3,376 research outputs found
Physiological modeling of isoprene dynamics in exhaled breath
Human breath contains a myriad of endogenous volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) which are reflective of ongoing metabolic or physiological processes.
While research into the diagnostic potential and general medical relevance of
these trace gases is conducted on a considerable scale, little focus has been
given so far to a sound analysis of the quantitative relationships between
breath levels and the underlying systemic concentrations. This paper is devoted
to a thorough modeling study of the end-tidal breath dynamics associated with
isoprene, which serves as a paradigmatic example for the class of low-soluble,
blood-borne VOCs.
Real-time measurements of exhaled breath under an ergometer challenge reveal
characteristic changes of isoprene output in response to variations in
ventilation and perfusion. Here, a valid compartmental description of these
profiles is developed. By comparison with experimental data it is inferred that
the major part of breath isoprene variability during exercise conditions can be
attributed to an increased fractional perfusion of potential storage and
production sites, leading to higher levels of mixed venous blood concentrations
at the onset of physical activity. In this context, various lines of supportive
evidence for an extrahepatic tissue source of isoprene are presented.
Our model is a first step towards new guidelines for the breath gas analysis
of isoprene and is expected to aid further investigations regarding the
exhalation, storage, transport and biotransformation processes associated with
this important compound.Comment: 14 page
Physiological modeling of isoprene dynamics in exhaled breath
Human breath contains a myriad of endogenous volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) which are reflective of ongoing metabolic or physiological processes.
While research into the diagnostic potential and general medical relevance of
these trace gases is conducted on a considerable scale, little focus has been
given so far to a sound analysis of the quantitative relationships between
breath levels and the underlying systemic concentrations. This paper is devoted
to a thorough modeling study of the end-tidal breath dynamics associated with
isoprene, which serves as a paradigmatic example for the class of low-soluble,
blood-borne VOCs.
Real-time measurements of exhaled breath under an ergometer challenge reveal
characteristic changes of isoprene output in response to variations in
ventilation and perfusion. Here, a valid compartmental description of these
profiles is developed. By comparison with experimental data it is inferred that
the major part of breath isoprene variability during exercise conditions can be
attributed to an increased fractional perfusion of potential storage and
production sites, leading to higher levels of mixed venous blood concentrations
at the onset of physical activity. In this context, various lines of supportive
evidence for an extrahepatic tissue source of isoprene are presented.
Our model is a first step towards new guidelines for the breath gas analysis
of isoprene and is expected to aid further investigations regarding the
exhalation, storage, transport and biotransformation processes associated with
this important compound.Comment: 14 page
Heterogeneous social interactions and the COVID-19 lockdown outcome in a multi-group SEIR model
We study variants of the SEIR model for interpreting some qualitative
features of the statistics of the Covid-19 epidemic in France. Standard SEIR
models distinguish essentially two regimes: either the disease is controlled
and the number of infected people rapidly decreases, or the disease spreads and
contaminates a significant fraction of the population until herd immunity is
achieved. After lockdown, at first sight it seems that social distancing is not
enough to control the outbreak. We discuss here a possible explanation, namely
that the lockdown is creating social heterogeneity: even if a large majority of
the population complies with the lockdown rules, a small fraction of the
population still has to maintain a normal or high level of social interactions,
such as health workers, providers of essential services, etc. This results in
an apparent high level of epidemic propagation as measured through
re-estimations of the basic reproduction ratio. However, these measures are
limited to averages, while variance inside the population plays an essential
role on the peak and the size of the epidemic outbreak and tends to lower these
two indicators. We provide theoretical and numerical results to sustain such a
view
Transit times and mean ages for nonautonomous and autonomous compartmental systems
We develop a theory for transit times and mean ages for nonautonomous
compartmental systems. Using the McKendrick-von F\"orster equation, we show
that the mean ages of mass in a compartmental system satisfy a linear
nonautonomous ordinary differential equation that is exponentially stable. We
then define a nonautonomous version of transit time as the mean age of mass
leaving the compartmental system at a particular time and show that our
nonautonomous theory generalises the autonomous case. We apply these results to
study a nine-dimensional nonautonomous compartmental system modeling the
terrestrial carbon cycle, which is a modification of the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford
approach (CASA) model, and we demonstrate that the nonautonomous versions of
transit time and mean age differ significantly from the autonomous quantities
when calculated for that model
A mathematical model for breath gas analysis of volatile organic compounds with special emphasis on acetone
Recommended standardized procedures for determining exhaled lower respiratory
nitric oxide and nasal nitric oxide have been developed by task forces of the
European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society. These
recommendations have paved the way for the measurement of nitric oxide to
become a diagnostic tool for specific clinical applications. It would be
desirable to develop similar guidelines for the sampling of other trace gases
in exhaled breath, especially volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which reflect
ongoing metabolism. The concentrations of water-soluble, blood-borne substances
in exhaled breath are influenced by: (i) breathing patterns affecting gas
exchange in the conducting airways; (ii) the concentrations in the
tracheo-bronchial lining fluid; (iii) the alveolar and systemic concentrations
of the compound. The classical Farhi equation takes only the alveolar
concentrations into account. Real-time measurements of acetone in end-tidal
breath under an ergometer challenge show characteristics which cannot be
explained within the Farhi setting. Here we develop a compartment model that
reliably captures these profiles and is capable of relating breath to the
systemic concentrations of acetone. By comparison with experimental data it is
inferred that the major part of variability in breath acetone concentrations
(e.g., in response to moderate exercise or altered breathing patterns) can be
attributed to airway gas exchange, with minimal changes of the underlying blood
and tissue concentrations. Moreover, it is deduced that measured end-tidal
breath concentrations of acetone determined during resting conditions and free
breathing will be rather poor indicators for endogenous levels. Particularly,
the current formulation includes the classical Farhi and the Scheid series
inhomogeneity model as special limiting cases.Comment: 38 page
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