Min Period Research Articles

STIPS algorithm enables tracking labyrinthine patterns and reveals distinct rhythmic dynamics of actin microridges

Tracking and motion analyses of semi-flexible biopolymer networks from time-lapse microscopy images are important tools that enable quantitative measurements to unravel the dynamic and mechanical properties of biopolymers in living tissues, crucial for understanding their organization and function. Biopolymer networks are challenging to track due to continuous stochastic transitions, such as merges and splits, which cause local neighborhood rearrangements over short time and length scales. To address this, we propose the Spatio Temporal Information on Pixel Subsets algorithm to track these events by creating pixel subsets that link trajectories across frames. Using this method, we analyzed actin-enriched protrusions, or 'microridges,' which form dynamic labyrinthine patterns on squamous cell epithelial surfaces, mimicking 'active Turing-patterns.' Our results reveal two distinct actomyosin-based rhythmic dynamics in neighboring cells: a common pulsatile mechanism between 2 and 6.25 min period governing both fusion and fission events contributing to pattern maintenance, and cell area pulses predominantly exhibiting 10 min period.

Characterisation of nocturnal arrhythmia avalanche dynamics: Insights from generalised linear model analysis.

Nocturnal arrhythmia avalanche (NAA) episodes, characterised by transient non-sustained cardiac arrhythmias during sleep, have been demonstrated as a predictor of adverse cardiovascular events. However, their dynamics and association with sleep architecture and events remain unclear. While generalised linear models (GLM) have captured sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) dynamics, their application to NAA remains underexplored. This study explored whether changes in sleep architecture contribute to nocturnal arrhythmias and if the impact of sleep stages, SDB, and arousal events on these arrhythmias varies by demographic factors. We analysed 7341 ECG recordings from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA) and the sleep heart health study (SHHS) datasets. R-R intervals were divided into 10-min periods to detect NAA, defined as a 30% drop from baseline followed by recovery to 90% of baseline. A GLM framework was developed to characterise NAA episodes as functions of SDB, sleep arousal events, sleep stages, and prior NAA episodes. The GLM analysis revealed that NAA occurrence was 18% and 30% higher during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) light sleep compared with deep sleep in SHHS (p < 0.001) and MESA (p < 0.001), respectively. SDB events increased the NAA risk in 34% of participants, and arousals in 29%. In SHHS, the impact of SDB on NAA was 5% greater in men (p = 0.018), while the arousal effects were more pronounced in those over 75, highlighting the role of demographic factors in modulating arrhythmia risk. These findings demonstrate the utility of the GLM framework in modelling the dynamics of nocturnal arrhythmias and their associations with sleep disruptions and architecture.

How sea ice affects edge waves in the Sea of Okhotsk

Long-term observations, which were collected in the Sea of Okhotsk coastal zone under open-water conditions and at times when the sea was ice-covered from mid-January to mid-March 2022, are interpreted. The project augments preceding work using three synchronously-recording, seafloor-mounted, pressure transducers sampling at 1 Hz to acquire time series of inshore wave oscillations. Units are deployed nearer to the shore and closer together than was done during the previous studies. Spectral analyses of open-water sea level oscillations perpendicular to the coast reveal a wide band of energy, suggestive of a propagating edge wave at about 5-min period with an offshore-to-inshore gain up to 1.5. Similar wave characteristics occur alongshore. Intriguingly, the peak edge wave period at 5 min migrates to 6–7 min when the sea becomes covered with ice, and narrower bands at periods from 0.5 to about 3 min emerge. Other period ranges also appear to be affected by the onset, presence and eventual disintegration of sea ice. Whilst a shift of the dominant edge wave period can be attributed to changes in spectral refraction arising from the incoming swells being low-pass filtered by sea ice, because of the observed tidal signal it is speculated in this case that the observed period adjustment and attendant expansion of bandwidth may also be associated with instability around the fundamental frequency. The potential for edge wave solitons to exist is explored.

