The eusocial ants are unique in that females (queens) acquire and store sperm on a single mating flight early in adult life. This event largely determines the size (possibly millions of workers), longevity (possibly decades) and genetic variation of the colonies that queens found, but our understanding of the fundamental biology of ejaculate production, transfer and physiological function remai...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects that inspiratory muscle training (IMT) and respiratory exercises have on muscle strength, peak expiratory flow (PEF) and severity variables in children with asthma. METHODS This was a randomized analytical study involving 50 children with asthma allocated to one of two groups: an IMT group, comprising 25 children submitted to ...

BACKGROUND Air pollution is a problem, especially in developing countries. We examined the association between personal exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) on respiratory health in a group of adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS All participants resided in Mexico City and during follow-up, personal exposure to PM2.5...

Peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) was measured during haemodialysis in 30 unselected patients with chronic renal failure. The patients attended the hospital dialysis unit, where they received regular dialysis using a cuprophan dialyser with acetate buffered dialysate. Mean PEF had fallen by 60 l/min (13%) 30 minutes after the start of dialysis. In 10 of the 30 patients the fall in PEF was over 15...

We investigated whether exacerbation frequency in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was related to an exponent α which quantifies self-similarity in daily peak expiratory flow (PEF) and is calculated using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). We examined data from COPD patients who recorded an increase in respiratory symptoms and post-bronchodilator PEF on daily diary cards. We also...

To better characterize airway hyperresponsiveness reported in cardiac patients questionnaire-recorded symptoms, bronchial responsiveness to methacholine (Mch) and to ultrasonically nebulized distilled water (UNDW), diurnal oscillations of peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate were evaluated in 32 patients with moderate mitral stenosis. Twenty patients were responsive to Mch (defined as provocative do...

The influence of treatment temperature and pulsed electric fields (PEF) on the viability of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis cells suspended in 0.1% (wt/vol) peptone water and in sterilized cow's milk was assessed by direct viable counts and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). PEF treatment at 50 degrees C (2,500 pulses at 30 kV/cm) reduced the level of viable M. paratuberculosis cells by ...

The masimum effort flow-volume (MFV) loops of 82 subject8 were analyzed dong with standard spirometric me&urementa Thirty-eight ;ere normal smokers and nonmoken. Ninetan had d c t i v e disease and 25 had o ~ c t i v e disease. The means of the maximum e x p b tog and inspiratory Bows at pePL, and at 75,50 and 25 percent VC with their ratios are determined for dl groupe. The location of PEF in ...

Background: This research studied the effect of UV light on pentachlorophenol (PCP) removal in the electro-Fenton (EF) process. Methods: PCP was used as the pollutant in this study. The effects of Fenton’s reagent, i.e. hydrogen peroxide concentration, solution pH, and treatment time by EF (EF) and photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) processes, were studied to determine rates of PCP removal. The r...

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease characterised by fluctuating respiratory symptoms and reversible airflow obstruction.1,2 Confirmation of the diagnosis hinges on demonstrating airflow obstruction varying over time. Patients with undiagnosed asthma who consult repeatedly with symptoms ranging in severity3 may demonstrate perfectly normal spirometry. As there is no single ‘gold standard’ t...