A TARGETED LOAD-CARRIAGE TRAINING PROGRAM ELICITS POSITIVE ADAPTATIONS AFTER 10-WEEKS

The purpose of this study was to identify and characterise physical performance responses to a targeted 10-week load-carriage physical training intervention in males. Performance measures of maximal strength, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, and basic fitness from nine male civilians before and after the 10-week training intervention are presented. There were significant increases in maximal force (~200 N) and aerobic performance (Level. Shuttle 8.9 vs 9,4 variables). Small-to-large effect sizes were shown for basic fitness and perceptual responses. The 10-week load-carriage physical training intervention elicited physical performance improvements and may facilitate load-carriage task performance

IMPROVEMENTS IN LOWER-LIMB STRENGTH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HIP CONTROL DURING LOAD CARRIAGE IN FEMALES

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lower-limb strength on lower-limb biomechanical responses over the duration of a load carriage march. Female civilians (n=12) completed a 5 km march at 5.5 km·h-1 wearing a 23 kg external load before and after 10 weeks of hip-focussed training. Lower-limb 3D kinematics were acquired during the march, with lower-limb strength measures assessed prior to pre- and post-training marching tasks. Significant increases in lower-limb strength were elicited after training, alongside moderate to strong negative correlations between strength and hip adduction (

Normal subdigroups and the isomorphism theorems for digroup

We discuss the notion of normality of a sub-object in the category of digroups. This allows us to define quotient digroups, and then establish the corresponding analogues of the classical Isomorphism Theorems

Association between initial use of e-cigarettes and subsequent cigarette smoking among adolescents and young adults a systematic review and meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE The public health implications of e-cigarettes depend, in part, on whether e-cigarette use affects the risk of cigarette smoking. OBJECTIVE To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies that assessed initial use of e-cigarettes and subsequent cigarette smoking. DATA SOURCES PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library,Web of Science, the 2016 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 22nd Annual Meeting abstracts, the 2016 Society of Behavioral Medicine 37th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions abstracts, and the 2016 National Institutes of Health Tobacco Regulatory Science Program Conference were searched between February 7 and February 17, 2017. The search included indexed terms and text words to capture concepts associated with e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes in articles published from database inception to the date of the search. STUDY SELECTION Longitudinal studies reporting odds ratios for cigarette smoking initiation associated with ever use of e-cigarettes or past 30-day cigarette smoking associated with past 30-day e-cigarette use. Searches yielded 6959 unique studies, of which 9met inclusion criteria (comprising 17 389 adolescents and young adults). DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Study quality and risk of biaswere assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool, respectively. Data and estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Among baseline never cigarette smokers, cigarette smoking initiation between baseline and follow-up. Among baseline non-past 30-day cigarette smokers who were past 30-day e-cigarette users, past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-up. RESULTS Among 17 389 adolescents and young adults, the ages ranged between 14 and 30 years at baseline, and 56.0%were female. The pooled probabilities of cigarette smoking initiationwere 30.4%for baseline ever e-cigarette users and 7.9%for baseline never e-cigarette users. The pooled probabilities of past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-upwere 21.5%for baseline past 30-day e-cigarette users and 4.6%for baseline non-past 30-day e-cigarette users. Adjusting for knowndemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral risk factors for cigarette smoking, the pooled odds ratio for subsequent cigarette smoking initiationwas 3.62 (95%CI, 2.42-5.41) for ever vs never e-cigarette users, and the pooled odds ratio for past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-up was 4.28 (95%CI, 2.52-7.27) for past 30-day e-cigarette vs non-past 30-day e-cigarette users at baseline.Amoderate level of heterogeneitywas observed among studies (I2 = 60.1%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE e-Cigarette use was associated with greater risk for subsequent cigarette smoking initiation and past 30-day cigarette smoking. Strong e-cigarette regulation could potentially curb use among youth and possibly limit the future population-level burden of cigarette smoking

The WEBT BL Lacertae Campaign 2001 and its extension : Optical light curves and colour analysis 1994–2002

