Circadian Rhythms in Competitive Sabre Fencers: Internal Desynchronization and Performance

During a 7-10 day span, circadian rhythms of sleep-wake, self-rated fatigue and mood, oral temperature, eye-hand skill and right and left hand grip strength were investigated in eight subjects: five males (21-28 years of age), members of the French sabre fencing team selected for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and three females (19-26 years of age) practicing fleuret (foil) fencing as a sports activity. On the average six measurements/day/variable/subject were performed. The single cosinor method showed that a circadian rhythm was detectable for only 26 out of the 56 time series (46.4%). Power spectrum analysis gave almost the same figure (19 out of 48: 39.5%) with regard to rhythms with τ=24hr indicating that with one exception (subject JFL) rhythms were internally desynchronized including differences τ between right and left hand grip strength rhythms for three subjects. Results suggest: (a) a physiologic synchronization of circadian rhythms may be a predictor of good performance; (b) however, internal desynchronization as shown previously may be a trivial phenomenon and thus does not imply in itself alterations of either health or performance; (c) chronobiologic methods should be recommended for a better understanding of changes in performance by those participating in competitive and other sports.     

少年游泳运动员冬训期间HbA_2百分含量的规律性变化

 本研究用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶垂直板电泳,双波长扫描仪对少年游泳运动员的HbA_2百分含量进行测定。发现大运动量训练对HbA_2水平是有影响的。经六天训练(星期二、五为大运动量训练),星期日休息一天,次周的星期一晨HbA_2百分含量升高,星期二大运动量训练后的次日晨HbA_2百分含量显著下降。运动性贫血的运动员,其HbA_2百分含量一周中的变化趋势与正常运动员相似,但HbA_2百分含量比正常运动员高。     

Focus: Preventive Medicine: Pre-Participation Screening of Athletes: Primary Health Care Physicians’ Knowledge,Experience, and Approach in Turkey

Pre-participation screening (PPS) is crucial for assessing the competitive athletes since their risk of sudden death is higher than non-athletes. In Turkey, PPS is performed at the primary health care setting by primary care physicians (PCPs) who are family medicine specialists (FMSs) or general practitioners (GPs). Although there are national guidelines, there is no legal regulation for this process. This study aims to evaluate PCPs’ knowledge, experience, and approach about PPS. We prepared an online survey for PCPs and used non-probabilistic sampling. PPS attitudes and practices were analyzed and compared according to factors such as experience, education, and being GP or FMS. Of the 214 PCPs included in the study, 39.3% were female. The mean age was 44.9 years (SD:8.88). The average work experience was 7.9 years. Most participants were aware of their authorization to perform PPS (89.7%) and had previously prepared it (90.2%). However, 6.5% of them felt confident in performing PPS. Only 13.1% were aware of the guidelines. Almost 25% of the participants stated being informed about the subject at some part of their career, but this did not affect the confidence or referral decisions. In addition to medical history and physical examination, further testing was considered necessary by 96.3% of the participants. Significantly more tests were ordered by GPs than FMSs (p=0.026 and p=0.011, respectively). The accurate referral decision ratio was 59.3%, without difference between FMSs and GPs (p=0.216). We found that awareness of the guidelines was low among PCPs who lack confidence in PPS. These factors collectively increased the tendency for unnecessary further testing and referral. Therefore, the PPS implementation into medical school and residency curriculums and national legal regulation for the process is a necessity in Turkey.     

肥厚型心肌病患者在心肺运动中核心指标的特征性研究*

目的: 肥厚型心肌病（HCM）,以心肌肥厚为主要特征的心肌疾病,猝死率高。临床症状表现为呼吸困难、乏力、胸痛等。症状限制性极限运动心肺运动试验（CPET）在整体整合生理和医学（HIPM）理论指导下是唯一评估人体整体功能状态检查,肥厚型心肌病患者在心肺运动中核心数据变化值得进一步探讨。方法: 选择2017年4月至2020年1月在阜外医院就诊签署知情同意书后完成CPET受试者244例为研究对象,其中219例肥厚型心肌病（肥厚心组）和无诊断疾病健康人25例（正常组）,观察两组CPET核心指标的异同。结果: ①肥厚心组男163女56例,正常组11男14女;肥厚心组年龄（46.7±12.8,16.0~71.0）岁;正常组年龄（43.7±10.4,26.0~61.0）岁。②肥厚心组CPET核心指标的峰值摄氧量（Peak VO₂）为（65.2±13.8,22.8~103.4）%pred;无氧阈（AT）为（66.4±13.0,33.7~103.5）%pred;峰值氧脉搏（Peak O₂ pulse）为（84.3±19.0,90.9~126.0）%pred;摄氧效率平台（OUEP）为（99.2±13.4,69.1~155.5）%pred;分钟通气量和二氧化碳排出量比值最小值（Lowest VE/VCO₂）为（108.0±13.2,70.4~154.0）%pred;分钟通气量和二氧化碳排出量比值斜率（VE/VCO₂ Slope）为（108.5±17.9,66.9~164.9）%pred, 肥厚心组较正常组在峰值摄氧量,无氧阈,峰值氧脉搏,摄氧效率平台等百分预计值（%pred）等指标均显著降低（P<0.01或P<0.05）;而Lowest VE/VCO₂和VE/VCO₂ Slope（%pred）显著升高（P<0.05）,差异均有统计学意义。个体而言,部分患者就诊时整体功能状态尚在正常范围内。③CPET中Peak VO₂与其他核心指标AT、OUEP、Peak O₂ pulse、峰值收缩压呈正相关;与Lowest VE/VCO₂ 和VE/VCO₂ Slope呈负相关。结论: 肥厚型心肌病患者能安全完成CPET,CPET指标具有特异性,不仅可用于整体功能评测、疾病诊断与鉴别诊断、危险分层、疗效评估和精准预后预测,并可用于整体论指导下的个体化整体方案慢病有效管理,值得进一步深入研究和临床推广应用。     

