health care, and

Lung injury and respiratory mechanics in rugby union.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindsay, Angus; Bernard, Angelique; Davidson, Shaun M; Redmond, Daniel P; Chiew, Yeong S; Pretty, Christopher; Chase, J Geoffrey; Shaw, Geoffrey M; Gieseg, Steven P; Draper, Nick

2016-04-01

Rugby is a highly popular team contact sport associated with high injury rates. Specifically, there is a chance of inducing internal lung injuries as a result of the physical nature of the game. Such injuries are only identified with the use of specific invasive protocols or equipment. This study presents a model-based method to assess respiratory mechanics of N=11 rugby players that underwent a low intensity experimental Mechanical Ventilation (MV) Test before and after a rugby game. Participants were connected to a ventilator via a facemask and their respiratory mechanics estimated using a time-varying elastance model. All participants had a respiratory elastance respiratory mechanics (P>0.05). Model-based respiratory mechanics estimation has been used widely in the treatment of the critically ill in intensive care. However, the application of a ventilator to assess the respiratory mechanics of healthy human beings is limited. This method adapted from ICU mechanical ventilation can be used to provide insight to respiratory mechanics of healthy participants that can be used as a more precise measure of lung inflammation/injury that avoids invasive procedures. This is the first study to conceptualize the assessment of respiratory mechanics in healthy athletes as a means to monitor postexercise stress and therefore manage recovery.

A model of mechanical interactions between heart and lungs.

Science.gov (United States)

Fontecave Jallon, Julie; Abdulhay, Enas; Calabrese, Pascale; Baconnier, Pierre; Gumery, Pierre-Yves

2009-12-13

To study the mechanical interactions between heart, lungs and thorax, we propose a mathematical model combining a ventilatory neuromuscular model and a model of the cardiovascular system, as described by Smith et al. (Smith, Chase, Nokes, Shaw & Wake 2004 Med. Eng. Phys.26, 131-139. (doi:10.1016/j.medengphy.2003.10.001)). The respiratory model has been adapted from Thibault et al. (Thibault, Heyer, Benchetrit & Baconnier 2002 Acta Biotheor. 50, 269-279. (doi:10.1023/A:1022616701863)); using a Liénard oscillator, it allows the activity of the respiratory centres, the respiratory muscles and rib cage internal mechanics to be simulated. The minimal haemodynamic system model of Smith includes the heart, as well as the pulmonary and systemic circulation systems. These two modules interact mechanically by means of the pleural pressure, calculated in the mechanical respiratory system, and the intrathoracic blood volume, calculated in the cardiovascular model. The simulation by the proposed model provides results, first, close to experimental data, second, in agreement with the literature results and, finally, highlighting the presence of mechanical cardiorespiratory interactions.

Numerical Model of the Human Cardiovascular System-Korotkoff Sounds Simulation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Maršík, František; Převorovská, Světlana; Brož, Z.; Štembera, V.

Vol.4, č. 2 (2004), s. 193-199 ISSN 1432-9077 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA106/03/1073 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z2076919 Keywords : cardiovascular system * Korotkoff sounds * numerical simulation Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics

Physics of the Human Body

CERN Document Server

Herman, Irving P

2007-01-01

Physics of the Human Body comprehensively addresses the physical and engineering aspects of human physiology by using and building on first-year college physics and mathematics. Topics include the mechanics of the static body and the body in motion, the materials properties of the body, muscles in the body, the energetics of body metabolism, fluid flow in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the acoustics of sound waves in speaking and hearing, vision and the optics of the eye, the electrical properties of the body, and the basic engineering principles of feedback and control in regulating all aspects of function. The goal of this text is to understand physical issues concerning the human body, in part by developing and then using simple and subsequently more refined models of the macrophysics of the human body. Many chapters include a brief review of the necessary physical principles. There are problems at the end of each chapter; solutions to selected problems are also provided. This text is geared t...

treatment of common respiratory infections: the antibiotic dilemma

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Enrique

HIV infection. Chronic cardiovascular disease. Leukaemia/lymphoma. Chronic respiratory disease. Myeloma. Other chronic medical conditions. Other malignancies. Diabetes mellitus. Chronic renal failure. Cirrhosis. Nephrotic syndrome. Alcoholism. Organ transplants. Special environments. Immunosuppressive medication.

A Multiscale Closed-Loop Cardiovascular Model, with Applications to Heart Pacing and Hemorrhage

Science.gov (United States)

Canuto, Daniel; Eldredge, Jeff; Chong, Kwitae; Benharash, Peyman; Dutson, Erik

2017-11-01

A computational tool is developed for simulating the dynamic response of the human cardiovascular system to various stressors and injuries. The tool couples zero-dimensional models of the heart, pulmonary vasculature, and peripheral vasculature to one-dimensional models of the major systemic arteries. To simulate autonomic response, this multiscale circulatory model is integrated with a feedback model of the baroreflex, allowing control of heart rate, cardiac contractility, and peripheral impedance. The performance of the tool is demonstrated in two scenarios: increasing heart rate by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, and an acute 10 percent hemorrhage from the left femoral artery.

Dosimetry of the respiratory tract

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, M.

1996-01-01

A new dosimetric model of the human respiratory tract has been recently recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, in ICRP Publication 66. This model was intended to update the previous lung model of the Task Group on Lung Dynamics that was adopted by ICRP in Publication 30. With this aim, extensive reviews of the available knowledge were made for anatomy and physiology of the respiratory tract and for deposition, clearance and biological effects of inhaled radionuclides. Finally, expanded dosimetry requirements resulted in a widely different approach from the former model. The main features of the new model are the followings: instead of calculating the average dose to the total mass of blood filled lung, the model takes account of differences in radiosensitivity of the venous respiratory tract tissues. It applies not only to adult workers but also to all members of the population, and provides reference values for children aged 3 months, 1, 5, 10, and 15 years, and adults. Deposition modelling of airborne gases and aerosols associates age dependent breathing rates, airway dimensions and physical activity, to particle size, density and chemical form of inhaled material. Clearance results of competition between mechanical transport clearance and absorption to blood. At each step of the calculation, adjustment guidance is provided to account for use of exact values of particle sizes and specific dissolution rates of inhaled material in order to calculate their own parameter of retention in the airways, and to assess accurately doses to the respiratory tract. Possible influence of smoking, of respiratory tract diseases and of eventual exposure to airborne toxicants is also addressed. (author)

Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed A. Abdulhaq

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We undertook enhanced surveillance of those presenting with respiratory symptoms at five healthcare centers by testing all symptomatic outpatients between November 2013 and January 2014 (winter time. Nasal swabs were collected from 182 patients and screened for MERS-CoV as well as other respiratory viruses using RT-PCR and multiplex microarray. A total of 75 (41.2% of these patients had positive viral infection. MERS-CoV was not detected in any of the samples. Human rhinovirus (hRV was the most detected pathogen (40.9% followed by non-MERS-CoV human coronaviruses (19.3%, influenza (Flu viruses (15.9%, and human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV (13.6%. Viruses differed markedly depending on age in which hRV, Flu A, and hCoV-OC43 were more prevalent in adults and RSV, hCoV-HKU1, and hCoV-NL63 were mostly restricted to children under the age of 15. Moreover, coinfection was not uncommon in this study, in which 17.3% of the infected patients had dual infections due to several combinations of viruses. Dual infections decreased with age and completely disappeared in people older than 45 years. Our study confirms that MERS-CoV is not common in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia and shows high diversity and prevalence of other common respiratory viruses. This study also highlights the importance and contribution of enhanced surveillance systems for better infection control.

Ambient air pollution exposure and respiratory, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality in Cape Town, South Africa: 2001–2006.

Science.gov (United States)

Wichmann, Janine; Voyi, Kuku

2012-11-05

Little evidence is available on the strength of the association between ambient air pollution exposure and health effects in developing countries such as South Africa. The association between the 24-h average ambient PM(10), SO(2) and NO(2) levels and daily respiratory (RD), cardiovascular (CVD) and cerebrovascular (CBD) mortality in Cape Town (2001-2006) was investigated with a case-crossover design. For models that included entire year data, an inter-quartile range (IQR) increase in PM(10) (12 mg/m3) and NO(2) (12 mg/m3) significantly increased CBD mortality by 4% and 8%, respectively. A significant increase of 3% in CVD mortality was observed per IQR increase in NO(2) and SO(2) (8 mg/m3). In the warm period, PM(10) was significantly associated with RD and CVD mortality. NO(2) had significant associations with CBD, RD and CVD mortality, whilst SO(2) was associated with CVD mortality. None of the pollutants were associated with any of the three outcomes in the cold period. Susceptible groups depended on the cause-specific mortality and air pollutant. There is significant RD, CVD and CBD mortality risk associated with ambient air pollution exposure in South Africa, higher than reported in developed countries.

Ambient Air Pollution Exposure and Respiratory, Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Mortality in Cape Town, South Africa: 2001–2006

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Kuku Voyi

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Little evidence is available on the strength of the association between ambient air pollution exposure and health effects in developing countries such as South Africa. The association between the 24-h average ambient PM10, SO2 and NO2 levels and daily respiratory (RD, cardiovascular (CVD and cerebrovascular (CBD mortality in Cape Town (2001–2006 was investigated with a case-crossover design. For models that included entire year data, an inter-quartile range (IQR increase in PM10 (12 mg/m3 and NO2 (12 mg/m3 significantly increased CBD mortality by 4% and 8%, respectively. A significant increase of 3% in CVD mortality was observed per IQR increase in NO2 and SO2 (8 mg/m3. In the warm period, PM10 was significantly associated with RD and CVD mortality. NO2 had significant associations with CBD, RD and CVD mortality, whilst SO2 was associated with CVD mortality. None of the pollutants were associated with any of the three outcomes in the cold period. Susceptible groups depended on the cause-specific mortality and air pollutant. There is significant RD, CVD and CBD mortality risk associated with ambient air pollution exposure in South Africa, higher than reported in developed countries.

Respiratory compensation to a primary metabolic alkalosis in humans.

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Feldman, Mark; Alvarez, Naiara M; Trevino, Michael; Weinstein, Gary L

2012-11-01

There is limited and disparate information about the extent of the respiratory compensation (hypoventilation) that occurs in response to a primary metabolic alkalosis in humans. Our aim was to examine the influence of the plasma bicarbonate concentration, the plasma base excess, and the arterial pH on the arterial carbon dioxide tension in 52 adult patients with primary metabolic alkalosis, mostly due to diuretic use or vomiting. Linear regression analysis was used to correlate degrees of alkalosis with arterial carbon dioxide tensions. In this alkalotic cohort, whose arterial plasma bicarbonate averaged 31.6 mEq/l, plasma base excess averaged 7.8 mEq/l, and pH averaged 7.48, both plasma bicarbonate and base excess correlated closely with arterial carbon dioxide tensions (r = 0.97 and 0.96, respectively; p respiratory compensation (hypoventilation) to primary metabolic alkalosis than has been reported in prior smaller studies.

Mice long-term high-fat diet feeding recapitulates human cardiovascular alterations: an animal model to study the early phases of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

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Sebastián D Calligaris

Full Text Available BACKGROUND/AIM: Hypercaloric diet ingestion and sedentary lifestyle result in obesity. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of clinical features secondary to obesity, considered as a pre-diabetic condition and recognized as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. To better understand the relationship between obesity, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease as well as for the development of novel therapeutic strategies, animal models that reproduce the etiology, course and outcomes of these pathologies are required. The aim of this work was to characterize the long-term effects of high-fat diet-induced obesity on the mice cardiovascular system, in order to make available a new animal model for diabetic cardiomyopathy. METHODS/RESULTS: Male C57BL/6 mice were fed with a standardized high-fat diet (obese or regular diet (normal for 16 months. Metabolic syndrome was evaluated testing plasma glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, insulin, and glucose tolerance. Arterial pressure was measured using a sphygmomanometer (non invasive method and by hemodynamic parameters (invasive method. Cardiac anatomy was described based on echocardiography and histological studies. Cardiac function was assessed by cardiac catheterization under a stress test. Cardiac remodelling and metabolic biomarkers were assessed by RT-qPCR and immunoblotting. As of month eight, the obese mice were overweight, hyperglycaemic, insulin resistant, hyperinsulinemic and hypercholesterolemic. At month 16, they also presented normal arterial pressure but altered vascular reactivity (vasoconstriction, and cardiac contractility reserve reduction, heart mass increase, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, and heart metabolic compensations. By contrast, the normal mice remained healthy throughout the study. CONCLUSIONS: Mice fed with a high-fat diet for prolonged time recapitulates the etiology, course and outcomes of the early phases of human diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Dynamics of human respiratory system mycoflora

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Anna Biedunkiewicz

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The study aimed at determing the prevalence of individual species of fungi in the respiratory systems of women and men, analysis of the dynamics of the fungi in individual sections of the respiratory system as concerns their quantity and identification of phenology of the isolated fungi coupled with an attempt at identifying their possible preferences for appearing during specific seasons of thc year. During 10 years of studies (1989- 1998. 29 species of fungi belonging: Candida, Geolrichum, Saccharomyces, Saccharomycopsis, Schizosaccharomyces, Torulopsis, Trichosporon and Aspergillus were isolated from the ontocenoses of the respiratory systems of patients at the Independent Public Center for Pulmonology and Oncology in Olsztyn. Candida albicans was a clearly dominating fungus. Individual species appeared individually, in twos or threes in a single patient, they were isolated more frequently in the spring and autumn, less frequently during the winter and summer. The largest number of fungi species were isolated from sputum (29 species, bronchoscopic material (23 species and pharyngeal swabs (15 species. Sacchoromycopsis capsularis and Trichosporon beigelii should be treated as new for the respiratory system. Biodiversity of fungi, their numbers and continous fluctuations in frequency indicate that the respiratory system ontocenose offers the optimum conditions for growth and development of the majority of the majority of yeasts - like fungi.

Simulation of a G-tolerance curve using the pulsatile cardiovascular model

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Solomon, M.; Srinivasan, R.

1985-01-01

A computer simulation study, performed to assess the ability of the cardiovascular model to reproduce the G tolerance curve (G level versus tolerance time) is reported. A composite strength duration curve derived from experimental data obtained in human centrifugation studies was used for comparison. The effects of abolishing automomic control and of blood volume loss on G tolerance were also simulated. The results provide additional validation of the model. The need for the presence of autonomic reflexes even at low levels of G is pointed out. The low margin of safety with a loss of blood volume indicated by the simulation results underscores the necessity for protective measures during Shuttle reentry.

Human bocavirus in children with acute respiratory infections in Vietnam.

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Tran, Dinh Nguyen; Nguyen, Tran Quynh Nhu; Nguyen, Tuan Anh; Hayakawa, Satoshi; Mizuguchi, Masashi; Ushijima, Hiroshi

2014-06-01

Acute respiratory infections are the major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Human bocavirus (HBoV), a novel virus, is recognized to increasingly associate with previously unknown etiology respiratory infections in young children. In this study, the epidemiological, clinical, and molecular characteristics of HBoV infections were described in hospitalized Vietnamese pediatric patients. From April 2010 to May 2011, 1,082 nasopharyngeal swab samples were obtained from patients with acute respiratory infections at the Children's Hospital 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Samples were screened for HBoV by PCR and further molecularly characterized by sequencing. HBoV was found in 78 (7.2%) children. Co-infection with other viruses was observed in 66.7% of patients infected with HBoV. Children 12-24 months old were the most affected age group. Infections with HBoV were found year-round, though most cases occurred in the dry season (December-April). HBoV was possible to cause severe diseases as determined by higher rates of hypoxia, pneumonia, and longer hospitalization duration in patients with HBoV infection than in those without (P-value infection with HBoV did not affect the disease severity. The phylogenetic analysis of partial VP1 gene showed minor variations and all HBoV sequences belonged to species 1 (HBoV1). In conclusion, HBoV1 was circulating in Vietnam and detected frequently in young children during dry season. Acute respiratory infections caused by HBoV1 were severe enough for hospitalization, which implied that HBoV1 may have an important role in acute respiratory infections among children. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Transient cardio-respiratory responses to visually induced tilt illusions

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Wood, S. J.; Ramsdell, C. D.; Mullen, T. J.; Oman, C. M.; Harm, D. L.; Paloski, W. H.

2000-01-01

Although the orthostatic cardio-respiratory response is primarily mediated by the baroreflex, studies have shown that vestibular cues also contribute in both humans and animals. We have demonstrated a visually mediated response to illusory tilt in some human subjects. Blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, and lung volume were monitored in 16 supine human subjects during two types of visual stimulation, and compared with responses to real passive whole body tilt from supine to head 80 degrees upright. Visual tilt stimuli consisted of either a static scene from an overhead mirror or constant velocity scene motion along different body axes generated by an ultra-wide dome projection system. Visual vertical cues were initially aligned with the longitudinal body axis. Subjective tilt and self-motion were reported verbally. Although significant changes in cardio-respiratory parameters to illusory tilts could not be demonstrated for the entire group, several subjects showed significant transient decreases in mean blood pressure resembling their initial response to passive head-up tilt. Changes in pulse pressure and a slight elevation in heart rate were noted. These transient responses are consistent with the hypothesis that visual-vestibular input contributes to the initial cardiovascular adjustment to a change in posture in humans. On average the static scene elicited perceived tilt without rotation. Dome scene pitch and yaw elicited perceived tilt and rotation, and dome roll motion elicited perceived rotation without tilt. A significant correlation between the magnitude of physiological and subjective reports could not be demonstrated.

Excretion patterns of human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus among young children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Linstow, Marie-Louise; Eugen-Olsen, Jesper; Koch, A

2006-01-01

of the infected children showed to have an upper respiratory tract infection when following up. CONCLUSION: Viral RNA was present in nasal secretions, saliva, sweat, and faeces, but whether or not the virions were infectious and constitute a potential mode of transmission remains to be shown in future studies.......BACKGROUND: As respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) cause serious respiratory tract infections, the routes of transmission of these viruses are important to elucidate. We examined the modes of virus shedding and shedding duration of RSV and hMPV in young children....... METHODS: From each child in a group of 44 children (37 RSV-positive, 6 hMPV-positive, and 1 co-infected child), aged between 0.5-38 months, hospitalised at Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, one nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA), saliva, urine, and faeces sample were collected at inclusion and weekly...

Port d’Entrée for Respiratory Infections – Does the Influenza A Virus Pave the Way for Bacteria?

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Nikolai Siemens

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Bacterial and viral co-infections of the respiratory tract are life-threatening and present a global burden to the global community. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pyogenes are frequent colonizers of the upper respiratory tract. Imbalances through acquisition of seasonal viruses, e.g., Influenza A virus, can lead to bacterial dissemination to the lower respiratory tract, which in turn can result in severe pneumonia. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about bacterial and viral co-infections of the respiratory tract and focus on potential experimental models suitable for mimicking this disease. Transmission of IAV and pneumonia is mainly modeled by mouse infection. Few studies utilizing ferrets, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, and non-human primates are also available. The knowledge gained from these studies led to important discoveries and advances in understanding these infectious diseases. Nevertheless, mouse and other infection models have limitations, especially in translation of the discoveries to humans. Here, we suggest the use of human engineered lung tissue, human ex vivo lung tissue, and porcine models to study respiratory co-infections, which might contribute to a greater translation of the results to humans and improve both, animal and human health.

Brain neuropeptides in central ventilatory and cardiovascular regulation in trout.

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Jean-Claude eLe Mével

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Many neuropeptides and their G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs are present within the brain area involved in ventilatory and cardiovascular regulation but only a few mammalian studies have focused on the integrative physiological actions of neuropeptides on these vital cardio-respiratory regulations. Because both the central neuroanatomical substrates that govern motor ventilatory and cardiovascular output and the primary sequence of regulatory peptides and their receptors have been mostly conserved through evolution, we have developed a trout model to study the central action of native neuropeptides on cardio-ventilatory regulation. In the present review, we summarize the most recent results obtained using this non-mammalian model with a focus on PACAP, VIP, tachykinins, CRF, urotensin-1, CGRP, angiotensin-related peptides, urotensin-II, NPY, and PYY. We propose hypotheses regarding the physiological relevance of the results obtained.

Respiratory and cardiovascular response during electronic control device (ECD exposure in law enforcement trainees

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Kirsten M. VanMeenen

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: Law enforcement represents a large population of workers who may be exposed to electronic control devices (ECDs. Little is known about the potential effect of exposure to these devices on respiration or cardiovascular response during current discharge. Methods: Participants (N=23 were trainees exposed to 5 seconds of an ECD (Taser X26® as a component of training. Trainees were asked to volitionally inhale during exposure. Respiratory recordings involved a continuous waveform recorded throughout the session including during the exposure period. Heart rate was calculated from a continuous pulse oximetry recording. Results: The exposure period resulted in the cessation of normal breathing patterns in all participants and in particular a decrease in inspiratory activity. No significant changes in heart rate during ECD exposure were found. Conclusions: This is the first study to examine breathing patterns during ECD exposure with the resolution to detect changes over this discrete period of time. In contrast to reports suggesting respiration is unaffected by ECDs, present evidence suggests that voluntary inspiration is severely compromised. There is no evidence of cardiac disruption during ECD exposure.

History of Music Therapy and Its Contemporary Applications in Cardiovascular Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Montinari, Maria Rosa; Giardina, Simona; Minelli, Pierluca; Minelli, Sergio

2018-02-01

Contrary to what is commonly believed, music therapy is an old cure, the use of which is lost in the mists of time. Music always has been perceived to have particular healing powers, and the entire history of civilization contains aspects that link music to physical and mental healing. It seems that the adoption of music for therapeutic purposes harks back to a distant past, probably since the Paleolithic period: it was believed that listening to music could affect the behavior of human beings. In later centuries, the concept of "musical organ-tropism" was born and developed, because according to the type of music, one may affect the cardiovascular, respiratory, and neuroendocrine systems. Studies have shown that music can powerfully evoke and modulate emotions and moods, along with changes in heart activity, blood pressure, and breathing. Indeed, the following findings arise from the literature: heart and respiratory rates are higher in response to exciting music than in the case of tranquilizing music. In addition, music produces activity changes in brain structures (amygdala, hypothalamus, insular and orbitofrontal cortex) known to modulate heart function. This article provides a careful overview of music therapy history from prehistory to the present and a review of the latest applications of music therapy in cardiovascular diseases.

An Integrated Model of the Cardiovascular and Central Nervous Systems for Analysis of Microgravity Induced Fluid Redistribution

Science.gov (United States)

Price, R.; Gady, S.; Heinemann, K.; Nelson, E. S.; Mulugeta, L.; Ethier, C. R.; Samuels, B. C.; Feola, A.; Vera, J.; Myers, J. G.

2015-01-01

A recognized side effect of prolonged microgravity exposure is visual impairment and intracranial pressure (VIIP) syndrome. The medical understanding of this phenomenon is at present preliminary, although it is hypothesized that the headward shift of bodily fluids in microgravity may be a contributor. Computational models can be used to provide insight into the origins of VIIP. In order to further investigate this phenomenon, NASAs Digital Astronaut Project (DAP) is developing an integrated computational model of the human body which is divided into the eye, the cerebrovascular system, and the cardiovascular system. This presentation will focus on the development and testing of the computational model of an integrated model of the cardiovascular system (CVS) and central nervous system (CNS) that simulates the behavior of pressures, volumes, and flows within these two physiological systems.

Deposition of biomass combustion aerosol particles in the human respiratory tract.

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Löndahl, Jakob; Pagels, Joakim; Boman, Christoffer; Swietlicki, Erik; Massling, Andreas; Rissler, Jenny; Blomberg, Anders; Bohgard, Mats; Sandström, Thomas

2008-08-01

Smoke from biomass combustion has been identified as a major environmental risk factor associated with adverse health effects globally. Deposition of the smoke particles in the lungs is a crucial factor for toxicological effects, but has not previously been studied experimentally. We investigated the size-dependent respiratory-tract deposition of aerosol particles from wood combustion in humans. Two combustion conditions were studied in a wood pellet burner: efficient ("complete") combustion and low-temperature (incomplete) combustion simulating "wood smoke." The size-dependent deposition fraction of 15-to 680-nm particles was measured for 10 healthy subjects with a novel setup. Both aerosols were extensively characterized with regard to chemical and physical particle properties. The deposition was additionally estimated with the ICRP model, modified for the determined aerosol properties, in order to validate the experiments and allow a generalization of the results. The measured total deposited fraction of particles from both efficient combustion and low-temperature combustion was 0.21-0.24 by number, surface, and mass. The deposition behavior can be explained by the size distributions of the particles and by their ability to grow by water uptake in the lungs, where the relative humidity is close to saturation. The experiments were in basic agreement with the model calculations. Our findings illustrate: (1) that particles from biomass combustion obtain a size in the respiratory tract at which the deposition probability is close to its minimum, (2) that particle water absorption has substantial impact on deposition, and (3) that deposition is markedly influenced by individual factors.

