The application of 2000

microstrain macroscopically to a piece of bone resulted in a much greater microscopic strain surrounding the osteocyte lacunae of over 30,000 microstrain [53]. Taken together, it might be considered that osteocytes embedded in living bone tissue receive larger strain as compared with those in bone. The major cellular components involved in mechanotransduction are integrins, cytoskeletal proteins, GTP-binding 3-deazaneplanocin A supplier regulatory proteins (G proteins), receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and stretch-activated channels [57]. Signals originating from mechanical stimulation can lead to gene expression and protein synthesis through the MAPK pathway [57]. Mechanical stretching also rapidly activates extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 in human pulmonary epithelial cells [58]. In addition, p38 MAPK and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/stress activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) are activated by various cellular mechanical stresses [57]. Moreover, p38 MAPK, SAPK, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation are activated by compressive loading in the chondrocytes of articular cartilages [21]. Through these signaling cascades, mechanical compression regulates the activity of transcriptional factors and gene expression [59].

A second route of activation by mechanical stress seems to be via the NF-κB selleck pathway [60]. Various stresses are known to induce phosphorylation and degradation of IκB, the cytoplasmic inhibitor of the transcription factor NF-κB, which becomes activated and translocates to the nucleus [60]. This has been demonstrated to occur in endothelial cells under shear stress [61]. Activation of NF-κB via protein kinase C-ζ is also required for the integrin-dependent ability of fibroblasts of to contract in collagen gels [62]. A number of studies have demonstrated load-related responses in osteocytes

in vivo and in vitro, supporting their proposed roles as mechanotransducers in bone. Changes in the expression levels of certain genes in osteocytes during bone modeling and/or remodeling have been investigated, suggesting complex and interdependent signaling networks are probably involved in their response to loading. CCN2 (also termed connective tissue growth factor, CTGF), is a 38 kDa, cysteine-rich, extracellular matrix protein that belongs to the CCN family of proteins. CCN2 has been implicated in numerous cellular events including angiogenesis, skeletogenesis and wound healing [63]. CCN2 regulates different cellular events, including adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation [64], [65], [66] and [67], and it may be an important growth factor in the control and regulation of osteogenesis [68] and [69] possibly in the regulation of mechanosensing in osteocytes.

Furthermore, hCAP18/LL-37 Olaparib order is completely absent from the plasma and saliva of these patients; consequently, these patients present chronic periodontitis and overgrowth of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. Surprisingly, hCAP18/LL-37 has been reported to have antimicrobial activity against A. actinomycetemcomitans, supporting the hypothesis that the deficiency of its peptide may result in periodontitis. In

addition, despite normalized absolute neutrophil count levels, G-CSF-treated SCN patients still often have periodontitis [117] and [118]. According to the maturation cycle of neutrophils, defensins are predominantly detected at the promyelocyte stage, when primary granules mature. In contrast to hCAP18/LL-37, which is primarily detected at the myelocyte stage, when secondary granules mature [119]. Recently, HAX1 gene mutations in SCN patients that result in increased apoptosis in myeloid cells have been identified. The HAX1 gene encodes the hematopoietic cell-specific protein 1 (HS1)-associate protein X-1 (HAX-1), which has been regulated in apoptosis [120]. Thus, deficiency of hCAP18/LL-37 may be associated with maturation arrest in myelopoiesis. Similarly, severe periodontitis is found

in the Papillon–Lefèvre syndrome (PLS), an inheritable disease caused by loss-of-function MEK inhibitor mutations in the cathepsin C gene. Cathepsin C is the activator of serine proteinases, elastase, cathepsin G, and proteinase 3. These patients have been recently found to lack active neutrophil-derived serine proteases. The neutrophils of PLS patients release reduced levels of mature hCAP18/LL-37 because serine proteinases are needed to convert the neutrophil-derived hCAP18/LL-37 into the

