Adam McKillop¹, Brian W. McCrindle^1,2, Gina Dimitropoulos³, Adrienne H. Kovacs³

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 232-240, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12553

Abstract Objective: A physically active lifestyle can help maintain positive physical and psychosocial health outcomes among adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). This study explored the physical activity perceptions and behaviors among young adults with CHD.
Design: This was a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study that included objectively measured physical activity assessment (accelerometer), individual semistructured interviews, and psychosocial questionnaires.
Results: Fifteen participants (67% male; 21 ± 3 years old) with moderate (n = 10) or complex (n = 5) CHD were recruited from an outpatient adult CHD clinic. Participants accumulated 26 ± 16 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, and reported a… More >

Varun Aggarwal^1,2, Kristen Sexson-Tejtal¹, Wilson Lam¹, Santiago O. Valdes¹, Caridad M. de la Uz¹, Jeffrey J. Kim¹, Christina Y. Miyake¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.6, pp. 1032-1036, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12864

Abstract Objective: Based on 2017 guidelines, participation in competitive sports with prior history of Kawasaki Disease (KD) requires those with coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) z score ≥ 5 to undergo evaluation for evidence of inducible ischemia or arrhythmias. The use of exercise stress testing (EST) to evaluate arrhythmias among KD patients has never been reported. This retrospective single-center case series study sought to describe the presence of inducible arrhythmias during EST in KD patients with or without CAA.
Methods: Single-center retrospective review of medical records of patients diagnosed with KD between 1989-2015 at Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, Texas who underwent EST… More >

Tim Takken¹, Alyanne Evertse¹, Fleur de Waard¹, Mandy Spoorenburg¹, Martijn Kuijpers¹, Christian Schroer^2,3, Erik H. Hulzebos¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.6, pp. 1005-1012, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12850

Abstract Background: Traveling to high altitude has become more popular. High‐altitude exposure causes hypobaric hypoxia. Exposure to acute high altitude, during air travel or mountain stays, seems to be safe for most patients with congenital heart disorders (CHD). Still, current guidelines for CHD patients express concerns regarding safety of altitude exposure for patients with a Fontan circulation. Therefore, investigating hemodynamic and pulmonary responses of acute high‐altitude exposure (±2500 m) at rest and during maximal exercise in patients with Fontan circulation can provide clarity in this dispute and may contribute to improvement of clinical counseling.
Methods: Twenty‐one Fontan patients with 21 age‐matched… More >

Sebastian Udholm, Christian Rex, Filip Eckerström, Mine Onat, Camilla Nyboe, Vibeke E. Hjortdal

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 372-379, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12740

Abstract Objective: Adult patients with small, unrepaired atrial septal defects have an in‐ creased risk of pneumonia, atrial fibrillation, and stroke. Furthermore, they have higher late mortality than the background population. The functional capacity is un‐ known in these patients. Therefore, our objective was to determine exercise capacity in adult patients diagnosed with an unrepaired atrial septal defect compared to healthy controls. Design: A cross‐sectional study. Patients: Adult patients with small, unrepaired atrial septal defects, aged 18‐65, di‐ agnosed between 1953 and 2011. Interventions: Cardiopulmonary exercise test was performed using an incremental bicycle test and gas exchange was measured using breath‐by‐breath… More >

Alessia Callegari^1,2,4, Rhoia Neidenbach², Ornella Milanesi¹, Biagio Castaldi¹, Martin Christmann⁴, Masamichi Ono³, Jan Müller², Peter Ewert², Alfred Hager²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 147-155, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12694

Abstract Aim: The Fontan circulation is highly dependent on ventilation, improving pulmonary blood flow and cardiac output. A reduced ventilatory function is reported in these patients. The extent of this impairment and its relation to exercise capacity and qual‐ ity of life is unknown and objective of this study.
Methods: This multicenter retrospective/cross‐sectional study included 232 patients (140 females, age 25.6 ± 10.8 years) after Fontan palliation (19.8% atrioventricular connection; 20.3% atriopulmonary connection; 59.9% total cavopulmonary connec‐ tion). Resting spirometry, cardiopulmonary exercise tests, and quality‐of‐life assess‐ ment (SF‐36 questionnaire) were performed between 2003 and 2015.
Results: Overall, mean forced expiratory volume… More >

