Static Stretching Combined with Conscious Slower Breathing May Increase Parasympathetic Activity and Reduce Stress in Adult Women

Background: Women are thought to be more susceptible to stress than men in a stressful society, and reducing stress is crucial for women to maintain their health. Static stretching (SST) is applied in various fields to not only increase muscle flexibility but also reduce stress. Additionally, conscious slower breathing (CSB) predominates parasympathetic activity, causing a relaxing effect. These results indicate that combining SST and CSB may be more useful in reducing stress. However, to the best of our knowledge, the effect of this combination remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the effects of the combination of SST and CSB on autonomic activity and stress in adult women. Methods: Eleven healthy Japanese adult female participants performed SST with nonconscious natural breathing for 20 min. The same participants performed SST in combination with CSB (2 s inspiratory and 4 s expiratory) for 20 min on another day. Salivary cortisol and chromogranin A levels were measured before and after stretching as stress markers of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nervous system. The coefficient of variation of the R-R interval (CVR-R) and high-frequency component (HF), which reflect parasympathetic nerve activity, and heart rate and low-frequency component (LF)/HF ratio, which reflect sympathetic nerve activity, were measured before, during, and after stretching. Results: SST decreased cortisol levels but with no significant changes in chromogranin A, heart rate, CVR-R, HF, or LF/HF ratio. The combination of SST and CSB increased CVR-R and HF levels in addition to decreasing cortisol levels but with no significant changes in chromogranin A, heart rate, or LF/HF levels. Conclusion: These results indicate that the combination of SST and CSB may increase parasympathetic activity and reduce stress. However, future randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes should support this conclusion.

Effects of relaxation breathing exercise on fatigue and cortisol level among Indonesian gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy:a pilot study

Objective:This study aimed to determine the effect of the relaxation breathing exercise(RBE)on fatigue and cortisol levels among Indonesian women with gynecological cancer undergoing chemotherapy.Methods:This pilot study consecutively recruited 44 gynecological cancer patients to receive RBE(22)or usual care(22).Cortisol level was measured before and after completion of the intervention(day 8).Fatigue was measured using the Piper Fatigue Scale(PFS).Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS)at the baseline days of the study for days 1,4,and 8.The obtained data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test,the independent t-test,and the Mann-Whitney U test.Results:There were significant increases in cortisol levels within the groups,either the intervention or control groups,respectively(P-value=0.0003 and 0.001).Despite there being no statistical significance between the intervention and control groups,there were noticeable differences in the cortisol levels,indicating the extreme increase in cortisol levels in the control group(Median[IQR1-IQR3]:2.30[0.99-9.09];Min-Max:0.43-23.38)compared with the intervention group(Median[IQR1-IQR3]=2.97[1.26-5.18];Min-Max=0.39-6.91).Conclusions:RBE helps prevent a significant increase in cortisol levels that can alleviate fatigue for women with gynecological cancer.Further research was recommended to compare several intervention modalities for fatigue and cancer-related symptom management based on cortisol level changes.

Analysis of the Effect of Psychological Nursing Combined with Breathing Exercises in Improving Lung Function in Patients with Pneumoconiosis

Objective: To analyze the effect of psychological nursing combined with breathing exercises on lung function of patients with pneumoconiosis, and to analyze the methods. A total of 64 cases of pneumoconiosis admitted from January 2020 to December 2022 were divided into the reference group and the experimental group by random numerical table. On the basis of symptomatic treatment, the control group was combined with conventional nursing measures and breathing exercises, while the experimental group was treated with psychological nursing on the basis of the control group, and the pulmonary function indexes and adverse mood of the two groups before and after nursing were compared. Results: There was no difference in SAS score, SDS score and pulmonary function indexes between the two groups before intervention (P > 0.05), and the SAS score in the experimental group was the SDS score was lower than that of the control group, and FEV1, FEV1% and FEV1/FVC were higher than those of the control group, and the P < 0.05 was lower.

