Multi-time scale perspective in analyzing cardiovascular data.

Cardiovascular dynamic and variability data are commonly used in experimental protocols involving cognitive challenge. Usually, the analysis is based on a sometimes more and sometimes less well motivated single specific time resolution ranging from a few seconds to several minutes. The present paper aimed at investigating in detail the impact of different time resolutions of the cardiovascular data on the interpretation of effects.

Space physiology IV: mathematical modeling of the cardiovascular system in space exploration.

Mathematical modeling represents an important tool for analyzing cardiovascular function during spaceflight. This review describes how modeling of the cardiovascular system can contribute to space life science research and illustrates this process via modeling efforts to study postflight orthostatic intolerance (POI), a key issue for spaceflight. Examining this application also provides a context for considering broader applications of modeling techniques to the challenges of bioastronautics.

Maximizing information from space data resources: a case for expanding integration across research disciplines.

Regulatory systems are affected in space by exposure to weightlessness, high-energy radiation or other spaceflight-induced changes. The impact of spaceflight occurs across multiple scales and systems. Exploring such interactions and interdependencies via an integrative approach provides new opportunities for elucidating these complex responses.

Patient-specific modeling of cardiovascular and respiratory dynamics during hypercapnia.

This study develops a lumped cardiovascular-respiratory system-level model that incorporates patient-specific data to predict cardiorespiratory response to hypercapnia (increased CO(2) partial pressure) for a patient with congestive heart failure (CHF). In particular, the study focuses on predicting cerebral CO(2) reactivity, which can be defined as the ability of vessels in the cerebral vasculature to expand or contract in response CO(2) induced challenges. It is difficult to characterize cerebral CO(2) reactivity directly from measurements, since no methods exist to dynamically measure vasomotion of vessels in the cerebral vasculature.

Assessing formal teaching of ethics in physiology: an empirical survey, patterns, and recommendations.

Ethics should be an important component of physiological education. In this report, we examined to what extent teaching of ethics is formally being incorporated into the physiology curriculum. We carried out an e-mail survey in which we asked the e-mail recipients whether their institution offered a course or lecture on ethics as part of the physiology teaching process at their institution, using the following query: "We are now doing an online survey in which we would like to know whether you offer a course or a lecture on ethics as part of your physiology teaching curriculum.

Modeling cardio-respiratory system response to inhaled CO2 in patients with congestive heart failure.

In this paper we examine a cardiovascular-respiratory model of mid-level complexity designed to predict the dynamics of end-tidal carbon dioxide (CO(2)) and cerebral blood flow velocity in response to a CO(2) challenge. Respiratory problems often emerge as heart function diminishes in congestive heart failure patients. To assess system function, various tests can be performed including inhalation of a higher than normal CO(2) level.

Teaching fluid shifts during orthostasis using a classic paper by Foux et al.

Hypovolemic and orthostatic challenge can be simulated in humans by the application of lower body negative pressure (LBNP), because this perturbation leads to peripheral blood pooling and, consequently, central hypovolemia. The classic paper by Foux and colleagues clearly shows the effects of orthostasis simulated by LBNP on fluid shifts and homeostatic mechanisms. The carefully carried out experiments reported in this paper show the interplay between different physiological control systems to ensure blood pressure regulation, failure of which could lead to critical decreases in cerebral blood flow and syncope.

Time delay in physiological systems: analyzing and modeling its impact.

This article examines the functional and clinical impact of time delays that arise in human physiological systems, especially control systems. An overview of the mathematical and physiological contexts for considering time delays will be illustrated, from the system level to cell level, by examining models that incorporate time delays. This examination will highlight how such delays in combination with other system structures and parameters influence system dynamics.

Modeling of hyaluronan clearance with application to estimation of lymph flow.

One of the important factors in blood pressure regulation is the maintenance of the level of blood volume, which depends on several factors including the rate of lymph flow. Lymph flow can be measured directly using cannulation of lymphatic vessels, which is not clinically feasible, or indirectly by the tracer appearance rate, which is the rate at which macromolecules appear into the blood from the peritoneal cavity. However, indirect lymph flow measurements do not always provide consistent results.

Evolution of volume sensitivity during hemodialysis and ultrafiltration.

Objective: This study aimed at assessing the evolution of cardiovascular characteristics during hemodialysis and ultrafiltration by a perturbation accurately defined in its magnitude and directly relevant to the problem of volume adjustment in stable hemodialysis patients.

Methods: Excess fluid volume was removed by constant ultrafiltration-rate as prescribed. Hemodynamic variables were continuously measured throughout treatments using non-invasive finger plethysmography.

