Enhanced Temporal but Not Attentional Processing in Expert Tennis Players

In tennis, as in many disciplines of sport, fine spatio-temporal resolution is required to reach optimal performance. While many studies on tennis have focused on anticipatory skills or decision making, fewer have investigated the underlying visual perception abilities. In this study, we used a battery of seven visual tests that allowed us to assess which kind of visual information processing is performed better by tennis players than other athletes (triathletes) and non-athletes. We found that certain time-related skills, such as speed discrimination, are superior in tennis players compared to non-athletes and triathletes. Such tasks might be used to improve tennis performance in the future

Non-specific pleuritis: pathological patterns in benign pleuritis

A pleural biopsy without granulomatous inflammation or tumour cells is interpreted as 'non-specific pleuritis' (NSP), a diagnosis without any specificity, often frustrating for physicians. However, varying histological features are found in NSPs with unknown significance. The aim of this study was to describe the detailed microscopic features of NSP and correlate them with the underlying aetiology. One hundred patients diagnosed with NSP after pleural biopsy were retrospectively evaluated. A benign cause of pleural effusion was attributed. Histological features evaluated were inflammation, fibrosis, vascular proliferation, haemorrhage, fibrin, oedema and mesothelial hyperplasia. A semi-quantitative scoring was applied. Bacterial-caused and autoimmune disease-associated NSPs showed a higher score followed by viral and drug-induced conditions, while pneumothorax and cardiac-induced NSPs showed a lower score (p<0.0001). The degree of fibrosis was higher in bacterial NSP, and the type of fibrosis was cellular in this group (p=0.006). Vascular proliferation differed between groups (p<0.0001), and was higher in bacterial NSP. Histological findings differ significantly between the varying aetiologies of NSP, and this may be used to suggest the cause of the effusion

Non-specific pleuritis: pathological patterns in benign pleuritis

A pleural biopsy without granulomatous inflammation or tumour cells is interpreted as 'non-specific pleuritis' (NSP), a diagnosis without any specificity, often frustrating for physicians. However, varying histological features are found in NSPs with unknown significance. The aim of this study was to describe the detailed microscopic features of NSP and correlate them with the underlying aetiology. One hundred patients diagnosed with NSP after pleural biopsy were retrospectively evaluated. A benign cause of pleural effusion was attributed. Histological features evaluated were inflammation, fibrosis, vascular proliferation, haemorrhage, fibrin, oedema and mesothelial hyperplasia. A semi-quantitative scoring was applied. Bacterial-caused and autoimmune disease-associated NSPs showed a higher score followed by viral and drug-induced conditions, while pneumothorax and cardiac-induced NSPs showed a lower score (p&lt;0.0001). The degree of fibrosis was higher in bacterial NSP, and the type of fibrosis was cellular in this group (p=0.006). Vascular proliferation differed between groups (p&lt;0.0001), and was higher in bacterial NSP. Histological findings differ significantly between the varying aetiologies of NSP, and this may be used to suggest the cause of the effusion