Model-based respiratory motion compensation for emission tomography image reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes, M; Malandain, G; Koulibaly, P M; Gonzalez-Ballester, M A; Darcourt, J

2007-01-01

In emission tomography imaging, respiratory motion causes artifacts in lungs and cardiac reconstructed images, which lead to misinterpretations, imprecise diagnosis, impairing of fusion with other modalities, etc. Solutions like respiratory gating, correlated dynamic PET techniques, list-mode data based techniques and others have been tested, which lead to improvements over the spatial activity distribution in lungs lesions, but which have the disadvantages of requiring additional instrumentation or the need of discarding part of the projection data used for reconstruction. The objective of this study is to incorporate respiratory motion compensation directly into the image reconstruction process, without any additional acquisition protocol consideration. To this end, we propose an extension to the maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) algorithm that includes a respiratory motion model, which takes into account the displacements and volume deformations produced by the respiratory motion during the data acquisition process. We present results from synthetic simulations incorporating real respiratory motion as well as from phantom and patient data

Numerical simulation of volume-controlled mechanical ventilated respiratory system with 2 different lungs.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Yan; Zhang, Bolun; Cai, Maolin; Zhang, Xiaohua Douglas

2017-09-01

Mechanical ventilation is a key therapy for patients who cannot breathe adequately by themselves, and dynamics of mechanical ventilation system is of great significance for life support of patients. Recently, models of mechanical ventilated respiratory system with 1 lung are used to simulate the respiratory system of patients. However, humans have 2 lungs. When the respiratory characteristics of 2 lungs are different, a single-lung model cannot reflect real respiratory system. In this paper, to illustrate dynamic characteristics of mechanical ventilated respiratory system with 2 different lungs, we propose a mathematical model of mechanical ventilated respiratory system with 2 different lungs and conduct experiments to verify the model. Furthermore, we study the dynamics of mechanical ventilated respiratory system with 2 different lungs. This research study can be used for improving the efficiency and safety of volume-controlled mechanical ventilation system. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Long-term air pollution exposure and cardio- respiratory mortality: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoek, Gerard; Krishnan, Ranjini M; Beelen, Rob; Peters, Annette; Ostro, Bart; Brunekreef, Bert; Kaufman, Joel D

2013-05-28

Current day concentrations of ambient air pollution have been associated with a range of adverse health effects, particularly mortality and morbidity due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In this review, we summarize the evidence from epidemiological studies on long-term exposure to fine and coarse particles, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and elemental carbon on mortality from all-causes, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease. We also summarize the findings on potentially susceptible subgroups across studies. We identified studies through a search in the databases Medline and Scopus and previous reviews until January 2013 and performed a meta-analysis if more than five studies were available for the same exposure metric.

Environmental impacts on human health during a Saharan dust episode at Crete Island, Greece

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nastos, P.T. [Univ. of Athens, Athen (Greece). Lab. of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment; Kampanis, N.A. [Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas (Greece). Inst of Applied and Computational Mathematics; Giaouzaki, K.N. [Univ. of Crete, Iraklion (Greece). Dept. of Cardiology; Matzarakis, A. [Univ. of Freiburg (Germany). Meteorological Inst.

2011-10-15

The objective of this study is to examine the synergistic environmental impacts (thermal bioclimatic conditions and air quality due to particulate pollution) with cardiovascular and respiratory syndromes, in Heraklion in the northern part of Crete Island, during a Saharan dust episode on March 22-23, 2008. Daily counts of admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory syndromes were obtained from the two main hospitals in Heraklion. The corresponding daily meteorological parameters, such as maximum and minimum air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and cloud cover, from the meteorological station of Heraklion (Hellenic National Meteorological Service), were processed in order to estimate and analyze the bioclimatic conditions expressed by the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), which is based on the energy balance models of the human body. Dust concentrations were derived from the SKIRON forecast model of the University of Athens, while Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products such as aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (AOD550), aerosol small mode fraction (SM), Aangstroem exponent in the 550-865 nm band and mass concentration, were used for the episode. Besides, daily composite anomalies (reference period: 1968-1996) of the air temperature and vector wind from the middle to the lower atmospheric levels (500 hPa - mean sea level) on March 23, 2008, were calculated from the reanalysis datasets of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR). The analysis of MODIS and SKIRON products showed that high AOD{sub 550} values (>0.9) and high dust concentration (>250 {mu}g/m{sup 3}), respectively, appear on March 23, 2008, while the respiratory admissions were five-fold than the mean daily admissions on the same day of the emergence of the Saharan dust episode (key day). According to the analysis, this is due to the existence of coarse-mode particles along the dust pathway, which

Simulation of Cardiovascular Response to the Head-Up/Head-Down Tilt at Different Angles

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Lu, Hong-Bing; Jiao, Chun; Zhang, Li-Fan

2008-06-01

The disappearance of hydrostatic pressure is the original factor that causes the changes of cardiovascular system under microgravity. The hydrostatical changes can be simulated by postural changes. Especially the head-down position can be used to simulate the effects of microgravity. The goal of this investigation was to develop a mathematical model for simulation of the human cardiovascular responses to acute and prolonged exposure under microgravity environment. We were particularly interested in the redistribution of transmural pressures, flows, blood volume, and the consequent alterations in local hemodynamics in different cardiovascular compartments during acute exposure and chronic adjustments. As a preliminary study, we first developed a multi-element, distributed hemodynamic model of human cardiovascular system, and verified the model to simulate cardiovascular changes during head up/down tilt at various angles.

Physics of the human body

CERN Document Server

Herman, Irving P

2016-01-01

This book comprehensively addresses the physics and engineering aspects of human physiology by using and building on first-year college physics and mathematics. Topics include the mechanics of the static body and the body in motion, the mechanical properties of the body, muscles in the body, the energetics of body metabolism, fluid flow in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the acoustics of sound waves in speaking and hearing, vision and the optics of the eye, the electrical properties of the body, and the basic engineering principles of feedback and control in regulating all aspects of function. The goal of this text is to clearly explain the physics issues concerning the human body, in part by developing and then using simple and subsequently more refined models of the macrophysics of the human body. Many chapters include a brief review of the underlying physics. There are problems at the end of each chapter; solutions to selected problems are also provided. This second edition enhances the treat...

A finite state model for respiratory motion analysis in image guided radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Huanmei; Sharp, Gregory C; Salzberg, Betty; Kaeli, David; Shirato, Hiroki; Jiang, Steve B

2004-01-01

Effective image guided radiation treatment of a moving tumour requires adequate information on respiratory motion characteristics. For margin expansion, beam tracking and respiratory gating, the tumour motion must be quantified for pretreatment planning and monitored on-line. We propose a finite state model for respiratory motion analysis that captures our natural understanding of breathing stages. In this model, a regular breathing cycle is represented by three line segments, exhale, end-of-exhale and inhale, while abnormal breathing is represented by an irregular breathing state. In addition, we describe an on-line implementation of this model in one dimension. We found this model can accurately characterize a wide variety of patient breathing patterns. This model was used to describe the respiratory motion for 23 patients with peak-to-peak motion greater than 7 mm. The average root mean square error over all patients was less than 1 mm and no patient has an error worse than 1.5 mm. Our model provides a convenient tool to quantify respiratory motion characteristics, such as patterns of frequency changes and amplitude changes, and can be applied to internal or external motion, including internal tumour position, abdominal surface, diaphragm, spirometry and other surrogates

A finite state model for respiratory motion analysis in image guided radiation therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Huanmei [College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Sharp, Gregory C [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114 (United States); Salzberg, Betty [College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Kaeli, David [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Shirato, Hiroki [Department of Radiation Medicine, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo (Japan); Jiang, Steve B [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114 (United States)

2004-12-07

Effective image guided radiation treatment of a moving tumour requires adequate information on respiratory motion characteristics. For margin expansion, beam tracking and respiratory gating, the tumour motion must be quantified for pretreatment planning and monitored on-line. We propose a finite state model for respiratory motion analysis that captures our natural understanding of breathing stages. In this model, a regular breathing cycle is represented by three line segments, exhale, end-of-exhale and inhale, while abnormal breathing is represented by an irregular breathing state. In addition, we describe an on-line implementation of this model in one dimension. We found this model can accurately characterize a wide variety of patient breathing patterns. This model was used to describe the respiratory motion for 23 patients with peak-to-peak motion greater than 7 mm. The average root mean square error over all patients was less than 1 mm and no patient has an error worse than 1.5 mm. Our model provides a convenient tool to quantify respiratory motion characteristics, such as patterns of frequency changes and amplitude changes, and can be applied to internal or external motion, including internal tumour position, abdominal surface, diaphragm, spirometry and other surrogates.

Anaesthesia for laparoscopic kidney transplantation: Influence of Trendelenburg position and CO 2 pneumoperitoneum on cardiovascular, respiratory and renal function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beena Kandarp Parikh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy is a routine practice since 1995. Until now, the recipient has always undergone open surgery for transplantation. In our institute, laparoscopic kidney transplantation (LKT started in 2010. To facilitate this surgery, the patient must be in steep Trendelenburg position for a long duration. Hence, we decided to study the effect of CO2 pnuemoperitoneum and Trendelenburg position in chronic renal failure (CRF patients undergoing LKT. Methods: A total of 20 adult CRF patients having mean age of 31.7±10.36 years and body mass index 19.65±3.41 kg/m 2 without significant coronary artery disease were selected for the procedure. Cardiovascular parameters heart rate (HR, mean arterial pressure (MAP, Central venous pressure (CVP and respiratory parameters (ETCO 2 , peak airway pressure were noted at the time of induction, after induction, 15 min after creation of pnuemoperitoneum, 30 min after Trendelenburg position, 15 min after decompression of pnuemoperitonuem and after extubation. Arterial blood gas analysis was carried out after induction, 15 min after creation of pnuemoperitoneum, 30 min after Trendelenburg position and 15 min after clamp release. Total duration of surgery, anastomosis time, time for the establishment of urine output and total urine output were noted. Serum creatinine on the 1 st and 7 th post-operative day were recorded. Results: Significant increase in HR was observed after creation of CO 2 pneumoperitoneum and just before extubation. Significant increase in the MAP and CVP was noted after creation of pneumoperitoneum and after giving Trendelenburg position. No significant rise in the ETCO 2 and PaCO 2 was observed. Significant increase in the base deficit was observed after the clamp release, but none of the patients required correction. Conclusion: LKT performed in steep Trendelenburg position with CO 2 pneumoperitoneum significantly influenced cardiovascular and respiratory

Environmental and anthropogenic factors affecting the respiratory toxicity of volcanic ash in vitro

Science.gov (United States)

Tomašek, Ines; Horwell, Claire J.; Damby, David E.; Ayris, Paul M.; Barošová, Hana; Geers, Christoph; Petri-Fink, Alke; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara; Clift, Martin J. D.

2016-04-01

Human exposure to inhalable volcanic ash particles following an eruption is a health concern, as respirable-sized particles can potentially contribute towards adverse respiratory health effects, such as the onset or exacerbation of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Although there is substantial information on the mineralogical properties of volcanic ash that may influence its biological reactivity, knowledge as to how external factors, such as air pollution, contribute to and augment the potential reactivity is limited. To determine the respiratory effects of volcanic particle interactions with anthropogenic pollution and volcanic gases we will experimentally assess: (i) physicochemical characteristics of volcanic ash relevant to respiratory toxicity; (ii) the effects of simultaneously inhaling anthropogenic pollution (i.e. diesel exhaust particles (DEP)) and volcanic ash (of different origins); (iii) alteration of volcanic ash toxicity following interaction with volcanic gases. In order to gain a first understanding of the biological impact of the respirable fraction of volcanic ash when inhaled with DEP in vitro, we used a sophisticated 3D triple cell co-culture model of the human alveolar epithelial tissue barrier. The multi-cellular system was exposed to DEP [0.02 mg/mL] and then exposed to either a single or repeated dose of well-characterised respirable volcanic ash (0.26 ± 0.09 or 0.89 ± 0.29 μg/cm2, respectively) from the Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat for a period of 24 hours using a pseudo-air liquid interface approach. Cultures were subsequently assessed for adverse biological endpoints including cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and (pro)-inflammatory responses. Results indicated that the combination of DEP and respirable volcanic ash at sub-lethal concentrations incited a significant release of pro-inflammatory markers that was greater than the response for either DEP or volcanic ash, independently. Further work is planned, to determine if

Simple motion correction strategy reduces respiratory-induced motion artifacts for k-t accelerated and compressed-sensing cardiovascular magnetic resonance perfusion imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ruixi; Huang, Wei; Yang, Yang; Chen, Xiao; Weller, Daniel S; Kramer, Christopher M; Kozerke, Sebastian; Salerno, Michael

2018-02-01

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) stress perfusion imaging provides important diagnostic and prognostic information in coronary artery disease (CAD). Current clinical sequences have limited temporal and/or spatial resolution, and incomplete heart coverage. Techniques such as k-t principal component analysis (PCA) or k-t sparcity and low rank structure (SLR), which rely on the high degree of spatiotemporal correlation in first-pass perfusion data, can significantly accelerate image acquisition mitigating these problems. However, in the presence of respiratory motion, these techniques can suffer from significant degradation of image quality. A number of techniques based on non-rigid registration have been developed. However, to first approximation, breathing motion predominantly results in rigid motion of the heart. To this end, a simple robust motion correction strategy is proposed for k-t accelerated and compressed sensing (CS) perfusion imaging. A simple respiratory motion compensation (MC) strategy for k-t accelerated and compressed-sensing CMR perfusion imaging to selectively correct respiratory motion of the heart was implemented based on linear k-space phase shifts derived from rigid motion registration of a region-of-interest (ROI) encompassing the heart. A variable density Poisson disk acquisition strategy was used to minimize coherent aliasing in the presence of respiratory motion, and images were reconstructed using k-t PCA and k-t SLR with or without motion correction. The strategy was evaluated in a CMR-extended cardiac torso digital (XCAT) phantom and in prospectively acquired first-pass perfusion studies in 12 subjects undergoing clinically ordered CMR studies. Phantom studies were assessed using the Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). In patient studies, image quality was scored in a blinded fashion by two experienced cardiologists. In the phantom experiments, images reconstructed with the MC strategy had higher

Glycomic analysis of human respiratory tract tissues and correlation with influenza virus infection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trevenan Walther

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The first step in influenza infection of the human respiratory tract is binding of the virus to sialic (Sia acid terminated receptors. The binding of different strains of virus for the receptor is determined by the α linkage of the sialic acid to galactose and the adjacent glycan structure. In this study the N- and O-glycan composition of the human lung, bronchus and nasopharynx was characterized by mass spectrometry. Analysis showed that there was a wide spectrum of both Sia α2-3 and α2-6 glycans in the lung and bronchus. This glycan structural data was then utilized in combination with binding data from 4 of the published glycan arrays to assess whether these current glycan arrays were able to predict replication of human, avian and swine viruses in human ex vivo respiratory tract tissues. The most comprehensive array from the Consortium for Functional Glycomics contained the greatest diversity of sialylated glycans, but was not predictive of productive replication in the bronchus and lung. Our findings indicate that more comprehensive but focused arrays need to be developed to investigate influenza virus binding in an assessment of newly emerging influenza viruses.

A compartment model of alveolar-capillary oxygen diffusion with ventilation-perfusion gradient and dynamics of air transport through the respiratory tract.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaworski, Jacek; Redlarski, Grzegorz

2014-08-01

This paper presents a model of alveolar-capillary oxygen diffusion with dynamics of air transport through the respiratory tract. For this purpose electrical model representing the respiratory tract mechanics and differential equations representing oxygen membrane diffusion are combined. Relevant thermodynamic relations describing the mass of oxygen transported into the human body are proposed as the connection between these models, as well as the influence of ventilation-perfusion mismatch on the oxygen diffusion. The model is verified based on simulation results of varying exercise intensities and statistical calculations of the results obtained during various clinical trials. The benefit of the approach proposed is its application in simulation-based research aimed to generate quantitative data of normal and pathological conditions. Based on the model presented, taking into account many essential physiological processes and air transport dynamics, comprehensive and combined studies of the respiratory efficiency can be performed. The impact of physical exercise, precise changes in respiratory tract mechanics and alterations in breathing pattern can be analyzed together with the impact of various changes in alveolar-capillary oxygen diffusion. This may be useful in simulation of effects of many severe medical conditions and increased activity level. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estrogen in cardiovascular disease during systemic lupus erythematosus.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Emily L; Ryan, Michael J

2014-12-01

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that disproportionately affects women during their childbearing years. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in this patient population at an age when women often have low cardiovascular risk. Hypertension is a major cardiovascular disease risk factor, and its prevalence is markedly increased in women with SLE. Estrogen has traditionally been implicated in SLE disease progression because of the prevalence of the disease in women; however, its role in cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension is unclear. The objective of this review is to discuss evidence for the role of estrogen in both human and murine SLE with emphasis on the effect of estrogen on cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension. PubMed was used to search for articles with terms related to estradiol and SLE. The references of retrieved publications were also reviewed. The potential permissive role of estrogen in SLE development is supported by studies from experimental animal models of lupus in which early removal of estrogen or its effects leads to attenuation of SLE disease parameters, including autoantibody production and renal injury. However, data about the role of estrogens in human SLE are much less clear, with most studies not reaching firm conclusions about positive or negative outcomes after hormonal manipulations involving estrogen during SLE (ie, oral contraceptives, hormone therapy). Significant gaps in knowledge remain about the effect of estrogen on cardiovascular risk factors during SLE. Studies in women with SLE were not designed to determine the effect of estrogen or hormone therapy on blood pressure even though hypertension is highly prevalent, and risk of premature ovarian failure could necessitate use of hormone therapy in women with SLE. Recent evidence from an experimental animal model of lupus found that estrogen may protect against cardiovascular risk factors in

Estrogen in Cardiovascular Disease during Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Emily L.; Ryan, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Purpose Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that disproportionately affects women during their childbearing years. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in this patient population at an age when women often have low cardiovascular risk. Hypertension is a major cardiovascular disease risk factor, and its prevalence is markedly increased in women with SLE. Estrogen has traditionally been implicated in SLE disease progression because of the prevalence of the disease in women; however, its role in cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension is unclear. The objective of this review is to discuss evidence for the role of estrogen in both human and murine SLE with emphasis on the effect of estrogen on cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension. Methods PubMed was used to search for articles with terms related to estradiol and SLE. The references of retrieved publications were also reviewed. Findings The potential permissive role of estrogen in SLE development is supported by studies from experimental animal models of lupus in which early removal of estrogen or its effects leads to attenuation of SLE disease parameters, including autoantibody production and renal injury. However, data about the role of estrogens in human SLE are much less clear, with most studies not reaching firm conclusions about positive or negative outcomes after hormonal manipulations involving estrogen during SLE (ie, oral contraceptives, hormone therapy). Significant gaps in knowledge remain about the effect of estrogen on cardiovascular risk factors during SLE. Studies in women with SLE were not designed to determine the effect of estrogen or hormone therapy on blood pressure even though hypertension is highly prevalent, and risk of premature ovarian failure could necessitate use of hormone therapy in women with SLE. Recent evidence from an experimental animal model of lupus found that estrogen may protect against

Differential expression of the MERS-coronavirus receptor in the upper respiratory tract of humans and dromedary camels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Widagdo, W; Raj, V Stalin; Schipper, Debby; Kolijn, Kimberley; van Leenders, Geert J L H; Bosch, Berend J; Bensaid, Albert; Segalés, Joaquim; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang; Osterhaus, Albert D M E; Koopmans, Marion P; van den Brand, Judith M A; Haagmans, Bart L

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is not efficiently transmitted between humans, but it is highly prevalent in dromedary camels. Here we report that the MERS-CoV receptor - dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) - is expressed in the upper respiratory tract epithelium of camels but not

Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change. Human health

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bosello, Francesco [Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Venice (Italy); Roson, Roberto [International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy); Tol, Richard S.J. [Centre for Marine and Climate Research, Hamburg University, Hamburg (Germany)

2006-06-25

We study the economic impacts of climate-change-induced change in human health, viz. cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, diarrhoea, malaria, dengue fever and schistosomiasis. Changes in morbidity and mortality are interpreted as changes in labour productivity and demand for health care, and used to shock the GTAP-E computable general equilibrium model, calibrated for the year 2050. GDP, welfare and investment fall (rise) in regions with net negative (positive) health impacts. Prices, production, and terms of trade show a mixed pattern. Direct cost estimates, common in climate change impact studies, underestimate the true welfare losses. (author)

Bridging the gap between measurements and modelling: a cardiovascular functional avatar.

Science.gov (United States)

Casas, Belén; Lantz, Jonas; Viola, Federica; Cedersund, Gunnar; Bolger, Ann F; Carlhäll, Carl-Johan; Karlsson, Matts; Ebbers, Tino

2017-07-24

Lumped parameter models of the cardiovascular system have the potential to assist researchers and clinicians to better understand cardiovascular function. The value of such models increases when they are subject specific. However, most approaches to personalize lumped parameter models have thus far required invasive measurements or fall short of being subject specific due to a lack of the necessary clinical data. Here, we propose an approach to personalize parameters in a model of the heart and the systemic circulation using exclusively non-invasive measurements. The personalized model is created using flow data from four-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging and cuff pressure measurements in the brachial artery. We term this personalized model the cardiovascular avatar. In our proof-of-concept study, we evaluated the capability of the avatar to reproduce pressures and flows in a group of eight healthy subjects. Both quantitatively and qualitatively, the model-based results agreed well with the pressure and flow measurements obtained in vivo for each subject. This non-invasive and personalized approach can synthesize medical data into clinically relevant indicators of cardiovascular function, and estimate hemodynamic variables that cannot be assessed directly from clinical measurements.

TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION OF NANO-SIZE PARTICLES IN THE UPPER HUMAN RESPIRATORY AIRWAYS

Science.gov (United States)

TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION OF NANO-SIZE PARTICLES IN THE UPPER HUMAN RESPIRATORY AIRWAYS. Zhe Zhang*, Huawei Shi, Clement Kleinstreuer, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7910; Chong S. Kim, National Health and En...

Seasonal behavior of radon decay products in indoor air and resulting radiation dose to human respiratory tract

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A.M.A. Mostafa

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Most of radiation hazard of indoor radon is largely due to the radon progenies, which are inhaled and deposited in the human respiratory tract. It is essential to evaluate aerodynamic characteristics of the radon progenies, which are either attached or unattached to aerosol particles, because the dose is strongly dependent on the location of deposition in respiratory tract and hence on the aerodynamic characteristics of the aerosol particles. This paper presents the seasonal behavior of radon decay products in indoor air under domestic conditions at Nagoya University, Japan. A low pressure cascade impactor as an instrument for classifying aerosol sizes and imaging plate as a radiation detector have been employed to characterize the activity size distribution of short-lived radon decay products. In parallel, radon and its progenies concentrations were measured. Taking into account the progeny characteristics, the inhalation dose in the different seasons was also estimated based on a lung dose model with the structure that is related to the ICRP66 respiratory tract model. The result evident that, the highest dose 0.22 mSvy−1 was observed during the winter where the highest value of equilibrium equivalent concentration of radon (EEC and lowest value of the activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD were found in this season; whereas, the dose in spring appeared to be lowest 0.02 mSvy−1.

Smog exposure and host resistance to respiratory pathogens

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The US EPA is evaluating the health effects of photochemical smog on respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic health (https://www.epa.gov/air-research/secondary-organic-aerosol-soas-research). Smog exposure has been associated with an increased risk of allergy and decreased res...

Developments in numerical modelling of cardio-vascular fluid dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, M.W.; Long, Q.; Biondi, A.; Ciofalo, M.

1998-01-01

Cardiovascular haemodynamics is a subject area of high medical importance. Over about the last ten years, as the current generation of engineering CFD codes have been developed, so they have been applied to arterial problems and have been demonstrated to be valuable and reliable research tool in this area. In this paper we firstly look back at what has been achieved, taking as examples work at TFERC, which may be regarded as typical of that of other groups. The authors then look at current studies including the coupling of solid mechanics codes with the CFD codes, the writing of specialised software to take direct clinical data from, say, magnetic resonance, and the development of clinically-useful post-processing of a virtual reality nature. Finally, for the future the authors envisage overall integrated software, comprehensive modelling of the human left ventricle, and the development of models for nano-scale physiological flows

Developments in numerical modelling of cardio-vascular fluid dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collins, M.W.; Long, Q. [City Univ., London (United Kingdom). Thermo-fluid Engineering Centre ; Biondi, A.; Ciofalo, M. [Palermo Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Ingegneria Nucleare

1998-07-01

Cardiovascular haemodynamics is a subject area of high medical importance. Over about the last ten years, as the current generation of engineering CFD codes have been developed, so they have been applied to arterial problems and have been demonstrated to be valuable and reliable research tool in this area. In this paper we firstly look back at what has been achieved, taking as examples work at TFERC, which may be regarded as typical of that of other groups. The authors then look at current studies including the coupling of solid mechanics codes with the CFD codes, the writing of specialised software to take direct clinical data from, say, magnetic resonance, and the development of clinically-useful post-processing of a virtual reality nature. Finally, for the future the authors envisage overall integrated software, comprehensive modelling of the human left ventricle, and the development of models for nano-scale physiological flows.

Effects of Ketogenic Diets on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Evidence from Animal and Human Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Kosinski, Christophe; Jornayvaz, François R.

2017-01-01

The treatment of obesity and cardiovascular diseases is one of the most difficult and important challenges nowadays. Weight loss is frequently offered as a therapy and is aimed at improving some of the components of the metabolic syndrome. Among various diets, ketogenic diets, which are very low in carbohydrates and usually high in fats and/or proteins, have gained in popularity. Results regarding the impact of such diets on cardiovascular risk factors are controversial, both in animals and humans, but some improvements notably in obesity and type 2 diabetes have been described. Unfortunately, these effects seem to be limited in time. Moreover, these diets are not totally safe and can be associated with some adverse events. Notably, in rodents, development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and insulin resistance have been described. The aim of this review is to discuss the role of ketogenic diets on different cardiovascular risk factors in both animals and humans based on available evidence. PMID:28534852

Comparisons of calculated respiratory tract deposition of particles based on the NCRP/ITRI model and the new ICRP66 model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yeh, Hsu-Chi; Phalen, R.F. [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Chang, I. [Lovelace Inst., Albuquerque, NM (United States)] [and others

1995-12-01

The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) in the United States and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) have been independently reviewing and revising respiratory tract dosimetry models for inhaled radioactive aerosols. The newly proposed NCRP respiratory tract dosimetry model represents a significant change in philosophy from the old ICRP Task Group model. The proposed NCRP model describes respiratory tract deposition, clearance, and dosimetry for radioactive substances inhaled by workers and the general public and is expected to be published soon. In support of the NCRP proposed model, ITRI staff members have been developing computer software. Although this software is still incomplete, the deposition portion has been completed and can be used to calculate inhaled particle deposition within the respiratory tract for particle sizes as small as radon and radon progeny ({approximately} 1 nm) to particles larger than 100 {mu}m. Recently, ICRP published their new dosimetric model for the respiratory tract, ICRP66. Based on ICRP66, the National Radiological Protection Board of the UK developed PC-based software, LUDEP, for calculating particle deposition and internal doses. The purpose of this report is to compare the calculated respiratory tract deposition of particles using the NCRP/ITRI model and the ICRP66 model, under the same particle size distribution and breathing conditions. In summary, the general trends of the deposition curves for the two models were similar.

