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Sample records for intermittent positive-pressure breathing

  1. The protracted demise of medical technology. The case of intermittent positive pressure breathing.

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    Duffy, S Q; Farley, D E

    1992-08-01

    In this study, the effects of hospital, staff, and patient characteristics on the rates of use and abandonment of an outmoded medical technology, intermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB) are analyzed. The study focuses specifically on the use of IPPB to treat inpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a national sample of more than 500 community hospitals from 1980 to 1987. Cross-sectionally, hospitals with shorter case-mix-adjusted lengths of stay, private nonprofit or investor-owned hospitals, and hospitals located outside of the north central United States were more likely to abandon IPPB by 1980. Teaching status, location, ownership, volume, and source of payment all appeared to affect rates of IPPB use in 1980. The longitudinal analysis examines both the probability a hospital abandoned IPPB and declines in rates of IPPB use over the study period, conditioned on the availability of IPPB in 1980. The results show that changes in the characteristics of hospitals, patients, and physicians all help to explain variations in the abandonment of IPPB. These findings contrast with previous studies of technological change, which find hospital size to be the most important variable. Size is important in explaining the rate of use in 1980, but it has no effect on the rate of decline in use or abandonment after 1980. In general, the analysis demonstrates that a combination of factors, economic incentives as well as information, contribute to the abandonment of outmoded medical technologies. Given the surprisingly long time periods required for this process to occur, the analysis underscores the need to strengthen financial incentives that encourage appropriate medical decisions and to disseminate information about the efficacy of specific procedures more widely and effectively.

  2. Extubation success in premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome treated with bi-level nasal continuous positive airway pressure versus nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation.

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    Thomas, Patricia E; LeFlore, Judy

    2013-01-01

    Infants born prematurely with respiratory distress syndrome are at high risk for complications from mechanical ventilation. Strategies are needed to minimize their days on the ventilator. The purpose of this study was to compare extubation success rates in infants treated with 2 different types of continuous positive airway pressure devices. A retrospective cohort study design was used. Data were retrieved from electronic medical records for patients in a large, metropolitan, level III neonatal intensive care unit. A sample of 194 premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome was selected, 124 of whom were treated with nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation and 70 with bi-level variable flow nasal continuous positive airway pressure (bi-level nasal continuous positive airway pressure). Infants in both groups had high extubation success rates (79% of nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation group and 77% of bi-level nasal continuous positive airway pressure group). Although infants in the bi-level nasal continuous positive airway pressure group were extubated sooner, there was no difference in duration of oxygen therapy between the 2 groups. Promoting early extubation and extubation success is a vital strategy to reduce complications of mechanical ventilation that adversely affect premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome.

  3. Inspiratory time and tidal volume during intermittent positive pressure ventilation.

    OpenAIRE

    Field, D; Milner, A D; Hopkin, I E

    1985-01-01

    We measured the tidal volume achieved during intermittent positive pressure ventilation using various inspiratory times with a minimum of 0.2 seconds. Results indicate that tidal volume shows no reduction with inspiratory times down to 0.4 seconds. An inspiratory time of 0.3 seconds, however, is likely to reduce tidal volume by 8%, and at 0.2 seconds a 22% fall may be anticipated.

  4. Improved oxygenation during standing performance of deep breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure after cardiac surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

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    Pettersson, Henrik; Faager, Gun; Westerdahl, Elisabeth

    2015-09-01

    Breathing exercises after cardiac surgery are often performed in a sitting position. It is unknown whether oxygenation would be better in the standing position. The aim of this study was to evaluate oxygenation and subjective breathing ability during sitting vs standing performance of deep breathing exercises on the second day after cardiac surgery. Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 189) were randomized to sitting (controls) or standing. Both groups performed 3 × 10 deep breaths with a positive expiratory pressure device. Peripheral oxygen saturation was measured before, directly after, and 15 min after the intervention. Subjective breathing ability, blood pressure, heart rate, and pain were assessed. Oxygenation improved significantly in the standing group compared with controls directly after the breathing exercises (p < 0.001) and after 15 min rest (p = 0.027). The standing group reported better deep breathing ability compared with controls (p = 0.004). A slightly increased heart rate was found in the standing group (p = 0.047). After cardiac surgery, breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure, performed in a standing position, significantly improved oxygenation and subjective breathing ability compared with sitting performance. Performance of breathing exercises in the standing position is feasible and could be a valuable treatment for patients with postoperative hypoxaemia.

  5. Deep breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure in patients with multiple sclerosis - a randomized controlled trial.

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    Westerdahl, Elisabeth; Wittrin, Anna; Kånåhols, Margareta; Gunnarsson, Martin; Nilsagård, Ylva

    2016-11-01

    Breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure are often recommended to patients with advanced neurological deficits, but the potential benefit in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with mild and moderate symptoms has not yet been investigated in randomized controlled trials. To study the effects of 2 months of home-based breathing exercises for patients with mild to moderate MS on respiratory muscle strength, lung function, and subjective breathing and health status outcomes. Forty-eight patients with MS according to the revised McDonald criteria were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Patients performing breathing exercises (n = 23) were compared with a control group (n = 25) performing no breathing exercises. The breathing exercises were performed with a positive expiratory pressure device (10-15 cmH 2 O) and consisted of 30 slow deep breaths performed twice a day for 2 months. Respiratory muscle strength (maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure at the mouth), spirometry, oxygenation, thoracic excursion, subjective perceptions of breathing and self-reported health status were evaluated before and after the intervention period. Following the intervention, there was a significant difference between the breathing group and the control group regarding the relative change in lung function, favoring the breathing group (vital capacity: P < 0.043; forced vital capacity: P < 0.025). There were no other significant differences between the groups. Breathing exercises may be beneficial in patients with mild to moderate stages of MS. However, the clinical significance needs to be clarified, and it remains to be seen whether a sustainable effect in delaying the development of respiratory dysfunction in MS can be obtained. © 2015 The Authors. The Clinical Respiratory Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Comparison of nasal continuous positive airway pressure delivered by seven ventilators using simulated neonatal breathing.

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    Drevhammar, Thomas; Nilsson, Kjell; Zetterström, Henrik; Jonsson, Baldvin

    2013-05-01

    Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) is an established treatment for respiratory distress in neonates. Most modern ventilators are able to provide NCPAP. There have been no large studies examining the properties of NCPAP delivered by ventilators. The aim of this study was to compare pressure stability and imposed work of breathing (iWOB) for NCPAP delivered by ventilators using simulated neonatal breathing. Experimental in vitro study. Research laboratory in Sweden. None. Neonatal breathing was simulated using a mechanical lung simulator. Seven ventilators were tested at different CPAP levels using two breath profiles. Pressure stability and iWOB were determined. Results from three ventilators revealed that they provided a slight pressure support. For these ventilators, iWOB could not be calculated. There were large differences in pressure stability and iWOB between the tested ventilators. For simulations using the 3.4-kg breath profile, the pressure swings around the mean pressure were more than five times greater, and iWOB more than four times higher, for the system with the highest measured values compared with the system with the lowest. Overall, the Fabian ventilator was the most pressure stable system. Evita XL and SERVO-i were found more pressure stable than Fabian in some simulations. The results for iWOB were in accordance with pressure stability for systems that allowed determination of this variable. Some of the tested ventilators unexpectedly provided a minor degree of pressure support. In terms of pressure stability, we have not found any advantages of ventilators as a group compared with Bubble CPAP, Neopuff, and variable flow generators that were tested in our previous study. The variation between individual systems is great within both categories. The clinical importance of these findings needs further investigation.

  7. Chest physiotherapy with positive expiratory pressure breathing after abdominal and thoracic surgery: a systematic review.

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    Orman, J; Westerdahl, E

    2010-03-01

    A variety of chest physiotherapy techniques are used following abdominal and thoracic surgery to prevent or reduce post-operative complications. Breathing techniques with a positive expiratory pressure (PEP) are used to increase airway pressure and improve pulmonary function. No systematic review of the effects of PEP in surgery patients has been performed previously. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the effect of PEP breathing after an open upper abdominal or thoracic surgery. A literature search of randomised-controlled trials (RCT) was performed in five databases. The trials included were systematically reviewed by two independent observers and critically assessed for methodological quality. We selected six RCT evaluating the PEP technique performed with a mechanical device in spontaneously breathing adult patients after abdominal or thoracic surgery via thoracotomy. The methodological quality score varied between 4 and 6 on the Physiotherapy Evidence Database score. The studies were published between 1979 and 1993. Only one of the included trials showed any positive effects of PEP compared to other breathing techniques. Today, there is scarce scientific evidence that PEP treatment is better than other physiotherapy breathing techniques in patients undergoing abdominal or thoracic surgery. There is a lack of studies investigating the effect of PEP over placebo or no physiotherapy treatment.

  8. Response of Preterm Infants to 2 Noninvasive Ventilatory Support Systems: Nasal CPAP and Nasal Intermittent Positive-Pressure Ventilation.

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    Silveira, Carmen Salum Thomé; Leonardi, Kamila Maia; Melo, Ana Paula Carvalho Freire; Zaia, José Eduardo; Brunherotti, Marisa Afonso Andrade

    2015-12-01

    Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in preterm infants is currently applied using intermittent positive pressure (2 positive-pressure levels) or in a conventional manner (one pressure level). However, there are no studies in the literature comparing the chances of failure of these NIV methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of failure of 2 noninvasive ventilatory support systems in preterm neonates over a period of 48 h. A randomized, prospective, clinical study was conducted on 80 newborns (gestational age CPAP and 40 infants with nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (NIPPV). The occurrence of apnea, progression of respiratory distress, nose bleeding, and agitation was defined as ventilation failure. The need for intubation and re-intubation after failure was also observed. There were no significant differences in birth characteristics between groups. Ventilatory support failure was observed in 25 (62.5%) newborns treated with nasal CPAP and in 12 (30%) newborns treated with NIPPV, indicating an association between NIV failure and the absence of intermittent positive pressure (odds ratio [OR] 1.22, P CPAP failure. After failure, 25% (OR 0.33) of the newborns receiving nasal CPAP and 12.5% (OR 0.14) receiving NIPPV required invasive mechanical ventilation. Ventilatory support failure was significantly more frequent when nasal CPAP was used. Copyright © 2015 by Daedalus Enterprises.

  9. Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation or Conventional Mechanical Ventilation for Neonatal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Failure

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    Zohreh Badiee

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to assess the success rate of nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV for treatment of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP failure and prevention of conventional ventilation (CV in preterm neonates. Methods: Since November 2012 to April 2013, a total number of 55 consecutive newborns with gestational ages of 26-35 weeks who had CPAP failure were randomly assigned to one of the two groups. The NIPPV group received NIPPV with the initial peak inspiratory pressure (PIP of 16-20 cmH 2 O and frequency of 40-60 breaths/min. The CV group received PIP of 12-20 cmH 2 O and frequency of 40-60 breaths/min. Results: About 74% of newborns who received NIPPV for management of CPAP failure responded to NIPPV and did not need intubation and mechanical ventilation. Newborns with lower postnatal age at entry to the study and lower 5 min Apgar score more likely had NIPPV failure. In addition, treatment failure was higher in newborns who needed more frequent doses of surfactant. Duration of oxygen therapy was 9.28 days in CV group and 7.77 days in NIPPV group (P = 0.050. Length of hospital stay in CV group and NIPPV groups were 48.7 and 41.7 days, respectively (P = 0.097. Conclusions: NIPPV could decrease the need for intubation and mechanical ventilation in preterm infants with CPAP failure.

  10. Efficacy of the addition of positive airway pressure to conventional chest physiotherapy in resolution of pleural effusion after drainage: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

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    Elinaldo da Conceição dos Santos

    2015-04-01

    Discussion: Conventional chest physiotherapy and intermittent positive airway pressure breathing are widely indicated for people with pleural effusion and chest drains; however, no studies have evaluated the real benefit of this type of treatment. Our hypothesis is that optimised lung expansion achieved through the application of intermittent positive airway pressure will accelerate the reabsorption of pleural effusion, decrease the duration of chest drainage and respiratory system impairment, reduce the length of hospital stay, and reduce the incidence of pulmonary complications.

  11. Severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia improved by noninvasive positive pressure ventilation: a case report

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    Mann Christian

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction This is the first report to describe the feasibility and effectiveness of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in the secondary treatment of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Case presentation A former male preterm of Caucasian ethnicity delivered at 29 weeks gestation developed severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. At the age of six months he was in permanent tachypnea and dyspnea and in need of 100% oxygen with a flow of 2.0 L/minute via a nasal cannula. Intermittent nocturnal noninvasive positive pressure ventilation was then administered for seven hours daily. The ventilator was set at a positive end-expiratory pressure of 6 cmH2O, with pressure support of 4 cmH2O, trigger at 1.4 mL/second, and a maximum inspiratory time of 0.7 seconds. Over the course of seven weeks, the patient's maximum daytime fraction of inspired oxygen via nasal cannula decreased from 1.0 to 0.75, his respiratory rate from 64 breaths/minute to 50 breaths/minute and carbon dioxide from 58 mmHg to 44 mmHg. Conclusion Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation may be a novel therapeutic option for established severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. In the case presented, noninvasive positive pressure ventilation achieved sustained improvement in ventilation and thus prepared our patient for safe home oxygen therapy.

  12. Treatment of sleep-disordered breathing with positive airway pressure devices: technology update

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    Johnson KG

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Karin Gardner Johnson, Douglas Clark Johnson Department of Medicine, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA Abstract: Many types of positive airway pressure (PAP devices are used to treat sleep-disordered breathing including obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, and sleep-related hypoventilation. These include continuous PAP, autoadjusting CPAP, bilevel PAP, adaptive servoventilation, and volume-assured pressure support. Noninvasive PAP has significant leak by design, which these devices adjust for in different manners. Algorithms to provide pressure, detect events, and respond to events vary greatly between the types of devices, and vary among the same category between companies and different models by the same company. Many devices include features designed to improve effectiveness and patient comfort. Data collection systems can track compliance, pressure, leak, and efficacy. Understanding how each device works allows the clinician to better select the best device and settings for a given patient. This paper reviews PAP devices, including their algorithms, settings, and features. Keywords: BiPAP, CPAP, iVAPS, AVAPS, ASV, positive pressure respiration, instrumentation, treatment algorithm

  13. Treatment of sleep-disordered breathing with positive airway pressure devices: technology update.

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    Johnson, Karin Gardner; Johnson, Douglas Clark

    2015-01-01

    Many types of positive airway pressure (PAP) devices are used to treat sleep-disordered breathing including obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, and sleep-related hypoventilation. These include continuous PAP, autoadjusting CPAP, bilevel PAP, adaptive servoventilation, and volume-assured pressure support. Noninvasive PAP has significant leak by design, which these devices adjust for in different manners. Algorithms to provide pressure, detect events, and respond to events vary greatly between the types of devices, and vary among the same category between companies and different models by the same company. Many devices include features designed to improve effectiveness and patient comfort. Data collection systems can track compliance, pressure, leak, and efficacy. Understanding how each device works allows the clinician to better select the best device and settings for a given patient. This paper reviews PAP devices, including their algorithms, settings, and features.

  14. Hyperinflation and intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure: less room to breathe.

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    Krieger, Bruce P

    2009-01-01

    Clinically, the symptoms and limited exercise capabilities of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) correlate better with changes in lung volumes than with airflow measurements. The realization of the clinical importance of hyperinflation has been overshadowed for decades by the use of forced expiratory volume during 1 s (FEV(1)) and the ratio of the FEV(1) to the forced expiratory vital capacity (FEV(1)/FVC) to categorize the severity and progression of COPD. Hyperinflation is defined as an elevation in the end-expiratory lung volume or functional residual capacity. When severe hyperinflation encroaches upon inspiratory capacity and limits vital capacity, it results in elevated intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEPi) that places the diaphragm at a mechanical disadvantage and increases the work of breathing. Severe hyperinflation is the major physiologic cause of the resulting hypercarbic respiratory failure and patients' inability to transition (i.e. wean) from mechanical ventilatory support to spontaneous breathing. This paper reviews the basic physiologic principles of hyperinflation and its clinical manifestations as demonstrated by PEEPi. Also reviewed are the adverse effects of hyperinflation and PEEPi in critically ill patients with COPD, and methods for minimizing or counterbalancing these effects. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  15. Work of breathing using different interfaces in spontaneous positive pressure ventilation: helmet, face-mask, and endotracheal tube.

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    Oda, Shinya; Otaki, Kei; Yashima, Nozomi; Kurota, Misato; Matsushita, Sachiko; Kumasaka, Airi; Kurihara, Hutaba; Kawamae, Kaneyuki

    2016-08-01

    Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) using a helmet is expected to cause inspiratory trigger delay due to the large collapsible and compliant chamber. We compared the work of breathing (WOB) of NPPV using a helmet or a full face-mask with that of invasive ventilation by tracheal intubation. We used a lung model capable of simulating spontaneous breathing (LUNGOO; Air Water Inc., Japan). LUNGOO was set at compliance (C) = 50 mL/cmH2O and resistance (R) = 5 cmH2O/L/s for normal lung simulation, C = 20 mL/cmH2O and R = 5 cmH2O/L/s for restrictive lung, and C = 50 mL/cmH2O and R = 20 cmH2O/L/s for obstructive lung. Muscle pressure was fixed at 25 cmH2O and respiratory rate at 20 bpm. Pressure support ventilation and continuous positive airway pressure were performed with each interface placed on a dummy head made of reinforced plastic that was connected to LUNGOO. We tested the inspiratory WOB difference between the interfaces with various combinations of ventilator settings (positive end-expiratory pressure 5 cmH2O; pressure support 0, 5, and 10 cmH2O). In the normal lung and restrictive lung models, WOB decreased more with the face-mask than the helmet, especially when accompanied by the level of pressure support. In the obstructive lung model, WOB with the helmet decreased compared with the other two interfaces. In the mixed lung model, there were no significant differences in WOB between the three interfaces. NPPV using a helmet is more effective than the other interfaces for WOB in obstructive lung disease.

  16. Inhibitory Effect of Nasal Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation on Gastroesophageal Reflux.

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    Danny Cantin

    Full Text Available Non-invasive intermittent positive pressure ventilation can lead to esophageal insufflations and in turn to gastric distension. The fact that the latter induces transient relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter implies that it may increase gastroesophageal refluxes. We previously reported that nasal Pressure Support Ventilation (nPSV, contrary to nasal Neurally-Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (nNAVA, triggers active inspiratory laryngeal closure. This suggests that esophageal insufflations are more frequent in nPSV than in nNAVA. The objectives of the present study were to test the hypotheses that: i gastroesophageal refluxes are increased during nPSV compared to both control condition and nNAVA; ii esophageal insufflations occur more frequently during nPSV than nNAVA. Polysomnographic recordings and esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance pHmetry were performed in nine chronically instrumented newborn lambs to study gastroesophageal refluxes, esophageal insufflations, states of alertness, laryngeal closure and respiration. Recordings were repeated without sedation in control condition, nPSV (15/4 cmH2O and nNAVA (~ 15/4 cmH2O. The number of gastroesophageal refluxes recorded over six hours, expressed as median (interquartile range, decreased during both nPSV (1 (0, 3 and nNAVA [1 (0, 3] compared to control condition (5 (3, 10, (p < 0.05. Meanwhile, the esophageal insufflation index did not differ between nPSV (40 (11, 61 h-1 and nNAVA (10 (9, 56 h-1 (p = 0.8. In conclusion, nPSV and nNAVA similarly inhibit gastroesophageal refluxes in healthy newborn lambs at pressures that do not lead to gastric distension. In addition, the occurrence of esophageal insufflations is not significantly different between nPSV and nNAVA. The strong inhibitory effect of nIPPV on gastroesophageal refluxes appears identical to that reported with nasal continuous positive airway pressure.

  17. Flow-synchronized nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation in the preterm infant: development of a project

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    Corrado Moretti

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This manuscript describes the experience of our team in developing a flow-triggered nasal respiratory support for the neonate and its related clinical applications. Although mechanical ventilation (MV via an endotracheal tube has undoubtedly led to improvement in neonatal survival in the last 40 years, the prolonged use of this technique may predispose the infant to the development of many possible complications, first of all, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD. Avoiding mechanical ventilation is thought to be a critical goal, and different modes of non invasive respiratory support may reduce the intubation rate: nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP, nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV and its more advantageous form, synchronized nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (SNIPPV. SNIPPV was initially performed by a capsule placed on the baby’s abdomen. To overcome the disadvantages of the abdominal capsule, our team decided to create a flow-sensor that could be interposed between the nasal prongs and the Y piece. Firstly we developed a hot-wire flow-sensor to trigger the ventilator and we showed that flow-SNIPPV can support the inspiratory effort in the post-extubation period more effectively than NCPAP. But, although accurate, the proper functioning of the hot-wire flow-sensor was easily compromised by secretions or moisture, and therefore we started to use as flow-sensor a simpler differential pressure transducer. In a following trial using the new device, we were able to demonstrate that flow-SNIPPV was more effective than conventional NCPAP in decreasing extubation failure in preterm infants who had been ventilated for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS. More recently we used flow-SNIPPV as the primary mode of ventilation, after surfactant replacement, reducing MV need and favorably affecting short-term morbidities of treated premature infants. We also successfully applied SNIPPV to treat apnea of

  18. Mechanisms of Sympathetic Activation and Blood Pressure Elevation by Intermittent Hypoxia

    OpenAIRE

    Prabhakar, Nanduri R.; Kumar, Ganesh K.

    2010-01-01

    Sleep disordered breathing with recurrent apneas is one of the most frequently encountered breathing disorder in adult humans and preterm infants. Recurrent apnea patients exhibit several co-morbidities including hypertension and persistent sympathetic activation. Intermittent hypoxia (IH) resulting from apneas appears to be the primary stimulus for evoking autonomic changes. The purpose of this article is to briefly review the effects of IH on chemo-and baro-reflexes and circulating vasoacti...

  19. Neuromodulation of Limb Proprioceptive Afferents Decreases Apnea of Prematurity and Accompanying Intermittent Hypoxia and Bradycardia.

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    Kesavan, Kalpashri; Frank, Paul; Cordero, Daniella M; Benharash, Peyman; Harper, Ronald M

    2016-01-01

    Apnea of Prematurity (AOP) is common, affecting the majority of infants born at Apnea and periodic breathing are accompanied by intermittent hypoxia (IH). Animal and human studies demonstrate that IH exposure contributes to multiple pathologies, including retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), injury to sympathetic ganglia regulating cardiovascular action, impaired pancreatic islet cell and bone development, cerebellar injury, and neurodevelopmental disabilities. Current standard of care for AOP/IH includes prone positioning, positive pressure ventilation, and methylxanthine therapy; these interventions are inadequate, and not optimal for early development. The objective is to support breathing in premature infants by using a simple, non-invasive vibratory device placed over limb proprioceptor fibers, an intervention using the principle that limb movements trigger reflexive facilitation of breathing. Premature infants (23-34 wks gestational age), with clinical evidence of AOP/IH episodes were enrolled 1 week after birth. Caffeine treatment was not a reason for exclusion. Small vibration devices were placed on one hand and one foot and activated in 6 hour ON/OFF sequences for a total of 24 hours. Heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), and breathing pauses were continuously collected. Fewer respiratory pauses occurred during vibration periods, relative to baseline (papnea, bradycardia and intermittent hypoxia in premature neonates. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02641249.

  20. Randomized controlled trial comparing nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation and nasal continuous positive airway pressure in premature infants after tracheal extubation

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    Daniela Franco Rizzo Komatsu

    Full Text Available Summary Objective: To analyze the frequency of extubation failure in premature infants using conventional mechanical ventilation (MV after extubation in groups subjected to nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (nIPPV and continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP. Method: Seventy-two premature infants with respiratory failure were studied, with a gestational age (GA ≤ 36 weeks and birth weight (BW > 750 g, who required tracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. The study was controlled and randomized in order to ensure that the members of the groups used in the research were chosen at random. Randomization was performed at the time of extubation using sealed envelopes. Extubation failure was defined as the need for re-intubation and mechanical ventilation during the first 72 hours after extubation. Results: Among the 36 premature infants randomized to nIPPV, six (16.6% presented extubation failure in comparison to 11 (30.5% of the 36 premature infants randomized to nCPAP. There was no statistical difference between the two study groups regarding BW, GA, classification of the premature infant, and MV time. The main cause of extubation failure was the occurrence of apnea. Gastrointestinal and neurological complications did not occur in the premature infants participating in the study. Conclusion: We found that, despite the extubation failure of the group of premature infants submitted to nIPPV being numerically smaller than in premature infants submitted to nCPAP, there was no statistically significant difference between the two modes of ventilatory support after extubation.

  1. Randomized, controlled trial comparing synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation and synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation plus pressure support in preterm infants.

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    Reyes, Zenaida C; Claure, Nelson; Tauscher, Markus K; D'Ugard, Carmen; Vanbuskirk, Silvia; Bancalari, Eduardo

    2006-10-01

    Prolonged mechanical ventilation is associated with lung injury in preterm infants. In these infants, weaning from synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation may be delayed by their inability to cope with increased respiratory loads. The addition of pressure support to synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation can offset these loads and may facilitate weaning. The purpose of this work was to compare synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation and synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation plus pressure support in weaning from mechanical ventilation and the duration of supplemental oxygen dependency in preterm infants with respiratory failure. Preterm infants weighing 500 to 1000 g at birth who required mechanical ventilation during the first postnatal week were randomly assigned to synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation or synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation plus pressure support. In both groups, weaning followed a set protocol during the first 28 days. Outcomes were assessed during the first 28 days and until discharge or death. There were 107 infants enrolled (53 synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation plus pressure support and 54 synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation). Demographic and perinatal data, mortality, and morbidity did not differ between groups. During the first 28 days, infants in the synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation plus pressure support group reached minimal ventilator settings and were extubated earlier than infants in the synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation group. Total duration of mechanical ventilation, duration of oxygen dependency, and oxygen need at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age alone or combined with death did not differ between groups. However, infants in synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation plus pressure support within the 700- to 1000-g birth weight strata had a shorter oxygen dependency. The results of this study suggest that the addition of

  2. Mechanisms of sympathetic activation and blood pressure elevation by intermittent hypoxia.

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    Prabhakar, Nanduri R; Kumar, Ganesh K

    2010-11-30

    Sleep disordered breathing with recurrent apneas is one of the most frequently encountered breathing disorder in adult humans and preterm infants. Recurrent apnea patients exhibit several co-morbidities including hypertension and persistent sympathetic activation. Intermittent hypoxia (IH) resulting from apneas appears to be the primary stimulus for evoking autonomic changes. The purpose of this article is to briefly review the effects of IH on chemo- and baro-reflexes and circulating vasoactive hormones and their contribution to sympathetic activation and blood pressures. Sleep apnea patients and IH-treated rodents exhibit exaggerated arterial chemo-reflex. Studies on rodent models demonstrated that IH leads to hyperactive carotid body response to hypoxia. On the other hand, baro-reflex function is attenuated in patients with sleep apnea and in IH-treated rodents. Circulating vasoactive hormone levels are elevated in sleep apnea patients and in rodent models of IH. Thus, persistent sympathetic activation and hypertension associated with sleep apneas seems to be due to a combination of altered chemo- and baro-reflexes resulting in sympathetic activation and action of elevated circulating levels of vasoactive hormones on vasculature. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Comparison of intermittent positive pressure breathing and temporary positive expiratory pressure in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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    Nicolini, Antonello; Mollar, Elena; Grecchi, Bruna; Landucci, Norma

    2014-01-01

    Results supporting the use and the effectiveness of positive expiratory, pressure devices in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are still controversial, We have tested the hypothesis that adding TPEP or IPPB to standard pharmacological therapy may provide additional clinical benefit over, pharmacological therapy only in patients with severe COPD. Fourty-five patients were randomized in three groups: a group was treated; with IPPB,a group was treated with TPEP and a group with pharmacological; therapy alone (control group). Primary outcome measures included the measurement of scale or, questionnaire concerning dyspnea (MRC scale),dyspnea,cough, and, sputum (BCSS) and quality of life (COPD assessment test) (CAT). Secondary, outcome measures were respiratory function testing,arterial blood gas,analysis,and hematological examinations. Both patients in the IPPB group and in the TPEP group showed a significant, improvement in two of three tests (MRC,CAT) compared to the control, group.However,in the group comparison analysis for, the same variables between IPPB group and TPEP group we observed a, significant improvement in the IPPB group (P≤.05 for MRC and P≤.01 for, CAT). The difference of action of the two techniques are evident in the results of, pulmonary function testing: IPPB increases FVC, FEV1, and MIP; this reflects, its capacity to increase lung volume. Also TPEP increases FVC and FEV1 (less, than IPPB), but increases MEP, while decreasing total lung capacity and, residual volume. The two techniques (IPPB and TPEP) improves significantly dyspnea; quality of; life tools and lung function in patients with severe COPD. IPPB demonstrated a greater effectiveness to improve dyspnea and quality of life tools (MRC, CAT) than TPEP. Copyright © 2013 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  4. Effect of Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation on Depth of Anaesthesia during and after Isoflurane Anaesthesia in Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita galerita

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    Saul Chemonges

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the effect of intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV on the depth of inhalation anaesthesia in parrots. Anaesthesia was induced with 3.0% isoflurane in six Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita galerita and maintained using either 1.5% or 3.0% during spontaneous ventilation (SV or IPPV at 6 (IPPV-6 or 12 (IPPV-12 breaths per minute. The time taken for the appearance of somatic reflexes and the return of SV after IPPV was recorded. During recovery, the body jerk, beak, eye, and shivering reflexes appeared after 126 ± 27 s, 133 ± 26 s, 165 ± 34 s, and 165 ± 44 s, respectively. All cockatoos developed apnoea after IPPV-12 and only some did after IPPV-6. Return of SV after IPPV-12 was delayed compared to IPPV-6. Recovery times after the SV runs were significantly different between 1.5% and 3.0% isoflurane anaesthesia. Similarly, after IPPV, the recovery times were significantly different between 1.5% and 3.0% isoflurane anaesthesia. Recovery times after 3.0% inhaled isoflurane were longer than those of 1.5% inhaled isoflurane. In conclusion, cockatoos recovering from isoflurane anaesthesia are likely to exhibit body jerk, beak, eye, and shivering reflexes in that order. IPPV increases the depth of anaesthesia in a rate and dose-related manner and prolongs recovery.

  5. Exposure to intermittent hypoxia and sustained hypercapnia reduces therapeutic CPAP in participants with obstructive sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Chami, Mohamad; Sudan, Sukhesh; Lin, Ho-Sheng; Mateika, Jason H

    2017-10-01

    Our purpose was to determine whether exposure to mild intermittent hypoxia leads to a reduction in the therapeutic continuous positive airway pressure required to eliminate breathing events. Ten male participants were treated with twelve 2-min episodes of hypoxia ([Formula: see text] ≈50 mmHg) separated by 2-min intervals of normoxia in the presence of [Formula: see text] that was sustained 3 mmHg above baseline. During recovery from the last episode, the positive airway pressure was reduced in a stepwise fashion until flow limitation was evident. The participants also completed a sham protocol under normocapnic conditions, which mimicked the time frame of the intermittent hypoxia protocol. After exposure to intermittent hypoxia, the therapeutic pressure was significantly reduced (i.e., 5 cmH 2 O) without evidence of flow limitation (103.4 ± 6.3% of baseline, P = 0.5) or increases in upper airway resistance (95.6 ± 15.0% of baseline, P = 0.6). In contrast, a similar decrease in pressure was accompanied by flow limitation (77.0 ± 1.8% of baseline, P = 0.001) and an increase in upper airway resistance (167.2 ± 17.5% of baseline, P = 0.01) after the sham protocol. Consistent with the initiation of long-term facilitation of upper airway muscle activity, exposure to intermittent hypoxia reduced the therapeutic pressure required to eliminate apneic events that could improve treatment compliance. This possibility, coupled with the potentially beneficial effects of intermittent hypoxia on comorbidities linked to sleep apnea, suggests that mild intermittent hypoxia may have a multipronged therapeutic effect on sleep apnea. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our new finding is that exposure to mild intermittent hypoxia reduced the therapeutic pressure required to treat sleep apnea. These findings are consistent with previous results, which have shown that long-term facilitation of upper muscle activity can be initiated following exposure to intermittent hypoxia in humans.

  6. Beneficial effects of intermittent suction and pressure treatment in intermittent claudication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mehlsen, J; Himmelstrup, H; Himmelstrup, Bodil

    1993-01-01

    administration. The treatment caused significant increments in the ADP thresholds for platelet aggregation, while the effects on fibrinolysis were uncertain. It is concluded that intermittent suction and pressure treatment offers a new approach for conservative treatment of intermittent claudication....... participated in an open trial investigating the possible effects of the treatment on platelet aggregation and fibrinolysis. Pain-free and maximal walking distances were measured on a treadmill, and systolic blood pressure was measured on the upper limb, the ankle, and the first toe bilaterally. The threshold...... for adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced platelet aggregation was tested, and the fibrinolytic activity was estimated from the euglobulin clot lysis time. Active treatment resulted in significant improvements in pain-free and maximal walking distances, whereas no changes could be found during placebo...

  7. Pressure Autoregulation Measurement Techniques in Adult Traumatic Brain Injury, Part I: A Scoping Review of Intermittent/Semi-Intermittent Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeiler, Frederick A; Donnelly, Joseph; Calviello, Leanne; Menon, David K; Smielewski, Peter; Czosnyka, Marek

    2017-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic, scoping review of commonly described intermittent/semi-intermittent autoregulation measurement techniques in adult traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nine separate systematic reviews were conducted for each intermittent technique: computed tomographic perfusion (CTP)/Xenon-CT (Xe-CT), positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), arteriovenous difference in oxygen (AVDO 2 ) technique, thigh cuff deflation technique (TCDT), transient hyperemic response test (THRT), orthostatic hypotension test (OHT), mean flow index (Mx), and transfer function autoregulation index (TF-ARI). MEDLINE ® , BIOSIS, EMBASE, Global Health, Scopus, Cochrane Library (inception to December 2016), and reference lists of relevant articles were searched. A two tier filter of references was conducted. The total number of articles utilizing each of the nine searched techniques for intermittent/semi-intermittent autoregulation techniques in adult TBI were: CTP/Xe-CT (10), PET (6), MRI (0), AVDO 2 (10), ARI-based TCDT (9), THRT (6), OHT (3), Mx (17), and TF-ARI (6). The premise behind all of the intermittent techniques is manipulation of systemic blood pressure/blood volume via either chemical (such as vasopressors) or mechanical (such as thigh cuffs or carotid compression) means. Exceptionally, Mx and TF-ARI are based on spontaneous fluctuations of cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) or mean arterial pressure (MAP). The method for assessing the cerebral circulation during these manipulations varies, with both imaging-based techniques and TCD utilized. Despite the limited literature for intermittent/semi-intermittent techniques in adult TBI (minus Mx), it is important to acknowledge the availability of such tests. They have provided fundamental insight into human autoregulatory capacity, leading to the development of continuous and more commonly applied techniques in the intensive care unit (ICU). Numerous methods of

  8. Neuromodulation of Limb Proprioceptive Afferents Decreases Apnea of Prematurity and Accompanying Intermittent Hypoxia and Bradycardia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalpashri Kesavan

    Full Text Available Apnea of Prematurity (AOP is common, affecting the majority of infants born at <34 weeks gestational age. Apnea and periodic breathing are accompanied by intermittent hypoxia (IH. Animal and human studies demonstrate that IH exposure contributes to multiple pathologies, including retinopathy of prematurity (ROP, injury to sympathetic ganglia regulating cardiovascular action, impaired pancreatic islet cell and bone development, cerebellar injury, and neurodevelopmental disabilities. Current standard of care for AOP/IH includes prone positioning, positive pressure ventilation, and methylxanthine therapy; these interventions are inadequate, and not optimal for early development.The objective is to support breathing in premature infants by using a simple, non-invasive vibratory device placed over limb proprioceptor fibers, an intervention using the principle that limb movements trigger reflexive facilitation of breathing.Premature infants (23-34 wks gestational age, with clinical evidence of AOP/IH episodes were enrolled 1 week after birth. Caffeine treatment was not a reason for exclusion. Small vibration devices were placed on one hand and one foot and activated in 6 hour ON/OFF sequences for a total of 24 hours. Heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2, and breathing pauses were continuously collected.Fewer respiratory pauses occurred during vibration periods, relative to baseline (p<0.005. Significantly fewer SpO2 declines occurred with vibration (p<0.05, relative to control periods. Significantly fewer bradycardic events occurred during vibration periods, relative to no vibration periods (p<0.05.In premature neonates, limb proprioceptive stimulation, simulating limb movement, reduces breathing pauses and IH episodes, and lowers the number of bradycardic events that accompany aberrant breathing episodes. This low-cost neuromodulatory procedure has the potential to provide a non-invasive intervention to reduce apnea, bradycardia and

  9. Pressure breathing in fighter aircraft for G accelerations and loss of cabin pressurization at altitude--a brief review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauritzsen, Lars P; Pfitzner, John

    2003-04-01

    The purpose of this brief review is to outline the past and present use of pressure breathing, not by patients but by fighter pilots. Of the historical and recent references quoted, most are from aviation-medicine journals that are not often readily available to anesthesiologists. Pressure breathing at moderate levels of airway pressure gave World War II fighter pilots a tactical altitude advantage. With today's fast and highly maneuverable jet fighters, very much higher airway pressures of the order of 8.0 kPa (identical with 60 mmHg) are used. They are used in conjunction with a counterpressure thoracic vest and an anti-G suit for the abdomen and lower body. Pressurization is activated automatically in response to +Gz accelerations, and to a potentially catastrophic loss of cabin pressurization at altitude. During +Gz accelerations, pressure breathing has been shown to maintain cerebral perfusion by raising the systemic arterial pressure, so increasing the level of G-tolerance that is afforded by the use of anti-G suits and seat tilt-back angles alone. This leaves the pilot less reliant on rigorous, and potentially distracting, straining maneuvers. With loss of cabin pressurization at altitude, pressure breathing of 100% oxygen at high airway pressures enables the pilot's alveolar PO(2) to be maintained at a safe level during emergency descent. Introduced in military aviation, pressure breathing for G-tolerance and pressure breathing for altitude presented as concepts that may be of general physiological interest to many anesthesiologists.

  10. The Impact of Resonance Frequency Breathing on Measures of Heart Rate Variability, Blood Pressure, and Mood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick R. Steffen

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB significantly improves heart rate variability (HRV. Breathing at resonance frequency (RF, approximately 6 breaths/min constitutes a key part of HRVB training and is hypothesized to be a pathway through which biofeedback improves HRV. No studies to date, however, have experimentally examined whether RF breathing impacts measures of HRV. The present study addressed this question by comparing three groups: the RF group breathed at their determined RF for 15 min; the RF + 1 group breathed at 1 breath/min higher than their determined RF for 15 min; and the third group sat quietly for 15 min. After this 15-min period, all groups participated in the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT for 8 min, and then sat quietly during a 10-min recovery period. HRV, blood pressure, and mood were measured throughout the experiment. Groups were not significantly different on any of the measures at baseline. After the breathing exercise, the RF group reported higher positive mood than the other two groups and a significantly higher LF/HF HRV ratio relative to the control group, a key goal in HRVB training (p < 0.05. Additionally, the RF group showed lower systolic blood pressure during the PASAT and during the recovery period relative to the control group, with the RF + 1 group not being significantly different from either group (p < 0.05. Overall, RF breathing appears to play an important role in the positive effect HRVB has on measures of HRV.

  11. Evaluation of continuous and intermittent myocardial topical negative pressure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindstedt, Sandra; Malmsjö, Malin; Gesslein, Bodil

    2008-01-01

    Topical negative pressure, commonly used in wound therapy, has been shown to increase blood flow and stimulate angiogenesis in subcutaneous tissue and skeletal muscle. In wound therapy, intermittent negative pressure is often preferred to continuous negative pressure as tissue exposed to intermit...

  12. Deep breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure at a higher rate improve oxygenation in the early period after cardiac surgery--a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urell, Charlotte; Emtner, Margareta; Hedenström, Hans; Tenling, Arne; Breidenskog, Marie; Westerdahl, Elisabeth

    2011-07-01

    In addition to early mobilisation, a variety of breathing exercises are used to prevent postoperative pulmonary complications after cardiac surgery. The optimal duration of the treatment is not well evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of 30 versus 10 deep breaths hourly, while awake, with positive expiratory pressure on oxygenation and pulmonary function the first days after cardiac surgery. A total of 181 patients, undergoing cardiac surgery, were randomised into a treatment group, performing 30 deep breaths hourly the first postoperative days, or into a control group performing 10 deep breaths hourly. The main outcome measurement arterial blood gases and the secondary outcome pulmonary function, evaluated with spirometry, were determined on the second postoperative day. Preoperatively, both study groups were similar in terms of age, SpO(2), forced expiratory volume in 1s and New York Heart Association classification. On the second postoperative day, arterial oxygen tension (PaO(2)) was 8.9 ± 1.7 kPa in the treatment group and 8.1 ± 1.4 kPa in the control group (p = 0.004). Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) was 92.7 ± 3.7% in the treatment group and 91.1 ± 3.8% in the control group (p = 0.016). There were no differences in measured lung function between the groups or in compliance to the breathing exercises. Compliance was 65% of possible breathing sessions. A significantly increased oxygenation was found in patients performing 30 deep breaths the first two postoperative days compared with control patients performing 10 deep breaths hourly. These results support the implementation of a higher rate of deep breathing exercises in the initial phase after cardiac surgery. Copyright © 2010 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Efficacy of the addition of positive airway pressure to conventional chest physiotherapy in resolution of pleural effusion after drainage: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Conceição Dos Santos, Elinaldo; Lunardi, Adriana Claudia

    2015-04-01

    Chest drainage for pleural effusion can cause pain and changes in respiratory function. It can also increase the risk of pulmonary complications and impair functional ability, which may increase length of hospital stay and the associated costs. For these reasons, surgical and clinical strategies have been adopted to reduce the duration of chest drainage. To evaluate the efficacy of the addition of intermittent positive airway pressure applied by the Muller reanimator via a rubber facial mask versus conventional physiotherapy on the duration of chest drainage (primary objective), and its effect on the recovery of respiratory function, length of hospital stay and incidence of pulmonary complications (secondary objectives). Randomised, controlled trial. Inpatients with pleural effusion, aged over 18 years, who have had chest drainage in situ for drain will be a transudate output ≤ 200ml over 24hours and full lung expansion on chest radiography, as assessed by a blinded physician. Duration of chest drainage, length of hospital stay, and any pulmonary complications diagnosed during hospitalisation will be recorded. Intention to treat using: survival analysis for duration of chest drainage, and length of hospital stay; analysis of variance for chest-tube output, lung function and peripheral oxygen saturation; and chi-square tests for comparing the incidence of pulmonary complications between groups. Conventional chest physiotherapy and intermittent positive airway pressure breathing are widely indicated for people with pleural effusion and chest drains; however, no studies have evaluated the real benefit of this type of treatment. Our hypothesis is that optimised lung expansion achieved through the application of intermittent positive airway pressure will accelerate the reabsorption of pleural effusion, decrease the duration of chest drainage and respiratory system impairment, reduce the length of hospital stay, and reduce the incidence of pulmonary complications

  14. An experimental randomized study of six different ventilatory modes in a piglet model with normal lungs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, J B; Sjöstrand, U H; Henneberg, S W

    1991-01-01

    -controlled intermittent positive-pressure ventilation; and SV-20P denotes pressure-controlled intermittent positive-pressure ventilation. With all modes of ventilation a PEEP of 7.5 cm H2O was used. In the abbreviations used, the number denotes the ventilatory frequency in breaths per minute (bpm). HFV indicates that all...

  15. Influence of intermittent pressure, fluid flow, and mixing on the regenerative properties of articular chondrocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carver, S E; Heath, C A

    1999-11-05

    Equine articular chondrocytes, embedded within a polyglycolic acid nonwoven mesh, were cultured with various combinations of intermittent pressure, fluid flow, and mixing to examine the effects of different physical stimuli on neochondrogenesis from young cells. The cell/polymer constructs were cultured first in 125 ml spinner flasks for 1, 2, or 4 weeks and then in a perfusion system with intermittent pressure for a total of up to 6 weeks. Additional constructs were either cultured for all 6 weeks in the spinner flasks or for 1 week in spinners followed by 5 weeks in the perfusion system without intermittent pressure. Tissue constructs cultivated for 2 or 4 weeks in spinner flasks followed by perfusion with intermittent pressure had significantly higher concentrations of both sulfated glycosaminoglycan and collagen than constructs cultured entirely in spinners or almost entirely in the pressure/perfusion system. Initial cultivation in the spinner flasks, with turbulent mixing, enhanced both cell attachment and early development of the extracellular matrix. Subsequent culture with perfusion and intermittent pressure appeared to accelerate matrix formation. While the correlation was much stronger in the pressurized constructs, the compressive modulus was directly proportional to the concentration of sulfated glycosaminoglycan in all physically stressed constructs. Constructs that were not stressed beyond the 1-week seeding period lost mechanical integrity upon harvest, suggesting that physical stimulation, particularly with intermittent pressure, of immature tissue constructs during their development may contribute to their ultimate biomechanical functionality. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  16. Imposed Work of Breathing for Flow Meters with In-Line versus Flow-Through Technique during Simulated Neonatal Breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donaldsson, Snorri; Falk, Markus; Jonsson, Baldvin; Drevhammar, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    The ability to determine airflow during nasal CPAP (NCPAP) treatment without adding dead space or resistance would be useful when investigating the physiologic effects of different NCPAP systems on breathing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect on pressure stability of different flow measuring devices at the in-line and flow-through position, using simulated neonatal breathing. Six different flow measure devices were evaluated by recording pressure changes and imposed work of breathing for breaths with 16 and 32 ml tidal volumes. The tests were performed initially with the devices in an in line position and with 5 and 10 L/min using flow through technique, without CPAP. The flow meters were then subsequently tested with an Infant Flow CPAP system at 3, 5 and 8 cm H2O pressure using flow through technique. The quality of the recorded signals was compared graphically. The resistance of the measuring devices generated pressure swings and imposed work of breathing. With bias flow, the resistance also generated CPAP pressure. Three of the devices had low resistance and generated no changes in pressure stability or CPAP pressure. The two devices intended for neonatal use had the highest measured resistance. The importance of pressure stability and increased work of breathing during non-invasive respiratory support are insufficiently studied. Clinical trials using flow-through technique have not focused on pressure stability. Our results indicate that a flow-through technique might be a way forward in obtaining a sufficiently high signal quality without the added effects of rebreathing and increased work of breathing. The results should stimulate further research and the development of equipment for dynamic flow measurements in neonates.

  17. Spontaneous breathing during lung-protective ventilation in an experimental acute lung injury model: high transpulmonary pressure associated with strong spontaneous breathing effort may worsen lung injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Takeshi; Uchiyama, Akinori; Matsuura, Nariaki; Mashimo, Takashi; Fujino, Yuji

    2012-05-01

    We investigated whether potentially injurious transpulmonary pressure could be generated by strong spontaneous breathing and exacerbate lung injury even when plateau pressure is limited to ventilation, each combined with weak or strong spontaneous breathing effort. Inspiratory pressure for low tidal volume ventilation was set at 10 cm H2O and tidal volume at 6 mL/kg. For moderate tidal volume ventilation, the values were 20 cm H2O and 7-9 mL/kg. The groups were: low tidal volume ventilation+spontaneous breathingweak, low tidal volume ventilation+spontaneous breathingstrong, moderate tidal volume ventilation+spontaneous breathingweak, and moderate tidal volume ventilation+spontaneous breathingstrong. Each group had the same settings for positive end-expiratory pressure of 8 cm H2O. Respiratory variables were measured every 60 mins. Distribution of lung aeration and alveolar collapse were histologically evaluated. Low tidal volume ventilation+spontaneous breathingstrong showed the most favorable oxygenation and compliance of respiratory system, and the best lung aeration. By contrast, in moderate tidal volume ventilation+spontaneous breathingstrong, the greatest atelectasis with numerous neutrophils was observed. While we applied settings to maintain plateau pressure at ventilation+spontaneous breathingstrong, transpulmonary pressure rose >33 cm H2O. Both minute ventilation and respiratory rate were higher in the strong spontaneous breathing groups. Even when plateau pressure is limited to mechanical ventilation, transpulmonary pressure and tidal volume should be strictly controlled to prevent further lung injury.

  18. Intermittent pressure decreases human keratinocyte proliferation in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasca, Maria R; Shih, Alan T; West, Dennis P; Martinez, Wanda M; Micali, Giuseppe; Landsman, Adam S

    2007-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between pressure changes and keratinocyte proliferation by determining whether keratinocytes exposed to altered mechanical pressures would proliferate at different rates compared to control cells not subjected to pressure changes. Tissue culture flasks of human keratinocytes plated at an approximate density of 15,000 cells/cm(2) undergoing an intermittent cyclic pressure of 362 mm Hg at a frequency of 2.28 or 5.16 cycles/min (0.038 or 0.086 Hz) for 8 h were compared to control flasks grown at ambient room pressure. An in-line pressure transducer was used to monitor and adjust pressure within the cell chambers, using a solenoid valve. A thymidine incorporation assay assessed the amount of cell proliferation in each set of experiments. Differences in proliferation between keratinocytes subjected to cyclic pressure changes and control cells were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05) in 4 out of 5 proliferation assays. Also, a higher frequency of pressure changes consistently generated a reduced proliferation rate compared to that seen in cells exposed to a lower frequency of pressure changes. These data indicate that keratinocytes undergoing intermittent pressure changes exhibit decreased proliferation rates compared to controls. Furthermore, an increased frequency rate seems to have a greater effect on proliferation than low-frequency rate pressure changes, suggesting that the stress caused by frequently changed pressure may play a greater role in reducing keratinocyte proliferation than the actual magnitude of load applied to the cells. Our results support the current treatment protocol of reducing speed and duration of walking on the site of the wound to promote healing of foot ulcers. (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  19. High frequency jet ventilation and intermittent positive pressure ventilation. Effect of cerebral blood flow in patients after open heart surgery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pittet, J.F.; Forster, A.; Suter, P.M.

    1990-01-01

    Attenuation of ventilator-synchronous pressure fluctuations of intracranial pressure has been demonstrated during high frequency ventilation in animal and human studies, but the consequences of this effect on cerebral blood flow have not been investigated in man. We compared the effects of high frequency jet ventilation and intermittent positive pressure ventilation on CBF in 24 patients investigated three hours after completion of open-heart surgery. The patients were investigated during three consecutive periods with standard sedation (morphine, pancuronium): a. IPPV; b. HFJV; c. IPPV. Partial pressure of arterial CO 2 (PaCO 2 : 4.5-5.5 kPa) and rectal temperature (35.5 to 37.5 degree C) were maintained constant during the study. The CBF was measured by intravenous 133 Xe washout technique. The following variables were derived from the cerebral clearance of 133 Xe: the rapid compartment flow, the initial slope index, ie, a combination of the rapid and the slow compartment flows, and the ratio of fast compartment flow over total CBF (FF). Compared to IPPV, HFJV applied to result in the same mean airway pressure did not produce any change in pulmonary gas exchange, mean systemic arterial pressure, and cardiac index. Similarly, CBF was not significantly altered by HFJV. However, important variations of CBF values were observed in three patients, although the classic main determinants of CBF (PaCO 2 , cerebral perfusion pressure, Paw, temperature) remained unchanged. Our results suggest that in patients with normal systemic hemodynamics, the effects of HFJV and IPPV on CBF are comparable at identical levels of mean airway pressure

  20. Imposed Work of Breathing for Flow Meters with In-Line versus Flow-Through Technique during Simulated Neonatal Breathing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Snorri Donaldsson

    Full Text Available The ability to determine airflow during nasal CPAP (NCPAP treatment without adding dead space or resistance would be useful when investigating the physiologic effects of different NCPAP systems on breathing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect on pressure stability of different flow measuring devices at the in-line and flow-through position, using simulated neonatal breathing.Six different flow measure devices were evaluated by recording pressure changes and imposed work of breathing for breaths with 16 and 32 ml tidal volumes. The tests were performed initially with the devices in an in line position and with 5 and 10 L/min using flow through technique, without CPAP. The flow meters were then subsequently tested with an Infant Flow CPAP system at 3, 5 and 8 cm H2O pressure using flow through technique. The quality of the recorded signals was compared graphically.The resistance of the measuring devices generated pressure swings and imposed work of breathing. With bias flow, the resistance also generated CPAP pressure. Three of the devices had low resistance and generated no changes in pressure stability or CPAP pressure. The two devices intended for neonatal use had the highest measured resistance.The importance of pressure stability and increased work of breathing during non-invasive respiratory support are insufficiently studied. Clinical trials using flow-through technique have not focused on pressure stability. Our results indicate that a flow-through technique might be a way forward in obtaining a sufficiently high signal quality without the added effects of rebreathing and increased work of breathing. The results should stimulate further research and the development of equipment for dynamic flow measurements in neonates.

  1. Effect of Filters on the Noise Generated by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Delivered via a Helmet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Hernández-Molina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: One of the problems that the delivery of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP via a helmet poses is the generation of noise. The objective of our study was to assess the effect that the use of filter has on sound pressure levels generated by the delivery of positive airway pressure at different gas flow rates. Materials and Methods: Sound pressure levels generated by neonatal helmet CPAP delivery were measured at different gas flows (20, 30, and 40 l/min with and without a breathing filter. Noise intensity was measured by installing microphones in the inner ear of dummy heads wearing helmets. Results: The sound pressure level increased by 38% at a gas flow of 40 l/min, as compared to a gas flow of 20 l/min {74 dBA [interquartile range (IQR 2,2] vs 52 dBA (IQR 5,9, respectively}. Using the breathing filter as a diffuser has a variety of effects on sound pressure levels according to the gas flow rate. Conclusion: The intensity of the noise generated by helmet delivery of positive airway pressure depends on the type of helmet used, gas flow, and use or not of a diffuser filter. Breathing filters with gas flows over 30 l/min might not be recommended since they would not attenuate but will rather amplify sound pressure.

  2. Environmental modulation of the onset of air breathing and survival of Betta splendens and Trichopodus trichopterus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendez-Sanchez, J F; Burggren, W W

    2014-03-01

    The effect of hypoxia on air-breathing onset and survival was determined in larvae of the air-breathing fishes, the three spot gourami Trichopodus trichopterus and the Siamese fighting fish Betta splendens. Larvae were exposed continuously or intermittently (12 h nightly) to an oxygen partial pressure (PO2 ) of 20, 17 and 14 kPa from 1 to 40 days post-fertilization (dpf). Survival and onset of air breathing were measured daily. Continuous normoxic conditions produced a larval survival rate of 65-75% for B. splendens and 15-30% for T. trichopterus, but all larvae of both species died at 9 dpf in continuous hypoxia conditions. Larvae under intermittent (nocturnal) hypoxia showed a 15% elevated survival rate in both species. The same conditions altered the onset of air breathing, advancing onset by 4 days in B. splendens and delaying onset by 9 days in T. trichopterus. These interspecific differences were attributed to air-breathing characteristics: B. splendens was a non-obligatory air breather after 36 dpf, whereas T. trichopterus was an obligatory air breather after 32 dpf. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  3. Losartan reduces the immediate and sustained increases in muscle sympathetic nerve activity after hyperacute intermittent hypoxia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jouett, Noah P; Moralez, Gilbert; Raven, Peter B; Smith, Michael L

    2017-04-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by intermittent hypoxemia, which produces elevations in sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) and associated hypertension in experimental models that persist beyond the initial exposure. We tested the hypotheses that angiotensin receptor blockade in humans using losartan attenuates the immediate and immediately persistent increases in 1 ) SNA discharge and 2 ) mean arterial pressure (MAP) after hyperacute intermittent hypoxia training (IHT) using a randomized, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures experimental design. We measured ECG and photoplethysmographic arterial pressure in nine healthy human subjects, while muscle SNA (MSNA) was recorded in seven subjects using microneurography. Subjects were exposed to a series of hypoxic apneas in which they inhaled two to three breaths of nitrogen, followed by a 20-s apnea and 40 s of room air breathing every minute for 20 min. Hyperacute IHT produced substantial and persistent elevations in MSNA burst frequency (baseline: 15.3 ± 1.8, IHT: 24 ± 1.5, post-IHT 20.0 ± 1.3 bursts/min, all P 0.70). This investigation confirms the role of angiotensin II type 1a receptors in the immediate and persistent sympathoexcitatory and pressor responses to IHT. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study demonstrates for the first time in humans that losartan, an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), abrogates the acute and immediately persistent increases in muscle sympathetic nerve activity and arterial pressure in response to acute intermittent hypoxia. This investigation, along with others, provides important beginning translational evidence for using ARBs in treatment of the intermittent hypoxia observed in obstructive sleep apnea patients. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  4. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Strategies with Bubble Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure: Not All Bubbling Is the Same: The Seattle Positive Airway Pressure System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welty, Stephen E

    2016-12-01

    Premature neonates are predisposed to complications, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). BPD is associated with long-term pulmonary and neurodevelopmental consequences. Noninvasive respiratory support with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been recommended strongly by the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, CPAP implementation has shown at least a 50% failure rate. Enhancing nasal CPAP effectiveness may decrease the need for mechanical ventilation and reduce the incidence of BPD. Bubble nasal CPAP is better than nasal CPAP using mechanical devices and the bubbling provides air exchange in distal respiratory units. The Seattle PAP system reduces parameters that assess work of breathing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Sibutramine versus continuous positive airway pressure in obese obstructive sleep apnoea patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferland, A; Poirier, P; Sériès, F

    2009-09-01

    The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of 1 yr of sibutramine-induced weight loss versus continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on sleep-disordered breathing, cardiac autonomic function and systemic blood pressure in obese patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. Subjects with a body mass index of > or =30 kg.m(-2) without previous treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea underwent either sibutramine (n = 22) or CPAP (n = 18) treatment for 1 yr. Sibutramine induced a 5.4+/-1.4 kg decrease in body weight compared to the CPAP group, in which no changes in anthropometric variables were observed. The CPAP treatment improved all sleep and respiratory variables, whereas sibutramine-induced weight loss improved only nocturnal arterial oxygen saturation profile. Only CPAP treatment improved night-time systolic and diastolic blood pressure and 24-h and daytime ambulatory diastolic blood pressure. Sibutramine-induced weight loss had no impact on indices of heart rate variability, whereas CPAP treatment increased daytime time domain indices. CPAP treatment for 1 yr had beneficial impacts on nocturnal breathing disturbances, and improved nocturnal oxygenation, night-time systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and daytime cardiac parasympathetic modulation. Sibutramine did not improve sleep-disordered breathing, systemic blood pressure or heart rate variability. There were no adverse effects, such as increment in blood pressure or arrhythmias, associated with this treatment regimen.

  6. The impact of intermittent or sustained carbon dioxide on intermittent hypoxia initiated respiratory plasticity. What is the effect of these combined stimuli on apnea severity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mateika, Jason H; Panza, Gino; Alex, Raichel; El-Chami, Mohamad

    2017-10-31

    The following review explores the effect that intermittent or sustained hypercapnia coupled to intermittent hypoxia has on respiratory plasticity. The review explores published work which suggests that intermittent hypercapnia leads to long-term depression of respiration when administered in isolation and prevents the initiation of long-term facilitation when administered in combination with intermittent hypoxia. The review also explores the impact that sustained hypercapnia alone and in combination with intermittent hypoxia has on the magnitude of long-term facilitation. After exploring the outcomes linked to intermittent hypoxia/hypercapnia and intermittent hypoxia/sustained hypercapnia the translational relevance of the outcomes as it relates to breathing stability during sleep is addressed. The likelihood that naturally induced cycles of intermittent hypoxia, coupled to oscillations in carbon dioxide that range between hypocapnia and hypercapnia, do not initiate long-term facilitation is addressed. Moreover, the conditions under which intermittent hypoxia/sustained hypercapnia could serve to improve breathing stability and mitigate co-morbidities associated with sleep apnea are considered. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. Can a central blood volume deficit be detected by systolic pressure variation during spontaneous breathing?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, Michael; Hayes, Chris; Steen Rasmussen, Bodil

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Whether during spontaneous breathing arterial pressure variations (APV) can detect a volume deficit is not established. We hypothesized that amplification of intra-thoracic pressure oscillations by breathing through resistors would enhance APV to allow identification of a reduced card...

  8. SU-E-J-62: Breath Hold for Left-Sided Breast Cancer: Visually Monitored Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Amplitude Evaluated Using Real-Time Position Management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Conroy, L; Quirk, S; Smith, WL [The University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, AB (Canada); Yeung, R; Phan, T [The University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Hudson, A [Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: We used Real-Time Position Management (RPM) to evaluate breath hold amplitude and variability when gating with a visually monitored deep inspiration breath hold technique (VM-DIBH) with retrospective cine image chest wall position verification. Methods: Ten patients with left-sided breast cancer were treated using VM-DIBH. Respiratory motion was passively collected once weekly using RPM with the marker block positioned at the xiphoid process. Cine images on the tangent medial field were acquired on fractions with RPM monitoring for retrospective verification of chest wall position during breath hold. The amplitude and duration of all breath holds on which treatment beams were delivered were extracted from the RPM traces. Breath hold position coverage was evaluated for symmetric RPM gating windows from ± 1 to 5 mm centered on the average breath hold amplitude of the first measured fraction as a baseline. Results: The average (range) breath hold amplitude and duration was 18 mm (3–36 mm) and 19 s (7–34 s). The average (range) of amplitude standard deviation per patient over all breath holds was 2.7 mm (1.2–5.7 mm). With the largest allowable RPM gating window (± 5 mm), 4 of 10 VM-DIBH patients would have had ≥ 10% of their breath hold positions excluded by RPM. Cine verification of the chest wall position during the medial tangent field showed that the chest wall was greater than 5 mm from the baseline in only 1 out of 4 excluded patients. Cine images verify the chest wall/breast position only, whether this variation is acceptable in terms of heart sparing is a subject of future investigation. Conclusion: VM-DIBH allows for greater breath hold amplitude variability than using a 5 mm gating window with RPM, while maintaining chest wall positioning accuracy within 5 mm for the majority of patients.

  9. Mechanisms of breathing instability in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Younes, Magdy; Ostrowski, Michele; Atkar, Raj; Laprairie, John; Siemens, Andrea; Hanly, Patrick

    2007-12-01

    The response to chemical stimuli (chemical responsiveness) and the increases in respiratory drive required for arousal (arousal threshold) and for opening the airway without arousal (effective recruitment threshold) are important determinants of ventilatory instability and, hence, severity of obstructive apnea. We measured these variables in 21 obstructive apnea patients (apnea-hypopnea index 91 +/- 24 h(-1)) while on continuous-positive-airway pressure. During sleep, pressure was intermittently reduced (dial down) to induce severe hypopneas. Dial downs were done on room air and following approximately 30 s of breathing hypercapneic and/or hypoxic mixtures, which induced a range of ventilatory stimulation before dial down. Ventilation just before dial down and flow during dial down were measured. Chemical responsiveness, estimated as the percent increase in ventilation during the 5(th) breath following administration of 6% CO(2) combined with approximately 4% desaturation, was large (187 +/- 117%). Arousal threshold, estimated as the percent increase in ventilation associated with a 50% probability of arousal, ranged from 40% to >268% and was chemical drive. Effective recruitment threshold, estimated as percent increase in pre-dial-down ventilation associated with a significant increase in dial-down flow, ranged from zero to >174% and was chemical drive, but instability results because of a low arousal threshold and a brisk increase in drive following brief reduction in alveolar ventilation.

  10. 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.

  11. Impact of microarousal associated with increased negative esophageal pressure in sleep-disordered breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sukegawa, Mayo; Noda, Akiko; Yasuda, Yoshinari; Nakata, Seiichi; Sugiura, Tatsuki; Miyata, Seiko; Honda, Kumiko; Hasegawa, Yoshinori; Nakashima, Tsutomu; Koike, Yasuo

    2009-11-01

    "Microarousals" during sleep have not been analyzed systematically. We investigated the importance of "microarousals" (lasting 1.5-3 s). Standard polysomnography including esophageal pressure (Pes) assessment was performed on ten patients (aged 54.0 +/- 5.0 years) with respiratory effort-related arousal > or =5/h. We measured the number of arousals per hour (American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA) arousal index) and the number of microarousals lasting 1.5-3 s per hour (mASDA arousal index). On the night after the baseline sleep study, we performed overnight continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration. mASDA arousals, characterized by lower Pes values, were observed more frequently in patients with sleep-disordered breathing. The Pes results did not differ significantly between ASDA and mASDA arousals (-15.6 +/- -5.0 vs -15.0 +/- -4.4 cmH(2)O). mASDA arousals were significantly improved by CPAP treatment (mASDA arousals, 82.6 +/- 60.1 vs 6.0 +/- 1.4/h). mASDA arousals were characterized by an increase in Pes. mASDA arousals are thus key to our understanding of clinical manifestations in patients with sleep-disordered breathing.

  12. Lactic acidosis and diastolic hypotension after intermittent albuterol nebulization in a pediatric patient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tehila A. Saadia

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe a case of 13-year-old female with intermittent asthma who developed lactic acidosis and diastolic hypotension after receiving intermittent albuterol nebulizer treatment. She presented to the emergency department (ED with sudden onset of shortness of breath and chest pain. She received two albuterol nebulizer treatments at home without symptomatic relief. She was treated in the ED with intermittent albuterol nebulization for a total of 22.5 mg over the next 5 hours. A decrease in diastolic blood pressure from 60 mmHg to 40 mmHg was noted after the treatment. Blood lactate level was 5.9 mmol/L. She recovered from it and was discharged to home but she had recurrence of shortness of breath and presented to the ED two days later. She was treated with albuterol nebulization for a total of 17.5 mg over the next two and half hours and developed diastolic hypotension again, as low as 30 mm Hg. After discontinuation of albuterol nebulization, her BP normalized. Cardiopulmonary and metabolic side effects of continuous albuterol therapy have been reported in the recent medical literature. Our patient, however, developed these adverse effects on intermittent albuterol nebulizer treatment. It is important for the pediatrician to recognize the adverse effects of β2-agonist therapy to avoid carrying out extensive workup for hypotension and hyperlactatemia prolonging hospital stay.

  13. Improved fireman's compressed air breathing system pressure vessel development program

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, H. A.; Morris, E. E.

    1973-01-01

    Prototype high pressure glass filament-wound, aluminum-lined pressurant vessels suitable for use in a fireman's compressed air breathing system were designed, fabricated, and acceptance tested in order to demonstrate the feasibility of producing such high performance, lightweight units. The 4000 psi tanks have a 60 standard cubic foot (SCF) air capacity, and have a 6.5 inch diamter, 19 inch length, 415 inch volume, weigh 13 pounds when empty, and contain 33 percent more air than the current 45 SCF (2250 psi) steel units. The current steel 60 SCF (3000 psi) tanks weigh approximately twice as much as the prototype when empty, and are 2 inches, or 10 percent shorter. The prototype units also have non-rusting aluminum interiors, which removes the hazard of corrosion, the need for internal coatings, and the possibility of rust particles clogging the breathing system.

  14. Evaluation of Pressure Generated by Resistors From Different Positive Expiratory Pressure Devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagevik Olsén, Monika; Carlsson, Maria; Olsén, Erik; Westerdahl, Elisabeth

    2015-10-01

    Breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure (PEP) are used to improve pulmonary function and airway clearance. Different PEP devices are available, but there have been no studies that describe the pressure generated by different resistors. The purpose of this study was to compare pressures generated from the proprietary resistor components of 4 commercial flow-dependent PEP valves with all other parameters kept constant. Resistors from 4 flow-regulated PEP devices (Pep/Rmt system, Wellspect HealthCare; Pipe P breathing exerciser, Koo Medical Equipment; Mini-PEP, Philips Respironics [including resistors by Rüsch]; and 15-mm endo-adapter, VBM Medizintechnik) were tested randomly by a blinded tester at constant flows of 10 and 18 L/min from an external gas system. All resistors were tested 3 times. Resistors with a similar diameter produced statistically significant different pressures at the same flow. The differences were smaller when the flow was 10 L/min compared with 18 L/min. The differences were also smaller when the diameter of the resistor was increased. The pressures produced by the 4 resistors of the same size were all significantly different when measuring 1.5- and 2.0-mm resistors at a flow of 10 L/min and 2.0-mm resistors at a flow of 18 L/min (P < .001). There were no significant differences between any of the resistors when testing sizes of 4.5 and 5.0 mm at either flow. The Mini-PEP and adapter resistors gave the highest pressures. Pressures generated by the different proprietary resistor components of 4 commercial PEP devices were not comparable, even though the diameter of the resistors is reported to be the same. The pressures generated were significantly different, particularly when using small-diameter resistors at a high flow. Therefore, the resistors may not be interchangeable. This is important information for clinicians, particularly when considering PEP for patients who do not tolerate higher pressures. Copyright © 2015 by

  15. The effect of intermittent fasting on blood pressure variability in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension or prehypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdem, Yunus; Özkan, Gülsüm; Ulusoy, Şükrü; Arıcı, Mustafa; Derici, Ülver; Şengül, Şule; Sindel, Şükrü; Ertürk, Şehsuvar

    2018-01-01

    Intermittent fasting is a phenomenon which can be observed in most humans. The effect of intermittent fasting on blood pressure variability (BPV) has not previously been investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of fasting on blood pressure (BP) (with office, home, central, and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring [ABPM]) and on BPV. Sixty individuals were included in the study. Office, home, ABPM, and central BP measurements were performed before and during intermittent fasting. Standard deviation and coefficient variation were used for office and home BPV measurement, while the smoothness index was used to calculate ABPM variability. Patients' BP and BPV values before and during intermittent fasting were then compared. Intermittent fasting resulted in a significant decrease in office BP values and ABPM measurements but caused no significant change in home and central BP measurements. Twenty-four hour urinary sodium excretion decreased. Smoothness values obtained from ABPM measurements were low; in other words, BPV was greater. BPV was higher in patients who woke up to eat before sunrise, but BPV was low in patients with high body mass index. Intermittent fasting produced a significant decrease in BP values in terms of office and ABPM measurements in this study but caused no significant change in central BP and home measurements. We also identified an increase in BPV during intermittent fasting, particularly in patients who rose before sunrise. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Hypertension. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Higher levels of spontaneous breathing reduce lung injury in experimental moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, Nadja C; Güldner, Andreas; Beda, Alessandro; Rentzsch, Ines; Uhlig, Christopher; Dittrich, Susanne; Spieth, Peter M; Wiedemann, Bärbel; Kasper, Michael; Koch, Thea; Richter, Torsten; Rocco, Patricia R; Pelosi, Paolo; de Abreu, Marcelo Gama

    2014-11-01

    To assess the effects of different levels of spontaneous breathing during biphasic positive airway pressure/airway pressure release ventilation on lung function and injury in an experimental model of moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome. Multiple-arm randomized experimental study. University hospital research facility. Thirty-six juvenile pigs. Pigs were anesthetized, intubated, and mechanically ventilated. Moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome was induced by repetitive saline lung lavage. Biphasic positive airway pressure/airway pressure release ventilation was conducted using the airway pressure release ventilation mode with an inspiratory/expiratory ratio of 1:1. Animals were randomly assigned to one of four levels of spontaneous breath in total minute ventilation (n = 9 per group, 6 hr each): 1) biphasic positive airway pressure/airway pressure release ventilation, 0%; 2) biphasic positive airway pressure/airway pressure release ventilation, > 0-30%; 3) biphasic positive airway pressure/airway pressure release ventilation, > 30-60%, and 4) biphasic positive airway pressure/airway pressure release ventilation, > 60%. The inspiratory effort measured by the esophageal pressure time product increased proportionally to the amount of spontaneous breath and was accompanied by improvements in oxygenation and respiratory system elastance. Compared with biphasic positive airway pressure/airway pressure release ventilation of 0%, biphasic positive airway pressure/airway pressure release ventilation more than 60% resulted in lowest venous admixture, as well as peak and mean airway and transpulmonary pressures, redistributed ventilation to dependent lung regions, reduced the cumulative diffuse alveolar damage score across lungs (median [interquartile range], 11 [3-40] vs 18 [2-69]; p ventilation more than 0-30% and more than 30-60% showed a less consistent pattern of improvement in lung function, inflammation, and damage compared with biphasic positive airway

  17. Firefighter's compressed air breathing system pressure vessel development program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, E. J.

    1974-01-01

    The research to design, fabricate, test, and deliver a pressure vessel for the main component in an improved high-performance firefighter's breathing system is reported. The principal physical and performance characteristics of the vessel which were required are: (1) maximum weight of 9.0 lb; (2) maximum operating pressure of 4500 psig (charge pressure of 4000 psig); (3) minimum contained volume of 280 in. 3; (4) proof pressure of 6750 psig; (5) minimum burst pressure of 9000 psig following operational and service life; and (6) a minimum service life of 15 years. The vessel developed to fulfill the requirements described was completely sucessful, i.e., every category of performence was satisfied. The average weight of the vessel was found to be about 8.3 lb, well below the 9.0 lb specification requirement.

  18. Proportional positive airway pressure: a new concept to treat obstructive sleep apnoea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juhász, J; Becker, H; Cassel, W; Rostig, S; Peter, J H

    2001-03-01

    Proportional positive airway pressure (PPAP) was designed to optimize airway pressure for the therapy of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). In a randomized crossover prospective study, the clinical feasibility of PPAP and its immediate effects on the breathing disorder and sleep in comparison with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) was evaluated. Twelve patients requiring CPAP therapy underwent CPAP and PPAP titration in a random order. Obstructive and mixed respiratory events could be completely abolished with both forms of treatment. This efficacy could be achieved at a significantly lower mean mask pressure during PPAP titration (8.45+/-2.42 cmH2O) compared to CPAP (9.96+/-2.7 cmH2O) (p=0.002). The mean minimal arterial oxygen saturation (Sa,O2) (82.8+/-6.5%) on the diagnostic night increased significantly (pPPAP titration. Total sleep time, slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep increased significantly by the same amount during both CPAP and PPAP titration (pPPAP titration night, four patients did not have a preference, and two patients preferred CPAP. The present data show that proportional positive airway pressure is as effective as continuous positive airway pressure in eliminating obstructive events and has the same immediate effect on sleep. The lower average mask pressure during proportional positive airway pressure implies potential advantages compared to continuous positive airway pressure. Proportional positive airway pressure presents a new effective therapeutic approach to obstructive sleep apnoea.

  19. Peripheral Chemoreception and Arterial Pressure Responses to Intermittent Hypoxia

    OpenAIRE

    Prabhakar, Nanduri R.; Peng, Ying-Jie; Kumar, Ganesh K.; Nanduri, Jayasri

    2015-01-01

    Carotid bodies are the principal peripheral chemoreceptors for detecting changes in arterial blood oxygen levels, and the resulting chemoreflex is a potent regulator of blood pressure. Recurrent apnea with intermittent hypoxia (IH) is a major clinical problem in adult humans and infants born preterm. Adult patients with recurrent apnea exhibit heightened sympathetic nerve activity and hypertension. Adults born preterm are predisposed to early onset of hypertension. Available evidence suggests...

  20. The reproducibility of organ position using active breathing control (ABC) during liver radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawson, Laura A.; Brock, Kristy K.; Kazanjian, Sahira; Fitch, Dwight; McGinn, Cornelius J.; Lawrence, Theodore S.; Haken, Randall K. ten; Balter, James

    2001-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the intrafraction and interfraction reproducibility of liver immobilization using active breathing control (ABC). Methods and Materials: Patients with unresectable intrahepatic tumors who could comfortably hold their breath for at least 20 s were treated with focal liver radiation using ABC for liver immobilization. Fluoroscopy was used to measure any potential motion during ABC breath holds. Preceding each radiotherapy fraction, with the patient setup in the nominal treatment position using ABC, orthogonal radiographs were taken using room-mounted diagnostic X-ray tubes and a digital imager. The radiographs were compared to reference images using a 2D alignment tool. The treatment table was moved to produce acceptable setup, and repeat orthogonal verification images were obtained. The positions of the diaphragm and the liver (assessed by localization of implanted radiopaque intra-arterial microcoils) relative to the skeleton were subsequently analyzed. The intrafraction reproducibility (from repeat radiographs obtained within the time period of one fraction before treatment) and interfraction reproducibility (from comparisons of the first radiograph for each treatment with a reference radiograph) of the diaphragm and the hepatic microcoil positions relative to the skeleton with repeat breath holds using ABC were then measured. Caudal-cranial (CC), anterior-posterior (AP), and medial-lateral (ML) reproducibility of the hepatic microcoils relative to the skeleton were also determined from three-dimensional alignment of repeat CT scans obtained in the treatment position. Results: A total of 262 fractions of radiation were delivered using ABC breath holds in 8 patients. No motion of the diaphragm or hepatic microcoils was observed on fluoroscopy during ABC breath holds. From analyses of 158 sets of positioning radiographs, the average intrafraction CC reproducibility (σ) of the diaphragm and hepatic microcoil position relative to the skeleton

  1. Short-term effects of positive expiratory airway pressure in patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo de Mello Rieder

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and the cardiorespiratory effects of using positive expiratory airway pressure, a physiotherapeutic tool, in comparison with a T-tube, to wean patients from mechanical ventilation. METHODS/DESIGN: A prospective, randomized, cross-over study. SETTING: Two intensive care units. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: We evaluated forty patients who met weaning criteria and had been mechanically-ventilated for more than 48 hours, mean age 59 years, including 23 males. All patients were submitted to the T-tube and Expiratory Positive Airway Pressure devices, at 7 cm H2O, during a 30-minute period. Cardiorespiratory variables including work of breathing, respiratory rate (rr, peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2, heart rate (hr, systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures (SAP, DAP, MAP were measured in the first and thirtieth minutes. The condition was analyzed as an entire sample set (n=40 and was also divided into subconditions: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n=14 and non-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (non- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n=26 categories. Comparisons were made using a t-test and Analysis of Variance. The level of significance was p < 0.05. RESULTS: Our data showed an increase in work of breathing in the first and thirtieth minutes in the EPAP condition (0.86+ 0.43 and 1.02+1.3 as compared with the T-tube condition (0.25+0.26 and 0.26+0.35 (p<0.05, verified by the flow-sensor monitor (values in J/L. No statistical differences were observed when comparing the Expiratory Positive Airway Pressure and T-tube conditions with regard to cardiorespiratory measurements. The same result was observed for both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and non- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease subconditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that, in weaning patients from mechanical ventilation, the use of a fixed level of Expiratory Positive Airway Pressure caused an increase in work of

  2. Intermittent Hypoxia and Stem Cell Implants Preserve Breathing Capacity in a Rodent Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Nicole L.; Gowing, Genevieve; Satriotomo, Irawan; Nashold, Lisa J.; Dale, Erica A.; Suzuki, Masatoshi; Avalos, Pablo; Mulcrone, Patrick L.; McHugh, Jacalyn

    2013-01-01

    Rationale: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating motor neuron disease causing paralysis and death from respiratory failure. Strategies to preserve and/or restore respiratory function are critical for successful treatment. Although breathing capacity is maintained until late in disease progression in rodent models of familial ALS (SOD1G93A rats and mice), reduced numbers of phrenic motor neurons and decreased phrenic nerve activity are observed. Decreased phrenic motor output suggests imminent respiratory failure. Objectives: To preserve or restore phrenic nerve activity in SOD1G93A rats at disease end stage. Methods: SOD1G93A rats were injected with human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) bracketing the phrenic motor nucleus before disease onset, or exposed to acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) at disease end stage. Measurements and Main Results: The capacity to generate phrenic motor output in anesthetized rats at disease end stage was: (1) transiently restored by a single presentation of AIH; and (2) preserved ipsilateral to hNPC transplants made before disease onset. hNPC transplants improved ipsilateral phrenic motor neuron survival. Conclusions: AIH-induced respiratory plasticity and stem cell therapy have complementary translational potential to treat breathing deficits in patients with ALS. PMID:23220913

  3. Pressure Dependence of the Radial Breathing Mode of Carbon Nanotubes: The Effect of Fluid Adsorption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longhurst, M. J.; Quirke, N.

