Speed and power predictors of change of direction ability in elite snow athletes

Change of direction ability (COD speed) is an important physical component of snow sports. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between regular speed and vertical jumping ability, and COD speed in elite snow athletes. Moreover, the correlations between relative mean propulsive power (assessed in the jump squat exercise) and COD speed were quantified. Sixteen elite snow sport athletes executed squat jumps, countermovement jumps, jump squats, and 25 m sprint tests, in addition to a Zig-zag change of direction speed test. The outcomes revealed that vertical jumping height and mean propulsive power are strongly correlated (r ≈ 0.90) with COD speed. Furthermore, snow athletes capable of sprinting faster in a linear course of 25 m performed better in COD speed tests ( r = 0.91). Our results support the use of loaded and unloaded vertical jumping and regular speed tests to evaluate/monitor predictors of COD speed in elite snow athletes. Finally, these relationships suggest that plyometrics and regular speed training should be considered by coaches as effective strategies to enhance COD ability in this specific group of subjects

Content validation and inter-rater reliability of a protocol for the precision assessment of boccia players

Purpose: To verify a protocol's content validation and reliability for assessing the precision in the throw of Paralympic boccia in two different steps. Methods: The study was divided into two steps: In step 1, the perception of 15 boccia coaches was evaluated using a questionnaire containing 6 questions about the pertinence of the protocol on a Likert scale (1 to 5). In step 2, reliability was evaluated by two researchers, applying the protocol with two targets (0.5 and 1.0, targets) to verify the short precision (SP), average precision (AP), long precision (LP), and total precision (TP) of 23 boccia athletes (BC1 = 5; BC2 = 7; BC3 = 1; BC4 = 10) in tournaments of the modality. The Content Validity Index (CVI) calculation was applied for the electronic questionnaire, the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for the agreement between evaluators, and the T-Test for the difference between means. p < .05 was adopted. Results: In the result of the CVI, reliability was noticed through the experts' evaluation (Question1 = 1.0; Q2 = 0.93; Q3 = 0.80; Q4 = 0.80; Q5 = 0.93; Q6 = 0.93). There was an agreement between the evaluators by the ICC in the 0.5 targets for SP (p < .01), AP (p < .01), LP (p < .01), and TP (p < .01), and in the 1.0 target for SP (p < .01), AP (p < .01), LP (p < .01), and TP (p < .01). No differences were found between the means in the t-test. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that the protocol meets the established reliability and content validity criteria, allowing its practical use to evaluate the precision in the boccia

