Fluid intake at work in foresters working in different thermal conditions

The primary aim of this study was to assess the impact of fluid intake on hydration status indices in men at work. The secondary aim was to determine the type of fluids drunk at work in different thermal conditions. Fifty-nine male foresters were examined before and after one working day during summer, autumn, and winter. Before and after work, urine and blood samples were obtained from foresters. Immediately after a shift, participants completed a questionnaire regarding fluid intake during one working day. The amount of fluid consumed affects the hydration urine indices. Urine specific gravity and urine osmolality significantly decreased with increasing fluid intake (r = - 0.385 and r = - 0.405, respectively). Moreover, an impact of season on the type of fluids consumed by workers was observed. Tea was significantly more often chosen by workers to drink in winter (68%) than in summer (32%) (p = 0.026). The consumption of any non-alcoholic fluids contributes to the daily total water intake, but it is necessary to create individualized fluid replacement plans. Workers should know how much and what types of drinks to consume at work.

The Extent of Task Specificity for Visual and Tactile Sequences in the Auditory Cortex of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

It has been proposed that the auditory cortex in the deaf humans might undergo task-specific reorganization. However, evidence remains scarce as previous experiments used only two very specific tasks (temporal processing and face perception) in visual modality. Here, congenitally deaf/hard of hearing and hearing women and men were enrolled in an fMRI experiment as we sought to fill this evidence gap in two ways. First, we compared activation evoked by a temporal processing task performed in two different modalities, visual and tactile. Second, we contrasted this task with a perceptually similar task that focuses on the spatial dimension. Additional control conditions consisted of passive stimulus observation. In line with the task specificity hypothesis, the auditory cortex in the deaf was activated by temporal processing in both visual and tactile modalities. This effect was selective for temporal processing relative to spatial discrimination. However, spatial processing also led to significant auditory cortex recruitment which, unlike temporal processing, occurred even during passive stimulus observation. We conclude that auditory cortex recruitment in the deaf and hard of hearing might involve interplay between task-selective and pluripotential mechanisms of cross-modal reorganization. Our results open several avenues for the investigation of the full complexity of the cross-modal plasticity phenomenon.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Previous studies suggested that the auditory cortex in the deaf may change input modality (sound to vision) while keeping its function (e.g., rhythm processing). We investigated this hypothesis by asking deaf or hard of hearing and hearing adults to discriminate between temporally and spatially complex sequences in visual and tactile modalities. The results show that such function-specific brain reorganization, as has previously been demonstrated in the visual modality, also occurs for tactile processing. On the other hand, they also show that for some stimuli (spatial) the auditory cortex activates automatically, which is suggestive of a take-over by a different kind of cognitive function. The observed differences in processing of sequences might thus result from an interplay of task-specific and pluripotent plasticity.

The influence of thyroid function and bone turnover on lipoprotein profile in young physically active men with different insulin sensitivity

Physical activity induces changes in the endocrine system. Previous data indicated that changes in insulin secretion and the tissue response to this hormone are very important for energy metabolism. It is believed that they are accompanied by changes in lipid metabolism, but factors contributing to this process are still disputed. The aim of this study was to assess interactions among insulin sensitivity, thyroid function, a bone turnover marker and serum lipid profile in young physically active men. Eighty-seven physical education students, aged 18-23 years, participated in the study. We measured serum levels of glucose, lipids, insulin, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), osteocalcin and anthropometric parameters. Insulin sensitivity was determined using homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). The median value of HOMA-IR (1.344) was used to divide the study population into Group A (above the median) and Group B (below the median). Men from both groups did not differ in anthropometric parameters or in daily physical activity. Triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were higher in Group A (P < 0.05). TSH and osteocalcin levels were similar in males with different HOMA-IR. Multiple regression analysis for TSH and osteocalcin showed that in Group A these hormones had no effect on plasma lipoproteins. However, in Group B they significantly determined the variation of plasma TC and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (in about 28% and 29%, respectively). We concluded that TSH and osteocalcin are involved in determination of a more healthy lipid profile at a certain level of insulin sensitivity.

Fitting a single-phase model to the post-exercise changes in heart rate and oxygen uptake

The kinetics of post-exercise heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (EPOC) was studied in 10 elite cyclists subjected to four laboratory cycle ergometer maximal exercises lasting 30, 90, 180 or 360 s. Heart rate and oxygen uptake (VO2) were recorded over a period of 6 min after the exercise. By applying the logit transformation to the recorded variables and relating them to the decimal logarithm of the recovery time, uniform single-phase courses of changes were shown for both variables in all subjects and exercises. This enabled computing half-recovery times (t(1/2)) for both variables. Half-time for VO2 negatively correlated with square root of exercise duration (within-subject r = -0.629, p < 0.001), the total post-exercise oxygen uptake till t(1/2) was thus constant irrespectively of exercise intensity. The method is simple and enables reliable comparisons of various modes of exercise with respect to the rate of recovery.

[Difficulties in distinguishing left ventricular aneurysm from pseudoaneurysm. Case report]

A case of 51-year old female with large inferior left ventricular aneurysm developed 3 months after myocardial infarction is presented. The patient demonstrated advanced congestive heart failure and angina. Coronarography revealed amputation of the distal part of 3 coronary vessels without possibility of revascularisation. In ventriculography large inferior wall aneurysm was found. Echocardiography strongly suggest the presence of pseudoaneurysm. During the operation very large real aneurysm arising from inferior wall and apex was found. Postoperative period was complicated by many cardiac and non cardiac events. Authors discuss the problems of proper diagnostic and its influence on decision about surgical management.

[Ketone bodies in patients after partially liver resection]

This study explores the relationship between Arterial Ketone Body Ratio (AKBR = acetoacetate/3-hydroxybutyrate) and the patients state after partially liver resections. Enzymatic methods of Mellanby and Williamson for the determination of ketone bodies (acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate) were used. Twelve surgical patients (8 women and 4 men) were examined. The control group consisted of 5 persons. Ketone bodies were measured in samples of arterial blood taken before operation and in the postoperative period. Then AKBR values were calculated. Patients were classified into three groups. Group A patients (8 subjects) had AKBR value higher than 0.7, group B patients had AKBR between 0.4 and 0.7 (2 cases), and group C patients had AKBR below 0.4 (2 cases). We observed that incidence of postoperative complications increased with the decrease of AKBR value. No postoperative complications and good general conditions of patients were observed in group A only. Group B patients had postoperative complications, whereas group C patients decreased in the postoperative period. These results indicate that Arterial Ketone Body Ratio is a good indicator for prognosis of postoperative survival of patients after partially liver resections.