Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) application in sport medicine: A brief review

Since 1985, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used for non-invasive exploration of motor control in humans and for a wide range of applications in all ages of life. This brief review examined briefly the potential interest in sport medicine

Functional Characteristics and Coping Strategies among Rugby Athletes: A Cluster Analysis Approach

The developing domain of mental health in sports has gained much interest, acknowledging its pivotal role in athlete performance and well-being. The aim of this research is to provide a quantitative description concerning the levels of mental health, physical activity, cognitive fusion, cognitive flexibility, and coping strategies that characterize rugby athletes by using a data-driven approach. A total of 92 rugby athletes took part in this study and filled out a set of self-administered questionnaires. A correlational analysis showed that general well-being was positively associated with years spent playing rugby (r = 0.23) and coping mechanisms (r = 0.29). Athletes’ well-being was also negatively correlated with cognitive inflexibility (r = −0.41) and cognitive fusion (r = −0.39). A k-means cluster analysis identified two unique groups: group 1, characterized by higher levels of psychological well-being, lower levels of physical activity, greater cognitive flexibility, improved coping techniques, and reduced cognitive fusion, and group 2, which exhibits opposite characteristics. The discrepancies observed in psychological characteristics such as coping strategies, cognitive fusion, and cognitive inflexibility highlight their potential impact on the general health of rugby players. To comprehend the complex interplay between psychological and physical elements in rugby athletes, long-term studies with larger samples are crucial

The role of very low calorie ketogenic diet in sympathetic activation through cortisol secretion in male obese population

Adipose tissue is considered an endocrine organ, and its excess compromises the immune response and metabolism of hormones and nutrients. Furthermore, the accumulation of visceral fat helps to increase the synthesis of cortisol. The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a neuroendocrine system involved in maintaining homeostasis in humans under physiological conditions and stress, and cortisol is the main hormone of the HPA axis. It is known that a stress-induced diet and cortisol reactivity to acute stress factors may be related to dietary behavior. In obesity, to reduce visceral adipose tissue, caloric restriction is a valid strategy. In light of this fact, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of a commercial dietary ketosis program for weight loss on the sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis, through evaluation of salivary cortisol and GSR levels. Thirty obese subjects were recruited and assessed before and after 8 weeks of Very Low Calorie Ketogenic Diet (VLCKD) intervention to evaluate body composition and biochemical parameters. Salivary cortisol levels and GSR significantly decreased after dietary treatment; in addition, body composition and biochemical features were ameliorated. The VLCKD had a short-term positive effect on the SNS and HPA axes regulating salivary cortisol levels. Finally, the effects of the VLCKD on the SNS and HPA axis may lead to more individualized treatment strategies that integrate obesity and stress and support the usefulness of such therapeutic interventions in promoting the reduction of the individual disease burden

The social brain and emotional contagion: Covid-19 effects

Background and objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious infectious disease, responsible for a global pandemic that began in January 2020. Human/COVID-19 interactions cause different outcomes ranging from minor health consequences to death. Since social interaction is the default mode by which individuals communicate with their surroundings, different modes of contagion can play a role in determining the long-term consequences for mental health and emotional well-being. We examined some basic aspects of human social interaction, emphasizing some particular features of the emotional contagion. Moreover, we analyzed the main report that described brain damage related to the COVID-19 infection. Indeed, the goal of this review is to suggest a possible explanation for the relationships among emotionally impaired people, brain damage, and COVID-19 infection. Results: COVID-19 can cause several significant neurological disorders and the pandemic has been linked to a rise in people reporting mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Neurocognitive symptoms associated with COVID-19 include delirium, both acute and chronic attention and memory impairment related to hippocampal and cortical damage, as well as learning deficits in both adults and children. Conclusions: Although our knowledge on the biology and long-term clinical outcomes of the COVID-19 infection is largely limited, approaching the pandemic based on lessons learnt from previous outbreaks of infectious diseases and the biology of other coronaviruses will provide a suitable pathway for developing public mental health strategies, which could be positively translated into therapeutic approaches, attempting to improve stress coping responses, thus contributing to alleviate the burden driven by the pandemic

Effects of a Plastic-Free Lifestyle on Urinary Bisphenol A Levels in School-Aged Children of Southern Italy: A Pilot Study

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor (ED) frequently used in food packaging. BPA is used as a monomer in the manufacture of some food packaging. This study aimed to evaluate the urinary BPA concentration in an Italian pediatric cohort, testing the levels of this ED over a period of 6 months, evaluating the effects of a diet regimen with a reduction of Plastic Food Packaging (PFP). One hundred thirty Italian children were enrolled and divided into two groups “School Canteen” and “No School Canteen.” The first group consumed one meal at school using a plastic-free service for 5 days/weeks, while the other group did not modify their normal meal-time habits. The BPA levels were tested in urine samples at three time points: T0, is the time before the application of the plastic-free regimen diet; T3, 3 months later; and T6, 6 months later. A reduction of urine BPA levels was detected in the “School Canteen” group. In particular, the reduction was significant analyzing both the intra (among the three testing times) group and inter (between “School Canteen” and “No School Canteen”) group variability. Our results show the effects of a diet regimen with a reduction of PFP, demonstrating a connection between urinary BPA levels and food packaging

