The COPD assessment test and the modified Medical Research Council scale are not equivalent when related to the maximal exercise capacity in COPD patients.

INTRODUCTION The management and treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are based on a cutoff point either of ≥ 10 on the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) or of ≥ 2 of the Medical Research Council (mMRC). Up to now, no study has assessed the equivalence between CAT and mMRC, as related to exercise tolerance in COPD. The aim of this study was to investigate as primary outcome the relationship between CAT and mMRC and maximal exercise capacity in COPD patients. We also evaluated as secondary outcome the agreement between CAT (≥ 10) and mMRC (≥ 2) to categorize patients according to their exercise tolerance. MATERIAL AND METHODS 118 consecutive COPD patients (39 females), aged between 47 and 85 years with a wide range of airflow obstruction and lung hyperinflation were studied. Maximal exercise capacity was assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise test. RESULTS CAT and mMRC scores were significantly related to VO2 peak (p<0.01). CAT (≥ 10) and mMRC (≥ 2) have a high likelihood to be associated to a value of VO2 peak less than 15.7 and 15.6 mL/kg/min, respectively. The interrater agreement between CAT (≥ 10) and mMRC (≥ 2) was found to be fair (κ = 0.20) in all patients but slight when they were subdivided in those with VO2 peak < 15 mL/kg/min and in those with VO2 peak ≥ 15 mL/kg/min (κ = 0.10 and κ = 0.20 respectively). CONCLUSION This study shows that CAT and mMRC are useful tools to predict exercise tolerance in COPD, but they cannot be considered as supplementary measures

Small airway dysfunction predicts excess ventilation and dynamic hyperinflation during exercise in patients with COPD

Introduction: Small airway dysfunction (SAD) is a pathophysiological characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Excess ventilation and dynamic hyperinflation (DH) are two main pathophysiological traits and limiting factors of COPD patients while exercising. We aimed to ascertain whether or not SAD, assessed by the multiple breath nitrogen washout (MBNW), may predict exercise ventilatory inefficiency and DH. Methods: Fifty stable COPD patients were prospectively studied and underwent MBNW and incremental cardio-pulmonary exercise test (CPET). Indices of conductive (Scond) and acinar (Sacin) ventilation heterogeneity as well as minute ventilation/CO2 production (VE/VCO2) linear relationship and the change in inspiratory capacity (IC) were analyzed. Results: Sacin was significantly and directly related to VE/VCO2 slope and inversely related to IC change and to peak O2 uptake (p < 0.01 for all correlations). No significant correlation was found between Scond and CPET parameters. The regression equation generated by stepwise multiple regression analysis for the VE/VCO2 slope and IC change, as dependent variables, included only Sacin, as independent variable. This model accounted for 31% and 36% of the total variance for the VE/VCO2 slope and IC change, respectively. Conclusion: Our study shows the value of the SAD as determinant of the excess ventilation and DH during exercise in patients with stable COPD

Infralittoral ostracoda and benthic foraminifera of the Gulf of Pozzuoli (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

AbstractThe shallow water benthic foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, located in the central Tyrrhenian Sea, were studied to investigate the relationship between calcareous meiofaunas and contaminant concentrations in bottom sediments exposed to prolonged industrial pollution. Both benthic foraminifers and ostracods displayed high-diversity and low-dominance, unusual features in highly contaminated environments. High-diversity values were possibly linked to the oligotrophic, well-oxygenated, and CaCO3-supersaturated coastal Mediterranean waters. The comparison with historical data suggested that assemblage composition changed in the last decades, with an increase in the relative abundance of benthic foraminiferal (Quinqueloculina seminulum, Bulimina elongata) and ostracod (Xestoleberis,Loxoconcha, Semicytherura rarecostata) taxa. They probably represent organisms tolerant to the environmental variations in the last decades. The relationships between granulometry and diversity indices, high correlation values betweenQuinqueloculina lataand heavy metal pollution, and the preference of the ostracod generaUrocythereisandParacytherideafor very shallow marine waters were highlighted

Efficacy of Intracolonic Administration of Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin CB-01-05, Compared to Other Low-Molecular-Weight Heparins and Unfractionated Heparin, in Experimentally Induced Colitis in Rat

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Imaginário coletivo de idosos participantes da Rede de Proteção e Defesa da Pessoa Idosa