EDIS FEMINISTAS - GUIA ORIENTADOR ONLINE SOBRE FEMINISMOS E ESTUDOS QUEER

A construção de um guia online acerca das relações de gênero e de sexualidade, sustentadas teóricas e metodologicamente nas discussões feministas foram materializadas no subprojeto 'EDIS Feministas - Encontro de Diálogos Interdisciplinares sobre Feminismos e Estudos Queer' que está vinculado ao Programa de Extensão 'Assessoria em Gênero e Diversidade'. A ação de extensão associa-se as iniciativas do Núcleo de Estudos, Pesquisas e Extensão em Sexualidade, Corporalidades e Direitos da Universidade Federal do Tocantins. A elaboração de um guia online objetivou democratizar e proporcionar um subsidio teórico e crítico para pesquisadoras/es do tema e leitores com pouca aproximação com a temática, bem como de grupos de militância aos movimentos sociais e profissionais para garantia de direitos. A primeira etapa foi a listagem de termos centrais e fundamentais que compõem os estudos de gênero e sexualidade. O levantamento desses termos foi realizado em um viés teórico a partir da leitura sistemática de publicações já existentes e posteriormente a partir das inquietações percebidas em participantes de outras propostas de extensão já experienciadas. Objetivamos ainda, a sistematização de material audiovisual para oportunizar maior aproximação com as temáticas elucidadas. &nbsp; PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Feminismo. Gênero. Sexualidade. Masculinidades. Racialidades. &nbsp; &nbsp; ABSTRACT The construction of an online guide about gender and sexuality relations, supported theoretically and methodologically in feminist discussions, was materialized in the subproject 'EDIS Feminists - Meeting of Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Feminisms and Queer Studies' that is linked to the Extension Program' Advising on Gender and Diversity '. The extension action is associated with the initiatives of the Center for Studies, Research and Extension in Sexuality, Corporalities and Rights of the Federal University of Tocantins. The elaboration of an online guide aimed to democratize and provide a theoretical and critical support for researchers / readers of the theme and readers with little approximation to the theme, as well as militancy groups to social and professional movements to guarantee rights. The first stage was the listing of central and fundamental terms that make up gender and sexuality studies. The survey of these terms was carried out on a theoretical basis from the systematic reading of existing publications and later on from the concerns perceived in participants of other extension proposals already experienced. We also aim at the systematization of audiovisual material in order to provide a greater approximation with the elucidated themes. &nbsp; KEYWORDS: Feminism. Genre. Sexuality. Masculinities. Racialities. &nbsp; &nbsp; RESUMEN La construcción de una guía en línea sobre las relaciones de género y sexualidad, apoyada teórica y metodológicamente en discusiones feministas, se materializó en el subproyecto 'EDIS Feministas - Reunión de Diálogos Interdisciplinarios sobre Feminismos y Estudios Queer' que está vinculada al Programa de Extensión 'Asesoramiento sobre Género y Diversidad '. La acción de extensión está asociada con las iniciativas del Centro de Estudios, Investigación y Extensión en Sexualidad, Corporaciones y Derechos de la Universidad Federal de Tocantins. La elaboración de una guía en línea tenía como objetivo democratizar y proporcionar un apoyo teórico y crítico para investigadores / lectores del tema y lectores con poca aproximación al tema, así como grupos militantes a movimientos sociales y profesionales para garantizar los derechos. La primera etapa fue la lista de términos centrales y fundamentales que componen los estudios de género y sexualidad. La encuesta de estos términos se realizó sobre una base teórica a partir de la lectura sistemática de publicaciones existentes y más tarde de las preocupaciones percibidas en los participantes de otras propuestas de extensión ya experimentadas. También apuntamos a la sistematización del material audiovisual para proporcionar una mayor aproximación a los temas aclarados. &nbsp; PALABRAS CLAVE: feminismo. Género Sexualidad Masculinidades Racialidades &nbsp; &nbsp

Influence of feeding graded levels of canned sardines on the inflammatory markers and tissue fatty acid composition of Wistar rats

The present study was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the grant PTDC-SAU/OSM/2006/70560 (principal investigator: P. O. R). S. V. M. is the recipient of a FCT individual fellowship SFRH/BPD/2009/63019 and P. A. L. is a researcher involved in the FCT programme 'Ciencia 2008'.Canned sardines are a ready-to-use fish product with excellent nutritional properties owing to its high n-3 long-chain PUFA content, mainly EPA (20 : 5n-3) and DHA (22 : 6n-3). The present study aimed to assess the effect of two dosages of canned sardines, recommended for the primary and secondary prevention of human CVD, on the inflammatory marker concentrations and fatty acid composition of erythrocytes and key metabolic tissues (liver, muscle, adipose tissue and brain) in the rat model. Wistar rats were fed a diet containing 11\% (w/w) of canned sardines (low-sardine (LS) diet) and a diet containing 22\% (w/w) of canned sardines (high-sardine (HS) diet) for 10 weeks. Daily food intake, weight gain, and organ and final body weights were not affected by the dietary treatments. The concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol decreased in both the LS and HS groups, while those of alanine aminotransferase and adiponectin increased. The concentrations of IL-1 beta increased only with the highest dosage of sardine. The dose-dependent influence of the graded levels of EPA+DHA was tissue specific. Compared with that of other tissues and erythrocytes, the fatty acid composition of the brain was less affected by the canned sardine-supplemented diets. In contrast, the retroperitoneal adipose tissue was highly responsive. The deposition ratios of EPA and DHA indicated that the LS diet was optimal for DHA deposition across the tissues, except in the retroperitoneal adipose tissue. Taken together, our findings indicate that a LS diet positively affects plasma lipid profiles and inflammatory mediators, whereas a HS diet has contradictory effects on IL-1 beta, which, in turn, is not associated with variations in the concentrations of other pro-inflammatory cytokines. This finding requires further investigation and pathophysiological understanding.publishersversionpublishe

