Peak Volume Research Articles

Modelling of the similar depth profiles of two different kinds of ions,implanted to WC-Co tools, used in wood-based material machining

Modelling of the similar depth profiles of two different kinds of ions, implanted to WC-Co tools, used in wood-based material machining. An attempt was made to model the similar depth profiles of ions of two commonly used gases, i.e., nitrogen and argon, for the parameter values possible to obtain using classical implanters. Modelling was executed in two stages. Similar profiles were obtained for the acceleration voltage value of 35 kV in the case of nitrogen and the sum of the acceleration voltages of 65+32.5 kV in the case of argon. The difference in the obtained profile parameter values, such as: the peak volume dopant concentration of the implanted element, the projected range and the range straggling, was less than 1%.

#4626 EFFECTS OF HEMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS OF THE BRACHIAL ARTERY ON AVF FLOW

Abstract Background and Aims Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) remains the preferred form of vascular access for hemodialysis, although dealing with the high rate of maturation failure. Many factors are found to be influencing the AVF outcome, however the diameter of the blood vessels, both arteries and veins, is recognized as the most important predictor. Aim of this study was to evaluate hemodynamic parameters of the brachial artery (Ab) on the change of volume flow (VF) during AVF maturation. Method This single-centre observational study included patients in whom AVF was created between September 2021 and December 2022. All patients underwent pre-operative physical and Color Doppler Ultrasound (CDU) measurements of the radial artery (Ar), brachial artery and cephalic vein (Vc). AVF maturation was evaluated by CDU consecutively 1, 14 and 28 days after AVF creation. As the hemodynamic parameters of the arteries, peak systolic volume (PSV), end-diastolic volume (EDV) and resistance index (RI) were measured. Results Study included 33 patients (81.8% male, mean age 64±10). VF was 346.55±126.86, 491.26±183.51, and 608.28±275.10 at day 1, 14 and 28, respectively (p = 0,000). Univariate regression analysis showed PSV (Beta = 0,456; p = 0,008) and EDV (Beta = 0,551; p = 0,001), both measured on Ab at day 1 post-AVF creation, are statistically significant predictors of flow change during 28 days of maturation. In the linear regression model EDV measured on Ab at day 1 post-AVF creation (Beta = 0,683; p = 0,003) and diameter of Ab (Beta = 0,441; p = 0,004) remained significant (Fig. 1 and 2). The vast majority of the study population undergone the first AVF puncture between 15-30th day post-creation (48.5%), while 12 (36.4%) and 5 (15.1%) experienced AVF puncture after more than 30 days and at the 14th day, respectively Conclusion Hemodynamic parametres of the brachial artery, precisely peak systolic volume and end-diastolic volume at the first day post-AVF creation, play a significant role in AVF maturation. CDU measurements of those hemodynamic parameters at day 1 may be useful for an early identification of AVF maturation outcomes.

Efficacy of Multiple Exercise Therapy after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft: A Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is intended to restore myocardial perfusion and alleviate morbidity among patients suffering from coronary artery disease. Due to procedural complexity, and anesthetic medications, post-operative complications are more prevalent, requiring the integration of rehabilitation strategies. This review aimed to determine the effect of single and multiple exercise therapy on rehabilitation after CABG surgery. We conducted a systematic search of databases (EBSCOhost, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science) from 01 January 2000 to 15 September 2022. The protocol of this systematic review is registered to PROSPERO. We found nine randomized control trials composed of 599 CABG patients. In-patient cardiac rehabilitation (CR), a combination of inspiratory muscle training, mobilization, active upper and lower limb exercise, and aerobic exercise as multiple exercise therapy, found significant improvement in 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) than single exercise therapy (breathing exercise) at discharge and follow-up (moderate quality evidence). Contrary, multiple exercises group compared to single exercise groups did not improve the peak volume of oxygen ( ) at discharge. Still, significant improvement was found at follow-up (moderate quality of evidence). On the other hand, the out-patient CR made up of high-intensity inspiratory muscle training, upper and lower limbs resistance training, and aerobic exercise as multiple exercise therapy significantly improved 6MWD and peak at discharge (High-quality evidence). Our review revealed that multiple exercise therapy significantly improves functional and exercise capacity in in-patient and out-patient cardiac rehabilitation settings than single exercise therapy, but more than double exercise therapy protocol may be inefficient for improvement of quality of life. Inspiratory muscle training and resistance training in exercise therapy protocols significantly supplant the outcome, which requires further investigation.

