ERP correlates of word production before and after stroke in an aphasic patient

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USEFULNESS AND METABOLIC IMPLICATIONS OF A 60-SECOND REPEATED JUMPS TEST AS A PREDICTOR OF ACROBATIC JUMPING PERFORMANCE IN GYMNASTS

Gymnastics floor exercises are composed of a set of four to five successive acrobatic jumps usually called a �series�. The aims of the study were: 1) to relate the acrobatic gymnastics performance of these series with a repeated jumps test of similar duration (R60), 2) to study the relation between R60 and physiological parameters (heart rate and blood lactate), and the performance obtained in different kinds of jumps, 3) to confirm whether R60, executed without a damped jumping technique, can be considered an anaerobic lactic power test. Twenty male and twenty-four female gymnasts performed three repeated jumps tests for 5 s (R5), 10 s (R10) and 60 s (R60) and vertical jumps, such as drop jumps (DJ), squat jumps (SJ) and countermovement jumps (CMJ). We assessed heart rate (HR) and blood lactate during R10 and R60. The average values of the maximal blood lactate concentration (Lmax) after R10 (males = 2.5±0.6 mmol.l-1; females = 2.1±0.8 mmol.l-1) confirm that anaerobic glycolysis is not activated to a high level. In R60, the Lmax (males = 7.5±1.7 mmol.l-1; females = 5.9±2.1 mmol.l-1) that was recorded does not validate R60 as an anaerobic lactic power test. We confirmed the relation between the average power obtained in R60 (R60Wm) and the acrobatic performance on the floor. The inclusion in the multiple regression equation of the best power in DJ and the best flight-contact ratio (FC) in R5 confirms the influence of other non-metabolic components on the variability in R60 performance, at least in gymnasts

Fiabilidad de los tests de salto vertical en gimnastas prepuberales

Introducción y objetivos: La fiabilidad de los tests de salto vertical es inferior en ni˜nos que en adultos. El objetivo del presente estudio es determinar si ni˜nas prepúberes que practican un entrenamiento específico de gimnasia artística son más fiables en distintas pruebas de salto vertical que un grupo control de ni˜nas de la misma edad. Método: Participaron en el estudio 36 prepúberes (19 gimnastas y 17 control), con edades comprendidas entre 7 y 12 a˜nos. Para estudiar la fiabilidad de la capacidad de salto «entre intentos» y «entre sesiones» se utilizaron las siguientes pruebas de salto: squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), countermovement jump with arm swing (CMJA) y drop jump (DJ). Se administraron las pruebas en dos ocasiones, realizándose tres intentos en cada sesión. Resultados: Se observaron altos coeficientes de correlación intraclase (ICC ≥ 0,75) entre intentos y entre sesiones para todas las pruebas. Se cuestiona la fiabilidad del CMJ en gimnastas al encontrarse diferencias significativas en la comparación entre intentos y entre sesiones (p ≤ 0,05). Conclusiones: Se concluye que desde temprana edad la capacidad de salto es reproducible y fiable, y que la práctica de gimnasia artística, en niveles de iniciación, no mejora la fiabilidad de la mayoría de tests de salto vertical. © 2011 Consell Català de l’Esport. Generalitat de Catalunya. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L. Todos los derechos reservados

The impact of test loads on the accuracy of 1RM prediction using the load-velocity relationship

Numerous methods have been proposed that use submaximal loads to predict one repetition maximum (1RM). One common method applies standard linear regression equations to load and average vertical lifting velocity (V; mean; ) data developed during squat jumps or three bench press throw (BP-T). The main aim of this project was to determine which combination of three submaximal loads during BP-T result in the most accurate prediction of 1RM Smith Machine bench press strength in healthy individuals.; In this study combinations of three BP-T loads were used to predict 1RM Smith Machine bench press strength. Additionally, we examined whether regression models developed using peak vertical bar velocity (V; peak; ), rather than V; mean; , provide the most accurate prediction of Smith Machine bench press 1RM. 1RM Smith Machine bench press strength was measured directly in 12 healthy regular weight trainers (body mass=80.8±5.7 kg). Two to three days later a linear position transducer attached to the collars on a Smith Machine was used to record V; mean; and V; peak; during BP-T between 30 and 70% of 1RM (10% increments).; Repeated measures analysis of variance testing showed that the mean values for slope and ordinate intercept for the regression models at each of the load ranges differed significantly depending on whether V; mean; or V; peak; were used in the prediction models (; P;  < 0.001). Conversely, the abscissa intercept did not differ significantly between either measure of vertical bar velocity at each load range. The key finding in this study was that 1RM Smith Machine bench press strength can be determined with high relative accuracy by examining V; mean; and V; peak; during BP-T over three loads, with the most precise models using V; peak; during loads representing 30, 40 and 50% of 1RM (; R; 2;  = 0.96,; SSE;  = 4.2 kg).; These preliminary findings indicate that exercise programmers working with normal healthy populations can accurately predict Smith Machine 1RM bench press strength using relatively light load Smith Machine BP-T testing, avoiding the need to expose their clients to potentially injurious loads

