VALIDITY OF THE STANDING SPIKE TEST AS A MONITORING PROTOCOL FOR FEMALE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS

The purpose of this paper was: a) to provide reference values for the standing spike test for female volleyball players and b) to study whether the standing spike test is valid for assessing the theoretical differences between female volleyball players. The sample included 83 players from the first nine teams of the Spanish women’s first volleyball division (52 Spanish players and 31 from other nationalities). The variables studied were the ball speed of the standing spike test, the age of the players, the player’s role (outside hitter, opposite, middle-blocker, libero, or setter), height, and nationality of the players (Spanish or foreign). The results demonstrate the ranges for the standing spike among female performance volleyball players (70-82 km · h-1). The differences regarding nationality, player role, height, and age seem to indicate that the test is a valid instrument for monitoring the performance of female volleyball players

Performance of PHMC and HMC algorithms in Nf=4 LQCD with twisted Wilson quarks

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Way of scoring by Spanish First Division volleyball teams in relation to winning/losing, home/away, final classification, and type of confrontation

The aim of this study was to assess the way volleyball teams score with regard to: whether or not they won the game, whether they were the home or away team, the level of the opposing teams, and the type of confrontation. The sample was composed of 118,083 plays from 794 men’s volleyball matches and 125,751 plays from 719 women’s matches of Spain’s first division clubs (from the 2002-2003 season to the 2006-2007 season). The variables studied were: the way points were obtained in each play, being the home or away team, the level of the teams, the result of the match, and the type of confrontation between the teams with regard to their level. The results demonstrate that for both men’s and women’s teams, the majority of the points were obtained in attack and by opponent errors. Differences were found with regard to the way points were obtained when winning or losing the match was taken into account as well as when considering the level of the teams. This paper discusses the differences found with regard to whether the team is home or visiting and the type of confrontation

Mecánica de ejecución del remate en voleibol. Mechanics of the spike execution in volleyball

El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar la mecánica de realización del remate de voleibol. Se realiza una descripción de las diferentes fases del remate (carrera de aproximación, batida, golpeo, y caída) y de los principios mecánicos que intervienen en la realización de cada fasedel remate. A partir de esta información se puede comprender el porqué de la realización de los diferentes movimientos del remate. Esta información puede servir de guía a los entrenadores de voleibol a la hora de realizar el análisis y diagnósticos de la técnica de ejecución del remate en sus jugadores y jugadoras

Correlation between ball speed of the spike and the strength condition of a professional women’s volleyball team during the season

The aim of this paper was to study the relationship between spike speed and the players’ characteristics, anthropometrics, and strength levels throughout the season for a women’s professional volleyball team. Players from a Spanish first division team performed a battery of tests evaluating anthropometric characteristics, strength performance, and spike speed at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of one competitive season. The variables were: age; training experience; height; one-hand standing reach height; body mass; body mass index; height of the vertical jump with an approach (spike jump); muscle percentage of arms; 1 repetition maximum (1RM) bench press; 1RM pullover; overhead medicine ball throws for distance using 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 kg; spike angles; and speed of standing and jump spikes. Results showed that players’ general strength (bench press and pullover) and power parameters (medicine ball throws) increased throughout theseason, while speed of the jump did not improve. The variable that best predicted the jump spike speed at all the three time points in the season was the standing spike speed. The players’ training increased their strength and upper-body power, but these improvements were not transferred to players’ hitting speed ability. Push-pull and throwing exercises were not specific enough to improve the hitting ability of the female senior volleyball players

The MABIC project: An effectiveness trial for reducing risk factors for eating disorders

Challenges in the prevention of disordered eating field include moving from efficacy to effectiveness and developing an integrated approach to the prevention of eating and weight-related problems. A previous efficacy trial indicated that a universal disordered eating prevention program, based on the social cognitive model, media literacy educational approach and cognitive dissonance theory, reduced risk factors for disordered eating, but it is unclear whether this program has effects under more real-world conditions. This effectiveness trial tested whether this program has effects when previously trained community providers in an integrated approach to prevention implement the intervention. The research design involved a multi-center non-randomized controlled trial with baseline, post-test and 1-year follow-up measures. The sample included girls in the 8th grade from six schools (n = 152 girls) in a city near Barcelona (intervention group), and from eleven schools (n = 413 girls) in four neighboring towns (control group). The MABIC risk factors of disordered eating were assessed as main outcomes. Girls in the intervention group showed significantly greater reductions in beauty ideal internalization, disordered eating attitudes and weight-related teasing from pretest to 1-year follow-up compared to girls in the control group, suggesting that this program is effective under real-world conditions

Establishing Technical and Tactical Performance Goals for Elite Male Volleyball Players

