The use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in identifying the presence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in patients with compatible symptomatology

© 2019 The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and the presence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in order to provide an innovative tool to identify patients with OSAS. A prospective nested case control design was adopted. A consecutive population of male volunteers referred to a Sleep Unit was subjected to nocturnal polysomnography, full lung function testing and maximal CPET. A stepwise linear discriminant function analysis (DFA) was applied to construct a model which could identify individuals with moderate-to-severe OSAS from healthy controls. The total of 30 volunteers formed the OSAS and 24 the non-OSAS groups. Demographic and somatometric parameters were similar between groups. Patients presented with lower Expiratory Reserve Volume (ERV: 106.7 ± 28.3 vs. 123.9 ± 22.1, p < 0.001), Leg Fatigue Borg scale (3.9 ± 1.1 vs. 6.1 ± 1.4, p < 0.001), VO 2peak (25.0 ± 5.9 vs. 32.9 ± 7.2 ml/kg −1 /min −1 , p < 0.001), peak breathing frequency (31.0 ± 5.8 vs. 35.5 ± 7.3 1/min −1 , p < 0.001) and peak heart rate (151.1 ± 17.7 vs. 171.2 ± 12.6 beats/min −1 , p < 0.001) compared to controls, but higher peak end-tidal CO 2 (P ET CO 2peak :38.6 ± 4.2 vs. 35.0 ± 4.9 mmHg, p = 0.043) and peak systolic (SBP:188.3 ± 21.9 vs. 173.1 ± 17.9 mmHg, p = 0.009) and diastolic (DBP: 91.3 ± 8.2 vs. 85.4 ± 8.2 mmHg, p = 0.011) blood pressure. Stepwise DFA indicated that ERV % of predicted (0.372), P ET CO 2peak (−0.376), SpO 2resting (0.0667), Leg Fatigue Borg scale (0.564), HR peak (0.530) and DBP peak (−0.543) could separate the two groups, with an overall predictive accuracy of 96.3%. Selected CPET parameters (ERV % of predicted , P ET CO 2peak , SpO 2resting , HR peak , DBP peak and Leg Fatigue Borg Scale ) are independently associated with OSAS presence and could discriminate patients with and without this disorder.Published versio

Angular Dependences of Third Harmonic Generation from Microdroplets

We present experimental and theoretical results for the angular dependence of third harmonic generation (THG) of water droplets in the micrometer range (size parameter $62<ka<248$). The THG signal in $p$- and $s$-polarization obtained with ultrashort laser pulses is compared with a recently developed nonlinear extension of classical Mie theory including multipoles of order $l\leq250$. Both theory and experiment yield over a wide range of size parameters remarkably stable intensity maxima close to the forward and backward direction at ``magic angles''. In contrast to linear Mie scattering, both are of comparable intensity.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 3 figures available on request from [email protected], submitted to PR

Vinegar production from fruit concentrates: effect on volatile composition and antioxidant activity

Vinegar stands as a highly appreciated fermented food product due to several functional properties and multiple applications. This work focuses on vinegar production from fruit wines derived from fruit concentrates, to attain a food product with nutritional added value. Four fruit vinegars (orange, mango, cherry and banana), were produced and characterized, with total acidities of 5.3 ± 0.3% for orange, 5.6 ± 0.2% for mango, 4.9 ± 0.4% for cherry and 5.4 ± 0.4% for banana. Acetification showed impact on aroma volatiles, mainly related to oxidative reactions. Minor volatiles associated with varietal aroma were identified, monoterpenic alcohols in orange vinegar, esters in banana vinegar, C13-norisoprenoids in cherry vinegar and lactones in mango vinegar, indicating fruit vinegars differentiated sensory quality. Total antioxidant activity analysis by FRAP, revealed fruit vinegars potential to preserve and deliver fruit functional properties. Antioxidant activity of fruit vinegars, expressed as equivalents of Fe2SO4, was of 11.0 ± 1.67 mmol L1 for orange, 4.8 ± 0.5 mmol L1 for mango, 18.6 ± 2.33 mmol L1 for cherry and 3.7 ± 0.3 mmol L1 for banana. Therefore, fruit vinegars presented antioxidant activity close to the reported for the corresponding fruit, and between 8 and 40 folds higher than the one found in commercial cider vinegar, demonstrating the high functional potential of these novel vinegar products.Authors would like to acknowledge the financial funding of: FruitVinegarDRINK QREN Project (Ref. 23209), Project "BioInd-Biotechnology and Bioengineering for improved Industrial and Agro-Food processes, REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028" Co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER and the FCT Strategic Project Pest OE/EQB/LA0023/2013. Authors would also like to acknowledge the participation of Mendes Goncalves S.A. and Frulact S.A. staff, for the active input, which led to the work basis and rationale.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Incidence of childhood leukaemia in the vicinity of nuclear sites in France, 1990–1998