Multi-criteria site selection and hydraulic modeling of green flood retention measures in a highly urbanized basin in Costa Rica

Green flood retention measures (GFRMs) are nature-based solutions applied to. mitigate floods by slowing and storing floodwater. This study employed a hydraulic, model developed in HEC-RAS to analyze the effects of GFRMs in the Quebrada Seca-Burío basin in Costa Rica. A multi-criteria methodology was developed to select. suitable sites for implementing the measures. A baseline representing the status quo, scenarios with individually assessed measures implemented at different sites, and a scenario with all measures combined were compared concerning their flood retention. potential. Twelve suitable sites capable of providing multiple socio-ecological benefits. were identified, of which three were implemented in the model to evaluate their. hydraulic performance. The results indicate that all scenarios are effective in reducing. peak flow, volume, and inundation areas, but to varying degrees. The combination of. all measures presented the most effective results, with peak flow reductions of 5.6 –15.3% and flood volume reductions of 3.6 – 9.9%.

Approximation method for the sewer drainage effect for urban flood modeling in areas without drainage-pipe data

Introduction: The underground drainage-pipe network is one of the vital components of a modern city, and it plays an important role in preventing or mitigating urban flooding. Thus, pipe network data are necessary for simulation of the entire urban rainfall–runoff process. However, pipe network data are sparse or unavailable in most urban areas.Methods: To solve this problem, we developed a novel approximation method that can be used calculate the drainage capacity of the pipe system. This method is named the road-drainage method, and it works under the assumption that the pipe network functions by subtracting the corresponding mass from the water conservation equation only from areas of road. The mass is determined from weir flow formulas together with the road properties and correction for this mass is applied to the rainfall source term.Results: Two test cases were used to compare the performance of the new method with an existing method, under which mass is subtracted from the entire area during the rainfall–runoff process. The results showed that the new method considerably improves the accuracy of simulated peak volume, with an improvement of 2.62%–58.75% compared with the existing method across various scenarios. Moreover, the proposed new method reduces the time shift of the rise and peak of surface inundation by 10–45 min in various scenarios, which reflects a more realistic model of the rainfall–runoff process.Discussion: These results demonstrate that the proposed new method can represent the drainage capability more accurately and is more consistent with reality. The road-drainage method has promising potential for application in urban flood simulation in areas without drainage system data and for the support of large-scale urban hydrologic modeling.

Three-dimensional characteristic chromatogram by online comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography: Application to the identification and differentiation of ginseng from herbal medicines to various Chinese patent medicines

One bottleneck problem in the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the accurate identification of easily confused herbal medicines from Chinese patent medicine (CPM). Ginseng products derived from the multiple parts (e.g., root/rhizome, leaf, and flower bud) of multiple Panax species (P. ginseng, P. quinquefolius, P. notoginseng, P. japonicus, and P. japonicus var. major) are globally popular; however, their authentication is very challenging. Using online comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC × LC), we propose the concept of a three-dimensional characteristic chromatogram (3D CC) by integrating enhanced LC × LC separation and a contour plot that visualizes the stereoscopic chromatographic peaks and examine its performance in authenticating various ginseng products. Targeted at the resolution of 17 ginsenoside markers, an online LC × LC/UV system with a 56 min analysis time was constructed: a CORTECS UPLC Shield RP 18 column running at 0.1 mL/min for the first-dimensional chromatography and a Poroshell SB-Aq column at 2.0 mL/min in shift gradient mode in the second dimension of separation. In particular, ginsenosides Rg1/Re and Rc/Ra1 were well resolved. According to the presence/absence of stereo peaks consistent with the main ginsenoside markers in the 3D CC and the depth of shade (depending on peak volume), it was feasible to use a single method to identify and distinguish among 12 different ginseng species as the drug materials and the use of ginseng simultaneously from 21 CPMs. Conclusively, a practical solution enabling the accurate identification of easily confused TCMs was provided, covering both the drug materials and the compound preparations.

