The effects of the toxic dinoflagellate, karenia brevis (Wilson clone), on larval survival and development of the northern quahog (=hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria), eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) were studied in the laboratory. The effects of K. brevis on feeding activities of juveniles from these species plus the green mussel (Perna viridis) were also examined. Finally, adult bay scallops were exposed to K. brevis for two weeks to investigate possible cytotoxic effects. Survival of 3-day-old larvae was generally > 85% for all shellfish species at Karenia brevis densities of 100 cells . ml-1 or less, and not significantly different between whole and lysed culture. At 1,000 cells . ml-1, survival was significantly less in lysed culture than whole culture for both M. mercenaria and C. virginica. Survival of 7-day-old larvae in all species was not significantly affected at densities up to 1,000 cells . ml-1. At 5,000 cells . ml-1, however, survival was reduced to 37, 26 and 19% for A. irradians, M. mercenaria and C. virginica, respectively. Development of C. virginica and M. mercenaria larvae was protracted at K. brevis densities of 1,000 cells . ml-1. Clearance rates of juveniles were determined under static and flow-through conditions using whole and lysed cultures of K. brevis. The bay scallop was most sensitive, exhibiting a 79% reduction in clearance rate at 1,000 cells . ml-1 of whole culture. The eastern oyster was least responsive, showing a 38% reduction in clearance rate between the same treatments. The green mussel and the northern quahog displayed intermediate responses. Similar results were observed during longer (2 day) exposures to a continuous supply of K. brevis. Bay scallops showed a significant decline in clearance rate at 100 cells . ml-1 after 24 hr exposure; clearance rate of oysters was not affected by K. brevis at this concentration. No mortality was observed for any species during these brief exposures. Adult bay scallops exposed to K. brevis for two weeks showed degenerative and inflammatory changes in the digestive gland, including reduced thickness of the epithelium, increased size of digestive tubule lumens and hemocytic infiltration. The prospect for recovery of bay scallop populations in Florida may be hampered by recurring blooms of K. brevis.

The task of automated joining of the shaft with clearance taking into account the spatial deviation of the grip was solved. Linear and angular initial values of non-coincidences when joining is still possible were obtained. The depth of shaft insertion, when the contact at second point occurs, and dependence on the inclination angle of the axis were determined.

No description available.

With the increasing effect of disasters and long term issues on human well-being and economy over the recent years, effective management of humanitarian supply chains has become more important. This thesis work focuses on three problems in humanitarian supply chains where uncertainty is inherent, namely (i) post-disaster debris clearance with uncertain debris amounts, (ii) allocation of a health/humanitarian commodity in a developing country setting with multiple demand types, and (iii) distribution of specialized nutritious foods by a large scale humanitarian organization. In each of the three parts, the problem is formally defined, and a novel optimal solution approach incorporating the inherent uncertainty in the environment and updates is proposed. In cases where optimal models cannot be solved within reasonable time, novel heuristics are developed. Through structural analysis and computational experiments based on real data, the proposed approaches are compared to those that ignore the uncertainty in the environment and/or updates of information as new data becomes available. Using computational experiments, the proposed approaches are compared to those that are applied in practice, and the aspects of the system where performance improvements are more significant are analyzed.

