BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF FREE SHOOTING TECHNIQUE IN BASKETBALL IN RELATION TO PRECISION AND POSITION OF THE PLAYERS

On a representative sample of subjects - basketball players of the basketball club «Zdravlje» from Leskovac playing on different positions as guard, forward and center - a video recording of the free throws technique was made with the aim to define the differences in kinematic and goniometric parameters related to the success in free throw realization. By means of 2D kinematic analysis 120 attempts of free throws were encompassed and they were categorized as successful, successful with overthrow, successful with underthrow and unsuccessful. The results were statistically processed by: means of the multivariate variant analysis. It was obtained the following: researched kinematic and gonimetric parameters differ statistically in a significant manner depending on the success of the free throw technique in basketball

THE INFLUENCE OF A TEN-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM ON THE BIOMECHANICAL PARAMETERS OF MADE JUMP SHOTS IN YOUNG BASKETBALL PLAYERS

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the specific training program on the kinematic parameters of made jump shots in basketball. Participants were 31 basketball players, aged 15.32±0.65. All participants trained according to a specific training program for 10 weeks. Data obtained at the initial and final measurements were processed by nonparametric statistics. Data processing was carried out in the direction of determining the difference in kinematic parameters within the group between the initial and final measurements. After that, the level of impact of a specific training program on the mentioned parameters was determined. The obtained results indicated that there are differences between initial and final measurements in eight out of 10 (80%) kinematic parameters and the influence of the specific training program existed in the same eight (80%) kinematic parameters

DIFFERENCES IN COORDINATION AND ENDURANCE BEETWEEN CHILDREN SELECTED FOR ATHLETICS AND NON-ATHLETES

Abstract. Investigation was conducted in order to determine the differences in coordination and endurance between girls selected for athletics and non-athletes. The sample of 36 subjects were divided into two subsample: girls selected for athletics (18) and non-athletes girls (18), who were not included in systematic athletics training, but they only attended physical education classes. The sample of measuring instruments for assessing coordination and endurance were consisted of: agility in the air (OKV), coordination with a baton (KOP), twenty steps twirling a baton (20IP), squats (ČUČ), push-ups (SKL) and the 800m run (TR800). Based on analysis of variance led to results, which showed that there were not differences in coordination between the girls selected for athletics and non-athletes, but in endurance there were statistical differences in squats (ČUČ) and 800m (TR800) running, girls selected for athletics had a better results

Effect of remote ischaemic conditioning on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI): a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischaemic conditioning with transient ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). We investigated whether remote ischaemic conditioning could reduce the incidence of cardiac death and hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months. METHODS: We did an international investigator-initiated, prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI) at 33 centres across the UK, Denmark, Spain, and Serbia. Patients (age >18 years) with suspected STEMI and who were eligible for PPCI were randomly allocated (1:1, stratified by centre with a permuted block method) to receive standard treatment (including a sham simulated remote ischaemic conditioning intervention at UK sites only) or remote ischaemic conditioning treatment (intermittent ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of an automated cuff device) before PPCI. Investigators responsible for data collection and outcome assessment were masked to treatment allocation. The primary combined endpoint was cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02342522) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Nov 6, 2013, and March 31, 2018, 5401 patients were randomly allocated to either the control group (n=2701) or the remote ischaemic conditioning group (n=2700). After exclusion of patients upon hospital arrival or loss to follow-up, 2569 patients in the control group and 2546 in the intervention group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months post-PPCI, the Kaplan-Meier-estimated frequencies of cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure (the primary endpoint) were 220 (8·6%) patients in the control group and 239 (9·4%) in the remote ischaemic conditioning group (hazard ratio 1·10 [95% CI 0·91-1·32], p=0·32 for intervention versus control). No important unexpected adverse events or side effects of remote ischaemic conditioning were observed. INTERPRETATION: Remote ischaemic conditioning does not improve clinical outcomes (cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure) at 12 months in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, University College London Hospitals/University College London Biomedical Research Centre, Danish Innovation Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden

Physiological responses and activity demands remain consistent irrespective of team size in recreational handball

