Innate preference for host-odor blends modulates degree of anthropophagy of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (Diptera: Culicidae)

In field studies, Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto obtains most blood meals from humans, whereas Anopheles quadriannulatus Theobald bites predominantly bovids. We investigated whether host odors modulate the host preference of these mosquito species. In a dual-choice olfactometer, mosquitoes were given a choice between clean air and putative host-specific odor blends. An. gambiae chose ‘human odor’ over clean air and clean air over ‘cow odor.’ Although Anopheles quadriannulatus did not choose cow odor over clean air, it chose clean air over human odor. Cheese odor, which attracted An. gambiae, did not result in higher trap catch of An. quadriannulatus. We conclude that the degree of anthropophagy of An. gambiae s.l. has an innate olfactory basis

Exercise Testing and Prescription in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease

The present paper provides a review of the literature regarding exercise testing, exercise capacity, and the role of exercise training in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Different measures of exercise capacity are discussed, including both simple and more advanced exercise parameters. Different groups of patients, including shunt lesions, pulmonary valvar stenosis, patients after completion of Fontan circulation, and patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension are discussed separately in more detail. It has been underscored that an active lifestyle, taking exercise limitations and potential risks of exercise into account is of utmost importance. Increased exercise capacity in these patients is furthermore correlated with an improvement of objective and subjective quality of life

Studies on physical performance and functional ability in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

There is a growing interest in the physical training possibilities of children with juvenile arthritis. In the first Chapter a brief introduction on physical fitness and physical training is given including an overview of the existing studies in juvenile arthritis patients. In Chapter 2, we described the findings of our pilot study with 10 JIA patients. We developed our aquatic fitness training program using the experiences of this pilot study. During this pilot study found a high willingness of parents and JIA patients to participate in a training study. Chapter 3 deals with the reliability of the assessment of the maximum oxygen uptake (VO2peak; the gold standard for physical fitness) and gives a description of our experiences of exercise testing in this patient group. We found an impaired VO2peak especially in the more severe diseased patents. The comparison of the exercise capacity of JIA patients with healthy peers is systematically reviewed in Chapter 4. A meta-analysis showed that the VO2peak of JIA patients was 21.8 % lower (95 % confidence interval: 13.7 %, 29.9 %) compared to healthy controls (p < 0.0001). The relationship between functional ability and different indices of both aerobic and anaerobic physical fitness is described in Chapter 5. A low relationship between aerobic fitness and functional ability was found (r = 0.0 to 0.4, p > 0.05, except for eating r = 0.46, p<0.05). The correlations between anaerobic physical fitness and functional ability in JIA patients were strong (r = 0.5 to 0.75, p<0.05). This is indicated a good relationship between anaerobic fitness and functional ability. The association between physical activity and physical fitness are described in Chapter 6. Partial correlation coefficients (to control for age) between physical activity and indices of health related physical fitness showed significant relationships between CaltracTM motion counts and absolute VO2peak (r=0.31) and relative VO2peak (r=0.34), but not with the indices of body composition. There was also a significant correlation between PAL and relative VO2peak (r=0.33). Physical activity was significantly related to cardio-respiratory fitness but not with body composition in children with JIA. The effects of our physical training study provided in Chapter 7. Fifty-four patients with JIA (age 5 to13 years) participated in this study and were randomised into an experimental (N = 27) and a control (N = 27) group. The children in the experimental group received a training program consisting of a 1 hour a week supervised training program in a local pool of approximately 20 sessions. Effects were analysed on the following domains: functional ability, health-related quality of life, Joint status and physical fitness. Although all measures improved more in the experimental group compared to the control group, none of the differences became statistically significant. The current research found no significant effect of an aquatic fitness-training program in children with JIA. Since there were no signs for worsening in health status, one can conclude that this was a safe exercise program

Towards an individualized protocol for workload increments in cardiopulmonary exercise testing in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis

AbstractBackgroundThere is no single optimal exercise testing protocol for children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) that differs widely in age and disease status. The aim of this study was to develop a CF-specific, individualized approach to determine workload increments for a cycle ergometry testing protocol.MethodsA total of 409 assessments consisting of maximal exercise data, anthropometric parameters, and lung function measures from 160 children and adolescents with CF were examined. 90% of the database was analyzed with backward linear regression with peak workload (Wpeak) as the dependent variable. Afterwards, we [1] used the remaining 10% of the database (model validation group) to validate the model's capacity to predict Wpeak and [2] validated the protocol's ability to provide a maximal effort within a 10±2minute time frame in 14 adolescents with CF who were tested using this new protocol (protocol validation group).ResultsNo significant differences were seen in Wpeak and predicted Wpeak in the model validation group or in the protocol validation group. Eight of 14 adolescents with CF in the protocol validation group performed a maximal effort, and seven of them terminated the test within the 10±2minute time frame. Backward linear regression analysis resulted in the following equation: Wpeak (W)=−142.865+2.998×Age (years)−19.206×Sex (0=male; 1=female)+1.328×Height (cm)+23.362×FEV1 (L) (R=.89; R2=.79; SEE=21). Bland–Altman analysis showed no systematic bias between the actual and predicted Wpeak.ConclusionWe developed a CF-specific linear regression model to predict peak workload based on standard measures of anthropometry and FEV1, which could be used to calculate individualized workload increments for a cycle ergometry testing protocol

Позиционирование изображений фотошаблонов в системах автоматизированного оптического контроля

Разработана система автоматизированного оптического позиционирования фотошаблонов интегральных схем, которая имеет высокие показатели помехоустойчивости и точности

Density independent feeding success of malaria vectors (Diptera: Culicidae) in Tanzania

The possibility of density dependent feeding success in the African malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae Giles (sensu lato) and A. funestus Giles was investigated by examining the gonotrophic status of mosquitoes from 423 collections made in a Tanzanian village. Up to 500 mosquitoes were caught in any single 35 minute indoor resting collection. Estimates of the total numbers of mosquitoes resting were made by removal sampling. These indicated that the efficiency of resting collections decreased with increasing mosquito population. Of 1904 mosquito blood meals tested by ELISA, 95% were of human origin. There was no decrease in the proportion of mosquitoes fully fed at high population densities and the only demonstrable avoiding action by hosts in response to high densities of mosquitoes was the increased use of bednets during the wet season. The late biting cycle of these mosquitoes precludes many other density-dependent host defence mechanisms because the hosts are asleep at the time of attack. African malaria vectors have evolved with man and perhaps their evasion of density-dependent host responses has reinforced their preference for human bloo

Survival and infection probabilities of anthropophagic anophelines from an area of high prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum in humans

Delayed and immediate oocyst rates; parous rates and sporozoite rates were obtained in Anopheles gambiae Giles, A. arabiensis Patten and A. funestus Giles from two villages in the Kilombero Valley, southern Tanzania during the wet season of 1991. Collection methods included light trap, indoor resting collection and nets with holes cut in their side. Mosquito survival estimates from parous rates obtained from light trap collections, were compared with estimates from capture-recapture experiments and from that obtained during a population decline. Methods of estimating the proportion of feeds infectious to mosquitoes, K, were also compared. This proportion varied between villages and species and was highest in the village with the greatest proportion of A. gambiae. We propose that absolute estimates of K should be obtained by determining the immediate oocyst rate and measuring the parous rate using the same host seeking mosquitoes. This estimate was only available from one village and ranged from 1.9% for A. gambiae s.l. to 3.4% for A. funestu