Comparisons of calculated respiratory tract deposition of particles based on the NCRP/ITRI model and the new ICRP66 model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeh, Hsu-Chi; Phalen, R.F.; Chang, I.

1995-01-01

The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) in the United States and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) have been independently reviewing and revising respiratory tract dosimetry models for inhaled radioactive aerosols. The newly proposed NCRP respiratory tract dosimetry model represents a significant change in philosophy from the old ICRP Task Group model. The proposed NCRP model describes respiratory tract deposition, clearance, and dosimetry for radioactive substances inhaled by workers and the general public and is expected to be published soon. In support of the NCRP proposed model, ITRI staff members have been developing computer software. Although this software is still incomplete, the deposition portion has been completed and can be used to calculate inhaled particle deposition within the respiratory tract for particle sizes as small as radon and radon progeny (∼ 1 nm) to particles larger than 100 μm. Recently, ICRP published their new dosimetric model for the respiratory tract, ICRP66. Based on ICRP66, the National Radiological Protection Board of the UK developed PC-based software, LUDEP, for calculating particle deposition and internal doses. The purpose of this report is to compare the calculated respiratory tract deposition of particles using the NCRP/ITRI model and the ICRP66 model, under the same particle size distribution and breathing conditions. In summary, the general trends of the deposition curves for the two models were similar

Evaluation of Cardiovascular Death, Attributed to CO Exposure in Tehran Megacity in During a Five-Year Period (2010-2014 by Using AirQ Model

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Majid Kermani

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Air pollution in large cities is one of the main difficulties that have harmful effects on humans and the environment and cause various diseases including cardiovascular disease. So, present study with aim of Estimation of Cardiovascular Death, Attributed to CO Exposure in Tehran Megacity in during a five-year period (2010-2014 by using AirQ Model were performed. Materials and Methods: This Study was a descriptive–analytic at first, hourly data of pollutants were taken from the environmental protection agency Tehran and Air Quality Control Company and validated according to the WHO guidelines. Required statistical parameters calculated for health effect quantifying and finally processed data converted to input and requirements AirQ model data and health effects quantifying were performed using this model. The final results on deaths due to cardiovascular disease were presented in tables and graphs format. Results: Results showed annual average concentration of CO in Tehran in 2010-2014 are 49, 31, 11,12,21,76 mg/ m3 respectively. In addition, the number of cardiovascular deaths in 2011-2015 is 52,37,29,31,42 respectively Conclusion: According to the results, CO as well as other pollutants can adversely affect human health. Due to high levels of air pollution and its related health consequences, particularly cardiovascular disease, should take appropriate measures to reduce air pollution.

MTO1 mutations are associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and lactic acidosis and cause respiratory chain deficiency in humans and yeast.

Science.gov (United States)

Baruffini, Enrico; Dallabona, Cristina; Invernizzi, Federica; Yarham, John W; Melchionda, Laura; Blakely, Emma L; Lamantea, Eleonora; Donnini, Claudia; Santra, Saikat; Vijayaraghavan, Suresh; Roper, Helen P; Burlina, Alberto; Kopajtich, Robert; Walther, Anett; Strom, Tim M; Haack, Tobias B; Prokisch, Holger; Taylor, Robert W; Ferrero, Ileana; Zeviani, Massimo; Ghezzi, Daniele

2013-11-01

We report three families presenting with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and multiple defects of mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) activities. By direct sequencing of the candidate gene MTO1, encoding the mitochondrial-tRNA modifier 1, or whole exome sequencing analysis, we identified novel missense mutations. All MTO1 mutations were predicted to be deleterious on MTO1 function. Their pathogenic role was experimentally validated in a recombinant yeast model, by assessing oxidative growth, respiratory activity, mitochondrial protein synthesis, and complex IV activity. In one case, we also demonstrated that expression of wt MTO1 could rescue the respiratory defect in mutant fibroblasts. The severity of the yeast respiratory phenotypes partly correlated with the different clinical presentations observed in MTO1 mutant patients, although the clinical outcome was highly variable in patients with the same mutation and seemed also to depend on timely start of pharmacological treatment, centered on the control of lactic acidosis by dichloroacetate. Our results indicate that MTO1 mutations are commonly associated with a presentation of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and MRC deficiency, and that ad hoc recombinant yeast models represent a useful system to test the pathogenic potential of uncommon variants, and provide insight into their effects on the expression of a biochemical phenotype. © 2013 The Authors. *Human Mutation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Mathematical Model of Cardiovascular Response to Dynamic Exercise

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Magosso, E

2001-01-01

A mathematical model of cardiovascular response to dynamic exercise is presented, The model includes the pulsating heart, the systemic and pulmonary, circulation, a functional description of muscle...

Household air pollution: a call for studies into biomarkers of exposure and predictors of respiratory disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Rylance, Jamie; Gordon, Stephen B; Naeher, Luke P; Patel, Archana; Balmes, John R; Adetona, Olorunfemi; Rogalsky, Derek K; Martin, William J

2013-05-01

Household air pollution (HAP) from indoor burning of biomass or coal is a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality, mostly due to its association with acute respiratory infection in children and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in adults. Interventions that have significantly reduced exposure to HAP improve health outcomes and may reduce mortality. However, we lack robust, specific, and field-ready biomarkers to identify populations at greatest risk and to monitor the effectiveness of interventions. New scientific approaches are urgently needed to develop biomarkers of human exposure that accurately reflect exposure or effect. In this Perspective, we describe the global need for such biomarkers, the aims of biomarker development, and the state of development of tests that have the potential for rapid transition from laboratory bench to field use.

A novel swine model of ricin-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome

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Shahaf Katalan

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Pulmonary exposure to the plant toxin ricin leads to respiratory insufficiency and death. To date, in-depth study of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS following pulmonary exposure to toxins is hampered by the lack of an appropriate animal model. To this end, we established the pig as a large animal model for the comprehensive study of the multifarious clinical manifestations of pulmonary ricinosis. Here, we report for the first time, the monitoring of barometric whole body plethysmography for pulmonary function tests in non-anesthetized ricin-treated pigs. Up to 30 h post-exposure, as a result of progressing hypoxemia and to prevent carbon dioxide retention, animals exhibited a compensatory response of elevation in minute volume, attributed mainly to a large elevation in respiratory rate with minimal response in tidal volume. This response was followed by decompensation, manifested by a decrease in minute volume and severe hypoxemia, refractory to oxygen treatment. Radiological evaluation revealed evidence of early diffuse bilateral pulmonary infiltrates while hemodynamic parameters remained unchanged, excluding cardiac failure as an explanation for respiratory insufficiency. Ricin-intoxicated pigs suffered from increased lung permeability accompanied by cytokine storming. Histological studies revealed lung tissue insults that accumulated over time and led to diffuse alveolar damage. Charting the decline in PaO2/FiO2 ratio in a mechanically ventilated pig confirmed that ricin-induced respiratory damage complies with the accepted diagnostic criteria for ARDS. The establishment of this animal model of pulmonary ricinosis should help in the pursuit of efficient medical countermeasures specifically tailored to deal with the respiratory deficiencies stemming from ricin-induced ARDS.

Novel avian-origin human influenza A(H7N9) can be transmitted between ferrets via respiratory droplets.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Lili; Bao, Linlin; Deng, Wei; Dong, Libo; Zhu, Hua; Chen, Ting; Lv, Qi; Li, Fengdi; Yuan, Jing; Xiang, Zhiguang; Gao, Kai; Xu, Yanfeng; Huang, Lan; Li, Yanhong; Liu, Jiangning; Yao, Yanfeng; Yu, Pin; Li, Xiyan; Huang, Weijuan; Zhao, Xiang; Lan, Yu; Guo, Junfeng; Yong, Weidong; Wei, Qiang; Chen, Honglin; Zhang, Lianfeng; Qin, Chuan

2014-02-15

The outbreak of human infections caused by novel avian-origin influenza A(H7N9) in China since March 2013 underscores the need to better understand the pathogenicity and transmissibility of these viruses in mammals. In a ferret model, the pathogenicity of influenza A(H7N9) was found to be less than that of an influenza A(H5N1) strain but comparable to that of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1), based on the clinical signs, mortality, virus dissemination, and results of histopathologic analyses. Influenza A(H7N9) could replicate in the upper and lower respiratory tract, the heart, the liver, and the olfactory bulb. It is worth noting that influenza A(H7N9) exhibited a low level of transmission between ferrets via respiratory droplets. There were 4 mutations in the virus isolated from the contact ferret: D678Y in the gene encoding PB2, R157K in the gene encoding hemagglutinin (H3 numbering), I109T in the gene encoding nucleoprotein, and T10I in the gene encoding neuraminidase. These data emphasized that avian-origin influenza A(H7N9) can be transmitted between mammals, highlighting its potential for human-to-human transmissibility.

Medical waste tissues - breathing life back into respiratory research.

Science.gov (United States)

BéruBé, Kelly A

2013-12-01

With the advent of biobanks to store human lung cells and tissues from patient donations and from the procurement of medical waste tissues, it is now possible to integrate (both spatially and temporally) cells into anatomically-correct and physiologically-functional tissues. Modern inhalation toxicology relies on human data on exposure and adverse effects, to determine the most appropriate risk assessments and mitigations for beneficial respiratory health. A point in case is the recapitulation of airway tissue, such as the bronchial epithelium, to investigate the impact of air pollution on human respiratory health. The bronchi are the first point of contact for inhaled substances that bypass defences in the upper respiratory tract. Animal models have been used to resolve such inhalation toxicology hazards. However, the access to medical waste tissues has enabled the Lung Particle Research Group to tissue-engineer the Micro-Lung (TM) and Metabo-Lung(TM) cell culture models, as alternatives to animals in basic research and in the safety testing of aerosolised consumer goods. The former model favours investigations focused on lung injury and repair mechanisms, and the latter model provides the element of metabolism, through the co-culturing of lung and liver (hepatocyte) cells. These innovations represent examples of the animal-free alternatives advocated by the 21st century toxicology paradigm, whereby human-derived cell/tissue data will lead to more-accurate and more-reliable public health risk assessments and therapeutic mitigations (e.g. exposure to ambient air pollutants and adverse drug reactions) for lung disease. 2013 FRAME.

Human metapnuemovirus infections in hospitalized children and comparison with other respiratory viruses. 2005-2014 prospective study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Luz García-García

Full Text Available Human metapneumovirus (HMPV has an important etiological role in acute lower respiratory infections in children under five years. Our objectives were to estimate the relative contribution of HMPV to hospitalization in children with acute respiratory infection, to define the clinical and epidemiological features of HMPV single and multiple infections, and to compare HMPV infections with respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV, rhinovirus (HRV, adenovirus and human bocavirus infections in the same population.A prospective study performed on all children less than 14 years of age with a respiratory tract disease admitted to a secondary hospital between September 2005- June 2014. Clinical characteristics of patients were analyzed. Nasopharyngeal aspirate was taken at admission for viral study with polymerase chain reaction for 16 respiratory viruses. A total of 3,906 children were included. At least one respiratory virus was detected in 75.2% of them. The most common identified virus was HRSV, followed by HRV. HMPV was detected in 214 cases (5.5%; 133 (62% were single infections and the remaining were detected in coinfection with other viruses. 90.7% cases were detected between February and May. Children's mean age was 13.83 ± 18 months. Fever was frequent (69%, and bronchiolitis (27%, and recurrent wheezing (63% were the main clinical diagnosis. Hypoxia was present in 65% of the patients and 47% of them had an infiltrate in X-ray. Only 6 (2.8% children were admitted to the intensive care unit. Only the duration of the hospitalization was different, being longer in the coinfections group (p <0.05. There were many differences in seasonality and clinical characteristics between HMPV and other respiratory viruses being more similar to HRSV.HMPV infections accounted for 5.5% of total viral infections in hospitalized children. The clinical characteristics were similar to HRSV infections, but seasonality and clinical data were different from other viral

Central respiratory chemosensitivity and cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity: a rebreathing demonstration illustrating integrative human physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKay, Christina M; Skow, Rachel J; Tymko, Michael M; Boulet, Lindsey M; Davenport, Margie H; Steinback, Craig D; Ainslie, Philip N; Lemieux, Chantelle C M; Day, Trevor A

2016-03-01

One of the most effective ways of engaging students of physiology and medicine is through laboratory demonstrations and case studies that combine 1) the use of equipment, 2) problem solving, 3) visual representations, and 4) manipulation and interpretation of data. Depending on the measurements made and the type of test, laboratory demonstrations have the added benefit of being able to show multiple organ system integration. Many research techniques can also serve as effective demonstrations of integrative human physiology. The "Duffin" hyperoxic rebreathing test is often used in research settings as a test of central respiratory chemosensitivity and cerebrovascular reactivity to CO2. We aimed to demonstrate the utility of the hyperoxic rebreathing test for both respiratory and cerebrovascular responses to increases in CO2 and illustrate the integration of the respiratory and cerebrovascular systems. In the present article, methods such as spirometry, respiratory gas analysis, and transcranial Doppler ultrasound are described, and raw data traces can be adopted for discussion in a tutorial setting. If educators have these instruments available, instructions on how to carry out the test are provided so students can collect their own data. In either case, data analysis and quantification are discussed, including principles of linear regression, calculation of slope, the coefficient of determination (R(2)), and differences between plotting absolute versus normalized data. Using the hyperoxic rebreathing test as a demonstration of the complex interaction and integration between the respiratory and cerebrovascular systems provides senior undergraduate, graduate, and medical students with an advanced understanding of the integrative nature of human physiology. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Iterative integral parameter identification of a respiratory mechanics model.

Science.gov (United States)

Schranz, Christoph; Docherty, Paul D; Chiew, Yeong Shiong; Möller, Knut; Chase, J Geoffrey

2012-07-18

Patient-specific respiratory mechanics models can support the evaluation of optimal lung protective ventilator settings during ventilation therapy. Clinical application requires that the individual's model parameter values must be identified with information available at the bedside. Multiple linear regression or gradient-based parameter identification methods are highly sensitive to noise and initial parameter estimates. Thus, they are difficult to apply at the bedside to support therapeutic decisions. An iterative integral parameter identification method is applied to a second order respiratory mechanics model. The method is compared to the commonly used regression methods and error-mapping approaches using simulated and clinical data. The clinical potential of the method was evaluated on data from 13 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) patients. The iterative integral method converged to error minima 350 times faster than the Simplex Search Method using simulation data sets and 50 times faster using clinical data sets. Established regression methods reported erroneous results due to sensitivity to noise. In contrast, the iterative integral method was effective independent of initial parameter estimations, and converged successfully in each case tested. These investigations reveal that the iterative integral method is beneficial with respect to computing time, operator independence and robustness, and thus applicable at the bedside for this clinical application.

Modeling of Cardiovascular Response to Weightlessness

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, M. Keith

1999-01-01

pressure and, to a limited extent, in extravascular and pedcardial hydrostatic pressure were investigated. A complete hydraulic model of the cardiovascular system was built and flown aboard the NASA KC-135 and a computer model was developed and tested in simulated microgravity. Results obtained with these models have confirmed that a simple lack of hydrostatic pressure within an artificial ventricle causes a decrease in stroke volume. When combined with the acute increase in ventricular pressure associated with the elimination of hydrostatic pressure within the vasculature and the resultant cephalad fluid shift with the models in the upright position, however, stroke volume increased in the models. Imposition of a decreased pedcardial pressure in the computer model and in a simplified hydraulic model increased stroke volume. Physiologic regional fluid shifting was also demonstrated by the models. The unifying parameter characterizing of cardiac response was diastolic ventricular transmural pressure (DVDELTAP) The elimination of intraventricular hydrostatic pressure in O-G decreased DVDELTAP stroke volume, while the elimination of intravascular hydrostatic pressure increased DVDELTAP and stroke volume in the upright posture, but reduced DVDELTAP and stroke volume in the launch posture. The release of gravity on the chest wall and its associated influence on intrathoracic pressure, simulated by a drop in extraventricular pressure4, increased DVDELTAP ans stroke volume.

Deposition and retention models for internal dosimetry of the human respiratory tract

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1966-01-01

A general overview of particulate deposition and clearance, particularly as related to radionuclides, but generally applicable is described. The respiratory system is divided into naso-pharynx (N-P) and tracheobronchial (T-B) (together constituting anatomical dead space and ciliated, mucus-covered portion) and pulmonary (caudally from respiratory bronchioles). N-P deposition (N) is expressed by: N = 0.62 + 0.475log(aerodynamic diameter)/sup 2/(inhalation, liters/min). T-B deposition calculated from anatomical and physical data (affected by hygroscopicity, especially for low-MW and low-density particles). Clearance mechanisms include: (1) a very rapid phase (minutes) for particles deposited on ciliated epithelium; (2) a rapid phase consisting of the slower elements of ciliary clearance and the rapidly recruitable phagocytes (transitional character of this phase makes it difficult to estimate half-time, 24 hr); (3) a slower alveolar phase dependent on properties of dust; (4) elimination via lymph. (3) and (4) have similar kinetics, but (3) is via T-B and GI.

Validation of statistical models for estimating hospitalization associated with influenza and other respiratory viruses.

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Lin Yang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Reliable estimates of disease burden associated with respiratory viruses are keys to deployment of preventive strategies such as vaccination and resource allocation. Such estimates are particularly needed in tropical and subtropical regions where some methods commonly used in temperate regions are not applicable. While a number of alternative approaches to assess the influenza associated disease burden have been recently reported, none of these models have been validated with virologically confirmed data. Even fewer methods have been developed for other common respiratory viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, parainfluenza and adenovirus. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We had recently conducted a prospective population-based study of virologically confirmed hospitalization for acute respiratory illnesses in persons <18 years residing in Hong Kong Island. Here we used this dataset to validate two commonly used models for estimation of influenza disease burden, namely the rate difference model and Poisson regression model, and also explored the applicability of these models to estimate the disease burden of other respiratory viruses. The Poisson regression models with different link functions all yielded estimates well correlated with the virologically confirmed influenza associated hospitalization, especially in children older than two years. The disease burden estimates for RSV, parainfluenza and adenovirus were less reliable with wide confidence intervals. The rate difference model was not applicable to RSV, parainfluenza and adenovirus and grossly underestimated the true burden of influenza associated hospitalization. CONCLUSION: The Poisson regression model generally produced satisfactory estimates in calculating the disease burden of respiratory viruses in a subtropical region such as Hong Kong.

Effect of Mouse Strain in a Model of Chemical-induced Respiratory Allergy

OpenAIRE

Nishino, Risako; Fukuyama, Tomoki; Watanabe, Yuko; Kurosawa, Yoshimi; Ueda, Hideo; Kosaka, Tadashi

2014-01-01

The inhalation of many types of chemicals is a leading cause of allergic respiratory diseases, and effective protocols are needed for the detection of environmental chemical–related respiratory allergies. In our previous studies, we developed a method for detecting environmental chemical–related respiratory allergens by using a long-term sensitization–challenge protocol involving BALB/c mice. In the current study, we sought to improve our model by characterizing strain-associated differences ...

Vegetation fire smoke, indigenous status and cardio-respiratory hospital admissions in Darwin, Australia, 1996–2005: a time-series study

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Hanigan Ivan C

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Air pollution in Darwin, Northern Australia, is dominated by smoke from seasonal fires in the surrounding savanna that burn during the dry season from April to November. Our aim was to study the association between particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microns diameter (PM10 and daily emergency hospital admissions for cardio-respiratory diseases for each fire season from 1996 to 2005. We also investigated whether the relationship differed in indigenous Australians; a disadvantaged population sub-group. Methods Daily PM10 exposure levels were estimated for the population of the city from visibility data using a previously validated model. We used over-dispersed Poisson generalized linear models with parametric smoothing functions for time and meteorology to examine the association between admissions and PM10 up to three days prior. An interaction between indigenous status and PM10 was included to examine differences in the impact on indigenous people. Results We found both positive and negative associations and our estimates had wide confidence intervals. There were generally positive associations between respiratory disease and PM10 but not with cardiovascular disease. An increase of 10 μg/m3 in same-day estimated ambient PM10 was associated with a 4.81% (95%CI: -1.04%, 11.01% increase in total respiratory admissions. When the interaction between indigenous status and PM10 was assessed a statistically different association was found between PM10 and admissions three days later for respiratory infections of indigenous people (15.02%; 95%CI: 3.73%, 27.54% than for non-indigenous people (0.67%; 95%CI: -7.55%, 9.61%. There were generally negative estimates for cardiovascular conditions. For non-indigenous admissions the estimated association with total cardiovascular admissions for same day ambient PM10 and admissions was -3.43% (95%CI: -9.00%, 2.49% and the estimate for indigenous admissions was -3.78% (95%CI: -13.4%, 6

Development of an anaesthetized-rat model of exercise hyperpnoea: an integrative model of respiratory control using an equilibrium diagram.

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Miyamoto, Tadayoshi; Manabe, Kou; Ueda, Shinya; Nakahara, Hidehiro

2018-05-01

What is the central question of this study? The lack of useful small-animal models for studying exercise hyperpnoea makes it difficult to investigate the underlying mechanisms of exercise-induced ventilatory abnormalities in various disease states. What is the main finding and its importance? We developed an anaesthetized-rat model for studying exercise hyperpnoea, using a respiratory equilibrium diagram for quantitative characterization of the respiratory chemoreflex feedback system. This experimental model will provide an opportunity to clarify the major determinant mechanisms of exercise hyperpnoea, and will be useful for understanding the mechanisms responsible for abnormal ventilatory responses to exercise in disease models. Exercise-induced ventilatory abnormalities in various disease states seem to arise from pathological changes of respiratory regulation. Although experimental studies in small animals are essential to investigate the pathophysiological basis of various disease models, the lack of an integrated framework for quantitatively characterizing respiratory regulation during exercise prevents us from resolving these problems. The purpose of this study was to develop an anaesthetized-rat model for studying exercise hyperpnoea for quantitative characterization of the respiratory chemoreflex feedback system. In 24 anaesthetized rats, we induced muscle contraction by stimulating bilateral distal sciatic nerves at low and high voltage to mimic exercise. We recorded breath-by-breath respiratory gas analysis data and cardiorespiratory responses while running two protocols to characterize the controller and plant of the respiratory chemoreflex. The controller was characterized by determining the linear relationship between end-tidal CO 2 pressure (P ETC O2) and minute ventilation (V̇E), and the plant by the hyperbolic relationship between V̇E and P ETC O2. During exercise, the controller curve shifted upward without change in controller gain, accompanying

Respiratory system dynamical mechanical properties: modeling in time and frequency domain.

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Carvalho, Alysson Roncally; Zin, Walter Araujo

2011-06-01

The mechanical properties of the respiratory system are important determinants of its function and can be severely compromised in disease. The assessment of respiratory system mechanical properties is thus essential in the management of some disorders as well as in the evaluation of respiratory system adaptations in response to an acute or chronic process. Most often, lungs and chest wall are treated as a linear dynamic system that can be expressed with differential equations, allowing determination of the system's parameters, which will reflect the mechanical properties. However, different models that encompass nonlinear characteristics and also multicompartments have been used in several approaches and most specifically in mechanically ventilated patients with acute lung injury. Additionally, the input impedance over a range of frequencies can be assessed with a convenient excitation method allowing the identification of the mechanical characteristics of the central and peripheral airways as well as lung periphery impedance. With the evolution of computational power, the airway pressure and flow can be recorded and stored for hours, and hence continuous monitoring of the respiratory system mechanical properties is already available in some mechanical ventilators. This review aims to describe some of the most frequently used models for the assessment of the respiratory system mechanical properties in both time and frequency domain.

Co-circulation of genetically distinct human metapneumovirus and human bocavirus strains in young children with respiratory tract infections in Italy.

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Zappa, Alessandra; Canuti, Marta; Frati, Elena; Pariani, Elena; Perin, Silvana; Ruzza, Maria Lorena; Farina, Claudio; Podestà, Alberto; Zanetti, Alessandro; Amendola, Antonella; Tanzi, Elisabetta

2011-01-01

The discovery of human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) and human Bocavirus (hBoV) identified the etiological causes of several cases of acute respiratory tract infections in children. This report describes the molecular epidemiology of hMPV and hBoV infections observed following viral surveillance of children hospitalized for acute respiratory tract infections in Milan, Italy. Pharyngeal swabs were collected from 240 children ≤3 years of age (130 males, 110 females; median age, 5.0 months; IQR, 2.0-12.5 months) and tested for respiratory viruses, including hMPV and hBoV, by molecular methods. hMPV-RNA and hBoV-DNA positive samples were characterized molecularly and a phylogenetical analysis was performed. PCR analysis identified 131/240 (54.6%) samples positive for at least one virus. The frequency of hMPV and hBoV infections was similar (8.3% and 12.1%, respectively). Both infections were associated with lower respiratory tract infections: hMPV was present as a single infectious agent in 7.2% of children with bronchiolitis, hBoV was associated with 18.5% of pediatric pneumonias and identified frequently as a single etiological agent. Genetically distinct hMPV and hBoV strains were identified in children examined with respiratory tract infections. Phylogenetic analysis showed an increased prevalence of hMPV genotype A (A2b sublineage) compared to genotype B (80% vs. 20%, respectively) and of the hBoV genotype St2 compared to genotype St1 (71.4% vs. 28.6%, respectively). Interestingly, a shift in hMPV infections resulting from A2 strains has been observed in recent years. In addition, the occurrence of recombination events between two hBoV strains with a breakpoint located in the VP1/VP2 region was identified. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Respiratory difficulties and breathing disorders in achondroplasia.