The Importance of Breathing Training in Folk Dance Teaching

The importance of breathing training in dance teaching is reflected in the two aspects of enhancing the quality of dance movements and sublimating the connotation of dance movements.For example,high-quality breathing can help performers complete the dance movements and improve the coordination of the movements;at the same time,the unique body rhythm formed by breathing can strengthen the visual effect of the performance and convey its spirit and soul to the audience.This requires folk dance teachers to carry out relevant training and teaching activities based on the categories and skills of dance breathing,such as changing students’ideological cognition,developing periodic breathing training courses,providing personalized guidance to students,and allowing students to adjust their learning and practice methods in the evaluation.

Infant’s Sigh Breathing Matters—The Role of the Hering-Breuer Deflation Reflex in Bronchial Decongestion

Background: The prolonged slow expiratory (PSE) technique can induce sigh breaths related to the Hering-Breuer reflex in children.PSE is a specific chest physiotherapy technique often used in children to help with the clearance of secretions, reduce pulmonary obstruction and decrease ventilatory effort. Purpose: The main objective of this review was to synthesize and clarify the existing knowledge of the physiological mechanism behind the Hering-Breuer reflex and its utility in the PSE technique. The secondary objective was to provide an overview of PSE which is probably the main mechanical feature for mucus clearance in infants and to identify gaps and any further research required. Method: A comprehensive literature search was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE and Ovid EMBASE, from 1968 to January 2024, using search terms relating to “Interaction of Hering-Breuer reflex and chest physiotherapy therapy, sigh breath in infants and prolonged slow expiration technique” to create an overview of the advances and gaps in current knowledge of PSE. Result: The data obtained following treatment with PSE maneuvers in infants with histories of recurrent wheezing shows that the presence of sighs could be the main active principle of treatment. Conclusion: Changes in volume induced by PSE technique and, effects from crying may stimulate the Hering-Breuer deflation reflex and sighs in turn improving alveolar ventilation as well as lung volume in infants.

Conscious Slower Breathing Predominates Parasympathetic Activity and Provides a Relaxing Effect, in Healthy Japanese Adult Women

Background: The optimal breathing pattern (BP) to effectively regulate autonomic nervous activity is yet to be determined. Objective: We aimed to clarify the effects of four BPs (BP-1, BP-2, BP-3, and BP-4) on autonomic nervous activity and mood changes. Methods: Eleven healthy adult female volunteers performed each BP in a sitting position for 5 min in a resting state. The time required for one breathing for BP-1 (30 breaths/min), BP-2 (20 breaths/min), BP-3 (15 breaths/min), and BP-4 (10 breaths/min) were 2 s, 3 s, 4 s, and 6 s, respectively. The inspiratory/expiratory time of one breathing was 1 s/1 s, 1 s/2 s, 2 s/2 s, and 2 s/4 s. The high-frequency component (HF) and low-frequency component (LF)/HF ratio during and before (control) performing a BP were calculated from heart rate variability data recorded using the wearable biometric information tracer M-BIT. Three mood changes, which are, “pleasure—unpleasure”, “relaxation—tension”, and “sleepiness—arousal”, in the subjects were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) before and after performing a BP. Results: Slower breathing induced an increase in HF power and a reduction in LF/HF ratio, indicating increased parasympathetic activity and decreased sympathetic dominance. Furthermore, VAS revealed that slower breathing increased the tendency to feel “pleasure”, “relaxation”, and “sleepiness”. Conclusion: Our results suggest that slower breathing predominates parasympathetic activity in the autonomic nervous system, resulting in a relaxing effect. This result may help lay the foundation for deriving breathing methods that efficiently regulate an individual’s autonomic activity.