BL Lacertae has been the target of four observing campaigns by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) collaboration. In this paper we present UBVRI light curves obtained by theWEBT from 1994 to 2002, including the last, extended BL Lac 2001 campaign. A total of about 7500 optical observations performed by 31 telescopes from Japan to Mexico have been collected, to be added to the ∼15 600 observations of the BL Lac Campaign 2000. All these data allow one to follow the source optical emission behaviour with unprecedented detail. The analysis of the colour indices reveals that the flux variability can be interpreted in terms of two components: longer-term variations occurring on a fewday time scale appear as mildly-chromatic events, while a strong bluer-when-brighter chromatism characterizes very fast (intraday) flares. By decoupling the two components, we quantify the degree of chromatism inferring that longer-term flux changes imply moving along a ∼0.1 bluerwhen- brighter slope in the B − R versus R plane; a steeper slope of ∼0.4 would distinguish the shorter-term variations. This means that, when considering the long-term trend, the B-band flux level is related to the R-band one according to a power law of index ∼1.1. Doppler factor variations on a “convex” spectrum could be the mechanism accounting for both the long-term variations and their slight chromatism.Reig Torres, Pablo, [email protected]

Impact of Chlamydia trachomatis in the reproductive setting: British Fertility Society Guidelines for practice

Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the genital tract is the most common sexually transmitted infection and has a world-wide distribution. The consequences of infection have an adverse effect on the reproductive health of women and are a common cause of infertility. Recent evidence also suggests an adverse effect on male reproduction. There is a need to standardise the approach in managing the impact of C. trachomatis infection on reproductive health. We have surveyed current UK practice towards screening and management of Chlamydia infections in the fertility setting. We found that at least 90% of clinicians surveyed offered screening. The literature on this topic was examined and revealed a paucity of solid evidence for estimating the risks of long-term reproductive sequelae following lower genital tract infection with C. trachomatis. The mechanism for the damage that occurs after Chlamydial infections is uncertain. However, instrumentation of the uterus in women with C. trachomatis infection is associated with a high risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, which can be prevented by appropriate antibiotic treatment and may prevent infected women from being at increased risk of the adverse sequelae, such as ectopic pregnancy and tubal factor infertility. Recommendations for practice have been proposed and the need for further studies is identified

Ideal cardiovascular health and inflammation in European adolescents: The HELENA study

Background and aims Inflammation plays a key role in atherosclerosis and this process seems to appear in childhood. The ideal cardiovascular health index (ICHI) has been inversely related to atherosclerotic plaque in adults. However, evidence regarding inflammation and ICHI in adolescents is scarce. The aim is to assess the association between ICHI and inflammation in European adolescents. Methods and results As many as 543 adolescents (251 boys and 292 girls) from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study, a cross-sectional multi-center study including 9 European countries, were measured. C-reactive protein (CRP), complement factors C3 and C4, leptin and white blood cell counts were used to compute an inflammatory score. Multilevel linear models and multilevel logistic regression were used to assess the association between ICHI and inflammation controlling by covariates. Higher ICHI was associated with a lower inflammatory score, as well as with several individual components, both in boys and girls (p < 0.01). In addition, adolescents with at least 4 ideal components of the ICHI had significantly lower inflammatory score and lower levels of the study biomarkers, except CRP. Finally, the multilevel logistic regression showed that for every unit increase in the ICHI, the probability of having an inflammatory profile decreased by 28.1% in girls. Conclusion Results from this study suggest that a better ICHI is associated with a lower inflammatory profile already in adolescence. Improving these health behaviors, and health factors included in the ICHI, could play an important role in CVD prevention

Evaluation of iron status in European adolescents through biochemical iron indicators: the HELENA Study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To assess the iron status among European adolescents through selected biochemical parameters in a cross-sectional study performed in 10 European cities. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Iron status was defined utilising biochemical indicators. Iron depletion was defined as low serum ferritin (SF8.5 mg/l) plus iron depletion. Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) was defined as ID with haemoglobin (Hb) below the WHO cutoff for age and sex: 12.0 g/dl for girls and for boys aged 12.5-14.99 years and 13.0 g/dl for boys aged ≥15 years. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used as analytical method for SF, sTfR and C-reactive protein (CRP). Subjects with indication of inflammation (CRP >5 mg/l) were excluded from the analyses. A total of 940 adolescents aged 12.5-17.49 years (438 boys and 502 girls) were involved. RESULTS: The percentage of iron depletion was 17.6%, significantly higher in girls (21.0%) compared with boys (13.8%). The overall percentage of ID and IDA was 4.7 and 1.3%, respectively, with no significant differences between boys and girls. A correlation was observed between log (SF) and Hb (r = 0.36, P < 0.01), and between log (sTfR) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (r = -0.30, P < 0.01). Iron body stores were estimated on the basis of log (sTfR/SF). A higher percentage of negative values of body iron was recorded in girls (16.5%) with respect to boys (8.3%), and body iron values tended to increase with age in boys, whereas the values remained stable in girls. CONCLUSIONS: To ensure adequate iron stores, specific attention should be given to girls at European level to ensure that their dietary intake of iron is adequate.status: publishe