No description available.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Exercise and physical activity have many benefits for adults with cystic fibrosis (CF), including the potential to aid mucus clearance, improve lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life. Despite the recommendations from consensus documents for CF adults to engage in regular physical activity, exercise participation amongst this population is often very low. No in-depth study has been undertaken to explore the determinants of exercise participation for this group and no studies have examined the benefits of habitual physical activity on the health status and quality of life of CF adults. As well, the current methods to quantify physical activity are problematic. The series of studies, involving CF adults, in this thesis was therefore undertaken in order to examine the physiological rationale for the use of exercise as an airway clearance technique, to understand the decision making process to engage in exercise, to determine if health status and quality of life were affected by exercise participation, and to establish the accuracy of a recently-developed objective measure of physical activity. The study in Chapter 2 provided some physiological rationale for choosing treadmill exercise to aid airway clearance in CF. The main findings were that a single bout of moderate intensity exercise increased the subjective ease of expectoration, most likely due to the increased ventilation with exercise, and that sputum viscoelasticity was favourably decreased immediately following treadmill exercise compared to cycle exercise and control. The studies in Chapters 3 and 4 identified the main beliefs regarding exercise for CF adults and highlighted that the main predictors of exercise intention and participation for this group were aspects of perceived and actual control to exercise, namely self-efficacy or confidence to exercise, feeling healthy, receiving encouragement to exercise, and rating exercise as a high priority treatment. Positive ratings of these aspects of control either increased exercise participation directly, indirectly by increasing intention, or strengthened the conversion of exercise intention to participation. Strategies aimed at targeting these aspects of control are therefore likely to be effective in increasing exercise participation for CF adults. The study in Chapter 5 demonstrated that CF adults, who reportedly performed at least 90 minutes of moderate to strenuous exercise per week, had significantly higher quality of life and fewer days in hospital over the following year than their peers, who exercised less. The difference in hospitalisation between the CF adults, who reportedly exercised more than 90 minutes per week and those who did not, was independent of baseline lung function, and the females who reportedly performed less than 90 minutes of exercise per week had three times as many days in hospital than their high-activity peers. The study in Chapter 6 showed that the SenseWear Pro3 Armband activity monitor provided a reasonable estimate of energy expenditure and step count. Also, its accuracy was not affected by diagnosis with CF, despite the potential for the high salt content in the sweat to interfere with the device’s physiological sensors placed on the skin. Overall, this series of studies adds to the growing evidence of the physical and psychological benefits from exercise participation for CF adults, as well as providing some empirical evidence upon which to base strategies to improve exercise participation for this group and support for an objective measure of physical activity.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-111).

Submitted by Rebeca Nunes Silva (rebecafisio12@hotmail.com) on 2018-10-17T17:34:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Rebeca completa_FINAL pdf.pdf: 1024886 bytes, checksum: 51e7502f8e12b2386ee7a8a94c778c1c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ALESSANDRA KUBA OSHIRO ASSUNÇÃO (alessandra@fct.unesp.br) on 2018-10-17T20:36:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_rn_me_prud.pdf: 1024886 bytes, checksum: 51e7502f8e12b2386ee7a8a94c778c1c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-17T20:36:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_rn_me_prud.pdf: 1024886 bytes, checksum: 51e7502f8e12b2386ee7a8a94c778c1c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-24 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Introdução: O tabagismo constitui um problema de saúde pública global e seu uso a longo prazo compromete o estado de saúde geral, acarretando em prejuízos no sistema cardiorrespiratório e, portanto, na capacidade funcional, além de também causar efeitos psicológicos importantes. Objetivos: Analisar o impacto do tabagismo nos aspectos funcionais, incluindo transportabilidade mucociliar nasal, função pulmonar e capacidade funcional submáxima, bem como avaliar a correlação entre essas variáveis; analisar os efeitos agudos do fumo na cinética de variáveis cardiorrespiratórias e na percepção subjetiva dos sintomas de dispneia e fadiga durante o exercício, abordando o grau de dependência a nicotina e os efeitos psicológicos causados pela abstinência tabagística e pelo fumo imediato. Métodos: Artigo I: Estudo transversal com 78 indivíduos tabagistas, idade entre 40 e 60 anos, no qual foram avaliadas a função pulmonar (espirometria), capacidade funcional submáxima (TC6) e a transportabilidade mucociliar nasal (TTS); Artigo II: Estudo em modelo cross-over no qual tabagistas com função pulmonar preservada foram estratificados em dois grupos de acordo com o grau de dependência a nicotina, sendo baixo e alto grau de dependência (LND e HND, respectivamente), e foram submetidos ao teste cardiopulmonar de exercício (TCPE) em duas condições: abstinência tabagística (controle) e imediatamente após fumar. Resultados: Artigo I: A amostra apresentou carga tabagística leve e função pulmonar e valores de TTS normais. A capacidade funcional submáxima apresentou-se normal e as variáveis espirométricas apresentaram correlação positiva com o TC6, enquanto o TTS não apresentou correlação com o TC6; Artigo II: Os valores das variáveis ventilatórias foram menores ao longo dos estágios do TCPE no grupo LND controle. Os valores da FC foram mais baixos no momento controle nos dois grupos (LND e HND) quando comparado ao exercício após o fumo. As sensações subjetivas de dispneia e fadiga de membros inferiores apresentaram aumento significativo no grupo HND controle quando comparado ao fumo, e comportamento oposto foi observado no grupo LND. Conclusões: Tabagistas leves apresentaram função pulmonar, TMC e capacidade funcional submáxima normais. A função pulmonar apresentou correlação com a capacidade funcional, no entanto o mesmo não aconteceu com o TTS em indivíduos tabagistas leves. Além disso, as sensações subjetivas de dispneia e fadiga de membros inferiores durante o exercício são diferentes entre fumantes com alta e baixa dependência a nicotina, sugerindo que o fumo pode ocultar os sintomas durante o exercício em fumantes com alta dependência. / Introduction: Smoking habit is a global public health problem and its long-term use deteriorates overall health, leading to damage to the cardiorespiratory system and therefore to functional capacity, as well as causing significant psychological effects. Aims: To analyze the impact of smoking on functional aspects (nasal mucociliary transportability, pulmonary function and submaximal functional capacity) evaluating the correlation between these variables; to analyze the acute effects of smoking on the cardiorespiratory kinetics and the subjective perception of symptoms during exercise, addressing the psychological effects caused by smoking cessation and immediate smoking. Methods: Article I: A cross-sectional study with 78 smokers, age between 40 and 60 years old, in which pulmonary function (spirometry), functional capacity (six-minute walk test – 6MWT) and nasal mucociliary transportability (Saccharin Transport Time Test – STT) were evaluated; Manuscript II: Non-COPD smokers were stratified in groups according to their nicotine dependence level as low and high nicotine dependence (LND and HND, respectively), and performed treadmill exercise tests in two conditions: smoking abstinence (control) and immediately after smoking. Results: Article I: The sample presented low pack-years and so low smoking history and normal values for pulmonar function and STT. Submaximal functional capacity were normal and spirometry variables related to the pulmonary function had a positive correlation with 6MWT, while STT did not presente any correlation with 6MWT; Manuscript II: Ventilatory variables were lowest across the last stages for LND control. HR were lower on control days for LND and HND when comparing to smoking days. Dyspnea and leg fatigue presented a significant increase for HND control when comparing to smoking day and the opposite was observed in LND smokers. Conclusion: Light smokers presented normal values for pulmonar function, mucociliary clearance and submaximal functional capacity. Pulmonary function presented positive correlation with functional capacity, however it did not happen with between STT and TC6 in light smokers; Besides that, the perceived symptoms of dyspnea and leg fatigue during exercise were diferente between low and high nicotine dependente smokers, suggesting that smoking may hide the symptoms during exercise in smokers with higher nicotine dependence. / 2016/11954-3

