The effect of mentally demanding cognitive tasks on rowing performance in young athletes

Objectives: The present study aims to investigate the effect of mentally demanding cognitive tasks on rowing performance in prepubertal athletes. Design: Randomised, counterbalanced and crossover. Method: Seventeen rowers, aged between 10 and 12 years, completed three separate testing sessions during which they performed three different cognitive tasks before completing a 1500\u202fm time trial on the rowing ergometer. In the two experimental conditions, one hour of a standard cognitive task (Stroop task) and an arithmetic school test were used to elicit mental effort; in the control condition a time-matched, not demanding activity was carried out (painting). Subjective workload and mood were measured before and after the treatments, and the motivation was recorded before the time-trial. During the time trial, time, power, speed, cadence, heart rate and rate of perceived exertion were assessed. Results: The Stroop task and the arithmetic test were rated more mentally demanding (P\u202f<\u202f0.001), effortful (P\u202f<\u202f0.001) and frustrating (P\u202f=\u202f0.001) than the control task, but the items fatigue (P\u202f=\u202f0.437, P\u202f=\u202f0.197) and vigour (P\u202f=\u202f0.143, P\u202f=\u202f1.000) after the cognitive tasks were not significantly different from the control. The performance of the time trial did not differ between conditions (time: P\u202f=\u202f0.521; power: P\u202f=\u202f0.208; speed: P\u202f=\u202f0.341); physiological (P\u202f=\u202f0.556) and perceptual (P\u202f=\u202f0.864) measures recorded during the physical task were not affected by the conditions. Accordingly, pacing profiles (P\u202f=\u202f0.312) and cadence (P\u202f=\u202f0.062) did not differ between the conditions. Conclusions: Mentally demanding activities did not affect the subsequent physical performance in prepubertal athletes

GRAPHICAL RESOLUTION OF HUMIC STRUCTURES

Advanced techniques have been recently used to obtain information on Natural Organic Matter (NOM). However, the current knowledge of the chemical structure of humic substances (HS) is still incomplete. These substances appear to be too complex mixtures of charged organic molecules, and their characterization remains one of the most stimulating challenges in modern environmental science. Knowledge of the chemical composition of NOM is of great importance for the definition of soil and water properties because it has a significant impact on the understanding of numerous molecular and global-scale processes. This study aims to apply two-dimensional graphical methods to resolve homologous series in mass spectra of humic extracts (Suwannee River, Nordic Aquatic, and Soil) obtained using FT-ICR / MS (Thermo LTQ FT, 7 Tesla) in negative ionization mode. Electrospray ionization (ESI) coupled with ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry offered by Fourier transformed ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR / MS) has emerged with great promise as it can provide an overview of the NOM composition and details on a molecular scale. NOM's very high-resolution FT-ICR spectra can be extremely complicated. These spectra usually contain many peaks at each nominal mass and thousands of peaks across the entire spectrum. Each peak can represent a chemically distinct compound. This complexity poses an analytical challenge to the study of spectra for structural interpretation. Two-dimensional graphing methods, such as Kendrick and van Krevelen graphs, have been successfully applied to very high-resolution mass spectra, allowing peaks to be sorted into complicated spectra from their homologous relatives across the mass range. In van Krevelen plots, ionic signals corresponding to structural similarities between homologous series of compounds involved in the loss or gain of functional groups are found on straight lines. We identified many interesting homologous regions and compared the three humic standards with each other. Finally, we recognized the structural relationships of the homologous series obtained through Kendrick graphs. The results showed homologous series in the Suwannee River and Nordic Aquatic samples compared to the soil-extracted samples (soil-FA and soil-HA). In particular, homologous series signals related to methylation/demethylation, hydrogenation/dehydrogenation, hydration/dehydration and oxidation/reduction processes were lower in the soil-FA van Krevelen diagrams. On the contrary, the differences were not so evident in all the homologous series for the soil-HA samples

Influence of chemical and mineralogical soil properties on the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole and diclofenac in Mediterranean soils