Dalbo, VJ ORCiD: 0000-0002-5944-7558; Scanlan, AT ORCiD: 0000-0002-0750-8697The aim of this study was to examine the impact of team size on acute physiological, perceptual, and activity demands of recreational handball to provide a better understanding for the potential prescription of recreational handball to achieve health benefits. Active, male college students (N=22) completed 3-, 4-, and 5-a-side handball game formats across three separate sessions following a repeated-measures, crossover design. Heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BLa), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), distance covered, and frequency of accelerations/decelerations were monitored during games. Each game format elicited vigorous intensities with a mean HR in the range 82–85%HRmax and post-game BLa in the range 3.9–4.4 mmol·L-1. No significant differences (P>0.05) in absolute (ηp2=0.40), relative mean HR (ηp2=0.43), BLa (ηp2=0.16), total distance (ηp2=0.32), total accelerations (ηp2=0.23), or total decelerations (ηp2=0.23) were observed between game formats. A significant effect was observed for RPE (ηp2=0.51), where 3-a-side games elicited a higher RPE than 5-a-side games (P=0.03, large). Modifying player number has a negligible effect on the physiological and activity demands encountered during recreational handball games. Recreational handball consisting of 3–5 players imposes similar intermittent workloads, resulting in vigorous physiological responses concomitant with those recommended for overall health improvements as part of regular training. © 2020 Institute of Sport. All rights reserved

Gender differences in the prognostic impact of chronic kidney disease in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction following ST elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention

Background/Aim: Renal function potentially has different prognostic impact in men and women with acute myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on five-year all-cause mortality in men and women with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) following ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Method: We included 348 consecutive STEMI patients who were treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) and had a left ventricular ejection fraction < 40%. CKD was defined as baseline creatinine clearance (CrCl) < 60 ml/min. Patients with cardiogenic shock at admission were excluded. Results: Among analyzed patients, 104 patients (29.8%) were women, and 244 patients (70.1%) were men. Compared with male patients, female patients were older. Females were more likely to have previous angina and hypertension. CKD was more common in women compared with men (54.8% vs. 22.5%, p<0.001). Female gender and older age were independent predictors of CKD. No significant difference in five-year all-cause mortality was between men and women (27.8% vs. 23.3%, p=0.370). In a Cox regression model (adjustments were made for age, Killip class at admission, post-procedural flow TIMI<3, left main stenosis and women with diabetes), CKD remained an independent predictor of five-year all-cause mortality in men (HR 2.2; 95% CI 1.22–3.3, p=0.007). Conclusions: Although pre-terminal CKD was more frequently noted in women, it was an independent predictor of five-year mortality exclusively in men. Different prognostic significance of CKD between sexes indicates that renal function must be considered in the prognosis of men and women following acute myocardial infarction

Dilemmas in the Choice of Adequate Therapeutic Treatment in Patients with Acute Pulmonary Embolism—From Modern Recommendations to Clinical Application

Pulmonary thromboembolism is a very common cardiovascular disease, with a high mortality rate. Despite the clear guidelines, this disease still represents a great challenge both in diagnosis and treatment. The heterogeneous clinical picture, often without pathognomonic signs and symptoms, represents a huge differential diagnostic problem even for experienced doctors. The decisions surrounding this therapeutic regimen also represent a major dilemma in the group of patients who are hemodynamically stable at initial presentation and have signs of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction proven by echocardiography and positive biomarker values (pulmonary embolism of intermediate–high risk). Studies have shown conflicting results about the benefit of using fibrinolytic therapy in this group of patients until hemodynamic decompensation, due to the risk of major bleeding. The latest recommendations give preference to new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) compared to vitamin K antagonists (VKA), except for certain categories of patients (patients with antiphospholipid syndrome, mechanical valves, pregnancy). When using oral anticoagulant therapy, special attention should be paid to drug–drug interactions, which can lead to many complications, even to the death of the patient. Special population groups such as pregnant women, obese patients, patients with antiphospholipid syndrome and the incidence of cancer represent a great therapeutic challenge in the application of anticoagulant therapy. In these patients, not only must the effectiveness of the drugs be taken into account, but great attention must be paid to their safety and possible side effects, which is why a multidisciplinary approach is emphasized in order to provide the best therapeutic option