Similar Inflammatory Responses following Sprint Interval Training Performed in Hypoxia and Normoxia

Sprint interval training (SIT) is an efficient intervention capable of improving aerobic capacity and exercise performance. This experiment aimed to determine differences in training adaptations and the inflammatory responses following 2 weeks of SIT (30 s maximal work, 4 min recovery; 4–7 repetitions) performed in normoxia or hypoxia. Forty-two untrained participants [(mean ± SD), age 21 ±1 years, body mass 72.1 ±11.4 kg, and height 173 ±10 cm] were equally and randomly assigned to one of three groups; control (CONT; no training, n = 14), normoxic (NORM; SIT in FiO2: 0.21, n = 14), and normobaric hypoxic (HYP; SIT in FiO2: 0.15, n = 14). Participants completed a V ˙ O 2peak V˙O2peak test, a time to exhaustion (TTE) trial (power = 80% V ˙ O 2peak V˙O2peak) and had hematological [hemoglobin (Hb), haematocrit (Hct)] and inflammatory markers [interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα)] measured in a resting state, pre and post SIT. V ˙ O 2peak V˙O2peak (mL.kg−1.min−1) improved in HYP (+11.9%) and NORM (+9.8%), but not CON (+0.9%). Similarly TTE improved in HYP (+32.2%) and NORM (+33.0%), but not CON (+3.4%) whilst the power at the anaerobic threshold (AT; W.kg−1) also improved in HYP (+13.3%) and NORM (+8.0%), but not CON (–0.3%). AT (mL.kg−1.min−1) improved in HYP (+9.5%), but not NORM (+5%) or CON (–0.3%). No between group change occurred in 30 s sprint performance or Hb and Hct. IL-6 increased in HYP (+17.4%) and NORM (+20.1%), but not CON (+1.2%), respectively. TNF-α increased in HYP (+10.8%) NORM (+12.9%) and CON (+3.4%). SIT in HYP and NORM increased V ˙ O 2peak V˙O2peak, power at AT and TTE performance in untrained individuals, improvements in AT occurred only when SIT was performed in HYP. Increases in IL-6 and TNFα reflect a training induced inflammatory response to SIT; hypoxic conditions do not exacerbate this

Carbonyl sulfide, dimethyl sulfide and carbon disulfide in the Pearl River Delta of southern China: Impact of anthropogenic and biogenic sources

Reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) such as carbonyl sulfide (OCS), dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and carbon disulfide (CS2) impact radiative forcing, ozone depletion, and acid rain. Although Asia is a large source of these compounds, until now a long-term study of their emission patterns has not been carried out. Here we analyze 16 months of RSC data measured at a polluted rural/coastal site in the greater Pearl River Delta (PRD) of southern China. A total of 188 canister air samples were collected from August 2001 to December 2002. The OCS and CS2 mixing ratios within these samples were higher in autumn/winter and lower in summer due to the influence of Asian monsoon circulations. Comparatively low DMS values observed in this coastal region suggest a relatively low biological productivity during summer months. The springtime OCS levels in the study region (574 ± 40 pptv) were 25% higher than those on other East Asia coasts such Japan, whereas the springtime CS2 and DMS mixing ratios in the PRD (47 ± 38 pptv and 22 ± 5 pptv, respectively) were 3-30 times lower than elevated values that have been measured elsewhere in East Asia (Japan and Korea) at this time of year. Poor correlations were found among the three RSCs in the whole group of 188 samples, suggesting their complex and variable sources in the region. By means of backward Lagrangian particle release simulations, air samples originating from the inner PRD, urban Hong Kong and South China Sea were identified. The mean mixing ratio of OCS in the inner PRD was significantly higher than that in Hong Kong urban air and South China Sea marine air (p < 0.001), whereas no statistical differences were found for DMS and CS2 among the three regions (p > 0.05). Using a linear regression method based on correlations with the urban tracer CO, the estimated OCS emission in inner PRD (49.6 ± 4.7 Gg yr-1) was much higher than that in Hong Kong (0.32 ± 0.05 Gg yr-1), whereas the estimated CS2 and DMS emissions in the study region accounted for a very few percentage of the total CS2 and DMS emission in China. These findings lay the foundation for better understanding sulfur chemistry in the greater PRD region of southern China. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd

Ozone production in four major cities of China: sensitivity to ozone precursors and heterogeneous processes