    2007-04-01

    The pressure dependence of shifts in the vibrational modes of individual carbon nanotubes is strongly affected by the nature of the pressure transmitting medium as a result of adsorption at the nanotube surface. The adsorbate is treated as an elastic shell which couples with the radial breathing mode (RBM) of the nanotube via van der Waal interactions. Using analytical methods as well as molecular simulation, we observe a low frequency breathing mode for the adsorbed fluid at ˜50cm-1, as well as diameter dependent upshifts in the RBM frequency with pressure, suggesting metallic nanotubes may wet more than semiconducting ones.

  4. Positive expiratory pressure - Common clinical applications and physiological effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagevik Olsén, Monika; Lannefors, Louise; Westerdahl, Elisabeth

    2015-03-01

    Breathing out against resistance, in order to achieve positive expiratory pressure (PEP), is applied by many patient groups. Pursed lips breathing and a variety of devices can be used to create the resistance giving the increased expiratory pressure. Effects on pulmonary outcomes have been discussed in several publications, but the expected underlying physiology of the effect is seldom discussed. The aim of this article is to describe the purpose, performance, clinical application and underlying physiology of PEP when it is used to increase lung volumes, decrease hyperinflation or improve airway clearance. In clinical practice, the instruction how to use an expiratory resistance is of major importance since it varies. Different breathing patterns during PEP increase or reduce expiratory flow, result in movement of EPP centrally or peripherally and can increase or decrease lung volume. It is therefore necessary to give the right instructions to obtain the desired effects. As the different PEP techniques are being used by diverse patient groups it is not possible to give standard instructions. Based on the information given in this article the instructions have to be adjusted to give the optimal effect. There is no consensus regarding optimal treatment frequency and number of cycles included in each treatment session and must also be individualized. In future research, more precise descriptions are needed about physiological aims and specific instructions of how the treatments have been performed to assure as good treatment quality as possible and to be able to evaluate and compare treatment effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Influence of upper body position on middle cerebral artery blood velocity during continuous positive airway pressure breathing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Højlund Rasmussen, J; Mantoni, T; Belhage, B

    2007-01-01

    Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a treatment modality for pulmonary oxygenation difficulties. CPAP impairs venous return to the heart and, in turn, affects cerebral blood flow (CBF) and augments cerebral blood volume (CBV). We considered that during CPAP, elevation of the upper body ...

  6. Using an expiratory resistor, arterial pulse pressure variations predict fluid responsiveness during spontaneous breathing: an experimental porcine study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahl, Michael K; Vistisen, Simon T; Koefoed-Nielsen, Jacob; Larsson, Anders

    2009-01-01

    Fluid responsiveness prediction is difficult in spontaneously breathing patients. Because the swings in intrathoracic pressure are minor during spontaneous breathing, dynamic parameters like pulse pressure variation (PPV) and systolic pressure variation (SPV) are usually small. We hypothesized that during spontaneous breathing, inspiratory and/or expiratory resistors could induce high arterial pressure variations at hypovolemia and low variations at normovolemia and hypervolemia. Furthermore, we hypothesized that SPV and PPV could predict fluid responsiveness under these conditions. Eight prone, anesthetized and spontaneously breathing pigs (20 to 25 kg) were subjected to a sequence of 30% hypovolemia, normovolemia, and 20% and 40% hypervolemia. At each volemic level, the pigs breathed in a randomized order either through an inspiratory and/or an expiratory threshold resistor (7.5 cmH2O) or only through the tracheal tube without any resistor. Hemodynamic and respiratory variables were measured during the breathing modes. Fluid responsiveness was defined as a 15% increase in stroke volume (DeltaSV) following fluid loading. Stroke volume was significantly lower at hypovolemia compared with normovolemia, but no differences were found between normovolemia and 20% or 40% hypervolemia. Compared with breathing through no resistor, SPV was magnified by all resistors at hypovolemia whereas there were no changes at normovolemia and hypervolemia. PPV was magnified by the inspiratory resistor and the combined inspiratory and expiratory resistor. Regression analysis of SPV or PPV versus DeltaSV showed the highest R2 (0.83 for SPV and 0.52 for PPV) when the expiratory resistor was applied. The corresponding sensitivity and specificity for prediction of fluid responsiveness were 100% and 100%, respectively, for SPV and 100% and 81%, respectively, for PPV. Inspiratory and/or expiratory threshold resistors magnified SPV and PPV in spontaneously breathing pigs during hypovolemia

  7. Intermittent aerosol delivery to the lungs during high-flow nasal cannula therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golshahi, Laleh; Longest, P Worth; Azimi, Mandana; Syed, Aamer; Hindle, Michael

    2014-10-01

    Use of submicrometer particles combined with condensational growth techniques has been proposed to reduce drug losses within components of high-flow nasal cannula therapy systems and to enhance the dose reaching the lower respiratory tract. These methods have been evaluated using continuous inhalation flow rather than realistic inhalation/exhalation breathing cycles. The goal of this study was to evaluate in vitro aerosol drug delivery using condensational growth techniques during high-flow nasal cannula therapy using realistic breathing profiles and incorporating intermittent aerosol delivery techniques. A mixer-heater combined with a vibrating mesh nebulizer was used to generate a submicrometer aerosol using a formulation of 0.2% albuterol sulfate and 0.2% sodium chloride in water. Delivery efficiency of the aerosol for 1 min through a nasal cannula was considered using an intermittent delivery regime with aerosol being emitted for either the entire inhalation time (2 s) or half of the inhalation period (1 s) and compared with continuous delivery. The deposition of the aerosol was evaluated in the nasal delivery components (ventilator tubing and cannula) and an in vitro adult nose-mouth-throat (NMT) model using 3 realistic breathing profiles. Significant improvements in dose delivered to the exit of the NMT model (ex-NMT) were observed for both condensational growth methods using intermittent aerosol delivery compared with continuous delivery, and increasing the tidal volume was found useful. The combination of the largest tidal volume with the shortest intermittent delivery time resulted in the lowest respiration losses and the highest ex-NMT delivered dose. Intermittent aerosol delivery using realistic breathing profiles of submicrometer condensational growth aerosols was found to be efficient in delivering nasally administered drugs in an in vitro airway model. Copyright © 2014 by Daedalus Enterprises.

  8. Intermittent operation of ultra-low pressure ultrafiltration for decentralized drinking water treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peter-Varbanets, Maryna; Gujer, Willi; Pronk, Wouter

    2012-06-15

    River water was treated by ultrafiltration at a relatively low transmembrane pressure (40 mbar). As observed before, flux stabilization occurred after several days of operation although no back-flushing or cross flow was applied. Interruptions in flux were applied by temporary offset of the transmembrane pressure. After restoration of the transmembrane pressure, the initial flux was higher than the stable flux level, and the flux recovery depended on the standstill time. Furthermore, if a short cross flow was applied after standstill, the flux was restored to an even higher level. In all cases, the flux decreased again during operation to reach finally the same stable level as before standstill. In order to evaluate the influence of intermittent operation as practiced for water treatment on a household level, daily interruptions of flux were applied. An optimum of total daily water production rate was obtained at 21 h of operation and 3 h of standstill per day. A model was developed which can describe the impact of intermittent operation on the flux depending on the duration of the standstill and operating periods. This enables the prediction of production capacity of the system operated intermittently. The flux increase during standstill could be explained by a relaxation and expansion of the biofouling layer, while the higher flux after forward-flushing was caused by this layer being partially sloughed off. Household water treatment with the process presented here will generally be operated on a discontinuous basis. The results show that such operation schemes do not compromise the permeability of the system, but actually lead to higher fluxes after standstill. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Effects of respiratory rate, plateau pressure, and positive end-expiratory pressure on PaO2 oscillations after saline lavage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgardner, James E; Markstaller, Klaus; Pfeiffer, Birgit; Doebrich, Marcus; Otto, Cynthia M

    2002-12-15

    One of the proposed mechanisms of ventilator-associated lung injury is cyclic recruitment of atelectasis. Collapse of dependent lung regions with every breath should lead to large oscillations in PaO2 as shunt varies throughout the respiratory cycle. We placed a fluorescence-quenching PO2 probe in the brachiocephalic artery of six anesthetized rabbits after saline lavage. Using pressure-controlled ventilation with oxygen, ventilator settings were varied in random order over three levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), respiratory rate (RR), and plateau pressure minus PEEP (Delta). Dependence of the amplitude of PaO2 oscillations on PEEP, RR, and Delta was modeled by multiple linear regression. Before lavage, arterial PO2 oscillations varied from 3 to 22 mm Hg. After lavage, arterial PO2 oscillations varied from 5 to 439 mm Hg. Response surfaces showed markedly nonlinear dependence of amplitude on PEEP, RR, and Delta. The large PaO2 oscillations observed provide evidence for cyclic recruitment in this model of lung injury. The important effect of RR on the magnitude of PaO2 oscillations suggests that the static behavior of atelectasis cannot be accurately extrapolated to predict dynamic behavior at realistic breathing frequencies.

  10. Audiovisual biofeedback guided breath-hold improves lung tumor position reproducibility and volume consistency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danny Lee, PhD

    2017-07-01

    Conclusions: This study demonstrated that audiovisual biofeedback can be used to improve the reproducibility and consistency of breath-hold lung tumor position and volume, respectively. These results may provide a pathway to achieve more accurate lung cancer radiation treatment in addition to improving various medical imaging and treatments by using breath-hold procedures.

  11. BreathSens: A Continuous On-Bed Respiratory Monitoring System With Torso Localization Using an Unobtrusive Pressure Sensing Array.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jason J; Huang, Ming-Chun; Xu, Wenyao; Zhang, Xiaoyi; Stevens, Luke; Alshurafa, Nabil; Sarrafzadeh, Majid

    2015-09-01

    The ability to continuously monitor respiration rates of patients in homecare or in clinics is an important goal. Past research showed that monitoring patient breathing can lower the associated mortality rates for long-term bedridden patients. Nowadays, in-bed sensors consisting of pressure sensitive arrays are unobtrusive and are suitable for deployment in a wide range of settings. Such systems aim to extract respiratory signals from time-series pressure sequences. However, variance of movements, such as unpredictable extremities activities, affect the quality of the extracted respiratory signals. BreathSens, a high-density pressure sensing system made of e-Textile, profiles the underbody pressure distribution and localizes torso area based on the high-resolution pressure images. With a robust bodyparts localization algorithm, respiratory signals extracted from the localized torso area are insensitive to arbitrary extremities movements. In a study of 12 subjects, BreathSens demonstrated its respiratory monitoring capability with variations of sleep postures, locations, and commonly tilted clinical bed conditions.

  12. CT changes in children with drained hydrocephalus and intermittently raised intracranial pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmidt, H.; Korinthenberg, R.; Erlemann, R.; Lengerke, H.J. von; Muenster Univ.

    1987-01-01

    Seven children with drained hydrocephalus are described who showed increasingly severe and frequent episodes of intermittently raised intracranial pressure. CT examinations during symptom-free intervals, or after conservative treatment, showed collapsed slit-like ventricles. Examination during attacks of raised pressure showed relative dilatation of the ventricles as compared with earlier examinations. Children with ventricular shunts of long duration may develop a shunt-dependent syndrome; CT may show normal or narrow ventricles and this does not exclude the possibility of a rise of intracranial pressure. These findings may help in making the diagnosis by means of CT without any further invasive procedure. (orig.) [de

  13. Breath-hold duration in man and the diving response induced by face immersion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sterba, J A; Lundgren, C E

    1988-09-01

    The objective of this study in 5 selected volunteer subjects was to see whether the circulatory diving response which is elicited by breath holding and by cold water on the face would affect the duration of maximal-effort breath holds. Compared to control measurements (breath holding during resting, breathing with 35 degrees C water on the face) breath holding with the face cooled by 20 degrees C water caused a 12% reduction of heart rate, 6% reduction of cardiac output, 33% reduction in [corrected] forearm blood flow, and 9% rise in mean arterial blood pressure, but there was no difference in breath-hold duration (control and experimental both 94 s). There were also no differences in time of appearance of the first involuntary respiratory efforts during breath holding, in alveolar gas exchange, or in breaking-point alveolar O2 and CO2 tensions. When the diving response was magnified by a brief bout of exercise so that there was a 19% [corrected] reduction in heart rate, 23% reduction in cardiac output, and 48% reduction in forearm blood flow, breath-hold duration was still unaffected by face cooling. Compared to intermittent immersions, continuous exposure of the face to cold water abolished the diving response, probably by a cold adaptation of facial thermal receptors. These results with cooling of the face only are consistent with our earlier finding that there was a negative correlation between the duration of a maximal-effort breath hold and the diving response during whole-body submersion in cold water.

  14. Hemodynamic differences between continual positive and two types of negative pressure ventilation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockhat, D; Langleben, D; Zidulka, A

    1992-09-01

    In seven anesthetized dogs, ventilated with matching lung volumes, tidal volumes, and respiratory rates, we compared the effects on cardiac output (CO), arterial venous oxygen saturation difference (SaO2 - SVO2), and femoral and inferior vena cava pressure (1) intermittent positive pressure ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure (CPPV); (2) iron-lung ventilation with negative end-expiratory pressure (ILV-NEEP); (3) grid and wrap ventilation with NEEP applied to the thorax and upper abdomen (G&W-NEEP). The values of CO and SaO2 - SVO2 with ILV-NEEP were similar to those with CPPV. However, with G&W-NEEP as compared with ILV-NEEP, mean CO was greater (2.9 versus 2.6 L/min, p = 0.02) and mean (SaO2 - SVO2) was lower (26.6% versus 28.3%, p = NS). Mean PFEM-IVC was higher with G&W-NEEP than with the other types of ventilation. We conclude that (1) ILV-NEEP is hemodynamically equivalent to CPPV and (2) G&W-NEEP has less adverse hemodynamic consequences. has less adverse hemodynamic consequences.

  15. Modern Spirometry Supports Anesthetic Management in Small Animal Clinical Practice: A Case Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calice, Ivana; Moens, Yves

    2016-01-01

    Modern spirometry, like no other monitoring technique, allows insight into breath-to-breath respiratory mechanics. Spirometers continuously measure volume, airway pressure, and flow while calculating and continuously displaying respiratory system compliance and resistance in the form of loops. The aim of this case series is to show how observation of spirometric loops, similar to electrocardiogram or CO2 curve monitoring, can improve safety of anesthetic management in small animals. Spirometric monitoring cases described in this case series are based on use of the anaesthesia monitor Capnomac Ultima with a side stream spirometry sensor. The cases illustrate how recognition and understanding of spirometric loops allows for easy diagnosis of iatrogenic pneumothorax, incorrect ventilator settings, leaks in the system, kinked or partially obstructed endotracheal tube, and spontaneous breathing interfering with intermittent positive-pressure ventilation. The case series demonstrates the potential of spirometry to improve the quality and safety of anesthetic management, and, hence, its use can be recommended during intermittent positive-pressure ventilation and procedures in which interference with ventilation can be expected.

  16. An expiratory assist during spontaneous breathing can compensate for endotracheal tube resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchiyama, Akinori; Chang, Cheng; Suzuki, Shinya; Mashimo, Takashi; Fujino, Yuji

    2009-08-01

    Although inspiratory assist of spontaneous breathing in intubated patients is common, expiratory assist functions have rarely been reported. Effective expiratory support (ES) could be used to compensate for endotracheal tube (ETT) resistance during spontaneous breathing. In this study, we examined the performance of a new system designed to provide both inspiratory support (IS) and ES during spontaneous breathing with the goal of reducing the effective resistance of the ETT. The ES system consisted of a ventilator demand valve and a computer-controlled piston cylinder, which aspirated gas from the respiratory circuit during the expiratory phase. The movement of the piston was synchronized with spontaneous breathing. We compared the pressures at the tip of the ETT and in the breathing circuit during spontaneous breathing through an ETT of internal diameter (ID) 5 mm with that of an ETT with ID 8 mm in nine healthy adult male volunteers. The ventilatory mode was set to maintain a continuous airway pressure of 0 cm H(2)O. Three ventilator settings (no support, IS only, and IS plus ES) were compared using ID 5 mm ETT. We monitored pressure in the breathing circuit (P(aw)), ETT tip pressure (P(tip)), and respiratory flow. The P(tip) of the ID 5 mm ETT showed a large negative deflection during inspiration and a positive deflection during expiration without support. IS alone did not improve the respiratory pattern through the small ETT. However, IS plus ES resulted in negative P(aw) during expiration in addition to positive deflection of P(aw) during inspiration, making the pressure characteristics of P(tip) similar to those of ID 8 mm ETT. Moreover, IS plus ES produced a respiratory pattern through the ID 5 mm ETT that was similar to that through the ID 8 mm ETT. In this study of healthy volunteers, IS plus ES compensated for the airway resistance imposed by a ID 5.0 mm ETT to create pressure changes at the tip of the ETT similar to those of an ID 8.0 mm ETT.

  17. Water quality effects of intermittent water supply in Arraiján, Panama.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erickson, John J; Smith, Charlotte D; Goodridge, Amador; Nelson, Kara L

    2017-05-01

    Intermittent drinking water supply is common in low- and middle-income countries throughout the world and can cause water quality to degrade in the distribution system. In this study, we characterized water quality in one study zone with continuous supply and three zones with intermittent supply in the drinking water distribution network in Arraiján, Panama. Low or zero pressures occurred in all zones, and negative pressures occurred in the continuous zone and two of the intermittent zones. Despite hydraulic conditions that created risks for backflow and contaminant intrusion, only four of 423 (0.9%) grab samples collected at random times were positive for total coliform bacteria and only one was positive for E. coli. Only nine of 496 (1.8%) samples had turbidity >1.0 NTU and all samples had ≥0.2 mg/L free chlorine residual. In contrast, water quality was often degraded during the first-flush period (when supply first returned after an outage). Still, routine and first-flush water quality under intermittent supply was much better in Arraiján than that reported in a previous study conducted in India. Better water quality in Arraiján could be due to better water quality leaving the treatment plant, shorter supply outages, higher supply pressures, a more consistent and higher chlorine residual, and fewer contaminant sources near pipes. The results illustrate that intermittent supply and its effects on water quality can vary greatly between and within distribution networks. The study also demonstrated that monitoring techniques designed specifically for intermittent supply, such as continuous pressure monitoring and sampling the first flush, can detect water quality threats and degradation that would not likely be detected with conventional monitoring. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Lack of Correlation Between External Fiducial Positions and Internal Tumor Positions During Breath-Hold CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunjan, Sandeep; Starkschall, George; Prado, Karl; Dong Lei; Balter, Peter

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: For thoracic tumors, if four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) is unavailable, the internal margin can be estimated by use of breath-hold (BH) CT scans acquired at end inspiration (EI) and end expiration (EE). By use of external surrogates for tumor position, BH accuracy is estimated by minimizing the difference between respiratory extrema BH and mean equivalent-phase free breathing (FB) positions. We tested the assumption that an external surrogate for BH accuracy correlates with internal tumor positional accuracy during BH CT. Methods and Materials: In 16 lung cancer patients, 4DCT images, as well as BH CT images at EI and EE, were acquired. Absolute differences between BH and mean equivalent-phase (FB) positions were calculated for both external fiducials and gross tumor volume (GTV) centroids as metrics of external and internal BH accuracy, respectively, and the results were correlated. Results: At EI, the absolute difference between mean FB and BH fiducial displacement correlated poorly with the absolute difference between FB and BH GTV centroid positions on CT images (R 2 = 0.11). Similarly, at EE, the absolute difference between mean FB and BH fiducial displacements correlated poorly with the absolute difference between FB and BH GTV centroid positions on CT images (R 2 = 0.18). Conclusions: External surrogates for tumor position are not an accurate metric of BH accuracy for lung cancer patients. This implies that care should be taken when using such an approach because an incorrect internal margin could be generated.

  19. Distributed Position-Based Consensus of Second-Order Multiagent Systems With Continuous/Intermittent Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Qiang; Liu, Fang; Wen, Guanghui; Cao, Jinde; Yang, Xinsong

    2017-04-24

    This paper considers the position-based consensus in a network of agents with double-integrator dynamics and directed topology. Two types of distributed observer algorithms are proposed to solve the consensus problem by utilizing continuous and intermittent position measurements, respectively, where each observer does not interact with any other observers. For the case of continuous communication between network agents, some convergence conditions are derived for reaching consensus in the network with a single constant delay or multiple time-varying delays on the basis of the eigenvalue analysis and the descriptor method. When the network agents can only obtain intermittent position data from local neighbors at discrete time instants, the consensus in the network without time delay or with nonuniform delays is investigated by using the Wirtinger's inequality and the delayed-input approach. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the theoretical analysis.

  20. Reproducibility of liver position using active breathing coordinator for liver cancer radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eccles, Cynthia; Brock, Kristy K.; Bissonnette, Jean-Pierre; Hawkins, Maria; Dawson, Laura A.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To measure the intrabreath-hold liver motion and the intrafraction and interfraction reproducibility of liver position relative to vertebral bodies using an active breathing coordinator (ABC) in patients with unresectable liver cancer treated with hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Methods: Tolerability of ABC and organ motion during ABC was assessed using kV fluoroscopy in 34 patients. For patients treated with ABC, repeat breath-hold CT scans in the ABC breath-hold position were acquired at simulation to estimate the volumetric intrafraction reproducibility of the liver relative to the vertebral bodies. In addition, preceding each radiation therapy fraction, with the liver immobilized using ABC, repeat anteroposterior (AP) megavoltage verification images were obtained. Off-line alignments were completed to determine intrafraction reproducibility (from repeat images obtained before one treatment) and interfraction reproducibility (from comparisons of the final image for each fraction with the AP) of diaphragm position relative to vertebral bodies. For each image set, the vertebral bodies were aligned, and the resultant craniocaudal (CC) offset in diaphragm position was measured. Liver position during ABC was also evaluated from kV fluoroscopy acquired at the time of simulation, kV fluoroscopy at the time of treatment, and from MV beam's-eye view movie loops acquired during treatment. Results: Twenty-one of 34 patients were screened to be suitable for ABC. The average free breathing range of these patients was 13 mm (range, 5-1 mm). Fluoroscopy revealed that the average maximal diaphragm motion during ABC breath-hold was 1.4 mm (range, 0-3.4 mm). The MV treatment movie loops confirmed diaphragm stability during treatment. For a measure of intrafraction reproducibility, an analysis of 36 repeat ABC computed tomography (CT) scans in 14 patients was conducted. The average mean difference in the liver surface position was -0.9 mm, -0

  1. Intermittent Hypoxia in Childhood: The Harmful Consequences Versus Potential Benefits of Therapeutic Uses

    OpenAIRE

    Serebrovskaya, Tatiana V.; Xi, Lei

    2015-01-01

    Intermittent hypoxia often occurs in early infancy in both preterm and term infants and especially at 36 to 44 weeks postmenstrual age. These episodes of intermittent hypoxia could result from sleep-disordered breathing or may be temporally unrelated to apnea or bradycardia events. There are numerous reports indicating adverse effects of intermittent hypoxia on development, behavior, academic achievement and cognition in children with sleep apnea syndrome. It remains uncertain the exact causa...

  2. Kidney motion during free breathing and breath hold for MR-guided radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stam, Mette K; Van Vulpen, Marco; Intven, Martijn; Crijns, Sjoerd P M; Lagendijk, Jan J W; Raaymakers, Bas W; Barendrecht, Maurits M; Zonnenberg, Bernard A

    2013-01-01

    Current treatments for renal cell carcinoma have a high complication rate due to the invasiveness of the treatment. With the MRI-linac it may be possible to treat renal tumours non-invasively with high-precision radiotherapy. This is expected to reduce complications. To deliver a static dose distribution, radiation gating will be used. In this study the reproducibility and efficiency of free breathing gating and a breath hold treatment of the kidney was investigated. For 15 patients with a renal lesion the kidney motion during 2 min of free breathing and 10 consecutive expiration breath holds was studied with 2D cine MRI. The variability in kidney expiration position and treatment efficiency for gating windows of 1 to 20 mm was measured for both breathing patterns. Additionally the time trend in free breathing and the variation in expiration breath hold kidney position with baseline shift correction was determined. In 80% of the patients the variation in expiration position during free breathing is smaller than 2 mm. No clinically relevant time trends were detected. The variation in expiration breath hold is for all patients larger than the free breathing expiration variation. Gating on free breathing is, for gating windows of 1 to 5 mm more efficient than breath hold without baseline correction. When applying a baseline correction to the breath hold it increases the treatment efficiency. The kidney position is more reproducible in expiration free breathing than non-guided expiration breath hold. For small gating windows it is also more time efficient. Since free breathing also seems more comfortable for the patients it is the preferred breathing pattern for MRI-Linac treatments of the kidney. (paper)

  3. Intermittent cardiac overload results in adaptive hypertrophy and provides protection against left ventricular acute pressure overload insult.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreira-Gonçalves, Daniel; Henriques-Coelho, Tiago; Fonseca, Hélder; Ferreira, Rita; Padrão, Ana Isabel; Santa, Cátia; Vieira, Sara; Silva, Ana Filipa; Amado, Francisco; Leite-Moreira, Adelino; Duarte, José Alberto

    2015-09-01

    The present study aimed to test whether a chronic intermittent workload could induce an adaptive cardiac phenotype Chronic intermittent workload induced features of adaptive hypertrophy This was paralleled by protection against acute pressure overload insult The heart may adapt favourably to balanced demands, regardless of the nature of the stimuli. The present study aimed to test whether submitting the healthy heart to intermittent and tolerable amounts of workload, independently of its nature, could result in an adaptive cardiac phenotype. Male Wistar rats were subjected to treadmill running (Ex) (n = 20), intermittent cardiac overload with dobutamine (ITO) (2 mg kg(-1) , s.c.; n = 20) or placebo administration (Cont) (n = 20) for 5 days week(-1) for 8 weeks. Animals were then killed for histological and biochemical analysis or subjected to left ventricular haemodynamic evaluation under baseline conditions, in response to isovolumetric contractions and to sustained LV acute pressure overload (35% increase in peak systolic pressure maintained for 2 h). Baseline cardiac function was enhanced only in Ex, whereas the response to isovolumetric heartbeats was improved in both ITO and Ex. By contrast to the Cont group, in which rats developed diastolic dysfunction with sustained acute pressure overload, ITO and Ex showed increased tolerance to this stress test. Both ITO and Ex developed cardiomyocyte hypertrophy without fibrosis, no overexpression of osteopontin-1 or β-myosin heavy chain, and increased expression of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) protein. Regarding hypertrophic pathways, ITO and Ex showed activation of the protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway but not calcineurin. Mitochondrial complex IV and V activities were also increased in ITO and Ex. Chronic submission to controlled intermittent cardiac overload, independently of its nature, results in an adaptive cardiac phenotype. Features of the cardiac overload, such as the duration and

  4. SU-F-T-644: Reproducibility of Target Position Using Moderate Voluntary Breath- Hold During Liver Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cui, G; Trakul, N; Chang, E; Shiu, A

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the reproducibility of target position using moderate voluntary breath-hold during liver stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). Methods: Two patients who underwent liver SABR on a Varian TrueBeam STx linac were used for this study. Fiducial markers were placed in and around the target in the liver as surrogates for the target position and motion. GTVs were contoured by assessing tumor extent on contrast enhanced CT. The PTV was created from the GTV by adding 2 mm margins to account for the residual motion during breath-holds. A portable biofeedback system was used to facilitate the breath-hold to a reproducible position. The Varian RPM system was used for gating the linac. Proceeding each treatment, orthogonal kV pairs were taken, and alignment to nearby bony anatomy was performed. Then the breath-hold CBCT was acquired to align the fiducial markers. On-line fluoroscopy was used to fine-tune the breath-hold gating thresholds to correlate with the positions of the fiducial markers. The inter-fraction reproducibility of the target was evaluated by the offsets of the daily breath-hold CBCTs from the paired kV matches as a direct measure of the target position relative to the bony anatomy. The intra-fraction reproducibility of the target position was assessed by the gated window of the RPM marker block for each fraction. Results: The absolute mean offsets between the CBCT and paired kV matches in the vertical, longitudinal, and lateral directions were 0.06 cm, 0.10 cm, and 0.06 cm for patient 1, and 0.37 cm, 0.62 cm, and 0.09 cm for patient 2. The gated window of the RPM marker block for the breath-hold for each fraction was within 0.63 ± 0.16 cm and 0.59 ± 0.12 cm for patients 1 and 2, respectively. Conclusion: Moderate voluntary breath-hold showed good inter- and intra-fraction reproducibility of target position during liver SABR.

  5. SU-F-T-644: Reproducibility of Target Position Using Moderate Voluntary Breath- Hold During Liver Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cui, G; Trakul, N; Chang, E; Shiu, A [University Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To evaluate the reproducibility of target position using moderate voluntary breath-hold during liver stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). Methods: Two patients who underwent liver SABR on a Varian TrueBeam STx linac were used for this study. Fiducial markers were placed in and around the target in the liver as surrogates for the target position and motion. GTVs were contoured by assessing tumor extent on contrast enhanced CT. The PTV was created from the GTV by adding 2 mm margins to account for the residual motion during breath-holds. A portable biofeedback system was used to facilitate the breath-hold to a reproducible position. The Varian RPM system was used for gating the linac. Proceeding each treatment, orthogonal kV pairs were taken, and alignment to nearby bony anatomy was performed. Then the breath-hold CBCT was acquired to align the fiducial markers. On-line fluoroscopy was used to fine-tune the breath-hold gating thresholds to correlate with the positions of the fiducial markers. The inter-fraction reproducibility of the target was evaluated by the offsets of the daily breath-hold CBCTs from the paired kV matches as a direct measure of the target position relative to the bony anatomy. The intra-fraction reproducibility of the target position was assessed by the gated window of the RPM marker block for each fraction. Results: The absolute mean offsets between the CBCT and paired kV matches in the vertical, longitudinal, and lateral directions were 0.06 cm, 0.10 cm, and 0.06 cm for patient 1, and 0.37 cm, 0.62 cm, and 0.09 cm for patient 2. The gated window of the RPM marker block for the breath-hold for each fraction was within 0.63 ± 0.16 cm and 0.59 ± 0.12 cm for patients 1 and 2, respectively. Conclusion: Moderate voluntary breath-hold showed good inter- and intra-fraction reproducibility of target position during liver SABR.

  6. Aerosol delivery and humidification with the Boussignac continuous positive airway pressure device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thille, Arnaud W; Bertholon, Jean-François; Becquemin, Marie-Hélène; Roy, Monique; Lyazidi, Aissam; Lellouche, François; Pertusini, Esther; Boussignac, Georges; Maître, Bernard; Brochard, Laurent

    2011-10-01

    A simple method for effective bronchodilator aerosol delivery while administering continuing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) would be useful in patients with severe bronchial obstruction. To assess the effectiveness of bronchodilator aerosol delivery during CPAP generated by the Boussignac CPAP system and its optimal humidification system. First we assessed the relationship between flow and pressure generated in the mask with the Boussignac CPAP system. Next we measured the inspired-gas humidity during CPAP, with several humidification strategies, in 9 healthy volunteers. We then measured the bronchodilator aerosol particle size during CPAP, with and without heat-and-moisture exchanger, in a bench study. Finally, in 7 patients with acute respiratory failure and airway obstruction, we measured work of breathing and gas exchange after a β(2)-agonist bronchodilator aerosol (terbutaline) delivered during CPAP or via standard nebulization. Optimal humidity was obtained only with the heat-and-moisture exchanger or heated humidifier. The heat-and-moisture exchanger had no influence on bronchodilator aerosol particle size. Work of breathing decreased similarly after bronchodilator via either standard nebulization or CPAP, but P(aO(2)) increased significantly only after CPAP aerosol delivery. CPAP bronchodilator delivery decreases the work of breathing as effectively as does standard nebulization, but produces a greater oxygenation improvement in patients with airway obstruction. To optimize airway humidification, a heat-and-moisture exchanger could be used with the Boussignac CPAP system, without modifying aerosol delivery.

  7. Sleep-disordered breathing and mortality: a prospective cohort study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naresh M Punjabi

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Sleep-disordered breathing is a common condition associated with adverse health outcomes including hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The overall objective of this study was to determine whether sleep-disordered breathing and its sequelae of intermittent hypoxemia and recurrent arousals are associated with mortality in a community sample of adults aged 40 years or older.We prospectively examined whether sleep-disordered breathing was associated with an increased risk of death from any cause in 6,441 men and women participating in the Sleep Heart Health Study. Sleep-disordered breathing was assessed with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI based on an in-home polysomnogram. Survival analysis and proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios for mortality after adjusting for age, sex, race, smoking status, body mass index, and prevalent medical conditions. The average follow-up period for the cohort was 8.2 y during which 1,047 participants (587 men and 460 women died. Compared to those without sleep-disordered breathing (AHI: or=30.0 events/h sleep-disordered breathing were 0.93 (95% CI: 0.80-1.08, 1.17 (95% CI: 0.97-1.42, and 1.46 (95% CI: 1.14-1.86, respectively. Stratified analyses by sex and age showed that the increased risk of death associated with severe sleep-disordered breathing was statistically significant in men aged 40-70 y (hazard ratio: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.31-3.33. Measures of sleep-related intermittent hypoxemia, but not sleep fragmentation, were independently associated with all-cause mortality. Coronary artery disease-related mortality associated with sleep-disordered breathing showed a pattern of association similar to all-cause mortality.Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with all-cause mortality and specifically that due to coronary artery disease, particularly in men aged 40-70 y with severe sleep-disordered breathing. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

  8. Early predictors of success of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation in hypercapnic respiratory failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharyya, D; Prasad, Bnbm; Tampi, P S; Ramprasad, R

    2011-10-01

    Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) has emerged as a significant advancement in the management of acute hypercapnic respiratory failure. Patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure requiring ventilation therapy (respiratory rate [RR] of > 30 breaths per minutes, PaCO2 > 55 mmHg and arterial pH success group and these parameters continued to improve even after four and 24 hours of NIPPV treatment. Out of 24 (24%) patients who failed to respond, 13 (54%) needed endotracheal intubation within one hour. The failure group had higher baseline HR than the success group. Improvement in HR, RR, pH, and PCO2 one hour after putting the patient on NIPPV predicts success of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation in hypercapnic respiratory failure.

  9. Nasal continuous positive airways pressure immediately after extubation for preventing morbidity in preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, P G; Henderson-Smart, D J

    2003-01-01

    Preterm infants being extubated following a period of intermittent positive pressure ventilation via an endotracheal tube are at risk of developing respiratory failure as a result of apnea, respiratory acidosis and hypoxia. Nasal continuous positive airway pressure appears to stabilise the upper airway, improve lung function and reduce apnea and may therefore have a role in facilitating extubation in this population. In preterm infants having their endotracheal tube removed following a period of intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV), does management with nasal continuous positive airways pressure (NCPAP) lead to an increased proportion remaining free of additional ventilatory support, compared to extubation directly to headbox oxygen? Searches were made of the Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials, MEDLINE up to November 2002, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2002), previous reviews including cross references, abstracts of conferences and symposia proceedings, expert informants and journal handsearching mainly in the English language. All trials utilising random or quasi-random patient allocation, in which NCPAP (delivered by any method) was compared with headbox oxygen for post-extubation care were included. Methodological quality was assessed independently by the two authors. Data were extracted independently by the two authors. Prespecified subgroup analysis to determine the impact of different levels of NCPAP, differences in duration of IPPV and use of aminophylline were also performed using the same package. Data were analysed using relative risk (RR), risk difference (RD) and number needed to treat (NNT). Nasal CPAP, when applied to preterm infants being extubated following IPPV, reduces the incidence of adverse clinical events (apnea, respiratory acidosis and increased oxygen requirements) indicating the need for additional ventilatory support [RR 0.62 (0.49, 0.77), RD -0.17 (-0.24,-0.10), NNT 6 (4,10)]. nasal

  10. Intermittent hypercapnia-induced phrenic long-term depression is revealed after serotonin receptor blockade with methysergide in anaesthetized rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valic, Maja; Pecotic, Renata; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Valic, Zoran; Stipica, Ivona; Dogas, Zoran

    2016-02-01

    What is the central question of this study? Intermittent hypercapnia is a concomitant feature of breathing disorders. Hypercapnic stimuli evoke a form of respiratory plasticity known as phrenic long-term depression in experimental animals. This study was performed to investigate the putative role of serotonin receptors in the initiation of phrenic long-term depression in anaesthetized rats. What is the main finding and its importance? Phrenic nerve long-term depression was revealed in animals pretreated with the serotonin broad-spectrum antagonist, methysergide. This study highlights that serotonin receptors modulate respiratory plasticity evoked by acute intermittent hypercapnia in anaesthetized rats. This study was performed to test the hypothesis that intermittent hypercapnia can evoke a form of respiratory plasticity known as long-term depression of the phrenic nerve (pLTD) and that 5-HT receptors play a role in the initiation of pLTD. Adult male urethane-anaesthetized, vagotomized, paralysed, mechanically ventilated Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to an acute intermittent hypercapnia protocol. One group received i.v. injection of the non-selective 5-HT receptor antagonist methysergide and another group received i.v. injection of the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635 20 min before exposure to intermittent hypercapnia. A control group received i.v. injection of saline. Peak phrenic nerve activity and respiratory rhythm parameters were analysed at baseline (T0), during each of five hypercapnic episodes, and 15, 30 and 60 min (T60) after the last hypercapnia. Intravenous injection of methysergide before exposure to acute intermittent hypercapnia induced development of amplitude pLTD at T60 (decreased by 46.1 ± 6.9%, P = 0.003). Conversely, in control and WAY-100635-pretreated animals, exposure to acute intermittent hypercapnia did not evoke amplitude pLTD. However, a long-term decrease in phrenic nerve frequency was evoked both in control (42 ± 4

  11. Positive expiratory pressure in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagevik Olsén, Monika; Westerdahl, Elisabeth

    2009-01-01

    Breathing exercises against a resistance during expiration are often used as treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Controversy still exists regarding the clinical application and efficacy. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the effects of chest physiotherapy techniques with positive expiratory pressure (PEP) for the prevention and treatment of pulmonary impairment in adults with COPD. The review was conducted on randomised, controlled clinical trials in which breathing exercises with positive expiratory pressure were compared with other chest physical therapy techniques or with no treatment, in adult patients with COPD. A computer-assisted literature search of available databases from 1970 to January 2008 was performed. Two reviewers extracted data independently and assessed the trials systematically with an instrument for measuring methodological quality. In total, 11 trials met the inclusion criteria, of which 5 reached an adequate level of internal validity. Several kinds of PEP techniques with a diversity of intensities and durations of treatment have been evaluated with different outcome measures and follow-up periods. Benefits of PEP were found in isolated outcome measures in separate studies with a follow-up period <1 month. Concerning long-term effects, the results are contradictory. Prior to widespread prescription of long-term PEP treatment, more research is required to establish the benefit of the technique in patients with COPD. (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  12. Effects of Positioning Uncertainty and Breathing on Dose Delivery and Radiation Pneumonitis Prediction in Breast Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mavroidis, Panayiotis; Axelsson, Sofie; Hyoedynmaa, Simo; Rajala, Juha; Pitkaenen, Maunu A.; Lind, Bengt K.; Brahme, Anders

    2002-01-01

    The quality of the radiation therapy delivered in the treatment of breast cancer is susceptible to setup errors and organ motion uncertainties. For 60 breast cancer patients (24 resected with negative node involvement, 13 resected with positive node involvement and 23 ablated) who were treated with three different irradiation techniques, these uncertainties are simulated. The delivered dose distributions in the lung were recalculated taking positioning uncertainty and breathing effects into account. In this way the real dose distributions delivered to the patients are more closely determined. The positioning uncertainties in the anteroposterior (AP) and the craniocaudal (CC) directions are approximated by Gaussian distributions based on the fact that setup errors are random. Breathing is assumed to have a linear behavior because of the chest wall movement during expiration and inspiration. The combined frequency distribution of the positioning and breathing distributions is obtained by convolution. By integrating the convolved distribution over a number of intervals, the positions and the weights of the fields that simulate the original 'effective fields' are calculated. Opposed tangential fields are simulated by a set of 5 pairs of fields in the AP direction and 3 such sets in the CC direction. Opposed AP + PA fields are simulated by a set of 3 pairs of fields in the AP direction and 3 such sets in the CC direction. Single frontal fields are simulated by a set of 5 fields. In radiotherapy for breast cancer, the lung is often partly within the irradiated volume even though it is a sensitive organ at risk. The influence of the deviation in the dose delivered by the original and the adjusted treatment plans on the clinical outcome is estimated by using the relative seriality model and the biologically effective uniform dose concept. Radiation pneumonitis is used as the clinical endpoint for lung complications. The adjusted treatment plans show larger lung

  13. Features of motivation of the crewmembers in an enclosed space at atmospheric pressure changes during breathing inert gases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komarevcev, Sergey

    , that personal values , especially in understanding Schwartz, strongly depend on the orientation motivating force for we understand the desire - force under stability - ability to achieve goal, depending on the process of excitation - inhibition in the central nervous system , and under the direct - oriented activity of the individual ( 4). However, in this case , we just needed to see change features of motivation Conclusions : 1. Stress, monotony , fatigue and satiety have not changed throughout the experimentation and remained at a stable average level 2.In the second experimentation the subjects changed the hierarchy of personal values - when breathing helium mixture while pressure - risen strongly indicators such personal values as authoritativeness and the pursuit of that in our opinion indicates change individual self-esteem 3.On the second stage of experimentation (breathing helium mixture ) increased indicators of positive attitude towards life and independence. Svdietelstvovat can increase independence of a melancholic temperament traits , but in vivo positivism and independence are not found together and positivism growth rate can be regarded as an indicator of pharmacologic effects

  14. Positive pressure ventilation in the management of acute and chronic cardiac failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadar, Sunil; Prasad, Neeraj; Taylor, Rod S; Lip, Gregory Y H

    2005-03-18

    Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a common condition and is associated with excess morbidity and mortality, in spite of the many advances in its treatment. Chronic stable heart failure is also associated with an increased incidence of sleep-related breathing disorders, such as central sleep apnoea (CSA) and Cheyne Stokes respiration (CSR). Continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of CHF, improve left ventricular function and oxygenation. To a certain extent, CPAP also abolishes sleep-related breathing disorders in patients with chronic heart failure. In patients with acute pulmonary oedema, the use of positive pressure ventilation improves cardiac haemodynamic indices, as well as symptoms and oxygenation, and is associated with a lower need for intubation. However, some studies have cast doubts about its safety and suggest a higher rate of myocardial infarction associated with its use. In our opinion, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation and CPAP offers an adjunctive mode of therapy in patients with acute pulmonary oedema and chronic heart failure, who may not be suitable for intubation and in those not responsive to conventional therapies. Non-invasive ventilation also helps to improve oxygenation in those patients with exhaustion and respiratory acidosis. Many trials are still ongoing and the results of these studies would throw more light on the present role of non-invasive ventilation in the management of CHF.

  15. An audit of pressure sores caused by intermittent compression devices used to prevent venous thromboembolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skillman, Joanna; Thomas, Sunil

    2011-12-01

    When intermittent compression devices (ICDs) are used to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) they can cause pressure sores in a selected group of women, undergoing long operations. A prospective audit pre and post intervention showed a reduced risk with an alternative device, without increasing the risk of VTE.

  16. Radial breathing vibration of double-walled carbon nanotubes subjected to pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lei, Xiao-Wen; Natsuki, Toshiaki; Shi, Jin-Xing; Ni, Qing-Qing

    2011-01-01

    A theoretical vibrational analysis of the radial breathing mode (RBM) of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) subjected to pressure is presented based on an elastic continuum model. The results agree with reported experimental results obtained under different conditions. Frequencies of the RBM in DWCNTs subjected to increasing pressure depend strongly on circumferential wave numbers, but weakly on the aspect ratio and axial half-wave numbers. For the inner and outer tubes of DWCNTs, the frequency of the RBM increases obviously as the pressure increases under different conditions. The range of variation is smaller for the inner tube than the outer tube. -- Highlights: → An elastic continuum model is used in the theoretical analysis of RBM of DWCNTs. → The RBM of DWCNTs subjected to pressure is analyzed. → Frequency of RBM depends on wave number and aspect ratio. → Frequencies of RBM in inner and outer tubes change in different trends and ranges.

  17. Obstructive sleep apnea and cancer: effects of intermittent hypoxia?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kukwa, Wojciech; Migacz, Ewa; Druc, Karolina; Grzesiuk, Elzbieta; Czarnecka, Anna M

    2015-01-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder characterized by pauses in regular breathing. Apneic episodes lead to recurrent hypoxemia-reoxygenation cycles with concomitant cellular intermittent hypoxia. Studies suggest that intermittent hypoxia in OSA may influence tumorigenesis. This review presents recent articles on the potential role of OSA in cancer development. Relevant research has focused on: molecular pathways mediating the influence of intermittent hypoxia on tumor physiology, animal and epidemiological human studies linking OSA and cancer. Current data relating OSA to risk of neoplastic disease remain scarce, but recent studies reveal the potential for a strong relation. More work is, therefore, needed on the impact of OSA on many cancer-related aspects. Results may offer enlightenment for improved cancer diagnosis and treatment.

  18. Increased airway reactivity in a neonatal mouse model of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

    OpenAIRE

    Mayer, Catherine A.; Martin, Richard J.; MacFarlane, Peter M.

    2015-01-01

    Background Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a primary form of respiratory support used in the intensive care of preterm infants, but its long-term effects on airway (AW) function are unknown. Methods We developed a neonatal mouse model of CPAP treatment to determine whether it modifies later AW reactivity. Un-anesthetized spontaneously breathing mice were fitted with a mask to deliver CPAP (6cmH2O, 3hrs/day) for 7 consecutive days starting at postnatal day 1. Airway reactivity to...

  19. Breathing adapted radiotherapy for breast cancer: comparison of free breathing gating with the breath-hold technique

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Korreman, Stine Sofia; Pedersen, Anders N; Nøttrup, Trine Jakobi

    2005-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Adjuvant radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer implies a risk of late cardiac and pulmonary toxicity. This is the first study to evaluate cardiopulmonary dose sparing of breathing adapted radiotherapy (BART) using free breathing gating......, and to compare this respiratory technique with voluntary breath-hold. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 17 patients were CT-scanned during non-coached breathing manoeuvre including free breathing (FB), end-inspiration gating (IG), end-expiration gating (EG), deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) and end-expiration breath......-hold (EBH). The Varian Real-time Position Management system (RPM) was used to monitor respiratory movement and to gate the scanner. For each breathing phase, a population based internal margin (IM) was estimated based on average chest wall excursion, and incorporated into an individually optimised three...

  20. Target position uncertainty during visually guided deep-inspiration breath-hold radiotherapy in locally advanced lung cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rydhog, Jonas Scherman; de Blanck, Steen Riisgaard; Josipovic, Mirjana

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate the uncertainty in voluntary deep-inspiration breath hold (DISH) radiotherapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.Methods: Perpendicular fluoroscopic movies were acquired in free breathing (FB) and DIBH during a course...... of visually guided DIBH radiotherapy of nine patients with NSCLC. Patients had liquid markers injected in mediastinal lymph nodes and primary tumours. Excursion, systematic- and random errors, and inter-breath-hold position uncertainty were investigated using an image based tracking algorithm.Results: A mean...... small in visually guided breath-hold radiotherapy of NSCLC. Target motion could be substantially reduced, but not eliminated, using visually guided DIBH. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved....

  1. SU-E-J-227: Breathing Pattern Consistency and Reproducibility: Comparative Analysis for Supine and Prone Body Positioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laugeman, E; Weiss, E; Chen, S; Hugo, G; Rosu, M

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Evaluate and compare the cycle-to-cycle consistency of breathing patterns and their reproducibility over the course of treatment, for supine and prone positioning. Methods: Respiratory traces from 25 patients were recorded for sequential supine/prone 4DCT scans acquired prior to treatment, and during the course of the treatment (weekly or bi-weekly). For each breathing cycle, the average(AVE), end-of-exhale(EoE) and end-of-inhale( EoI) locations were identified using in-house developed software. In addition, the mean values and variations for the above quantities were computed for each breathing trace. F-tests were used to compare the cycle-to-cycle consistency of all pairs of sequential supine and prone scans. Analysis of variances was also performed using population means for AVE, EoE and EoI to quantify differences between the reproducibility of prone and supine respiration traces over the treatment course. Results: Consistency: Cycle-to-cycle variations are less in prone than supine in the pre-treatment and during-treatment scans for AVE, EoE and EoI points, for the majority of patients (differences significant at p<0.05). The few cases where the respiratory pattern had more variability in prone appeared to be random events. Reproducibility: The reproducibility of breathing patterns (supine and prone) improved as treatment progressed, perhaps due to patients becoming more comfortable with the procedure. However, variability in supine position continued to remain significantly larger than in prone (p<0.05), as indicated by the variance analysis of population means for the pretreatment and subsequent during-treatment scans. Conclusions: Prone positioning stabilizes breathing patterns in most subjects investigated in this study. Importantly, a parallel analysis of the same group of patients revealed a tendency towards increasing motion amplitude of tumor targets in prone position regardless of their size or location; thus, the choice for body positioning

  2. Magnitude of shift of tumor position as a function of moderated deep inspiration breath-hold: An analysis of pooled data of lung patients with active breath control in image-guided radiotherapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muralidhar K

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and magnitude of shift of tumor position by using active breathing control and iView-GT for patients with lung cancer with moderate deep-inspiration breath-hold (mDIBH technique. Eight patients with 10 lung tumors were studied. CT scans were performed in the breath-holding phase. Moderate deep-inspiration breath-hold under spirometer-based monitoring system was used. Few important bony anatomic details were delineated by the radiation oncologist. To evaluate the interbreath-hold reproducibility of the tumor position, we compared the digital reconstruction radiographs (DRRs from planning system with the DRRs from the iView-GT in the machine room. We measured the shift in x, y, and z directions. The reproducibility was defined as the difference between the bony landmarks from the DRR of the planning system and those from the DRR of the iView-GT. The maximum shift of the tumor position was 3.2 mm, 3.0 mm, and 2.9 mm in the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions. In conclusion, the moderated deep-inspiration breath-hold method using a spirometer is feasible, with relatively good reproducibility of the tumor position for image-guided radiotherapy in lung cancers.

  3. A simple breath test for fat malabsorption in man

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talbot, J.N.; Coutris, G.; Milhaud, G.

    1980-01-01

    The metabolic pathway of 14 C-labeled oleic acid leads to the formation and the breath excretion of 14 CO 2 . This behavior can be used for measuring lipid absorption. The simple, accurate screening test includes the ingestion of 14 C-labeled triolein and the intermittent collection of breath 14 CO 2 in a trapping solution. The results are strongly correlated to the measurement of fecal fat. The use of carbon-14 in man should not be restricted, provided the labeled substrates are converted into rapidly excreted metabolites [fr

  4. Noninvasive work of breathing improves prediction of post-extubation outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banner, Michael J; Euliano, Neil R; Martin, A Daniel; Al-Rawas, Nawar; Layon, A Joseph; Gabrielli, Andrea

    2012-02-01

    We hypothesized that non-invasively determined work of breathing per minute (WOB(N)/min) (esophageal balloon not required) may be useful for predicting extubation outcome, i.e., appropriate work of breathing values may be associated with extubation success, while inappropriately increased values may be associated with failure. Adult candidates for extubation were divided into a training set (n = 38) to determine threshold values of indices for assessing extubation and a prospective validation set (n = 59) to determine the predictive power of the threshold values for patients successfully extubated and those who failed extubation. All were evaluated for extubation during a spontaneous breathing trial (5 cmH(2)O pressure support ventilation, 5 cmH(2)O positive end expiratory pressure) using routine clinical practice standards. WOB(N)/min data were blinded to attending physicians. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of all extubation indices were determined. AUC for WOB(N)/min was 0.96 and significantly greater (p indices. WOB(N)/min had a specificity of 0.83, the highest sensitivity at 0.96, positive predictive value at 0.84, and negative predictive value at 0.96 compared to all indices. For 95% of those successfully extubated, WOB(N)/min was ≤10 J/min. WOB(N)/min had the greatest overall predictive accuracy for extubation compared to traditional indices. WOB(N)/min warrants consideration for use in a complementary manner with spontaneous breathing pattern data for predicting extubation outcome.

  5. Peripheral Chemoreception and Arterial Pressure Responses to Intermittent Hypoxia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhakar, Nanduri R.; Peng, Ying-Jie; Kumar, Ganesh K.; Nanduri, Jayasri

    2015-01-01

    Carotid bodies are the principal peripheral chemoreceptors for detecting changes in arterial blood oxygen levels, and the resulting chemoreflex is a potent regulator of blood pressure. Recurrent apnea with intermittent hypoxia (IH) is a major clinical problem in adult humans and infants born preterm. Adult patients with recurrent apnea exhibit heightened sympathetic nerve activity and hypertension. Adults born preterm are predisposed to early onset of hypertension. Available evidence suggests that carotid body chemoreflex contributes to hypertension caused by IH in both adults and neonates. Experimental models of IH provided important insights into cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying carotid body chemoreflex-mediated hypertension. This article provides a comprehensive appraisal of how IH affects carotid body function, underlying cellular, molecular, and epigenetic mechanisms, and the contribution of chemoreflex to the hypertension. PMID:25880505

  6. Peripheral chemoreception and arterial pressure responses to intermittent hypoxia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhakar, Nanduri R; Peng, Ying-Jie; Kumar, Ganesh K; Nanduri, Jayasri

    2015-04-01

    Carotid bodies are the principal peripheral chemoreceptors for detecting changes in arterial blood oxygen levels, and the resulting chemoreflex is a potent regulator of blood pressure. Recurrent apnea with intermittent hypoxia (IH) is a major clinical problem in adult humans and infants born preterm. Adult patients with recurrent apnea exhibit heightened sympathetic nerve activity and hypertension. Adults born preterm are predisposed to early onset of hypertension. Available evidence suggests that carotid body chemoreflex contributes to hypertension caused by IH in both adults and neonates. Experimental models of IH provided important insights into cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying carotid body chemoreflex-mediated hypertension. This article provides a comprehensive appraisal of how IH affects carotid body function, underlying cellular, molecular, and epigenetic mechanisms, and the contribution of chemoreflex to the hypertension. © 2015 American Physiological Society.

  7. SU-E-J-236: Audiovisual Biofeedback Improves Breath-Hold Lung Tumor Position Reproducibility Measured with 4D MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, D; Pollock, S; Keall, P; Greer, P; Lapuz, C; Ludbrook, J; Kim, T

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Audiovisual biofeedback breath-hold (AVBH) was employed to reproduce tumor position on inhale and exhale breath-holds for 4D tumor information. We hypothesize that lung tumor position will be more consistent using AVBH compared with conventional breath-hold (CBH). Methods: Lung tumor positions were determined for seven lung cancer patients (age: 25 – 74) during to two separate 3T MRI sessions. A breathhold training session was performed prior to the MRI sessions to allow patients to become comfortable with AVBH and their exhale and inhale target positions. CBH and AVBH 4D image datasets were obtained in the first MRI session (pre-treatment) and the second MRI session (midtreatment) within six weeks of the first session. Audio-instruction (MRI: Siemens Skyra) in CBH and verbal-instruction (radiographer) in AVBH were used. A radiation oncologist contoured the lung tumor using Eclipse (Varian Medical Systems); tumor position was quantified as the centroid of the contoured tumor after rigid registration based on vertebral anatomy across two MRI sessions. CBH and AVBH were compared in terms of the reproducibility assessed via (1) the difference between the two exhale positions for the two sessions and the two inhale positions for the sessions. (2) The difference in amplitude (exhale to inhale) between the two sessions. Results: Compared to CBH, AVBH improved the reproducibility of two exhale (or inhale) lung tumor positions relative to each other by 33%, from 6.4±5.3 mm to 4.3±3.0 mm (p=0.005). Compared to CBH, AVBH improved the reproducibility of exhale and inhale amplitude by 66%, from 5.6±5.9 mm to 1.9±1.4 mm (p=0.005). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that audiovisual biofeedback can be utilized for improving the reproducibility of breath-hold lung tumor position. These results are advantageous towards achieving more accurate emerging radiation treatment planning methods, in addition to imaging and treatment modalities utilizing breath

  8. SU-E-J-236: Audiovisual Biofeedback Improves Breath-Hold Lung Tumor Position Reproducibility Measured with 4D MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, D; Pollock, S; Keall, P [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, NSW (Australia); Greer, P [School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Department of Radiation Oncology, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Lapuz, C; Ludbrook, J [Department of Radiation Oncology, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Kim, T [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, NSW (Australia); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: Audiovisual biofeedback breath-hold (AVBH) was employed to reproduce tumor position on inhale and exhale breath-holds for 4D tumor information. We hypothesize that lung tumor position will be more consistent using AVBH compared with conventional breath-hold (CBH). Methods: Lung tumor positions were determined for seven lung cancer patients (age: 25 – 74) during to two separate 3T MRI sessions. A breathhold training session was performed prior to the MRI sessions to allow patients to become comfortable with AVBH and their exhale and inhale target positions. CBH and AVBH 4D image datasets were obtained in the first MRI session (pre-treatment) and the second MRI session (midtreatment) within six weeks of the first session. Audio-instruction (MRI: Siemens Skyra) in CBH and verbal-instruction (radiographer) in AVBH were used. A radiation oncologist contoured the lung tumor using Eclipse (Varian Medical Systems); tumor position was quantified as the centroid of the contoured tumor after rigid registration based on vertebral anatomy across two MRI sessions. CBH and AVBH were compared in terms of the reproducibility assessed via (1) the difference between the two exhale positions for the two sessions and the two inhale positions for the sessions. (2) The difference in amplitude (exhale to inhale) between the two sessions. Results: Compared to CBH, AVBH improved the reproducibility of two exhale (or inhale) lung tumor positions relative to each other by 33%, from 6.4±5.3 mm to 4.3±3.0 mm (p=0.005). Compared to CBH, AVBH improved the reproducibility of exhale and inhale amplitude by 66%, from 5.6±5.9 mm to 1.9±1.4 mm (p=0.005). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that audiovisual biofeedback can be utilized for improving the reproducibility of breath-hold lung tumor position. These results are advantageous towards achieving more accurate emerging radiation treatment planning methods, in addition to imaging and treatment modalities utilizing breath

  9. A fibre-optic oxygen sensor for monitoring human breathing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Rongsheng; Formenti, Federico; Hahn, Clive E W; Farmery, Andrew D; Obeid, Andy

    2013-01-01

    The development and construction of a tapered-tip fibre-optic fluorescence based oxygen sensor is described. The sensor is suitable for fast and real-time monitoring of human breathing. The sensitivity and response time of the oxygen sensor were evaluated in vitro with a gas pressure chamber system, where oxygen partial pressure was rapidly changed between 5 and 15 kPa, and then in vivo in five healthy adult participants who synchronized their breathing to a metronome set at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 breaths min –1 . A Datex Ultima medical gas analyser was used to monitor breathing rate as a comparator. The sensor's response time in vitro was less than 150 ms, which allows accurate continuous measurement of inspired and expired oxygen pressure. Measurements of breathing rate by means of our oxygen sensor and of the Datex Ultima were in strong agreement. The results demonstrate that the device can reliably resolve breathing rates up to 60 breaths min –1 , and that it is a suitable cost-effective alternative for monitoring breathing rates and end-tidal oxygen partial pressure in the clinical setting. The rapid response time of the sensor may allow its use for monitoring rapid breathing rates as occur in children and the newborn. (note)

  10. 46 CFR 197.456 - Breathing supply hoses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Breathing supply hoses. 197.456 Section 197.456 Shipping....456 Breathing supply hoses. (a) The diving supervisor shall insure that— (1) Each breathing supply....5 times its maximum working pressure; (2) Each breathing supply hose assembly, prior to being placed...

  11. Sports-related lung injury during breath-hold diving

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanja Mijacika

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The number of people practising recreational breath-hold diving is constantly growing, thereby increasing the need for knowledge of the acute and chronic effects such a sport could have on the health of participants. Breath-hold diving is potentially dangerous, mainly because of associated extreme environmental factors such as increased hydrostatic pressure, hypoxia, hypercapnia, hypothermia and strenuous exercise. In this article we focus on the effects of breath-hold diving on pulmonary function. Respiratory symptoms have been reported in almost 25% of breath-hold divers after repetitive diving sessions. Acutely, repetitive breath-hold diving may result in increased transpulmonary capillary pressure, leading to noncardiogenic oedema and/or alveolar haemorrhage. Furthermore, during a breath-hold dive, the chest and lungs are compressed by the increasing pressure of water. Rapid changes in lung air volume during descent or ascent can result in a lung injury known as pulmonary barotrauma. Factors that may influence individual susceptibility to breath-hold diving-induced lung injury range from underlying pulmonary or cardiac dysfunction to genetic predisposition. According to the available data, breath-holding does not result in chronic lung injury. However, studies of large populations of breath-hold divers are necessary to firmly exclude long-term lung damage.

  12. Decrease in delivery room intubation rates after use of nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation in the delivery room for resuscitation of very low birth weight infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biniwale, Manoj; Wertheimer, Fiona

    2017-07-01

    The literature supports minimizing duration of invasive ventilation to decrease lung injury in premature infants. Neonatal Resuscitation Program recommended use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in delivery room for infants requiring prolonged respiratory support. To evaluate the impact of implementation of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) using nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) for resuscitation in very low birth infants. Retrospective study was performed after NIPPV was introduced in the delivery room and compared with infants receiving face mask to provide positive pressure ventilation for resuscitation of very low birth weight infants prior to its use. Data collected from 119 infants resuscitated using NIPPV and 102 infants resuscitated with a face mask in a single institution. The primary outcome was the need for endotracheal intubation in the delivery room. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 24. A total of 31% of infants were intubated in the delivery room in the NIPPV group compared to 85% in the Face mask group (p=rates were 11% in the NIPPV group and 31% in the Face mask group (p<0.001). Epinephrine administration was also lower in NIPPV group (2% vs. 8%; P=0.03). Only 38% infants remained intubated at 24hours of age in the NIPPV group compared to 66% in the Face mask group (p<0.001). Median duration of invasive ventilation in the NIPPV group was shorter (2days) compared to the Face mask group (11days) (p=0.01). The incidence of air-leaks was not significant between the two groups. NIPPV was safely and effectively used in the delivery room settings to provide respiratory support for VLBW infants with less need for intubation, chest compressions, epinephrine administration and subsequent invasive ventilation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Successful use of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation in a complicated flail chest

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Ansari, Mariam A.

    2006-01-01

    The current advanced trauma life support manual states that patients with significant hypoxia (namely, SaO2<90% on room air) as a result of pulmonary contusion should be intubated and ventilated within the first hour of injury. Recently, several researchers have shown improved outcomes when patients with acute respiratory failure are managed with noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV). Trauma patients may also benefit from this therapy. We report a case of 15-year-old boy who isolated flail chest and pulmonary contusion, who was intubated in the emergency room, and was managed successfully with the NIPPV in the intensive care unit (ICU) despite, having had aspiration pneumonia early in the course of her stay. After initial stabilization, he failed a spontaneous breathing trial. Due to absence of contraindications to the use of NIPPV, the patient was extubated on day 7 (from pressure ventilation of 15 cmH2O and positive end expiratory pressure of 8 cm H2O) to immediate NIPPV use. Three days later (after a total of 50 hours of NIPPV use in the ICU) the patient was successfully discharged home. (author)

  14. Transpulmonary pressures and lung mechanics with glossopharyngeal insufflation and exsufflation beyond normal lung volumes in competitive breath-hold divers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loring, Stephen H; O'Donnell, Carl R; Butler, James P; Lindholm, Peter; Jacobson, Francine; Ferrigno, Massimo

    2007-03-01

    Throughout life, most mammals breathe between maximal and minimal lung volumes determined by respiratory mechanics and muscle strength. In contrast, competitive breath-hold divers exceed these limits when they employ glossopharyngeal insufflation (GI) before a dive to increase lung gas volume (providing additional oxygen and intrapulmonary gas to prevent dangerous chest compression at depths recently greater than 100 m) and glossopharyngeal exsufflation (GE) during descent to draw air from compressed lungs into the pharynx for middle ear pressure equalization. To explore the mechanical effects of these maneuvers on the respiratory system, we measured lung volumes by helium dilution with spirometry and computed tomography and estimated transpulmonary pressures using an esophageal balloon after GI and GE in four competitive breath-hold divers. Maximal lung volume was increased after GI by 0.13-2.84 liters, resulting in volumes 1.5-7.9 SD above predicted values. The amount of gas in the lungs after GI increased by 0.59-4.16 liters, largely due to elevated intrapulmonary pressures of 52-109 cmH(2)O. The transpulmonary pressures increased after GI to values ranging from 43 to 80 cmH(2)O, 1.6-2.9 times the expected values at total lung capacity. After GE, lung volumes were reduced by 0.09-0.44 liters, and the corresponding transpulmonary pressures decreased to -15 to -31 cmH(2)O, suggesting closure of intrapulmonary airways. We conclude that the lungs of some healthy individuals are able to withstand repeated inflation to transpulmonary pressures far greater than those to which they would normally be exposed.

  15. Effect of different breathing aids on ventilation distribution in adults with cystic fibrosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markus Wettstein

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effect of different breathing aids on ventilation distribution in healthy adults and subjects with cystic fibrosis (CF. METHODS: In 11 healthy adults and 9 adults with CF electrical impedance tomography measurements were performed during spontaneous breathing, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP and positive expiratory pressure (PEP therapy randomly applied in upright and lateral position. Spatial and temporal ventilation distribution was assessed. RESULTS: The proportion of ventilation directed to the dependent lung significantly increased in lateral position compared to upright in healthy and CF. This effect was enhanced with CPAP but neutralised with PEP, whereas the effect of PEP was larger in the healthy group. Temporal ventilation distribution showed exactly the opposite with homogenisation during CPAP and increased inhomogeneity with PEP. CONCLUSIONS: PEP shows distinct differences to CPAP with respect to its impact on ventilation distribution in healthy adults and CF subjects EIT might be used to individualise respiratory physiotherapy.

  16. Effect of different levels of continuous positive airway pressure on the 99mTc-DTPA lung clearance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dulciane Nunes Paiva

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Backgound and Objectives: Positive airway pressure continues (CPAP produces significant hemodynamic changes that may influence the variability of breathing pattern and heart rate, acting as an additional therapy to prevent atelectasis and to combat hypoxia. The rate of inhaled 99 m Technetiumdiethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA, along with changes in the lung epithelium cause an increase in the rate of clearance of this compound. The aim of this study was evaluate the pulmonary clearance rate of 99mTechnetium Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA through the use of different levels of CPAP. Methods: It was a quasi-experimental study involving 17 healthy individuals with normal lung functional. 99mTc-DTPA, as aerosol, was nebulized for 3 minutes with the individual in a sitting position. The pulmonary clearance rate was assessed through pulmonary scintigraphy under spontaneous breathing and under 20 and 10 cmH2 O CPAP in the sitting position. The clearance rate was expressed as the half-time (T½ that is the time for the activity to decrease to 50% of the peak value. Results: 20 cmH2 O CPAP produced significant reduction of the T½ of 99mTc-DTPA in the sitting position (p=0.005. However, 10 cmH2 O CPAP did not alter the T½ of DTPA in the same positions. Conclusion: High levels of continuos positive pressure in normal lungs resulted in faster 99mTc-DTPA clearance moreover, 10 cmH2 O did not alter its clearance rate. KEYWORDS: Noninvasive ventilation. Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate. Radionuclide Imaging.

  17. Flexible hemispheric microarrays of highly pressure-sensitive sensors based on breath figure method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhihui; Zhang, Ling; Liu, Jin; Jiang, Hao; Li, Chunzhong

    2018-05-30

    Recently, flexible pressure sensors featuring high sensitivity, broad sensing range and real-time detection have aroused great attention owing to their crucial role in the development of artificial intelligent devices and healthcare systems. Herein, highly sensitive pressure sensors based on hemisphere-microarray flexible substrates are fabricated via inversely templating honeycomb structures deriving from a facile and static breath figure process. The interlocked and subtle microstructures greatly improve the sensing characteristics and compressibility of the as-prepared pressure sensor, endowing it a sensitivity as high as 196 kPa-1 and a wide pressure sensing range (0-100 kPa), as well as other superior performance, including a lower detection limit of 0.5 Pa, fast response time (10 000 cycles). Based on the outstanding sensing performance, the potential capability of our pressure sensor in capturing physiological information and recognizing speech signals has been demonstrated, indicating promising application in wearable and intelligent electronics.

  18. Deep breathing exercises performed 2 months following cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westerdahl, Elisabeth; Urell, Charlotte; Jonsson, Marcus; Bryngelsson, Ing-Liss; Hedenström, Hans; Emtner, Margareta

    2014-01-01

    Postoperative breathing exercises are recommended to cardiac surgery patients. Instructions concerning how long patients should continue exercises after discharge vary, and the significance of treatment needs to be determined. Our aim was to assess the effects of home-based deep breathing exercises performed with a positive expiratory pressure device for 2 months following cardiac surgery. The study design was a prospective, single-blinded, parallel-group, randomized trial. Patients performing breathing exercises 2 months after cardiac surgery (n = 159) were compared with a control group (n = 154) performing no breathing exercises after discharge. The intervention consisted of 30 slow deep breaths performed with a positive expiratory pressure device (10-15 cm H2O), 5 times a day, during the first 2 months after surgery. The outcomes were lung function measurements, oxygen saturation, thoracic excursion mobility, subjective perception of breathing and pain, patient-perceived quality of recovery (40-Item Quality of Recovery score), health-related quality of life (36-Item Short Form Health Survey), and self-reported respiratory tract infection/pneumonia and antibiotic treatment. Two months postoperatively, the patients had significantly reduced lung function, with a mean decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second to 93 ± 12% (P< .001) of preoperative values. Oxygenation had returned to preoperative values, and 5 of 8 aspects in the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey were improved compared with preoperative values (P< .01). There were no significant differences between the groups in any of the measured outcomes. No significant differences in lung function, subjective perceptions, or quality of life were found between patients performing home-based deep breathing exercises and control patients 2 months after cardiac surgery.

  19. Canadian Thoracic Society 2011 Guideline Update: Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Disordered Breathing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Fleetham

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS published an executive summary of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disordered breathing in 2006/2007. These guidelines were developed during several meetings by a group of experts with evidence grading based on committee consensus. These guidelines were well received and the majority of the recommendations remain unchanged. The CTS embarked on a more rigorous process for the 2011 guideline update, and addressed eight areas that were believed to be controversial or in which new data emerged. The CTS Sleep Disordered Breathing Committee posed specific questions for each area. The recommendations regarding maximum assessment wait times, portable monitoring, treatment of asymptomatic adult obstructive sleep apnea patients, treatment with conventional continuous positive airway pressure compared with automatic continuous positive airway pressure, and treatment of central sleep apnea syndrome in heart failure patients replace the recommendations in the 2006/2007 guidelines. The recommendations on bariatric surgery, complex sleep apnea and optimum positive airway pressure technologies are new topics, which were not covered in the 2006/2007 guidelines.

  20. EFFECTS OF VAGAL SENSORY INPUT ON THE BREATHING RHYTHM OF THE CARP

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    DEGRAAF, PJF; ROBERTS, BL

    Electrical stimulation of an epibranchial vagal ganglion, which innervates the gill region, had a marked influence on the respiratory rhythm of the carp Cyprinus carpio. Vagal input could initiate ventilation in fish displaying intermittent respiration. In fish breathing steadily, vagal stimuli

  1. Continuous positive airway pressure breathing increases cranial spread of sensory blockade after cervicothoracic epidural injection of lidocaine.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, W.A.; Eerd, M.J. van; Seventer, R. van; Gielen, M.J.M.; Giele, J.L.P.; Scheffer, G.J.

    2007-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) increases the caudad spread of sensory blockade after low-thoracic epidural injection of lidocaine. We hypothesized that CPAP would increase cephalad spread of blockade after cervicothoracic epidural injection. METHODS: Twenty patients with an

  2. Design and Validation of a Breathing Detection System for Scuba Divers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corentin Altepe

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Drowning is the major cause of death in self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA diving. This study proposes an embedded system with a live and light-weight algorithm which detects the breathing of divers through the analysis of the intermediate pressure (IP signal of the SCUBA regulator. A system composed mainly of two pressure sensors and a low-power microcontroller was designed and programmed to record the pressure sensors signals and provide alarms in absence of breathing. An algorithm was developed to analyze the signals and identify inhalation events of the diver. A waterproof case was built to accommodate the system and was tested up to a depth of 25 m in a pressure chamber. To validate the system in the real environment, a series of dives with two different types of workload requiring different ranges of breathing frequencies were planned. Eight professional SCUBA divers volunteered to dive with the system to collect their IP data in order to participate to validation trials. The subjects underwent two dives, each of 52 min on average and a maximum depth of 7 m. The algorithm was optimized for the collected dataset and proved a sensitivity of inhalation detection of 97.5% and a total number of 275 false positives (FP over a total recording time of 13.9 h. The detection algorithm presents a maximum delay of 5.2 s and requires only 800 bytes of random-access memory (RAM. The results were compared against the analysis of video records of the dives by two blinded observers and proved a sensitivity of 97.6% on the data set. The design includes a buzzer to provide audible alarms to accompanying dive buddies which will be triggered in case of degraded health conditions such as near drowning (absence of breathing, hyperventilation (breathing frequency too high and skip-breathing (breathing frequency too low measured by the improper breathing frequency. The system also measures the IP at rest before the dive and indicates with

  3. Intermittent negative pressure wound therapy with instillation for the treatment of persistent periprosthetic hip infections: a report of two cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Söylemez MS

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Mehmet Salih Söylemez,1 Korhan Özkan,2 Bülent Kılıç,3 Samet Erinç41Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Bingöl State Hospital, Bingöl, 2Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Medeniyet University, Istanbul, 3Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Orthopaedic Surgery Clinic, Istanbul Gelişim University, Tekirdağ, 4Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Göztepe Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, TurkeyAbstract: Intermittent negative pressure wound therapy with instillation (NPWTi is starting to be used successfully to treat early periprosthetic infections of endoprostheses. However, few articles have reported the outcome of treatment with intermittent NPWTi for late persistent periprosthetic infections of the hip. In this study, we report two cases who underwent several rounds of radical wound debridement for the treatment of a late persistent periprosthetic infection of the hip. Intermittent NPWTi was used in both cases. Patients were treated successfully and there was no recurrence after 3 and 1 years of follow-up, respectively.Keywords: negative pressure, vacuum-assisted, periprosthetic infection, hip

  4. Why use Finapres or Portapres rather than intra-arterial or intermittent non-invasive techniques of blood pressure measurement?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Langewouters, G. J.; Settels, J. J.; Roelandt, R.; Wesseling, K. H.

    1998-01-01

    In the clinic, blood pressure is measured almost exclusively using non-invasive intermittent techniques, of which the auscultatory (Riva-Rocci/Korotkoff, RRK) and the computerized oscillometric method are most often used. However, both methods only provide a momentary value. In addition, the

  5. Intermittent hypoxia, cardiovascular disease and obstructive sleep apnoea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turnbull, Chris D

    2018-01-01

    Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common disorder and is associated with cardiovascular disease. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), whilst reducing blood pressure, has not been shown to reduce cardiovascular events when used as a treatment solely for this purpose in patients with previous cardiovascular disease. Developing a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease in OSA is important to develop new treatments. Potential causative mechanisms for cardiovascular disease in OSA include arousal induced sympathetic activation, large intrathoracic pressure swings leading to shear stress on the heart and great vessels, and intermittent hypoxia (IH). This review discusses the role of IH, as a major physiological consequence of OSA, in the development of cardiovascular disease.