Overall, 670 cases (O) of childhood leukaemia were diagnosed within 20 km of the 29 French nuclear installations between 1990 and 1998 compared to an expected number (E) of 729.09 cases (O/E=0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI)=[0.85-0.99]). Each of the four areas defined around the sites showed non significant deficits of cases (0-5 km: O=65, O/E=0.87, CI=[0.67-1.10]; 5-10 km: O=165, O/E=0.95, CI=[0.81-1.10]; 10-15 km: O=220, O/E=0.88, CI=[0.77-1.00]; 15-20 km: O=220, O/E=0.96, CI=[0.84-1.10]). There was no evidence of a trend in standardised incidence ratio with distance from the sites for all children or for any of the three age groups studied. Similar results were obtained when the start-up year of the electricity-generating nuclear sites and their electric nuclear power were taken into account. No evidence was found of a generally increased risk of childhood leukaemia around the 29 French nuclear sites under study during 1990-1998

Population mixing and leukaemia in young people around the La Hague nuclear waste reprocessing plant

In order to investigate for an association between population mixing and the occurrence of leukaemia in young people (less than 25 years), a geographical study was conducted, for the years 1979 to 1998, in Nord Cotentin (France). This area experienced between the years 1978 and 1992 a major influx of workers for the construction of a nuclear power station and a new nuclear waste reprocessing unit. A population mixing index was defined on the basis of the number of workers born outside the French department of ‘La Manche’ and living in each ‘commune’, the basic geographical unit under study. The analyses were done with indirect standardisation and Poisson regression model allowing or not for extra-Poisson variation. Urban ‘communes’ were considered as the reference population. The Incidence Rate Ratio was 2.7 in rural ‘communes’ belonging to the highest tertile of population mixing (95% Bayesian credible interval, 95%BCI=1.2–5.9). A positive trend was observed among rural strata with increasing population mixing index (IRR for trend=1.4, 95%BCI=1.1–1.8). The risk became stronger for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in children 1–6 years old in the highest tertile of population mixing (IRR=5.5, 95%BCI=1.4–23.3). These findings provide further support for a possible infective basis of childhood leukaemia

Génération de continuum dans une microcavité

La rétroémission très étroite d'un continuum a été observée, dans des gouttelettes d'eau de 30 $\mu$m éclairées par une impulsion femtoseconde. L'hypothèse d'un plasma semble assez forte, même si d'autres phénomènes tels que l'automodulation de phase et la sonoluminescence, peuvent être invoqués

Spectroscopic investigation of refractory molecules produced by laser vaporization

In classical ovens, vapour pressure of small molecules including refractory compounds is generally too weak to undertake their spectroscopic characterization in the gas phase. Laser sources as they allow any material to be vaporized whatever its melting point, bring a satisfactory answer to this problem. We designed a source of this type with the aim to undertake the spectroscopic characterization of small molecules including carbon or nitrogen together with a metal of large astrophysical abundance (Al, Mg, Na, Fe). The first mass spectra of neutral molecules as well as ions produced by this source are presented in this paper

Multiobjective genetic approach for optimal control of photoinduced processes

International audienceWe have applied a multiobjective genetic algorithm to the optimization of multiphoton-excited fluorescence. Our study shows the advantages that this approach can offer to experiments based on adaptive shaping of femtosecond pulses. The algorithm outperforms single-objective optimizations, being totally independent from the bias of user defined parameters and giving simultaneous access to a large set of feasible solutions. The global inspection of their ensemble represents a powerful support to unravel the connections between pulse spectral field features and excitation dynamics of the sample

Predictions of geometrical structures and ionization potentials for small barium clusters Ba

The geometrical structure of ground state Ban clusters ($n=2{-}14$) has been predicted from various types of calculations including two ab initio approaches used for the smaller sizes namely HF+MP2$(n=2{-}6$), DFT (LSDA)$(n=2{-}6$, 9) and one model approach HF+pairwise dispersion used for all sizes investigated here. The lowest energy configurations as well as some isomers have been investigated. The sizes n=4, 7 and 13 are predicted to be the relatively more stable ones and they correspond to the three compact structures: the tetrahedron, the pentagonal bipyramid and the icosahedron. The growth behavior from Ba7 to Ba13 appears to be characterized by the addition of atoms around a pentagonal bipyramid leading to the icosahedral structure of Ba13 which is consistent with the observed size-distribution of barium clusters. Values for vertical ionization potentials calculated for $n=2{-}5$ at the CI level are seen to be in quite good agreement with recent measures

Angular distribution of non-linear optical emission from spheroidal microparticles

International audienc