The goal of this study was to establish technical and tactical performance goals for elite male volleyball players (Spanish first division). This paper is the result of scientific collaboration between volleyball coaches and researchers. The process of establishing the goals and the reference values of the performance goals was: 1) conceptual analysis, establishing the criteria for the analysis of players’ and teams’ performance (researchers and coaches), 2) mathematical analysis, data collection and data analysis of the possible performance goals, and 3) practical analysis, establishing the performance goals according to their usefulness and applicability following the SMART principle. Seven performance goals were established to evaluate the technical-tactical actions of the players in training and in competition. Protocols utilized can be used as references of how to calculate the technical and tactical performance goals in sport

Validity and reliability of radar to spike speed control in volleyball

El presente trabajo se enmarca en el proceso de dar validez y fiabilidad a un protocolo de test que sirva para el control de la velocidad del remate a nivel de entrenamiento e investigación. El trabajo tiene dos objetivos: a) comprobar la validez del radar al registrar la velocidad del balón en el remate, y b) establecer la distancia de ubicación del radar respecto a la red, que permita obtener datos fiables de la velocidad máxima del balón en el remate. Se realizó un doble estudio para conseguir los objetivos de la investigación. Veinticuatro jugadoras de superliga participaron en el primer estudio, y cuatro jugadoras de superliga participaron en el segundo estudio. En el primer estudio, la velocidad del balón en el remate se midió con el radar y con análisis fotogramétrico a partir de la filmación realizada. Los datos obtenidos muestran una correlación de 0,98 entre los registros tomados por el radar y los obtenidos del análisis fotogramétrico. En el segundo estudio, el radar se ubicó a cuatro, cinco, seis y siete metros de distancia de la red para registrar las velocidades imprimidas al balón en la ejecución del remate. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la ubicación ideal del radar para registrar la velocidad del remate debe ser a una distancia de 5 metros de la red. Esta ubicación fue la que presentó mayor estabilidad de los registros, medias de velocidades más altas y menor coeficiente de variación.Actividad Física y Deport

Cognitive Biases Questionnaire for Psychosis (CBQp): Spanish Validation and Relationship With Cognitive Insight in Psychotic Patients

Introduction: Cognitive biases are key factors in the development and persistence of delusions in psychosis. The Cognitive Biases Questionnaire for Psychosis (CBQp) is a new self-reported questionnaire of 30 relevant situations to evaluate five types of cognitive biases in psychosis. In the context of the validation of the Spanish version of the CBQp, our objectives were to (1) analyze the factorial structure of the questionnaire with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), (2) relate cognitive biases with a widely used scale in the field of delusion cognitive therapies for assessing metacognition, specifically, Beck's Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) (1), and, finally, (3) associate cognitive biases with delusional experiences, evaluated with the Peters Delusions Inventory (PDI) (2). Materials and Methods: An authorized Spanish version of the CBQp, by a translation and back-translation procedure, was obtained. A sample of 171 patients with different diagnoses of psychoses was included. A CFA was used to test three different construct models. Associations between CBQp biases, the BCIS, and the PDI were made by correlation and mean differences. Comparisons of the CBQp scores between a control group and patients with psychosis were analyzed. Results: The CFA showed comparative fit index (CFI) values of 0.94 and 0.95 for the models with one, two, and five factors, with root mean square error of approximation values of 0.031 and 0.029. The CBQp reliability was 0.87. Associations between cognitive biases, self-certainty, and cognitive insight subscales of the BCIS were found. Similarly, associations between total punctuation, conviction, distress, and concern subscales of the PDI were also found. When compared with the group of healthy subjects, patients with psychoses scored significantly higher in several cognitive biases. Conclusion: Given the correlation between biases, a one-factor model might be more appropriate to explain the scale's underlying construct. Biases were associated with a greater frequency of delusions, distress, conviction, and concern as well as worse cognitive insight in patients with psychosis

Bacterial Mucosal Immunotherapy with MV130 Prevents Recurrent Wheezing in Children: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial.

The authors thank the patients and their families for participating in this study. They are grateful to the members of the David Sancho laboratory, especially to Carlos del Fresno, for helpful critical discussion.Rationale: Recurrent wheezing in children represents a severe public health concern. Wheezing attacks (WA), mainly associated with viral infections, lack effective preventive therapies. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of mucosal sublingual immunotherapy based on whole inactivated bacteria (MV130) in preventing WA in children. Methods: A Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial including a cohort of 120 children <3 years old with ⩾3 WA during the previous year was conducted. Children with a positive skin test to common aeroallergens in the area where the clinical trial was performed were excluded from the trial. Subjects received MV130 or placebo daily for 6 months. The primary endpoint was the number of WA within 1 year after the first dose comparing MV130 and placebo. Measurements and Main Results: There was a significant lower number of WA in MV130 versus the placebo group, 3.0 (interquartile range [IQR], 2.0-4.0) versus 5.0 (IQR, 3.0-7.0) (P < 0.001). As secondary outcomes, a decrease in the duration of WA and a reduction in symptoms and medication scores in the MV130 versus placebo group were found. No adverse events were reported related to the active treatment. Conclusions: Mucosal bacterial immunotherapy with MV130 shows safety and clinical efficacy against recurrent WA in children.Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01734811).S