Lower-body power,linear speed,and change-of-direction speed in Division I collegiate women’s volleyball players

Volleyball players need to sprint and change direction during a match. Lower-body power, often measured by jump tests, could contribute to faster movements. How different jumps relate to linear and change-of-direction (COD) speed has not been analyzed in Division I (DI) collegiate women’s volleyball players. Fifteen female volleyball players completed the vertical jump (VJ), two-step approach jump (AppJ), and standing broad jump (SBJ). Peak power and power-to-body mass ratio (P:BM) were derived from VJ and AppJ height; relative SBJ was derived from SBJ distance. Linear speed was measured via a 20-m sprint (0–10 and 0–20 m intervals); COD speed was measured using the pro-agility shuttle. Pearson’s correlations (p < 0.05) calculated relationships between the power variables, and speed tests. There were no significant relationships between the power variables and the 0–10 m sprint interval. Greater VJ height (r = -0.534) and P:BM (r = -0.557) related to a faster 0–20 m sprint interval. This be due to a greater emphasis on the stretch-shortening cycle to generate speed over 20 m. However, although a 20-m sprint may provide a measure of general athleticism, the distance may not be specific to volleyball. This was also indicated as the AppJ did not relate to any of the speed tests. Nonetheless, VJ height and P:BM, and SBJ distance and relative SBJ, all negatively correlated with the proagility shuttle (r = -0.548 to -0.729). DI women’s collegiate volleyball players could develop absolute and relative power in the vertical and horizontal planes to enhance COD speed.     

Why aren't there more black football managers?

Abstract

The number of black and minority ethnic (BME) managers in English professional association football, or soccer, has been stable for nearly ten years: there are usually between two and four (out of a possible ninety two). Yet black players regularly make up more than a quarter of professional club squads. The reasons for this apparent under-representation are explored among 1,000 football fans, including players and ex-players, both white and BME. Opinions were solicited via an online research platform http://www.topfan.co.uk, designed and executed by the authors. The findings indicate 56 per cent of respondents believe racism operates at the executive levels of football, i.e. the boardroom. While some accuse club owners and directors of deliberate discrimination, most suspect a form of unwitting or institutional racism in which assumptions about black people's capacities are not analysed and challenged and so continue to circulate. Among the possible remedies to this is the American National Football League's Rooney Rule, which mandates BME candidates’ inclusion on shortlists for senior coaching positions. A third of participants in the research approved of this type of initiative. While black managers are scarce when compared to the number of black players in professional football, their presence is actually an accurate reflection of their number in the total British population. So is the dearth of black managers an under-representation?     

Similarity of Anthropometric Coefficients of Variation in Both Genders

Data on 455 female and 464 male subjects from the World Aquatic Sports Championships in Perth, Australia, in 1991, were used to demonstrate the similarity of variability of 35 anthropometric items and support the use non-gender-biased proportionality models. This paper is a preliminary report on a study of allometry, dimensionality and human proportionality inspired by Professor Otto Eiben.     

Two new grape cultivars, bud sports of Cabernet Sauvignon bearing pale-coloured berries, are the result of deletion of two regulatory genes of the berry colour locus

Bud sports are infrequent changes in phenotype affecting shoots of woody perennials but the molecular basis of these mutations has rarely been identified. In this report, we show that the bronze-coloured berries of the Malian cultivar, a documented bud sport of the wine grape Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.), lack anthocyanins in the subepidermal cells compared to the red/black berried Cabernet Sauvignon in which both the epidermis and several subepidermal cell layers contain anthocyanin. The Malian phenotype is correlated with an alteration in the genome indicated by a reduction of hybridisation signal using a MYBA probe. In Shalistin, a white-berried bud sport of Malian, the red allele at the berry colour locus appears to have been deleted completely. These data suggest that Malian could be a L1/L2 periclinal chimera, which gave rise to Shalistin by an invasion of epidermal cells (L1) by the mutated subepidermal cells (L2). The red grape Pinot Noir has given rise to a number of pale coloured sports, although the provenance of the extant sports is not known. We show that a clone of Pinot Blanc (white-berried) does not have a deletion of the red allele of the same dimensions as that in Shalistin, though a small deletion is a likely explanation for the altered phenotype. However, the mechanism of deletion of the red allele of the berry colour locus is a possible means by which other red to white clonal mutations of grapevines have occurred.     

支链氨基酸的抗疲劳作用

支链氨基酸作为必需氨基酸,不仅是合成机体蛋白质的原料,而且具有特殊的生理、生物学功能。其代谢与抗疲劳作用的机理在本文中进行了详细阐述。