Effects of the structure of variable practice on the learning of a coincident timing task in children

O objetivo da pesquisa foi comparar o efeito de diferentes estruturas de prática variada na aprendizagem de uma tarefa de “timing” coincidente. Participaram 80 escolares entre oito e nove anos de idade, distribuídos nos grupos bloco (BL), bloco aleatório (BAL), bloco seriado (BSR) e aleatório (AL). O instrumento utilizado foi o Temporizador de Antecipação de Bassin que permite a manipulação da velocidade de propagação de um rastro luminoso formado pelo acendimento seqüencial de 32 diodos. A tarefa consistiu em apertar o botão de resposta no momento de incandescência do último diodo da seqüência. Na fase de aquisição, as crianças realizaram 80 tentativas nas respectivas estruturas de prática. Na fase de transferência e, uma semana após, na fase de retenção, as crianças realizaram quatro tentativas, em duas velocidades diferentes das utilizadas na fase de aquisição. Nas fases de retenção e transferência não foram detectadas diferenças signiíicantes entre os grupos nas três medidas utilizadas. Estes resultados estão de acordo com a possibilidade de não encontrar efeitos de interferência contextual quando se utiliza tarefas de uma mesma classe de movimentos (Magill & Hall, 1990). No entanto, o gmpo BSR apresentou tendência de superioridade nas três medidas, implicando que estruturas de prática variada distintas podem provocar certas diferenças entre os grupos. Esta tendência c discutida e sugestões para futuras pesquisas são apresentadasThe purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of different variable practice structures on the learning of a coincident timing task. Eighty aged eigth and nine year old school children assigned to four groups, block (BL), random block (RAB), serial block (SRB) and random (RA) participated in the experiment. The apparatus used was a Bassin Anticipation Timer that allows the handling of the propagation speed of a luminous trackway formed by the sequential lighting of 32 LEDs. The task was to press the response button simultaneously with the lighting of the last diode of the trackway. The children performed 80 trials on the respective practice structures at the acquisition phase. At the transfer phase and one week later at the retention phase, they performed four trials in two velocities that were not practised during the acquisition phase. The results showed no significant differences among the groups in the transfer and retention phases concerning the three measures utilized. The possibility of no contextual interference » effects in tasks belonging to the same movement class, as argued by Magill & Hall (1990), was considered as a possible interpretation for these results. However, the tendency of a slight superiority of the BSR group in all three measures, suggests the possibility of distinct effects of variable practice structures but this needs to be investigated further in future studie

Periodontal Pathogens and Risk of Incident Cancer in Postmenopausal Females: The Buffalo OsteoPerio Study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142052/1/jper0257.pd

The association of depressive symptoms and pulmonary function in healthy adults

Objective: Chronic lung disease is exacerbated by comorbid psychiatric issues and treatment of depression may improve disease symptoms. We sought to add to the literature as to whether depression is associated with pulmonary function in healthy adults. Methods: In 2551 healthy adults from New York State, we studied the association of depression via the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) scale score and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) using general linear models and a cross-sectional design. Results: We identified statistically significant inverse trends in FEV1, FVC, FEV1%, and FVC% by CES-D category, especially in ever-smokers and men. When adjusted for covariates, the difference in FEV1 and FEV1% for smokers with more than 18.5 lifetime pack-years from CES-D scores 0 to 3 to 16 or more (depressed) is approximately 0.25 l and 5.0% (adjusted p values for trend are <.001 and .019, respectively). In men, we also observed statistically significant inverse trends in pulmonary function with increasing CES-D. Conclusions: We identified an inverse association of depressive symptoms and pulmonary function in healthy adults, especially in men and individuals with a heavy smoking history. Further studies of these associations are essential for the development and tailoring of interventions for the prevention and treatment of chronic lung disease

Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Markers of Oxidative Stress in Healthy Women

Purpose There is accumulating evidence that oxidative stress is an important contributor to carcinogenesis. We hypothesized that genetic variation in genes involved in maintaining antioxidant/ oxidant balance would be associated with overall oxidative stress. Methods We examined associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MnSOD, GSTP1, GSTM1, GPX1, GPX3, and CAT genes and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), a blood biomarker of oxidative damage, in healthy white women randomly selected from Western New York (n = 1402). We used general linear models to calculate age-adjusted geometric means of TBARS across the variants. We also examined the associations within strata of menopausal status. Results For MnSOD, being heterozygous was associated with lower geometric means of TBARS (less oxidative stress), 1.28 mg/dL, compared to homozygous T-allele or homozygous Callele, 1.35 mg/dL, and 1.31 mg/dL correspondingly (p for trend = 0.01). This difference remained among postmenopausal women, 1.40 mg/dL for TT, 1.32 mg/dL for TC, and 1.34mg/dL for CC (p for trend 0.015); it was attenuated among premenopausal women. SNPs in the other genes examined (GSTP1, GSTM1, GPX1, GPX3, and CAT) were not associated with TBARS. Conclusions Our findings suggest that genetic variation in MnSOD gene may be associated with oxidative status, particularly among postmenopausal women

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and breast cancer risk: differences by molecular subtype.

Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been associated with reduced risk of breast cancer, though findings have been inconsistent. This inconsistency may result from differences in etiology for breast tumors of different subtypes. We examined the association between NSAID use and breast cancer characterized by molecular subtypes in a population-based case-control study in Western New York. Cases (n = 1,170) were women with incident, primary, histologically confirmed breast cancer. Controls (n = 2,115) were randomly selected from NY Department of Motor Vehicles records (<65 years) or Medicare rolls (≥ 65 years). Participants answered questions regarding their use of aspirin and ibuprofen in the year prior to interview and their use of aspirin throughout their adult life. Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Recent and lifetime aspirin use was associated with reduced risk, with no differences by subtype. Recent use of ibuprofen was significantly associated with increased risk of ER+/PR+(OR 1.33, 95% CI: 1.09-1.62), HER2- (OR 1.27, 95% CI: 1.05-1.53), and p53- breast cancers (OR 1.28, 95% CI: 1.04-1.57), as well as luminal A or B breast cancers. These findings support the hypothesis of heterogeneous etiologies of breast cancer subtypes and that aspirin and ibuprofen vary in their effects

History of Periodontitis Diagnosis and Edentulism as Predictors of Cardiovascular Disease, Stroke, and Mortality in Postmenopausal Women

BACKGROUND: Few studies have reported associations between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in older women, which is the objective of the present investigation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Participants were 57 001 postmenopausal women ages 55 to 89 years (mean 68 years; \u3e 85% 60 and older) who were enrolled (1993-1998) in the Women\u27s Health Initiative Observational Study, and were without known CVD when history of periodontitis and edentulism was assessed by questionnaire at study Year-5 (1998-2003). There were 3589 incident CVD events and 3816 total deaths during a mean follow-up of 6.7 years. In multivariable analysis, periodontitis was not associated with CVD events, but was associated with higher total mortality (hazard ratio (HR)=1.12, 95% CI: 1.05-1.21). Edentulism was associated with higher age- and smoking-adjusted risks of CVD (HR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.27-1.59) and mortality (HR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.32-1.63). Further adjustment eliminated the association with CVD, but mortality remained significantly increased (HR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.02-1.33). Stratification on age, race-ethnicity, smoking, and diabetes mellitus yielded comparable results; however, edentulism was more strongly associated with CVD in women reporting \u3e /=1 dental visit (HR=1.57) compared with (HR 1.03, interaction P=0.004) annually. CONCLUSIONS: In community-dwelling older women, edentulism was associated with increased risks of CVD and total mortality, and presence of periodontitis, which is more prevalent than edentulism, was associated with 17% higher mortality rate. These findings suggest that improving periodontal condition of the general population could reduce overall mortality

Discovery and replication of microRNAs for breast cancer risk using genome-wide profiling

Genome-wide miRNA expression may be useful for predicting breast cancer risk and/or for the early detection of breast cancer

Association between anemia and quality of life in a population sample of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND: Several studies investigated the association of anemia with health related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with chronic disease. However, there is little evidence regarding the association of anemia with HRQL in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: This is a post-hoc analysis of a study which enrolled a population of adults aged 35–79 randomly selected from residents of Erie and Niagara Counties, NY, between 1996 and 2000. In addition to demographic information and physical measurements, we obtained spirometry data and hemoglobin levels. We used modified Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria to define COPD, and World Health Organization (WHO) criteria to define anemia. To assess HRQL we used the Short Form-36 (SF-36) to assess physical functioning (PF), physical component summary (PCS) measures and mental component summary (MCS) measures. RESULTS: In the entire study population (n = 2704), respondents with anemia had lower scores on the physical functioning domain [45.4 (SD10.9) vs. 49.2 (SD 9.1); p < 0.0001]. Among patients with COPD (n = 495) the PF scores (39.9 vs. 45.4) and the PCS (41.9 vs. 45.9) were significantly lower in individuals with anemia compared to those without. In multiple regression analysis, the association between hemoglobin and PCS was positive (regression coefficient 0.02, p = 0.003). There was no significant association of hemoglobin with PF scores or the mental component summary measure after adjusting for covariates in patients with COPD. CONCLUSION: In patients with moderate to very severe COPD anemia may be associated with worse HRQL. However, co-morbidities may explain part or all of this association in these patients

The combined effect of smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol on cause-specific mortality: a 30 year cohort study

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt; Smoking and consuming alcohol are both related to increased mortality risk. Their combined effects on cause-specific mortality were investigated in a prospective cohort study.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methods:&lt;/b&gt; Participants were 5771 men aged 35-64, recruited during 1970-73 from various workplaces in Scotland. Data were obtained from a questionnaire and a screening examination. Causes of death were all cause, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, alcohol-related, respiratory and smoking-related cancer. Participants were divided into nine groups according to their smoking status (never, ex or current) and reported weekly drinking (none, 1-14 units and 15 or more). Cox proportional hazards models were used to obtain relative rates of mortality, adjusted for age and other risk factors.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; In 30 years of follow-up, 3083 men (53.4%) died. Compared with never smokers who did not drink, men who both smoked and drank 15+ units/week had the highest all-cause mortality (relative rate = 2.71 (95% confidence interval 2.31-3.19)). Relative rates for CHD mortality were high for current smokers, with a possible protective effect of some alcohol consumption in never smokers. Stroke mortality increased with both smoking and alcohol consumption. Smoking affected respiratory mortality with little effect of alcohol. Adjusting for a wide range of confounders attenuated the relative rates but the effects of alcohol and smoking still remained. Premature mortality was particularly high in smokers who drank 15 or more units, with a quarter of the men not surviving to age 65. 30% of men with manual occupations both smoked and drank 15+ units/week compared with only 13% with non-manual ones.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; Smoking and drinking 15+ units/week was the riskiest behaviour for all causes of death.&lt;/p&gt