Maria Pia Francescato | Università degli Studi di Udine / University of Udine (original) (raw)

Papers by Maria Pia Francescato

NeuroImage, 1998

Subject Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) decreases have beendescribed in several cortical regi... more Subject Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) decreases have beendescribed in several cortical regions during anticipation of a painful stimulus: by contrast. no rCBF change was detected in the corresponding somatotopic area of the primary somatosensory (SI) cortex (1.2). In the present study, we have investigated by high-resolution fMRI changesof activity in medial thalamus and in mesial cortical areas during anticipation of a potentially noxious stimulation of one fool.

Documenta Ophthalmologica Proceedings Series, 1997

Functional activity levels of the human primary motor cortex during motor performance and motor i... more Functional activity levels of the human primary motor cortex during motor performance and motor imagery were investigated by a functional magnetic resonance imaging technique, sensitive to local changes of blood oxygenation. Subjects repetitively performed three different tasks: sequential finger-to-thumb opposition movements of the right hand, mental imagery of the same motor sequence, and mental imagery of a visual scene (taken as a reference state). A significant increase in signal intensity relative to the control condition was found in the precentral gyrus during both motor performance and motor imagery tasks. Even if the intensity of activation was much less during motor imagery, these results suggest a functional involvement of the primary motor cortex during mental imagery of sequential motor acts, not previously detected by mapping techniques with coarser spatial resolution.

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 1992

European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 1995

Energy costs and energy sources in karate (wado style) were studied in eight male practitioners (... more Energy costs and energy sources in karate (wado style) were studied in eight male practitioners (age 23.8 years, mass 72.3 kg, maximal oxygen consumption (1202m,x) 36.8 ml.min-~ .kg-2) performing six katas (formal, organized movement sequences) of increasing dUration (from approximately 10 s to approximately 80 s). Oxygen consumption (l/Oz) was determined during pre-exercise rest, the exercise period and the first 270 s of recovery in five consecutive expired gas collections. A blood sample for lactate (la-) analysis was taken 5 min after the end of exercise. The overall amount of 02 consumed during the exercise and in the following recovery increased linearly with the duration of exercise (t) from approximately 1.5 1 (for t equal to 10.5 s (SD 1.6)) to approximately 5.81, for t equal to 81.5 s (SD 1.0). The energy release from laproduction (VOzl,-) calculated assuming that an increase of 1 mmol.1-x la-corresponded to a VO2 of 3mlO2"kg-1 was negligible for t equal to or less than 20s and increased to 17.3 ml'kg-~ (la-= 5.8 mmol" 1-1 above resting values) for t equal approximately to 80 s. The overall energy requirement (VO2eq) as given by the sum of VO2 and VO21,-was described by VO2e q = 0.87-[-0.071"t (n = 64; r 2 = 0.91), where VO2eq is in litres and t in seconds. This equation shows that the metabolic power (VO2eq" t-1) for this karate style is very high: from approximately 9.5 1" min-1 for t equal to 10 s to approximately 4.9 1" min-1 for t equal to 80 s, i.e. from 3.5 to 1.8 times the subjects' ~202m~x. The fraction of VO2eq derived from the amount Of 02 consumed during the exercise increased from 11% for t equal to 10 s to 41% for t equal to 80 s whereas VO21,-was negligible for t equal to or less than 20 s and increased to 13% for t equal to 80 s. The remaining

