The Effect of Increasing Running Speed on Mechanical Work of the Lower Limbs in Elite Male Runners

Introduction: Understanding the biomechanical performance of the lower limb joint during running is of the utmost importance for enhancing our current understanding of high human performance, as well as for identifying potential factors that may be associated with injuries. Given that the mechanical work of the lower limb joints conveys crucial information about joint function, the objective of the present study was to examine the impact of increasing running speed on the mechanical work of elite male runners. Materials and Methods: The current study is an observational cross-sectional study.28 healthy male elite runners aged 22 - 51 years ran on a treadmill with a force plate in the middle of the walk-way, at three different speeds, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 m/s respectively, and the data related to the mechanical work of the lower limbs were recorded and extracted. Also, in order to compare the averages of the Hip, Knee and Ankle mechanical work variables, ANOVA repeated measurements method with Bonferroni post hoc test was used. Results: It was found that increasing the speed leads to a significant difference in the mechanical work of the joints of the lower limbs including hip and ankle in both absorption and production phases(P<0.05) except in the knee joint at a speed of 3.5 to 4.5 in positive mechanical work (P=0.121). Conclusion: Considering the biomechanics of running is very important as a basic skill that every person performs during his life. The mechanical work aspects of the hip, knee, and ankle joints during increased running speed may potentially provide a biomechanical explanation for these clinical observations

Determinants of Post Harvest Losses among Tomato Farmers in The Navrongo Municipality in The Upper East Region

Food supply can be induced either by increase in production or reduction in loss. Many postharvest losses are direct result of factors such as higher temperatures on crops before harvesting, pests and diseases attack etc, hence increase in postharvest losses. The study analysed the determinants of postharvest losses among tomato farmers in the Navrongo Municipal in the Upper East region. The specific objectives were to: investigate the factors that influence the losses of tomato in the study area, determine the effects of the losses on the revenue of the tomato farmer in the study area and examine the preservative methods adopted by tomato farmers in the study area. Multiple stage sampling technique was used. Purposive sampling was employed in selecting five (5) tomato farming communities in the study area. Simple random sampling was used to select twenty (20) respondents from each of the five communities, making a total of hundred (100) respondents. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Results on socio-demographic characteristics revealed that, majority of the tomato farmers were males and 50% of the respondent fell between the age ranges of 20-39 years. Majority of the farmers had household size ranging between 1 – 5 persons and that gave a percentage of 50. The multiple linear regression model result showed that 76% in the variation in the quantity of fruit loss from harvesting to marketing stages were explained by the specified variables. The double log analysis showed that 64.8% of the variation in farmers’ revenue from sales of tomato was explained by its association with the independent variables. Only eight (8) out of hundred (100) respondents adopted drying as a preservative method as at the time of study. The regression showed that losses had a significant effect on the revenue of farmers. In order for postharvest losses to be reduced, Pwalugu tomato factory needs to be re-established, Extension services should be rendered to educate tomato farmers on various ways to preserve the produce after harvest and roads linking farms to markets should be improved to reduce transit losses. Keywords: Post-harvest losses, tomato, preservative method, adoption, farmer revenu

Karate Pathology: A systematic Review

Objective The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the scientific framework of studies related to karate injuries and to provide a comprehensive review of the previous studies. Methods The search for articles was performed in specialized databases and articles were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results The study showed that most injuries in karate occur in the head and neck. Most of these injuries are contusions and bruises. It was also found that most of the reported injuries occurred during practice, but these injuries are generally mild. The study also showed that the full-contact of kicks and punches, opponent’s technical foul and long training are the most important causes of injuries in karate. Conclusion The study showed that most injuries in karate occur in the head and neck. Most of these injuries are contusions and bruises. It was also found that most of the reported injuries occurred during practice, but these injuries are generally mild. The study also showed that the full-contact of kicks and punchs, opponent’s technical foul and long training are the most important causes of injuries in karate

Evaluation of Central Auditory Processing of Azeri-Persian Bilinguals Using Dichotic

 Objectives: Sometimes there is no hearing impairment, but it is possible to have an auditory disorder. This is known as a central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). Verbal dichotic tasks are useful tools to evaluate CAPD, but there is almost no tool to assess this for Azeri people in their native language. The aim of this study is to evaluate central auditory processing of Azeri participants by Azeri dichotic digit test (ADDT).Materials & Methods: Participants were 52 normal Iranian Azeri students (mean age 23.27± 4.71 ; 26 female, 26 male).They were chosen by convenient sampling. ADDT was constructed and administered in free recall format along with a Persian dichotic digit test (PDDT). After two to four weeks, reliability was performed. Results: The mean of the right ear score of PDDT and ADDT were 98.90 and 99.09 percent, respectively. ADDT was reliable in almost all scores. There was no significant difference in performance between men and women in any score of both tests (p>0.05). The results showed a significant difference between both ears’ scores in PDDT (p<0.02) as well as in ADDT (p=0.00). The right ear advantage were seen in both tests. Conclusions: All participants performed significantly better on numbers presented in the right ear than the left ear in both tests. Central auditory processing of Azeri participants for Azeri is similar to that for Persian.