mature peptide that possesses antimicrobial activity [121]. These studies suggest that Methane monooxygenase hCAP18/LL-37 plays an important role in innate immunity against periodontal pathogens. In keratinized epithelial cells, hCAP18/LL-37 is inducible with inflammatory disorders, psoriasis, and nickel allergy [50]. Under inflammatory conditions, the epidermis showed abundant immunohistochemical staining of its peptide, while the healthy dermis did not show the presence of the peptide. In non-keratinized epithelial cells, under conditions of dysplasia and inflammatory cervix of the uterus, the strongest expression of hCAP18/LL-37 was detected at both the mRNA and protein levels in the upper spinous and granular layers toward the surface [49]. In fact, we found that the oral lichen planus (OLP) expresses more intense immunohistochemical staining for the hCAP18/LL-37 peptide than the normal epithelium (Fig. 2, unpublished data). Similarly, OLP showed intense immunohistochemical staining of β-defensin-2 (hBD-2) [122]. This increased expression is not related to microbial infection. For example, hCAP18/LL-37 mRNA and its peptide are rapidly expressed in the skin at the site of injury.

6 Several case reports have described late complications secondary to tracheotomy and prolonged mechanical ventilation, but the detection of a broad tracheocutaneous

fistula located on the cuff of the tracheotomy cannula is a rare event that may lead to severe difficulties in airway management for ventilator-dependent patients. In the literature, it has been reported that the frequency of occurrence of tracheocutaneous fistula ranges from 3.3% to 29%.7 The incidence of fistula formation is closely related to the time of cannulation. Kulber and Passy reported that a fistula does not develop when the duration find more of cannulation is less than 16 weeks, but its incidence increases to 70% when the retention period is 16 weeks or more.8 The presence of a fistula increases the possibility of respiratory tract infections, including repeated aspiration and pneumonia. It also causes difficulties in

phonation, coughing, cosmetic problems, and limitations to daily activities, including swimming and bathing. Therefore, surgical closure is necessary when a fistula GSK1210151A mw occurs, but the management of large tracheocutaneous fistulas is not well described in the otolaryngology literature. Some authors have focused on the excision of the fistula tract with or without the use of a strap muscle or sternocleidomastoid flap.9 Others have proposed staged closures over a period of months to allow secondary healing to occur in order to avoid complications of dehiscence, pneumomediastinum, and infection.10 In the literature, it is difficult to find a report on the surgical closure of a fistula whose

diameter is 1 cm or greater. Only Berenholz et al.9 have reported that a fistula of greater than 1 cm diameter was successfully closed using a muscular flap after a fistulectomy, but there has not been a report on a simple and safe surgical diglyceride closure of a large tracheocutaneous fistula greater than 1 cm diameter.9 In our case report, the diameter of the fistula was approximately 4 cm and its size prevented any possibility of surgical repair or resection of the lesion. In fact a small tracheocutaneous fistula may generally be sutured after fistulectomy or the fistula can be closed using a hinged flap or a bipedicle flap, but these techniques were impossible in our case. Another key feature of this clinical case involved the difficult management of the airways to allow adequate mechanical ventilation. The opening of a tracheocutaneous fistula in the above described location required a tracheotomy very proximal to the tracheal carina. Since the insertion of a cuffed cannula in the trachea was hindered by the reduced size of the residual trachea, a variation on the lung isolation technique was attempted, usually performed on patients undergoing thoracic surgery.

Phenolic compounds from fermented rice bran were extracted with methanol at a ratio of 1:10 (w/v), following the method described by Souza, Oliveira, Rocha, and Furlong (2010). Samples of 5 g were subjected to orbital shaking (150 rpm) at room temperature for 3 h with methanol and the extract obtained was filtered through filter paper (Whatman n° 4) into a separating funnel and washed three times with 10 mL of hexane. The methanolic extract was evaporated on a rota-evaporator at 50 °C under reduced pressure and the phenolic compounds were resuspended with 10 ml of distilled water in an ultrasonic bath for 10 min. The resulting extract was clarified with 5 ml of 0.1 M ZnSO4

and 5 mL of 0.1 M Ba(OH)2, and allowed to rest for 20 min. After centrifugation (10 min, 25 °C, 3200g,) the supernatant containing the phenolic

