482 research outputs found
Evaluation of decision-support needs among family forest owners in Finland: An application of mixed methods
The influence of skeletal muscle properties, physical activity and physical fitness on serum lipids and the risk of coronary heart disease
Asthma, allergies and respiratory symptoms in different activity groups of swimmers exercising in swimming halls
Background Respiratory symptoms are common in competitive swimmers. However, among these and in swimmers at other activity levels the swimming distance, the total spent time in swimming halls and their medical background varies. Our objectives were, first, to assess their medical histories and the associations with respiratory symptoms among swimmers in different activity groups and then second, to study the pulmonary function findings and related medications in competitive swimmers who exercise in swimming hall environments the most. Methods First, 1118 participants consisting of 133 competitive-, 734 fitness- and 251 occasional swimmers answered questionnaires concerning their medical background, their respiratory symptoms in connection to swimming distance and their amount of time spent in swimming halls. Secondly, in 130 competitive swimmers, pulmonary function was tested by spirometry and a specific questionnaire was used to assess respiratory symptoms, medical histories and prescribed medication. Results Respiratory symptoms were reported by 18% of the studied swimmers. Competitive swimmers had significantly more symptoms than fitness- and occasional swimmers. Naturally competitive swimmers swum more than 2000 m and stayed by the pool more than 90 min, longer than the other activity groups of swimmers. Spirometry testing showed airway obstruction in 15 swimmers, which was 12% of the 130 competitive swimmers. 21 of them, had physician-diagnosed asthma and 16 of these individuals had prescribed medication for it. Conclusions Competitive swimmers had the highest swimming hall exposure and reported significantly more respiratory symptoms. A high prevalence of airway obstruction findings in competitive swimmers with asthma and allergies suggests a need for future recommendations for regular testing and special medical care for competitive swimmers.Peer reviewe
Frequent physical activity is associated with reduced risk of severe diabetic retinopathy in type 1 diabetes
The aim of this study was to investigate whether leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is associated with the development of severe diabetic retinopathy in individuals with type 1 diabetes.Peer reviewe
Effects of empagliflozin on blood pressure and markers of arterial stiffness and vascular resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes
Peer reviewe
Altered expiratory flow dynamics at peak exercise in adult men with well-controlled type 1 diabetes.
Peer reviewe
Increased myeloid cell hypoxia-inducible factor-1 delays obliterative airway disease in the mouse
BACKGROUND: Obliterative bronchiolitis after lung transplantation is characterized by chronic airway inflammation leading to the obliteration of small airways. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a master regulator of cellular responses to hypoxia and inflammation. The Von Hippel-Lindau protein (pVHL) drives the degradation of oxygen-sensitive subunit HIF-1 alpha that controls the activity of HIF-1. We investigated the effect of myeloid cell targeted gene deletion of HIF-1 alpha or its negative regulator pVHL on the development of obliterative airway disease (OAD) in the recipients of tracheal allografts, a mouse model for obliterative bronchiolitis after lung transplantation. METHODS: Tracheal allografts were heterotopically transplanted from BALB/c donor mice to fully major histocompatibility complex mismatched recipient mice with HIF-1 alpha or VHL gene deletion in myeloid cells. The recipients were left non-immunosuppressed or received tacrolimus daily. Histologic, immunohistochemical, and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses were performed at 3, 10, and 30 days. RESULTS: In the absence of immunosuppression, myeloid cell-specific VHL deficiency of the recipient mice improved epithelial recovery, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, increased regulatory forkhead box P3 messenger RNA expression, and reduced OAD development in tracheal allografts. In the presence of tacrolimus immunosuppression, loss of HIF-1 alpha activity in myeloid cells of the recipient by HIF-1 alpha gene deletion accelerated OAD development in mouse tracheal allografts. CONCLUSIONS: Activity of the HIF-pathway affects the development of allograft rejection, and our results suggest that myeloid cell-specific VHL-deficiency that potentially increases HIF-activity decreases allograft inflammation and the subsequent development of OAD in mouse tracheal allografts. (C) 2016 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe
The Association between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Gut Microbiota Composition in Premenopausal Women
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and gut microbiota composition in premenopausal women. The participants consisted of 71 premenopausal Finnish women ( aged 19-49 years). Gut microbiota were analyzed using flow cytometry, 16S rRNA gene hybridization and DNA-staining. Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) was assessed by respiratory gas analyzer and body composition by Bioimpdance. We found that participants with low VO2max had lower Bacteroides, but higher Eubacterium rectale-Clostridium coccoides than the high VO2max group (p < 0.05 for all). VO2max was inversely associated with EreC (r = 0.309, p = 0.01) but not with other bacteria. VO2max also negatively correlated with fat% (r = 0.755, p < 0.001), triglycerides (r = -0.274, p = 0.021) and leptin (r = -0.574, p < 0.001). By contrast, EreC was positively associated with fat% (r = 0.382, p = 0.002), dietary fat intake (r = 0.258, p = 0.034), triglycerides (r = 0.390, p = 0.002) and leptin (r = 0.424, p = 0.001), but negatively with carbohydrate intake (r = -0.252, p = 0.034) and HDL (r = -0.26, p = 0.028). After adjusting for age and dietary intake, all the significant associations remained. However, after adjusting for fat%, the associations between VO2max and EreC disappeared. Our results suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with gut microbiota composition, independent of age and carbohydrate or fat intake. The association between VO2max and EreC, however, appears to be mediated by body fatness
Radiation Hardness Studies in a CCD with High-Speed Column Parallel Readout
Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) have been successfully used in several high
energy physics experiments over the past two decades. Their high spatial
resolution and thin sensitive layers make them an excellent tool for studying
short-lived particles. The Linear Collider Flavour Identification (LCFI)
collaboration is developing Column-Parallel CCDs (CPCCDs) for the vertex
detector of the International Linear Collider (ILC). The CPCCDs can be read out
many times faster than standard CCDs, significantly increasing their operating
speed. The results of detailed simulations of the charge transfer inefficiency
(CTI) of a prototype CPCCD are reported and studies of the influence of gate
voltage on the CTI described. The effects of bulk radiation damage on the CTI
of a CPCCD are studied by simulating the effects of two electron trap levels,
0.17 and 0.44 eV, at different concentrations and operating temperatures. The
dependence of the CTI on different occupancy levels (percentage of hit pixels)
and readout frequencies is also studied. The optimal operating temperature for
the CPCCD, where the effects of the charge trapping are at a minimum, is found
to be about 230 K for the range of readout speeds proposed for the ILC. The
results of the full simulation have been compared with a simple analytic model.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures; presented at IEEE'07, ALCPG'07, ICATPP'0
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