Recognition System for Diagnosing Pneumonia and Bronchitis Using Children’s Breathing Sounds Based on Transfer Learning

Respiratory infections in children increase the risk of fatal lung disease,making effective identification and analysis of breath sounds essential.However,most studies have focused on adults ignoring pediatric patients whose lungs are more vulnerable due to an imperfect immune system,and the scarcity of medical data has limited the development of deep learning methods toward reliability and high classification accuracy.In this work,we collected three types of breath sounds from children with normal(120 recordings),bronchitis(120 recordings),and pneumonia(120 recordings)at the posterior chest position using an off-the-shelf 3M electronic stethoscope.Three features were extracted from the wavelet denoised signal:spectrogram,mel-frequency cepstral coefficients(MFCCs),and Delta MFCCs.The recog-nition model is based on transfer learning techniques and combines fine-tuned MobileNetV2 and modified ResNet50 to classify breath sounds,along with software for displaying analysis results.Extensive experiments on a real dataset demonstrate the effectiveness and superior performance of the proposed model,with average accuracy,precision,recall,specificity and F1 scores of 97.96%,97.83%,97.89%,98.89%and 0.98,respectively,achieving superior performance with a small dataset.The proposed detection system,with a high-performance model and software,can help parents perform lung screening at home and also has the potential for a vast screening of children for lung disease.

Breathing Television:A Breathing Controlled Multimedia Player for Reducing Breathing Rate

We have designed a breathing paced television;a television that plays content in sync with users’ activity of exhaling through pursed lips, to achieve better motivation and compliance of such exercises. Described system has been tested with control group who have watched the same video. Breathing rate reduction was significantly higher in active group (54.48% ± 8.34%) than in control group (6.84% ± 17.21%), however, the proposed method of watching television is obviously not as trivial as watching television per se.

An Air-Breathing Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell with 3D KOH-Etched Cathode Structure

A micro direct methanol fuel cell （μDMFC） using MEMS technology is reported. The prototype features a unique 3D air-breathing cathode structure fabricated using KOH etching and double-side lithography. The optimization of the MEMS fabrication process is analyzed. The experimental results show the prototype generates a maximum power density of 2.52mW/cm^2 at room temperature. This performance is better than the published resuits of other silicon-based passive μDMFCs. Moreover,it is comparable with that of our previous active μDMFCs which require an external pump, certificating the feasibility of this new configuration.

Generation of breathing solitons in the propagation and interactions of Airy–Gaussian beams in a cubic–quintic nonlinear medium

Using the split-step Fourier transform method, we numerically investigate the generation of breathing solitons in the propagation and interactions of Airy–Gaussian（AiG） beams in a cubic–quintic nonlinear medium in one transverse dimension. We show that the propagation of single AiG beams can generate stable breathing solitons that do not accelerate within a certain initial power range. The propagation direction of these breathing solitons can be controlled by introducing a launch angle to the incident AiG beams. When two AiG beams accelerated in opposite directions interact with each other,different breathing solitons and soliton pairs are observed by adjusting the phase shift, the beam interval, the amplitudes,and the light field distribution of the initial AiG beams.

Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with depletion of circulating endothelial progenitor cells and elevation in pulmonary arterial pressure in patients with decompensated systolic heart failure

Background Sleep-disordered breathing （SDB） is known to occur frequently in and may predict worsening progression of patients with congestive heart failure （CHF）. SDB is also known to play an important role in the development of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hyper- tension （PAH） via inducing endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodeling, a pathological process that can be significantly influenced by factors such as osteoprotegerin （OPG） and endothelial progenitor cells （EPCs）. The objective of this study is to determine if CHF with SDB is associated with changes in OPG, EPCs, and PAIl. Methods EPCs were isolated, cultured, and quantified from CHF patients with SDB （n = 52）, or without SDB （n - 68）. OPG and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide （NT-proBNP） from each group was analyzed and cor- related with EPCs and the mean pulmonary artery pressure （mPAP） measured by right heart catheterization. Results A significant decrease in circulating EPCs （29.30 ± 9.01 vs. 45.17 ± 10.51 EPCs/x 200 field; P 〈 0.05） was found in CHF patients with SDB compared to those without SDB. Both OPG （789.83 ±89.38 vs. 551.29 ± 42.12 pg/mL; P 〈 0.05） and NT-proBNP （5946.50 ± 1434.50 vs. 3028.60 ± 811.90 ng/mL; P 〈 0.05） were also significantly elevated in SDB CHF patients who also had significantly elevated mPAP （50.2 ± 9.5 vs. 36.4 ± 4.1 mm Hg; P 〈 0.05）. EPC numbers correlated inversely with the episodes of apnea and hypopnea per hour （RDI, r = -0.45, P = 0.037） and blood level of OPG （r =-0.53, P = 0.011）. Although NT-proBNP was also increased significantly in patients with SDB, it had no correlation with either EPCs or RD1. Conclusions SDBdue to hypoxemia from decompensated CHF is associated with （1） OPG elevation, （2） EPC depletion, and （3） mPAP elevation. The inverse relationship of circulating OPG with EPCs suggests a likely mechanism for hypoxemia and OPG in the development of pulmonary vascular dysfunction via depleting EPCs, thus worsening prognosis of CHF.