compound was collected, lyophilized and quantified CFTR activator spectrophotometrically AT13387 cost at 750 nm with Folin–Ciocalteau reagent (Qell, Brazil) using ferulic acid (Sigma, Japan) as standard (2–20 μg/ml). Phenolic extracts were resuspended in water and methanol (1:1), and 20 μL aliquots injected into a chromatograph (Shimadzu, Tokyo, Japan, CLASS-M10A) at a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min at 35 °C. The separation of the phenolic acids was accomplished using a C18 column (4.6 × 250 mm, 5 μm, Discovery®, USA) and a gradient isocratic solvent consisting of methanol and acidified water (1% v/v acetic acid) at a 20:80 ratio during 25 min, with UV detection at 280 nm until 15 min and 320 nm until 25 min. Phenolic acids were identified by comparison of retention times and absorption spectrum with different standards of phenols present in rice bran (caffeic, chlorogenic, p-coumaric,

ferulic, gallic, p-hydroxybenzoic, protocatechuic, syringic and vanillin, obtained from Sigma–Aldrich, USA) as described in the literature ( Mira et al., 2008 and Pourali et al., 2010). The detection limit (LOD) was calculated by the background Farnesyltransferase noise signal (solution containing the solvents used in the extraction of phenolic compounds) at 3:1. The determination limit (LOQ) was established as three times the amount of the LOD ( Ribani, Bottoli, Collins, Jardim, & Melo, 2004). The phenolic antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined according to the methods described by Rufino et al., 2009 and Sánchez-Moreno et al., 1998 and Brand-Wiliams, Cuvelier, & Berset, 1995 measured by the reduction in free radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrihidrazil (DPPH). This method is based on the transfer of electrons from one antioxidant substance to a free radical, DPPH, which loses its purple colour upon reduction, becoming yellow. Different concentrations of solutions of ascorbic acid (0.01–0.1 mg/mL), ferulic acid (0.01–1 mg/ml), fermented and unfermented rice bran (0.01–0.

Sc. E.S. Chaves for the ET AAS analysis. “
“Iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world, and is a public health problem in both industrialized and non-industrialized countries (World Health Organization, 2006). Iron deficiency is the result Selleckchem BMS 754807 of a long-term negative Fe balance: in its more severe stages, Fe deficiency causes anemia. About 40% of the world’s population (more than 2 billion individuals)

is thought to suffer from anemia. According to World Health Organization, 39% of children younger than 5 years, 48% of children between 5 and 14 years, 42% of all women, and 52% of pregnant women in developing countries are anemic, with half having Fe deficiency anemia (WHO, 2006). The main strategies for correcting Fe deficiency in populations are dietary modification or diversification to improve Fe intake

and bioavailability; Fe supplementation and Fe fortification of foods; and biofortification by plant breeding which has been considered as a promising approach to improve dietary Fe Venetoclax clinical trial nutritional quality (Zimmermman & Hurrel, 2007). The dietary habits of a population group strongly affect the bioavailability of both dietary Fe and added fortifying Fe. Although the efficiency of Fe absorption increases as Fe stores become depleted, the amount absorbed from foods, especially where diets are low in meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, is not enough to prevent Fe deficiency in many women and children, especially in the developing countries (Zimmermman & Hurrel, 2007). For instance, the main cause of increasing Fe deficiency in Brazil is that the consumption of food items considered Fe sources has continually decreased. Indeed, the search for new food standards, proposals for food distribution Bay 11-7085 and knowledge about the diet composition must be the researcher’s target (Szarfarc, 2006). In recent years, several studies have emphasised the positive effects of dietary inulin-type fructans

(ITF; inulin and fructooligosaccharides [FOS]) on mineral bioavailability as a result of their fermentation in the large intestine (Lobo, Colli, Alvares, & Filisetti, 2007; Scholz-Ahrens & Schrezenmeir, 2007). The fermentation process favours the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which affect luminal pH, in turn affecting mineral solubility (Scholz-Ahrens & Schrezenmeir, 2007). These effects are also accompanied by modifications in the mucosal architecture of the intestine as a result of increases in both the cellularity and number of crypts, mechanisms which may contribute to an increase in the mineral absorptive surface (Kleessen et al., 2003 and Lobo et al., 2007). Inulin-type fructans are commonly found in almost all species of the Asteraceae family, many of which are economically important, such as Chicorium intybus and Helianthus tuberosus ( Carvalho & Figueiredo-Ribeiro, 2001).