Abstract. Despite a large volume of research over a number of years, our understandings of the key precursors that control tropospheric ozone production and the impacts of heterogeneous processes remain incomplete. In this study, we analyze measurements of ozone and its precursors made at rural/suburban sites downwind of four large Chinese cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Lanzhou. At each site the same measurement techniques were utilized and a photochemical box model based on the Master Chemical Mechanism (v3.2) was applied, to minimize uncertainties in comparison of the results due to differences in methodology. All four cities suffered from severe ozone pollution. At the rural site of Beijing, export of the well-processed urban plumes contributed to the extremely high ozone levels (up to an hourly value of 286 ppbv), while the pollution observed at the suburban sites of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Lanzhou was characterized by intense in-situ ozone production. The major anthropogenic hydrocarbons were alkenes and aromatics in Beijing and Shanghai, aromatics in Guangzhou, and alkenes in Lanzhou. The ozone production was found to be in a VOCs-limited regime in both Shanghai and Guangzhou, and a mixed regime in Lanzhou. In Shanghai, the ozone formation was most sensitive to aromatics and alkenes, while in Guangzhou aromatics were the predominant ozone precursors. In Lanzhou, either controlling NOx or reducing emissions of olefins from the petrochemical industry would mitigate the local ozone production. The potential impacts of several heterogeneous processes on the ozone formation were assessed. The hydrolysis of dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5), uptake of the hydroperoxyl radical (HO2) on particles, and surface reactions of NO2 forming nitrous acid (HONO) present considerable sources of uncertainty in the current studies of ozone chemistry. Further efforts are urgently required to better understand these processes and refine atmospheric models

Source origins, modeled profiles, and apportionments of halogenated hydrocarbons in the greater Pearl River Delta region, southern China

We analyze 16-month data of 13 major halocarbons measured at a southern China coastal site in the greater Pearl River Delta (PRD). A total of 188 canister air samples were collected from August 2001 to December 2002. Overall inspection indicated that CH2Cl2, C2Cl 4, and C2HCl3 had similar temporal variations while CFC-11, CFC-12, and CFC-113 showed the same emission patterns during the sampling period. Diurnal variations of halocarbons presented different patterns during ozone episode days, mainly related to emission strength, atmospheric dispersion, and photochemical lifetimes. For further statistics and source appointment, Lagrangian backward particle release simulations were conducted to help understand the potential source regions of all samples and classify them into different categories, including local Hong Kong, inner PRD, continental China, and marine air masses. With the exception of HCFC-142b, the mixing ratios of all halocarbons in marine air were significantly lower than those in urban and regional air (p < 0.01), whereas no significant difference was found between urban Hong Kong and inner PRD regional air, reflecting the dominant impact of the greater PRD regional air on the halocarbon levels. The halocarbon levels in this region were significantly influenced by anthropogenic sources, causing the halocarbon mixing ratios in South China Sea air to be higher than the corresponding background levels, as measured by global surface networks and by airborne missions such as Transport and Chemical Evolution Over the Pacific. Interspecies correlation analysis suggests that CHCl3 is mainly used as a solvent in Hong Kong but mostly as a feedstock for HCFC-22 in the inner PRD. Furthermore, CH3Cl is often used as a refrigerant and emitted from biomass/biofuel burning in the inner PRD. A positive matrix factorization receptor model was applied to the classified halocarbon samples in the greater PRD for source profiles and apportionments. Seven major sources were identified and quantified. Emissions from solvent use were the most significant source of halocarbons (71 ± 9%), while refrigeration was the second largest contributor (18 ± 2%). By further looking at samples from the inner PRD and from urban Hong Kong separately, we found that more solvent was used in the dry cleaning industry in Hong Kong, whereas the contribution of cleaning solvent in the electronic industry was higher in the inner PRD. Besides the two common sources of solvent use and refrigeration, the contributions of biomass/biofuel burning and feedstock in chemical manufacturing was remarkable in the inner PRD but negligible in Hong Kong. These findings are of help to effectively control and phase out the emissions of halocarbons in the greater PRD region of southern China Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union

Should we screen for the sexually-transmitted infection Mycoplasma genitalium? Evidence synthesis using a transmission-dynamic model