Electronic cigarettes Alter cardiac rhythm and heart rate variability hyperacutely in mice

There has been an unprecedented rise in electronic cigarette (EC) usage likely because of its perception of being safer than smoking. Recent studies show that EC exposures impact heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), but how they are affected by the timing and frequency of exposures remain unclear. We examined the electrocardiographic (EKG) effects induced by brief EC exposures over time, their relation to EC aerosol particle and mass concentrations, and potential to promote prooxidative effects in the lungs. Six 10-week-old C57BL/6J mice, implanted with telemetry devices to monitor EKG activity continuously, were exposed once per week for three weeks to two EC exposures, each lasting 15-min followed by 45-min post-exposure periods. Filtered air (primary) and PBS aerosol (secondary) were used as controls. After combining weeks, EC aerosol induced bradycardia and increased time domain parameters during EC exposures with significant reductions in the post-exposure periods. Log-transformed frequency domain parameters were significantly elevated during and after exposures (p<0.001). HRV changes occurred within minutes with similar trends observed in particle number and mass concentrations of EC aerosol. HR and HRV varied by week and parameter, with Week 2 and 3 effects overshadowing those in Week 1. ECs induced prooxidative effects in the lungs as evidenced by elevated potential for hydroxyl radical generation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of exposed mice (p=0.003). Short-term EC exposures altered murine HR and HRV within minutes during and after exposures, effects that were modulated by the timing and frequency of EC exposures.

A prospective study to evaluate high dose daptomycin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in Staphylococcus spp. infective endocarditis.

Daptomycin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics data relative to higher doses in patients are necessary for clinical practice. A monocentric, prospective study that enrolled patients with a diagnosis of Staphylococcus spp. infective endocarditis treated with daptomycin according to clinical practice, to evaluate the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of different daptomycin daily doses (group A: 8-10 and group B: 11-12 mg/kg). A monocentric, prospective, cohort study that enrolled patients with a diagnosis of Staphylococcus spp. infective endocarditis treated with daptomycin. Daptomycin was administered by intravenous infusion over a 30-min period for at least five consecutive days before PK study. Twenty-two patients were included. Native valve infectious endocarditis (IE) was diagnosed in 9 patients, prosthetic valve IE was diagnosed in 10 patients and 3 patients had concomitant intracardiac device infections. All patients showed a microbiologic response with negative blood cultures by day 5 (1-3 interquartile rate (IQR) 3-8). The median calculated AUC0-24 was 1298 (1-3 IQR 1069-1484) and 1459 (1-3 IQR 1218-1711) µg*h/mL, with the corresponding clearance of 0.49 (1-3 IQR 0.37-0.57) and 0.57 (1-3 IQR 0.40-0.71) L/h, respectively. A value of area under the curve/minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC/MIC) > 666 was reached by all patients; however, 4 out of 15 patients in group A and 1 out of 14 patients in group B did not reach the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) target of 1061; therefore, AUC/MIC equal to or above 1061 was reached by 73.3% in group A and 92.9% in group B. From a PK/PD point of view, all patients reached the value of AUC/MIC > 666, while roughly 70% of patients in group A and 90% in group B reached the target value of AUC/MIC>1061. Even if this cut-off value is arbitrary, 11-12 mg/kg daily dose could be taken into consideration in case of serious infections characterised by a high inoculum or in cases of prosthetic valve infections.

Smartphone Thermal Imaging as an Adjunct to Identify Free Flap Perforators and Assisting Flap Design: A Pilot Study.

The main technique for identification of free flap perforator vessels is Doppler sonography, which is not always accurate, user dependent and affected by the patient's body habitus. Adult patients undergoing head and neck resection and free flap reconstruction at two academic institutions were enrolled. Doppler sonography was used to identify perforators, and were marked using a skin marker. The donor site was cooled down for 3 min using a sterile iced saline bag. FLIR-ONE (FLIR Systems Inc., Wilsonville, OR) camera was used to assess for "hot spots" during a 3-5 min period of re-warming as a surrogate for cutaneous blood flow. The distance between the Doppler signal location, and the "hot spot" was recorded. The position of the perforator was then identified intraoperatively and the distances between the surgical position, the Doppler and "hot spot" were recorded. A total of 28 patients were included. For all flap types, FLIR thermal imaging measurements consistently tended to be closer to the surgical site compared to Doppler ultrasound. In anterolateral thigh flaps (n = 20), thoracodorsal artery perforator flaps (n = 5), and fibula osteocutaneous flaps (n = 3), absolute mean differences ranged from 0.62 to 1.33 cm, with trends favoring FLIR. While paired t-tests did not reach statistical significance, both methods correlated with intraoperatively identified skin perforators, and distances generally ranged between 0 and 2 cm. We demonstrate that a smartphone-based thermal imaging system has the potential to serve as an adjunct for identifying flap perforators, with the possibility of reducing operative times and minimizing patient morbidity. Level 3.