  6. Optimal ventilatory patterns in periodic breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghazanshahi, S D; Khoo, M C

    1993-01-01

    The goal of this study was to determine whether periodic breathing (PB), which is highly prevalent during sleep at high altitudes, imposes physiological penalties on the respiratory system in the absence of any accompanying disease. Using a computer model of respiratory gas exchange, we compared the effects of a variety of PB patterns on the chemical and mechanical costs of breathing to those resulting from regular tidal breathing. Although PB produced considerable fluctuation in arterial blood gas tensions, for the same cycle-averaged ventilation, higher arterial oxygen saturation and lower arterial carbon dioxide levels were achieved. This result can be explained by the fact that the combination of large breaths and apnea in PB leads to a substantial reduction in dead space ventilation. At the same time, the savings in mechanical cost achieved by the respiratory muscles during apnea partially offset the increase during the breathing phase. Consequently, the "pressure cost," a criterion based on mean inspiratory pressure, was elevated only slightly, although the average work rate of breathing increased significantly. We found that, at extreme altitudes, PB patterns with clusters of 2 to 4 large breaths that alternate with apnea produce the highest arterial oxygenation levels and lowest pressure costs. The common occurrence of PB patterns with closely similar features has been reported in sleeping healthy sojourners at extreme altitudes. Taken together, these findings suggest that PB favors a reduction in the oxygen demands of the respiratory muscles and therefore may not be as detrimental as it is generally believed to be.

  7. Effect of Intermittent Hypercapnia on Respiratory Control in Rat Pups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steggerda, Justin A.; Mayer, Catherine A.; Martin, Richard J.; Wilson, Christopher G.

    2010-01-01

    Preterm infants are subject to fluctuations in blood gas status associated with immature respiratory control. Intermittent hypoxia during early postnatal life has been shown to increase chemoreceptor sensitivity and destabilize the breathing pattern; however, intermittent hypercapnia remains poorly studied. Therefore, to test the hypothesis that intermittent hypercapnia results in altered respiratory control, we examined the effects of daily exposure to intermittent hypercapnia on the ventilatory response to subsequent hypercapnic and hypoxic exposure in neonatal rat pups. Exposure cycles consisted of 5 min of intermittent hypercapnia (5% CO2, 21% O2, balance N2) followed by 10 min of normoxia. Rat pups were exposed to 18 exposure cycles each day for 1 week, from postnatal day 7 to 14. We analyzed diaphragm electromyograms (EMGs) from pups exposed to subsequent acute hypercapnic (5% CO2) and hypoxic (12% O2) challenges. In response to a subsequent hypercapnia challenge, there was no significant difference in the ventilatory response between control and intermittent hypercapnia-exposed groups. In contrast, intermittent hypercapnia-exposed rat pups showed an enhanced ventilatory response to hypoxic challenge with an increase in minute EMG to 118 ± 14% of baseline versus 107 ± 13% for control pups (p < 0.05). We speculate that prior hypercapnic exposure may increase peripheral chemoreceptor response to subsequent hypoxic exposures and result in perturbed neonatal respiratory control. PMID:19752577

  8. Interaction between intra-abdominal pressure and positive-end expiratory pressure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamili Anbar Torquato

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to quantify the interaction between increased intra-abdominal pressure and Positive-End Expiratory Pressure. METHODS: In 30 mechanically ventilated ICU patients with a fixed tidal volume, respiratory system plateau and abdominal pressure were measured at a Positive-End Expiratory Pressure level of zero and 10 cm H2O. The measurements were repeated after placing a 5 kg weight on the patients' belly. RESULTS: After the addition of 5 kg to the patients' belly at zero Positive-End Expiratory Pressure, both intra-abdominal pressure (p<0.001 and plateau pressures (p=0.005 increased significantly. Increasing the Positive-End Expiratory Pressure levels from zero to 10 cm H2O without weight on the belly did not result in any increase in intra-abdominal pressure (p=0.165. However, plateau pressures increased significantly (p< 0.001. Increasing Positive-End Expiratory Pressure from zero to 10 cm H2O and adding 5 kg to the belly increased intra-abdominal pressure from 8.7 to 16.8 (p<0.001 and plateau pressure from 18.26 to 27.2 (p<0.001. Maintaining Positive-End Expiratory Pressure at 10 cm H2O and placing 5 kg on the belly increased intra-abdominal pressure from 12.3 +/- 1.7 to 16.8 +/- 1.7 (p<0.001 but did not increase plateau pressure (26.6+/-1.2 to 27.2 +/-1.1 -p=0.83. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of a 5kg weight onto the abdomen significantly increased both IAP and the airway plateau pressure, confirming that intra-abdominal hypertension elevates the plateau pressure. However, plateau pressure alone cannot be considered a good indicator for the detection of elevated intra-abdominal pressure in patients under mechanical ventilation using PEEP. In these patients, the intra-abdominal pressure must also be measured.

  9. Combined Effects of Ventilation Mode and Positive End-Expiratory Pressure on Mechanics, Gas Exchange and the Epithelium in Mice with Acute Lung Injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thammanomai, Apiradee; Hamakawa, Hiroshi; Bartolák-Suki, Erzsébet; Suki, Béla

    2013-01-01

    The accepted protocol to ventilate patients with acute lung injury is to use low tidal volume (VT) in combination with recruitment maneuvers or positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). However, an important aspect of mechanical ventilation has not been considered: the combined effects of PEEP and ventilation modes on the integrity of the epithelium. Additionally, it is implicitly assumed that the best PEEP-VT combination also protects the epithelium. We aimed to investigate the effects of ventilation mode and PEEP on respiratory mechanics, peak airway pressures and gas exchange as well as on lung surfactant and epithelial cell integrity in mice with acute lung injury. HCl-injured mice were ventilated at PEEPs of 3 and 6 cmH2O with conventional ventilation (CV), CV with intermittent large breaths (CVLB) to promote recruitment, and a new mode, variable ventilation, optimized for mice (VVN). Mechanics and gas exchange were measured during ventilation and surfactant protein (SP)-B, proSP-B and E-cadherin levels were determined from lavage and lung homogenate. PEEP had a significant effect on mechanics, gas exchange and the epithelium. The higher PEEP reduced lung collapse and improved mechanics and gas exchange but it also down regulated surfactant release and production and increased epithelial cell injury. While CVLB was better than CV, VVN outperformed CVLB in recruitment, reduced epithelial injury and, via a dynamic mechanotransduction, it also triggered increased release and production of surfactant. For long-term outcome, selection of optimal PEEP and ventilation mode may be based on balancing lung physiology with epithelial injury. PMID:23326543

  10. 46 CFR 197.312 - Breathing supply hoses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Breathing supply hoses. 197.312 Section 197.312 Shipping... GENERAL PROVISIONS Commercial Diving Operations Equipment § 197.312 Breathing supply hoses. (a) Each breathing supply hose must— (1) Have a maximum working pressure that is equal to or exceeds— (i) The maximum...

  11. Sleep-disordered breathing in epilepsy: epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivathamboo, Shobi; Perucca, Piero; Velakoulis, Dennis; Jones, Nigel C; Goldin, Jeremy; Kwan, Patrick; O'Brien, Terence J

    2018-04-01

    Epilepsy is a group of neurological conditions in which there is a pathological and enduring predisposition to generate recurrent seizures. Evidence over the last few decades suggests that epilepsy may be associated with increased sleep-disordered breathing, which may contribute towards sleep fragmentation, daytime somnolence, reduced seizure control, and cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality. Chronic sleep-disordered breathing can result in loss of gray matter and cause deficits to memory and global cognitive function. Sleep-disordered breathing is a novel and independent predictor of sudden cardiac death and, as such, may be involved in the mechanisms leading to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. Despite this, the long-term consequences of sleep-disordered breathing in epilepsy remain unknown, and there are no guidelines for screening or treating this population. There is currently insufficient evidence to indicate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for the primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, and recent evidence has failed to show any reduction of fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular endpoints. Treatment of sleep-disordered breathing may potentially improve seizure control, daytime somnolence, and neurocognitive outcomes, but few studies have examined this relationship. In this review, we examine sleep-disordered breathing in epilepsy, and discuss the potential effect of epilepsy treatments. We consider the role of CPAP and other interventions for sleep-disordered breathing and discuss their implications for epilepsy management.

  12. Fast imaging of intermittent electrospraying of water with positive corona discharge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pongrác, B; Janda, M; Martišovitš, V; Machala, Z; Kim, H H

    2014-01-01

    The effect of the electrospraying of water in combination with a positive direct current (dc) streamer corona discharge generated in air was investigated in this paper. We employed high-speed camera visualizations and oscilloscopic discharge current measurements in combination with an intensified charge-coupled device camera for fast time-resolved imaging. The repetitive process of Taylor cone formation and droplet formation from the mass fragments of water during the electrospray was visualized. Depending on the applied voltage, the following intermittent modes of electrospraying typical for water were observed: dripping mode, spindle mode, and oscillating-spindle mode. The observed electrospraying modes were repetitive with a frequency of a few hundreds of Hz, as measured from the fast image sequences. This frequency agreed well with the frequency of the measured streamer current pulses. The presence of filamentary streamer discharges at relatively low voltages probably prevented the establishment of a continuous electrospray in the cone–jet mode. After each streamer, a positive glow corona discharge was established on the water filament tip, and it propagated from the stressed electrode along with the water filament elongation. The results show a reciprocal character of intermittent electrospraying of water, and the presence of corona discharge, where both the electrospray and the discharge affect each other. The generation of a corona discharge from the water cone depended on the repetitive process of the cone formation. Also, the propagation and curvature of the water filament were influenced by the discharge and its resultant space charge. Furthermore, these phenomena were partially influenced by the water conductivity. (paper)

  13. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure During Exercise Improves Walking Time in Patients Undergoing Inpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pantoni, Camila Bianca Falasco; Di Thommazo-Luporini, Luciana; Mendes, Renata Gonçalves; Caruso, Flávia Cristina Rossi; Mezzalira, Daniel; Arena, Ross; Amaral-Neto, Othon; Catai, Aparecida Maria; Borghi-Silva, Audrey

    2016-01-01

    Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been used as an effective support to decrease the negative pulmonary effects of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. However, it is unknown whether CPAP can positively influence patients undergoing CABG during exercise. This study evaluated the effectiveness of CPAP on the first day of ambulation after CABG in patients undergoing inpatient cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Fifty-four patients after CABG surgery were randomly assigned to receive either inpatient CR and CPAP (CPG) or standard CR without CPAP (CG). Cardiac rehabilitation included walking and CPAP pressures were set between 10 to 12 cmH2O. Participants were assessed on the first day of walking at rest and during walking. Outcome measures included breathing pattern variables, exercise time in seconds (ETs), dyspnea/leg effort ratings, and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2). Twenty-seven patients (13 CPG vs 14 CG) completed the study. Compared with walking without noninvasive ventilation assistance, CPAP increased ETs by 43.4 seconds (P = .040) during walking, promoted better thoracoabdominal coordination, increased ventilation during walking by 12.5 L/min (P = .001), increased SpO2 values at the end of walking by 2.6% (P = .016), and reduced dyspnea ratings by 1 point (P = .008). Continuous positive airway pressure can positively influence exercise tolerance, ventilatory function, and breathing pattern in response to a single bout of exercise after CABG.

  14. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... ENT Doctor Near You Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Patient Health Information ... relations staff at newsroom@entnet.org . What Is CPAP? The most common and effective nonsurgical treatment for ...

  15. Breathing and Singing: Objective Characterization of Breathing Patterns in Classical Singers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salomoni, Sauro; van den Hoorn, Wolbert; Hodges, Paul

    2016-01-01

    Singing involves distinct respiratory kinematics (i.e. movements of rib cage and abdomen) to quiet breathing because of different demands on the respiratory system. Professional classical singers often advocate for the advantages of an active control of the abdomen on singing performance. This is presumed to prevent shortening of the diaphragm, elevate the rib cage, and thus promote efficient generation of subglottal pressure during phonation. However, few studies have investigated these patterns quantitatively and inter-subject variability has hindered the identification of stereotypical patterns of respiratory kinematics. Here, seven professional classical singers and four untrained individuals were assessed during quiet breathing, and when singing both a standard song and a piece of choice. Several parameters were extracted from respiratory kinematics and airflow, and principal component analysis was used to identify typical patterns of respiratory kinematics. No group differences were observed during quiet breathing. During singing, both groups adapted to rhythmical constraints with decreased time of inspiration and increased peak airflow. In contrast to untrained individuals, classical singers used greater percentage of abdominal contribution to lung volume during singing and greater asynchrony between movements of rib cage and abdomen. Classical singers substantially altered the coordination of rib cage and abdomen during singing from that used for quiet breathing. Despite variations between participants, principal component analysis revealed consistent pre-phonatory inward movements of the abdominal wall during singing. This contrasted with untrained individuals, who demonstrated synchronous respiratory movements during all tasks. The inward abdominal movements observed in classical singers elevates intra-abdominal pressure and may increase the length and the pressure-generating capacity of rib cage expiratory muscles for potential improvements in voice

  16. Simulating Sleep Apnea by Exposure to Intermittent Hypoxia Induces Inflammation in the Lung and Liver

    OpenAIRE

    da Rosa, Darlan Pase; Forgiarini, Luiz Felipe; Baronio, Diego; Feijó, Cristiano Andrade; Martinez, Dênis; Marroni, Norma Possa

    2012-01-01

    Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that results from momentary and cyclic collapse of the upper airway, leading to intermittent hypoxia (IH). IH can lead to the formation of free radicals that increase oxidative stress, and this mechanism may explain the association between central sleep apnea and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. We assessed the level of inflammation in the lung and liver tissue from animals subjected to intermittent hypoxia and simulated sleep apnea. A total of 12 C57BL/6 mice...

  17. Exhaled breath condensate pH and hydrogen peroxide as non-invasive markers for asthma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Obaidy, Amina H.; Al-Samarai, Abdul-Gahni M.

    2007-01-01

    Objective was to estimate the predictive value of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration and pH as non-invasive markers in asthma. Fifty patients with unstable, steroid naive atopic asthma were included in this study, 25 with persistent asthma. Asthma diagnosis was according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was measured by computerized spirometry. The EBC H2O2 assay was carried out using the colorimetric assay. The study was conducted from January to December 2005 in the Asthma and Allergy Center, Tikrit, Iraq. The EBC H2O2 concentration was higher in the asthmatic group (0.91mol) as compared with the control (0.23 mol). There was inverse correlation between EBC H2O2 concentration and FEV1 predicted percent for asthmatic patients. The mean EBC pH was lower in the asthmatic than the control group. There was a positive correlation between EBC pH and FEV 1 predicted percent for asthmatic patients. There was an inverse correlation between EBC H2O2 concentration and pH for all asthmatic patients, intermittent, and persistent asthmatic group. Exhaled breath condensate hydrogen peroxide concentration and pH was a good non-invasive marker for asthma, whether it was with a persistent or intermittent course. (author)

  18. The effect of positive end-expiratory pressure on pulse pressure ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effect of positive end-expiratory pressure on pulse pressure variation. FJ Smith, M Geyser, I Schreuder, PJ Becker. Abstract. Objectives: To determine the effect of different levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on pulse pressure variation (PPV). Design: An observational study. Setting: Operating theatres of a ...

  19. An Acute Bout of a Controlled Breathing Frequency Lowers Sympathetic Neural Outflow but not Blood Pressure in Healthy Normotensive Subjects

    Science.gov (United States)

    MCCLAIN, SHANNON L.; BROOKS, ALEXA M.; JARVIS, SARA S.

    2017-01-01

    Controlled or paced breathing is often used as a stress reduction technique but the impact on blood pressure (BP) and sympathetic outflow have not been consistently reported. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a controlled breathing (12 breaths/min, CB) rate would be similar to an individual’s spontaneous breathing (SB) rate. Secondly, would a CB rate of 12 breaths/min alter heart rate (HR), BP, and indices of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). Twenty-one subjects (10 women, 11 men) performed two trials: SB, where the subject chose a comfortable breathing rate; and CB, where the subject breathed at a pace of 12 breaths/min. Each trial was 6 min during which respiratory waveforms, HR, BP (systolic, SBP; diastolic, DBP), and MSNA were recorded. During CB, the 6 min average breathing frequency (14±4 vs 12±1 breaths/min, P<0.05 for SB and CB, respectively), MSNA burst frequency (18±12 vs 14±10 bursts/min, P<0.01) and MSNA burst incidence (28±19 vs 21± 6 bursts/100 heart beats, P<0.01) were significantly lower than during SB. HR (66±9 vs 67±9 beats/min, P<0.05) was higher during CB. SBP (120±13 vs 121±15 mmHg, P=0.741), DBP (56±8 vs 57±9 mmHg, P=0.768), and MSNA total activity (166±94 vs 145±102 a.u./min, P=0.145) were not different between the breathing conditions. In conclusion, an acute reduction in breathing frequency such as that observed during CB elicited a decrease in indices of MSNA (burst frequency and incidence) with no change in BP. PMID:28344733

  20. A System Approach to Navy Medical Education and Training. Appendix 37. Competency Curricula for Respiratory Therapy Assistant and Respiratory Therapy Technician.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1974-08-31

    instruction. The training aids, like strategies, extend from the traditional references and handout material in the form of a student syllabus to...on careers; select students ; and identify and select faculty. The System Threa sub-systems, as described, comprise the proposed system for Education...of Intermittent Positive Pressure Breathing Treatment . . . . . . . . ... 13 5. Chest Physiotherapy ...... . .. . . . . . 14 6. Respiratory Exercises

  1. Breath-Hold Diving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitz-Clarke, John R

    2018-03-25

    Breath-hold diving is practiced by recreational divers, seafood divers, military divers, and competitive athletes. It involves highly integrated physiology and extreme responses. This article reviews human breath-hold diving physiology beginning with an historical overview followed by a summary of foundational research and a survey of some contemporary issues. Immersion and cardiovascular adjustments promote a blood shift into the heart and chest vasculature. Autonomic responses include diving bradycardia, peripheral vasoconstriction, and splenic contraction, which help conserve oxygen. Competitive divers use a technique of lung hyperinflation that raises initial volume and airway pressure to facilitate longer apnea times and greater depths. Gas compression at depth leads to sequential alveolar collapse. Airway pressure decreases with depth and becomes negative relative to ambient due to limited chest compliance at low lung volumes, raising the risk of pulmonary injury called "squeeze," characterized by postdive coughing, wheezing, and hemoptysis. Hypoxia and hypercapnia influence the terminal breakpoint beyond which voluntary apnea cannot be sustained. Ascent blackout due to hypoxia is a danger during long breath-holds, and has become common amongst high-level competitors who can suppress their urge to breathe. Decompression sickness due to nitrogen accumulation causing bubble formation can occur after multiple repetitive dives, or after single deep dives during depth record attempts. Humans experience responses similar to those seen in diving mammals, but to a lesser degree. The deepest sled-assisted breath-hold dive was to 214 m. Factors that might determine ultimate human depth capabilities are discussed. © 2018 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 8:585-630, 2018. Copyright © 2018 American Physiological Society. All rights reserved.

  2. Graded shuttle run performance by playing positions in elite female basketball.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Štrumbelj, Boro; Vučković, Goran; Jakovljević, Saša; Milanović, Zoran; James, Nic; Erčulj, Frane

    2015-03-01

    A graded shuttle run test was used to assess differences in physiological parameters between playing positions in elite female basketball players. Twenty-four female basketball players (8 guards, 8 forwards, and 8 centers) who played for the senior national teams of Slovenia and Serbia were tested with the 30-15 intermittent fitness test. During the shuttle run, the following physiological parameters were measured: oxygen consumption ((Equation is included in full-text article.)), carbon dioxide production ((Equation is included in full-text article.)), pulmonary ventilation (VE) breath by breath, respiratory quotient, oxygen pulse as the (Equation is included in full-text article.)vs. HR ratio and [LA]. No significant differences were found for any of the measures between the 3 playing positions. Although this finding was surprising, future studies should try to determine whether the tactics used in female basketball determine that the interpositional differences seen in male basketball are not evident.

  3. CT evaluation of patient deep inspiration self-breath-holding: How precisely can patients reproduce the tumor position in the absence of respiratory monitoring devices?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onishi, Hiroshi; Kuriyama, Kengo; Komiyama, Takafumi; Tanaka, Shiho; Ueki, Junko; Sano, Naoki; Araki, Tsutomu; Ikenaga, Satoshi; Tateda, Yoshihito; Aikawa, Yoshihito

    2003-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reproducibility of tumor position under patient deep inspiration self-breath-holding in the absence of respiratory monitoring devices, as well as to compare the reproducibility of deep inspiration self-breath-holding on the verbal command of a radiation technologist (Passive mode) with that initiated by patients' own estimation (Active mode). Twenty patients with lung cancer were shown how the tumor and diaphragm move during the respiration cycle. Patients were instructed to hold their breath during deep inspiration and reproduce identical tumor position as well as possible either by the Active mode or by the Passive mode. After patients had practiced self-breath-holding during deep inspiration, a set of three CT scans was obtained for each of the two modes of self-breath-holding (6 CT scans total) to obtain randomly timed images of 2 mm thickness in the vicinity of the tumor. The first three scans were performed during breath-hold using the Active mode, and next three scans were using the Passive mode. Maximum difference in tumor position for the three CT scans was then calculated along three axes: cranial-caudal (C-C); anterior-posterior (A-P); and right-left (R-L). In the 20 patients who underwent analysis of self-breath-holding, mean maximum difference in tumor position obtained under breath-hold using the Active and the Passive modes were: 2.2 and 3.1 mm along the C-C axis; 1.4 and 2.4 mm along the A-P axis; and 1.3 and 2.2 mm along the R-L axis, respectively. These differences in all axes were significantly smaller (p<0.05) for the Active mode than for the Passive mode. Most tumors displayed maximal respiratory movement along the C-C axis, and minimal movement along the R-L axis, but tumors located in the upper lung displayed maximal movement along the A-P axis. Significant correlation (p<0.05) was observed between differences along three axes in either mode of breath-hold. In conclusion, the reproducibility of

  4. Intermittent hypoxia in childhood: the harmful consequences versus potential benefits of therapeutic uses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana V. Serebrovskaya

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Intermittent hypoxia often occurs in early infancy in both preterm and term infants and especially at 36 to 44 weeks postmenstrual age. These episodes of intermittent hypoxia could result from sleep-disordered breathing or may be temporally unrelated to apnea or bradycardia events. There are numerous reports indicating adverse effects of intermittent hypoxia on development, behavior, academic achievement and cognition in children with sleep apnea syndrome. It remains uncertain the exact causative relationship between the neurocognitive and behavioral morbidities and intermittent hypoxia and/or its associated sleep fragmentation. On the other hand, well-controlled and moderate intermittent hypoxia conditioning/training has been used in sick children for treating their various forms of bronchial asthma, allergic dermatoses, autoimmune thyroiditis, cerebral palsy, and obesity. This review article provides an updated and impartial analysis on the currently available evidence in supporting either side of the seemingly contradictory scenarios. We wish to stimulate a comprehensive understanding of such a complex physiological phenomenon as intermittent hypoxia, which may be accompanied by other confounding factors (e.g. hypercapnia, polycythemia, in order to prevent or reduce its harmful consequences, while maximize its potential utility as an effective therapeutic tool in pediatric patients.

  5. Chronic intermittent hypoxia preserves bone density in a mouse model of sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Marta; Montserrat, Josep M; Pavía, Javier; Dalmases, Mireia; Ros, Domenec; Fernandez, Yolanda; Barbé, Ferran; Navajas, Daniel; Farré, Ramon

    2013-12-01

    Very recent clinical research has investigated whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may modulate bone homeostasis but the few data available are conflicting. Here we report novel data obtained in a mouse study specifically designed to determine whether chronic intermittent hypoxia realistically mimicking OSA modifies bone mineral density (BMD). Normal male and female mice and orchidectomized mice (N=10 each group) were subjected to a pattern of high-frequency intermittent hypoxia (20s at 5% and 40s at 21%, 60 cycles/h) for 6h/day. Identical groups breathing room air (normoxia) were the controls. After 32 days of intermittent hypoxia/normoxia the trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) in the peripheral femora were measured by micro-CT scanning. When compared with normoxia (two-way ANOVA), intermittent hypoxia did not significantly modify BMD in the three animal groups tested. Data in this study suggest that the type of intermittent hypoxia characterizing OSA, applied as a single challenge, preserves bone homeostasis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Chronic intermittent hypoxia induces cardiac inflammation and dysfunction in a rat obstructive sleep apnea model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Qin; Bian, Yeping; Yu, Fuchao; Zhang, Qiang; Zhang, Guanghao; Li, Yang; Song, Songsong; Ren, Xiaomei; Tong, Jiayi

    2016-11-01

    Chronic intermittent hypoxia is considered to play an important role in cardiovascular pathogenesis during the development of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We used a well-described OSA rat model induced with simultaneous intermittent hypoxia. Male Sprague Dawley rats were individually placed into plexiglass chambers with air pressure and components were electronically controlled. The rats were exposed to intermittent hypoxia 8 hours daily for 5 weeks. The changes of cardiac structure and function were examined by ultrasound. The cardiac pathology, apoptosis, and fibrosis were analyzed by H&E staining, TUNNEL assay, and picosirius staining, respectively. The expression of inflammation and fibrosis marker genes was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. Chronic intermittent hypoxia/low pressure resulted in significant increase of left ventricular internal diameters (LVIDs), end-systolic volume (ESV), end-diastolic volume (EDV), and blood lactate level and marked reduction in ejection fraction and fractional shortening. Chronic intermittent hypoxia increased TUNNEL-positive myocytes, disrupted normal arrangement of cardiac fibers, and increased Sirius stained collagen fibers. The expression levels of hypoxia induced factor (HIF)-1α, NF-kB, IL-6, and matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2) were significantly increased in the heart of rats exposed to chronic intermittent hypoxia. In conclusion, the left ventricular function was adversely affected by chronic intermittent hypoxia, which is associated with increased expression of HIF-1α and NF-kB signaling molecules and development of cardiac inflammation, apoptosis and fibrosis. © 2016 by the Journal of Biomedical Research. All rights reserved.

  7. Intermittent degradation and schizotypy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew W. Roché

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Intermittent degradation refers to transient detrimental disruptions in task performance. This phenomenon has been repeatedly observed in the performance data of patients with schizophrenia. Whether intermittent degradation is a feature of the liability for schizophrenia (i.e., schizotypy is an open question. Further, the specificity of intermittent degradation to schizotypy has yet to be investigated. To address these questions, 92 undergraduate participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires assessing schizotypy and psychological state variables (e.g., anxiety, depression, and their reaction times were recorded as they did so. Intermittent degradation was defined as the number of times a subject’s reaction time for questionnaire items met or exceeded three standard deviations from his or her mean reaction time after controlling for each item’s information processing load. Intermittent degradation scores were correlated with questionnaire scores. Our results indicate that intermittent degradation is associated with total scores on measures of positive and disorganized schizotypy, but unrelated to total scores on measures of negative schizotypy and psychological state variables. Intermittent degradation is interpreted as potentially derivative of schizotypy and a candidate endophenotypic marker worthy of continued research.

  8. Breathing circuit compliance and accuracy of displayed tidal volume during pressure-controlled ventilation of infants: A quality improvement project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glenski, Todd A; Diehl, Carrie; Clopton, Rachel G; Friesen, Robert H

    2017-09-01

    Anesthesia machines have evolved to deliver desired tidal volumes more accurately by measuring breathing circuit compliance during a preuse self-test and then incorporating the compliance value when calculating expired tidal volume. The initial compliance value is utilized in tidal volume calculation regardless of whether the actual compliance of the breathing circuit changes during a case, as happens when corrugated circuit tubing is manually expanded after the preuse self-test but before patient use. We noticed that the anesthesia machine preuse self-test was usually performed on nonexpanded pediatric circuit tubing, and then the breathing circuit was subsequently expanded for clinical use. We aimed to demonstrate that performing the preuse self-test in that manner could lead to incorrectly displayed tidal volume on the anesthesia machine monitor. The goal of this quality improvement project was to change the usual practice and improve the accuracy of displayed tidal volume in infants undergoing general anesthesia. There were four stages of the project: (i) gathering baseline data about the performance of the preuse self-test and using infant and adult test lungs to measure discrepancies of displayed tidal volumes when breathing circuit compliance was changed after the initial preuse self-test; (ii) gathering clinical data during pressure-controlled ventilation comparing anesthesia machine displayed tidal volume with actual spirometry tidal volume in patients less than 10 kg before (machine preuse self-test performed while the breathing circuit was nonexpanded) and after an intervention (machine preuse self-test performed after the breathing circuit was fully expanded); (iii) performing department-wide education to help implement practice change; (iv) gathering postintervention data to determine the prevalence of proper machine preuse self-test. At constant pressure-controlled ventilation through fully expanded circuit tubing, displayed tidal volume was 83

  9. Intermittent or daily montelukast versus placebo for episodic asthma in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valovirta, Erkka; Boza, Maria L; Robertson, Colin F; Verbruggen, Nadia; Smugar, Steven S; Nelsen, Linda M; Knorr, Barbara A; Reiss, Theodore F; Philip, George; Gurner, Deborah M

    2011-06-01

    No standard, optimal treatment exists for severe intermittent (ie, episodic) asthma in children. However, evidence suggests that both daily and episode-driven montelukast are effective for this phenotype. To assess the regimen-related efficacy of montelukast in treating pediatric episodic asthma. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group, 52-week study was performed in children 6 months to 5 years of age comparing placebo with two regimens of montelukast 4 mg: (1) daily; or (2) episode-driven for 12 days beginning with signs/symptoms consistent with imminent cold or breathing problem. The main outcome measure was the number of asthma episodes (symptoms requiring treatment) culminating in an asthma attack (symptoms requiring physician visit, emergency room visit, corticosteroids, or hospitalization). Five hundred eighty-nine patients were randomized to daily montelukast, 591 to intermittent montelukast, and 591 to placebo. Compared with placebo, no significant difference was seen between daily montelukast (P = .510) or intermittent montelukast (P = .884) in the number of asthma episodes culminating in an asthma attack over 1 year. Daily montelukast reduced symptoms over the 12-day treatment period of asthma episodes compared with placebo (P = .045). Beta-agonist use was reduced with both daily (P = .048) and intermittent montelukast (P = .028) compared with placebo. However, because of prespecified rules for multiplicity adjustments (requiring a positive primary endpoint), statistical significance for secondary endpoints cannot be concluded. All treatments were well tolerated. Montelukast did not reduce the number of asthma episodes culminating in an asthma attack over 1 year in children 6 months to 5 years of age, although numerical improvements occurred in some endpoints. Copyright © 2011 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Effects of positive expiratory pressure on pulmonary clearance of aerosolized technetium-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid in healthy individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabella Martins de Albuquerque

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the effects of positive expiratory pressure (PEP on pulmonary epithelial membrane permeability in healthy subjects. Methods: We evaluated a cohort of 30 healthy subjects (15 males and 15 females with a mean age of 28.3 ± 5.4 years, a mean FEV1/FVC ratio of 0.89 ± 0.14, and a mean FEV1 of 98.5 ± 13.1% of predicted. Subjects underwent technetium-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA radioaerosol inhalation lung scintigraphy in two stages: during spontaneous breathing; and while breathing through a PEP mask at one of three PEP levels-10 cmH2O (n = 10, 15 cmH2O (n = 10, and 20 cmH2O (n = 10. The 99mTc-DTPA was nebulized for 3 min, and its clearance was recorded by scintigraphy over a 30-min period during spontaneous breathing and over a 30-min period during breathing through a PEP mask. Results: The pulmonary clearance of 99mTc-DTPA was significantly shorter when PEP was applied-at 10 cmH2O (p = 0.044, 15 cmH2O (p = 0.044, and 20 cmH2O (p = 0.004-in comparison with that observed during spontaneous breathing. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that PEP, at the levels tested, is able to induce an increase in pulmonary epithelial membrane permeability and lung volume in healthy subjects.

  11. Comparison of efficacy of the intermittent pneumatic compression with a high- and low-pressure application in reducing the lower limbs phlebolymphedema

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taradaj J

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Jakub Taradaj,1 Joanna Rosińczuk,2 Robert Dymarek,2 Tomasz Halski,3 Winfried Schneider4 1Department of Physiotherapy Basics, Academy School of Physical Education in Katowice, Katowice, 2Department of Nervous System Diseases, University of Medicine in Wroclaw, Wroclaw, 3Institute of Physiotherapy, Public Higher Medical Professional School in Opole, Opole, Poland; 4Lymphology Center in Bad Berleburg, Bad Berleburg, Germany Introduction: The primary lymphedema and chronic venous insufficiency present an important medical problem, and effective physical therapeutic methods to treat this problem are still at the search phase. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC of a high- or low-pressure level in the treatment of primary phlebolymphedema of the lower limbs.Methods: The study included 81 patients with chronic venous insufficiency and primary lymphedema of the lower limbs. Group A consisted of 28 patients who underwent a monthly antiedematous therapy including a manual lymphatic drainage, multilayer bandaging, and IPC with the output pressure of 120 mmHg. Group B consisted of 27 patients who underwent the same basic treatment as group A and IPC with the output pressure of 60 mmHg. Group C (control consisted of 26 patients who underwent only a basic treatment – without IPC.Results: After completion of the study, it was found that the greatest reduction of edema occurred in patients who underwent treatment with a pressure of 120 mmHg. The comparison of percentage reduction of edema showed a statistically significant advantage of the group A over groups B and C, both for the changes in the right (P=0.01 and the left limb (P=0.01. Results in patients undergoing intermittent compression of the lower pressure (60 mmHg were similar to those obtained in the control group.Conclusion: The IPC with the pressure of 120 mmHg inside the chambers effectively helps to reduce a phlebolymphedema

  12. Intermittent Hypoxia Causes Inflammation and Injury to Human Adult Cardiac Myocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jing; Stefaniak, Joanna; Hafner, Christina; Schramel, Johannes Peter; Kaun, Christoph; Wojta, Johann; Ullrich, Roman; Tretter, Verena Eva; Markstaller, Klaus; Klein, Klaus Ulrich

    2016-02-01

    Intermittent hypoxia may occur in a number of clinical scenarios, including interruption of myocardial blood flow or breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea. Although intermittent hypoxia has been linked to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, the effect of intermittent hypoxia on the human heart is not fully understood. Therefore, in the present study, we compared the cellular responses of cultured human adult cardiac myocytes (HACMs) exposed to intermittent hypoxia and different conditions of continuous hypoxia and normoxia. HACMs were exposed to intermittent hypoxia (0%-21% O2), constant mild hypoxia (10% O2), constant severe hypoxia (0% O2), or constant normoxia (21% O2), using a novel cell culture bioreactor with gas-permeable membranes. Cell proliferation, lactate dehydrogenase release, vascular endothelial growth factor release, and cytokine (interleukin [IL] and macrophage migration inhibitory factor) release were assessed at baseline and after 8, 24, and 72 hours of exposure. A signal transduction pathway finder array was performed to determine the changes in gene expression. In comparison with constant normoxia and constant mild hypoxia, intermittent hypoxia induced earlier and greater inflammatory response and extent of cell injury as evidenced by lower cell numbers and higher lactate dehydrogenase, vascular endothelial growth factor, and proinflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and macrophage migration inhibitory factor) release. Constant severe hypoxia showed more detrimental effects on HACMs at later time points. Pathway analysis demonstrated that intermittent hypoxia primarily altered gene expression in oxidative stress, Wnt, Notch, and hypoxia pathways. Intermittent and constant severe hypoxia, but not constant mild hypoxia or normoxia, induced inflammation and cell injury in HACMs. Cell injury occurred earliest and was greatest after intermittent hypoxia exposure. Our in vitro findings suggest that intermittent hypoxia

  13. The Effect of Sleep Disordered Breathing on the Outcome of Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birkbak, Johannes; Clark, Alice J; Rod, Naja Hulvej

    2014-01-01

    The primary objective was to systematically review the literature on how sleep disordered breathing (SDB) affects recurrence and death among stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients. A secondary objective was to evaluate how treatment of SDB with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP...

  14. Positive effects of intermittent fasting in ischemic stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fann, David Yang-Wei; Ng, Gavin Yong Quan; Poh, Luting; Arumugam, Thiruma V

    2017-03-01

    Intermittent fasting (IF) is a dietary protocol where energy restriction is induced by alternate periods of ad libitum feeding and fasting. Prophylactic intermittent fasting has been shown to extend lifespan and attenuate the progress and severity of age-related diseases such as cardiovascular (e.g. stroke and myocardial infarction), neurodegenerative (e.g. Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease) and cancerous diseases in animal models. Stroke is the second leading cause of death, and lifestyle risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity have been associated with elevated risks of stroke in humans. Recent studies have shown that prophylactic IF may mitigate tissue damage and neurological deficit following ischemic stroke by a mechanism(s) involving suppression of excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation and cell death pathways in animal stroke models. This review summarizes data supporting the potential hormesis mechanisms of prophylactic IF in animal models, and with a focus on findings from animal studies of prophylactic IF in stroke in our laboratory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Changes in pulmonary blood flow do not affect gas exchange during intermittent ventilation in resting turtles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Tobias; Hicks, James W.

    2008-01-01

    The breathing pattern of many different air-breathing vertebrates, including lungfish, anuran amphibians, turtles, crocodiles and snakes, is characterized by brief periods of lung ventilation interspersed among apnoeas of variable duration. These intermittent ventilatory cycles are associated...... experimentally. The present study measured pulmonary gas exchange in fully recovered, freely diving turtles, where changes in pulmonary blood flow were prevented by partial occlusion of the pulmonary artery. Prevention of L-R shunt during ventilation did not impair CO2 excretion and overall, oxygen uptake and CO...

  16. Master equation approach to DNA breathing in heteropolymer DNA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ambjörnsson, Tobias; Banik, Suman K; Lomholt, Michael A

    2007-01-01

    After crossing an initial barrier to break the first base-pair (bp) in double-stranded DNA, the disruption of further bps is characterized by free energies up to a few k(B)T. Thermal motion within the DNA double strand therefore causes the opening of intermittent single-stranded denaturation zones......, the DNA bubbles. The unzipping and zipping dynamics of bps at the two zipper forks of a bubble, where the single strand of the denatured zone joins the still intact double strand, can be monitored by single molecule fluorescence or NMR methods. We here establish a dynamic description of this DNA breathing...... in a heteropolymer DNA with given sequence in terms of a master equation that governs the time evolution of the joint probability distribution for the bubble size and position along the sequence. The transfer coefficients are based on the Poland-Scheraga free energy model. We derive the autocorrelation function...

  17. The position of the arm during blood pressure measurement in sitting position.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adiyaman, Ahmet; Verhoeff, Rutger; Lenders, Jacques W M; Deinum, Jaap; Thien, Theo

    2006-12-01

    Determining the influence of the position of the arm on blood pressure measurement in the sitting position. Blood pressure of 128 individuals (the majority being treated hypertensive patients) visiting the outpatient clinic was measured simultaneously on both arms with arms in two different positions. First, both arms were placed at the chair support level and blood pressure was measured three times on both arms after 10 min of rest. Subsequently, while still remaining in the same sitting position, five blood pressure measurements were made simultaneously at both arms with one arm placed on the desk and one arm placed and supported at heart level (mid-sternal). The arm placed at heart level served as the reference arm. The choice of which arm was placed at desk level and which arm was placed at heart level was randomized. Both at desk level and at chair support level, mean (+/-SD) systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher than blood pressure at heart level by 6.1/5.7+/-4.6/3.1 and 9.3/9.4+/-5.4/3.4 mmHg, respectively. The effect of the height differences between the arm positions on the blood pressure readings was smaller than predicted (0.49 mmHg/cm systolic and 0.47 mmHg/cm diastolic). No significant correlation was found between blood pressure difference in the different arm positions (desk and heart level) and age, sex, weight or baseline blood pressure. Different arm positions below heart level have significant effects on blood pressure readings. The leading guidelines about arm position during blood pressure measurement are not in accordance with the arm position used in the Framingham study, the most frequently used study for risk estimations.

  18. Variations in pulmonary artery occlusion pressure to estimate changes in pleural pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellemare, Patrick; Goldberg, Peter; Magder, Sheldon A

    2007-11-01

    A readily available assessment of changes in pleural pressure would be useful for ventilator and fluid management in critically ill patients. We examined whether changes in pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (Ppao) adequately reflect respiratory changes in pleural pressure as assessed by changes in intraesophageal balloon pressure (Peso). We studied patients who had a pulmonary catheter and esophageal balloon surrounding a nasogastric tube as part of their care (n=24). We compared changes in Ppao (dPpao) to changes in Peso (dPeso) by Bland-Altman and regression analysis. Adequacy of balloon placement was assessed by performing Mueller maneuvers and adjusting the position to achieve a ratio of dPeso to change in tracheal pressure (dPtr) of 0.85 or higher. This was achieved in only 14 of the 24 subjects. We also compared dCVP to dPeso. The dPpao during spontaneous breaths and positive pressure breaths gave a good estimate of Peso but generally underestimated dPeso (bias=2.2 +8.2 and -3.9 cmH2O for the whole group). The dCVP was not as good a predictor (bias=2.9 +10.3 and -4.6). In patients who have a pulmonary artery catheter in place dPpao gives a lower estimate of changes in pleural pressure and may be more reliable than dPeso. The dCVP is a less reliable predictor than changes in pleural pressure.

  19. Beneficial effects of intermittent fluid pressure of low physiological magnitude on cartilage and inflammation in osteoarthritis. An in vitro study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Valburg, A. A.; van Roy, H. L.; Lafeber, F. P.; Bijlsma, J. W.

    1998-01-01

    To investigate the in vitro effects of low physiological levels of intermittent fluid pressure (0-13 kPa; 0.33 Hz), in the absence of mechanical stress, on articular cartilage, inflammatory cells, and on the combination of these components, present in the osteoarthritic (OA) joint. Normal and OA

  20. Relationships between hippocampal activity and breathing patterns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harper, R M; Poe, G R; Rector, D M

    1998-01-01

    Single cell discharge, EEG activity, and optical changes accompanying alterations in breathing patterns, as well as the knowledge that respiratory musculature is heavily involved in movement and other behavioral acts, implicate hippocampal regions in some aspects of breathing control. The control...... is unlikely to reside in oscillatory breathing movements, because such patterns emerge in preparations retaining only the medulla (and perhaps only the spinal cord). However, momentary changes in breathing patterns induced by affect, startle, whole-body movement changes, or compensatory ventilatory changes...... of hippocampal contributions to breathing control should be viewed in the context that significant interactions exist between blood pressure changes and ventilation, and that modest breathing challenges, such as exposure to hypercapnia or to increased resistive loads, bring into action a vast array of brain...

  1. Variations in tumor size and position due to irregular breathing in 4D-CT: A simulation study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarker, Joyatee; Chu, Alan; Mui, Kit; Wolfgang, John A.; Hirsch, Ariel E.; Chen, George T. Y.; Sharp, Gregory C.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To estimate the position and volume errors in 4D-CT caused by irregular breathing. Methods: A virtual 4D-CT scanner was designed to reproduce axial mode scans with retrospective resorting. This virtual scanner creates an artificial spherical tumor based on the specifications of the user, and recreates images that might be produced by a 4D-CT scanner using a patient breathing waveform. 155 respiratory waveforms of patients were used to test the variability of 4D-CT scans. Each breathing waveform was normalized and scaled to 1, 2, and 3 cm peak-to-peak motion, and artificial tumors with 2 and 4 cm radius were simulated for each scaled waveform. The center of mass and volume of resorted 4D-CT images were calculated and compared to the expected values of center of mass and volume for the artificial tumor. Intrasubject variability was investigated by running the virtual scanner over different subintervals of each patient's breathing waveform. Results: The average error in the center of mass location of an artificial tumor was less than 2 mm standard deviation for 2 cm motion. The corresponding average error in volume was less than 4%. In the worst-case scenarios, a center of mass error of 1.0 cm standard deviation and volume errors of 30%-60% at inhale were found. Systematic errors were observed in a subset of patients due to irregular breathing, and these errors were more pronounced when the tumor volume is smaller. Conclusions: Irregular breathing during 4D-CT simulation causes systematic errors in volume and center of mass measurements. These errors are small but depend on the tumor size, motion amplitude, and degree of breathing irregularity.

  2. High altitude pulmonary edema and exercise at 4,400 meters on Mount McKinley. Effect of expiratory positive airway pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoene, R B; Roach, R C; Hackett, P H; Harrison, G; Mills, W J

    1985-03-01

    Breathing against positive expiratory pressure has been used to improve gas exchange in many forms of pulmonary edema, and forced expiration against resistance during exercise has been advocated for climbing at high altitude as a method to optimize performance. To evaluate the effect of expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP) on climbers with high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and on exercise at high altitude, we studied four climbers with HAPE at rest and 13 healthy climbers during exercise on a bicycle ergometer at 4400 m. We measured minute ventilation (VI, L/min), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2 percent), end-tidal carbon dioxide (PACO2, mm Hg), respiratory rate (RR), and heart rate (HR) during the last minute of a five minute interval at rest in the climbers with HAPE, and at rest, 300, and 600 kpm/minute workloads on a bicycle ergometer in the healthy subjects. The HAPE subjects demonstrated an increased SaO2 percent, no change in HR or VI, and a decrease in RR on EPAP as compared to control. In normal subjects, SaO2 percent, VI, and heart rate were significantly higher on EPAP 10 cm H2O than 0 cm H2O control (p less than 0.01, 0.01, and 0.05, respectively). The RR and PaCO2 were not significantly different. In summary, EPAP improves gas exchange in HAPE subjects at rest. The EPAP in normal subjects at high altitude resulted in a higher SaO2 percent at the expense of a higher VI and higher HR. These results suggest that the work of breathing is higher and the stroke volume lower on EPAP. The positive pressure mask may be an effective temporizing measure for victims of HAPE who cannot immediately go to a lower altitude.

  3. Chest physiotherapy and breathing exercises for cardiac surgery patients in Sweden--a national survey of practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westerdahl, E; Olsén, M Fagevik

    2011-06-01

    Various chest physiotherapy techniques are recommended after cardiac surgery around the world. There is limited published data on what breathing exercises actually are recommended to patients after surgery in Europe. The aim of this national survey was to establish the current practice of chest physiotherapy and breathing exercises for adult patients following cardiac surgery in Sweden. A postal questionnaire was sent to a total population sample of 33 Swedish physiotherapists working at the departments of cardiothoracic surgery in December 2007 and January 2008. In total, 29 replies (88%) were received. Seven male and twenty two female physiotherapists completed the questionnaire. All physiotherapists instructed, on a regular basis, the cardiac surgery patients to perform post-operative breathing exercises. Positive expiratory pressure (PEP) breathing was routinely used as the first choice for treatment by 22 (83%) of the physiotherapists. Expiratory pressures used varied between 2 and 20 cm H2O. Recommended frequency and duration of the exercises varied from 4 to 30 breaths hourly during the daytime in the first post-operative days. All physiotherapists provided coughing support to the patients. Recommendations to continue breathing exercises after discharge varied from not at all up to 3 months after surgery. Breathing exercises are regularly prescribed during the initial post-operative days after cardiac surgery in Sweden. Hourly deep breathing exercises performed with or without a PEP device were reported to be first choice treatments during the hospital stay. Instructions concerning how long patients should continue the exercises after discharge varied notably.

  4. Work of breathing during lung-protective ventilation in patients with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome: a comparison between volume and pressure-regulated breathing modes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kallet, Richard H; Campbell, Andre R; Dicker, Rochelle A; Katz, Jeffrey A; Mackersie, Robert C

    2005-12-01

    Pressure-control ventilation (PCV) and pressure-regulated volume-control (PRVC) ventilation are used during lung-protective ventilation because the high, variable, peak inspiratory flow rate (V (I)) may reduce patient work of breathing (WOB) more than the fixed V (I) of volume-control ventilation (VCV). Patient-triggered breaths during PCV and PRVC may result in excessive tidal volume (V(T)) delivery unless the inspiratory pressure is reduced, which in turn may decrease the peak V (I). We tested whether PCV and PRVC reduce WOB better than VCV with a high, fixed peak V (I) (75 L/min) while also maintaining a low V(T) target. Fourteen nonconsecutive patients with acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome were studied prospectively, using a random presentation of ventilator modes in a crossover, repeated-measures design. A target V(T) of 6.4 + 0.5 mL/kg was set during VCV and PRVC. During PCV the inspiratory pressure was set to achieve the same V(T). WOB and other variables were measured with a pulmonary mechanics monitor (Bicore CP-100). There was a nonsignificant trend toward higher WOB (in J/L) during PCV (1.27 + 0.58 J/L) and PRVC (1.35 + 0.60 J/L), compared to VCV (1.09 + 0.59 J/L). While mean V(T) was not statistically different between modes, in 40% of patients, V(T) markedly exceeded the lung-protective ventilation target during PRVC and PCV. During lung-protective ventilation, PCV and PRVC offer no advantage in reducing WOB, compared to VCV with a high flow rate, and in some patients did not allow control of V(T) to be as precise.

  5. The effects of acebutolol and metoprolol on walking distances and distal blood pressure in hypertensive patients with intermittent claudication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svendsen, T L; Jelnes, Rolf; Tønnesen, K H

    1986-01-01

    The effects of acebutolol (with intrinsic sympathomimetic activity (ISA] and metoprolol (without ISA) on arm blood pressure, ankle systolic blood pressure, claudication distances (CD) and maximal walking distances (MWD) were compared in patients with essential hypertension and intermittent...... claudication. Fourteen patients participated in a long-term, open, randomized cross-over study. After randomization the patients received either acebutolol, 200 mg b.i.d., or metoprolol, 100 mg b.i.d. After eight weeks the drugs were shifted and after another eight weeks they were withdrawn. Arm and ankle...... pressure there were no significant changes in ankle blood pressure, CD or MWD after the two drugs. After withdrawal of the drugs and after the arm blood pressure had returned to the control value no significant changes were seen in CD, MWD or ankle blood pressure. It is concluded that beta-blockers have...

  6. Intermittent hypoxia increases melanoma metastasis to the lung in a mouse model of sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almendros, Isaac; Montserrat, Josep M; Torres, Marta; Dalmases, Mireia; Cabañas, Maria L; Campos-Rodríguez, Francisco; Navajas, Daniel; Farré, Ramon

    2013-05-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has recently been associated with an increased risk of cancer incidence and mortality in humans. Experimental data in mice have also shown that intermittent hypoxia similar to that observed in OSA patients enhances tumor growth. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that intermittent hypoxia mimicking OSA enhances lung metastasis. A total of 75 C57BL/6J male mice (10-week-old) were subjected to either spontaneous or induced melanoma lung metastasis. Normoxic animals breathed room air and intermittent hypoxic animals were subjected to cycles of 20s of 5% O2 followed by 40s of room air for 6h/day. Spontaneous and induced lung metastases were studied after subcutaneous and intravenous injection of B16F10 melanoma cells, respectively. Compared with normoxia, intermittent hypoxia induced a significant increase in melanoma lung metastasis. These animal model results suggest that intermittent hypoxia could contribute to cancer metastasis in patients with OSA. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Positive outcome of average volume-assured pressure support mode of a Respironics V60 Ventilator in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Okuda Miyuki

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction We were able to treat a patient with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who also suffered from sleep-disordered breathing by using the average volume-assured pressure support mode of a Respironics V60 Ventilator (Philips Respironics: United States. This allows a target tidal volume to be set based on automatic changes in inspiratory positive airway pressure. This removed the need to change the noninvasive positive pressure ventilation settings during the day and during sleep. The Respironics V60 Ventilator, in the average volume-assured pressure support mode, was attached to our patient and improved and stabilized his sleep-related hypoventilation by automatically adjusting force to within an acceptable range. Case presentation Our patient was a 74-year-old Japanese man who was hospitalized for treatment due to worsening of dyspnea and hypoxemia. He was diagnosed with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and full-time biphasic positive airway pressure support ventilation was initiated. Our patient was temporarily provided with portable noninvasive positive pressure ventilation at night-time following an improvement in his condition, but his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease again worsened due to the recurrence of a respiratory infection. During the initial exacerbation, his tidal volume was significantly lower during sleep (378.9 ± 72.9mL than while awake (446.5 ± 63.3mL. A ventilator that allows ventilation to be maintained by automatically adjusting the inspiratory force to within an acceptable range was attached in average volume-assured pressure support mode, improving his sleep-related hypoventilation, which is often associated with the use of the Respironics V60 Ventilator. Polysomnography performed while our patient was on noninvasive positive pressure ventilation revealed obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (apnea-hypopnea index = 14, suggesting that his chronic

  8. Work of breathing as a tool to diagnose severe fixed upper airway obstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khirani, S; Pierrot, S; Leboulanger, N; Ramirez, A; Breton, D; Couloigner, V; Fauroux, B

    2014-03-01

    A 4-year-old girl with bilateral vocal fold palsy was successfully decannulated from tracheotomy after seven laryngeal procedures. But an important stridor and dyspnea recurred 13 months after decannulation. Nocturnal gas exchange was normal but her daytime work of breathing was increased by fourfold, without any beneficial effect of nasal noninvasive continuous positive airway pressure ventilation (CPAP), reflecting a severe fixed airway obstruction. Endoscopic examination confirmed the work of breathing findings showing glottic and supraglottic stenosis. This upper airway obstruction was successfully treated with a recannulation. In conclusion, the major message of this case report is that measurement of the work of breathing was able to document the "fixed" nature of the airway obstruction, by showing no improvement even with highest tolerated levels of nasal CPAP. As such, the work of breathing may be proposed as a screening tool to quantify and assess the reversibility of severe upper airway obstruction in children. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. System for routine testing of self-contained and airline breathing equipment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDermott, H.J.; Hermens, G.A.

    1980-07-01

    A system for routine testing of self-contained and airline breathing equipment, developed by Shell Oil Co., for testing breathing equipment at one of its refineries, consists of an 80 psig air supply for airline respirators; a 500-2100 psig air supply for self-contained units; a regulator test system which uses a mannequin head that simulates human inhalation and which tests the ability of the regulator to keep the mask interior at the correct positive pressure; and an exhalation valve test system which identifies a leaky or sticking valve. The testing system has been in use for about 30 mo and has led to increased acceptance of respiratory protective equipment by workers.

  10. Use of dynamic CT in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with comparison of positive and negative pressure ventilation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Helm, Emma; Babyn, Paul [Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Toronto (Canada); Talakoub, Omid; Alirezaie, Javad [Ryerson University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Toronto, ON (Canada); Grasso, Francesco; Engelberts, Doreen; Kavanagh, Brian P. [Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto, Departments of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine and the Program in Pulmonary and Experimental Medicine, Toronto (Canada)

    2009-01-15

    Negative pressure ventilation via an external device ('iron lung') has the potential to provide better oxygenation with reduced barotrauma in patients with ARDS. This study was designed to see if oxygenation differences between positive and negative ventilation could be explained by CT. Six anaesthetized rabbits had ARDS induced by repeated saline lavage. Rabbits were ventilated with positive pressure ventilation (PPV) and negative pressure ventilation (NPV) in turn. Dynamic CT images were acquired over the respiratory cycle. A computer-aided method was used to segment the lung and calculate the range of CT densities within each slice. Volumes of ventilated lung and atelectatic lung were measured over the respiratory cycle. NPV was associated with an increased percentage of ventilated lung and decreased percentage of atelectatic lung. The most significant differences in ventilation and atelectasis were seen at mid-inspiration and mid-expiration (ventilated lung NPV=61%, ventilated lung PPV=47%, p<0.001; atelectatic lung NPV=10%, atelectatic lung PPV 19%, p<0.001). Aeration differences were not significant at end-inspiration. Dynamic CT can show differences in lung aeration between positive and negative ventilation in ARDS. These differences would not be appreciated if only static breath-hold CT was used. (orig.)

  11. Dismounted Complex Blast Injury. Report of the Army Dismounted Complex Blast Injury Task Force

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-18

    2nd Auxiliary Surgic- al Group designed an intermittent positive 4 pressure breathing apparatus, thereby al- lowing chest wounds to be explored...outcomes than attempt- ing to push rehabilitation too fast . To help support this rehabilitation para- digm, the Amputee Care Program at Walter Reed...to prevent and mi- tigate DCBI complications, such as arthri- tis, chronic pain, heart disease, hyperten- sion, obesity , diabetes and behavioral

  12. Heart position variability during voluntary moderate deep inspiration breath-hold radiotherapy for breast cancer determined by repeat CBCT scans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Haaren, Paul; Claassen-Janssen, Fiere; van de Sande, Ingrid; Boersma, Liesbeth; van der Sangen, Maurice; Hurkmans, Coen

    2017-08-01

    Voluntary moderate deep inspiration breath hold (vmDIBH) in left-sided breast cancer radiotherapy reduces cardiac dose. The aim of this study was to investigate heart position variability in vmDIBH using CBCT and to compare this variability with differences in heart position between vmDIBH and free breathing (FB). For 50 patients initial heart position with respect to the field edge (HP-FE) was measured on a vmDIBH planning CT scan. Breath-hold was monitored using an in-house developed vertical plastic stick. On pre-treatment CBCT scans, heart position variability with respect to the field edge (Δ HP-FE ) was measured, reflecting heart position variability when using an offline correction protocol. After registering the CBCT scan to the planning CT, heart position variability with respect to the chest wall (Δ HP-CW ) was measured, reflecting heart position variability when using an online correction protocol. As a control group, vmDIBH and FB computed tomography (CT) scans were acquired for 30 patients and registering both scans on the chest wall. For 34 out of 50 patients, the average HP-FE and HP-CW increased over the treatment course in comparison to the planning CT. Averaged over all patients and all treatment fractions, the Δ HP-FE and the Δ HP-CW was 0.8±4.2mm (range -9.4-+10.6mm) and 1.0±4.4mm (range -8.3-+10.4mm) respectively. The average gain in heart to chest wall distance was 11.8±4.6mm when using vmDIBH instead of FB. In conclusion, substantial variability in heart position using vmDIBH was observed during the treatment course. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Role of Carotid Body in Intermittent Hypoxia-Related Hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iturriaga, Rodrigo; Oyarce, María Paz; Dias, Ana Carolina Rodrigues

    2017-05-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common breathing disorder, is recognized as an independent risk factor for systemic hypertension. Among the alterations induced by OSA, the chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) is considered the main factor for the hypertension. Exposure of rodents to CIH is the gold-standard method to study the mechanisms involved in the cardiovascular alterations induced by OSA. Although it is well known that CIH produces hypertension, the underlying mechanisms are not totally elucidated. It is likely that the CIH-induced systemic oxidative stress and inflammation may elicit endothelial dysfunction and increase the arterial blood pressure. In addition, OSA patients and animals exposed to CIH show sympathetic hyperactivity and potentiated cardiorespiratory responses to acute hypoxia, suggesting that CIH enhances the peripheral hypoxic chemoreflex. Recent experimental evidences support the proposal that CIH selectively enhances carotid body (CB) chemosensory reactivity to oxygen, which in turn increases sympathetic outflow leading to neurogenic hypertension. In this review, we will discuss the supporting evidence for a critical role of the CB in the generation and maintenance of the hypertension induced by CIH, also, the contribution of oxidative stress to enhance CB chemosensory drive and the activation of sympathetic-related centers in the brain.

  14. Effects of positive expiratory pressure on pulmonary clearance of aerosolized technetium-{sup 99m}-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid in healthy individuals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Albuquerque, Isabella Martins de, E-mail: albuisa@gmail.com [Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS (Brazil). Departamento de Fisioterapia e Reabilitacao; Cardoso, Dannuey Machado; Paiva, Dulciane Nunes [Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul, RS (Brazil); Masiero, Paulo Ricardo; Menna-Barreto, Sergio Saldanha [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre (Brazil); Resqueti, Vanessa Regiane; Fregonezi, Guilherme Augusto de Freitas [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN (Brazil)

    2016-11-15

    Objective: To evaluate the effects of positive expiratory pressure (PEP) on pulmonary epithelial membrane permeability in healthy subjects. Methods: We evaluated a cohort of 30 healthy subjects (15 males and 15 females) with a mean age of 28.3 ± 5.4 years, a mean FEV{sub 1}/FVC ratio of 0.89 ± 0.14, and a mean FEV{sub 1} of 98.5 ± 13.1% of predicted. Subjects underwent technetium-99m labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid ({sup 99m}TcDTPA) radio aerosol inhalation lung scintigraphy in two stages: during spontaneous breathing; and while breathing through a PEP mask at one of three PEP levels—10 cmH{sub 2}O (n = 10), 15 cmH{sub 2}O (n = 10), and 20 cmH{sub 2}O (n = 10). The {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA was nebulized for 3 min, and its clearance was recorded by scintigraphy over a 30-min period during spontaneous breathing and over a 30-min period during breathing through a PEP mask. Results: The pulmonary clearance of {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA was significantly shorter when PEP was applied—at 10 cmH{sub 2}O (p = 0.044), 15 cmH{sub 2}O (p = 0.044), and 20 cmH{sub 2}O (p = 0.004) - in comparison with that observed during spontaneous breathing. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that PEP, at the levels tested, is able to induce an increase in pulmonary epithelial membrane permeability and lung volume in healthy subjects. (author)

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  16. 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

  17. Optimal Dynamics of Intermittent Water Supply

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieb, Anna; Wilkening, Jon; Rycroft, Chris

    2014-11-01

    In many urban areas of the developing world, piped water is supplied only intermittently, as valves direct water to different parts of the water distribution system at different times. The flow is transient, and may transition between free-surface and pressurized, resulting in complex dynamical features with important consequences for water suppliers and users. These consequences include degradation of distribution system components, compromised water quality, and inequitable water availability. The goal of this work is to model the important dynamics and identify operating conditions that mitigate certain negative effects of intermittent water supply. Specifically, we will look at valve parameters occurring as boundary conditions in a network model of transient, transition flow through closed pipes. Optimization will be used to find boundary values to minimize pressure gradients and ensure equitable water availability.

  18. Cardiorespiratory and autonomic interactions during snoring related resistive breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mateika, J H; Mitru, G

    2001-03-15

    We hypothesized that blood pressure (BP) is less during snoring as compared to periods of non-snoring in non-apneic individuals. Furthermore, we hypothesized that this reduction may be accompanied by a simultaneous decrease in sympathetic (SNSA) and parasympathetic (PNSA) nervous system activity and an increase in heart rate (HR). N/A. N/A. N/A. The variables mentioned above in addition to breathing frequency were measured in 9 subjects during NREM sleep. In addition, the lowest systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) during inspiration and the highest SBP and DBP during expiration was determined breath-by-breath from segments selected from each NREM cycle. Heart rate variability was used as a marker of autonomic nervous system activity. Our results showed that BP during snoring decreased compared to non-snoring and the breath-by-breath BP analysis suggested that this difference may have been mediated by changes in intrathoracic pressure. In conjunction with the decrease in BP, SNSA decreased and HR increased however PNSA remained constant. Thus, a decrease in PNSA was likely not the primary mechanism responsible for the HR response. We conclude that BP responses and SNSA during snoring are similar to that reported previously in non-snoring individuals. However, the causal mechanisms maybe different and manifested in other measures such as HR. Thus, nocturnal cardiovascular and autonomic function maybe uniquely different in non-apneic snoring individuals.

  19. Pressure-controlled intermittent coronary sinus occlusion (PICSO) in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: results of the Prepare RAMSES safety and feasibility study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van de Hoef, Tim P.; Nijveldt, Robin; van der Ent, Martin; Neunteufl, Thomas; Meuwissen, Martijn; Khattab, Ahmed; Berger, Rudolf; Kuijt, Wichert J.; Wykrzykowska, Joanna; Tijssen, Jan G. P.; van Rossum, Albert C.; Stone, Gregg W.; Piek, Jan J.

    2015-01-01

    Pressure-controlled intermittent coronary sinus occlusion (PICSO) may improve myocardial perfusion after pPCI. We evaluated the safety and feasibility of PICSO after pPCI for STEMI, and explored its effects on infarct size and myocardial function. Thirty patients were enrolled following successful

  20. Initial treatment of respiratory distress syndrome with nasal intermittent mandatory ventilation versus nasal continuous positive airway pressure: A randomized controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir-Mohammad Armanian

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS in premature infants who survived and its complications are a common problem. Due to high morbidity and mechanical ventilation (MV nowadays researchers in interested minimizing MV. To determine, in very low birth weight (BW preterm neonates with RDS, if initial treatment with nasal intermittent mandatory ventilation (early NIMV compared with early nasal continuous positive airway pressure (early NCPAP obtains more favorable outcomes in terms of the duration of treatment, and the need for endotracheal tube ventilation. Methods: In this single-center randomized control trial study, infants (BW ≤ 1500 g and/or gestational age ≤ 34 weeks with respiratory distress were considered eligible. Forty-four infants were randomly assigned to receive early-NIMV and 54 comparable infants to early-NCPAP. Surfactants were given, when FIO 2 requirement was of >30%. Primary outcomes were failure of noninvasive respiratory support, that is, the need for MV in the first 48 h of life and for the duration of noninvasive respiratory support in each group. Results: 98 infants were enrolled (44 in the NIMV and 54 in the NCPAP group. The Preventive power of MV of NIMV usage (95.5% was not lower than the NCPAP (98.1% strength (hazard ratio: 0.21 (95% confidence interval: 0.02-2.66; P: 0.23. The duration of noninvasive respiratory support in the NIMV group was significantly shorter than NCPAP (the median (range was 24 (18.00-48.00 h versus 48.00 (22.00-120.00 h in NIMV versus NCPAP groups; P < 0.001. Similarly, the duration of dependency on oxygen was less, for NIMV (the median (range was 96.00 (41.00-504.00 h versus144.00 (70.00-1130.00 h in NIMV versus NCPAP groups; P: 0.009. Interestingly, time to full enteral feeds and length of hospital stay were more favorable in the NIMV versus the NCPAP group. Conclusions: Initial treatment of RDS with NIMV was safe, and well tolerated. Furthermore, NIMV had excellent

  1. Mechanisms affecting water quality in an intermittent piped water supply.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumpel, Emily; Nelson, Kara L

    2014-01-01

    Drinking water distribution systems throughout the world supply water intermittently, leaving pipes without pressure between supply cycles. Understanding the multiple mechanisms that affect contamination in these intermittent water supplies (IWS) can be used to develop strategies to improve water quality. To study these effects, we tested water quality in an IWS system with infrequent and short water delivery periods in Hubli-Dharwad, India. We continuously measured pressure and physicochemical parameters and periodically collected grab samples to test for total coliform and E. coli throughout supply cycles at 11 sites. When the supply was first turned on, water with elevated turbidity and high concentrations of indicator bacteria was flushed out of pipes. At low pressures (water was delivered with a chlorine residual and at pressures >17 psi.

  2. Compressed air demand-type firefighter's breathing system, volume 1. [design analysis and performance tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, J. L.

    1975-01-01

    The commercial availability of lightweight high pressure compressed air vessels has resulted in a lightweight firefighter's breathing apparatus. The improved apparatus, and details of its design and development are described. The apparatus includes a compact harness assembly, a backplate mounted pressure reducer assembly, a lightweight bubble-type facemask with a mask mounted demand breathing regulator. Incorporated in the breathing regulator is exhalation valve, a purge valve and a whistle-type low pressure warning that sounds only during inhalation. The pressure reducer assembly includes two pressure reducers, an automatic transfer valve and a signaling device for the low pressure warning. Twenty systems were fabricated, tested, refined through an alternating development and test sequence, and extensively examined in a field evaluation program. Photographs of the apparatus are included.

  3. Effects of slow breathing rate on heart rate variability and arterial baroreflex sensitivity in essential hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Changjun; Chang, Qinghua; Zhang, Jia; Chai, Wenshu

    2018-05-01

    This study is to investigate the effects of slow breathing on heart rate variability (HRV) and arterial baroreflex sensitivity in essential hypertension.We studied 60 patients with essential hypertension and 60 healthy controls. All subjects underwent controlled breathing at 8 and 16 breaths per minute. Electrocardiogram, respiratory, and blood pressure signals were recorded simultaneously. We studied effects of slow breathing on heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory peak, high-frequency (HF) power, low-frequency (LF) power, and LF/HF ratio of HRV with traditional and corrected spectral analysis. Besides, we tested whether slow breathing was capable of modifying baroreflex sensitivity in hypertensive subjects.Slow breathing, compared with 16 breaths per minute, decreased the heart rate and blood pressure (all P hypertensive subjects. Slow breathing increased baroreflex sensitivity in hypertensive subjects (from 59.48 ± 6.39 to 78.93 ± 5.04 ms/mm Hg, P hypertension. Besides, slow breathing increased baroreflex sensitivity in hypertensive subjects. These demonstrate slow breathing is indeed capable of shifting sympatho-vagal balance toward vagal activities and increasing baroreflex sensitivity, suggesting a safe, therapeutic approach for essential hypertension.

  4. Slow loaded breathing training improves blood pressure, lung capacity and arm exercise endurance for older people with treated and stable isolated systolic hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ublosakka-Jones, Chulee; Tongdee, Phailin; Pachirat, Orathai; Jones, David A

    2018-03-28

    Hypertension and reduced lung function are important features of aging. Slow loaded breathing training reduces resting blood pressure and the question is whether this can also improve lung function. Thirty-two people (67 ± 5 years, 16 male) with controlled isolated systolic hypertension undertook an eight weeks randomised controlled training trial with an inspiratory load of 25% maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) at 6 breaths per minute (slow loaded breathing; SLB) or deep breathing control (CON). Outcome measures were resting blood pressure (BP) and heart rate; MIP; lung capacity; chest and abdominal expansion; arm cranking exercise endurance at 50% heart rate reserve. Home based measurement of resting systolic BP decreased by 20 mm Hg (15 to 25) (Mean and 95%CI) for SLB and by 5 mm Hg (1 to 7) for CON. Heart rate and diastolic BP also decreased significantly for SLB but not CON. MIP increased by 15.8 cm H 2 O (11.8 to 19.8) and slow vital capacity by 0.21 L (0.15 to 0.27) for SLB but not for CON. Chest and abdominal expansion increased by 2.3 cm (2.05 to 2.55) and 2.5 cm (2.15 to 2.85), respectively for SLB and by 0.5 cm (0.26 to 0.74) and 1.7 cm (1.32 to 2.08) for CON. Arm exercise time increased by 4.9 min (3.65 to 5.15) for SLB with no significant change for CON. Slow inspiratory muscle training is not only effective in reducing resting BP, even in older people with well controlled isolated systolic hypertension but also increases inspiratory muscle strength, lung capacity and arm exercise duration. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. The role of arterial chemoreceptors in the breath-by-breath augmentation of inspiratory effort in rabbits during airway occlusion or elastic loading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callanan, D; Read, D J

    1974-08-01

    1. The breath-by-breath augmentation of inspiratory effort in the five breaths following airway occlusion or elastic loading was assessed in anaesthetized rabbits from changes of airway pressure, diaphragm e.m.g. and lung volume.2. When the airway was occluded in animals breathing air, arterial O(2) tension fell by 20 mmHg and CO(2) tension rose by 7 mmHg within the time of the first five loaded breaths.3. Inhalation of 100% O(2) or carotid denervation markedly reduced the breath-by-breath progression but had little or no effect on the responses at the first loaded breath.4. These results indicate that the breath-by-breath augmentation of inspiratory effort following addition of a load is mainly due to asphyxial stimulation of the carotid bodies, rather than to the gradual emergence of a powerful load-compensating reflex originating in the chest-wall, as postulated by some workers.5. The small residual progression seen in animals breathing 100% O(2) or following carotid denervation was not eliminated (a) by combining these procedures or (b) by addition of gas to the lungs to prevent the progressive lung deflation which occurred during airway occlusion.6. Bilateral vagotomy, when combined with carotid denervation, abolished the residual breath-by-breath progression of inspiratory effort.

  6. Breath-by-breath analysis of expiratory gas concentration in chickens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itabisashi, T

    1981-01-01

    Expiratory oxygen and carbon-dioxide concentration were analysed breath by breath in order to examine their wave forms in adult awake hens restrained in various postural positions, including supine, prone and sitting positions. Expired gas was collected at the nostril in almost all the hens. In the sitting position free from vocalization, feeding, drinking, panting, and restlessness, hens showed various forms of stable pattern of oxygen-gas curves. These forms were classified into three types, or the ascending, flat and descending types, with respect to the plateau inclination. The waves of carbon-dioxide were not always a mirror image of those of oxygen. The rate of occurrence of each type varied with the hen's postural position. The wave form was altered with the experimental body-rotation of the hen. When placed between the deflections of stable pattern, the episodes of wave deformation resembling that seen at the time of uneven pulmonary ventilation in mammals could frequently be observed in any hen's posture examined. Cardiogenic oscillation appeared on the plateau of expired-gas curves.

  7. UNDERWATER STROKE KINEMATICS DURING BREATHING AND BREATH-HOLDING FRONT CRAWL SWIMMING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nickos Vezos

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of breathing on the three - dimensional underwater stroke kinematics of front crawl swimming. Ten female competitive freestyle swimmers participated in the study. Each subject swam a number of front crawl trials of 25 m at a constant speed under breathing and breath-holding conditions. The underwater motion of each subject's right arm was filmed using two S-VHS cameras, operating at 60 Hz, which were positioned behind two underwater viewing windows. The spatial coordinates of selected points were calculated using the DLT procedure with 30 control points and after the digital filtering of the raw data with a cut-off frequency of 6 Hz, the hand's linear displacements and velocities were calculated. The results revealed that breathing caused significantly increases in the stroke duration (t9 = 2.764; p < 0.05, the backward hand displacement relative to the water (t9 = 2.471; p<0.05 and the lateral displacement of the hand in the X - axis during the downsweep (t9 = 2.638; p < 0.05. On the contrary, the peak backward hand velocity during the insweep (t9 = 2.368; p < 0.05 and the displacement of the hand during the push phase (t9 = -2.297; p < 0.05 were greatly reduced when breathing was involved. From the above, it was concluded that breathing action in front crawl swimming caused significant modifications in both the basic stroke parameters and the overall motor pattern were, possibly due to body roll during breathing

  8. Effect of device-guided breathing exercises on blood pressure in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus : A randomized controlled trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Logtenberg, Susan J.; Kleefstra, Nanne; Houweling, Sebastlaan T.; Groenier, Klaas H.; Bilo, Henk J.

    Objective In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), it is hard to reach treatment objectives for blood pressure (BP) with classical treatment options. Recently, reducing breathing frequency has been advocated as a method to reduce BP. We examined if an electronic device such as Resperate, by

  9. Effect of ovariectomy on inflammation induced by intermittent hypoxia in a mouse model of sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Marta; Palomer, Xavier; Montserrat, Josep M; Vázquez-Carrera, Manel; Farré, Ramon

    2014-10-01

    Patient data report marked gender and pre-vs-postmenopausal differences in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, no experimental data are available on how sexual hormones modulate OSA consequences. Here we report novel results on estrogen-modulated heart and brain inflammation in female mice subjected to intermittent hypoxia, a major injurious challenge in OSA. C57BL/6J (14-week old) intact and ovariectomized mice (n=6 each) were subjected to intermittent hypoxia (20 s at 5% and 40s at 21%, 60 cycles/h; 6 h/day). Identical intact and ovariectomized groups breathing room air were controls. After 30 days, the gene expressions of interleukins 6 and 8 (IL-6, IL-8) in the brain and heart tissues were measured. Whereas, compared with normoxia, intermittent hypoxia considerably increased IL-6 and IL-8 gene expressions in intact females, no change was found in ovariectomized mice when comparing normoxia and intermittent hypoxia. These data suggest that estrogens modulate the inflammatory effects of intermittent hypoxia and point to further studies on the role played by sex hormones in OSA. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Absence of effect of nasal continuous positive airway pressure on the esophageal phase of nutritive swallowing in newborn lambs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Djeddi, Djamal; Cantin, Danny; Samson, Nathalie; Tian, Hao; Praud, Jean-Paul

    2013-08-01

    It is presently recommended that oral feeding be started in premature infants as soon as possible, often at an age at which nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) is still required for ventilatory support. Our previous data showed that application of nCPAP up to 10 cmH2O in full-term lambs had no deleterious effect on cardiorespiratory safety, feeding efficiency, or on nutritive swallowing-breathing coordination. Besides fear of swallowing-breathing coordination disturbances, esophageal motility disruption by nCPAP could be a reason to delay oral feeding. To our knowledge, no study has focused on the effects of nCPAP on esophageal motility in the neonatal period. The aim of the present study was therefore to further assess the effects of nCPAP on oral feeding by assessing its effects on the esophageal phase of nutritive swallowing (nutritive esophagodeglutition). Six full-term lambs, ages 2 to 3 days, underwent esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring. Lambs were bottle-fed under 2 randomized conditions, namely spontaneous breathing and nCPAP 6 cmH(2)O. Beyond confirmation of unaltered feeding efficiency, analysis of multiple variables measured by impedance monitoring revealed that nCPAP 6 does not alter nutritive esophagodeglutition in any way (nCPAP vs spontaneous breathing, P > 0.1 for all variables). offering further support to neonatologists pleading for initiation of oral feeding in infants still on nCPAP, the present results set the foundations for similar clinical studies in preterm human infants to confirm the absence of effects of nCPAP on nutritive swallowing.

  11. Patients' experiences of breathing retraining for asthma: a qualitative process analysis of participants in the intervention arms of the BREATHE trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arden-Close, Emily; Yardley, Lucy; Kirby, Sarah; Thomas, Mike; Bruton, Anne

    2017-10-05

    Poor symptom control and impaired quality of life are common in adults with asthma, and breathing retraining exercises may be an effective method of self-management. This study aimed to explore the experiences of participants in the intervention arms of the BREATHE trial, which investigated the effectiveness of breathing retraining as a mode of asthma management. Sixteen people with asthma (11 women, 8 per group) who had taken part in the intervention arms of the BREATHE trial (breathing retraining delivered by digital versatile disc (DVD) or face-to-face sessions with a respiratory physiotherapist) took part in semi-structured telephone interviews about their experiences. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Breathing retraining was perceived positively as a method of asthma management. Motivations for taking part included being asked, to enhance progress in research, to feel better/reduce symptoms, and to reduce medication. Participants were positive about the physiotherapist, liked having the materials tailored, found meetings motivational, and liked the DVD and booklet. The impact of breathing retraining following regular practice included increased awareness of breathing and development of new habits. Benefits of breathing retraining included increased control over breathing, reduced need for medication, feeling more relaxed, and improved health and quality of life. Problems included finding time to practice the exercises, and difficulty mastering techniques. Breathing retraining was acceptable and valued by almost all participants, and many reported improved wellbeing. Face to face physiotherapy was well received. However, some participants in the DVD group mentioned being unable to master techniques. PATIENTS RECEPTIVE TO BREATHING RETRAINING: Patients with asthma taught how to change their unconscious breathing patterns generally like non-pharmacological interventions. Researchers in the UK, led by Mike Thomas from the University of Southampton

  12. The position of the arm during blood pressure measurement in sitting position.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adiyaman, A.; Verhoeff, R.; Lenders, J.W.M.; Deinum, J.; Thien, Th.