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Afsharpaiman, S; Saburi, A; Waters, Karen A

2013-12-01

Respiratory difficulties and breathing disorders in achondroplasia are thought to underlie the increased risk for sudden infant death and neuropsychological deficits seen in this condition. This review evaluates literature regarding respiratory dysfunctions and their sequelae in patients with achondroplasia. The limited number of prospective studies of respiratory disease in achondroplasia means that observational studies and case series provide a large proportion of the data regarding the spectrum of respiratory diseases in achondroplasia and their treatments. Amongst clinical respiratory problems described, snoring is the commonest observed abnormality, but the reported incidence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) shows wide variance (10% to 75%). Reported treatments of OSA include adenotonsillectomy, the use of CPAP, and surgical improvement of the airway, including mid-face advancement. Otolaryngologic manifestations are also common. Respiratory failure due to small thoracic volumes is reported, but uncommon. Mortality rate at all ages was 2.27 (CI: 1.7-3.0) with age-specific mortality increased at all ages. Sudden death was most common in infants and children. Cardiovascular events are the main cause of mortality in adults. Despite earlier recognition and treatment of respiratory complications of achondroplasia, increased mortality rates and other complications remain high. Future and ongoing evaluation of the prevalence and impact of respiratory disorders, particularly OSA, in achondroplasia is recommended. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A point-based prediction model for cardiovascular risk in orthotopic liver transplantation: The CAR-OLT score.

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VanWagner, Lisa B; Ning, Hongyan; Whitsett, Maureen; Levitsky, Josh; Uttal, Sarah; Wilkins, John T; Abecassis, Michael M; Ladner, Daniela P; Skaro, Anton I; Lloyd-Jones, Donald M

2017-12-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications are important causes of morbidity and mortality after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). There is currently no preoperative risk-assessment tool that allows physicians to estimate the risk for CVD events following OLT. We sought to develop a point-based prediction model (risk score) for CVD complications after OLT, the Cardiovascular Risk in Orthotopic Liver Transplantation risk score, among a cohort of 1,024 consecutive patients aged 18-75 years who underwent first OLT in a tertiary-care teaching hospital (2002-2011). The main outcome measures were major 1-year CVD complications, defined as death from a CVD cause or hospitalization for a major CVD event (myocardial infarction, revascularization, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrest, pulmonary embolism, and/or stroke). The bootstrap method yielded bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals for the regression coefficients of the final model. Among 1,024 first OLT recipients, major CVD complications occurred in 329 (32.1%). Variables selected for inclusion in the model (using model optimization strategies) included preoperative recipient age, sex, race, employment status, education status, history of hepatocellular carcinoma, diabetes, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary or systemic hypertension, and respiratory failure. The discriminative performance of the point-based score (C statistic = 0.78, bias-corrected C statistic = 0.77) was superior to other published risk models for postoperative CVD morbidity and mortality, and it had appropriate calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow P = 0.33). The point-based risk score can identify patients at risk for CVD complications after OLT surgery (available at www.carolt.us); this score may be useful for identification of candidates for further risk stratification or other management strategies to improve CVD outcomes after OLT. (Hepatology 2017;66:1968-1979). © 2017 by the American Association for the Study of Liver

The application of the sinusoidal model to lung cancer patient respiratory motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, R.; Vedam, S.S.; Chung, T.D.; Ramakrishnan, V.; Keall, P.J.

2005-01-01

Accurate modeling of the respiratory cycle is important to account for the effect of organ motion on dose calculation for lung cancer patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of a respiratory model for lung cancer patients. Lujan et al. [Med. Phys. 26(5), 715-720 (1999)] proposed a model, which became widely used, to describe organ motion due to respiration. This model assumes that the parameters do not vary between and within breathing cycles. In this study, first, the correlation of respiratory motion traces with the model f(t) as a function of the parameter n(n=1,2,3) was undertaken for each breathing cycle from 331 four-minute respiratory traces acquired from 24 lung cancer patients using three breathing types: free breathing, audio instruction, and audio-visual biofeedback. Because cos 2 and cos 4 had similar correlation coefficients, and cos 2 and cos 1 have a trigonometric relationship, for simplicity, the cos 1 value was consequently used for further analysis in which the variations in mean position (z 0 ), amplitude of motion (b) and period (τ) with and without biofeedback or instructions were investigated. For all breathing types, the parameter values, mean position (z 0 ), amplitude of motion (b), and period (τ) exhibited significant cycle-to-cycle variations. Audio-visual biofeedback showed the least variations for all three parameters (z 0 , b, and τ). It was found that mean position (z 0 ) could be approximated with a normal distribution, and the amplitude of motion (b) and period (τ) could be approximated with log normal distributions. The overall probability density function (pdf) of f(t) for each of the three breathing types was fitted with three models: normal, bimodal, and the pdf of a simple harmonic oscillator. It was found that the normal and the bimodal models represented the overall respiratory motion pdfs with correlation values from 0.95 to 0.99, whereas the range of the simple harmonic oscillator pdf correlation

Effect of photochemical smog associated with synoptic weather patterns on cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions in metropolitan Taipei.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Li-Wei

2012-01-01

This study focuses on the relationship between photochemical smog (PS) (hourly ozone conc. >100 ppb), PS-related diseases, and the synoptic weather patterns during 2005-2009 in metropolitan Taipei. The results show that compared to respiratory ailments (ICD code 460-519) and asthma (ICD code 493), cardiovascular ailments (ICD code 390-459) were more clearly influenced by PS events. On the PS event day, the number of admissions of babies, children, and adults increased by 0.04 [95% CI 0.01-0.06], 0.03 [95% CI 0.00-0.07], and 1.12 [95% CI 0.36-1.89] (P < 0.05), respectively. The investigation showed that more than 70% of the PS events were associated primarily with the peripheral circulation of typhoons, Pacific pressure, and discrete Pacific pressure. PS events are a threat to public health. To avoid the ill effects of air pollution, residents should be informed about the daily weather patterns and air quality.

Cardiovascular Complications of Sleep Apnea: Role of Oxidative Stress

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Mohammad Badran

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA occurs in 2% of middle-aged women and 4% of middle-aged men with a higher prevalence among obese subjects. This condition is considered as an independent risk factor for cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. One of the major pathophysiological characteristics of OSA is intermittent hypoxia. Hypoxia can lead to oxidative stress and overproduction of reactive oxygen species, which can lead to endothelial dysfunction, a hallmark of atherosclerosis. Many animal models, such as the rodent model of intermittent hypoxia, mimic obstructive sleep apnea in human patients and allow more in-depth investigation of biological and cellular mechanisms of this condition. This review discusses the role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease resulting from OSA in humans and animal models.

A 24-h assessment of physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness among female hospital cleaners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Mette Korshøj; Krustrup, Peter; Jespersen, Tobias

2013-01-01

measured. The methods were feasible for the objective 24-h sampling of physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness among cleaners. Measurements showed that the cleaners walked 20,198 ± 4,627 steps per day. During working hours, the average cardio-respiratory load was 25 ± 6% of heart rate reserve (HRR......). The cleaners had a low estimated cardio-respiratory fitness (34 mlO2/kg/min), a high BMI (50%, >25 kg/m(2)) and blood pressure (50%, >120/>80 mmHg). The high amount of steps, the relatively high cardiovascular load at work and low cardio-respiratory fitness illustrate the need for further investigation...... of the relationship between physical activity at work and in leisure, and cardiovascular health in this population. Practitioner Summary: This study evaluated the feasibility of methods for objective 24-h sampling of physical activity among cleaners; the methods used were found to be feasible. The cleaners had a high...

SIRPA, VCAM1 and CD34 identify discrete lineages during early human cardiovascular development

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Rhys J.P. Skelton

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The study of human cardiogenesis would benefit from a detailed cell lineage fate map akin to that established for the haematopoietic lineages. Here we sought to define cell lineage relationships based on the expression of NKX2-5 and the cell surface markers VCAM1, SIRPA and CD34 during human cardiovascular development. Expression of NKX2-5GFP was used to identify cardiac progenitors and cardiomyocytes generated during the differentiation of NKX2-5GFP/w human embryonic stem cells (hESCs. Cardiovascular cell lineages sub-fractionated on the basis of SIRPA, VCAM1 and CD34 expression were assayed for differentiation potential and gene expression. The NKX2-5posCD34pos population gave rise to endothelial cells that rapidly lost NKX2-5 expression in culture. Conversely, NKX2-5 expression was maintained in myocardial committed cells, which progressed from being NKX2-5posSIRPApos to NKX2-5posSIRPAposVCAM1pos. Up-regulation of VCAM1 was accompanied by the expression of myofilament markers and reduced clonal capacity, implying a restriction of cell fate potential. Combinatorial expression of NKX2-5, SIRPA, VCAM1 and CD34 can be used to define discrete stages of cardiovascular cell lineage differentiation. These markers identify specific stages of cardiomyocyte and endothelial lineage commitment and, thus provide a scaffold for establishing a fate map of early human cardiogenesis.

Multi-Fidelity Uncertainty Propagation for Cardiovascular Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Fleeter, Casey; Geraci, Gianluca; Schiavazzi, Daniele; Kahn, Andrew; Marsden, Alison

2017-11-01

Hemodynamic models are successfully employed in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease with increasing frequency. However, their widespread adoption is hindered by our inability to account for uncertainty stemming from multiple sources, including boundary conditions, vessel material properties, and model geometry. In this study, we propose a stochastic framework which leverages three cardiovascular model fidelities: 3D, 1D and 0D models. 3D models are generated from patient-specific medical imaging (CT and MRI) of aortic and coronary anatomies using the SimVascular open-source platform, with fluid structure interaction simulations and Windkessel boundary conditions. 1D models consist of a simplified geometry automatically extracted from the 3D model, while 0D models are obtained from equivalent circuit representations of blood flow in deformable vessels. Multi-level and multi-fidelity estimators from Sandia's open-source DAKOTA toolkit are leveraged to reduce the variance in our estimated output quantities of interest while maintaining a reasonable computational cost. The performance of these estimators in terms of computational cost reductions is investigated for a variety of output quantities of interest, including global and local hemodynamic indicators. Sandia National Labs is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by NTESS, LLC, for the U.S. DOE under contract DE-NA0003525. Funding for this project provided by NIH-NIBIB R01 EB018302.

Spectral indices of cardiovascular adaptations to short-term simulated microgravity exposure

Science.gov (United States)

Patwardhan, A. R.; Evans, J. M.; Berk, M.; Grande, K. J.; Charles, J. B.; Knapp, C. F.

1995-01-01

We investigated the effects of exposure to microgravity on the baseline autonomic balance in cardiovascular regulation using spectral analysis of cardiovascular variables measured during supine rest. Heart rate, arterial pressure, radial flow, thoracic fluid impedance and central venous pressure were recorded from nine volunteers before and after simulated microgravity, produced by 20 hours of 6 degrees head down bedrest plus furosemide. Spectral powers increased after simulated microgravity in the low frequency region (centered at about 0.03 Hz) in arterial pressure, heart rate and radial flow, and decreased in the respiratory frequency region (centered at about 0.25 Hz) in heart rate. Reduced heart rate power in the respiratory frequency region indicates reduced parasympathetic influence on the heart. A concurrent increase in the low frequency power in arterial pressure, heart rate, and radial flow indicates increased sympathetic influence. These results suggest that the baseline autonomic balance in cardiovascular regulation is shifted towards increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic influence after exposure to short-term simulated microgravity.

Application of the physiological and morphological parameters of the brazilian population sample to the mathematical model of the human respiratory tract; Aplicacao dos parametros fisiologicos e morfologicos de uma amostra da populacao brasileira no modelo matematico do trato respiratorio humano

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reis, Arlene Alves dos

2005-07-01

The Human Respiratory Tract Model proposed by the ICRP Publication 66 accounts for the morphology and physiology of the respiratory tract. The characteristics of air drawn into the lungs and exhaled are greatly influenced by the morphology of the respiratory tract, which causes numerous changes in pressure, flow rate, direction and humidity as air moves into and out of the lungs. Concerning the respiratory physiological parameters the breathing characteristics influence the volume, the inhalation rate of air and the portion that enters through the nose and the mouth. These characteristics are important to determine the fractional deposition. The model uses morphological and physiological parameters from the Caucasian man to establish deposition fractions in the respiratory tract regions. It is known that the morphology and physiology are influenced by environmental, occupational and economic conditions. The ICRP recommends, for a reliable evaluation of the regional deposition, the use of parameters from a local population when information is available. The main purpose of this study is to verify the influence in using the morphology and physiology parameters representative of a sample of the Brazilian population on the deposition model of the ICRP Publication 66. The morphological and physiological data were obtained from the literature. The software EXCEL for Windows (version 2000) was used in order to implement the deposition model and also to allow the changes in parameters of interest. Initially, the implemented model was checked using the parameters defined by the ICRP and the results of the fraction deposition in the respiratory tract compartments were compared. Finally, morphological and physiological parameters from Brazilian adult male were applied and the fractional deposition calculated. The results suggest a significant variation in fractional deposition when Brazilian parameters are applied in the model. (author)

Neurological Respiratory Failure

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Mohan Rudrappa

2018-01-01

Full Text Available West Nile virus infection in humans is mostly asymptomatic. Less than 1% of neuro-invasive cases show a fatality rate of around 10%. Acute flaccid paralysis of respiratory muscles leading to respiratory failure is the most common cause of death. Although the peripheral nervous system can be involved, isolated phrenic nerve palsy leading to respiratory failure is rare and described in only two cases in the English literature. We present another case of neurological respiratory failure due to West Nile virus-induced phrenic nerve palsy. Our case reiterates the rare, but lethal, consequences of West Nile virus infection, and the increase of its awareness among physicians.

Iterative integral parameter identification of a respiratory mechanics model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schranz Christoph

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Patient-specific respiratory mechanics models can support the evaluation of optimal lung protective ventilator settings during ventilation therapy. Clinical application requires that the individual’s model parameter values must be identified with information available at the bedside. Multiple linear regression or gradient-based parameter identification methods are highly sensitive to noise and initial parameter estimates. Thus, they are difficult to apply at the bedside to support therapeutic decisions. Methods An iterative integral parameter identification method is applied to a second order respiratory mechanics model. The method is compared to the commonly used regression methods and error-mapping approaches using simulated and clinical data. The clinical potential of the method was evaluated on data from 13 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS patients. Results The iterative integral method converged to error minima 350 times faster than the Simplex Search Method using simulation data sets and 50 times faster using clinical data sets. Established regression methods reported erroneous results due to sensitivity to noise. In contrast, the iterative integral method was effective independent of initial parameter estimations, and converged successfully in each case tested. Conclusion These investigations reveal that the iterative integral method is beneficial with respect to computing time, operator independence and robustness, and thus applicable at the bedside for this clinical application.

Maturation Modulates Pharyngeal-Stimulus Provoked Pharyngeal and Respiratory Rhythms in Human Infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasenstab, Kathryn A; Sitaram, Swetha; Lang, Ivan M; Shaker, Reza; Jadcherla, Sudarshan R

2018-02-01

Pharyngeal-provocation induced aerodigestive symptoms in infants remain an enigma. Sources of pharyngeal provocation can be anterograde as with feeding, and retrograde as in gastroesophageal reflux. We determined maturational and dose-response effects of targeted pharyngeal-stimulus on frequency, stability, and magnitude of pharyngeal and respiratory waveforms during multiple pharyngeal swallowing responses in preterm-born infants when they were of full-term postmenstrual age (PMA). Eighteen infants (11 male) were studied longitudinally at 39.8 ± 4.8 weeks PMA (time-1) and 44.1 ± 5.8 weeks PMA (time-2). Infants underwent concurrent pharyngo-esophageal manometry, respiratory inductance plethysmography, and nasal airflow thermistor methods to test sensory-motor interactions between the pharynx, esophagus, and airway. Linear mixed models were used and data presented as mean ± SEM or %. Overall, responses to 250 stimuli were analyzed. Of the multiple pharyngeal swallowing responses (n = 160), with maturation (a) deglutition apnea duration decreases (p  0.05), and (c) respiratory changes were unaffected (p > 0.05). Initial and subsequent pharyngeal responses and respiratory rhythm interactions become more distinct with maturation. Interval oromotor experiences and volume-dependent increase in adaptive responses may be contributory. These mechanisms may be important in modulating and restoring respiratory rhythm normalcy.

Human bocavirus isolated from children with acute respiratory tract infections in Korea, 2010-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Jong Gyun; Choi, Seong Yeol; Kim, Dong Soo; Kim, Ki Hwan

2014-12-01

Human bocavirus (HBoV) was first recognized in respiratory samples in 2005. The clinical importance of HBoV infection remains unclear. This report describes the clinical features and molecular phylogeny of HBoV isolates in children with acute respiratory infections. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were obtained from 1,528 children with acute respiratory infections between 2010 and 2011. Respiratory samples were screened for HBoV by multiplex PCR. A phylogenetic analysis of the HBoV VP1/VP2 gene was also undertaken. HBoV was detected in 187 (12.2%) of the 1,528 patients with a peak incidence of infection observed in patients aged 12-24 months. Coinfection with other respiratory viruses was observed in 107 (57.2%) of the HBoV-positive children. The peak of HBoV activity occurred during the month of June in both 2010 and 2011. A higher previous history of wheezing (P = 0.016), a higher frequency of chest retraction (P respiratory symptom score (P = 0.002), and a longer duration of hospital stay (P = 0.021) were observed in HBoV-positive children compared with the HBoV-negative group. Phylogenetic analysis showed all 187 HBoV-positive isolates were identified as HBoV 1, indicating minimal sequence variations among the isolates. A single lineage of HBoV 1 was found to have circulated in children with acute respiratory infections between 2010 and 2011 and was associated with several clinical characteristics including age, seasonality, and clinical severity with retraction, wheezing, and longer hospitalization. The clinical relevance of the minimal sequence variations of HBoV remains to be determined. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Verification of a computational cardiovascular system model comparing the hemodynamics of a continuous flow to a synchronous valveless pulsatile flow left ventricular assist device.

Science.gov (United States)

Gohean, Jeffrey R; George, Mitchell J; Pate, Thomas D; Kurusz, Mark; Longoria, Raul G; Smalling, Richard W

2013-01-01

The purpose of this investigation is to use a computational model to compare a synchronized valveless pulsatile left ventricular assist device with continuous flow left ventricular assist devices at the same level of device flow, and to verify the model with in vivo porcine data. A dynamic system model of the human cardiovascular system was developed to simulate the support of a healthy or failing native heart from a continuous flow left ventricular assist device or a synchronous pulsatile valveless dual-piston positive displacement pump. These results were compared with measurements made during in vivo porcine experiments. Results from the simulation model and from the in vivo counterpart show that the pulsatile pump provides higher cardiac output, left ventricular unloading, cardiac pulsatility, and aortic valve flow as compared with the continuous flow model at the same level of support. The dynamic system model developed for this investigation can effectively simulate human cardiovascular support by a synchronous pulsatile or continuous flow ventricular assist device.

Testing Human Skin and Respiratory Sensitizers—What Is Good Enough?

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Anki Malmborg

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Alternative methods for accurate in vitro assessment of skin and respiratory sensitizers are urgently needed. Sensitization is a complex biological process that cannot be evaluated accurately using single events or biomarkers, since the information content is too restricted in these measurements. On the contrary, if the tremendous information content harbored in DNA/mRNA could be mined, most complex biological processes could be elucidated. Genomic technologies available today, including transcriptional profiling and next generation sequencing, have the power to decipher sensitization, when used in the right context. Thus, a genomic test platform has been developed, denoted the Genomic Allergen Rapid Detection (GARD assay. Due to the high informational content of the GARD test, accurate predictions of both the skin and respiratory sensitizing capacity of chemicals, have been demonstrated. Based on a matured dendritic cell line, acting as a human-like reporter system, information about potency has also been acquired. Consequently, multiparametric diagnostic technologies are disruptive test principles that can change the way in which the next generation of alternative methods are designed.

Interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with human respiratory mucosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, A M; Chadwick, M V; Nicholson, A G; Dewar, A; Groger, R K; Brown, E J; Ratliff, T L; Wilson, R

2002-01-01

Endobronchial infection is associated with pulmonary tuberculosis in the majority of cases. We have investigated the adherence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to the human respiratory mucosa. Organ cultures constructed with human tissue were infected with M. tuberculosis in the presence or absence of mycobacterial fibronectin attachment cell surface proteins and examined by scanning electron microscopy. M. tuberculosis adhered mainly to extracellular matrix (ECM) in areas of mucosal damage, but not to ciliated mucosa, intact extruded cells, basement membrane or collagen fibres. Bacteria also adhered to fibrous but not globular mucus and occasionally to healthy unciliated mucosa, open tight junctions and to extruded cells that had degenerated, exposing their contents. There was a significant reduction (pprotein (FAP) and M. bovis antigen 85B protein, in a concentration dependent manner. The combined effect of FAP and antigen 85B protein was significantly greater than either protein alone. Bacterial adherence to fibrous mucus was not influenced by fibronectin. We conclude that M. tuberculosis adheres to ECM in areas of mucosal damage at least in part via FAP and antigen 85B protein.

Coconut oil consumption and cardiovascular risk factors in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyres, Laurence; Eyres, Michael F; Chisholm, Alexandra; Brown, Rachel C

2016-04-01

Coconut oil is being heavily promoted as a healthy oil, with benefits that include support of heart health. To assess the merits of this claim, the literature on the effect of coconut consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes in humans was reviewed. Twenty-one research papers were identified for inclusion in the review: 8 clinical trials and 13 observational studies. The majority examined the effect of coconut oil or coconut products on serum lipid profiles. Coconut oil generally raised total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to a greater extent than cis unsaturated plant oils, but to a lesser extent than butter. The effect of coconut consumption on the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was often not examined. Observational evidence suggests that consumption of coconut flesh or squeezed coconut in the context of traditional dietary patterns does not lead to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, due to large differences in dietary and lifestyle patterns, these findings cannot be applied to a typical Western diet. Overall, the weight of the evidence from intervention studies to date suggests that replacing coconut oil with cis unsaturated fats would alter blood lipid profiles in a manner consistent with a reduction in risk factors for cardiovascular disease. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

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Ye. D. Bazdyrev

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: to detect previously undiagnosed arterial hypertension in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD as a risk factor for cardiovascular mortality.Materials and methods. 43 patients with stage I–II of COPD and the absence of clinical signs of cardiovascular diseases were examined. Spirometry, body plethysmography and diffusing lung capacity (DLCO were included in the respiratory system assessment. The cardiovascular system was assessed with echocardiography and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM.Results. Despite the absence of obvious signs of cardiovascular lesions (an increase of office blood pressure, intracardiac hemodynamic changes, the following cardiovascular risk factors were identified: age (58.2 ± 2.0 years, male gender, smoking, hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia (total cholesterol 5.9 ± 0.9 mmol / l, low density lipoproteins 3.8 ± 0.5 mmol / l, triglycerides 1.8 ± 0.2 mmol / l. Correlation analysis has revealed the relation between several respiratory parameters and the severity of dyspnea and quality of life in patients with COPD, as well as its relation with lipid levels.Conclusion. The patients with COPD have a large number of risk factors for CVD. According to ABPM data, arterial hypertension was verified in 18 (41.9 % of 43 patients with COPD at normal level of office blood pressure; moreover, 51.2 % of patients demonstrated low reduction of blood pressure during the night-time that nowadays, is considered to be a predictor of cardiovascular disease and sudden death.

Early consumption of human milk oligosaccharides is inversely related to subsequent risk of respiratory and enteric disease in infants.

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Stepans, Mary Beth Flanders; Wilhelm, Susan L; Hertzog, Melody; Rodehorst, T Kim Callahan; Blaney, Susan; Clemens, Beth; Polak, Josef J; Newburg, David S

2006-01-01

A pilot study tested the relationship between human milk oligosaccharide consumption, oligosaccharide content of feces, and subsequent disease in breastfed infants. Forty-nine (49) mother-infant pairs provided milk and fecal samples 2 weeks postpartum; infant health was assessed through 2, 6, 12, and 24 weeks. LNF-II (lacto-N-fucopentaose II), a major human milk oligosaccharide, was measured to represent levels of total oligosaccharides consumed in milk and remaining in feces. LNF-II levels in milk at 2 weeks postpartum were associated with fewer infant respiratory problems by 6 weeks (p = 0.010), as were LNF-II levels in infant feces (p = 0.003). LNF-II levels in milk at 2 weeks were also associated with fewer respiratory problems by 12 weeks (p = 0.038), and fewer enteric problems by 6 weeks (p = 0.004) and 12 weeks (p = 0.045). Thus, consumption of human milk oligosaccharides through breastfeeding, represented by LNF-II, was associated with less reported respiratory and gastrointestinal illness in infants.

Effectiveness and safety of concurrent beta-blockers and inhaled bronchodilators in COPD with cardiovascular comorbidities

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Salvatore Corrao

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD is the most common chronic respiratory disease and its prevalence is increasing worldwide, in both industrialised and developing countries. Its prevalence is ∼5% in the general population and it is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. COPD is strongly associated with cardiovascular diseases; in fact, ∼64% of people suffering from COPD are treated for a concomitant cardiovascular disease and approximately one in three COPD patients die as a consequence of cardiovascular diseases. Inhaled bronchodilators might have adverse cardiovascular effects, including ischaemic events and arrhythmias, and beta-blockers might adversely influence the respiratory symptoms and the response to bronchodilators. For these reasons, it is important to know the safety profiles and the possible interactions between these two classes of drug, in order to prescribe them with greater awareness. In this article, we review the literature about the epidemiology of COPD, its association with cardiovascular diseases, and the safety of concurrent use of inhaled bronchodilators and beta-blockers, as a tool for improving the approach to complex therapies in clinical practice.