, 2011) (5% CNTs in PMMA). The fraction of soot measured in the exhaust gas was a maximum of about 20 mg/g, so the majority of the composites were completely mineralized to CO2 or other gases. The soot-fraction is

likely to contain also CNTs, however, this fraction was much less than 1% of the original mass. Petersen et al. (2011) stated in their review that the CNTs present in nanocomposites would most likely not be aerosolized during incineration because incineration facilities are designed to ensure that off-gases and aerosolized particulates have long residence times at high temperatures Nutlin-3 order (1000 to 1100 °C) that have been shown to be almost completely destroyed. However, incinerator ash may contain non-combusted CNTs. Landfills represent the dominant option for waste disposal around the world. In general, this reliance on landfills

is driven by cost considerations, particularly in developing economies (Brunner and Fellner, 2007). Nevertheless, even some highly industrialized countries such as the US, Australia, the UK, and Finland largely depend on landfilling. For example, in the US, 54% of waste generated was landfilled in 2010, with recycling and composting accounting for about 34% of municipal solid waste (MSW) management (US EPA, 2011). In Australia, about 70% of MSW has been directed to landfills without pre-treatment in 2002 (Chattopadhyay see more and Webster, 2009). In Japan, direct disposal of MSW accounted for less than 30% of MSW generation in 2000 with high incineration rates during the last decades due to the historic scarcity of land (Tanaka et al., 2005). Greece, the UK, and Finland are some of the most dependent on direct landfilling among the EU member states. The fraction of solid waste landfilled in 2008 was 77% in Greece, 55% in the UK, and 51% in Finland (European Commission, 2010). In contrast, landfilling accounted for less than 5% of MSW management in 2008 in Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Epothilone B (EPO906, Patupilone) Austria (European Commission, 2010). Plastic waste constitutes a large and growing component of the waste placed in landfills. The longevity of plastics and therefore

the release of CNTs from plastic composites under landfill conditions are not well defined but they almost certainly will depend on the biodegradability of the plastic and the range of options that currently apply to landfill management (Panhuis et al., 2007). Given the widespread general use of landfills for waste disposal, it is reasonable to assume that landfills are also a major end-of-life (EOL) fate for nanomaterials. A recent study attempted to quantify the various EOL scenarios for nanomaterials (Asmatulu et al., 2012). This analysis concluded that the top three fates of nanomaterials at EOL were recycling, release into wastewater and landfilling and/or landfilling of burned products. The modeling of the material flow for CNTs in the US shows that the flow to the landfill likely constitutes the major flow (Gottschalk et al., 2009).

The relationship between APAR and LA was linear for all plots (R2 = 0.971–0.988) and differed

between growth classes and treatments. We observed steeper slopes for the thinned versus the unthinned treatments and the slopes increased as growth class increased (from pole-stage1 to pole-stage2 to immature and mature stands). In Fig. 2, APAR per LA was plotted against the bole volume. Double logarithmic regression lines were fitted, which differed significantly between the growth classes. A comparison between the treatment variants thinned and unthinned for each growth class showed a significant R428 concentration difference in the immature stands, differences other than the slope in the mature and pole-stage1 stands, and differences except for the intercept in the pole-stage2 stand. All parameters of the double buy 5-Fluoracil logarithmic regressions were significant (α = 0.05),

though coefficients of determination were mostly weak (especially for the mature and immature stands). APAR per LA increased with bole volume, whereas this increase was more pronounced in the two pole-stage stands, as opposed to the older growth classes (mature and immature). This pattern occurred when APAR considered self-shading and shading of neighboring trees. To differentiate those effects, the same comparison was made using APARno_comp, which excluded any effect of neighboring trees. Fig. 3, therefore, only illustrates the effect of intra-crown shading. Regression parameters of the double logarithmic regression lines were all significant (α = 0.05) and differed between growth classes and thinning variants. In between the growth classes, thinning variants did not differ in filipin the mature stands, and only differed in their slope for the other growth classes. In all growth classes, the effect of self-shading increased with increasing bole volume, which is represented by a decreasing APARno_comp per unit of LA ( Fig. 3). To compare the predictive power of LA and APAR estimates of AVI we fitted double-logarithmic regression lines (Fig. 4). For given growth classes, the thinning treatments differed significantly

for the AVI vs. LA relationship (except the slope of the immature stand) and also for the AVI vs. APAR relationship (except the slope of the immature stand and the intercept of the pole-stage1 stand). Considering the coefficient of determination, stem growth related slightly better to APAR than LA. Both relationships (AVI vs. LA and AVI vs. APAR) showed a somewhat exponential increase in the younger stands (pole-stage1 and pole-stage2) but a more linear increase in the older stands (mature and immature). The analysis of the relationship between efficiency (LAE and LUE) and volume revealed significant differences between growth classes and treatments (Fig. 5). For a given growth class differences between the treatments were significant for the mature and the pole-stage2 stands (LAE and LUE).

