[The experimental physiologist Carl Ludwig (1816-1895): Scientific genius - modest, selfless, unswerving!].

Carl Ludwig was, besides Johannes Müller, one of the most prolific natural scientists of the 19th century. Carl Ludwig believed that the function of organs can be ascribed to the laws of physics and chemistry and that only through repeatable physiological experiments can hypotheses be verified. Ludwig has laid the technological foundations for experimental physiology.

Pilot study on nocturnal monitoring of crackles in children with pneumonia.

Background: The clinical diagnosis of pneumonia is usually based on crackles at auscultation, but it is not yet clear what kind of crackles are the characteristic features of pneumonia in children. Lung sound monitoring can be used as a "longtime stethoscope". Therefore, it was the aim of this pilot study to use a lung sound monitor system to detect crackles and to differentiate between fine and coarse crackles in children with acute pneumonia.

[Franciscus Sylvius: A Life for Clinic, Research, Teaching And a Little Gin].

Franciscus Sylvius, latinized from Franz de le Boë (*15 March 1614 in Hanau; † 14 November 1672 in Leiden), was a Hessian-Dutch physician, anatomist, and natural scientist of Flemish descent. He was an important clinician and iatrochemist, and is considered the founder of scientifically oriented medicine and clinical chemistry. Sylvius introduced the concept of affinity and dealt with digestive processes and body fluids.

Disease control in patients with asthma and respiratory symptoms (wheezing, cough) during sleep.

Introduction: The GINA)-defined criteria for asthma control include questions about daytime symptoms, limitation of activity, nocturnal symptoms, need for reliever treatment and patients' satisfaction. Patients with nocturnal symptoms like wheezing and cough often suffer from lower sleep quality and impaired daytime performance. The lack of an appropriate method for standardized and objective monitoring of respiratory symptoms leads to difficulties in asthma management.

Time course of nocturnal cough and wheezing in children with acute bronchitis monitored by lung sound analysis.

Cough and wheezing are the predominant symptoms of acute bronchitis. Hitherto, the evaluation of respiratory symptoms was limited to subjective methods such as questionnaires. The main objective of this study was to objectively determine the time course of cough and wheezing in children with acute bronchitis.

[The Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Emphysema - Laennec was right!].

Pulmonary emphysema is characterised by irreversible destruction and enlargement of alveolar structure distal to terminal bronchioles. Small conducting airways < 2 mm in diameter are the major site of chronic airway inflammation and obstruction in COPD patients. 80 - 90 % of the last generation of small conducting airways, the terminal bronchioles, are destroyed in patients with very severe COPD.

[Control of Respiratory Symptoms During Sleep in Patients with Stable Bronchial Asthma].

Introduction: Awareness of respiratory symptoms during day- and night-time is important for asthma control. Acoustic long-term recording offers a possibility to monitor symptoms objectively. In this prospective observational study frequency of night-time cough and wheezing was evaluated in patients with stable asthma.

Description of nighttime cough epochs in patients with stable COPD GOLD II-IV.

Purpose: Chronic cough is one of the main symptoms of COPD. Ambulatory objective monitoring provides novel insights into the determinants and characteristics of nighttime cough in COPD.

Materials And Methods: Nighttime cough was monitored objectively by LEOSound lung sound monitor in patients with stable COPD II-IV.

[Apnea Detection by Means of Respiratory Sound Recordings and Polysomnography - A Comparative Study].

 In this study, recognition of apnoeas by means of polysomnography (PSG) and nocturnal respiratory sound recordings in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) was analyzed and compared.  In 45 patients with OSA requiring treatment (AHI > 15/h), concomitant polysomnographic recordings and long term respiratory sound recordings by means of LEOSound were performed. Patients' average age was 58 ± 12 years (mean ± standard deviation), average BMI was 33 ± 7 kg/m.

Higher predation risk for insect prey at low latitudes and elevations.

Biotic interactions underlie ecosystem structure and function, but predicting interaction outcomes is difficult. We tested the hypothesis that biotic interaction strength increases toward the equator, using a global experiment with model caterpillars to measure predation risk. Across an 11,660-kilometer latitudinal gradient spanning six continents, we found increasing predation toward the equator, with a parallel pattern of increasing predation toward lower elevations.

[Normal and Adventitious Breath Sounds].

Auscultation of the lung is an inexpensive, noninvasive and easy-to-perform tool. It is an important part of the physical examination and is help ful to distinguish physiological respiratory sounds from pathophysiological events. Computerized lung sound analysis is a powerful tool for optimizing and quantifying electronic auscultation based on the specific lung sound spectral characteristics.

[Determination of Hypercapnic Ventilatory Response in COPD Patients].

Previous studies showed a reduced hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR) in patients with COPD. However, the association between HCVR and COPD GOLD stages is unknown. The measurement of the HCVR is a methodological option to test the function of the breathing feedback cycle.

[What is Important for Diagnosis and Therapy Follow-up in Chronic Cough?].

Within the last years there has been significant progress in the field of chronic cough. So far, the analysis and evaluation of chronic cough was done mainly on the basis of subjective methods such as manual counts of cough events, questionnaires and diaries. Testing cough hypersensitivity and monitoring 24 h cough represent objective criteria.

Proteomics and metabolomics for in situ monitoring of wound healing.

Wound healing of soft tissue and bone defects is a complex process in which cellular differentiation and adaption are regulated by internal and external factors, among them are many different proteins. In contrast to insights into the significance of various single proteins based on model systems, the knowledge about the processes at the actual site of wound healing is still limited. This is caused by a general lack of methods that allow sampling of extracellular factors, metabolites, and proteins in situ.

Estimation of respiratory flow by means of normal lung sound.

The respiratory flow is a good indicator of sleep-related breathing disorders. Common praxis is to use a pneumotachograph as the golden standard for flow measurement. However, it does not have to be necessarily the best possible test device for long-term condition, because the device is very uncomfortable and rarely suitable for measurement during sleep.

[LEOSound, an innovative procedure for acoustic long-term monitoring of asthma symptoms (wheezing and coughing) in children and adults].

Particularly in young children the diagnosis of asthma is difficult and mostly based on clinical symptoms like wheezing, cough and dyspnea. Children with nocturnal wheezing often suffer from a low quality of sleep and impaired sense of well-being during the day. Physicians recommend that parents record the frequency of asthma attacks or symptoms to help manage their children's disease.

[Telemonitoring in patients with COPD and acute exacerbations].

A major problem associated with COPD is exacerbation. Symptoms include increased shortness of breathing, coughing, wheezing and sputum production. The frequency and severity of exacerbations are associated with a higher mortality risk.