Chronological age, somatic maturation and anthropometric measures: Association with physical performance of young male judo athletes

Sport for children and adolescents must consider growth and maturation to ensure suitable training and competition, and anthropometric variables could be used as bio-banding strategies in youth sport. This investigation aimed to analyze the association between chronological age, biologic maturation, and anthropometric characteristics to explain physical performance of young judo athletes. Sixty-seven judokas (11.0–14.7 years) were assessed for anthropometric and physical performance. Predicted adult stature was used as a somatic maturation indicator. A Pearson’s bivariate correlation was performed to define which anthropometric variables were associated with each physical test. A multiple linear hierarchical regression was conducted to verify the effects of age, maturity, and anthropometry on physical performance. The regression models were built with age, predicted adult stature, and the three most significantly correlated anthropometric variables for each physical test. Older judokas performed better in most of the physical tests. However, maturation attenuated the age effect in most variables and significantly affected upper body and handgrip strength. Anthropometric variables attenuated age and maturity and those associated with body composition significantly affected the performance in most tests, suggesting a potential as bio-banding strategies. Future studies should investigate the role of anthropometric variables on the maturity effect in young judokas

Continuous increase of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and non-HIV related cancers as causes of death in HIV-infected individuals in Brazil: An analysis of nationwide data

Introduction: After antiretroviral therapy (ART) became available, there was a decline in the number of deaths in persons infected with HIV. Thereafter, there was a decrease in the proportion of deaths attributed to opportunistic infections and an increase in the proportion of deaths attributed to chronic comorbidities. Herein we extend previous observations from a nationwide survey on temporal trends in causes of death in HIV-infected patients in Brazil. Methods: We describe temporal trends in causes of death among adults who had HIV/AIDS listed in the death certificate to those who did not. All death certificates issued in Brazil from 1999 to 2011 and listed in the national mortality database were included. Generalized linear mixed-effects logistic models were used to study temporal trends in proportions. Results: In the HIV-infected population, there was an annual adjusted average increase of 6.0%, 12.0%, 4.0% and 4.1% for cancer, external causes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM), respectively, compared to 3.0%, 4.0%, 1.0% and 3.9%, in the non-HIV group. For tuberculosis (TB), there was an adjusted average increase of 0.3%/year and a decrease of 3.0%/year in the HIV and the non-HIV groups, respectively. Compared to 1999, the odds ratio (OR) for cancer, external causes, CVD, DM, or TB in the HIV group were, respectively, 2.31, 4.17, 1.76, 2.27 and 1.02, while for the non-HIV group, the corresponding OR were 1.31, 1.63, 1.14, 1.62 and 0.67. Interactions between year as a continuous or categorical variable and HIV were significant (p <0.001) for all conditions, except for DM when year was considered as a continuous variable (p = 0.76). Conclusions: Non HIV-related co-morbidities continue to increase more rapidly as causes of death among HIV-infected individuals than in those without HIV infection, highlighting the need for targeting prevention measures and surveillance for chronic diseases among those patients. © 2014 Paula et al

Automated NMR relaxation dispersion data analysis using NESSY

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Proteins are dynamic molecules with motions ranging from picoseconds to longer than seconds. Many protein functions, however, appear to occur on the micro to millisecond timescale and therefore there has been intense research of the importance of these motions in catalysis and molecular interactions. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) relaxation dispersion experiments are used to measure motion of discrete nuclei within the micro to millisecond timescale. Information about conformational/chemical exchange, populations of exchanging states and chemical shift differences are extracted from these experiments. To ensure these parameters are correctly extracted, accurate and careful analysis of these experiments is necessary.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The software introduced in this article is designed for the automatic analysis of relaxation dispersion data and the extraction of the parameters mentioned above. It is written in Python for multi platform use and highest performance. Experimental data can be fitted to different models using the Levenberg-Marquardt minimization algorithm and different statistical tests can be used to select the best model. To demonstrate the functionality of this program, synthetic data as well as NMR data were analyzed. Analysis of these data including the generation of plots and color coded structures can be performed with minimal user intervention and using standard procedures that are included in the program.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>NESSY is easy to use open source software to analyze NMR relaxation data. The robustness and standard procedures are demonstrated in this article.</p

Learning curves of basic laparoscopic psychomotor skills in SINERGIA VR simulator

Purpose: Surgical simulators are currently essential within any laparoscopic training program because they provide a low-stakes, reproducible and reliable environment to acquire basic skills. The purpose of this study is to determine the training learning curve based on different metrics corresponding to five tasks included in SINERGIA laparoscopic virtual reality simulator. Methods: Thirty medical students without surgical experience participated in the study. Five tasks of SINERGIA were included: Coordination, Navigation, Navigation and touch, Accurate grasping and Coordinated pulling. Each participant was trained in SINERGIA. This training consisted of eight sessions (R1–R8) of the five mentioned tasks and was carried out in two consecutive days with four sessions per day. A statistical analysis was made, and the results of R1, R4 and R8 were pair-wise compared with Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Significance is considered at P value <0.005. Results: In total, 84.38% of the metrics provided by SINERGIA and included in this study show significant differences when comparing R1 and R8. Metrics are mostly improved in the first session of training (75.00% when R1 and R4 are compared vs. 37.50% when R4 and R8 are compared). In tasks Coordination and Navigation and touch, all metrics are improved. On the other hand, Navigation just improves 60% of the analyzed metrics. Most learning curves show an improvement with better results in the fulfillment of the different tasks. Conclusions: Learning curves of metrics that assess the basic psychomotor laparoscopic skills acquired in SINERGIA virtual reality simulator show a faster learning rate during the first part of the training. Nevertheless, eight repetitions of the tasks are not enough to acquire all psychomotor skills that can be trained in SINERGIA. Therefore, and based on these results together with previous works, SINERGIA could be used as training tool with a properly designed training program

Real-Time PCR in HIV/Trypanosoma cruzi Coinfection with and without Chagas Disease Reactivation: Association with HIV Viral Load and CD4+ Level

Chagas disease is endemic in Latin America and is caused by the flagellate protozoan T. cruzi. The acute phase is asymptomatic in the majority of the cases and rarely causes inflammation of the heart or the central nervous system. Most infected patients progress to a chronic phase, characterized by cardiac or digestive involvement when not asymptomatic. However, when patients are also exposed to an immunosuppressant (such as chemotherapy), neoplasia, or other infections such as HIV, T. cruzi infection may develop into a severe disease (Chagas disease reactivation) involving the heart and central nervous system. The current microscopic methods for diagnosing Chagas disease reactivation are not sensitive enough to prevent the high rate of death observed in these cases. Therefore, we propose a quantitative method to monitor blood levels of the parasite, which will allow therapy to be administered as early as possible, even if the patient has not yet presented symptoms