Little is known about the temporal aspects of cortical activity during prolonged pain. In the pre... more Little is known about the temporal aspects of cortical activity during prolonged pain. In the present study, sixteen volunteers, aged 20-35 years, were studied by fMRI techniques. In the first group (Pain: n = 9), a dilute (20%, 0.5 ml) vitamin C solution was injected into the subcutaneous tissue of the dorsal aspect of a foot, resulting in a mild burning pain lasting some minutes. In the Control Group (n = 7), a non-noxious stimulation was applied. fMRI images were obtained from two adjacent paramedian sagittal planes, by a gradient-echo FLASH sequence (in-plane resolution = 1 mm; slice thickness = 5 mm; scan time 21 s), using a 1.5 T MR system. Fifty-eight images were acquired for each plane, beginning 5 minutes before and lasting 15 minutes after the onset of stimulation. Pixels whose signal time course was positively or negatively (r > 0.6 or < -0.6, respectively) correlated with the individual psychophysical curve of the intensity of perceived pain were found in the medial frontal pole and the anterior cingulate cortex, in the subjects of the Pain group experiencing a more severe pain. These findings support a role of selected cortical areas in pain perception

IFMBE Proceedings, 2018

Nutrition and physical activity are important parts of a healthy lifestyle and management of diab... more Nutrition and physical activity are important parts of a healthy lifestyle and management of diabetes. Regular moderate-intensity physical activity in type 1 diabetes patients can enhance insulin sensitivity, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve psychological well-being. Nevertheless, the risk of exercise-induced hypoglycemia is a great challenge for patients with type 1 diabetes and represents an important barrier to physical activity in these patients. Recently, an algorithm called ECRES has been developed with the aim of estimating, depending on patient’s own therapy and specific physical activity, the glucose supplement required by the patient to maintain safe blood glucose levels. The aim of this study is to compare the ECRES algorithm to classical quantitative approach. Therefore, we measured and compared glycaemia in 23 patients (mean age: 43 ± 12 years) during 1-h treadmill walk/run maintaining heart rate at 65% of his/her theoretical maximum value for age. For each subject two separate tests were performed: with carbohydrates supplement estimated by ECRES algorithm and by classical approach, respectively. The average heart rate observed during exercise (average progression speed: 5.8 ± 0.8 km/h at 4.2 ± 2.3% inclination) was 111.5 ± 9.4 bpm. Glycaemia measured by portable glucometer showed no significant differences between tests managed with ECRES algorithm and with classical approach, both before (149 ± 47 vs. 128 ± 41 mg/dL) and at the end of the performed exercise (134 ± 66 vs. 138 ± 54 mg/dL). The ECRES algorithm, however, estimated a significantly lower amount of carbohydrate needed for physical activity as compared to that suggested by the classical approach (14.8 ± 12.0 g vs. 23.4 ± 4.7 g; p < 0.05), while maintaining patients’ blood glucose within optimal clinical limits. The study results confirmed the validity of the estimates made by the ECRES algorithm.

Influence of phosphagen concentration on phosphocreatine breakdown kinetics. Data from human gast... more Influence of phosphagen concentration on phosphocreatine breakdown kinetics. Data from human gastrocnemius muscle

Journal of Applied Physiology, 1995

Diabetes Care, 2005

Abbreviations: RER, respiratory exchange ratio. A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventiona... more Abbreviations: RER, respiratory exchange ratio. A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances.

Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, 2009

Objective: The objectives of the present study was to compare the maximal explosive muscle power ... more Objective: The objectives of the present study was to compare the maximal explosive muscle power developed by the lower limbs in obese and non-obese prepubertal children. Design: Twenty-five obese [mean body mass index (BMI) z-score: 2AE4] and 30 nonobese (mean BMI z-score: 0) children aged 8-12 years, participated in this study. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis and the maximal explosive power of the lower limbs was assessed by the Exercise-Ergometer (a sledge dynamometer). Results: Absolute peak force (F peak) was higher in obese than in non-obese children by 18AE2% (P<0AE001). Peak speed (v peak) was not significantly different between groups (P = 0AE504). Consequently, absolute peak power (W¢ peak) was higher in obese than in non-obese children (+19AE3%, P = 0AE021). Considering gender differences, absolute F peak and v peak were higher in boys than in girls by +12AE3 and +17AE4% (P<0AE05), respectively, thus yielding higher absolute W¢ peak values in boys as compared to girls (+26AE1%, P<0AE001). Finally, W¢ peak normalized for fat-free mass (FFM) was not different between obese and non-obese children but higher in boys than in girls (+24AE5%, P<0AE001). Conclusions: Power generation capability per unit of FFM was similar between obese and non-obese children but was significantly higher in boys than girls. On the clinical practice it seems important to devote supplementary care to sustain and improve the motor function of obese and non-obese girls.

