Observation of a centrality-dependent dijet asymmetry in lead-lead collisions at sqrt[S(NN)] =2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC.

By using the ATLAS detector, observations have been made of a centrality-dependent dijet asymmetry in the collisions of lead ions at the Large Hadron Collider. In a sample of lead-lead events with a per-nucleon center of mass energy of 2.76 TeV, selected with a minimum bias trigger, jets are reconstructed in fine-grained, longitudinally segmented electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters.

Search for new particles in two-jet final states in 7 TeV proton-proton collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC.

A search for new heavy particles manifested as resonances in two-jet final states is presented. The data were produced in 7 TeV proton-proton collisions by the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 315  nb⁻¹ collected by the ATLAS detector. No resonances were observed.

A study design to investigate the effect of short-form Sun-style Tai Chi in improving functional exercise capacity, physical performance, balance and health related quality of life in people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Unlabelled: The effectiveness of exercise training in people with COPD is well established. However, alternative methods of training such as Tai Chi have not been widely evaluated. This paper describes the study design of a clinical trial which aims to determine if short form Sun-style Tai Chi improves exercise capacity and quality of life in people with COPD.

Shuttle walk tests as outcome measures: Are two incremental shuttle walk tests and two endurance shuttle walk tests necessary?

This study was undertaken in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to determine differences in incremental shuttle walk test distance and endurance shuttle walk test time when two of each shuttle test were performed before (n = 53 participants) and after an exercise training program (n = 31 participants) and whether the results altered program outcomes. There was a significant increase in incremental shuttle walk test distance between the two incremental shuttle walk tests before (P < 0.001) and after training (P < 0.

Effects of exercise on respiratory flow and sputum properties in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Background: The physiologic mechanisms by which exercise may clear secretions in subjects with cystic fibrosis (CF) are unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare ventilation, respiratory flow, and sputum properties following treadmill and cycle exercise with resting breathing (referred to as "control").

Methods: In 14 adult subjects with CF, ventilation and respiratory flow were measured during 20 min of resting breathing, treadmill exercise, and cycle exercise in a 3-day crossover study.

Ground walk training improves functional exercise capacity more than cycle training in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a randomised trial.

Questions: Does an eight-week program of walk training improve endurance walking capacity in people with COPD compared to cycle training? Does walk training improve peak walking capacity, cycle capacity, and quality of life compared to cycle training? Is the endurance shuttle walk test (ESWT) responsive to change in walking capacity elicited by exercise training?

Design: Randomised trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis.

Participants: 36 people with stable COPD recruited with four dropouts.

Intervention: Participants were randomised into either a walk or cycle training group.

Long-term performance of submammary defibrillator system.

Aims: There are various implantation techniques that have been used to minimize the cosmetic effect of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation, including submammary implantation. There are limited data on submammary ICD implantation and no data on long-term follow-up. We report the long-term performance of submammary ICD systems implanted in young females.

Estimating peak work rate during incremental cycle ergometry from the 6-minute walk distance: differences between reference equations.

Background: Prescription of an appropriate exercise training intensity is critical to optimise the outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation; however, prescribing cycle ergometry training is challenging if peak work is unknown. Recently two studies reported regression equations which allow estimation of peak cycle work rate from the 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Objectives: To compare estimates of peak work and target training work rate (60% peak) obtained from these equations.

High- and low-level pressure support during walking in people with severe kyphoscoliosis.

To determine whether the level of pressure support (PS) provided during exercise influences endurance time in people with severe kyphoscoliosis, a double-blind randomised crossover study was performed. We hypothesised that high-level PS would be required to enhance endurance time in this population with high impedance to inflation. 13 participants with severe kyphoscoliosis performed four endurance treadmill tests in random order: unassisted; with sham PS; low-level PS of 10 cmH(2)O (PS 10); and high-level PS of 20 cmH(2)O (PS 20).

Bilevel ventilation during exercise in acute on chronic respiratory failure: a preliminary study.

To determine the immediate effects of bilevel non-invasive ventilation plus oxygen (NIV+O(2)) during exercise compared to exercise with O(2) alone in people recovering from acute on chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure (HRF), a randomised crossover study with repeated measures was performed. Eighteen participants performed six minute walk tests (6MWT) and 16 participants performed unsupported arm exercise (UAE) tests with NIV+O(2) and with O(2) alone in random order. Distance walked increased by a mean of 43.

Maintaining benefits following pulmonary rehabilitation: a randomised controlled trial.

The aim of this study was to determine if weekly, supervised, outpatient-based exercise plus unsupervised home exercise following an 8-week pulmonary rehabilitation programme would maintain functional exercise capacity and quality of life at 12 months better than standard care of unsupervised home exercise training. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) subjects completed an 8-week pulmonary rehabilitation programme, were randomised to an intervention group (IG) of weekly, supervised, exercise plus home exercise or to a control group (CG) of unsupervised home exercise and followed for 12 months. Outcome measurements at baseline (after pulmonary rehabilitation), and 3, 6 and 12 months included the 6-min walk test and St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ).

Timing of myelosuppression during thiopurine therapy for inflammatory bowel disease: implications for monitoring recommendations.

Background & Aims: Thiopurines (azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine) can induce life-threatening myelosuppression. This study determined the frequency, timing, and outcomes of mild and severe myelosuppression after initiation of thiopurine therapy.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients with inflammatory bowel disease who were new users of thiopurines; those tested for thiopurine methyltransferase levels before therapy were excluded.