Solange Marta Franzói De MORAES, Thais Andréia BROGIO, Jacqueline Nelisis ZANONi, Mariana Cristina Vicente Umada ZAPATER, Sidney Barnabé PEREs, Luzmarina HERNANDES

BIOCELL, Vol.37, No.2, pp. 37-43, 2013, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2013.37.037

Abstract Creatine is widely used by athletes as an ergogenic resource. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of creatine supplementation on the duodenum of rats submitted to physical training. The number and myenteric neuronal cell bodies as well mucosal and muscular tunic morphometry were evaluated. Control animals received a standard chow for 8 weeks, and the treated ones received the standard chow for 4 weeks and were later fed with the same chow but added with 2% creatine. Animals were divided in groups: sedentary, sedentary supplemented with creatine, trained and trained supplemented with creatine. The training consisted… More >

R. G. Cuntze¹

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.6, No.3&4, pp. 123-160, 2010, DOI:10.3970/sdhm.2010.006.123

Abstract The paper deals with the validation of 2D and 3D failure conditions of unidirectional (UD) composites composed of endless fibres and thermoset matrices. The generation of these failure conditions is shortly described and then applied to test cases of the World-Wide-Failure-Exercises WWFE-I and II, organized by Qinetic in the past 20 years. The derivation of the conditions for the brittle fracture failure experiencing UD lamina material was based on the author's so-called Failure Mode Concept (FMC) which basically builds up on the hypotheses of Beltrami and Mohr-Coulomb. The generally applicable FMC is applied here to UD material. Essential topics of… More >

Kairong Qin^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.1, pp. 13-14, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.05703

Abstract Common carotid arteries (CCAs) are the major arteries supplying blood to the brain, and the hemodynamic variables in which are closely associated with the cardiovascular diseases. Exercise can induce the hemodynamic responses in the CCAs, including variations in blood pressure, circumferential stretch, and wall shear stress (WSS). Mechanosensors in the endothelial cells (ECs) are able to sense and distinguish these variations as mechanical signals, and transmit them into the interior of cells to affect cellular morphology and gene expression. Notably, reasonable exercises improve arterial structure and function, while unreasonable exercises cause endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, studies on the modulation of common… More >

chun-chi Li¹, chin-chiang Wang², yin-chia Su², yu-chen Chu², chia-chu Weng²

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 31-32, 2009, DOI:10.3970/icces.2009.011.031

Abstract The aim of this paper was to establish the realistic breathing patterns in different exercise conditions by experimental measurement. Generally, the human inhalation rate varies from 15 L/min at rest to 135 L/min for intense exercise and the breathing cycles are varied with different exercise conditions. Previous author have used symmetric Weibel configuration to establish three realistic breathing patterns, i. e., resting (inhalation rate, 15 L/min), light activity (inhalation rate, 30 L/min), and moderate exercise (inhalation rate, 60 L/min). In this study, in addition to reconstructing the three realistic breathing patterns of above mention, we expand the establishment of the… More >

Yanxia Wang¹, Yu Wang², Siqi Li³, ur Rehman Aziz³, Shutian Liu¹, Kairong Qin^2,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.116, No.2, pp. 127-147, 2018, DOI: 10.31614/cmes.2018.03985

Abstract Assessment of the magnitude and pattern of wall shear stress (WSS) in vivo is the prerequisite for studying the quantitative relationship between exercise-induced WSS and arterial endothelial function. In the previous studies, the calculation of the WSS modulated by exercise training was primarily based upon the rigid tube model, which did not take non-linear effects of vessel elastic deformation into consideration. In this study, with an elastic tube model, we estimated the effect of a bout of 30-minute acute cycling exercise on the WSS and the flow rate in the common carotid artery according to the measured inner diameter, center-line… More >