This study examined the effect of a Slow-Paced Breath (i.e., 6 breaths per minute) without Biofeedback (SPB-NoHRVB) protocol on semi-elite adolescent swimmers' psychological and physiological states ...during a seven-week ecological training period. A linear mixed-effects multilevel regression analysis approach was used with 13 adolescent national-level swimmers. Athletes were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 7) and a control group (n = 6). Seven waves of assessments were completed weekly during a seven-week training preparation in ecological conditions. During the protocol, swimmers completed subjective quantitative measures (RESTQ-36-R-Sport; cognitive perceived stress and control states about the training process, training subjective performance, and subjective internal training load) and physiological heart rate (HR) (HR of exercise, absolute and normalized HR recovery during the first 60 s of recovery; HRR60 and nHRR60) and heart rate variability (HRV) (MeanRR, RMSSD, LFnu and HFnu, LF/HF ration) tests (through a submaximal heart rate (5'-5' test) once a week. Results revealed that the SPB-NoHRVB protocol significantly predicts biopsychosocial recovery states, cognitive perception of control, and training subjective performance (i.e., a significant effect of the SPB-NoHRVB protocol with the dependent variables simple time trajectories). However, no significant effects were found for biopsychosocial stress scales, cognitively perceived stress, HR, or HRV markers. Our results suggest that SPB-NoHRVB induces simple evolutions over time for crucial variables in athletes' adaptation to the training process (i.e., cognitive appraisals and biopsychosocial states). In contrast, it highlights that SPB-NoHRVB does not induce better stress states. This specific effect on the resource component is an exciting result that will be discussed in the manuscript.
This study examined the effect of an asynchronous heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BFBasync) protocol on national-level adolescent swimmers' cognitive appraisals and recovery-stress states ...during a six-week ecological training period. A polynomial mixed-effects multilevel regression analysis approach was used with 27 adolescent national-level swimmers randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 14) and a control group (n = 13). Six waves of assessments of cognitive appraisals and recovery-stress states were completed during six weeks of training preparation in ecological conditions. The results revealed that the HRV-BFBasync protocol significantly predicts lower levels of biopsychosocial stress states and cognitive stress. However, no significant effects were found for biopsychosocial recovery scales and cognitive perceived control. The results suggested that total stress states, sport-specific stress, and cognitive perceived stress evolutions are a function of polynomial time third-degree interactions with HRV-BFB protocol. Overall, this study suggested that the HRV-BFBasync protocol leads adolescent athletes to experience lower biopsychosocial and cognitive stress levels during training periodization. Our results also suggest that HRV-BFB induces complex evolutions over time for stress and recovery states but does not have a predictive function for the recovery states and perceived control.
This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of online emotional competencies (EC) training, and more specifically the relationships between adherence, confidence, and alliance and the effects of ...mental training on EC. A longitudinal four-wave measurement design (pre-intervention, post-knowledge development, post-abilities development, and post-disposition phase) was used in the present study. An experimental group (n = 20) received a specific EC training intervention, whereas the control group (n = 20) did not receive this intervention program. These two groups completed self-report questionnaires assessing emotional regulation and EC across four measurement times. Participants of the intervention group also completed a questionnaire measuring the adherence, confidence, alliance between practitioner and athlete. Results of repeated measure ANOVAs showed that the level of EC increased significantly in the intervention group but not in the control group. Moreover, correlation analyses highlighted significant relationships between the scores of adherence, confidence, alliance between the practitioner and the tennis player, and the scores difference of EC between before and after intervention. These outcomes suggest the possibility of improving EC with an online intervention. The online device did not affect the quality of the alliance between the practitioner and the intervention participant. Furthermore, the results showed that a high level of alliance, confidence, and adherence was associated with an improvement in emotional intelligence. This online program would serve psychologists and mental trainers to use an intervention to develop EC adapted to the constraints of the localisation of athletes.
This article explores long-term trends and patterns of material use in France for a 185-year period. It is the first long-term study of material flows for France with national and yearly data for ...most of the period. Based on a material flow analysis (MFA) that is fully consistent with current standards of economy-wide MFAs and covers domestic extraction, imports, and exports of materials, we investigated the evolution of the French metabolism from industrialization to financialized capitalism. Over the whole period, there is a 9-fold increase in domestic material consumption, an expansion of material use per capita, and a spectacular addition of abiotic resources (fossil fuels and minerals) to biotic materials. Using a world-ecology framework, we exhibit a specific metabolic path: that of a state benefiting from successive world-systems for its economic development through massive material imports.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
thrives within macrophages by residing in phagosomes and preventing them from maturing and fusing with lysosomes. A parallel transcriptional survey of intracellular ...mycobacteria and their host macrophages revealed signatures of heavy metal poisoning. In particular, mycobacterial genes encoding heavy metal efflux P-type ATPases CtpC, CtpG, and CtpV, and host cell metallothioneins and zinc exporter ZnT1, were induced during infection. Consistent with this pattern of gene modulation, we observed a burst of free zinc inside macrophages, and intraphagosomal zinc accumulation within a few hours postinfection. Zinc exposure led to rapid CtpC induction, and
ctpC
deficiency caused zinc retention within the mycobacterial cytoplasm, leading to impaired intracellular growth of the bacilli. Thus, the use of P
1
-type ATPases represents a
M. tuberculosis
strategy to neutralize the toxic effects of zinc in macrophages. We propose that heavy metal toxicity and its counteraction might represent yet another chapter in the host-microbe arms race.
► Zinc accumulates in the
M. tuberculosis
(
Mtb
) phagosome in macrophages (Mϕ) ►
Mtb
P
1
-type ATPases, including CtpC, are induced upon exposure to zinc inside Mϕ ► CtpC enables
Mtb
resistance to zinc poisoning and intracellular survival in Mϕ ► P
1
-type zinc efflux ATPase ZntA null
E. coli
is highly susceptible to Mϕ killing
The superiority of several immunochemical fecal occult blood tests (I-FOBT) over guaiac-based tests in colorectal cancer screening is now established. The aim of this study was to compare the ...analytical performance of 3 quantitative I-FOBTs.
Stool samples from 10 healthy volunteers, initially I-FOBT negative, supplemented with human blood, were used to compare reproducibility and stability of measurement at varying storage temperatures (4°C, 10°C, 20°C, and 30°C) and durations before test analysis (1 to 10 days) for 3 I-FOBTs (New Hemtube/Magstream HT, OC-Auto sampling bottle3/OC-Sensor DIANA, and FOB Gold/SENTiFOB). Concentrations ranging from 0 to 350 μg Hb/g of feces were evaluated.
The measurement reproducibility of OC-Sensor was superior to Magstream and far superior to FOB Gold. For all tests, variability was essentially related to sampling. Detected hemoglobin (Hb) levels were substantially lower for all tests at temperatures above 20°C. At 20°C, this loss in concentration was less important with OC-Sensor (significant 1.7% daily decrease vs. 7.4% for Magstream and 7.8% for FOB Gold). At 30°C, daily loss was 8.6% with OC-Sensor, whereas after 24 hours, only 30% of the original Hb was detected with FOB Gold, compared to 70% with Magstream. No Hb was detected on day 5 for the latter 2 tests.
About reproducibility and temperature stability, OC-Sensor performed better than Magstream and far better that FOB Gold.
Independently of the chosen test, the delay between sampling and test processing should be reduced, the maximal admissible delay depending on ambient temperature.
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