Asymptotically optimal filtering in linear systems with fractional Brownian noises

In this paper, the filtering problem is revisited in the basic Gaussian homogeneous linear system driven by fractional Brownian motions. We exhibit a simple approximate filter which is asymptotically optimal in the sense that, when the observation time tends to infinity, the variance of the corresponding filtering error converges to the same limit as for the exact optimal filter

La biomecánica como herramienta de análisis de la técnica en barra fija

El trabajo que aquí presentamos surge como una forma más de satisfacer la necesidad de un colectivo en torno a un tema muy concreto, la mejora de la técnica. Tradicionalmente esta mejora se ha realizado en base a la observación directa del entrenador y a las sensaciones del gimnasta. En la actualidad, a pesar de no despreciar las formas anteriormente citadas, disponemos de unos métodos mucho más precisos que nos permiten ofrecer al entrenador unos resultados más objetivos del gesto gimnástico. Uno de los métodos más potentes para estudiar el gesto gimnástico es el análisis biomecánica. Este trabajo realiza el análisis biomecánico de dos elementos gimnásticos, el molino gigante hacia adelante y hacia atrás, comparando la ejecución de un gimnasta de élite, y la de un gimnasta de nivel de iniciación. El objetivo principal de este estudio es el de satisfacer las demandas técnicas de los entrenadores usando un modelo sencillo, unos medios tecnológicos asequibles y fáciles de adquirir en el mercado doméstico, y un tratamiento de los datos que no requiere forzosamente de personal superespecializado y formado en el ámbito de la biomecánica

Strengthening Integrated Primary Health Care in Sofala, Mozambique

Background: Large increases in health sector investment and policies favoring upgrading and expanding the public sector health network have prioritized maternal and child health in Mozambique and, over the past decade, Mozambique has achieved substantial improvements in maternal and child health indicators. Over this same period, the government of Mozambique has continued to decentralize the management of public sector resources to the district level, including in the health sector, with the aim of bringing decision-making and resources closer to service beneficiaries. Weak district level management capacity has hindered the decentralization process, and building this capacity is an important link to ensure that resources translate to improved service delivery and further improvements in population health. A consortium of the Ministry of Health, Health Alliance International, Eduardo Mondlane University, and the University of Washington are implementing a health systems strengthening model in Sofala Province, central Mozambique.Description of implementation: The Mozambique Population Health Implementation and Training (PHIT) Partnership focuses on improving the quality of routine data and its use through appropriate tools to facilitate decision making by health system managers; strengthening management and planning capacity and funding district health plans; and building capacity for operations research to guide system-strengthening efforts. This seven-year effort covers all 13 districts and 146 health facilities in Sofala Province.Evaluation design: A quasi-experimental controlled time-series design will be used to assess the overall impact of the partnership strategy on under-5 mortality by examining changes in mortality pre- and post-implementation in Sofala Province compared with neighboring Manica Province. The evaluation will compare a broad range of input, process, output, and outcome variables to strengthen the plausibility that the partnership strategy led to healthsystem improvements and subsequent population health impact.Discussion: The Mozambique PHIT Partnership expects to provide evidence on the effect of efforts to improvedata quality coupled with the introduction of tools, training, and supervision to improve evidence-based decision making. This contribution to the knowledge base on what works to enhance health systems is highly replicable for rapid scale-up to other provinces in Mozambique, as well as other sub-Saharan African countries with limitedresources and a commitment to comprehensive primary health care

