FIELD TESTING TO PREDICT PERFORMANCE IN RUGBY UNION PLAYERS

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships between various field tests for leg power, sprinting speed and agility in a group of rugby union players. A group of 26 semi professional rugby union players each completed a test protocol consisting of a unilateral horizontal triple jump, 10 and 30M linear speed sprint tests, a change of direction test and a reactive agility speed test. Simple correlation analysis revealed multiple strong relationships between measured variables, most notably between linear speed and reactive agility speed (r=0.72-0.83). Multiple regression analysis indicated that linear speed and change of direction speed could predict 81% of the variance in reactive agility speed

Online database for the Assessment and Comparative Evaluation of Rehabilitation Outcomes

The changing face of rehabilitation structures and practices has meant that measurement of outcomes of rehabilitation has become an absolute necessity. Unfortunately the level of agreement over which measures to use is poor as a result of lack of access to measures and lack of knowledge concerning methods of analysis and interpretation of results. In this paper we report on efforts by the authors to address these issues through the establishment of an online database available over a variety of web devices for the comparative evaluation of rehabilitation outcomes. We discuss the background to the problem, the development and use of an initial system and the future directions of the project. Keywords - Outcome measures, Internet, databas

Online database for the Assessment and Comparative Evaluation of Rehabilitation Outcomes

The changing face of rehabilitation structures and practices has meant that measurement of outcomes of rehabilitation has become an absolute necessity. Unfortunately the level of agreement over which measures to use is poor as a result of lack of access to measures and lack of knowledge concerning methods of analysis and interpretation of results. In this paper we report on efforts by the authors to address these issues through the establishment of an online database available over a variety of web devices for the comparative evaluation of rehabilitation outcomes. We discuss the background to the problem, the development and use of an initial system and the future directions of the project. Keywords - Outcome measures, Internet, databas

Genes for blood pressure: an opportunity to understand hypertension

Hypertension (HTN) is quantitatively the major cardiovascular risk factor and responsible for ∼50% of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Blood pressure (BP) is also a classical complex genetic trait with heritability estimates of 30-50%. Although much is known about BP regulation, the intrinsic origin of essential HTN remains obscure although many environmental factors are known. Analyses of rare monogenic syndromes of HTN have focused attention on pathways that involve renal sodium handling, and steroid hormone metabolism including the mineralocorticoid receptor activity. The genetic basis of common essential HTN on the other hand is only just becoming accessible through high-throughput approaches. Unbiased genome-wide analyses of BP genomics have identified 43 genetic variants associated with systolic, diastolic BP, and HTN. It is highly likely based on current findings that there are hundreds of such loci with small effects on BP, opening a perspective on the genetic architecture of BP that was unknown before. It is our hope that the knowledge of these and further loci will lead to improved understanding of BP pathophysiology and to the identification of new targets for drug therap

STUDIES ON PROTEIN UPTAKE BY ISOLATED TUMOR CELLS : I. Electron Microscopic Evidence of Ferritin Uptake by Ehrlich Ascites Tumor Cells

Ferritin, added to the incubation medium of ascites tumor cells, was used as an electron microscopic marker to study the uptake of large protein molecules by morphologically intact cells. A definite uptake could be detected after 1 hour of incubation in Tyrode bicarbonate solution containing 0.04 to 13.3 mg ferritin/ml. Ferritin was found in a variety of membrane-surrounded structures, suggesting that pinocytesis and related membrane movements are occurring under physiological conditions and can account for the penetration of intact macromolecules into isolated tumor cells. Supplementation of the medium with serum albumin (33 mg/ml) increased the average amount of ferritin per cell and per pinocytotic structure. Ferritin was strongly adsorbed by fragments of lysed cells, which were readily taken up by intact cells. Besides its role as carrier, this debris appeared to stimulate membrane movements. Only rare examples were found to suggest the release of ferritin from the pinocytotic structures into the cytoplasm. Thus, the disintegration of such structures cannot be considered an obvious step towards a rapid metabolic utilization of protein by the cell. Particles of colloidal gold presented to the cell under the same conditions were not taken up to any significant extent, thus providing good evidence for a selective ingestion of particles of comparable sizes

STUDIES ON PROTEIN UPTAKE BY ISOLATED TUMOR CELLS : II. Quantitative Data on the Adsorption and Uptake of I131-Serum Albumin by Ehrlich Ascites Tumor Cells

Surface adsorption is studied in some detail because it is believed to be a major artifact in measurements of protein uptake by mammalian cells. Adsorption increases linearly with the I131-albumin concentration between 0.001 and 300 mg/ml. After short exposure to 300 mg/ml and two cell washings, the adsorption amounts to 38 mg albumin per gm cell proteins. Further washings remove 80 per cent of this value, leaving a small irreversibly bound residue. At equilibrium, adsorbed albumin can be labeled by a simple albumin exchange. This labeling reaches a steady state within seconds and stays at constant level over 30 minutes. Significant increases above this initial level are measured over periods of 2 hours. In our experimental conditions these increases can be considered due to albumin uptake. This uptake rises linearly with the albumin concentration between 0.5 and 50.0 mg/ml, and reaches 0.2 mg/gm cell protein or 4 x 105 molecules per cell. Compared to the incorporation of free amino acids in similar conditions, this value does not appear to contribute significantly to the N-metabolism of the tumor cells. Adsorption was generally greater than uptake. Both processes are linear functions of the same variable over the whole range of concentration tested. It is suggested that albumin is taken up by pinocytosis

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF A SIMULATED EFFUSION IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS ON KNEE KINEMATICS AND LOWER LIMB MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING A SINGLE LEG DROP LANDING

Arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI) is defined as an ongoing reflex inhibition of the musculature surrounding a joint following distension or damage to the structures of that joint [Hopkins and Ingersoll, 2000]. AMI following joint injury may affect movement and muscle recruitment which may impair rehabilitation and delay the return to activity. Knee angular displacement and velocity as well as lower limb EMG were measured in the period 250 milliseconds pre initial contact to 250 milliseconds post initial contact during a single leg drop jump in 8 healthy subjects before and after a simulated knee joint effusion of 60 millilitres. Repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc testing revealed no statistically significant differences in pre and post effusion in knee kinematic or lower limb EMG measures undertaken. A simulated knee effusion did not result in significant alterations to knee joint mechanics or lower limb muscle activation patterns during a single leg drop landing. The mechanism by which an effusion affects motor control during functional and dynamic weight bearing tasks warrants further investigation

The angular dependent magnetoresistance in alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2KHg(SCN)_4

In spite of extensive experimental studies of the angular dependent magnetoresistance (ADMR) of the low temperature phase (LTP) of alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2KHg(SCN)_4 about a decade ago, the nature of LTP remains elusive. Here we present a new study of ADMR of LTP in alpha-(ET)_2 salts assuming that LTP is unconventional charge density wave (UCDW). In the presence of magnetic field the quasiparticle spectrum in UCDW is quantized, which gives rise to striking ADMR in UCDW. The present model appears to account for many existing ADMR data of alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2KHg(SCN)_4 remarkably well.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure