Whole Body Fuel Use: A Preliminary Study of Carbohydrate and Fat Oxidation During Water Exercise

The purpose of this investigation was to measure energy expenditure and whole body carbohydrate and fat oxidation during shallow water exercise (SWE; submerged to axillary level). The level of energy expenditure and the relative contribution of fuels (e.g., carbohydrate [CHO], fat) depends on the intensity of exercise effort. This descriptive study addressed two questions: (1) what is the energy expenditure of performing SWE over a range of intensities; and (2) how does the rate of CHO and fat usage change with increasingly more demanding SWE efforts. Five healthy females (ages 18 to 26 years) performed five submaximal and one maximal SWE bout based on perceived effort (Borg Scale). Indirect calorimetry (Parvo-Medic metabolic analyzer) was employed to assess metabolic response while heart rate (HR) was monitored via telemetry (Polar technology). For perception of efforts ranging from very light (~50 percent HR peak) to very hard (~88 percent HR peak), the rate of energy expenditure ranged from 3.5+0.7 to 10.5+1.3 kilocalories per minute (Kcal.min-1), while the maximal SWE effort elicited a metabolic response of 13.2+1.7 Kcal.min-1 (~ 10 X resting metabolic rate). From very light to very hard, the rate of CHO oxidation increased from 2.0+1.0 to 9.4+1.8 Kcal.min-1 (~370 percent increase), while fat oxidation remained variable among the SWE efforts. In conclusion, carbohydrate oxidation plays an increasingly more important role as a fuel source during SWE efforts that require a high rate of energy expenditure. Furthermore, this study provides insight into the energy requirements of SWE, a mode of exercise that is becoming more popular

Cardiorespiratory Responses to High Intensity Interval Shallow Water Exercise

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cardiorespiratory responses to shallow water, high intensity interval exercise (SW-HIIE). Interestingly, no studies have investigated the physiological responses of performing HIIE in a water medium. Thus, the main question of this investigation was the following: What is the physiological load imposed on the human body during an acute SW-HIIE session? Physically active females, n=9 and 26+6 yrs, volunteered for this descriptive study. Volunteers performed a familiarization trial, an incremental maximal shallow water exercise test, and a SW-HIIE session. Participants were submerged to ~75 percent of stature (axillary level). SW-HIIE consisted of 4 X 4 minute segments with one minute recovery in between each segment. Each segment consisted of 8 X 20 seconds of maximal physical effort with 10 seconds of rest between each effort. Indirect calorimetry (Parvo-Medic metabolic analyzer) was employed to assess metabolic response and heart rate was monitored via telemetry (Polar technology). SW-HIIE elicited an overall oxygen uptake response of 2.0+0.2 lO2.min-1 (73+5% of peak aerobic capacity), nearly eight times above resting metabolic rate, while overall heart rate (HR) response was 156+8 bpm (86+2% HR peak). In conclusion, the SW-HIIE session elicited cardiorespiratory responses that would be classified as vigorous on the intensity scale according to the American College of Sports Medicine’s guidelines for exercise prescription, suggesting that an acute bout of SW-HIIE imposes a great physiological load on the human body

Heights of one- and two-sided congruence lattices of semigroups

The height of a poset $P$ is the supremum of the cardinalities of chains in $P$. The exact formula for the height of the subgroup lattice of the symmetric group $\mathcal{S}_n$ is known, as is an accurate asymptotic formula for the height of the subsemigroup lattice of the full transformation monoid $\mathcal{T}_n$. Motivated by the related question of determining the heights of the lattices of left- and right congruences of $\mathcal{T}_n$, we develop a general method for computing the heights of lattices of both one- and two-sided congruences for semigroups. We apply this theory to obtain exact height formulae for several monoids of transformations, matrices and partitions, including: the full transformation monoid $\mathcal{T}_n$, the partial transformation monoid $\mathcal{PT}_n$, the symmetric inverse monoid $\mathcal{I}_n$, the monoid of order-preserving transformations $\mathcal{O}_n$, the full matrix monoid $\mathcal{M}(n,q)$, the partition monoid $\mathcal{P}_n$, the Brauer monoid $\mathcal{B}_n$ and the Temperley-Lieb monoid $\mathcal{TL}_n$

Complicated acute type B aortic dissection: Midterm results of emergency endovascular stent–grafting

ObjectiveThis study assessed midterm results of emergency endovascular stent–grafting for patients with life-threatening complications of acute type B aortic dissection.MethodsBetween November 1996 and June 2004, 16 patients with complicated acute type B aortic dissections (mean age 57 years, range 16–88 years) underwent endovascular stent–grafting within 48 hours of presentation. Complications included contained rupture, hemothorax, refractory chest pain, and severe visceral or lower limb ischemia. Stent–graft types included custom-made first-generation endografts and second-generation commercial stent–grafts (Gore Excluder or TAG; W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc, Flagstaff, Ariz.). Follow-up was 100% complete, averaged 36 ± 36 months, and included postprocedural surveillance computed tomographic scans.ResultsEarly mortality was 25% ± 11% (70% confidence limit), with no late deaths. No new neurologic complications occurred. According to the latest scan, 4 patients (25%) had complete thrombosis of the false lumen; the lumen was partially thrombosed in 6 patients (38%). Distal aortic diameter was increased in only 1 patient. Actuarial survival at 1 and 5 years was 73% ± 11%; freedom from treatment failure (including aortic rupture, device fault, reintervention, aortic death, or sudden, unexplained late death) was 67% ± 14% at 5 years.ConclusionWith follow-up to 9 years, endovascular stent–grafting for patients with complicated acute type B aortic dissection conferred benefit. Consideration of emergency stent–grafting may improve the dismal outlook for these patients; future refinements in stent–graft design and technology and earlier diagnosis and intervention should be associated with improved results

