Physical fitness components associated with performance in a multiple-sprint test.

PURPOSE: The 5-m repeat-sprint test (5-m RST) measures resistance to fatigue after repeated bouts of short-duration, high-intensity activity. This study determined the components of fitness associated with performance in 5-m RSTs. METHODS: Speed (10-m and 40-m sprints), strength (bench press), agility, strength endurance (pull-ups and push-ups), and aerobic power (20-m shuttle-run test) were measured in male provincial- or national-level rugby (n = 110), hockey (n = 59), and soccer (n = 55) players. RESULTS: Subjects with either high (HI) or low (LO) resistance to fatigue in the 5-m RST differed in body mass (76.9 +/- 11.6 kg vs 102.1 +/- 18.9 kg, HI vs LO, respectively, P < .001), agility (14.55 +/- 0.41 seconds vs 15.56 +/- 0.30 seconds, P < .001), bench press (86 +/- 20 kg vs 114 +/- 33 kg, P = .03), pull-ups (13 +/- 4 vs 8 +/- 5, P = .02), push-ups (56 +/- 12 vs 39 +/- 13, P = .002), and 20-m shuttle-run test (20-m SRT; 133 +/- 11 vs 87 +/- 12 shuttles, P < .001). Body mass, strength, and aerobic power were the best predictors of 5-m RST performance: 5-m RST = -1.274(mass) + 0.756(1RM bench press) + 2.053(number of 20-m SRT shuttles) + 549.409 (R2 = .66). CONCLUSIONS: Performance in the 5-m RST is predicted best by a combination of factors including body mass, strength, and aerobic ability, rather than by any single component of fitness

Metadiffusers : deep-subwavelength sound diffusers

We present deep-subwavelength diffusing surfaces based on acoustic metamaterials, namely metadiffusers. These sound diffusers are rigidly backed slotted panels, with each slit being loaded by an array of Helmholtz resonators. Strong dispersion is produced in the slits and slow sound conditions are induced. Thus, the effective thickness of the panel is lengthened introducing its quarter wavelength resonance in the deep-subwavelength regime. By tuning the geometry of the metamaterial, the reflection coefficient of the panel can be tailored to obtain either a custom reflection phase, moderate or even perfect absorption. Using these concepts, we present ultra-thin diffusers where the geometry of the metadiffuser has been tuned to obtain surfaces with spatially dependent reflection coefficients having uniform magnitude Fourier transforms. Various designs are presented where, quadratic residue, primitive root and ternary sequence diffusers are mimicked by metadiffusers whose thickness are 1/46 to 1/20 times the design wavelength, i.e., between about a twentieth and a tenth of the thickness of traditional designs. Finally, a broadband metadiffuser panel of 3 cm thick was designed using optimization methods for frequencies ranging from 250 Hz to 2 kHz

Coxiella burnetii in Humans and Ticks in Rural Senegal

Q fever is a zoonotic disease known since 1937. The disease may be severe, causing pneumonia, hepatitis and endocarditis. Q fever agent has been described as a possible biological weapon. Animals—especially domestic cows, goats and sheep—are considered reservoirs for this infection. They are capable of sustaining the infection for long periods and excreting viable bacteria, infecting other animals and, occasionally, humans. Here we studied the distribution of Q fever in a poorly studied region, Senegal. We studied the agent of Q fever both in ticks parasitizing domestic animals and in humans (antibodies in serum, bacteria in feces, saliva and milk). We found from the studied regions the bacterium is highly prevalent in rural Senegal. Up to 37.6% of five different and most prevalent tick species may carry the bacterium. Humans living in such areas, as other mammals, may occasionally excrete Q fever agent through feces and milk

Nuclear Targeting of IGF-1 Receptor in Orbital Fibroblasts from Graves' Disease: Apparent Role of ADAM17

Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) comprises two subunits, including a ligand binding domain on extra- cellular IGF-1Rα and a tyrosine phosphorylation site located on IGF-1Rβ. IGF-1R is over-expressed by orbital fibroblasts in the autoimmune syndrome, Graves' disease (GD). When activated by IGF-1 or GD-derived IgG (GD-IgG), these fibroblasts produce RANTES and IL-16, while those from healthy donors do not. We now report that IGF-1 and GD-IgG provoke IGF-1R accumulation in the cell nucleus of GD fibroblasts where it co-localizes with chromatin. Nuclear IGF-1R is detected with anti-IGF-1Rα-specific mAb and migrates to approximately 110 kDa, consistent with its identity as an IGF-1R fragment. Nuclear IGF-1R migrating as a 200 kDa protein and consistent with an intact receptor was undetectable when probed with either anti-IGF-1Rα or anti-IGF-1Rβ mAbs. Nuclear redistribution of IGF-1R is absent in control orbital fibroblasts. In GD fibroblasts, it can be abolished by an IGF-1R-blocking mAb, 1H7 and by physiological concentrations of glucocorticoids. When cell-surface IGF-1R is cross-linked with 125I IGF-1, 125I-IGF-1/IGF-1R complexes accumulate in the nuclei of GD fibroblasts. This requires active ADAM17, a membrane associated metalloproteinase, and the phosphorylation of IGF-1R. In contrast, virally encoded IGF-1Rα/GFP fusion protein localizes equivalently in nuclei in both control and GD fibroblasts. This result suggests that generation of IGF-1R fragments may limit the accumulation of nuclear IGF-1R. We thus identify a heretofore-unrecognized behavior of IGF-1R that appears limited to GD-derived fibroblasts. Nuclear IGF-1R may play a role in disease pathogenesis

How Much Rugby is Too Much? A Seven-Season Prospective Cohort Study of Match Exposure and Injury Risk in Professional Rugby Union Players.