Joint frequency analysis of peak flow and volumes of floods with Gumbel marginals

Desde hace dos décadas, la estimación de las crecientes de diseño de los embalses se aborda con el enfoque multivariado más simple: el bivariado. Lo anterior se aceptó pues se demostró que los embalses no son sensibles al tiempo al gasto máximo, y que tal gasto y volumen están correlacionados entre ellos y este último con la duración total del hidrograma de la creciente. En este estudio se ajustó la distribución Gumbel bivariada o modelo logístico a los 61 datos anuales de gasto pico y volumen de las crecientes de entrada a la presa Adolfo Ruiz Cortines (Mocúzari) en el río Mayo del estado de Sonora, México. Este proceso abarca las ocho etapas siguientes: (1) selección y prueba de los registros por procesar; (2) verificación de la aleatoriedad de los registros anuales; (3) aceptación de las funciones marginales Gumbel; (4) estimación de las probabilidades empíricas conjuntas; (5) validación del modelo Logístico; (6) verificación de las restricciones de probabilidad; (7) estimación de eventos de diseño, gasto pico y volumen, univariados híbridos, y (8) estimación de eventos de diseño conjuntos. En la etapa 1 primero se hace una selección subjetiva y después se verifica con el Test PPCC. La etapa 2 se realiza con base en el Test de Wald-Wolfowitz. Las etapas 3 y 5 utilizan el Test de Kolmogórov-Smirnov. En la etapa 7 se definen gastos de diseño, y se obtienen volúmenes por regresión y probabilidad condicional. En contraste, en la etapa 8 se obtienen diversos eventos de gasto pico y volumen que pertenecen al subgrupo de parejas críticas en las gráficas del periodo de retorno conjunto T’(Q,V). Por último, se formulan las Conclusiones, las cuales destacan las ventajas del análisis de frecuencias conjunto bivariado y la sencillez de aplicación y prueba del modelo Logístico.

Bivariate copula for flood frequency analysis in Johor river basin

Flooding is a multi-attribute event that is described by many factors such as peak flow and flood volume. It is extremely vital to consider both the flood volume and the flood peak while studying the flood frequency analysis as the univariate analysis cannot accurately portray the flood issue and suffers from an underestimation and an overestimation problem. Traditional univariate and multivariate modeling techniques have several mathematical shortcomings including the inability to distinguish between the marginal and joint behavior of the variables under study. Therefore, the copula function was introduced to tackle the above restriction. Six copula models will be applied in this study to find the best bivariate distribution between the flood variables in Johor River Basin, Malaysia, including Gaussian, Student-t, Clayton, Gumbel, Frank, and Joe. Before that, several marginal distributions were fitted to select the most appropriate distribution for flood variables. It was found that the Pearson Type-III fits both the flood peak flow and the flood volume best. The evaluation of the best univariate marginal distribution and the copula model will be based on Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Our findings suggested that Frank Copula is more suited to represent the relationship between peak flow and flood volume as it portrays the lowest AIC values of -69.41 and highest log-likelihood values of 35.7, where both values outperform the other proposed copula models. However, future research which considers all three flood variables which are peak flow, volume, and duration should be conducted to attain a more reliable result.

