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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a complex and heterogeneous disease, with pulmonary and extrapulmonary manifestations, which leads to the need to personalize the assessment and treatment of these patients. The latest updates of national and international guidelines for the management of COPD reveal the importance of respiratory rehabilitation (RR) and its role in improving symptoms, quality of life, and psychosocial sphere of patients. Within RR, the inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has received special interest, showing benefits in maximum inspiratory pressure, perception of well-being, and health status in patients with chronic heart disease, respiratory diseases, and dyspnea during exercise. The aim of this review is to assess the efficacy of IMT in COPD patients through the use of inspiratory muscle training devices, compared with respiratory rehabilitation programs without inspiratory muscle training. In the last years, many mechanical devices focused on inspiratory muscle training have been developed, some of them, such as the AirOFit PRO™, PowerBreath ® , or FeelBreathe ® , have shown clear benefits. The active search for candidate patients to undergo the RR program with inspiratory muscle training using this type of device in COPD patients represents an advance in the treatment of this disease, with direct benefits on the quality of life of the patients. In this article, we review the available evidence on IMT in these patients and describe the different devices used for it.

The appropriate titration for the personalized oxygen needs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe hypoxemia is a determining factor in the success of long-term oxygen therapy. There are no standardized procedures to assist in determining the patient's needs during the physical activities of daily life. Despite that effort tests are a wide broad approach, further research concerning the development of protocols to titrate O 2 therapy is needed. The main objective of this study was to assess whether the level of oxygen titrated through the 6-minute walking test (6MWT) for patients with COPD and exertional hypoxemia is adequate to meet the patients' demand during their activities of daily living. Physiological and subjective variables were estimated for a study population during two walking tests: a 6MWT and a 20-minute walking circuit (20MWC), designed ad-hoc to reproduce daily physical activities more truthfully. The results indicate that in a significant proportion of patients, the 6MWT might not accurately predict their oxygen needs at a domiciliary environment. Therefore, the titration of the portable O 2 therapy could not be optimal in these cases, with the detrimental impact on the patient's health (hyperoxia episodes), the autonomy of the oxygen device, and the decrease of time out of the home.

Introduction: Lung transplantation is the final treatment option in patients with respiratory failure. Morbidity and mortality rates associated with the management of complications is high despite advances. Postoperative complications include acute transplant rejection, bronchiolitis obliterans, and infections. Because of that, the success of this treatment option depends on the correct choice of donor and candidates to receive a transplant., Objective: This study aims to perform a survival analysis of transplanted patients in our center and determine predictive variables of mortality., Patients and Methods: This study is a retrospective assessment of data collected from 510 patients at the Hospital University Reina Sofía from October 1993 to December 31, 2016. Patients who were retransplanted were excluded. We collected data regarding basal characteristics of the donors and candidates to receive a transplant. We analyzed the impact in terms of future survival of basal variables from donor and donor recipients., Results: Five hundred ten patients were included (average age 44 ± 17 years, 69% male), with a maximum follow-up period of 21.6 years (average follow-up 4.52 years, interquartile ratio: 0.13 to 6.97 years). Two hundred twenty-seven patients died (54.3% of the total amount). The influence of donor's basal characteristics on mortality was analyzed; moreover, the relationship between basal variables and survival were analyzed using univariate analysis. Available variables were analyzed through multivariate analysis., Conclusion: Lung transplantation is a treatment option with an acceptable risk of morbidity and mortality. Increased awareness of features of evolution could help to reduce postoperative complications., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Increased survival in lung transplant recipients, the need for immunosuppressive therapy, and many risk factors before and after transplantation enhance the development of malignancies. This study sought to analyze the incidence of noncutaneous tumors after lung transplantation in our hospital, the risk factors for malignancy, and its impact on prognosis., Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis of clinical records of patients after lung transplantation in our hospital from October 1993 to December 2014., Results: The study population included 443 patients. In total, 35 neoplasia developed in 33 patients (9.6%). Twelve cases were posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs), 7 localized in the native lung, 7 gynecologic neoplasia (2 in the breast, 4 in the vulva, and 1 in the cervix), 3 in the colon, 2 in the nervous system (one was an astrocytoma), 2 in the prostate, 1 in the kidney, and 1 in the esophagus. The average time between transplantation and malignancy detection was 52.7 ± 45.4 months, being earlier in patients with PTLDs than in non-PTLD. Eleven patients who developed malignancy (all patients with neoplasia in native lung and in cervix, 1 in the colon, 1 PTLD, and 1 in the nervous system) died as a result of it. The only factor associated with an increased risk of malignancy in our population was smoking history., Conclusions: Almost 10% of lung transplant recipients developed some type of noncutaneous neoplasia and the most frequently diagnosed were PTLDs. Lung neoplasia compromised most survival in these patients., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Nowadays, the implementation of sophisticated in situ electron microscopy tests is providing new insights in several areas. In this work, an in situ high-temperature strain test into a scanning electron microscope was developed. This setup was used to study the grain boundary sliding mechanism and its effect on the ductility dip cracking. This methodology was applied to study the mechanical behaviour of Ni-base filler metal alloys ERNiCrFe-7 and ERNiCr-3, which were evaluated between 700°C and 1000°C. The ductility dip cracking susceptibility (threshold strain; εmin) for both alloys was quantified. The εmin of ERNiCrFe-7 and ERNiCr-3 alloys were 7.5% and 16.5%, respectively, confirming a better resistance of ERNiCr-3 to ductility dip cracking. Furthermore, two separate components of grain boundary sliding, pure sliding (Sp) and deformation sliding (Sd), were identified and quantified. A direct and quantitative link between grain boundary tortuosity, grain boundary sliding and ductility dip cracking resistance has been established for the ERNiCrFe-7 and ERNiCr-3 alloys., (© 2014 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2014 Royal Microscopical Society.)