The Effects of Stress Mindset, Manipulated Through Serious Game Intervention, on Performance and Situation Awareness of Elite Female Football Players in the Context of a Match:An Experimental Study

Background: Performance levels in football are ever more important and no longer are just physical, technical, and tactical skills, the ones that make an athlete stand out. Cognitive variables, such as stress-coping, become more important and seem to be explaining differences in performance, for example, through reaching an optimal level of arousal. In addition, it is suggested that stress-coping skills also affect situation awareness (SA), important for decision-making in the complex and dynamic situations in football. Objective: This study was conducted to examine how stress-coping skills, such as stress mindset, affect performance and SA in the context of a football match. Methods: Twenty elite female football players participated in the study. The final sample size consisted of 15 players for the Stress Mindset Measure (SMM) analysis and 8 players for the multilevel model analyses. Two types of intervention were used to manipulate stress mindset and control over heart rate variability (HRV); a serious game called "Stressjam,"and a reflection tool called "Brainjam."Questionnaires for stress mindset and SA and video analysis for performance were used. A total of three matches were assessed. Results: The "Stressjam"intervention resulted in significant differences in stress mindset throughout the intervention [F(1,5) = 7.357, P = 0.008]. Subsequently, multilevel analysis showed a positive, strong, and significant correlation between stress mindset, manipulated through "Stressjam"and SA [r(14) = 0.69, P = 0.014]. A correlation of practical interest, given the confidence intervals, was found between stress mindset, manipulated through "Stressjam,"and performance. Conclusion: Cognitive variables, such as stress-coping, correlate significantly with SA in football. A correlation of practical interest was found between stress-coping and performance. Further research is needed to study the relationship between stress-coping and performance in football.</p

iSupport : a WHO global online intervention for informal caregivers of people with dementia

In 2015, it was estimated that worldwide 47 million people had dementia, increasing to 75 million in 2030 and 132 million by 2050. Nearly 9.9 million people are expected to develop dementia each year, which translates to one new case every three seconds. While dementia occurs across all levels of socioeconomic status, nearly 60% of people with dementia currently live in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) and most new cases (71%) are expected to occur in those countries. The majority of people with dementia in those countries do not have access to care and support

A Prospective Open-Label Pilot Study of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in High-Functioning Autistic Patients with a Dysexecutive Syndrome

Background: Executive functions (EF) are often impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such dysfunctions are associated with anxiety, depression, and a lack of autonomy. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to enhance EF in healthy adults and clinical populations and to improve working memory - a component of the EF - in adults with high-functioning ASD (HF-ASD). We hypothesized that tDCS could improve the EF of HF-ASD patients. Such enhancement could improve their adaptive behaviors.Method: Eight patients with HF-ASD received 10 consecutive cathodal tDCS sessions (2 mA) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3) for 15 min each in an open trial. EF (with the Stroop test, Trail Making Test [TMT] A and B, Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test [mWCST], and Verbal Fluency Test) and behavioral dysexecutive syndrome (with the Behavioral Dysexecutive Syndrome Inventory and the Repetitive and Restricted Behaviour scale) were assessed before and 10 days after treatment.Results: This study showed significant improvement in initiation (TMT-A time: p = 0.018) and cognitive flexibility (TMT-B time: p = 0.009; letter Verbal Fluency Test: p = 0.017; mWCST total errors: p = 0.028) after tDCS. Regarding behavior, the hypoactivity of the patients improved, as well as their repetitive and restrictive behaviors. In addition, this noninvasive neurostimulation technique was well tolerated.Conclusions: Flexibility and initiation are the most impaired EF in autism. These are promising results which justify a randomized and placebo-controlled study in a wider population. If these results were confirmed by a randomized controlled trial, tDCS could be an easy and well-tolerated adjunctive treatment aiming to improve the quality of life and the autonomy of ASD patients

Inulin solid dispersion technology to improve the absorption of the BCS Class IV drug TMC240

TMC240 is a very poorly soluble and poorly permeating HIV protease inhibitor. In order to enhance its oral bioavailability, a fast dissolving inulin-based solid dispersion tablet was developed. During the dissolution test in water (0.5% or 1.0% SLS), this tablet released at least 80% of TMC240 within 30min, while a tablet with the same composition, but manufactured as physical mixture, released only 6% after 2h. In a subsequent single-dose study in dogs (200mg of TMC240), plasma concentrations of TMC240 remained below the lower limit of quantification (<1.00ng/mL) in all animals (n=3 per tested formulation), except in one dog receiving the inulin solid dispersion tablet (C(max)=1.8ng/mL, AUC(0-7 h)=3.0ngh/mL). In the latter treatment group, ritonavir co-administration (10mg/kg b.i.d.) increased TMC240 exposure more than 30-fold (mean AUC(0-7 h)=108ngh/mL; F(rel)=3588%). Exposure was also 16-fold higher than after TMC240 administration as PEG400 suspension in the presence of ritonavir (AUC(0-7 h)=6.7ngh/mL). The current data demonstrate that a solid dispersion of TMC240 in an inulin matrix allows considerable improvement in the release of poorly water-soluble TMC240, both in vitro in the presence of a surfactant and in vivo upon oral administration