ПОКАЗАТЕЛИ ВНЕШНЕГО ДЫХАНИЯ ПАЦИЕНТОВ ОТДЕЛЕНИЯ ФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНОЙ ДИАГНОСТИКИ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОГО ЦЕНТРА МЕДИЦИНЫ

The purpose: To characterize the indicators of external respiration of patients of the functional diagnostics department National Center of Medicine n.a. M.E. Nikolaev. The study included the results of a survey of 55 male patients, whose average age was 51,75±9,35 years. The index assessment included the determination of body mass index, Brock index, Yarho-Kaupe index, Rohrer index. Spirometry was performed using a Master Screen spirometer@ Body. A bronchodilatation test was performed using salbutamol. Statistical processing of the material was carried out using the SPSS application software package for Windows (version 27,0). It was revealed that the majority of patients have normal body weight according to the Quetelet index and the Broca index, increased body density according to the Yarho-Kaupe index and high physical development according to the Rohrer index. According to spirometry data, 50,9% of the examined patients revealed a low level of vital lung capacity, 56,3% had a reduced Tiffno index, 63,7% of patients had a low level of peak volume expiratory velocity. According to the FEV1 indicator, 41,8% have pronounced ventilation disorders. In most of the examined individuals, the patency of the bronchial tree is impaired at the level of medium and large bronchi (65,5% and 61,8%, respectively). In 41,4% of patients, the result of the bronchodilation test was positive. Of these, 50,0% had a bronchodilation coefficient of more than 12% - a positive test, 50,0% – a negative test. Thus, an index assessment of physical development and characteristics of spirometric indicators of patients of the Department of functional diagnostics of the M.E. Nikolaev NCM were obtained.

SHAPE DIFFERENCES IN THE SEMITENDINOSUS FOLLOWING TENDON HARVESTING FOR ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION

Following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) using a semitendinosus (ST) autograft measures such as length, cross-sectional area, and volume may not fully describe the effects of tendon harvest on muscle morphology as these discrete measures cannot characterize three-dimensional muscle shape. This study aimed to determine between-limb ST shape similarity and regional morphology in individuals with a unilateral history of ACLR using a ST graft, and healthy controls.A secondary analysis of magnetic resonance imaging was undertaken from 18 individuals with unilateral history of ST ACLR and 18 healthy controls. ST muscles were manually segmented, and shape similarity were assessed between limbs and groups using Jaccard index (0-1) and Hausdorff distance (mm). ST length (cm), peak cross-sectional area (CSA) (cm2), and volume (cm3) was compared between surgically reconstructed and uninjured contralateral limbs, and between the left and right limbs of control participants with no history of injury. Cohen's d was reported as a measure of effect size.Compared to healthy controls, the ACLR group had significantly (p<0.001, d= −2.33) lower bilateral ST shape similarity. Furthermore, the deviation in muscle shape was significantly (p<0.001, d= 2.12) greater in the ACLR group. Within the ACLR group, maximum Hausdorff distance indicated ST from the ACLR limb deviated (23.1±8.68 mm) from the shape of the healthy contralateral ST, this was observed particularly within the distal region of the muscle. Compared to the uninjured contralateral limb and healthy controls, deficits in peak cross-sectional area and volume in ACLR group were largest in proximal (p<0.001, d= −2.52 to −1.28) and middle (p<0.001, d= −1.81 to −1.04) regions.Findings highlight morphological features in distal ST not identified by traditional discrete morphology measures. ST shape was most different in the distal region of the muscle, despite deficits in CSA and volume being most pronounced in proximal and middle regions. ST shape following ACLR may affect force transmission and distribution within the hamstrings and contribute to persistent deficits in knee flexor and internal rotator strength.

A design strategy for Geo AR mobile game sustainable success emphasizing game completeness

Current geolocation-based augmented reality mobile games lost more than 90% of their active users compared to the peak volume, threatening their sustainable success. Calls for making this type of game “complete” have been made in the literature. This paper uses the grounded theory approach to investigate a unique game, Pokémon GO, which attains its sustainable success to find a general pattern. First, key game design changes of Pokémon GO are identified in the nearly five-year history of this game. Second, relationships between various system updates, design components in the game, and the active user level change are identified. Third, a theory of sustainable success is proposed based on the relationships identified. Finally, the “complete game strategy” has been proposed and detailed for game designers’ consideration.

