Napping after complex motor learning enhances juggling performance

AbstractThe present study examined whether a nap after complex motor learning enhanced the following day's physical performance. Eighteen volunteers met the inclusion criteria and were assigned to either a nap (n=9; men=5; mean age=21.0±1.5) or no-nap group (n=9; men=5; mean age=21.9±0.3). Participants practiced juggling in the morning and were tested immediately afterwards. Participants of the nap group were given a 70-minute nap opportunity after juggling practice, while the no-nap group stayed awake. Juggling performance was then tested in the evening (retest-1) and the next morning (retest-2). Two-way analysis of variance (group: nap, no-nap×time: test, retest-1, retest-2) found there was a significant effect of test time and a significant group×time interaction. The juggling performance of both groups improved from test to retest-1, respectively. However, the juggling performance level of the nap group was higher than that of the no-nap group at the retest-1. As predicted, a nap promptly after learning motor skills was associated with subsequently improved performance. Moreover, the juggling performance of the nap group showed additional significant improvements in the retest-2. In the no-nap group, however, there were no significant improvements in the juggling performance after nocturnal sleep. These results demonstrate that the benefits of a nap following learning were further enhanced after nocturnal sleep. The present results may provide justification for introducing nap periods into daily athletic training as an active method to improve performance

Effects of fly ash on NOx removal by pulsed streamers

NOx removal methods using plasma chemical reactions in nonthermal plasmas have been widely studied. In this paper, the effects of the addition of fly ash on NOx removal using short-pulsed discharge plasmas are described. Fly ash which had been collected from a coal-burning thermal electrical power plant was used. Experiments were performed using four different mixtures of gases which included NO. These were (N2+NO), (N2+NO+O2), (N2+NO+H2O), and (N2+NO+O2+H 2O). These gas mixtures were used either with or without the addition of fly ash. The initial concentration of NO was fixed at 200 ppm (NO parts per million of the gas mixture), The study of the NOx (NO+NO2) removal was performed with the fly ash, as it is relevant to real situations in coal power plants. The results show that the presence of fly ash decreased the NOx removal rate slightly in the case of dry gas mixtures while it increased the NOx removal rate substantially in the case of wet gas mixtures. These results suggest that the presence of fly ash in the flue gases, which also contain a few percentages of moisture, would be advantageous to the treatment of flue gases emitted from thermal power plants for the removal of nitrogen oxides

Improvement of NOX removal efficiency using short-width pulsed power

Pulsed power has been used to remove nitric oxide (NO) in a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor simulating the flue gases from a power station stack. The effect of the pulsewidth at a fixed applied voltage on NO removal concentration was studied. The dependence of the energy efficiency of the removal of NO at a fixed applied voltage on the pulsewidth, on the removal ratio of NO and on the discharge current was investigated. This removal energy efficiency increases with decreasing pulsewidth and decreasing removal ratio of NO

Biological Effects of Narrow Band Pulsed Electric Fields

This paper describes the process of narrow band pulsed electric fields (NPEFs) and its effect on mammalian cells. The NPEF consists of a pulse modulated sinusoidal wave (PMSW), which allows delivery of well-defined electric fields in terms of frequency, field strength and deposition energy to the biological systems. 100 μs long sinusoidal electric fields with a frequency of 0.02, 2 or 50 MHz and field strengths of up to 2 kV/cm are applied to CHO cells with variation in the DNA density in the cells investigated by means of Acridine Orange assay. The experiments indicate that 50 MHz fields cause DNA degradation without cell membrane defects, while 0.02 MHz fields lead to an increase in membrane permeability which is similar to the effect known as electroporation. The intermediate frequency of 2 MHz influences both the membrane and DNA. It is demonstrated that the MHz range narrowband electric fields with the amplitude level of 1 kV/cm cause intracellular effects in mammalian cells

Temporal patterns of sleep latency in central hypersomnia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a cluster analysis exploration using Multiple Sleep Latency Test

IntroductionExcessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a crucial symptom that diminishes the quality of life. The primary causes of EDS are central hypersomnia, including narcolepsy type 1 (NT1), type 2 (NT2), and idiopathic hypersomnia (IH). EDS is often associated with other psychiatric disorders, particularly attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) is the standard assessment tool for EDS. Although the MSLT yields numerous parameters, most are not employed in clinical practice. In this study, we leveraged novel MSLT parameters to discern central hypersomnia and ADHD presence. Our analysis focused on sleep latency variability and employed cluster analysis to identify unique temporal patterns.MethodsWe examined the MSLT data from 333 patients; of these, 200 (aged 14–54, mean: 24.9 ± 8.1, years; 114 females) met the inclusion criteria comprising comprehensive data an Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) below 5, and no prior diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome. We employed a time-course cluster approach that specifically targeted sleep latency variability during the MSLT.ResultsConsidering both multiple clustering quality evaluations and the study’s objectives, we identified 9 distinct clusters. Clusters 1 and 3 predominantly had MSLT-positive results; Cluster 2 was entirely MSLT-positive; Clusters 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 were mainly MSLT-negative; and Cluster 7 had mixed results. The diagnosis of hypersomnia varied notably among Clusters 1, 2, 3, and 7, with Cluster 2 demonstrating a pronounced tendency towards NT1 and NT2 diagnoses (p < 0.005). However, no significant correlation was observed between ADHD diagnoses and specific sleep latency patterns in any cluster.ConclusionsOur study highlights the value of time-course clustering in understanding sleep latency patterns of patients with central hypersomnia