Prolonged sedentary behavior is considered a risk factor for health throughout the human lifespan. Although outdoor activities, such as walking and hiking, can be effective in reducing sedentary ...behavior, there is a lack of data harmonization on the psychophysiological characteristics of hiking trails. Therefore, this research protocol aims to provide an innovative and uniform methodology to provide a psychophysiological characterization of hiking. Enrolled subjects will be allocated in groups equally distributed for age, physical activity level (physically active vs. sedentary), and sex (male vs. female). Subjects will perform two treadmill tests in laboratory sessions and two hiking tests in field sessions. The Ruffier test will be performed before each session to assess subjects’ exercise capacity. During each session, body mass measurement, cardiometabolic evaluation, heart rate and heart rate variability monitoring, rating of perceived exertion, and physical activity enjoyment rate will be assessed. To measure breath-by-breath ventilation, oxygen consumption, and energy expenditure, subjects will be equipped with a portable gas analyzer during one laboratory session and one field session. Findings from the present study protocol have the potential to fill a gap in assessing hiking-related fitness, promoting physical and mental health, and offering a practical way to evaluate fitness for hiking, encouraging outdoor activity. These findings will have the potential to impact tourism, health, and well-being through outdoor experiences.
Physiological hand tremors appear to be one of the most common types of tremors that occur during the lifespan. Activities most prominently affected by hand tremors are those involving the movement ...of small muscles, such as fine motor skills, which in turn could be influenced by several factors, including lateral dominance. The difference in skills due to lateral dominance is defined as inter-limb imbalance or inter-limb asymmetry. When this asymmetry is attributed to the tremor and the difference in tremor between the limbs, it could be defined as the inter-limb asymmetry of tremors. This study aimed to evaluate the acute effects of wobble-board hand exercise training on the inter-limb asymmetry of tremors. Thirty-two (eighteen males and fourteen females) participants (age: 25.2 ± 2.6 years, weight: 63.9 ± 10.5 kg, height: 1.66 ± 0.8 m, and BMI: 22.8 ± 2.3 kg/m2) were involved in the study. Before (PRE) and after (POST) the wobble-board hand exercises, postural hand tremor was evaluated using a tri-axial accelerometer fixed under the palm. Recordings were taken for 15 s. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the effects of hand exercises on inter-limb (dominant vs. non-dominant) asymmetry of tremor in testing time (PRE vs. POST) in relation to sex (male vs. female). The statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Significant differences were found in physiological hand tremors between limbs (dominant vs. non-dominant) in the PRE evaluation (p = 0.03) independently from sex while no differences were found in the POST evaluation. A significant difference emerged in the PRE evaluation for males (p = 0.04) and females (p = 0.03) in relation to the testing time and preferred hand. This difference was no longer present in the POST evaluation. In conclusion, wobble-board hand exercises could represent an effective strategy to reduce inter-limb asymmetry. These results emphasize the importance of task-specific training to maximize the reduction in inter-limb asymmetry of tremors following wobble-board hand exercises.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of a mini trampoline training session (SuperJump®) on leg stiffness and reactive power (RP) while examining its relation to participants’ ...sex. A total of 20 participants (11 females, age: 24.4 ± 1.0 yrs; 9 males, age: 27.3 ± 2.9 yrs) performed continuous jump repetitions (RJs), measured on a force plate, before (PRE) and after (POST) a 30 min Superjump® session. Linear repeated measures mixed models were used to examine the effects of the Superjump® session on the leg stiffness mean (KMEAN), mean of the best RJs (KBEST), and RP in relation to sex. Before and after the mini trampoline training session, females showed lower KMEAN and KBEST values compared with males. Despite the significant (p < 0.002) decreases in RP after the Superjump® session in both males (PRE: 23.1 ± 6.5 W/kg; POST: 21.2 ± 6.1 W/kg) and females (PRE: 23.6 ± 5.5 W/kg; POST: 21.9 ± 5.3 W/kg), leg stiffness remained unchanged, suggesting a potential protective effect of mini trampoline training on leg stiffness during acute adaptations. These findings suggest that Superjump® training might exert a protective effect on leg stiffness, which prevents acute decreases that are commonly observed in other training modalities. The sex-related differences emerging from the present study emphasize the need for personalized approaches when integrating this innovative training tool into athletes’ regimens.
Inter-limb asymmetry is defined as the performance imbalance of a limb with respect to the other one. Studies demonstrated how plyometric training could minimize inter-limb imbalance by reducing ...asymmetries and the relative risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Among the different plyometric training modalities, SuperJump® represented a reliable method. This study aimed to evaluate the acute effects of SuperJump® training on dynamic balance Unilateral Asymmetry and Bilateral Asymmetry Indexes. Thirty-seven subjects were randomly allocated in two groups: SuperJump® (N = 20) and Control (N = 17). The SuperJump® group participated in the SuperJump® session, whereas the Control group did not receive any workout session. Before (PRE) and after (POST) the SuperJump® session, both groups performed the Wobble Board balance test. A significant difference (p < 0.003) between the SuperJump® in POST and Control groups in PRE intervention for dominant leg was found. No significant differences (p > 0.05) emerged between groups in testing time on Bilateral Asymmetry Index. Significant differences (p = 0.005) between PRE and POST in the SuperJump® group and an 18.9% Unilateral Asymmetry Index threshold reduction for the subjects were found. A strong relationship (R2 = 0.79) between delta (∆) change Unilateral Asymmetry Index and Unilateral Asymmetry Index baseline parameters was tested. Lastly, no significant differences (p > 0.05) in Unilateral Asymmetry Indexes between the Bilateral Asymmetry equal and change categories in the SuperJump® group was found. In conclusion, SuperJump® training played a key role in reducing Unilateral Asymmetry Index.
