Immediate Effect of Kinesio Taping on Functional Ankle Stability among Male Basketball Players

BACKGROUND: Ankle injury frequently occurs in basketball players, which can lead to a functional ankle instability. The application of kinesio taping on ankle may increase functional ankle stability. However, to date immediate effect of kinesio taping application on functional ankle stability has never been studied. The study aimed to examine the immediate effect of kinesio taping on functional ankle stability among male basketball players. SUBJECT AND METHODS: This was a quasi-experiment, before and after intervention with no control design. A sample of 15 male basketball players in Yogyakarta was selected for this study. The dependent was functional ankle stability (balance). The functional ankle stability was measured by Star Excursion Balance Test. The independent variable was kinesio taping application. The data was analyzed by paired t-test. RESULTS: The functional ankle stability (mean ± SD in cm) before kinesio taping application was as follows: antero lateral 69.53 ± 6.38, antero medial 68.73 ± 5.25, and posterior 67.13 ± 5.79. Twenty minutes after application of Kinesio taping, the functional ankle stability (mean ± SD) was as follows: antero lateral 72.07 ± 6.16, antero medial 71.33 ± 5.26, and posterior 69.60 ± 5.44. This increase in stability (balance) after application of kinesio taping was statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The application of kinesio taping can immediately increase functional ankle stability among male basketball players. Keywords: kinesio taping, functional ankle stability, Star Excursion Balance Tes

Small Grain Forage Trial Nitrogen Fertility and Harvest Date

Cool season annual forages, such as cereal grains, can provide early season grazing as well as high quality stored feed. However, it is unclear if quality and yield of these forages could be improved through better fertility management. Improved quality of homegrown forages can help to reduce expensive grain purchases. In addition, production of high quality forage can improve the level of beneficial fats (i.e. Omege-3) in the milk. In order to produce forage with the highest levels of beneficial fats management practices may need to be modified. It is unclear if nitrogen management will impact the level of beneficial fats in the forages. The goal of this project was to determine yields, quality, and fatty acid (FA) levels of annual cool season forage harvested at various growth stages and under different fertility regimes. The data presented here is from one replicated research trial in Vermont. Crop performance data from additional tests in different locations and often over several years, should be compared before you make decisions about planting small grains. Support for this project came from the Organic Valley Farmers Advocating for Organics fund

Three-year tracking of fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids in healthy children

Objectives: The fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids reflects the dietary fatty acid intake as well as endogenous turnover. We aimed at investigating the potential tracking of plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition in children that participated in a prospective cohort study. Methods: 26 healthy children participated in a longitudinal study on health risks and had been enrolled after birth. All children were born at term with birth weights appropriate for gestational age. Follow-up took place at ages 24, 36 and 60 months. At each time point a 24-hour dietary recall was obtained, anthropometric parameters were measured and a blood sample for phospholipid fatty acid analysis was taken. Results: Dietary intake of saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids at the three time points were not correlated. We found lower values for plasma MUFA and the MUFA/SFA ratio at 60 months compared to 24 months. In contrast, total PUFA, total n-6 and n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) were higher at 60 months. Significant averaged correlation coefficients (average of Pearson's R for 24 versus 36 months and 36 versus 60 months) were found for n-6 LC-PUFA (r = 0.67), n-6/n-3 LC-PUFA ratio (r = 0.59) and arachidonic acid/linoleic acid ratio (r = 0.64). Partial tracking was found for the docosahexaenoic acid/alpha-linolenic acid ratio (r = 0.33). Body mass index and sum of skinfolds Z-scores were similar in the three evaluations. Conclusions: A significant tracking of n-6 LC-PUFA, n-6 LC-PUFA/n-3 LC-PUFA ratio, arachidonic acid/ linoleic acid ratio and docosahexaenoic acid/alpha-linolenic acid ratio may reflect an influence of individual endogenous fatty acid metabolism on plasma concentrations of some, but not all, fatty acids. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Acute effects of elevated NEFA on vascular function: a comparison of SFA and MUFA

There is emerging evidence to show that high levels of NEFA contribute to endothelial dysfunction and impaired insulin sensitivity. However, the impact of NEFA composition remains unclear. A total of ten healthy men consumed test drinks containing 50 g of palm stearin (rich in SFA) or high-oleic sunflower oil (rich in MUFA) on separate occasions; a third day included no fat as a control. The fats were emulsified into chocolate drinks and given as a bolus (approximately 10 g fat) at baseline followed by smaller amounts (approximately 3 g fat) every 30 min throughout the 6 h study day. An intravenous heparin infusion was initiated 2 h after the bolus, which resulted in a three- to fourfold increase in circulating NEFA level from baseline. Mean arterial stiffness as measured by digital volume pulse was higher during the consumption of SFA (P,0·001) but not MUFA (P¼0·089) compared with the control. Overall insulin and gastric inhibitory peptide response was greater during the consumption of both fats compared with the control (P,0·001); there was a second insulin peak in response to MUFA unlike SFA. Consumption of SFA resulted in higher levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sI-CAM) at 330 min than that of MUFA or control (P#0·048). There was no effect of the test drinks on glucose, total nitrite, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 or endothelin-1 concentrations. The present study indicates a potential negative impact of elevated NEFA derived from the consumption of SFA on arterial stiffness and sI-CAM levels. More studies are needed to fully investigate the impact of NEFA composition on risk factors for CVD

