Search results for "Production"

Validation of Murray sputum purulence scale in the Italian Registry of Bronchiectasis (IRIDE)

2018

Introduction: Murray sputum colour chart stratifies patients according to the presence of mucous (M), muco-purulent (MP) or purulent (P) sputum, and has not been validated in Bx yet. We aimed to validate this scale across a large Italian cohort of Bx patients. Methods: A secondary analysis of the IRIDE database was conducted including adults with Bx and daily sputum production enrolled across 13 Italian centres between 2014 and 2017. M vs. MP vs. P sputum producers were identified and clinical, functional and microbiological data were collected. Clinical outcomes during a two-year follow up period were evaluated in the Monza and Milan cohorts. A sensitivity analysis excluding COPD patients …

Long-term effects of graduated compression stockings on cardiorespiratory performance

2015

ABSTRACT: The use of graduated compression stockings (GCS) in sport has been increasing in the last years due to their potential positive effects for athletes. However, there is little evidence to support whether these types of garments actually improve cardiorespiratory performance. The aim of this study was to examine the cardiorespiratory responses of GCS during running after three weeks of regular use. Twenty recreational runners performed three tests on different days: test 1) ¿ a 5-min maximal effort run in order to determine the participants¿ maximal aerobic speed; and tests 2) and 3) ¿ a fatigue running test of 30 minutes at 80% of their maximal aerobic speed with either GCS or PLAC…

Control of ovarian steroidogenesis in insects: A locust neurohormone is active in vitro on blowfly ovaries

2009

0016-6480 doi: DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2009.04.034; Ovarian steroidogenesis controlling insect reproduction is mainly regulated by brain gonadotropins liberated from corpora cardiaca (CC). Till now, different neurohormones have been identified in two insect groups only, locusts and mosquitoes, and it is unknown whether they could be active in other insects. In order to complete previous observations on the control of ovarian steroidogenesis in the blowfly, Phormia regina, we examined whether neuropeptides isolated from locust CC have an effect in vitro on ovarian steroidogenesis in our dipteran model. Our experiments showed that crude extracts from locust CC efficiently stimulated steroidogene…

Rare diseases and orphan drugs: Latvian story

2014

Background Ten years have passed since Latvia became a Member State of the EU in 2004. As a result European regulations, including those related to rare diseases and orphan drugs, have been applied to Latvian legislative system. Orphan diseases have been recognized as a priority area for action in the public health system, though there are significant differences in the national healthcare services for rare diseases among the EU States. This study aims to determine situation in the field of rare diseases in Latvia and compare it with other European countries. Methods We used the national plan for rare diseases, EUCERD reports, Orphanet data, Latvian and European regulations, publicly availa…

Air pollution exposure during pregnancy and reduced birth size: a prospective birth cohort study in Valencia, Spain

2010

Abstract Background Maternal exposure to air pollution has been related to fetal growth in a number of recent scientific studies. The objective of this study was to assess the association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and anthropometric measures at birth in a cohort in Valencia, Spain. Methods Seven hundred and eighty-five pregnant women and their singleton newborns participated in the study. Exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was estimated by means of land use regression. NO2 spatial estimations were adjusted to correspond to relevant pregnancy periods (whole pregnancy and trimesters) for each woman. Outcome variables were birth weight, length, and head circumf…

Mechanisms underlying noise-induced hearing loss

2006

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the worldwide leading occupational disease and presents an important socio-economic factor. Despite numerous identified details about its etiology, the underlying mechanisms, which induce NIHL, have been only partially identified. In the present article, we shall discuss possible mechanisms focusing on failure in cellular calcium regulation, leading to a rise in mitochondrial NO production and reactive oxygen species formation. In cases where radical production is significantly elevated, pathological concentrations lead to alterations of cell physiological conditions and finally contribute to NIHL. A more detailed knowledge about the induction of free ra…

2019

The effect of sensory experience on hemispheric specialisation for language production is not well understood. Children born deaf, including those who have cochlear implants, have drastically different perceptual experiences of language than their hearing peers. Using functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD), we measured lateralisation during language production in a heterogeneous group of 19 deaf children and in 19 hearing children, matched on language ability. In children born deaf, we observed significant left lateralisation during language production (British Sign Language, spoken English, or a combination of languages). There was no difference in the strength of lateralisation…

Effect of propylene glycol on pre- and post-partum performance by dairy ewes

2005

This study was carried out in order to determine the effects, after feeding propylene glycol to Valle del Belice ewes 30 days prepartum and 30 days postpartum, on metabolic profiles, body-condition score, milk yield, milk composition, milk clotting ability and the performance of suckling lambs. Ewes were blocked by parity, body-condition score and previous milk production, and assigned randomly to either a control diet or a diet containing propylene glycol fed at the rate of 80 g/ewe/day (low PG) or 160 g/ewe/day (high PG). Feeding propylene glycol prepartum decreased the concentration of BHBA and NEFA and increased the concentration of glucose in the ewes’ plasma. Milk yield from ewes fed …

Theoretical basis for the use of non-invasive thermal measurements to assess the brain injury in newborns undergoing therapeutic hypothermia.

2020

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to propose a new non-invasive methodology to estimate thermogenesis in newborns with perinatal asphyxia (PA) undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Metabolic heat production (with respect to either a neonate’s body mass or its body surface) is calculated from the newborn’s heat balance, estimating all remaining terms of this heat balance utilising results of only non-invasive thermal measurements. The measurement devices work with standard equipment used for therapeutic hypothermia and are equipped with the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), which allows one to record and monitor the course of the therapy remotely (using an internet browser) wi…

Predictors of live birth in women with a history of biochemical pregnancies after assisted reproduction treatment

2020

Abstract Objectives To ascertain whether women with a history of biochemical pregnancies (BPs) in in-vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment cycles have decreased chances of live birth (LB); and (2) to build a predictive model for LB in this particular population of infertile women. Methods In order to achieve the first objective, data from 1536 women that had a LB using autologous fresh or frozen embryos, or dropped out of further IVF/ICSI treatments after completing one to three unsuccessful treatment cycles were retrospectively analyzed. A subpopulation of 90 women that experienced one or more BPs in our assisted reproduction unit were selected to buil…