Radar and profiler observations of the kinematic and thermodynamic structure of a shallow bore in a low-shear environment

Abstract Observations obtained from scanning radars, two profiling systems, surface, and radiosonde instruments are utilized to describe the weakening stages of a long-lived (&gt;4 h), shallow bore that evolved within a low-shear environment on 23 August 2013 over northern Alabama. RHI scans from a scanning X-band radar provided details on the bore shape and surrounding mesoscale perturbations in airflow, while a Doppler lidar afforded high-resolution vertical motion profiles at a location 24 km away. During passage over both profiling sites, updrafts (~2 m s−1) were sampled over the lowest several hundred meters AGL, and aerosol backscatter showed upward displacements of 300-400 m near the 1.2 km AGL level. The surface pressure rise of ~0.3 hPa at multiple locations over the observational network corroborates the shallowness of both the bore and the surface-based inversion. Several other unique features were documented, including bore movement in the direction of the weak low-level flow; a gust front structure with a well-defined feeder flow trailing the bore gust front, both confined to the lowest 500 m AGL; the presence of waves preceding and following the bore disturbance, with a 12-21 min period within the 0.5-2.5 km layer above the bore at both profiler locations; and variations in horizontal flow in the form of a weak jet near 1.4 km AGL, with winds in the jet aligned in the same direction as bore movement, and located more than 10 km ahead of the bore gust front.

Neurophysiological Markers of Adaptation and Compensation Following Lower Limb Amputation: An Analysis of EEG Oscillations and Clinical Predictors from the DEFINE Cohort Study

Background: Neuroplasticity, involving cortical and subcortical reorganization, plays a critical role in the adaptation and compensation process post-amputation. However, underlying neurophysiological changes remain unclear, particularly in brain oscillations. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis that includes baseline data from 48 individuals with lower limb amputation from our DEFINE Cohort Study project. EEG data were collected using a 64-channel system during a 5-min resting-state period. Preprocessed data were analyzed for delta and alpha oscillations across frontal, central, and parietal regions. Logistic regression models examined associations between EEG oscillations and clinical variables, including cognition (MoCA), functional independence (FIM), and phantom limb sensations (PLS). Results: The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed distinct patterns of association between EEG oscillations and clinical variables. Delta oscillations were inversely associated with cognitive scores (OR: 0.69; p = 0.048), while higher delta power was related to the absence of PLS (OR: 58.55; p &lt; 0.01). Frontal alpha power was positively linked to cognitive function (OR: 1.55; p = 0.02) but negatively associated with functional independence (OR: 0.75; p = 0.04). Conclusions: These findings suggest that lower frequencies, such as delta oscillations, play a role as potential compensatory brain rhythms. In contrast, alpha oscillations may reflect a more adapted pattern of brain reorganization after amputation.

The influence of exercise modality and intensity on ventricular arrhythmia burden and perception of effort in patients with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy with plakophilin-2 variants

