The 5HTOL/5HIAA Ratio as a Biomarker of Alcohol Hangover

Assessment of the presence and severity of alcohol hangovers relies on the subjective method of self-report. Therefore, there is a need of adequate biomarkers that (1) correlate significantly with hangover severity, and (2) correspond to the level of hangover-related performance impairment objectively. In this naturalistic study, n = 35 social drinkers participated. Urine samples were obtained the morning after alcohol consumption and after an alcohol-free control day. Concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptophol (5-HTOL), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and the 5-HTOL/5-HIAA ratio were determined. The results confirm previous findings that 5-HTOL and the 5HTOL/5-HIAA ratio are useful biomarkers of recent alcohol consumption. Significant correlations were found with the amount of alcohol consumed, total drink time, and estimated BAC. However, urine concentrations of 5-HTOL and 5-HIAA (and their ratio 5HTOL/5-HIAA) did not significantly correlate with hangover severity. In conclusion, urine 5-HTOL, 5-HIAA, and the 5HTOL/5-HIAA ratio cannot be considered to be suitable biomarkers of alcohol hangover.

Contributions of the Right Prefrontal and Parietal Cortices to the Attentional Blink: A tDCS Study

The AB refers to the performance impairment that occurs when visual selective attention is overloaded through the very rapid succession of two targets (T1 and T2) among distractors by using the rapid serial visual presentation task (RSVP). Under these conditions, performance is typically impaired when T2 is presented within 200–500 ms from T1 (AB). Based on neuroimaging studies suggesting a role of top-down attention and working memory brain hubs in the AB, here we potentiated via anodal or sham tDCS the activity of the right DLPFC (F4) and of the right PPC (P4) during an AB task. The findings showed that anodal tDCS over the F4 and over P4 had similar effects on the AB. Importantly, potentiating the activity of the right frontoparietal network via anodal tDCS only benefitted poor performers, reducing the AB, whereas in good performers it accentuated the AB. The contribution of the present findings is twofold: it shows both top-down and bottom-up contributions of the right frontoparietal network in the AB, and it indicates that there is an optimal level of excitability of this network, resulting from the individual level of activation and the intensity of current stimulation.

095 Steering Wheel Angle Excursions as a Measure of Fatigue-Related Driver Performance Impairment

Introduction Fatigue from sleep loss and circadian misalignment causes automobile driving performance impairment. Metrics based on steering wheel angle, which is straightforward to measure, could be used to quantify this impairment. As the tail of the distribution of steering wheel angles (absolute magnitude of deviation from center) increases with fatigue, we investigated whether driving performance impairment could be quantified based on the prevalence of steering wheel excursions beyond a given angle threshold. We used data from two published laboratory studies of simulated shift work, in which fatigue remained low during day shifts but increased across time awake during night shifts. Methods N=37 healthy adults (ages 26.8±5.2y; 25 men) were assigned to a simulated night shift schedule (awake 20:00-10:00) or day shift schedule (awake 08:00-22:00; study 1 only). After an adaptation period, participants underwent two 5-day shift cycles with an intervening rest period. Driving performance was measured on a high-fidelity simulator during adaptation (data not used) and four times at 3h intervals during each shift day. Every drive involved 30min driving at 55mph, including ten 0.5mi uneventful straightaways being considered here. Steering wheel angle was measured at 72Hz (study 1) or 60Hz (study 2). A total of 1,471 drives (31,394,498 angle measurements) were available for analysis. Results We investigated angle thresholds across 0.01-0.25rad in 0.01rad intervals and counted the corresponding number of threshold excursions in each drive for each participant. For study 1, we applied mixed-effects ANOVA with fixed effects for condition and time awake, and their interaction, and determined the local effect size for interaction. A 0.03rad (1.7°) threshold yielded the greatest effect size, f²=0.031 (small). For this threshold, we repeated the analysis using the data from both studies, controlling for study. The interaction was significant (F[3,1428]=13.23, p<0.001), showing low driving impairment across time awake during day shifts but increasing impairment across time awake during night shifts. Conclusion The prevalence of steering wheel excursions beyond a 1.7° angle threshold yielded sensitivity to fatigue-related driving performance impairment during simulated night shifts. Further research will extend our results to driving through curves and with greater fatigue levels. Support (if any) FMCSA DTMC75-07-D-00006

Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients Recovering from COVID-19

<b><i>Background:</i></b> In hospitalized patients recovering from the SARS-coronavirus-2 disease 19 (COVID-19), high prevalence of muscle weakness and physical performance impairment has been observed. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in these subjects in a real-life setting. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Retrospective data analysis of patients recovering from COVID-19, including those requiring assisted ventilation or oxygen therapy, consecutively admitted to an in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation program between April 1 and August 15, 2020. Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB: primary outcome), Barthel Index (BI), and six-min walking distance were assessed as outcome measures. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Data of 140 patients were analyzed. After rehabilitation, patients showed improvements in SPPB {from: (median [IQR]) 0.5 (0–7) to 7 (4–10), <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001} and BI (from 55 [30–90] to 95 [65–100], <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), as well as in other assessed outcome measures. The proportion of patients unable at admission to stand, rise from a chair and walk was significantly reduced (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.00). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Pulmonary rehabilitation is possible and effective in patients recovering from COVID-19. Our findings may be useful to guide clinicians taking care of patients surviving COVID-19 infection.

