Postural control at different anatomical levels: dependence upon sport practice

Control of equilibrium in upright posture is a multifactorial phenomenon influenced by the sensory modalities involved or by the characteristics of the environment. Or of the subjects. We have to specify how the practice of sports, especial1y judo or dance, could influence the role of the sensory information and t he postural strategies used. Practicers of Judo and dancers need to tram to control their equilibrium, in order for the judoka to maintain their own standing position while attempting to throw their opponents to the ground, or for the dancers to make the movements of the desired shape. Is this experience and skill generalized to the control of static equilibrium and which sensory aspects are trained the most (Crbmieux, Mesure, 1990, 1992), and does it change the postural strategies of the subjects? To answer these questions, an experiment was carried out with 60 young healthy adults: 2 groups of novice men and women, one group of men and one of women expert in Judo (black belt) and one group of women expert in classic dance ( 5years of practice). The subjects were tested in a sharpened Romberg position on either a hard or a soft surface within a vertical cylinder with vertical black and white stripes. Three type of illumination were used: normal or 2 Hz stroboscopic light, and darkness. Accelerometers were used to measure the subject's lateral (head and hips) or antero-posterior (ankles) body sway. A frequency power spectrum analysis shows a better static control in the expert men and women than in the beginners; but this improvement is not due to an aspecific increase in the use of visual, vestibular or proprioceptive cues for the three expert groups; rather it depends on the sport and sex of the subjects. They did not choose the same information for their own control. A study of the correlations between performances at the different anatomical levels show that the relation between motion of the different body levels are not the same for the five groups. To study the effect of sex and sport on this relative movements, we use .a new statistical determination of postural strategies (Amblard et al., 1992a. b) between two anatomical levels, by mean of a method based on the crosscorrelation functions between two simultaneous time series of accelerometric measurements. Results show that men and women, a as well as novices and experts have not the same relative body movements

Cost-Effectiveness of Surgically Induced Weight Loss for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes: Modeled Lifetime Analysis

OBJECTIVE--To estimate the cost-effectiveness of surgically induced weight loss relative to conventional therapy for the management of recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes in class VII obese patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--This study builds on a within-trial cost-efficacy analysis. The analysis compares the lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) between the two intervention groups. Intervention costs were extrapolated based on observed resource utilization during the trial. The proportion of patients in each intervention group with remission of diabetes at 2 years was the same as that observed in the trial. Health care costs for patients with type 2 diabetes and outcome variables required to derive estimates of QALYs were sourced from published literature. A health care system perspective was adopted. Costs and outcomes were discounted annually at 3%. Costs are presented in 2006 Australian dollars (AUD) (currency exchange: 1 AUD = 0.74 USD). RESULTS--The mean number of years in diabetes remission over a lifetime was 11.4 for surgical therapy patients and 2.1 for conventional therapy patients. Over the remainder of their lifetime, surgical and conventional therapy patients lived 15.7 and 14.5 discounted QALYs, respectively. The mean discounted lifetime costs were 98,900 AUD per surgical therapy patient and 101,400 AUD per conventional therapy patient. Relative to conventional therapy, surgically induced weight loss was associated with a mean health care saving of 2,400 AUD and 1.2 additional QALYs per patient. CONCLUSIONS--Surgically induced weight loss is a dominant intervention (it both saves health care costs and generates health benefits) for managing recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes in class IBI obese patients in Australia. <br /

Pharmacoeconomics of obesity in China: a scoping review

Background: With the growing rate of obesity and associated chronic conditions in China, there is a need to assess the health and economic burdens of obesity and examine the effectiveness of pharmaceutical, medical, and comprehensive weight-loss interventions. Areas covered: This article reviewed publications retrieved from PubMed and Google Scholar during 2010–2020 on pharmacoeconomic studies related to overweight and obesity in China. We identified five cost-of-illness studies and four cost-effectiveness analyses of weight-loss interventions, including bariatric surgeries and a comprehensive intervention program. Expert opinion: There is a lack of pharmacoeconomic analyses of obesity in China. Existing studies have often taken the health system perspective without accounting for productivity loss. Cohort studies and studies based on electronic health records or claims data are needed to provide the epidemiologic parameters required for homegrown economic evaluations of the health and economic burdens of obesity in China, as well as the cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce obesity and its sequela

Before and after study of bar workers' perceptions of the impact of smoke-free workplace legislation in the Republic of Ireland