How Much Tremor Is Functional? Di Rocco, Francesca; Fusco, Andrea; De Maio, Marianna ...
Medicine and science in sports and exercise,
9/2023, Volume:
55, Issue:
9S
Journal Article
Italian Folk Dance For Health De Maio, Marianna; Iannaccone, Alice; Miorelli, Natasha ...
Medicine and science in sports and exercise,
9/2022, Volume:
54, Issue:
9S
Journal Article
Seventh tumor-node-metastasis(TNM) classification for gastric cancer,published in 2010,introduced changes in all of its three parameters with the aim to increase its accuracy in prognostication. The ...aim of this review is to analyze the efficacy of these changes and their implication in clinical practice. We reviewed relevant Literature concerning staging systems in gastric cancer from 2010 up to March 2016. Adenocarcinoma of the esophago-gastric junction still remains a debated entity,due to its peculiar anatomical and histological situation: further improvement in its staging are required. Concerning distant metastases,positive peritoneal cytology has been adopted as a criterion to define metastatic disease: however,its search in clinical practice is still far from being routinely performed,as staging laparoscopy has not yet reached wide diffusion. Regarding definition of T and N: in the era of multimodal treatment these parameters should more influence both staging and surgery. The changes about T-staging suggested some modifications in clinical practice. Differently,many controversies on lymph node staging are still ongoing,with the proposal of alternative classification systems in order to minimize the extent of lymphadenectomy. The next TNM classification should take into account all of these aspects to improve its accuracy and the comparability of prognosis in patients from both Eastern and Western world.
Il presente lavoro si pone come obiettivo quello di dimostrare in quali termini la scelta delle modalità di finanziamento del sistema di previdenza pubblica ha una diretta incidenza sull'adeguatezza ...delle prestazioni sociali.
La questione ha uno stretto collegamento con la conformazione giuridica dei diritti sociali nelle Costituzioni contemporanee. Tale natura comporta che i diritti sociali, configurati nella loro variegata e costante espansione, siano esigibili e giustiziabili. Il loro riconoscimento non dovrebbe essere condizionato dal costo della prestazione. Tuttavia, la grave crisi economica che ha attraversato l’Italia ed altri paesi europei negli ultimi anni, ha indotto anche nella giurisprudenza costituzionale domestica, nonché nelle politiche di austerity a carattere recessivo, particolari cautele nell’adottare decisioni che producessero costi incontrollabili e non sostenibili.
L’esigenza di una simile riflessione nasce dai recenti accadimenti che hanno visto protagonista il sistema pensionistico italiano, tra cui si annovera l’ennesima manovra di innalzamento dell’età pensionabile operata dalla Riforma Monti/Fornero, cui sono seguite misure di salvaguardia per singole categorie di lavoratori al fine di trovare un temporaneo rimedio all’impasse creata dai c.d. “esodati”.
Tutto questo ha imposto un interrogativo sull’efficacia di simili provvedimenti normativi che apportano modifiche all’assetto precedente per far fronte a esigenze di liquidità delle amministrazioni pubbliche previdenziali.
This work aims to demonstrate how the choice of methods of financing the public pension system has a direct impact on the adequacy of social benefits.
The topic has a close connection with the legal conformation of social rights in contemporary Constitutions. Such a nature implies that social rights, considered within their variegated and constant expansion, are payable and can be executed. Their recognition should not be conditioned by the cost of the benefit. However, economic crisis that Italy and other European countries have faced during the last years has led domestic constitutional jurisprudence, as well as austerity policies, to adopt with particular caution decisions that would have produced uncontrollable and unsustainable costs.
The need to reflect about the topic at hand arises from the recent events affecting the Italian pension system, among which there is the umpteenth decision to raise the retirement age operated by the Monti/Fornero Government. Subsequently, the same Government had to adopt safeguard measures for individual categories of workers to find a temporary remedy for the impasse created by the so-called "Esodati" category. All this has forced a question about the effectiveness of similar regulatory measures that make changes to the structure with the only purpose to meet the need of liquidity of public welfare administrations.
Adipose tissue–derived stem cells (ASCs) are gaining increasing consideration in tissue repair therapeutic application. Recent evidence indicates that ASCs enhance skin repair in animal models of ...impaired wound healing. To assess the therapeutic activity of autologous vs. allogeneic ASCs in the treatment of diabetic ulcers, we functionally characterized diabetic ASCs and investigated their potential to promote wound healing with respect to nondiabetic ones. Adipose tissue–derived cells from streptozotocin‐induced type 1 diabetic mice were analyzed either freshly isolated as stromal vascular fraction (SVF), or following a single passage of culture (ASCs). Diabetic ASCs showed decreased proliferative potential and migration. Expression of surface markers was altered in diabetic SVF and cultured ASCs, with a reduction in stem cell marker‐positive cells. ASCs from diabetic mice released lower amounts of hepatocyte growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐A, and insulin‐like growth factor‐1, growth factors playing important roles in skin repair. Accordingly, the supernatant of diabetic ASCs manifested reduced capability to promote keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation and migration. Therapeutic potential of diabetic SVF administered to wounds of diabetic mice was blunted as compared with cells isolated from nondiabetic mice. Our data indicate that diabetes alters ASC intrinsic properties and impairs their function, thus affecting therapeutic potential in the autologous treatment for diabetic ulcers.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
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