Introduction Intense endurance exercise is discouraged for patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), as it can increase the risk for adverse cardiac events as well as accelerate disease progression. While a sedentary lifestyle is also not advisable, there is currently no prospective data on the safety of physical activity for ARVC patients. To describe ARVC patients' average and peak ventricular arrhythmia burden – estimated from the prevalence of premature ventricular contractions (PVC) – measured during and after different exercise modalities and intensities, in context with cardiac and physiological load. Methods Twenty ARVC patients (8 f/12 m, age 48 ± 15 years, BMI 24 ± 3 kg/m2, resting PVC burden 4 ± 4%) with a heterozygous pathogenic/likely pathogenic plakophilin-2 (PKP-2) variant prospectively performed different exercises while monitored via 12-lead ECG. The order of modalities was randomized and participants were instructed to stop when surpassing perceived exertion of 15 (6-20 Borg scale). Resistance exercises included 2-min two-legged squats and single arm biceps curls (20 repetitions each) while endurance exercise included 5-min treadmill walking at comfortable speed and 3-min cycling bouts at a heart rate (HR) of 80, 100 and 120 bpm. Each activity was followed by a 10-min recovery period. Blood lactate concentration [La-] was assessed at the end of each cycling bout, with 4 mmol/L defined as a threshold to describe high-intensity exercise. Results No adverse events (including sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmia) nor premature terminations occurred. Average PVC burden during activities (including 5 min recovery) was lower for biceps curls compared with all other activities (p &lt; 0.046), despite having the second highest level of perceived effort (13.8 ± 1.7 units). Biceps curls elicited ~20 mmHg (p &lt; 0.001) lower peak systolic blood pressure and ~40 bpm peak lower HR (p &lt; 0.001) compared with cycling at 120 bpm, despite similar perception of effort (12.9 ± 1.7, p = 0.818). Peak PVC burden during the different activities (highest PVC count in 1 min) ranged between 0–57% among participants and it was lower during the activities (5 ± 8%) than the subsequent 5-min recovery (8 ± 8%, p = 0.006). but no differences were detected between activities. Five patients (25%) presented [La-] that exceeded 4.0 mmol/L when cycling at 120 bpm. Discussion/Conclusion PVC burden, a marker for arrhythmogenicity, was generally higher during recovery than during exercise, with the smallest burden found during the exercise with a small muscle mass, despite high perceived exertion. Thus, such exercises might be better suited for training in ARVC patients. Generalized recommendations for a maximum HR of 120 bpm during exercise likely predispose a high number of ARVC patients to inadvertently perform high-intensity exercise, risking accelerating disease progression. Therefore, individualized exercise prescription should be recommended.

Research on Urban Road Traffic Flow Prediction Based on Sa-Dynamic Graph Convolutional Neural Network

Neural network models based on GNNs often achieve good results in traffic flow prediction tasks of traffic networks. However, most existing GNN-based methods apply a fixed graph structure to capture spatial dependencies between nodes, and fixed graph structures may not be able to reflect the spatiotemporal changes in node dependencies. To address this, introducing a self-attention mechanism applied to an adaptive adjacency matrix, the neural network architecture is improved based on Graph WaveNet, and a new approach called self-attention dynamic graph wave network (SA-DGWN) is proposed, which can fit the spatiotemporal dependencies of the road network. In an experiment, traffic flow data were extracted based on RFID from certain roads in Nanjing, China. The results show that under the same configuration, compared to Graph WaveNet, MAE, MAPE, and RMSE from the proposed method reduced by 3.08%, 3.68%, and 2.6%, respectively. In addition, for the training data, we explored the impact of temporal feature and sampling periods on the training effect. The additional results indicate that adding hour-minute-second information to the input improved the model’s accuracy, reducing MAE, MAPE, and RMSE by 15.28%, 12.28%, and 14.01%, respectively. Adding day-of-the-week features also brought substantial performance improvements. For different sampling periods, the model performed better overall with a 10 min sampling period compared to 5 min and 15 min periods. For single-step prediction tasks, the longer the sampling period, the better the prediction effect.

Local Influence of Surface Relative Humidity on Weather Radar Rainfall Observations over an Agricultural Semi-Arid Area

Agricultural areas in semi-arid regions modify low-level atmospheric conditions through changes in heat and moisture surface fluxes and enhanced evapotranspiration. This study aims to investigate the influence of near-ground-level relative humidity (RH) on local precipitation characteristics in a relatively flat, mid-latitude, semi-arid agricultural region, divided into a rainfed and an irrigated area with high evapotranspiration contrast in summer. The region was selected for the Land Surface Interactions with the Atmosphere over the Iberian Semi-Arid Environment (LIAISE) international field campaign in 2021 and here is studied using Automatic Weather Station observations and C-band weather radar data covering six years. Summer RH records show clear contrasts between irrigated and non-irrigated areas, unlike rain gauge and radar-derived rainfall, which do not exhibit substantial differences. A closer analysis indicates that RH differences between irrigated and non-irrigated areas before rainfall tend to diminish for several hours after the rainfall onset. This suggests that the presence of rainfall is temporally more important than whether the terrain is irrigated or not. Examination of radar reflectivity (Z) profiles considered convective and non-convective cases averaged during the first 30 and 180 min from the precipitation onset. Results indicated a dependence on ground-level RH for convective cases, leading to higher Z values with higher RH, clearer for the first 30 min averaged profiles. Finally, a linear relation was found between the lowest 1 km radar Z value and collocated RH for the first 30 min period of convective precipitation, increasing Z with RH. These results point out that, despite no differences in precipitation amounts found over contiguous irrigated and non-irrigated areas, there is a local impact of low-level moisture on convective rainfall.

Wearable Neurotechnology for the Treatment of Insomnia: The Study Protocol of a Prospective, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Crossover Clinical Trial of a Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Device

Sleep disruption and deprivation are epidemic problems in the United States, even among those without a clinically diagnosed sleep disorder. Military service members demonstrate an increased risk of insomnia, which doubles after deployment. This study will investigate the ability of a translational device, Teledyne PeakSleep™ (Teledyne Scientific &amp; Imaging, Durham, NC, USA), to reduce sleep onset latency and the time spent awake after sleep onset, with improvement in the subjective benefits of sleep for patients with insomnia by enhancing the brain rhythms within the frontal lobe implicated in slow wave generation. During this crossover trial, patients will use the wearable neurotechnology prototype headband, which delivers &lt; 14 min of frontal short duration repetitive–transcranial electrical stimulation over a 30 min period immediately before trying to fall asleep. Using active stimulation versus a sham paradigm, we will compare actigraphy data, physiological data, and subjective sleep measures against a pre-treatment baseline in the same patient over the course of the 8-week study. If successful, PeakSleep™ could address the final common pathway in insomnia, namely the onset and maintenance of slow-wave sleep (SWS), and accordingly has the potential to enhance sleep onset in a wide range of individuals, most importantly warfighters in whom efficient sleep onset may be critical for operational success.

Quantifying tear exchange during rigid contact lens wear using corneoscleral profilometry: A proof of concept study.

Tear exchange during contact lens wear is essential for ocular surface integrity, facilitating debris removal, and maintaining corneal metabolism. Fluorophotometry and fluorogram methods are typically used to measure tear exchange, which require hardware modifications to a slit lamp biomicroscope. This manuscript introduces an alternative method using a corneoscleral profilometer, the Eye Surface Profiler (ESP), to quantify tear exchange during corneal and scleral rigid lens wear by assessing fluorescence intensity changes over time. As a proof of concept, a healthy participant wore a corneal and a scleral rigid lens on separate days. After lens application, 2% sodium fluorescein was instilled, and ESP images were captured at intervals over a 30-min period for corneal and a 90-min period for the scleral lens. Fluorescence intensity data were extracted and analysed using MATLAB, restricted to a region of interest centred on the contact lens. The fluorescence intensity was fitted with an exponential decay curve to quantify tear exchange. Fluorescence intensity decreased over time for both lenses, with a faster decay rate being observed for the corneal lens. The scleral lens showed an initial ingress of fluorescein into the fluid reservoir, then a slow decay in fluorescence intensity due to limited tear exchange. The decay rate for the corneal lens was approximately four times faster than the scleral lens, with the time to reach 50% decay of ~42 min for the corneal lens compared to ~157 min for the scleral lens. A new method was developed to quantify tear exchange using a commercially available corneoscleral profilometer, offering a wider field of view than existing techniques. This approach has clinical potential in scleral lens practice for identifying landing zone misalignment and improving the understanding of post-lens tear dynamics, particularly in cases involving scleral lens modifications or patients experiencing midday fogging.

The Impact of Acute Aerobic Exercise on General and Food-Related Inhibitory Function Among Young Adults with Obesity: An Event-Related Potential (ERP) Study.

