BACKGROUND Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) have been shown to be effective in patients with heart failure or myocardial infarction complicated by a reduced ejection fraction. However, the role of MRAs in patients with preserved ejection fraction (PEF) remains to be clarified. We aimed to summarize the evidence for the efficacy of MRAs in patients with either heart failure with PEF...

Peak expiratory flow (PEF) variability can be considered as an index of bronchial lability. Population studies on PEF variability are few. The purpose of the current paper is to describe the distribution of PEF variability in a random population sample of adults with a wide age range (20-70 yrs), and to assess relationships to age, gender and smoking habits. PEF data were collected in 511 parti...

The impact of pulsed electric fields (PEF) and their combination with a thermal treatment on the bioaccessibility phenolic carotenoid compounds in oil-added carrot puree (5 %) was investigated. Fractions such were differently treated: subjected to PEF pulses 3.5 kV cm−1) (PEF); thermally treated (70 °C for 10 min) (T) or first then (PEF/T). Purees vitro digested, content determined. Likewise, q...

BACKGROUND Variability of peak expiratory flow (PEF) has been proposed as a surrogate for bronchial hyperresponsiveness. The normal range of variability of PEF for children has been reported and the test has been used to screen for asthma in population based studies. However, there is little information on the reproducibility of the method in epidemiological settings. METHODS In a cohort stud...

Inverse theory teaches us that the residual, or misfit function, should be weighted by the inverse covariance matrix of the noise. Because the covariance operator is often difficult to estimate, we can approximate it with a diagonal weight that can be more easily computed. This paper investigates the possible choices of weighting functions for the data residual when prediction-error filters are...

The aim of the study was to investigate the difference between encouraged self-recorded peak expiratory flow (PEF) with unobserved readings and to investigate any long-term changes in PEF self-recording. Patients were trained in the PEF technique and asked to keep 2-hourly PEF records until the next clinic visit. The patients PEF were then rechecked at the second clinic visit by a series of two...

As the existence of a late reaction in exercise induced asthma is controversial, peak expiratory flow (PEF) was measured for up to 13 hours after a running test in 404 consecutive young male army conscripts undergoing assessment of their asthma. In 294 subjects (73%) the immediate post-exercise fall in PEF was 10% or more; the mean (SD) fall in PEF in this group was 27% (15%). Nine patients wit...

Previous studies have shown that the added resistance of a mini-Wright peak expiratory flow (PEF) meter reduced PEF by approximately 8% in normal subjects because of gas compression reducing thoracic gas volume at PEF and thus driving elastic recoil pressure. We undertook a body plethysmographic study in 15 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), age 65.9 +/- 6.3 yr (mean +/...

BACKGROUND Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) is inversely associated with mortality in Western populations, but few studies have assessed the associations of peak expiratory flow (PEF) with subsequent cause-specific mortality, or have used populations in developing countries, including China, for such assessments. METHODS A prospective cohort study followed ~ 170,000 Chinese men r...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a novel emerging technology which is believed to have the potential to substitute conventional thermal pasteurization (HTST). In the current study PEF was compared with HTST based on microbial inactivation and quality attributes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Juice was prepared by extracting it from Semirum apples. They were chilled to 4°C over...