Spatial pattern of landslides in Swiss Rhone Valley

The present study analyses the spatial pattern of quaternary gravitational slope deformations (GSD) and historical/present-day instabilities (HPI) inventoried in the Swiss Rhone Valley. The main objective is to test if these events are clustered (spatial attraction) or randomly distributed (spatial independency).Moreover, analogies with the cluster behaviour of earthquakes inventoried in the same area were examined. The Ripley's K-function was applied to measure and test for randomness. This indicator allows describing the spatial pattern of a point process at increasing distance values. To account for the non-constant intensity of the geological phenomena, a modification of the K-function for inhomogeneous point processes was adopted. The specific goal is to explore the spatial attraction (i.e. cluster behaviour) among landslide events and between gravitational slope deformations and earthquakes. To discover if the two classes of instabilities (GSD and HPI) are spatially independently distributed, the cross K-function was computed. The results show that all the geological events under study are spatially clustered at a well-defined distance range. GSD and HPI show a similar pattern distribution with clusters in the range 0.75-9 km. The cross K-function reveals an attraction between the two classes of instabilities in the range 0-4 km confirming thatHPI are more prone to occur within large-scale slope deformations. The K-function computed for GSD and earthquakes indicates that both present a cluster tendency in the range 0-10 km, suggesting that earthquakes could represent a potential predisposing factor which could influence the GSD distribution.Fil: Tonini, Marj. Universite de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Pedrazzini, Andrea. Universite de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Penna, Ivanna Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos; Argentina. Universite de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Jaboyedoff, Michel. Universite de Lausanne; Suiz

Aufgabenorientierte Physiotherapie bei Kindern mit Developmental Coordination Disorder : Welche Auswirkungen auf die Motorik werden in der Literatur beschrieben?

Darstellung der Thematik Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) ist eine Entwicklungsstörung, welche die Grob- sowie Feinmotorik von Kindern beeinträchtigt und damit Probleme mit Alltagsaktivitäten und schulischen Leistungen auslöst, sowie soziale Schwierigkeiten verursacht. Da keine standardisierte Behandlung für DCD existiert, werden oft einzelne Elemente von verschiedenen Behandlungsansätzen kombiniert. Zielsetzung Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, basierend auf wissenschaftlichen Studien, den Einfluss der aufgabenorientierten Behandlungsansätze Neuromotor Task Training (NTT) und Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) auf die Motorik von Primarschulkindern mit der Diagnose DCD darzustellen. Methode Die Literatursuche erfolgte auf den Datenbanken Medline, CINAHL, PEDro, Cochrane und PubMed. Dabei wurden vier Studien gefunden, welche zur Beantwortung der Fragestellung analysiert wurden. Relevante Ergebnisse Für beide Therapiearten konnten anhand von Tests signifikante Verbesserungen der motorischen Leistung aufgeführt werden. Zudem wurden nach CO-OP-Interventionen signifikante Fortschritte der Selbstregulation der Kinder und ihrer Fähigkeiten, die eigenen Leistungen zu analysieren und die Probleme zu erkennen, nachgewiesen. Schlussfolgerungen Auf die Ergebnisse gestützt kann gesagt werden, dass aufgabenorientierte Ansätze Nutzen bringen können und in der Forschung und Praxis weitere Aufmerksamkeit verdienen. Falls der aufgezeigte kurzfristige Erfolg der Therapien bis ins Erwachsenenalter hin reicht, könnten negative Langzeitfolgen minimiert und das Leben der Betroffenen längerfristig erleichtert werden

Efficient use of DNA molecular markers to construct industrial yeast strains.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains exhibit a huge genotypic and phenotypic diversity. Breeding strategies taking advantage of these characteristics would contribute greatly to improving industrial yeasts. Here we mapped and introgressed chromosomal regions controlling industrial yeast properties, such as hydrogen sulphide production, phenolic off-flavor and a kinetic trait (lag phase duration). Two parent strains derived from industrial isolates used in winemaking and which exhibited significant quantitative differences in these traits were crossed and their progeny (50-170 clones) was analyzed for the segregation of these traits. Forty-eight segregants were genotyped at 2212 marker positions using DNA microarrays and one significant locus was mapped for each trait. To exploit these loci, an introgression approach was supervised by molecular markers monitoring using PCR/RFLP. Five successive backcrosses between an elite strain and appropriate segregants were sufficient to improve three trait values. Microarray-based genotyping confirmed that over 95% of the elite strain genome was recovered by this methodology. Moreover, karyotype patterns, mtDNA and tetrad analysis showed some genomic rearrangements during the introgression procedure