Enhancing the motor learning of youth soccer players through preventing an internal focus of attention:The effect of shoes colour

The purpose of this research was to assess how the motor learning skills in 7-years old soccer players can be improved by preventing an internal focus of attention via the use coloured shoes. We painted the classic black soccer shoes in six areas corresponding to six regions of the foot with which it is possible to interact with the ball. Thirty-four 7-years-old soccer players were randomized to two groups (Coloured n = 17 and Black, n = 17) to perform four basic football manoeuvres/tasks: reception (RECP), passing (PASS), ball management (MAGT), and shooting (SHOT). We found highly significant differences (P<0.001) in all four performance tests: mean(sd) RECP: 0.82(0.07) vs. 0.45(0.12); PASS: 0.85(0.07) vs. 0.47(0.09); MAGT: 0.91(0.09); SHOT: 1.00(1.00) vs. 0.44(0.16). Colored shoes appear to draw children's attention away from body centered cues without explicit verbal communications. We propose that this cognitive adaptation enhanced the technical gesture by preventing the negative processes associated with action constraining when adopting an internal focus attention (perhaps by allowing the foot to adapt to surfaces and movements more naturally than conditions that promote a focus on the body movement). Consequently, this type of coloured footwear could be used during childhood to allow children to enhance the performance of basic football exercises through preventing action constraining and promoting intuitive (non-body centered) action knowledge

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

Le reti di distribuzione idrica nella sicurezza antincendio - Verifiche con il codice INFOWORKS WS

Le reti di distribuzione idrica conservano un ruolo importante ed irrinunciabile nella sicurezza antincendio, ma diversi fattori sul piano normativo e strutturale limitano la loro potenzialità  nelle fasi di estinzione dell'incendio. Ma in che modo si è evoluta in Italia negli ultimi anni la lotta all'incendio? E' ormai noto che non esistono incendi standard, quelli per i quali è possibile definire procedure d'intervento e modalità  di estinzione; non è quindi banale identificare le portate antincendio necessarie (Needed Fire Flow) e il tempo per il quale esse devono essere garantite. In certi contesti è possibile ipotizzare un certo standard d'incendio ma ciò presuppone che edifici, strutture e tutto ciò che è sottoposto ad incendio, possano essere considerati fabbricati a "regola d'arte", ovvero realizzati attraverso procedure esecutive aventi standard di qualità  certificata. Ciò è stato affrontato nei criteri di realizzazione delle nuove costruzioni, ma le vecchie costruzioni, soprattutto gli edifici presenti nei centri storici, sono evidentemente più vulnerabili e sfuggono alla possibilità  di identificare affidabili valori del NFF. Il quadro che si presenta coinvolge quindi carenze normative, contesti urbani con differente vulnerabilità  e una sostanziale disomogeneità  prestazionale delle reti di distribuzione idrica presenti nel territorio nazionale, legata non solo alla disponibilità  idrica ma, anche e soprattutto, alla conformazione della rete, ai livelli di pressione ed alla specifica capacità della rete nel sostenere incrementi di flusso dovuto al prelievo dagli idranti stradali. La scarsa conoscenza di questi aspetti, piuttosto che tradursi in miglioramenti della rete idrica e della sua efficienza ai fini antincendio, ha portato nel tempo ad adottare soluzioni alternative che agiscono principalmente sulle modalità operative di utilizzo dei mezzi dei VV.F. e sul fronte dei dispositivi antincendio privati, quali una migliore protezione passiva, legata all'uso di materiali la cui risposta all'incendio fosse la minore possibile, e protezioni attive alternative, quali impianti sprinkler, di tipo aerosol o misti. Rimangono tutte le problematiche legate alla caratterizzazione nell'area urbanizzata in termini di risposta al prelievo per incendio dagli idranti pubblici sui quali la normativa vigente non impone regole circa le prestazioni e la loro dislocazione sul territorio. Questa incertezza spesso si traduce in un maggiore dispiego di mezzi rispetto all'entità dell'incendio ed ad una scarsa possibilità  di ottimizzare l'allocazione delle unità  operative dei VV.F., con un evidente incremento del rischio nel caso in cui si verifichino più eventi di incendio contemporaneamente. La simulazione numerica avanzata, su modelli opportunamente calibrati delle reti di distribuzione, può consentire una maggiore comprensione quantitativa del livello di sicurezza antincendio offerto da una rete di distribuzione idrica

Chronic mild stress induces anhedonic behavior and changes in glutamate release, BDNF trafficking and dendrite morphology only in stress vulnerable rats. The rapid restorative action of ketamine

17siopenopenTornese, Paolo; Sala, Nathalie; Bonini, Daniela; Bonifacino, Tiziana; La Via, Luca; Milanese, Marco; Treccani, Giulia; Seguini, Mara; Ieraci, Alessandro; Mingardi, Jessica; Nyengaard, Jens R.; Calza, Stefano; Bonanno, Giambattista; Wegener, Gregers; Barbon, Alessandro; Popoli, Maurizio; Musazzi, LauraTornese, Paolo; Sala, Nathalie; Bonini, Daniela; Bonifacino, Tiziana; La Via, Luca; Milanese, Marco; Treccani, Giulia; Seguini, Mara; Ieraci, Alessandro; Mingardi, Jessica; Nyengaard, Jens R.; Calza, Stefano; Bonanno, Giambattista; Wegener, Gregers; Barbon, Alessandro; Popoli, Maurizio; Musazzi, Laur