Repeatability and validity of a food frequency questionnaire in free-living older people in relation to cognitive function

Objectives: To determine the repeatability and validity of a self-administered, 175-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in free-living older people and to assess whether these are influenced by cognitive function. Participants and setting: 189 free-living people aged 64-80y were recruited from participants in a previous study. Design: To assess repeatability, 102 (52M, 50F) participants completed the FFQ on two occasions three months apart. To assess validity, another 87 participants (44 M, 43 F) completed the FFQ and a four-day weighed diet record three months later. 25 nutrients were studied. Results: For repeatability, Spearman rank correlation coefficients were above 0.35 (p<0.05) for all nutrients. Cohen’s weighted Kappa was above 0.4 for all nutrients except starch, riboflavin, retinol, β-carotene, and calcium. There were no substantial differences in correlation coefficients between sub-groups divided by short-term memory test score. There was no clear pattern for correlation coefficients in sub-groups divided by executive function test score. For validity, the Spearman rank correlation coefficients were above 0.2 (p<0.05) for all nutrients except fat, mono-unsaturated fatty acids, niacin equivalents and vitamin D, and Cohen’s weighted kappa was above 0.4 for alcohol and was above 0.2 for 13 other nutrients. Participants in the lowest-score groups of short-term memory and executive function had the lowest median Spearman correlation coefficient. Conclusions: The FFQ had reasonable repeatability and validity in ranking nutrient intakes in this population though the results varied between nutrients. Poor short-term memory or executive function may affect FFQ validity in ranking nutrient intakes

Chemometric modelling to relate antioxidants, neutral lipid fatty acids and flavour components in chicken breast

Relationships among quality factors in retailed free-range, corn-fed, organic, and conventional chicken breasts (9) were modeled using chemometric approaches. Use of principal component analysis (PCA) to neutral lipid composition data explained the majority (93%) of variability (variance) in fatty acid contents in 2 significant multivariate factors. PCA explained 88 and 75% variance in 3 factors for, respectively, flame ionization detection (FID) and nitrogen phosphorus (NPD) components in chromatographic flavor data from cooked chicken after simultaneous distillation extraction. Relationships to tissue antioxidant contents were modeled. Partial least square regression (PLS2), interrelating total data matrices, provided no useful models. By using single antioxidants as Y variables in PLS (1), good models (r2 values > 0.9) were obtained for alpha-tocopherol, glutathione, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and reductase and FID flavor components and among the variables total mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids and subsets of FID, and saturated fatty acid and NPD components. Alpha-tocopherol had a modest (r2 = 0.63) relationship with neutral lipid n-3 fatty acid content. Such factors thus relate to flavor development and quality in chicken breast meat

Summer Annual x Fertility Rate Trial

Warm season grasses are high yield and quality forages best grown during the hot and dry summer months. They can provide quality pasture in the summer months when common cool season grasses are not as productive. Warm season grasses can also be harvested for stored feed. As with any crop though, summer annuals have their advantages and disadvantages. Some advantages include fast germination/emergence, rapid growth, high productivity and flexibility in utilization. Some disadvantages include high cost of annual establishment and high nitrogen (N) requirements. Summer annuals such as sorghum, sudangrass, sorghum x sudangrass and millets are heavy N feeders and require up to 150 lbs of N per season. Supplying high levels of N fertility in organic systems can be difficult. The primary source of N is manure on most farms. Timing manure application to coincide with crop N demand can be difficult as N mineralization rate is impacted by many environmental factors. Lack of N can also lead to lower protein and FA concentrations in forage. The goal of this study was to determine manure application rate appropriate to meet the N requirements of two summer annuals grown in Vermont

Failure of a dietary model to affect markers of inflammation in domestic cats

Background: Oxidative stress and inflammation can be altered by dietary factors in various species. However, little data are available in true carnivorous species such as domestic cats. As numerous anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative additives become available and might be of use in cats with chronic low-grade inflammatory diseases, the current study aimed to develop a model of diet-induced inflammation by use of two opposite diets. It was hypothesized that a high fat diet enhanced in n-6 PUFA and with lower concentrations of antioxidants would evoke inflammation and oxidative stress in domestic cats. Results: Sixteen healthy adult cats were allocated to two groups. One group received a moderate fat diet, containing pork lard and salmon oil (AA:(EPA + DHA) ratio 0.19) (MFn-3), while the other group was fed a high fat diet, containing pork lard and chicken fat (AA:(EPA + DHA) ratio 2.06) (HFn-6) for 12 weeks. Prior to and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks after starting the testing period, blood samples were collected. Erythrocytic fatty acid profile showed clear alterations in accordance to the dietary fatty acid profile. Serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances was higher when fed MFn-3 compared to the HFn-6, suggesting augmented oxidative stress. This was associated with a reduced serum vitamin E status, as serum a-tocopherol concentrations were lower with MFn-3, even with higher dietary levels of vitamin E. Serum cytokine and serum amyloid A concentrations were not influenced by diet. Conclusion: These results point towards a resistance of cats to develop dietary fat-induced inflammation, but also suggest a high susceptibility to oxidative stress when fed a fish oil-supplemented diet even with moderate fat level and additional vitamin E