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Objectives</it>: To compare support for, and perceptions of, the impacts of smoke-free workplace legislation among bar workers in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) pre- and post-implementation, and to identify predictors of support for the legislation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Setting</it>: Public houses (pubs) in three areas of the ROI.</p> <p><it>Design</it>: Comparisons pre- and post-implementation of smoke-free workplace legislation.</p> <p><it>Participants</it>: From a largely non-random selection, 288 bar workers volunteered for the baseline survey; 220 were followed up one year later (76.4%).</p> <p><it>Outcome measures: </it>Level of support for the legislation, attitude statements concerning potential impacts of the law and modelled predictors of support for the legislation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pre-implementation 59.5% of participants supported the legislation, increasing to 76.8% post-implementation. Support increased among smokers by 27.3 percentage points from 39.4% to 66.7% (p < 0.001) and among non-smokers by 12.4% percentage points from 68.8% to 81.2% (p = 0.003).</p> <p>Pre-legislation three-quarters of participants agreed that the legislation would make bars more comfortable and was needed to protect workers' health. Post-legislation these proportions increased to over 90% (p < 0.001). However, negative perceptions also increased, particularly for perceptions that the legislation has a negative impact on business (from 50.9% to 62.7%, p = 0.008) and that fewer people would visit pubs (41.8% to 62.7%, p < 0.001). After adjusting for relevant covariates, including responses to the attitude statements, support for the ban increased two to three-fold post-implementation. Regardless of their views on the economic impact, most participants agreed, both pre- and post-implementation, that the legislation was needed to protect bar workers' health.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Smoke-free legislation had the support of three-quarters of a large sample of bar workers in the ROI. However, this group holds complex sets of both positive and negative perspectives on the legislation. Of particular importance is that negative economic perceptions did not diminish the widely held perception that the ban is needed to protect workers' health.</p

Polar extracts from (Tunisian) Acacia salicina Lindl. Study of the antimicrobial and antigenotoxic activities

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Methanolic, aqueous and Total Oligomer Flavonoids (TOF)-enriched extracts obtained from the leaves of <it>Acacia salicina </it>'Lindl.' were investigated for antibacterial, antimutagenic and antioxidant activities.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The antimicrobial activity was tested on the Gram positive and Gram negative reference bacterial strains. The Mutagenic and antimutagenic activities against direct acting mutagens, methylmethane sulfonate (MMS) and 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NOPD), and indirect acting mutagens, 2-aminoanthracene (2-AA) and benzo[a]pyrene (B(a)P) were performed with <it>S. typhimurium </it>TA102 and TA98 assay systems. In addition, the enzymatic and nonenzymatic methods were employed to evaluate the anti-oxidative effects of the tested extracts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant effect against the Gram positive and Gram negative reference bacterial strains was observed with all the extracts. The mutagenic and antimutagenic studies revealed that all the extracts decreased the mutagenicity induced by B(a)P (7.5 μg/plate), 2-AA (5 μg/plate), MMS (1.3 mg/plate) and NOPD (10 μg/plate). Likewise, all the extracts showed an important free radical scavenging activity towards the superoxide anion generated by the xanthine/xanthine oxidase assay system, as well as high Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC), against the 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS)⁺• radical. TOF-enriched extract exhibited the highest protective effect against free radicals, direct acting-mutagen and metabolically activated S9-dependent mutagens.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study indicates that the extracts from <it>A. salicina </it>leaves are a significant source of compounds with the antimutagenic and antioxidant activities, and this may be useful for developing potential chemopreventive substances.</p

Eclipse in the Dark Years: Pick-up Flights, Routes of Resistance and the Free French

This article charts the importance of clandestine flights from Britain into occupied France during the Second World War as a route of resistance. These pick-up flights were coordinated from London and were an example of the inter-allied cooperation and Franco-British negotiation that took place between the BCRA, SIS, and SOE. The flights allowed General Charles de Gaulle to hold court with the leaders of resistance networks, smoothing problems on the route to a unified resistance council. Likewise, they allowed him to build bridges between vying factions in France and in London, drawing together the movements under his command and personalising the narrative of resistance. From busy London restaurants and family homes via secret flights to darkened fields in Occupied France, the route of these transfers shaped the character of resistance. This article draws out the personal interactions and connections that underpinned these networks and describes the enduring connections of this route of resistance, starting with the commemoration of Jean Moulin's crash landing at RAF Tangmere, the forward station for many of these flights