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Determining the influence of the position of the arm on blood pressure measurement in the sitting position. METHODS: Blood pressure of 128 individuals (the majority being treated hypertensive patients) visiting the outpatient clinic was measured simultaneously on both arms with arms in

  13. Intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia during sleep does not induce ventilatory long-term facilitation in healthy males.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deacon, Naomi L; McEvoy, R Doug; Stadler, Daniel L; Catcheside, Peter G

    2017-09-01

    Intermittent hypoxia-induced ventilatory neuroplasticity is likely important in obstructive sleep apnea pathophysiology. Although concomitant CO 2 levels and arousal state critically influence neuroplastic effects of intermittent hypoxia, no studies have investigated intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia effects during sleep in humans. Thus the purpose of this study was to investigate if intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia during sleep induces neuroplasticity (ventilatory long-term facilitation and increased chemoreflex responsiveness) in humans. Twelve healthy males were exposed to intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia (24 × 30 s episodes of 3% CO 2 and 3.0 ± 0.2% O 2 ) and intermittent medical air during sleep after 2 wk washout period in a randomized crossover study design. Minute ventilation, end-tidal CO 2 , O 2 saturation, breath timing, upper airway resistance, and genioglossal and diaphragm electromyograms were examined during 10 min of stable stage 2 sleep preceding gas exposure, during gas and intervening room air periods, and throughout 1 h of room air recovery. There were no significant differences between conditions across time to indicate long-term facilitation of ventilation, genioglossal or diaphragm electromyogram activity, and no change in ventilatory response from the first to last gas exposure to suggest any change in chemoreflex responsiveness. These findings contrast with previous intermittent hypoxia studies without intermittent hypercapnia and suggest that the more relevant gas disturbance stimulus of concomitant intermittent hypercapnia frequently occurring in sleep apnea influences acute neuroplastic effects of intermittent hypoxia. These findings highlight the need for further studies of intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia during sleep to clarify the role of ventilatory neuroplasticity in the pathophysiology of sleep apnea. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Both arousal state and concomitant CO 2 levels are known modulators of the effects of intermittent hypoxia on

  14. Breath-by-breath analysis of cardiorespiratory interaction for quantifying developmental maturity in premature infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusin, Craig G.; Hudson, John L.; Lee, Hoshik; Delos, John B.; Guin, Lauren E.; Vergales, Brooke D.; Paget-Brown, Alix; Kattwinkel, John; Lake, Douglas E.; Moorman, J. Randall

    2012-01-01

    In healthy neonates, connections between the heart and lungs through brain stem chemosensory pathways and the autonomic nervous system result in cardiorespiratory synchronization. This interdependence between cardiac and respiratory dynamics can be difficult to measure because of intermittent signal quality in intensive care settings and variability of heart and breathing rates. We employed a phase-based measure suggested by Schäfer and coworkers (Schäfer C, Rosenblum MG, Kurths J, Abel HH. Nature 392: 239–240, 1998) to obtain a breath-by-breath analysis of cardiorespiratory interaction. This measure of cardiorespiratory interaction does not distinguish between cardiac control of respiration associated with cardioventilatory coupling and respiratory influences on the heart rate associated with respiratory sinus arrhythmia. We calculated, in sliding 4-min windows, the probability density of heartbeats as a function of the concurrent phase of the respiratory cycle. Probability density functions whose Shannon entropy had a interaction. In this way, we analyzed 18 infant-years of data from 1,202 patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at University of Virginia. We found evidence of interaction in 3.3 patient-years of data (18%). Cardiorespiratory interaction increased several-fold with postnatal development, but, surprisingly, the rate of increase was not affected by gestational age at birth. We find evidence for moderate correspondence between this measure of cardiorespiratory interaction and cardioventilatory coupling and no evidence for respiratory sinus arrhythmia, leading to the need for further investigation of the underlying mechanism. Such continuous measures of physiological interaction may serve to gauge developmental maturity in neonatal intensive care patients and prove useful in decisions about incipient illness and about hospital discharge. PMID:22174403

  15. Obstructive sleep apnea and intermittent hypoxia increase expression of dual specificity phosphatase 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Michal S; Singh, Prachi; Wolk, Robert; Narkiewicz, Krzysztof; Somers, Virend K

    2013-12-01

    Dual specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) inhibits mitogen activated protein kinase activity, and is activated by several stimuli such as sustained hypoxia, oxidative stress, and hormones. However, the effect of intermittent hypoxia is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of intermittent hypoxia on DUSP1 expression, and to validate its role in a human model of intermittent hypoxia, as seen in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is characterized by recurrent episodes of hypoxemia/reoxygenation and is a known risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity. In-vitro studies using human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) and ex-vivo studies using white blood cells isolated from healthy and OSA subjects. Intermittent hypoxia induced DUSP1 expression in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC), and in granulocytes isolated from healthy human subjects. Functionally, DUSP1 increased the expression and activity of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in HCAEC. Further, significant increases in DUSP1 mRNA from total blood, and in DUSP1 protein in mononuclear cells and granulocytes isolated from OSA subjects, were observed in the early morning hours after one night of intermittent hypoxemia due to untreated OSA. This early-morning OSA-induced augmentation of DUSP1 gene expression was attenuated by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment of OSA. Intermittent hypoxia increases MnSOD activity via increased DUSP1 expression in HCAEC. Similarly, overnight intermittent hypoxemia in patients with OSA induces expression of DUSP1, which may mediate increases of MnSOD expression and activity. This may contribute significantly to neutralizing the effects of reactive oxygen species, a consequence of the intermittent hypoxemia/reperfusion elicited by OSA. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Intermittent hypoxia training in prediabetes patients: Beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis, hypoxia tolerance and gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serebrovska, Tetiana V; Portnychenko, Alla G; Drevytska, Tetiana I; Portnichenko, Vladimir I; Xi, Lei; Egorov, Egor; Gavalko, Anna V; Naskalova, Svitlana; Chizhova, Valentina; Shatylo, Valeriy B

    2017-09-01

    The present study aimed at examining beneficial effects of intermittent hypoxia training (IHT) under prediabetic conditions. We investigate the effects of three-week IHT on blood glucose level, tolerance to acute hypoxia, and leukocyte mRNA expression of hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and its target genes, i.e. insulin receptor, facilitated glucose transporter-solute carrier family-2, and potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J. Seven healthy and 11 prediabetic men and women (44-70 years of age) were examined before, next day and one month after three-week IHT (3 sessions per week, each session consisting 4 cycles of 5-min 12% O 2 and 5-min room air breathing). We found that IHT afforded beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis in patients with prediabetes reducing fasting glucose and during standard oral glucose tolerance test. The most pronounced positive effects were observed at one month after IHT termination. IHT also significantly increased the tolerance to acute hypoxia (i.e. SaO 2 level at 20th min of breathing with 12% O 2 ) and improved functional parameters of respiratory and cardiovascular systems. IHT stimulated HIF-1α mRNA expression in blood leukocytes in healthy and prediabetic subjects, but in prediabetes patients the maximum increase was lagged. The greatest changes in mRNA expression of HIF-1α target genes occurred a month after IHT and coincided with the largest decrease in blood glucose levels. The higher expression of HIF-1α was positively associated with higher tolerance to hypoxia and better glucose homeostasis. In conclusion, our results suggest that IHT may be useful for preventing the development of type 2 diabetes. Impact statement The present study investigated the beneficial effects of intermittent hypoxia training (IHT) in humans under prediabetic conditions. We found that three-week moderate IHT induced higher HIF-1α mRNA expressions as well as its target genes, which were positively correlated with higher tolerance

  17. Male fertility is reduced by chronic intermittent hypoxia mimicking sleep apnea in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Marta; Laguna-Barraza, Ricardo; Dalmases, Mireia; Calle, Alexandra; Pericuesta, Eva; Montserrat, Josep M; Navajas, Daniel; Gutierrez-Adan, Alfonso; Farré, Ramon

    2014-11-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by intermittent hypoxia and oxidative stress. However, it is unknown whether intermittent hypoxia mimicking OSA modifies male fertility. We tested the hypothesis that male fertility is reduced by chronic intermittent hypoxia mimicking OSA in a mouse model. Case-control comparison in a murine model. University research laboratory. Eighteen F1 (C57BL/6xCBA) male mice. Mice were subjected to a pattern of periodic hypoxia (20 sec at 5% O2 followed by 40 sec of room air) 6 h/day for 60 days or normoxia. After this period, mice performed a mating trial to determine effective fertility by assessing the number of pregnant females and fetuses. After euthanasia, oxidative stress in testes was assessed by measuring the expression of glutathione peroxidase 1 (Gpx1) and superoxide dismutase-1 (Sod1) by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Sperm motility was determined by Integrated Semen Analysis System (ISAS). Intermittent hypoxia significantly increased testicular oxidative stress, showing a reduction in the expression of Gpx1 and Sod1 by 38.9% and 34.4%, respectively, as compared with normoxia (P intermittent hypoxia group (P = 0.04). The proportion of pregnant females and number of fetuses per mating was significantly lower in the intermittent hypoxia group (0.33 ± 0.10 and 2.45 ± 0.73, respectively) than in normoxic controls (0.72 ± 0.16 and 5.80 ± 1.24, respectively). These results suggest that the intermittent hypoxia associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) could induce fertility reduction in male patients with this sleep breathing disorder.

  18. Impact of repeated daily exposure to intermittent hypoxia and mild sustained hypercapnia on apnea severity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yokhana, Sanar S; Gerst, David G; Lee, Dorothy S; Badr, M Safwan; Qureshi, Tabarak; Mateika, Jason H

    2012-02-01

    We examined whether exposure to intermittent hypoxia (IH) during wakefulness impacted on the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) during sleep in individuals with sleep apnea. Participants were exposed to twelve 4-min episodes of hypoxia in the presence of sustained mild hypercapnia each day for 10 days. A control group was exposed to sustained mild hypercapnia for a similar duration. The intermittent hypoxia protocol was completed in the evening on day 1 and 10 and was followed by a sleep study. During all sleep studies, the change in esophageal pressure (ΔPes) from the beginning to the end of an apnea and the tidal volume immediately following apneic events were used to measure respiratory drive. Following exposure to IH on day 1 and 10, the AHI increased above baseline measures (day 1: 1.95 ± 0.42 fraction of baseline, P ≤ 0.01, vs. day 10: 1.53 ± 0.24 fraction of baseline, P < 0.06). The indexes were correlated to the hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) measured during the IH protocol but were not correlated to the magnitude of ventilatory long-term facilitation (vLTF). Likewise, ΔPes and tidal volume measures were greater on day 1 and 10 compared with baseline (ΔPes: -8.37 ± 0.84 vs. -5.90 ± 1.30 cmH(2)0, P ≤ 0.04; tidal volume: 1,193.36 ± 101.85 vs. 1,015.14 ± 119.83 ml, P ≤ 0.01). This was not the case in the control group. Interestingly, the AHI on day 10 (0.78 ± 0.13 fraction of baseline, P ≤ 0.01) was significantly less than measures obtained during baseline and day 1 in the mild hypercapnia control group. We conclude that enhancement of the HVR initiated by exposure to IH may lead to increases in the AHI during sleep and that initiation of vLTF did not appear to impact on breathing stability. Lastly, our results suggest that repeated daily exposure to mild sustained hypercapnia may lead to a decrease in breathing events.

  19. The effects of metronome breathing on the variability of autonomic activity measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Driscoll, D; Dicicco, G

    2000-01-01

    Many chiropractors hypothesize that spinal manipulation affects the autonomic nervous system (ANS). However, the ANS responses to chiropractic manipulative therapy are not well documented, and more research is needed to support this hypothesis. This study represents a step toward the development of a reliable method by which to document that chiropractic manipulative therapy does affect the ANS by exploring the use of paced breathing as a way to reduce the inherent variability in ANS measurements. To examine the hypothesis that the variability of ANS measurements would be reduced if breathing were paced to a metronome at 12 breaths/min. The study was performed at Parker College Research Institute. Eight normotensive subjects were recruited from the student body and staff. Respiration frequency was measured through a strain gauge. A 3-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was used to register the electric activity of the heart, and arterial tonometry monitors were used to record the left and right radial artery blood pressures. Signals were recorded on an IBM-compatible computer with a sampling frequency of 100 Hz. Normal breathing was used for the first 3 recordings, and breathing was paced to a metronome for the final 3 recordings at 12 breaths/min. Fourier analysis was performed on the beat-by-beat fluctuations of the ECG-determined R-R interval and systolic arterial pressure (SBP). Low-frequency fluctuations (LF; 0.04-0.15 Hz) reflected sympathetic activity, whereas high-frequency fluctuations (HF; 0.15-0.4 Hz) represented parasympathetic activity. Sympathovagal indices were determined from the ratio of the two bandwidths (LF/HF). The coefficient of variation (CV%) for autonomic parameters was calculated ([average/SD] x 100%) to compare breathing normally and breathing to a metronome with respect to variability. One-way analysis of variance was used to detect differences. A value of P Metronome breathing did not produce any significant changes in blood pressure for the

  20. Towards an intermittency-friendly energy system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blarke, Morten

    2012-01-01

    Distributed cogeneration has played a key role in the implementation of sustainable energy policies for three decades. However, increasing penetration levels of intermittent renewables is challenging that position. The paradigmatic case of West Denmark indicates that distributed operators...... are capitulating as wind power penetration levels are moving above 25%; some operators are retiring cogeneration units entirely, while other operators are making way for heat-only boilers. This development is jeopardizing the system-wide energy, economic, and environmental benefits that distributed cogeneration...... still has to offer. The solution is for distributed operators to adapt their technology and operational strategies to achieve a better co-existence between cogeneration and wind power. Four options for doing so are analysed including a new concept that integrates a high pressure compression heat pump...

  1. The multi-level impact of chronic intermittent hypoxia on central auditory processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Eddie; Yang, Bin; Du, Lida; Ho, Wai Hong; Lau, Condon; Ke, Ya; Chan, Ying Shing; Yung, Wing Ho; Wu, Ed X

    2017-08-01

    During hypoxia, the tissues do not obtain adequate oxygen. Chronic hypoxia can lead to many health problems. A relatively common cause of chronic hypoxia is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder that affects 3-7% of the population. During sleep, the patient's breathing starts and stops. This can lead to hypertension, attention deficits, and hearing disorders. In this study, we apply an established chronic intermittent hypoxemia (CIH) model of sleep apnea to study its impact on auditory processing. Adult rats were reared for seven days during sleeping hours in a gas chamber with oxygen level cycled between 10% and 21% (normal atmosphere) every 90s. During awake hours, the subjects were housed in standard conditions with normal atmosphere. CIH treatment significantly reduces arterial oxygen partial pressure and oxygen saturation during sleeping hours (relative to controls). After treatment, subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with broadband sound stimulation. Responses are observed in major auditory centers in all subjects, including the auditory cortex (AC) and auditory midbrain. fMRI signals from the AC are statistically significantly increased after CIH by 0.13% in the contralateral hemisphere and 0.10% in the ipsilateral hemisphere. In contrast, signals from the lateral lemniscus of the midbrain are significantly reduced by 0.39%. Signals from the neighboring inferior colliculus of the midbrain are relatively unaffected. Chronic hypoxia affects multiple levels of the auditory system and these changes are likely related to hearing disorders associated with sleep apnea. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Intermittent cranial lung herniation in two dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guglielmini, Carlo; De Simone, Antonio; Valbonetti, Luca; Diana, Alessia

    2007-01-01

    Two aged dogs with chronic obstructive airway disease were evaluated because of intermittent swelling of the ventral cervical region. Radiographs made at expiration and caudal positioning of the forelimbs allowed identification of intermittent cervical lung herniation of the left and right cranial lung lobe in both dogs. Pulmonary hyperinflation, increased expiratory effort, and chronic coughing were considered responsible for the lung herniation. Cervical lung hernia should be included in the differential diagnoses of intermittent cervical swelling in dogs with chronic respiratory disorders associated with increased expiratory effort and chronic coughing.

  3. SU-G-BRC-13: Model Based Classification for Optimal Position Selection for Left-Sided Breast Radiotherapy: Free Breathing, DIBH, Or Prone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, H; Liu, T; Xu, X [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY (United States); Shi, C [Saint Vincent Medical Center, Bridgeport, CT (United States); Petillion, S; Kindts, I [University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant (Belgium); Tang, X [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, West Harrison, NY (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: There are clinical decision challenges to select optimal treatment positions for left-sided breast cancer patients—supine free breathing (FB), supine Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) and prone free breathing (prone). Physicians often make the decision based on experiences and trials, which might not always result optimal OAR doses. We herein propose a mathematical model to predict the lowest OAR doses among these three positions, providing a quantitative tool for corresponding clinical decision. Methods: Patients were scanned in FB, DIBH, and prone positions under an IRB approved protocol. Tangential beam plans were generated for each position, and OAR doses were calculated. The position with least OAR doses is defined as the optimal position. The following features were extracted from each scan to build the model: heart, ipsilateral lung, breast volume, in-field heart, ipsilateral lung volume, distance between heart and target, laterality of heart, and dose to heart and ipsilateral lung. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was applied to remove the co-linearity of the input data and also to lower the data dimensionality. Feature selection, another method to reduce dimensionality, was applied as a comparison. Support Vector Machine (SVM) was then used for classification. Thirtyseven patient data were acquired; up to now, five patient plans were available. K-fold cross validation was used to validate the accuracy of the classifier model with small training size. Results: The classification results and K-fold cross validation demonstrated the model is capable of predicting the optimal position for patients. The accuracy of K-fold cross validations has reached 80%. Compared to PCA, feature selection allows causal features of dose to be determined. This provides more clinical insights. Conclusion: The proposed classification system appeared to be feasible. We are generating plans for the rest of the 37 patient images, and more statistically significant

  4. The effects of progressive muscular relaxation and breathing control technique on blood pressure during pregnancy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahboobeh Aalami

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are the main cause of maternal and fetal mortality; however, they have no definite effective treatment. The researchers aimed to study the effects of progressive muscular relaxation and breathing control technique on blood pressure (BP during pregnancy. Materials and Methods: This three-group clinical trial was conducted in Mashhad health centers and governmental hospitals. Sixty pregnant (after 20 weeks of gestational age women with systolic BP ≥ 135 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 85 mmHg were assigned to three groups. Progressive muscular relaxation and breathing control exercises were administered to the two experimental groups once a week in person and in the rest of the days by instructions given on a CD for 4 weeks. BP was checked before and after the interventions. BP was measured before and after 15 min subjects' waiting without any especial intervention in the control group. Results: After 4 weeks of intervention, the systolic (by a mean of 131.3 to 117.2, P = 0.001 and by a mean of 131.05 to 120.5, P = 0.004, respectively and diastolic (by a mean of 79.2 to 72.3, P = 0.001 and by a mean of 80.1 to 76.5, P = 0.047, respectively BPs were significantly decreased in progressive muscular relaxation and breathing control groups, but they were not statistically significant in the control group. Conclusions: The interventions were effective on decreasing systolic and diastolic BP to normal range after 4 weeks in both the groups. The effects of both the interventions were more obvious on systolic BP compared to diastolic BP.

  5. Leukotriene-B4 concentrations in exhaled breath condensate and lung function after thirty minutes of breathing technically dried compressed air.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neubauer, Birger; Struck, Niclas; Mutzbauer, Till S; Schotte, Ulrich; Langfeldt, Norbert; Tetzlaff, Kay

    2002-01-01

    In previous studies it had been shown that leukotriene-B4 [LTB4] concentrations in the exhaled breath mirror the inflammatory activity of the airways if the respiratory tract has been exposed to occupational hazards. In diving the respiratory tract is exposed to cold and dry air and the nasopharynx, as the site of breathing-gas warming and humidification, is bypassed. The aim of the present study was to obtain LTB4-concentrations in the exhaled breath and spirometric data of 17 healthy subjects before and after thirty minutes of technically dried air breathing at normobar ambient pressure. The exhaled breath was collected non-invasively, via a permanently cooled expiration tube. The condensate was measured by a standard enzyme immunoassay for LTB4. Lung function values (FVC, FEV1, MEF 25, MEF 50) were simultaneously obtained by spirometry. The measured pre- and post-exposure LTB4- concentrations as well as the lung function values were in the normal range. The present data gave no evidence for any inflammatory activity in the subjects' airways after thirty minutes breathing technically dried air.

  6. Comparison of Efficacy and Tolerance of Automatic Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Devices With the Optimum Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tommi, George; Aronow, Wilbert S; Sheehan, John C; McCleay, Matthew T; Meyers, Patrick G

    Patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome were randomly placed on automatic continuous positive airway pressure (ACPAP) for 2 hours followed by manual titration for the rest of the night. One hundred sixty-one patients entered the study, with at least 50 patients titrated with each of 3 ACPAP devices. The optimum continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) was defined as the lowest pressure with an apnea-hypoxia index of ≤5/hr, which ranged from 4 cm to 18 cm. Success with ACPAP was approximately 60%-80% when the optimum CPAP was 4-6 cm but fell to below 30% if the optimum CPAP was ≥8 cm (P = 0.001). Average ACPAP ranged from 2 to 10 cm below the optimum level if the optimum CPAP was ≥8 cm. Patients who responded to a low CPAP but deteriorated on higher pressures failed to respond to any of the automatic devices. We recommend that CPAP titration be performed manually before initiation of ACPAP in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The basal pressure for ACPAP should be the optimum pressure obtained by manual titration. Limits on the upper level of ACPAP may be necessary for patients who deteriorate on higher positive pressures.

  7. Radiographic cephalometry analysis of head posture and craniofacial morphology in oral breathing children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vukićević Vladanka

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aim. Nasal breathing plays an important role in overall physical growth and mental development, as well as in the growth of the craniofacial complex. Oral breathing over a long period of time, can cause changes in position of the head relative to the cervical spine and jaw relationship. It can cause an open bite and the narrowness of the maxillary arch due to increased pressure of strained face. The aim of this study was to analyze the position of the head and craniofacial morphology in oral breathing children, and compare the values obtained compared with those of the same parameters in nasal brething children. Methods. We analyzed the profile cephalometric radiographs of 60 patients who had various orthodontic problems. In the first group there were 30 patients aged 8–14 years, in which oral breathing is confirmed by clinical examination. In the second group there were 30 patients of the same age who had orthodontic problems, but did not show clinical signs of oral breathing. The analyses covered the following: craniocervical angle (NS/OPT, the length of the anterior cranial base (NS, anterior facial height (N-Me, posterior facial height (S-Go, the angle of maxillary prognathism (SNA, angle of mandibular prognathism (SNB, difference between angles SNA and SNB (ANB angle, the angle of the basal planes of the jaws (SpP/MP, cranial base angle (NSB, and the angle of facial convexity (NA/Apg. Results. The average value of the craniocervical angle (NS/OPT was significantly higher in OB children (p = 0.004. There were significantly different values of SNA (p < 0.001, ANB (p < 0.001, NA/APg (p < 0.001 and length of the anterior cranial base (NS (p = 0.024 between groups. Conclusion. Oral breathing children have pronounced retroflexion of the head in relation to the cervical spine compared to nasal breathing children, and the most prominent characteristics of the craniofacial morphology of skeletal jaw relationship of class II and

  8. Cardiorespiratory interactions during resistive load breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calabrese, P; Perrault, H; Dinh, T P; Eberhard, A; Benchetrit, G

    2000-12-01

    The addition to the respiratory system of a resistive load results in breathing pattern changes and in negative intrathoracic pressure increases. The aim of this study was to use resistive load breathing as a stimulus to the cardiorespiratory interaction and to examine the extent of the changes in heart rate variability (HRV) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in relation to the breathing pattern changes. HRV and RSA were studied in seven healthy subjects where four resistive loads were applied in a random order during the breath and 8-min recording made in each condition. The HRV spectral power components were computed from the R-R interval sequences, and the RSA amplitude and phase were computed from the sinusoid fitting the instantaneous heart rate within each breath. Adding resistive loads resulted in 1) increasing respiratory period, 2) unchanging heart rate, and 3) increasing HRV and changing RSA characteristics. HRV and RSA characteristics are linearly correlated to the respiratory period. These modifications appear to be linked to load-induced changes in the respiratory period in each individual, because HRV and RSA characteristics are similar at a respiratory period obtained either by loading or by imposed frequency breathing. The present results are discussed with regard to the importance of the breathing cycle duration in these cardiorespiratory interactions, suggesting that these interactions may depend on the time necessary for activation and dissipation of neurotransmitters involved in RSA.

  9. Verifying the Relative Efficacy between Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy and Its Alternatives for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Network Meta-analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tingwei Liu

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA is a common breathing disorder, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP therapy together with its alternatives has been developed to treat this disease. This network meta-analysis (NMA was aimed to compare the efficacy of treatments for OSA. Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and Embase were searched for eligible studies. A conventional and NMA was carried out to compare all therapies. Sleeping characteristics, including Apnea–Hypopnea Index (AHI, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS, arterial oxygen saturation, and arousal index (AI, and changes of blood pressure were selected as outcomes. A total of 84 studies were finally included after rigorous screenings. For the primary outcomes of AHI and ESS, the value of auto-adjusting positive airway pressure (APAP, CPAP, and oral appliance (OA all showed statistically reduction compared with inactive control (IC. Similar observation was obtained in AI, with treatments of the three active interventions. A lower effect of IC in SaO2 was exhibited when compared with APAP, CPAP, and OA. Similar statistically significant results were presented in 24 h systolic blood pressure and 24 h DBP when comparing with CPAP. Our NMA identified CPAP as the most efficacious treatment for OSA patients after the evaluation of sleeping characteristics and blood pressures. In addition, more clinical trials are needed for further investigation due to the existence of inconsistency observed in this study.

  10. Metabolic syndrome in patients with prostate cancer undergoing intermittent androgen-deprivation therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezaei, Mohammadali Mohammadzadeh; Rezaei, Mohammadhadi Mohammadzadeh; Ghoreifi, Alireza; Kerigh, Behzad Feyzzadeh

    2016-01-01

    The presence of metabolic syndrome in men with prostate cancer (PCa) undergoing androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), especially intermittent type, has not been completely evaluated. The aim of this study is to evaluate metabolic syndrome in men with PCa undergoing intermittent ADT. In this longitudinal study, we studied the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components in 190 patients who were undergoing intermittent ADT. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. All metabolic parameters, including lipid profile, blood glucose, blood pressures, and waist circumferences of the patients were measured six and 12 months after treatment. Mean age of the patients was 67.5 ± 6.74 years. The incidence of metabolic syndrome after six and 12 months was 6.8% and 14.7%, respectively. Analysis of various components of the metabolic syndrome revealed that patients had significantly higher overall prevalence of hyperglycemia, abdominal obesity, and hypertriglyceridemia in their six- and 12-month followups, but blood pressure has not been changed in the same period except for diastolic blood pressure after six months. Although there was an increased risk of metabolic syndrome in patients receiving intermittent ADT, it was lower than other studies that treated the same patients with continuous ADT. Also it seems that intermittent ADT has less metabolic complications than continuous ADT and could be used as a safe alternative in patients with advanced and metastatic PCa.

  11. [Reduction of pressure sores during prone positioning of ventilated intensive care patients by the prone-head support system: a pilot study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prebio, Michael; Katz-Papatheophilou, Elfriede; Heindl, Werner; Gelbmann, Herbert; Burghuber, Otto C

    2005-02-01

    Prone positioning in patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome is a well-known method to improve oxygenation. The aim of our study was to evaluate a new device for prone positioning, the prone-head support system (PHS system), with regard to reduction of cutaneous pressure sores. In a pilot study we randomized 8 patients with ARDS in two groups: 180 degrees standard prone positioning (group without mask) and prone positioning with the PHS system (group with mask). The PHS system consists of a facemask support, which is connected to an adapted air suspension bed. The patients of both groups were intermittently proned for several days. We evaluated the pressure sores on head and neck before turning the patients prone for the first time and after each period of prone positioning. We documented the quantity, the size, the type and the localization of the pressure sores. There was no significant difference in the mean duration of prone positioning (27.1+/-14.7 hours in the group with mask versus 24.5+/-18.7 h in the group without mask). In the group with mask there were 1.5+/-0.8 new pressure sores by each proning, whereas in the group without mask there were 2.37+/-1.6 new pressure sores, which was lower, but not significantly. The overall area of pressure sores (798 mm2 versus 3184 mm2, p=0.004), the area of pressure sores per patient (199.5+/-104.7 mm2 versus 796+/-478 mm2, p=0.03) and the increase of the area of pressure sores per proning (79.8+/-52.0 mm2 versus 398.0+/-214.3 mm2, p=0.004) were significantly lower in the group with mask in comparison to the group without mask. The lips were the most effected localization in both groups. The pressure sores in the group with mask were less severe and showed a homogenous distribution in comparison to the group without mask. Blisters dominated in the group with mask in comparison to erosions, necrosis and ulcers in the group without mask. The PHS system with its face mask is able to reduce the extent and the

  12. Prospective respiratory-gated micro-CT of free breathing rodents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, Nancy L.; Nikolov, Hristo N.; Norley, Chris J.D.; Thornton, Michael M.; Foster, Paula J.; Drangova, Maria; Holdsworth, David W.

    2005-01-01

    Microcomputed tomography (Micro-CT) has the potential to noninvasively image the structure of organs in rodent models with high spatial resolution and relatively short image acquisition times. However, motion artifacts associated with the normal respiratory motion of the animal may arise when imaging the abdomen or thorax. To reduce these artifacts and the accompanying loss of spatial resolution, we propose a prospective respiratory gating technique for use with anaesthetized, free-breathing rodents. A custom-made bed with an embedded pressure chamber was connected to a pressure transducer. Anaesthetized animals were placed in the prone position on the bed with their abdomens located over the chamber. During inspiration, the motion of the diaphragm caused an increase in the chamber pressure, which was converted into a voltage signal by the transducer. An output voltage was used to trigger image acquisition at any desired time point in the respiratory cycle. Digital radiographic images were acquired of anaesthetized, free-breathing rats with a digital radiographic system to correlate the respiratory wave form with respiration-induced organ motion. The respiratory wave form was monitored and recorded simultaneously with the x-ray radiation pulses, and an imaging window was defined, beginning at end expiration. Phantom experiments were performed to verify that the respiratory gating apparatus was triggering the micro-CT system. Attached to the distensible phantom were 100 μm diameter copper wires and the measured full width at half maximum was used to assess differences in image quality between respiratory-gated and ungated imaging protocols. This experiment allowed us to quantify the improvement in the spatial resolution, and the reduction of motion artifacts caused by moving structures, in the images resulting from respiratory-gated image acquisitions. The measured wire diameters were 0.135 mm for the stationary phantom image, 0.137 mm for the image gated at end

  13. The effects of passive humidifier dead space on respiratory variables in paralyzed and spontaneously breathing patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, R S; Davis, K; Johannigman, J A; Branson, R D

    2000-03-01

    Passive humidifiers have gained acceptance in the intensive care unit because of their low cost, simple operation, and elimination of condensate from the breathing circuit. However, the additional dead space of these devices may adversely affect respiratory function in certain patients. This study evaluates the effects of passive humidifier dead space on respiratory function. Two groups of patients were studied. The first group consisted of patients recovering from acute lung injury and breathing spontaneously on pressure support ventilation. The second group consisted of patients who were receiving controlled mechanical ventilation and were chemically paralyzed following operative procedures. All patients used 3 humidification devices in random order for one hour each. The devices were a heated humidifier (HH), a hygroscopic heat and moisture exchanger (HHME) with a dead space of 28 mL, and a heat and moisture exchanger (HME) with a dead space of 90 mL. During each measurement period the following were recorded: tidal volume, minute volume, respiratory frequency, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, ratio of dead space volume to tidal volume (VD/VT), and blood gases. In the second group, intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure was also measured. Addition of either of the passive humidifiers was associated with increased VD/VT. In spontaneously breathing patients, VD/VT increased from 59 +/- 13 (HH) to 62 +/- 13 (HHME) to 68 +/- 11% (HME) (p < 0.05). In these patients, constant alveolar ventilation was maintained as a result of increased respiratory frequency, from 22.1 +/- 6.6 breaths/min (HH) to 24.5 +/- 6.9 breaths/min (HHME) to 27.7 +/- 7.4 breaths/min (HME) (p < 0.05), and increased minute volume, from 9.1 +/- 3.5 L/min (HH) to 9.9 +/- 3.6 L/min (HHME) to 11.7 +/- 4.2 L/min (HME) (p < 0.05). There were no changes in blood gases or carbon dioxide production. In the paralyzed patient group, VD/VT increased from 54 +/- 12% (HH) to 56 +/- 10% (HHME

  14. The Effect of mechanical resistive loading on optimal respiratory signals and breathing patterns under added dead space and CO2 breathing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Shyan-Lung

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Current study aims to investigate how the respiratory resistive loading affects the behaviour of the optimal chemical-mechanical respiratory control model, the respiratory signals and breathing pattern are optimized under external dead space loading and CO2 breathing. The respiratory control was modelled to include a neuro-muscular drive as the control output to derive the waveshapes of instantaneous airflow, lung volume profiles, and breathing pattern, including total/alveolar ventilation, breathing frequency, tidal volume, inspiratory/expiratory duration, duty cycle, and arterial CO2 pressure. The simulations were performed under various respiratory resistive loads, including no load, inspiratory resistive load, expiratory resistive load, and continuous resistive load. The dead space measurement was described with Gray’s derivation, and simulation results were studied and compared with experimental findings.

  15. Fate in intermittent claudication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jelnes, Rolf; Gaardsting, O; Hougaard Jensen, K

    1986-01-01

    , or an ankle/arm pressure index below 50% were individually significantly associated with progression of the arteriosclerotic disease. These findings show the importance of peripheral blood pressure measurements in the management of patients with intermittent claudication due to arteriosclerotic disease........ The rate of clinical progression of the arteriosclerotic disease (that is, rest pain or gangrene) of the worst affected leg was 7.5% in the first year after referral. Thereafter the rate was 2.2% a year. An ankle systolic blood pressure below 70 mm Hg, a toe systolic blood pressure below 40 mm Hg...... 113 of the patients (44%) had died. Causes of death were no different from those in the general population. Mortality was twice that of the general population matched for age and sex. Mortality among the men was twice that among the women. In men under 60 mortality was four times that expected...

  16. Anatomic and Pathologic Variability During Radiotherapy for a Hybrid Active Breath-Hold Gating Technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glide-Hurst, Carri K.; Gopan, Ellen; Hugo, Geoffrey D.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate intra- and interfraction variability of tumor and lung volume and position using a hybrid active breath-hold gating technique. Methods and Materials: A total of 159 repeat normal inspiration active breath-hold CTs were acquired weekly during radiotherapy for 9 lung cancer patients (12-21 scans per patient). A physician delineated the gross tumor volume (GTV), lungs, and spinal cord on the first breath-hold CT, and contours were propagated semiautomatically. Intra- and interfraction variability of tumor and lung position and volume were evaluated. Tumor centroid and border variability were quantified. Results: On average, intrafraction variability of lung and GTV centroid position was 0.1). Increases in free-breathing tidal volume were associated with increases in breath-hold ipsilateral lung volume (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The breath-hold technique was reproducible within 2 mm during each fraction. Interfraction variability of GTV position and shape was substantial because of tumor volume and breath-hold lung volume change during therapy. These results support the feasibility of a hybrid breath-hold gating technique and suggest that online image guidance would be beneficial.

  17. Evaluation of a continuous-positive pressure generating system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Herrera N

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Nestor Herrera,1,2 Roberto Regnícoli,1,2 Mariel Murad1,2 1Neonatology Unit, Italian Hospital Garibaldi, Rosario, Argentina; 2Experimental Medicine and Surgery Unit, Italian University Institute of Rosario, Argentina Abstract: The use of systems that apply continuous-positive airway pressure by means of noninvasive methods is widespread in the neonatal care practice and has been associated with a decrease in the use of invasive mechanical ventilation, less administration of exogenous surfactant, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Few experimental studies on the functioning of the neonatology systems that generate continuous-positive airway pressure have been reported. A flow resistor system associated with an underwater seal resistor in a lung test model was described, and it was compared with an underwater seal threshold resistor system. Important differences in the pressures generated in the different systems studied were verified. The generation of pressure was associated with the immersion depth and the diameter of the bubble tubing. The flow resistor associated with an underwater seal, with small bubble tubing, showed no important differences in the evaluated pressures, exerting a stabilizing effect on the generated pressures. The importance of measuring the pressure generated by the different systems studied was verified, due to the differences between the working pressures set and the pressures measured. Keywords: continuous-positive pressure, flow and threshold resistor, BCPAP

  18. Mid-Ventilation Concept for Mobile Pulmonary Tumors: Internal Tumor Trajectory Versus Selective Reconstruction of Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography Frames Based on External Breathing Motion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guckenberger, Matthias; Wilbert, Juergen; Krieger, Thomas; Richter, Anne; Baier, Kurt; Flentje, Michael

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of direct reconstruction of mid-ventilation and peak-phase four-dimensional (4D) computed tomography (CT) frames based on the external breathing signal. Methods and Materials: For 11 patients with 15 pulmonary targets, a respiration-correlated CT study (4D CT) was acquired for treatment planning. After retrospective time-based sorting of raw projection data and reconstruction of eight CT frames equally distributed over the breathing cycle, mean tumor position (P mean ), mid-ventilation frame, and breathing motion were evaluated based on the internal tumor trajectory. Analysis of the external breathing signal (pressure sensor around abdomen) with amplitude-based sorting of projections was performed for direct reconstruction of the mid-ventilation frame and frames at peak phases of the breathing cycle. Results: On the basis of the eight 4D CT frames equally spaced in time, tumor motion was largest in the craniocaudal direction, with 12 ± 7 mm on average. Tumor motion between the two frames reconstructed at peak phases was not different in the craniocaudal and anterior-posterior directions but was systematically smaller in the left-right direction by 1 mm on average. The 3-dimensional distance between P mean and the tumor position in the mid-ventilation frame based on the internal tumor trajectory was 1.2 ± 1 mm. Reconstruction of the mid-ventilation frame at the mean amplitude position of the external breathing signal resulted in tumor positions 2.0 ± 1.1 mm distant from P mean . Breathing-induced motion artifacts in mid-ventilation frames caused negligible changes in tumor volume and shape. Conclusions: Direct reconstruction of the mid-ventilation frame and frames at peak phases based on the external breathing signal was reliable. This makes the reconstruction of only three 4D CT frames sufficient for application of the mid-ventilation technique in clinical practice.

  19. Investigation of intermittency in simulated and experimental turbulence data by wavelet analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahdizadeh, N.; Ramisch, M.; Stroth, U.; Lechte, C.; Scott, B.D.

    2004-01-01

    Turbulent transport in magnetized plasmas has an intermittent nature. Peaked probability density functions and a 1/frequency decay of the power spectra have been interpreted as signs of self-organized criticality generated, similar to a sand pile, by the critical gradients of ion- (ITG) or electron-temperature-gradient (ETG) driven instabilities. In order to investigate the degree of intermittency in toroidally confined plasmas in the absence of critical pressure or temperature gradients, data from the drift-Alfven-wave turbulence code DALF3 [B. Scott, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 39, 1635 (1997)], running with a fixed background pressure gradient, and from a weakly driven low-temperature plasma are analyzed. The intermittency is studied on different temporal scales, which are separated by a wavelet transform. Simulated and experimental data reproduce the results on intermittent transport found in fusion plasmas. It can therefore be expected that in fusion plasmas, too, a substantial fraction of the bursty nature of turbulent transport is not related to avalanches caused by a critical gradient as generated by ITG or ETG turbulence

  20. Spiracular air breathing in polypterid fishes and its implications for aerial respiration in stem tetrapods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Jeffrey B.; Wegner, Nicholas C.; Miller, Lauren A.; Jew, Corey J.; Lai, N. Chin; Berquist, Rachel M.; Frank, Lawrence R.; Long, John A.

    2014-01-01

    The polypterids (bichirs and ropefish) are extant basal actinopterygian (ray-finned) fishes that breathe air and share similarities with extant lobe-finned sarcopterygians (lungfishes and tetrapods) in lung structure. They are also similar to some fossil sarcopterygians, including stem tetrapods, in having large paired openings (spiracles) on top of their head. The role of spiracles in polypterid respiration has been unclear, with early reports suggesting that polypterids could inhale air through the spiracles, while later reports have largely dismissed such observations. Here we resolve the 100-year-old mystery by presenting structural, behavioural, video, kinematic and pressure data that show spiracle-mediated aspiration accounts for up to 93% of all air breaths in four species of Polypterus. Similarity in the size and position of polypterid spiracles with those of some stem tetrapods suggests that spiracular air breathing may have been an important respiratory strategy during the fish-tetrapod transition from water to land.

  1. EXTUBATE: A randomised controlled trial of nasal biphasic positive airway pressure vs. nasal continuous positive airway pressure following extubation in infants less than 30 weeks' gestation: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Suresh

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Respiratory distress syndrome remains a significant problem among premature infants. Mechanical ventilation through an endotracheal tube remains the mainstay of respiratory support but may be associated with lung injury and the development of chronic lung disease of prematurity. Efforts are needed to reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation in favour of less invasive forms of respiratory support and to improve rates of successful extubation. Non-invasive respiratory support has been demonstrated to be less injurious to the premature lung. Standard practice is to use nasal continuous positive airway pressure (n-CPAP following extubation to support the baby's breathing. Many clinicians also use nasal biphasic positive airway pressure (n-BiPAP in efforts to improve rates of successful extubation. However, there is currently no evidence that this confers any advantage over conventional nasal continuous positive airway pressure. Methods We propose an unblinded multi-centre randomised trial comparing n-CPAP with n-BiPAP in babies born before 30 weeks' gestation and less than two weeks old. Babies with congenital abnormalities and severe intra-ventricular haemorrhage will be excluded. 540 babies admitted to neonatal centres in England will be randomised at the time of first extubation attempt. The primary aim of this study is to compare the rate of extubation failure within 48 hours following the first attempt at extubation. The secondary aims are to compare the effect of n-BiPAP and n-CPAP on the following outcomes: 1. Maintenance of successful extubation for 7 days post extubation 2. Oxygen requirement at 28 days of age and at 36 weeks' corrected gestational age 3. Total days on ventilator, n-CPAP/n-BiPAP 4. Number of ventilator days following first extubation attempt 5. pH and partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the first post extubation blood gas 6. Duration of hospital stay 7. Rate of abdominal distension requiring

  2. Energy intermittency

    CERN Document Server

    Sorensen, Bent

    2014-01-01

    The first book to consider intermittency as a key point of an energy system, Energy Intermittency describes different levels of variability for traditional and renewable energy sources, presenting detailed solutions for handling energy intermittency through trade, collaboration, demand management, and active energy storage. Addressing energy supply intermittency systematically, this practical text:Analyzes typical time-distributions and intervals between episodes of demand-supply mismatch and explores their dependence on system layouts and energy source characteristicsSimulates scenarios regar

  3. TRANSPORT BY INTERMITTENCY IN THE BOUNDARY OF THE DIII-D TOKAMAK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BOEDO, JA; RUDAKOV, DL; MOYER, RA; MCKEE, GR; COLCHIN, RJ; SCHAFFER, MJ; STANGEBY, PG; WEST, WP; ALLEN, SL; EVANS, TE; FONCK, RJ; HOLLMANN, EM; KRASHENINNIKOV, S; LEONARD, AW; NEVINS, W; MAHDAVI, MA; PORTER, GD; TYNAN, GR; WHYTE, DG; XU, X

    2002-01-01

    A271 TRANSPORT BY INTERMITTENCY IN THE BOUNDARY OF THE DIII-D TOKAMAK. Intermittent plasma objectives (IPOs) featuring higher pressure than the surrounding plasma, are responsible for ∼ 50% of the E x B T radial transport in the scrape off layer (SOL) of the DIII-D tokamak in L- and H-mode discharges. Conditional averaging reveals that the IPOs are positively charged and feature internal poloidal electric fields of up to 4000 V/m. The IPOs move radially with E x B T /B 2 velocities of ∼ 2600 m/s near the last closed flux surface (LCFS), and ∼ 330 m/s near the wall. The IPOs slow down as they shrink in radial size from 4 cm at the LCFS to 0.5 cm near the wall. The skewness (i.e. asymmetry of fluctuations from the average) of probe and beam emission spectroscopy (BES) data indicate IPO formation at or near the LCFS and the existence of positive and negative IPOs which move in opposite directions. The particle content of the IPOs at the LCFS is linearly dependent on the local density and decays over ∼ 3 cm into the SOL while their temperature decays much faster (∼ 1 cm)

  4. Continuous positive airway pressure treatment increases bronchial reactivity in obstructive sleep apnea patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korczynski, Piotr; Gorska, Katarzyna; Przybylowski, Tadeusz; Bielicki, Piotr; Zielinski, Jan; Chazan, Ryszarda

    2009-01-01

    The effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on the function of the lower airways are poorly understood. One of the methods used to determine the influence of positive pressure breathing on lower airways is the bronchial hyperreactivity test. Some authors report that CPAP increases bronchial hyperreactivity, while others report decreases. To assess the influence of CPAP treatment on bronchial reactivity and the effects of bronchial hyperreactivity on compliance to CPAP treatment. The study group consisted of 101 obstructive sleep apnea syndrome patients (88 men and 13 women) with a mean age of 51 ± 11 years, mean apnea-hypopnea index of 53 ± 20 and mean body mass index of 32.6 ± 5.4. Patients were randomly assigned to a treatment group that received 3 weeks of CPAP therapy (group 1) or to a nontreatment control group (group 2). Pulmonary function tests and the methacholine bronchial provocation test were performed at baseline and 3 weeks later. There were no statistically significant differences between treated and control groups in anthropometry and polysomnography variables. At baseline, bronchial hyperreactivity was found in 6 patients from group 1 and 5 patients from group 2. A significant increase in bronchial reactivity was observed after CPAP treatment. Log PC20M decreased from 1.38 ± 0.30 at baseline to 1.26 ± 0.50 (p bronchial hyperreactivity during CPAP treatment were characterized by significantly lower FEV1, FVC and MEF50 values. CPAP produces statistically significant bronchial hyperreactivity. However, there were no clinical symptoms and it is not necessary to withdraw previous therapies. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  5. Modeling and Optimization for Management of Intermittent Water Supply

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieb, A. M.; Wilkening, J.; Rycroft, C.

    2014-12-01

    In many urban areas, piped water is supplied only intermittently, as valves direct water to different parts of the water distribution system at different times. The flow is transient, and may transition between free-surface and pressurized, resulting in complex dynamical features with important consequences for water suppliers and users. These consequences include degradation of distribution system components, compromised water quality, and inequitable water availability. The goal of this work is to model the important dynamics and identify operating conditions that mitigate certain negative effects of intermittent water supply. Specifically, we will look at controlling valve parameters occurring as boundary conditions in a network model of transient, transition flow through closed pipes. Gradient-based optimization will be used to find boundary values to minimize pressure gradients and ensure equitable water availability at system endpoints.

  6. Sudarshan kriya yoga: Breathing for health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sameer A Zope

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Breathing techniques are regularly recommended for relaxation, stress management, control of psychophysiological states, and to improve organ function. Yogic breathing, defined as a manipulation of breath movement, has been shown to positively affect immune function, autonomic nervous system imbalances, and psychological or stress-related disorders. The aim of this study was to assess and provide a comprehensive review of the physiological mechanisms, the mind-body connection, and the benefits of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY in a wide range of clinical conditions. Various online databases searched were Medline, Psychinfo, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. All the results were carefully screened and articles on SKY were selected. The references from these articles were checked to find any other potentially relevant articles. SKY, a unique yogic breathing practice, involves several types of cyclical breathing patterns, ranging from slow and calming to rapid and stimulating. There is mounting evidence to suggest that SKY can be a beneficial, low-risk, low-cost adjunct to the treatment of stress, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, stress-related medical illnesses, substance abuse, and rehabilitation of criminal offenders.

  7. 14C-urea breath test for the detection of Helicobacter pylori

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veldhuyzen van Zanten, S.J.; Tytgat, K.M.; Hollingsworth, J.; Jalali, S.; Rshid, F.A.; Bowen, B.M.; Goldie, J.; Goodacre, R.L.; Riddell, R.H.; Hunt, R.H.

    1990-01-01

    The high urease activity of Helicobacter pylori can be used to detect this bacterium by noninvasive breath tests. We have developed a 14 C-urea breath test which uses 5 microCi 14 C with 50 mg nonradioactive urea. Breath samples are collected at baseline and every 30 min for 2 h. Our study compared the outcome of the breath test to the results of histology and culture of endoscopically obtained gastric biopsies in 84 patients. The breath test discriminated well between the 50 positive patients and the 34 patients negative for Helicobacter pylori: the calculated sensitivity was 100%, specificity 88%, positive predictive value 93%, and negative predictive value 100%. Treatment with bismuth subsalicylate and/or ampicillin resulted in lower counts of exhaled 14 CO 2 which correlated with histological improvement in gastritis. The 14 C-urea breath test is a better gold standard for the detection of Helicobacter pylori than histology and/or culture

  8. Influence of Very High Breathing Resistance on Exercise Tolerance, Part 1 - Dry Exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    endurance times. 15. SUBJECT TERMS control of breathing, ventilation, CO2, carbon dioxide, hypercapnia, CO2 retention , dyspnea, exercise, performance...to be near his exercise capacity , until the subject could no longer continue. Subjects were asked to give scores of Relative Perceived Exertion (RPE...span gas (5% CO2 and 16% O2 in nitrogen). The pressure transducer outputs were compared to a water manometer. Data analysis Breath by breath

  9. Effects of nasal positive expiratory pressure on dynamic hyperinflation and 6-minute walk test in patients with COPD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wibmer, Thomas; Rüdiger, Stefan; Heitner, Claudia; Kropf-Sanchen, Cornelia; Blanta, Ioanna; Stoiber, Kathrin M; Rottbauer, Wolfgang; Schumann, Christian

    2014-05-01

    Dynamic hyperinflation is an important target in the treatment of COPD. There is increasing evidence that positive expiratory pressure (PEP) could reduce dynamic hyperinflation during exercise. PEP application through a nasal mask and a flow resistance device might have the potential to be used during daily physical activities as an auxiliary strategy of ventilatory assistance. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of nasal PEP on lung volumes during physical exercise in patients with COPD. Twenty subjects (mean ± SD age 69.4 ± 6.4 years) with stable mild-to-severe COPD were randomized to undergo physical exercise with nasal PEP breathing, followed by physical exercise with habitual breathing, or vice versa. Physical exercise was induced by a standard 6-min walk test (6 MWT) protocol. PEP was applied by means of a silicone nasal mask loaded with a fixed-orifice flow resistor. Body plethysmography was performed immediately pre-exercise and post-exercise. Differences in mean pre- to post-exercise changes in total lung capacity (-0.63 ± 0.80 L, P = .002), functional residual capacity (-0.48 ± 0.86 L, P = .021), residual volume (-0.56 ± 0.75 L, P = .004), S(pO2) (-1.7 ± 3.4%, P = .041), and 6 MWT distance (-30.8 ± 30.0 m, P = .001) were statistically significant between the experimental and the control interventions. The use of flow-dependent expiratory pressure, applied with a nasal mask and a PEP device, might promote significant reduction of dynamic hyperinflation during walking exercise. Further studies are warranted addressing improvements in endurance performance under regular application of nasal PEP during physical activities.

  10. The glucose breath test: a diagnostic test for small bowel stricture(s) in Crohn's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishkin, Daniel; Boston, Francis M; Blank, David; Yalovsky, Morty; Mishkin, Seymour

    2002-03-01

    The aim of this study was to determine whether an indirect noninvasive indicator of proximal bacterial overgrowth, the glucose breath test, was of diagnostic value in inflammatory bowel disease. Twenty four of 71 Crohn's disease patients tested had a positive glucose breath test. No statistical conclusions could be drawn between the Crohn's disease activity index and glucose breath test status. Of patients with radiologic evidence of small bowel stricture(s), 96.0% had a positive glucose breath test, while only one of 46 negative glucose breath test patients had a stricture. The positive and negative predictive values for a positive glucose breath test as an indicator of stricture formation were 96.0% and 97.8%, respectively. This correlation was not altered in Crohn's disease patients with fistulae or status postresection of the terminal ileum. The data in ulcerative colitis were nondiagnostic. In conclusion, the glucose breath test appears to be an accurate noninvasive inexpensive diagnostic test for small bowel stricture(s) and secondary bacterial overgrowth in Crohn's disease.

  11. 13C-urea breath test analyzed with infrared isotope spectrometry for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dahlberg, M.; Schoensby, H.

    1998-01-01

    The authors have evaluated a 13 C-urea breath test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. The 13 C-test was analyzed with isotope-selective non-dispersive infrared spectrometry and compared with a 14 C-urea breath test and the urease test in gastric mucosal biopsies. 46 patients were analyzed with breath tests, 23 patients were negative and 22 patients were positive with both methods. One patients was positive with 14 C-method and negative with the 13 C-urea breath test. 61 patients were analyzed with the 13 C-urea breath test and the urease test. 30 patients were negative and 30 patients were positive with both methods, whereas one patient with a negative urease test had a positive breath test. 13 C-urea breath test analyzed with isotope-selective non-dispersive infrared spectrometry is a fast, simple, non-radioactive, non-invasive, convenient and reliable method for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. 12 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

  12. A novel adjustable automated system for inducing chronic intermittent hypoxia in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polšek, Dora; Bago, Marcel; Živaljić, Marija; Rosenzweig, Ivana; Lacza, Zsombor; Gajović, Srećko

    2017-01-01

    Sleep apnea is a chronic, widely underdiagnosed condition characterized by disruption of sleep architecture and intermittent hypoxia due to short cessations of breathing. It is a major independent risk factor for myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure and stroke as well as one of the rare modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's Dementia. Reliable animal disease models are needed to understand the link between sleep apnea and the various clinically linked disorders. An automated system for inducing hypoxia was developed, in which the major improvement was the possibility to efficiently adjust the length and intensity of hypoxia in two different periods. The chamber used a small volume of gas allowing for fast exchanges of different oxygen levels. The mice were kept in their cages adapted with the system on the cage lid. As a proof of principle, they were exposed to a three week period of intermittent hypoxia for 8 hours a day, with 90 s intervals of 5, 7% and 21% oxygen to validate the model. Treated (n = 8) and control mice (no hypoxia, n = 7) were handled in the same manner and their hippocampal brain regions compared by histology. The chamber provided a fast, reliable and precise intermittent hypoxia, without inducing noticeable side effects to the animals. The validation experiment showed that apoptotic neurons in the hippocampus were more numerous in the mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia than in the control group, in all tested hippocampal regions (cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) P apnea, which was validated by apoptosis of hippocampal neurons.

  13. Ventilatory muscle endurance training in quadriplegia: effects on breathing pattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loveridge, B; Badour, M; Dubo, H

    1989-10-01

    We examined the effects of ventilatory muscle endurance training on resting breathing pattern in 12 C6-C7 traumatic quadriplegics at least 1 year post-injury. All subjects had complete motor loss below the lesion level. Subjects were randomly assigned to a training (N = 6), or a control group (N = 6). Baseline tests included measurement of resting ventilation and breathing pattern using mercury in rubber strain gauges for 20 minutes in a seated position; maximum inspiratory mouth pressure (MIP) at FRC, and sustainable inspiratory mouth pressure for 10 minutes (SIP); lung volumes, and arterial blood gases (ABG's). The training protocol consisted of breathing through an inspiratory resistor equivalent to 85% SIP for 15 minutes twice daily, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Both trainers and controls attended the lab every 2 weeks for reassessment of MIP and SIP and the inspiratory resistance was increased in the training group as SIP increased. At the end of 8 weeks, baseline tests were repeated. All subjects had normal ABG's. There was a significant increase in mean MIP and SIP in both the control group (30% +/- 19% and 31% +/- 18% respectively), and in the training group (42% +/- 24% and 78% +/- 49% respectively). Although the absolute values for both MIP and SIP were greater in the training group than in the control group, the differences were not significant. The alterations in resting breathing pattern were also the same in both groups. Mean frequency decreased significantly in the control group (20.2/minute to 16.9/minute) and, while insignificant, the change in frequency in the training group was the same, 19.4/minute to 16.4/minute. Mean tidal volume (Vt) increased 18.2% of baseline Vt in the control group and 17.0% baseline in the trainers, resulting in no change in minute ventilation. As MIP and SIP increased similarly in both groups, the data from the control and trainers was pooled and timing changes re-evaluated pre- and post-study. A significant decrease in

  14. Tunable Quantum Spin Liquidity in the 1 /6 th-Filled Breathing Kagome Lattice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbari-Sharbaf, A.; Sinclair, R.; Verrier, A.; Ziat, D.; Zhou, H. D.; Sun, X. F.; Quilliam, J. A.

    2018-06-01

    We present measurements on a series of materials, Li2 In1 -xScx Mo3 O8 , that can be described as a 1 /6 th-filled breathing kagome lattice. Substituting Sc for In generates chemical pressure which alters the breathing parameter nonmonotonically. Muon spin rotation experiments show that this chemical pressure tunes the system from antiferromagnetic long range order to a quantum spin liquid phase. A strong correlation with the breathing parameter implies that it is the dominant parameter controlling the level of magnetic frustration, with increased kagome symmetry generating the quantum spin liquid phase. Magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest that this is related to distinct types of charge order induced by changes in lattice symmetry, in line with the theory of Chen et al. [Phys. Rev. B 93, 245134 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevB.93.245134]. The specific heat for samples at intermediate Sc concentration, which have the minimum breathing parameter, show consistency with the predicted U (1 ) quantum spin liquid.

  15. SU-E-J-223: A BOLD Contrast Imaging Sequence to Evaluate Oxygenation Changes Due to Breath Holding for Breast Radiotherapy: A Pilot Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adamson, J; Chang, Z; Cai, J; Palta, M; Horton, J; Yin, F; Blitzblau, R

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To develop a robust MRI sequence to measure BOLD breath hold induced contrast in context of breast radiotherapy. Methods: Two sequences were selected from prior studies as candidates to measure BOLD contrast attributable to breath holding within the breast: (1) T2* based Gradient Echo EPI (TR/TE = 500/41ms, flip angle = 60°), and (2) T2 based Single Shot Fast Spin Echo (SSFSE) (TR/TE = 3000/60ms). We enrolled ten women post-lumpectomy for breast cancer who were undergoing treatment planning for whole breast radiotherapy. Each session utilized a 1.5T GE MRI and 4 channel breast coil with the subject immobilized prone on a custom board. For each sequence, 1–3 planes of the lumpectomy breast were imaged continuously during a background measurement (1min) and intermittent breath holds (20–40s per breath hold, 3–5 holds per sequence). BOLD contrast was quantified as correlation of changes in per-pixel intensity with the breath hold schedule convolved with a hemodynamic response function. Subtle motion was corrected using a deformable registration algorithm. Correlation with breath-holding was considered significant if p<0.001. Results: The percentage of the breast ROI with positive BOLD contrast measured by the two sequences were in agreement with a correlation coefficient of R=0.72 (p=0.02). While both sequences demonstrated areas with strong BOLD response, the response was more systematic throughout the breast for the SSFSE (T2) sequence (% breast with response in the same direction: 51.2%±0.7% for T2* vs. 68.1%±16% for T2). In addition, the T2 sequence was less prone to magnetic susceptibility artifacts, especially in presence of seroma, and provided a more robust image with little distortion or artifacts. Conclusion: A T2 SSFSE sequence shows promise for measuring BOLD contrast in the context of breast radiotherapy utilizing a breath hold technique. Further study in a larger patient cohort is warranted to better refine this novel technique

  16. SU-E-J-223: A BOLD Contrast Imaging Sequence to Evaluate Oxygenation Changes Due to Breath Holding for Breast Radiotherapy: A Pilot Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adamson, J; Chang, Z; Cai, J; Palta, M; Horton, J; Yin, F; Blitzblau, R [Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: To develop a robust MRI sequence to measure BOLD breath hold induced contrast in context of breast radiotherapy. Methods: Two sequences were selected from prior studies as candidates to measure BOLD contrast attributable to breath holding within the breast: (1) T2* based Gradient Echo EPI (TR/TE = 500/41ms, flip angle = 60°), and (2) T2 based Single Shot Fast Spin Echo (SSFSE) (TR/TE = 3000/60ms). We enrolled ten women post-lumpectomy for breast cancer who were undergoing treatment planning for whole breast radiotherapy. Each session utilized a 1.5T GE MRI and 4 channel breast coil with the subject immobilized prone on a custom board. For each sequence, 1–3 planes of the lumpectomy breast were imaged continuously during a background measurement (1min) and intermittent breath holds (20–40s per breath hold, 3–5 holds per sequence). BOLD contrast was quantified as correlation of changes in per-pixel intensity with the breath hold schedule convolved with a hemodynamic response function. Subtle motion was corrected using a deformable registration algorithm. Correlation with breath-holding was considered significant if p<0.001. Results: The percentage of the breast ROI with positive BOLD contrast measured by the two sequences were in agreement with a correlation coefficient of R=0.72 (p=0.02). While both sequences demonstrated areas with strong BOLD response, the response was more systematic throughout the breast for the SSFSE (T2) sequence (% breast with response in the same direction: 51.2%±0.7% for T2* vs. 68.1%±16% for T2). In addition, the T2 sequence was less prone to magnetic susceptibility artifacts, especially in presence of seroma, and provided a more robust image with little distortion or artifacts. Conclusion: A T2 SSFSE sequence shows promise for measuring BOLD contrast in the context of breast radiotherapy utilizing a breath hold technique. Further study in a larger patient cohort is warranted to better refine this novel technique.

  17. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1 in the median preoptic nucleus contributes to chronic intermittent hypoxia hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faulk, Katelynn E; Nedungadi, T Prashant; Cunningham, J Thomas

    2017-05-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Chronic intermittent hypoxia is used to model the arterial hypoxemia seen in sleep apnea patients and is associated with increased sympathetic nerve activity and a sustained diurnal increase in blood pressure. The renin angiotensin system has been associated with hypertension seen in chronic intermittent hypoxia. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1, which cleaves angiotensin I to the active counterpart angiotensin II, is present within the central nervous system and has been shown to be regulated by AP-1 transcription factors, such as ΔFosB. Our previous study suggested that this transcriptional regulation in the median preoptic nucleus contributes to the sustained blood pressure seen following chronic intermittent hypoxia. Viral mediated delivery of a short hairpin RNA against angiotensin converting enzyme 1 in the median preoptic nucleus was used along with radio-telemetry measurements of blood pressure to test this hypothesis. FosB immunohistochemistry was utilized in order to assess the effects of angiotensin converting enzyme 1 knockdown on the activity of nuclei downstream from median preoptic nucleus. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1 knockdown within median preoptic nucleus significantly attenuated the sustained hypertension seen in chronic intermittent hypoxia. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1 seems to be partly responsible for regulating downstream regions involved in sympathetic and blood pressure control, such as the paraventricular nucleus and the rostral ventrolateral medulla. The data suggest that angiotensin converting enzyme 1 within median preoptic nucleus plays a critical role in the sustained hypertension seen in chronic intermittent hypoxia. © 2017 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.

  18. ROHHAD syndrome and evolution of sleep disordered breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reppucci, Diana; Hamilton, Jill; Yeh, E Ann; Katz, Sherri; Al-Saleh, Suhail; Narang, Indra

    2016-07-30

    Rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction, hypoventilation and autonomic dysregulation (ROHHAD) is a rare disease with a high mortality rate. Although nocturnal hypoventilation (NH) is central to ROHHAD, the evolution of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is not well studied. The aim of the study was to assess early manifestations of SDB and their evolution in ROHHAD syndrome. Retrospective study of children with ROHHAD at two Canadian centers. All children with suspected ROHHAD at presentation underwent polysomnography (PSG) to screen for nocturnal hypoventilation. PSG findings at baseline and follow-up were collected. Interventions and diagnostic test results were recorded. Six children were included. The median age of rapid onset obesity and nocturnal hypoventilation (NH) was 3.5 and 7.2 years respectively. On initial screening for ROHHAD 4/6 (66.7 %) children had obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), 1/6 (16.7 %) had NH and 1/6 (16.7 %) had both OSA and NH. Follow up PSGs were performed in 5/6 children as one child died following a cardiorespiratory arrest. All children at follow up had NH and required non-invasive positive pressure ventilation. Additionally, 3/6 (50 %) children demonstrated irregular breathing patterns during wakefulness. Children with ROHHAD may initially present with OSA and only develop NH later as well as dysregulation of breathing during wakefulness. The recognition of the spectrum of respiratory abnormalities at presentation and over time may be important in raising the index of suspicion of ROHHAD. Early recognition and targeted therapeutic interventions may limit morbidity and mortality associated with ROHHAD.

  19. Mechanical breath profile of airway pressure release ventilation: the effect on alveolar recruitment and microstrain in acute lung injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kollisch-Singule, Michaela; Emr, Bryanna; Smith, Bradford; Roy, Shreyas; Jain, Sumeet; Satalin, Joshua; Snyder, Kathy; Andrews, Penny; Habashi, Nader; Bates, Jason; Marx, William; Nieman, Gary; Gatto, Louis A

    2014-11-01

    Improper mechanical ventilation settings can exacerbate acute lung injury by causing a secondary ventilator-induced lung injury. It is therefore important to establish the mechanism by which the ventilator induces lung injury to develop protective ventilation strategies. It has been postulated that the mechanism of ventilator-induced lung injury is the result of heterogeneous, elevated strain on the pulmonary parenchyma. Acute lung injury has been associated with increases in whole-lung macrostrain, which is correlated with increased pathology. However, the effect of mechanical ventilation on alveolar microstrain remains unknown. To examine whether the mechanical breath profile of airway pressure release ventilation (APRV), consisting of a prolonged pressure-time profile and brief expiratory release phase, reduces microstrain. In a randomized, nonblinded laboratory animal study, rats were randomized into a controlled mandatory ventilation group (n = 3) and an APRV group (n = 3). Lung injury was induced by polysorbate lavage. A thoracotomy was performed and an in vivo microscope was placed on the lungs to measure alveolar mechanics. In the controlled mandatory ventilation group, multiple levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP; 5, 10, 16, 20, and 24 cm H2O) were tested. In the APRV group, decreasing durations of expiratory release (time at low pressure [T(low)]) were tested. The T(low) was set to achieve ratios of termination of peak expiratory flow rate (T-PEFR) to peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) of 10%, 25%, 50%, and 75% (the smaller this ratio is [ie, 10%], the more time the lung is exposed to low pressure during the release phase, which decreases end-expiratory lung volume and potentiates derecruitment). Alveolar perimeters were measured at peak inspiration and end expiration using digital image analysis, and strain was calculated by normalizing the change in alveolar perimeter length to the original length. Macrostrain was measured by volume

  20. Stroke and sleep-disordered breathing: A relationship under construction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parra, Olga; Arboix, Adrià

    2016-02-16

    The association between sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and cardiovascular risk has been the focus of attention in recent years. Sleep disorders are emerging risk factors for cardiovascular disease and have been related to the whole spectrum of stroke, including transient ischemic attack, ischemic cerebral infarction and intracerebral haemorrhage. It has been shown that lacunar stroke or lacunar infarctions affecting the internal capsule or the protuberance are associated with a higher frequency of SDB. Acute stroke patients with associated SDB have a worse prognosis and a higher mortality as compared to patients with first-ever stroke without SDB. Preliminary studies provide evidence of the usefulness of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure when SDB is present in stroke patients.

  1. Optimal technique for deep breathing exercises after cardiac surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westerdahl, E

    2015-06-01

    Cardiac surgery patients often develop a restrictive pulmonary impairment and gas exchange abnormalities in the early postoperative period. Chest physiotherapy is routinely prescribed in order to reduce or prevent these complications. Besides early mobilization, positioning and shoulder girdle exercises, various breathing exercises have been implemented as a major component of postoperative care. A variety of deep breathing maneuvres are recommended to the spontaneously breathing patient to reduce atelectasis and to improve lung function in the early postoperative period. Different breathing exercises are recommended in different parts of the world, and there is no consensus about the most effective breathing technique after cardiac surgery. Arbitrary instructions are given, and recommendations on performance and duration vary between hospitals. Deep breathing exercises are a major part of this therapy, but scientific evidence for the efficacy has been lacking until recently, and there is a lack of trials describing how postoperative breathing exercises actually should be performed. The purpose of this review is to provide a brief overview of postoperative breathing exercises for patients undergoing cardiac surgery via sternotomy, and to discuss and suggest an optimal technique for the performance of deep breathing exercises.

  2. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy: new generations.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Garvey, John F

    2010-02-01

    Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the treatment of choice for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). However, CPAP is not tolerated by all patients with OSAS and alternative modes of pressure delivery have been developed to overcome pressure intolerance, thereby improving patient comfort and adherence. Auto-adjustable positive airway pressure (APAP) devices may be utilised for the long-term management of OSAS and may also assist in the initial diagnosis of OSAS and titration of conventional CPAP therapy. Newer modalities such as C-Flex and A-Flex also show promise as treatment options in the future. However, the evidence supporting the use of these alternative modalities remains scant, in particular with regard to long-term cardiovascular outcomes. In addition, not all APAP devices use the same technological algorithms and data supporting individual APAP devices cannot be extrapolated to support all. Further studies are required to validate the roles of APAP, C-Flex and A-Flex. In the interim, standard CPAP therapy should continue as the mainstay of OSAS management.

  3. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy: new generations.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Garvey, John F

    2012-02-01

    Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the treatment of choice for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). However, CPAP is not tolerated by all patients with OSAS and alternative modes of pressure delivery have been developed to overcome pressure intolerance, thereby improving patient comfort and adherence. Auto-adjustable positive airway pressure (APAP) devices may be utilised for the long-term management of OSAS and may also assist in the initial diagnosis of OSAS and titration of conventional CPAP therapy. Newer modalities such as C-Flex and A-Flex also show promise as treatment options in the future. However, the evidence supporting the use of these alternative modalities remains scant, in particular with regard to long-term cardiovascular outcomes. In addition, not all APAP devices use the same technological algorithms and data supporting individual APAP devices cannot be extrapolated to support all. Further studies are required to validate the roles of APAP, C-Flex and A-Flex. In the interim, standard CPAP therapy should continue as the mainstay of OSAS management.

  4. A comparison of synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation and pressure-regulated volume control ventilation in elderly patients with acute exacerbations of COPD and respiratory failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Suchi; Shi, Jindong; Fu, Cuiping; Wu, Xu; Li, Shanqun

    2016-01-01

    COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Acute exacerbations of COPD may cause respiratory failure, requiring intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilation. Intensive care unit patients with acute exacerbations of COPD requiring mechanical ventilation have higher mortality rates than other hospitalized patients. Although mechanical ventilation is the most effective intervention for these conditions, invasive ventilation techniques have yielded variable effects. We evaluated pressure-regulated volume control (PRVC) ventilation treatment efficacy and preventive effects on pulmonary barotrauma in elderly COPD patients with respiratory failure. Thirty-nine intubated patients were divided into experimental and control groups and treated with the PRVC and synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation - volume control methods, respectively. Vital signs, respiratory mechanics, and arterial blood gas analyses were monitored for 2-4 hours and 48 hours. Both groups showed rapidly improved pH, partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), and PaO2 per fraction of inspired O2 levels and lower partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) levels. The pH and PaCO2 levels at 2-4 hours were lower and higher, respectively, in the test group than those in the control group (P0.05). Vital signs during 2-4 hours and 48 hours of treatment showed no statistical difference in either group (P>0.05). The level of peak inspiratory pressure in the experimental group after mechanical ventilation for 2-4 hours and 48 hours was significantly lower than that in the control group (P0.05). Among elderly COPD patients with respiratory failure, application of PRVC resulted in rapid improvement in arterial blood gas analyses while maintaining a low peak inspiratory pressure. PRVC can reduce pulmonary barotrauma risk, making it a safer protective ventilation mode than synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation - volume control.

  5. Does personality play a role in continuous positive airway pressure compliance?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily L. Maschauer

    2017-03-01

    Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP adherence is low among individuals with obstructive sleep apnoea. Type D personality and high scores on the depression and hypochondriasis scales on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI have been identified as factors contributing to non-compliance with CPAP. Further research into personality type may assist in understanding why some people adhere to CPAP, while others fail. Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA is a condition characterised by repetitive, intermittent partial or complete collapse/obstruction of the upper airway during sleep. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP is highly efficacious in treating OSA but its effectiveness is limited due to suboptimal acceptance and adherence rates, with as many as 50% of OSA patients discontinuing CPAP treatment within the first year. Until recently, research has focused on examining mechanistic and demographic factors that could explain nonadherence (e.g. age, sex, race and education level with limited applicability in a prospective or clinical manner. More recent research has focused on personality factors or types of patients with OSA who comply and do not comply with CPAP adherence in an attempt to enhance the accuracy of predicting treatment compliance. Type D personality has been found to be prevalent in one third of patients with OSA. The presence of Type D personality increases noncompliance and poor treatment outcomes due to negative affectivity, social inhibition, unhealthy lifestyle, and a reluctance to consult and/or follow medical advice. Conversely, individuals who are more likely to adhere to CPAP treatment tend to have a high internal locus of control and high self-efficacy, self-refer for treatment, and have active coping skills. By assessing personality and coping skills, the clinician may gain insight into the likelihood of a patient’s adherence to treatment. If the patient displays potential risk factors for CPAP noncompliance, the

  6. Towards an intermittency-friendly energy system: Comparing electric boilers and heat pumps in distributed cogeneration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blarke, Morten B.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We propose an “intermittency-friendly” energy system design. ► We compare intermittency-friendly concepts in distributed cogeneration. ► We investigate a new concept involving a heat pump and intermediate cold storage. ► We find significant improvements in operational intermittency-friendliness. ► Well-designed heat pump concepts are more cost-effective than electric boilers. -- Abstract: Distributed cogeneration has played a key role in the implementation of sustainable energy policies for three decades. However, increasing penetration levels of intermittent renewables is challenging that position. The paradigmatic case of West Denmark indicates that distributed operators are capitulating as wind power penetration levels are moving above 25%; some operators are retiring cogeneration units entirely, while other operators are making way for heat-only boilers. This development is jeopardizing the system-wide energy, economic, and environmental benefits that distributed cogeneration still has to offer. The solution is for distributed operators to adapt their technology and operational strategies to achieve a better co-existence between cogeneration and wind power. Four options for doing so are analysed including a new concept that integrates a high pressure compression heat pump using low-temperature heat recovered from flue gasses in combination with an intermediate cold storage, which enables the independent operation of heat pump and cogenerator. It is found that an electric boiler provides consistent improvements in the intermittency-friendliness of distributed cogeneration. However, well-designed heat pump concepts are more cost-effective than electric boilers, and in future markets where the gas/electricity price ratio is likely to increase, compression heat pumps in combination with intermediate thermal storages represent a superior potential for combining an intermittency-friendly pattern of operation with the efficient use of

  7. Intermittent search strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bénichou, O.; Loverdo, C.; Moreau, M.; Voituriez, R.

    2011-01-01

    This review examines intermittent target search strategies, which combine phases of slow motion, allowing the searcher to detect the target, and phases of fast motion during which targets cannot be detected. It is first shown that intermittent search strategies are actually widely observed at various scales. At the macroscopic scale, this is, for example, the case of animals looking for food; at the microscopic scale, intermittent transport patterns are involved in a reaction pathway of DNA-binding proteins as well as in intracellular transport. Second, generic stochastic models are introduced, which show that intermittent strategies are efficient strategies that enable the minimization of search time. This suggests that the intrinsic efficiency of intermittent search strategies could justify their frequent observation in nature. Last, beyond these modeling aspects, it is proposed that intermittent strategies could also be used in a broader context to design and accelerate search processes.

  8. Effect of oxygen and heliox breathing on air bubbles in adipose tissue during 25-kPa altitude exposures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Randsoe, T.; Kvist, T.M.; Hyldegaard, O.

    2008-01-01

    and heliox breathing. Preoxygenation enhanced bubble disappearance compared with oxygen and heliox breathing but did not prevent bubble growth. The results indicate that oxygen breathing at 25 kPa promotes air bubble growth in adipose tissue regardless of the tissue nitrogen pressure Udgivelsesdato: 2008/11...

  9. Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilatory Support Begins During Sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bach, John R

    2017-12-01

    The goal of sleep doctors has been to titrate away apneas and hypopneas using noninvasive ventilation, a term that has become synonymous with continuous positive airway pressure and bilevel positive airway pressure at the lowest effective bilevel settings. It is now time to appreciate noninvasive ventilatory support as an alternative to invasive mechanical ventilation. This article discusses mechanisms of action, two paradigms, and ancillary techniques for noninvasive ventilatory support. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Medical Issues: Breathing

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Information Packets Equipment Pool Living With SMA Medical Issues Palliative Breathing Orthopedics Nutrition Equipment Daily Life At ... curesma.org > support & care > living with sma > medical issues > breathing Breathing Breathing problems are the most common ...

  11. How Important Is a Reproducible Breath Hold for Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Breast Radiation Therapy?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiant, David; Wentworth, Stacy; Liu, Han; Sintay, Benjamin

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) for left-sided breast cancer has been shown to reduce heart dose. Surface imaging helps to ensure accurate breast positioning, but it does not guarantee a reproducible breath hold (BH) at DIBH treatments. We examine the effects of variable BH positions for DIBH treatments. Methods and Materials: Twenty-five patients who underwent free breathing (FB) and DIBH scans were reviewed. Four plans were created for each patient: FB, DIBH, FB-DIBH (the DIBH plans were copied to the FB images and recalculated, and image registration was based on breast tissue), and P-DIBH (a partial BH with the heart shifted midway between the FB and DIBH positions). The FB-DIBH plans give a “worst-case” scenario for surface imaging DIBH, where the breast is aligned by surface imaging but the patient is not holding their breath. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to compare the dose metrics. Results: The DIBH plans gave lower heart dose and comparable breast coverage versus FB in all cases. The FB-DIBH plans showed no significant difference versus FB plans for breast coverage, mean heart dose, or maximum heart dose (P≥.10). The mean heart dose differed between FB-DIBH and FB by <2 Gy for all cases, and the maximum heart dose differed by <2 Gy for 21 cases. The P-DIBH plans showed significantly lower mean heart dose than FB (P<.01). The mean heart doses for the P-DIBH plans were < FB for 22 cases, the maximum dose was < FB for 18 cases. Conclusions: A DIBH plan delivered to a FB patient setup with surface imaging will yield dosimetry similar to that of a plan created and delivered FB. A DIBH plan delivered with even a partial BH can give reduced heart dose compared with FB techniques.

