Alterations of cardiovascular complexity during acute exposure to high altitude: A multiscale entropy approach

Stays at high altitude induce alterations in cardiovascular control and are a model of specific pathological cardiovascular derangements at sea level. However, high-altitude alterations of the complex cardiovascular dynamics remain an almost unexplored issue. Therefore, our aim is to describe the altered cardiovascular complexity at high altitude with a multiscale entropy (MSE) approach. We recorded the beat-by-beat series of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in 20 participants for 15 min twice, at sea level and after arrival at 4554 m a.s.l. We estimated Sample Entropy and MSE at scales of up to 64 beats, deriving average MSE values over the scales corresponding to the high-frequency (MSEHF) and low-frequency (MSELF) bands of heart-rate variability. We found a significant loss of complexity at heart-rate and blood-pressure scales complementary to each other, with the decrease with high altitude being concentrated at Sample Entropy and at MSEHF for heart rate and at MSELF for blood pressure. These changes can be ascribed to the acutely increased chemoreflex sensitivity in hypoxia that causes sympathetic activation and hyperventilation. Considering high altitude as a model of pathological states like heart failure, our results suggest new ways for monitoring treatments and rehabilitation protocols

L'éducation à l'environnement en Italie dans le cadre des initiatives extra-scolaires des administrations locales et des associations

L'éducation à l'environnement dans les écoles italiennes se fait de plus en plus en interaction avec des initiatives extra-scolaires prises par les administrations locales et les associations nationales pour la sauvegarde de l'environnement. Ces associations et ces administrations deviennent souvent commanditaires, assurent l'organisation et fournissent le matériel. Le modèle traditionnel d'enseignement se transforme nécessairement et profondément. Les auteurs présentent une documentation sur ces initiative

Development of a position-sensitive detector for positronium inertial sensing measurements

In the last twenty years, both free fall and interferometry/deflectometry experiments have been proposed for the measurement of the gravitational acceleration on positronium, which is a purely leptonic matter-antimatter atom formed by an electron and its antiparticle (positron). Among the several challenges posed by these experiments is the development of position-sensitive detectors to measure the deflection of positronium in the Earth's gravitational field. In this work, we describe our recent progress in the development of position-sensitive detectors. Two different detection schemes are considered. The first is based on Ps ionization in a strong homogeneous magnetic field and imaging of the freed positron with a microchannel plate. The second scheme is based on scanning the positronium atom distribution on a plane by moving the slit or a material grating with sub-nm accuracy, and counting the atoms crossing the obstacle and those annihilating on it. The possibility of reaching a spatial resolution of around 15 μm using the former detection scheme is shown, and preliminary steps towards the development of a detector following the latter scheme (with potential position sensitivity in the sub-nm range) are described

An Italian Study

The literature provides some evidence that the use of violent video games increases the risk for young people to develop aggressive cognitions and even behaviors. We aimed to verify whether exposure to violent video games is linked to problems of aggression in a sample of Italian children. Four questionnaires were administered to 346 children between 7 and 14 years of age, attending primary and secondary schools in Northern Italy. Variables measured were externalization, quality of interpersonal relationships, aggression, quality of coping strategies, and parental stress. Participants who preferred violent games showed higher scores for externalization and aggression. The use of violent video games and age were linked to higher levels of aggression, coping strategies, and the habitual video game weekly consumption of participants. Our data confirm the role of violent video games as risk factors for problems of aggressive behavior and of externalization in childhood and early adolescence

Co-design and evaluation of the feasibility and the efficacy of a multiple-targeted adapted physical activity intervention to promote quality of life, well-being and physical activity levels in pregnant women: The “well-done!” study protocol

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) practice during pregnancy offers health and fitness benefits for both mother and baby. Therefore, healthy pregnant women with no contraindi-cations to exercise should be encouraged to perform PA. Nevertheless, their levels of PA are gener-ally low. The aim of the WELL-DONE! Study is to co-design an adapted physical activity intervention (APAI) for pregnant women to include in childbirth preparation classes (CPCs) evaluating its feasibility and efficacy on quality of life (QoL), PA levels and other outcomes. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was divided in two progressive stages. First, APAI was developed in collabo-ration with pregnant women and midwives using focus groups; second, APAI’s efficacy was evaluated comparing two groups: the experimental group engaged in the CPCs integrated with 1 h/week of the APAI administered by midwives and the control group participating in the standard CPCs. Pre-post evaluation was carried out in three stages through questionnaires and tests. Data analysis involved the combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Discussion: Find-ings from the WELL-DONE! Study will help to assess the feasibility, sustainability, and efficacy of incorporating APAI inside CPCs as a new public health strategy oriented to QoL, well-being, and PA level improvements

Behavioral Indices of Neuropsychological Processing Implicated in Moral Domain Reasoning amongst Children and Adolescents

Moral domain theory posits that moral knowledge is organized in separate domains related to moral and socio-conventional rules, with the latter being reliant on a statement made by authority. Domains may be contingent on different neuropsychological processing that may vary with age. Behavioral indices were measured in three age groups, to detect differences in the neuropsychological processing allegedly involved in the evaluation of rule transgressions in different domains. Acceptance of the transgressions was also investigated. Twenty-four children, 32 early adolescents, and 31 adolescents judged acceptability of rule transgressions when an authority figure allowed the transgression. Across age, moral-rule transgressions were less accepted and took significantly longer to be evaluated. In evaluating moral rule scenarios, children had the longest reaction times. Older adolescents took the least amount of time evaluating socio-conventional rule scenarios. Results suggest differences in the neuropsychological processing underlying decision making for moral and socio-conventional domains and that rule comprehension and distinction amongst domains increase by age

The AEgIS experiment at CERN: Probing antimatter gravity

The AE¯gIS experiment at CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator is set up to precisely measure the gravitational interaction between matter and antimatter. For this purpose, antihydrogen will be formed from cold antiprotons and positronium, the hydrogen-like bound state of an electron and a positron. Subsequently, the free-fall acceleration of a cold horizontal beam of antihydrogen will be measured by a deflectometer. The present status, recent experimental progress and the medium-term plan of the AE¯gIS experiment are presented