Search results for "performance"

Association between physical fitness and mean platelet volume in professional soccer players.

2014

Weekly administration of gemcitabine plus docetaxel in patients with advanced breast cancer: a phase 1 study.

2002

<i>Objective:</i> This study was designed to determine the maximum tolerable dose (MTD) of gemcitabine plus docetaxel, both given on a weekly schedule, in patients with pretreated metastatic breast cancer (MBC). <i>Methods:</i> Heavily pretreated patients with MBC, aged 18–75 years with World Health Organization performance status of 0–2 were enrolled. Three escalating weekly doses of docetaxel (30, 35 and 40 mg/m<sup>2</sup>) followed by a weekly fixed dose of gemcitabine, 800 mg/m<sup>2</sup>, were administered on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) included grade >3 hematologic toxicity and grade >2 stomat…

New spectrophotometric procedure for determining cefotaxime based on derivatization with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonate into solid-phase extraction …

1998

Cefotaxime was derivatised with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonate (NQS), extracted into solid-phase cartridges (C18) and detected using a UV-visible detection system. Optimum conditions for this new procedure were: hydrogencarbonate-carbonate buffer, pH 10.5, 5-min reaction time at 25 degrees C and an NQS concentration of 7.1x10(-3) mol l(-1). The accuracy and the precision of the liquid-solid procedure were tested. The procedure was used to measure cefotaxime in pharmaceutical and urine samples. The results obtained were contrasted with those reported for a HPLC method for urine samples. The generalized H-point standard additions method was used to measure cefotaxime in urine samples.

Similar planning strategies for whole-body and arm movements performed in the sagittal plane

2003

The present paper looks for kinematic similarities between whole-body and arm movements executed in the sagittal plane. Eight subjects performed sit-to-stand (STS) and back-to-sit (BTS) movements at their preferred speed in the sagittal plane. Kinematics analysis focused on shoulder motion revealed that STS was composed of a straight, forward displacement followed by a curved, upward displacement while BTS was characterized by a curved, downward and straight, backward displacement. Curvature of the upward displacement was significantly greater than the downward one. Analysis of shoulder-velocity profiles showed that movement duration was significantly longer for BTS compared with STS and th…

Spatiotemporal Neurodynamics Underlying Internally and Externally Driven Temporal Prediction: A High Spatial Resolution ERP Study

2015

Abstract Temporal prediction (TP) is a flexible and dynamic cognitive ability. Depending on the internal or external nature of information exploited to generate TP, distinct cognitive and brain mechanisms are engaged with the same final goal of reducing uncertainty about the future. In this study, we investigated the specific brain mechanisms involved in internally and externally driven TP. To this end, we employed an experimental paradigm purposely designed to elicit and compare externally and internally driven TP and a combined approach based on the application of a distributed source reconstruction modeling on a high spatial resolution electrophysiological data array. Specific spatiotemp…

Cognitive priming in sung and instrumental music: Activation of inferior frontal cortex

2006

Neural correlates of the processing of musical syntax-like structures have been investigated via expectancy violation due to musically unrelated (i.e., unexpected) events in musical contexts. Previous studies reported the implication of inferior frontal cortex in musical structure processing. However - due to the strong musical manipulations - activations might be explained by sensory deviance detection or repetition priming. Our present study investigated neural correlates of musical structure processing with subtle musical violations in a musical priming paradigm. Instrumental and sung sequences ended on related and less-related musical targets. The material controlled sensory priming com…

Combining tDCS with prismatic adaptation for non-invasive neuromodulation of the motor cortex

2017

Abstract Background Prismatic adaptation (PA) shifts visual field laterally and induces lateralized deviations of spatial attention. Recently, it has been suggested that prismatic goggles are also able to modulate brain excitability, with cognitive after-effects documented even in tasks not necessarily spatial in nature. Objective The aim of the present study was to test whether neuromodulatory effects obtained from tDCS and prismatic goggles could interact and induce homeostatic changes in corticospinal excitability. Methods Thirty-four subjects were submitted to single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the right primary motor cortex to measure Input-Output (IO) curve as a…

Role of the feedforward command and reafferent information in the coordination of a passing prehension task.

1999

The performances of a deafferented patient and five control subjects have been studied during a self-driven passing task in which one hand has to grasp an object transported by the other hand and in a unimanual reach-to-grasp task. The kinematics of the reach and grasp components and the scaling of the grip aperture recorded for the self-driven passing task were very similar in controls and the deafferented subject (GL). In contrast, for the unimanual task when vision was absent, GL's coordination between reaching and grasping was delayed in space and time compared with the control subjects. In addition, frequent reopening of the grip was observed in GL during the final closure phase of the…

A multi-joint lower-limb tracking-trajectory test for the assessment of motor coordination.

2005

This study aimed to determine whether a lower-limb trajectory-tracking task performed on a leg press machine, that is commonly adopted in both rehabilitation and resistance training settings, could yield reliable assessment of motor coordination in able-bodied individuals. Twenty-two female subjects allocated to two experimental groups were tested and retested after 48-72 h. Group A was fully familiarized with the experimental procedures before each test while group B received only verbal instructions. The unilateral coordination test consisted of target tracking during a simulated half squat including eccentric and concentric actions. In both groups, tracking error showed significant test-…

Corrective loops involved in fast aiming movements: effect of task and environment

1998

In daily living, we continuously interact with our environment. This environment is rarely stable and living beings show remarkable adaptive capacities. When we reach for an object, it is necessary to localize the position of this object with respect to our own body before programming an adequate arm movement. If the target remains stable, the programmed movement brings the hand near the target. However, what happens when the target suddenly jumps to another position in space? The aim of this work was to investigate how rapid aiming movements are corrected when the target is displaced close to movement onset. Our results reveal that rapid movements can be modified and that the efficiency of…