Cardiovascular Autonomic Responses in the VCD Rat Model of Menopause: Effects of Short- and Long-Term Ovarian Failure.

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Huber, Domitila A; Bazilio, Darlan; Lorenzon, Flaviano; Sehnem, Sibele; Pacheco, Lucas; Anselmo-Franci, Janete A; Lima, Fernanda B

2017-01-01

After menopause, hypertension elevates the risk of cardiac diseases, one of the major causes of women's morbidity. The gradual depletion of ovarian follicles in rats, induced by 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD), is a model for studying the physiology of menopause. 4-Vinylcyclohexene diepoxide treatment leads to early ovarian failure (OF) and a hormonal profile comparable to menopause in humans. We have hypothesized that OF can compromise the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic tones of the cardiovascular system, shifting toward dominance of the former. We aimed to study the autonomic modulation of heart and blood vessels and the cardiovascular reflexes in rats presenting short-term (80 days) or long-term (180 days) OF induced by VCD. Twenty-eight-day-old Wistar rats were submitted to VCD treatment (160 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) or vehicle (control) for 15 consecutive days and experiments were conducted at 80 or 180 days after the onset of treatment. Long-term OF led to an increase in the sympathetic activity to blood vessels and an impairment in the baroreflex control of the heart, evoked by physiological changes in arterial pressure. Despite that, long-term OF did not cause hypertension during the 180 days of exposure. Short-term OF did not cause any deleterious effect on the cardiovascular parameters analyzed. These data indicate that long-term OF does not disrupt the maintenance of arterial pressure homeostasis in rats but worsens the autonomic cardiovascular control. In turn, this can lead to cardiovascular complications, especially when associated with the aging process seen during human menopause.

Biology of human respiratory syncytial virus: a review | Aliyu | Bayero ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Acute lower respiratory tract infection is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in young children worldwide. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the single most important viral cause of lower respiratory tract infection during infancy and early childhood worldwide. Respiratory syncytial virus belongs to the ...

Human milk reduces outpatient upper respiratory symptoms in premature infants during their first year of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Blaymore Bier, Jo-Ann; Oliver, Tanya; Ferguson, Anne; Vohr, Betty R

2002-01-01

To determine if ingestion of human milk after discharge reduces symptoms of infections in premature infants. Follow-up of 39 infants with birth weights milk and 15 of whom received only formula after discharge, was carried out. Mothers were given a calendar on which they recorded any signs of infections and feeding and day-care information. Data were collected at 1 month after discharge and at 3, 7, and 12 months corrected age. Results show no differences between groups in birth weight, gestation, gender, maternal age, parental tobacco use, number of siblings, and day-care attendance. Socioeconomic status score was higher in the human milk group. Infants who received human milk had fewer days of upper respiratory symptoms at 1 month after discharge (pmilk post discharge is associated with a reduction of upper respiratory symptoms in premature infants during their first year of life.

Respiratory carcinogenicity assessment of soluble nickel compounds.

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Oller, Adriana R

2002-10-01

The many chemical forms of nickel differ in physicochemical properties and biological effects. Health assessments for each main category of nickel species are needed. The carcinogenicity assessment of water-soluble nickel compounds has proven particularly difficult. Epidemiologic evidence indicates an association between inhalation exposures to nickel refinery dust containing soluble nickel compounds and increased risk of respiratory cancers. However, the nature of this association is unclear because of limitations of the exposure data, inconsistent results across cohorts, and the presence of mixed exposures to water-insoluble nickel compounds and other confounders that are known or suspected carcinogens. Moreover, well-conducted animal inhalation studies, where exposures were solely to soluble nickel, failed to demonstrate a carcinogenic potential. Similar negative results were seen in animal oral studies. A model exists that relates respiratory carcinogenic potential to the bioavailability of nickel ion at nuclear sites within respiratory target cells. This model helps reconcile human, animal, and mechanistic data for soluble nickel compounds. For inhalation exposures, the predicted lack of bioavailability of nickel ion at target sites suggests that water-soluble nickel compounds, by themselves, will not be complete human carcinogens. However, if inhaled at concentrations high enough to induce chronic lung inflammation, these compounds may enhance carcinogenic risks associated with inhalation exposure to other substances. Overall, the weight of evidence indicates that inhalation exposure to soluble nickel alone will not cause cancer; moreover, if exposures are kept below levels that cause chronic respiratory toxicity, any possible tumor-enhancing effects (particularly in smokers) would be avoided.

The inflammatory protein Pentraxin 3 in cardiovascular disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Fornai, Francesco; Carrizzo, Albino; Forte, Maurizio; Ambrosio, Mariateresa; Damato, Antonio; Ferrucci, Michela; Biagioni, Francesca; Busceti, Carla; Puca, Annibale A; Vecchione, Carmine

2016-01-01

The acute phase protein Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) plays a non-redundant role as a soluble pattern recognition receptor for selected pathogens and it represents a rapid biomarker for primary local activation of innate immunity and inflammation. Recent evidence indicates that PTX3 exerts an important role in modulating the cardiovascular system in humans and experimental models. In particular, there are conflicting points concerning the effects of PTX3 in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) since several observations indicate a cardiovascular protective effect of PTX3 while others speculate that the increased plasma levels of PTX3 in subjects with CVD correlate with disease severity and with poor prognosis in elderly patients. In the present review, we discuss the multifaceted effects of PTX3 on the cardiovascular system focusing on its involvement in atherosclerosis, endothelial function, hypertension, myocardial infarction and angiogenesis. This may help to explain how the specific modulation of PTX3 such as the use of different dosing, time, and target organs could help to contain different vascular diseases. These opposite actions of PTX3 will be emphasized concerning the modulation of cardiovascular system where potential therapeutic implications of PTX3 in humans are discussed.

Sharing and reusing cardiovascular anatomical models over the Web: a step towards the implementation of the virtual physiological human project.

Science.gov (United States)

Gianni, Daniele; McKeever, Steve; Yu, Tommy; Britten, Randall; Delingette, Hervé; Frangi, Alejandro; Hunter, Peter; Smith, Nicolas

2010-06-28

Sharing and reusing anatomical models over the Web offers a significant opportunity to progress the investigation of cardiovascular diseases. However, the current sharing methodology suffers from the limitations of static model delivery (i.e. embedding static links to the models within Web pages) and of a disaggregated view of the model metadata produced by publications and cardiac simulations in isolation. In the context of euHeart--a research project targeting the description and representation of cardiovascular models for disease diagnosis and treatment purposes--we aim to overcome the above limitations with the introduction of euHeartDB, a Web-enabled database for anatomical models of the heart. The database implements a dynamic sharing methodology by managing data access and by tracing all applications. In addition to this, euHeartDB establishes a knowledge link with the physiome model repository by linking geometries to CellML models embedded in the simulation of cardiac behaviour. Furthermore, euHeartDB uses the exFormat--a preliminary version of the interoperable FieldML data format--to effectively promote reuse of anatomical models, and currently incorporates Continuum Mechanics, Image Analysis, Signal Processing and System Identification Graphical User Interface (CMGUI), a rendering engine, to provide three-dimensional graphical views of the models populating the database. Currently, euHeartDB stores 11 cardiac geometries developed within the euHeart project consortium.

Functional Impairment of Mononuclear Phagocyte System by the Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus

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Karen Bohmwald

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS comprises of monocytes, macrophages (MΦ, and dendritic cells (DCs. MPS is part of the first line of immune defense against a wide range of pathogens, including viruses, such as the human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV. The hRSV is an enveloped virus that belongs to the Pneumoviridae family, Orthopneumovirus genus. This virus is the main etiological agent causing severe acute lower respiratory tract infection, especially in infants, children and the elderly. Human RSV can cause bronchiolitis and pneumonia and it has also been implicated in the development of recurrent wheezing and asthma. Monocytes, MΦ, and DCs significantly contribute to acute inflammation during hRSV-induced bronchiolitis and asthma exacerbation. Furthermore, these cells seem to be an important component for the association between hRSV and reactive airway disease. After hRSV infection, the first cells encountered by the virus are respiratory epithelial cells, alveolar macrophages (AMs, DCs, and monocytes in the airways. Because AMs constitute the predominant cell population at the alveolar space in healthy subjects, these cells work as major innate sentinels for the recognition of pathogens. Although adaptive immunity is crucial for viral clearance, AMs are required for the early immune response against hRSV, promoting viral clearance and controlling immunopathology. Furthermore, exposure to hRSV may affect the phagocytic and microbicidal capacity of monocytes and MΦs against other infectious agents. Finally, different studies have addressed the roles of different DC subsets during infection by hRSV. In this review article, we discuss the role of the lung MPS during hRSV infection and their involvement in the development of bronchiolitis.

Maximal heart rate does not limit cardiovascular capacity in healthy humans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munch, G D W; Svendsen, J H; Damsgaard, R

2014-01-01

In humans, maximal aerobic power (VO2 max ) is associated with a plateau in cardiac output (Q), but the mechanisms regulating the interplay between maximal heart rate (HRmax) and stroke volume (SV) are unclear. To evaluate the effect of tachycardia and elevations in HRmax on cardiovascular function...... and capacity during maximal exercise in healthy humans, 12 young male cyclists performed incremental cycling and one-legged knee-extensor exercise (KEE) to exhaustion with and without right atrial pacing to increase HR. During control cycling, Q and leg blood flow increased up to 85% of maximal workload (WLmax...... and RAP (P healthy...

A closed-loop model of the respiratory system: focus on hypercapnia and active expiration.

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Yaroslav I Molkov

Full Text Available Breathing is a vital process providing the exchange of gases between the lungs and atmosphere. During quiet breathing, pumping air from the lungs is mostly performed by contraction of the diaphragm during inspiration, and muscle contraction during expiration does not play a significant role in ventilation. In contrast, during intense exercise or severe hypercapnia forced or active expiration occurs in which the abdominal "expiratory" muscles become actively involved in breathing. The mechanisms of this transition remain unknown. To study these mechanisms, we developed a computational model of the closed-loop respiratory system that describes the brainstem respiratory network controlling the pulmonary subsystem representing lung biomechanics and gas (O2 and CO2 exchange and transport. The lung subsystem provides two types of feedback to the neural subsystem: a mechanical one from pulmonary stretch receptors and a chemical one from central chemoreceptors. The neural component of the model simulates the respiratory network that includes several interacting respiratory neuron types within the Bötzinger and pre-Bötzinger complexes, as well as the retrotrapezoid nucleus/parafacial respiratory group (RTN/pFRG representing the central chemoreception module targeted by chemical feedback. The RTN/pFRG compartment contains an independent neural generator that is activated at an increased CO2 level and controls the abdominal motor output. The lung volume is controlled by two pumps, a major one driven by the diaphragm and an additional one activated by abdominal muscles and involved in active expiration. The model represents the first attempt to model the transition from quiet breathing to breathing with active expiration. The model suggests that the closed-loop respiratory control system switches to active expiration via a quantal acceleration of expiratory activity, when increases in breathing rate and phrenic amplitude no longer provide sufficient

A continuous 4D motion model from multiple respiratory cycles for use in lung radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClelland, Jamie R.; Blackall, Jane M.; Tarte, Segolene; Chandler, Adam C.; Hughes, Simon; Ahmad, Shahreen; Landau, David B.; Hawkes, David J.

2006-01-01

Respiratory motion causes errors when planning and delivering radiotherapy treatment to lung cancer patients. To reduce these errors, methods of acquiring and using four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) datasets have been developed. We have developed a novel method of constructing computational motion models from 4DCT. The motion models attempt to describe an average respiratory cycle, which reduces the effects of variation between different cycles. They require substantially less memory than a 4DCT dataset, are continuous in space and time, and facilitate automatic target propagation and combining of doses over the respiratory cycle. The motion models are constructed from CT data acquired in cine mode while the patient is free breathing (free breathing CT - FBCT). A ''slab'' of data is acquired at each couch position, with 3-4 contiguous slabs being acquired per patient. For each slab a sequence of 20 or 30 volumes was acquired over 20 seconds. A respiratory signal is simultaneously recorded in order to calculate the position in the respiratory cycle for each FBCT. Additionally, a high quality reference CT volume is acquired at breath hold. The reference volume is nonrigidly registered to each of the FBCT volumes. A motion model is then constructed for each slab by temporally fitting the nonrigid registration results. The value of each of the registration parameters is related to the position in the respiratory cycle by fitting an approximating B spline to the registration results. As an approximating function is used, and the data is acquired over several respiratory cycles, the function should model an average respiratory cycle. This can then be used to calculate the value of each degree of freedom at any desired position in the respiratory cycle. The resulting nonrigid transformation will deform the reference volume to predict the contents of the slab at the desired position in the respiratory cycle. The slab model predictions are then concatenated to

The Respiratory Impedance in an Asymmetric Model of the Lung Structure

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Robin De Keyser

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a model of the respiratory tree as a recurrent, but asymmetric, structure. The intrinsic properties posed by such a system lead to a multi-fractal structure, i.e. a non-integer order model of the total impedance. The fractional order behavior of the asymmetric tree simulated as a dynamic system is assessed by means of Bode plots, on a wide range of frequencies. The results indicate than in a specific frequency range, both the symmetric
and asymmetric representation of the respiratory tree lead to similar values in the impedance.

Effect of mouse strain in a model of chemical-induced respiratory allergy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishino, Risako; Fukuyama, Tomoki; Watanabe, Yuko; Kurosawa, Yoshimi; Ueda, Hideo; Kosaka, Tadashi

2014-01-01

The inhalation of many types of chemicals is a leading cause of allergic respiratory diseases, and effective protocols are needed for the detection of environmental chemical-related respiratory allergies. In our previous studies, we developed a method for detecting environmental chemical-related respiratory allergens by using a long-term sensitization-challenge protocol involving BALB/c mice. In the current study, we sought to improve our model by characterizing strain-associated differences in respiratory allergic reactions to the well-known chemical respiratory allergen glutaraldehyde (GA). According to our protocol, BALB/c, NC/Nga, C3H/HeN, C57BL/6N, and CBA/J mice were sensitized dermally with GA for 3 weeks and then challenged with intratracheal or inhaled GA at 2 weeks after the last sensitization. The day after the final challenge, all mice were euthanized, and total serum IgE levels were assayed. In addition, immunocyte counts, cytokine production, and chemokine levels in the hilar lymph nodes (LNs) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) were also assessed. In conclusion, BALB/c and NC/Nga mice demonstrated markedly increased IgE reactions. Inflammatory cell counts in BALF were increased in the treated groups of all strains, especially BALB/c, NC/Nga, and CBA/J strains. Cytokine levels in LNs were increased in all treated groups except for C3H/HeN and were particularly high in BALB/c and NC/Nga mice. According to our results, we suggest that BALB/c and NC/Nga are highly susceptible to respiratory allergic responses and therefore are good candidates for use in our model for detecting environmental chemical respiratory allergens.

Searching for animal models and potential target species for emerging pathogens: Experience gained from Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS coronavirus

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Júlia Vergara-Alert

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Emerging and re-emerging pathogens represent a substantial threat to public health, as demonstrated with numerous outbreaks over the past years, including the 2013–2016 outbreak of Ebola virus in western Africa. Coronaviruses are also a threat for humans, as evidenced in 2002/2003 with infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV, which caused more than 8000 human infections with 10% fatality rate in 37 countries. Ten years later, a novel human coronavirus (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, MERS-CoV, associated with severe pneumonia, arose in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Until December 2016, MERS has accounted for more than 1800 cases and 35% fatality rate. Finding an animal model of disease is key to develop vaccines or antivirals against such emerging pathogens and to understand its pathogenesis. Knowledge of the potential role of domestic livestock and other animal species in the transmission of pathogens is of importance to understand the epidemiology of the disease. Little is known about MERS-CoV animal host range. In this paper, experimental data on potential hosts for MERS-CoV is reviewed. Advantages and limitations of different animal models are evaluated in relation to viral pathogenesis and transmission studies. Finally, the relevance of potential new target species is discussed.

Computer model for the cardiovascular system: development of an e-learning tool for teaching of medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Warriner, David Roy; Bayley, Martin; Shi, Yubing; Lawford, Patricia Victoria; Narracott, Andrew; Fenner, John

2017-11-21

This study combined themes in cardiovascular modelling, clinical cardiology and e-learning to create an on-line environment that would assist undergraduate medical students in understanding key physiological and pathophysiological processes in the cardiovascular system. An interactive on-line environment was developed incorporating a lumped-parameter mathematical model of the human cardiovascular system. The model outputs were used to characterise the progression of key disease processes and allowed students to classify disease severity with the aim of improving their understanding of abnormal physiology in a clinical context. Access to the on-line environment was offered to students at all stages of undergraduate training as an adjunct to routine lectures and tutorials in cardiac pathophysiology. Student feedback was collected on this novel on-line material in the course of routine audits of teaching delivery. Medical students, irrespective of their stage of undergraduate training, reported that they found the models and the environment interesting and a positive experience. After exposure to the environment, there was a statistically significant improvement in student performance on a series of 6 questions based on cardiovascular medicine, with a 33% and 22% increase in the number of questions answered correctly, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001 respectively. Considerable improvement was found in students' knowledge and understanding during assessment after exposure to the e-learning environment. Opportunities exist for development of similar environments in other fields of medicine, refinement of the existing environment and further engagement with student cohorts. This work combines some exciting and developing fields in medical education, but routine adoption of these types of tool will be possible only with the engagement of all stake-holders, from educationalists, clinicians, modellers to, most importantly, medical students.

Computer model for the cardiovascular system: development of an e-learning tool for teaching of medical students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Roy Warriner

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This study combined themes in cardiovascular modelling, clinical cardiology and e-learning to create an on-line environment that would assist undergraduate medical students in understanding key physiological and pathophysiological processes in the cardiovascular system. Methods An interactive on-line environment was developed incorporating a lumped-parameter mathematical model of the human cardiovascular system. The model outputs were used to characterise the progression of key disease processes and allowed students to classify disease severity with the aim of improving their understanding of abnormal physiology in a clinical context. Access to the on-line environment was offered to students at all stages of undergraduate training as an adjunct to routine lectures and tutorials in cardiac pathophysiology. Student feedback was collected on this novel on-line material in the course of routine audits of teaching delivery. Results Medical students, irrespective of their stage of undergraduate training, reported that they found the models and the environment interesting and a positive experience. After exposure to the environment, there was a statistically significant improvement in student performance on a series of 6 questions based on cardiovascular medicine, with a 33% and 22% increase in the number of questions answered correctly, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001 respectively. Conclusions Considerable improvement was found in students’ knowledge and understanding during assessment after exposure to the e-learning environment. Opportunities exist for development of similar environments in other fields of medicine, refinement of the existing environment and further engagement with student cohorts. This work combines some exciting and developing fields in medical education, but routine adoption of these types of tool will be possible only with the engagement of all stake-holders, from educationalists, clinicians, modellers to

Human Metapneumovirus Infection is Associated with Severe Respiratory Disease in Preschool Children with History of Prematurity.

Science.gov (United States)

Pancham, Krishna; Sami, Iman; Perez, Geovanny F; Huseni, Shehlanoor; Kurdi, Bassem; Rose, Mary C; Rodriguez-Martinez, Carlos E; Nino, Gustavo

2016-02-01

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a recently discovered respiratory pathogen of the family Paramyxoviridae, the same family as that of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Premature children are at high risk of severe RSV infections, however, it is unclear whether HMPV infection is more severe in hospitalized children with a history of severe prematurity. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the clinical respiratory presentation of all polymerase chain reaction-confirmed HMPV infections in preschool-age children (≤5 years) with and without history of severe prematurity (prematurity. Preschool children with a history of prematurity had more severe HMPV disease as illustrated by longer hospitalizations, new or increased need for supplemental O2, and higher severity scores independently of age, ethnicity, and history of asthma. Our study suggests that HMPV infection causes significant disease burden among preschool children with a history of prematurity leading to severe respiratory infections and increasing health care resource utilization due to prolonged hospitalizations. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Multi-Organ Damage in Human Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Transgenic Mice Infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus.

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Guangyu Zhao

Full Text Available The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV causes severe acute respiratory failure and considerable extrapumonary organ dysfuction with substantial high mortality. For the limited number of autopsy reports, small animal models are urgently needed to study the mechanisms of MERS-CoV infection and pathogenesis of the disease and to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutics against MERS-CoV infection. In this study, we developed a transgenic mouse model globally expressing codon-optimized human dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (hDPP4, the receptor for MERS-CoV. After intranasal inoculation with MERS-CoV, the mice rapidly developed severe pneumonia and multi-organ damage, with viral replication being detected in the lungs on day 5 and in the lungs, kidneys and brains on day 9 post-infection. In addition, the mice exhibited systemic inflammation with mild to severe pneumonia accompanied by the injury of liver, kidney and spleen with neutrophil and macrophage infiltration. Importantly, the mice exhibited symptoms of paralysis with high viral burden and viral positive neurons on day 9. Taken together, this study characterizes the tropism of MERS-CoV upon infection. Importantly, this hDPP4-expressing transgenic mouse model will be applicable for studying the pathogenesis of MERS-CoV infection and investigating the efficacy of vaccines and antiviral agents designed to combat MERS-CoV infection.

Mortality from Respiratory Diseases Associated with Opium Use – A Population Based Cohort Study

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmati, Atieh; Shakeri, Ramin; Khademi, Hooman; Poustchi, Hossein; Pourshams, Akram; Etemadi, Arash; Khoshnia, Masoud; Sohrabpour, Amir Ali; Aliasgari, Ali; Jafari, Elham; Islami, Farhad; Semnani, Shahryar; Gharavi, Samad; Abnet, Christian C.; Pharoah, Paul DP; Brennan, Paul; Boffetta, Paolo; Dawsey, Sanford M.; Malekzadeh, Reza; Kamangar, Farin

2018-01-01

Background Recent studies have suggested that opium use may increase mortality from cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, no comprehensive study of opium use and mortality from respiratory diseases has been published. We aimed to study the association between opium use and mortality from respiratory disease using prospectively collected data. Methods We used data from the Golestan Cohort Study (GCS), a prospective cohort study in northeastern Iran, with detailed, validated data on opium use and several other exposures. A total of 50,045 adults were enrolled from 2004 to 2008, and followed annually until June 2015, with a follow-up success rate of 99%. We used Cox proportional hazard regression models to evaluate the association between opium use and outcomes of interest. Results During the follow-up period 331 deaths from respiratory disease were reported (85 due to respiratory malignancies and 246 due to nonmalignant etiologies). Opium use was associated with an increased risk of death from any respiratory disease (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 95% CI; 3.13 (2.42-4.04)). The association was dose-dependent with a HR of 3.84 (2.61-5.67) for the highest quintile of cumulative opium use vs. never use (Ptrendopium use and malignant and nonmalignant causes of respiratory mortality were 1.96 (1.18-3.25) and 3.71 (2.76-4.96), respectively. Conclusion Long-term opium use is associated with increased mortality from both malignant and nonmalignant respiratory diseases. PMID:27885167

Respiratory and oral vaccination improves protection conferred by the live vaccine strain against pneumonic tularemia in the rabbit model.

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Stinson, Elizabeth; Smith, Le'Kneitah P; Cole, Kelly Stefano; Barry, Eileen M; Reed, Douglas S

2016-10-01

Tularemia is a severe, zoonotic disease caused by a gram-negative bacterium, Francisella tularensis We have previously shown that rabbits are a good model of human pneumonic tularemia when exposed to aerosols containing a virulent, type A strain, SCHU S4. We further demonstrated that the live vaccine strain (LVS), an attenuated type B strain, extended time to death when given by scarification. Oral or aerosol vaccination has been previously shown in humans to offer superior protection to parenteral vaccination against respiratory tularemia challenge. Both oral and aerosol vaccination with LVS were well tolerated in the rabbit with only minimal fever and no weight loss after inoculation. Plasma antibody titers against F. tularensis were higher in rabbits that were vaccinated by either oral or aerosol routes compared to scarification. Thirty days after vaccination, all rabbits were challenged with aerosolized SCHU S4. LVS given by scarification extended time to death compared to mock-vaccinated controls. One orally vaccinated rabbit did survive aerosol challenge, however, only aerosol vaccination extended time to death significantly compared to scarification. These results further demonstrate the utility of the rabbit model of pneumonic tularemia in replicating what has been reported in humans and macaques as well as demonstrating the utility of vaccination by oral and respiratory routes against an aerosol tularemia challenge. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Human bocavirus infection as a cause of severe acute respiratory tract infection in children.

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Moesker, F M; van Kampen, J J A; van der Eijk, A A; van Rossum, A M C; de Hoog, M; Schutten, M; Smits, S L; Bodewes, R; Osterhaus, A D M E; Fraaij, P L A

2015-10-01

In 2005 human bocavirus (HBoV) was discovered in respiratory tract samples of children. The role of HBoV as the single causative agent for respiratory tract infections remains unclear. Detection of HBoV in children with respiratory disease is frequently in combination with other viruses or bacteria. We set up an algorithm to study whether HBoV alone can cause severe acute respiratory tract infection (SARI) in children. The algorithm was developed to exclude cases with no other likely cause than HBoV for the need for admission to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with SARI. We searched for other viruses by next-generation sequencing (NGS) in these cases and studied their HBoV viral loads. To benchmark our algorithm, the same was applied to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-positive patients. From our total group of 990 patients who tested positive for a respiratory virus by means of RT-PCR, HBoV and RSV were detected in 178 and 366 children admitted to our hospital. Forty-nine HBoV-positive patients and 72 RSV-positive patients were admitted to the PICU. We found seven single HBoV-infected cases with SARI admitted to PICU (7/49, 14%). They had no other detectable virus by NGS. They had much higher HBoV loads than other patients positive for HBoV. We identified 14 RSV-infected SARI patients with a single RSV infection (14/72, 19%). We conclude that our study provides strong support that HBoV can cause SARI in children in the absence of viral and bacterial co-infections. Copyright © 2015 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantifying lung morphology with respiratory-gated micro-CT in a murine model of emphysema

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, N. L.; Martin, E. L.; Lewis, J. F.; Veldhuizen, R. A. W.; Holdsworth, D. W.; Drangova, M.

