Records of Human Deaths from Echinococcosis in Brazil, 1995-2016.

Echinococcosis is a zoonotic disease relevant to public health in many countries, on all continents except Antarctica. The objective of the study is to describe the registered cases and mortality from echinococcosis in Brazil, from 1995 to 2016. The records of two national databases, the Hospital Information System (HIS) and the Mortality Information System (MIS), were accessed during the period of 1995-2016.

A Brief History of Bronchitis in England and Wales.

Chronic bronchitis is associated with hypertrophy of airway submucosal glands and with mucus and squamous metaplasia of the surface epithelium. A historical review of research on these and other pathological changes is provided. Next, from annual reports of the Registrar-General's Office (and later the Office of National Statistics), death rates per unit population from acute and chronic bronchitis (a term that here includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]) are calculated for England and Wales from 1838 to the present.

Why Airway Gland Secretions Are Abnormally Sticky in Cystic Fibrosis, and Why Not Much Can Be Done About It.

In this issue of Developmental Cell, Xie et al. show that in cystic fibrosis, airway gland mucus gels form under conditions of high acidity and protein concentration. This causes them to be unusually stiff.

Early studies on the surface epithelium of mammalian airways.

This article traces the beginnings of the various areas of physiological research on airway epithelium. First mentioned in 1600, it was not until 1834 that it was found to be ciliated. Goblet and basal cells were described in 1852, to be followed by ~10 other epithelial cell types (the most recent in 2018).

Early studies of airway submucosal glands.

This historical article provides a comprehensive review of early research on the structure and function of airway submucosal glands. The literature before 1950 or so, is virtually unknown, but in addition to being of historical interest it contains much of relevance to current research. Airway glands were first mentioned in 1602.

Airway Gland Structure and Function.

Submucosal glands contribute to airway surface liquid (ASL), a film that protects all airway surfaces. Glandular mucus comprises electrolytes, water, the gel-forming mucin MUC5B, and hundreds of different proteins with diverse protective functions. Gland volume per unit area of mucosal surface correlates positively with impaction rate of inhaled particles.

Distribution and size of mucous glands in the ferret tracheobronchial tree.

A transgenic ferret model of cystic fibrosis has recently been generated. It is probable that malfunction of airway mucous glands contributes significantly to the airway pathology of this disease. The usefulness of the ferret model may therefore depend in part on how closely the airway glands of ferrets resemble those of humans.

A simple device to illustrate the Einthoven triangle.

The Einthoven triangle is central to the field of electrocardiography, but the concept of cardiac vectors is often a difficult notion for students to grasp. To illustrate this principle, we constructed a device that recreates the conditions of an ECG reading using a battery to simulate the electrical vector of the heart and three voltmeters for the main electrocardiographic leads. Requiring minimal construction with low cost, this device provides hands-on practice that enables students to rediscover the principles of the Einthoven triangle, namely, that the direction of the cardiac dipole can be predicted from the deflections in any two leads and that lead I + lead III = lead II independent of the position of heart's electrical vector.

Differential effects of extracellular ATP on chloride transport in cortical collecting duct cells.

Extracellular ATP in the cortical collecting duct can inhibit epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) but also stimulate calcium-activated chloride channels (CACC). The relationship between ATP-mediated regulation of ENaC and CACC activity in cortical collecting duct cells has not been clearly defined. We used the mpkCCD(c14) cortical collecting duct cell line to determine effects of ATP on sodium (Na(+)) and chloride (Cl(-)) transport with an Ussing chamber system.

Chloride secretion by cultures of pig tracheal gland cells.

Malfunction of airway submucosal glands contributes to the pathology of cystic fibrosis (CF), and cell cultures of CF human airway glands show defects in Cl(-) and water transport. Recently, a transgenic pig model of CF (the CF pig) has been developed. Accordingly, we have developed cell cultures of pig airway gland epithelium for use in investigating alterations in gland function in CF.

The Fontana paradoxical reflex?

This commentary describes the "deflation cough" caused by deep lung deflations. Deflation cough is a paradoxical reflex similar to that described by Henry Head in 1889 for lung inflations that probably is mediated by the same sensors and afferent fibers in the lungs and activated by gastroesophageal reflux. We discuss how this reflex must be self-limiting, the general role of paradoxical reflexes in the body, and the possible clinical significance of deflation cough.