Pitfalls in Proteomics Avoiding Problems That Can Occur Before Data Acquisition Begins

Nano-LC-MS has become the gold-standard methodology used for proteomic analysis (defined here as the identification and quantification of protein abundance in biological samples) due its ability to provide sensitive detection for untargeted peptides, as well as identification of unknown peptides through MS/MS fragmentation and comparison of the experimental spectra to theoretical spectra prepared in-silico. Subsequently, nano-LC-MS-based proteomics tools have become invaluable in diverse disciplines ranging from immunology to microbiology, and food chemistry. However, analysis of biomolecules is generally susceptible to a number of unique and perilous sample preparation itfalls that can severely degrade the quality of data acquired, even when the most sophisticated LC-MS systems are used. This is due in part to the unique chemistry and size of large biological macromolecules such as proteins, peptides and oligonucleotides to name a few. Herein, we provide our views on some of the most common pitfalls in sample and instrument preparation relevant to proteomic analyses by nano-LC-MS. We hope that increasing awareness of these potential problems can help users mitigate them and produce higher quality data in general. While we focus here on nano-scale separations wherein peak volumes are exceptionally low and susceptible to contamination, these tips can be applied to any form of LC-MS biomolecule analysis.

Analysis of Runoff according to Land-Use Change in the Upper Hutuo River Basin

Land use affects regional hydrological processes. The alteration of regional distributions of vegetation, crop types, and land-use patterns for construction has a significant impact on the runoff process and influences the water cycle in watersheds. Studies on runoff variations in the Hutuo River Basin have concentrated on climate change and the effect of human activities without adequate attention paid to land-use changes. In order to investigate the response of runoff to land-use changes in the upper Hutuo River Basin, a soil and water assessment model was used in this study to compare and analyze the changes in runoff under five land-use scenarios from 1980–2020. The results show that the area of farmland, forest land, and grassland in the watershed gradually decreased from 1980 to 2020, with a total decrease of 3.1%, while the area of urban construction land increased rapidly by 1.5 times. Corresponding with the trend of land-use change, the differences between the simulated and natural values for regional flood peak and annual runoff increased with time, which is in line with the changing land-use trends. From 1960–2020, the differences between the simulated and natural values for the flood peaks of the five land-use scenarios were −16.8, −6.7, −3.5, 4.6, and 9.3%, respectively, and the errors between the simulated and natural values for annual runoff were −6.7, −4.4, −2.0, −2.6, and 10.8%, respectively. Overall, the increase in urban construction land and decrease in farming, forest area, and grassland has caused the regional flood peak and annual runoff volume to increase in the upper Hutuo River Basin.

Hydrological objective functions and ensemble averaging with the Wasserstein distance

Abstract. When working with hydrological data, the ability to quantify the similarity of different datasets is useful. The choice of how to make this quantification has a direct influence on the results, with different measures of similarity emphasising particular sources of error (for example, errors in amplitude as opposed to displacements in time and/or space). The Wasserstein distance considers the similarity of mass distributions through a transport lens. In a hydrological context, it measures the “effort” required to rearrange one distribution of water into the other. While being more broadly applicable, particular interest is paid to hydrographs in this work. The Wasserstein distance is adapted for working with hydrographs in two different ways and tested in a calibration and “averaging” of a hydrograph context. This alternative definition of fit is shown to be successful in accounting for timing errors due to imprecise rainfall measurements. The averaging of an ensemble of hydrographs is shown to be suitable when differences among the members are in peak shape and timing but not in total peak volume, where the traditional mean works well.

Effect of Rolling Resistance Model Parameters on 3D DEM Modeling of Coarse Sand Direct Shear Test

This paper deals with the micro and macro behaviors of coarse sand inside a direct shear box during a geotechnical test. A 3D discrete element method (DEM) model of the direct shear of sand was performed using sphere particles to explore the ability of the rolling resistance linear contact model to reproduce this commonly used test considering real-size particles. The focus was on the effect of the interaction of the main contact model parameters and particle size on maximum shear stress, residual shear stress, and sand volume change. The performed model was calibrated and validated with experimental data and followed by sensitive analyses. It is shown that the stress path can be reproduced appropriately. For a high coefficient of friction, the peak shear stress and volume change during the shearing process were mainly affected by increasing the rolling resistance coefficient. However, for a low coefficient of friction, shear stress and volume change were marginally affected by the rolling resistance coefficient. As expected, varying the friction and rolling resistance coefficients was found to have less influence on the residual shear stress.

