DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A SYSTEM FOR POLING FORCE MEASUREMENT IN CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING AND NORDIC WALKING

The purpose of this study was to describe and validate a force transducer system specifically designed to measure the force exerted through the poles in cross-country skiing and Nordic walking. It is constituted by a custom built load cell and by a mounting system that allow to minimise cross talk effects. The system is applicable to standard carbon racing shafts to ensure the standard stiffness of the pole. The reliability of the system has been tested performing different static and dynamic tests. The comparison with the reference load cell has shown a good measurement linearity in the range of typical values for poling propulsion and a sensitivity only to the force axially applied to the shaft. The test performed on a 2D platform and with a motion capture system for the measurement of pole inclination, demonstrated the possibility to obtain a reliable measure of the vertical, longitudinal and lateral components of the force exerted by the subject. The accuracy, the portability of the system and their applicability to different shafts allow evaluation of poling action in both laboratory and field conditions, providing important information in cross-country skiing and Nordic walking biomechanical research

Expressão dos genes nodC, nodW e nopP em Bradyrhizobium japonicum estirpe CPAC 15 avaliada por RT-qPCR.

Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a expressão, por RT-qPCR, dos genes de nodulação nodC e nodW e do gene nopP da estirpe CPAC 15, que provavelmente atuam na infecção das raízes da soja. Foram realizados dois experimentos. No primeiro, a expressão dos genes foi avaliada nas células após a incubação com genisteína por 15 min, 1, 4 e 8 horas. Os resultados revelaram que os três genes apresentaram maior expressão imediatamente após o contato com o indutor (15 min). No segundo experimento, a bactéria foi cultivada na presença de indutores (genisteína ou exsudatos de sementes de soja) por 48 horas. A expressão dos três genes foi maior na presença de genisteína, com valores de expressão para nodC, nodW e nopP superiores ao controle. Os resultados obtidos confirmam a funcionalidade dos três genes na estirpe CPAC 15, com ênfase para o nopP, cuja funcionalidade em Bradyrhizobium japonicum foi descrita pela primeira vez. Termos para indexação: Glycine max, flavonoides, genes de nodulação, sistema de secreção tipo III

Clustering Italian medical texts: a case study on referrals

In the medical domain, there is a large amount of valuable information that is stored in textual format. These unstructured data have long been ignored, due to the difficulties of introducing them in statistical models, but in the last years, the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) has seen relevant improvements, with models capable of achieving relevant results in various tasks, including information extraction, classification and clustering. NLP models are typically language-specific and often domain-specific, but most of the work to date has been focused on the English language, especially in the medical domain. In this work, we propose a pipeline for clustering Italian medical texts, with a case study on clinical questions reported in referral

Independent, additive and interactive effects of acute normobaric hypoxia and cold on submaximal and maximal endurance exercise

Purpose: To evaluate the independent and combined effects of hypoxia (FiO2 = 13.5%) and cold (- 20 °C) on physiological and perceptual responses to endurance exercise. Methods: 14 trained male subjects ([Formula: see text]O2max: 64 ± 5 mL/kg/min) randomly performed a discontinuous maximal incremental test to exhaustion on a motorized treadmill under four environmental conditions: Normothermic-Normoxia (N), Normothermic-Hypoxia (H), Cold-Normoxia (C) and Cold-Hypoxia (CH). Performance and physiological and perceptual responses throughout exercise were evaluated. Results: Maximal WorkLoad (WL) and WL at lactate threshold (LT) were reduced in C (- 2.3% and - 3.5%) and H (- 18.0% and - 21.7%) compared to N, with no interactive (p = 0.25 and 0.81) but additive effect in CH (- 21.5% and - 24.6%). Similarly, HRmax and Vemax were reduced in C (- 3.2% and - 14.6%) and H (- 5.0% and - 7%), showing additive effects in CH (- 7.7% and - 16.6%). At LT, additive effect of C (- 2.8%) and H (- 3.8%) on HR reduction in CH (- 5.7%) was maintained, whereas an interactive effect (p = 0.007) of the two stressors combined was noted on Ve (C: - 3.1%, H: + 5.5%, CH: - 10.9%). [La] curve shifted on the left in CH, displaying an interaction effect between the 2 stressors on this parameter. Finally, RPE at LT was exclusively reduced by hypoxia (p < 0.001), whereas TSmax is synergistically reduced by cold and hypoxia (interaction p = 0.047). Conclusion: If compared to single stress exposure, exercise performance and physiological and perceptual variables undergo additive or synergistic effects when cold and hypoxia are combined. These results provide new insight into human physiological responses to extreme environments