  12. How Important Is a Reproducible Breath Hold for Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Breast Radiation Therapy?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wiant, David, E-mail: David.wiant@conehealth.com; Wentworth, Stacy; Liu, Han; Sintay, Benjamin

    2015-11-15

    Purpose: Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) for left-sided breast cancer has been shown to reduce heart dose. Surface imaging helps to ensure accurate breast positioning, but it does not guarantee a reproducible breath hold (BH) at DIBH treatments. We examine the effects of variable BH positions for DIBH treatments. Methods and Materials: Twenty-five patients who underwent free breathing (FB) and DIBH scans were reviewed. Four plans were created for each patient: FB, DIBH, FB-DIBH (the DIBH plans were copied to the FB images and recalculated, and image registration was based on breast tissue), and P-DIBH (a partial BH with the heart shifted midway between the FB and DIBH positions). The FB-DIBH plans give a “worst-case” scenario for surface imaging DIBH, where the breast is aligned by surface imaging but the patient is not holding their breath. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to compare the dose metrics. Results: The DIBH plans gave lower heart dose and comparable breast coverage versus FB in all cases. The FB-DIBH plans showed no significant difference versus FB plans for breast coverage, mean heart dose, or maximum heart dose (P≥.10). The mean heart dose differed between FB-DIBH and FB by <2 Gy for all cases, and the maximum heart dose differed by <2 Gy for 21 cases. The P-DIBH plans showed significantly lower mean heart dose than FB (P<.01). The mean heart doses for the P-DIBH plans were

  13. Social Stress Induced Pressure Breathing and Consequent Blood Pressure Oscillation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fokkema, Dirk S.; Koolhaas, Jaap M.; Meulen, Jan van der; Schoemaker, Regien

    1986-01-01

    A large amplitude blood pressure oscillation occurs during social defeat in a territorial fight between male rats, and during the application of a psychosocial stimulus associated with this defeat. Synchronous recording of blood pressure, intrathoracic pressure and diaphragm activity shows that the

  14. Comparing microbial water quality in an intermittent and continuous piped water supply.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumpel, Emily; Nelson, Kara L

    2013-09-15

    Supplying piped water intermittently is a common practice throughout the world that increases the risk of microbial contamination through multiple mechanisms. Converting an intermittent supply to a continuous supply has the potential to improve the quality of water delivered to consumers. To understand the effects of this upgrade on water quality, we tested samples from reservoirs, consumer taps, and drinking water provided by households (e.g. from storage containers) from an intermittent and continuous supply in Hubli-Dharwad, India, over one year. Water samples were tested for total coliform, Escherichia coli, turbidity, free chlorine, and combined chlorine. While water quality was similar at service reservoirs supplying the continuous and intermittent sections of the network, indicator bacteria were detected more frequently and at higher concentrations in samples from taps supplied intermittently compared to those supplied continuously (p supply, with 0.7% of tap samples positive compared to 31.7% of intermittent water supply tap samples positive for E. coli. In samples from both continuously and intermittently supplied taps, higher concentrations of total coliform were measured after rainfall events. While source water quality declined slightly during the rainy season, only tap water from intermittent supply had significantly more indicator bacteria throughout the rainy season compared to the dry season. Drinking water samples provided by households in both continuous and intermittent supplies had higher concentrations of indicator bacteria than samples collected directly from taps. Most households with continuous supply continued to store water for drinking, resulting in re-contamination, which may reduce the benefits to water quality of converting to continuous supply. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Childhood intermittent and persistent rhinitis prevalence and climate and vegetation: a global ecologic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuertes, Elaine; Butland, Barbara K; Ross Anderson, H; Carlsten, Chris; Strachan, David P; Brauer, Michael

    2014-10-01

    The effect of climate change and its effects on vegetation growth, and consequently on rhinitis, are uncertain. To examine between- and within-country associations of climate measures and the normalized difference vegetation index with intermittent and persistent rhinitis symptoms in a global context. Questionnaire data from 6- to 7-year-olds and 13- to 14-year-olds were collected in phase 3 of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Associations of intermittent (>1 symptom report but not for 2 consecutive months) and persistent (symptoms for ≥2 consecutive months) rhinitis symptom prevalences with temperature, precipitation, vapor pressure, and the normalized difference vegetation index were assessed in linear mixed-effects regression models adjusted for gross national income and population density. The mean difference in prevalence per 100 children (with 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) per interquartile range increase of exposure is reported. The country-level intermittent symptom prevalence was associated with several country-level climatic measures, including the country-level mean monthly temperature (6.09 °C; 95% CI, 2.06-10.11°C per 10.4 °C), precipitation (3.10 mm; 95% CI, 0.46-5.73 mm; per 67.0 mm), and vapor pressure (6.21 hPa; 95% CI, 2.17-10.24 hPa; per 10.4 hPa) among 13- to 14-year-olds (222 center in 94 countries). The center-level persistent symptom prevalence was positively associated with several center-level climatic measures. Associations with climate were also found for the 6- to 7-year-olds (132 center in 57 countries). Several between- and within-country spatial associations between climatic factors and intermittent and persistent rhinitis symptom prevalences were observed. These results provide suggestive evidence that climate (and future changes in climate) may influence rhinitis symptom prevalence. Copyright © 2014 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. A comparison of synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation and pressure-regulated volume control ventilation in elderly patients with acute exacerbations of COPD and respiratory failure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang SC

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Suchi Chang,1 Jindong Shi,2 Cuiping Fu,1 Xu Wu,1 Shanqun Li1 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Fifth People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China Background: COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Acute exacerbations of COPD may cause respiratory failure, requiring intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilation. Intensive care unit patients with acute exacerbations of COPD requiring mechanical ventilation have higher mortality rates than other hospitalized patients. Although mechanical ventilation is the most effective intervention for these conditions, invasive ventilation techniques have yielded variable effects. Objective: We evaluated pressure-regulated volume control (PRVC ventilation treatment efficacy and preventive effects on pulmonary barotrauma in elderly COPD patients with respiratory failure. Patients and methods: Thirty-nine intubated patients were divided into experimental and control groups and treated with the PRVC and synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation – volume control methods, respectively. Vital signs, respiratory mechanics, and arterial blood gas analyses were monitored for 2–4 hours and 48 hours. Results: Both groups showed rapidly improved pH, partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2, and PaO2 per fraction of inspired O2 levels and lower partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2 levels. The pH and PaCO2 levels at 2–4 hours were lower and higher, respectively, in the test group than those in the control group (P<0.05 for both; after 48 hours, blood gas analyses showed no statistical difference in any marker (P>0.05. Vital signs during 2–4 hours and 48 hours of treatment showed no statistical difference in either group (P>0.05. The level of peak inspiratory pressure in the experimental group after mechanical ventilation for 2–4 hours and 48

  17. The use of active breathing control (ABC) to reduce margin for breathing motion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, John W.; Sharpe, Michael B.; Jaffray, David A.; Kini, Vijay R.; Robertson, John M.; Stromberg, Jannifer S.; Martinez, Alavro A.

    1999-01-01

    . The variation of the organ positions and volumes for the different scans were quantified and compared. Results: The ABC procedure was well tolerated in the 12 patients. When ABC was applied near the end of normal expiration, the minimal duration of active breath-hold was 15 s for 1 patient with lung cancer, and 20 s or more for all other patients. The duration was greater than 40 s for 2 patients with Hodgkin's disease when ABC was applied during deep inspiration. Scan artifacts associated with normal breathing motion were not observed in the ABC scans. The analysis of the small set of intrafraction scan data indicated that with ABC, the liver volumes were reproducible at about 1%, and lung volumes to within 6%. The excursions of a 'center of target' parameter for the livers were less than 1 mm at the same respiratory phase, but were larger than 4 mm at the extremes of the breathing cycle. The inter-fraction scan study indicated that daily setup variation contributed to the uncertainty in assessing the reproducibility of organ immobilization with ABC between treatment fractions. Conclusion: The results were encouraging; ABC provides a simple means to minimize breathing motion. When applied for CT scanning and treatment, the ABC procedure requires no more than standard operation of the CT scanner or the medical accelerator. The ABC scans are void of motion artifacts commonly seen on fast spiral CT scans. When acquired at different points in the breathing cycle, these ABC scans show organ motion in three-dimension (3D) that can be used to enhance treatment planning. Reproducibility of organ immobilization with ABC throughout the course of treatment must be quantified before the procedure can be applied to reduce margin for conformal treatment

  18. [Effectiveness of nasal positive pressure ventilation in the management of acute refractory left ventricular insufficiency].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chesi, G; Pinelli, G; Galimberti, D; Navazio, A; Montanari, P

    1994-04-01

    Ehen refractory to optimal medical treatment cardiogenic pulmonary edema requires mechanical ventilation as a last therapeutic resource. In recent years an increasing number of authors reported their experience in the management of acute or subacute respiratory failure with non-invasive mechanical ventilation by nasal mask. Encouraged by the first promising results reported in literature we experimented this new therapeutic tool in a first group of seven elderly patients (mean age: 76.57--range: 65-89); they all had been admitted for severe cardiogenic pulmonary edema unresponsive to maximal doses of the conventional drugs available for treating acute decompensated heart failure. The enrolled patients were treated with intermittent ventilation administered by nasal mask at selected values of inspiratory positive airway pressure (IPAP) that were comprised between 10 and 20 cm H2O. At the same time an expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP) at values comprised between 3 and 8 cm H2O was applied. Ventilation was continued for variable periods of 3-24 hours until acceptable values of PaO2 and PaCO2 were obtained. The ventilation modality was spontaneous, spontaneous-time or timed depending on the patients' level of consciousness at starting time. A good short-term outcome was achieved in all the patients regardless of the ventilation modality applied. The main blood gas alteration was severe hypercapnia with acidosis in three patients, while the other four presented critical hypoxemia unresponsive to simple oxygen supply even if delivered by high-flow Venturi mask. Four of our seven patients were discharged from hospital in satisfactory haemodynamic conditions; the remaining three died during hospitalization from refractory heart failure. In this our preliminary experience the therapeutic approach with nasal positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) and EPAP proved to be very effective to improve the signs and symptoms of acute refractory cardiogenic pulmonary edema as

  19. Improvised bubble continuous positive airway pressure (BCPAP ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Improvised bubble continuous positive airway pressure (BCPAP) device at the National Hospital Abuja gives immediate improvement in respiratory rate and oxygenation in neonates with respiratory distress.

  20. Running on a lower-body positive pressure treadmill

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raffalt, Peter C; Hovgaard-Hansen, Line; Jensen, Bente Rona

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) and time to exhaustion while running on a lower-body positive pressure treadmill (LBPPT) at normal body weight (BW) as well as how BW support affects respiratory responses, ground reaction forces, and stride characteristics.......This study investigated maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) and time to exhaustion while running on a lower-body positive pressure treadmill (LBPPT) at normal body weight (BW) as well as how BW support affects respiratory responses, ground reaction forces, and stride characteristics....

  1. Influence of heart rhythm, breathing and arm position during computed tomography scanning on the registration accuracy of electro anatomical map (EAM) images, left atrium three-dimensional computed tomography angiography images, and fluoroscopy time during ablation to treat atrial fibrillation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chono, Taiki; Shimoshige, Shinya; Yoshikawa, Kenta; Mizonobe, Kazuhusa; Ogura, Keishi

    2013-01-01

    In CARTOMERGE for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) by ablation, by integrating electro anatomical map (EAM) and left atrium three-dimensional computed tomography angiography (3D-CTA) images, identification of the ablation points is simplified and the procedure can be made carried out more rapidly. However, the influence that heart rhythm, breathing and arm position during CT scanning have on registration accuracy and fluoroscopy time is not clear. To clarify the influence on registration accuracy and fluoroscopy time of heart rhythm, breathing and arm position during CT scanning. The patients were CT-scanned during both sinus rhythm (SR) and AF in each study subject. We evaluated the registration accuracy of images reconstructed between the cardiac cycle and assessed the registration accuracy and fluoroscopy time of images obtained during inspiratory breath-hold, expiratory breath-hold and up and down position of the arm. Although the registration accuracy of the EAM image and left atrium 3D-CTA image showed a significant difference during SR, no significant difference was seen during AF. Expiratory breath-hold and down position of the arm resulted in the highest registration accuracy and the shortest fluoroscopy time. However, arm position had no significant effect on registration accuracy. Heart rhythm and breathing during CT scanning have a significant effect on the registration accuracy of EAM images, left atrium 3D-CTA images, and fluoroscopy time. (author)

  2. Intermittent but not sustained hypoxia activates orexin-containing neurons in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Keiji; Futatsuki, Takahiro; Ushikai, Jumpei; Kuroki, Chiharu; Minami, Toshiaki; Kakihana, Yasuyuki; Kuwaki, Tomoyuki

    2015-01-15

    Hypothalamic orexin-containing neurons are activated by CO2 and contribute to hypercapnic ventilatory activation. However, their role in oxygen-related regulation of breathing is not well defined. In this study, we examined whether an experimental model mimicking apnea-induced repetitive hypoxemia (intermittent hypoxia [IH]) activates orexin-containing neurons. Mice were exposed to IH (5×5min at 10% O2), intermittent hyperoxia (IO; 5×5min at 50% O2), sustained hypoxia (SH; 25min at 10% O2), or sham stimulation. Their brains were examined using double immunohistochemical staining for orexin and c-Fos. The results indicated that IH (25.8±3.0%), but not SH (9.0±1.5%) activated orexin-containing neurons when compared to IO (5.5±0.6%) and sham stimulation (5.9±1.4%). These results correlate with those of our previous work showing that IH-induced respiratory long-term facilitation is dependent on orexin-containing neurons. Taken together, orexin contributes to repetitive hypoxia-induced respiratory activation and the hypoxic activation of orexin-containing neurons is pattern dependent. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Lung hyperinflation stimulates the release of inflammatory mediators in spontaneously breathing subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.M.S. Malbouisson

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Lung hyperinflation up to vital capacity is used to re-expand collapsed lung areas and to improve gas exchange during general anesthesia. However, it may induce inflammation in normal lungs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a lung hyperinflation maneuver (LHM on plasma cytokine release in 10 healthy subjects (age: 26.1 ± 1.2 years, BMI: 23.8 ± 3.6 kg/m². LHM was performed applying continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP with a face mask, increased by 3-cmH2O steps up to 20 cmH2O every 5 breaths. At CPAP 20 cmH2O, an inspiratory pressure of 20 cmH2O above CPAP was applied, reaching an airway pressure of 40 cmH2O for 10 breaths. CPAP was then decreased stepwise. Blood samples were collected before and 2 and 12 h after LHM. TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-12 were measured by flow cytometry. Lung hyperinflation significantly increased (P < 0.05 all measured cytokines (TNF-α: 1.2 ± 3.8 vs 6.4 ± 8.6 pg/mL; IL-1β: 4.9 ± 15.6 vs 22.4 ± 28.4 pg/mL; IL-6: 1.4 ± 3.3 vs 6.5 ± 5.6 pg/mL; IL-8: 13.2 ± 8.8 vs 33.4 ± 26.4 pg/mL; IL-10: 3.3 ± 3.3 vs 7.7 ± 6.5 pg/mL, and IL-12: 3.1 ± 7.9 vs 9 ± 11.4 pg/mL, which returned to basal levels 12 h later. A significant correlation was found between changes in pro- (IL-6 and anti-inflammatory (IL-10 cytokines (r = 0.89, P = 0.004. LHM-induced lung stretching was associated with an early inflammatory response in healthy spontaneously breathing subjects.

  4. Effect of body position and oxygen tension on foramen ovale recruitment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moses, Kayla L; Beshish, Arij G; Heinowski, Nicole; Baker, Kim R; Pegelow, David F; Eldridge, Marlowe W; Bates, Melissa L

    2015-01-01

    While there is an increased prevalence of stroke at altitude in individuals who are considered to be low risk for thrombotic events, it is uncertain how venous thrombi reach the brain. The patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a recruitable intracardiac shunt between the right and left atrium. We aimed to determine whether body position and oxygen tension affect blood flow through the PFO in healthy adults. We hypothesized that hypoxia and body positions that promote right atrial filling would independently recruit the PFO. Subjects with a PFO (n = 11) performed 11 trials, combining four different fractions of inhaled oxygen (FiO₂) (1.0, 0.21, 0.15, and 0.10) and three positions (upright, supine, and 45° head down), with the exception of FiO₂ = 0.10, while 45° head down. After 5 min in each position, breathing the prescribed oxygen tension, saline bubbles were injected into an antecubital vein and a four-chamber echocardiogram was obtained to evaluate PFO recruitment. We observed a high incidence of PFO recruitment in all conditions, with increased recruitment in response to severe hypoxia and some contribution of body position at moderate levels of hypoxia. We suspect that increased pulmonary vascular pressure, secondary to hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction, increased right atrial pressure enough to recruit the PFO. Additionally, we hypothesize that the minor increase in breathing resistance that was added by the mouthpiece, used during experimental trials, affected intrathoracic pressure and venous return sufficiently to recruit the PFO. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  5. Reproducibility of The Abdominal and Chest Wall Position by Voluntary Breath-Hold Technique Using a Laser-Based Monitoring and Visual Feedback System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamura, Katsumasa; Shioyama, Yoshiyuki; Nomoto, Satoru; Ohga, Saiji; Toba, Takashi; Yoshitake, Tadamasa; Anai, Shigeo; Terashima, Hiromi; Honda, Hiroshi

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: The voluntary breath-hold (BH) technique is a simple method to control the respiration-related motion of a tumor during irradiation. However, the abdominal and chest wall position may not be accurately reproduced using the BH technique. The purpose of this study was to examine whether visual feedback can reduce the fluctuation in wall motion during BH using a new respiratory monitoring device. Methods and Materials: We developed a laser-based BH monitoring and visual feedback system. For this study, five healthy volunteers were enrolled. The volunteers, practicing abdominal breathing, performed shallow end-expiration BH (SEBH), shallow end-inspiration BH (SIBH), and deep end-inspiration BH (DIBH) with or without visual feedback. The abdominal and chest wall positions were measured at 80-ms intervals during BHs. Results: The fluctuation in the chest wall position was smaller than that of the abdominal wall position. The reproducibility of the wall position was improved by visual feedback. With a monitoring device, visual feedback reduced the mean deviation of the abdominal wall from 2.1 ± 1.3 mm to 1.5 ± 0.5 mm, 2.5 ± 1.9 mm to 1.1 ± 0.4 mm, and 6.6 ± 2.4 mm to 2.6 ± 1.4 mm in SEBH, SIBH, and DIBH, respectively. Conclusions: Volunteers can perform the BH maneuver in a highly reproducible fashion when informed about the position of the wall, although in the case of DIBH, the deviation in the wall position remained substantial

  6. Acute effect of pure oxygen breathing on diabetic macular edema

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vinten, Carl Martin; La Cour, Morten; Lund-Andersen, Henrik

    2012-01-01

    Purpose. A small-scale pilot study of the pathophysiology of diabetic macular edema (DME) was made by assessing concomitant changes in macular volume (MV), mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), intraocular pressure (IOP), retinal artery diameter (RAD), and retinal vein diameter (RVD) in response...... diameters by fundus photography, intraocular pressure by pulse-air tonometry, and arterial blood pressure by sphygmomanometry. Results. After initiation of pure oxygen breathing, reductions of 2.6% in RAD (p=0.04) and 11.5% reduction in RVD (p...

  7. Transcriptomic Analysis of Compromise Between Air-Breathing and Nutrient Uptake of Posterior Intestine in Loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), an Air-Breathing Fish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Songqian; Cao, Xiaojuan; Tian, Xianchang

    2016-08-01

    Dojo loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is an air-breathing fish species by using its posterior intestine to breathe on water surface. So far, the molecular mechanism about accessory air-breathing in fish is seldom addressed. Five cDNA libraries were constructed here for loach posterior intestines form T01 (the initial stage group), T02 (mid-stage of normal group), T03 (end stage of normal group), T04 (mid-stage of air-breathing inhibited group), and T05 (the end stage of air-breathing inhibited group) and subjected to perform RNA-seq to compare their transcriptomic profilings. A total of 92,962 unigenes were assembled, while 37,905 (40.77 %) unigenes were successfully annotated. 2298, 1091, and 3275 differentially expressed genes (fn1, ACE, EGFR, Pxdn, SDF, HIF, VEGF, SLC2A1, SLC5A8 etc.) were observed in T04/T02, T05/T03, and T05/T04, respectively. Expression levels of many genes associated with air-breathing and nutrient uptake varied significantly between normal and intestinal air-breathing inhibited group. Intraepithelial capillaries in posterior intestines of loaches from T05 were broken, while red blood cells were enriched at the surface of intestinal epithelial lining with 241 ± 39 cells per millimeter. There were periodic acid-schiff (PAS)-positive epithelial mucous cells in posterior intestines from both normal and air-breathing inhibited groups. Results obtained here suggested an overlap of air-breathing and nutrient uptake function of posterior intestine in loach. Intestinal air-breathing inhibition in loach would influence the posterior intestine's nutrient uptake ability and endothelial capillary structure stability. This study will contribute to our understanding on the molecular regulatory mechanisms of intestinal air-breathing in loach.

  8. Simulating sleep apnea by exposure to intermittent hypoxia induces inflammation in the lung and liver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Rosa, Darlan Pase; Forgiarini, Luiz Felipe; Baronio, Diego; Feijó, Cristiano Andrade; Martinez, Dênis; Marroni, Norma Possa

    2012-01-01

    Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that results from momentary and cyclic collapse of the upper airway, leading to intermittent hypoxia (IH). IH can lead to the formation of free radicals that increase oxidative stress, and this mechanism may explain the association between central sleep apnea and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. We assessed the level of inflammation in the lung and liver tissue from animals subjected to intermittent hypoxia and simulated sleep apnea. A total of 12 C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups and then exposed to IH (n = 6) or a simulated IH (SIH) (n = 6) for 35 days. We observed an increase in oxidative damage and other changes to endogenous antioxidant enzymes in mice exposed to IH. Specifically, the expression of multiple transcription factors, including hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-1α), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), inducible NO synthase (iNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and cleaved caspase 3 were shown to be increased in the IH group. Overall, we found that exposure to intermittent hypoxia for 35 days by simulating sleep apnea leads to oxidative stress, inflammation, and increased activity of caspase 3 in the liver and lung.

  9. Simulating Sleep Apnea by Exposure to Intermittent Hypoxia Induces Inflammation in the Lung and Liver

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darlan Pase da Rosa

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that results from momentary and cyclic collapse of the upper airway, leading to intermittent hypoxia (IH. IH can lead to the formation of free radicals that increase oxidative stress, and this mechanism may explain the association between central sleep apnea and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. We assessed the level of inflammation in the lung and liver tissue from animals subjected to intermittent hypoxia and simulated sleep apnea. A total of 12 C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups and then exposed to IH (n=6 or a simulated IH (SIH (n=6 for 35 days. We observed an increase in oxidative damage and other changes to endogenous antioxidant enzymes in mice exposed to IH. Specifically, the expression of multiple transcription factors, including hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-1α, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α, inducible NO synthase (iNOS, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, and cleaved caspase 3 were shown to be increased in the IH group. Overall, we found that exposure to intermittent hypoxia for 35 days by simulating sleep apnea leads to oxidative stress, inflammation, and increased activity of caspase 3 in the liver and lung.

  10. Influence of different breathing maneuvers on internal and external organ motion: Use of fiducial markers in dynamic MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plathow, Christian; Zimmermann, Hendrik; Fink, Christian; Umathum, Reiner; Schoebinger, Max; Huber, Peter; Zuna, Ivan; Debus, Juergen; Schlegel, Wolfgang; Meinzer, Hans-Peter; Semmler, Wolfhard; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Bock, Michael

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate, with dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and a fiducial marker, the influence of different breathing maneuvers on internal organ and external chest wall motion. Methods and materials: Lung and chest wall motion of 16 healthy subjects (13 male, 3 female) were examined with real-time trueFISP (true fast imaging with steady-state precession) dMRI and a small inductively coupled marker coil on either the abdomen or thorax. Three different breathing maneuvers were performed (predominantly 'abdominal breathing,' 'thoracic breathing,' and unspecific 'normal breathing'). The craniocaudal (CC), anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) lung distances were correlated (linear regression coefficient) with marker coil position during forced and quiet breathing. Results: Differences of the CC distance between maximum forced inspiration and expiration were significant between abdominal and thoracic breathing (p < 0.05). The correlation between CC distance and coil position was best for forced abdominal breathing and a marker coil in the abdominal position (r 0.89 ± 0.04); for AP and ML distance, forced thoracic breathing and a coil in the thoracic position was best (r = 0.84 ± 0.03 and 0.82 ± 0.03, respectively). In quiet breathing, a lower correlation was found. Conclusion: A fiducial marker coil external to the thorax in combination with dMRI is a new technique to yield quantitative information on the correlation of internal organ and external chest wall motion. Correlations are highly dependent on the breathing maneuver

  11. Effects of body position and sex group on tongue pressure generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietsch, Angela M; Cirstea, Carmen M; Auer, Ed T; Searl, Jeff P

    2013-11-01

    Fine control of orofacial musculature is necessary to precisely accelerate and decelerate the articulators across exact distances for functional speech and coordinated swallows (Amerman & Parnell, 1990; Benjamin, 1997; Kent, Duffy, Slama, Kent, & Clift, 2001). Enhanced understanding of neural control for such movements could clarify the nature of and potential remediation for some dysarthrias and other orofacial myofunctional impairments. Numerous studies have measured orolingual force and accuracy during speech and nonspeech tasks, but have focused on young adults, maximum linguapalatal pressures, and upright positioning (O'Day, Frank, Montgomery, Nichols, & McDade, 2005; Solomon & Munson, 2004; Somodi, Robin, & Luschei, 1995; Youmans, Youmans, & Stierwalt, 2009). Patients' medical conditions or testing procedures such as concurrent neuroimaging may preclude fully upright positioning during oral motor assessments in some cases. Since judgments about lingual strength and coordination can influence clinical decisions regarding the functionality of swallowing and speech, it is imperative to understand any effects of body positioning differences. In addition, sex differences in the control of such tasks are not well defined. Therefore, this study evaluated whether pressures exerted during tongue movements differ in upright vs. supine body position in healthy middle-aged men and women. Twenty healthy middle-aged adults compressed small air-filled plastic bulbs in the oral cavity at predetermined fractions of task-specific peak pressure in a randomized block design. Tasks including phoneme repetitions and nonspeech isometric contractions were executed in upright and supine positions. Participants received continuous visual feedback regarding targets and actual exerted pressures. Analyses compared average pressure values for each subject, task, position, and effort level. Speech-like and nonspeech tongue pressures did not differ significantly across body position or sex

  12. Effect of Acute Intermittent CPAP Depressurization during Sleep in Obese Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jun, Jonathan C; Unnikrishnan, Dileep; Schneider, Hartmut; Kirkness, Jason; Schwartz, Alan R; Smith, Philip L; Polotsky, Vsevolod Y

    2016-01-01

    Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) describes intermittent collapse of the airway during sleep, for which continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is often prescribed for treatment. Prior studies suggest that discontinuation of CPAP leads to a gradual, rather than immediate return of baseline severity of OSA. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of OSA recurrence during short intervals of CPAP depressurization during sleep. Nine obese (BMI = 40.4 ± 3.5) subjects with severe OSA (AHI = 88.9 ± 6.8) adherent to CPAP were studied during one night in the sleep laboratory. Nasal CPAP was delivered at therapeutic (11.1 ± 0.6 cm H20) or atmospheric pressure, in alternating fashion for 1-hour periods during the night. We compared sleep architecture and metrics of OSA during CPAP-on and CPAP-off periods. 8/9 subjects tolerated CPAP withdrawal. The average AHI during CPAP-on and CPAP-off periods was 3.6 ± 0.6 and 15.8 ± 3.6 respectively (p<0.05). The average 3% ODI during CPAP-on and CPAP-off was 4.7 ± 2 and 20.4 ± 4.7 respectively (p<0.05). CPAP depressurization also induced more awake (p<0.05) and stage N1 (p<0.01) sleep, and less stage REM (p<0.05) with a trend towards decreased stage N3 (p = 0.064). Acute intermittent depressurization of CPAP during sleep led to deterioration of sleep architecture but only partial re-emergence of OSA. These observations suggest carryover effects of CPAP.

  13. Effect of Acute Intermittent CPAP Depressurization during Sleep in Obese Patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan C Jun

    Full Text Available Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA describes intermittent collapse of the airway during sleep, for which continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP is often prescribed for treatment. Prior studies suggest that discontinuation of CPAP leads to a gradual, rather than immediate return of baseline severity of OSA. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of OSA recurrence during short intervals of CPAP depressurization during sleep.Nine obese (BMI = 40.4 ± 3.5 subjects with severe OSA (AHI = 88.9 ± 6.8 adherent to CPAP were studied during one night in the sleep laboratory. Nasal CPAP was delivered at therapeutic (11.1 ± 0.6 cm H20 or atmospheric pressure, in alternating fashion for 1-hour periods during the night. We compared sleep architecture and metrics of OSA during CPAP-on and CPAP-off periods.8/9 subjects tolerated CPAP withdrawal. The average AHI during CPAP-on and CPAP-off periods was 3.6 ± 0.6 and 15.8 ± 3.6 respectively (p<0.05. The average 3% ODI during CPAP-on and CPAP-off was 4.7 ± 2 and 20.4 ± 4.7 respectively (p<0.05. CPAP depressurization also induced more awake (p<0.05 and stage N1 (p<0.01 sleep, and less stage REM (p<0.05 with a trend towards decreased stage N3 (p = 0.064.Acute intermittent depressurization of CPAP during sleep led to deterioration of sleep architecture but only partial re-emergence of OSA. These observations suggest carryover effects of CPAP.

  14. Why does intermittent hydrostatic pressure enhance the mineralization process in fetal cartilage?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tanck, E.; van Driel, W. D.; Hagen, J. W.; Burger, E. H.; Blankevoort, L.; Huiskes, R.

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine which factor is the most likely one to have stimulated the mineralization process in the in vitro experiments of Klein-Nulend et al. (Arth. Rheum., 29, 1002-1009, 1986), in which fetal cartilaginous metatarsals were externally loaded with an intermittent

  15. [Possibilities of bi-level positive pressure ventilation in chronic hypoventilation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saaresranta, Tarja; Anttalainen, Ulla; Polo, Olli

    2011-01-01

    During the last decade, noninvasive bi-level positive pressure ventilation has enabled respiratory support in inpatient wards and at home. In many cases, a bi-level airway pressure ventilator can be used to avoid artificial airway and respirator therapy, and may shorten hospital stay and save costs. The treatment alleviates the patient's dyspnea and fatigue, whereby the quality of life improves, and in certain situations also the life span increases. The implementation of bi-level positive pressure ventilation by the physician requires knowledge of the basics of respiratory physiology and familiarization with the bi-level airway pressure ventilator.

  16. Asystole following positive pressure insufflation of right pleural cavity: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konia Mojca R

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Adverse hemodynamic effects with severe bradycardia have been previously reported during positive pressure insufflation of the right thoracic cavity in humans. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of asystole during thoracoscopic surgery with positive pressure insufflation. Case presentation A 63-year-old Caucasian woman developed asystole at the onset of positive pressure insufflation of her right hemithorax during a thoracoscopic single-lung ventilation procedure. Immediate deflation of pleural cavity, intravenous glycopyrrolate and atropine administration returned her heart rhythm to normal sinus rhythm. The surgery proceeded in the absence of positive pressure insufflation without any further complications. Conclusions We discuss the proposed mechanisms of hemodynamic instability with positive pressure thoracic insufflation, and anesthetic and insufflation techniques that decrease the likelihood of adverse hemodynamic events.

  17. The importance of clinical monitoring for compliance with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelosi, Lucas B; Silveira, Mariana L C; Eckeli, Alan L; Chayamiti, Emilia M P C; Almeida, Leila A; Sander, Heidi H; Küpper, Daniel S; Valera, Fabiana C P

    Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is currently a public health problem of great importance. When misdiagnosed or improperly treated, it can lead to serious consequences on patients' quality of life. The gold standard treatment for cases of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, especially in mild to severe and symptomatic cases, is continuous positive airway pressure therapy. Compliance with continuous positive airway pressure therapy is directly dependent on the active participation of the patient, which can be influenced by several factors. The objective of this study is to describe the factors related to compliance with continuous positive airway pressure therapy, and to analyze which associated factors directly influence the efficiency of the treatment. Patients who received continuous positive airway pressure therapy through the Municipal Health Department of the city of Ribeirão Preto were recruited. A structured questionnaire was administered to the patients. Compliance with continuous positive airway pressure therapy was assessed by average hours of continuous positive airway pressure therapy usage per night. Patients with good compliance (patients using continuous positive airway pressure therapy ≥4h/night) were compared to those with poor compliance (patients using <4h/night). 138 patients were analyzed: 77 (55.8%) were considered compliant while 61 (44.2%) were non-compliant. The comparison between the two groups showed that regular monitoring by a specialist considerably improved compliance with continuous positive airway pressure therapy (odds ratio, OR=2.62). Compliance with continuous positive airway pressure therapy is related to educational components, which can be enhanced with continuous and individualized care to patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  18. Positioning bedridden patients to reduce interface pressures over the sacrum and great trochanter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshikawa, Y; Maeshige, N; Sugimoto, M; Uemura, M; Noguchi, M; Terashi, H

    2015-07-01

    In this study, we evaluated the effect of hip-joint rotation on the interface pressure over the sacrum and greater trochanter with a new protocol for positioning of bedridden elderly patients. The interface pressure values over the sacrum and greater trochanter in bedridden patients were evaluated. These were collected in the supine position, 90° lateral position, and 30° and 40° laterally inclined positions with external rotation or neutral positioning of the hip joint. Each interface pressure was assessed with a device measuring pressure distribution, after which, the peak pressure index (PPI) was calculated. In the 17 patients examined, the PPI over the sacrum in the supine position was significantly greater than that in other positions. In the 30° and 40° laterally inclined positions, the PPIs over the greater trochanter were significantly lower in the neutral position of the hip joint compared with those in the external rotation position. Our findings revealed the effects of hip-joint rotation on the interface pressure for the greater trochanter, possibly due to the increased distance between the greater trochanter and the sacrum caused by neutral position of the hip joint. The results demonstrate that it is to best place the hip joint in a neutral position when the legs are in contact with the bed in order to distribute the pressure over the greater trochanter in the 30° and 40° laterally inclined positions. These results can be applied to the clinical setting to improve patient positioning and decrease pressure ulcers. The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

  19. Improvised bubble continuous positive airway pressure

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF. EZECHUKWU

    2014-08-15

    Aug 15, 2014 ... Abstract: Background: Prematur- ity accounts for 25% of Neonatal mortality in Nigeria and Respira- tory Distress Syndrome is respon- sible for half of these deaths. Introducing continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of RDS in Nigeria where health care financing is predominantly out-of-pocket ...

  20. Influences of inflation rate and duration on vasodilatory effect by intermittent pneumatic compression in distant skeletal muscle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, K; Chen, L E; Seaber, A V; Urbaniak, J R

    1999-05-01

    Previous study has demonstrated that application of intermittent pneumatic compression on legs can cause vasodilation in distant skeletal muscle at the microcirculation level. This study evaluated the influence of inflation rate and peak-pressure duration on the vasodilatory effects of intermittent pneumatic compression. The cremaster muscles of 50 male rats were exposed and divided into five groups of 10 each. A specially designed intermittent pneumatic-compression device was applied in a medial-lateral fashion to both legs of all rats for 60 minutes, with an inflation rate and peak-pressure duration of 0.5 and 5 seconds, respectively, in group A, 5 and 0 seconds in group B, 5 and 5 seconds in group C, 10 and 0 seconds in group D, and 10 and 5 seconds in group E. Diameters of arterial segments were measured in vessels of three size categories (10-20, 21-40, and 41-70 microm) for 120 minutes. The results showed that the greatest increase in diameter was produced by intermittent pneumatic compression with the shortest inflation rate (0.5 seconds). A moderate increase resulted from compression with an inflation rate of 5 seconds, and no effective vasodilation occurred during compression with the longest inflation rate (10 seconds). When the groups with different inflation rates but the same peak-pressure duration were compared, there was a significant difference between any two groups among groups A, C, and E and between groups B and D. When the groups with different peak-pressure durations but the same inflation rate were compared, compression with a peak-pressure duration of 5 seconds caused a generally similar degree of diameter change as did compression without inflation at peak pressure. The findings suggest that inflation rate plays an important role in the modulation of distant microcirculation induced by intermittent pneumatic compression whereas peak-pressure duration does not significantly influence the vasodilatory effects of the compression. This may be

  1. Blood pressure associates with standing balance in elderly outpatients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jantsje H Pasma

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Assessment of the association of blood pressure measurements in supine and standing position after a postural change, as a proxy for blood pressure regulation, with standing balance in a clinically relevant cohort of elderly, is of special interest as blood pressure may be important to identify patients at risk of having impaired standing balance in routine geriatric assessment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional cohort study, 197 community-dwelling elderly referred to a geriatric outpatient clinic of a middle-sized teaching hospital were included. Blood pressure was measured intermittently (n = 197 and continuously (subsample, n = 58 before and after a controlled postural change from supine to standing position. The ability to maintain standing balance was assessed during ten seconds of side-by-side, semi-tandem and tandem stance, with both eyes open and eyes closed. Self-reported impaired standing balance and history of falls were recorded by questionnaires. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between blood pressure and 1 the ability to maintain standing balance; 2 self-reported impaired standing balance; and 3 history of falls, adjusted for age and sex. RESULTS: Blood pressure decrease after postural change, measured continuously, was associated with reduced ability to maintain standing balance in semi-tandem stance with eyes closed and with increased self-reported impaired standing balance and falls. Presence of orthostatic hypotension was associated with reduced ability to maintain standing balance in semi-tandem stance with eyes closed for both intermittent and continuous measurements and with increased self-reported impaired standing balance for continuous measurements. CONCLUSION: Continuous blood pressure measurements are of additional value to identify patients at risk of having impaired standing balance and may therefore be useful in routine geriatric care.

  2. Rapid shallow breathing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tachypnea; Breathing - rapid and shallow; Fast shallow breathing; Respiratory rate - rapid and shallow ... Shallow, rapid breathing has many possible medical causes, including: Asthma Blood clot in an artery in the ...

  3. Ventilatory mechanics and the effects of water depth on breathing pattern in the aquatic caecilian Typhlonectes natans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabha, K C; Bernard, D G; Gardner, M; Smatresk, N J

    2000-01-01

    The breathing pattern in the aquatic caecilian Typhlonectes natans was investigated by recording airflow via a pneumotachograph under unrestrained normal physiological conditions. Ventilatory mechanics were assessed using airflow and pressure measurements from the buccal cavity and trachea. The breathing pattern consisted of an expiratory phase followed by a series of 10-15 small buccal pumps to inflate the lung, succeeded by a long non-ventilatory period. T. natans separate the expiratory and inspiratory gases in the buccal cavity and take several inspiratory pumps, distinguishing their breathing pattern from that of sarcopterygians. Hydrostatic pressure assisted exhalation. The tracheal pressure was greater than the water pressure at that depth, suggesting that pleuroperitoneal pressure as well as axial or pulmonary smooth muscles may have contributed to the process of exhalation. The frequency of lung ventilation was 6.33+/-0.84 breaths h(-)(1), and ventilation occurred via the nares. Compared with other amphibians, this low ventilatory frequency suggests that T. natans may have acquired very efficient pulmonary respiration as an adaptation for survival in their seasonally fluctuating natural habitat. Their respiratory pathway is quite unique, with the trachea separated into anterior, central and posterior regions. The anterior region serves as an air channel, the central region is attached to the tracheal lung, and the posterior region consists of a bifurcated air channel leading to the left and right posterior lungs. The lungs are narrow, elongated, profusely vascularized and compartmentalized. The posterior lungs extend to approximately two-thirds of the body length. On the basis of their breathing pattern, it appears that caecilians are phylogenetically derived from two-stroke breathers.

  4. Effects of Intermittent Fasting, Caloric Restriction, and Ramadan Intermittent Fasting on Cognitive Performance at Rest and During Exercise in Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cherif, Anissa; Roelands, Bart; Meeusen, Romain; Chamari, Karim

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this review was to highlight the potent effects of intermittent fasting on the cognitive performance of athletes at rest and during exercise. Exercise interacts with dietary factors and has a positive effect on brain functioning. Furthermore, physical activity and exercise can favorably influence brain plasticity. Mounting evidence indicates that exercise, in combination with diet, affects the management of energy metabolism and synaptic plasticity by affecting molecular mechanisms through brain-derived neurotrophic factor, an essential neurotrophin that acts at the interface of metabolism and plasticity. The literature has also shown that certain aspects of physical performance and mental health, such as coping and decision-making strategies, can be negatively affected by daylight fasting. However, there are several types of intermittent fasting. These include caloric restriction, which is distinct from fasting and allows subjects to drink water ad libitum while consuming a very low-calorie food intake. Another type is Ramadan intermittent fasting, which is a religious practice of Islam, where healthy adult Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours for 1 month. Other religious practices in Islam (Sunna) also encourage Muslims to practice intermittent fasting outside the month of Ramadan. Several cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that intermittent fasting has crucial effects on physical and intellectual performance by affecting various aspects of bodily physiology and biochemistry that could be important for athletic success. Moreover, recent findings revealed that immunological variables are also involved in cognitive functioning and that intermittent fasting might impact the relationship between cytokine expression in the brain and cognitive deficits, including memory deficits.

  5. Atmospheric pressure loading effects on Global Positioning System coordinate determinations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandam, Tonie M.; Blewitt, Geoffrey; Heflin, Michael B.

    1994-01-01

    Earth deformation signals caused by atmospheric pressure loading are detected in vertical position estimates at Global Positioning System (GPS) stations. Surface displacements due to changes in atmospheric pressure account for up to 24% of the total variance in the GPS height estimates. The detected loading signals are larger at higher latitudes where pressure variations are greatest; the largest effect is observed at Fairbanks, Alaska (latitude 65 deg), with a signal root mean square (RMS) of 5 mm. Out of 19 continuously operating GPS sites (with a mean of 281 daily solutions per site), 18 show a positive correlation between the GPS vertical estimates and the modeled loading displacements. Accounting for loading reduces the variance of the vertical station positions on 12 of the 19 sites investigated. Removing the modeled pressure loading from GPS determinations of baseline length for baselines longer than 6000 km reduces the variance on 73 of the 117 baselines investigated. The slight increase in variance for some of the sites and baselines is consistent with expected statistical fluctuations. The results from most stations are consistent with approximately 65% of the modeled pressure load being found in the GPS vertical position measurements. Removing an annual signal from both the measured heights and the modeled load time series leaves this value unchanged. The source of the remaining discrepancy between the modeled and observed loading signal may be the result of (1) anisotropic effects in the Earth's loading response, (2) errors in GPS estimates of tropospheric delay, (3) errors in the surface pressure data, or (4) annual signals in the time series of loading and station heights. In addition, we find that using site dependent coefficients, determined by fitting local pressure to the modeled radial displacements, reduces the variance of the measured station heights as well as or better than using the global convolution sum.

  6. Breathing pattern and head posture: changes in craniocervical angles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabatucci, A; Raffaeli, F; Mastrovincenzo, M; Luchetta, A; Giannone, A; Ciavarella, D

    2015-04-01

    The aim of this study was to observe the influence of oral breathing on head posture and to establish possible postural changes observing the variation of craniocervical angles NSL/OPT and NSL/CVT between oral breathing subjects and physiological breathing subjects. A cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample included 115 subject, 56 boys and 59 girls, 5-22-year-old. Among these, 80 were classified as oral breathers and 35 as physiological breathers. The diagnosis of oral breathing was carried out thanks to characteristic signs and symptoms evaluated on clinical examination, the analysis of characteristic X-ray images, ENT examination with active anterior rhinomanometric (AAR) test. The structural and postural analysis was carried out, calculating the craniofacial angles NSL/OPT and NSL/CVT. Both NSL/OPT and NSL/CVT appear to be significantly greater to those observed in physiological breathing patients. This means that patients who tend to breathe through the mouth rather than exclusively through the nose show a reduction of cervical lordosis and a proinclination of the head. Our study confirms that the oral breathing modifies head position. The significant increase of the craniocervical angles NSL/OPT and NSL/CVT in patients with this altered breathing pattern suggests an elevation of the head and a greater extension of the head compared with the cervical spine. So, to correct the breathing pattern early, either during childhood or during adolescence, can lead to a progressive normalization of craniofacial morphology and head posture.

  7. Apparatus producing constant cable tension for intermittent demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauritzen, Ted

    1985-01-01

    The disclosed apparatus produces constant tension in superconducting electrical cable, or some other strand, under conditions of intermittent demand, as the cable is unreeled from a reel or reeled thereon. The apparatus comprises a pivotally supported swing frame on which the reel is rotatably supported, a rotary motor, a drive train connected between the motor and the reel and including an electrically controllable variable torque slip clutch, a servo transducer connected to the swing frame for producing servo input signals corresponding to the position thereof, a servo control system connected between the transducer and the clutch for regulating the torque transmitted by the clutch to maintain the swing frame in a predetermined position, at least one air cylinder connected to the swing frame for counteracting the tension in the cable, and pressure regulating means for supplying a constant air pressure to the cylinder to establish the constant tension in the cable, the servo system and the clutch being effective to produce torque on the reel in an amount sufficient to provide tension in the cable corresponding to the constant force exerted by the air cylinder. The drive train also preferably includes a fail-safe brake operable to its released position by electrical power in common with the servo system, for preventing rotation of the reel if there is a power failure. A shock absorber and biasing springs may also be connected to the swing frame, such springs biasing the frame toward its predetermined position. The tension in the cable may be measured by force measuring devices engageable with the bearings for the reel shaft, such bearings being supported for slight lateral movement. The reel shaft is driven by a Shmidt coupler which accommodates such movement.

  8. Apparatus producing constant cable tension for intermittent demand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lauritzen, T.

    1985-01-01

    The disclosed apparatus produces constant tension in superconducting electrical cable, or some other strand, under conditions of intermittent demand, as the cable is unreeled from a reel or reeled thereon. The apparatus comprises a pivotally supported swing frame on which the reel is rotatably supported, a rotary motor, a drive train connected between the motor and the reel and including an electrically controllable variable torque slip clutch, a servo transducer connected to the swing frame for producing servo input signals corresponding to the position thereof, a servo control system connected between the transducer and the clutch for regulating the torque transmitted by the clutch to maintain the swing frame in a predetermined position, at least one air cylinder connected to the swing frame for counteracting the tension in the cable, and pressure regulating means for supplying a constant air pressure to the cylinder to establish the constant tension in the cable, the servo system and the clutch being effective to produce torque on the reel in an amount sufficient to provide tension in the cable corresponding to the constant force exerted by the air cylinder. The drive train also preferably includes a fail-safe brake operable to its released position by electrical power in common with the servo system, for preventing rotation of the reel if there is a power failure. A shock absorber and biasing springs may also be connected to the swing frame, such springs biasing the frame toward its predetermined position. The tension in the cable may be measured by force measuring devices engageable with the bearings for the reel shaft, such bearings being supported for slight lateral movement. The reel shaft is driven by a Shmidt coupler which accommodates such movement

  9. Unconstrained monitoring of long-term heart and breath rates during sleep

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Wenxi; Zhu, Xin; Wei, Daming; Nemoto, Tetsu; Sugitani, Kayo; Kitamura, Kei-ichiro

    2008-01-01

    An unconstrained method for the long-term monitoring of heart and breath rates during sleep is proposed. The system includes a sensor unit and a web-based network module. The sensor unit is set beneath a pillow to pick up the pressure variations from the head induced by inhalation/exhalation movements and heart pulsation during sleep. The measured pressure signal was digitized and transferred to a remote database server via the network module. A wavelet-based algorithm was employed to detect the heart and breath rates, as well as body movement, during sleep. The overall system was utilized for a total six-month trial operation delivered to a female subject. The profiles of the heart and breath rates on a beat-by-beat and daily basis were obtained. Movements during sleep were also estimated. The results show that the daily average percentage of undetectable periods (UPs) during 881.6 sleep hours over a 180 day period was 17.2%. A total of 89.2% of sleep hours had a UP of not more than 25%. The profile of the heart rate revealed a periodic property that corresponded to the female monthly menstrual cycle. Our system shows promise as a long-term unconstrained monitor for heart and breath rates, and for other physiological parameters related to the quality of sleep and the regularity of the menstrual cycle. (note)

  10. Lung function, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing in children with achondroplasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julliand, Sébastien; Boulé, Michèle; Baujat, Geneviève; Ramirez, Adriana; Couloigner, Vincent; Beydon, Nicole; Zerah, Michel; di Rocco, Federico; Lemerrer, Martine; Cormier-Daire, Valérie; Fauroux, Brigitte

    2012-08-01

    Children with achondroplasia are at risk of sleep-disordered breathing. The aim of the study was to evaluate lung function and sleep-disordered breathing in children with achondroplasia. An interview, clinical examination, lung function tests with blood gases, and a polygraphic sleep study were obtained as part of routine annual evaluation in consecutive children with achondroplasia. We included 30 children (median age 3.0 years, range: 0.4-17.1) over a period of 21 months. Habitual snoring and witnessed apneas were observed in 77% and 33% of the patients, respectively. Prior to the sleep study, 10/29 (34%) patients had undergone upper airway surgery and 5/29 (17%) craniocervical decompression operation. Arterial blood gases were abnormal in two (7%) patients. Sleep findings were abnormal in 28/30 (93%) patients. Eleven (37%) patients had an apnea index≥1 event/hr and 26 (87%) had an apnea-hypopnea index≥5 events/hr. The ≥3% desaturation index was >5/hr in 22 (73%) patients. Sixteen (53%) patients had a minimal pulse oximetry50 mmHg during sleep. As a consequence, the following therapeutic interventions were performed: upper airway surgery in four patients and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) in five other patients, resulting in an improvement in sleep studies in all nine patients. Systematic sleep studies are recommended in children with achondroplasia because of the high prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing. Upper airway surgery and NPPV are effective treatments of sleep-disordered breathing. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Psychological predictors of the antihypertensive effects of music-guided slow breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modesti, Pietro Amedeo; Ferrari, Antonella; Bazzini, Cristina; Costanzo, Giusi; Simonetti, Ignazio; Taddei, Stefano; Biggeri, Annibale; Parati, Gianfranco; Gensini, Gian Franco; Sirigatti, Saulo

    2010-05-01

    The possibility that daily sessions of music-guided slow breathing may reduce 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), and predictors of efficacy were explored in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial with parallel design. Age-matched and sex-matched hypertensive patients were randomized to music-guided slow breathing exercises (4-6 breaths/min; 1: 2 ratio of inspiration: expiration duration) (Intervention; n = 29) or to control groups who were thought to relax while either listening to slow music (Control-M; n = 26) or reading a book (Control-R; n = 31). At baseline and at follow-up visits (1 week and 1, 3 and 6 months), ABP monitoring was performed. At mixed model analysis, intervention was associated with a significant reduction of 24-h (P = 0.001) and night-time (0100-0600 h) (P music-guided slow breathing significantly reduce 24-h systolic ABP, and psychological predictors of efficacy can be identified.

  12. [Intermittent hypoxia due to sleep apnea syndrome in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burchakov, D I; Mayorov, A Yu

    To evaluate the possible association between intermittent hypoxia (IH) and HbA1c in patients with insufficient control type of 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this cross-sectional study 183 patients with HbAc1≥7% underwent three-channel overnight monitoring (ApneaLink) and completed Berlin Questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Patients were divided in two groups, based on the cut-off value of oxygen desaturation index≥15. There were 79 (43%) patients with intermittent hypoxia, which was associated with poorer glycaemic control, defined as HbA1c>8.7% (sample median) in the univariate analysis and after adjustment for body mass index OR 2,40 (CI 1.21-4.95, p=0.021). Neither of three questionnaires yielded satisfactory results as a screening method in patients with T2DM. There is a need to implement instrumental screening of sleep-disordered breathing in this population and to study the effects of CPAP-therapy on glycaemic control and carbohydrate metabolism.

  13. Contrastive Analysis and Research on Negative Pressure Beam Tube System and Positive Pressure Beam Tube System for Mine Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xinyi; Shen, Jialong; Liu, Xinbo

    2018-01-01

    Against the technical defects of universally applicable beam tube monitoring system at present, such as air suction in the beam tube, line clogging, long sampling time, etc., the paper analyzes the current situation of the spontaneous combustion fire disaster forecast of mine in our country and these defects one by one. On this basis, the paper proposes a research thought that improving the positive pressure beam tube so as to substitute the negative pressure beam tube. Then, the paper introduces the beam tube monitoring system based on positive pressure technology through theoretical analysis and experiment. In the comparison with negative pressure beam tube, the paper concludes the advantage of the new system and draws the conclusion that the positive pressure beam tube is superior to the negative pressure beam tube system both in test result and test time. At last, the paper proposes prospect of the beam tube monitoring system based on positive pressure technology.

  14. Photoplethysmography for blood volumes and oxygenation changes during intermittent vascular occlusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abay, T Y; Kyriacou, P A

    2018-06-01

    Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical technique that measures blood volume variations. The main application of dual-wavelength PPG is pulse oximetry, in which the arterial oxygen saturation (SpO[Formula: see text]) is calculated noninvasively. However, the PPG waveform contains other significant physiological information that can be used in conjunction to SpO[Formula: see text] for the assessment of oxygenation and blood volumes changes. This paper investigates the use of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) processing techniques for extracting relative concentration changes of oxygenated ([Formula: see text]HbO[Formula: see text]), reduced ([Formula: see text]HHb) and total haemoglobin ([Formula: see text]tHb) from dual-wavelength PPG signals during intermittent pressure-increasing vascular occlusions. A reflectance PPG sensor was attached on the left forearm of nineteen (n = 19) volunteers, along with a reference NIRS sensor positioned on the same forearm, above the left brachioradialis. The investigation protocol consisted of seven intermittent and pressure-increasing vascular occlusions. Relative changes in haemoglobin concentrations were obtained by applying the modified Beer-Lambert law to PPG signals, while oxygenation changes were estimated by the difference between red and infrared attenuations of DC PPGs (A[Formula: see text] = [Formula: see text]A[Formula: see text] - [Formula: see text]A[Formula: see text]) and by the conventional SpO[Formula: see text]. The [Formula: see text]HbO[Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]HHb, [Formula: see text]tHb from the PPG signals indicated significant changes in perfusion induced by either partial and complete occlusions (p < 0.05). The trends in the variables extracted from PPG showed good correlation with the same parameters measured by the reference NIRS monitor. Bland and Altman analysis of agreement between PPG and NIRS showed underestimation of the magnitude of changes by the PPG. A[Formula: see text

  15. Nasal obstruction and sleep-disordered breathing: the effect of supine body position on nasal measurements in snorers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virkkula, Paula; Maasilta, Paula; Hytönen, Maija; Salmi, Tapani; Malmberg, Henrik

    2003-06-01

    Nasal obstruction is considered to be a potential etiological factor in sleep-disordered breathing. However, a significant correlation between nasal measurements and obstructive sleep apnea has not been demonstrated so far. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between nasal resistance, nasal volumes and selected sleep parameters using nasal measurements performed in both seated and supine positions. We also investigated whether snoring patients in our clinical sample showed increased positional or decongestive nasal mucosal changes. Forty-one snoring men on a waiting list for correction of nasal obstruction underwent polysomnography, anterior rhinomanometry and acoustic rhinometry. Nineteen non-snoring control subjects were also recruited. Nasal measurements were performed in a seated position, after lying down in a supine position and, after decongestion of nasal mucosa, in a seated position again. In the overall patient group, nasal volume at a distance 2-4 cm from the nares in the supine position correlated inversely with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) (r = -0.32, p patients, total nasal resistance measured in a supine position correlated with AHI (r = 0.50, p position and sleep parameters. Postural or decongestive changes in nasal measurements were not increased in snoring patients compared with control subjects. The relationship found between nasal measurements and sleep parameters suggests that nasal obstruction does augment airway collapse.

  16. Recovery of Breathing and Forelimb Function after Prolonged Exposure to Repetitive Acute Intermittent Hypoxia

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-01

    March 2017 TYPE OF REPORT: Annual PREPARED FOR: U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Fort Detrick, Maryland 21702-5012 DISTRIBUTION...Z39.18 March 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction…………………………………………………………….………..….. 4 Body………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 Key Research...breathing capacity (Aim 1) and forelimb function (Aim 2), without systemic hypertension or hippocampal pathology (Aim 3). SPECIFIC AIMS Aim 1 (Florida

  17. Improved ROS defense in the swimbladder of a facultative air-breathing erythrinid fish, jeju, compared to a non-air-breathing close relative, traira.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelster, Bernd; Giacomin, Marina; Wood, Chris M; Val, Adalberto L

    2016-07-01

    The jeju Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus and the traira Hoplias malabaricus are two closely related erythrinid fish, both possessing a two-chambered physostomous swimbladder. In the jeju the anterior section of the posterior bladder is highly vascularized and the swimbladder is used for aerial respiration; the traira, in turn, is a water-breather that uses the swimbladder as a buoyancy organ and not for aerial oxygen uptake. Observation of the breathing behavior under different levels of water oxygenation revealed that the traira started aquatic surface respiration only under severe hypoxic conditions and did not breathe air. In the jeju air-breathing behavior was observed under normoxic conditions, and the frequency of air-breathing was significantly increased under hypoxic conditions. Unexpectedly, even under hyperoxic conditions (30 mg O2 L(-1)) the jeju continued to take air breaths, and compared with normoxic conditions the frequency was not reduced. Because the frequently air-exposed swimbladder tissue faces higher oxygen partial pressures than normally experienced by other fish tissues, it was hypothesized that in the facultative air-breathing jeju, swimbladder tissue would have a higher antioxidative capacity than the swimbladder tissue of the water breathing traira. Measurement of total glutathione (GSSG/GSH) concentration in anterior and posterior swimbladder tissue revealed a higher concentration of this antioxidant in swimbladder tissue as compared to muscle tissue in the jeju. Furthermore, the GSSG/GSH concentration in jeju tissues was significantly higher than in traira tissues. Similarly, activities of enzymes involved in the breakdown of reactive oxygen species were significantly higher in the jeju swimbladder as compared to the traira swimbladder. The results show that the jeju, using the swimbladder as an additional breathing organ, has an enhanced antioxidative capacity in the swimbladder as compared to the traira, using the swimbladder only as a

  18. Distribution of internal pressure around bony prominences: implications to deep tissue injury and effectiveness of intermittent electrical stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solis, Leandro R; Liggins, Adrian; Uwiera, Richard R E; Poppe, Niek; Pehowich, Enid; Seres, Peter; Thompson, Richard B; Mushahwar, Vivian K

    2012-08-01

    The overall goal of this project is to develop interventions for the prevention of deep tissue injury (DTI), a form of pressure ulcers that originates in deep tissue around bony prominences. The present study focused on: (1) obtaining detailed measures of the distribution of pressure experienced by tissue around the ischial tuberosities, and (2) investigating the effectiveness of intermittent electrical stimulation (IES), a novel strategy for the prevention of DTI, in alleviating pressure in regions at risk of breakdown due to sustained loading. The experiments were conducted in adult pigs. Five animals had intact spinal cords and healthy muscles and one had a spinal cord injury that led to substantial muscle atrophy at the time of the experiment. A force-controlled servomotor was used to load the region of the buttocks to levels corresponding to 25%, 50% or 75% of each animal's body weight. A pressure transducer embedded in a catheter was advanced into the tissue to measure pressure along a three dimensional grid around the ischial tuberosity of one hind leg. For all levels of external loading in intact animals, average peak internal pressure was 2.01 ± 0.08 times larger than the maximal interfacial pressure measured at the level of the skin. In the animal with spinal cord injury, similar absolute values of internal pressure as that in intact animals were recorded, but the substantial muscle atrophy produced larger maximal interfacial pressures. Average peak internal pressure in this animal was 1.43 ± 0.055 times larger than the maximal interfacial pressure. Peak internal pressure was localized within a ±2 cm region medio-laterally and dorso-ventrally from the bone in intact animals and ±1 cm in the animal with spinal cord injury. IES significantly redistributed internal pressure, shifting the peak values away from the bone in spinally intact and injured animals. These findings provide critical information regarding the relationship between internal and

  19. Grain Entrapment Pressure on the Torso: Can You Breathe while Buried in Grain?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Kevin G; Jones, Carol L

    2017-04-26

    The pressure applied to the chest and back of a simulated grain entrapment victim was measured. Pressure sensors were attached to the chest and back of a manikin that was buried in grain in the vertical position. Measurements were made in four grain types at four grain depths ranging from the top of the manikin's shoulders to 0.61 m (24 in.) over the head. The pressure ranged from 1.6 to 4.0 kPa (0.23 to 0.57 psi). Based on available physiological information, this amount of pressure is unlikely to limit the respiration of an otherwise healthy adult male victim. However, other factors, such as the victim's age, gender, and body position in the grain, may influence respiration. The aspiration of grain appears to be the most likely asphyxiation risk during grain bin entrapment. Entering a grain storage bin is inherently dangerous, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines for permit-required confined spaces and grain handling facilities must be followed. Due to the risk of grain aspiration during engulfment, the development of safety equipment that could help protect the airway of a victim should be investigated. Copyright© by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

  20. Short term evaluation of respiratory effort by premature infants supported with bubble nasal continuous airway pressure using Seattle-PAP and a standard bubble device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welty, Stephen E.; Rusin, Craig G.; Stanberry, Larissa I.; Mandy, George T.; Gest, Alfred L.; Ford, Jeremy M.; Backes, Carl H.; Richardson, C. Peter; Howard, Christopher R.; Hansen, Thomas N.

    2018-01-01

    Background Almost one million prematurely born infants die annually from respiratory insufficiency, predominantly in countries with limited access to respiratory support for neonates. The primary hypothesis tested in the present study was that a modified device for bubble nasal continuous positive airway pressure (Bn-CPAP) would provide lower work of spontaneous breathing, estimated by esophageal pressure-rate products. Methods Infants born CPAP with FiO2 CPAP, then 2 h with Bn-CPAP using a modified bubble device presently termed Seattle-PAP, which produces a different pattern of pressure fluctuations and which provided greater respiratory support in preclinical studies, then 2 h on standard Bn-CPAP. Results All 40 infants enrolled completed the study and follow-up through 36 wks post menstrual age or hospital discharge, whichever came first. No infants were on supplemental oxygen at completion of follow-up. No infants developed pneumothoraces or nasal trauma, and no adverse events attributed to the study were observed. Pressure-rate products on the two devices were not different, but effort of breathing, assessed by areas under esophageal pressure-time curves, was lower with Seattle-PAP than with standard Bn-CPAP. Conclusion Use of Seattle-PAP to implement Bn-CPAP lowers the effort of breathing exerted even by relatively healthy spontaneously breathing premature neonates. Whether the lower effort of breathing observed with Seattle-PAP translates to improvements in neonatal mortality or morbidity will need to be determined by studies in appropriate patient populations. PMID:29590143

  1. The patient inflating valve in anaesthesia and resuscitation breathing systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenton, P M; Bell, G

    2013-03-01

    Patient inflating valves combined with self-inflating bags are known to all anaesthetists as resuscitation devices and are familiar as components of draw-over anaesthesia systems. Their variants are also commonplace in transfer and home ventilators. However, the many variations in structure and function have led to difficulties in their optimal use, definition and classification. After reviewing the relevant literature, we defined a patient inflating valve as a one-way valve that closes an exit port to enable lung inflation, also permitting exhalation and spontaneous breathing, the actions being automatic. We present a new classification based on the mechanism of valve opening/closure; namely elastic recoil of a flexible flap/diaphragm, sliding spindle opened by a spring/magnet or a hollow balloon collapsed by external pressure. The evolution of these valves has been driven by the difficulties documented in critical incidents, which we have used along with information from modern International Organization for Standardization standards to identify 13 ideal properties, the top six of which are non-jamming, automatic, no bypass effect, no rebreathing or air entry at patient end, low resistance, robust and easy to service. The Ambu and the Laerdal valves have remained popular due to their simplicity and reliability. Two new alternatives, the Fenton and Diamedica valves, offer the benefits of location away from the patient while retaining a small functional dead space. They also offer the potential for greater use of hybrid continuous flow/draw-over systems that can operate close to atmospheric pressure. The reliable application of positive end-expiratory pressure/continuous positive airway pressure remains a challenge.

  2. Imposed Work of Breathing and Breathing Comfort of Nonintubated Volunteers Breathing with Three Portable Ventilators and a Critical Care Ventilator

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Austin, Paul

    2001-01-01

    .... The purpose of this study was to assess the imposed inspiratory work of breathing and breathing comfort of nonintubated healthy volunteers breathing spontaneously through three portable ventilators...

  3. Effect Of Pressure Support Versus Unassisted Breathing Through A Tracheostomy Collar On Weaning Duration In Patients Requiring Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation: A Randomized Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jubran, Amal; Grant, Brydon J.B.; Duffner, Lisa A.; Collins, Eileen G.; Lanuza, Dorothy M.; Hoffman, Leslie A.; Tobin, Martin J.

    2013-01-01

    Context Patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (more than 21 days) are commonly weaned at long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs). The most effective method of weaning such patients has not been investigated. Objective To compare weaning duration with pressure support versus unassisted breathing through a tracheostomy (trach collar) in patients transferred to a LTACH for weaning from prolonged ventilation. Design, Settings, and Participants Between 2000 and 2010, a randomized study was conducted in tracheotomized patients transferred to a single LTACH for weaning from prolonged ventilation. Of 500 patients who underwent a five-day screening procedure, 316 failed and were randomly assigned to wean with pressure support (n=155) or a trach collar (n=161). Six- and twelve-month survival was also determined. Main outcome measure Primary outcome was weaning duration. Secondary outcome was survival at six and twelve months after enrollment. Results Of 316 patients, four were withdrawn and not included in analysis. Of 152 patients in the pressure-support arm, 68 (44.7%) were weaned; 22 (14.5%) died. Of 160 patients in the trach-collar arm, 85 (53.1%) were weaned; 16 (10.0%) died. Median weaning time was shorter with trach collar than with pressure support: 15 [interquartile range, 8–25] versus 19 [12–31] days, p=0.004. The hazard ratio (HR) for successful weaning rate was higher with trach collar than with pressure support (HR, 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.98, p<0.03) after adjusting for baseline clinical covariates. Trach collar achieved faster weaning than did pressure support among subjects who failed the screening procedure at 12–120 hours (HR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.44–7.70, p<0.01), whereas weaning time was equivalent with the two methods in patients who failed the screening procedure within 0–12 hours. Mortality was equivalent in the pressure-support and trach-collar arms at six months (55.9% versus 51.3%; 4.7 difference, 95% CI −6

  4. Effect of pressure support vs unassisted breathing through a tracheostomy collar on weaning duration in patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation: a randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jubran, Amal; Grant, Brydon J B; Duffner, Lisa A; Collins, Eileen G; Lanuza, Dorothy M; Hoffman, Leslie A; Tobin, Martin J

    2013-02-20

    Patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (>21 days) are commonly weaned at long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs). The most effective method of weaning such patients has not been investigated. To compare weaning duration with pressure support vs unassisted breathing through a tracheostomy collar in patients transferred to an LTACH for weaning from prolonged ventilation. Between 2000 and 2010, a randomized study was conducted in tracheotomized patients transferred to a single LTACH for weaning from prolonged ventilation. Of 500 patients who underwent a 5-day screening procedure, 316 did not tolerate the procedure and were randomly assigned to receive weaning with pressure support (n = 155) or a tracheostomy collar (n = 161). Survival at 6- and 12-month time points was also determined. Primary outcome was weaning duration. Secondary outcome was survival at 6 and 12 months after enrollment. Of 316 patients, 4 were withdrawn and not included in analysis. Of 152 patients in the pressure-support group, 68 (44.7%) were weaned; 22 (14.5%) died. Of 160 patients in the tracheostomy collar group, 85 (53.1%) were weaned; 16 (10.0%) died. Median weaning time was shorter with tracheostomy collar use (15 days; interquartile range [IQR], 8-25) than with pressure support (19 days; IQR, 12-31), P = .004. The hazard ratio (HR) for successful weaning rate was higher with tracheostomy collar use than with pressure support (HR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.03-1.98; P = .033) after adjusting for baseline clinical covariates. Use of the tracheostomy collar achieved faster weaning than did pressure support among patients who did not tolerate the screening procedure between 12 and 120 hours (HR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.44-7.70; P = .005), whereas weaning time was equivalent with the 2 methods in patients who did not tolerate the screening procedure within 0 to 12 hours. Mortality was equivalent in the pressure-support and tracheostomy collar groups at 6 months (55.92% vs 51.25%; 4.67% difference, 95

  5. Sympathoexcitation and arterial hypertension associated with obstructive sleep apnea and cyclic intermittent hypoxia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, J Woodrow; Tamisier, Renaud; Liu, Yuzhen

    2015-12-15

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction during sleep. These obstructive episodes are characterized by cyclic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), by sleep fragmentation, and by hemodynamic instability, and they result in sustained sympathoexcitation and elevated arterial pressure that persist during waking, after restoration of normoxia. Early studies established that 1) CIH, rather than sleep disruption, accounts for the increase in arterial pressure; 2) the increase in arterial pressure is a consequence of the sympathoactivation; and 3) arterial hypertension after CIH exposure requires an intact peripheral chemoreflex. More recently, however, evidence has accumulated that sympathoactivation and hypertension after CIH are also dependent on altered central sympathoregulation. Furthermore, although many molecular pathways are activated in both the carotid chemoreceptor and in the central nervous system by CIH exposure, two specific neuromodulators-endothelin-1 and angiotensin II-appear to play crucial roles in mediating the sympathetic and hemodynamic response to intermittent hypoxia. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  6. SU-D-BRE-01: A Realistic Breathing Phantom of the Thorax for Testing New Motion Mitigation Techniques with Scanning Proton Therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perrin, R; Peroni, M; Bernatowicz, K; Zakova, M; Knopf, A; Safai, S [Paul Scherrer Institut, Psi-villigen, Aargau (Switzerland); Parkel, T [CSEM, Swiss Centre of Electronics and Microtechnology, Landquart, Graubunden (Switzerland)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: A prototype breathing phantom (named LuCa) has been developed which simulates the anatomy and motion of a patient thorax.In this work, we describe the results of the first commissioning tests with LuCa. Methods: The phantom provides a close representation of the human thorax. The lungs,contained within a tissue-equivalent ribcage and skin,are made from a polymer foam,which is inflated and deflated using a custommade ventilator. A tumor is simulated using a wooden ball with cutplanes for placing GafChromic films. The ventilator,controlled with Labview software,simulates a full range of breathing motion types.Commissioning tests were performed to assess its performance using imaging (CT and radiographic) and film dosimetry as follows:i)maximum Tumor excursion at acceptable pressure ranges, ii)tumor Motion repeatability between breathing periods,iii)reproducibility between measurement days,iv)tumor-to-surface motion correlation and v)reproducibility of film positioning in phantom. Results: The phantom can generate repeatable motion patterns with sin{sup 4},sin,breath-hold (tumor amplitude repeatability <0.5mm over 10min),aswell as patient-specific motion types. Maximum excursions of the tumor are 20mm and 14mm for the large and small tumor inserts respectively. Amplitude reproducibility (Coefficient of Variation) averaged at 16% for the workable pressure range over 2 months. Good correlation between tumor and surface motion was found with R{sup 2}=0.92. Reproducibility of film positioning within the thorax was within 0.9mm, and maximum 3° error from the coronal plane. Film measurements revealed that the film repositioning error yields relative errors in the mean dose over the planned target volume (PTV) of up to 2.5% and 4.5% for films at the center and on the edge of the PTV respectively. Conclusion: Commissioning tests have shown that the LuCa phantom can produce tumor motion with excellent repeatability. However,a poorer performance in reproducibility of

  7. Development and fabrication of heat-sterilizable inhalation therapy equipment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irons, A. S.

    1974-01-01

    The development of a completely heat sterilizable intermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB) ventilator in an effort to reduce the number of hospital acquired infections is reported. After appropriate changes in materials and design were made, six prototype units were fabricated and were successfully field tested in local hospitals. Most components of the modified ventilators are compatible with existing machines. In all but a few instances, such as installation of bacteria-retentive filters and a modified venturi, the change over from non-heat-sterilizable to sterilizable units was accomplished by replacement of heat labile materials with heat stable materials.

  8. Modified Qigong Breathing Exercise for Reducing the Sense of Hunger on an Empty Stomach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voroshilov, Alexander P.; Wang, Zhixin; Marchenko, Elena V.

    2017-01-01

    Background. The aims of this study were to determine whether a modified Qigong breathing exercise can reduce the sense of hunger and identify possible mechanisms. Methods. The results from the test group, which performed the exercise, are compared with the control group, which performed deep breathing. Intestinal pressure measurements, stomach pH monitoring, and participant surveys were used for assessment. Results. Stomach pH was increased by 3 (0.2) and intestinal pressure was reduced by 12 (0.5) mm Hg in the experimental group and did not change significantly in the control group. The study provides strong evidence that the exercise can significantly reduce, or even suppress the sense of hunger on an empty stomach. Conclusion. This breathing exercise provides comfort in different circumstances, such as lack of regular meals, limited volume or caloric diet, and even during temporary complete absence of food in therapeutic fasting. PMID:28497701

  9. Effectiveness of perfluorochemical emulsions and carbogen breathing with fractionated irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moulder, J.E.; Fish, B.L.

    1987-01-01

    Oxygen-carrying perfluorochemical emulsions have been shown to enhance the response of experimental tumors to large single doses of radiation. Clinically, however, perfluorochemical emulsions will be used with only some fractions of multiple fraction radiation courses. To test the efficacy of a perfluorochemical emulsion (Fluosol-DA 20%, supplied by Alpha Therapeutic Co) under these conditions, BA1112 rat sarcomas were treated with three fractions/week of 6.25 Gy/fraction. Once a week, animals were given Fluosol-DA at 15 ml/kg, and allowed to breathe 95% O/sub 2/:5% CO/sub 2/ (carbogen) for 30 min prior to and during irradiation. The tumor regression rate during treatment was significantly greater in the Fluosol arm than in the control arm. Preliminary data analysis shows a 50% tumor control dose of 86.0 Gy (95% cl:78.0 - 94.3 Gy) in the control arm compared to 69.1 Gy (95% cl:58.3 - 77.3 Gy) in the Fluosol arm. The dose modification factor for intermittent Fluosol and carbogen breathing is 1.26 (95% cl:1.08 - 1.50). In the same fractionated schedule 0.4 mg/kg misonidazole, given once per week, gave a sensitizer enhancement ratio of 1.15 (95% cl:1.03 - 1.33)

  10. Intermittent versus continuous exercise training in chronic heart failure: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smart, Neil A; Dieberg, Gudrun; Giallauria, Francesco

    2013-06-20

    We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials of combined strength and intermittent aerobic training, intermittent aerobic training only and continuous exercise training in heart failure patients. A systematic search was conducted of Medline (Ovid) (1950-September 2011), Embase.com (1974-September 2011), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and CINAHL (1981-September 19 2011). The search strategy included a mix of MeSH and free text terms for the key concepts heart failure, exercise training, interval training and intermittent exercise training. The included studies contained an aggregate of 446 patients, 212 completed intermittent exercise training, 66 only continuous exercise training, 59 completed combined intermittent and strength training and 109 sedentary controls. Weighted mean difference (MD) in Peak VO2 was 1.04mlkg(-1)min(-1) and (95% C.I.) was 0.42-1.66 (p=0.0009) in intermittent versus continuous exercise training respectively. Weighted mean difference in Peak VO2 was -1.10mlkg(-1)min(-1) (95% C.I.) was -1.83-0.37 p=0.003 for intermittent only versus intermittent and strength (combined) training respectively. In studies reporting VE/VCO2 for intermittent versus control groups, MD was -1.50 [(95% C.I. -2.64, -0.37), p=0.01] and for intermittent versus continuous exercise training MD was -1.35 [(95% C.I. -2.15, -0.55), p=0.001]. Change in peak VO2 was positively correlated with weekly exercise energy expenditure for intermittent exercise groups (r=0.48, p=0.05). Combined strength and intermittent exercise appears superior for peak VO2 changes when compared to intermittent exercise of similar exercise energy expenditure. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. How reliable are the sup 14 C-urea breath test and specific serology for the detection of gastric campylobacter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Husebye, E; O' Leary, D; Skar, V; Melby, K [Ullevaal Sykehus, Oslo (Norway)

    1990-01-01

    Detection of gastric campylobacter by the {sup 14}C-urea breath test and serology were correlated to biopsy culture in 25 unselected outpatients referred for gastroscopy. All the 17 culture-positive patients had positive {sup 14}C-urea breath test, and 16 had positive serology. Of eight culture-negative patients, six patients had negative breath test and seven negative serology. A high degree of reproducibility was found when two subsequent breath tests were performed in 11 healthy volunteers. The breath test values obtained at 10 min showed a strong correlation to the accumulated values within 30 min. Breath sampling once, 10 min after intake of 2.5 {mu}Ci {sup 14}C-urea, seems sufficient for the detection of gastric campylobacter. The {sup 14}C-urea breath test correlates well with biopsy culture and provides a sensitive tool for the detection of gastric campylobacter. Serology also corresponds well with biopsy culture and should provide a useful tool for epidemiologic studies. 22 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

  12. Effects of recruitment maneuver and positive end-expiratory pressure on respiratory mechanics and transpulmonary pressure during laparoscopic surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cinnella, Gilda; Grasso, Salvatore; Spadaro, Savino; Rauseo, Michela; Mirabella, Lucia; Salatto, Potito; De Capraris, Antonella; Nappi, Luigi; Greco, Pantaleo; Dambrosio, Michele

    2013-01-01

    The authors tested the hypothesis that during laparoscopic surgery, Trendelenburg position and pneumoperitoneum may worsen chest wall elastance, concomitantly decreasing transpulmonary pressure, and that a protective ventilator strategy applied after pneumoperitoneum induction, by increasing transpulmonary pressure, would result in alveolar recruitment and improvement in respiratory mechanics and gas exchange. In 29 consecutive patients, a recruiting maneuver followed by positive end-expiratory pressure 5 cm H(2)O maintained until the end of surgery was applied after pneumoperitoneum induction. Respiratory mechanics, gas exchange, blood pressure, and cardiac index were measured before (T(BSL)) and after pneumoperitoneum with zero positive end-expiratory pressure (T(preOLS)), after recruitment with positive end-expiratory pressure (T(postOLS)), and after peritoneum desufflation with positive end-expiratory pressure (T(end)). Esophageal pressure was used for partitioning respiratory mechanics between lung and chest wall (data are mean ± SD): on T(preOLS), chest wall elastance (E(cw)) and elastance of the lung (E(L)) increased (8.2 ± 0.9 vs. 6.2 ± 1.2 cm H(2)O/L, respectively, on T(BSL); P = 0.00016; and 11.69 ± 1.68 vs. 9.61 ± 1.52 cm H(2)O/L on T(BSL); P = 0.0007). On T(postOLS), both chest wall elastance and E(L) decreased (5.2 ± 1.2 and 8.62 ± 1.03 cm H(2)O/L, respectively; P = 0.00015 vs. T(preOLS)), and Pao(2)/inspiratory oxygen fraction improved (491 ± 107 vs. 425 ± 97 on T(preOLS); P = 0.008) remaining stable thereafter. Recruited volume (the difference in lung volume for the same static airway pressure) was 194 ± 80 ml. Pplat(RS) remained stable while inspiratory transpulmonary pressure increased (11.65 + 1.37 cm H(2)O vs. 9.21 + 2.03 on T(preOLS); P = 0.007). All respiratory mechanics parameters remained stable after abdominal desufflation. Hemodynamic parameters remained stable throughout the study. In patients submitted to laparoscopic surgery in

  13. Intermittent hypoxia in childhood: the harmful consequences versus potential benefits of therapeutic uses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serebrovskaya, Tatiana V; Xi, Lei

    2015-01-01

    Intermittent hypoxia (IH) often occurs in early infancy in both preterm and term infants and especially at 36-44 weeks postmenstrual age. These episodes of IH could result from sleep-disordered breathing or may be temporally unrelated to apnea or bradycardia events. There are numerous reports indicating adverse effects of IH on development, behavior, academic achievement, and cognition in children with sleep apnea syndrome. It remains uncertain about the exact causative relationship between the neurocognitive and behavioral morbidities and IH and/or its associated sleep fragmentation. On the other hand, well-controlled and moderate IH conditioning/training has been used in sick children for treating their various forms of bronchial asthma, allergic dermatoses, autoimmune thyroiditis, cerebral palsy, and obesity. This review article provides an updated and impartial analysis on the currently available evidence in supporting either side of the seemingly contradictory scenarios. We wish to stimulate a comprehensive understanding of such a complex physiological phenomenon as intermittent hypoxia, which may be accompanied by other confounding factors (e.g., hypercapnia, polycythemia), in order to prevent or reduce its harmful consequences, while maximizing its potential utility as an effective therapeutic tool in pediatric patients.