Acute Ketamine Facilitates Fear Memory Extinction in a Rat Model of PTSD Along With Restoring Glutamatergic Alterations and Dendritic Atrophy in the Prefrontal Cortex

Stress represents a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recently, we dissected the destabilizing effects of acute stress on the excitatory glutamate system in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Here, we assessed the effects of single subanesthetic administration of ketamine (10 mg/kg) on glutamate transmission and dendritic arborization in the PFC of footshock (FS)-stressed rats, along with changes in depressive, anxious, and fear extinction behaviors. We found that ketamine, while inducing a mild increase of glutamate release in the PFC of naïve rats, blocked the acute stress-induced enhancement of glutamate release when administered 24 or 72 h before or 6 h after FS. Accordingly, the treatment with ketamine 6 h after FS also reduced the stress-dependent increase of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current (sEPSC) amplitude in prelimbic (PL)-PFC. At the same time, ketamine injection 6 h after FS was found to rescue apical dendritic retraction of pyramidal neurons induced by acute stress in PL-PFC and facilitated contextual fear extinction. These results show rapid effects of ketamine in animals subjected to acute FS, in line with previous studies suggesting a therapeutic action of the drug in PTSD models. Our data are consistent with a mechanism of ketamine involving re-establishment of synaptic homeostasis, through restoration of glutamate release, and structural remodeling of dendrites

Functional and Molecular Changes in the Prefrontal Cortex of the Chronic Mild Stress Rat Model of Depression and Modulation by Acute Ketamine

Stress is a primary risk factor in the onset of neuropsychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD). We have previously used the chronic mild stress (CMS) model of depression in male rats to show that CMS induces morphological, functional, and molecular changes in the hippocampus of vulnerable animals, the majority of which were recovered using acute subanesthetic ketamine in just 24 h. Here, we focused our attention on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a brain area regulating emotional and cognitive functions, and asked whether vulnerability/resilience to CMS and ketamine antidepressant effects were associated with molecular and functional changes in the mPFC of rats. We found that most alterations induced by CMS in the mPFC were selectively observed in stress-vulnerable animals and were rescued by acute subanesthetic ketamine, while others were found only in resilient animals or were induced by ketamine treatment. Importantly, only a few of these modifications were also previously demonstrated in the hippocampus, while most are specific to mPFC. Overall, our results suggest that acute antidepressant ketamine rescues brain-area-specific glutamatergic changes induced by chronic stress

Dopamine-Dependent Ketamine Modulation of Glutamatergic Synaptic Plasticity in the Prelimbic Cortex of Adult Rats Exposed to Acute Stress

: Traumatic stress is the main environmental risk factor for the development of psychiatric disorders. We have previously shown that acute footshock (FS) stress in male rats induces rapid and long-lasting functional and structural changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which are partly reversed by acute subanesthetic ketamine. Here, we asked if acute FS may also induce any changes in glutamatergic synaptic plasticity in the PFC 24 h after stress exposure and whether ketamine administration 6 h after stress may have any effect. We found that the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in PFC slices of both control and FS animals is dependent on dopamine and that dopamine-dependent LTP is reduced by ketamine. We also found selective changes in ionotropic glutamate receptor subunit expression, phosphorylation, and localization at synaptic membranes induced by both acute stress and ketamine. Although more studies are needed to understand the effects of acute stress and ketamine on PFC glutamatergic plasticity, this first report suggests a restoring effect of acute ketamine, supporting the potential benefit of ketamine in limiting the impact of acute traumatic stress

Changes at glutamate tripartite synapses in the prefrontal cortex of a new animal model of resilience/vulnerability to acute stress

: Stress represents a main risk factor for psychiatric disorders. Whereas it is known that even a single trauma may induce psychiatric disorders in humans, the mechanisms of vulnerability to acute stressors have been little investigated. In this study, we generated a new animal model of resilience/vulnerability to acute footshock (FS) stress in rats and analyzed early functional, molecular, and morphological determinants of stress vulnerability at tripartite glutamate synapses in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We found that adult male rats subjected to FS can be deemed resilient (FS-R) or vulnerable (FS-V), based on their anhedonic phenotype 24 h after stress exposure, and that these two populations are phenotypically distinguishable up to two weeks afterwards. Basal presynaptic glutamate release was increased in the PFC of FS-V rats, while depolarization-evoked glutamate release and synapsin I phosphorylation at Ser9 were increased in both FS-R and FS-V. In FS-R and FS-V rats the synaptic expression of GluN2A and apical dendritic length of prelimbic PFC layers II-III pyramidal neurons were decreased, while BDNF expression was selectively reduced in FS-V. Depolarization-evoked (carrier-mediated) glutamate release from astroglia perisynaptic processes (gliosomes) was selectively increased in the PFC of FS-V rats, while GLT1 and xCt levels were higher and GS expression reduced in purified PFC gliosomes from FS-R. Overall, we show for the first time that the application of the sucrose intake test to rats exposed to acute FS led to the generation of a novel animal model of resilience/vulnerability to acute stress, which we used to identify early determinants of maladaptive response related to behavioral vulnerability to stress