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A portable electrical impedance spectroscopy device was developed to monitor the bioimpedance resistive component of bovine meat by injecting a sinusoidal current of 1 mA at 65 kHz. Both right and left longissimus dorsi muscles were trimmed from 4 slaughtered cows. The left muscle portions were frozen to −18 °C for 7 days while the right ones were meantime maintained at 5 °C. Mean value of impedance per length (Ω/cm) of frozen and thawed left samples was 31% lower than that of right non-frozen one (P = 0.0001). It was concluded that the device is reliable for monitoring the maturation of beef meat in situ with the possibility of revealing undeclared freeze-thaw cycles.

A portable electrical impedance spectroscopy device was developed to monitor the bioimpedance resistive component of bovine meat by injecting a sinusoidal current of 1 mA at 65 kHz. Both right and left longissimus dorsi muscles were trimmed from 4 slaughtered cows. The left muscle portions were frozen to -18 °C for 7 days while the right ones were meantime maintained at 5 °C. Mean value of impedance per length (O/cm) of frozen and thawed left samples was 31% lower than that of right non-frozen one (P = 0.0001). It was concluded that the device is reliable for monitoring the maturation of beef meat in situ with the possibility of revealing undeclared freeze-thaw cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiac output has never been assessed during free-diving diving in the sea. Knowledge of human diving response in this setting is therefore scarce. 3 immersions were performed by 7 divers: at depths of 10 m, 20 m and 30 m. Each test consisted of 3 apnea phases: descent, static and ascent. An impedance cardiograph provided data on stroke volume, heart rate and cardiac output. Mean blood pressure, arterial O2 saturation and blood lactate values were also collected. Starting from a resting value of 4.5±1.6 L·min-1, cardiac output at 10 m showed an increase up to 7.1±2.2 L·min-1 (p < 0.01) during the descent, while conditions during the static and ascent phases remained unchanged. At 20 m cardiac output values were 7.3±2.4 L·min-1 and 6.7±1.2L·min-1 during ascent and descent, respectively (p < 0.01), and 4.3±0.9 L·min-1 during static phase. At 30 m cardiac output values were 6.5±1.8 L·min-1 and 7.5±2 L·min-1 during descent and ascent, respectively (p < 0.01), and 4.7±2.1 L·min-1 during static phase. Arterial O2 saturation decreased with increasing dive depth, reaching 91.1±3.4% (p < 0.001 vs. rest) upon emergence from a depth of 30 m. Blood lactate values increased to 4.1±1.2 mmol·L-1 at the end of the 30 m dive (p < 0.001 vs. rest). Results seem to suggest that simultaneous activation of exercise and diving response could lead to an absence of cardiac output reduction aimed at an oxygen-conserving effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muscle ischemic preconditioning (IP) has been found to improve exercise performance in laboratory tests. This investigation aims at verifying whether performance is improved by IP during self-paced exercise (SPE) in the field. 11 well-trained male runners performed 3 randomly assigned 5 000 m self-paced running tests on an outdoor track. One was the reference (RT) test, while the others were performed following muscle IP (IPT) and a control sham test (ST). Average speeds were measured during each test. Mean values in oxygen uptake VO2, aerobic energy cost (AEC) during race and post-race blood lactate (BLa) were gathered. Data showed that none of the studied variables were affected by IPT or ST with respect to the RT test. Average speeds were 4.63±0.31, 4.62±0.31 and 4.60±0.25 m•s-1 for the RT, the ST and the IPT tests, respectively. Moreover, there was no difference among tests in speed reached during each lap. VO2 was 3.5±0.69, 3.74±0.85 and 3.62±1.19 l•min-1. AEC was 1.04±0.15, 1.08±0.1 and 1.09±0.15 kcal•kg-1•km-1. Finally, post-race BLa levels reached 12.85±3.54, 11.88±4.74 and 12.82±3.6 mmol•l-1. These findings indicate that performance during SPE is not ameliorated by ischemic preconditioning, thereby indicating that IP is not suitable as an ergogenic aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the European Union, the use of the insecticide NeemAzal T/S (standardised variant 1% of the active ingredient azadirachtin) is authorised in organic agriculture. The objective of this study was to determine the toxic effects of NeemAzal T/S at concentrations of 3, 10, 30, and 60 mg/l on the morphometric and condition characteristics, mortality, hatching, and histopathology of early-life stages of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) as a non-target aquatic organism, as well as related effects of NeemAzal T/S on selected indices of oxidative stress in the same organism. The embryo-larval toxicity test was performed according to OECD Guidelines 210 (Fish, Early-life Stage Toxicity Test). NeemAzal T/S exposure induced slow hatching on the first day and increased cumulative mortality in groups exposed to the insecticide. No effect on morphometric or condition characteristics was observed after 31 days of exposure. Histopathological changes of the gills were found at the highest concentration of 60 mg/l of NeemAzal T/S. Exposure at 30 mg/l was associated with significantly (P < 0.01) increased glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase (P < 0.05) activities compared to the control group. The content of oxidised lipids was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the 3, 10, and 30 mg/l experimental groups than in the controls. NeemAzal T/S exerted a significant negative influence on histopathological parameters in the embryo and larvae of common carp, as well as on the indices of oxidative stress in the same organism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diving response is the sequence of cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic adjustments produced by apnoea and further strengthened by cooling of the facial area and/or hypoxia. This study aimed at comparing the cardiovascular response to diving of trained divers with that of a control group. In this order, 14 trained divers were compared with 14 non-divers. By means of impedance cardiography and continuous monitoring of arterial pressure, hemodynamic data were collected during three different experimental sessions. Each session included a cycle-ergometer exercise against a workload of 0.5 W kg(-1) of body mass, pedalling in a steady-state condition. During exercise, each subject randomly accomplished 40 s of breath-hold exercise with face immersion (test A) or in air (test B). A control exercise test with normal breathing (test C) was also performed. Divers showed a faster onset of bradycardic response (ANOVA, P < 0.01) and a faster adjustment in systemic vascular resistance (P < 0.001 for divers vs. controls) than did non-divers. Moreover, cardiac output decreased only in divers during the first phase of test A (P < 0.01 for divers vs. controls). The most striking findings were that divers showed a more rapid cardiovascular adjustment with respect to controls, in particular in heart rate and systemic vascular resistance; moreover, with continued apnoea, a delayed increase in myocardial performance and stroke volume occurred and obscured the cardiovascular effects of the diving response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]