Specific strength in sport climbing disciplines

Strength of the upper limbs has been suggested to de a determinant in climbing performance (1). However, different kinds of assessments have provided contradictory results. Strength has been measured with general (handgrip) and specific (SCD, specific climbing dynamometer) tools. Isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and rate of force development (RFD) can be considered as outcomes. The SCD showed validity (correlated with lead performance n=38, r=-0.61, p<0.001)(2), reliability (Typical Error as CV was 8, 16% for SCD MVC and peak-RFD and ICC of 0.91, 0.82, respectively) (3) and internal responsiveness (effect size 1.44 in SCD peak-RFD) (4). Lead and Boulder are widespread disciplines in sport climbing. Boulder climbers showed higher values of MVC and pRFD compared to Lead climbers (5). Muscle fatigue (i.e. decrease in MVC and RFD parameters) can give further details in the importance of neuromuscular properties in sport climbing disciplines. The aim of this study was to examine muscle fatigue after Boulder and Lead activity. Methods Fourteen climbers (age 29 \ub1 10 yrs, height 176 \ub1 8 cm, weight 70 \ub1 7 kg, climbing level IRCRA scale moderate to advanced) participated in a simulated competition in Lead and Boulder. Before the measurement climbers were involved in a survey investigation. Participants were randomly assigned to a sequence Lead-Boulder or Boulder-Lead in a counterbalanced design with two conditions (i.e. Lead and Boulder) and washout (i.e. recovery) period of 4 hours. Specific strength (MVC and RFD) was measured with a SCD at baseline and after Boulder and Lead. Results Climbers perceived strength of the forearms to be important in boulder and lead (12 and 13% of the answers) performances and physical strength of higher importance in boulder compared to lead (34 and 42% of answers). MVC and pRFD at baseline were 7.2 \ub1 1.1 N/kg and 38.2 \ub1 8.6 N/kg/s. After boulder, MVC and pRFD were 6.8 \ub1 1.5 N/kg and 32.7 \ub1 10.3 N/kg/s, percentage differences -7.4 (90% CI \ub1 7.3) and -16.3 (90% CI \ub1 15). After lead MVC and pRFD were 6.4 \ub1 1.7 N/kg and 30 \ub1 11.3 N/kg/s, percentage differences -12.8 (90% CI \ub1 10.8) and -25.4 (90% CI \ub1 13). Discussion The decline in strength after Lead and Boulder simulation of competition confirms the occurrence of muscle fatigue. This study confirmed previous results attained after a Lead official competition and simulation for pRFD (-19%) and MVC (-6%) (2). The great decline in pRFD underlined the importance of rapidly exerting the strength (i.e. contact strength) during both disciplines. Conclusion Specific strength should be assessed with SCD. Rate of force development seams to be more appropriate compared to maximal voluntary contraction for investigating fatigue after climbing disciplines. References 1. Watts, P.B., Eur J Appl Physiol, 2004. 91(4): 361-72. 2. Fanchini, M., et al. In 15th Annual Congress of ECSS. 2010. Antalya, Turkey 3. Fanchini M, et al. In 16th Annual Congress of Sport Science ECSS. 2011. Liverpool, UK. 4 Fanchini M, et al. In 2nd International Rock Climbing Research Congress 2014, Pontresina, Switzerland 5 Fanchini M et al. J Strength Cond Res,2013. 27(2): 310-31

Injury and Illness Rates During Ultratrail Running

This study aimed to describe injury/illness rates in ultratrail runners competing in a 65-km race to build a foundation for injury prevention and help race organizers to plan medical provision for these events. Prospectively transcribed medical records were analysed for 77 athletes at the end of the race. Number of injuries/illnesses per 1\u2009000 runners and per 1\u2009000-h run, overall injury/illness rate and 90% confidence intervals and rates for major and minor illnesses, musculoskeletal injuries, and skin disorders were analysed. A total of 132 injuries/illnesses were encountered during the race. The overall injuries/illnesses were 1.9 per runner and 13.1 per 1\u2009000-h run. Medical illnesses were the most prominent medical diagnoses encountered (50.3%), followed by musculoskeletal injuries (32.8%), and skin-related disorders (16.9%). Despite the ultra-long nature of the race, the majority of injuries/illnesses were minor in nature. Medical staff and runners should prepare to treat all types of injuries and illnesses, especially the fatigue arising throughout the course of an ultratrail run and injuries to the lower limbs. Future studies should attempt to systematically identify injury locations and mechanisms in order to better direct injury prevention strategies and plan more accurate medical care

Detecting early signals of COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020 in small areas by monitoring healthcare utilisation databases: first lessons learned from the Italian Alert_CoV project

During the COVID-19 pandemic, large-scale diagnostic testing and contact tracing have proven insufficient to promptly monitor the spread of infections.AimTo develop and retrospectively evaluate a system identifying aberrations in the use of selected healthcare services to timely detect COVID-19 outbreaks in small areas. Methods: Data were retrieved from the healthcare utilisation (HCU) databases of the Lombardy Region, Italy. We identified eight services suggesting a respiratory infection (syndromic proxies). Count time series reporting the weekly occurrence of each proxy from 2015 to 2020 were generated considering small administrative areas (i.e. census units of Cremona and Mantua provinces). The ability to uncover aberrations during 2020 was tested for two algorithms: the improved Farrington algorithm and the generalised likelihood ratio-based procedure for negative binomial counts. To evaluate these algorithms' performance in detecting outbreaks earlier than the standard surveillance, confirmed outbreaks, defined according to the weekly number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, were used as reference. Performances were assessed separately for the first and second semester of the year. Proxies positively impacting performance were identified. Results: We estimated that 70% of outbreaks could be detected early using the proposed approach, with a corresponding false positive rate of ca 20%. Performance did not substantially differ either between algorithms or semesters. The best proxies included emergency calls for respiratory or infectious disease causes and emergency room visits. Conclusion: Implementing HCU-based monitoring systems in small areas deserves further investigations as it could facilitate the containment of COVID-19 and other unknown infectious diseases in the future

A General Framework for Ordering Fuzzy Sets

Abstract. Orderings and rankings of fuzzy sets have turned out to play a funda-mental role in various disciplines. Throughout the previous 25 years, a lot a different approaches to this issue have been introduced, ranging from rather simple ones to quite exotic ones. The aim of this paper is to present a new framework for com-paring fuzzy sets with respect to a general class of fuzzy orderings. This approach includes several known techniques based on generalizing the crisp linear ordering of real numbers by means of the extension principle, however, in its general form, it is applicable to any fuzzy subsets of any kind of universe for which a fuzzy ordering is known – no matter whether linear or partial.

Book of Abstracts

USPCAPESFAPESPCNPqINCTMatICMC Summer Meeting on Differentail Equations.\ud São Carlos, Brasil. 3-7 february 2014