Drought Responses in Six Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Cultivars

[EN] Drought is one of the major causes of reduction of crop yields worldwide, a problem that will increase in the next decades due to climate change. We describe here an initial attempt to define biochemical markers associated to water stress in several hazelnut cultivars, by measuring the levels of common osmolytes and the generation of secondary oxidative stress, in plants subjected to water stress, and after recovery from the stress treatment. Proline (Pro) appears to be a reliable marker in this species, as its accumulation in leaves correlates well with the degree of stress affecting the plants. Differences between cultivars in relative Pro accumulation and oxidative stress suggested that some cultivars are more tolerant than others and could be selected for cultivation in drought-affected areas.Shahi-Gharahlar, A.; Fatahi, MR.; Zamani, Z.; Al Hassan, M.; Boscaiu Neagu, MT.; Vicente Meana, Ó. (2016). Drought Responses in Six Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Cultivars. BULLETIN OF UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND VETERINARY MEDICINE. 73(2):259-261. doi:10.15835/buasvmcn-hort:12288S25926173

The Influence of Fasting and Energy Restricting Diets on Blood Pressure in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis

Introduction: To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive meta-analysis has been carried out to investigate the effect of different approaches of fasting and calorie restriction on blood pressure. Aim: Thus, the present systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to examine the effect of fasting and energy restricting diets on blood pressure in adult subjects. Methods: We searched PubMed/Medline, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar up to June 2019. The clinical trials that examined the effects of fasting and energy restricting diets on Blood Pressure was identified using MESH and non-MESH terms. Results: 23 studies, including a total of 1397 participants, reported SBP and DBP as an outcome measure. Overall results from the random-effects model indicated that fasting and energy restricting administration elicited significant changes in SBP (weight mean difference (WMD): � 1.88 mmHg, 95 CI � 2.50, � 1.25) and DBP (WMD � 1.32 mmHg, 95 CI � 1.81, � 0.84, p = 0.000). Subgroup analyses displayed that intervention duration � 12 weeks more effectively reduced SBP (WMD: -3.26 mmHg) and DBP (WMD � 1.32 mmHg). In addition, these analyses showed that fasting regimens (WMD � 3.26 mmHg) more effectively reduced SBP than energy restricting diets (WMD � 1.09 mmHg). Conclusion: The principal finding of this study was that fasting and energy restricting diets elicited, overall, significant reductions in SBP and DBP. Subsequent subgroup analyses revealed that intervention duration � 12 weeks and fasting regimens more effectively reduced SBP and DBP. © 2020, Italian Society of Hypertension

Burgeoning Polymer Nano Blends for Improved Controlled Drug Release: A Review

With continual rapid developments in the biomedical field and understanding of the important mechanisms and pharmacokinetics of biological molecules, controlled drug delivery systems (CDDSs) have been at the forefront over conventional drug delivery systems. Over the past several years, scientists have placed boundless energy and time into exploiting a wide variety of excipients, particularly diverse polymers, both natural and synthetic. More recently, the development of nano polymer blends has achieved noteworthy attention due to their amazing properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and more importantly, their pivotal role in controlled and sustained drug release in vitro and in vivo. These compounds come with a number of effective benefits for improving problems of targeted or controlled drug and gene delivery systems; thus, they have been extensively used in medical and pharmaceutical applications. Additionally, they are quite attractive for wound dressings, textiles, tissue engineering, and biomedical prostheses. In this sense, some important and workable natural polymers (namely, chitosan (CS), starch and cellulose) and some applicable synthetic ones (such as poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly-glycolic acid (PGA)) have played an indispensable role over the last two decades for their therapeutic effects owing to their appealing and renewable biological properties. According to our data, this is the first review article highlighting CDDSs composed of diverse natural and synthetic nano biopolymers, blended for biological purposes, mostly over the past five years; other reviews have just briefly mentioned the use of such blended polymers. We, additionally, try to make comparisons between various nano blending systems in terms of improved sustained and controlled drug release behavior

Language barriers and their impact on provision of care to patients with limited English proficiency: Nurses' perspectives

Aim and objective To explore nurses’ perspectives of language barriers and their impact on the provision of care to patients with limited English proficiency from diverse linguistic background. Design and methods A qualitative descriptive approach was used. Using individual interviews and focus group discussions, data were collected from 59 nurses working in tertiary care hospitals in England. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings Three themes, “multi‐ethnicities and language barriers,” “the impact of language barriers” and “communicating via interpreters,” were identified. Communication was identified as the most important aspect of care provision and an essential component of a nurse's professional role regardless of the clinical area or speciality. Language barriers were identified as the biggest obstacles in providing adequate, appropriate, effective and timely care to patients with limited English proficiency. Use of professional interpreters was considered useful; however, the limitations associated with use of interpretation service, including arrangement difficulties, availability and accessibility of interpreters, convenience, confidentiality and privacy‐related issues and impact on the patient's comfort were mentioned. Conclusions Language barriers, in any country or setting, can negatively affect nurses’ ability to communicate effectively with their patients and thereby have a negative impact on the provision of appropriate, timely, safe and effective care to meet patient's needs. Relevance to clinical practice An understanding of language barriers can help nurses find appropriate strategies to overcome such barriers and, consequently, enhance the provision of effective care to patients affected by language barriers in any clinical setting in any healthcare system. The findings of the study have international relevance as language barriers affect healthcare provision in any country or setting