Scoring first relevance in knockout promotion to Spanish LaLiga Smartbank

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect´s relevance of scoring first in knockout promotion to the Spanish Liga Smartbank and succeeding´s probability in the knockout round according to contextual parameters. The sample consisted in all knockout rounds not ending scoreless (n = 199) played in the knockout promotion to Spanish Liga Smartbank between 2004/2005 to 2018/2019 season. Data were examined by descriptive analysis, chi-square tests and binary logistic regressions. Results shown statistically significant values when scoring first and moving through to the next qualifying round (χ² [1 df] = 32.37; p < .001). Teams opening knockout round as a home team and scoring first, move through to the next round 61.7% of times while teams opening knockout round as an away team and scoring first, move through to the next round 79.4% of the times (Total OR = 6.19). Moreover, significant results were found relative to the importance of gaining advantage in first-leg match and scoring first in the second-leg match. This information could be useful for coaches and performance analysts, being applicable to competition in order to prevent the opposite team from scoring a goal and to find tactical options that allow your team getting ahead on the scoreboard

Estudi comparatiu de les proves eliminatòries i finals de 100 metres en nedadors andalusos de grups d’edat

L’estudi va tenir com a objectiu analitzar les possibles diferències en els resultats de les sèries eliminatòries i finals en les proves de 100 m, obtinguts durant els campionats Infantils d’Andalusia de Natació. Els nedadors pertanyien a la categoria de 13-14 anys femenina i 15-16 anys masculina. Van ser recollides diferents variables temporals i cinemàtiques: velocitat (V), freqüència de cicle (Fc), longitud de cicle (Lc) i índex de cicle (Ic) dels diferents estils: crol (C), esquena (E), braça (B) i papallona (P); es va realitzar una anàlisi comparativa segons gènere, estil de natació i eliminatòries o finals. Els resultats mostren que en aquestes  edats de competició s’obtenen diferències significatives entre gèneres i entre sèries eliminatòries i finals en les variables analitzades; les diferències entre l’edat i la variable Lc són les principals conseqüències de les diferències trobades entre ambdós gèneres

Effect of augmented verbal and visual feedback on efficiency in skiing teaching

The aims of this study were to analyse the effect of two feedback types as strategies in training ski teachers and to verify their effectiveness in the students’ learning. Thirty ski teachers participated in the study (average age=32.0±5.4 years; average experience in ski teaching=10.0±3 years). The teachers were divided into two experimental groups (group I: verbal feedback; group II: visual and verbal feedback) and one control group. Fifteen teaching trials were performed by each teacher, and a subsequent instructional supervision meeting was carried out in order to analyse quality of feedbacks delivered during the trial. A total of 180 high school students participated in the study as ski learners. During the instructional supervision meeting, the teachers were guided towards a previously established theoretical model of feedback used as the evaluation criterion. The ARIMA analysis of the time series showed changes in baseline teacher behaviour (group II came closer to the model established and concentrated better than group I; both experimental groups were better than the control group). The results of the analysis of variance for the comparison of students’ learning were also in the same direction: the students of group II teachers obtained better results than their peers of group I, and both experimental group’s students were better than those pertaining to the control group. We recommend using the criteria of the feedback model in order to achieve better quality of teacher training in skiing

Supervised Exercise Immediately After Bariatric Surgery: the Study Protocol of the EFIBAR Randomized Controlled Trial

