A methodological proposal was developed for the study of prehistoric siliceous artefacts which includes the use of smartphone photography as an analytical tool. Different kinds of materials (cherts, rock crystal and quartzite) were sampled from the lithic assemblage of La Calvera rock-shelter (Camaleno, Spain), chosen as a case study. Each sample was photographed with a smartphone and colour features were compared with portable and non-destructive standardised techniques including visible spectrophotometry, Raman, diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and portable X-ray fluorescence. The obtained results suggest that smartphone image analysis is a reliable approach to characterise siliceous rocks and that it can be a valuable, cheap and fast method especially suitable for the first screening of large lithic assemblages.
Entrainment in human motion can be defined as the phase coupling between two periodical events. In the case of running, entrainment can be studied as the coordination between respiration and motion and can potentially improve running efficiency. In such context we aimed to verify whether wearable devices, providing multi-parametrical acquisitions to detect both movement and respiration-related signals, could be used to study entrainment. Ten male subjects were enrolled and instructed to run on a treadmill at predefined velocities using a wearable system embedding resistive stretchable sensors and inertial measurement units (IMUs) to detect respiration and vertical body acceleration respectively. The acquired data were analyzed to detect the distribution of delays between the respiration transition from expiration to inspiration or the vice- versa and the nearest foot-strike instant. The delay distribution provided the most and least frequent coupling patterns, from which a corresponding temporal parameter called T50 was used to numerically quantify respiration transition time during running. From the statistical analysis of a normalized aggregated dataset, it was demonstrated how T50s associated to the most frequent intervals chosen by each subject were significantly lower compared to the least frequent ones. Additionally, the strides per breath ratio (SPBR) of running regimes with entrainment had generally lower values, close to 2:1 (2.31 with respect to 2.4), even though the difference was not significative. Entrainment was more frequent during running regimes with constant speed and longer duration (29 cases for long regimes against 13 cases for shorter ones). The results suggest that subjects were likely to develop entrainment when the right conditions of velocity and time for adaptation were given and that the most frequently chosen coupling patterns were the ones characterized by a shorter respiration transition time.
Exercise is a recognized tool to improve or maintain physical functioning and quality of life in chronic diseases, particularly in the presence of disability. Patients affected with vascular and neurological motor disabilities, such as people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) or peripheral arterial disease (PAD), are daily limited by fatigue. This symptom, which can occur in a variety of forms, could interfere with exercise execution and the rate of adherence to rehabilitative programs. The early detection of objective biomarkers of peripheral fatigue and their integration into specific training programs could increase the long-term engagement of these patients in exercise. In this light, the study aims to analyze the association between muscle oxygenation, cardiovascular response and perceived exertion during a treadmill incremental walking test in healthy and chronically ill subjects. After eligibility assessment, a total of 53 subjects were divided into three subgroups: 17 patients diagnosed with PAD (mean age: 71 $\pm 9$ years), 26 with MS (mean age: $45\pm 12$ years), and 10 healthy subjects (mean age: 23 $\pm 1$ years). Parameters of muscle metabolism at the gastrocnemius were collected by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during an incremental treadmill test and quantified as area-under curve for oxygenated $(\mathrm{O}_{2}\text{Hb}_{\text{AUC}})$ and deoxygenated $(\text{HHb}_{\text{AUC}})$ hemoglobin traces. Heart rate values during the test and the rate of perceived exertion by the Borg scale 0–10 were also collected. $\mathrm{O}_{2}\text{Hb}_{\text{AUC}}$ was significantly lower in the PAD group with an opposite trend for $\text{HHb}_{\text{AUC}}$ , whereas MS subjects showed heterogeneous trends in both $\mathrm{O}_{2}\text{HHb}_{\text{AUC}}$ and $\text{HHb}_{\text{AUC}}$ , suggesting a different but abnormal pattern associated with the perception of peripheral fatigue in the two diseases. Significant and negative correlations were indeed observed between changes in $\mathrm{O}_{2}\text{Hb}$ , heart rate and perceived exertion in the whole population. At this stage of the research, the dynamic and objective measurement of oxygenation in the fatiguing muscle enabled the discrimination of different abnormal responses to exercise in different diseases and among subjects. These results in a second phase of the study will be analyzed with the purpose of identifying early objective markers of fatigue that could possibly be integrated into semiautomatic technology-assisted ergo meters to personalize training programs.
Meta-Trainer allows people to train on their own, supervised by a virtual trainer that provides exercise samples and real-time feedback. The system relies on a set of smart glasses for Augmented Reality (AR), to enable users to interact with the virtual trainer in a hybrid environment. Given a target exercise, the virtual trainer demonstrates the movements to be reproduced. Differently from video-based applications, the user can move around the virtual trainer so as to look at the exercise from different angles for a more immersive and realistic experience. The AR glasses can also track head movements, which are then used to give feedback and track the training progress. This system offers an advancement compared to video-only trainers, not requiring the user to look at a screen while performing the exercise.
Alpine ski racing is a complex sport requiring a combination of physical fitness attributes. This study aims to present a framework for evaluating the physical fitness of young alpine skiers and examine changes between pre- and post-season assessments. Seventeen young alpine ski racers participated, and assessments were conducted before and after the competitive race season. The assessments included anthropometric measurements, body composition analysis, countermovement jumps, maximal isometric strength evaluation, and maximal oxygen uptake testing. The results showed significant improvements in jump height, jump momentum, maximal heart rate and cycling workload between pre- and post-season assessments. However, no significant changes were observed in body composition variables, isometric strength, or maximal oxygen uptake. This comprehensive evaluation may provide valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of ski racers, facilitating the design of tailored training programs, identifying areas for improvement, and assisting in the early identification of talented young athletes.