Abstract Background The irrigation with treated wastewaters can be a way for the introduction of organic contaminants in soils. However, their adsorption onto soils can allow a control of their bioavailability and leaching. The adsorption is influenced by properties of contaminants (water solubility, chemical structure) and soils (organic matter content, pH, mineralogy). This study aimed to investigate the effect of mineralogical composition, organic matter content and others parameters of soils on the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and diclofenac (DCF), two contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs), in real cases (Altamura, Sibari and Noci soils). Results The isotherms data showed that the adsorption of the two CECs closely matched the Freundlich model, even if the DCF could also fit the linear one. The only exception was the adsorption of SMX on the soil of Sibari, for which Langmuir's model fitted better. In all cases, the Kd values were the highest for Altamura soil according mainly to its content of organic carbon. Positive correlations were found between Kd value of DCF and the soil organic carbon and Al oxyhydroxides content, suggesting their roles in its adsorption, while SMX showed only a slight positive correlation with the soil organic carbon content. Finally, between the two CECs studied, DCF was more adsorbed than SMX also because of the lower water solubility of the former. Conclusions The good interaction between DCF and soil organic carbon suggests the organic amendment of soils before the application of treated watewaters. The low adsorption of SMX onto soils suggests greater leaching of this compound which is, therefore, potentially more dangerous than DCF. For this reason, the application of a filtration system with appropriate adsorbent materials before the application of wastewater to soils should be expected. Graphical Abstrac

Validation of a modified QuEChERS method for the extraction of multiple classes of pharmaceuticals from soils

Abstract Background The quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method can be employed for multi-residue analyses instead of traditional extraction methods due to its advantages in terms of extraction time and required equipment. A modified version of the QuEChERS method has been developed for quantifying eight pharmaceuticals belonging to different classes in three real soils with different chemical properties. Firstly, the soils have been polluted with all contaminants and the recoveries were determined by liquid chromatography tandem–mass spectrometry. Due to similar recoveries from the three soils, the validation of the method has been carried out only on a soil by determining linearity, recovery, precision, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values. A matrix-matched calibration for the soil has been adopted in order to avoid the matrix effect and three levels of fortification (50, 100 and 500 µg L−1) were used. Results The recovery of all pharmaceuticals, with the exception of tetracycline, from any soil was between 72 and 113%. In the validation procedure, recoveries of fortified samples ranged from 80 to 99%, the relative standard deviations ranged between 1.2 and 11.8%, and the LOQ between 20 and 36.9 μg kg−1. Conclusion The results of the present study confirmed the validity of the modified QuEChERS method for the extraction of pharmaceuticals from soils in the range 50–500 μg kg−1. Graphical Abstrac

Ultrasound Lung Comets versus cardiac natriuretic peptides in patients with acute dyspnoea

Background: Acute shortness of breath as a presenting symptom is a frequent challenge for physicians. The main differential diagnosis is between cardiac and non-cardiac origin of dyspnoea. Natriuretic peptides levels have been used to successfully aid in the diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) in patients presenting with dyspnoea. Ultrasound lung comets (ULCs) are a useful chest sonography sign of increased extravascular lung water. Aim: To assess the concordance rate between ULCs and cardiac natriuretic peptides. Methods: 275 patients (87 females; age 70?14 yrs) admitted with dyspnoea (NYHA class II, III or IV) to a Cardiology-Pneumology or Emergency Department were evaluated. Cardiac peptides assessment and chest sonography, scanning along the intercostal spaces, were performed in all (within 3 hours) and independently analyzed. NT-proBNP values &#8805;157 ng/l, BNP &#8805;100 ng/l and ULCs &#8805;5 were considered abnormal, according to pre-determined cut-offs. Results: Abnormal values of natriuretic peptides were found in 251 patients, while ULCs were present in 220 patients. The total number of discordant cases was 36 (13%), with a concordance rate of 87%. The dominant source of discordance was due to abnormal natriuretic peptides and absence of ULCs (34 patients, see figure): in these patients the mean hospitalization time was significantly lower than in patients with abnormal cardiac peptides and presence of ULCs (7.8?3.7 vs 10.9?6 days, p<.001). Conclusions: ULCs findings are in broad concordance with natriuretic peptides values. Being natriuretic peptides analysis not always available, especially in peripheral Emergency Departments, ULCs assessment could be a plausible alternative to identify CHF in patients with acute dyspnoea

Ultrasound lung comets for serial assessment of pulmonary congestion in heart failure

