Journal of applied physiology
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To elucidate the micromechanics of pulmonary edema has been a significant medical concern, which is beneficial to better guide ventilator settings in clinical practice. In this paper, we present an adjoining two-alveoli model to quantitatively estimate strain and stress of alveolar walls in mechanically ventilated edematous lungs. ⋯ Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 44: 34-39, 2011) that the presence of a liquid-filled alveolus protrudes into the neighboring air-filled alveolus with the shared septal strain amounting to a maximum value of 1.374 (corresponding to the maximum stress of 5.12 kPa) even at functional residual capacity; on the other hand, it further shows that the pattern of alveolar expansion appears heterogeneous or homogeneous, strongly depending on differences in air-liquid interface tension on alveolar segments. The proposed model is a preliminary step toward picturing a global topographical distribution of stress and strain on the scale of the lung as a whole to prevent ventilator-induced lung injury.
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Multicenter Study
Improved CT-based estimate of pulmonary gas trapping accounting for scanner and lung-volume variations in a multicenter asthmatic study.
Lung air trapping is estimated via quantitative computed tomography (CT) using density threshold-based measures on an expiration scan. However, the effects of scanner differences and imaging protocol adherence on quantitative assessment are known to be problematic. This study investigates the effects of protocol differences, such as using different CT scanners and breath-hold coaches in a multicenter asthmatic study, and proposes new methods that can adjust intersite and intersubject variations. ⋯ Relative to a constant value-based clustering scheme, the slope-based clustering scheme shows the improved performance and reduced misclassification rate of healthy subjects. Furthermore, both lung shape and air-volume change are found to be discriminant variables for differentiating among three populations of healthy subjects and nonsevere and severe asthmatics. In conjunction with the lung shape and air-volume change, the fraction-based measure of air trapping enables differentiation of severe asthmatics from nonsevere asthmatics and nonsevere asthmatics from healthy subjects, critical for the development and evaluation of new therapeutic interventions.
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Few studies have evaluated the relationship between the duration of obesity, cardiac function, and the proteins involved in myocardial calcium (Ca(2+)) handling. We hypothesized that long-term obesity promotes cardiac dysfunction due to a reduction of expression and/or phosphorylation of myocardial Ca(2+)-handling proteins. Thirty-day-old male Wistar rats were distributed into two groups (n = 10 each): control (C; standard diet) and obese (Ob; high-fat diet) for 30 wk. ⋯ The Ob muscles developed similar baseline data and myocardial responsiveness to increased extracellular Ca(2+). Obesity caused a reduction in cardiac pPLB Ser(16) and the pPLB Ser(16)/PLB ratio in Ob rats. Long-term obesity promotes alterations in diastolic function, most likely due to the reduction of pPLB Ser(16), but does not impair the myocardial Ca(2+) entry and recapture to SR.
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Editorial Comment
Building a theoretical framework to quantify alveolar injury.
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Mechanical ventilation (MV) is a life-saving intervention in patients who are incapable of maintaining adequate pulmonary gas exchange due to respiratory failure or other disorders. However, prolonged MV is associated with the development of respiratory muscle weakness. We hypothesized that a single exposure to whole body heat stress would increase diaphragm expression of heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) and that this treatment would protect against MV-induced diaphragmatic atrophy. ⋯ Whole body heat stress attenuated this effect. In contrast, heat stress did not protect against MV-induced diaphragm contractile dysfunction. The mechanisms responsible for this heat stress-induced protection remain unclear but may be linked to increased expression of HSP72 in the diaphragm.