A starting point in supporting the in situ conservation of tree commodity crops with extant wild or semi-wild stands is to attempt to work out what the ‘option value’ of this material is for breeding purposes, although this is difficult

because of the many unknowns concerning both the nature of the genetic resource and future breeding requirements. In any case, Hein and Gatzweiler (2006) undertook the exercise for wild coffee based on the need to improve the yields of cultivars, to protect against three major cultivated coffee diseases and to breed some cultivars with lower natural caffeine content. Their analysis, based on a 30-year discounting period, indicated a net present value of wild coffee of 1.5 billion USD at a discount rate of 5%, 420 million USD

at a discount GSK2656157 datasheet rate of 10%. The generation of these figures assumed a 15-year period for a successful breeding programme and a 20% adoption click here rate for improved cultivar planting. Another assumption is that traits for improvement would be obtained from wild stands rather than existing ex situ field gene bank accessions of coffee, which are maintained in countries such as Brazil (i.e., we do not know to what extent extant wild stands in Ethiopia contain unique genetic resources; Reichhuber and Requate, 2007). Nevertheless, although only approximations, these figures provide a strong justification for the further protection of wild Ethiopian coffee stands and the forest around them, and should support the development of a mechanism that involves growers from elsewhere in the world in supporting such an initiative. Although there have been some limited studies

of molecular genetic diversity in wild coffee (e.g., Aerts et al., 2013), there are as of yet no comprehensive range-wide assessments to compare with current (and future predicted) forest cover in Ethiopia. Studies that combine comprehensive genetic assessment with current and future habitat niche modelling (Davis et al., 2012 and Thomas et al., 2012), and with economic ‘option value’ analysis (Hein and Gatzweiler, 2006), are RANTES required for all important tree commodity crops that have extant wild and semi-wild stands, and similar approaches should also be applied to other trees providing valuable products. As well as estimating genetic diversity with (neutral) molecular markers, greater geo-spatial referencing of important functional diversity (disease resistance, quality traits, etc.) on forest maps would be useful; for example, by superimposing data from phenotypic evaluations of wild accessions undertaken in field trials and live gene banks. Finally, in the context of wider conservation efforts, significant concerns exist for commodity crop cultivation, as large-scale planting may result in the wholesale conversion of natural forests and woodlands to agricultural land, and commodity crop monocultures may displace biodiversity from farms (FAO, 2012).

There were 69 copy number variants, mostly duplications, observed at 21 loci (all except

DYS438 and DYS549). Copy number variants were most abundant at the markers DYS19 (n = 30) and DYS448 (28), followed by DYS481 and DYS570 (11 each; Table S3). Note that, at DYS385ab, only copy numbers Selleck GSK 3 inhibitor larger than two are conventionally counted. One triplication each of the DYS19 and DYS448 markers was observed in African American samples and a duplication comprising two intermediate alleles (15.2 and 18.2) at the DYS576 marker occurred in a European American sample. Duplications of several consecutive loci in the AZFa region [31] were detected in three samples at DYS389I/II and DYS439 in two samples and additionally including DYS437 in a Hispanic American sample. A previously published duplication affecting the DYS570 and DYS576 markers [10] was

