Effect of exercise training on modulating the TH17/TREG imbalance in individuals with severe COPD: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) induces an imbalance in T helper (Th) 17/regulatory T (Treg) cells that contributes to of the dysregulation of inflammation. Exercise training can modulate the immune response in healthy subjects.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effects of exercise training on Th17/Treg responses and the differentiation of Treg phenotypes in individuals with COPD.

Short-Term Effects of Conventional Chest Physiotherapy and Expiratory Flow Increase Technique on Respiratory Parameters, Heart Rate, and Pain in Mechanically Ventilated Premature Neonates: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

: Prematurity is a leading cause of infant mortality and mechanical ventilation increases respiratory complication risk. The effects of secretion removal techniques in premature infants remain a topic of ongoing debate. The aim of the study is to compare two secretion removal techniques in premature infants on mechanical ventilation; : The participants were randomized into conventional chest physiotherapy (CPT; = 22) or expiratory flow increase technique (EFIT; = 21) groups.

FloatingBlue: A Delay Tolerant Networks-Enabled Internet of Things Architecture for Remote Areas Combining Data Mules and Low Power Communications.

Monitoring vast and remote areas like forests using Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) presents significant challenges, such as limited energy resources and signal attenuation over long distances due to natural obstacles. Traditional solutions often require extensive infrastructure, which is impractical in such environments. To address these limitations, we introduce the "FloatingBlue" architecture.

Effects of Combined Aerobic and Breathing Exercises on Asthma Control: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Breathing and aerobic exercises are the most recommended nonpharmacological treatments to improve asthma control and quality of life in patients with asthma. However, the benefits of combining both interventions in these outcomes have never been tested.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effects of the combination of aerobic and breathing exercises on asthma control in individuals with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Postural balance, mobility, and handgrip strength one year after hospitalization due to COVID-19.

Background: Symptoms such as impairment of postural balance, mobility and muscle strength can last up to 12 months post COVID-19 hospitalization, need to be better understood, as they can have repercussions in activities of daily living.

Research Question: What happens to postural balance, mobility, and handgrip strength of COVID-19 patients after hospitalization?

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted with patients of both sexes, aged ≥18, admitted to hospital diagnosed with COVID-19. Outcomes were assessed at 1, 4, 6, and 12 months post-discharge, including: postural balance - Brief-Balance Evaluation Systems Test, mobility - Timed "Up & Go" Test, and handgrip strength - dynamometry.

Asthma in the Brazilian Unified Health Care System: an epidemiological analysis from 2008 to 2021.

Objective: To analyze the number of hospitalizations, the length of hospital stay, and mortality due to asthma, as well as the costs to the Unified Health Care System in Brazil between 2008 and 2021.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional epidemiological study using data from the Information Technology Department of the Brazilian Unified Health Care System. Proportional hospitalization and death rates were estimated per 100,000 population by age, microregion, and year.

Postural balance in COPD with obstructive sleep apnoea: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the postural balance in COPD patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Physical activity, anxiety and depression symptoms, mood, and falls were also assessed in this population.

Methods: Moderate to severe COPD patients were assessed for laboratory and clinical postural balance (force platform and mini-balance evaluation systems test (Mini-BESTest)), physical activity (accelerometry), OSA (polysomnography), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), anxiety and depression symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), dyspnoea (modified Medical Research Council), clinical status (COPD Assessment Test) and mood (Brunel Mood Scale).

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior as Treatable Traits for Clinical Control in Moderate-to-Severe Asthma.

Background: Physical activity and sedentary behavior are treatable traits that may impact asthma control in distinct manners, but this impact remains poorly understood.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of physical activity and sedentary behavior on clinical control in adults with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Methods: This cross-sectional, multicentric study included 426 individuals with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Effects of constant-load exercise and high-intensity interval training on reliever medication consumption and peak expiratory flow in individuals with asthma: a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: The effect of aerobic training on reliever medication consumption (short-acting β-agonist (SABA)) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) in participants with asthma is poorly known. The comparison between constant-load exercise (CLE) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in these outcomes has never been tested. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of CLE or HIIT in SABA consumption and PEF improvement during an exercise programme in subjects with asthma.

Breaking barriers to rehabilitation: the role of behavior change theories in overcoming the challenge of exercise-related behavior change.

Background: Promoting exercise-related behavior change in rehabilitation is a challenge. The lack of integration between rehabilitation program prescriptions, behavior change interventions, and behavioral change theories is profound. Using behavior change theories properly is crucial for better adherence and promoting positive outcomes.

Risk Factors for the Impairment of Ambulation in Older People Hospitalized with COVID-19: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

(1) Background: Some older people hospitalized with COVID-19 have experienced reduced ambulation capacity. However, the prevalence of the impairment of ambulation capacity still needs to be established. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of, and identify the risk factors associated with, the impairment of ambulation capacity at the point of hospital discharge for older people with COVID-19.

Elastic tape reduces dyspnea and improves health status in the short term in nonobese COPD males: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction And Objectives: The elastic tape (ET) is a novel intervention that acutely improves exercise capacity in laboratory tests; however, its effect on a patient's daily life remains unknown. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effects of ET on daily life physical activity (DLPA), dyspnea symptoms, health status, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in individuals with COPD.

Methods: Fifty males with moderate to very severe COPD were randomly assigned to an intervention group (ETG, n = 25), receiving ET on the chest wall and abdomen, or a control group (CG, n = 25).

Integrative assessment of cerebral blood regulation in COPD patients.