There is increasing concern about Mycoplasma genitalium as a cause of urethritis, cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility and ectopic pregnancy. Commercial nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are becoming available, and their use in screening for M. genitalium has been advocated, but M. genitalium's natural history is poorly-understood, making screening's effectiveness unclear. We used a transmission-dynamic compartmental model to synthesise evidence from surveillance data and epidemiological and behavioural studies to better understand M. genitalium's natural history, and then examined the effects of implementing NAAT testing. Introducing NAAT testing initially increases diagnoses, by finding a larger proportion of infections; subsequently the diagnosis rate falls, due to reduced incidence. Testing only symptomatic patients finds relatively little infection in women, as a large proportion is asymptomatic. Testing both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients has a much larger impact and reduces cumulative PID incidence in women due to M. genitalium by 31.1% (95% range:13.0%-52.0%) over 20 years. However, there is important uncertainty in M. genitalium's natural history parameters, leading to uncertainty in the absolute reduction in PID and sequelae. Empirical work is required to improve understanding of key aspects of M. genitalium's natural history before it will be possible to determine the effectiveness of screening

Temperate Performance Benefits after Heat, but Not Combined Heat and Hypoxic Training

© Copyright 2017 by the American College of Sports Medicine. Purpose Independent heat and hypoxic exposure can enhance temperate endurance performance in trained athletes, although their combined effects remain unknown. This study examined whether the addition of heat interval training during "live high, train low" (LHTL) hypoxic exposure would result in enhanced performance and physiological adaptations as compared with heat or temperate training. Methods Twenty-six well-trained runners completed 3 wk of interval training assigned to one of three conditions: 1) LHTL hypoxic exposure plus heat training (H + H; 3000 m for 13 h·d -1, train at 33°C, 60% relative humidity [RH]), 2) heat training with no hypoxic exposure (HOT, live at <600 m and train at 33°C, 60% RH), or 3) temperate training with no hypoxic exposure (CONT; live at <600 m and train at 14°C, 55% RH). Performance 3-km time-trials (3-km TT), running economy, hemoglobin mass, and plasma volume were assessed using magnitude-based inferences statistical approach before (Baseline), after (Post), and 3 wk (3wkP) after exposure. Results Compared with Baseline, 3-km TT performance was likely increased in HOT at 3wkP (-3.3% ± 1.3%; mean ± 90% confidence interval), with no performance improvement in either H + H or CONT. Hemoglobin mass increased by 3.8% ± 1.8% at Post in H + H only. Plasma volume in HOT was possibly elevated above H + H and CONT at Post but not at 3wkP. Correlations between changes in 3-km TT performance and physiological adaptations were unclear. Conclusion Incorporating heat-based training into a 3-wk training block can improve temperate performance at 3 wk after exposure, with athlete psychology, physiology, and environmental dose all important considerations. Despite hematological adaptations, the addition of LHTL to heat interval training has no greater 3-km TT performance benefit than temperate training alone

A comparison of the cost-effectiveness of treatment of prolonged acute convulsive epileptic seizures in children across Europe

In the majority of children and adolescents with epilepsy, optimal drug therapy adequately controls their condition. However, among the remaining patients who are still uncontrolled despite mono-, bi- or tri-therapy with chronic anti-epileptic treatment, a rescue medication is required. In Western Europe, the licensed medications available for first-line treatment of prolonged acute convulsive seizures (PACS) vary widely, and so comparators for clinical and economic evaluation are not consistent. No European guidelines currently exist for the treatment of PACS in children and adolescents and limited evidence is available for the effectiveness of treatments in the community setting. The authors present cost-effectiveness data for BUCCOLAM® (midazolam oromucosal solution) for the treatment of PACS in children and adolescents in the context of the treatment pathway in seven European countries in patients from 6 months to 18 years. For each country, the health economic model consisted of a decision tree, with decision nodes informed by clinical data and expert opinion obtained via a Delphi methodology. The events modelled are those associated with a patient experiencing a seizure in the community setting. The model assessed the likelihood of medication being administered successfully and of seizure cessation. The associated resource use was also modelled, and ambulance call-outs and hospitalisations were considered. The patient's quality of life was estimated by clinicians, who completed a five-level EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire from the perspective of a child or adolescent suffering a seizure. Despite differences in current therapy, treatment patterns and healthcare costs in all countries assessed, BUCCOLAM was shown to be cost saving and offered increased health-related benefits for patients in the treatment of PACS compared with the current local standard of care

Serious Games Application for Memory Training Using Egocentric Images

Mild cognitive impairment is the early stage of several neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's. In this work, we address the use of lifelogging as a tool to obtain pictures from a patient's daily life from an egocentric point of view. We propose to use them in combination with serious games as a way to provide a non-pharmacological treatment to improve their quality of life. To do so, we introduce a novel computer vision technique that classifies rich and non rich egocentric images and uses them in serious games. We present results over a dataset composed by 10,997 images, recorded by 7 different users, achieving 79% of F1-score. Our model presents the first method used for automatic egocentric images selection applicable to serious games.Comment: 11 page