Zero-inflated Poisson regression models for QTL mapping applied to tick-resistance in a Gyr × Holstein F2 population

Now a days, an important and interesting alternative in the control of tick-infestation in cattle is to select resistant animals, and identify the respective quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and DNA markers, for posterior use in breeding programs. The number of ticks/animal is characterized as a discrete-counting trait, which could potentially follow Poisson distribution. However, in the case of an excess of zeros, due to the occurrence of several noninfected animals, zero-inflated Poisson and generalized zero-inflated distribution (GZIP) may provide a better description of the data. Thus, the objective here was to compare through simulation, Poisson and ZIP models (simple and generalized) with classical approaches, for QTL mapping with counting phenotypes under different scenarios, and to apply these approaches to a QTL study of tick resistance in an F2 cattle (Gyr × Holstein) population. It was concluded that, when working with zero-inflated data, it is recommendable to use the generalized and simple ZIP model for analysis. On the other hand, when working with data with zeros, but not zero-inflated, the Poisson model or a data-transformation-approach, such as square-root or Box-Cox transformation, are applicable

Septic shock in older people: a prospective cohort study

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud Septic shock is the first cause of death in Intensive Care Units. Despite experimental data showing increased inflammatory response of aged animals following infection, the current accepted hypothesis claims that aged patients are immunocompromised, when compared to young individuals.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud Here, we describe a prospective cohort study designed to analyze the immune profile of this population.\ud \ud \ud Conclusion\ud Older people are as immunocompetent as the young individual, regarding the cytokines, chemokines and growth factors response to devastating infection

The clinical relevance of oliguria in the critically ill patient : Analysis of a large observational database

Funding Information: Marc Leone reports receiving consulting fees from Amomed and Aguettant; lecture fees from MSD, Pfizer, Octapharma, 3 M, Aspen, Orion; travel support from LFB; and grant support from PHRC IR and his institution. JLV is the Editor-in-Chief of Critical Care. The other authors declare that they have no relevant financial interests. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Urine output is widely used as one of the criteria for the diagnosis and staging of acute renal failure, but few studies have specifically assessed the role of oliguria as a marker of acute renal failure or outcomes in general intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Using a large multinational database, we therefore evaluated the occurrence of oliguria (defined as a urine output 16 years) patients in the ICON audit who had a urine output measurement on the day of admission were included. To investigate the association between oliguria and mortality, we used a multilevel analysis. Results: Of the 8292 patients included, 2050 (24.7%) were oliguric during the first 24 h of admission. Patients with oliguria on admission who had at least one additional 24-h urine output recorded during their ICU stay (n = 1349) were divided into three groups: transient - oliguria resolved within 48 h after the admission day (n = 390 [28.9%]), prolonged - oliguria resolved > 48 h after the admission day (n = 141 [10.5%]), and permanent - oliguria persisting for the whole ICU stay or again present at the end of the ICU stay (n = 818 [60.6%]). ICU and hospital mortality rates were higher in patients with oliguria than in those without, except for patients with transient oliguria who had significantly lower mortality rates than non-oliguric patients. In multilevel analysis, the need for RRT was associated with a significantly higher risk of death (OR = 1.51 [95% CI 1.19-1.91], p = 0.001), but the presence of oliguria on admission was not (OR = 1.14 [95% CI 0.97-1.34], p = 0.103). Conclusions: Oliguria is common in ICU patients and may have a relatively benign nature if only transient. The duration of oliguria and need for RRT are associated with worse outcome.publishersversionPeer reviewe