BACKGROUND Neuromuscular ultrasound is a noninvasive investigation, which can be easily performed at the bedside on the ICU. A reduction in muscle thickness and increase in echo intensity over time have been described in ICU patients, but the relation to ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) is unknown. We hypothesized that quantitative assessment of muscle and nerve parameters with ultrasound can dif...

INTRODUCTION Early diagnosis of intensive care unit - acquired weakness (ICU-AW) using the current reference standard, that is, assessment of muscle strength, is often hampered due to impaired consciousness. Biological markers could solve this problem but have been scarcely investigated. We hypothesized that plasma levels of neurofilaments are elevated in ICU-AW and can diagnose ICU-AW before m...

In acute myocardial ischemia, regional blood flow and function are proportionally reduced. With prolongation of ischemia, function further declines at unchanged blood flow. We studied the involvement of an inflammatory signal cascade in such progressive dysfunction and whether dysfunction is intrinsic to cardiomyocytes. In 10 pigs, ischemia was induced by adjusting inflow into the cannulated le...

The antimicrobial properties of salt (NaCl) used for the preservation of natural casings were studied by investigating the survival of six bacterial species in natural casings at different water activity (aw) levels. Individual sheep casings were inoculated with ca. 10(5) colony-forming units (cfu) g(-1) of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus,...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of aqua walking (AW) on coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults with osteoarthritis in the lower extremity and compare it with that of traditional over-ground walking. METHODS Sixty consecutive eligible patients who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention for CAD with limited ambulatio...

The functional residual capacity (FRC) and airway resistance (R(aw)) of the rat were measured, using a newly designed body plethysmograph (BPG), the inner environment of which was maintained at body temperature and was water-vapor saturated. The subjects were anesthetized and tracheally intubated male Wistar rats (n = 15). After measuring the FRC and R(aw), we analyzed the effects of inhaled me...

Fungi which grow in stored commodities are xerophilic, that is, capable of growing at reduced water activity (aw). Some xerophilic fungi either will not grow or grow only very slowly at the high aw values of media traditionally used to enumerate yeasts and moulds in foods and feedstuffs. Populations of xerophiles may therefore be underestimated or go undetected if the media and methods normally...

BACKGROUND Physical examination has been advocated as a primary determinant of ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW). The purpose of the study is to investigate ICU-AW development by using Maximum Inspiratory Pressure (MIP) as a surrogate parameter of the standardized method to evaluate patients' peripheral muscle strength. METHODS Seventy-four patients were recruited in the study and prospectively ...