found a second time in a German sample from our study. The 23 markers of the PPY23 panel were evaluated with respect to their haplotype diversity (HD), discrimination capacity (DC) and other forensic parameters such as random match probability (MP). In total, 18,860 different haplotypes were observed (Table 1). Of the 19,630 samples analyzed, buy NLG919 18,237 (92.9%) carried a unique haplotype. The most frequent haplotype was detected 11 times across three different populations, namely the Athapaskans, Estonians and Finns. Finland, Alaska and Kenya had the highest numbers of haplotypes occurring more than once (Table 1). Notably, eight Maasai individuals from Kinyawa (Kenya) and seven Xhosa from South Africa shared an identical haplotype, respectively. Haplotypes that were observed at least four times in a population were found in Reutte (Austria, Tyrolean; n = 1), Finland (Finnish; n = 5), Netherlands (Dutch; n = 1), Xuanwei (China, Han; n = 2), Kinyawa (Kenya, Maasai; n = 5), South Africa (Xhosa; n = 2), Peru (Peruvian; n = 1), Northern Alaska (USA, Inupiat; n = 5) and Western

Alaska (USA, Yupik; n = 1) Fossariinae (data not shown). Of the meta-populations formed according to continental residency, Asia showed the highest DC (>0.97), followed by Europe and Latin America (DC ∼ 0.96), and finally Africa (DC ∼ 0.85; Table S5). Grouping by continental ancestry yielded similar DC values of >0.96 for Asians, Europeans and Mixed Americans. However, a decrease in DC was observed for Native Americans (0.83) and an increase for samples of African ancestry (0.94; Table S5). Notably, 42 out of the 129 population samples (32.6%) contained only unique PPY23 haplotypes (‘complete resolution’), namely seven Asian, 23 European, six Latin America and six North America (i.e. no African populations). We compared the haplotype-based forensic parameters for five different sets of Y-STR markers commonly used in forensic practice, namely MHT, SWGDAM, PPY12, Yfiler and PPY23. Not surprisingly, a strictly monotonous relationship emerged among all forensic parameters and the number of markers included in a panel (Table 2).

Criteria for acceptance and reproducibility were observed. The values of the spirometric variables were compared to predicted values according to published Pereira values (Pereira, 2002). Respiratory Alectinib chemical structure inductive plethysmography (Respitrace®, Nims, Miami,

FL, USA) was used to assess breathing patterns and to measure thoracoabdominal motion. The accuracy of plethysmography in the evaluation of breathing patterns has been determined at rest and during physical activity in both adults and children (Chadha et al., 1982). Tidal volume measurements are satisfactory as long as the body position remains constant after the calibration procedure (Chadha et al., 1982). The Selleckchem U0126 system consists of two bands (Teflon®-coated inductance bands) that measure changes in the cross-sectional area of the rib cage (RC) and abdomen (AB). Bands of appropriate size were placed around the RC and AB; the upper edge of the RC band was placed at the level of the axilla, and the abdominal band was placed at the level of the umbilicus. Signals were calibrated using qualitative diagnostic calibration (QDC) (Sackner et al., 1989) during natural breathing. This method is a two-step procedure whereby the rib cage and abdominal electrical gains of the respiratory inductive plethysmography amplifiers are correctly partitioned during tidal breathing and are

subsequently the output of the spirometer was adjusted to correspond to the plethysmograph values. The subject subsequently breathed into a spirometer using a mouthpiece (Vitatrace, Pro Médico, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) with the nose clipped for 30–60 s, and the electrical spirometer output was recorded with

a computer and was used to calibrate the respiratory inductive plethysmographic sum signal for absolute volume in ml. The spirometer was calibrated with a 1-liter syringe (Vitalograph, Buckingham, England) using computer software (RespiPanel 4.0, Nims), and signals were recorded with a digital acquisition system (RespiEvents 5.2, Nims). Transcutaneous oxygen saturation (SaO2) and pulse rate were recorded by pulse oximetry (Datex-Ohmeda Inc., Louisville, CO, USA) Pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 1 using a finger probe (Bloch et al., 1995 and Sackner et al., 1989). The following variables were measured using a digital acquisition system on a breath-by-breath basis: tidal volume (VT), respiratory frequency (f), minute ventilation (VE), inspiratory duty cycle (TI/TTOT), mean inspiratory flow (VT/TI), percentage of rib cage motion (%RC), percentage of abdomen motion (%AB = 100 − %RC) and phase angle (PhAng). The PhAng is related to thoracoabdominal motion and reflects the delay between RC and AB excursions: values range from 0° (perfect synchrony) to 180° (paradoxal movement). After 30 min of recording, 6–10 min of steady-state readings were selected for analysis.