2009-04-01

Non-invasive micro-CT imaging techniques have been developed to investigate lung structure in free-breathing rodents. In this study, we investigate the utility of retrospectively respiratory-gated micro-CT imaging in an emphysema model to determine if anatomical changes could be observed in the image-derived quantitative analysis at two respiratory phases. The emphysema model chosen was a well-characterized, genetically altered model (TIMP-3 knockout mice) that exhibits a homogeneous phenotype. Micro-CT scans of the free-breathing, anaesthetized mice were obtained in 50 s and retrospectively respiratory sorted and reconstructed, providing 3D images representing peak inspiration and end expiration with 0.15 mm isotropic voxel spacing. Anatomical measurements included the volume and CT density of the lungs and the volume of the major airways, along with the diameters of the trachea, left bronchus and right bronchus. From these measurements, functional parameters such as functional residual capacity and tidal volume were calculated. Significant differences between the wild-type and TIMP-3 knockout groups were observed for measurements of CT density over the entire lung, indicating increased air content in the lungs of TIMP-3 knockout mice. These results demonstrate retrospective respiratory-gated micro-CT, providing images at multiple respiratory phases that can be analyzed quantitatively to investigate anatomical changes in murine models of emphysema.

Quantifying lung morphology with respiratory-gated micro-CT in a murine model of emphysema

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, N L; Martin, E L; Lewis, J F; Veldhuizen, R A W; Holdsworth, D W; Drangova, M

2009-01-01

Non-invasive micro-CT imaging techniques have been developed to investigate lung structure in free-breathing rodents. In this study, we investigate the utility of retrospectively respiratory-gated micro-CT imaging in an emphysema model to determine if anatomical changes could be observed in the image-derived quantitative analysis at two respiratory phases. The emphysema model chosen was a well-characterized, genetically altered model (TIMP-3 knockout mice) that exhibits a homogeneous phenotype. Micro-CT scans of the free-breathing, anaesthetized mice were obtained in 50 s and retrospectively respiratory sorted and reconstructed, providing 3D images representing peak inspiration and end expiration with 0.15 mm isotropic voxel spacing. Anatomical measurements included the volume and CT density of the lungs and the volume of the major airways, along with the diameters of the trachea, left bronchus and right bronchus. From these measurements, functional parameters such as functional residual capacity and tidal volume were calculated. Significant differences between the wild-type and TIMP-3 knockout groups were observed for measurements of CT density over the entire lung, indicating increased air content in the lungs of TIMP-3 knockout mice. These results demonstrate retrospective respiratory-gated micro-CT, providing images at multiple respiratory phases that can be analyzed quantitatively to investigate anatomical changes in murine models of emphysema.

Quantifying lung morphology with respiratory-gated micro-CT in a murine model of emphysema

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ford, N L [Department of Physics, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3 (Canada); Martin, E L; Lewis, J F; Veldhuizen, R A W [Lawson Health Research Institute, 268 Grosvenor Street, London, Ontario N6A 4V2 (Canada); Holdsworth, D W; Drangova, M [Imaging Research Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, 100 Perth Drive, PO Box 5015, London, Ontario N6A 5K8 (Canada)], E-mail: nlford@ryerson.ca

2009-04-07

Non-invasive micro-CT imaging techniques have been developed to investigate lung structure in free-breathing rodents. In this study, we investigate the utility of retrospectively respiratory-gated micro-CT imaging in an emphysema model to determine if anatomical changes could be observed in the image-derived quantitative analysis at two respiratory phases. The emphysema model chosen was a well-characterized, genetically altered model (TIMP-3 knockout mice) that exhibits a homogeneous phenotype. Micro-CT scans of the free-breathing, anaesthetized mice were obtained in 50 s and retrospectively respiratory sorted and reconstructed, providing 3D images representing peak inspiration and end expiration with 0.15 mm isotropic voxel spacing. Anatomical measurements included the volume and CT density of the lungs and the volume of the major airways, along with the diameters of the trachea, left bronchus and right bronchus. From these measurements, functional parameters such as functional residual capacity and tidal volume were calculated. Significant differences between the wild-type and TIMP-3 knockout groups were observed for measurements of CT density over the entire lung, indicating increased air content in the lungs of TIMP-3 knockout mice. These results demonstrate retrospective respiratory-gated micro-CT, providing images at multiple respiratory phases that can be analyzed quantitatively to investigate anatomical changes in murine models of emphysema.

Clinical Application of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Cardiovascular Medicine.

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Chi, Hong-jie; Gao, Song; Yang, Xin-chun; Cai, Jun; Zhao, Wen-shu; Sun, Hao; Geng, Yong-Jian

2015-01-01

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are generated by reprogramming human somatic cells through the overexpression of four transcription factors: Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc. iPSCs are capable of indefinite self-renewal, and they can differentiate into almost any type of cell in the body. These cells therefore offer a highly valuable therapeutic strategy for tissue repair and regeneration. Recent experimental and preclinical research has revealed their potential for cardiovascular disease diagnosis, drug screening and cellular replacement therapy. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain in terms of the development and clinical application of human iPSCs. Here, we review current progress in research related to patient-specific iPSCs for ex vivo modeling of cardiovascular disorders and drug screening, and explore the potential of human iPSCs for use in the field of cardiovascular regenerative medicine. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Cell Systems to Investigate the Impact of Polyphenols on Cardiovascular Health

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Charlotte Grootaert

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Polyphenols are a diverse group of micronutrients from plant origin that may serve as antioxidants and that contribute to human health in general. More specifically, many research groups have investigated their protective effect against cardiovascular diseases in several animal studies and human trials. Yet, because of the excessive processing of the polyphenol structure by human cells and the residing intestinal microbial community, which results in a large variability between the test subjects, the exact mechanisms of their protective effects are still under investigation. To this end, simplified cell culture systems have been used to decrease the inter-individual variability in mechanistic studies. In this review, we will discuss the different cell culture models that have been used so far for polyphenol research in the context of cardiovascular diseases. We will also review the current trends in cell culture research, including co-culture methodologies. Finally, we will discuss the potential of these advanced models to screen for cardiovascular effects of the large pool of bioactive polyphenols present in foods and their metabolites.

A Defective Interfering Influenza RNA Inhibits Infectious Influenza Virus Replication in Human Respiratory Tract Cells: A Potential New Human Antiviral

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire M. Smith

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Defective interfering (DI viruses arise during the replication of influenza A virus and contain a non-infective version of the genome that is able to interfere with the production of infectious virus. In this study we hypothesise that a cloned DI influenza A virus RNA may prevent infection of human respiratory epithelial cells with infection by influenza A. The DI RNA (244/PR8 was derived by a natural deletion process from segment 1 of influenza A/PR/8/34 (H1N1; it comprises 395 nucleotides and is packaged in the DI virion in place of a full-length genome segment 1. Given intranasally, 244/PR8 DI virus protects mice and ferrets from clinical influenza caused by a number of different influenza A subtypes and interferes with production of infectious influenza A virus in cells in culture. However, evidence that DI influenza viruses are active in cells of the human respiratory tract is lacking. Here we show that 244/PR8 DI RNA is replicated by an influenza A challenge virus in human lung diploid fibroblasts, bronchial epithelial cells, and primary nasal basal cells, and that the yield of challenge virus is significantly reduced in a dose-dependent manner indicating that DI influenza virus has potential as a human antiviral.

Incidence of respiratory viruses in Peruvian children with acute respiratory infections.

Science.gov (United States)

del Valle Mendoza, Juana; Cornejo-Tapia, Angela; Weilg, Pablo; Verne, Eduardo; Nazario-Fuertes, Ronald; Ugarte, Claudia; del Valle, Luis J; Pumarola, Tomás

2015-06-01

Acute respiratory infections are responsible for high morbi-mortality in Peruvian children. However, the etiological agents are poorly identified. This study, conducted during the pandemic outbreak of H1N1 influenza in 2009, aims to determine the main etiological agents responsible for acute respiratory infections in children from Lima, Peru. Nasopharyngeal swabs collected from 717 children with acute respiratory infections between January 2009 and December 2010 were analyzed by multiplex RT-PCR for 13 respiratory viruses: influenza A, B, and C virus; parainfluenza virus (PIV) 1, 2, 3, and 4; and human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A and B, among others. Samples were also tested with direct fluorescent-antibodies (DFA) for six respiratory viruses. RT-PCR and DFA detected respiratory viruses in 240 (33.5%) and 85 (11.9%) cases, respectively. The most common etiological agents were RSV-A (15.3%), followed by influenza A (4.6%), PIV-1 (3.6%), and PIV-2 (1.8%). The viruses identified by DFA corresponded to RSV (5.9%) and influenza A (1.8%). Therefore, respiratory syncytial viruses (RSV) were found to be the most common etiology of acute respiratory infections. The authors suggest that active surveillance be conducted to identify the causative agents and improve clinical management, especially in the context of possible circulation of pandemic viruses. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Human thermoregulation model of RF-EMF interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niedermayr, F.

2012-01-01

A thermal model has been developed which allows accurate temperature computations in high resolution anatomical models. The model is based on the basic thermal model described by Pennes which neglects any of the thermoregulatory mechanisms in humans. The thermal model developed here overcomes major simplifications by the mathematical consideration of these mechanisms which is needed for modeling a physiologically correct reaction to a thermal stimulus. The local blood perfusion, as well as the local metabolic rate, is modified as a function of the local tissue temperature. The model implemented increases the blood temperature on the basis of the absorbed energy. The heat exchange at the tissue/air interface, including the skin and respiratory tract, is also improved. The model takes not only the heat dissipation by radiation, conduction and convection into consideration but also the insensible loss of water by evaporation. Furthermore, the thermal model also accounts for the active heat dissipation by sweating. The generic implementation of the thermal model makes it possible to use it for different human models (children, adults, pregnant women) and it is also possible to take implants into consideration. The performance of the model is validated by comparing the simulation results to actual temperature measurements in humans. The thermal model is used to compute the temperature elevation in humans exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. Until now, the tissue heating caused by radiofrequency electromagnetic fields could only be estimated by a surrogate, namely the specific absorption rate. The temperature elevations in children of different sizes and ages as well as pregnant women at different gestational stages exposed to plane waves is computed. Furthermore, the temperature elevation in human bodies is computed for a diagnostic modality (magnetic resonance imaging) and a therapeutic modality (medical diathermy). (author) [de

Digital anthropomorphic phantoms of non-rigid human respiratory and voluntary body motion for investigating motion correction in emission imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Könik, Arda; Johnson, Karen L; Dasari, Paul; Pretorius, P H; Dey, Joyoni; King, Michael A; Connolly, Caitlin M; Segars, Paul W; Lindsay, Clifford

2014-01-01

The development of methods for correcting patient motion in emission tomography has been receiving increased attention. Often the performance of these methods is evaluated through simulations using digital anthropomorphic phantoms, such as the commonly used extended cardiac torso (XCAT) phantom, which models both respiratory and cardiac motion based on human studies. However, non-rigid body motion, which is frequently seen in clinical studies, is not present in the standard XCAT phantom. In addition, respiratory motion in the standard phantom is limited to a single generic trend. In this work, to obtain a more realistic representation of motion, we developed a series of individual-specific XCAT phantoms, modeling non-rigid respiratory and non-rigid body motions derived from the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisitions of volunteers. Acquisitions were performed in the sagittal orientation using the Navigator methodology. Baseline (no motion) acquisitions at end-expiration were obtained at the beginning of each imaging session for each volunteer. For the body motion studies, MRI was again acquired only at end-expiration for five body motion poses (shoulder stretch, shoulder twist, lateral bend, side roll, and axial slide). For the respiratory motion studies, an MRI was acquired during free/regular breathing. The magnetic resonance slices were then retrospectively sorted into 14 amplitude-binned respiratory states, end-expiration, end-inspiration, six intermediary states during inspiration, and six during expiration using the recorded Navigator signal. XCAT phantoms were then generated based on these MRI data by interactive alignment of the organ contours of the XCAT with the MRI slices using a graphical user interface. Thus far we have created five body motion and five respiratory motion XCAT phantoms from the MRI acquisitions of six healthy volunteers (three males and three females). Non-rigid motion exhibited by the volunteers was reflected in both respiratory

Digital anthropomorphic phantoms of non-rigid human respiratory and voluntary body motion for investigating motion correction in emission imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Könik, Arda; Connolly, Caitlin M.; Johnson, Karen L.; Dasari, Paul; Segars, Paul W.; Pretorius, P. H.; Lindsay, Clifford; Dey, Joyoni; King, Michael A.

2014-07-01

The development of methods for correcting patient motion in emission tomography has been receiving increased attention. Often the performance of these methods is evaluated through simulations using digital anthropomorphic phantoms, such as the commonly used extended cardiac torso (XCAT) phantom, which models both respiratory and cardiac motion based on human studies. However, non-rigid body motion, which is frequently seen in clinical studies, is not present in the standard XCAT phantom. In addition, respiratory motion in the standard phantom is limited to a single generic trend. In this work, to obtain a more realistic representation of motion, we developed a series of individual-specific XCAT phantoms, modeling non-rigid respiratory and non-rigid body motions derived from the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisitions of volunteers. Acquisitions were performed in the sagittal orientation using the Navigator methodology. Baseline (no motion) acquisitions at end-expiration were obtained at the beginning of each imaging session for each volunteer. For the body motion studies, MRI was again acquired only at end-expiration for five body motion poses (shoulder stretch, shoulder twist, lateral bend, side roll, and axial slide). For the respiratory motion studies, an MRI was acquired during free/regular breathing. The magnetic resonance slices were then retrospectively sorted into 14 amplitude-binned respiratory states, end-expiration, end-inspiration, six intermediary states during inspiration, and six during expiration using the recorded Navigator signal. XCAT phantoms were then generated based on these MRI data by interactive alignment of the organ contours of the XCAT with the MRI slices using a graphical user interface. Thus far we have created five body motion and five respiratory motion XCAT phantoms from the MRI acquisitions of six healthy volunteers (three males and three females). Non-rigid motion exhibited by the volunteers was reflected in both respiratory

A Cross-Sectional Study of Ageing and Cardiovascular Function over the Baboon Lifespan.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristen R Yeung

Full Text Available Ageing is associated with changes at the molecular and cellular level that can alter cardiovascular function and ultimately lead to disease. The baboon is an ideal model for studying ageing due to the similarities in genetic, anatomical, physiological and biochemical characteristics with humans. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the changes in cardiovascular profile of baboons over the course of their lifespan.Data were collected from 109 healthy baboons (Papio hamadryas at the Australian National Baboon Colony. A linear regression model, adjusting for sex, was used to analyse the association between age and markers of ageing with P 12 years had significantly shorter telomeres when compared to younger (<3 years baboons (P = 0.001.This study is the first to demonstrate that cardiovascular function alters with age in the baboon. This research identifies similarities within cardiovascular parameters between humans and baboon even though the length of life differs between the two species.

Respiratory muscle endurance is limited by lower ventilatory efficiency in post-myocardial infarction patients

OpenAIRE

Neves,Laura M. T.; Karsten,Marlus; Neves,Victor R.; Beltrame,Thomas; Borghi-Silva,Audrey; Catai,Aparecida M.

2014-01-01

Background: Reduced respiratory muscle endurance (RME) contributes to increased dyspnea upon exertion in patients with cardiovascular disease. Objective: The objective was to characterize ventilatory and metabolic responses during RME tests in post-myocardial infarction patients without respiratory muscle weakness. Method: Twenty-nine subjects were allocated into three groups: recent myocardial infarction group (RG, n=9), less-recent myocardial infarction group (LRG, n=10), and contr...

Central respiratory and circulatory effects of Gymnodinium breve toxin in anaesthetized cats

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Borison, Herbert L.; Ellis, Sydney; McCarthy, Lawrence E.

1980-01-01

1 In cats anaesthetized with pentobarbitone, observations were made on respiration, spontaneous and evoked diaphragmatic electromyograms, blood pressure, heart rate, indirectly-induced contractions of the anterior tibialis muscle and nictitating membrane, and electrical excitability of the inspiratory centre in the medulla oblongata. 2 Gymnodinium breve toxin (GBTX) was administered intravenously, intra-arterially to the brain, and intracerebroventricularly. Physiological effects were recorded while alveolar PCO2 was controlled at a constant level except when changes in gas tension were made in order to measure CO2-ventilatory responsiveness. 3 Adequate doses of GBTX given intravenously by bolus injection elicited a non-tachyphylactic reflex response triad of apnoea, hypotension and bradycardia mediated by the vagus nerves independently of arterial baroreceptor and chemoreceptor innervation. 4 After vagotomy, additional amounts of GBTX (i.v.) resulted in apneustic breathing, hypertension and tachycardia. The cardiovascular effects were abolished by ganglionic blockade with hexamethonium. 5 Smaller doses of GBTX were required intra-arterially and intracerebroventricularly than by the intravenous route of injection to produce respiratory irregularity and cardiovascular hyperactivity. 6 Evoked motor responses, electrical excitability of the medulla oblongata and CO2-ventilatory responsiveness were largely spared even though GBTX caused marked disturbances in respiratory rhythmicity and cardiovascular functions. 7 It is concluded that GBTX acts reflexly on vagally innervated receptors to evoke a Bezold-Jarisch effect but that the toxin further acts centrally to cause irregular breathholding and hypertension with tachycardia, leading ultimately to respiratory and circulatory failure. PMID:7191740

Changes in diet, cardiovascular risk factors and modelled cardiovascular risk following diagnosis of diabetes: 1-year results from the ADDITION-Cambridge trial cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Savory, L A; Griffin, S J; Williams, K M; Prevost, A T; Kinmonth, A-L; Wareham, N J; Simmons, R K

2014-02-01

To describe change in self-reported diet and plasma vitamin C, and to examine associations between change in diet and cardiovascular disease risk factors and modelled 10-year cardiovascular disease risk in the year following diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. Eight hundred and sixty-seven individuals with screen-detected diabetes underwent assessment of self-reported diet, plasma vitamin C, cardiovascular disease risk factors and modelled cardiovascular disease risk at baseline and 1 year (n = 736) in the ADDITION-Cambridge trial. Multivariable linear regression was used to quantify the association between change in diet and cardiovascular disease risk at 1 year, adjusting for change in physical activity and cardio-protective medication. Participants reported significant reductions in energy, fat and sodium intake, and increases in fruit, vegetable and fibre intake over 1 year. The reduction in energy was equivalent to an average-sized chocolate bar; the increase in fruit was equal to one plum per day. There was a small increase in plasma vitamin C levels. Increases in fruit intake and plasma vitamin C were associated with small reductions in anthropometric and metabolic risk factors. Increased vegetable intake was associated with an increase in BMI and waist circumference. Reductions in fat, energy and sodium intake were associated with reduction in HbA1c , waist circumference and total cholesterol/modelled cardiovascular disease risk, respectively. Improvements in dietary behaviour in this screen-detected population were associated with small reductions in cardiovascular disease risk, independently of change in cardio-protective medication and physical activity. Dietary change may have a role to play in the reduction of cardiovascular disease risk following diagnosis of diabetes. © 2013 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Diabetes UK.

[Psychosocial factors at work and cardiovascular diseases: contribution of the Effort-Reward Imbalance model].

Science.gov (United States)

Niedhammer, I; Siegrist, J

1998-11-01

The effect of psychosocial factors at work on health, especially cardiovascular health, has given rise to growing concern in occupational epidemiology over the last few years. Two theoretical models, Karasek's model and the Effort-Reward Imbalance model, have been developed to evaluate psychosocial factors at work within specific conceptual frameworks in an attempt to take into account the serious methodological difficulties inherent in the evaluation of such factors. Karasek's model, the most widely used model, measures three factors: psychological demands, decision latitude and social support at work. Many studies have shown the predictive effects of these factors on cardiovascular diseases independently of well-known cardiovascular risk factors. More recently, the Effort-Reward Imbalance model takes into account the role of individual coping characteristics which was neglected in the Karasek model. The effort-reward imbalance model focuses on the reciprocity of exchange in occupational life where high-cost/low-gain conditions are considered particularly stressful. Three dimensions of rewards are distinguished: money, esteem and gratifications in terms of promotion prospects and job security. Some studies already support that high-effort/low reward-conditions are predictive of cardiovascular diseases.

Altered Resting and Exercise Respiratory Physiology in Obesity

OpenAIRE

Sood, Akshay

2009-01-01

Obesity, particularly severe obesity, affects both resting and exercise-related respiratory physiology. Severe obesity classically produces a restrictive ventilatory abnormality, characterized by reduced expiratory reserve volume. However, obstructive ventilatory abnormality may also be associated with abdominal obesity. Decreased peak work rates are usually seen among obese subjects in a setting of normal or decreased ventilatory reserve and normal cardiovascular response to exercise. Weight...

Modeling Associations between Principals' Reported Indoor Environmental Quality and Students' Self-Reported Respiratory Health Outcomes Using GLMM and ZIP Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Toyinbo, Oluyemi; Matilainen, Markus; Turunen, Mari; Putus, Tuula; Shaughnessy, Richard; Haverinen-Shaughnessy, Ulla

2016-03-30

The aim of this paper was to examine associations between school building characteristics, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and health responses using questionnaire data from both school principals and students. From 334 randomly sampled schools, 4248 sixth grade students from 297 schools participated in a questionnaire. From these schools, 134 principals returned questionnaires concerning 51 IEQ related questions of their school. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were used to study the associations between IEQ indicators and existence of self-reported upper respiratory symptoms, while hierarchical Zero Inflated Poisson (ZIP)-models were used to model the number of symptoms. Significant associations were established between existence of upper respiratory symptoms and unsatisfactory classroom temperature during the heating season (ORs 1.45 for too hot and cold, and 1.27 for too cold as compared to satisfactory temperature) and dampness or moisture damage during the year 2006-2007 (OR: 1.80 as compared to no moisture damage), respectively. The number of upper respiratory symptoms was significantly associated with inadequate ventilation and dampness or moisture damage. A higher number of missed school days due to respiratory infections were reported in schools with inadequate ventilation (RR: 1.16). The school level IEQ indicator variables described in this paper could explain a relatively large part of the school level variation observed in the self-reported upper respiratory symptoms and missed school days due to respiratory infections among students.

The relationship between trees and human health: evidence from the spread of the emerald ash borer.

Science.gov (United States)

Donovan, Geoffrey H; Butry, David T; Michael, Yvonne L; Prestemon, Jeffrey P; Liebhold, Andrew M; Gatziolis, Demetrios; Mao, Megan Y

2013-02-01

Several recent studies have identified a relationship between the natural environment and improved health outcomes. However, for practical reasons, most have been observational, cross-sectional studies. A natural experiment, which provides stronger evidence of causality, was used to test whether a major change to the natural environment-the loss of 100 million trees to the emerald ash borer, an invasive forest pest-has influenced mortality related to cardiovascular and lower-respiratory diseases. Two fixed-effects regression models were used to estimate the relationship between emerald ash borer presence and county-level mortality from 1990 to 2007 in 15 U.S. states, while controlling for a wide range of demographic covariates. Data were collected from 1990 to 2007, and the analyses were conducted in 2011 and 2012. There was an increase in mortality related to cardiovascular and lower-respiratory-tract illness in counties infested with the emerald ash borer. The magnitude of this effect was greater as infestation progressed and in counties with above-average median household income. Across the 15 states in the study area, the borer was associated with an additional 6113 deaths related to illness of the lower respiratory system, and 15,080 cardiovascular-related deaths. Results suggest that loss of trees to the emerald ash borer increased mortality related to cardiovascular and lower-respiratory-tract illness. This finding adds to the growing evidence that the natural environment provides major public health benefits. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Clinical Prediction Models for Cardiovascular Disease: Tufts Predictive Analytics and Comparative Effectiveness Clinical Prediction Model Database.

Science.gov (United States)

Wessler, Benjamin S; Lai Yh, Lana; Kramer, Whitney; Cangelosi, Michael; Raman, Gowri; Lutz, Jennifer S; Kent, David M

2015-07-01

Clinical prediction models (CPMs) estimate the probability of clinical outcomes and hold the potential to improve decision making and individualize care. For patients with cardiovascular disease, there are numerous CPMs available although the extent of this literature is not well described. We conducted a systematic review for articles containing CPMs for cardiovascular disease published between January 1990 and May 2012. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, stroke, venous thromboembolism, and peripheral vascular disease. We created a novel database and characterized CPMs based on the stage of development, population under study, performance, covariates, and predicted outcomes. There are 796 models included in this database. The number of CPMs published each year is increasing steadily over time. Seven hundred seventeen (90%) are de novo CPMs, 21 (3%) are CPM recalibrations, and 58 (7%) are CPM adaptations. This database contains CPMs for 31 index conditions, including 215 CPMs for patients with coronary artery disease, 168 CPMs for population samples, and 79 models for patients with heart failure. There are 77 distinct index/outcome pairings. Of the de novo models in this database, 450 (63%) report a c-statistic and 259 (36%) report some information on calibration. There is an abundance of CPMs available for a wide assortment of cardiovascular disease conditions, with substantial redundancy in the literature. The comparative performance of these models, the consistency of effects and risk estimates across models and the actual and potential clinical impact of this body of literature is poorly understood. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

Association between Ambient Air Pollution and Hospital Emergency Admissions for Respiratory and Cardiovascular Diseases in Beijing: a Time Series Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ying; Wang, Shi Gong; Ma, Yu Xia; Shang, Ke Zheng; Cheng, Yi Fan; Li, Xu; Ning, Gui Cai; Zhao, Wen Jing; Li, Nai Rong

2015-05-01

To investigate the association between ambient air pollution and hospital emergency admissions in Beijing. In this study, a semi-parametric generalized additive model (GAM) was used to evaluate the specific influences of air pollutants (PM10, SO2, and NO2) on hospital emergency admissions with different lag structures from 2009 to 2011, the sex and age specific influences of air pollution and the modifying effect of seasons on air pollution to analyze the possible interaction. It was found that a 10 μg/m3 increase in concentration of PM10 at lag 03 day, SO2 and NO2 at lag 0 day were associated with an increase of 0.88%, 0.76%, and 1.82% respectively in overall emergency admissions. A 10 μg/m3 increase in concentration of PM10, SO2 and NO2 at lag 5 day were associated with an increase of 1.39%, 1.56%, and 1.18% respectively in cardiovascular disease emergency admissions. For lag 02, a 10 μg/m3 increase in concentration of PM10, SO2 and NO2 were associated with 1.72%, 1.34%, and 2.57% increases respectively in respiratory disease emergency admissions. This study further confirmed that short-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with increased risk of hospital emergency admissions in Beijing. Copyright © 2015 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

Minocycline affects human neutrophil respiratory burst and transendothelial migration.