The effect of slow deep breathing relaxation exercise on pain levels during and post chest tube removal after coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Objectives:This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of slow deep breathing relaxation exercise(SDBRE)in reducing patients’pain levels during chest tube removal(CTR)post coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG)surgery.Methods:In 2019,fifty post-CABG patients were conveniently selected from a cardiac intensive care unit in Jordan’s major referral heart institute.The patients were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group.A total of 25 patients were assigned into the experimental group who received slow deep breathing relaxation Exercise(SDBRE)alongside the conventional care before CTR.The remaining 25 patients constituted the control group(50%)that had CTR following conventional care.The Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)was used to measure the participants’pain levels during three phases:before CTR(Time 1),5-min post CTR(Time 2),and 15-min post CTR(Time 2)to compare the intervention effect between the two groups.Results:The data analysis findings for the control and intervention group of patients showed that there was a statistically significant decline in their pain level across time for both groups(H¼32.71,P<0.01;H=47.23,P<0.01)respectively.The intervention group had significantly lower pain levels than the control group at Time 2(3.50[1.20,5.30]vs.7.90[7.00,9.00],P<0.01)and Time 3(0.00[0.00,1.30]vs.3.60[2.40,4.10]P<0.01).Conclusions:Using SDBRE during CTR is an effective technique for reducing pain which can minimize the need for analgesics and their associated adverse effects.

Sleep disordered breathing in interstitial lung disease: A review

Patients with interstitial lung disease commonly exhibit abnormal sleep architecture and increased sleep fragmentation on polysomnography. Fatigue is a frequent complaint, and it is likely that poor sleep quality is a significant contributor. A number of studies have shown that sleep disordered breathing is prevalent in this population, particularly in the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis subgroup. The factors that predispose these patients to obstructive sleep apnoea are not well understood, however it is believed that reduced caudal traction on the upper airway can enhance collapsibility. Ventilatory control system instability may also be an important factor, particularly in those with increased chemo-responsiveness, and in hypoxic conditions. Transient, repetitive nocturnal oxygen desaturation is frequently observed in interstitial lung disease, both with and without associated obstructive apnoeas. There is increasing evidence that sleep-desaturation is associated with increased mortality, and may be important in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension in this population.

Device-guided breathing exercises for the treatment of hypertension: An overview

The American Heart Association considers device-guided breathing as a reasonable treatment modality in their statement on non-pharmacological options for lowering blood pressure. This review discusses all randomized controlled trials that have investigated the effects of device-guided breathing on blood pressure in patients with hypertension. Thirteen studies were included in this review. In total, 627 patients were in-cluded, of which 365 patients were allocated to device-guided breathing. Only 6 studies used acceptable control groups: listening to music, meditative relaxa-tion exercises, or a sham-device. Two sponsored trials showed beneficial effects of device-guided breathing, both used listening to music as a control group. The remaining 4 studies, which had no employees of the manufacturer listed as co-author, observed no benefi-cial effects on blood pressure. There is only 1 study that used a sham device as a control group. All other studies were to some extend methodologically flawed. Based on the studies with an acceptable methodologi-cal quality, there is no clear evidence supporting a short-term beneficial effect on blood pressure by using device-guided breathing.