MRI Volumetric Analysis of the Hypothalamus and Limbic System across the Pediatric Age Span

Literature is scarce regarding volumetric measures of limbic system components across the pediatric age range. The purpose of this study is to remedy this scarcity by reporting continuous volumetric measurements of limbic system components, and to provide consistent stratification data including age-related trajectories and sex-related differences in the pediatric age range in order to improve the recognition of structural variations that might reflect pathology. In this retrospective study, MRI sequences of children with normal clinical MRI examinations of the brain acquired between January 2010 and December 2019 were included. Isotropic 3D T1-weighted were processed using FreeSurfer version 7.3. Total brain volume and volumes of the limbic system including the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdala, hypothalamus, cingulate gyrus, entorhinal cortex, anteroventral thalamic nucleus, and whole thalamus were assessed. Parcellated output was displayed with the respective label map overlay and images were visually inspected for accuracy of regional segmentation results. Continuous data are provided as mean and standard deviation with quadratic trendlines and as mean and 95% confidence intervals. Categorical data are presented as integers and percentages (%). A total of 724 children (401 female, 55.4%), with a mean age at time of MRI of 10.9 ± 4.2 years (range: 1.9-18.2 years), were included in the study. For females, the total brain volume increased from 955 ± 70 mL at the age of 2-3 years to 1140 ± 110 mL at the age of 17-18 years. Similarly, the total brain volume increased for males from 1004 ± 83 mL to 1263 ± 96 mL. The maximum volume was noted at 11-12 years for females (1188 ± 90 mL) and at 14-15 years for males (1310 ± 159 mL). Limbic system structures reached their peak volume more commonly between the 13-14 years to 17-18 years age groups. The male cingulate gyrus, entorhinal cortex, and anteroventral thalamic nucleus reached peak volume before or at 9-10 years. This study provides unique age- and sex-specific volumes of the components of the limbic system throughout the pediatric age range to serve as normal values in comparative studies. Quantification of volumetric abnormalities of the limbic system on brain MRI may offer insights into phenotypical variations of diseases and may help elucidate new pathological phenotypes.

Study on skid resistance and skid-resistance durability of polymer modified cement mortar based on surface texture properties

In this paper, the effects of the three polymer emulsions-EVA, XSBRL, and SBR, on the skid resistance and skid-resistance durability of cement mortar were investigated based on the surface texture properties of the specimens. The surface texture properties include texture roughness and texture abrasion resistance, which were evaluated by 3D surface texture parameters. Using close-up photography and reverse engineering techniques, texture data was retrieved from the surface of the specimen to determine the 3D texture parameters. The friction coefficient tester and the wet track abrasion tester were used to verify the surface texture roughness and texture abrasion resistance, respectively. The results show that the polymer content increment can significantly improve the surface texture roughness, which is beneficial to enhancing the skid resistance of cement mortar. The varying surface texture roughness improvement effects of the various polymer emulsions are the main reason for the variation in the skid resistance of the three PCMs. EVA provides the best skid resistance by effectively improving the surface texture height (Sa), symmetry (Ssk), and core material volume (Vmc) of the cement mortar. In contrast, XSBRL enhances skid resistance by increasing the surface texture sharpness (Sku), slope (Sdq), top material volume (Vmp), and surface area (Sdr), with slightly less improvement. SBR is the least effective in improving the surface texture parameters of the cement mortar and therefore has the worst skid resistance. The three polymer emulsions increased the texture abrasion resistance of cement mortar. E-PCM was the highest texture abrasion resistance, followed by X-PCM, and S-PCM was the poorest. The Vmc may have a role in the variation in texture abrasion resistance, as the more peak core material volume there is, the more material is available for abrasion. Therefore, polymer emulsions can enhance the skid resistance and skid-resistance durability of cement mortar by improving the texture properties, with E-PCM being the most enhancement effect.