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Parenti, Astrid; Indorato, Boris; Paccosi, Sara

2017-02-01

This study aimed at investigating the in vitro activity of minocycline and doxycycline on human polymorphonuclear (h-PMN) cell function. h-PMNs were isolated from whole venous blood of healthy subjects; PMN oxidative burst was measured by monitoring ROS-induced oxidation of luminol and transendothelial migration was studied by measuring PMN migration through a monolayer of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Differences between multiple groups were determined by ANOVA followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test; Student's t test for unpaired data for two groups. Minocycline (1-300 µM) concentration dependently and significantly inhibited oxidative burst of h-PMNs stimulated with 100 nM fMLP. Ten micromolar concentrations, which are superimposable to C max following a standard oral dose of minocycline, promoted a 29.8 ± 4 % inhibition of respiratory burst (P minocycline impaired PMN transendothelial migration, with maximal effect at 100 µM (42.5 ± 7 %, inhibition, n = 5, P minocycline exerted on innate immune h-PMN cell function.

The human cathelicidin LL-37 has antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus.

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Silke M Currie

Full Text Available Respiratory syncytial virus is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract illness among infants, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Currently, there is no effective vaccine or disease modifying treatment available and novel interventions are urgently required. Cathelicidins are cationic host defence peptides expressed in the inflamed lung, with key roles in innate host defence against infection. We demonstrate that the human cathelicidin LL-37 has effective antiviral activity against RSV in vitro, retained by a truncated central peptide fragment. LL-37 prevented virus-induced cell death in epithelial cultures, significantly inhibited the production of new infectious particles and diminished the spread of infection, with antiviral effects directed both against the viral particles and the epithelial cells. LL-37 may represent an important targetable component of innate host defence against RSV infection. Prophylactic modulation of LL-37 expression and/or use of synthetic analogues post-infection may represent future novel strategies against RSV infection.

Dysrhythmias of the respiratory oscillator

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Paydarfar, David; Buerkel, Daniel M.

1995-03-01

Breathing is regulated by a central neural oscillator that produces rhythmic output to the respiratory muscles. Pathological disturbances in rhythm (dysrhythmias) are observed in the breathing pattern of children and adults with neurological and cardiopulmonary diseases. The mechanisms responsible for genesis of respiratory dysrhythmias are poorly understood. The present studies take a novel approach to this problem. The basic postulate is that the rhythm of the respiratory oscillator can be altered by a variety of stimuli. When the oscillator recovers its rhythm after such perturbations, its phase may be reset relative to the original rhythm. The amount of phase resetting is dependent upon stimulus parameters and the level of respiratory drive. The long-range hypothesis is that respiratory dysrhythmias can be induced by stimuli that impinge upon or arise within the respiratory oscillator with certain combinations of strength and timing relative to the respiratory cycle. Animal studies were performed in anesthetized or decerebrate preparations. Neural respiratory rhythmicity is represented by phrenic nerve activity, allowing use of open-loop experimental conditions which avoid negative chemical feedback associated with changes in ventilation. In animal experiments, respiratory dysrhythmias can be induced by stimuli having specific combinations of strength and timing. Newborn animals readily exhibit spontaneous dysrhythmias which become more prominent at lower respiratory drives. In human subjects, swallowing was studied as a physiological perturbation of respiratory rhythm, causing a pattern of phase resetting that is characterized topologically as type 0. Computational studies of the Bonhoeffer-van der Pol (BvP) equations, whose qualitative behavior is representative of many excitable systems, supports a unified interpretation of these experimental findings. Rhythmicity is observed when the BvP model exhibits recurrent periods of excitation alternating with

COPD management as a model for all chronic respiratory conditions: report of the 4th Consensus Conference in Respiratory Medicine.

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Nardini, Stefano; De Benedetto, Fernando; Sanguinetti, Claudio M; Bellofiore, Salvatore; Carlone, Stefano; Privitera, Salvatore; Sagliocca, Luciano; Tupputi, Emmanuele; Baccarani, Claudio; Caiffa, Gennaro; Calabrese, Maria Consiglia; Capuozzo, Antonio; Cauchi, Salvatore; Conio, Valentina; Coratella, Giuseppe; Crismancich, Franco; Dal Negro, Roberto W; Dellarole, Franco; Delucchi, Maurizio; Favaretti, Carlo; Forte, Silvia; Gallo, Franca Matilde; Giuliano, Riccardo; Grandi, Marco; Grillo, Antonino; Gualano, Maria Rosaria; Guffanti, Enrico; Locicero, Salvatore; Lombardo, Francesco Paolo; Mantero, Marco; Marasso, Roberto; Martino, Laura; Mastroberardino, Michele; Mereu, Carlo; Messina, Roberto; Neri, Margherita; Novelletto, Bruno Franco; Parente, Paolo; Pasquinucci, Sergio; Pistolesi, Massimo; Polverino, Mario; Posca, Agnese; Richeldi, Luca; Roccia, Fernando; Giustini, Ettore Saffi; Salemi, Michelangelo; Santacroce, Salvatore; Schisano, Mario; Schisano, Matteo; Selvi, Eleonora; Silenzi, Andrea; Soverina, Patrizio; Taranto, Claudio; Ugolini, Marta; Visaggi, Piero; Zanasi, Alessandro

2017-01-01

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 40 million people each year. The management of chronic respiratory NCDs such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is particularly critical in Italy, where they are widespread and represent a heavy burden on healthcare resources. It is thus important to redefine the role and responsibility of respiratory specialists and their scientific societies, together with that of the whole healthcare system, in order to create a sustainable management of COPD, which could become a model for other chronic respiratory conditions. These issues were divided into four main topics (Training, Organization, Responsibilities, and Sustainability) and discussed at a Consensus Conference promoted by the Research Center of the Italian Respiratory Society held in Rome, Italy, 3-4 November 2016. Regarding training, important inadequacies emerged regarding specialist training - both the duration of practical training courses and teaching about chronic diseases like COPD. A better integration between university and teaching hospitals would improve the quality of specialization. A better organizational integration between hospital and specialists/general practitioners (GPs) in the local community is essential to improve the diagnostic and therapeutic pathways for chronic respiratory patients. Improving the care pathways is the joint responsibility of respiratory specialists, GPs, patients and their caregivers, and the healthcare system. The sustainability of the entire system depends on a better organization of the diagnostic-therapeutic pathways, in which also other stakeholders such as pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies can play an important role.

Air ions and respiratory function outcomes: a comprehensive review

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2013-01-01

Background From a mechanistic or physical perspective there is no basis to suspect that electric charges on clusters of air molecules (air ions) would have beneficial or deleterious effects on respiratory function. Yet, there is a large lay and scientific literature spanning 80 years that asserts exposure to air ions affects the respiratory system and has other biological effects. Aims This review evaluates the scientific evidence in published human experimental studies regarding the effects of exposure to air ions on respiratory performance and symptoms. Methods We identified 23 studies (published 1933–1993) that met our inclusion criteria. Relevant data pertaining to study population characteristics, study design, experimental methods, statistical techniques, and study results were assessed. Where relevant, random effects meta-analysis models were utilized to quantify similar exposure and outcome groupings. Results The included studies examined the therapeutic benefits of exposure to negative air ions on respiratory outcomes, such as ventilatory function and asthmatic symptoms. Study specific sample sizes ranged between 7 and 23, and studies varied considerably by subject characteristics (e.g., infants with asthma, adults with emphysema), experimental method, outcomes measured (e.g., subjective symptoms, sensitivity, clinical pulmonary function), analytical design, and statistical reporting. Conclusions Despite numerous experimental and analytical differences across studies, the literature does not clearly support a beneficial role in exposure to negative air ions and respiratory function or asthmatic symptom alleviation. Further, collectively, the human experimental studies do not indicate a significant detrimental effect of exposure to positive air ions on respiratory measures. Exposure to negative or positive air ions does not appear to play an appreciable role in respiratory function. PMID:24016271

Effects of Long-Term Dust Exposure on Human Respiratory System Health in Minqin County, China.

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Wang, Jinyu; Li, Sheng; Wang, Shigong; Shang, Kezheng

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of long-term sand dust exposure on human respiratory health. Dust events break out frequently in Minqin County, northwest China, whereas Pingliang City, northwest China, is rarely influenced by dust events. Therefore, Minqin and Pingliang were selected as sand dust exposure region and control area, respectively. The incidence of respiratory system diseases and symptoms was determined through a structured respiratory health questionnaire (ATS-DLD-78-A) and personal interviews. The subjects comprised 728 farmers (Minqin, 424; Pingliang, 304) aged 40 years or older, who had nondocumented occupational history to industrial dust exposure. Prevalences (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [CI]) of chronic rhinitis, chronic bronchitis, and chronic cough increased 9.6% (3.141, 1.776-5.555), 7.5% (2.468, 1.421-4.286), and 10.2% (1.787, 1.246-2.563) in Minqin comparison with Pingliang, respectively, and the differences were significant (p <.01).

Respiratory Viruses in Febrile Neutropenic Patients with Respiratory Symptoms

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Mohsen Meidani

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Respiratory infections are a frequent cause of fever in neutropenic patients, whereas respiratory viral infections are not frequently considered as a diagnosis, which causes high morbidity and mortality in these patients. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was performed on 36 patients with neutropenia who admitted to hospital were eligible for inclusion with fever (single temperature of >38.3°C or a sustained temperature of >38°C for more than 1 h, upper and lower respiratory symptoms. Sampling was performed from the throat of the patient by the sterile swab. All materials were analyzed by quantitative real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction covering the following viruses; influenza, parainfluenza virus (PIV, rhinovirus (RV, human metapneumovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV. Results: RV was the most frequently detected virus and then RSV was the most. PIV was not present in any of the tested samples. Furthermore, no substantial differences in the distribution of specific viral species were observed based on age, sex, neutropenia duration, hematological disorder, and respiratory tract symptoms and signs (P > 0.05. Conclusion: Our prospective study supports the hypothesis that respiratory viruses play an important role in the development of neutropenic fever, and thus has the potential to individualize infection treatment and to reduce the extensive use of antibiotics in immunocompromised patients with neutropenia.

Effects of air pollution on human health and practical measures for prevention in Iran.

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Ghorani-Azam, Adel; Riahi-Zanjani, Bamdad; Balali-Mood, Mahdi

2016-01-01

Air pollution is a major concern of new civilized world, which has a serious toxicological impact on human health and the environment. It has a number of different emission sources, but motor vehicles and industrial processes contribute the major part of air pollution. According to the World Health Organization, six major air pollutants include particle pollution, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead. Long and short term exposure to air suspended toxicants has a different toxicological impact on human including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, neuropsychiatric complications, the eyes irritation, skin diseases, and long-term chronic diseases such as cancer. Several reports have revealed the direct association between exposure to the poor air quality and increasing rate of morbidity and mortality mostly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Air pollution is considered as the major environmental risk factor in the incidence and progression of some diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, ventricular hypertrophy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, psychological complications, autism, retinopathy, fetal growth, and low birth weight. In this review article, we aimed to discuss toxicology of major air pollutants, sources of emission, and their impact on human health. We have also proposed practical measures to reduce air pollution in Iran.

Effects of air pollution on human health and practical measures for prevention in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Ghorani-Azam, Adel; Riahi-Zanjani, Bamdad; Balali-Mood, Mahdi

2016-01-01

Air pollution is a major concern of new civilized world, which has a serious toxicological impact on human health and the environment. It has a number of different emission sources, but motor vehicles and industrial processes contribute the major part of air pollution. According to the World Health Organization, six major air pollutants include particle pollution, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead. Long and short term exposure to air suspended toxicants has a different toxicological impact on human including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, neuropsychiatric complications, the eyes irritation, skin diseases, and long-term chronic diseases such as cancer. Several reports have revealed the direct association between exposure to the poor air quality and increasing rate of morbidity and mortality mostly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Air pollution is considered as the major environmental risk factor in the incidence and progression of some diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, ventricular hypertrophy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, psychological complications, autism, retinopathy, fetal growth, and low birth weight. In this review article, we aimed to discuss toxicology of major air pollutants, sources of emission, and their impact on human health. We have also proposed practical measures to reduce air pollution in Iran. PMID:27904610

Effects of air pollution on human health and practical measures for prevention in Iran

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Adel Ghorani-Azam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Air pollution is a major concern of new civilized world, which has a serious toxicological impact on human health and the environment. It has a number of different emission sources, but motor vehicles and industrial processes contribute the major part of air pollution. According to the World Health Organization, six major air pollutants include particle pollution, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead. Long and short term exposure to air suspended toxicants has a different toxicological impact on human including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, neuropsychiatric complications, the eyes irritation, skin diseases, and long-term chronic diseases such as cancer. Several reports have revealed the direct association between exposure to the poor air quality and increasing rate of morbidity and mortality mostly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Air pollution is considered as the major environmental risk factor in the incidence and progression of some diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, ventricular hypertrophy, Alzheimer′s and Parkinson′s diseases, psychological complications, autism, retinopathy, fetal growth, and low birth weight. In this review article, we aimed to discuss toxicology of major air pollutants, sources of emission, and their impact on human health. We have also proposed practical measures to reduce air pollution in Iran.

Construction of an odds model of coronary heart disease using published information: the Cardiovascular Health Improvement Model (CHIME

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Potts Henry WW

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a need for a new cardiovascular disease model that includes a wider range of relevant risk factors, in particular lifestyle factors, to aid targeting of interventions and improve population models of the impact of cardiovascular disease and preventive strategies. The model needs to be applicable to a wider population including different ethnic groups, different countries and to those with and without cardiovascular disease. This paper describes the construction of the Cardiovascular Health Improvement Model that aims to meet these requirements. Method An odds model is used. Information was taken from 2003 mortality statistics for England and Wales, the Health Survey for England 2003 and published data on relative risk in those with and without CVD and mean blood pressure values in hypertensives. The odds ratios used were taken from the INTERHEART study. Results A worked example is given calculating the 10-year coronary heart disease risk for a 57 year-old non-diabetic male with no personal or family history of cardiovascular disease, who smokes 30 cigarettes a day and has a systolic blood pressure of 137 mmHg, a total cholesterol (TC of 6.2 mmol/l, a high density lipoprotein (HDL of 1.3 mol/l, and a body mass index of 21. He neither drinks regularly nor exercises. He can give no reliable information about his mental health or fruit and vegetable intake. His 10-year risk of CHD death is 2.47%. Conclusion This paper demonstrates a method for developing a CHD risk model. Further improvements could be made to the model with additional information. The method is applicable to other causes of death.

China's Air Quality and Respiratory Disease Mortality Based on the Spatial Panel Model.

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Cao, Qilong; Liang, Ying; Niu, Xueting

2017-09-18

Background : Air pollution has become an important factor restricting China's economic development and has subsequently brought a series of social problems, including the impact of air pollution on the health of residents, which is a topical issue in China. Methods : Taking into account this spatial imbalance, the paper is based on the spatial panel data model PM 2.5 . Respiratory disease mortality in 31 Chinese provinces from 2004 to 2008 is taken as the main variable to study the spatial effect and impact of air quality and respiratory disease mortality on a large scale. Results : It was found that there is a spatial correlation between the mortality of respiratory diseases in Chinese provinces. The spatial correlation can be explained by the spatial effect of PM 2.5 pollutions in the control of other variables. Conclusions : Compared with the traditional non-spatial model, the spatial model is better for describing the spatial relationship between variables, ensuring the conclusions are scientific and can measure the spatial effect between variables.

PPAR-γ in the Cardiovascular System

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Sheng Zhong Duan

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ, an essential transcriptional mediator of adipogenesis, lipid metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and glucose homeostasis, is increasingly recognized as a key player in inflammatory cells and in cardiovascular diseases (CVD such as hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, congestive heart failure, and atherosclerosis. PPAR-γ agonists, the thiazolidinediones (TZDs, increase insulin sensitivity, lower blood glucose, decrease circulating free fatty acids and triglycerides, lower blood pressure, reduce inflammatory markers, and reduce atherosclerosis in insulin-resistant patients and animal models. Human genetic studies on PPAR-γ have revealed that functional changes in this nuclear receptor are associated with CVD. Recent controversial clinical studies raise the question of deleterious action of PPAR-γ agonists on the cardiovascular system. These complex interactions of metabolic responsive factors and cardiovascular disease promise to be important areas of focus for the future.

Cytotoxicity of carbon nanohorns in different human cells of the respiratory system.

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Schramm, Franziska; Lange, Martina; Hoppmann, Pia; Heutelbeck, Astrid

2016-01-01

One of the new synthetic carbon-based nanomaterials is carbon nanohorns (CNH). A potential risk for employees of production processes is an unintentional intake of these nanomaterials via inhalation. Once taken up, nanoparticles might interact with cells of different tissues as well as with intercellular substances. These interactions may have far-reaching consequences for human health. Currently, many gaps in available information on the CNH toxicological profile remain. The aim of this study was to determine the cytotoxicity of CNH particles on human epithelial cells of the respiratory system with special consideration given to different particle sizes. In all cell lines, cell viability was reduced after 24 h of exposure up to 60% and metabolic activity as evidenced by mitochondrial activity was lowered to 9% at a concentration of 1 g/L. The three respiratory cell lines differed in their sensitivity. The most robust cells were the bronchial epithelial cells. Further, particle size fractions induced different adverse effect strength, whereby no correlation between particle size fraction and toxicity was found. These findings demonstrate the need for further information regarding the behavior and effect strength of nanomaterial. To avoid the production of new harmful materials, a more comprehensive integration of results from toxicity studies in the development processes of engineered nanomaterials is recommended not only from an occupational viewpoint but also from an environmental perspective.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, mortality, and incident cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancers, and fractures: a 13-y prospective population study.

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Khaw, Kay-Tee; Luben, Robert; Wareham, Nicholas

2014-11-01

Vitamin D is associated with many health conditions, but optimal blood concentrations are still uncertain. We examined the prospective relation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations [which comprised 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2] and subsequent mortality by the cause and incident diseases in a prospective population study. Serum vitamin D concentrations were measured in 14,641 men and women aged 42-82 y in 1997-2000 who were living in Norfolk, United Kingdom, and were followed up to 2012. Participants were categorized into 5 groups according to baseline serum concentrations of total 25(OH)D increasing vitamin D category were 1, 0.84 (0.74, 0.94), 0.72 (0.63, 0.81), 0.71 (0.62, 0.82), and 0.66 (0.55, 0.79) (P-trend disease, diabetes, or cancer, HRs for a 20-nmol/L increase in 25(OH)D were 0.92 (0.88, 0.96) (P disease, 0.89 (0.85, 0.93) (P respiratory disease, 0.89 (0.81, 0.98) (P = 0.012) (563 events) for fractures, and 1.02 (0.99, 1.06) (P = 0.21) (3121 events) for incident total cancers. Plasma 25(OH)D concentrations predict subsequent lower 13-y total mortality and incident cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and fractures but not total incident cancers. For mortality, lowest risks were in subjects with concentrations >90 nmol/L, and there was no evidence of increased mortality at high concentrations, suggesting that a moderate increase in population mean concentrations may have potential health benefit, but 120 nmol/L.

Respiratory tract dose calculation considering physiological parameters from samples of Brazilian population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reis, A.; Lopes, R.; Lourenco, M.; Cardoso, J.

2006-01-01

The Human Respiratory Tract Model proposed by the ICRP Publication 66 accounts for the morphology and physiology of the respiratory tract. The ICRP 66 presents deposition fraction in the respiratory tract regions considering reference values from Caucasian man. However, in order to obtain a more accurate assessment of intake and dose the ICRP recommends the use of specific information when they are available. The application of parameters from Brazilian population in the deposition and in the clearance model shows significant variations in the deposition fractions and in the fraction of inhaled activity transferred to blood. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the influence in dose calculation to each region of the respiratory tract when physiological parameters from Brazilian population are applied in the model. The purpose of the dosimetric model is to evaluate dose to each tissues of respiratory tract that are potentially risk from inhaled radioactive materials. The committed equivalent dose, H.T., is calculated by the product of the total number of transformations of the radionuclide in tissue source S over a period of fifty years after incorporation and of the energy absorbed per unit mass in the target tissue T, for each radiation emitted per transformation in tissue source S. The dosimetric model of Human Respirator y Tract was implemented in the software Excel for Windows (version 2000) and H.T. was determined in two stages. First it was calculated the number of total transformations, US, considering the fractional deposition of activity in each source tissue and then it was calculated the total energy absorbed per unit mass S.E.E., in the target tissue. It was assumed that the radionuclide emits an alpha particle with average energy of 5.15 MeV. The variation in the fractional deposition in the compartments of the respiratory tract in changing the physiological parameters from Caucasian to Brazilian adult man causes variation in the number of

Deterministic and stochastic models for middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS)

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Suryani, Dessy Rizki; Zevika, Mona; Nuraini, Nuning

2018-03-01

World Health Organization (WHO) data stated that since September 2012, there were 1,733 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) with 628 death cases that occurred in 27 countries. MERS was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and the largest cases of MERS outside Saudi Arabia occurred in South Korea in 2015. MERS is a disease that attacks the respiratory system caused by infection of MERS-CoV. MERS-CoV transmission occurs directly through direct contact between infected individual with non-infected individual or indirectly through contaminated object by the free virus. Suspected, MERS can spread quickly because of the free virus in environment. Mathematical modeling is used to illustrate the transmission of MERS disease using deterministic model and stochastic model. Deterministic model is used to investigate the temporal dynamic from the system to analyze the steady state condition. Stochastic model approach using Continuous Time Markov Chain (CTMC) is used to predict the future states by using random variables. From the models that were built, the threshold value for deterministic models and stochastic models obtained in the same form and the probability of disease extinction can be computed by stochastic model. Simulations for both models using several of different parameters are shown, and the probability of disease extinction will be compared with several initial conditions.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Cardiovascular Disease Modeling and Precision Medicine: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

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Musunuru, Kiran; Sheikh, Farah; Gupta, Rajat M; Houser, Steven R; Maher, Kevin O; Milan, David J; Terzic, Andre; Wu, Joseph C

2018-01-01

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer an unprece-dented opportunity to study human physiology and disease at the cellular level. They also have the potential to be leveraged in the practice of precision medicine, for example, personalized drug testing. This statement comprehensively describes the provenance of iPSC lines, their use for cardiovascular disease modeling, their use for precision medicine, and strategies through which to promote their wider use for biomedical applications. Human iPSCs exhibit properties that render them uniquely qualified as model systems for studying human diseases: they are of human origin, which means they carry human genomes; they are pluripotent, which means that in principle, they can be differentiated into any of the human body's somatic cell types; and they are stem cells, which means they can be expanded from a single cell into millions or even billions of cell progeny. iPSCs offer the opportunity to study cells that are genetically matched to individual patients, and genome-editing tools allow introduction or correction of genetic variants. Initial progress has been made in using iPSCs to better understand cardiomyopathies, rhythm disorders, valvular and vascular disorders, and metabolic risk factors for ischemic heart disease. This promising work is still in its infancy. Similarly, iPSCs are only just starting to be used to identify the optimal medications to be used in patients from whom the cells were derived. This statement is intended to (1) summarize the state of the science with respect to the use of iPSCs for modeling of cardiovascular traits and disorders and for therapeutic screening; (2) identify opportunities and challenges in the use of iPSCs for disease modeling and precision medicine; and (3) outline strategies that will facilitate the use of iPSCs for biomedical applications. This statement is not intended to address the use of stem cells as regenerative therapy, such as transplantation into the body to

The Cardiovascular Research Grid (CVRG)

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The CardioVascular Research Grid (CVRG) project is creating an infrastructure for sharing cardiovascular data and data analysis tools. CVRG tools are developed using...

Modeling Associations between Principals’ Reported Indoor Environmental Quality and Students’ Self-Reported Respiratory Health Outcomes Using GLMM and ZIP Models

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Oluyemi Toyinbo

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The aim of this paper was to examine associations between school building characteristics, indoor environmental quality (IEQ, and health responses using questionnaire data from both school principals and students. Methods: From 334 randomly sampled schools, 4248 sixth grade students from 297 schools participated in a questionnaire. From these schools, 134 principals returned questionnaires concerning 51 IEQ related questions of their school. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM were used to study the associations between IEQ indicators and existence of self-reported upper respiratory symptoms, while hierarchical Zero Inflated Poisson (ZIP—models were used to model the number of symptoms. Results: Significant associations were established between existence of upper respiratory symptoms and unsatisfactory classroom temperature during the heating season (ORs 1.45 for too hot and cold, and 1.27 for too cold as compared to satisfactory temperature and dampness or moisture damage during the year 2006–2007 (OR: 1.80 as compared to no moisture damage, respectively. The number of upper respiratory symptoms was significantly associated with inadequate ventilation and dampness or moisture damage. A higher number of missed school days due to respiratory infections were reported in schools with inadequate ventilation (RR: 1.16. Conclusions: The school level IEQ indicator variables described in this paper could explain a relatively large part of the school level variation observed in the self-reported upper respiratory symptoms and missed school days due to respiratory infections among students.