Background: Serial chest radiographs are too insensitive and therefore NOT recommended for monitoring pulmonary congestion in heart failure patients (AHA/ACC guidelines 2006). Ultrasound lung comets (ULCs) are a simple, quantitative chest sonography sign of pulmonary congestion, originating from water-thickened interlobular septa, and might represent a convenient alternative to chest x-ray in this clinical setting. Aim: To assess whether dynamic changes in ULCs could mirror variations in clinical status and natriuretic peptides. Methods: 104 patients (28 females; age 70?11 years) admitted with dyspnoea (NYHA class &#8805;II) to a Cardiology or Emergency Department were evaluated. NT-proBNP assessment and ULC were independently performed at admission and again before discharge. A patient ULC score was obtained by summing the number of comets from each of the scanning spaces from second to fifth intercostal spaces on anterior chest. Patients were considered "responders" to therapy when NYHA class decreased &#8805;1 grade at discharge. Results: Responders (group I, n=90) and non-responders (group II, n=14) had similar NT-proBNP (I=5560?6643 vs II=5470?4047 ng/l, p=.313), and ULCs number (I=27?34 vs II=34?24, p=.133) at admission. At discharge, responders had lower NT-proBNP (I=3633?5194 vs II=4654?3366 ng/l, p<.05) and ULCs (I=11?12 vs II=28?32, p<.01, see figure) when compared to non-responders. Variation in NT-proBNP somewhat mirrored variations in ULCs (r=.322, p<0.0001). Conclusions: ULC variations mirror changes in clinical functional class and natriuretic peptides in patients hospitalized with acute dyspnoea. ULCs represent an objective parameter of clinical improvement, useful for serial assessment of extra-vascular lung water in patients admitted with acute dyspnoea

Automatically extracted machine learning features from preoperative CT to early predict microvascular invasion in HCC: the role of the Zone of Transition (ZOT)

open12noMicrovascular invasion (MVI) is a consolidated predictor of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after treatments. No reliable radiological imaging findings are available for preoperatively diagnosing MVI, despite some progresses of radiomic analysis. Furthermore, current MVI radiomic studies have not been designed for small HCC nodules, for which a plethora of treatments exists. This study aimed to identify radiomic MVI predictors in nodules ≤3.0 cm by analysing the zone of transition (ZOT), crossing tumour and peritumour, automatically detected to face the uncertainties of radiologist’s tumour segmentation. Methods: The study considered 117 patients imaged by contrast-enhanced computed tomography; 78 patients were finally enrolled in the radiomic analysis. Radiomic features were extracted from the tumour and the ZOT, detected using an adaptive procedure based on local image contrast variations. After data oversampling, a support vector machine classifier was developed and validated. Classifier performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and related metrics. Results: The original 89 HCC nodules (32 MVI+ and 57 MVI−) became 169 (62 MVI+ and 107 MVI−) after oversampling. Of the four features within the signature, three are ZOT heterogeneity measures regarding both arterial and venous phases. On the test set (19MVI+ and 33MVI−), the classifier predicts MVI+ with area under the curve of 0.86 (95%CI (0.70–0.93), p∼10^−5), sensitivity = 79% and specificity = 82%. The classifier showed negative and positive predictive values of 87% and 71%, respectively. Conclusions: The classifier showed the highest diagnostic performance in the literature, disclosing the role of ZOT heterogeneity in predicting the MVI+ status.noneMatteo Renzulli, Margherita Mottola, Francesca Coppola, Maria Adriana Cocozza, Silvia Malavasi, Arrigo Cattabriga, Giulio Vara, Matteo Ravaioli, Matteo Cescon, Francesco Vasuri, Rita Golfieri, Alessandro BevilacquaMatteo Renzulli, Margherita Mottola, Francesca Coppola, Maria Adriana Cocozza, Silvia Malavasi, Arrigo Cattabriga, Giulio Vara, Matteo Ravaioli, Matteo Cescon, Francesco Vasuri, Rita Golfieri, Alessandro Bevilacqu

Radiomic Features from Post-Operative 18F-FDG PET/CT and CT Imaging Associated with Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer: Preliminary Findings

Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer (LRRC) remains a major clinical concern, it rapidly invades pelvic organs and nerve roots, causing severe symptoms. Curative-intent salvage therapy offers the only potential for cure but it has a higher chance of success when LRRC is diagnosed at an early stage. Imaging diagnosis of LRRC is very challenging due to fibrosis and inflammatory pelvic tissue which can mislead even the most expert reader. This study exploited a radiomic analysis to enrich, through quantitative features, the characterization of tissue properties, thus favouring an accurate detection of LRRC by Computed Tomography (CT) and 18F-FDG-Positron Emission Tomography/CT (PET/CT). Of 563 eligible patients, undergoing radical resection (R0) of primary RC, 57 patients with suspected LRRC were included, 33 of which histologically confirmed. After manually segmenting suspected LRRC in CT and PET/CT, 144 radiomic features (RFs) were generated, and RFs were investigated for univariate significant discriminations (Wilcoxon rank-sum test, p&lt;0.050) of LRRC from NO LRRC. Five RFs in PET/CT (p&lt;0.017) and 2 in CT (p&lt;0.022) enabled, individually, a clear distinction of the groups, and one RF was shared by PET/CT and CT. Besides confirming the potential role of radiomics to advance LRRC diagnosis, the aforementioned shared RF describes LRRC as tissues having high local inhomogeneity due to evolving tissue’s properties