INTRODUCTION: Numerous studies have documented the incidence and nature of injuries in professional rugby union, but few have identified specific risk factors for injury in this population using appropriate statistical methods. In particular, little is known about the role of previous short-term or longer-term match exposures in current injury risk in this setting. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to investigate the influence that match exposure has upon injury risk in rugby union. METHOD: We conducted a seven-season (2006/7-2012/13) prospective cohort study of time-loss injuries in 1253 English premiership professional players. Players' 12-month match exposure (number of matches a player was involved in for ≥20 min in the preceding 12 months) and 1-month match exposure (number of full-game equivalent [FGE] matches in preceding 30 days) were assessed as risk factors for injury using a nested frailty model and magnitude-based inferences. RESULTS: The 12-month match exposure was associated with injury risk in a non-linear fashion; players who had been involved in fewer than ≈15 or more than ≈35 matches over the preceding 12-month period were more susceptible to injury. Monthly match exposure was linearly associated with injury risk (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.14 per 2 standard deviation [3.2 FGE] increase, 90% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-1.20; likely harmful), although this effect was substantially attenuated for players in the upper quartile for 12-month match exposures (>28 matches). CONCLUSION: A player's accumulated (12-month) and recent (1-month) match exposure substantially influences their current injury risk. Careful attention should be paid to planning the workloads and monitoring the responses of players involved in: (1) a high (>≈35) number of matches in the previous year, (2) a low (<≈15) number of matches in the previous year, and (3) a low-moderate number of matches in previous year but who have played intensively in the recent past. These findings make a major contribution to evidence-based policy decisions regarding match workload limits in professional rugby union

"Death is a better option than being treated like this" : a prevalence survey and qualitative study of depression among multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in-patients

BACKGROUND: Understanding of the relationship between multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and mental health is limited. With growing prevalence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, addressing mental ill-health has potential to improve treatment outcomes and well-being. In several low and middle-income contexts hospitalisation during treatment is common. Understanding of the impact on mental ill-health are required to inform interventions for patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Our aim was to identify the prevalence of comorbid depression among in-patients being treated for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and to explore their experiences of comorbid disease and the care they received in a large specialist chest hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. METHODS: We conducted a quantitative cross-sectional survey among 150 multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in-patients (new cases = 34%, previously treated = 66%) in 2018. A psychiatrist assessed depression was assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for Depression (SCID DSM-IV). We used multi-level modelling to identify associations with depression. Experience Bangladeshi researchers conducted qualitative interviews with 8 patients, 4 carers, 4 health professionals and reflective notes recorded. Qualitative data was analysed thematically. RESULTS: We found 33.8% (95% CI 26.7%; 41.7%) of patients were depressed. While more women were depressed 39.3% (95% CI 27.6%; 52.4%) than men 30.4% (95% CI 22%; 40.5%) this was not significant. After controlling for key variables only having one or more co-morbidity (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.88 [95% CI 1.13; 7.33]) and being a new rather than previously treated case (AOR = 2.33 [95% CI 1.06; 5.14]) were associated (positively) with depression. Qualitative data highlighted the isolation and despair felt by patients who described a service predominantly focused on providing medicines. Individual, familial, societal and health-care factors influenced resilience, nuanced by gender, socio-economic status and home location. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis are at high risk of depression, particularly those with co- and multi-morbidities. Screening for depression and psycho-social support should be integrated within routine TB services and provided throughout treatment

Simple molecular networks that respond optimally to time-periodic stimulation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bacteria or cells receive many signals from their environment and from other organisms. In order to process this large amount of information, Systems Biology shows that a central role is played by regulatory networks composed of genes and proteins. The objective of this paper is to present and to discuss simple regulatory network motifs having the property to maximize their responses under time-periodic stimulations. In elucidating the mechanisms underlying these responses through simple networks the goal is to pinpoint general principles which optimize the oscillatory responses of molecular networks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We took a look at basic network motifs studied in the literature such as the Incoherent Feedforward Loop (IFFL) or the interlerlocked negative feedback loop. The former is also generalized to a diamond pattern, with network components being either purely genetic or combining genetic and signaling pathways. Using standard mathematics and numerical simulations, we explain the types of responses exhibited by the IFFL with respect to a train of periodic pulses. We show that this system has a non-vanishing response only if the inter-pulse interval is above a threshold. A slight generalisation of the IFFL (the diamond) is shown to work as an ideal pass-band filter. We next show a mechanism by which average of oscillatory response can be maximized by bursting temporal patterns. Finally we study the interlerlocked negative feedback loop, i.e. a 2-gene motif forming a loop where the nodes respectively activate and repress each other, and show situations where this system possesses a resonance under periodic stimulation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We present several simple motif designs of molecular networks producing optimal output in response to periodic stimulations of the system. The identified mechanisms are simple and based on known network motifs in the literature, so that that they could be embodied in existing organisms, or easily implementable by means of synthetic biology. Moreover we show that these designs can be studied in different contexts of molecular biology, as for example in genetic networks or in signaling pathways.</p