A Pre–Post Study on the Cardiorespiratory Response to Different Protocols of Exposure on a Vibratory Platform in Young Healthy Individuals

This study aimed to investigate the acute specific physiological effects of 15 min of whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure at six different types of vibrations on cardiorespiratory function in 26 healthy young subjects (sex ratio, 1:1; mean age, 20.73 years). The protocols included six variants of a combination of mechanical stimuli with different frequencies (15, 25, and 35 Hz) and direction of stimuli (vertical or diagonal). The investigated cardiorespiratory parameters were heart rate (HR), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), respiratory rate (RR), and spirometric indicators: tidal volume (TV), vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1 s (FEV1), and maximum voluntary ventilation for 12 s (MVV). The data series were statistically processed by using descriptive and inferential statistical methods: the Shapiro–Wilk test, the two-way ANOVA with repeated measures, and post hoc analysis. We obtained significantly higher values for HR, TV, VC, FVC, FEV1, and MVV after the WBV exposure. These parameters are significantly influenced by both the frequency and direction of stimuli, and certain protocols of WBV are noticeable for their distinct effects. Our results offer a new perspective on the possibility of using preferential variants of vibratory stimulation to obtain maximum cardiorespiratory physiological effects

Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment of Actellic 50 EC Insecticide on Non-Target Organisms in Parallel with the Application of Standardized Tests

This paper contributes to the ecotoxicological risk assessment of the Actellic 50 EC insecticide (with 50% pirimiphos-methyl as the active substance) tested on non-target organisms. The insecticide concentrations tested were the same for all organisms (0.1, 0.01, and 0.001 mg L−1 of Actellic 50 EC), with an exposure of 3–5–21 days for plants and 4–5–14 days for animals. The non-target organisms tested were both plants (wheat and two ferns) and animals (the Prussian carp and marsh frog tadpoles). The tested insecticide significantly inhibited the growth of roots in wheat, a result that was also confirmed by a microbiotest application (62% root growth inhibition in sorghum and 100% germination inhibition in white mustard and garden cress). In ferns, even for the lowest concentration, the percentage of germinated spores was inhibited by 40% for Asplenium scolopendrium. The recorded toxicological effects of Actellic 50 EC upon the Prussian carp included a decrease in the respiratory rate and oxygen consumption, an increase in the number of erythrocytes and leukocytes, and an increase in blood glucose levels. The highest concentration (0.1 mg L−1 of Actellic 50 EC) caused a 50% decrease in the survival rate of marsh frog tadpoles after 5 days of exposure, negatively affecting body volume and length. Given the high degree of toxicity of the insecticide Actellic 50 EC, we recommend continuing investigations on non-target species, including both plants and animals, as the sub-chronic effects are quite little known in the scientific literature