Backgrounds and Objectives: Obesity presents a significant global public health challenge and is associated with declines in both general and food-related inhibitory control, crucial for maintaining a healthy weight and preventing obesity progression. An increasing body of research suggests that acute aerobic exercise may improve inhibitory function. However, the effects and underlying mechanisms of acute aerobic exercise on both general and food-related inhibition in obese adults remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the potential impacts and underlying neuroelectronic mechanisms of a single session of aerobic exercise at varying intensities on general and food-related inhibitory functions among young adult males with obesity. Design: A within-subject design comprising three sessions (control, low-intensity exercise, moderate-intensity exercise) × three picture types (high-calorie food, low-calorie food, neutral picture) was employed. Methods: Eighteen young adult males with obesity [body mass index (BMI): 34.60 ± 4.21 kg/m2, aged 24.50 ± 5.13 years (Mean ± SD)] were recruited. They participated in three intervention sessions: acute aerobic exercise at low [40-50% maximal Heart Rate (HRmax)], moderate (65-70% HRmax), and a control session (sitting rest), separated by five-day intervals in a counterbalanced order. Following each session, participants performed a food-related Go/No-go task, and EEG recordings (N2 and P3 components) were conducted within 15 min. Results: Moderate-intensity exercise elicited larger N2 amplitudes compared to the control session across different picture types and task conditions. However, there was no significant effect on behavioral indicators or P3 amplitude across sessions. Additionally, food stimuli (both high- and low-calorie) resulted in lower No-go accuracy and smaller N2 amplitudes compared to neutral stimuli. Conclusions: Acute moderate-intensity exercise might influence general and food-related inhibitory function in obese individuals at the neuroelectric stage, potentially by enhancing attentional resources for managing cognitive control and conflict detection. Moreover, reduced N2 amplitudes and No-go accuracy in response to food stimuli compared to non-food stimuli indicate a diminished ability to allocate attentional and neural resources to manage food-related conflicts. However, due to the relatively small sample size, caution is advised when generalizing these findings to the broader population. The pilot test indicated that obese participants had difficulty sustaining high-intensity exercise at 80-90% of their maximum heart rate for a continuous or 20 min period, highlighting potential challenges in exercise adherence at high intensities within this population. Future research is needed to utilize interdisciplinary approaches and multimodal technologies to clarify how exercise influences food-related cognition, appetite regulation, and brain mechanisms in obesity, aiming to better contribute to the prevention and treatment of obesity.

The physiological stress response of juvenile nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) to catch-and-release recreational angling.

Nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum), especially juveniles, are often encountered by near-shore and shore-based recreational anglers and are suggested to exhibit minimal behavioral and physiological responses to capture, largely based on studies of adults using commercial or scientific fishing methods. To quantify the sub-lethal effects of recreational angling on juvenile nurse sharks, 27 individuals (across 31 angling events) were caught using hook-and-line fishing methods. Over a 30-min period, 4 blood samples were taken with variable time intervals between sampling (i.e., randomized ordering of an interval of 5, 10, and 15 min between each sampling event). Lactate increased by 611% (6.7 ± 2.17 mmol/L) on average over the 30-min fight, and significant relationships were identified between lactate and blood draw number, fight time, and temperature, with large effect sizes. Significant relationships were also detected between blood draw number, glucose, and hematocrit, while osmolality was only affected by fishing site. These results suggest juvenile nurse sharks may exhibit a greater physiological stress response when exposed to recreational angling than adults captured with other fishing methods.

Yoga vs. Static Stretching: Recovery Impact on Male Athletes' Post-HIIT Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Blood Pressure, and Heart Rate Variability Analysis.

Heart rate and heart rate variability indicate an athlete's cardiovascular recovery and autonomic balance after intense exercise. While stretching aids recovery, its effects on autonomic balance are inconsistent. Yoga's combination of postures, breathing, and relaxation may further activate the parasympathetic system, making it a promising tool for sports recovery. This study employed a crossover design to examine the effects of yoga and stretching on post 30-min session of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) recovery in male athletes. Twenty athletes of Mae Fah Luang University (Age 20.95±0.99 years old, VO2max 42.53±4.79 ml/kg/min) were given recovery methods, 15-min stretching and 15-min yoga following HIIT. Heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and heart rate variability were evaluated immediately after HIIT, 5-min, 10- min, 15-min of the recovery period, and at 24-hour after recovery. A Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to examine the interaction effects between different methods and time of recovery. A significance level of 0.05 indicated a statistically significant difference. The findings indicated a statistically significant interaction between the group and time of heart rate variability and respiratory rate (p<0.05, effect size [ES] medium). Post-hoc analysis indicated that performing yoga showed a significantly lower respiratory rate at 5-min, 10-min, and 15-min compared to stretching (p<0.05, ES large). Yoga demonstrated a noteworthy enhancement in heart rate variability during the 5-min and 10-min recovery periods in comparison to stretching. In summary, this study provides empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of yoga as a post-exercise recovery strategy following high-intensity interval training. The role of breathing, rhythmic muscle contractions, and deep relaxation in yoga appears to facilitate the recovery phase more effectively than stretching alone. This suggests incorporating yoga as an active recovery regimen.

Enhancing Psychophysiological Well-Being Through Nature-Based Soundscapes: An Examination of Heart Rate Variability in a Cross-Over Study.

