Success in Developing Regions: World Records Evolution through a Geopolitical Prism

A previous analysis of World Records (WR) has revealed the potential limits of human physiology through athletes' personal commitment. The impact of political factors on sports has only been studied through Olympic medals and results. Here we studied 2876 WR from 63 nations in four summer disciplines. We propose three new indicators and show the impact of historical, geographical and economical factors on the regional WR evolution. The south-eastward path of weighted annual barycenter (i.e. the average of country coordinates weighting by the WR number) shows the emergence of East Africa and China in WR archives. Home WR ratio decreased from 79.9% before the second World War to 23.3% in 2008, underlining sports globalization. Annual Cumulative Proportions (ACP, i.e. the cumulative sum of the WR annual rate) highlight the regional rates of progression. For all regions, the mean slope of ACP during the Olympic era is 0.0101, with a maximum between 1950 and 1989 (0.0156). For European countries, this indicator reflects major historical events (slowdown for western countries after 1945, slowdown for eastern countries after 1990). Mean North-American ACP slope is 0.0029 over the century with an acceleration between 1950 and 1989 at 0.0046. Russia takes off in 1935 and slows down in 1988 (0.0038). For Eastern Europe, maximal progression is seen between 1970 and 1989 (0.0045). China starts in 1979 with a maximum between 1990 and 2008 (0.0021), while other regions have largely declined (mean ACP slope for all other countries  = 0.0011). A similar trend is observed for the evolution of the 10 best performers. The national analysis of WR reveals a precise and quantifiable link between the sport performances of a country, its historical or geopolitical context, and its steps of development

Mineral trioxyde aggregate versus calcium hydroxide in apexification of non vital immature teeth: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pulp necrosis is one of the main complications of dental trauma. When it happens on an immature tooth, pulp necrosis implies a lack of root maturation and apical closure. A therapy called apexification is required to induce the formation of a calcified apical barrier allowing a permanent and hermetic root filling. The aim of this prospective randomized clinical trial is to compare Mineral Trioxide Aggregate(MTA)with Calcium Hydroxide(CH)as materials used to induce root-end closure in necrotic permanent immature incisors.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This study, promoted by AP-HP, was approved by the ethics committee(CPP Paris Ile de France IV). 34 children aged from 6 to 18 years and presenting a non-vital permanent incisor are selected. Prior to treatment, an appropriate written consent has to be obtained from both parents and from children. Patients are then randomly assigned to either the MTA(experimental)or CH(control)groups. Recalls are performed after 3, 6 and 12 months to determine the presence or absence of a calcified apical barrier through the use of clinical and radiographic exams. Additional criteria such as clinical symptoms, apical radiolucencies, periapical index(PAI)are also noted.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov no. <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00472173">NCT00472173</a> (First inclusion: May 10, 2007; Last inclusion: April 23, 2009; study completed: April 15, 2010)</p

Non response, incomplete and inconsistent responses to self-administered health-related quality of life measures in the general population: patterns, determinants and impact on the validity of estimates. A population-based study in France using the MOS SF-36

International audienceBACKGROUND:Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures are increasingly used in the general population. However, little is known about patterns and determinants of unanswered or unusable questionnaires and their consequences on estimates of HRQoL.METHODS:The 2003 Decennial Health Survey collected socio-demographic and health information, including HRQoL, for 30,782 adults representative of the French population. The pattern, determinants and impact on estimate validity of non, incomplete and inconsistent responses to the SF-36 questionnaire were determined. For this, phi coefficients, polytomous logistic regression models and multiple imputation methods were used.RESULTS:Only 48% of the subjects eligible for the HRQoL measurement provided a complete and consistent SF-36 questionnaire. Three patterns of non-response and five of partial (incomplete or inconsistent) response were identified, sharing largely similar socio-demographic profiles (higher age, lower educational level and economic status, foreign background, and isolated). The consequences of non and partial responses on HRQoL estimates were large in several groups of subjects although these biases ran in opposite directions and partially neutralized each other.CONCLUSIONS:When measuring HRQoL in the general population, missing and inconsistent data are frequent, especially in elderly, educationally and socio-economically deprived, foreign and isolated groups. Methods for handling missing data are required to correct for potentially the associated and serious selection and non-differential information biases in studies targeting or investigating these groups

Characteristics of 25–65 year-old subjects included in the study (n = 16,011), according to smoking status.

<p>Figures are numbers (percentages of that characteristic in each smoking status group) unless stated otherwise.</p

Overview of the analysis of thresholds in the relationships between the quantity of smoking and HRQoL in current daily smokers.

<p>Thresholds and estimates of effects*.</p><p>* Estimates adjusted for socioeconomic variables, CESD, BMI, co-intoxication and comorbidities.</p><p>** Threshold (estimate of effect) is shown; here for example, a man aged 25–44 loses 0.02SDS of physical functioning per cigarette smoked above 5 cig./day.</p><p>*** There are two thresholds, with a plateau effect at the second threshold; here for example a man aged 25–44 gains 0.22 SDS for the bodily pain score per cigarette smoked up to 5 per day, <i>plus</i> loses 0.22 SDS per cigarette smoked above 5 cig./day.</p

A Quantitative Histologic Analysis of Oogenesis in the Flatfish Species Pleuronectes platessa as a Tool for Fisheries Management

The following paper gives a detailed description of the oogenesis cycle for the European Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), from oogonia to post-ovulatory follicle, including ovarian follicle and zona pellucida sizes. Noteworthy particularities were the difficulty in identifying cortical alveoli due to their very small size. Quantitative histology (stereology) on histological slides was used to determine a first size at maturity for females from the English Channel, which was found to be smaller compared to the literature (19 cm). Stereology also determined a first spawning event starting in January, with a peak in February and ongoing until March. Moreover, the use of stereology showed misclassifications for individuals categorized into a maturity phase using a macroscopic visual method. Misclassifications were found with individuals that had spawned (D) but were put under the immature (A) phase, and individuals in development (B) classified under D

Sample collection protocol for the extraction of female gonads in the megrim (Lepidorhombus spp.) for maturity staging through histology

This protocol was established during project MATO (MATurité Objective des poissons par l’histologie quantitative) for the evaluation of sexual maturity of exploited stock species, as well as to harmonize the sampling process of gonad extraction before the mounting between slide and slip of the gonad sections. This document follows the work of different workshops that aimed to improve the compilation of data on sexual maturity. The WKMATCH (WorKshop for MATurity staging CHairs, 2012) defined a universal evaluation grid for sexual maturity staging of different species. During this workshop, two main recommendations were made, underlining the need to improve and complete the knowledge on sexual maturity, as well as to harmonize the practices used to determine these sexual phases. This sampling protocol will be restricted to the female gonad of the megrim

A macroscopic and stereological imaging dataset of Pleuronectes platessa ovaries

The North Sea plaice, Pleuronectes platessa (Linnaeus, 1758), is a commonly studied commercial flatfish with poorly known ovarian histology. The following dataset is a collection of female plaice gonad images and their corresponding histological slides, collected during a complete season of the plaice’s reproduction cycle. Stereology was used to determine the percentage of different structures found throughout the ovaries. Inter-agent calibrations were accomplished in order to harmonize the stereological readings, and were based on a comprehensive reading protocol and histological lexicon that were specifically written for the plaice’s ovaries. The distribution and homogeneity of the different cell types found throughout the ovaries were also evaluated. This dataset can be used to automate the stereological reading process (through statistical learning methods for example) or to objectively determine the plaice’s maturity phase, and link that information to either macroscopic measurements or through image analysis of the full ovaries

Patterns of relationships found in this study.

<p>Women, positive associations.</p