Analysis of the sporting context of Spanish female competitive cyclists and triathletes

El objetivo del presente estudio fue conocer y comparar las características psicosociales de las ciclistas y triatletas federadas en España estableciendo unas pautas de actuación que mejoren su situación en el deporte de competición. Se analizan dos deportes con aspectos comunes (uso de la bicicleta en competición, participantes que realizan ambos deportes…) y diferenciadores (deporte clásico vs deporte moderno), con el objeto de descubrir las posibles diferencias y/o similitudes entre ambos. En este estudio descriptivo participaron 80 ciclistas y 126 triatletas. Se determinó el perfil sociodemográfico promedio de las ciclistas y triatletas mediante 2 cuestionarios semiestructurados que permitieron definirlas como deportistas a) amateurs con tendencia competidora, b) iniciadas a una edad tardía en su especialidad deportiva, c) con una amplia experiencia deportiva, d) con un nivel alto de estudios completado o en curso, y e) pertenecientes a un estrato social medio. Tras el análisis de los resultados creemos que se hace necesario un cambio en la política deportiva de las federaciones deportivas así como iniciativas tendentes a la mejora de las condiciones de competición de estas deportistasThe aim of this study was to know and compare the psychosocial characteristics from Spanish under-licence female cyclists and triathletes establishing guidelines to improve their situation in competitive sport. We compared two sports with common aspects (use of a bicycle in competition, participants who participate in both sports...) and differentiating ones (classic sport vs. modern), with the aim of uncover potential differences and/or similarities between the two. 80 cyclists and 126 triathletes took part in this descriptive study. We determined the average socio-demographic profile of cyclists and triathletes through 2 semistructured questionnaires. The athletes’ average socio-sporting profile was defined as a) amateur with a competitive tendency; b) who became specialised in the sport at a late age; c) having vast sporting experience; d) having completed, or completing, a high level of education; e) belonging to the middle class. We believe a change in politics in sports federations is needed, as are initiatives to improve competition conditions for these athletesEstudio financiado por el Ministerio de Educación y ciencia (AP2009-0529) y por la Real Federación Española de Ciclism

Is type of work associated with physical activity and sedentary behaviour in women with fibromyalgia A cross-sectional study from the al-Ándalus project

Objectives To analyse the association between the type of work (productive vs reproductive work) and the levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in women with fibromyalgia. Method This cross-sectional study involved 258 women with fibromyalgia from southern Spain. Of them, 55% performed reproductive work (unpaid, associated with caregiving and domestic roles) exclusively, while 45% had productive job (remunerated, that results in goods or services). Physical activity of light, moderate and vigorous intensity in the leisure time, at home, at work, and totally were measured through the leisure time physical activity instrument and with the physical activity at home and work instrument, respectively. Sedentary behaviour was measured by the Sedentary Behaviour Questionnaire. Results After adjusting for age, fat percentage, education level and marital status, the multivariate analysis of covariance model informed the existence of significant differences between type of work groups (p<0.001). Women with productive work engaged in more light physical activity at work (mean difference =448.52 min; 95 % CI 179.66 to 717.38; p=0.001), and total physical activity of light (809.72 min; 535.91 to 1085.53; p<0.001) and moderate (29

The Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment (IMaX) for the Sunrise balloon-borne solar observatory

The Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment (IMaX) is a spectropolarimeter built by four institutions in Spain that flew on board the Sunrise balloon-borne telesocope in June 2009 for almost six days over the Arctic Circle. As a polarimeter IMaX uses fast polarization modulation (based on the use of two liquid crystal retarders), real-time image accumulation, and dual beam polarimetry to reach polarization sensitivities of 0.1%. As a spectrograph, the instrument uses a LiNbO3 etalon in double pass and a narrow band pre-filter to achieve a spectral resolution of 85 mAA. IMaX uses the high Zeeman sensitive line of Fe I at 5250.2 AA and observes all four Stokes parameters at various points inside the spectral line. This allows vector magnetograms, Dopplergrams, and intensity frames to be produced that, after reconstruction, reach spatial resolutions in the 0.15-0.18 arcsec range over a 50x50 arcsec FOV. Time cadences vary between ten and 33 seconds, although the shortest one only includes longitudinal polarimetry. The spectral line is sampled in various ways depending on the applied observing mode, from just two points inside the line to 11 of them. All observing modes include one extra wavelength point in the nearby continuum. Gauss equivalent sensitivities are four Gauss for longitudinal fields and 80 Gauss for transverse fields per wavelength sample. The LOS velocities are estimated with statistical errors of the order of 5-40 m/s. The design, calibration and integration phases of the instrument, together with the implemented data reduction scheme are described in some detail.Comment: 17 figure

