Autonomic and cortical response of soldiers in different combat scenarios

Introduction The study of chronic and acute responses when exposed to extreme, aggressive and stressful environments, such as in combat environments, is becoming increasingly popular as such information leads to better optimisation of soldiers’ physical and psychological performance, as well as mission effectiveness and efficiency. Due to internal complexity, uncertainty and variability of real combat scenarios, a specific approach to all possible types of military combat scenarios is necessary. Methods Modifications in the autonomic modulation and cortical arousal before and after asymmetrical, symmetrical and close quarter combat simulations were analysed in 31 male professional veteran soldiers (age: 34.5±4.2 years) with between seven and 18 years of experience in their respective units, as well as experience in international missions in current conflict areas such as Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. Results The three combat situations produced a non-significant decrease in cortical arousal after combat simulations, presenting a trivial effect size in symmetrical and close quarter combat situations and a small effect size in asymmetrical situations. HR increased significantly in the three combat situations, and close quarter combat produced the highest sympathetic modulation of the three situations analysed. Conclusion Symmetrical, asymmetrical and close quarter combat situations produced an increase in sympathetic modulation, being highest in the close quarter combat situation, where actions are performed at a close distance and in closed spaces

Early Diagnosis of Vegetation Health From High-Resolution Hyperspectral and Thermal Imagery: Lessons Learned From Empirical Relationships and Radiative Transfer Modelling

[Purpose of Review] We provide a comprehensive review of the empirical and modelling approaches used to quantify the radiation–vegetation interactions related to vegetation temperature, leaf optical properties linked to pigment absorption and chlorophyll fluorescence emission, and of their capability to monitor vegetation health. Part 1 provides an overview of the main physiological indicators (PIs) applied in remote sensing to detect alterations in plant functioning linked to vegetation diseases and decline processes. Part 2 reviews the recent advances in the development of quantitative methods to assess PI through hyperspectral and thermal images.[Recent Findings] In recent years, the availability of high-resolution hyperspectral and thermal images has increased due to the extraordinary progress made in sensor technology, including the miniaturization of advanced cameras designed for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems and lightweight aircrafts. This technological revolution has contributed to the wider use of hyperspectral imaging sensors by the scientific community and industry; it has led to better modelling and understanding of the sensitivity of different ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum to detect biophysical alterations used as early warning indicators of vegetation health.[Summary] The review deals with the capability of PIs such as vegetation temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthetic energy downregulation and photosynthetic pigments detected through remote sensing to monitor the early responses of plants to different stressors. Various methods for the detection of PI alterations have recently been proposed and validated to monitor vegetation health. The greatest challenges for the remote sensing community today are (i) the availability of high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution image data; (ii) the empirical validation of radiation–vegetation interactions; (iii) the upscaling of physiological alterations from the leaf to the canopy, mainly in complex heterogeneous vegetation landscapes; and (iv) the temporal dynamics of the PIs and the interaction between physiological changes.The authors received funding provided by the FluorFLIGHT (GGR801) Marie Curie Fellowship, the QUERCUSAT and ESPECTRAMED projects (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness), the Academy of Finland (grants 266152, 317387) and the European Research Council Synergy grant ERC-2013-SyG-610028 IMBALANCE-P.Peer reviewe

Evaluación de la excitación cortical por umbral de fusión de parpadeo crítico en ciclistas

Background: The first contact that every customer has when buying a food is the packaging, this is responsable for the handling, security, aesthetics and even advertising of the product. Over the years, the food industry has always shown great interest in developing packaging with different materials, some toxic for humans and others not. Scope and approach: This article presents a bibliometric review to identify during the last 20 years, what types of materials have been used to develop food packaging for human consumption, also identifies who are the most focused researchers in this topic, which countries are most interested in the field and how an entire academic social network has been created to identify the future of food packaging. Key findings and conclusions: The results show that the future of food packaging materials includes not only an advanced use of technology, but also a great concern for the care of health and the environment.Antecedentes: el primer contacto que tiene cada cliente al comprar un alimento es el empaque, este es responsable del manejo, la seguridad, la estética e incluso la publicidad del producto. A lo largo de los años, la industria alimentaria siempre ha mostrado un gran interés en desarrollar envases con diferentes materiales, algunos tóxicos para los seres humanos y otros no. Alcance y enfoque: este artículo presenta una revisión bibliométrica para identificar durante los últimos 20 años, qué tipos de materiales se han utilizado para desarrollar envases de alimentos para consumo humano, también identifica quiénes son los investigadores más enfocados en este tema, qué países están más interesados en el campo y cómo se ha creado toda una red social académica para identificar el futuro del envasado de alimentos. Conclusiones y conclusiones clave: los resultados muestran que el futuro de los materiales de envasado de alimentos incluye no solo un uso avanzado de la tecnología, sino también una gran preocupación por el cuidado de la salud y el medio ambiente