  14. Body indices and basic vital signs in Helicobacter pylori positive and negative persons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopacova, Marcela; Bures, Jan; Koupil, Ilona; Rejchrt, Stanislav; Vorisek, Viktor; Seifert, Bohumil; Pozler, Oldrich; Zivny, Pavel; Douda, Tomas; Palicka, Vladimir; Holcik, Jan

    2007-01-01

    It has been hypothesized that Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection may contribute to reduced stature, risk of hypertension or obesity. The aim was to evaluate body indices in Hp positive and negative persons. A total of 2436 subjects (4-100 years old) were tested for Hp status by 13 C-urea breath test. Data on height and weight were collected for 84%, and blood pressure for 80% of the study subjects. The prevalence of Hp infection was 41.6%. The odds ratio for a 10-year increase in age was 1.21 (95% CI 1.17-1.25, p-value <0.001). Statistically significant negative association of Hp positivity with body height was most pronounced in the younger age groups, while a positive association of Hp positivity with body mass index was only seen in those aged 15+ years. There was a negative effect of Hp positivity on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in subjects below 25 and a relatively strong positive effect on blood pressure in subjects over 65 years. Residual confounding by social characteristics as a possible explanation for the associations of Hp positivity with height and blood pressure cannot be excluded. Unmeasured factors related to social and family environment may cause the apparent association between Hp positivity and children's growth and blood pressure

  15. A cross-sectional study of breath acetone based on diabetic metabolic disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenwen; Liu, Yong; Lu, Xiaoyong; Huang, Yanping; Liu, Yu; Cheng, Shouquan; Duan, Yixiang

    2015-02-26

    Breath acetone is a known biomarker for diabetes mellitus in breath analysis. In this work, a cross-sectional study of breath acetone based on clinical metabolic disorders of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was carried out. Breath acetone concentrations of 113 T2DM patients and 56 apparently healthy individuals were measured at a single time point. Concentrations varied from 0.22 to 9.41 ppmv (mean 1.75 ppmv) for T2DM, which were significantly higher than those for normal controls (ranged from 0.32 to 1.96 ppmv, mean 0.72 ppmv, p = 0.008). Observations in our work revealed that breath acetone concentrations elevated to different degrees, along with the abnormality of blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride and cholesterol. Breath acetone showed obviously positive correlations with blood ketone and urine ketone. Possible metabolic relations between breath acetone and diabetic disorders were also discussed. This work aimed at giving an overall assessment of breath acetone from the perspective of clinical parameters for type 2 diabetes.

  16. Does the Position or Contact Pressure of the Stethoscope Make Any Difference to Clinical Blood Pressure Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Fan; Zheng, Dingchang; He, Peiyu; Murray, Alan

    2014-01-01

    Abstract This study aimed to investigate the effect of stethoscope position and contact pressure on auscultatory blood pressure (BP) measurement. Thirty healthy subjects were studied. Two identical stethoscopes (one under the cuff, the other outside the cuff) were used to simultaneously and digitally record 2 channels of Korotkoff sounds during linear cuff pressure deflation. For each subject, 3 measurements with different contact pressures (0, 50, and 100 mm Hg) on the stethoscope outside the cuff were each recorded at 3 repeat sessions. The Korotkoff sounds were replayed twice on separate days to each of 2 experienced listeners to determine systolic and diastolic BPs (SBP and DBP). Variance analysis was performed to study the measurement repeatability and the effect of stethoscope position and contact pressure on BPs. There was no significant BP difference between the 3 repeat sessions, between the 2 determinations from each listener, between the 2 listeners and between the 3 stethoscope contact pressures (all P > 0.06). There was no significant SBP difference between the 2 stethoscope positions at the 2 lower stethoscope pressures (P = 0.23 and 0.45), but there was a small (0.4 mm Hg, clinically unimportant) significant difference (P = 0.005) at the highest stethoscope pressure. The key result was that, DBP from the stethoscope under the cuff was significantly lower than that from outside the cuff by 2.8 mm Hg (P stethoscope outside the cuff, tends to give a higher DBP than the true intra-arterial pressure, this study could suggest that the stethoscope position under the cuff, and closer to the arterial occlusion, might yield measurements closer to the actual invasive DBP. PMID:25546675

  17. Positive muon diffusion in iron and nickel pressure dependence

    CERN Document Server

    Butz, T; Dufresne, J F; Hartmann, O; Karlsson, E; Lindgren, B; Longobardi, R; Norlin, L O; Pezzetti, J P; Yaouanc, A

    1980-01-01

    The hyperfine field B/sub hf/ at positive muon ( mu /sup +/) in iron and nickel was previously found. Exhibits marked deviations from the bulk magnetization as a function of temperature. For substitutional impurities in Fe and Ni matrices the volume dependence of B/sub hf/ has been considered as a possible reason for such deviations. Therefore the authors have measured at CERN the local magnetic field at mu /sup +/, B/sub mu /, in high purity polycrystalline Fe and Ni samples at room temperature and at pressures up to 7 kbar by the positive muon spin rotation ( mu /sup +/ SR) technique. To their knowledge, this is the first mu /sup +/SR experiment performed under hydrostatic pressure. The authors observe a linear pressure dependence for both samples but slopes are of opposite signs. (12 refs).

  18. Branching of positive discharge streamers in air at varying pressures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Briels, T.M.P.; Veldhuizen, van E.M.; Ebert, U.M.

    2005-01-01

    The formation of positive streamers in a 17-mm gap in air is studied at pressures varying in the range from 1010 to 100 mbar. An intensified charge coupled device camera is used to image the discharge. At high pressures, the discharge shows many branches, while at low pressure, fewer branches arise.

  19. Increased airway reactivity in a neonatal mouse model of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, Catherine A.; Martin, Richard J.; MacFarlane, Peter M.

    2015-01-01

    Background Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a primary form of respiratory support used in the intensive care of preterm infants, but its long-term effects on airway (AW) function are unknown. Methods We developed a neonatal mouse model of CPAP treatment to determine whether it modifies later AW reactivity. Un-anesthetized spontaneously breathing mice were fitted with a mask to deliver CPAP (6cmH2O, 3hrs/day) for 7 consecutive days starting at postnatal day 1. Airway reactivity to methacholine was assessed using the in vitro living lung slice preparation. Results One week of CPAP increased AW responsiveness to methacholine in male, but not female mice, compared to untreated control animals. The AW hyper-reactivity of male mice persisted for 2 weeks (at P21) after CPAP treatment ended. 4 days of CPAP, however, did not significantly increase AW reactivity. Females also exhibited AW hyper-reactivity at P21, suggesting a delayed response to early (7 days) CPAP treatment. The effects of 7 days of CPAP on hyper-reactivity to methacholine were unique to smaller AWs whereas larger ones were relatively unaffected. Conclusion These data may be important to our understanding of the potential long-term consequences of neonatal CPAP therapy used in the intensive care of preterm infants. PMID:25950451

  20. Prevalence of abnormal lactose breath hydrogen tests in children with functional abdominal pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garg, Neha; Basu, Srikanta; Singh, Preeti; Kumar, Ruchika; Sharma, Lokesh; Kumar, Praveen

    2017-05-01

    The study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of abnormal lactose breath hydrogen test in children with non-organic chronic abdominal pain. Children with chronic abdominal pain were examined and investigated for organic causes. All children without a known organic cause underwent lactose and glucose breath hydrogen test. After a standard dose of 2 g/kg of lactose to a maximum of 50 g, hydrogen in breath was measured at 15 min intervals for 3 h. A rise of 20 ppm above baseline was considered suggestive of lactose malabsorption. Of 108 children screened, organic causes were found in 46 children. Sixty-two patients without any organic cause underwent hydrogen breath test. Lactose hydrogen breath test (HBT) was positive in 36 of 62 (58%), while 11 (17%) had positive HBT with glucose suggestive of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Twenty out of 34 (59%) improved on lactose free diet while 8 out of 11 (72%) children of SIBO improved on antibiotics. Lactose malabsorption was seen in 58% of children with non-organic chronic abdominal pain.

  1. Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Heart Failure - A Therapeutic Dilemma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haruki, Nobuhiko; Floras, John S

    2017-06-23

    Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) occurs in approximately 50% of patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction receiving contemporary heart failure (HF) therapies. Obstructive (OSA) and central sleep apneas (CSA) interrupt breathing by different mechanisms but impose qualitatively similar autonomic, chemical, mechanical, and inflammatory burdens on the heart and circulation. Because contemporary evidence-based drug and device HF therapies have little or no mitigating effect on the acute or long-term consequences of such stimuli, there is a sound mechanistic rationale for targeting SDB to reduce cardiovascular event rates and prolong life. However, the promise of observational studies and randomized trials of small size and duration describing a beneficial effect of treating SDB in HF via positive airway pressure was not realized in 2 recent randomized outcome-driven trials: SAVE, which evaluated the cardiovascular effect of treating OSA in a cohort without HF, and SERVE-HF, which reported the results of a strategy of random allocation of minute-ventilation-triggered adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) for HF patients with CSA. Whether effective treatment of either OSA or CSA improves the HF trajectory by reducing cardiovascular morbidity or mortality has yet to be definitively established. ADVENT-HF, designed to determine the effect of treating both CSA and non-sleepy OSA HF patients with a peak-airflow triggered ASV algorithm, could resolve this present clinical equipoise concerning the treatment of SDB.

  2. The vascular basis of the positional influence of the intraocular pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krieglstein, G K; Waller, W K; Leydhecker, W

    1978-05-02

    By measuring intraocular pressure in different body positions from 60 degrees semiupright to 30 degrees head down, a nonlinear relationship between IOP increase and body position was confirmed. IOP postural response in individual subjects was roughly correlated to ophthalmic arterial pressure and to the episcleral venous pressure postural response. In one series of subjects, the episcleral venous pressure increments due to posture wa; parallel to the applanation-indentation disparity in the same individual eyes. Differential tonometry with applanation or indentation procedures under blind conditions gave significantly low indentation readings. It is concluded that IOP postural response depends on arterial and venous vascular changes when subjects move from an erect to a horizontal body position. Blood expulsion from the choroid by indentation tonometry might be the reason that this tonometric procedure does not measure IOP changes based on vascular changes.

  3. Jugular venous pooling during lowering of the head affects blood pressure of the anesthetized giraffe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brøndum, E.; Hasenkam, John Michael; Secher, Niels H.

    2009-01-01

    How blood flow and pressure to the giraffe's brain are regulated when drinking remains debated. We measured simultaneous blood flow, pressure, and cross-sectional area in the carotid artery and jugular vein of five anesthetized and spontaneously breathing giraffes. The giraffes were suspended...... veins collapsed and blood was returned to the central circulation, and CVP and cardiac output were restored. The results demonstrate that in the upright-positioned, anesthetized giraffe cerebral blood flow is governed by arterial pressure without support of a siphon mechanism and that when the head...... in the upright position so that we could lower the head. In the upright position, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was 193 +/- 11 mmHg (mean +/- SE), carotid flow was 0.7 +/- 0.2 l/min, and carotid cross-sectional area was 0.85 +/- 0.04 cm(2). Central venous pressure (CVP) was 4 +/- 2 mmHg, jugular flow was 0...

  4. Variability in blood flow and pO2 in tumors in response to carbogen breathing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lanzen, Jennifer L.; Braun, Rod D.; Ong, Aqui L.; Dewhirst, Mark W.

    1998-01-01

    Purpose: There is speculation that the CO 2 in carbogen (95% O 2 , 5% CO 2 ) can block the vasoconstrictive effects of oxygen. However, it has recently been shown that blood flow in human tumors is variable while patients breathe carbogen. Furthermore, we have shown a consistent decrease in tumor blood flow (TBF) with carbogen breathing in the rat window chamber model. Also, we have previously shown that there is no significant difference in tumor growth time after radiation with air vs. carbogen breathing. This study was designed to investigate the effects of carbogen breathing on blood flow and oxygen levels in a solid tumor. Methods: Measurements were made in Fischer-344 rats with 8-10 mm diameter R3230Ac tumors transplanted either within the quadriceps muscle (n = 16) or subcutis (n = 14). Nontumor-bearing quadriceps muscle was studied in six other rats. After a 20-minute air-breathing baseline, rats breathed carbogen for an additional 40 minutes. Partial pressure of oxygen (pO 2 ) was continuously monitored at one position for 60 minutes using 9-12 μm diameter oxygen microelectrodes. Blood flow was simultaneously monitored in all animals using laser Doppler flowmetry (1-2 probes/tumor). Results: Blood flow changes during carbogen breathing were variable in all tissues and intratumoral heterogeneity was observed. Despite variability in blood flow, pO 2 consistently increased in normal muscle but varied in both tumor sites. During carbogen breathing, the percent pO 2 measurements greater than the baseline average were 99.5% ± 0.4% (mean ± SEM), 42.7% ± 13.8%, and 79.8% ± 11.0% in normal muscle, subcutaneous tumor, and muscle tumor, respectively. To show the magnitude of change, average pO 2 values during air and carbogen breathing were calculated for each site. Normal muscle increased from 14.9 ± 2.3 to 39.0 ± 6.4 mm Hg (paired t-test; p = 0.009). Muscle tumors showed a rise from 14.6 ± 3.2 to 34.5 ± 8.2 mm Hg (p = 0.019). However, pO 2 in subcutaneous

  5. Usefulness of Guided Breathing for Dose Rate-Regulated Tracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han-Oh, Sarah; Yi, Byong Yong; Berman, Barry L.; Lerma, Fritz; Yu, Cedric

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of guided breathing for dose rate-regulated tracking (DRRT), a new technique to compensate for intrafraction tumor motion. Methods and Materials: DRRT uses a preprogrammed multileaf collimator sequence that tracks the tumor motion derived from four-dimensional computed tomography and the corresponding breathing signals measured before treatment. Because the multileaf collimator speed can be controlled by adjusting the dose rate, the multileaf collimator positions are adjusted in real time during treatment by dose rate regulation, thereby maintaining synchrony with the tumor motion. DRRT treatment was simulated with free, audio-guided, and audiovisual-guided breathing signals acquired from 23 lung cancer patients. The tracking error and duty cycle for each patient were determined as a function of the system time delay (range, 0-1.0 s). Results: The tracking error and duty cycle averaged for all 23 patients was 1.9 ± 0.8 mm and 92% ± 5%, 1.9 ± 1.0 mm and 93% ± 6%, and 1.8 ± 0.7 mm and 92% ± 6% for the free, audio-guided, and audiovisual-guided breathing, respectively, for a time delay of 0.35 s. The small differences in both the tracking error and the duty cycle with guided breathing were not statistically significant. Conclusion: DRRT by its nature adapts well to variations in breathing frequency, which is also the motivation for guided-breathing techniques. Because of this redundancy, guided breathing does not result in significant improvements for either the tracking error or the duty cycle when DRRT is used for real-time tumor tracking

  6. Effects of positive end-expiratory pressure on renal function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Järnberg, P O; de Villota, E D; Eklund, J; Granberg, P O

    1978-01-01

    The effects were studied positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on renal function in eight patients with acute respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation. On application of PEEP + 10 cm H2O, central venous pressure increased, systolic blood pressure decreased, urine flow and PAH-clearance were reduced, while inulin clearance remained stable. There was a marked increase in fractional sodium reabsorption and a concurrent decrease in fractional osmolal excretion. Fractional free-water clearance and the ratio UOsm/POsm did change.

  7. Comparison of Ambient and Atmospheric Pressure Ion Sources for Cystic Fibrosis Exhaled Breath Condensate Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Metabolomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, Xiaoling; Pérez, José J.; Jones, Christina M.; Monge, María Eugenia; McCarty, Nael A.; Stecenko, Arlene A.; Fernández, Facundo M.

    2017-08-01

    Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the gene that encodes the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. The vast majority of the mortality is due to progressive lung disease. Targeted and untargeted CF breath metabolomics investigations via exhaled breath condensate (EBC) analyses have the potential to expose metabolic alterations associated with CF pathology and aid in assessing the effectiveness of CF therapies. Here, transmission-mode direct analysis in real time traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TM-DART-TWIMS-TOF MS) was tested as a high-throughput alternative to conventional direct infusion (DI) electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) methods, and a critical comparison of the three ionization methods was conducted. EBC was chosen as the noninvasive surrogate for airway sampling over expectorated sputum as EBC can be collected in all CF subjects regardless of age and lung disease severity. When using pooled EBC collected from a healthy control, ESI detected the most metabolites, APCI a log order less, and TM-DART the least. TM-DART-TWIMS-TOF MS was used to profile metabolites in EBC samples from five healthy controls and four CF patients, finding that a panel of three discriminant EBC metabolites, some of which had been previously detected by other methods, differentiated these two classes with excellent cross-validated accuracy.

  8. Continuous positive airway pressure: Physiology and comparison of devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Samir; Donn, Steven M

    2016-06-01

    Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is increasingly used for respiratory support in preterm babies at birth and after extubation from mechanical ventilation. Various CPAP devices are available for use that can be broadly grouped into continuous flow and variable flow. There are potential physiologic differences between these CPAP systems and the choice of a CPAP device is too often guided by individual expertise and experience rather than by evidence. When interpreting the evidence clinicians should take into account the pressure generation sources, nasal interface, and the factors affecting the delivery of pressure, such as mouth position and respiratory drive. With increasing use of these devices, better monitoring techniques are required to assess the efficacy and early recognition of babies who are failing and in need of escalated support. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for Motion Management in Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy to the Lung: A Controlled Pilot Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goldstein, Jeffrey D. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv (Israel); Lawrence, Yaacov R. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv (Israel); Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel); Appel, Sarit; Landau, Efrat; Ben-David, Merav A.; Rabin, Tatiana; Benayun, Maoz; Dubinski, Sergey; Weizman, Noam; Alezra, Dror; Gnessin, Hila; Goldstein, Adam M.; Baidun, Khader [Department of Radiation Oncology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv (Israel); Segel, Michael J.; Peled, Nir [Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv (Israel); Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel); Symon, Zvi, E-mail: symonz@sheba.health.gov.il [Department of Radiation Oncology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv (Israel); Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel)

    2015-10-01

    Objective: To determine the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on tumor motion, lung volume, and dose to critical organs in patients receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for lung tumors. Methods and Materials: After institutional review board approval in December 2013, patients with primary or secondary lung tumors referred for SBRT underwent 4-dimensional computed tomographic simulation twice: with free breathing and with CPAP. Tumor excursion was calculated by subtracting the vector of the greatest dimension of the gross tumor volume (GTV) from the internal target volume (ITV). Volumetric and dosimetric determinations were compared with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. CPAP was used during treatment if judged beneficial. Results: CPAP was tolerated well in 10 of the 11 patients enrolled. Ten patients with 18 lesions were evaluated. The use of CPAP decreased tumor excursion by 0.5 ± 0.8 cm, 0.4 ± 0.7 cm, and 0.6 ± 0.8 cm in the superior–inferior, right–left, and anterior–posterior planes, respectively (P≤.02). Relative to free breathing, the mean ITV reduction was 27% (95% confidence interval [CI] 16%-39%, P<.001). CPAP significantly augmented lung volume, with a mean absolute increase of 915 ± 432 cm{sup 3} and a relative increase of 32% (95% CI 21%-42%, P=.003), contributing to a 22% relative reduction (95% CI 13%-32%, P=.001) in mean lung dose. The use of CPAP was also associated with a relative reduction in mean heart dose by 29% (95% CI 23%-36%, P=.001). Conclusion: In this pilot study, CPAP significantly reduced lung tumor motion compared with free breathing. The smaller ITV, the planning target volume (PTV), and the increase in total lung volume associated with CPAP contributed to a reduction in lung and heart dose. CPAP was well tolerated, reproducible, and simple to implement in the treatment room and should be evaluated further as a novel strategy for motion management in radiation therapy.

  10. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for Motion Management in Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy to the Lung: A Controlled Pilot Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldstein, Jeffrey D.; Lawrence, Yaacov R.; Appel, Sarit; Landau, Efrat; Ben-David, Merav A.; Rabin, Tatiana; Benayun, Maoz; Dubinski, Sergey; Weizman, Noam; Alezra, Dror; Gnessin, Hila; Goldstein, Adam M.; Baidun, Khader; Segel, Michael J.; Peled, Nir; Symon, Zvi

    2015-01-01

    Objective: To determine the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on tumor motion, lung volume, and dose to critical organs in patients receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for lung tumors. Methods and Materials: After institutional review board approval in December 2013, patients with primary or secondary lung tumors referred for SBRT underwent 4-dimensional computed tomographic simulation twice: with free breathing and with CPAP. Tumor excursion was calculated by subtracting the vector of the greatest dimension of the gross tumor volume (GTV) from the internal target volume (ITV). Volumetric and dosimetric determinations were compared with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. CPAP was used during treatment if judged beneficial. Results: CPAP was tolerated well in 10 of the 11 patients enrolled. Ten patients with 18 lesions were evaluated. The use of CPAP decreased tumor excursion by 0.5 ± 0.8 cm, 0.4 ± 0.7 cm, and 0.6 ± 0.8 cm in the superior–inferior, right–left, and anterior–posterior planes, respectively (P≤.02). Relative to free breathing, the mean ITV reduction was 27% (95% confidence interval [CI] 16%-39%, P<.001). CPAP significantly augmented lung volume, with a mean absolute increase of 915 ± 432 cm 3 and a relative increase of 32% (95% CI 21%-42%, P=.003), contributing to a 22% relative reduction (95% CI 13%-32%, P=.001) in mean lung dose. The use of CPAP was also associated with a relative reduction in mean heart dose by 29% (95% CI 23%-36%, P=.001). Conclusion: In this pilot study, CPAP significantly reduced lung tumor motion compared with free breathing. The smaller ITV, the planning target volume (PTV), and the increase in total lung volume associated with CPAP contributed to a reduction in lung and heart dose. CPAP was well tolerated, reproducible, and simple to implement in the treatment room and should be evaluated further as a novel strategy for motion management in radiation therapy

  11. A comparison of ventilatory prostate movement in four treatment positions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawson, Laura A.; Litzenberg, Dale W.; Brock, Kristy K.; Sanda, Martin; Sullivan, Molly; Sandler, Howard M.; Balter, James M.

    2000-01-01

    Purpose: To ensure target coverage during radiotherapy, all sources of geometric uncertainty in target position must be considered. Movement of the prostate due to breathing has not traditionally been considered in prostate radiotherapy. The purpose of this study is to report the influence of patient orientation and immobilization on prostate movement due to breathing. Methods and Materials: Four patients had radiopaque markers implanted in the prostate. Fluoroscopy was performed in four different positions: prone in alpha cradle, prone with an aquaplast mold, supine on a flat table, and supine with a false table under the buttocks. Fluoroscopic movies were videotaped and digitized. Frames were analyzed using 2D-alignment software to determine the extent of movement of the prostate markers and the skeleton for each position during normal and deep breathing. Results: During normal breathing, maximal movement of the prostate markers was seen in the prone position (cranial-caudal [CC] range: 0.9-5.1 mm; anterior-posterior [AP] range: up to 3.5 mm). In the supine position, prostate movement during normal breathing was less than 1 mm in all directions. Deep breathing resulted in CC movements of 3.8-10.5 mm in the prone position (with and without an aquaplast mold). This range was reduced to 2.0-7.3 mm in the supine position and 0.5-2.1 mm with the use of the false table top. Deep breathing resulted in AP skeletal movements of 2.7-13.1 mm in the prone position, whereas AP skeletal movements in the supine position were negligible. Conclusion: Ventilatory movement of the prostate is substantial in the prone position and is reduced in the supine position. The potential for breathing to influence prostate movement, and thus the dose delivered to the prostate and normal tissues, should be considered when positioning and planning patients for conformal irradiation

  12. Intermittent Explosive Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lut Tamam

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Intermittent explosive disorder is an impulse control disorder characterized by the occurrence of discrete episodes of failure to resist aggressive impulses that result in violent assault or destruction of property. Though the prevalence intermittent explosive disorder has been reported to be relatively rare in frontier studies on the field, it is now common opinion that intermittent explosive disorder is far more common than previously thought especially in clinical psychiatry settings. Etiological studies displayed the role of both psychosocial factors like childhood traumas and biological factors like dysfunctional neurotransmitter systems and genetics. In differential diagnosis of the disorder, disorders involving agression as a symptom such as alcohol and drug intoxication, antisocial and borderline personality disorders, personality changes due to general medical conditions and behavioral disorder should be considered. A combination of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches are suggested in the treatment of the disorder. This article briefly reviews the historical background, diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, etiology and treatment of intermittent explosive disorder.

  13. Respiratory System Mechanics During Low Versus High Positive End-Expiratory Pressure in Open Abdominal Surgery: A Substudy of PROVHILO Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Antini, Davide; Huhle, Robert; Herrmann, Jacob; Sulemanji, Demet S; Oto, Jun; Raimondo, Pasquale; Mirabella, Lucia; Hemmes, Sabrine N T; Schultz, Marcus J; Pelosi, Paolo; Kaczka, David W; Vidal Melo, Marcos Francisco; Gama de Abreu, Marcelo; Cinnella, Gilda

    2018-01-01

    In the 2014 PROtective Ventilation using HIgh versus LOw positive end-expiratory pressure (PROVHILO) trial, intraoperative low tidal volume ventilation with high positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP = 12 cm H2O) and lung recruitment maneuvers did not decrease postoperative pulmonary complications when compared to low PEEP (0-2 cm H2O) approach without recruitment breaths. However, effects of intraoperative PEEP on lung compliance remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that higher PEEP leads to a dominance of intratidal overdistension, whereas lower PEEP results in intratidal recruitment/derecruitment (R/D). To test our hypothesis, we used the volume-dependent elastance index %E2, a respiratory parameter that allows for noninvasive and radiation-free assessment of dominant overdistension and intratidal R/D. We compared the incidence of intratidal R/D, linear expansion, and overdistension by means of %E2 in a subset of the PROVHILO cohort. In 36 patients from 2 participating centers of the PROVHILO trial, we calculated respiratory system elastance (E), resistance (R), and %E2, a surrogate parameter for intratidal overdistension (%E2 > 30%) and R/D (%E2 mechanical ventilation with protective tidal volumes in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery, lung recruitment followed by PEEP of 12 cm H2O decreased the incidence of intratidal R/D and did not worsen overdistension, when compared to PEEP ≤2 cm H2O.

  14. A novel adjustable automated system for inducing chronic intermittent hypoxia in mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dora Polšek

    Full Text Available Sleep apnea is a chronic, widely underdiagnosed condition characterized by disruption of sleep architecture and intermittent hypoxia due to short cessations of breathing. It is a major independent risk factor for myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure and stroke as well as one of the rare modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's Dementia. Reliable animal disease models are needed to understand the link between sleep apnea and the various clinically linked disorders.An automated system for inducing hypoxia was developed, in which the major improvement was the possibility to efficiently adjust the length and intensity of hypoxia in two different periods. The chamber used a small volume of gas allowing for fast exchanges of different oxygen levels. The mice were kept in their cages adapted with the system on the cage lid. As a proof of principle, they were exposed to a three week period of intermittent hypoxia for 8 hours a day, with 90 s intervals of 5, 7% and 21% oxygen to validate the model. Treated (n = 8 and control mice (no hypoxia, n = 7 were handled in the same manner and their hippocampal brain regions compared by histology.The chamber provided a fast, reliable and precise intermittent hypoxia, without inducing noticeable side effects to the animals. The validation experiment showed that apoptotic neurons in the hippocampus were more numerous in the mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia than in the control group, in all tested hippocampal regions (cornu ammonis 1 (CA1 P <0.001; cornu ammonis 3 (CA3 P <0.001; and dentate gyrus (DG P = 0.023. In both, control and hypoxic conditions, there was a significantly higher number of apoptotic neurons in the DG compared to the CA1 and CA3 subfields (P <0.001.The new design of a hypoxic chamber provides a fast, adjustable and reliable model of obstructive sleep apnea, which was validated by apoptosis of hippocampal neurons.

  15. A Pilot Study on the Effects of Slow Paced Breathing on Current Food Craving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meule, Adrian; Kübler, Andrea

    2017-03-01

    Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) involves slow paced breathing (approximately six breaths per minute), thereby maximizing low-frequent heart rate oscillations and baroreflex gain. Mounting evidence suggests that HRV-BF promotes symptom reductions in a variety of physical and mental disorders. It may also positively affect eating behavior by reducing food cravings. The aim of the current study was to investigate if slow paced breathing can be useful for attenuating momentary food craving. Female students performed paced breathing either at six breaths per minute (n = 32) or at nine breaths per minute (n = 33) while watching their favorite food on the computer screen. Current food craving decreased during a first resting period, increased during paced breathing, and decreased during a second resting period in both conditions. Although current hunger increased in both conditions during paced breathing as well, it remained elevated after the second resting period in the nine breaths condition only. Thus, breathing rate did not influence specific food craving, but slow paced breathing appeared to have a delayed influence on state hunger. Future avenues are suggested for the study of HRV-BF in the context of eating behavior.

  16. Carbon Dioxide Changes in Hyperventilation and Breath-hold Diving

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1974-01-05

    Jan 5, 1974 ... South Africa. S. Afr. Med. l., 48, 18 (1974). Under conditions of normal atmospheric pressure, breath- holding results in important changes in the mechanism whereby the CO, is transported ... haemoglobin in the face of falling CO, output to the ... Hong,' in a field study of Korean diving women, noted that they ...

  17. In vivo proton MRS of normal pancreas metabolites during breath-holding and free-breathing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, T.-H.; Jin, E.-H.; Shen, H.; Zhang, Y.; He, W.

    2012-01-01

    Aim: To characterize normal pancreas metabolites using in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H MRS) at 3 T under conditions of breath-holding and free-breathing. Materials and methods: The pancreases of 32 healthy volunteers were examined using 1 H MRS during breath-holding and free-breathing acquisitions in a single-voxel point-resolved selective spectroscopy sequence (PRESS) technique using a 3 T MRI system. Resonances were compared between paired spectra of the two breathing modes. Furthermore, correlations between lipid (Lip) content and age, body-mass index (BMI), as well as choline (Cho) peak visibility of the normal pancreas were analysed during breath-holding. Results: Twenty-nine pairs of spectra were successfully obtained showing three major resonances, Lip, Cho, cholesterol and the unsaturated parts of the olefinic region of fatty acids (Chol + Unsat). Breath-hold spectra were generally better, with higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNR; Z=–2.646, p = 0.008) and Cho peak visible status (Z=–2.449, p = 0.014). Correlations were significant between spectra acquired by the two breathing modes, especially for Lip height, Lip area, and the area of other peaks at 1.9–4.1 ppm. However, the Lip resonance was significantly different between the spectra of the two breathing modes (p 1 H MRS of the normal pancreas at 3 T is technically feasible and can characterize several metabolites. 1 H MRS during breath-holding acquisition is superior to that during free-breathing acquisition.

  18. A botanical compound, Padma 28, increases walking distance in stable intermittent claudication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Drabaek, H; Mehlsen, J; Himmelstrup, H

    1993-01-01

    Thirty-six patients with a median age of sixty-seven years and a median duration of intermittent claudication of five years were randomized to either active treatment with Padma 28 or placebo. The effect of treatment was quantified by measurements of systemic and peripheral systolic blood pressur...

  19. Research Report: Intermittent hypobaric hypoxia and hyperbaric oxygen on GAP-43 in the rat carotid body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Zhengwu; Fan, Juan; Liu, Ling; Kuang, Fang; Xue, Fen; Wang, Bairen

    2015-01-01

    Adaptive changes in the carotid body (CB) including the expression of the growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) have been studied in response to low, but not high, oxygen exposure. Expression of GAP-43 in the CB of rats under different atmospheric pressures and oxygen partial pressure (PO2) conditions was investigated. Mature male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH, 0, 1, 2 and 3 weeks), intermittent hyperbaric oxygen (IHBO2, 0, 1, 5 and 10 days, sacrificed six hours or 24 hours after the last HBO2 exposure), and intermittent hyperbaric normoxia (IHN, same treatment pattern as IHBO2). GAP-43 was highly expressed (mainly in type I cells) in the CB of normal rats. IHH u-regulated GAP-43 expression in the CB with significant differences (immunohistochemical staining [IHC]: F(3,15)=40.64, P GAP-43 expression in the CB was inhibited by IHBO2 (controls vs. IHBO2 groups, IHC: F(6,30) = 15.85, P GAP-43 expression were found for IHN. These findings indicated that different PO2 conditions, but not air pressures, played an important role in the plasticity of the CB, and that GAP-43 might be a viable factor for the plasticity of the CB.

  20. Intermittent heating of buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kohonen, K

    1983-02-01

    Conditions for intermittent heating of buildings are considered both theoretically and experimentally. Thermal behaviour of buildings adn rooms in intermittent heating is simulated by a program based on the convective heat balance equation and by simplified RC-models. The preheat times and the heating energy savings compared with continuous heating are presented for typical lightweight, mediumweight and heavyweight classroom and office modules. Formulaes for estimating the oversizing of the radiator network, the maximum heat output of heat exchangers in district heating and the efficiency of heating boilers in intermittent heating are presented. The preheat times and heating energy savings with different heating control systems are determined also experimentally in eight existing buildings. In addition some principles for the planning and application of intermittent heating systems are suggested.

  1. Is breath acetone a biomarker of diabetes? A historical review on breath acetone measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhennan; Wang, Chuji

    2013-09-01

    Since the ancient discovery of the 'sweet odor' in human breath gas, pursuits of the breath analysis-based disease diagnostics have never stopped. Actually, the 'smell' of the breath, as one of three key disease diagnostic techniques, has been used in Eastern-Medicine for more than three thousand years. With advancement of measuring technologies in sensitivity and selectivity, more specific breath gas species have been identified and established as a biomarker of a particular disease. Acetone is one of the breath gases and its concentration in exhaled breath can now be determined with high accuracy using various techniques and methods. With the worldwide prevalence of diabetes that is typically diagnosed through blood testing, human desire to achieve non-blood based diabetic diagnostics and monitoring has never been quenched. Questions, such as is breath acetone a biomarker of diabetes and how is the breath acetone related to the blood glucose (BG) level (the golden criterion currently used in clinic for diabetes diagnostic, monitoring, and management), remain to be answered. A majority of current research efforts in breath acetone measurements and its technology developments focus on addressing the first question. The effort to tackle the second question has begun recently. The earliest breath acetone measurement in clearly defined diabetic patients was reported more than 60 years ago. For more than a half-century, as reviewed in this paper, there have been more than 41 independent studies of breath acetone using various techniques and methods, and more than 3211 human subjects, including 1581 healthy people, 242 Type 1 diabetic patients, 384 Type 2 diabetic patients, 174 unspecified diabetic patients, and 830 non-diabetic patients or healthy subjects who are under various physiological conditions, have been used in the studies. The results of the breath acetone measurements collected in this review support that many conditions might cause changes to breath

  2. Intermittent claudication in a professional rugby player.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bray, A E; Lewis, W A

    1992-04-01

    Intermittent claudication in a professional rugby player is described. The typical features of a delayed and difficult diagnosis of an external iliac artery stenosis were found. The noninvasive diagnostic protocol used to investigate this young patient with a minimal arterial lesion enabled accurate localization and angioplasty to be performed at the same time as diagnostic angiography. The patient was symptom free with normal arterial pressures on follow-up. It is suggested that appropriate noninvasive investigations should be performed before angiography in young people with minimal lesions.

  3. Comparison of sprinting vs non-sprinting to wean nasal continuous positive airway pressure off in very preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eze, N; Murphy, D; Dhar, V; Rehan, V K

    2018-02-01

    Though nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) is commonly used for non-invasive neonatal respiratory support, the optimal method of weaning NCPAP is not established. In this prospective, two-center randomized control trial we hypothesize that gradually increasing spontaneous breathing time off NCPAP increases successful weaning from NCPAP in infants born 0.05). It took 1.3 (1 to 1.75) (median (IQR)) attempts and 7 (7 to 7) days to wean NCPAP off in the sprinting group vs 1.3 (1 to 1.75) attempts and 7 (7 to 10) days in the non-sprinting group (P>0.05). Additionally, no differences in the secondary outcomes of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, severe retinopathy of prematurity (⩾stage 3), periventricular leukomalacia and length of stay were noted between the two groups. Weaning NCPAP via sprinting or non-sprinting protocol is comparable, not only for successful weaning but also for the occurrence of common neonatal morbidities that impact the long-term outcome in premature infants (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02819050).

  4. Intermittent fasting during Ramadan attenuates proinflammatory cytokines and immune cells in healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faris, Mo'ez Al-Islam E; Kacimi, Safia; Al-Kurd, Ref'at A; Fararjeh, Mohammad A; Bustanji, Yasser K; Mohammad, Mohammad K; Salem, Mohammad L

    2012-12-01

    Intermittent fasting and caloric restriction have been shown to extend life expectancy and reduce inflammation and cancer promotion in animal models. It was hypothesized that intermittent prolonged fasting practiced during the month of Ramadan (RIF) could positively affect the inflammatory state. To investigate this hypothesis, a cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the impact of RIF on selected inflammatory cytokines and immune biomarkers in healthy subjects. Fifty (21 men and 29 women) healthy volunteers who practiced Ramadan fasting were recruited for the investigation of circulating proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α), immune cells (total leukocytes, monocytes, granulocytes, and lymphocytes), and anthropometric and dietary assessments. The investigations were conducted 1 week before Ramadan fasting, at the end of the third week of Ramadan, and 1 month after the cessation of Ramadan month. The proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α; systolic and diastolic blood pressures; body weight; and body fat percentage were significantly lower (P fasting. Immune cells significantly decreased during Ramadan but still remained within the reference ranges. These results indicate that RIF attenuates inflammatory status of the body by suppressing proinflammatory cytokine expression and decreasing body fat and circulating levels of leukocytes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Intermittent pneumatic compression of legs increases microcirculation in distant skeletal muscle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, K; Chen, L E; Seaber, A V; Johnson, G W; Urbaniak, J R

    1999-01-01

    Intermittent pneumatic compression has been established as a method of clinically preventing deep vein thrombosis, but the mechanism has not been documented. This study observed the effects of intermittent pneumatic compression of legs on the microcirculation of distant skeletal muscle. The cremaster muscles of 80 male rats were exposed, a specially designed intermittent pneumatic-compression device was applied to both legs for 60 minutes, and the microcirculation of the muscles was assessed by measurement of the vessel diameter in three categories (10-20, 21-40, and 41-70 microm) for 120 minutes. The results showed significant vasodilation in arterial and venous vessels during the application of intermittent pneumatic compression, which disappeared after termination of the compression. The vasodilation reached a maximum 30 minutes after initiation of the compression and could be completely blocked by an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (10 micromol/min). A 120-minute infusion of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, beginning coincident with 60 minutes of intermittent pneumatic compression, resulted in a significant decrease in arterial diameter that remained at almost the same level after termination of the compression. The magnitude of the decrease in diameter in the group treated with intermittent pneumatic compression and NG-monomethyl-L-arginine was comparable with that in the group treated with NG-monomethyl-L-arginine alone. The results imply that the production of nitric oxide is involved in the positive influence of intermittent pneumatic compression on circulation. It is postulated that the rapid increase in venous velocity induced by intermittent pneumatic compression produces strong shear stress on the vascular endothelium, which stimulates an increased release of nitric oxide and thereby causes systemic vasodilation.

  6. The impact of arm position on the measurement of orthostatic blood pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guss, David A; Abdelnur, Diego; Hemingway, Thomas J

    2008-05-01

    Blood pressure is a standard vital sign in patients evaluated in an Emergency Department. The American Heart Association has recommended a preferred position of the arm and cuff when measuring blood pressure. There is no formal recommendation for arm position when measuring orthostatic blood pressure. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of different arm positions on the measurement of postural changes in blood pressure. This was a prospective, unblinded, convenience study involving Emergency Department patients with complaints unrelated to cardiovascular instability. Repeated blood pressure measurements were obtained using an automatic non-invasive device with each subject in a supine and standing position and with the arm parallel and perpendicular to the torso. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a difference of >or= 20 mm Hg systolic or >or= 10 mm Hg diastolic when subtracting standing from supine measurements. There were four comparisons made: group W, arm perpendicular supine and standing; group X, arm parallel supine and standing; group Y, arm parallel supine and perpendicular standing; and group Z, arm perpendicular supine and parallel standing. There were 100 patients enrolled, 55 men, mean age 44 years. Four blood pressure measurements were obtained on each patient. The percentage of patients meeting orthostatic hypotension criteria in each group was: W systolic 6% (95% CI 1%, 11%), diastolic 4% (95% CI 0%, 8%), X systolic 8% (95% CI 3%, 13%), diastolic 9% (95% CI 3%, 13%), Y systolic 19% (95% CI 11%, 27%), diastolic 30% (95% CI 21%, 39%), Z systolic 2% (95% CI 0%, 5%), diastolic 2% (95% CI 0%, 5%). Comparison of Group Y vs. X, Z, and W was statistically significant (p postural changes in blood pressure. The combination of the arm parallel when supine and perpendicular when standing may significantly overestimate the orthostatic change. Arm position should be held constant in supine and standing positions when assessing for orthostatic

  7. Engine Cycle Analysis of Air Breathing Microwave Rocket with Reed Valves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukunari, Masafumi; Komatsu, Reiji; Yamaguchi, Toshikazu; Komurasaki, Kimiya; Arakawa, Yoshihiro; Katsurayama, Hiroshi

    2011-01-01

    The Microwave Rocket is a candidate for a low cost launcher system. Pulsed plasma generated by a high power millimeter wave beam drives a blast wave, and a vehicle acquires impulsive thrust by exhausting the blast wave. The thrust generation process of the Microwave Rocket is similar to a pulse detonation engine. In order to enhance the performance of its air refreshment, the air-breathing mechanism using reed valves is under development. Ambient air is taken to the thruster through reed valves. Reed valves are closed while the inside pressure is high enough. After the time when the shock wave exhausts at the open end, an expansion wave is driven and propagates to the thrust-wall. The reed valve is opened by the negative gauge pressure induced by the expansion wave and its reflection wave. In these processes, the pressure oscillation is important parameter. In this paper, the pressure oscillation in the thruster was calculated by CFD combined with the flux through from reed valves, which is estimated analytically. As a result, the air-breathing performance is evaluated using Partial Filling Rate (PFR), the ratio of thruster length to diameter L/D, and ratio of opening area of reed valves to superficial area α. An engine cycle and predicted thrust was explained.

  8. Controlled-frequency breath swimming improves swimming performance and running economy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavin, K M; Guenette, J A; Smoliga, J M; Zavorsky, G S

    2015-02-01

    Respiratory muscle fatigue can negatively impact athletic performance, but swimming has beneficial effects on the respiratory system and may reduce susceptibility to fatigue. Limiting breath frequency during swimming further stresses the respiratory system through hypercapnia and mechanical loading and may lead to appreciable improvements in respiratory muscle strength. This study assessed the effects of controlled-frequency breath (CFB) swimming on pulmonary function. Eighteen subjects (10 men), average (standard deviation) age 25 (6) years, body mass index 24.4 (3.7) kg/m(2), underwent baseline testing to assess pulmonary function, running economy, aerobic capacity, and swimming performance. Subjects were then randomized to either CFB or stroke-matched (SM) condition. Subjects completed 12 training sessions, in which CFB subjects took two breaths per length and SM subjects took seven. Post-training, maximum expiratory pressure improved by 11% (15) for all 18 subjects (P swimming may improve muscular oxygen utilization during terrestrial exercise in novice swimmers. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Optimal intermittent search strategies: smelling the prey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Revelli, J A; Wio, H S; Rojo, F; Budde, C E

    2010-01-01

    We study the kinetics of the search of a single fixed target by a searcher/walker that performs an intermittent random walk, characterized by different states of motion. In addition, we assume that the walker has the ability to detect the scent left by the prey/target in its surroundings. Our results, in agreement with intuition, indicate that the prey's survival probability could be strongly reduced (increased) if the predator is attracted (or repelled) by the trace left by the prey. We have also found that, for a positive trace (the predator is guided towards the prey), increasing the inhomogeneity's size reduces the prey's survival probability, while the optimal value of α (the parameter that regulates intermittency) ceases to exist. The agreement between theory and numerical simulations is excellent.

  10. Optimal intermittent search strategies: smelling the prey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Revelli, J A; Wio, H S [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria, Universidad de Cantabria and CSIC, E-39005 Santander (Spain); Rojo, F; Budde, C E [Fa.M.A.F., Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Ciudad Universitaria, X5000HUA Cordoba (Argentina)

    2010-05-14

    We study the kinetics of the search of a single fixed target by a searcher/walker that performs an intermittent random walk, characterized by different states of motion. In addition, we assume that the walker has the ability to detect the scent left by the prey/target in its surroundings. Our results, in agreement with intuition, indicate that the prey's survival probability could be strongly reduced (increased) if the predator is attracted (or repelled) by the trace left by the prey. We have also found that, for a positive trace (the predator is guided towards the prey), increasing the inhomogeneity's size reduces the prey's survival probability, while the optimal value of {alpha} (the parameter that regulates intermittency) ceases to exist. The agreement between theory and numerical simulations is excellent.

  11. An algorithm for the detection of individual breaths from the pulse oximeter waveform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard, Paul; Grubb, Neil R; Addison, Paul S; Clifton, David; Watson, James N

    2004-12-01

    To determine if wavelet analysis techniques can be used to reliably identify individual breaths from the photoplethysmogram (PPG). Photoplethysmograms were obtained from 22 healthy adult volunteers timing their respiration rate in synchronisation with a metronome. A secondary timing signal was obtained by asking the volunteers to actuate a small push button switch, held in their right hand, in synchronisation with their respiration. Each PPG was analyzed using primary wavelet decomposition and two new, related, secondary decompositions to determine the accuracy of individual breath detection. The optimal breath capture was obtained by manually polling the three techniques, allowing detection of 466 out of the 472 breaths studied; a detection rate of 98.7% with no false positive breaths detected. Our technique allows the accurate capture of individual breaths from the photoplethysmogram, and leads the way for developing a simple non-invasive combined respiration and saturation monitor.

  12. Safely prolonging single breath-holds to >5 min in patients with cancer; feasibility and applications for radiotherapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Stuart; Stevens, Andrea M; Parveen, Sophia; Stephens, Rebecca; Clutton-Brock, Thomas H

    2016-01-01

    Objective: Multiple, short and deep inspiratory breath-holds with air of approximately 20 s are now used in radiotherapy to reduce the influence of ventilatory motion and damage to healthy tissue. There may be further clinical advantages in delivering each treatment session in only one single, prolonged breath-hold. We have previously developed techniques enabling healthy subjects to breath-hold for 7 min. Here, we demonstrate their successful application in patients with cancer. Methods: 15 patients aged 37–74 years undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer were trained to breath-hold safely with pre-oxygenation and mechanically induced hypocapnia under simulated radiotherapy treatment conditions. Results: The mean breath-hold duration was 5.3 ± 0.2 min. At breakpoint, all patients were normocapnic and normoxic [mean end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide was 36 ± 1 standard error millimetre of mercury, (mmHg) and mean oxygen saturation was 100 ± 0 standard error %]. None were distressed, nor had gasping, dizziness or disturbed breathing in the post-breath-hold period. Mean blood pressure had risen significantly from 125 ± 3 to 166 ± 4 mmHg at breakpoint (without heart rate falling), but normalized within approximately 20 s of the breakpoint. During breath-holding, the mean linear anteroposterior displacement slope of the L breast marker was radiotherapy treatment conditions for longer than the typical beam-on time of a single fraction. We discuss the important applications of this technique for radiotherapy. Advances in knowledge: We demonstrate for the first time a technique enabling patients with cancer to deliver safely a single prolonged breath-hold of >5 min (10 times longer than currently used in radiotherapy practice), under simulated radiotherapy treatment conditions. PMID:27168468

  13. Measurement of regional ventilation under the condition of 'pursed lip breathing' (PLB) with newly designed PLB-model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Komatani, Akio; Yamaguchi, Koichi; Takahashi, Kazuei; Ikeda, Hideki; Takahashi, Keiji [Yamagata Univ. (Japan)

    1982-12-01

    A new device was designed to control the expiratory positive pressure from 0 to 100 mmH/sub 2/O as a simulation of the ''pursed lip breathing'' (PLB). Using this device, the effects of PLB to regional ventilation were evaluated. Each patient was examined twice, first in ordinary breathing and second, after 10 to 15 minutes break, in the condition of PLB with the PLB-model. The washin and washout curves of /sup 133/Xe gas were recorded by an Anger camera interfaced to the computer system (DEC PDP-11/34 GAMMA-11). Functional images of T1/2 and B1/2 (breath number) on the /sup 133/Xe washout curves were adopted as the indices of relative function of the regional ventilation. Histograms of the B1/2 distribution were also adopted to estimate the ventilation about the whole lung. Under the condition of PLB, the regional ventilation was improved in most cases of chronic pulmonary emphysema (CPE) and had a tendency to deteriorate in the case of CPE with asthma and the other lung diseases. This examination with the PLB-model might be available to evaluate the regional ventilation during PLB and follow-up of chronic obstructive lung disease.

  14. What Causes Bad Breath?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Videos for Educators Search English Español What Causes Bad Breath? KidsHealth / For Teens / What Causes Bad Breath? Print en español ¿Qué es lo que provoca el mal aliento? Bad breath, or halitosis , can be a major problem, ...

  15. [Treatment compliance with continuous positive airway pressure device among adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): how many adhere to treatment?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarrell, E Michael; Chomsky, Ofer; Shechter, Dalia

    2013-03-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) afflicts approximately 5% of the adult population and increases with age. The gold standard treatment is with the Continuous Positive Airways Pressure (CPAP) machine. Well-designed prospective trials to elucidate long term compliance with CPAP machine are rare. Assessing compliance and long-term use of CPAP machines among patients with OSA who were referred for treatment with this machine. A 4 years prospective cohort observational study was conducted using telephone interviews of 371 newly diagnosed patients with moderate to severe OSA, who received a specialist recommendation to use the CPAP machine which was bought and adjusted to their use. At the end of the first year, 126 (34%) of the OSA patients used the CPAP machine on a nightly basis (regular users), 120 (32.3%) had not used it at all, and 125 (33.7%) had used it only intermittently. The number of regular users increased between the 1st and 2nd year from 126 (34%), to 163 (44%) (p < 0.07) due to additions from the intermittent users group. The non-users group grew from 120 (32.3%) in the first year, and every year afterwards, up to 221 (59.6%) in the fourth year (p < 0.02). In contrast, there was a significant decrease in the intermittent users group, which declined from 125 (33.7%) in the first year to only 18 (4.8%) in the 4th year (p < 0.005). Most of the patients (92.9%) were males. The average age of the regular users was 59.6 years (+/- 11), which was higher in comparison to 55.9 years (+/- 10.3) for the non-users or 58.9 years (+/- 12.6) among the intermittent users (p = 0.064). There were no statistical differences in co-morbidities or demographics between the three groups. However, the regular users were found to have a higher score in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and a minimal arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) level lower than the patients in the non-users and intermittent users groups (p = 0.019 and p = 0.03 respectively). Four years follow

  16. Duration of continuous positive airway pressure in premature infants

    OpenAIRE

    Bamat, Nicolas; Jensen, Erik A.; Kirpalani, Haresh

    2016-01-01

    Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been used for respiratory support in premature infants for more than 40 years and is now a cornerstone of modern neonatal care. Clinical research on CPAP has primarily focused on understanding which devices and pressure sources best implement this therapy. In contrast, less research has examined the optimal duration over which CPAP is administered. We review this aspect of CPAP therapy.

  17. Inter- and Intrafraction Variability in Liver Position in Non-Breath-Hold Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Case, Robert B.; Sonke, Jan-Jakob; Moseley, Douglas J.; Kim, John; Brock, Kristy K.; Dawson, Laura A.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The inter- and intrafraction variability of liver position was assessed in patients with liver cancer treated with kilovoltage cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: A total of 314 CBCT scans obtained in the treatment position immediately before and after each fraction were evaluated from 29 patients undergoing six-fraction, non-breath-hold stereotactic body radiotherapy for unresectable liver cancer. Off-line, the CBCT scans were sorted into 10 bins, according to the phase of respiration. The liver position (relative to the vertebral bodies) was measured using rigid alignment of the exhale CBCT liver with the exhale planning CT liver, following the alignment of the vertebrae. The interfraction liver position change was measured by comparing the pretreatment CBCT scans, and the intrafraction change was measured from the CBCT scans obtained immediately before and after each fraction. Results: The mean amplitude of liver motion for all patients was 1.8 mm (range, 0.1-5.7), 8.0 mm (range, 0.1-18.8), and 4.3 mm (range 0.1-12.1) in the medial-lateral (ML), craniocaudal (CC), and anteroposterior (AP) directions, respectively. The mean absolute ML, CC, and AP interfraction changes in liver position were 2.0 mm (90th percentile, 4.2), 3.5 mm (90th percentile, 7.3), and 2.3 mm (90th percentile, 4.7). The mean absolute intrafraction ML, CC, and AP changes were 1.3 mm (90th percentile, 2.9), 1.6 mm (90th percentile, 3.6), and 1.5 mm (90th percentile, 3.1), respectively. The interfraction changes were significantly larger than the intrafraction changes, with a CC systematic error of 2.9 and 1.1 mm, respectively. The intraobserver reproducibility (σ, n = 29 fractions) was 1.3 mm in the ML, 1.4 mm in the CC, and 1.6 mm in the AP direction. Conclusion: Interfraction liver position changes relative to the vertebral bodies are an important source of geometric uncertainty, providing a rationale for prefraction

  18. Air-breathing behavior, oxygen concentrations, and ROS defense in the swimbladders of two erythrinid fish, the facultative air-breathing jeju, and the non-air-breathing traira during normoxia, hypoxia and hyperoxia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelster, Bernd; Wood, Chris M; Jung, Ellen; Val, Adalberto L

    2018-05-01

    The jeju Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus and the traira Hoplias malabaricus are two neighboring genera from the family of erythrinid fish, both possessing a two-chambered physostomous swimbladder. In the jeju the anterior section of the posterior bladder is highly vascularized, and the swimbladder is used for aerial respiration; the traira, in turn, is a water-breather that uses the swimbladder as a buoyancy organ and not for aerial oxygen uptake. Measurement of swimbladder oxygen partial pressure (PO 2 ) of fish kept at 26 °C in normoxic, hyperoxic (28-32 mg O 2 L - 1 ) or hypoxic (1-1.5 mg O 2 L - 1 ) water revealed constant values in traira swimbladder. Under normoxic conditions in the jeju swimbladder PO 2 was higher than in traira, and the PO 2 significantly increased under hyperoxic conditions, even in the absence of air breathing. In jeju, air-breathing activity increased significantly under hypoxic conditions. Hypoxic air-breathing activity was negatively correlated to swimbladder PO 2 , indicating that the swimbladder was intensely used for gas exchange under these conditions. In traira, the capacity of the ROS defense system, as assessed by measurement of activities of enzymes involved in ROS degradation and total glutathione (GSH + GSSG) concentration, was elevated after 4 h of hyperoxic and/or hypoxic exposure, although swimbladder PO 2 was not affected. In jeju, experiencing a higher variability in swimbladder PO 2 due to the air-breathing activity, only a reduced responsiveness of the ROS defense system to changing environmental PO 2 was detected.

  19. Breath biomarkers in toxicology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pleil, Joachim D

    2016-11-01

    Exhaled breath has joined blood and urine as a valuable resource for sampling and analyzing biomarkers in human media for assessing exposure, uptake metabolism, and elimination of toxic chemicals. This article focuses current use of exhaled gas, aerosols, and vapor in human breath, the methods for collection, and ultimately the use of the resulting data. Some advantages of breath are the noninvasive and self-administered nature of collection, the essentially inexhaustible supply, and that breath sampling does not produce potentially infectious waste such as needles, wipes, bandages, and glassware. In contrast to blood and urine, breath samples can be collected on demand in rapid succession and so allow toxicokinetic observations of uptake and elimination in any time frame. Furthermore, new technologies now allow capturing condensed breath vapor directly, or just the aerosol fraction alone, to gain access to inorganic species, lung pH, proteins and protein fragments, cellular DNA, and whole microorganisms from the pulmonary microbiome. Future applications are discussed, especially the use of isotopically labeled probes, non-targeted (discovery) analysis, cellular level toxicity testing, and ultimately assessing "crowd breath" of groups of people and the relation to dose of airborne and other environmental chemicals at the population level.

  20. OSA – a risk factor for stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan CM

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Clodagh M RyanCentre for Sleep Health and Research, University of Toronto/Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, CanadaAbstract: Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder characterized by recurrent and intermittent hypoxia with continued respiratory effort against a closed glottis. The result of this is a cascade of acute and chronic systemic pathophysiological responses that cause endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis and lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. This article focuses on the clinical evidence linking obstructive sleep apnea and stroke and on the specific mechanisms perpetuating stroke risk in this population.Keywords: stroke, obstructive sleep apnea, brain injury, atherosclerosis, continuous positive airway pressure, outcomes

  1. Smart intermittency-friendly cogeneration: Techno-economic performance of innovative double storage concept for integrating compression heat pumps in distributed cogeneration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blarke, Morten

    2011-01-01

    cogeneration plants rather than central power plants are giving way for wind power in the electricity mix. Could intermittent renewables be a threat to the system-wide energy, economic and environmental benefits that distributed cogeneration have to offer? This paper investigates how existing cogeneration...... plants may adapt their plant design and operational strategy to improve the co-existence between cogeneration and intermittent renewables. A novel intermittency-friendly and super-efficient concept in cogeneration is presented that involves integrating a high-pressure compression heat pump using heat...

  2. Preliminary report on a breathing coaching and assessment system for use by patients at home

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fox, C.D.; Kron, T.; Winton, J.R.S.; Rothwell, R.

    2010-01-01

    Full text: Respiratory-gated radiotherapy requires consistent breathing. Therefore, we developed a system that will assess breathing consistency and allow patients to train themselves at home. Real-time feedback is to be provided visually to patients against a reference breathing track derived from their own breathing pattern. The system would need to generate the reference track and to use this reference track for coaching. The system should be simple, robust and affordable, without complex setup. Results The system uses a net book with a USB connected data acquisition module (DAQ). The patient's breathing is sampled by the DAQ, measuring intra-nasal pressure through nasal prongs. Software was written in collaboration with the Victorian eResearch Strategic Initiative (YERSi). The system is used to collect a patient reference breathing track. This track is processed to generate a 'golden breathing cycle' (GBC), normalised in both amplitude and duration, containing the shape of the breathing cycle. After training, the patient takes the system home for a number of sessions of coaching and assessment. In coaching mode the patient is asked to maintain a graphic representation of their current state of breathing in close correlation to the golden breathing cycle as it moves across the screen. Displayed GBC amplitude and duration respond dynamically to the patient's breathing rhythm. Statistics are collected measuring the patient's ability to conform to the GBC and may be used to decide suitability for gated therapy. Conclusion The DAQ hardware is completed, and software is approaching completion. Sample data has been collected from volunteers.

  3. A Novel, Inexpensive Method to Monitor, Record, and Analyze Breathing Behavior During Normobaric Hypoxia Generated by the Reduced Oxygen Breathing Device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Temme, Leonard A; St Onge, Paul; Adams, Mark; Still, David L; Statz, Jonathan K; Williams, Steven T

    2017-03-01

    Since hypoxia remains one of the most important physiological hazards the aviation environment poses, military aviators are trained to recognize symptoms of hypoxia in order to implement appropriate safety procedures and countermeasures when hypoxia occurs. A widely used commercial instrument for hypoxia training, demonstration, and research is the Reduced Oxygen Breathing Device (ROBD). Here we describe a novel, inexpensive method to use the ROBD's breathing loop pressure (BLP) to measure respiration rate, a critically important response parameter for hypoxia. The ROBD can be controlled by a computer to export several variables including BLP, via the ROBD's RS232 port. An archived database was reanalyzed to assess the BLP data. New instrumentation added independent measures of respiration and expired oxygen and carbon dioxide; these measures were integrated with the ROBD output. Analysis of the archived data showed that the BLP reflected realistic breathing patterns. The new instrumentation integrated well with the ROBD, and independently supported the potential of the BLP as a valid measure of respiration. The ROBD's BLP data may provide a basis for a reliable, sensitive measure of respiration that is available at no additional cost. Reprint & Copyright © 2017 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

  4. Reduced phrenic motoneuron recruitment during sustained inspiratory threshold loading compared to single-breath loading: a twitch interpolation study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathieu Raux

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In humans, inspiratory constraints engage cortical networks involving the supplementary motor area. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI shows that the spread and intensity of the corresponding respiratory-related cortical activation dramatically decrease when a discrete load becomes sustained. This has been interpreted as reflecting motor cortical reorganisation and automatisation, but could proceed from sensory and/or affective habituation. To corroborate the existence of motor reorganisation between single-breath and sustained inspiratory loading (namely changes in motor neurones recruitment, we conducted a diaphragm twitch interpolation study based on the hypothesis that motor reorganisation should result in changes in the twitch interpolation slope. Fourteen healthy subjects (age: 21 – 40 years were studied. Bilateral phrenic stimulation was delivered at rest, upon prepared and targeted voluntary inspiratory efforts (vol, upon unprepared inspiratory efforts against a single-breath inspiratory threshold load (single-breath, and upon sustained inspiratory efforts against the same type of load (continuous. The slope of the relationship between diaphragm twitch transdiaphragmatic pressure and the underlying transdiaphragmatic pressure was –1.1 ± 0.2 during vol, –1.5 ± 0.7 during single-breath, and -0.6 ± 0.4 during continuous (all slopes expressed in percent of baseline.percent of baseline-1 all comparisons significant at the 5% level. The contribution of the diaphragm to inspiration, as assessed by the gastric pressure to transdiaphragmatic pressure ratio, was 31 ± 17 % during vol, 22 ± 16 % during single-breath (p=0.13, and 19 ± 9 % during continuous (p = 0.0015 vs. vol. This study shows that the relationship between the amplitude of the transdiaphragmatic pressure produced by a diaphragm twitch and its counterpart produced by the underlying diaphragm contraction is not unequivocal. If twitch interpolation is interpreted as

  5. Multidimensional intermittency in hadronic collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, J.; Hwa, R.C.

    1992-06-01

    The study of intermittency in high-energy hadronic collisions by the Monte Carlo code ECCO is extended to 3-dimensional phase space. Strong intermittency is found in agreement with the data. Fluctuation in the impact parameter is responsible for the intermittency in lnp T , and the transverse-momentum conservation leads to negative intermittency slopes in the azimuthal angle φ. The Ochs-Wosiek plots are linear in all dimensions having universal slopes. An exponent ν = 1.448 emerges to characterize multiparticle production in pp collisions. The properties of G moments are also examined, and the fractal dimensions determined

  6. Breath in the technoscientific imaginary

    OpenAIRE

    Rose, Arthur

    2016-01-01

    Breath has a realist function in most artistic media. It serves to remind the reader, the viewer or the spectator of the exigencies of the body. In science fiction (SF) literature and films, breath is often a plot device for human encounters with otherness, either with alien peoples, who may not breathe oxygen, or environments, where there may not be oxygen to breathe. But while there is a technoscientific quality to breath in SF, especially in its attention to physiological systems, concentr...

  7. A non-inferiority, individually randomized trial of intermittent screening and treatment versus intermittent preventive treatment in the control of malaria in pregnancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tagbor, Harry; Cairns, Matthew; Bojang, Kalifa

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The efficacy of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) in pregnancy is threatened in parts of Africa by the emergence and spread of resistance to SP. Intermittent screening with a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and treatment of positive women...... with malaria parasitemia between routine antenatal clinics (310 vs 182 episodes, rate difference: 49.4 per 1,000 pregnancies [95% CI 30.5, 68.3], but the number of hospital admissions for malaria was similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Despite low levels of resistance to SP in the study areas, ISTp......-AL performed as well as IPTp-SP. In the absence of an effective alternative medication to SP for IPTp, ISTp-AL is a potential alternative to IPTp in areas where SP resistance is high. It may also have a role in areas where malaria transmission is low and for the prevention of malaria in HIV positive women...

  8. Duration of continuous positive airway pressure in premature infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bamat, Nicolas; Jensen, Erik A.; Kirpalani, Haresh

    2016-01-01

    SUMMARY Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been used for respiratory support in premature infants for more than 40 years and is now a cornerstone of modern neonatal care. Clinical research on CPAP has primarily focused on understanding which devices and pressure sources best implement this therapy. In contrast, less research has examined the optimal duration over which CPAP is administered. We review this aspect of CPAP therapy. PMID:26948885

  9. Coaxial Tubing Systems Increase Artificial Airway Resistance and Work of Breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenzel, Christin; Schumann, Stefan; Spaeth, Johannes

    2017-09-01

    Tubing systems are an essential component of the ventilation circuit, connecting the ventilator to the patient's airways. Coaxial tubing systems incorporate the inspiratory tube within the lumen of the expiratory one. We hypothesized that by design, these tubing systems increase resistance to air flow compared with conventional ones. We investigated the flow-dependent pressure gradient across coaxial, conventional disposable, and conventional reusable tubing systems from 3 different manufacturers. Additionally, the additional work of breathing and perception of resistance during breathing through the different devices were determined in 18 healthy volunteers. The pressure gradient across coaxial tubing systems was up to 6 times higher compared with conventional ones (1.90 ± 0.03 cm H 2 O vs 0.34 ± 0.01 cm H 2 O, P tubing systems, accordingly. Our findings suggest that the use of coaxial tubing systems should be carefully considered with respect to their increased resistance. Copyright © 2017 by Daedalus Enterprises.

  10. Initial development and testing of a novel foam-based pressure sensor for wearable sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smyth Barry

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper provides an overview of initial research conducted in the development of pressure-sensitive foam and its application in wearable sensing. The foam sensor is composed of polypyrrole-coated polyurethane foam, which exhibits a piezo-resistive reaction when exposed to electrical current. The use of this polymer-coated foam is attractive for wearable sensing due to the sensor's retention of desirable mechanical properties similar to those exhibited by textile structures. Methods The development of the foam sensor is described, as well as the development of a prototype sensing garment with sensors in several areas on the torso to measure breathing, shoulder movement, neck movement, and scapula pressure. Sensor properties were characterized, and data from pilot tests was examined visually. Results The foam exhibits a positive linear conductance response to increased pressure. Torso tests show that it responds in a predictable and measurable manner to breathing, shoulder movement, neck movement, and scapula pressure. Conclusion The polypyrrole foam shows considerable promise as a sensor for medical, wearable, and ubiquitous computing applications. Further investigation of the foam's consistency of response, durability over time, and specificity of response is necessary.

  11. Role of Positive Airway Pressure Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients With Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Anupama; Shukla, Garima; Afsar, Mohammed; Poornima, Shivani; Pandey, Ravindra M.; Goyal, Vinay; Srivastava, Achal; Vibha, Deepti; Behari, Madhuri

    2018-01-01

    Registration: Registry: Clinical Trials Registry - India, CTRI Registration No: CTRI/2016/07.007104, Title: Sleep Disordered Breathing in stroke patients: Effect of treatment trial, URL: http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/showallp.php?mid1=8682&EncHid=&userName=sleep%20disordered%20breathing Citation: Gupta A, Shukla G, Afsar M, Poornima S, Pandey RM, Goyal V, Srivastava A, Vibha D, Behari M. Role of positive airway pressure therapy for obstructive sleep apnea in patients with stroke: a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Sleep Med. 2018;14(4):511–521. PMID:29609704

  12. Effects of breathing patterns and light exercise on linear and nonlinear heart rate variability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weippert, Matthias; Behrens, Kristin; Rieger, Annika; Kumar, Mohit; Behrens, Martin

    2015-08-01

    Despite their use in cardiac risk stratification, the physiological meaning of nonlinear heart rate variability (HRV) measures is not well understood. The aim of this study was to elucidate effects of breathing frequency, tidal volume, and light exercise on nonlinear HRV and to determine associations with traditional HRV indices. R-R intervals, blood pressure, minute ventilation, breathing frequency, and respiratory gas concentrations were measured in 24 healthy male volunteers during 7 conditions: voluntary breathing at rest, and metronome guided breathing (0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 Hz) during rest, and cycling, respectively. The effect of physical load was significant for heart rate (HR; p < 0.001) and traditional HRV indices SDNN, RMSSD, lnLFP, and lnHFP (p < 0.01 for all). It approached significance for sample entropy (SampEn) and correlation dimension (D2) (p < 0.1 for both), while HRV detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) measures DFAα1 and DFAα2 were not affected by load condition. Breathing did not affect HR but affected all traditional HRV measures. D2 was not affected by breathing; DFAα1 was moderately affected by breathing; and DFAα2, approximate entropy (ApEn), and SampEn were strongly affected by breathing. DFAα1 was strongly increased, whereas DFAα2, ApEn, and SampEn were decreased by slow breathing. No interaction effect of load and breathing pattern was evident. Correlations to traditional HRV indices were modest (r from -0.14 to -0.67, p < 0.05 to <0.01). In conclusion, while light exercise does not significantly affect short-time HRV nonlinear indices, respiratory activity has to be considered as a potential contributor at rest and during light dynamic exercise.

  13. The Effect of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Vapors on Evidential Breath Alcohol Test Results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strawsine, Ellen; Lutmer, Brian

    2017-11-16

    This study was undertaken to determine if the application of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHSs) to the hands of a breath test operator will affect the results obtained on evidential breath alcohol instruments (EBTs). This study obtained breath samples on three different EBTs immediately after application of either gel or foam ABHS to the operator's hands. A small, but significant, number of initial analyses (13 of 130, 10%) resulted in positive breath alcohol concentrations, while 41 samples (31.5%) resulted in a status code. These status codes were caused by ethanol vapors either in the room air or their inhalation by the subject, thereby causing a mouth alcohol effect. Replicate subject samples did not yield any consecutive positive numeric results. As ABHS application can cause a transitory mouth alcohol effect via inhalation of ABHS vapors, EBT operators should forego the use of ABHS in the 15 min preceding subject testing. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  14. Investigation of the association between glaucoma and Helicobacter pylori infection using the 14C-urea breath test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuzcu, Esra Ayhan; Aydogan, Fusun; Motor, Vicdan Koksaldi; Ilhan, Ozgur; Daglioglu, Mutlu Cihan; Coskun, Mesut; Parlakfikirer, Nihan; Keskin, Ugurcan

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: to investigate the association between glaucoma and Helicobacter pylori infection by evaluating for the presence of H. pylori infection in patients with glaucoma using the 14C-urea breath test (14C-UBT). Methods: Using 14C-UBT, H. pylori infection positivity was compared between a group of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and a control group with normal intraocular pressure and a normal optic disc or normal perimetry. Results: the 14C-UBT was positive in 18 (51.42%) out of 35 patients in the glaucoma group and in 15 (42.85%) out of 35 patients in the control group. H. pylori infection positivity rates were similar between the glaucoma and control groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: according to the 14C-UBT, there is no association between primary open-angle glaucoma and H. pylori infection. (author)

  15. A wavelet-based intermittency detection technique from PIV investigations in transitional boundary layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simoni, Daniele; Lengani, Davide; Guida, Roberto

    2016-09-01

    The transition process of the boundary layer growing over a flat plate with pressure gradient simulating the suction side of a low-pressure turbine blade and elevated free-stream turbulence intensity level has been analyzed by means of PIV and hot-wire measurements. A detailed view of the instantaneous flow field in the wall-normal plane highlights the physics characterizing the complex process leading to the formation of large-scale coherent structures during breaking down of the ordered motion of the flow, thus generating randomized oscillations (i.e., turbulent spots). This analysis gives the basis for the development of a new procedure aimed at determining the intermittency function describing (statistically) the transition process. To this end, a wavelet-based method has been employed for the identification of the large-scale structures created during the transition process. Successively, a probability density function of these events has been defined so that an intermittency function is deduced. This latter strictly corresponds to the intermittency function of the transitional flow computed trough a classic procedure based on hot-wire data. The agreement between the two procedures in the intermittency shape and spot production rate proves the capability of the method in providing the statistical representation of the transition process. The main advantages of the procedure here proposed concern with its applicability to PIV data; it does not require a threshold level to discriminate first- and/or second-order time-derivative of hot-wire time traces (that makes the method not influenced by the operator); and it provides a clear evidence of the connection between the flow physics and the statistical representation of transition based on theory of turbulent spot propagation.

  16. Effects of tidal volume on work of breathing during lung-protective ventilation in patients with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kallet, Richard H; Campbell, Andre R; Dicker, Rochelle A; Katz, Jeffrey A; Mackersie, Robert C

    2006-01-01

    To assess the effects of step-changes in tidal volume on work of breathing during lung-protective ventilation in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) or the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Prospective, nonconsecutive patients with ALI/ARDS. Adult surgical, trauma, and medical intensive care units at a major inner-city, university-affiliated hospital. Ten patients with ALI/ARDS managed clinically with lung-protective ventilation. Five patients were ventilated at a progressively smaller tidal volume in 1 mL/kg steps between 8 and 5 mL/kg; five other patients were ventilated at a progressively larger tidal volume from 5 to 8 mL/kg. The volume mode was used with a flow rate of 75 L/min. Minute ventilation was maintained constant at each tidal volume setting. Afterward, patients were placed on continuous positive airway pressure for 1-2 mins to measure their spontaneous tidal volume. Work of breathing and other variables were measured with a pulmonary mechanics monitor (Bicore CP-100). Work of breathing progressively increased (0.86 +/- 0.32, 1.05 +/- 0.40, 1.22 +/- 0.36, and 1.57 +/- 0.43 J/L) at a tidal volume of 8, 7, 6, and 5 mL/kg, respectively. In nine of ten patients there was a strong negative correlation between work of breathing and the ventilator-to-patient tidal volume difference (R = -.75 to -.998). : The ventilator-delivered tidal volume exerts an independent influence on work of breathing during lung-protective ventilation in patients with ALI/ARDS. Patient work of breathing is inversely related to the difference between the ventilator-delivered tidal volume and patient-generated tidal volume during a brief trial of unassisted breathing.

  17. New insights into sucking, swallowing and breathing central generators: A complexity analysis of rhythmic motor behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samson, Nathalie; Praud, Jean-Paul; Quenet, Brigitte; Similowski, Thomas; Straus, Christian

    2017-01-18

    Sucking, swallowing and breathing are dynamic motor behaviors. Breathing displays features of chaos-like dynamics, in particular nonlinearity and complexity, which take their source in the automatic command of breathing. In contrast, buccal/gill ventilation in amphibians is one of the rare motor behaviors that do not display nonlinear complexity. This study aimed at assessing whether sucking and swallowing would also follow nonlinear complex dynamics in the newborn lamb. Breathing movements were recorded before, during and after bottle-feeding. Sucking pressure and the integrated EMG of the thyroartenoid muscle, as an index of swallowing, were recorded during bottle-feeding. Nonlinear complexity of the whole signals was assessed through the calculation of the noise limit value (NL). Breathing and swallowing always exhibited chaos-like dynamics. The NL of breathing did not change significantly before, during or after bottle-feeding. On the other hand, sucking inconsistently and significantly less frequently than breathing exhibited a chaos-like dynamics. Therefore, the central pattern generator (CPG) that drives sucking may be functionally different from the breathing CPG. Furthermore, the analogy between buccal/gill ventilation and sucking suggests that the latter may take its phylogenetic origin in the gill ventilation CPG of the common ancestor of extant amphibians and mammals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Intermittent subglottic secretion drainage may cause tracheal damage in patients with few oropharyngeal secretions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suys, E; Nieboer, K; Stiers, W; De Regt, J; Huyghens, L; Spapen, H

    2013-12-01

    Injurious prolapse of tracheal mucosa into the suction port has been reported in up to 50% of intubated patients receiving continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions. We investigated whether similar injury could be inflicted by automated intermittent aspiration. Six consecutive patients, intubated with the Mallinckrodt TaperGuard Evac™ endotracheal tube, were studied. A flow sensor was placed between the vacuum regulating system and the mucus collector. Intermittent suctioning was performed at a pressure of -125 mmHg with a 25s interval and duration of 15s. After 24h, a CT scan of the tracheal region was performed. Excessive negative suction pressure, a fast drop in aspiration flow to zero, and important "swinging" movements of secretions in the evacuation line were observed in all patients. Oral instillation of antiseptic mouthwash restored normal aspiration flow and secretion mobility. CT imaging showed marked entrapment of tracheal mucosa into the suction port in all patients. In patients with few oropharyngeal secretions, automated intermittent subglottic aspiration may result in significant and potential harmful invagination of tracheal mucosa into the suction lumen. A critical amount of fluid must be present in the oropharynx to assure adequate and safe aspiration. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Chronic intermittent hypoxia induces changes on the expression and activity of neprilysin (EC 3.4.24.16) in the brain of rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Renato W; Julian, Guilherme S; Perry, Juliana C; Tufik, Sergio; Chagas, Jair R

    2018-04-24

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a frequent sleeping breathing disorder associated with cognitive impairments. Neprilysin (NEP) is responsible for degrading several substrates related to cognition; however, the effect of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) on NEP is still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the expression and activity of NEP under CIH in cognitive-related brain structures. Western blot, qRT-PCR and enzyme activity assay, demonstrated that a six-week intermittent hypoxia increased NEP expression and activity, selectively in temporal cortex, but not in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. The increase in NEP activity and expression was reverted followed by two weeks recovery in normoxia. These data show that CIH protocol increases the expression and activity of NEP selectively in the temporal cortex. Additional mechanisms must be investigated to elucidate the effects of CIH in cognition. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. Intermittency in branching models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiu, C.B.; Texas Univ., Austin; Hwa, R.C.; Oregon Univ., Eugene

    1990-01-01

    The intermittency properties of three branching models have been investigated. The factorial moments show power-law behavior as function of small rapidity width. The slopes and energy dependences reveal different characteristics of the models. The gluon model has the weakest intermittency. (orig.)

  1. Optimum position for wells producing at constant wellbore pressure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Camacho-Velazquez, R.; Rodriguez de la Garza, F. [Univ. Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico); Galindo-Nava, A. [Inst. Mexicanos del Petroleo, Mexico City (Mexico)]|[Univ. Nacional de Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico); Prats, M.

    1994-12-31

    This paper deals with the determination of the optimum position of several wells, producing at constant different wellbore pressures from a two-dimensional closed-boundary reservoirs, to maximize the cumulative production or the total flow rate. To achieve this objective they authors use an improved version of the analytical solution recently proposed by Rodriguez and Cinco-Ley and an optimization algorithm based on a quasi-Newton procedure with line search. At each iteration the algorithm approximates the negative of the objective function by a cuadratic relation derived from a Taylor series. The improvement of rodriguez and Cinco`s solution is attained in four ways. First, an approximation is obtained, which works better at earlier times (before the boundary dominated period starts) than the previous solution. Second, the infinite sums that are present in the solution are expressed in a condensed form, which is relevant for reducing the computer time when the optimization algorithm is used. Third, the solution is modified to take into account the possibility of having wells starting to produce at different times. This point allows them to deal with the problem of getting the optimum position for an infill drilling program. Last, the solution is extended to include the possibility of changing the value of wellbore pressure or being able to stimulate any of the wells at any time. When the wells are producing at different wellbore pressures it is found that the optimum position is a function of time, otherwise the optimum position is fixed.

  2. Methacholine challenge test: Comparison of tidal breathing and dosimeter methods in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazi, Ahlam; Lands, Larry C; Zielinski, David

    2018-02-01

    Methacholine Challenge Test (MCT) is used to confirm, assess the severity and/or rule out asthma. Two MCT methods are described as equivalent by the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the tidal breathing and the dosimeter methods. However, the majority of adult studies suggest that individuals with asthma do not react at the same PC 20 between the two methods. Additionally, the nebulizers used are no longer available and studies suggest current nebulizers are not equivalent to these. Our study investigates the difference in positive MCT tests between three methods in a pediatric population. A retrospective, chart review of all MCT performed with spirometry at the Montreal Children's Hospital from January 2006 to March 2016. A comparison of the percentage positive MCT tests with three methods, tidal breathing, APS dosimeter and dose adjusted DA-dosimeter, was performed at different cutoff points up to 8 mg/mL. A total of 747 subjects performed the tidal breathing method, 920 subjects the APS dosimeter method, and 200 subjects the DA-dosimeter method. At a PC 20 cutoff ≤4 mg/mL, the percentage positive MCT was significantly higher using the tidal breathing method (76.3%) compared to the APS dosimeter (45.1%) and DA-dosimeter (65%) methods (P < 0.0001). The choice of nebulizer and technique significantly impacts the rate of positivity when using MCT to diagnose and assess asthma. Lack of direct comparison of techniques within the same individuals and clinical assessment should be addressed in future studies to standardize MCT methodology in children. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Prospective randomized crossover study of a new closed-loop control system versus pressure support during weaning from mechanical ventilation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clavieras, Noémie; Wysocki, Marc; Coisel, Yannael; Galia, Fabrice; Conseil, Matthieu; Chanques, Gerald; Jung, Boris; Arnal, Jean-Michel; Matecki, Stefan; Molinari, Nicolas; Jaber, Samir

    2013-09-01

    Intellivent is a new full closed-loop controlled ventilation that automatically adjusts both ventilation and oxygenation parameters. The authors compared gas exchange and breathing pattern variability of Intellivent and pressure support ventilation (PSV). In a prospective, randomized, single-blind design crossover study, 14 patients were ventilated during the weaning phase, with Intellivent or PSV, for two periods of 24 h in a randomized order. Arterial blood gases were obtained after 1, 8, 16, and 24 h with each mode. Ventilatory parameters were recorded continuously in a breath-by-breath basis during the two study periods. The primary endpoint was oxygenation, estimated by the calculation of the difference between the PaO2/FIO2 ratio obtained after 24 h of ventilation and the PaO2/FIO2 ratio obtained at baseline in each mode. The variability in the ventilatory parameters was also evaluated by the coefficient of variation (SD to mean ratio). There were no adverse events or safety issues requiring premature interruption of both modes. The PaO2/FIO2 (mean ± SD) ratio improved significantly from 245 ± 75 at baseline to 294 ± 123 (P = 0.03) after 24 h of Intellivent. The coefficient of variation of inspiratory pressure and positive end-expiratory pressure (median [interquartile range]) were significantly higher with Intellivent, 16 [11-21] and 15 [7-23]%, compared with 6 [5-7] and 7 [5-10]% in PSV. Inspiratory pressure, positive end-expiratory pressure, and FIO2 changes were adjusted significantly more often with Intellivent compared with PSV. Compared with PSV, Intellivent during a 24-h period improved the PaO2/FIO2 ratio in parallel with more variability in the ventilatory support and more changes in ventilation settings.

  4. Cyclooxygenases 1 and 2 differentially regulate blood pressure and cerebrovascular responses to acute and chronic intermittent hypoxia: implications for sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaudin, Andrew E; Pun, Matiram; Yang, Christina; Nicholl, David D M; Steinback, Craig D; Slater, Donna M; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine E; Hanly, Patrick J; Ahmed, Sofia B; Poulin, Marc J

    2014-05-09

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease resulting from intermittent hypoxia (IH)-induced inflammation. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-formed prostanoids mediate the inflammatory response, and regulate blood pressure and cerebral blood flow (CBF), but their role in blood pressure and CBF responses to IH is unknown. Therefore, this study's objective was to determine the role of prostanoids in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular responses to IH. Twelve healthy, male participants underwent three, 6-hour IH exposures. For 4 days before each IH exposure, participants ingested a placebo, indomethacin (nonselective COX inhibitor), or Celebrex(®) (selective COX-2 inhibitor) in a double-blind, randomized, crossover study design. Pre- and post-IH blood pressure, CBF, and urinary prostanoids were assessed. Additionally, blood pressure and urinary prostanoids were assessed in newly diagnosed, untreated OSA patients (n=33). Nonselective COX inhibition increased pre-IH blood pressure (P ≤ 0.04) and decreased pre-IH CBF (P=0.04) while neither physiological variable was affected by COX-2 inhibition (P ≥ 0.90). Post-IH, MAP was elevated (P ≤ 0.05) and CBF was unchanged with placebo and nonselective COX inhibition. Selective COX-2 inhibition abrogated the IH-induced MAP increase (P=0.19), but resulted in lower post-IH CBF (P=0.01). Prostanoids were unaffected by IH, except prostaglandin E2 was elevated with the placebo (P=0.02). Finally, OSA patients had elevated blood pressure (P ≤ 0.4) and COX-1 formed thromboxane A2 concentrations (P=0.02). COX-2 and COX-1 have divergent roles in modulating vascular responses to acute and chronic IH. Moreover, COX-1 inhibition may mitigate cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity in OSA. www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01280006.

  5. SU-G-JeP3-15: Is the Reproducibility with Respect to Bone of Tumor Position at Simulation for Breath Hold CT Scans Correlated to the Reproducibility for Multiple Breath Hold CBCTs at Treatment in SBRT Thoracic Patients?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pollard, J; Prajapati, S; Gao, S; Nitsch, P; Sadagopan, R; Wang, X; Balter, P [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To evaluate correlation between the reproducibility of tumor position under feedback guided voluntary deep inspiration breath hold gating at simulation and at treatment. Methods: All patients treated with breath hold (BH) have 3-6 BH CTs taken at simulation (sim). In addition, if the relationship between the tumor and nearby bony anatomy on treatment BH CT(or CBCT) is found to be greater than 5 mm different at treatment than it was at sim, a repeat BH CT is taken before treatment. We retrospectively analyzed the sim CTs for 19 patients who received BH SBRT lung treatments and had repeat BH CT on treatment. We evaluated the reproducibility of the tumor position during the simulation CTs and compared this to the reproducibility of the tumor position on the repeat treatment CT with our in-house CT alignment software (CT-Assisted Targeting for Radiotherapy). Results: Comparing the tumor position for multiple simulation BH CTs, we calculated: maximum difference (max) = 0.69cm; average difference (x) = 0.28cm; standard deviation (σ) = 0.18cm. Comparing the repeat BH CBCTs on treatment days we calculated: max = 0.44cm; x = 0.16cm; σ = 0.22cm. We also found that for 95% of our BH cases, the absolute variation in tumor position within the same imaging day was within 5mm of the range at the time of simulation and treatment. We found that 75% of the BH cases had less residual tumor motion on treatment days than at simulation. Conclusion: This suggests that a GTV contour based upon the residual tumor motion in multiple BH datasets plus 2 mm margin should be sufficient to cover the full range of residual tumor motion on treatment days.

  6. Efficacy of device-guided breathing for hypertension in blinded, randomized, active-controlled trials : a meta-analysis of individual patient data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Landman, Gijs W. D.; van Hateren, Kornelis J. J.; van Dijk, Peter R.; Logtenberg, Susan J. J.; Houweling, Sebastiaan T.; Groenier, Klaas H.; Bilo, Henk J. G.; Kleefstra, Nanne

    IMPORTANCE: Device-guided breathing (DGB) is recommended by the American Heart Association for its blood pressure-lowering effects. Most previous studies that showed beneficial effects on blood pressure had low methodological quality and only investigated short-term blood pressure effects.

  7. Poster - 35: Monitoring patient positioning during deep inspiration breath hold with a distance measuring laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weston, Mark; Juhasz, Janos

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The accuracy of treatment delivery for left breast/chest wall patients using deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) is being monitored using a distance measuring laser (DML) Methods: A commercially available DML (DLS-C15, Dimetix) was mounted behind a Varian TrilogyTM linac. Relative to the machine isocenter, the laser from the beam was offset by 8 cm to the left and by 1 cm in the superior direction. This position was selected because this point is situated on the sternum for the majority of the left breast/chest-wall patients treated at our institution. The Varian Real-Time Positioning Management™ (RPM) guided DIBH treatments at our institution is delivered by placing the system’s tracking block on the patient’s abdomen. The treatment beam is enabled only when the block is in between a predefined abdomen motion range as determined during the CT simulation process. A LabVIEW program was developed to record both beam status (i.e. on/off) and distance measurements. In this study the DML was only used to monitor the position of a single point on the chest and no clinical decisions/adjustments were made based on these measurements. Results and Conclusions: Thus far, 34 fractions have been recorded for 4 patients. As such, the performance of our DIBH treatment technique cannot be fairly evaluated at this point. However, deviations between expected and measured distances have been observed and if these are found to be reproducible, then modifications in our treatment procedures and policies will have to take place.

  8. Poster - 35: Monitoring patient positioning during deep inspiration breath hold with a distance measuring laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weston, Mark; Juhasz, Janos [Juravinski Cancer Centre (Canada)

    2016-08-15

    Purpose: The accuracy of treatment delivery for left breast/chest wall patients using deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) is being monitored using a distance measuring laser (DML) Methods: A commercially available DML (DLS-C15, Dimetix) was mounted behind a Varian TrilogyTM linac. Relative to the machine isocenter, the laser from the beam was offset by 8 cm to the left and by 1 cm in the superior direction. This position was selected because this point is situated on the sternum for the majority of the left breast/chest-wall patients treated at our institution. The Varian Real-Time Positioning Management™ (RPM) guided DIBH treatments at our institution is delivered by placing the system’s tracking block on the patient’s abdomen. The treatment beam is enabled only when the block is in between a predefined abdomen motion range as determined during the CT simulation process. A LabVIEW program was developed to record both beam status (i.e. on/off) and distance measurements. In this study the DML was only used to monitor the position of a single point on the chest and no clinical decisions/adjustments were made based on these measurements. Results and Conclusions: Thus far, 34 fractions have been recorded for 4 patients. As such, the performance of our DIBH treatment technique cannot be fairly evaluated at this point. However, deviations between expected and measured distances have been observed and if these are found to be reproducible, then modifications in our treatment procedures and policies will have to take place.

  9. Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Ruth E; Sears, Dorothy D

    2017-08-21

    The objective of this review is to provide an overview of intermittent fasting regimens, summarize the evidence on the health benefits of intermittent fasting, and discuss physiological mechanisms by which intermittent fasting might lead to improved health outcomes. A MEDLINE search was performed using PubMed and the terms "intermittent fasting," "fasting," "time-restricted feeding," and "food timing." Modified fasting regimens appear to promote weight loss and may improve metabolic health. Several lines of evidence also support the hypothesis that eating patterns that reduce or eliminate nighttime eating and prolong nightly fasting intervals may result in sustained improvements in human health. Intermittent fasting regimens are hypothesized to influence metabolic regulation via effects on (a) circadian biology, (b) the gut microbiome, and (c) modifiable lifestyle behaviors, such as sleep. If proven to be efficacious, these eating regimens offer promising nonpharmacological approaches to improving health at the population level, with multiple public health benefits.

  10. COMPARISON OF 3 NORMAL BREATHING TECHNIQUES TO ASSESS REVERSIBILITY OF AIRWAY-OBSTRUCTION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    GIMENO, F; POSTMA, DS; VANALTENA, R

    1992-01-01

    Measurement of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) is generally used to assess airway obstruction. Function tests during normal breathing are used as complementary tests as well as alternatives. Studies have been done comparing the esophageal pressure method with body plethysmography, and

  11. Intermittency in Complex Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben Mahjoub, Otman; Redondo, Jose M.

    2017-04-01

    turbulent mixing is a subject of great importance because it has a broad range of practical applications. In the chemical industry in particular mixing is desirable to facilitate fast mixing of reactants coupled with PIV, and on other methods used in experimental fluids mechanics, both in Eulerian and Lagrangian frameworks towards the understanding of molecular mixing and the role of vorticity and helicity in the analysis of stream function parameter oundaries of spatial dynamic features. Already we used multi-fractal analysis techniques and apply these techniques to understand the scale to scale transport related to mixing and the velocity structure function,used by [1, 2] in the form ⟨| δul |p⟩ ∝ ⟨| δul |s⟩ζp/ζs where ζp/ζs is a general relative scaling exponent that can be expressed as dlog⟨| δul |p⟩ ζp/ζs = -----s- dlog⟨| δul | ⟩ In these relations ζp can be different from ξp for odd values of p because absolute values of velocity increments are used. Clearly, the scale-invariance for relative exponents when ζp and ζs are scale-dependent cannot be easily interpreted. We estimate different intermittency parameters as a function of local instability e.g. Kelvin/Helmholtz, Rayleigh-Taylor or Holbmoe. Different scalar interfaces show different structures, that also depend on local Richardsons numbers, this may be due to different levels of intermittency and thus different spectra, which are not necessarily inertial nor in equilibrium. the analysis of the statistical properties of the velocity structure function is performed using a relative scaling. In the areas of breaking-induced turbulence and foam, which corespond to active, highly intermittent, turbulent regions, using(ESS), we define local intermittency at different depths and horizontal positions. The deviation from the -5/3 law for the power spectra at certain positions is clear, (PDF) of velocity differences highly deviate from a gaussian distribution, and depend on the depth or with

  12. Does the position or contact pressure of the stethoscope make any difference to clinical blood pressure measurements: an observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Fan; Zheng, Dingchang; He, Peiyu; Murray, Alan

    2014-12-01

    This study aimed to investigate the effect of stethoscope position and contact pressure on auscultatory blood pressure (BP) measurement. Thirty healthy subjects were studied. Two identical stethoscopes (one under the cuff, the other outside the cuff) were used to simultaneously and digitally record 2 channels of Korotkoff sounds during linear cuff pressure deflation. For each subject, 3 measurements with different contact pressures (0, 50, and 100 mm Hg) on the stethoscope outside the cuff were each recorded at 3 repeat sessions. The Korotkoff sounds were replayed twice on separate days to each of 2 experienced listeners to determine systolic and diastolic BPs (SBP and DBP). Variance analysis was performed to study the measurement repeatability and the effect of stethoscope position and contact pressure on BPs. There was no significant BP difference between the 3 repeat sessions, between the 2 determinations from each listener, between the 2 listeners and between the 3 stethoscope contact pressures (all P > 0.06). There was no significant SBP difference between the 2 stethoscope positions at the 2 lower stethoscope pressures (P = 0.23 and 0.45), but there was a small (0.4 mm Hg, clinically unimportant) significant difference (P = 0.005) at the highest stethoscope pressure. The key result was that, DBP from the stethoscope under the cuff was significantly lower than that from outside the cuff by 2.8 mm Hg (P stethoscope outside the cuff, tends to give a higher DBP than the true intra-arterial pressure, this study could suggest that the stethoscope position under the cuff, and closer to the arterial occlusion, might yield measurements closer to the actual invasive DBP.

  13. Is increased positive end-expiratory pressure the culprit? Autoresuscitation in a 44-year-old man after prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagmann, Henning; Oelmann, Katrin; Stangl, Robert; Michels, Guido

    2016-12-20

    The phenomenon of autoresuscitation is rare, yet it is known to most emergency physicians. However, the pathophysiology of the delayed return of spontaneous circulation remains enigmatic. Among other causes hyperinflation of the lungs and excessively high positive end-expiratory pressure have been suggested, but reports including cardiopulmonary monitoring during cardiopulmonary resuscitation are scarce to support this hypothesis. We report a case of autoresuscitation in a 44-year-old white man after 80 minutes of advanced cardiac life support accompanied by continuous capnometry and repeated evaluation by ultrasound and echocardiography. After prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation, refractory electromechanical dissociation on electrocardiogram and ventricular akinesis were recorded. In addition, a precipitous drop in end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide was noted and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was discontinued. Five minutes after withdrawal of all supportive measures his breathing resumed and a perfusing rhythm ensued. Understanding the underlying pathophysiology of autoresuscitation is hampered by a lack of reports including extensive cardiopulmonary monitoring during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a preclinical setting. In this case, continuous capnometry was combined with repetitive ultrasound evaluation, which ruled out most assumed causes of autoresuscitation. Our observation of a rapid decline in end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide supports the hypothesis of increased intrathoracic pressure. Continuous capnometry can be performed easily during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, also in a preclinical setting. Knowledge of the pathophysiologic mechanisms may lead to facile interventions to be incorporated into cardiopulmonary resuscitation algorithms. A drop in end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide, for example, might prompt disconnection of the ventilation to allow left ventricular filling. Further reports and research on this topic

  14. Breath in the technoscientific imaginary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Arthur

    2016-12-01

    Breath has a realist function in most artistic media. It serves to remind the reader, the viewer or the spectator of the exigencies of the body. In science fiction (SF) literature and films, breath is often a plot device for human encounters with otherness, either with alien peoples, who may not breathe oxygen, or environments, where there may not be oxygen to breathe. But while there is a technoscientific quality to breath in SF, especially in its attention to physiological systems, concentrating on the technoscientific threatens to occlude other, more affective aspects raised by the literature. In order to supplement the tendency to read SF as a succession of technoscientific accounts of bodily experience, this paper recalls how SF texts draw attention to the affective, non-scientific qualities of breath, both as a metonym for life and as a metaphor for anticipation. Through an engagement with diverse examples from SF literature and films, this article considers the tension between technoscientific and affective responses to breath in order to demonstrate breath's co-determinacy in SF's blending of scientific and artistic discourses. 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/.

  15. Cosmic Rays in Intermittent Magnetic Fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukurov, Anvar; Seta, Amit; Bushby, Paul J.; Wood, Toby S.; Snodin, Andrew P.

    2017-01-01

    The propagation of cosmic rays in turbulent magnetic fields is a diffusive process driven by the scattering of the charged particles by random magnetic fluctuations. Such fields are usually highly intermittent, consisting of intense magnetic filaments and ribbons surrounded by weaker, unstructured fluctuations. Studies of cosmic-ray propagation have largely overlooked intermittency, instead adopting Gaussian random magnetic fields. Using test particle simulations, we calculate cosmic-ray diffusivity in intermittent, dynamo-generated magnetic fields. The results are compared with those obtained from non-intermittent magnetic fields having identical power spectra. The presence of magnetic intermittency significantly enhances cosmic-ray diffusion over a wide range of particle energies. We demonstrate that the results can be interpreted in terms of a correlated random walk.

  16. Cosmic Rays in Intermittent Magnetic Fields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shukurov, Anvar; Seta, Amit; Bushby, Paul J.; Wood, Toby S. [School of Mathematics and Statistics, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU (United Kingdom); Snodin, Andrew P., E-mail: a.seta1@ncl.ac.uk, E-mail: amitseta90@gmail.com [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Applied Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok 10800 (Thailand)

    2017-04-10

    The propagation of cosmic rays in turbulent magnetic fields is a diffusive process driven by the scattering of the charged particles by random magnetic fluctuations. Such fields are usually highly intermittent, consisting of intense magnetic filaments and ribbons surrounded by weaker, unstructured fluctuations. Studies of cosmic-ray propagation have largely overlooked intermittency, instead adopting Gaussian random magnetic fields. Using test particle simulations, we calculate cosmic-ray diffusivity in intermittent, dynamo-generated magnetic fields. The results are compared with those obtained from non-intermittent magnetic fields having identical power spectra. The presence of magnetic intermittency significantly enhances cosmic-ray diffusion over a wide range of particle energies. We demonstrate that the results can be interpreted in terms of a correlated random walk.

  17. Investigation of the association between glaucoma and Helicobacter pylori infection using the {sup 14}C-urea breath test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tuzcu, Esra Ayhan; Aydogan, Fusun; Motor, Vicdan Koksaldi; Ilhan, Ozgur; Daglioglu, Mutlu Cihan; Coskun, Mesut; Parlakfikirer, Nihan; Keskin, Ugurcan, E-mail: drayhant@hotmail.com [Medical Faculty, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay (Turkey)

    2015-07-01

    Purpose: to investigate the association between glaucoma and Helicobacter pylori infection by evaluating for the presence of H. pylori infection in patients with glaucoma using the 14C-urea breath test (14C-UBT). Methods: Using 14C-UBT, H. pylori infection positivity was compared between a group of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and a control group with normal intraocular pressure and a normal optic disc or normal perimetry. Results: the 14C-UBT was positive in 18 (51.42%) out of 35 patients in the glaucoma group and in 15 (42.85%) out of 35 patients in the control group. H. pylori infection positivity rates were similar between the glaucoma and control groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: according to the 14C-UBT, there is no association between primary open-angle glaucoma and H. pylori infection. (author)

  18. Effect of upper body position on arterial stiffness: influence of hydrostatic pressure and autonomic function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeder, Elizabeth C; Rosenberg, Alexander J; Hilgenkamp, Thessa I M; White, Daniel W; Baynard, Tracy; Fernhall, Bo

    2017-12-01

    To evaluate changes in arterial stiffness with positional change and whether the stiffness changes are due to hydrostatic pressure alone or if physiological changes in vasoconstriction of the conduit arteries play a role in the modulation of arterial stiffness. Thirty participants' (male = 15, 24 ± 4 years) upper bodies were positioned at 0, 45, and 72° angles. Pulse wave velocity (PWV), cardio-ankle vascular index, carotid beta-stiffness index, carotid blood pressure (cBP), and carotid diameters were measured at each position. A gravitational height correction was determined using the vertical fluid column distance (mmHg) between the heart and carotid artery. Carotid beta-stiffness was calibrated using three methods: nonheight corrected cBP of each position, height corrected cBP of each position, and height corrected cBP of the supine position (theoretical model). Low frequency systolic blood pressure variability (LFSAP) was analyzed as a marker of sympathetic activity. PWV and cardio-ankle vascular index increased with position (P hydrostatic pressure. Arterial stiffness indices based on Method 2 were not different from Method 3 (P = 0.65). LFSAP increased in more upright positions (P pressure did not (P > 0.05). Arterial stiffness increases with a more upright body position. Carotid beta-stiffness needs to be calibrated accounting for hydrostatic effects of gravity if measured in a seated position. It is unclear why PWV increased as this increase was independent of blood pressure. No difference between Methods 2 and 3 presumably indicates that the beta-stiffness increases are only pressure dependent, despite the increase in vascular sympathetic modulation.

  19. Respiratory variations in the photoplethysmographic waveform: acute hypovolaemia during spontaneous breathing is not detected

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsson, Lena; Goscinski, Tomas; Lindenberger, Marcus; Länne, Toste; Johansson, Anders

    2010-01-01

    Recent studies using photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals from pulse oximeters have shown potential to assess hypovolaemia during spontaneous breathing. This signal is heavily filtered and reports are based on respiratory variations in the small pulse synchronous variation of PPG. There are stronger respiratory variations such as respiratory synchronous variation (PPGr) in the baseline of the unfiltered PPG signal. We hypothesized that PPGr would increase during hypovolaemia during spontaneous breathing. Hemodynamic and respiratory data were recorded together with PPG infrared signals from the finger, ear and forearm from 12 healthy male volunteers, at rest and during hypovolaemia created by the application of a lower body negative pressure (LBNP) of 15, 30 and 60 cmH 2 O. Hemodynamic and respiratory values changed significantly. From rest to the LBNP of 60 cmH 2 O systolic blood pressure fell from median (IQR) 116 (16) to 101 (23) mmHg, the heart rate increased from 58 (16) to 73 (16) beats min −1 , and the respiratory rate increased from 9.5 (2.0) to 11.5 (4.0) breaths min −1 . The amplitude of PPGr did not change significantly at any measurement site. The strongest effect was seen at the ear, where the LBNP of 60 cmH 2 O gave an amplitude increase from 1.0 (0.0) to 1.31 (2.24) AU. PPG baseline respiratory variations cannot be used for detecting hypovolaemia in spontaneously breathing subjects

  20. Nasal continuous positive airway pressure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scholze, Alexandra; Lamwers, Stephanie; Tepel, Martin

    2012-01-01

    Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is linked to increased cardiovascular risk. This risk can be reduced by nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) treatment. As OSA is associated with an increase of several vasoconstrictive factors, we investigated whether nCPAP influences the digital volume...... pulse wave. We performed digital photoplethysmography during sleep at night in 94 consecutive patients who underwent polysomnography and 29 patients treated with nCPAP. Digital volume pulse waves were obtained independently of an investigator and were quantified using an algorithm for continuous.......01; n = 94) and the arousal index (Spearman correlation, r = 0.21; p CPAP treatment, the AHI was significantly reduced from 27 ± 3 events · h(-1) to 4 ± 2 events · h(-1) (each n = 29; p

  1. Chemical sensors for breath gas analysis: the latest developments at the Breath Analysis Summit 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tisch, Ulrike; Haick, Hossam

    2014-06-01

    Profiling the body chemistry by means of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath opens exciting new avenues in medical diagnostics. Gas sensors could provide ideal platforms for realizing portable, hand-held breath testing devices in the near future. This review summarizes the latest developments and applications in the field of chemical sensors for diagnostic breath testing that were presented at the Breath Analysis Summit 2013 in Wallerfangen, Germany. Considerable progress has been made towards clinically applicable breath testing devices, especially by utilizing chemo-sensitive nanomaterials. Examples of several specialized breath testing applications are presented that are either based on stand-alone nanomaterial-based sensors being highly sensitive and specific to individual breath compounds over others, or on combinations of several highly specific sensors, or on experimental nanomaterial-based sensors arrays. Other interesting approaches include the adaption of a commercially available MOx-based sensor array to indirect breath testing applications, using a sample pre-concentration method, and the development of compact integrated GC-sensor systems. The recent trend towards device integration has led to the development of fully integrated prototypes of point-of-care devices. We describe and compare the performance of several prototypes that are based on different sensing technologies and evaluate their potential as low-cost and readily available next-generation medical devices.

  2. Behaviour of venous flow rates in intermittent sequential pneumatic compression of the legs using different compression strengths

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fassmann-Glaser, I.

    1984-01-01

    A study with 25 patients was performed in order to find out whether intermittent, sequential, pneumatic leg compression is of value in the preventive management of thrombosis due to its effect on the venous flow rates. For this purpose, xenon 133 was injected into one of the foot veins and the flow rate in each case determined for the distance between instep and inguen using different compression strengths, with pressure being exerted on the ankle, calf and thigh. Increased flow rates were already measured at an average pressure value of 34.5 mmHg, while the maximum effect was achieved by exerting a pressure of 92.5 mmHg, which increased the flow rate by 366% as compared to the baseline value. The results point to a significant improvement of the venous flow rates due to intermittent, sequential, pneumatic leg compression and thus provide evidence to prove the value of this method in the prevention of hemostasis and thrombosis. (TRV) [de

  3. A new design for high stability pressure-controlled ventilation for small animal lung imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitchen, M J; Habib, A; Lewis, R A; Fouras, A; Dubsky, S; Wallace, M J; Hooper, S B

    2010-01-01

    We have developed a custom-designed ventilator to deliver a stable pressure to the lungs of small animals for use in imaging experiments. Our ventilator was designed with independent pressure vessels to separately control the Peak Inspiratory Pressure (PIP) and Positive End Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) to minimise pressure fluctuations during the ventilation process. The ventilator was computer controlled through a LabVIEW interface, enabling experimental manipulations to be performed remotely whilst simultaneously imaging the lungs in situ. Mechanical ventilation was successfully performed on newborn rabbit pups to assess the most effective ventilation strategies for aerating the lungs at birth. Highly stable pressures enabled reliable respiratory gated acquisition of projection radiographs and a stable prolonged (15 minute) breath-hold for high-resolution computed tomography of deceased rabbit pups at different lung volumes.

  4. Effect of oxygenation on breath-by-breath response of the genioglossus muscle during occlusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gauda, E B; Carroll, J L; McColley, S; Smith, P L

    1991-10-01

    We investigated the effect of different levels of O2 tension (hypoxia, normoxia, and hyperoxia) on the breath-by-breath onset and peak electromyographic (EMG) activity of the genioglossus (GG) muscle during a five-breath end-expiratory tracheal occlusion of 20- to 30-s duration. GG and diaphragmatic (DIA) EMG activity were measured with needle electrodes in eight anesthetized tracheotomized adult cats. In response to occlusion, the increase in the number of animals with GG EMG activity was different during hypoxia, normoxia, and hyperoxia (P = 0.003, Friedman). During hypoxia, eight of eight of the animals had GG EMG activity by the third occluded effort. In contrast, during normoxia, only four of eight and, during hyperoxia, only three of eight animals had GG EMG activity throughout the entire five-breath occlusion. Similarly, at release of the occlusion, more animals had persistent GG EMG activity on the postocclusion breaths during hypoxia than during normoxia or hyperoxia. Breath-by-breath augmentation of peak amplitude of the GG and DIA EMGs on each occluded effort was accentuated during hypoxia (P less than 0.01) and abolished during hyperoxia (P = 0.10). These results suggest that hypoxemia is a major determinant of the rapidity of onset, magnitude, and sustained activity of upper airway muscles during airway occlusion.

  5. Determination of breath acetone in 149 type 2 diabetic patients using a ringdown breath-acetone analyzer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Meixiu; Chen, Zhuying; Gong, Zhiyong; Zhao, Xiaomeng; Jiang, Chenyu; Yuan, Yuan; Wang, Zhennang; Li, Yingxin; Wang, Chuji

    2015-02-01

    Over 90% of diabetic patients have Type 2 diabetes. Although an elevated mean breath acetone concentration has been found to exist in Type 1 diabetes (T1D), information on breath acetone in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has yet to be obtained. In this study, we first used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to validate a ringdown breath-acetone analyzer based on the cavity-ringdown-spectroscopy technique, through comparing breath acetone concentrations in the range 0.5-2.5 ppm measured using both methods. The linear fitting of R = 0.99 suggests that the acetone concentrations obtained using both methods are consistent with a largest standard deviation of ±0.4 ppm in the lowest concentration of the range. Next, 620 breath samples from 149 T2D patients and 42 healthy subjects were collected and tested using the breath analyzer. Four breath samples were taken from each subject under each of four different conditions: fasting, 2 h post-breakfast, 2 h post-lunch, and 2 h post-dinner. Simultaneous blood glucose levels were also measured using a standard diabetic-management blood-glucose meter. For the 149 T2D subjects, their exhaled breath acetone concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 19.8 ppm; four different ranges of breath acetone concentration, 0.1-19.8, 0.1-7.1, 0.1-6.3, and 0.1-9.5 ppm, were obtained for the subjects under the four different conditions, respectively. For the 42 healthy subjects, their breath acetone concentration ranged from 0.1 to 2.6 ppm; four different ranges of breath acetone concentration, 0.3-2.6, 0.1-2.6, 0.1-1.7, and 0.3-1.6 ppm, were obtained for the four different conditions. The mean breath acetone concentration of the 149 T2D subjects was determined to be 1.5 ± 1.5 ppm, which was 1.5 times that of 1.0 ± 0.6 ppm for the 42 healthy subjects. No correlation was found between the breath acetone concentration and the blood glucose level of the T2D subjects and the healthy volunteers. This study using a relatively large number of

  6. Quantifying the Reproducibility of Heart Position During Treatment and Corresponding Delivered Heart Dose in Voluntary Deep Inhalation Breath Hold for Left Breast Cancer Patients Treated With External Beam Radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McIntosh, Alyson; Shoushtari, Asal N.; Benedict, Stanley H.; Read, Paul W.; Wijesooriya, Krishni

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Voluntary deep inhalation breath hold (VDIBH) reduces heart dose during left breast irradiation. We present results of the first study performed to quantify reproducibility of breath hold using bony anatomy, heart position, and heart dose for VDIBH patients at treatment table. Methods and Materials: Data from 10 left breast cancer patients undergoing VDIBH whole-breast irradiation were analyzed. Two computed tomography (CT) scans, free breathing (FB) and VDIBH, were acquired to compare dose to critical structures. Pretreatment weekly kV orthogonal images and tangential ports were acquired. The displacement difference from spinal cord to sternum across the isocenter between coregistered planning Digitally Reconstructed Radiographs (DRRs) and kV imaging of bony thorax is a measure of breath hold reproducibility. The difference between bony coregistration and heart coregistration was the measured heart shift if the patient is aligned to bony anatomy. Results: Percentage of dose reductions from FB to VDIBH: mean heart dose (48%, SD 19%, p = 0.002), mean LAD dose (43%, SD 19%, p = 0.008), and maximum left anterior descending (LAD) dose (60%, SD 22%, p = 0.008). Average breath hold reproducibility using bony anatomy across the isocenter along the anteroposterior (AP) plane from planning to treatment is 1 (range, 0–3; SD, 1) mm. Average heart shifts with respect to bony anatomy between different breath holds are 2 ± 3 mm inferior, 1 ± 2 mm right, and 1 ± 3 mm posterior. Percentage dose changes from planning to delivery: mean heart dose (7%, SD 6%); mean LAD dose, ((9%, SD 7%)S, and maximum LAD dose, (11%, SD 11%) SD 11%, p = 0.008). Conclusion: We observed excellent three-dimensional bony registration between planning and pretreatment imaging. Reduced delivered dose to heart and LAD is maintained throughout VDIBH treatment.

  7. GENESIS OF INTERPLANETARY INTERMITTENT TURBULENCE: A CASE STUDY OF ROPE–ROPE MAGNETIC RECONNECTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chian, Abraham C.-L.; Loew, Murray H. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 (United States); Feng, Heng Q. [Institute of Space Physics, Luoyang Normal University, Luoyang (China); Hu, Qiang [Department of Space Science and CSPAR, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States); Miranda, Rodrigo A. [UnB-Gama Campus, and Plasma Physics Laboratory, Institute of Physics, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília DF 70910-900 (Brazil); Muñoz, Pablo R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of La Serena, Av. Juan Cisternas 1200, La Serena (Chile); Sibeck, David G. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Wu, De J., E-mail: abraham.chian@gmail.com [Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)

    2016-12-01

    In a recent paper, the relation between current sheet, magnetic reconnection, and turbulence at the leading edge of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection was studied. We report here the observation of magnetic reconnection at the interface region of two interplanetary magnetic flux ropes. The front and rear boundary layers of three interplanetary magnetic flux ropes are identified, and the structures of magnetic flux ropes are reconstructed by the Grad–Shafranov method. A quantitative analysis of the reconnection condition and the degree of intermittency reveals that rope–rope magnetic reconnection is the most likely site for genesis of interplanetary intermittency turbulence in this event. The dynamic pressure pulse resulting from this reconnection triggers the onset of a geomagnetic storm.

  8. Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation for acute asthma in children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Korang, Steven Kwasi; Feinberg, Joshua; Wetterslev, Jørn

    2016-01-01

    (age independently screened titles and abstracts. We retrieved all relevant full-text study reports, independently screened the full text, identified trials for inclusion and identified and recorded...... reasons for exclusion of ineligible trials. We resolved disagreements through discussion or, if required, consulted a third review author. We recorded the selection process in sufficient detail to complete a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) flow diagram...... both studies as having high risk of bias; both trials assessed effects of bilateral positive airway pressure (BiPAP). Neither trial used continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Controls received standard care. Investigators reported no deaths and no serious adverse events (Grades of Recommendation...

  9. The management of tumor motions in the stereotactic irradiation to lung cancer under the use of Abches to control active breathing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tarohda, Tohru I.; Ishiguro, Mitsuru; Hasegawa, Kouhei; Kohda, Yukihiko; Onishi, Hiroaki; Aoki, Tetsuya; Takanaka, Tsuyoshi [Department of Radiology, Asanogawa General Hospital, 83 Kosaka-naka, Kanazawa 920-8621 (Japan); Department of Neurosurgery, Asanogawa General Hospital, 83 Kosaka-naka, Kanazawa 920-8621 (Japan); Naruwa Clinic, 1-16-6 Naruwa, Kanazawa 920-0818 (Japan); Department of Radiation Therapy, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa 920-8641 (Japan)

    2011-07-15

    Purpose: Breathing control is crucial to ensuring the accuracy of stereotactic irradiation for lung cancer. This study monitored respiration in patients with inoperable nonsmall-cell lung cancer using a respiration-monitoring apparatus, Abches, and investigated the reproducibility of tumor position in these patients. Methods: Subjects comprised 32 patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer who were administered stereotactic radiotherapy under breath-holding conditions monitored by Abches. Computed tomography (CT) was performed under breath-holding conditions using Abches (Abches scan) for treatment planning. A free-breathing scan was performed to determine the range of tumor motions in a given position. After the free-breathing scan, Abches scan was repeated and the tumor position thus defined was taken as the intrafraction tumor position. Abches scan was also performed just before treatment, and the tumor position thus defined was taken as the interfraction tumor position. To calculate the errors, tumor positions were compared based on Abches scan for the initial treatment plan. The error in tumor position was measured using the BrainSCAN treatment-planning device, then compared for each lung lobe. Results: Displacements in tumor position were calculated in three dimensions (i.e., superior-inferior (S-I), left-right (L-R), and anterior-posterior (A-P) dimensions) and recorded as absolute values. For the whole lung, average intrafraction tumor displacement was 1.1 mm (L-R), 1.9 mm (A-P), and 2.0 mm (S-I); the average interfraction tumor displacement was 1.1 mm (L-R), 2.1 mm (A-P), and 2.0 mm (S-I); and the average free-breathing tumor displacement was 2.3 mm (L-R), 3.5 mm (A-P), and 7.9 mm (S-I). The difference between using Abches and free breathing could be reduced from approximately 20 mm at the maximum to approximately 3 mm in the S-I direction for both intrafraction and interfraction positions in the lower lobe. In addition, maximum intrafraction tumor

  10. Continuous positive airway pressure breathing increases the spread of sensory blockade after low-thoracic epidural injection of lidocaine.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, W.A.; Gielen, M.J.M.; Giele, J.L.P.

    2006-01-01

    Factors affecting the distribution of sensory blockade after epidural injection of local anesthetics remain incompletely clarified. To evaluate if increasing intrathoracic pressure affects the spread of thoracic epidural anesthesia, we randomized 20 patients who received an epidural catheter at the

  11. Variable pattern contamination control under positive pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Philippi, H.M.

    1997-01-01

    Airborne contamination control in nuclear and biological laboratories is traditionally achieved by directing the space ventilation air at subatmospheric pressures in one fixed flow pattern. However, biological and nuclear contamination flow control in the new Biological Research Facility, to be commissioned at the Chalk River Laboratories in 1996, will have the flexibility to institute a number of contamination control patterns, all achieved at positive (above atmospheric) pressures. This flexibility feature, made possible by means of a digitally controlled ventilation system, changes the facility ventilation system from being a relatively rigid building service operated by plant personnel into a flexible building service which can be operated by the facility research personnel. This paper focuses on and describes the application of these unique contamination control features in the design of the new Biological Research Facility. 3 refs., 7 figs

  12. Variable pattern contamination control under positive pressure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Philippi, H.M. [Chalk River Labs., Ontario (Canada)

    1997-08-01

    Airborne contamination control in nuclear and biological laboratories is traditionally achieved by directing the space ventilation air at subatmospheric pressures in one fixed flow pattern. However, biological and nuclear contamination flow control in the new Biological Research Facility, to be commissioned at the Chalk River Laboratories in 1996, will have the flexibility to institute a number of contamination control patterns, all achieved at positive (above atmospheric) pressures. This flexibility feature, made possible by means of a digitally controlled ventilation system, changes the facility ventilation system from being a relatively rigid building service operated by plant personnel into a flexible building service which can be operated by the facility research personnel. This paper focuses on and describes the application of these unique contamination control features in the design of the new Biological Research Facility. 3 refs., 7 figs.

  13. The 14C-urea breath-test for the detection of gastric Campylobacter pylori infection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Surveyor, I.; Goodwin, C.S.; Mullan, B.P.; Geelhoed, E.; Warren, J.R.; Murray, R.N.; Waters, T.E.; Sanderson, C.R.

    1989-01-01

    Sixty-three patients who were undergoing endoscopy were studied. The radioactivity in exhaled breath which was sampled within five minutes of 14 C -urea administration was attributed to the presence of urease enzyme in mouth organisms and was discounted. The time-radioactivity curves for breath samples from five to 30 minutes after the administration of 14 C-urea gave an excellent separation between subjects with negative results of the examination of gastric-biopsy samples and patients with microbiological and histological evidence of infection with Campylobacter (C.) pylori. The area under the time-radioactivity curve at between five and 30 minutes after the administration of 14 C-urea in 24 patients with negative microbiological results was 6.9±4.4 area units; in 35 of 39 patients with positive microbiological results, this area was greater than 40 area units. Measured against the results of the microbiological examination of gastricbiopsy samples, the sensitivity of breath-testing was 90% and the specificity was 100%. Measured against the results of histological examination for the presence of C. pylori infection, breath-testing had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 93%. A positive breath-test result also correlated well (P=0.0001) with the serological antibody test-result. The role of non-invasive tests - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and 14 C-urea breath-testing - in the management of gastritis and peptic ulcer disease is discussed. We consider that the 14 C-urea breath-test has an important role in the noninvasive confirmation of gastric infection with C. pylori and in the follow-up of patients after treatment. 38 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

  14. Effects of positive end-expiratory pressure on arthroscopic shoulder surgery under general anesthesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ersoy, Ayşın; Çakırgöz, Mensure; Ervatan, Zekeriya; Kıran, Özlem; Türkmen, Aygen; Esenyel, Cem Zeki

    2016-01-01

    Our study is a prospective, randomized study on patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the beach-chair position to evaluate the effects of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on hemodynamic stability, providing a bloodless surgical field and surgical satisfaction. Fifty patients were divided into two groups. Group I (n=25) had zero end-expiratory pressure (ZEEP) administered under general anesthesia, and group II (n=25) had +5 PEEP administered. During surgery, intraarticular hemorrhage and surgical satisfaction were evaluated on a scale of 0-10. During surgery, at the 5th, 30th, 60th, and 90th minutes and at the end of surgery, heart rate, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and positive inspiratory pressure were recorded. At the end of the surgery, the amount of bleeding and duration of the operation were recorded. In group I, the duration of operation and amount of bleeding were found to be significantly greater than those in group II (pshoulder surgery in the beach-chair position reduces the amount of hemorrhage in the surgical field and thus increases surgical satisfaction without requiring the creation of controlled hypotension.

  15. Insomnia complaints in lean patients with obstructive sleep apnea negatively affect positive airway pressure treatment adherence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eysteinsdottir, Bjorg; Gislason, Thorarinn; Pack, Allan I; Benediktsdottir, Bryndís; Arnardottir, Erna S; Kuna, Samuel T; Björnsdottir, Erla

    2017-04-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the determinants of long-term adherence to positive airway pressure treatment among patients with obstructive sleep apnea, with special emphasis on patients who stop positive airway pressure treatment within 1 year. This is a prospective long-term follow-up of subjects in the Icelandic Sleep Apnea Cohort who were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea between 2005 and 2009, and started on positive airway pressure treatment. In October 2014, positive airway pressure adherence was obtained by systematically evaluating available clinical files (n = 796; 644 males, 152 females) with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (apnea-hypopnea index ≥15 events per h). The mean follow-up time was 6.7 ± 1.2 years. In total, 123 subjects (15.5%) returned their positive airway pressure device within the first year, 170 (21.4%) returned it later and 503 (63.2%) were still using positive airway pressure. The quitters within the first year had lower body mass index, milder obstructive sleep apnea, less sleepiness, and more often had symptoms of initial and late insomnia compared with long-term positive airway pressure users at baseline. Both initial and late insomnia were after adjustment still significantly associated with being an early quitter among subjects with body mass index insomnia are associated with early quitting on positive airway pressure among non-obese subjects. © 2016 European Sleep Research Society.

  16. The acute effects of lower limb intermittent negative pressure on foot macro- and microcirculation in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Øyvind Heiberg Sundby

    Full Text Available Intermittent negative pressure (INP applied to the lower leg and foot increases foot perfusion in healthy volunteers. The aim of the present study was to describe the effects of INP to the lower leg and foot on foot macro- and microcirculation in patients with lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD.In this experimental study, we analyzed foot circulation during INP in 20 patients [median (range: 75 (63-84yrs] with PAD. One leg was placed inside an air-tight vacuum chamber connected to an INP-generator. During application of INP (alternating 10s of -40mmHg/7s of atmospheric pressure, we continuously recorded blood flow velocity in a distal foot artery (ultrasound Doppler, skin blood flow on the pulp of the first toes (laser Doppler, heart rate (ECG, and systemic blood pressure (Finometer. After a 5-min baseline sequence (no pressure, a 10-min INP sequence was applied, followed by 5-min post-INP (no pressure. To compare and quantify blood flow fluctuations between sequences, we calculated cumulative up-and-down fluctuations in arterial blood flow velocity per minute.Onset of INP induced an increase in arterial flow velocity and skin blood flow. Peak blood flow velocity was reached 3s after the onset of negative pressure, and increased 46% [(95% CI 36-57, P<0.001] above baseline. Peak skin blood flow was reached 2s after the onset of negative pressure, and increased 89% (95% CI 48-130, P<0.001 above baseline. Cumulative fluctuations per minute were significantly higher during INP-sequences compared to baseline [21 (95% CI 12-30cm/s/min to 41 (95% CI 32-51cm/s/min, P<0.001]. Mean INP blood flow velocity increased significantly ~12% above mean baseline blood flow velocity [(6.7 (95% CI 5.2-8.3cm/s to 7.5 (95% CI 5.9-9.1cm/s, P = 0.03].INP increases foot macro- and microcirculatory flow pulsatility in patients with PAD. Additionally, application of INP resulted in increased mean arterial blood flow velocity.

  17. Breath acetone to monitor life style interventions in field conditions: an exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samudrala, Devasena; Lammers, Gerwen; Mandon, Julien; Blanchet, Lionel; Schreuder, Tim H A; Hopman, Maria T; Harren, Frans J M; Tappy, Luc; Cristescu, Simona M

    2014-04-01

    To assess whether breath acetone concentration can be used to monitor the effects of a prolonged physical activity on whole body lipolysis and hepatic ketogenesis in field conditions. Twenty-three non-diabetic, 11 type 1 diabetic, and 17 type 2 diabetic subjects provided breath and blood samples for this study. Samples were collected during the International Four Days Marches, in the Netherlands. For each participant, breath acetone concentration was measured using proton transfer reaction ion trap mass spectrometry, before and after a 30-50 km walk on four consecutive days. Blood non-esterified free fatty acid (NEFA), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB), and glucose concentrations were measured after walking. Breath acetone concentration was significantly higher after than before walking, and was positively correlated with blood NEFA and BOHB concentrations. The effect of walking on breath acetone concentration was repeatedly observed on all four consecutive days. Breath acetone concentrations were higher in type 1 diabetic subjects and lower in type 2 diabetic subjects than in control subjects. Breath acetone can be used to monitor hepatic ketogenesis during walking under field conditions. It may, therefore, provide real-time information on fat burning, which may be of use for monitoring the lifestyle interventions. Copyright © 2014 The Obesity Society.

  18. [A project to reduce the incidence of facial pressure ulcers caused by prolonged surgery with prone positioning].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Wen-Yi; Lin, Pao-Chen; Weng, Chia-Hsing; Lin, Yi-Lin; Tsai, Wen-Lin

    2012-06-01

    We observed in our institute a 13.6% incidence of prolonged surgery (>4 hours) induced facial pressure ulcers that required prone positioning. Causes identified included: (1) customized silicon face pillows used were not suited for every patient; (2) our institute lacked a standard operating procedure for prone positioning; (3) our institute lacked a postoperative evaluation and audit procedure for facial pressure ulcers. We designed a strategy to reduce post-prolonged surgery facial pressure ulcer incidence requiring prone positioning by 50% (i.e., from 13.6% to 6.8%). We implemented the following: (1) Created a new water pillow to relieve facial pressure; (2) Implemented continuing education pressure ulcer prevention and evaluation; (3) Established protocols on standard care for prone-position patients and proper facial pressure ulcer identification; (4) Established a face pressure ulcers accident reporting mechanism; and (5) Established an audit mechanism facial pressure ulcer cases. After implementing the resolution measures, 116 patients underwent prolonged surgery in a prone position (mean operating time: 298 mins). None suffered from facial pressure ulcers. The measures effectively reduced the incidence of facial pressure ulcers from 13.6% to 0.0%. The project used a water pillow to relieve facial pressure and educated staff to recognize and evaluate pressure ulcers. These measures were demonstrated effective in reducing the incidence of facial pressure ulcers caused by prolonged prone positioning.

  19. Breath Analysis Using Laser Spectroscopic Techniques: Breath Biomarkers, Spectral Fingerprints, and Detection Limits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peeyush Sahay

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Breath analysis, a promising new field of medicine and medical instrumentation, potentially offers noninvasive, real-time, and point-of-care (POC disease diagnostics and metabolic status monitoring. Numerous breath biomarkers have been detected and quantified so far by using the GC-MS technique. Recent advances in laser spectroscopic techniques and laser sources have driven breath analysis to new heights, moving from laboratory research to commercial reality. Laser spectroscopic detection techniques not only have high-sensitivity and high-selectivity, as equivalently offered by the MS-based techniques, but also have the advantageous features of near real-time response, low instrument costs, and POC function. Of the approximately 35 established breath biomarkers, such as acetone, ammonia, carbon dioxide, ethane, methane, and nitric oxide, 14 species in exhaled human breath have been analyzed by high-sensitivity laser spectroscopic techniques, namely, tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS, cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS, integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS, cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy (CEAS, cavity leak-out spectroscopy (CALOS, photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS, quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS, and optical frequency comb cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (OFC-CEAS. Spectral fingerprints of the measured biomarkers span from the UV to the mid-IR spectral regions and the detection limits achieved by the laser techniques range from parts per million to parts per billion levels. Sensors using the laser spectroscopic techniques for a few breath biomarkers, e.g., carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, etc. are commercially available. This review presents an update on the latest developments in laser-based breath analysis.

  20. Positive airway pressure adherence and subthreshold adherence in posttraumatic stress disorder patients with comorbid sleep apnea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krakow BJ

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Barry J Krakow,1–3 Jessica J Obando,2 Victor A Ulibarri,1,2 Natalia D McIver1,2 1Sleep & Human Health Institute, 2Maimonides Sleep Arts & Sciences, Albuquerque, 3Los Alamos Medical Center, Los Alamos, NM, USA Study objectives: Patients with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA manifest low adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP due to fixed, pressure-induced expiratory pressure intolerance (EPI, a subjective symptom and objective sign aggravated by anxiety sensitivity and somatosensory amplification. As advanced PAP therapy modes (ie, auto-bilevel PAP [ABPAP] or adaptive servo-ventilation [ASV] may address these side effects, we hypothesized such treatment would be associated with decreased expiratory intolerance and increased adherence in posttraumatic stress patients with co-occurring OSA.Methods: We reviewed charts of 147 consecutive adult patients with moderately severe posttraumatic stress symptoms and objectively diagnosed OSA. All patients failed or rejected CPAP and were manually titrated on auto-adjusting, dual-pressure ABPAP or ASV modes in the sleep laboratory, a technique to eliminate flow limitation breathing events while resolving EPI. Patients were then prescribed either mode of therapy. Follow-up encounters assessed patient use, and objective data downloads (ODDs measured adherence.Results: Of 147 charts reviewed, 130 patients were deemed current PAP users, and 102 provided ODDs: 64 used ASV and 38 used ABPAP. ODDs yielded three groups: 59 adherent per insurance conventions, 19 subthreshold compliant partial users, and 24 noncompliant. Compliance based on available downloads was 58%, notably higher than recently reported rates in PTSD patients with OSA. Among the 19 partial users, 17 patients were minutes of PAP use or small percentages of nights removed from meeting insurance compliance criteria for PAP devices.Conclusion: Research is warranted on advanced PAP modes in

  1. Sensitivity and specificity of hypopnoea detection using nasal pressure in the presence of a nasal expiratory resistive device (Provent®)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milne, Stephen; Amis, Terence C; Wheatley, John R; Kairaitis, Kristina

    2014-01-01

    Nasal expiratory resistive valves (Provent ® ) have been proposed as novel therapy for obstructive sleep apnea. We compared pressure measurements from a standard nasal pressure catheter used to assess nasal airflow during sleep with those from nasal expiratory resistive device with attached proprietary nasal pressure cannula. Nasal pressure cannula or Provent ® + proprietary nasal pressure cannula were attached to a bench model of human anterior nares and nasal passages, and pressure measured (P). Respiratory airflows generated by a subject breathing were applied to rear of model and airflow ( V-dot ) measured via pneumotachograph. Airflow amplitude (Δ V-dot ) was plotted against pressure amplitude (ΔP). Hypopnoea detection (<50% Δ V-dot ) sensitivity and specificity was tested by expressing ΔP in terms of two reference breaths: reference breath 1, Δ V-dot 0.55 L s −1  = 100%; and reference breath 2, Δ V-dot 0.45 L s −1  = 100%. ΔP/Δ V-dot relationships were linear for Δ V-dot  ≤ 0.55 L s −1 ; ΔP = 0.37ΔV + 0.16 (nasal pressure cannula), ΔP = 2.7ΔV + 0.12 (Provent ® + proprietary nasal pressure cannula); both R 2  > 0.65, p < 0.0001; p < 0.0001 for between slope difference). For nasal pressure cannula, specificity of hypopnoea detection differed between reference breaths one and two (80.2% and 40.0%, respectively), and Provent ® + proprietary nasal pressure cannula (30.3% and 74.2%, respectively). Quantification of airflow obstruction in the presence of Provent ® + proprietary nasal pressure cannula is greatly influenced by the reference breath chosen to determine a reduction in nasal airflow. Reported variability in therapeutic response to nasal expiratory resistive devices may relate to differences in measurement technique specificity used to quantify the severity of sleep disordered breathing. (paper)

  2. Intermittency in 197Au fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dabrowska, A.; Holynski, R.; Olszewski, A.; Szarska, M.; Wilczynska, B.; Wolter, W.; Wosiek, B.; Cherry, M.L.; Deines-Jones, P.; Jones, W.V.; Sengupta, K.; Wefel, B.

    1995-07-01

    The concept of factorial moments was applied to an analysis of the dynamical fluctuations in the charge distributions of the fragments emitted from gold nuclei with energies 10.6 and < 1.0 GeV/n interacting with emulsion nuclei. Clear evidence for intermittent fluctuations has been found in an analysis using all the particles released from the gold projectile, with a stronger effect observed below 1 GeV/n than at 10.6 GeV/n. For the full data sets, however, the intermittency effect was found to be very sensitive to the singly charged particles, and neglecting these particles strongly reduces the intermittency signal. When the analysis is restricted to the multiply charged fragments, an intermittency effect is revealed only for multifragmentation events, although one that is enhanced as compared to the analysis of all, singly and multiply charged, particles. The properties of the anomalous fractal dimensions suggest a sequential decay mechanism, rather than the existence of possible critical behaviour in the process of nuclear fragmentation. The likely influence of the charge conservation effects and the finite size of decaying systems on the observed intermittency signals was pointed out. (author). 37 refs, 9 figs, 5 tabs

  3. The effects of breath-holding on pulmonary regurgitation measured by cardiovascular magnetic resonance velocity mapping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babu-Narayan Sonya V

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pulmonary regurgitation is a common and clinically important residual lesion after repair of tetralogy of Fallot. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR phase contrast velocity mapping is widely used for measurement of pulmonary regurgitant fraction. Breath-hold acquisitions, usually acquired during held expiration, are more convenient than the non-breath-hold approach, but we hypothesized that breath-holding might affect the amount of pulmonary regurgitation. Methods Forty-three adult patients with a previous repair of tetralogy of Fallot and residual pulmonary regurgitation were investigated with CMR. In each, pulmonary regurgitant fraction was measured from velocity maps transecting the pulmonary trunk, acquired during held expiration, held inspiration, by non-breath-hold acquisition, and also from the difference of right and left ventricular stroke volume measurements. Results Pulmonary regurgitant fraction was lower when measured by velocity mapping in held expiration compared with held inspiration, non-breath-hold or stroke volume difference (30.8 vs. 37.0, 35.6, 35.4%, p = 0.00017, 0.0035, 0.026. The regurgitant volume was lower in held expiration than in held inspiration (41.9 vs. 48.3, p = 0.0018. Pulmonary forward flow volume was larger during held expiration than during non-breath-hold (132 vs. 124 ml, p = 0.0024. Conclusion Pulmonary regurgitant fraction was significantly lower in held expiration compared with held inspiration, free breathing and stroke volume difference. Altered airway pressure could be a contributory factor. This information is relevant if breath-hold acquisition is to be substituted for non-breath-hold in the investigation of patients with a view to re-intervention.

  4. Pressure ulcers : predicting factors, prevention and costs

    OpenAIRE

    Demarré, Liesbet

    2014-01-01

    The research outline pursued with this thesis can be divided in three parts. In the first part, studies to compare the effectiveness of several interventions for the prevention of pressure ulcers were conducted. Pressure ulcer prevention focusses on the reduction of the amount and duration of pressure and shear. An alternating device intermittently removes pressure and shear from vulnerable areas. It provides pressure relief via cyclic inflating and deflating air cells. Systematic reviews an...

  5. Identifying Predictors of Central Sleep Apnea/Cheyne-Stokes Breathing in Chronic Heart Failure: a Pathophysiological Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Draganova Aneliya I.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Chronic heart failure (CHF is a major health problem associated with increased mortality, despite modern treatment options. Central sleep apnea (CSA/Cheyne-Stokes breathing (CSB is a common and yet largely under-diagnosed co-morbidity, adding significantly to the poor prognosis in CHF because of a number of acute and chronic effects, including intermittent hypoxia, sympathetic overactivation, disturbed sleep architecture and impaired physical tolerance. It is characterized by repetitive periods of crescendo-decrescendo ventilatory pattern, alternating with central apneas and hypopneas. The pathogenesis of CSA/CSB is based on the concept of loop gain, comprising three major components: controller gain, plant gain and feedback gain. Laboratory polysomnography, being the golden standard for diagnosing sleep-disordered breathing (SDB at present, is a costly and highly specialized procedure unable to meet the vast diagnostic demand. Unlike obstructive sleep apnea, CSA/CSB has a low clinical profile. Therefore, a reliable predictive system is needed for identifying CHF patients who are most likely to suffer from CSA/CSB, optimizing polysomnography use. The candidate predictors should be standardized, easily accessible and low-priced in order to be applied in daily medical routine.

  6. Effects of continuous positive airway pressure on neurocognitive function in obstructive sleep apnea patients: The Apnea Positive Pressure Long-term Efficacy Study (APPLES).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kushida, Clete A; Nichols, Deborah A; Holmes, Tyson H; Quan, Stuart F; Walsh, James K; Gottlieb, Daniel J; Simon, Richard D; Guilleminault, Christian; White, David P; Goodwin, James L; Schweitzer, Paula K; Leary, Eileen B; Hyde, Pamela R; Hirshkowitz, Max; Green, Sylvan; McEvoy, Linda K; Chan, Cynthia; Gevins, Alan; Kay, Gary G; Bloch, Daniel A; Crabtree, Tami; Dement, William C

    2012-12-01

    To determine the neurocognitive effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The Apnea Positive Pressure Long-term Efficacy Study (APPLES) was a 6-month, randomized, double-blind, 2-arm, sham-controlled, multicenter trial conducted at 5 U.S. university, hospital, or private practices. Of 1,516 participants enrolled, 1,105 were randomized, and 1,098 participants diagnosed with OSA contributed to the analysis of the primary outcome measures. Active or sham CPAP MEASUREMENTS: THREE NEUROCOGNITIVE VARIABLES, EACH REPRESENTING A NEUROCOGNITIVE DOMAIN: Pathfinder Number Test-Total Time (attention and psychomotor function [A/P]), Buschke Selective Reminding Test-Sum Recall (learning and memory [L/M]), and Sustained Working Memory Test-Overall Mid-Day Score (executive and frontal-lobe function [E/F]) The primary neurocognitive analyses showed a difference between groups for only the E/F variable at the 2 month CPAP visit, but no difference at the 6 month CPAP visit or for the A/P or L/M variables at either the 2 or 6 month visits. When stratified by measures of OSA severity (AHI or oxygen saturation parameters), the primary E/F variable and one secondary E/F neurocognitive variable revealed transient differences between study arms for those with the most severe OSA. Participants in the active CPAP group had a significantly greater ability to remain awake whether measured subjectively by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale or objectively by the maintenance of wakefulness test. CPAP treatment improved both subjectively and objectively measured sleepiness, especially in individuals with severe OSA (AHI > 30). CPAP use resulted in mild, transient improvement in the most sensitive measures of executive and frontal-lobe function for those with severe disease, which suggests the existence of a complex OSA-neurocognitive relationship. Registered at clinicaltrials.gov. Identifier: NCT00051363. Kushida CA; Nichols DA; Holmes

  7. Oxygen breathing accelerates decompression from saturation at 40 msw in 70-kg swine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Kyle; Soutiere, Shawn E; Tucker, Kathryn E; Dainer, Hugh M; Mahon, Richard T

    2010-07-01

    Submarine disaster survivors can be transferred from a disabled submarine at a pressure of 40 meters of seawater (msw) to a new rescue vehicle; however, they face an inherently risky surface interval before recompression and an enormous decompression obligation due to a high likelihood of saturation. The goal was to design a safe decompression protocol using oxygen breathing and a trial-and-error methodology. We hypothesized that depth, timing, and duration of oxygen breathing during decompression from saturation play a role to mitigate decompression outcomes. Yorkshire swine (67-75 kg), compressed to 40 msw for 22 h, underwent one of three accelerated decompression profiles: (1) 13.3 h staged air decompression to 18 msw, followed by 1 h oxygen breathing, then dropout; (2) direct decompression to 18 msw followed by 1 h oxygen breathing then dropout; and (3) 1 h oxygen prebreathe at 40 msw followed by 1 h mixed gas breathing at 26 msw, 1 h oxygen breathing at 18 msw, and 1 h ascent breathing oxygen. Animals underwent 2-h observation for signs of DCS. Profile 1 (14.3 h total) resulted in no deaths, no Type II DCS, and 20% Type I DCS. Profile 2 (2.1 h total) resulted in 13% death, 50% Type II DCS, and 75% Type I DCS. Profile 3 (4.5 h total) resulted in 14% death, 21% Type II DCS, and 57% Type I DCS. No oxygen associated seizures occurred. Profile 1 performed best, shortening decompression with no death or severe DCS, yet it may still exceed emergency operational utility in an actual submarine rescue.

  8. Intermittent control: a computational theory of human control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gawthrop, Peter; Loram, Ian; Lakie, Martin; Gollee, Henrik

    2011-02-01

    The paradigm of continuous control using internal models has advanced understanding of human motor control. However, this paradigm ignores some aspects of human control, including intermittent feedback, serial ballistic control, triggered responses and refractory periods. It is shown that event-driven intermittent control provides a framework to explain the behaviour of the human operator under a wider range of conditions than continuous control. Continuous control is included as a special case, but sampling, system matched hold, an intermittent predictor and an event trigger allow serial open-loop trajectories using intermittent feedback. The implementation here may be described as "continuous observation, intermittent action". Beyond explaining unimodal regulation distributions in common with continuous control, these features naturally explain refractoriness and bimodal stabilisation distributions observed in double stimulus tracking experiments and quiet standing, respectively. Moreover, given that human control systems contain significant time delays, a biological-cybernetic rationale favours intermittent over continuous control: intermittent predictive control is computationally less demanding than continuous predictive control. A standard continuous-time predictive control model of the human operator is used as the underlying design method for an event-driven intermittent controller. It is shown that when event thresholds are small and sampling is regular, the intermittent controller can masquerade as the underlying continuous-time controller and thus, under these conditions, the continuous-time and intermittent controller cannot be distinguished. This explains why the intermittent control hypothesis is consistent with the continuous control hypothesis for certain experimental conditions.

  9. Body composition variation following diaphragmatic breathing ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Body composition variation following diaphragmatic breathing. ... effect of commonly prescribed diaphragmatic breathing training on the body composition ... a non-exercising control (NE) group (n = 22) or diaphragmatic breathing (DB) group.

  10. Bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation for treating heart failure with central sleep apnea that is unresponsive to continuous positive airway pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dohi, Tomotaka; Kasai, Takatoshi; Narui, Koji; Ishiwata, Sugao; Ohno, Minoru; Yamaguchi, Tetsu; Momomura, Shin-Ichi

    2008-07-01

    Cheyne-Stokes respiration with central sleep apnea (CSR-CSA) is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF). However, some patients do not respond to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), so other therapeutic modalities should be considered, such as bi-level positive airway pressure (PAP), which also assists respiration and might be effective for such patients. The 20 patients with HF because of left ventricular systolic dysfunction were assessed: 8 had ischemic etiology, and all had severe CSA according to the apnea - hypopnea index (AHI) determined by polysomnography. All diagnosed patients underwent repeat polysomnography using CPAP. The AHI improved significantly in 11 (AHI or=15). Bi-level PAP titration significantly improved the AHI in the latter group. Those who were unresponsive to CPAP had significantly lower PaCO(2), higher plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), longer mean duration of CSR and fewer obstructive episodes than CPAP responders. After 6 months of positive airway support with either CPAP (n=9) or bi-level PAP (n=7), BNP levels significantly decreased and left ventricular ejection fraction significantly increased. Bi-level PAP could be an effective alternative for patients with HF and pure CSR-CSA who are unresponsive to CPAP.

  11. Backrest position in prevention of pressure ulcers and ventilator-associated pneumonia: conflicting recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burk, Ruth Srednicki; Grap, Mary Jo

    2012-01-01

    Pressure ulcers and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) are both common in acute and critical care settings and are considerable sources of morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. To prevent pressure ulcers, guidelines limit bed backrest elevation to less than 30 degrees, whereas recommendations to reduce VAP include use of backrest elevations of 30 degrees or more. Although a variety of risk factors beyond patient position have been identified for both pressure ulcers and VAP, this article will focus on summarizing the major evidence for each of these apparently conflicting positioning strategies and discuss implications for practice in managing mechanically ventilated patients with risk factors for both pressure ulcers and VAP. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. An indigenous economic technique of positive pressure retrograde urethrography in female patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H Singh

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Usually double balloon catheter is required forpositive pressure retrograde urethrography in females. We describe a technique of positive pressure retrograde urethrography using Foley catheter and rubber stopper, inexpensive and could be adopted in any hospital or radiological suite.

  13. Establishing tumour tracking accuracy in free-breathing respiratory gated SBRT of lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wen, Chuan-Dong; Wong, C; Ackerly, T; Ruben, J; Millar, J

    2014-01-01

    Free-breathing respiratory gated SBRT of surgically inoperable lung cancer has been clinically commissioned. This study was to establish the tumour tracking accuracy under clinical conditions based on an implanted fiducial marker. A Visicoil TM marker embedded in tissue-equivalent material mounted in a phantom (ET Gating Phantom TM Brainlab) driven by a patient's breathing data was treated with the ExacTrac TM system. This one-dimensional moving marker represented a tumour motion in superior-inferior (S-I) direction measured through 4DCT study of the same patient. Both Gafchromic TM films and the stereoscopic kV images were used for tracking the position of the marker. For tumour motion at magnitudes of 10, 20 and 29 mm and treated with corresponding gate widths of 50%, 33% and 20% of free breathing amplitude, the implanted marker was able to be tracked with a deviation ≤1.53 mm to its planned position.

  14. Thoracic radiotherapy and breath control: current prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reboul, F.; Mineur, L.; Paoli, J.B.; Bodez, V.; Oozeer, R.; Garcia, R.

    2002-01-01

    Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D CRT) is adversely affected by setup error and organ motion. In thoracic 3D CRT, breathing accounts for most of intra-fraction movements, thus impairing treatment quality. Breath control clearly exhibits dosimetric improvement compared to free breathing, leading to various techniques for gated treatments. We review benefits of different breath control methods -i.e. breath-holding or beam gating, with spirometric, isometric or X-ray respiration sensor- and argument the choice of expiration versus inspiration, with consideration to dosimetric concerns. All steps of 3D-CRT can be improved with breath control. Contouring of organs at risk (OAR) and target are easier and more accurate on breath controlled CT-scans. Inter- and intra-fraction target immobilisation allows smaller margins with better coverage. Lung outcome predictors (NTCP, Mean Dose, LV20, LV30) are improved with breath-control. In addition, inspiration breath control facilitates beam arrangement since it widens the distance between OAR and target, and leaves less lung normal tissue within the high dose region. Last, lung density, as of CT scan, is more accurate, improving dosimetry. Our institutions choice is to use spirometry driven, patient controlled high-inspiration breath-hold; this technique gives excellent immobilization results, with high reproducibility, yet it is easy to implement and costs little extra treatment time. Breath control, whatever technique is employed, proves superior to free breathing treatment when using 3D-CRT. Breath control should then be used whenever possible, and is probably mandatory for IMRT. (authors)

  15. [Preventing Facial Pressure Injuries in Patients Who Use Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilators: The Efficiency of Dressings].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai, Chia-Hua; Hsu, Mei-Yu

    2016-10-01

    Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) provides ventilation without tracheal intubation. Facial pressure injury is a recognized complication of this technique, making the prevention of facial pressure injuries an important issue for NPPV patients. The present study compared the effects of foam dressing and hydrocolloid dressing in preventing facial pressure injuries in NPPV patients. A randomized clinical trial was used to evaluate participants that were referred from the intensive care unit of a medical center in eastern Taiwan. Participants were randomized into two groups: the foam dressing group and the hydrocolloid dressing group. Statistics used in analysis were: analysis mean, standard deviation, chi-square, independent t-test, and the generalized estimating equation. Sixty participants were enrolled as participants. The incidence rate of facial pressure injury was 11.7% (7/60). No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of duration of NPPV use, incidence of facial pressure injury, and occurrence time of facial pressure injury. However, the hydrocolloid dressing group had a higher usage amount than the foam dressing group (p < .05). Foam and hydrocolloid dressings are both helpful in preventing facial pressure injury when used in conjunction with regular skin assessments.

  16. Real-time breath analysis with active capillary plasma ionization-ambient mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bregy, Lukas; Sinues, Pablo Martinez-Lozano; Nudnova, Maryia M; Zenobi, Renato

    2014-06-01

    On-line analysis of exhaled human breath is a growing area in analytical science, for applications such as fast and non-invasive medical diagnosis and monitoring. In this work, we present a novel approach based on ambient ionization of compounds in breath and subsequent real-time mass spectrometric analysis. We introduce a plasma ionization source for this purpose, which has no need for additional gases, is very small, and is easily interfaced with virtually any commercial atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer (API-MS) without major modifications. If an API-MS instrument exists in a laboratory, the cost to implement this technology is only around [Formula: see text]500, far less than the investment for a specialized mass spectrometric system designed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) analysis. In this proof-of-principle study we were able to measure mass spectra of exhaled human breath and found these to be comparable to spectra obtained with other electrospray-based methods. We detected over 100 VOCs, including relevant metabolites like fatty acids, with molecular weights extending up to 340 Da. In addition, we were able to monitor the time-dependent evolution of the peaks and show the enhancement of the metabolism after a meal. We conclude that this approach may complement current methods to analyze breath or other types of vapors, offering an affordable option to upgrade any pre-existing API-MS to a real-time breath analyzer.

  17. CONDITIONED ANALYSIS OF HIGH-LATITUDE SOLAR WIND INTERMITTENCY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D'Amicis, R.; Consolini, G.; Bavassano, B.; Bruno, R.

    2012-01-01

    The solar wind is a turbulent medium displaying intermittency. Its intermittent features have been widely documented and studied, showing how the intermittent character is different in fast and slow wind. In this paper, a statistical conditioned analysis of the solar wind intermittency for a period of high-latitude fast solar wind is presented. In particular, the intermittent features are investigated as a function of the Alfvénic degree of fluctuations at a given scale. The results show that the main contribution to solar wind intermittency is due to non-Alfvénic structures, while Alfvénic increments are found to be characterized by a smaller level of intermittency than the previous ones. Furthermore, the lifetime statistics of Alfvénic periods are discussed in terms of a multiscale texture of randomly oriented flux tubes.

  18. An exercise in preferential unilateral breathing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheong, D.; Tucker, B.; Jenkins, S.; Robinson, P.; Curtin University, Shenton Park, WA

    1999-01-01

    Full text: In preparation for major thoracic surgery, physiotherapists have traditionally taught unilateral breathing exercises. There are no studies that prove that these exercises are effective This study was undertaken to demonstrate the effects of unilateral thoracic expansion exercises (TEE) using 99 Tc m -Technegas Ten physiotherapists were taught unilateral TEE to increase ventilation to the right lower lobe. Each subject underwent two separate Technegas ventilation studies using a single-breath technique, one with normal deep inspiration and the other during a right TEE. Dynamic and static images were acquired in the seated position for each ventilation study. Analysis was undertaken by dividing the lungs into 6 zones of equal height and calculating the relative ventilation of each zone and each lung. Seven subjects (70%) achieved significantly increased ventilation to the right lower zone, while 9 (90%) achieved greater ventilation to the right lung. Total lung ventilation was reduced during right TEE when compared with normal deep inspiration

  19. News from the Breath Analysis Summit 2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corradi, Massimo; Mutti, Antonio

    2012-06-01

    This special section highlights some of the important work presented at the Breath Analysis Summit 2011, which was held in Parma (Italy) from 11 to 14 September 2011. The meeting, which was jointly organized by the International Association for Breath Research and the University of Parma, was attended by more than 250 delegates from 33 countries, and offered 34 invited lectures and 64 unsolicited scientific contributions. The summit was organized to provide a forum to scientists, engineers and clinicians to present their latest findings and to meet industry executives and entrepreneurs to discuss key trends, future directions and technologies available for breath analysis. A major focus was on nitric oxide, exhaled breath condensate, electronic nose, mass spectrometry and newer sensor technologies. Medical applications ranged from asthma and other respiratory diseases to gastrointestinal disease, occupational diseases, critical care and cancer. Most people identify breath tests with breathalysers used by police to estimate ethanol concentration in blood. However, breath testing has far more sophisticated applications. Breath analysis is rapidly evolving as a new frontier in medical testing for disease states in the lung and beyond. Every individual has a breath fingerprint-or 'breathprint'-that can provide useful information about his or her state of health. This breathprint comprises the many thousands of molecules that are expelled with each breath we exhale. Breath research in the past few years has uncovered the scientific and molecular basis for such clinical observations. Relying on mass spectrometry, we have been able to identify many such unique substances in exhaled breath, including gases, such as nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO), and a wide array of volatile organic compounds. Exhaled breath also carries aerosolized droplets that can be collected as an exhaled breath condensate that contains endogenously produced non-volatile compounds. Breath

  20. Intermittency '93

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bialas, A.