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), Plan Nacional de I+D+i calls RETOS 2016 (reference DEP2016-74926-R) and RETOS 2018 (reference RTI2018-093302-A-I00). EM-R and MAI were funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FPU18/01107 and FPU17/01158, respectively). AH-M and LL-S were funded by the predoctoral fellowship program of the University of Almeria. The funding sources approved this study although they had no role in the design and will not have any role during its execution, analyses and interpretation of the data, writing manuscripts, or decision to submit for publication.Background Previous studies have investigated weight loss caused by exercise following bariatric surgery. However, in most cases, the training programis poorly reported; the exercise type, volume, and intensity are briefly mentioned; and the sample size, selection criteria, and follow-up time vary greatly across studies. Purpose The EFIBAR study aims to investigate over 1 year the effects of a 16-week supervised exercise program, initiated immediately after bariatric surgery, on weight loss (primary outcome), body composition, cardiometabolic risk, physical fitness, and quality of life in patients with severe/extreme obesity. Material and Methods The EFIBAR study is a parallel-group, superiority, randomized controlled trial (RCT), comprising 80 surgery patients. Half of the participants, randomly selected, perform a 16-week supervised exercise program, including both strength and aerobic training, starting immediately after the surgery (7–14 days). For each participant, all primary and secondary outcomes are measured at three different time points: (i) before the surgery, (ii) after the intervention (≈4 months), and (iii) 1 year after the surgery.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), Plan Nacional de I+D+i calls RETOS DEP2016-74926-R RTI2018-093302-A-I00Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities FPU18/01107 FPU17/01158predoctoral fellowship program of the University of Almeri

Bidirectional Associations between Objective Physical Activity and Sleep Patterns in Spanish School Children

We are grateful to Ana Yara Postigo Fuentes for her assistance with the English language. Also, we would like to express our gratitude to the children, parents, teachers and schools for allowing us to carry out this school program, as well as for their involvement and support during the process. Finally, we would also like to express our gratitude to the University of Granada, Research and Knowledge Transfer Fund (PPIT) 2016, Excellence Actions Programme: Scientific Units of Excellence; Scientific Unit of Excellence on Excercise and Health (UCEES), the Regional Ministry of Economy, Knowledge, Enterprise and Universities, and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [SOMM17/6107/UGR].Physical activity (PA) and sleep contribute to better children’s health. Nonetheless, the bidirectional relationship between both of these health-related factors is unclear when using objective measures. The aims of this study were (1) to describe the PA (light PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sleep (duration, latency, and efficiency) patterns of children and compare them with recommendations, and (2) to analyze the bidirectional association between PA levels and sleep patterns in 470 Spanish children according to sex (average age of 8.4 (0.4) years, 51.9% boys). A tri-axial accelerometer and sleep logs were used to measure PA (light PA and MVPA) and sleep patterns (duration, latency, and efficiency) in the children for seven consecutive days. Linear mixed models were conducted to analyze the bidirectional association (PA → sleep and sleep → PA) adjusted for the child, the sex, the school, and the day of observation. The results showed that, overall, the children did not meet the sleep duration recommendations per day. Regarding the bidirectional association, increased light PA and MVPA during the day was related to decreased sleep duration but an improvement in sleep efficiency that night. However, sleep duration and sleep efficiency were only related negatively and positively to light PA the following day, respectively. Regarding sex, light PA was associated with decreased sleep duration in both sexes, although the average value was lower in boys. In addition, light PA was also related only to an improvement in sleep efficiency the same night in both sexes, with girls generally having more efficient sleep. More studies in a representative sample of children that use objective measures to corroborate these results are neededEuropean Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [SOMM17/6107/UGR]

Influence of a Concurrent Exercise Training Intervention during Pregnancy on Maternal and Arterial and Venous Cord Serum Cytokines: The GESTAFIT Project

The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of a supervised concurrent exercise-training program, from the 17th gestational week until delivery, on cytokines in maternal (at 17th and 35th gestational week, and at delivery) and arterial and venous cord serum. Fifty-eight Caucasian pregnant women (age: 33.5 +/- 4.7 years old, body mass index: 23.6 +/- 4.1kg/m(2)) from the GESTAFIT Project (exercise (n = 37) and control (n = 21) groups) participated in this quasi-experimental study (per-protocol basis). The exercise group followed a 60-min 3 days/week concurrent (aerobic-resistance) exercise-training from the 17th gestational week to delivery. Maternal and arterial and venous cord serum cytokines (fractalkine, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha) were assessed using Luminex xMAP technology. In maternal serum (after adjusting for the baseline values of cytokines), the exercise group decreased TNF-alpha (from baseline to 35th week, p = 0.02), and increased less IL-1 beta (from baseline to delivery, p = 0.03) concentrations than controls. When adjusting for other potential confounders, these differences became non-significant. In cord blood, the exercise group showed reduced arterial IL-6 and venous TNF-alpha (p = 0.03 and p = 0.001, respectively) and higher concentrations of arterial IL-1 beta (p = 0.03) compared to controls. The application of concurrent exercise-training programs could be a strategy to modulate immune responses in pregnant women and their fetuses. However, future research is needed to better understand the origin and clearance of these cytokines, their role in the maternal-placental-fetus crosstalk, and the influence of exercise interventions on them