Cerebrovascular responses were compared between COPD and non-COPD participants. The association between COPD severity and cognitive function was also investigated. Cerebral blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery, blood pressure, and end-tidal CO were recorded at rest, followed by a brain activation paradigm, and an inhaled gas mixture (5% CO) to assess cerebral autoregulation (CA), neurovascular coupling (NVC) and cerebrovascular reactivity to carbon dioxide (CVR), respectively.

Identifying the Characteristics of Responders and Nonresponders in a Behavioral Intervention to Increase Physical Activity Among Patients With Moderate to Severe Asthma: Protocol for a Prospective Pragmatic Study.

Background: Previous research has suggested that most adults improve their asthma control after a short-term behavioral intervention program to increase physical activity in daily life (PADL). However, the characteristics of individuals who respond and do not respond to this intervention and the medium-term response remain unknown.

Objective: This study aims to (1) identify the characteristics of adult responders and nonresponders with asthma to a behavioral intervention to increase physical activity and (2) evaluate the functional and clinical benefits in the medium term.

Early Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Preserves Muscle Size and Quality and Maintains Systemic Levels of Signaling Mediators of Muscle Growth and Inflammation in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: To investigate the effects of an early neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) protocol on muscle quality and size as well as signaling mediators of muscle growth and systemic inflammation in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Two-arm, single-blinded, parallel-group, randomized, controlled trial with a blinded assessment. .

Aging-related predictive factors for oxygenation improvement and mortality in COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients exposed to prone position: A multicenter cohort study.

Background: Elderly patients are more susceptible to Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) and are more likely to develop it in severe forms, (e.g., Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome [ARDS]).

Physical training in adults with asthma: An integrative approach on strategies, mechanisms, and benefits.

Asthma is a chronic airway disease characterized by airflow limitation and respiratory symptoms associated with chronic airway and systemic inflammation, bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR), and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). Asthma is a heterogeneous disease classified according to distinct airway and systemic inflammation. Patients commonly present with several comorbidities, including anxiety, depression, poor sleep quality, and reduced physical activity levels.

Characteristics of individuals with moderate to severe asthma who better respond to aerobic training: a cluster analysis.

Objective: To determine the characteristics of individuals with asthma who are responsive to aerobic training.

Methods: This post hoc analysis of pooled data from previous randomized controlled trials involved 101 individuals with moderate to severe asthma who underwent aerobic training. Participants underwent a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test and completed the Asthma Control Questionnaire and the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire before and after a 24-session aerobic training program.

An online behavior change intervention to promote physical activity in adults with asthma: study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Background: Behavior change interventions have been the focus of recent studies, and the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of online interventions. However, no previous studies have investigated behavior change techniques to improve physical activity in adults with asthma through online intervention.

Methods: This double-blind clinical trial will investigate the effectiveness of an online behavior change intervention in increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior in adults with asthma, as well as in improving other clinical outcomes in short and medium terms.

Functional impact on adults and older people after hospitalization by Covid-19.

Background And Objectives: Hospitalization by Covid-19 can cause persistent functional consequences after hospital discharge due to direct and indirect effects of SARS-COV-2 in several organs and systems of the body added to post-intensive care syndrome and prolonged bed rest. These impacts can lead to dependency in activities of daily living, mainly in older people due to aging process and functional decline. This study aimed to compare the effects of hospitalization by Covid-19 on functional capacity of adults and older people and to identify its associated factors.

Increased physical activity reduces sleep disturbances in asthma: A randomized controlled trial.

Background And Objective: Individuals with asthma are more likely to develop sleep-disordered breathing. Exercise training improves sleep; however, the effect of physical activity (PA) on improving sleep quality remains unknown. This study had two objectives: (i) to evaluate the effect of a behavioural intervention to increase physical activity in daily living (PADL) on sleep quality in adults with asthma; (ii) to verify the association between a change in sleep quality, quality of life, anxiety, depression and asthma symptoms.

Fat mass to fat-free mass ratio and its associations with clinical characteristics in asthma.

Background: Fat mass to fat-free mass ratio (FM/FFM) assesses the combined effect of the balance between fat mass and fat-free mass.

Aims: to evaluate the associations beetween FM/FFM and clinical outcomes in asthma and to compare clinical characteristics between individuals with higher and lower FM/FFM.

Methods: 128 participants with asthma underwent anthropometric, spirometry and bioelectrical impedance assessments.

Ambulation capacity, age, immunosuppression, and mechanical ventilation are risk factors of in-hospital death in severe COVID-19: a cohort study.

Importance: Despite ambulation capacity being associated with a decreased level of physical activity and survival may be influenced by the functional capacity, studies have not addressed the association between ambulation capacity and death in patients hospitalized by COVID-19.

Objective: To verify the functional, clinical, and sociodemographic risk factors associated with in-hospital death in individuals with severe COVID-19.

Methods: It is a cohort retrospective study performed at a large tertiary hospital.

Constant-Load Exercise Versus High-Intensity Interval Training on Aerobic Fitness in Moderate-to-Severe Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on dyspnea and aerobic fitness in adults with asthma are poorly understood.

Objective: To compare constant-load exercise (CLE) versus HIIT for improvements in dyspnea symptoms and clinical control in adults with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Methods: Participants were randomized into 2 groups: CLE (n = 27; started with 70% of maximal watts [Wmax] obtained during cardiopulmonary exercise testing [CPET]) and HIIT (n = 28; started with 80% and increased until 140% Wmax).