Influence of motor practices on university students’ emotional state [Influencia de las prácticas motrices sobre el estado emocional de estudiantes universitarios]

The emotional experience is a key aspect when promoting student’s well-being from the physical education. This study analyzed the effects of three kinds of motor practices without teammates or adversaries (games, body expression and introjections) on women and men’s emotional state. 358 students took part in this study (98 women, 27.37%, and 260 men, 72.63%) from four different Spanish universities. After each activity students filled out a questionnaire to validate the Games and Emotions Scale (GES), indicating the experienced intensity in positive, negative and ambiguous emotions. Data were analyzed by generalized estimating equations. It was confirmed that the three kinds of practices work as specific subdomains in the emotional experience. Men showed more intense emotions than women (p <.001), although both genders had a similar emotional behavior in motor expression and motor introjections practices. Women registered lower values in motor games. La vivencia emocional es un aspecto clave para promover el bienestar del alumnado desde la educación física. Este trabajo examinó los efectos de tres tipos de prácticas psicomotrices sin presencia de compañeros y de adversarios (juegos, expresión e introyección) sobre el estado emocional de mujeres y hombres. Participaron 358 estudiantes (98 mujeres, 27,37% y 260 hombres, 72,63%) de 4 universidades españolas. Tras cada actividad los estudiantes cumplimentaron el cuestionario validado de juegos y emociones (GES), indicando la intensidad experimentada en emociones positivas, negativas y ambiguas. Los datos se analizaron mediante ecuaciones de estimación generalizadas. Se confirmó que los tres tipos de prácticas funcionan como subdominios específicos en la vivencia emocional. Los hombres expresaron emociones más intensas (p < ,001) que las mujeres, aunque ambos sexos tuvieron un comportamiento emocional similar en la expresión e introyección. Las mujeres registraron valores inferiores en los juegos motores

Latent tuberculosis infection, tuberculin skin test and vitamin D status in contacts of tuberculosis patients: a cross-sectional and case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Deficient serum vitamin D levels have been associated with incidence of tuberculosis (TB), and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). However, to our knowledge, no studies on vitamin D status and tuberculin skin test (TST) conversion have been published to date. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃(25[OH]D) status with LTBI prevalence and TST conversion in contacts of active TB in Castellon (Spain).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was designed in two phases: cross-sectional and case-control. From November 2009 to October 2010, contacts of 42 TB patients (36 pulmonary, and 6 extra-pulmonary) were studied in order to screen for TB. LTBI and TST conversion cases were defined following TST, clinical, analytic and radiographic examinations. Serum 25(OH)D levels were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) on a COBAS^®410 ROCHE^®analyzer. Logistic regression models were used in the statistical analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study comprised 202 people with a participation rate of 60.1%. Only 20.3% of the participants had a sufficient serum 25(OH)D (≥ 30 ng/ml) level. In the cross-sectional phase, 50 participants had LTBI and no association between LTBI status and serum 25(OH)D was found. After 2 months, 11 out of 93 negative LTBI participants, without primary prophylaxis, presented TST conversion with initial serum 25(OH)D levels: a:19.4% (7/36): < 20 ng/ml, b:12.5% (4/32):20-29 ng/ml, and c:0%(0/25) ≥ 30 ng/ml. A sufficient serum 25(OH)D level was a protector against TST conversion a: Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.00; b: OR = 0.49 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.07-2.66); and c: OR = 0.10 (95% CI 0.00-0.76), trends p = 0.019, adjusted for high exposure and sputum acid-fast bacilli positive index cases. The mean of serum level 25(OH)D in TST conversion cases was lower than controls,17.5 ± 5.6 ng/ml versus 25.9 ± 13.7 ng/ml (p = 0.041).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results suggest that sufficient serum 25(OH)D levels protect against TST conversion.</p

In Situ Gelling Gelrite/Alginate Formulations as Vehicles for Ophthalmic Drug Delivery

The objective of this study was to develop an ion-activated in situ gelling vehicle for ophthalmic delivery of matrine. The rheological properties of polymer solutions, including Gelrite, alginate, and Gelrite/alginate solution, were evaluated. In addition, the effect of formulation characteristics on in vitro release and in vivo precorneal drug kinetic of matrine was investigated. It was found that the optimum concentration of Gelrite solution for the in situ gel-forming delivery systems was 0.3% (w/w) and that for alginate solution was 1.4% (w/w). The mixture of 0.2% Gelrite and 0.6% alginate solutions showed a significant enhancement in gel strength at physiological condition. On the basis of the in vitro results, the Gelrite formulations of matrine-containing alginate released the drug most slowly. For each tested polymer solution, the concentration of matrine in the precorneal area was higher than that of matrine-containing simulated tear fluid (STF) almost at each time point (p < 0.05). The area under the curve of formulation 16 (0.2%Gelrite/0.6%alginate) was 4.65 times greater than that of containing matrine STF. Both the in vitro release and in vivo pharmacological studies indicated that the Gelrite/alginate solution had the better ability to retain drug than the Gelrite or alginate solutions alone. The tested formulation was found to be almost non-irritant in the ocular irritancy test. The overall results of this study revealed that the Gelrite/alginate mixture can be used as an in situ gelling vehicle to enhance ocular retention