Stress and psychological disorders are substantial public health concerns, necessitating innovative therapeutic strategies. This study investigated the psychophysiological benefits of nature-based soundscapes, drawing on the biophilia hypothesis. Using a randomized, acute cross-over design, 53 healthy participants experienced either a nature-based or a reference soundscape for 10 min, with a 2-min washout period. The nature-based soundscape integrated nature sounds with elements of music to create an immersive nature experience. A calm coffee shop soundscape without discernible speech was selected as a reference to represent a typical urban relaxation environment. Heart rate variability (HRV) was the primary outcome, with exploratory outcomes including heart and respiratory rates, and questionnaires assessing affective well-being, creativity, and belonging. Results showed that the nature-based soundscape significantly improved HRV and reduced heart and respiratory rates, indicating enhanced parasympathetic activity. Participants reported lower feelings of anxiety and depression and increased feelings of comfort, enthusiasm, creativity, and belonging. This study highlights the multifaceted benefits of nature-based soundscapes, suggesting they could serve as easily accessible therapeutic options for promoting immediate recovery and reducing daily stress in healthy individuals.

Single-centre, double-blinded, randomised placebo-controlled trial to determine the effect of a 12-week home-based programme of footplate neuromuscular electrical stimulation on walking capacity in people with peripheral artery disease: a protocol for the Foot-PAD trial

IntroductionPatients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) can experience intermittent claudication, which limits walking capacity and the ability to undertake daily activities. While exercise therapy is an established way to improve...

Evaluation of the Accuracy of FreeStyle Libre 2 for Glucose Monitoring in White New Zealand Rabbits.

Studies are currently being conducted on rabbits requiring serial glucose monitoring. The FreeStyle Libre 2 (FSL2), a serial glucose monitoring device, has been validated in humans, dogs and cats, but not in rabbits. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the FSL2 in rabbits. Six healthy rabbits were used in this study. Interstitial glucose (IG) was measured using the FSL2, and blood glucose (BG) was measured using a portable blood glucose meter (PBGM); their results were compared with those from a clinical chemistry analyser. For the first 3h, IG and BG were measured at 1-h intervals. Subsequently, they were measured every 8h over a 48-h period. Regular insulin 0.2 U/kg was then administered to the rabbits, and IG and BG were measured every 15min over a 90-min period. Before insulin treatment, no measurements fell within the hypoglycaemic range (BG < 100mg/dL). In the euglycaemic range (BG ≥ 100mg/dL), the PBGM and FSL2 showed 85.7% and 23.8% accuracies, respectively. After insulin treatment, the PBGM showed 95.5% and 81.3% accuracies in the hypoglycaemic and euglycaemic ranges, respectively. The FSL2 showed 68.1% and 37.5% accuracies in the hypoglycaemic and euglycaemic ranges, respectively. Parkes consensus error grid analysis showed that the PBGM and FSL2 had 100% agreement for Zones A (no effect on clinical action) and B (altered clinical action unlikely to affect outcome) in rabbits with and without insulin treatment. There was limited agreement between the FSL2 and reference standard BG measurements. However, the FSL2 allows clinically acceptable identification of hypoglycaemic states in rabbits.

Emotion regulation strategies explain associations of theta and Beta with positive affect.

Maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies are a transdiagnostic construct in psychopathology. ER depends on cognitive control, so brain activity associated with cognitive control, such as frontal theta and beta, may be a factor in ER. This study investigated the association of theta and beta power with positive affect and whether emotion regulation strategies explain this association. One hundred and twenty-one undergraduate students (mean age = 20.74, SD = 5.29; 73% women) completed self-report questionnaires, including the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Spectral analysis was performed on resting state frontal electroencephalogram activity that was collected for eight 1-min periods of alternating open and closed eyes. Relative beta and theta band power were extracted relative to global field power at frontal channels. Regression analysis revealed that positive affect is significantly predicted by theta power (β = 0.24, p = .007) and beta power (β = -0.33, p < .0001). There was an indirect effect of beta power on positive affect via reappraisal, but not suppression. Additionally, theta power significantly predicted suppression, but no indirect effect was observed between theta power and positive affect. These findings are consistent with a prior study reporting a positive and negative relationship between theta and beta power, respectively, and positive affect induction. This study elucidates how modulation of theta and beta bands link to ER strategies.