Comparing the rhythm and frequency of heart,breathing and knee movement in Tai Chi Chuan

Background:The basic exercise involved in TCC is a series of individual movements that are linked together in a continuous manner and that flow smoothly from one movement to another.Deep breathing and mental concentration are also required to achieve harmony

The Complex Magnetism in the Breathing Pyrochlore LiIn(Cr_(1-x)Rh_x)_4O_8

We perform a detailed investigation of the new ＇breathing＇ pyrochlore compound LiInCr4O8 through Rh substi- tution with measurements of magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and x-ray powder diffraction. The antiferro- magnetic phase of LiInCr4O8 is found to be slowly suppressed with increasing Rh, up to the critical concentration of x = 0.1 where the antiferromagnetic phase is still observed with the peak in specific heat Tp = 12.5 K, slightly lower than Tp =14.3 K for the x = 0 compound. From tile measurements of magnetization we also uncover evidence that substitution increases the amount of frustration. Comparisons are made with the LiGayIn1-yCr4O8 system as well as other frustrated pyrochlore-related materials and comparable amounts of frustration are found. The results of this work show that the engineered breathing pyrochlores present an important method to further understand the complex magnetism in frustrated systems.

Explicit solution of the radial breathing mode frequency of single-wailed carbon nanotubes

On the basis of a molecular mechanics model, an analytical solution of the radial breathing mode （RBM） frequency of single-walled carbon nanotubes （SWCNTs） is obtained. The effects of tube chirality and tube diameter on the RBM frequency are investigated and good agreement between the present results and existing data is found. The present analytical formula indicates that the chirality and size dependent elastic properties are responsible for the effects of the chirality and small size on the RBM frequency of an SWCNT.

Computational fluid dynamics simulation on the longwall gob breathing

In longwall mines, atmospheric pressure fluctuations can disturb the pressure balance between the gob and the ventilated working area, resulting in a phenomenon known as ‘‘gob breathing". Gob breathing triggers gas flows across the gob and the working areas and may result in a condition where an oxygen deficient mixture or a methane accumulation in the gob flows into the face area. Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFDs) modeling was carried out to analyze this phenomenon and its impact on the development of an explosive mixture in a bleeder-ventilated panel scheme. Simulation results indicate that the outgassing and ingassing across the gob and the formation of Explosive Gas Zones(EGZs) are directly affected by atmospheric pressure changes. In the location where methane zones interface with mine air, EGZ fringes may form along the face and in the bleeder entries. These findings help assess the methane ignition and explosion risks associated with fluctuating atmospheric pressures.

Propagation dynamics of dipole breathing wave in lossy nonlocal nonlinear media

In the framework of nonlinear wave optics,we report the evolution process of a dipole breathing wave in lossy nonlocal nonlinear media based on the nonlocal nonlinear Schrödinger equation.The analytical expression of the dipole breathing wave in such a nonlinear system is obtained by using the variational method.Taking advantage of the analytical expression,we analyze the influences of various physical parameters on the breathing wave propagation,including the propagation loss and the input power on the beam width,the beam intensity,and the wavefront curvature.Also,the corresponding analytical solutions are obtained.The validity of the analysis results is verified by numerical simulation.This study provides some new insights for investigating beam propagation in lossy nonlinear media.

A semi-analytical approach for calculating the equilibrium structure and radial breathing mode frequency of single-walled carbon nanotubes

A semi-analytical model for determining the equilibrium configuration and the radial breathing mode (RBM) frequency of single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is presented. By taking advantage of the symmetry characteristics, a CNT structure is represented by five independent variables. A line search optimization procedure is employed to determine the equilibrium values of these variables by minimizing the potential energy. With the equilibrium configuration obtained, the semi-analytical model enables an efficient calculation of the RBM frequency of the CNTs. The radius and radial breathing mode frequency results obtained from the semi-analytical approach are compared with those from molecular dynamics (MD) and ab initio calculations. The results demonstrate that the semi-analytical approach offers an efficient and accurate way to determine the equilibrium structure and radial breathing mode frequency of CNTs.