Carbohydrate-electrolyte ingestion enhances cognitive performance during a cross-country mountain biking race

To assess the influence of carbohydrate-electrolyte (CHO-E) intakes on cognitive and physical performances, we carried out an ecological protocol simulating the load variations of a biking race. Eight well-trained athletes completed an outdoor mountain biking time-trial race (TT) (19.6 ± 0.40 km length; 81 min ± 15 min) interspersed with three 10 min varied-load cycling exercises while performing a Simon task and a Critical Flicker Fusion task in laboratory. A splitted drink of 1150 ml of either 7% CHO-E solution (fructose 89%, maltodextrin 11%) or placebo (PL) was administered. Results suggest that the TT induces a decrease of cortical arousal (p = 0.28) and an impairment of efficiency (p &lt; .001) during a decision-making task in the PL condition, while the reverse was observed with CHO-E ingestions. Furthermore, a better accuracy (p = .05) and a lower perceived effort (p = .05) were also observed with CHO-E intakes whatever the TT duration. As a conclusion, ingestion of a 7% CHO-E solution during a pro-longed outdoor TT decreases perceived effort and restricts exercise-induced cognitive performance impairment. CHO-E ingestion appears to be an effective means of delaying the central nervous system fatigue during high-intensity intermittent exercise per-formed in an ecological context.

Behavioral effects of sub-anesthetic ketamine in a go/no-go task

Background and aimsWhile psychedelic agents are known to have powerful, but largely unexplained, effects on contents of consciousness, there is an increasing interest in the potential clinical usefulness of such drugs for therapy, and legalization is discussed in some countries. Thus, it is relevant to study the effects of psychedelic compounds not only on experience, but also on behavioral performance.MethodsSeven healthy participants performed a motor response inhibition task before, during, and after sub-anesthetic doses of intravenously administered ketamine. The infusion rate was individually adjusted to produce noticeable subjective psychedelic effects.ResultsWe observed no statistically significant impact of sub-anesthetic ketamine on reaction times, omission errors, or post error slowing, relative to the preceding drug-free condition. However, we did observe significant correlations between performance impairment and self-reported, subjective altered states of consciousness, specifically experience of “anxiety” and “complex imagery.”ConclusionsConsidering the limited number of participants and large variation in strength of self-reported experiences, further studies with wider ranges of ketamine doses and behavioral tasks are needed to determine the presence and strength of potential behavioral effects.

Dietary supplementation of tilapia juveniles reared in bft (bioflocs) tanks with dl-methionine

The present study aimed at determining the effects of dietary DL-methionine supplementation on the water quality, bioflocs composition and Nile tilapia juvenile’s (initial body weight = 2.76 ± 0.06 g) growth performance in BFT rearing tanks (18 fish/100-L tank). Fish were or not subjected to artificial feed restriction. The experimental treatments consisted of two control groups: 1 - no feed restriction, no methionine supplementation; 2 - feed restriction at 25%, no methionine supplementation. There were also four treated groups: 1 - feed restriction at 25%, dietary DL-methionine supplementation at 0.5%; 2 - feed restriction at 25%, dietary DL-methionine supplementation at 1.0%; 3 - feed restriction at 25%, dietary DL-methionine supplementation at 2.0%; 4 - feed restriction at 25%, DL-methionine supplementation of molasses at 1.0. Supplementation of the commercial diet with DL-methionine has not affected either the water quality of the BFT Nile tilapia rearing tanks or the proximate composition of the bioflocs. After 8 weeks, weight gain of fish reared in tanks with feed restriction and dietary DL-methionine supplementation at 1% or 2% has not differed (P>0.05) from the tanks without feed restriction. In conclusion, it is possible to restrict the daily feed allowances of Nile tilapia juveniles reared in BFT tanks at 25%, with no growth performance impairment, if a minimal dietary DL-methionine supplementation of 1.0% is given.

Effects of mistreatment in medical schools: how to evaluate? A brief review

Introduction: The occurrence of abuse, harassment and mistreatment of medical students is a widespread phenomenon and not a problem limited to certain countries or particular schools. Such behavior during medical training creates hostile learning environments, induces stress, depressive symptoms, may impair performance and patient care. Objective: To analyze the methodology used in recent studies to describe the consequences of mistreatment on medical student’s life and academic performance. Method: A brief review of the literature indexed in 6 international databases was carried out (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library). The descriptors were categorized into two groups, one containing different types of violence and the other contemplating the studied population. Results: A total of 20 articles were selected for this study and all of them based their research methodology on the use of questionnaires, scales and/or interviews. The strengths and weaknesses of these methodologies were discussed, and the use of simulation was suggested as a new methodological alternative. Conclusion: This review reinforces that mistreatment of medical students has remained frequent over time and it is closely related to the students’ mental health and performance impairment. The authors recommend a new methodological approach to collect data related to the effects arising from a hostile learning environment.