DOES SPECIALIZATION IN KARATE AFFECT REACTION TIME IN SPECIFIC KARATE KUMITE SITUATIONS?

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of karate specialization on the reaction time in specific karate kumite situations. In order to maximize the ecological validity of experimental set-up, we used our recently proposed and evaluated video-based method (Mudric et al., 2015). Within this method, the reaction time is calculated from the kinematic parameters recorded on both offensive action stimuli and defensive action responses. The results obtained from three groups of subjects (i.e., karate kumite, karate kata and beginners) indicate significant differences in reaction time between the beginners and both specialized karate groups. There were also prominent but not significant differences between the karate kumite and karate kata. These findings suggest that particular sport specialization could improve reaction time of an athlete in specific sport situations

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN KARATE PRACTITIONERS OF VARIED COMPETITION ORIENTATIONS IN SPECIFIC MOTOR TESTS RESULTS

The aim of this  study was to examine the difference between the karate practitioners of the varied competitive orientations in the results of the specific motor tests. The sample consisted of karate practitioners male subjects, aged 12 to 14, who are engaged in a regular training process,  and compete in the current system of competitions in the Karate Federation of Serbia. The study included a total of 79 karate practitioners, out of which 37 contestants in the fighting, 23 contestants in kata and 19 subjects who compete in both disciplines. For the evaluation of the specific motor abilities 6 tests were applied (Gyaku zuki, (GZ), Oi Zuki (OZ), Mae geri, (MG),Kizami-Zuki,  from a guard (KZG), Gyaku zuki from a guard (GZG) and Mawashi-Geri from a guard (MVGG), where the screened candidates selected the representative techniques. The measurement results of the investigated competing groups were statistically analyzed in such a manner enabling obtaining  answers to the set hypothesis. The research results show that the contestants oriented to katas have the worst results in all tests, and that the factor competitive orientation,  was significant for all tests. In addition, a very important finding in the context of the studied problem is the fact that the best results in almost all of the tests were achieved by the subjects  not yet definitely directed towards one discipline and who compete both in katas and kumite. Overall obtained results confirm that there are significant differences in almost all tests, and that these are especially important in the older age groups, based on  which we conclude that the hypothesis on  the existence of the significant differences between the varied  karate competition orientations  in the results of the specific motor tests,  is confirmed completel

Mortality after surgery in Europe: a 7 day cohort study

Background: Clinical outcomes after major surgery are poorly described at the national level. Evidence of heterogeneity between hospitals and health-care systems suggests potential to improve care for patients but this potential remains unconfirmed. The European Surgical Outcomes Study was an international study designed to assess outcomes after non-cardiac surgery in Europe.Methods: We did this 7 day cohort study between April 4 and April 11, 2011. We collected data describing consecutive patients aged 16 years and older undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery in 498 hospitals across 28 European nations. Patients were followed up for a maximum of 60 days. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcome measures were duration of hospital stay and admission to critical care. We used χ² and Fisher’s exact tests to compare categorical variables and the t test or the Mann-Whitney U test to compare continuous variables. Significance was set at p<0·05. We constructed multilevel logistic regression models to adjust for the differences in mortality rates between countries.Findings: We included 46 539 patients, of whom 1855 (4%) died before hospital discharge. 3599 (8%) patients were admitted to critical care after surgery with a median length of stay of 1·2 days (IQR 0·9–3·6). 1358 (73%) patients who died were not admitted to critical care at any stage after surgery. Crude mortality rates varied widely between countries (from 1·2% [95% CI 0·0–3·0] for Iceland to 21·5% [16·9–26·2] for Latvia). After adjustment for confounding variables, important differences remained between countries when compared with the UK, the country with the largest dataset (OR range from 0·44 [95% CI 0·19 1·05; p=0·06] for Finland to 6·92 [2·37–20·27; p=0·0004] for Poland).Interpretation: The mortality rate for patients undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery was higher than anticipated. Variations in mortality between countries suggest the need for national and international strategies to improve care for this group of patients.Funding: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Society of Anaesthesiology