Evaluation of the SenseWear activity monitor during exercise in cystic fibrosis and in health.

Objective: Determine the SenseWear Pro3 Armband (SWA) accuracy for estimating energy expenditure (EE) and step count during treadmill walking in cystic fibrosis (CF) compared to healthy adults.

Hypothesis: SWA estimation of EE would be less accurate for CF, than for healthy subjects, due to interference with the SWA skin sensors caused by the high salt concentration in the sweat of CF subjects.

Methods: 17 CF (mean age 26 yr; FEV1 54% predicted) and 17 age-matched control subjects walked slightly faster than their comfortable pace on a treadmill for 20 min, whilst simultaneously wearing the SWA and breathing through an open-circuit indirect calorimetry (IC) system.

Non-invasive ventilation during arm exercise and ground walking in patients with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure.

Background And Objective: People with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure (HRF) often have a ventilatory limitation to exercise with difficulty performing activities of daily living. Although non-invasive ventilation (NIV) appears to reduce the ventilatory limitation and improve exercise performance in people with severe COPD, the effect of NIV during functional activities such as unsupported arm exercise (UAE) and ground walking in people with chronic HRF is unclear.

Methods: Seventeen patients with chronic HRF (PaCO(2) 52.

Relationship between field walking tests and incremental cycle ergometry in COPD.

Background And Objective: Cycle ergometer training is an important component of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with COPD. However, incremental cycle tests from which individualized cycle training intensity can be prescribed may not be readily available to clinicians. The aims of the study were to (i) investigate the physiological and psychophysical responses to the 6-min walk test (6MWT), incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) and cycle ergometer test (CET); and (ii) determine whether the distance walked in either the 6MWT or the ISWT could be used to estimate peak work rate on a cycle ergometer.

Cardiac re-synchronization therapy in a child with severe anthracycline-induced congestive heart failure and normal QRS duration.

We report the case of a 9-year-old girl who developed acute anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity with severe, refractory congestive heart failure. Rescue treatment with cardiac re-synchronization therapy was initiated, resulting in rapid improvement in left ventricular function and clinical status.

Physiological responses to high intensity, constant-load arm exercise in COPD.

The aim of the study was to compare the metabolic, ventilatory and dyspnoea responses of a single bout of high intensity, constant-load arm exercise to peak arm exercise in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Thirty people with COPD (mean age+/-SD=65+/-8 years; FEV1% predicted=56+/-12%) were included. All subjects performed an incremental arm exercise test to peak work capacity on an arm ergometer and, on a separate day, a constant-load arm exercise test at 80% of the peak work rate achieved on the incremental test.

Six-minute walk test as an outcome measure: are two six-minute walk tests necessary immediately after pulmonary rehabilitation and at three-month follow-up?

A 3-mo prospective, longitudinal, repeated-measures study was undertaken in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study aimed to determine whether there was a difference in 6-min walk distance (6MWD) when two 6-min walk tests were performed after pulmonary rehabilitation (n = 44) and at 3-mo follow-up (n = 40), and whether the results reflected the program outcomes. There was a significant increase in 6MWD between two 6-min walk tests before rehabilitation (P < 0.

Position affects distribution of ventilation in the lungs of older people: an experimental study.

Question: What is the effect of sitting and side-lying on the distribution of ventilation during tidal breathing in healthy older people?

Design: Randomised, within-participant, experimental study.

Participants: Ten healthy people more than 65 years old.

Intervention: Tidal breathing during sitting and right side-lying.

Prescribing cycle training intensity from the six-minute walk test for patients with COPD.

Background: Cycle training intensity for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is normally based on an incremental cycle test. Such tests are expensive and not readily available to clinicians. The six-minute walk test (6MWT) has been proposed as an alternative to an incremental cycle test for this purpose, based on the findings of previous research that the peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) for the incremental cycle test and the 6MWT was equivalent in participants with COPD.

Do supervised weekly exercise programs maintain functional exercise capacity and quality of life, twelve months after pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD?

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation programs have been shown to increase functional exercise capacity and quality of life in COPD patients. However, following the completion of pulmonary rehabilitation the benefits begin to decline unless the program is of longer duration or ongoing maintenance exercise is followed. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine if supervised, weekly, hospital-based exercise compared to home exercise will maintain the benefits gained from an eight-week pulmonary rehabilitation program in COPD subjects to twelve months.

Manual vibration increases expiratory flow rate via increased intrapleural pressure in healthy adults: an experimental study.

Question: What is the relationship between vibration of the chest wall and the resulting chest wall force, chest wall circumference,intrapleural pressure, and expiratory flow rate? Is the change in intrapleural pressure during vibration the sum of the intrapleural pressure due to recoil of the lung, chest wall compression, and chest wall oscillation?

Design: Randomised, within-subject,experimental study.

Participants: Seven experienced cardiopulmonary physiotherapists and three healthy adults.

Intervention: Vibration (compression + oscillation), compression alone, and oscillation alone were applied manually to the chest walls of healthy participants during passive exertion and compared with passive expiration alone.

Prevalence and predictors of osteoporosis treatment in nursing home residents with known osteoporosis or recent fracture.

Summary: We studied nursing home residents with osteoporosis or recent fracture to determine the frequency and predictors of osteoporosis treatment. There was wide variation in performance, and both clinical and systems variables predicted use. This study shows that improvement in osteoporosis care is possible and important for many nursing homes.