Memory for spatial locations in a patient with near space neglect and optic ataxia: Involvement of the occipitotemporal stream

Previous studies suggested that the occipitoparietal stream orients attention toward the near/lower space and is involved in immediate reaching, whereas the occipitotemporal stream orients attention toward the far/upper space and is involved in delayed reaching. In the present study, we investigated the role of the occipitotemporal stream in attention orienting and delayed reaching in a patient (GP) with bilateral damage to the occipitoparietal areas and optic ataxia. GP and healthy controls took part in three experiments. In the experiment 1, the participants bisected lines oriented along radial, vertical, and horizontal axes. GP bisected radial lines farther, and vertical lines more above, than the controls, consistent with an attentional bias toward the far/upper space and near/lower space neglect. The experiment 2 consisted of two tasks: (1) an immediate reaching task, in which GP reached target locations under visual control and (2) a delayed visual reaching task, in which GP and controls were asked to reach remembered target locations visually presented. We measured constant and variable distance and direction errors. In immediate reaching task, GP accurately reached target locations. In delayed reaching task, GP overshot remembered target locations, whereas the controls undershot them. Furthermore, variable errors were greater in GP than in the controls. In the experiment 3, GP and controls performed a delayed proprioceptive reaching task. Constant reaching errors did not differ between GP and the controls. However, variable direction errors were greater in GP than in the controls. We suggest that the occipitoparietal damage, and the relatively intact occipitotemporal region, produced in GP an attentional orienting bias toward the far/upper space (experiment 1). In turns, the attentional bias selectively shifted toward the far space remembered visual (experiment 2), but not proprioceptive (experiment 3), target locations. As a whole, these findings further support the hypothesis of an involvement of the occipitotemporal stream in delayed reaching. Furthermore, the observation that in both delayed reaching tasks the variable errors were greater in GP than in the controls suggested that in optic ataxia is present not only a visuo- but also a proprioceptivo-motor integration deficit

Pre-service Special and General Educators’ Perceptions of Bullying

Successful approaches for decreasing bullying among youth hinge on the competence of teachers, yet teachers’ perceptions of bullying often differ from those of students. This study used the Bullying Perceptions Scale—Revised to investigate perceptions of 221 pre-service teachers at a large university in the midwestern United States. Results suggested that pre-service teachers believe all topographies of bullying warrant intervention. Additionally, when asked to recall an episode of bullying, pre-service teachers typically recalled a scenario that involved verbal bullying (84.0%), occurred in the classroom (43.6%), in elementary (44.0%) or middle school (39.6%), when teachers were present (50.2%). The findings imply a need for increased focus on bully identification and prevention in the teacher preparation curriculum

Effect of Neem Kernel Cake Powder (NKCP) on Fusarium Wilt of Tomato when Used as Soil Amendment

A study was conducted to investigate effect of Neem Kernel Cake Powder (NKCP) at 1.75, 3.5 and 7g rates on development of tomato Fusarium wilt in 1997 at the National Horticultural Research Center, Thika, Kenya. Inoculum density of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (Sacc.) was two 14mm - diameter disks per planting hole taken from 10 day old cultures growing on PDA. Plant performance was based on shoot height and weight; stem diameter; number and weight of tomato fruits. Disease assessment was based on wilt index of shoots and length of discolouration of vascular tissues. Performance of plants grown in NKCP amended and non-amended soils was significantly (p=0.05) different (33.3 - 93.3%). Disease severity based on the wilt index (0.53-2.87) and length of discoloured vascular tissues (7.4cm - 25.62cm) differed significantly (p=0.05) among treatments

Physical activity, ketogenic diet, and epilepsy: A mini-review

One-third of patients with epilepsy do not respond to antiepileptic drugs and may seek complementary and alternative treatment modalities. Dietary therapies, such as the ketogenic diet (KD), the modified Atkins diet, as well as the medium-chain triglyceride and the low glycaemic index diets, have been successfully implemented with some forms of epilepsy and are growing in utilization. The KD is a high-fat, low-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that has been used for various conditions for over a century. Insights into the mechanism of action of these diets may provide more targeted interventions for patients with epilepsy. Knowledge of these mechanisms is growing and includes neuroprotective effects on oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, potassium channels in the brain, and mitochondrial function. In this review, we explain the role of physical exercise and the ketogenic diet on epilepsy

Laterality of a second player position affects lateral deviation of basketball shooting

Asymmetrically placed visual distractors are known to cause a lateral bias in the execution of a movement directed toward a target. The aim of the present experiment was to verify if the trajectory of the ball and the trajectory of the jump for a basketshot can be affected by the sole position of a second player, who stays in front of the shooting player in one of three possible positions (centre, left or right) but too far to physically interfere with the shot. Young basketball players were asked to perform 60 shots at 6.25 m from a regular basket, with or without a second player staying in front of them in, alternately, a centre, left or right position. A computerised system measured the angular deviation of the jump direction from the vertical direction and the lateral deviation of the ball trajectory from the midline. The results showed that both the jump direction and the entry position of the ball deviated toward the opposite side from the second player’s side; however, these effects were too small to significantly affect the mean goal percentage. This result confirms that some placements of the players can have an effect as visual distractors. Further studies are necessary to find what game conditions can make such distractors harmful for the athletic performance