ATP synthesis control in which the mechanisms during the rest-to-work transient (on-transient) an... more ATP synthesis control in which the mechanisms during the rest-to-work transient (on-transient) and the work-to-rest tran-sient (off-transient) are the same. Accordingly, only one math-ematical representation is used for both transients, i.e., JP/ JP,MAX f(X), where JP is the ATP synthesis rate, JP,MAX is the maximal ATP synthesis rate, and f(X) is a function f of a feedback/feedforward signal X; all the pertinent knowledge is applied independent of the transient during which it was obtained. It is well known, however, that during recovery ATP is synthesized only through oxidative pathways, while at ex-ercise onset, anaerobic ATP production also occurs; thus it is likely that, for an equal JP, different control mechanism are involved during the on- and off-transients. In turn, maximal ATP production rate (JP,MAX), defined as the “mitochondrial capacity ” (8), is usually determined during the off-transient,

Physical activity in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is hindered because of the high risk of... more Physical activity in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is hindered because of the high risk of glycemic imbalances. A recently proposed algorithm (named Ecres) estimates well enough the supplemental carbohydrates for exercises lasting one hour, but its performance for pro-longed exercise requires validation. Nine T1DM patients (5M/4F; 35–65 years; HbA1c 54±13 mmolmol-1) performed, under free-life conditions, a 3-h walk at 30 % heart rate reserve while insulin concentrations, whole-body carbohydrate oxidation rates (determined by indirect calo-rimetry) and supplemental carbohydrates (93 % sucrose), together with glycemia, were mea-sured every 30 min. Data were subsequently compared with the corresponding values estimated by the algorithm. No significant difference was found between the estimated insulin concentrations and the laboratory-measured values (p = NS). Carbohydrates oxidation rate decreased significantly with time (from 0.84±0.31 to 0.53±0.24 gmin-1, respectively; p<0...

Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2021

Procedia Computer Science, 2021

European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2020

The interchangeability analysis has been recently proposed to objectively assess whether a newly ... more The interchangeability analysis has been recently proposed to objectively assess whether a newly developed measurement tool can substitute the older ones; this analysis assumes that the measures yielded by the compared tools should differ less than a maximum acceptable value. We aimed to assess the interchangeability rate (IR) of the breath-by-breath O2 uptake data calculated with the “Independent breath” (IND) and the “Expiration-only” (EXP) algorithms. Oxygen, carbon dioxide fractions, and ventilatory flow were recorded continuously over 26 min in 18 asthmatic and 20 well-matched healthy volunteers at rest, during cycling, and recovery; oxygen uptake (V’O2) was calculated with the two algorithms under comparison. Coefficients of variation (CVs) of all the steady-state condition were modeled as a function of the average V’O2 values and IR was calculated accordingly. CVs were significantly greater in the asthmatic volunteers (F = 5.97, p < 0.05), being lower for IND compared to EXP (F > 7.04, p < 0.02). CVs decreased as a function of the reciprocal of the square root of the average V’O2. The IR, calculated on the basis of this relationship, was not significantly different in the two groups of volunteers (F = 0.77, p = 0.385); taking as reference method the IND, or EXP algorithms, the IR values were significantly different (F = 58.6, p < 0.001), amounting to 97.4 ± 2.2% or to 98.2 ± 1.7%, respectively. The relative noise of V’O2 was greater in the asthmatic volunteers compared to the healthy ones and was lower for IND compared to EXP. The interchangeability analysis suggested that IND might be a better substitute for EXP than the opposite.