The Multiple Breath Washout (MBW) test is increasingly being recognised as a sensitive method of detecting early small airways lung disease. Indices of MBW include lung clearance index (LCI), Scond and Sacin. Factors that affect MBW variability have not been fully established. This thesis presents five studies which examine MBW repeatability in children with and without cystic fibrosis (CF) or asthma. MBW was performed using 0.2% sulphur hexafluoride and the modified Innocor (Innovision). Testing was performed at the Clinical Research Facility of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. (1) MBW and spirometry were performed in children with and without CF (n=20 in each group), initially while sitting and then 30 minutes after assuming a supine posture. LCI was found to significantly rise on lying supine in healthy children (p < 0.01) and children with CF (p=0.03). (2) Thirty two children with CF performed MBW and spirometry on four study visits, results were correlated with findings from high resolution chest computed tomography scans taken on the first visit. LCI showed the strongest correlation with extent and severity of bronchiectasis (r=0.66, p < 0.01 and r=0.69, p < 0.01 respectively). Variability of LCI was similar to FEV1 over the 4 visits. (3) MBW and spirometry of 66 healthy children were compared to 63 children with stable asthma; lung function of asthmatic children was related to symptoms and medication use. LCI was higher in the asthmatic group (6.7 vs 6.3, p < 0.01); within the asthmatic group LCI was significantly higher if asthma was less well controlled (p=0.02). (4) Children with and without asthma (n=21 in each group) performed MBW and spirometry before and after exercise and again after salbutamol, symptom data was collected from asthmatic children. Baseline LCI was abnormal in the asthmatic group who had severe exercise induced bronchospasm during testing. (5) Asthmatic children admitted to hospital due to exacerbation performed MBW and spirometry. Mean (SD) LCI was abnormally high at 8.5 (1.7) in the nine patients recruited and returned to normal 6.7 (0.6) in three patients who attended follow up. I have presented evidence that LCI is repeatable and sensitive to early disease in CF and asthma. I have described for the first time the effects of exercise and exacerbation on MBW indices in asthmatic children. MBW is potentially a very useful tool in paediatrics; standardisation of testing and equipment may enable clinical use.