DExMA: An R Package for Performing Gene Expression Meta-Analysis with Missing Genes

Meta-analysis techniques allow researchers to jointly analyse different studies to determine common effects. In the field of transcriptomics, these methods have gained popularity in recent years due to the increasing number of datasets that are available in public repositories. Despite this, there is a limited number of statistical software packages that implement proper meta-analysis functionalities for this type of data. This article describes DExMA, an R package that provides a set of functions for performing gene expression meta-analyses, from data downloading to results visualization. Additionally, we implemented functions to control the number of missing genes, which can be a major issue when comparing studies generated with different analytical platforms. DExMA is freely available in the Bioconductor repository.Teaching Staff Programme by the Ministerio de Universidades FPU19/01999 MCIN/AEI PID2020119032RB-I00FEDER/Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades P20_00335 B-CTS-40-UGR20'Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades' (CTEICU)European Union through the European Social Fund (ESF) named 'Andalucia se mueve con Europa" European Union-NextGenerationEU, Ministerio de Universidades (Spain's Government)Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, through a call from the University of Granad

Gamification in the Spanish educational field: a systematic review

Ante la falta de motivación e implicación del alumnado surgen nuevas estrategias metodológicas que acercan los procesos educativos a los intereses y a las necesidades del estudiante del siglo XXI. Entre ellas destaca la gamificación, que consiste en aplicar los elementos propios del juego en contextos no lúdicos. Esta revisión sistemática pretende conocer la incidencia que la gamificación ha alcanzado en el ámbito educativo español para poder determinar en qué etapas y en qué asignaturas se está aplicando, sobre qué variables se incide y qué resultados se están obteniendo. Para ello se consultaron las bases de datos electrónicas Web of Science (colección principal), Eric y Scopus, contemplando los principios establecidos por la declaración PRISMA para revisiones sistemáticas. De los 118 artículos cribados por el título y el resumen y leídos en su totalidad, solo 15 propuestas cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. En la distribución por etapas educativas el 66.7% de los artículos pertenecen al ámbito universitario, el 20 % a educación secundaria, el 6,7% a bachillerato y el 6,7% restante combinaba el programa en primaria y secundaria. En términos globales, más de la mitad de las propuestas (un 60%) incidieron en variables motivacionales. A pesar del enorme auge de la gamificación en los últimos años, se ha identificado la necesidad de un mayor rigor metodológico y una descripción más exhaustiva de las propuestas para valorar su verdadera potencialidad en nuestro país.In order to face the lack of motivation and involvement of the student body new methodological strategies have emerged aiming to bring the educational processes closer to the interests and necessities of the 21st century’s students. Among them, gamification stands out as a strategy that consists of applying elements from the games in non-ludic contexts. This systematic review seeks to know the impact that gamification has reached in the Spanish educational field to determine in which stages and which courses it is being applied to, on which variables it has an impact on and what are the results that we are obtaining. In order to do this, we consulted digital databases such as: Web of Science (main collection), Eric and Scopus. The principles established by the PRISMA declaration were taken into consideration. Out of the 118 articles filtered by title and abstract, and then read in its entirety only 15 proposals fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In the distribution via different education stages, 66.7% of the articles fall into the category of university education, 20% belongs to mandatory high school education, 6.7% falls into the category of Spanish baccalaureate and the remaining 6.7% combined the program on mandatory primary school and secondary school education. If we think in global terms, more than half of the proposals (60%) had an impact on motivational variables. Despite the rise of gamification in the last few years it has been identified a necessity for a higher methodological exactitude and a more exhaustive description of proposals to value their true potentiality in our country