Use of Biotechnology Devices to Analyse Fatigue Process in Swimming Training

The aim of the present research was to analyze the acute psycho-physiological response during a high intensity interval training (HIIT) session of trained swimmers. We analyzed blood lactate concentration, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), arms isometric strength, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and cortical arousal before and after a HIIT session in 14 trained swimmers (16.2 ± 2.6 years 169.1 ± 10.2 cm 61.3 ± 9.9 kg). HIIT session consisted in: 4 × 10 m tethered swimming resting 90 s between sets, 3 min rest, 16 × 25 m maximum speed swimming resting 30 s between sets. Blood lactate concentration, cortical arousal, and rating of perceived exertion significantly increased (p < 0.05) after HIIT. HRV parameters significantly decreased after HIIT, showing an increase in sympathetic nervous system modulation. Results obtained showed the high impact of HIIT sessions on the swimmer’s organism, which may be the cause of adaptation in this low volume training sessions.Sin financiación2.098 JCR (2017) Q2, 46/94 Health Care Sciences and Services; Q3, 13/25 Medical Informatics0.619 SJR (2017) Q2, 27/190 Health Informatics, 12/64 Health Information Management, 83/1258 Information Systems, 1087/2878 Medicine (miscellaneous)No data IDR 2017UE

Psychophysiological and fine motor skill differences of elite and non-elite soldiers in an urban combat simulation

Soldiers´ training and experience can influence the outcome of military missions, as well as soldiers physical integrity. The aim of this research was to analyze the psychophysiological and specific fine motor skills response of elite and non-elite soldiers in a combat simulation according to current conflict deployment zones. Rates of perceived exertion, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, blood lactate, hand and leg strength, cortical arousal, anxiety, autonomic modulation and fine motor skills were analyzed in 20 Elite (EG) and 24 non-elite (NEG) soldiers of the Spanish Army, before and immediately after a close quarter combat in an asymmetrical combat maneuver. As a consequence of the maneuver, elite soldiers presented a higher metabolic, cardiovascular and anxiogenic response than non-elite soldiers, as well as an anticipatory anxiety response, showed in the increased sympathetic modulation. Non-elite soldiers improved their fine motor skills after the combat maneuver (−8.34% Vs −11.23% of change in gun reloading time of Elite Group and Non-Elite Group). Finally, experience in international-armed conflicts disposes soldiers toward better self-confidence when facing risk maneuvers (p = .001).Sin financiación0.819 JCR (2019) Q4, Psychology, Multidisciplinary0.512 SJR (2019) Q2, 109/263 Psychology (miscellaneous), 159/588 Social Sciences (miscellaneous); Q3, 93/154 Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyNo data IDR 2019UE

A complete psychophysiological profile of a Paralympic athlete in a ultraendurance: A case study

Psychophysiological response of athletes with spinal cord injurie has not been reported yet in scientific literature. The aim of this study is to analyze the specific psychophysiological response in a Paralympic athlete during competitive activities. We collected the following psychophysiological measurements: anxiety-trait, anxiety-state, locus of control, perceived psychological stress, stress-copying style, rate of perceived exertion, perceived muscle pain, body temperature, forced vital capacity, blood oxygen saturation, blood glucose and lactate concentrations, isometric hand strength, cortical arousal, heart rate variability, heart rate and velocities of a female Paralympic spinal cord injured athlete in a 11 hours and 44 minutes mountain ultraendurance event. An increase in sympathetic autonomous nervous system, heart rate, lactate, muscular pain and rated of perceived exertion and a decrease in cortical arousal and hand strength and inspiratory muscle fatigue. These results are consistent with the expected response during a highly stressful situation and consistent with previous findings in athletes without spinal cord injurie.Sin financiaciónNo data WoSScopus (Conference Paper)No data SPI – ICEE (2018)UE