BACKGROUND Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) is often relied upon as an index of inspiratory muscle strength, and reproducibility of MIP taken to indicate maximal effort. This study was designed to determine whether reproducibility is a valid indicator of maximal effort. METHODS Ten normal subjects were studied, all of whom were familiar with the MIP test but none was an experienced subject....

Introduction Accumulating evidence indicates that psoriasis is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. Psoriasis and obesity share similar inflammatory mediators, and obesity may potentiate some inflammatory cytokines seen in psoriasis. Body fat distribution, particularly visceral adipose tissue (VAT), is an important factor in metabolic syndrome and atherosclerotic diseases. An associa...

BACKGROUND Apelin has been shown ex vivo to be a potent cardiac inotrope. This study was undertaken to evaluate the in vivo effects of apelin on cardiac function in native and ischemic cardiomyopathic rat hearts using a novel combination of a perivascular flow probe and a conductance catheter. METHODS AND RESULTS Native rats (n =32) and rats in heart failure 6 weeks after left anterior descen...

BACKGROUND Maximum pressures developed by the respiratory muscles can indicate the health of the respiratory system, help to determine maximum respiratory flow rates, and contribute to respiratory power development. Past measurements of maximum pressures have been found to be inadequate for inclusion in some exercise models involving respiration. METHODS Maximum inspiratory and expiratory air...

BACKGROUND The goal of this study was to assess whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity is related to muscle function (strength, power and velocity), as well as to assess if ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) and other angiotensin system blocking medications (ASBMs) influence muscle performance in elderly women. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Ninety-five community-dwelling elderly women took part in t...

The Container Loading Problem (CLP) belongs to an area of active research and has numerous applications in the real world, particularly in container transportation and distribution industries. When solving the CLP, normally, the goal is to distribute a set of rectangular pieces (boxes) in one large rectangular object (container) so as to maximize the total volume of packed boxes. However, a rat...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the clinical significance of body fat distribution in childhood obesity, we investigated the associations of subcutaneous and intraabdominal (preperitoneal and visceral) fat, estimated by ultrasonography, with metabolic risk factors. SUBJECTS Fifty-one obese (age 11.5+/- 2.6 years) and 33 non-obese (age 12.2+/- 2.7 years) children. STUDY DESIGN Case control study. M...

OBJECTIVE Cardiovascular side effects of lithium have been reported to occur mainly at higher-than-therapeutic serum levels. We aimed to investigate the impact of the long-term lithium use on electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters in association with the serum levels in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and in healthy controls (HCs) serving as the reference group. METHODS The study sample consi...