The use of audio-relaxation does not affect the basketball free throw of young college students

INTRODUCTION: As the pressure of competition increase, the athlete will begin to doubt or feel insecure, generating muscular tension and difficulty in the movement. In sports, especially basketball, relaxation is a key part of fine-skills coordination. For this reason, it is determinate that audio-relaxation can become of paramount importance in sport. PURPOSE: To determine if the basketball free throw is influenced by audio-relaxation in a group of physically active college students. METHODS: Eight physically active, apparently healthy college students (­4 male and 4 female) volunteered to participate in this study. The students height was 168.3 ± 8.7cm (range, 155-181cm), mass 76.8±19.5kg (range, 51.5-115.0kg) and age 21.5 ± 1.3y.o (range, 20-24y.o). Subjects attended the study on two occasions, with seven days interval between sessions. Randomly, the first session consisted of listening to audio-relaxation for 16 minutes. In the second session (session control), audio-relaxation was not played while the subjects waited for 16 minutes. The application of the treatment was performed in a room isolated from noise and light, just as it happened for the control condition, in which there was no treatment. In each session, the volunteers were evaluated before and after treatment, performing 20 free throws, 10 shots were performed at their own rhythm and the other 10 under pressure (at the sound of the whistle). RESULTS: According to the normal distribution in the values (p=0.200), a two-way repeated measures ANOVA was performed, in which it was found that there is no interaction between listening and not listening to audio-relaxation in the execution of ten free throws at their own rhythm and ten under pressure (p=0.510). CONCLUSION: Listening audio-relaxation does not significantly influence the effectiveness of the basketball free throws, it means that the people will not get improve their performance if use audio-relaxation technique

Knowledge about the care of people with Alzheimer’s disease of the nursing staff of nursing homes in Spain

Abstract: People with Alzheimer’s disease often live in nursing homes. Updated knowledge among the nursing staff has led to better quality of care. The aim of this study was to measure the knowledge about the care of people with Alzheimer’s disease of the nursing staff of nursing homes in Spain. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 24 nursing homes in the province of Jaén (Spain) with a sample of 361 members of staff, i.e., registered nurses (RNs), assistant nurses (ANs), and eldercare workers (EWs). The University of Jaén UJA-Alzheimer’s Care Scale was used to measure the knowledge. The knowledge was higher among the RNs (83.3% of the maximum) than among the ANs and EWs (71.6%). Work experience and updated training were associated with the knowledge score in RNs, but only the updated training in ANs and EWs. Nursing homes with less experienced nursing staff and with a small proportion of staff receiving training on dementia have a low knowledge score. The nursing staff of nursing homes in Jaén have medium to high knowledge about Alzheimer’s care. There is a wide range of variation in the knowledge score among the nursing homes. Up-to-date staff training in dementia care is the factor with the strongest association with knowledge

Murine muscle engineered from dermal precursors: an in vitro model for skeletal muscle generation, degeneration and fatty infiltration.

Skeletal muscle can be engineered by converting dermal precursors into muscle progenitors and differentiated myocytes. However, the efficiency of muscle development remains relatively low and it is currently unclear if this is due to poor characterization of the myogenic precursors, the protocols used for cell differentiation, or a combination of both. In this study, we characterized myogenic precursors present in murine dermospheres, and evaluated mature myotubes grown in a novel three-dimensional culture system. After 57 days of differentiation, we observed isolated, twitching myotubes followed by spontaneous contractions of the entire tissue-engineered muscle construct on an extracellular matrix (ECM). In vitro engineered myofibers expressed canonical muscle markers and exhibited a skeletal (not cardiac) muscle ultrastructure, with numerous striations and the presence of aligned, enlarged mitochondria, intertwined with sarcoplasmic reticula (SR). Engineered myofibers exhibited Na+- and Ca2+-dependent inward currents upon acetylcholine (ACh) stimulation and tetrodotoxin-sensitive spontaneous action potentials. Moreover, ACh, nicotine, and caffeine elicited cytosolic Ca2+ transients; fiber contractions coupled to these Ca2+ transients suggest that Ca2+ entry is activating calcium-induced calcium release from the SR. Blockade by d-tubocurarine of ACh-elicited inward currents and Ca2+ transients suggests nicotinic receptor involvement. Interestingly, after 1 month, engineered muscle constructs showed progressive degradation of the myofibers concomitant with fatty infiltration, paralleling the natural course of muscular degeneration. We conclude that mature myofibers may be differentiated on the ECM from myogenic precursor cells present in murine dermospheres, in an in vitro system that mimics some characteristics found in aging and muscular degeneration

Projected changes in the Iberian Peninsula drought characteristics

High spatial resolution drought projections for the Iberian Peninsula (IP) have been examined in terms of duration, frequency, and severity of drought events. For this end, a set of regional climate simulations was completed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model driven by two global climate models (GCMs), the CCSM4 and the MPI-ESM-LR, for a near (2021-2050) and a far (2071-2100) future, and under two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Projected changes for these simulations were analyzed using two drought indices, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), considering different timescales (3- and 12-months). The results showed that the IP is very likely to undergo longer and more severe drought events. Substantial changes in drought parameters (i.e., frequency, duration, and severity) were projected by both indices and at both time scales in most of the IP. These changes are particularly strong by the end of the century under RCP8.5. Meanwhile, the intensification of drought conditions is expected to be more moderate for the near future. However, the results also indicated key differences between indices. Projected drought conditions by using the SPEI showed more severe increases in drought events than those from SPI by the end of the century and, especially, for the high-emission scenario. The most extreme conditions were projected in terms of the duration of the events. Specifically, results from the 12-month SPEI analysis suggested a significant risk of megadrought events (drought events longer than 15 years) in many areas of IP by the end of the century under RCP8.5