Phase synchronization of hemodynamic variables and respiration during mental challenge.

We studied the synchronization of heart rate, blood pressure and respiration in the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system during a cancellation test of attention and during mental arithmetic tasks. The synchronization was quantified by the index γ, which has been adopted from the analysis of weakly coupled chaotic oscillators. We analyzed in twenty healthy women the continuous signals partitioned in low (LF, 0.

Modeling the cardiovascular-respiratory control system: data, model analysis, and parameter estimation.

Several key areas in modeling the cardiovascular and respiratory control systems are reviewed and examples are given which reflect the research state of the art in these areas. Attention is given to the interrelated issues of data collection, experimental design, and model application including model development and analysis. Examples are given of current clinical problems which can be examined via modeling, and important issues related to model adaptation to the clinical setting.

Patterns of cardiovascular control during repeated tests of orthostatic loading.

To investigate patterns of cardiovascular control, a protocol of head up tilt (HUT) followed by lower body negative pressure (LBNP), which represents a significant cardiovascular control challenge, was employed. Linear regression of beat-to-beat heart rate (HR) and mean blood pressure (MBP) data collected over repeated tests was used to analyze control response during the LBNP phase of the combined HUT + LBNP protocol. Four runs for each of 10 healthy young males reaching presyncope were analyzed.

Modelling and disentangling physiological mechanisms: linear and nonlinear identification techniques for analysis of cardiovascular regulation.

Cardiovascular (CV) regulation is the result of a number of very complex control interactions. As computational power increases and new methods for collecting experimental data emerge, the potential for exploring these interactions through modelling increases as does the potential for clinical application of such models. Understanding these interactions requires the application of a diverse set of modelling techniques.

Introduction to the special issues: Short-term cardiovascular-respiratory control mechanisms.

This and the following issue of Cardiovascular Engineering are special issues reflecting research discussed during an interdisciplinary focused workshop entitled The workshop was organized by Mette Olufsen and Hien Tran at the Department of Mathematics at North Carolina State University, Jerry Batzel and Franz Kappel at the Institute for Mathematics and Scientific Computing, University of Graz, and Vera Novak at the Department of Gerontology at Harvard Medical School, and hosted by the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM), Palo Alto, California, October 9–13, 2006. The workshop was co-sponsored by AIM and the National Science Foundation.

A respiratory system model: parameter estimation and sensitivity analysis.

In this paper we compare several approaches to identifying certain key respiratory control parameters relying on data normally available from non-invasive measurements. We consider a simple model of the respiratory control system and describe issues related to numerical estimates of key parameters involved in respiratory function such as central and peripheral control gains, transport delay, and lung compartment volumes. The combination of model-specific structure and limited data availability influences the parameter estimation process.

Sensitivity analysis of a model of the cardiovascular system.

In this paper we consider the sensitivity analysis of a model of the cardiovascular system (CVS) simulating the transition to aerobic exercise and where the control for the system is implemented via an optimal control. Classical and generalized sensitivity analysis are discussed and compared and their application to the CVS model is analyzed.

Aspects of control of the cardiovascular-respiratory system during orthostatic stress induced by lower body negative pressure.

This paper considers a model developed to study the cardiovascular control system response to orthostatic stress as induced by two variations of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) experiments. This modeling approach has been previously applied to study control responses to transition from rest to aerobic exercise, to transition to non-REM sleep and to orthostatic stress as produced by the head up tilt (HUT) experiment. LBNP induces a blood volume shift because negative pressure changes the volume loading characteristics of the compartment which is subject to the negative pressure.

Stability of the human respiratory control system. II. Analysis of a three-dimensional delay state-space model.

A number of mathematical models of the human respiratory control system have been developed since 1940 to study a wide range of features of this complex system. Among them, periodic breathing (including Cheyne-Stokes respiration and apneustic breathing) is a collection of regular but involuntary breathing patterns that have important medical implications. The hypothesis that periodic breathing is the result of delay in the feedback signals to the respiratory control system has been studied since the work of Grodins et al.

Stability of the human respiratory control system. I. Analysis of a two-dimensional delay state-space model.

A number of mathematical models of the human respiratory control system have been developed since 1940 to study a wide range of features of this complex system. Among them, periodic breathing (including Cheyne-Stokes respiration and apneustic breathing) is a collection of regular but involuntary breathing patterns that have important medical implications. The hypothesis that periodic breathing is the result of delay in the feedback signals to the respiratory control system has been studied since the work of Grodins et al.