Less extreme and earlier outbursts of ice-dammed lakes since 1900

Episodic failures of ice-dammed lakes have produced some of the largest floods in history, with disastrous consequences for communities in high mountains1–7. Yet, estimating changes in the activity of ice-dam failures through time remains controversial because of inconsistent regional flood databases. Here, by collating 1,569 ice-dam failures in six major mountain regions, we systematically assess trends in peak discharge, volume, annual timing and source elevation between 1900 and 2021. We show that extreme peak flows and volumes (10 per cent highest) have declined by about an order of magnitude over this period in five of the six regions, whereas median flood discharges have fallen less or have remained unchanged. Ice-dam floods worldwide today originate at higher elevations and happen about six weeks earlier in the year than in 1900. Individual ice-dammed lakes with repeated outbursts show similar negative trends in magnitude and earlier occurrence, although with only moderate correlation to glacier thinning8. We anticipate that ice dams will continue to fail in the near future, even as glaciers thin and recede. Yet widespread deglaciation, projected for nearly all regions by the end of the twenty-first century9, may bring most outburst activity to a halt.

Erythropoietin as banned substance in professional sports: effects on maximal aerobic capacity, endurance and detection methods - a review

Introduction and purpose: Erythropoietin (Epo) and its analogs used as performance-enhancing substance and are considered doping and are therefore forbidden in sports, however the scientific evidence behind doping is frequently weak. We aimed to determine the effects erythropoietin on maximal aerobic capacity(VO₂ max), endurence and to present direct detection methods. State of knowledge: Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein cytokine. During cellular hypoxia, Epo is secreted mainly by the kidneys, it stimulates bone marrow production of red blood cells. To compensate for normal red cell turnover, low levels of Epo are constantly secreted in sufficient quantities. In addition to anemia and chronic lung disease, cellular hypoxia can result in elevated levels of Epo. VO₂ max is the peak volume of oxygen that a person can consume during exercise. Essential for breathing, oxygen is inhaled by the lungs and converted into energy, which then fuels human cells and expels carbon dioxide in the exhaled breath. This allows the body to manage more efficiently aerobic workouts that involve a large amount of oxygen intake, such as running, swimming or other cardio exercises. Conclusions: Current data from PubMed indicate a significant relationship between Epo overuse and endurance in professional sports. That is one of the most important reasons to pay attention to the effects of EPO and new detection methods.

Responses to exercise in systemicsclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Pulmonary complications in systemic sclerosis (SSc) significantly increase morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to determine the factors limiting exercise capacity in SSc patients with and without interstitial lung disease (ILD), and to identify and quantify abnormalities during exercise that might assist in clinical assessment of this complication. Fifteen patients with SSc and ILD(SSc-ILD) were compared with 10 patients with SSc without ILD and 9age- and sex-matched normal volunteers. Subjects performed symptom-limited incremental treadmill exercise with online measurement of respiratory gas exchange, arterial blood gas sampling and measurement of neurohormones in venous blood. Patients with SSc-ILD had lower exercise capacity than SSc patients without ILD or normal subjects (peak oxygen consumption (PV̇O2 ) (17.1 [4.2] vs. 22.0 [4.7] and 23.0 [5.4] ml kg-1 min-1 , respectively, mean [SD], p < 0.01 ANOVA), but PV̇O2 did not correlate with static pulmonary function measurements. Ventilatory equivalent for CO2 (V̇E/V̇CO2 ; nadir) was higher in SSc-ILD patients than the other two groups (36.6 [8.0] vs. 29.9 [4.4] and 30.0 [2.5], p < 0.005) as were peak exercise dead-space tidal volume ratio (0.44 [0.06] vs. 0.26 [0.09] and 0.26 [0.05], p < 0.001) and peak exercise alveolar-arterial difference (28.9 [16.9] vs. 18.8 [14.0] and 11.5 [6.9] mmHg, p < 0.05). Atrial natriuretic peptide was elevated in both SSc patient groups. SSc-ILD results in lower exercise capacity than SSc without ILD, and abnormalities of gas exchange are seen. The possible use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing to identify disease and quantify impairment in SSc-ILD merits further study.