Cystic fibrosis and the relationship between mucin and chloride secretion by cultures of human airway gland mucous cells.

We investigated how cystic fibrosis (CF) alters the relationship between Cl(-) and mucin secretion in cultures of non-CF and CF human tracheobronchial gland mucous (HTGM and CFTGM, respectively) cells. Biochemical studies showed that HTMG cells secreted typical airway mucins, and immunohistochemical studies showed that these cells expressed MUC1, MUC4, MUC5B, MUC8, MUC13, MUC16, and MUC20. Effects of cumulative doses of methacholine (MCh), phenylephrine (Phe), isoproterenol (Iso), and ATP on mucin and Cl(-) secretion were studied on HTGM and CFTGM cultures.

Heart rate variability in hypertension caused by sleep disordered breathing and its modification by CPAP.

Objectives: 1) To analyze heart rate variability (HRV) changes, reflecting the sympathovagal balance with secondary hypertension caused by sleep disordered breathing (SDB), compared to healthy controls and essential hypertension without SDB; 2) to compare HRV changes between various degrees of SDB severity; and 3) to test the modification of HRV indices by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in SDB patients.

Background: Differentiation of secondary hypertension caused by SDB from essential hypertension and healthy controls by ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) and its modification by CPAP, requires an analysis of HRV changes, as frequently used for the prediction of cardiovascular risk.

Methods: HRV changes were analyzed in 48 adults divided into six groups according to the apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI), i.

Do sex and atopy influence cough outcome measurements in children?

Background: Despite the commonality of cough and its burden, there are no published data on the relationship between atopy or sex on objectively measured cough frequency or subjective cough scores in children. In 202 children with and without cough, we determined the effect of sex and atopy on validated cough outcome measurements (cough receptor sensitivity [CRS], objective cough counts, and cough scores). We hypothesized that in contrast to adult data, sex does not influence cough outcome measures, and atopy is not a determinant of these cough measurements.

Voluntary and reflex cough and the expiration reflex; implications for aspiration after stroke.

Aspiration is a common result of stroke, and may lead to lung infections and pneumonia. Cough may prevent this aspiration and thus prevent the pneumonia. We review the four types of cough usually used to assess aspiration risk: voluntary cough (VC), reflex cough (RC), the laryngeal expiration reflex (LER), and cough on swallow (CoS).

Basic poster discussion: summary.

Twelve posters were presented in the section on Basic Research. They were discussed in a session chaired by Paul Davenport (Gainesville, US) and Marian Kollarik (Boston, US), with each poster presenter first briefly describing his/her poster.

Voluntary and reflex cough: similarities and differences.

Cough is defensive airway reflex subjected to a high degree of cortical control. Not surprisingly, all cough motor patterns can be mimicked and reflex cough be inhibited up to complete suppression, at least to a certain extent. Reflex cough differentiates from other airway reflex responses for its characteristic 3-phase motor pattern, and such pattern is maintained when coughing is produced voluntarily.

Workshop: tuning the 'cough center'.

The Workshop considered the mechanisms whereby the 'cough center' could be tuned by various afferent inputs. There were particular presentations on the effects of inputs from the nose, mouth, respiratory tract and lungs, cerebral cortex, somatic tissues and the pharynx. From all these sites cough induced from the lungs could be increased or decreased in its strength or modified in its pattern.

Respiratory expulsive efforts evoked by maximal lung emptying.

Background: Some patients exhibit cough-like expiratory efforts ("deflation cough") during slow vital capacity (SVC) and/or FVC maneuver. The cause and motor features of these expulsive efforts are unknown.

Methods: Of 1,720 consecutive patients, 43 displayed deflation cough during SVC or FVC, and 18 agreed to participate in additional examinations involving radiologic and clinical assessments.

Quantitative real-time PCR for rhinovirus, and its use in determining the relationship between TCID50 and the number of viral particles.

The development of a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay for human rhinovirus serotype 16 (HRV16) is described using the plasmid pR16.11, which contains the full-length genome of HRV16. A standard curve was generated by plotting the critical threshold (C(t)) against numbers of plasmid.

Transgenic animals may help resolve a sticky situation in cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by defects in the CFTR, a cAMP-activated Cl- channel of epithelia. The resulting reduction in epithelial fluid transport creates abnormally viscous secretions from airway mucous glands that may be a major factor in CF pathology. Mouse airways have few mucous glands, and the mouse model of CF exhibits no significant airway disease.