High-Performance Vision Training Improves Batting Statistics for University of Cincinnati Baseball Players

Purpose: Baseball requires an incredible amount of visual acuity and eye-hand coordination, especially for the batters. The learning objective of this work is to observe that traditional vision training as part of injury prevention or conditioning can be added to a team’s training schedule to improve some performance parameters such as batting and hitting. Methods: All players for the 2010 to 2011 season underwent normal preseason physicals and baseline testing that is standard for the University of Cincinnati Athletics Department. Standard vision training exercises were implemented 6 weeks before the start of the season. Results are reported as compared to the 2009 to 2010 season. Pre season conditioning was followed by a maintenance program during the season of vision training. Results: The University of Cincinnati team batting average increased from 0.251 in 2010 to 0.285 in 2011 and the slugging percentage increased by 0.033. The rest of the Big East’s slugging percentage fell over that same time frame 0.082. This produces a difference of 0.115 with 95 % confidence interval (0.024, 0.206). As with the batting average, the change for University of Cincinnati is significantly different from the rest of the Big East (p = 0.02). Essentially all batting parameters improved by 10 % or more. Similar differences were seen when restricting the analysis to games within the Big East conference. Conclusion: Vision training can combine traditional and technological methodologies to train the athletes ’ eyes an

Autism spectrum disorders in adolescence and adulthood: Long-term outcomes and relevant issues for treatment and research

The advances in research and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) over the past three decades have focused largely on early childhood and school-age years. Although ASD is a lifelong condition, there has been relatively little attention paid to ASD during the adolescent and adulthood periods. As the population of those with ASD continues to rise and age, the need to provide research and treatment for this group has become increasingly evident. This paper reviews the current literature available on symptoms, functioning, and treatment of adolescents and adults with ASD, as well as the unique issues that arise for individuals with ASD after childhood. Adulthood outcomes for ASD are generally poor, even for those with average to above average cognitive ability. Further research and additional clinical resources are needed for this rapidly increasing group

Mutual adaptation of a membrane protein and its lipid bilayer during conformational changes

The structural elucidation of membrane proteins continues to gather pace, but we know little about their molecular interactions with the lipid environment or how they interact with the surrounding bilayer. Here, with the aid of low-resolution X-ray crystallography, we present direct structural information on membrane interfaces as delineated by lipid phosphate groups surrounding the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) in its phosphorylated and dephosphorylated Ca(2+)-free forms. The protein-lipid interactions are further analysed using molecular dynamics simulations. We find that SERCA adapts to membranes of different hydrophobic thicknesses by inducing local deformations in the lipid bilayers and by undergoing small rearrangements of the amino-acid side chains and helix tilts. These mutually adaptive interactions allow smooth transitions through large conformational changes associated with the transport cycle of SERCA, a strategy that may be of general nature for many membrane proteins

Secretion systems of pathogenic escherichia coli

Protein secretion plays a central role in modulating the interactions of bacteria with their environments. Bacterial ribosomes synthesize up to 8000 different proteins. Almost half of these become integrated in membranes and are secreted to the periplasm or to the external milieu. Many bacterial processes , such as DNA replication, motility, transport, antibiotic resistance, scavenging of chemicals, and pathogenesis, depend on protein secretion. Thereby, evolutionarily unrelated protein nanomachines have been developed, which allow exported proteins to cross the Gram-negative membranes. Bacterial proteins can be exported directly from the cytoplasm out of the cell by a one-step (cytoplasm to extracellular milieu), including the type I secretion system (T1SS), T3SS, T4SS, and T6SS, or two-step (periplasm translocation step), including the T2SS and T5SS, while the T4SS can use either the one- or two-step mechanism. The T3SS, T5SS, and T6SS are the more common secretion systems in Escherichia coli and most of the secreted substrates are virulence factors related to pathogenic E. coli . In this chapter, we will describe the main characteristic of these last three secretion systems.Inst. de BiotecnologíaFil: Navarro-García, Fernando. Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados.Departamento de Biología Celular; MéxicoFil: Ruiz-Perez, Fernando. University of Virginia School of Medicine. Department of Pediatrics; Estados UnidosFil: Larzabal, Mariano. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Cataldi, Angel Adrian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Biotecnología; Argentin