Economic Crisis and Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Comparison Between Native and Immigrant Populations in a Specialised Centre in Granada, Spain

The authors would like to thank all members of the STI clinic team in the province of Granada, as well as Nurses María Teresa Sánchez Ocón, Esperanza Cano Romero and María Visitación Mingorance Ruiz, for their help in collecting the data.This study aimed to analyse the influence of the economic crisis on the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the immigrant population compared to the native population. A cross-sectional study was conducted by reviewing 441 clinical records (329 Spanish nationals and 112 non-Spanish nationals) of individuals who, between 2000 and 2014, visited an STI clinic in Granada and tested positive for an infection. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed, and infection rates, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The mean age was 28.06 years (SD = 8.30; range = 16–70). During the period 2000–2014, the risk of being diagnosed with an STI was higher among non-Spanish nationals than among Spanish nationals (odds ratio (OR) = 5.33; 95% CI = 4.78–6.60). Differences between both populations were less marked during the crisis period (2008–2014: OR = 2.73; 95% CI = 2.32–3.73) than during the non-crisis period (2000–2007: OR = 12.02; 95% CI = 10.33–16.17). This may be due to underreporting of diagnoses in the immigrant population. Immigrants visiting the STI clinic in Granada are especially vulnerable to positive STI diagnoses compared to the native population

Assessment of autonomous nerve system through non-linear heart rate variability outcomes in sedentary healthy adults

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a psycho-physiological phenomenon with broad health implications. Different data analysis methods have been used to assess the autonomic nervous system activity, but the validation of new indexes that accurately describe its balance through non-invasive methods (i.e., HRV analysis) is of clinical interest. This study aimed: (i) to evaluate the association of the Stress Score (SS) and the Sympathetic/Parasympathetic Ratio (S/PS) with time domain and frequency domain analysis of HRV, and (ii) to set reference values of SS and S/PS in sedentary healthy adults. Methods: A total of 156 sedentary healthy adults (38.4 ± 15.57 years old, 81 women), aged were involved in this study. HRV was measured for 15 min in a supine position at rest. SS and S/PS were calculated from the non-linear HRV analyses based on Poincare Plot. Results: Stress Score showed a non-linear negative power-law relationship with SDNN (β = −0.969; R2 = 0.963; P < 0.001), RMSSD (β = −0.867; R2 = 0.722; P < 0.001), high frequency (β = −0.834; R2 = 0.752; P =< 0.001), low frequency (β = −0.627; R2 = 0.330; P < 0.001), SD1 (β = −0.867; R2 = 0.722; P < 0.001) and SD2 (β = −1.000; R2 > 0.999; P < 0.001). There was observed a negative cubic relationship between SS with PNN50 (β = −1.972; R2 = 0.644; P < 0.001). A linear regression model was conducted between SS with Ratio Low/High Frequency (β = 0.026; R2 < 0.001; P = 0.750). Non-linear power-law regression models were built between S/PS and SDNN (β = −0.990; R2 = 0.981; P < 0.001), RMSSD (β = −0.973; R2 = 0.939; P < 0.001), high frequency (β = −0.928; R2 = 0.970; P < 0.001), low frequency (β = −2.344; R2 = 0.557; P < 0.001), SD1 (β = −0.973; R2 = 0.939; P < 0.001) and SD2 (β = −0.611; R2 = 0.908; P < 0.001). A non-linear negative regression model was built between S/PS and PNN50 (β = −3.412; R2 = 0.868; P < 0.001). A linear regression model was conducted between S/PS and SD2/SD1 (β = 0.075; R2 = 0.006; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our results support the use of SS as a sympathetic activity marker, and S/PS as an indicator of the sympathetic and parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system in sedentary healthy adults.Spanish Government FPU14/04172 FPU15/03960University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016, Excellence actions: Units of ExcellenceUnit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES