Search results for " threshold"
showing 10 items of 497 documents
Nasal tactile sensitivity in allergic rhinitis
2011
These preliminary data show a decrease in nasal tactile sensitivity and point out interesting aspects of the nasal chronic inflammatory condition in allergic rhinitis.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of allergic rhinitis on nasal tactile sensitivity during the intercritical period.A total of 70 patients aged between 18 and 67 years (average 42 years), with a positive history of allergy caused by seasonal outdoor allergens, were included (group A). Patient outcome was assessed by the nasal monofilament test: a set of 20 Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments was used to detect nasal sensitivity for both nasal cavities. The sensitivity threshold was recorded as the minimum monofilame…
Direct measurement of cell-free DNA from serially collected capillary plasma during incremental exercise
2014
To investigate the kinetics of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) due to exercise, we established a direct real-time PCR for the quantification of cfDNA from unpurified capillary plasma by amplification of a 90- and a 222-bp multilocus L1PA2 sequence. Twenty-six male athletes performed an incremental treadmill test. For cfDNA measurement, capillary samples were collected serially from the fingertip preexercise, during, and several times postexercise. Venous blood was drawn before and immediately after exercise to compare capillary and venous cfDNA values. To elucidate the strongest association of cfDNA accumulations with either cardiorespiratory or metabolic function during exercise, capillary cfDNA val…
Anaerobic performance testing of professional soccer players 1995-2010
2013
Purpose:To compare sprint and countermovement-jump (CMJ) performance among competitive soccer players as a function of performance level, field position, and age. In addition, the authors wanted to quantify the evolution of these physical characteristics among professional players over a 15-y period.Methods:939 athletes (22.1 ± 4.3 y), including national-team players, tested 40-m sprint with electronic timing and CMJ on a force platform at the Norwegian Olympic Training Center between 1995 and 2010.Results:National-team and 1st-division players were faster (P < .05) than 2nd-division (1.0–1.4%), 3rd- to 5th-division (3.0–3.8%), junior national-team (1.7–2.2%), and junior players (2.8–3.7…
Modulatory effects of 1 Hz rTMS over the cerebellum on motor cortex excitability
2005
Clinical observations and data from animal experiments point to a physiological facilitatory influence of the deep cerebellar structures on the motor system through the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathways. The aim of the present study was to explore the long-term effects of low-frequency (1 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the cerebellum on short intracortical inhibition (SICI) and facilitation (ICF) of the motor cortex in normal subjects. Eight healthy subjects (mean age 26.9 +/- 3.1) underwent 1 Hz frequency rTMS delivered on the right cerebellar hemisphere. Before and after cerebellar rTMS, SICI and ICF were assessed in the motor cortex contralateral to the st…
Why Do Forward Maskers Affect Auditory Intensity Discrimination? Evidence from "Molecular Psychophysics"
2014
Nonsimultaneous maskers can strongly impair performance in an auditory intensity discrimination task. Using methods of molecular psychophysics, we quantified the extent to which (1) a masker-induced impairment of the representation of target intensity (i.e., increase in internal noise) and (2) a systematic influence of the masker intensities on the decision variable contribute to these effects. In a two-interval intensity discrimination procedure, targets were presented in quiet, and combined with forward maskers. The lateralization of the maskers relative to the targets was varied via the interaural time difference. Intensity difference limens (DLs) were strongly elevated under forward mas…
Short-term Effects of the Flavour of Drinks on Ingestive Behaviours in Man
1998
To examine the influence of the oro-sensory properties of different beverages on spontaneous intake of drinks, and the consequence of the volume of fluid ingested on subsequent food intake, 24 subjects (12 men, 12 women), slightly dehydrated, had access ad libitum, during four different experimental sessions in a cross-over design, to one of four commercial beverages without any other drink. The four beverages differed in flavour and caloric content: mineral water; the same mineral water flavoured with orange and unsweetened; the same mineral water flavoured with orange and sweetened with 100 g/l sucrose; or equally sweetened with 50 mg/l aspartame. Ad libitum: lunch was served 15 min after…
A prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to establish a safe gluten threshold for patients with celiac disease
2007
BACKGROUND: Treatment of celiac disease (CD) is based on the avoidance of gluten-containing food. However, it is not known whether trace amounts of gluten are harmful to treated patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to establish the safety threshold of prolonged exposure to trace amounts of gluten (ie, contaminating gluten). DESIGN: This was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial in 49 adults with biopsy-proven CD who were being treated with a gluten-free diet (GFD) for > or =2 y. The background daily gluten intake was maintained at < 5 mg. After a baseline evaluation (t0), patients were assigned to ingest daily for 90 d a capsule containing 0, 10, or 50 mg glute…
The relation between cycling time to exhaustion and anaerobic threshold.
1990
This study investigated whether the anaerobic threshold (AnT) could be used to predict prolonged work capacity measured as cycling time to exhaustion (= endurance time) and which factors, in addition to relative exercise intensity, could explain variation in endurance time. Theoretical exercise intensities corresponding to certain endurance times were also calculated. The hyperbolic and exponential functions between cycling time and relative work rate (WR[%]), as well as between cycling time and relative oxygen uptake (VO2[%]) were fitted to the pooled data (n = 45) of 17 subjects. The WR(%) and VO2(%) were expressed as a percentage of the subject's own AnT- and maximum-values. At WR corres…
Pulpal ischemia in man: effects on detection threshold, A-delta neural response and sharp dental pain
1999
— Preferential blocks of peripheral nerves have shown that myelinated nerves are more susceptible to local compression and less resistent to asphyxia than unmyelinated fibers. Since two groups of functionally different nociceptors exist in the dental pulp, it is of theoretical and clinical interest to determine the influence of ischemia on the sensitivity of human dental pulp, using standard means for testing tooth vitality and at the same time investigating the intensity coding in one pathway of the afferent trigeminal system. Adrenaline was used to study the differential effect of adrenaline-induced ischemia on intradental A-delta nerve activity (INA) and the concomitant sharp pain, as we…
Characterization of blink reflex interneurons by activation of diffuse noxious inhibitory controls in man.
1998
The blink reflex consists of an early, pontine R1-component and a late, medullary R2-component. R1 and R2 can be evoked by innocuous stimuli, but only the R2 also by painful heat, suggesting that the R2 is mediated by wide dynamic range neurons (WDR) of the spinal trigeminal nucleus. Remote noxious stimuli suppress the activity in WDR neurons via activation of diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC), whereas low-threshold mechanoreceptive neurons (LTM) are unaffected. In order to characterize the trigeminal interneurons of R1 and R2 we investigated the modulation of the blink reflex by remote painful heat. The blink reflex was elicited in 11 healthy subjects by innocuous electrical pulse…