The conception of the Protection and Defense Network of the Older Person (RPDI) stands out as a space of collective struggle for the right of the older people, through systematic meetings between them and professionals from different institutions and by articulation for the implantation of public policy. This study, characterized as qualitative research and based on the psychoanalytic method, aimed at understanding the collective imaginary of the older adults, who attend meetings on aging organized by the RPDI. The RPDI participants were invited to a collective interview, in which the Drawing-Story with Theme Procedure was used as a resource for facilitating emotional communication. The analysis of these drawings and narratives made it possible to recognize two affective-emotional meaning fields, named “Old age as helplessness” and “Old age as personal responsibility”. The paths that led to the fields of meaning indicated heterogeneous dynamics in the collective imaginary about aging, and contradictions in aging have been identified. Despite the helplessness, continuous and persistent struggle, fatalities, and the denial of old age, there is also the strength that the experience of life gives them and the motivation they find in union with their pairs to face the challenges of life and fight for their rights.A concepção de Rede de Proteção e Defesa da Pessoa Idosa (RPDI) se destaca como espaço de luta coletiva pelo direito dos idosos, por meio de reuniões sistemáticas destes com profissionais de diferentes instituições e pela articulação para a implantação de políticas públicas. Este estudo, caracterizado como pesquisa qualitativa pautada no método psicanalítico, teve o objetivo de compreender o imaginário coletivo de idosos que participam de encontros organizados pela RPDI sobre o envelhecimento. Os participantes foram convidados para entrevista coletiva, na qual foi utilizado o procedimento de desenhos-estórias com tema como recurso facilitador da comunicação emocional. A análise dos desenhos e narrativas possibilitou reconhecer dois campos de sentido afetivo-emocional denominados “velhice como desamparo” e “velhice como responsabilidade pessoal”. Os caminhos que levaram aos campos de sentido apontaram dinâmicas heterogêneas no imaginário coletivo sobre o envelhecimento, além de contradições inerentes ao ser idoso. Apesar do desamparo, da luta contínua e persistente, das fatalidades e da negação da velhice, está também presente a força que a experiência de vida lhes dá e a motivação que encontram na união com seus pares para enfrentar os desafios da vida e lutar por seus direitos

Prognostic value of morphologic and morphometric analyses in IgA nephropathy biopsies

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A multi-organ-on-chip to recapitulate the infiltration and the cytotoxic activity of circulating NK cells in 3D matrix-based tumor model

The success of immunotherapeutic approaches strictly depends on the immune cells interaction with cancer cells. While conventional in vitro cell cultures under-represent the complexity and dynamic crosstalk of the tumor microenvironment, animal models do not allow deciphering the anti-tumor activity of the human immune system. Therefore, the development of reliable and predictive preclinical models has become crucial for the screening of immune-therapeutic approaches. We here present an organ-on-chip organ on chips (OOC)-based approach for recapitulating the immune cell Natural Killer (NK) migration under physiological fluid flow, infiltration within a 3D tumor matrix, and activation against neuroblastoma cancer cells in a humanized, fluid-dynamic environment. Circulating NK cells actively initiate a spontaneous "extravasation " process toward the physically separated tumor niche, retaining their ability to interact with matrix-embedded tumor cells, and to display a cytotoxic effect (tumor cell apoptosis). Since NK cells infiltration and phenotype is correlated with prognosis and response to immunotherapy, their phenotype is also investigated: most importantly, a clear decrease in CD16-positive NK cells within the migrated and infiltrated population is observed. The proposed immune-tumor OOC-based model represents a promising approach for faithfully recapitulating the human pathology and efficiently employing the immunotherapies testing, eventually in a personalized perspective. An immune-organ on chip to recapitulate the tumor-mediated infiltration of circulating immune cells within 3D tumor model

Arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid metabolites in the airways of adults with cystic fibrosis: effect of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder, caused by genetic mutations in CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. Several reports have indicated the presence of specific fatty acid alterations in CF patients, most notably decreased levels of plasmatic and tissue docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the precursor of Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs). We hypothesized that DHA supplementation could restore the production of DHA-derived products and possibly contribute to a better control of the chronic pulmonary inflammation observed in CF subjects. Sputum samples from 15 CF and 10 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) subjects were collected and analyzed by LC/MS/MS and blood fatty acid were profiled by gas chromatography upon lipid extraction and transmethylation. As compared to COPD patients, CF subjects showed increased concentrations of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE), while the concentrations of DHA metabolites were not different in the two groups. After DHA supplementation, not only DHA/AA ratio and highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) index were significantly increased (p &lt; 0.05), but CF subjects showed a tendency toward a decrease in LTB4 and PGE2 and an increase in 17-hydroxy-docosahexaenoic acid (17OH-DHA) levels, together with a significantly reduction in 15-HETE. At the end of the washout period, LTB4, PGE2, 15-HETE, and 17OH-DHA tended to recover baseline values. As compared to baseline, 15-HETE/17OH-DHA ratio significantly changed after supplementation (p &lt; 0.01). Our results showed that in CF patients an impairment in fatty acid metabolism, characterized by increase in AA metabolites and decrease in DHA, was partially corrected by DHA supplementation