Search results for "VOLUMES"

Differences in sensitivity, maximal response and position of the concentration-response curve to methacholine between asthmatics, patients with aller…

1998

The aim of this study was to detect differences in maximal response and position of the concentration-response curves to methacholine between asthmatics and subjects with allergic rhinitis. A total of 228 adults (107 mild asthmatics, 96 allergic rhinitics and 25 healthy control subjects) were challenged with methacholine. The test was interrupted when FEV1 dropped by more than 40% or when the highest concentration of methacholine (200 mg ml-1) had been administered. Concentration-response curves were characterized by their PC20 (concentration of methacholine that produced 20% fall in FEV1 = airway sensitivity), and if possible, by their EC50 (concentration of methacholine that produced 50% …

Diffusion capacity of the lung in young and old endurance athletes

2013

Lung diffusion capacity (D LCO) declines with age. A significant proportion of older endurance athletes develop exercise-induced hypoxemia (SaO2<95%). We hypothesised that master endurance athletes have a lower D LCO than age-matched non-athletes. We recruited 33 control (16 young; 17 old) and 29 male endurance athletes (13 young; 16 old) during the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships, 2012 (Jyvaskyla, Finland). To measure D LCO the participant exhaled to residual volume and then quickly inhaled to ≥ 90% total lung capacity from a gas source with 0.3% carbon monoxide. The D LCO and transfer coefficient (K CO) were corrected for the actual haemoglobin concentration. Spirometric func…

Quantitative analysis of emphysema in 3D using MDCT: Influence of different reconstruction algorithms

2008

Abstract Purpose The aim of the study was to compare the influence of different reconstruction algorithms on quantitative emphysema analysis in patients with severe emphysema. Material and methods Twenty-five patients suffering from severe emphysema were included in the study. All patients underwent inspiratory MDCT (Aquilion-16, slice thickness 1/0.8 mm). The raw data were reconstructed using six different algorithms: bone kernel with beam hardening correction (BHC), soft tissue kernel with BHC; standard soft tissue kernel, smooth soft tissue kernel (internal reference standard), standard lung kernel, and high-convolution kernel. The only difference between image data sets was the algorith…

Pulmonary emphysema in cystic fibrosis detected by densitometry on chest multidetector computed tomography.

2013

BackgroundHistopathological studies on lung specimens from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and recent results from a mouse model indicate that emphysema may contribute to CF lung disease. However, little is known about the relevance of emphysema in patients with CF. In the present study, we used computationally generated density masks based on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) of the chest for non-invasive characterization and quantification of emphysema in CF.MethodsVolumetric MDCT scans were acquired in parallel to pulmonary function testing in 41 patients with CF (median age 20.1 years; range 7-66 years) and 21 non-CF controls (median age 30.4 years; range 4-68 years), and subj…

Comparison of Peak Cough Flows Measured by Pneumotachograph and a Portable Peak Flow Meter

2004

To compare peak cough flows (PCF) obtained with a pneumotachograph (PCFp) with those measured using a portable peak flow meter (PCFm) in a population of healthy subjects and patients with neuromuscular disease.A total of 30 healthy subjects and 32 medically stable patients with neuromuscular diseases were studied. Using an oronasal mask connected, in a randomized order, to a pneumotachograph and to a portable peak flow meter, PCFp and PCFm were measured as every subject performed maximal cough efforts from total lung capacity.PCFp measurements were 377.70 +/-179.28 liters/min and PCFm measurements were 377.50 +/- 172.98 liters/min (not significant). The two measurements were correlated (r =…

Thermodynamic Behavior of Non-Ionic Tri-block Copolymers in Water at Three Temperatures

2006

Apparent molar volumes (V Φ) of aqueous solutions of some copolymers, based on ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) units, were determined as functions of concentration at three temperatures. Viscosity measurements were also carried out on some of these systems. The effects studied include how the molecular architecture and the molecular weight affect the aggregation of the copolymer, keeping constant the EO/PO ratio. Modeling of the volumetric data yielded the partial molar volume of the copolymer in the standard (V°) and the aggregated (V M) states, as well as the equilibrium constant for micellization and the aggregation number. Analysis of the viscosity data supported the insigh…

Elastin Cables Define the Axial Connective Tissue System in the Murine Lung

2015

The axial connective tissue system is a fiber continuum of the lung that maintains alveolar surface area during changes in lung volume. Although the molecular anatomy of the axial system remains undefined, the fiber continuum of the lung is central to contemporary models of lung micromechanics and alveolar regeneration. To provide a detailed molecular structure of the axial connective tissue system, we examined the extracellular matrix of murine lungs. The lungs were decellularized using a 24 hr detergent treatment protocol. Systematic evaluation of the decellularized lungs demonstrated no residual cellular debris; morphometry demonstrated a mean 39 ± 7% reduction in lung dimensions. Scanni…

Essays on financial stability: an analysis based on NUTS2 and NUTS3 data for Italy

The solubilisation behaviour of some dichloroalkanes in aqueous solutions of PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers: a dynamic light scattering, fluorescenc…

2006

The aggregation behaviour of PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers in water and in water + chlorinated additive mixtures was studied by means of fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The copolymers were chosen such as to investigate the effects of molecular architecture (L35 and 10R5) and molecular weight by keeping constant the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance (F88 and F108). 1,2-Dichloroethane was used as a prototype of water basins contaminants. The hydrodynamic radius of the block copolymer aggregates (R(h,M)) and the intensity ratio of pyrene of the first and the third vibrational band (I(1)/I(3)) were determined as a function of…

Volatiles in pantellerite magmas: A case study of the Green Tuff Plinian eruption (Island of Pantelleria, Italy)

2013

Abstract The Green Tuff (GT) Plinian eruption, the largest in magnitude at Pantelleria, erupted 3 to 7 km3 DRE of pantellerite magma and a small volume of trachyte. Fifty-nine anorthoclase-hosted melt inclusions from the two basal pumice members were analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy in order to assess the pre-eruptive H2O content in the pantellerite melt. Microanalytical methods were used to determine major element, Cl, F and S contents. Melt inclusions and glassy groundmasses have a nearly homogeneous pantelleritic composition (peralkaline index = 1.9-2.2) and variable water contents ranging from 1.4 to as high as 4.2 wt %, i.e. much higher than the 1.4 wt % of earlier published studies. The…