Sport habits outside school and their interrelation with the area of Physical Education of Non-Compulsory Secondary Education students Los hábitos deportivos extraescolares y su interrelación con el área de educación física en el alumnado de bachillerato

&lt;p align="justify"&gt;This paper try to offer a general view about the sports habits of the students who are developing the third bachelor course and specially about the frecuency of physical activity practice in their free time, both inside and outside of the school, and about the motivations to do it. By the other hand, is interesting to check how the sports habits of their family members as well as the satisfaction and motivation degree which the students feel in the physical education classes, can influence their decission to participate in this kind of activities. &lt;br /&gt; KEY WORDS: Sports Habits, Physical Education, Students.&lt;/p&gt;<br>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="justify"&gt;El art&amp;iacute;culo que presentamos trata de ofrecer una panor&amp;aacute;mica general acerca de los h&amp;aacute;bitos deportivos que presenta el alumnado que cursa tercero de bachillerato interes&amp;aacute;ndonos fundamentalmente por la frecuencia con la que practican actividades f&amp;iacute;sico-deportivas en su tiempo libre, tanto dentro como fuera del centro, y por las motivaciones que le inducen a ello. Por otro lado, nos resulta muy interesante constatar hasta qu&amp;eacute; punto los h&amp;aacute;bitos deportivos de los familiares m&amp;aacute;s cercanos as&amp;iacute; como el grado de satisfacci&amp;oacute;n y motivaci&amp;oacute;n que experimenta dicho alumnado en las clases de educaci&amp;oacute;n f&amp;iacute;sica, pueden condicionar su participaci&amp;oacute;n en dichas actividades. &lt;br /&gt; PALABRAS CLAVE: H&amp;aacute;bitos Deportivos, Educaci&amp;oacute;n F&amp;iacute;sica, Alumnos.&lt;/p&gt

Supramolecular materials chemistry and dynamic light scattering

Background: Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by the presence of widespread chronic pain. People with fibromyalgia report lower levels of Positive Affect and higher levels of Negative Affect than non-fibromyalgia peers. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)–a widely used questionnaire to assess two core domains of affect; namely ‘Positive Affect’ and ‘Negative Affect’ –has a controversial factor structure varying across studies. The internal structure of a measurement instrument has an impact on the meaning and validity of its score. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the structural construct validity of the PANAS in adult women with fibromyalgia. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 442 adult women with fibromyalgia (age: 51.3 ± 7.4 years old) from Andalusia (Southern Spain). Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the factor structure of the PANAS. Results: A structure with two correlated factors (Positive Affect and Negative Affect) obtained the best fit; S-B χ2 = 288.49, df = 155, p < .001; RMSEA = .04; 90% CI of RMSEA = (.036, .052); the best fit SRMR = .05; CFI = .96; CAIC = −810.66, respectively. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that both Positive Affect and Negative Affect are core dimensions of affect in adult women with fibromyalgia. A structure with two correlated factors of the PANAS emerged from our sample of women with fibromyalgia from Andalusia (Southern Spain). In this model, the amount of variance shared by Positive Affect and Negative Affect was small. Therefore, our findings support to use and interpret the Positive Affect and Negative Affect subscales of the PANAS as separate factors that are associated but distinctive as well

Treatment of alcoholic liver disease

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) remains a major cause of liver-related mortality in the US and worldwide. The correct diagnosis of ALD can usually be made on a clinical basis in conjunction with blood tests, and a liver biopsy is not usually required. Abstinence is the hallmark of therapy for ALD, and nutritional therapy is the first line of therapeutic intervention. The role of steroids in patients with moderate to severe alcoholic hepatitis is gaining increasing acceptance, with the caveat that patients be evaluated for the effectiveness of therapy at 1 week. Pentoxifylline appears to be especially effective in ALD patients with renal dysfunction/hepatorenal syndrome. Biologics such as specific anti-TNFs have been disappointing and should probably not be used outside of the clinical trial setting. Transplantation is effective in patients with end-stage ALD who have stopped drinking (usually for ≥6 months), and both long-term graft and patient survival are excellent