Modeling Associations between Principals’ Reported Indoor Environmental Quality and Students’ Self-Reported Respiratory Health Outcomes Using GLMM and ZIP Models

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Toyinbo, Oluyemi; Matilainen, Markus; Turunen, Mari; Putus, Tuula; Shaughnessy, Richard; Haverinen-Shaughnessy, Ulla

2016-01-01

Background: The aim of this paper was to examine associations between school building characteristics, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and health responses using questionnaire data from both school principals and students. Methods: From 334 randomly sampled schools, 4248 sixth grade students from 297 schools participated in a questionnaire. From these schools, 134 principals returned questionnaires concerning 51 IEQ related questions of their school. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were used to study the associations between IEQ indicators and existence of self-reported upper respiratory symptoms, while hierarchical Zero Inflated Poisson (ZIP)—models were used to model the number of symptoms. Results: Significant associations were established between existence of upper respiratory symptoms and unsatisfactory classroom temperature during the heating season (ORs 1.45 for too hot and cold, and 1.27 for too cold as compared to satisfactory temperature) and dampness or moisture damage during the year 2006–2007 (OR: 1.80 as compared to no moisture damage), respectively. The number of upper respiratory symptoms was significantly associated with inadequate ventilation and dampness or moisture damage. A higher number of missed school days due to respiratory infections were reported in schools with inadequate ventilation (RR: 1.16). Conclusions: The school level IEQ indicator variables described in this paper could explain a relatively large part of the school level variation observed in the self-reported upper respiratory symptoms and missed school days due to respiratory infections among students. PMID:27043595

Climate change and respiratory disease: European Respiratory Society position statement.

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Ayres, J G; Forsberg, B; Annesi-Maesano, I; Dey, R; Ebi, K L; Helms, P J; Medina-Ramón, M; Windt, M; Forastiere, F

2009-08-01

Climate change will affect individuals with pre-existing respiratory disease, but the extent of the effect remains unclear. The present position statement was developed on behalf of the European Respiratory Society in order to identify areas of concern arising from climate change for individuals with respiratory disease, healthcare workers in the respiratory sector and policy makers. The statement was developed following a 2-day workshop held in Leuven (Belgium) in March 2008. Key areas of concern for the respiratory community arising from climate change are discussed and recommendations made to address gaps in knowledge. The most important recommendation was the development of more accurate predictive models for predicting the impact of climate change on respiratory health. Respiratory healthcare workers also have an advocatory role in persuading governments and the European Union to maintain awareness and appropriate actions with respect to climate change, and these areas are also discussed in the position statement.

A novel pancoronavirus RT-PCR assay: frequent detection of human coronavirus NL63 in children hospitalized with respiratory tract infections in Belgium

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Berkhout Ben

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Four human coronaviruses are currently known to infect the respiratory tract: human coronaviruses OC43 (HCoV-OC43 and 229E (HCoV-229E, SARS associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV and the recently identified human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63. In this study we explored the incidence of HCoV-NL63 infection in children diagnosed with respiratory tract infections in Belgium. Methods Samples from children hospitalized with respiratory diseases during the winter seasons of 2003 and 2004 were evaluated for the presence of HCoV-NL63 using a optimized pancoronavirus RT-PCR assay. Results Seven HCoV-NL63 positive samples were identified, six were collected during January/February 2003 and one at the end of February 2004. Conclusions Our results support the notation that HCoV-NL63 can cause serious respiratory symptoms in children. Sequence analysis of the S gene showed that our isolates could be classified into two subtypes corresponding to the two prototype HCoV-NL63 sequences isolated in The Netherlands in 1988 and 2003, indicating that these two subtypes may currently be cocirculating.

Mitochondrial respiratory efficiency is positively correlated with human sperm motility.

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Ferramosca, Alessandra; Provenzano, Sara Pinto; Coppola, Lamberto; Zara, Vincenzo

2012-04-01

To correlate sperm mitochondrial respiratory efficiency with variations in sperm motility and with sperm morphologic anomalies. Sperm mitochondrial respiratory activity was evaluated with a polarographic assay of oxygen consumption carried out in hypotonically-treated sperm cells. A possible relationship among sperm mitochondrial respiratory efficiency, sperm motility, and morphologic anomalies was investigated. Mitochondrial respiratory efficiency was positively correlated with sperm motility and negatively correlated with the percentage of immotile spermatozoa. Moreover, midpiece defects impaired mitochondrial functionality. Our data indicate that an increase in sperm motility requires a parallel increase in mitochondrial respiratory capacity, thereby supporting the fundamental role played by mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in sperm motility of normozoospermic subjects. These results are of physiopathological relevance because they suggest that disturbances of sperm mitochondrial function and of energy production could be responsible for asthenozoospermia. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of cocoa/chocolate ingestion on brachial artery flow-mediated dilation and its relevance to cardiovascular health and disease in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Monahan, Kevin D

2012-11-15

Prospective studies indicate that high intake of dietary flavanols, such as those contained in cocoa/chocolate, are associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality in humans. Numerous mechanisms may underlie these associations such as favorable effects of flavanols on blood pressure, platelet aggregation, thrombosis, inflammation, and the vascular endothelium. The brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) technique has emerged as a robust method to quantify endothelial function in humans. Collectively, the preponderance of evidence indicates that FMD is a powerful surrogate measure for firm cardiovascular endpoints, such as cardiovascular-related mortality, in humans. Thus, literally thousands of studies have utilized this technique to document group differences in FMD, as well as to assess the effects of various interventions on FMD. In regards to the latter, numerous studies indicate that both acute and chronic ingestion of cocoa/chocolate increases FMD in humans. Increases in FMD after cocoa/chocolate ingestion appear to be dose-dependent such that greater increases in FMD are observed after ingestion of larger quantities. The mechanisms underlying these responses are likely diverse, however most data suggest an effect of increased nitric oxide bioavailability. Thus, positive vascular effects of cocoa/chocolate on the endothelium may underlie (i.e., be linked mechanistically to) reductions in cardiovascular risk in humans. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effects of cardiovascular exercise on human memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roig, Marc; Nordbrandt, Sasja; Geertsen, Svend Sparre

2013-01-01

We reviewed the evidence for the use of cardiovascular exercise to improve memory and explored potential mechanisms. Data from 29 and 21 studies including acute and long-term cardiovascular interventions were retrieved. Meta-analyses revealed that acute exercise had moderate (SMD=0.26; 95% CI=0.0.......03, 0.49; p=0.03; N=22) whereas long-term had small (SMD=0.15; 95% CI=0.02, 0.27; p=0.02; N=37) effects on short-term memory. In contrast, acute exercise showed moderate to large (SMD=0.52; 95% CI=0.28, 0.75; p......We reviewed the evidence for the use of cardiovascular exercise to improve memory and explored potential mechanisms. Data from 29 and 21 studies including acute and long-term cardiovascular interventions were retrieved. Meta-analyses revealed that acute exercise had moderate (SMD=0.26; 95% CI=0...

Síndrome pulmonar e cardiovascular por hantavírus Hantavirus pulmonary and cardiovascular syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariangela Pimentel Pincelli

2003-10-01

Full Text Available A síndrome pulmonar e cardiovascular por hantavírus é uma doença de conhecimento relativamente recente e freqüentemente fatal, apresentando-se como síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo. No Brasil, desde o primeiro surto, relatado em novembro/dezembro de 1993, em Juquitiba, 226 casos já foram registrados pela Fundação Nacional da Saúde. A doença afeta indivíduos previamente hígidos, apresentando-se com pródromo febril e sintomas semelhantes aos de um resfriado comum, podendo rapidamente evoluir para edema pulmonar, insuficiência respiratória aguda e choque. A hemoconcentração e a plaquetopenia são comuns da síndrome pulmonar e cardiovascular por hantavírus, e o quadro radiológico típico é de um infiltrado intersticial bilateral difuso, que progride rapidamente para consolidações alveolares, paralelamente à piora do quadro clínico. A mortalidade inicial era em torno de 75% e declinou para aproximadamente 35%, nos últimos anos. Os pacientes que sobrevivem geralmente recuperam-se completamente, cerca de uma semana após o estabelecimento do quadro respiratório. O agente causal, não reconhecido até há pouco, foi identificado como um hantavírus, cujo reservatório natural são animais roedores da família Muridae, subfamília Sigmodontinae. O tratamento específico antiviral ainda não é bem estabelecido, estando em estudo a eficácia de ribavirina. Cuidados de terapia intensiva como ventilação mecânica e monitoramento hemodinâmico invasivo são necessários nas formas mais graves da doença. Essas medidas, se instituídas precocemente, podem melhorar o prognóstico e a sobrevida dos pacientes com síndrome pulmonar e cardiovascular por hantavírus.Hantavirus pulmonary and cardiovascular syndrome is a recently identified and often fatal disease, which presents as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS. Since the first outbreak, in Nov/Dec 1993, in Juquitiba, Brazil, 226 cases have been registered by

Mortality from respiratory diseases associated with opium use: a population-based cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmati, Atieh; Shakeri, Ramin; Khademi, Hooman; Poutschi, Hossein; Pourshams, Akram; Etemadi, Arash; Khoshnia, Masoud; Sohrabpour, Amir Ali; Aliasgari, Ali; Jafari, Elham; Islami, Farhad; Semnani, Shahryar; Gharravi, Abdolsamad; Abnet, Christian C; Pharoah, Paul D P; Brennan, Paul; Boffetta, Paolo; Dawsey, Sanford M; Malekzadeh, Reza; Kamangar, Farin

2017-11-01

Recent studies have suggested that opium use may increase mortality from cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, no comprehensive study of opium use and mortality from respiratory diseases has been published. We aimed to study the association between opium use and mortality from respiratory disease using prospectively collected data. We used data from the Golestan Cohort Study, a prospective cohort study in northeastern Iran, with detailed, validated data on opium use and several other exposures. A total of 50 045 adults were enrolled from 2004 to 2008, and followed annually until June 2015, with a follow-up success rate of 99%. We used Cox proportional hazard regression models to evaluate the association between opium use and outcomes of interest. During the follow-up period, 331 deaths from respiratory disease were reported (85 due to respiratory malignancies and 246 due to non-malignant aetiologies). Opium use was associated with an increased risk of death from any respiratory disease (adjusted HR 95% CI 3.13 (2.42 to 4.04)). The association was dose-dependent with a HR of 3.84 (2.61 to 5.67) for the highest quintile of cumulative opium use versus never use (P trend respiratory mortality were 1.96 (1.18 to 3.25) and 3.71 (2.76 to 4.96), respectively. Long-term opium use is associated with increased mortality from both malignant and non-malignant respiratory diseases. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

A model of cardiovascular disease giving a plausible mechanism for the effect of fractionated low-dose ionizing radiation exposure.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark P Little

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Atherosclerosis is the main cause of coronary heart disease and stroke, the two major causes of death in developed society. There is emerging evidence of excess risk of cardiovascular disease at low radiation doses in various occupationally exposed groups receiving small daily radiation doses. Assuming that they are causal, the mechanisms for effects of chronic fractionated radiation exposures on cardiovascular disease are unclear. We outline a spatial reaction-diffusion model for atherosclerosis and perform stability analysis, based wherever possible on human data. We show that a predicted consequence of multiple small radiation doses is to cause mean chemo-attractant (MCP-1 concentration to increase linearly with cumulative dose. The main driver for the increase in MCP-1 is monocyte death, and consequent reduction in MCP-1 degradation. The radiation-induced risks predicted by the model are quantitatively consistent with those observed in a number of occupationally-exposed groups. The changes in equilibrium MCP-1 concentrations with low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration are also consistent with experimental and epidemiologic data. This proposed mechanism would be experimentally testable. If true, it also has substantive implications for radiological protection, which at present does not take cardiovascular disease into account. The Japanese A-bomb survivor data implies that cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality contribute similarly to radiogenic risk. The major uncertainty in assessing the low-dose risk of cardiovascular disease is the shape of the dose response relationship, which is unclear in the Japanese data. The analysis of the present paper suggests that linear extrapolation would be appropriate for this endpoint.

Detection of 12 respiratory viruses by duplex real time PCR assays in respiratory samples.

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Arvia, Rosaria; Corcioli, Fabiana; Ciccone, Nunziata; Della Malva, Nunzia; Azzi, Alberta

2015-12-01

Different viruses can be responsible for similar clinical manifestations of respiratory infections. Thus, the etiological diagnosis of respiratory viral diseases requires the detection of a large number of viruses. In this study, 6 duplex real-time PCR assays, using EvaGreen intercalating dye, were developed to detect 12 major viruses responsible for respiratory diseases: influenza A and B viruses, enteroviruses (including enterovirus spp, and rhinovirus spp), respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, coronaviruses group I (of which CoV 229E and CoV NL63 are part) and II (including CoV OC43 and CoV HKU1), parainfluenza viruses type 1, 2, 3 and 4, human adenoviruses and human bocaviruses. The 2 target viruses of each duplex reaction were distinguishable by the melting temperatures of their amplicons. The 6 duplex real time PCR assays were applied for diagnostic purpose on 202 respiratory samples from 157 patients. One hundred fifty-seven samples were throat swabs and 45 were bronchoalveolar lavages. The results of the duplex PCR assays were confirmed by comparison with a commercial, validated, assay; in addition, the positive results were confirmed by sequencing. The analytical sensitivity of the duplex PCR assays varied from 10(3) copies/ml to 10(4) copies/ml. For parainfluenza virus 2 only it was 10(5) copies/ml. Seventy clinical samples (35%) from 55 patients (30 children and 25 adults) were positive for 1 or more viruses. In adult patients, influenza A virus was the most frequently detected respiratory virus followed by rhinoviruses. In contrast, respiratory syncytial virus was the most common virus in children, followed by enteroviruses, influenza A virus and coronavirus NL63. The small number of samples/patients does not allow us to draw any epidemiological conclusion. Altogether, the results of this study indicate that the 6 duplex PCR assays described in this study are sensitive, specific and cost-effective. Thus, this assay could be

Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for cardiovascular disease modeling and drug screening

OpenAIRE

Sharma, Arun; Wu, Joseph C; Wu, Sean M

2013-01-01

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have emerged as a novel tool for drug discovery and therapy in cardiovascular medicine. hiPSCs are functionally similar to human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and can be derived autologously without the ethical challenges associated with hESCs. Given the limited regenerative capacity of the human heart following myocardial injury, cardiomyocytes derived from hiPSCs (hiPSC-CMs) have garnered significant attention from basic and translational scienti...

Non-contact assessment of obstructive sleep apnea cardiovascular biomarkers using photoplethysmography imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Amelard, Robert; Pfisterer, Kaylen J.; Jagani, Shubh; Clausi, David A.; Wong, Alexander

2018-02-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 20% of the adult population, and is associated with cardiovascular and cognitive morbidities. However, it is estimated that up to 80% of treatable OSA cases remain undiagnosed. Cur- rent methods for diagnosing OSA are expensive, labor-intensive, and involve uncomfortable wearable sensors. This study explored the feasibility of non-contact biophotonic assessment of OSA cardiovascular biomarkers via photoplethysmography imaging (PPGI). In particular, PPGI was used to monitor the hemodynamic response to obstructive respiratory events. Sleep apnea onset was simulated using Muller's maneuver in which breathing was obstructed by a respiratory clamp. A custom PPGI system, coded hemodynamic imaging (CHI), was positioned 1 m above the bed and illuminated the participant's head with 850 nm light, providing non-intrusive illumination for night-time monitoring. A video was recorded before, during and following an apnea event at 60 fps, yielding 17 ms temporal resolution. Per-pixel absorbance signals were extracted using a Beer-Lambert derived light transport model, and subsequently denoised. The extracted hemodynamic signal exhibited dynamic temporal modulation during and following the apnea event. In particular, the pulse wave amplitude (PWA) decreased during obstructed breathing, indicating vasoconstriction. Upon successful inhalation, the PWA gradually increased toward homeostasis following a temporal phase delay. This temporal vascular tone modulation provides insight into autonomic and vascular response, and may be used to assess sleep apnea using non-contact biophotonic imaging.

A dynamic population-based model for the development of work-related respiratory health effects among bakery workers.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warren, N.; Meijster, T.; Heederik, D.; Tielemans, E.

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVES: This paper presents a dynamic population-based model for the development of sensitisation and respiratory symptoms in bakery workers. The model simulates a population of individual workers longitudinally and tracks the development of work-related sensitisation and respiratory symptoms in

A dynamic population-based model for the development of work-related respiratory health effects among bakery workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warren, N.; Meijster, T.; Heederik, D.; Tielemans, E.

2009-01-01

Objectives: This paper presents a dynamic population-based model for the development of sensitisation and respiratory symptoms in bakery workers. The model simulates a population of individual workers longitudinally and tracks the development of work-related sensitisation and respiratory symptoms in

Diversity of aging of the immune system classified in the cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) model of human infectious diseases.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guichelaar, Teun; van Erp, Elisabeth A; Hoeboer, Jeroen; Smits, Noortje A M; van Els, Cécile A C M; Pieren, Daan K J; Luytjes, Willem

2018-01-01

Susceptibility and declined resistance to human pathogens like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at old age is well represented in the cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus). Despite providing a preferred model of human infectious diseases, little is known about aging of its adaptive immune system. We aimed

Hypercapnic respiratory acidosis: a protective or harmful strategy for critically ill newborn foals?

Science.gov (United States)

Vengust, Modest

2012-10-01

This paper reviews both the beneficial and adverse effects of permissive hypercapnic respiratory acidosis in critically ill newborn foals. It has been shown that partial carbon dioxide pressure (PCO2) above the traditional safe range (hypercapnia), has beneficial effects on the physiology of the respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous system in neonates. In human neonatal critical care medicine permissive hypercapnic acidosis is generally well-tolerated by patients and is more beneficial to their wellbeing than normal carbon dioxide (CO2) pressure or normocapnia. Even though adverse effects of hypercapnia have been reported, especially in patients with central nervous system pathology and/or chronic infection, critical care clinicians often artificially increase PCO2 to take advantage of its positive effects on compromised neonate tissues. This is referred to as therapeutic hypercapnia. Hypercapnic respiratory acidosis is common in critically ill newborn foals and has traditionally been considered as not beneficial. A search of online scientific databases was conducted to survey the literature on the effects of hypercapnia in neonates, with emphasis on newborn foals. The dynamic status of safety levels of PCO2 and data on the effectiveness of different carbon dioxide levels are not available for newborn foals and should be scientifically determined. Presently, permissive hypercapnia should be implemented or tolerated cautiously in compromised newborn foals and its use should be based on relevant data from adult horses and other species.

Evaluation of the Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF rat as a model for human disease based on urinary peptidomic profiles.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justyna Siwy

Full Text Available Representative animal models for diabetes-associated vascular complications are extremely relevant in assessing potential therapeutic drugs. While several rodent models for type 2 diabetes (T2D are available, their relevance in recapitulating renal and cardiovascular features of diabetes in man is not entirely clear. Here we evaluate at the molecular level the similarity between Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF rats, as a model of T2D-associated vascular complications, and human disease by urinary proteome analysis. Urine analysis of ZDF rats at early and late stages of disease compared to age- matched LEAN rats identified 180 peptides as potentially associated with diabetes complications. Overlaps with human chronic kidney disease (CKD and cardiovascular disease (CVD biomarkers were observed, corresponding to proteins marking kidney damage (eg albumin, alpha-1 antitrypsin or related to disease development (collagen. Concordance in regulation of these peptides in rats versus humans was more pronounced in the CVD compared to the CKD panels. In addition, disease-associated predicted protease activities in ZDF rats showed higher similarities to the predicted activities in human CVD. Based on urinary peptidomic analysis, the ZDF rat model displays similarity to human CVD but might not be the most appropriate model to display human CKD on a molecular level.

Review of Zero-D and 1-D Models of Blood Flow in the Cardiovascular System

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Zero-dimensional (lumped parameter) and one dimensional models, based on simplified representations of the components of the cardiovascular system, can contribute strongly to our understanding of circulatory physiology. Zero-D models provide a concise way to evaluate the haemodynamic interactions among the cardiovascular organs, whilst one-D (distributed parameter) models add the facility to represent efficiently the effects of pulse wave transmission in the arterial network at greatly reduced computational expense compared to higher dimensional computational fluid dynamics studies. There is extensive literature on both types of models. Method and Results The purpose of this review article is to summarise published 0D and 1D models of the cardiovascular system, to explore their limitations and range of application, and to provide an indication of the physiological phenomena that can be included in these representations. The review on 0D models collects together in one place a description of the range of models that have been used to describe the various characteristics of cardiovascular response, together with the factors that influence it. Such models generally feature the major components of the system, such as the heart, the heart valves and the vasculature. The models are categorised in terms of the features of the system that they are able to represent, their complexity and range of application: representations of effects including pressure-dependent vessel properties, interaction between the heart chambers, neuro-regulation and auto-regulation are explored. The examination on 1D models covers various methods for the assembly, discretisation and solution of the governing equations, in conjunction with a report of the definition and treatment of boundary conditions. Increasingly, 0D and 1D models are used in multi-scale models, in which their primary role is to provide boundary conditions for sophisticate, and often patient-specific, 2D and 3D models

E-cigarettes and cardiovascular risk: beyond science and mysticism.

Science.gov (United States)

Lippi, Giuseppe; Favaloro, Emmanuel J; Meschi, Tiziana; Mattiuzzi, Camilla; Borghi, Loris; Cervellin, Gianfranco

2014-02-01

Cigarette smoking is the most important cause of premature death, and it is currently listed as a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Because of restrictive measures and widespread control policies, tobacco companies are now using aggressive marketing strategies in favor of smokeless tobacco, including electronic nicotine delivery systems, which are also known as electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes. Although the regular use of these devices appears less hazardous than traditional cigarettes or other forms of smokeless tobacco, recent studies have shown that various potentially harmful substances, especially nicotine, ultraparticles, and volatile organic compounds, may be effectively inhaled or liberated in exhaled air during repeated e-cigarette puffing. This would enhance the risk of cardiac arrhythmias and hypertension, which may predispose some users to increased risk of cardiovascular events, which may be further magnified by other potential adverse effects such as arrhythmias, increased respiratory, and flow respiratory resistance. Some cases of intoxication have also been described, wherein large amounts of nicotine and other harmful compounds may be effectively absorbed. As the use of e-cigarettes is continuously rising, and it is also considered a potentially effective method for smoking cessation, more focused research is urgently needed to definitely establish the cardiovascular safeness of these devices. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Genetic diversity of human metapneumovirus in hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections in Croatia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jagušić, Maja; Slović, Anamarija; Ljubin-Sternak, Sunčanica; Mlinarić-Galinović, Gordana; Forčić, Dubravko

2017-11-01

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is recognized as a global and frequent cause of acute respiratory tract infections among people of all ages. The objectives of this study were molecular epidemiology and evolutionary analysis of HMPV strains which produced moderate and severe acute respiratory tract infections in children in Croatia during four consecutive seasons (2011-2014). A total of 117 HMPV-positive samples collected from hospitalized pediatric patients presenting with acute respiratory tract infections and tested by direct immunofluorescence assay were first analyzed by amplifying a part of the F gene. Sixteen samples were further analyzed based on complete F, G, and SH gene sequences. HMPV genome was identified in 92 of 117 samples (78%) and the circulation of multiple lineages of HMPV was confirmed. In 2011, 2012, and 2014, subgroups A2 and B2 co-circulated, while B1 gained prevalence in 2013 and 2014. The study established the presence of a novel subcluster A2c in Croatia. This subcluster has only recently been detected in East and Southeast Asia. This study provides new insights into epidemiology and genetic diversity of HMPV in this part of Europe. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Human milk 90K (Mac-2 BP): possible protective effects against acute respiratory infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Fornarini, B; Iacobelli, S; Tinari, N; Natoli, C; De Martino, M; Sabatino, G

1999-01-01

Eighty-six children fed human milk were followed prospectively from birth to 12 months of age to assess the effect of milk 90K, a secreted glycoprotein with immune-stimulatory properties, on development of acute respiratory infections (ARI). The level of human milk 90K was inversely related to episodes of ARI (r = - 0.34; P = 0.001). The average 90K level in human milk fed to children who did not develop ARI was significantly higher than in milk fed to children in whom infection occurred on multiple occasions (156.6 +/- 144.8 microg/ml versus 70.9 +/- 92.3 microg/ml; P = 0.001). These data suggest that the protective effects of human milk against ARI may be due in part to immune maturation effects by secreted 90K.

The Donders model of the circulation in normo- and pathophysiology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Noordergraaf, Gerrit J.; Ottesen, Johnny T.; Kortsmit, Wil J.P.M.

2006-01-01

the continuum of physiological conditions to cardiopulmonary resuscitation effects within the circulation.   Within the model, Harvey's view of the circulation has been broadened to include impedance-defined flow as a unifying concept. The cardiac function curve, the relation between ventricular filling...... and output, changes during exercise. First, it rotates counterclockwise and stretches along the output axis, second, it shifts along the filling axis. The first is induced by sympathetic control, the second by respiratory control. The model shows that depth of respiration, sympathetic stimulation of cardiac......A model of the closed human cardiovascular loop is developed. This model, using one set of 88 equations, allows variations from normal resting conditions to exercise, as well as to the extreme condition of a circulation following cardiac arrest. The principal purpose of the model is to evaluate...

Analysis of impulse oscillometric measures of lung function and respiratory system model parameters in small airway-impaired and healthy children over a 2-year period