Methods for Predicting Mechanical Deformations in the Breast During Clinical Breast Biopsy

A new method for clinical breast biopsy is presented, based on a deformable finite element model of the breast. The geometry of the model is constructed from MR data, and its mechanical properties are based on a nonlinear material model. This method allows imaging the breast without compression before the procedure, then compressing the breast and using the finite element model to predict the tumor\u27s position

Methods for Modeling and Predicting Mechanical Deformations of the Breast During Interventional Procedures

When doing high field (1.5T) magnetic resonance breast imaging, the use of compression plate during imaging after a contrast-agent injection may critically change the enhancement characteristics of the tumor, making the tracking of its boundaries very difficult. A new method for clinical breast biopsy is presented based on a deformable finite element model of the breast. The geometry of the model is constructed from MR data, and its mechanical properties are based on a non-linear material model. This method allows imaging the breast without compression before the procedure, then compressing the breast and using the finite element model to predict the tumor’s position. The axial breast contours and the segmented slices are ported to a custom-written MR-image contour analysis program, which generates a finite element model (FEM) input file readable by a commercial FEM software. A deformable silicon gel phantom was built to study the movements of an inclusion inside a deformable environment. The hyperelastic properties of the phantom materials were evaluated on an Instron Model 1331 mechanical testing machine. The phantom was placed in a custom-built pressure device, where a pressure plate caused a 14% (9.8mm) compression. The phantom was imaged in a 1.5T magnet (axial and coronal), in the undeformed and deformed states. An FEM of the phantom was built using the custom-written software from the MR data, and another FEM of the phantom was built using a commercial pre-processor from the phantom’s directly measured dimensions. The displacements of the inclusion center and its boundaries were calculated, both from the experimental and FEM results. The calculated displacements from both models are within 0.5mm of each other, and agree within 1.0mm with the experimental results. This difference is within the imaging error

Automated Quantum Oracle Synthesis with a Minimal Number of Qubits

Several prominent quantum computing algorithms--including Grover's search algorithm and Shor's algorithm for finding the prime factorization of an integer--employ subcircuits termed 'oracles' that embed a specific instance of a mathematical function into a corresponding bijective function that is then realized as a quantum circuit representation. Designing oracles, and particularly, designing them to be optimized for a particular use case, can be a non-trivial task. For example, the challenge of implementing quantum circuits in the current era of NISQ-based quantum computers generally dictates that they should be designed with a minimal number of qubits, as larger qubit counts increase the likelihood that computations will fail due to one or more of the qubits decohering. However, some quantum circuits require that function domain values be preserved, which can preclude using the minimal number of qubits in the oracle circuit. Thus, quantum oracles must be designed with a particular application in mind. In this work, we present two methods for automatic quantum oracle synthesis. One of these methods uses a minimal number of qubits, while the other preserves the function domain values while also minimizing the overall required number of qubits. For each method, we describe known quantum circuit use cases, and illustrate implementation using an automated quantum compilation and optimization tool to synthesize oracles for a set of benchmark functions; we can then compare the methods with metrics including required qubit count and quantum circuit complexity.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing: Quantum Information Science, Sensing, and Computation X

Aortic dissection: Percutaneous management of ischemic complications with endovascular stents and balloon fenestration

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate endovascular stenting (EVS) and balloon fenestration (BF) of intimal flaps for the management of lower extremity, renal, and visceral ischemia in acute or chronic aortic dissection.Methods: Twenty-two patients (16 male, 6 female) with a median age of 53 years (range 35 to 77 years) underwent percutaneous treatment for peripheral ischemic complications of 12 type A (five acute, seven chronic) and 10 type B (nine acute, one chronic) aortic dissections.Results: Ten patients had leg ischemia, 13 had renal ischemia, and 6 had visceral ischemia. Sixteen patients were treated with EVS including 11 with renal, 6 with lower extremity, 2 with superior mesenteric artery, and 2 with aortic stents. Three patients had BF of the intimal flap, and three had BF in combination with EVS. Revascularization with clinical success was achieved in all 22 patients. Two patients died 3 days and 13.4 months after the procedure was performed, respectively. Of the remaining 20 patients, 1 is lost to follow-up, and 19 have persistent relief of clinical symptoms. Mean follow-up time is 13.7 months (range 1.1 to 46.5 months). One case was complicated by guidewire-induced perinephric hematoma.Conclusion: EVS and BF provide a safe and effective percutaneous method for managing peripheral ischemic complications of aortic dissection. (J VASC SURG 1996;23:241-53.