    1993-01-01

    The existing data definitely indicate the existence of intermittency, i.e. of self similar structures in the systems of particles created in high-energy collisions. The effect seems universal: it was found in most of the processes investigated and its measures parameters depend only weakly (if at all) on the process in question. Strong HBT effect was found, suggesting that intermittency is related to space-time structure of the pion source rather than to detailed momentum structure of the production amplitudes. There are indications that this space time structure may be fractal, but more data is needed to establish this. The theoretical explanation remains obscure: it seems that both parton cascade and hadronization play an important role. Their interrelation, however, remains a mystery. 5 figs., 19 refs

  1. The sup 14 C-urea breath-test for the detection of gastric Campylobacter pylori infection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Surveyor, I; Goodwin, C S; Mullan, B P; Geelhoed, E; Warren, J R; Murray, R N; Waters, T E; Sanderson, C R [Royal Perth Hospital (Australia)

    1989-10-16

    Sixty-three patients who were undergoing endoscopy were studied. The radioactivity in exhaled breath which was sampled within five minutes of {sup 14}C -urea administration was attributed to the presence of urease enzyme in mouth organisms and was discounted. The time-radioactivity curves for breath samples from five to 30 minutes after the administration of {sup 14}C-urea gave an excellent separation between subjects with negative results of the examination of gastric-biopsy samples and patients with microbiological and histological evidence of infection with Campylobacter (C.) pylori. The area under the time-radioactivity curve at between five and 30 minutes after the administration of {sup 14}C-urea in 24 patients with negative microbiological results was 6.9{plus minus}4.4 area units; in 35 of 39 patients with positive microbiological results, this area was greater than 40 area units. Measured against the results of the microbiological examination of gastricbiopsy samples, the sensitivity of breath-testing was 90% and the specificity was 100%. Measured against the results of histological examination for the presence of C. pylori infection, breath-testing had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 93%. A positive breath-test result also correlated well (P=0.0001) with the serological antibody test-result. The role of non-invasive tests - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and {sup 14}C-urea breath-testing - in the management of gastritis and peptic ulcer disease is discussed. We consider that the {sup 14}C-urea breath-test has an important role in the noninvasive confirmation of gastric infection with C. pylori and in the follow-up of patients after treatment. 38 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

  2. Application of dead space fraction to titrate optimal positive end-expiratory pressure in an ARDS swine model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bian, Weishuai; Chen, Wei; Chao, Yangong; Wang, Lan; Li, Liming; Guan, Jian; Zang, Xuefeng; Zhen, Jie; Sheng, Bo; Zhu, Xi

    2017-04-01

    This study aimed to apply the dead space fraction [ratio of dead space to tidal volume (VD/VT)] to titrate the optimal positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in a swine model of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Twelve swine models of ARDS were constructed. A lung recruitment maneuver was then conducted and the PEEP was set at 20 cm H 2 O. The PEEP was reduced by 2 cm H 2 O every 10 min until 0 cm H 2 O was reached, and VD/VT was measured after each decrement step. VD/VT was measured using single-breath analysis of CO 2 , and calculated from arterial CO 2 partial pressure (PaCO 2 ) and mixed expired CO 2 (PeCO 2 ) using the following formula: VD/VT = (PaCO 2 - PeCO 2 )/PaCO 2 . The optimal PEEP was identified by the lowest VD/VT method. Respiration and hemodynamic parameters were recorded during the periods of pre-injury and injury, and at 4 and 2 cm H 2 O below and above the optimal PEEP (Po). The optimal PEEP in this study was found to be 13.25±1.36 cm H 2 O. During the Po period, VD/VT decreased to a lower value (0.44±0.08) compared with that during the injury period (0.68±0.10) (P<0.05), while the intrapulmonary shunt fraction reached its lowest value. In addition, a significant change of dynamic tidal respiratory compliance and oxygenation index was induced by PEEP titration. These results indicate that minimal VD/VT can be used for PEEP titration in ARDS.

  3. Asymmetric Fuzzy Control of a Positive and Negative Pneumatic Pressure Servo System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Gang; Du, Jing-Min; Fu, Xiao-Yun; Li, Bao-Ren

    2017-11-01

    The pneumatic pressure control systems have been used in some fields. However, the researches on pneumatic pressure control mainly focus on constant pressure regulation. Poor dynamic characteristics and strong nonlinearity of such systems limit its application in the field of pressure tracking control. In order to meet the demand of generating dynamic pressure signal in the application of the hardware-in-the-loop simulation of aerospace engineering, a positive and negative pneumatic pressure servo system is provided to implement dynamic adjustment of sealed chamber pressure. A mathematical model is established with simulation and experiment being implemented afterwards to discuss the characteristics of the system, which shows serious asymmetry in the process of charging and discharging. Based on the analysis of the system dynamics, a fuzzy proportional integral derivative (PID) controller with asymmetric fuzzy compensator is proposed. Different from conventional adjusting mechanisms employing the error and change in error of the controlled variable as input parameters, the current chamber pressure and charging or discharging state are chosen as inputs of the compensator, which improves adaptability. To verify the effectiveness and performance of the proposed controller, the comparison experiments tracking sinusoidal and square wave commands are conducted. Experimental results show that the proposed controller can obtain better dynamic performance and relatively consistent control performance across the scope of work (2-140 kPa). The research proposes a fuzzy control method to overcome asymmetry and enhance adaptability for the positive and negative pneumatic pressure servo system.

  4. Impact of age on intermittent hypoxia in obstructive sleep apnea: a propensity-matched analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bostanci, Asli; Bozkurt, Selen; Turhan, Murat

    2018-05-01

    To determine independent relationship of aging with chronic intermittent hypoxia, we compared hypoxia-related polysomnographic variables of geriatric patients (aged ≥ 65 years) with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI)-, gender-, body mass index (BMI)-, and neck circumference-matched cohort of non-geriatric patients. The study was conducted using clinical and polysomnographic data of 1280 consecutive patients who underwent complete polysomnographic evaluation for suspected sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) at a single sleep disorder center. A propensity score-matched analysis was performed to obtain matched cohorts of geriatric and non-geriatric patients, which resulted in successful matching of 168 patients from each group. Study groups were comparable for gender (P = 0.999), BMI (P = 0.940), neck circumference (P = 0.969), AHI (P = 0.935), and severity of SDB (P = 0.089). The oximetric variables representing the duration of chronic intermittent hypoxia such as mean (P = 0.001), the longest (P = 0.001) and total apnea durations (P = 0.003), mean (P = 0.001) and the longest hypopnea durations (P = 0.001), and total sleep time with oxygen saturation below 90% (P = 0.008) were significantly higher in the geriatric patients as compared with younger adults. Geriatric patients had significantly lower minimum (P = 0.013) and mean oxygen saturation (P = 0.001) than non-geriatric patients. The study provides evidence that elderly patients exhibit more severe and deeper nocturnal intermittent hypoxia than the younger adults, independent of severity of obstructive sleep apnea, BMI, gender, and neck circumference. Hypoxia-related polysomnographic variables in geriatric patients may in fact reflect a physiological aging process rather than the severity of a SDB.

  5. Association between temporal mean arterial pressure and brachial noninvasive blood pressure during shoulder surgery in the beach chair position during general anesthesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triplet, Jacob J; Lonetta, Christopher M; Everding, Nathan G; Moor, Molly A; Levy, Jonathan C

    2015-01-01

    Estimation of cerebral perfusion pressure during elective shoulder surgery in the beach chair position is regularly performed by noninvasive brachial blood pressure (NIBP) measurements. The relationship between brachial mean arterial pressure and estimated temporal mean arterial pressure (eTMAP) is not well established and may vary with patient positioning. Establishing a ratio between eTMAP and NIBP at varying positions may provide a more accurate estimation of cerebral perfusion using noninvasive measurements. This prospective study included 57 patients undergoing elective shoulder surgery in the beach chair position. All patients received an interscalene block and general anesthesia. After the induction of general anesthesia, values for eTMAP and NIBP were recorded at 0°, 30°, and 70° of incline. A statistically significant, strong, and direct correlation between NIBP and eTMAP was found at 0° (r = 0.909, P ≤ .001), 30° (r = 0.874, P Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Intermittent spatial separation of diaphragm and lower esophageal sphincter favors acidic and weakly acidic reflux

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bredenoord, Albert J.; Weusten, Bas L. A. M.; Timmer, Robin; Smout, André J. P. M.

    2006-01-01

    BACKGROUND & AIMS: In small hiatal hernias, the size of the hernia is variable. Intermittent complete reduction can be observed with high-resolution manometry as a transition from a double-peak (hernia) to a single-peak (reduced) high-pressure zone. The aim of this study was to investigate whether

  7. Validation of 14 C-urea breath test for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mattar, Rejane; Silva, Fernando Marcuz; Alexandrino, Ana Maria; Laudanna, Antonio Atilio

    1999-01-01

    The aim of this study was to validate the 14 C-urea breath test for use in diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. Thirty H. pylori positive patients, based on histologic test and thirty H. pylori negative patients by histology and anti-H pylori IgG entered the study. Fasting patients drank 5 uCi of 14 C-urea in 20 ml of water. Breath samples were collected at O, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 min. The difference of cpm values between the two groups was significant at all the time intervals, besides time 0 (p 14 C-urea breath test is highly accurate for Helicobacter pylori diagnosis. It is fast, simple and should be the non-invasive test used after treating Helicobacter pylori infection. (author)

  8. Measurements of partial oxygen pressure pO2 using the OxyLite system in R3327-AT tumors under isoflurane anesthesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Bixiu; Urano, Muneyasu; O'Donoghue, Joseph A; Ling, C Clifton

    2006-09-01

    The presence of oxygen-deficient tumor cells is a critical issue in cancer therapy. To identify tumor hypoxia, tissue partial oxygen pressure (pO2) can be measured directly. The OxyLite system allows determination of pO2 in tumors and permits continuous measurements of pO2 at a fixed point. In this study, this system was used to continuously measure pO2 in R3327-AT tumors in animals anesthetized with isoflurane. In addition, continuous pO2 measurement was performed in the muscle in non-tumor-bearing animals. In animals breathing isoflurane balanced by air, tumor pO2 at fixed positions decreased rapidly within 1-2 min of probe positioning but remained stable thereafter. In animals breathing isoflurane balanced by pure oxygen, tumor pO2 was higher and remained high. We also measured pO2 values at multiple positions in R3327-AT tumors of various sizes, with anesthetized animals breathing either air or pure oxygen. Our data showed that the frequency of pO2 measurements below 2.5 or 5.0 mmHg was significantly higher in animals breathing air than in animals breathing pure oxygen. Measurements in different-sized tumors showed that the mean pO2 value decreased as tumor volume increased, with the largest change occurring between tumor volumes of 100 and 200 mm3. Our data demonstrate that the OxyLite system, when used with isoflurane anesthesia, is a valuable tool in the study of tumor hypoxia.

  9. Optimal Intermittent Operation of Water Distribution Networks under Water Shortage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohamad Solgi

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Under water shortage conditions, it is necessary to exercise water consumption management practices in water distribution networks (WDN. Intermittent supply of water is one such practice that makes it possible to supply consumption nodal demands with the required pressure via water cutoff to some consumers during certain hours of the day. One of the most important issues that must be observed in this management practice is the equitable and uniform water distribution among the consumers. In the present study, uniformity in water distribution and minimum supply of water to all consumers are defined as justice and equity, respectively. Also, an optimization model has been developed to find an optimal intermittent supply schedule that ensures maximum number of demand nodes are supplied with water while the constraints on the operation of water distribution networks are also observed. To show the efficiency of the proposed model, it has been used in the Two-Loop distribution network under several different scenarios of water shortage. The optimization model has been solved using the honey bee mating optimization algorithm (HBMO linked to the hydraulic simulator EPANET. The results obtained confirm the efficiency of the proposed model in achieving an optimal intermittent supply schedule. Moreover, the model is found capable of distributing the available water in an equitable and just manner among all the consumers even under severe water shoratges.

  10. Evaluation of Candidate Measures for Home-Based Screening of Sleep Disordered Breathing in Taiwanese Bus Drivers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Ting

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Sleepiness-at-the-wheel has been identified as a major cause of highway accidents. The aim of our study is identifying the candidate measures for home-based screening of sleep disordered breathing in Taiwanese bus drivers, instead of polysomnography. Methods: Overnight polysomnography accompanied with simultaneous measurements of alternative screening devices (pulse oximetry, ApneaLink, and Actigraphy, heart rate variability, wake-up systolic blood pressure and questionnaires were completed by 151 eligible participants who were long-haul bus drivers with a duty period of more than 12 h a day and duty shifting. Results: 63.6% of professional bus drivers were diagnosed as having sleep disordered breathing and had a higher body mass index, neck circumference, systolic blood pressure, arousal index and desaturation index than those professional bus drivers without evidence of sleep disordered breathing. Simple home-based candidate measures: (1 Pulse oximetry, oxygen-desaturation indices by ≥3% and 4% (r = 0.87~0.92; (2 Pulse oximetry, pulse-rising indices by ≥7% and 8% from a baseline (r = 0.61~0.89; and (3 ApneaLink airflow detection, apnea-hypopnea indices (r = 0.70~0.70, based on recording-time or Actigraphy-corrected total sleep time were all significantly correlated with, and had high agreement with, corresponding polysomnographic apnea-hypopnea indices [(1 94.5%~96.6%, (2 93.8%~97.2%, (3 91.1%~91.3%, respectively]. Conversely, no validities of SDB screening were found in the multi-variables apnea prediction questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, night-sleep heart rate variability, wake-up systolic blood pressure and anthropometric variables. Conclusions: The indices of pulse oximetry and apnea flow detection are eligible criteria for home-based screening of sleep disordered breathing, specifically for professional drivers.

  11. Home continuous positive airway pressure for cardiopulmonary indications in infants and children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Iede, Montaha; Kumaran, Radhagini; Waters, Karen

    2018-04-30

    A number of reports exist regarding the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to manage obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in children, which we term 'conventional CPAP'. In contrast, there are few reports of home CPAP use for other indications, which we have grouped under the term 'cardiopulmonary'. The aims of this study were to (1) document cardiopulmonary indications for CPAP use in a cohort of infants and children, and (2) evaluate its effectiveness in this group. Hospital records were reviewed for 645 patients who were commenced on long-term CPAP over a 10-year period at a single-tertiary hospital (Children's Hospital at Westmead). This study evaluated the group where the primary indication for CPAP was not OSA ('cardiopulmonary CPAP'). Data evaluated included: demographics, diagnoses, indications for CPAP, hours of use (compliance) and sleep study results at baseline and on CPAP. Of 645 children, 148 (23%) used home CPAP for cardiopulmonary indications; and 130 (87.8%) of these were included. For this group, mean age at CPAP initiation was 18.6 ± 33.6 months (range one week to 16.8 years). Cardiopulmonary indications for CPAP use included: primary airway diseases 65 (50%), chronic lung diseases 33 (25.4%), congenital heart disease (CHD) 20 (15.4%), and both CHD and airway malacia 12 (9.2%). All sleep study variables improved on CPAP relative to the diagnostic sleep study (p 4 h/night). Interstitial lung diseases and other cardiorespiratory disorders, often of congenital origin, can be effectively treated with home CPAP whether they are associated with OSA or not. Sleep studies demonstrated improved gas exchange, sleep and reduced work of breathing with CPAP use. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. SU-E-T-326: The Oxygen Saturation (SO2) and Breath-Holding Time Variation Applied Active Breathing Control (ABC)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gong, G; Yin, Y [Shandong Cancer Hospital, Jinan, Shandong (China)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: To study the oxygen saturation (SO2) and breath-holding time variation applied active breathing control (ABC) in radiotherapy of tumor. Methods: 24 volunteers were involved in our trials, and they all did breath-holding motion assisted by ELEKTA Active Breathing Coordinator 2.0 for 10 times respectively. And the patient monitor was used to observe the oxygen saturation (SO2) variation. The variation of SO2, and length of breath-holding time and the time for recovering to the initial value of SO2 were recorded and analyzed. Results: (1) The volunteers were divided into two groups according to the SO2 variation in breath-holding: A group, 14 cases whose SO2 reduction were more than 2% (initial value was 97% to 99%, while termination value was 91% to 96%); B group, 10 cases were less than 2% in breath-holding without inhaling oxygen. (2) The interfraction breath holding time varied from 8 to 20s for A group compared to the first breath-holding time, and for B group varied from 4 to 14s. (3) The breathing holding time of B group prolonged mean 8s, compared to A group. (4) The time for restoring to the initial value of SO2 was from 10s to 30s. And the breath-holding time shortened obviously for patients whose SO2 did not recover to normal. Conclusion: It is very obvious that the SO2 reduction in breath-holding associated with ABC for partial people. It is necessary to check the SO2 variation in breath training, and enough time should be given to recover SO2.

  13. Urban community perception towards intermittent water supply system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, M W; Talkhande, A V; Andey, S P; Kelkar, P S

    2002-04-01

    While evaluating intermittent and continuous water supply systems, consumers opinion survey was undertaken for critical appraisal of both modes of operation. With the help of a pre-designed set of questions relating to various aspects of water supply and the opinion of consumers regarding degree of service, a house to house survey was conducted in the study area of Ghaziabad and Jaipur. The consumer opinion survey clearly indicated a satisfactory degree of service wherever adequate quantity of water was made available irrespective of the mode of water supply. Number of complaints regarding quality of water supplied, timings of supply, low pressures and breakdowns in supply were reported during intermittent water supply. Every family stored water for drinking and other uses. Most of the families discard drinking water once the fresh water supply is resumed next day. Discarded drinking water is usually used in kitchen for washing and gardening. Storage for other purposes depends on economic status and availability of other sources like open dug well in the house. While most of the respondents had no complaints on water tariff, all of them were in favour of continuous water supply.

  14. Implementation of Environmental Flows for Intermittent River Systems: Adaptive Management and Stakeholder Participation Facilitate Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conallin, John; Wilson, Emma; Campbell, Josh

    2018-03-01

    Anthropogenic pressure on freshwater ecosystems is increasing, and often leading to unacceptable social-ecological outcomes. This is even more prevalent in intermittent river systems where many are already heavily modified, or human encroachment is increasing. Although adaptive management approaches have the potential to aid in providing the framework to consider the complexities of intermittent river systems and improve utility within the management of these systems, success has been variable. This paper looks at the application of an adaptive management pilot project within an environmental flows program in an intermittent stream (Tuppal Creek) in the Murray Darling Basin, Australia. The program focused on stakeholder involvement, participatory decision-making, and simple monitoring as the basis of an adaptive management approach. The approach found that by building trust and ownership through concentrating on inclusiveness and transparency, partnerships between government agencies and landholders were developed. This facilitated a willingness to accept greater risks and unintended consequences allowing implementation to occur.

  15. Quench-Induced Breathing Mode of One-Dimensional Bose Gases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Bess; Carleo, Giuseppe; Johnson, Aisling; Bouchoule, Isabelle

    2014-07-01

    We measure the position- and momentum-space breathing dynamics of trapped one-dimensional Bose gases at finite temperature. The profile in real space reveals sinusoidal width oscillations whose frequency varies continuously through the quasicondensate to ideal Bose gas crossover. A comparison with theoretical models taking temperature into account is provided. In momentum space, we report the first observation of a frequency doubling in the quasicondensate regime, corresponding to a self-reflection mechanism due to the repulsive interactions. Such a mechanism is predicted for a fermionized system, and has not been observed to date. The disappearance of the frequency doubling through the crossover is mapped out experimentally, giving insights into the dynamics of the breathing evolution.

  16. Quench-induced breathing mode of one-dimensional Bose gases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Bess; Carleo, Giuseppe; Johnson, Aisling; Bouchoule, Isabelle

    2014-07-18

    We measure the position- and momentum-space breathing dynamics of trapped one-dimensional Bose gases at finite temperature. The profile in real space reveals sinusoidal width oscillations whose frequency varies continuously through the quasicondensate to ideal Bose gas crossover. A comparison with theoretical models taking temperature into account is provided. In momentum space, we report the first observation of a frequency doubling in the quasicondensate regime, corresponding to a self-reflection mechanism due to the repulsive interactions. Such a mechanism is predicted for a fermionized system, and has not been observed to date. The disappearance of the frequency doubling through the crossover is mapped out experimentally, giving insights into the dynamics of the breathing evolution.

  17. Effect of leak and breathing pattern on the accuracy of tidal volume estimation by commercial home ventilators: a bench study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luján, Manel; Sogo, Ana; Pomares, Xavier; Monsó, Eduard; Sales, Bernat; Blanch, Lluís

    2013-05-01

    New home ventilators are able to provide clinicians data of interest through built-in software. Monitoring of tidal volume (VT) is a key point in the assessment of the efficacy of home mechanical ventilation. To assess the reliability of the VT provided by 5 ventilators in a bench test. Five commercial ventilators from 4 different manufacturers were tested in pressure support mode with the help of a breathing simulator under different conditions of mechanical respiratory pattern, inflation pressure, and intentional leakage. Values provided by the built-in software of each ventilator were compared breath to breath with the VT monitored through an external pneumotachograph. Ten breaths for each condition were compared for every tested situation. All tested ventilators underestimated VT (ranges of -21.7 mL to -83.5 mL, which corresponded to -3.6% to -14.7% of the externally measured VT). A direct relationship between leak and underestimation was found in 4 ventilators, with higher underestimations of the VT when the leakage increased, ranging between -2.27% and -5.42% for each 10 L/min increase in the leakage. A ventilator that included an algorithm that computes the pressure loss through the tube as a function of the flow exiting the ventilator had the minimal effect of leaks on the estimation of VT (0.3%). In 3 ventilators the underestimation was also influenced by mechanical pattern (lower underestimation with restrictive, and higher with obstructive). The inclusion of algorithms that calculate the pressure loss as a function of the flow exiting the ventilator in commercial models may increase the reliability of VT estimation.

  18. The effects of short work vs. longer work periods within intermittent exercise on V̇o2p kinetics, muscle deoxygenation, and energy system contribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCrudden, Michael C; Keir, Daniel A; Belfry, Glen R

    2017-06-01

    We examined the effects of inserting 3-s recovery periods during high-intensity cycling exercise at 25-s and 10-s intervals on pulmonary oxygen uptake (V̇o 2p ), muscle deoxygenation [deoxyhemoglobin (HHb)], their associated kinetics (τ), and energy system contributions. Eleven men (24 ± 3 yr) completed two trials of three cycling protocols: an 8-min continuous protocol (CONT) and two 8-min intermittent exercise protocols with work-to-rest periods of 25 s to 3 s (25INT) and 10 s to 3 s (10INT). Each protocol began with a step-transition from a 20-W baseline to a power output (PO) of 60% between lactate threshold and maximal V̇o 2p (Δ60). This PO was maintained for 8 min in CONT, whereas 3-s periods of 20-W cycling were inserted every 10 s and 25 s after the transition to Δ60 in 10INT and 25INT, respectively. Breath-by-breath gas exchange measured by mass spectrometry and turbine and vastus lateralis [HHb] measured by near-infrared spectroscopy were recorded throughout. Arterialized-capillary lactate concentration ([Lac - ]) was obtained before and 2 min postexercise. The τV̇o 2p was lowest ( P 0.05) between conditions. Postexercise [Lac - ] was lowest ( P exercise speeded V̇o 2p kinetics and reduced overall V̇o 2p , suggesting an increased reliance on PCr-derived phosphorylation during the work period of INT compared with an identical PO performed continuously. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We report novel observations on the effects of differing heavy-intensity work durations between 3-s recovery periods on pulmonary oxygen uptake (V̇o 2p ) kinetics, muscle deoxygenation, and energy system contributions. Relative to continuous exercise, V̇o 2p kinetics are faster in intermittent exercise, and increased frequency of 3-s recovery periods improves microvascular O 2 delivery and reduces V̇o 2p and arterialized-capillary lactate concentration. The metabolic burden of identical intensity work is altered when performed intermittently vs. continuously. Copyright

  19. Continuous positive airway pressure with helmet versus mask in infants with bronchiolitis: an RCT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chidini, Giovanna; Piastra, Marco; Marchesi, Tiziana; De Luca, Daniele; Napolitano, Luisa; Salvo, Ida; Wolfler, Andrea; Pelosi, Paolo; Damasco, Mirco; Conti, Giorgio; Calderini, Edoardo

    2015-04-01

    Noninvasive continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is usually applied with a nasal or facial mask to treat mild acute respiratory failure (ARF) in infants. A pediatric helmet has now been introduced in clinical practice to deliver CPAP. This study compared treatment failure rates during CPAP delivered by helmet or facial mask in infants with respiratory syncytial virus-induced ARF. In this multicenter randomized controlled trial, 30 infants with respiratory syncytial virus-induced ARF were randomized to receive CPAP by helmet (n = 17) or facial mask (n = 13). The primary endpoint was treatment failure rate (defined as due to intolerance or need for intubation). Secondary outcomes were CPAP application time, number of patients requiring sedation, and complications with each interface. Compared with the facial mask, CPAP by helmet had a lower treatment failure rate due to intolerance (3/17 [17%] vs 7/13 [54%], P = .009), and fewer infants required sedation (6/17 [35%] vs 13/13 [100%], P = .023); the intubation rates were similar. In successfully treated patients, CPAP resulted in better gas exchange and breathing pattern with both interfaces. No major complications due to the interfaces occurred, but CPAP by mask had higher rates of cutaneous sores and leaks. These findings confirm that CPAP delivered by helmet is better tolerated than CPAP delivered by facial mask and requires less sedation. In addition, it is safe to use and free from adverse events, even in a prolonged clinical setting. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  20. Breath-hold monitoring and visual feedback for radiotherapy using a charge-coupled device camera and a head-mounted display. System development and feasibility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshitake, Tadamasa; Nakamura, Katsumasa; Shioyama, Yoshiyuki

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to present the technical aspects of the breath-hold technique with respiratory monitoring and visual feedback and to evaluate the feasibility of this system in healthy volunteers. To monitor respiration, the vertical position of the fiducial marker placed on the patient's abdomen was tracked by a machine vision system with a charge-coupled device camera. A monocular head-mounted display was used to provide the patient with visual feedback about the breathing trace. Five healthy male volunteers were enrolled in this study. They held their breath at the end-inspiration and the end-expiration phases. They performed five repetitions of the same type of 15-s breath-holds with and without a head-mounted display, respectively. A standard deviation of five mean positions of the fiducial marker during a 15-s breath-hold in each breath-hold type was used as the reproducibility value of breath-hold. All five volunteers well tolerated the breath-hold maneuver. For the inspiration breath-hold, the standard deviations with and without visual feedback were 1.74 mm and 0.84 mm, respectively (P=0.20). For the expiration breath-hold, the standard deviations with and without visual feedback were 0.63 mm and 0.96 mm, respectively (P=0.025). Our newly developed system might help the patient achieve improved breath-hold reproducibility. (author)

  1. Implementation of single-breath-hold cone beam CT guided hypofraction radiotherapy for lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong, Renming; Lu, You; Wang, Jin; Zhou, Lin; Xu, Feng; Liu, Li; Zhou, Jidan; Jiang, Xiaoqin; Chen, Nianyong; Bai, Sen

    2014-01-01

    To analyze the feasibility of active breath control (ABC), the lung tumor reproducibility and the rationale for single-breath-hold cone beam CT (CBCT)-guided hypofraction radiotherapy. Single-breath-hold CBCT images were acquired using ABC in a cohort of 83 lung cancer patients (95 tumors) treated with hypofraction radiotherapy. For all alignments between the reference CT and CBCT images (including the pre-correction, post-correction and post-treatment CBCT images), the tumor reproducibility was evaluated via online manual alignment of the tumors, and the vertebral bone uncertainties were evaluated via offline manual alignment of the vertebral bones. The difference between the tumor reproducibility and the vertebral bone uncertainty represents the change in the tumor position relative to the vertebral bone. The relative tumor positions along the coronal, sagittal and transverse axes were measured based on the reference CT image. The correlations between the vertebral bone uncertainty, the relative tumor position, the total treatment time and the tumor reproducibility were evaluated using the Pearson correlations. Pre-correction, the systematic/random errors of tumor reproducibility were 4.5/2.6 (medial-lateral, ML), 5.1/4.8 (cranial-caudal, CC) and 4.0/3.6 mm (anterior-posterior, AP). These errors were significantly decreased to within 3 mm, both post-correction and post-treatment. The corresponding PTV margins were 4.7 (ML), 7.4 (CC) and 5.4 (AP) mm. The changes in the tumor position relative to the vertebral bone displayed systematic/random errors of 2.2/2.0 (ML), 4.1/4.4 (CC) and 3.1/3.3 (AP) mm. The uncertainty of the vertebral bone significantly correlated to the reproducibility of the tumor position (P < 0.05), except in the CC direction post-treatment. However, no significant correlation was detected between the relative tumor position, the total treatment time and the tumor reproducibility (P > 0.05). Using ABC for single-breath-hold CBCT guidance is an

  2. FMWC Radar for Breath Detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Suhr, Lau Frejstrup; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso; Vegas Olmos, Juan José

    We report on the experimental demonstration of an FMCW radar operating in the 25.7 - 26.6 GHz range with a repetition rate of 500 sweeps per second. The radar is able to track the breathing rate of an adult human from a distance of 1 meter. The experiments have utilized a 50 second recording window...... to accurately track the breathing rate. The radar utilizes a saw tooth modulation format and a low latency receiver. A breath tracking radar is useful both in medical scenarios, diagnosing disorders such as sleep apnea, and for home use where the user can monitor its health. Breathing is a central part of every...... radar chip which, through the use of a simple modulation scheme, is able to measure the breathing rate of an adult human from a distance. A high frequency output makes sure that the radar cannot penetrate solid obstacles which is a wanted feature in private homes where people therefore cannot measure...

  3. Reverse Trendelenburg position is a safer technique for lowering central venous pressure without decreasing blood pressure than clamping of the inferior vena cava below the liver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoneda, Godai; Katagiri, Satoshi; Yamamoto, Masakazu

    2015-06-01

    Bleeding remains an important intraoperative complication in patients who undergo hepatectomy. It is generally believed that a reduction in central venous pressure will decrease bleeding from the hepatic venous system. To our knowledge, however, no study has compared the effectiveness of these techniques for controlling bleeding. So we compared the effectiveness of central venous pressure control techniques, such as infrahepatic inferior vena cava clamping, changes in surgical position of the patient, and hypoventilation anesthesia, for lowering central venous pressure. The study group comprised 50 patients who underwent hepatectomy in our department from 2012 through 2013. A central venous catheter was inserted into the right internal jugular vein, and the tip was placed in the superior vena cava. A transducer was placed along the mid-axillary line of the left side of the chest. After opening the abdomen, changes in central venous pressure were measured during inferior vena cava clamping, the reverse Trendelenburg position, the Trendelenburg position, and hypoventilation anesthesia. The inclination relative to the transducer, as measured with an inclinometer, was -10 degrees for the Trendelenburg position and +10 degrees for the reverse Trendelenburg position. The tidal volume was set at 10 mL/kg during conventional anesthesia and 5 mL/kg during hypoventilation anesthesia. The mean central venous pressure was 8.0 cm H(2)O in the supine position during conventional anesthesia, 5.0 cm H(2)O during inferior vena cava clamping, 5.6 cm H(2)O during reverse Trendelenburg position, 10.6 cm H(2)O during Trendelenburg position, and 7.6 cm H(2)O during hypoventilation anesthesia. The mean central venous pressure during inferior vena cava clamping and reverse Trendelenburg position was significantly lower than that during supine position (P = 0.0017 and P = 0.0231, respectively). The mean central venous pressure during hypoventilation

  4. Nasal bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) versus nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in preterm infants ≤32 weeks: A retrospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rong, Zhi-Hui; Li, Wen-Bin; Liu, Wei; Cai, Bao-Huan; Wang, Jing; Yang, Min; Li, Wei; Chang, Li-Wen

    2016-05-01

    To investigate whether Bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP), compared with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), is a more effective therapeutic strategy in preterm infants ≤32 weeks. All inborn infants between 26(+1) and 32(+6) weeks' gestation, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU ) of Tongji Medical Hospital between 1 January, 2010 and 31 December, 2011 (the 2010-2011 cohort or CPAP cohort) and between 1 January, 2012 and 31 December, 2013 (the 2012-2013 cohort or BiPAP cohort), were retrospectively identified. The primary outcome was intubation in infants CPAP were subsequently intubated (P CPAP, reduced the need for intubation within the first 72 h of age. © 2016 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

  5. Visualizing Breath using Digital Holography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobson, P. R.; Reid, I. D.; Wilton, J. B.

    2013-02-01

    Artist Jayne Wilton and physicists Peter Hobson and Ivan Reid of Brunel University are collaborating at Brunel University on a project which aims to use a range of techniques to make visible the normally invisible dynamics of the breath and the verbal and non-verbal communication it facilitates. The breath is a source of a wide range of chemical, auditory and physical exchanges with the direct environment. Digital Holography is being investigated to enable a visually stimulating articulation of the physical trajectory of the breath as it leaves the mouth. Initial findings of this research are presented. Real time digital hologram replay allows the audience to move through holographs of breath-born particles.

  6. A multiscale MDCT image-based breathing lung model with time-varying regional ventilation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Youbing; Choi, Jiwoong; Hoffman, Eric A.; Tawhai, Merryn H.; Lin, Ching-Long

    2012-01-01

    A novel algorithm is presented that links local structural variables (regional ventilation and deforming central airways) to global function (total lung volume) in the lung over three imaged lung volumes, to derive a breathing lung model for computational fluid dynamics simulation. The algorithm constitutes the core of an integrative, image-based computational framework for subject-specific simulation of the breathing lung. For the first time, the algorithm is applied to three multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) volumetric lung images of the same individual. A key technique in linking global and local variables over multiple images is an in-house mass-preserving image registration method. Throughout breathing cycles, cubic interpolation is employed to ensure C1 continuity in constructing time-varying regional ventilation at the whole lung level, flow rate fractions exiting the terminal airways, and airway deformation. The imaged exit airway flow rate fractions are derived from regional ventilation with the aid of a three-dimensional (3D) and one-dimensional (1D) coupled airway tree that connects the airways to the alveolar tissue. An in-house parallel large-eddy simulation (LES) technique is adopted to capture turbulent-transitional-laminar flows in both normal and deep breathing conditions. The results obtained by the proposed algorithm when using three lung volume images are compared with those using only one or two volume images. The three-volume-based lung model produces physiologically-consistent time-varying pressure and ventilation distribution. The one-volume-based lung model under-predicts pressure drop and yields un-physiological lobar ventilation. The two-volume-based model can account for airway deformation and non-uniform regional ventilation to some extent, but does not capture the non-linear features of the lung. PMID:23794749

  7. A multiscale MDCT image-based breathing lung model with time-varying regional ventilation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yin, Youbing, E-mail: youbing-yin@uiowa.edu [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Department of Radiology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Choi, Jiwoong, E-mail: jiwoong-choi@uiowa.edu [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Hoffman, Eric A., E-mail: eric-hoffman@uiowa.edu [Department of Radiology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Tawhai, Merryn H., E-mail: m.tawhai@auckland.ac.nz [Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland (New Zealand); Lin, Ching-Long, E-mail: ching-long-lin@uiowa.edu [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States)

    2013-07-01

    A novel algorithm is presented that links local structural variables (regional ventilation and deforming central airways) to global function (total lung volume) in the lung over three imaged lung volumes, to derive a breathing lung model for computational fluid dynamics simulation. The algorithm constitutes the core of an integrative, image-based computational framework for subject-specific simulation of the breathing lung. For the first time, the algorithm is applied to three multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) volumetric lung images of the same individual. A key technique in linking global and local variables over multiple images is an in-house mass-preserving image registration method. Throughout breathing cycles, cubic interpolation is employed to ensure C{sub 1} continuity in constructing time-varying regional ventilation at the whole lung level, flow rate fractions exiting the terminal airways, and airway deformation. The imaged exit airway flow rate fractions are derived from regional ventilation with the aid of a three-dimensional (3D) and one-dimensional (1D) coupled airway tree that connects the airways to the alveolar tissue. An in-house parallel large-eddy simulation (LES) technique is adopted to capture turbulent-transitional-laminar flows in both normal and deep breathing conditions. The results obtained by the proposed algorithm when using three lung volume images are compared with those using only one or two volume images. The three-volume-based lung model produces physiologically-consistent time-varying pressure and ventilation distribution. The one-volume-based lung model under-predicts pressure drop and yields un-physiological lobar ventilation. The two-volume-based model can account for airway deformation and non-uniform regional ventilation to some extent, but does not capture the non-linear features of the lung.

  8. Recent Experiences in the Respiratory Unit of the Johannesburg ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Fifty-six patients,of whom 47 had intermittent positive pressure respiration, required treatment in an intensive care unit. Twenty-two patients died in the intensive care unit-a mortality rate of 39%. Also discussed and briefly illustrated are problems of intermittent positive pressure respiration, tracheostomy and endotracheal ...

  9. Clinical performance of a free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced pediatric abdominal MR angiography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tao; Yousaf, Ufra; Hsiao, Albert; Cheng, Joseph Y; Alley, Marcus T; Lustig, Michael; Pauly, John M; Vasanawala, Shreyas S

    2015-10-01

    Pediatric contrast-enhanced MR angiography is often limited by respiration, other patient motion and compromised spatiotemporal resolution. To determine the reliability of a free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography method for depicting abdominal arterial anatomy in young children. With IRB approval and informed consent, we retrospectively identified 27 consecutive children (16 males and 11 females; mean age: 3.8 years, range: 14 days to 8.4 years) referred for contrast-enhanced MR angiography at our institution, who had undergone free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography studies. A radio-frequency-spoiled gradient echo sequence with Cartesian variable density k-space sampling and radial view ordering, intrinsic motion navigation and intermittent fat suppression was developed. Images were reconstructed with soft-gated parallel imaging locally low-rank method to achieve both motion correction and high spatiotemporal resolution. Quality of delineation of 13 abdominal arteries in the reconstructed images was assessed independently by two radiologists on a five-point scale. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals of the proportion of diagnostically adequate cases were calculated. Interobserver agreements were also analyzed. Eleven out of 13 arteries achieved acceptable image quality (mean score range: 3.9-5.0) for both readers. Fair to substantial interobserver agreement was reached on nine arteries. Free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography frequently yields diagnostic image quality for most abdominal arteries in young children.

  10. Clinical performance of a free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced pediatric abdominal MR angiography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Tao; Cheng, Joseph Y. [Stanford University, Department of Radiology, Stanford, CA (United States); Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford, CA (United States); Yousaf, Ufra; Alley, Marcus T.; Vasanawala, Shreyas S. [Stanford University, Department of Radiology, Stanford, CA (United States); Hsiao, Albert [University of California, San Diego, Department of Radiology, San Diego, CA (United States); Lustig, Michael [Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford, CA (United States); University of California, Berkeley, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Berkeley, CA (United States); Pauly, John M. [Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford, CA (United States)

    2015-10-15

    Pediatric contrast-enhanced MR angiography is often limited by respiration, other patient motion and compromised spatiotemporal resolution. To determine the reliability of a free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography method for depicting abdominal arterial anatomy in young children. With IRB approval and informed consent, we retrospectively identified 27 consecutive children (16 males and 11 females; mean age: 3.8 years, range: 14 days to 8.4 years) referred for contrast-enhanced MR angiography at our institution, who had undergone free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography studies. A radio-frequency-spoiled gradient echo sequence with Cartesian variable density k-space sampling and radial view ordering, intrinsic motion navigation and intermittent fat suppression was developed. Images were reconstructed with soft-gated parallel imaging locally low-rank method to achieve both motion correction and high spatiotemporal resolution. Quality of delineation of 13 abdominal arteries in the reconstructed images was assessed independently by two radiologists on a five-point scale. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals of the proportion of diagnostically adequate cases were calculated. Interobserver agreements were also analyzed. Eleven out of 13 arteries achieved acceptable image quality (mean score range: 3.9-5.0) for both readers. Fair to substantial interobserver agreement was reached on nine arteries. Free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography frequently yields diagnostic image quality for most abdominal arteries in young children. (orig.)

  11. Clinical performance of a free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced pediatric abdominal MR angiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Tao; Cheng, Joseph Y.; Yousaf, Ufra; Alley, Marcus T.; Vasanawala, Shreyas S.; Hsiao, Albert; Lustig, Michael; Pauly, John M.

    2015-01-01

    Pediatric contrast-enhanced MR angiography is often limited by respiration, other patient motion and compromised spatiotemporal resolution. To determine the reliability of a free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography method for depicting abdominal arterial anatomy in young children. With IRB approval and informed consent, we retrospectively identified 27 consecutive children (16 males and 11 females; mean age: 3.8 years, range: 14 days to 8.4 years) referred for contrast-enhanced MR angiography at our institution, who had undergone free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography studies. A radio-frequency-spoiled gradient echo sequence with Cartesian variable density k-space sampling and radial view ordering, intrinsic motion navigation and intermittent fat suppression was developed. Images were reconstructed with soft-gated parallel imaging locally low-rank method to achieve both motion correction and high spatiotemporal resolution. Quality of delineation of 13 abdominal arteries in the reconstructed images was assessed independently by two radiologists on a five-point scale. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals of the proportion of diagnostically adequate cases were calculated. Interobserver agreements were also analyzed. Eleven out of 13 arteries achieved acceptable image quality (mean score range: 3.9-5.0) for both readers. Fair to substantial interobserver agreement was reached on nine arteries. Free-breathing spatiotemporally accelerated 3-D time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography frequently yields diagnostic image quality for most abdominal arteries in young children. (orig.)

  12. Swimming in air-breathing fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefevre, S; Domenici, P; McKenzie, D J

    2014-03-01

    Fishes with bimodal respiration differ in the extent of their reliance on air breathing to support aerobic metabolism, which is reflected in their lifestyles and ecologies. Many freshwater species undertake seasonal and reproductive migrations that presumably involve sustained aerobic exercise. In the six species studied to date, aerobic exercise in swim flumes stimulated air-breathing behaviour, and there is evidence that surfacing frequency and oxygen uptake from air show an exponential increase with increasing swimming speed. In some species, this was associated with an increase in the proportion of aerobic metabolism met by aerial respiration, while in others the proportion remained relatively constant. The ecological significance of anaerobic swimming activities, such as sprinting and fast-start manoeuvres during predator-prey interactions, has been little studied in air-breathing fishes. Some species practise air breathing during recovery itself, while others prefer to increase aquatic respiration, possibly to promote branchial ion exchange to restore acid-base balance, and to remain quiescent and avoid being visible to predators. Overall, the diversity of air-breathing fishes is reflected in their swimming physiology as well, and further research is needed to increase the understanding of the differences and the mechanisms through which air breathing is controlled and used during exercise. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  13. Effect of nasal continuous and biphasic positive airway pressure on lung volume in preterm infants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Miedema, Martijn; van der Burg, Pauline S.; Beuger, Sabine; de Jongh, Frans H.; Frerichs, Inez; van Kaam, Anton H.

    2013-01-01

    To monitor regional changes in end-expiratory lung volume (EELV), tidal volumes, and their ventilation distribution during different levels of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) and nasal biphasic positive airway pressure (BiPAP) in stable preterm infants. By using electrical

  14. A decrease in nasal CO2 stimulates breathing in the tegu lizard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coates, E L; Furilla, R A; Ballam, G O; Bartlett, D

    1991-10-01

    Tegu lizards decrease ventilatory frequency (f) when constant CO2, as low as 0.4%, is delivered to the nasal cavities. In contrast, CO2, as high as 6%, pulsed into the nasal cavities during the expiratory phase of the breathing cycle does not alter f. The purpose of the present study was to investigate further the effect of nasal CO2 pattern on f in tegu lizards. Specifically, we tested: (1) whether f was affected by CO2 delivered to the nasal cavities during the inspiratory phase of the breathing cycle, and (2) whether pulsed decreases in nasal CO2 from 4% to 2% and from 4% to 0% would remove the f inhibition caused by constant nasal CO2. Ventilation was measured using a pneumotachograph and pressure transducer in-line with an endotracheal T-tube inserted through the glottis. CO2 was delivered to the nasal cavities through small tubes inserted into the external nares. Ventilatory frequency was not significantly altered when 4% CO2 was pulsed into the nasal cavities during inspiration. Dropping the CO2 in the nasal cavities from 4% to 0% at either 15 cycles/min (0.25 Hz) or for one cycle stimulated breathing. There was no significant difference between the f response to a drop in CO2 from 4% to 0% and that to a drop in CO2 from 4% to 2%. The failure to link the phasic CO2 ventilatory response to a phase in the respiratory cycle indicates that the nasal CO2 receptors do not participate in the breath-by-breath regulation of breathing in these lizards. The observation that small decreases in nasal CO2 abolished the f inhibition caused by constant nasal CO2 provides further evidence for the ability of the nasal CO2 receptors to distinguish between pulsed and constant CO2.

  15. [Application of injection test in confirming the ideal position of esophageal balloon catheter].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Han; Xu, Ming; Yang, Yanlin; He, Xuan; Zhou, Jianxin

    2017-09-01

    To evaluate the safety and feasibility of injection test which is used to locate esophageal balloon catheter. A prospective study was conducted. The patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) admitted to general intensive care unit (ICU) of Beijing Tiantan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from May 2015 and March 2017 were enrolled. The commercially available esophageal balloon catheter was modified to perform injection test. The catheter was withdrawn step by step and the injection test was repeated until the presence disturbance wave presented, which indicated that the balloon had just entered the esophagus. The position where disturbance wave appears was named 0 cm. End-expiratory occlusions were performed at the positions of +15, +10, +5, 0, -5, -10 and -15 cm, respectively, and the changes of esophageal pressure (Pes) and airway pressures (Paw) were measured in the spontaneous breathing and passive ventilation, and the ratio between the changes (ΔPes/ΔPaw) was calculated. A total of 20 patients were enrolled, of which 15 patients finished both the spontaneous and the passive ventilation parts, and 2 patients finished only the spontaneous part and 3 patients finished only passive part. (1) Disturbance waves could be induced by injection test in all patients. The average depth of disturbance wave in spontaneous breathing was deeper than that in passive ventilation (cm: 42.4±3.8 vs. 41.8±3.3), but there was no significant difference between the two ventilation settings (P = 0.132). No adverse events occurred during the study period. (2) Pes increased with the stepwise withdraw of esophageal catheter, reached the maximal value at +5 cm, and then decreased when the catheter was further withdrawn, no matter in the spontaneous or the passive ventilation. In spontaneous breathing, the ΔPes/ΔPaw was within the ideal range (0.8-1.2) at the positions of 0, -5 and -10 cm. The ΔPes/ΔPaw was closest to unity at the positions of 0 cm (0

  16. Comparison of an increased waist circumference with a positive hydrogen breath test as a clinical predictor of lactose intolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapata-Castilleja, Carlos A; Montes-Tapia, Fernando F; Treviño-Garza, Consuelo; Martínez-Cobos, María C; García-Cantú, Jesús; Arenas-Fabbri, Vincenzo; de la O-Escamilla, Norma; de la O-Cavazos, Manuel

    2017-04-01

    Lactose intolerance is a common disease in pediatrics, and its wrong diagnosis will lead to morbidity. The primary objective of this study was to assess the usefulness of an increased waist circumference during the hydrogen breath test as a predictor of lactose intolerance. The secondary objective was to analyze the impact of body mass index, waist circumference measurement, and age on the abdominal distension of patients with lactose intolerance. A total of 138 subjects aged 3 to 15 years were included. They underwent serial measurements of the waist circumference and hydrogen levels in the breath every 30 minutes over 3 hours during the hydrogen breath test. Out of the entire sample, 35 (25.4%) patients had lactose intolerance. An increase of 0.85 cm in waist circumference compared to the baseline waist circumference results in a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 85% to predict lactose intolerance (odds ratio: 42.14, 95% confidence interval: 13.08-135.75, p ≤ 0.001). The body mass index and waist circumference measurement did not affect abdominal distension (p= not significant); however, age modified the time of distension. A 0.85 cm increase in waist circumference compared to the baseline waist circumference during the hydrogen breath test is a useful parameter for the diagnosis of lactose intolerance in pediatrics. Variations in relation to body mass index and waist circumference did not affect the usefulness of an increased waist circumference, unlike age.

  17. Effect of Acute Intermittent CPAP Depressurization during Sleep in Obese Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jun, Jonathan C.; Unnikrishnan, Dileep; Schneider, Hartmut; Kirkness, Jason; Schwartz, Alan R.; Smith, Philip L.; Polotsky, Vsevolod Y.

    2016-01-01

    Background Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) describes intermittent collapse of the airway during sleep, for which continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is often prescribed for treatment. Prior studies suggest that discontinuation of CPAP leads to a gradual, rather than immediate return of baseline severity of OSA. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of OSA recurrence during short intervals of CPAP depressurization during sleep. Methods Nine obese (BMI = 40.4 ± 3.5) subjects with severe OSA (AHI = 88.9 ± 6.8) adherent to CPAP were studied during one night in the sleep laboratory. Nasal CPAP was delivered at therapeutic (11.1 ± 0.6 cm H20) or atmospheric pressure, in alternating fashion for 1-hour periods during the night. We compared sleep architecture and metrics of OSA during CPAP-on and CPAP-off periods. Results 8/9 subjects tolerated CPAP withdrawal. The average AHI during CPAP-on and CPAP-off periods was 3.6 ± 0.6 and 15.8 ± 3.6 respectively (pCPAP-on and CPAP-off was 4.7 ± 2 and 20.4 ± 4.7 respectively (pCPAP depressurization also induced more awake (pCPAP during sleep led to deterioration of sleep architecture but only partial re-emergence of OSA. These observations suggest carryover effects of CPAP. PMID:26731735

  18. Optimal intermittent search strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rojo, F; Budde, C E; Wio, H S

    2009-01-01

    We study the search kinetics of a single fixed target by a set of searchers performing an intermittent random walk, jumping between different internal states. Exploiting concepts of multi-state and continuous-time random walks we have calculated the survival probability of a target up to time t, and have 'optimized' (minimized) it with regard to the transition probability among internal states. Our model shows that intermittent strategies always improve target detection, even for simple diffusion states of motion

  19. Intermittent bursts induced by double tearing mode reconnection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Lai; Wang, Zheng-Xiong

    2014-06-01

    Reversed magnetic shear (RMS) configuration is assumed to be the steady-state operation scenario for the future advanced tokamaks like International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. In this work, we numerically discover a phenomenon of violent intermittent bursts induced by self-organized double tearing mode (DTM) reconnection in the RMS configuration during the very long evolution, which may continuously lead to annular sawtooth crashes and thus badly impact the desired steady-state operation of the future advanced RMS tokamaks. The key process of the intermittent bursts in the off-axis region is similar to that of the typical sawtooth relaxation oscillation in the positive magnetic shear configuration. It is interestingly found that in the decay phase of the DTM reconnection, the zonal field significantly counteracts equilibrium field to make the magnetic shear between the two rational surfaces so weak that the residual self-generated vortices of the previous DTM burst are able to trigger a reverse DTM reconnection by curling the field lines.

  20. Intermittent bursts induced by double tearing mode reconnection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei, Lai; Wang, Zheng-Xiong

    2014-01-01

    Reversed magnetic shear (RMS) configuration is assumed to be the steady-state operation scenario for the future advanced tokamaks like International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. In this work, we numerically discover a phenomenon of violent intermittent bursts induced by self-organized double tearing mode (DTM) reconnection in the RMS configuration during the very long evolution, which may continuously lead to annular sawtooth crashes and thus badly impact the desired steady-state operation of the future advanced RMS tokamaks. The key process of the intermittent bursts in the off-axis region is similar to that of the typical sawtooth relaxation oscillation in the positive magnetic shear configuration. It is interestingly found that in the decay phase of the DTM reconnection, the zonal field significantly counteracts equilibrium field to make the magnetic shear between the two rational surfaces so weak that the residual self-generated vortices of the previous DTM burst are able to trigger a reverse DTM reconnection by curling the field lines

  1. Intermittent bursts induced by double tearing mode reconnection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wei, Lai; Wang, Zheng-Xiong, E-mail: zxwang@dlut.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Beams of the Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China)

    2014-06-15

    Reversed magnetic shear (RMS) configuration is assumed to be the steady-state operation scenario for the future advanced tokamaks like International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. In this work, we numerically discover a phenomenon of violent intermittent bursts induced by self-organized double tearing mode (DTM) reconnection in the RMS configuration during the very long evolution, which may continuously lead to annular sawtooth crashes and thus badly impact the desired steady-state operation of the future advanced RMS tokamaks. The key process of the intermittent bursts in the off-axis region is similar to that of the typical sawtooth relaxation oscillation in the positive magnetic shear configuration. It is interestingly found that in the decay phase of the DTM reconnection, the zonal field significantly counteracts equilibrium field to make the magnetic shear between the two rational surfaces so weak that the residual self-generated vortices of the previous DTM burst are able to trigger a reverse DTM reconnection by curling the field lines.

  2. Mouse Intermittent Hypoxia Mimicking Apnea of Prematurity: Effects on Myelinogenesis and Axonal Maturation

    Science.gov (United States)

    CAI, JUN; TUONG, CHI MINH; ZHANG, YIPING; SHIELDS, CHRISTOPHER B.; GUO, GANG; FU, HUI; GOZAL, DAVID

    2014-01-01

    Premature babies are at high risk for both infantile apnea and long-term neurobehavioral deficits. Recent studies suggest that diffuse structural changes in brain white matter are a positive predictor of poor cognitive outcomes. Since oligodendrocyte maturation, myelination, axon development and synapse formation mainly occur in the 3rd trimester of gestation and 1st postnatal year, infantile apnea could lead to and/or exaggerate white matter impairments in preterm neonates. Therefore, we investigated oligodendroglia and axon development in a neonatal mouse model of intermittent hypoxia between postnatal days 2 to 10. During critical phases of central nervous system development, intermittent hypoxia induced hypomyelination in the corpus callosum, striatum, fornix and cerebellum, but not the pons or spinal cord. Intermittent hypoxia-elicited alterations in myelin-forming processes were reflected by decreased expression of myelin proteins, including MBP, PLP, MAG and CNPase, possibly due to arrested maturation of oligodendrocytes. Ultra-structural abnormalities were apparent in the myelin sheath and axon. Immature oligodendrocytes were more vulnerable to neonatal intermittent hypoxia exposures than developing axons, suggesting that hypomyelination may contribute, at least partially, to axonal deficits. Insufficient neurofilament synthesis with anomalous components of neurofilament subunits, β-tubulin and MAP2 isoforms indicated immaturity of axons in intermittent hypoxia-exposed mouse brains. In addition, down-regulation of Synapsin I, Synaptophysin and Gap-43 phosphorylation suggested a potential stunt in axonogenesis and synaptogenesis. The region-selective and complex impairment in brain white matter induced by intermittent hypoxia was further associated with electrophysiological changes that may underlie long-term neurobehavioral sequelae. PMID:21953180

  3. Detection of pulmonary metastases with pathological correlation: effect of breathing on the accuracy of spiral CT. Editor's note

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coakley, F.V.; Cohen, M.D.; Waters, D.J.; Davis, M.M.; Karmazyn, B.; Gonin, R.; Hanna, M.P.

    1997-01-01

    Background. CT of the chest for suspected pulmonary metastases in adults is generally performed using a breath-hold technique. The results may not be applicable to young children in whom breath-holding may be impossible. Objective. Determine the effect of breathing on the accuracy of pulmonary metastasis detection by spiral CT (SCT). Materials and methods. Prior to euthanasia four anesthetized dogs with metastatic osteosarcoma underwent SCT with a collimation of 5 mm and a pitch of 2, during both induced breath-hold and normal quiet breathing. Images were reconstructed as contiguous 5-mm slices. Macroscopically evident metastases were noted at postmortem. Hard-copy SCT images were reviewed by ten radiologists, each of whom circled all suspected metastases. SCT images were compared with postmortem results to determine true and false positives. Results. The pathologist identified 132 macroscopically evident pulmonary metastases. For metastasis detection, there was no significant difference between breath-hold SCT and breathing SCT. Conclusion. In our animal model, SCT can be performed during normal resting breathing without significant loss of accuracy in the detection of pulmonary metastases. (orig.). With 3 tabs

  4. The effects of different lying positions on interface pressure, skin temperature, and tissue blood flow in nursing home residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Källman, Ulrika; Engström, Maria; Bergstrand, Sara; Ek, Anna-Christina; Fredrikson, Mats; Lindberg, Lars-Göran; Lindgren, Margareta

    2015-03-01

    Although repositioning is considered an important intervention to prevent pressure ulcers, tissue response during loading in different lying positions has not been adequately explored. To compare the effects of different lying positions on interface pressure, skin temperature, and tissue blood flow in nursing home residents. From May 2011 to August 2012, interface pressure, skin temperature, and blood flow at three tissue depths were measured for 1 hr over the sacrum in 30° supine tilt and 0° supine positions and over the trochanter major in 30° lateral and 90° lateral positions in 25 residents aged 65 years or older. Measurement of interface pressure was accomplished using a pneumatic pressure transmitter connected to a digital manometer, skin temperature using a temperature sensor, and blood flow using photoplethysmography and laser Doppler flowmetry. Interface pressure was significantly higher in the 0° supine and 90° lateral positions than in 30° supine tilt and 30° lateral positions. The mean skin temperature increased from baseline in all positions. Blood flow was significantly higher in the 30° supine tilt position compared to the other positions. A hyperemic response in the post pressure period was seen at almost all tissue depths and positions. The 30° supine tilt position generated less interface pressure and allowed greater tissue perfusion, suggesting that this position is the most beneficial. © The Author(s) 2014.

  5. Use of Respiratory Support in the Biphase Ventilation Airway Mode in the Newborn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. N. Koval

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Biphasic positive airway pressure (BIPAP (also known as DuoPAP, BiLevel, BiVent, PCV+, SPAP is a mode of ventilation with cycling variations between two continuous positive airway pressure levels. It is a mixture of pressure controlled ventilation and spontaneous breathing, which is unrestricted in each phase of the respiratory cycle. The volume displacement caused by the difference between Phigh and Plow airway pressure level. The phase time ratio (PTR — the BIPAP frequency is calculated as the ratio between the durations of the two pressure phases, a PTR greater than 1:1 is called APRV (airway pressure release ventilation. In patients with ARDS maintained spontaneous breathing with BIPAP resulted in lower venous admixture and better arterial blood oxygenation as compared with A/C. Only a few studies with BIPAP have been performed in newborn and infants until now. We studied the use of BIPAP in newborn (body mass > 3kg and randomised 40 patients with respiratory failure for ventilation with BIPAP (n=20 or conventional mechanical ventilatory support (assist-control A/C — synchronised intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV (n=20. The Pediatric Risk of Mortality score (PRISM were collected for each patient. Fentanyl, diazepam, GABA were used as sedatives and adjusted in accordance with the Cook scale. We compared ventilatory parameters, information pertaining to pulmonary function and oxygen delivery, cardiac output, additional descriptors of organ system functions, duration and complications of ventilation and number and dosages of sedatives administered. All the patients that we intended to ventilate with BIPAP were successfully ventilated, we can conclude that biphasic ventilatory support suitable mode of ventilation for newborn with a decreased need of analgetics and sedatives than A/C. Finally, BIPAP is an a effective safe, and easy to use for personal mode of mechanical ventilatory support in newborn. 

  6. Use of an Impedance Threshold Device in Spontaneously Breathing Patients with Hypotension Secondary to Trauma: An Observational Cohort Feasibility Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-09

    hypotensive patient. Crystalloid infusion is not necessarily benign.1,2 Difficult vascular access, hemodilution, acidosis , decreased oxygen delivery, and...blood pressure, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate, and arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) were recorded im- mediately before application of the ITD...per minute (p = 0.007). The respiratory rate was constant: 19 (7) breaths before to 18 (4) breaths (p = 0.31) per minute after ITD use. Oxygen

  7. Probability distribution functions for intermittent scrape-off layer plasma fluctuations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theodorsen, A.; Garcia, O. E.

    2018-03-01

    A stochastic model for intermittent fluctuations in the scrape-off layer of magnetically confined plasmas has been constructed based on a super-position of uncorrelated pulses arriving according to a Poisson process. In the most common applications of the model, the pulse amplitudes are assumed exponentially distributed, supported by conditional averaging of large-amplitude fluctuations in experimental measurement data. This basic assumption has two potential limitations. First, statistical analysis of measurement data using conditional averaging only reveals the tail of the amplitude distribution to be exponentially distributed. Second, exponentially distributed amplitudes leads to a positive definite signal which cannot capture fluctuations in for example electric potential and radial velocity. Assuming pulse amplitudes which are not positive definite often make finding a closed form for the probability density function (PDF) difficult, even if the characteristic function remains relatively simple. Thus estimating model parameters requires an approach based on the characteristic function, not the PDF. In this contribution, the effect of changing the amplitude distribution on the moments, PDF and characteristic function of the process is investigated and a parameter estimation method using the empirical characteristic function is presented and tested on synthetically generated data. This proves valuable for describing intermittent fluctuations of all plasma parameters in the boundary region of magnetized plasmas.

  8. A switched energy saving position controller for variable-pressure electro-hydraulic servo systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tivay, Ali; Zareinejad, Mohammad; Rezaei, S Mehdi; Baghestan, Keivan

    2014-07-01

    The electro-hydraulic servo system (EHSS) demonstrates a relatively low level of efficiency compared to other available actuation methods. The objective of this paper is to increase this efficiency by introducing a variable supply pressure into the system and controlling this pressure during the task of position tracking. For this purpose, an EHSS structure with controllable supply pressure is proposed and its dynamic model is derived from the basic laws of physics. A switching control structure is then proposed to control both the supply pressure and the cylinder position at the same time, in a way that reduces the overall energy consumption of the system. The stability of the proposed switching control system is guaranteed by proof, and its performance is verified by experimental testing. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Does lying in the recovery position increase the likelihood of not delivering cardiopulmonary resuscitation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freire-Tellado, Miguel; Navarro-Patón, Rubén; Pavón-Prieto, Maria Del Pilar; Fernández-López, Marta; Mateos-Lorenzo, Javier; López-Fórneas, Ivan

    2017-06-01

    Resuscitation guidelines endorse unconscious and normally breathing out-of-hospital victims to be placed in the recovery position to secure airway patency, but recently a debate has been opened as to whether the recovery position threatens the cardiac arrest victim's safety assessment and delays the start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. To compare the assessment of the victim's breathing arrest while placed in the recovery position versus maintaining an open airway with the continuous head tilt and chin lift technique to know whether the recovery position delays the cardiac arrest victim's assessment and the start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Basic life support-trained university students were randomly divided into two groups: one received a standardized cardiopulmonary resuscitation refresher course including the recovery position and the other received a modified cardiopulmonary resuscitation course using continuous head tilt and chin lift for unconscious and spontaneously breathing patients. A human simulation test to evaluate the victim's breathing assessment was performed a week later. In total, 59 participants with an average age of 21.9 years were included. Only 14 of 27 (51.85%) students in the recovery position group versus 23 of 28 (82.14%) in the head tilt and chin lift group p=0.006 (OR 6.571) detected breathing arrest within 2min. The recovery position hindered breathing assessment, delayed breathing arrest identification and the initiation of cardiac compressions, and significantly increased the likelihood of not starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation when compared to the results shown when the continuous head tilt and chin lift technique was used. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. In-Depth Investigation of Statistical and Physicochemical Properties on the Field Study of the Intermittent Filling of Large Water Tanks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Do-Hwan Kim

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Large-demand customers, generally high-density dwellings and buildings, have dedicated ground or elevated water tanks to consistently supply drinking water to residents. Online field measurement for Nonsan-2 district meter area demonstrated that intermittent replenishment from large-demand customers could disrupt the normal operation of a water distribution system by taking large quantities of water in short times when filling the tanks from distribution mains. Based on the previous results of field measurement for hydraulic and water quality parameters, statistical analysis is performed for measured data in terms of autocorrelation, power spectral density, and cross-correlation. The statistical results show that the intermittent filling interval of 6.7 h and diurnal demand pattern of 23.3 h are detected through autocorrelation analyses, the similarities of the flow-pressure and the turbidity-particle count data are confirmed as a function of frequency through power spectral density analyses, and a strong cross-correlation is observed in the flow-pressure and turbidity-particle count analyses. In addition, physicochemical results show that the intermittent refill of storage tank from large-demand customers induces abnormal flow and pressure fluctuations and results in transient-induced turbid flow mainly composed of fine particles ranging within 2–4 μm and constituting Fe, Si, and Al.

  11. Passive breath gating equipment for cone beam CT-guided RapidArc gastric cancer treatments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Weigang; Li, Guichao; Ye, Jinsong; Wang, Jiazhou; Peng, Jiayuan; Gong, Min; Yu, Xiaoli; Studentski, Matthew T.; Xiao, Ying; Zhang, Zhen

    2015-01-01

    Background and purpose: To report preliminary results of passive breath gating (PBG) equipment for cone-beam CT image-guided gated RapidArc gastric cancer treatments. Material and methods: Home-developed PBG equipment integrated with the real-time position management system (RPM) for passive patient breath hold was used in CT simulation, online partial breath hold (PBH) CBCT acquisition, and breath-hold gating (BHG) RapidArc delivery. The treatment was discontinuously delivered with beam on during BH and beam off for free breathing (FB). Pretreatment verification PBH CBCT was obtained with the PBG-RPM system. Additionally, the reproducibility of the gating accuracy was evaluated. Results: A total of 375 fractions of breath-hold gating RapidArc treatments were successfully delivered and 233 PBH CBCTs were available for analysis. The PBH CBCT images were acquired with 2–3 breath holds and 1–2 FB breaks. The imaging time was the same for PBH CBCT and conventional FB CBCT (60 s). Compared to FB CBCT, the motion artifacts seen in PBH CBCT images were remarkably reduced. The average BHG RapidArc delivery time was 103 s for one 270-degree arc and 269 s for two full arcs. Conclusions: The PBG-RPM based PBH CBCT verification and BHG RapidArc delivery was successfully implemented clinically. The BHG RapidArc treatment was accomplished using a conventional RapidArc machine with high delivery efficiency

  12. Spectral degeneracy and escape dynamics for intermittent maps with a hole

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Froyland, Gary; Stancevic, Ognjen; Murray, Rua

    2011-01-01

    We study intermittent maps from the point of view of metastability. Small neighbourhoods of an intermittent fixed point and their complements form pairs of almost-invariant sets. Treating the small neighbourhood as a hole, we first show that the absolutely continuous conditional invariant measures (ACCIMs) converge to the ACIM as the length of the small neighbourhood shrinks to zero. We then quantify how the escape dynamics from these almost-invariant sets are connected with the second eigenfunctions of Perron–Frobenius (transfer) operators when a small perturbation is applied near the intermittent fixed point. In particular, we describe precisely the scaling of the second eigenvalue with the perturbation size, provide upper and lower bounds and demonstrate L 1 convergence of the positive part of the second eigenfunction to the ACIM as the perturbation goes to zero. This perturbation and associated eigenvalue scalings and convergence results are all compatible with Ulam's method and provide a formal explanation for the numerical behaviour of Ulam's method in this nonuniformly hyperbolic setting. The main results of the paper are illustrated with numerical computations

  13. Intermittency in {sup 197}Au fragmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dabrowska, A; Holynski, R; Olszewski, A; Szarska, M; Wilczynska, B; Wolter, W; Wosiek, B [Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cracow (Poland); Cherry, M L; Deines-Jones, P; Jones, W V; Sengupta, K; Wefel, B [Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Waddington, C J [Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis, MN (United States). School of Physics and Astronomy; Pozharova, E A; Skorodko, T Yu [Inst. of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Moscow (Russian Federation); KLMM Collaboration

    1995-07-01

    The concept of factorial moments was applied to an analysis of the dynamical fluctuations in the charge distributions of the fragments emitted from gold nuclei with energies 10.6 and < 1.0 GeV/n interacting with emulsion nuclei. Clear evidence for intermittent fluctuations has been found in an analysis using all the particles released from the gold projectile, with a stronger effect observed below 1 GeV/n than at 10.6 GeV/n. For the full data sets, however, the intermittency effect was found to be very sensitive to the singly charged particles, and neglecting these particles strongly reduces the intermittency signal. When the analysis is restricted to the multiply charged fragments, an intermittency effect is revealed only for multifragmentation events, although one that is enhanced as compared to the analysis of all, singly and multiply charged, particles. The properties of the anomalous fractal dimensions suggest a sequential decay mechanism, rather than the existence of possible critical behaviour in the process of nuclear fragmentation. The likely influence of the charge conservation effects and the finite size of decaying systems on the observed intermittency signals was pointed out. (author). 37 refs, 9 figs, 5 tabs.

  14. Responses to negative pressure surrounding the neck in anesthetized animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolin, A D; Strohl, K P; Acree, B N; Fouke, J M

    1990-01-01

    Continuous positive pressure applied at the nose has been shown to cause a decrease in upper airway resistance. The present study was designed to determine whether a similar positive transmural pressure gradient, generated by applying a negative pressure at the body surface around the neck, altered upper airway patency. Studies were performed in nine spontaneously breathing anesthetized supine dogs. Airflow was measured with a pneumotachograph mounted on an airtight muzzle placed over the nose and mouth of each animal. Upper airway pressure was measured as the differential pressure between the extrathoracic trachea and the inside of the muzzle. Upper airway resistance was monitored as an index of airway patency. Negative pressure (-2 to -20 cmH2O) was applied around the neck by using a cuirass extending from the jaw to the thorax. In each animal, increasingly negative pressures were transmitted to the airway wall in a progressive, although not linear, fashion. Decreasing the pressure produced a progressive fall in upper airway resistance, without causing a significant change in respiratory drive or respiratory timing. At -5 cmH2O pressure, there occurred a significant fall in upper airway resistance, comparable with the response of a single, intravenous injection of sodium cyanide (0.5-3.0 mg), a respiratory stimulant that produces substantial increases in respiratory drive. We conclude that upper airway resistance is influenced by the transmural pressure across the airway wall and that such a gradient can be accomplished by making the extraluminal pressure more negative.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  15. 'Breath figure' PLGA films as implant coatings for controlled drug release

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponnusamy, Thiruselvam

    The breath figure method is a versatile and facile approach of generating ordered micro and nanoporous structures in polymeric materials. When a polymer solution (dissolved in a high vapor pressure organic solvent) is evaporated out in the presence of a moist air stream, the evaporative cooling effect causes the condensation and nucleation of water droplets onto the polymer solution surface. This leads to the formation of an imprinted porous structure upon removal of the residual solvent and water. The facile removal of the water droplet template leaving its structural imprint is a specifically appealing aspect of the breath figure film technology. The first part of the dissertation work involves the fabrication of drug loaded breath figure thin films and its utilization as a controlled drug release carrier and biomaterial scaffold. In a single fabrication step, single layer/multilayer porous thin films were designed and developed by combining the breath figure process and a modified spin or dip coating technique. Using biodegradable polymers such as poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG), drug loaded films were fabricated onto FDA approved medical devices (the Glaucoma drainage device and the Surgical hernia mesh). The porosity of the films is in the range of 2-4 microm as characterized by scanning electron microscope. The drug coated medical implants were characterized for their surface and bulk morphology, the degradation rate of the film, drug release rate and cell cytotoxicity. The results suggest that the use of breath figure morphologies in biodegradable polymer films adds an additional level of control to drug release. In comparison to non-porous films, the breath figure films showed an increased degradation and enhanced drug release. Furthermore, the porous nature of the film was investigated as a biomaterial scaffold to construct three dimensional in vitro tissue model systems. The breath figure film with interconnected

  16. Breaking wind to survive: fishes that breathe air with their gut.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, J A

    2014-03-01

    Several taxonomically disparate groups of fishes have evolved the ability to extract oxygen from the air with elements of their gut. Despite perceived difficulties with balancing digestive and respiratory function, gut air breathing (GAB) has evolved multiple times in fishes and several GAB families are among the most successful fish families in terms of species numbers. When gut segments evolve into an air-breathing organ (ABO), there is generally a specialized region for exchange of gases where the gut wall has diminished, vascularization has increased, capillaries have penetrated into the luminal epithelium and surfactant is produced. This specialized region is generally separated from digestive portions of the gut by sphincters. GAB fishes tend to be facultative air breathers that use air breathing to supplement aquatic respiration in hypoxic waters. Some hindgut breathers may be continuous, but not obligate air breathers (obligate air breathers drown if denied access to air). Gut ABOs are generally used only for oxygen uptake; CO₂ elimination seems to occur via the gills and skin in all GAB fishes studied. Aerial ventilation in GAB fishes is driven primarily by oxygen partial pressure of the water (PO₂) and possibly also by metabolic demand. The effect of aerial ventilation on branchial ventilation and the cardiovascular system is complex and generalizations across taxa or ABO type are not currently possible. Blood from GAB fishes generally has a low blood oxygen partial pressure that half saturates haemoglobin (p50) with a very low erythrocytic nucleoside triphosphate concentration [NTP]. GAB behaviour in nature depends on the social and ecological context of the animal as well as on physiological factors. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  17. Leakage Characteristics of Dual-Cannula Fenestrated Tracheostomy Tubes during Positive Pressure Ventilation: A Bench Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Berlet

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This study compared the leakage characteristics of different types of dual-cannula fenestrated tracheostomy tubes during positive pressure ventilation. Fenestrated Portex® Blue Line Ultra®, TRACOE® twist, or Rüsch® Traceofix® tracheostomy tubes equipped with nonfenestrated inner cannulas were tested in a tracheostomy-lung simulator. Transfenestration pressures and transfenestration leakage rates were measured during positive pressure ventilation. The impact of different ventilation modes, airway pressures, temperatures, and simulated static lung compliance settings on leakage characteristics was assessed. We observed substantial differences in transfenestration pressures and transfenestration leakage rates. The leakage rates of the best performing tubes were <3.5% of the delivered minute volume. At body temperature, the leakage rates of these tracheostomy tubes were <1%. The tracheal tube design was the main factor that determined the leakage characteristics. Careful tracheostomy tube selection permits the use of fenestrated tracheostomy tubes in patients receiving positive pressure ventilation immediately after stoma formation and minimises the risk of complications caused by transfenestration gas leakage, for example, subcutaneous emphysema.

  18. Positive airway pressure adherence and mask interface in the setting of sinonasal symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schell, Amy E; Soose, Ryan J

    2017-10-01

    Despite reports of lower positive pressure adherence rates with oronasal masks, patients with sinonasal problems are often prescribed this interface over a nasal interface. The aim of this study was to characterize the relationship between mask type and therapy adherence in the setting of sinonasal symptoms. Retrospective case series with chart review. We reviewed 328 patients who underwent positive pressure titration between January 2012 and May 2015. Follow-up adherence data were available for 218 patients (66.5%). Multivariate analysis examined whether patients with sinonasal symptoms have improved adherence with oronasal masks compared to nasal or nasal pillow interfaces. At a median follow-up of 95 days, positive pressure adherence in patients with sinonasal symptoms was highest with the nasal pillow interface. When compared with oronasal interfaces, the odds of adequate therapy adherence were >5 times greater with nasal pillow interfaces (odds ratio [OR] = 5.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.61-16.80, P = .006) and >3 times greater with nasal interfaces (OR = 3.67, 95% CI = 1.20-11.26, P = .02) in these symptomatic patients. The presence of nasal problems does not predict the need for an oronasal mask. Positive pressure adherence rates are higher with nasal and nasal pillow interfaces compared to oronasal masks, even in patients with sinonasal complaints. 4. Laryngoscope, 127:2418-2422, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  19. Optimal intermittent search strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rojo, F; Budde, C E [FaMAF, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Ciudad Universitaria, X5000HUA Cordoba (Argentina); Wio, H S [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria, Universidad de Cantabria and CSIC E-39005 Santander (Spain)

    2009-03-27

    We study the search kinetics of a single fixed target by a set of searchers performing an intermittent random walk, jumping between different internal states. Exploiting concepts of multi-state and continuous-time random walks we have calculated the survival probability of a target up to time t, and have 'optimized' (minimized) it with regard to the transition probability among internal states. Our model shows that intermittent strategies always improve target detection, even for simple diffusion states of motion.

  20. Cardiovascular responses of semi-arboreal snakes to chronic, intermittent hypergravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lillywhite, H. B.; Ballard, R. E.; Hargens, A. R.

    1996-01-01

    Cardiovascular functions were studied in semi-arboreal rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta) following long-term, intermittent exposure to +1.5 Gz (head-to-tail acceleration) on a centrifuge. Snakes were held in a nearly straight position within horizontal plastic tubes during periods of centrifugation. Centrifugal acceleration, therefore, subjected snakes to a linear force gradient with the maximal force being experienced at the tail. Compared to non-centrifuged controls, Gz-acclimated snakes showed greater increases of heart rate during head-up tilt or acceleration, greater sensitivity of arterial pressure to circulating catecholamines, higher blood levels of corticosterone, and higher blood ratios of prostaglandin F 2 alpha/prostaglandin E2. Cardiovascular tolerance to increased gravity during graded Gz acceleration was measured as the maximum (caudal) acceleration force at which carotid arterial blood flow became null. When such tolerances were adjusted for effects of body size and other continuous variables incorporated into an analysis of covariance, the difference between the adjusted mean values of control and acclimated snakes (2.37 and 2.84 Gz, respectively) corresponded closely to the 0.5 G difference between the acclimation G (1.5) and Earth gravity (1.0). As in other vertebrates, cardiovascular tolerance to Gz stress tended to be increased by acclimation, short body length, high arterial pressure, and comparatively large blood volume. Voluntary body movements were important for promoting carotid blood flow at the higher levels of Gz stress.