In this issue of the journal, Choukri et al [1] state that their study provides the first quantitative data on the spread of Pneumocystis jirovecii in exhaled air from infected patients. There are additional data in prior studies using air samples collected in rooms of patients diagnosed as having P. jirovecii showing that not only could the organisms be detected but also their types correlated...

Measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in exhaled air is an exciting innovative technique that gives new insights in to the pathophysiology of lung disease and asthma in particular, with many potential clinical applications. Careful standardisation of measurement techniques will facilitate the use of this new measurement in paediatric respiratory medicine: this Task Force was set up for...

In this paper, a novel method for respiratory monitoring is presented. The method is based on Trichel pulses (TPs) using a simple field ionization sensor which consists of a needle electrode and a plate electrode. Experiments have been conducted to demonstrate that different respiratory patterns, including normal, ultra-fast, deep breaths, and apnea could be easily monitored in real time by det...

The assessment of inflammatory markers and ions in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is being utilized more frequently in diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis with marked variability in EBC measures, including those of exhaled Na(+). We sought to determine if variability in exhaled Na(+) was due to differences in pulmonary blood flow (PBF) or Na(+) in the mouth (salivary Na(+)). We measure...

1. A method is proposed for the determination of the rate of oxidation of 14C-labelled substrates in man from blood sampling only. 2. The method was verified by simulating release of 14C into the bicarbonate pool of patients by using a constant-rate infusion of sodium [14C]bicarbonate, the plasma level of total 14CO2 (d.p.m. ml-1 70 kg-1) correlating well (r = 0.878, P = 0.001) with the infusio...

The Extra Load Index (ELI) has been proposed as a suitable method of assessing the relative economy of load carriage systems. The purpose of this study was to determine, based on empirical evidence, that the ELI can accommodate variations in both body composition and added load. In total, 30 women walked carrying loads of up to 70% body mass at self-selected walking speeds whilst expired air wa...

The hypoxaemia of hepatopulmonary syndrome, seen in severe chronic liver dysfunction, occurs as a result of precapillary pulmonary arterial dilatation and arteriovenous communications. These abnormalities contribute to the mismatch between ventilation and perfusion, and the right to left blood flow shunting. Nitric oxide (NO) is a powerful vasodilator concerned with the regulation of pulmonary ...

breathomics is the metabolomics study of exhaled air. it is a powerful emerging metabolomics research field that mainly focuses onhealth-related volatile organic compounds (vocs). since the quantity of these compounds varies with health status, breathomics assuresto deliver noninvasive diagnostic tools. thus, the main aim of breathomics is to discover patterns of vocs related to abnormal metabo...

BACKGROUND Mylar balloons are used to collect exhaled air for analysis of fractional nitric oxide concentration (FENO). AIM We studied the effect of storage conditions on the stability of nitric oxide (NO) in mylar balloons. METHODS Exhaled air samples and calibration gases were stored in mylar balloons at 4, 21 and 37 degrees C, with or without silica gel. NO was measured after 0, 6, 9, 24...

A possible function of laryngeal air sacs in apes and gibbons was investigated by examining the relationships between air sac distribution, call rate, call duration and body weight in a phylogenetic context. The results suggest that lack of sacs in the smaller gibbons and in humans is a derived feature. Call parameters in primates, such as rate and duration, scaled to resting breathing rate (an...