It\u2019s a Matter of Mind! Cognitive Functioning Predicts the Athletic Performance in Ultra- Marathon Runners

The present study was aimed at exploring the influence of cognitive processes on performance in ultra-marathon runners, providing an overview of the cognitive aspects that characterize outstanding runners. Thirty runners were administered a battery of computerized tests right before their participation in an ultra-marathon. Then, they were split according to the race rank into two groups (i.e., faster runners and slower runners) and their cognitive performance was compared. Faster runners outperformed slower runners in trials requiring motor inhibition and were more effective at performing two tasks together, successfully suppressing the activation of the information for one of the tasks when was not relevant. Furthermore, slower runners took longer to remember to execute pre-defined actions associated with emotional stimuli when such stimuli were presented. These findings suggest that cognitive factors play a key role in running an ultra-marathon. Indeed, if compared with slower runners, faster runners seem to have a better inhibitory control, showing superior ability not only to inhibit motor response but also to suppress processing of irrelevant information. Their cognitive performance also appears to be less influenced by emotional stimuli. This research opens new directions towards understanding which kinds of cognitive and emotional factors can discriminate talented runners from less outstanding runners

Post-Fire Management Impact on Natural Forest Regeneration through Altered Microsite Conditions

High severity stand-replacing wildfires can deeply affect forest ecosystems whose composition includes plant species lacking fire-related traits and specific adaptations. Land managers and policymakers need to be aware of the importance of properly managing these ecosystems, adopting post-disturbance interventions designed to reach management goals, and restoring the required ecosystem services. Recent research frequently found that post-fire salvage logging negatively affects natural regeneration dynamics, thereby altering successional pathways due to a detrimental interaction with the preceding disturbance. In this study, we compared the effects of salvage logging and other post-disturbance interventions (adopting different deadwood management strategies) to test their impact on microclimatic conditions, which potentially affect tree regeneration establishment and survival. After one of the largest and most severe wildfires in the Western Alps that affected stand-replacing behavior (100% tree mortality), a mountain forest dominated by Pinus sylvestris L., three post-fire interventions were adopted (SL-Salvage Logging, logging of all snags; CR-Cut and Release, cutting snags and releasing all deadwood on the ground; NI-No Intervention, all snags left standing). The differences among interventions concerning microclimatic conditions (albedo, surface roughness, solar radiation, soil moisture, soil temperature) were analyzed at different spatial scales (site, microsite). The management interventions influenced the presence and density of safe sites for regeneration. Salvage logging contributed to the harsh post-fire microsite environment by increasing soil temperature and reducing soil moisture. The presence of deadwood, instead, played a facilitative role in ameliorating microclimatic conditions for seedlings. The CR intervention had the highest soil moisture and the lowest soil temperature, which could be crucial for seedling survival in the first post-fire years. Due to its negative impact on microclimatic conditions affecting the availability of preferential microsites for regeneration recruitment, salvage logging should not be considered as the only intervention to be applied in post-fire environments. In the absence of threats or hazards requiring specific management actions (e.g., public safety, physical hazards for facilities), in the investigated ecosystems, no intervention, leaving all deadwood on site, could result in better microclimatic conditions for seedling establishment. A preferred strategy to speed-up natural processes and further increase safe sites for regeneration could be felling standing dead trees whilst releasing deadwood (at least partially) on the ground

An Ultra-Low Cost and Multicast-Enabled Asynchronous NoC for Neuromorphic Edge Computing

Biological brains are increasingly taken as a guide toward more efficient forms of computing. The latest frontier considers the use of spiking neural-network-based neuromorphic processors for near-sensor data processing, in order to fit the tight power and resource budgets of edge computing devices. However, a prevailing focus on brain-inspired computing and storage primitives in the design of neuromorphic systems is currently bringing a fundamental bottleneck to the forefront: chip-scale communications. While communication architectures (typically, a network-on-chip) are generally inspired by, or even borrowed from, general purpose computing, neuromorphic communications exhibit unique characteristics: they consist of the event-driven routing of small amounts of information to a large number of destinations within tight area and power budgets. This article aims at an inflection point in network-on-chip design for brain-inspired communications, revolving around the combination of cost-effective and robust asynchronous design, architecture specialization for short messaging and lightweight hardware support for tree-based multicast. When validated with functional spiking neural network traffic, the proposed NoC delivers energy savings ranging from 42% to 71% over a state-of-the-art NoC used in a real multi-core neuromorphic processor for edge computing applications.<br/

Gait analysis before and after achilles tendon surgical suture in a single-subject study: a case report.

none5nononeMarcolin, Giuseppe; Buriani, Alessandro; Balasso, Alberto; Villaminar, Renato; Petrone, NicolaMarcolin, Giuseppe; Buriani, Alessandro; Balasso, Alberto; Villaminar, Renato; Petrone, Nicol

On the OCRA Measurement: Automatic Computation of the Dynamic Technical Action Frequency Factor

OCRA (OCcupational Repetitive Action) is currently one of the most widespread procedures for assessing biomechanical risks related to upper limb repetitive movements. Frequency factor of the technical actions represents one of the OCRA elements. Actually, the frequency factor computation is based on workcycle video analysis, which is time-consuming and may lead to up to 30% of intra-operator variability. This paper aims at proposing an innovative procedure for the automatic counting of dynamic technical actions on the basis of inertial data. More specifically, a threshold-based algorithm was tested in four industrial case studies, involving a cohort of 20 workers. Nine combinations of the algorithm were tested by varying threshold values related to time and amplitude. The computation of frequency factor showed an average relative error lower than 5.7% in all industrial-based case studies after the appropriate selection of the time and amplitude threshold values. These findings open the possibility to use the threshold-based algorithm proposed here for the automatic computation of OCRA frequency factor, avoiding the time efforts in video analysis

Meccanismi fisiologici e strumentali di protezione del rachide durante la pratica del Fitness

La protezione del rachide durante l’esecuzione di esercizi con sovraccarichi nella pratica del Fitness, al di là di ovvie e banali raccomandazioni, sull’entità del carico e sul mantenimento delle curve fisiologiche, spesso non viene adeguatamente sottolineata. Ancor meno vengono evidenziate le implicazioni della respirazione e del meccanismo della cosìdetta IAP (Intra Abdominal Pressure) sulla protezione del rachide sotto carico e durante esercizio. In questa review vengono analizzati gli studi, compresi quelli basilari e pioneristici di Nachemson, sui meccanismi fisiologici di protezione del rachide da sollecitazioni compressive durante l’esecuzione di esercizi; viene inoltre analizzata l’azione della cintura da sollevamento, “device” spesso usato in maniera non adeguata quando non abusato nei centri Fitness