Structural and functional analysis of virus factories purified from Rabbit vesivirus-infected Vero cells

Rabbit vesivirus infection induces membrane modifications and accumulation of vesicular structures in the cytoplasm of infected Vero cells. Crude RaV replication complexes (RCs) have been purified and their structural and functional properties have been characterized.We show that calnexin, an ER-resident protein, RaV non-structural proteins 2AB-, 2C-, 3A-, 3B- and 3CD-like as well as viral RNAs co-localize within membranous structures which are able to replicate the endogenous RNA templates. The purified virus factories protected their viral RNA contents from microccocal nuclease degradation and were inaccessible to exogenously added synthetic transcripts. In addition, we have shown that RCs can be used to investigate uridylylation of native endogenous VPg. In contrast to the observation that the virus factories were inaccessible to RNAs, RCs were accessible to added recombinant VPg which was subsequently nucleotidylylated. Nevertheless no elongation of an RNA chain attached to native or recombinant VPg could be demonstrated

Enhanced Working Memory Binding by Direct Electrical Stimulation of the Parietal Cortex

Recent works evince the critical role of visual short-term memory (STM) binding deficits as a clinical and preclinical marker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These studies suggest a potential role of posterior brain regions in both the neurocognitive deficits of Alzheimer’s patients and STM binding in general. Thereupon, we surmised that stimulation of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) might be a successful approach to tackle working memory deficits in this condition, especially at early stages. To date, no causal evidence exists of the role of the parietal cortex in STM binding. A unique approach to assess this issue is afforded by single-subject direct intracranial electrical stimulation of specific brain regions during a relevant cognitive task. Electrical stimulation has been used both for clinical purposes and to causally probe brain mechanisms. Previous evidence of electrical currents spreading through white matter along well defined functional circuits indicates that visual working memory mechanisms are subserved by a specific widely distributed network. Here, we stimulated the parietal cortex of a subject with intracranial electrodes as he performed the visual STM task. We compared the ensuing results to those from a non-stimulated condition and to the performance of a matched control group. In brief, direct stimulation of the parietal cortex induced a selective improvement in STM. These results, together with previous studies, provide very preliminary but promising ground to examine behavioral changes upon parietal stimulation in AD. We discuss our results regarding: (a) the usefulness of the task to target prodromal stages of AD; (b) the role of a posterior network in STM binding and in AD; and (c) the potential opportunity to improve STM binding through brain stimulation

La oftalmología en la obra del escritor mexicano Octavio Paz (I)

1905-2016年までの112年間に出版された文献に基づき，日本産淡水魚類から記録された線虫類の情報を寄生虫－宿主リストと宿主－寄生虫リストに整理した。これまでに2綱3目17科に属する線虫類が報告され，52名義種が記録された。そのうち，以下の10科に含まれる30名義種と未同定種の情報を本前篇で示す。各科に属する名義種数は次の通りである：ドリライムス綱ディオクトフィメ目の腎虫科（1種）；同綱鞭虫目の毛細線虫科（4種）；クロマドラ綱旋尾線虫目の頭飾線虫科（0種），鰾線虫科（2種），海回虫科（4種），兜線虫科（2種），大口線虫科（3種），魚線虫科（7種），極細線虫科（1種），顎口虫科（6種）。本目録には種まで同定されなかった線虫類の情報も含む。Information on the nematodes of freshwater fishes of Japan published during 112 years between 1905 and 2016 is assembled as Parasite-Host and Host-Parasite lists. Fiffty-two nominal species and some unidentified species of the nematodes in 17 families, 3 orders, and 2 classes were reported during this period. The first part of this checklist includes 30 nominal species in the following nine families: Dioctophymatidae (1 species) in the order Dictophymatida, and Capillariidae (4 species) in the order Trichocephalida (class Dorylaimea); Anguillicolidae (2 species), Anisakidae (4 species), Camallanidae (2 species), Cucullanidae (3 species), Cystidicolidae (7 species), Daniconematidae (1 species), and Gnathostomatidae (6 species) in the order Spriruida (class Chromadorea). Information is also given on the nematodes of Acuariidae and other families that were not identified to species level

Myxoma virus jumps species to the Iberian hare

The study of myxoma virus (MYXV) infections in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has produced one of the most accepted host–pathogen evolutionary models. To date, myxomatosis has been limited to the European rabbit with sporadic reports in hares. However, reports of widespread mortalities in the Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) with myxomatosis‐like clinical signs indicate a potential species jump has occurred. The presence of MYXV DNA was confirmed by PCR in 244 samples received from regional veterinary services, animal health laboratories, hunters or rangers over a 5‐month period. PCR analysis of 4 MYXV positive hare samples revealed a 2.8 kb insertion located within the M009 gene with respect to MYXV. The presence of this insertion was subsequently confirmed in 20 samples from 18 Spanish provinces. Sanger sequencing and subsequent analysis show that the insert contained 4 ORFs which are phylogenetically related to MYXV genes M060, M061, M064 and M065. The complete MYXV genome from hare tissue was sequenced using Ion torrent next‐generation technology and a summary of the data presented here. With the exception of the inserted region, the virus genome had no large scale modifications and 110 mutations with respect to the MYXV reference strain Lausanne were observed. The next phase in the evolution of MYXV has taken place as a host species jump from the European rabbit to the Iberian hare an occurrence which could have important effects on this naïve population.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio