Accurate molecular atom selection in VR

Accurate selection in cluttered scenes is complex because a high amount of precision is required. In Virtual Reality Environments, it is even worse, because it is more difficult for us to point a small object with our arms in the air. Not only our arms move slightly, but the button/trigger press reduces our weak stability. In this paper, we present two alternatives to the classical ray pointing intended to facilitate the selection of atoms in molecular environments. We have implemented and analyzed such techniques through an informal user study and found that they were highly appreciated by the users. This selection method could be interesting in other crowded environments beyond molecular visualization.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Two-step techniques for accurate selection of small elements in VR environments

One of the key interactions in 3D environments is target acquisition, which can be challenging when targets are small or in cluttered scenes. Here, incorrect elements may be selected, leading to frustration and wasted time. The accuracy is further hindered by the physical act of selection itself, typically involving pressing a button. This action reduces stability, increasing the likelihood of erroneous target acquisition. We focused on molecular visualization and on the challenge of selecting atoms, rendered as small spheres. We present two techniques that improve upon previous progressive selection techniques. They facilitate the acquisition of neighbors after an initial selection, providing a more comfortable experience compared to using classical ray-based selection, particularly with occluded elements. We conducted a pilot study followed by two formal user studies. The results indicated that our approaches were highly appreciated by the participants. These techniques could be suitable for other crowded environments as well.This paper has been supported by TIN2017-88515-C2-1-R (GEN3DLIVE), from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and PID2021-122136OB-C21 from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain, by 839 FEDER (EU) funds. Elena Molina has been supported by FI-SDUR doctoral grant from Generalitat de Catalunya, and FPU grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain .Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Mediation Effect of Age Category on the Relationship between Body Composition and the Physical Fitness Profile in Youth Handball Players

The aims of the present study were (1) to determine the differences in body composition and the physical and physiological profile of handball youths across age categories, and (2) to analyze the mediation effect of different categories on the relationship between lean mass or fat mass and specific physical handball capacities. Fifty-four young handball players aged 13 to 18 were assigned to U14 (13- and 14-year-olds), U16 (15- and 16-year-olds), and U18 (17- and 18-year-olds). Body composition was measured using multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance (Inbody®, 230). Handball physical fitness was assessed using handgrip force, jumping tests (squat jump, countermovement jump, countermovement jump with aimed arms), a 30-m sprint, a change-of-direction test (T-half agility test and modified Illinois test), and a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1. Simple mediation analysis was performed to analyze whether the category mediated the relationship between lean mass or fat mass and physical capacities. No significant differences were observed according to category for the majority of the measured parameters, except for height, lean body mass, and arm span. Lean body mass increased significantly as player category increased (p < 0.05; ∆ = 4.66–9.38; effect size (ES) = 0.96–1.92). The increase in handball category enhanced the majority of the physical capacities evaluated; however, these differences were reduced between the U16 vs. U18 categories. The indirect mediation effect suggests that handball category mediated the relationship between lean mass and upper and lower strength, velocity, agility, and cardiorespiratory fitness. In contrast, an indirect effect suggests that category mediated the relationship between fat mass only in agility and cardiorespiratory fitness. We conclude that U18s showed better body composition parameters, as well as better physical performance scores. Handball category clearly mediated the relationship between body composition through lean mass and fat mass and the physiological profile in handball youth, but lean mass proved to be more relevant when mediating physical performance

Effect of 8-week of dietary micronutrient supplementation on gene expression in elite handball athletes

Purpose A study was made of the changes in gene expression in elite handball athletes, comparing gene modulation before, after and in the absence of an 8-week nutritional intervention with multivitamin/mineral supplements. Methods Thirteen elite handball athletes (aged 22.9 ± 2.7 years) and 13 sedentary controls (aged 20.9 ± 2.8 years) were included. Three timepoints were established: T0 (baseline conditions); T8 (after 8 weeks of supplementation with a multivitamin/mineral complex); and T16 (after 8 weeks in the absence of supplementation). The expressions of a total 112 of genes were evaluated by RT-qPCR analysis with the QuantStudioTM 12K Flex Real-Time PCR System. Results The analysis revealed different gene regulation profiles of genes implicated in cell communication, cell energy metabolism, inflammation and the immune system, oxidative stress and muscle function in athletes compared to sedentary controls under resting conditions (upregulated genes: effect size = large, η2 = 1.011 to 1.398, p < 0.05; downregulated genes: effect size = large, η2 = 0.846 and 1.070, p < 0.05, respectively). The nutritional intervention encouraged gene upregulation in elite athletes (p < 0.05). In a follow-up investigation, the IRAK1, CD81, ITGB1, ACADS PDHA2 and GPX1 genes were downregulated in athletes, with a moderate main effect for time-by-group interaction (ηP2 = 0.099 to 0.133; p < 0.05). Additionally, nutritional genes such as MTHFR and THTPA revealed a moderate effect over all the timepoints and group interaction in the study (ηP2 = 0.070 to 0.092; p < 0.05). Conclusions Elite handball athletes showed a different expression profile in reference to key genes implicated in several sports performance-related functions compared to the sedentary controls, in addition to modulation of gene expression after multivitamin/mineral supplementation.J.M.L was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education (grant number AP2009- 3701) and E.P was supported by the FIS Project PI10/1993 form the Carlos III Health Institute

Concepciones sobre la inclusión cultural en Museos y Patrimonio

A pesar de los múltiples esfuerzos realizados desde el ámbito cultural y de presentación del patrimonio, las estadísticas nos dicen que determinados colectivos siguen sin ser usuarios habituales de las instituciones culturales. Ante esta situación consideramos necesario realizar una revisión tanto del concepto como de las prácticas que denominamos inclusivas. Este objetivo dio lugar al proyecto de investigación en el que se enmarca el presente estudio. En éste último se aborda el análisis sobre las ideas y concepciones de los profesionales que trabajan desde perspectivas inclusivas en el ámbito patrimonial y educativo acerca del concepto de inclusión y museo inclusivo; sobre los factores de exclusión cultural; y las prácticas consideradas como inclusivas. Para su exploración se desarrolló una herramienta específica con tres tareas complementarias, que incluyen tanto variaciones de técnicas cualitativas como el Delphi, como de técnicas cuantitativas como el análisis de redes. Los resultados dibujan una realidad en la que los profesionales sensibilizados con los procesos inclusivos no tienen ni una definición ni un modelo claro de inclusión que les permita una planificación ni una gestión realmente inclusiva de las instituciones culturales

The impact of animations in the perception of a simulated crowd

Simulating virtual crowds is an important challenge in many areas such as games and virtual reality applications. A lot of effort has been dedicated to improving pathfinding, collision avoidance, or decision making, to achieve more realistic human-like behavior. However, crowd simulation will be far from appearing realistic as long as virtual humans are limited to walking animations. Including animation variety could greatly enhance the plausibility of the populated environment. In this paper, we evaluated to what extend animation variety can affect the perceived level of realism of a crowd, regardless of the appearance of the virtual agents (bots vs. humanoids). The goal of this study is to provide recommendations for crowd animation and rendering when simulating crowds. Our results show that the perceived realism of the crowd trajectories and animations is significantly higher when using a variety of animations as opposed to simply having locomotion animations, but only if we render realistic humanoids. If we can only render agents as bots, then there is no much gain from having animation variety, in fact, it could potentially lower the perceived quality of the trajectories.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

How should we design violin plots?

One way to illustrate distributions of samples is through the use of violin plots. The original design is a combination of boxplot and density plot mirrored and plot around the boxplot. However, there are other designs in literature. Although they seem a powerful way to illustrate distributions, the fact that they encode distributions makes them difficult to read. Users have problems comparing two different distributions, and certain basic statistics such as the mean can be difficult to estimate properly. To get more insights on how people interprets violin plots, we have carried out an experiment to analyze how the different configurations affect judgments over values encoded in those plots.This project has been supported by project TIN2017-88515-C2-1- R(GEN3DLIVE), from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, by 839 FEDER (EU) funds.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Effect of folic acid supplementation on homocysteine concentration and association with training in handball players

[Background] Strenuous physical activity can alter the status of folic acid, a vitamin directly associated with homocysteine (Hcy); alterations in this nutrient are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Handball players are a population at risk for nutrient deficiency because of poor dietary habits. [Objective] The aims of this study were to evaluate nutritional status for macronutrients and folic acid in members of a high-performance handball team, and determine the effect of a nutritional intervention with folic acid supplementation and education. [Design] A total of 14 high-performance handball players were monitored by recording training time, training intensity (according to three levels of residual heart rate (RHR): 80%), and subjective perceived exertion (RPE) during a 4-month training period. Nutritional, laboratory and physical activity variables were recorded at baseline (Week 0), after 2 months of dietary supplementation with 200 μg folic acid (50% of the recommended daily allowance) (Week 8) and after 2 months without supplementation (Week 16). We compared training load and analyzed changes in plasma concentrations of Hcy before and after the intervention. [Results] Bivariate analysis showed a significant negative correlation (P < 0.01) between Hcy and folic acid concentrations (r = −0.84) at Week 8, reflecting a significant change in Hcy concentration (P < 0.05) as a result of hyperhomocysteinemia following the accumulation of high training loads. At Week 16 we observed a significant negative correlation (P < 0.01) between Hcy concentration and training time with an RHR <60%, indicating that aerobic exercise avoided abrupt changes in Hcy and may thus reduce the risk of cardiovascular accidents in high-performance athletes. [Conclusion] Integral monitoring and education are needed for practitioners of handball sports to record their folic acid status, a factor that directly affects Hcy metabolism. Folic acid supplementation may protect athletes against alterations that can lead to cardiovascular events related to exertion during competition.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education (grant number AP2009- 3701) and by FIS Project PI07/1228 form the Carlos III Health Institute

Relationship between Body Composition and Biochemical Parameters with Antioxidant Status in a Healthy Cohort of Postmenopausal Women

An adequate prooxidant-antioxidant balance-which may be influenced by body composition and biochemical status-is essential to maintain human health, especially in circumstances under which the antioxidant defense decreases, such as menopause. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between body composition and biochemical parameters with antioxidant status in a healthy cohort of postmenopausal women. This cross-sectional study was carried out in a cohort of 78 postmenopausal women aged 44-76 years. The body composition profile was assessed through bioelectrical impedance. The determination of the total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase activity was conducted by the colorimetric method, and glutathione peroxidase activity was determined by the enzymatic immunological method. The vitamin D levels were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The mineral status was assessed through flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The rest of the biochemical parameters were assessed through an immunoassay. The total antioxidant capacity and antioxidant gap were negatively influenced by body composition (all p <= 0.049) and positively related to protein metabolism parameters (all p <= 0.048), whereas circulating levels of different micronutrients (all p <= 0.048) and enzymes (all p <= 0.047) appeared to play an important role in the glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities. In conclusion, the menopause-related antioxidant status changes may be influenced by key body composition and biochemical profiles. To confirm this statement, further trials aiming to evaluate the body composition and biochemical intervention-induced changes upon antioxidant defense are needed.Spanish Ministry of Education and Professional Formation FPU18/03655 FPU18/0370