Propulsive strength training in wheelchair tennis to improve service response

In wheelchair tennis, the biomechanical-bioenergetic quantitative aspects involved are the fast force and maximum isometric propulsion force of the race medium. The problem encountered is to improve the propulsion force of the race medium, therefore the thrust force, to increase the strength of the upper limbs in the response to the service. The aim of the study is to verify the effects of a training with upper limb overloads on sports performance, in particular the response to the service. A sample of 30 paraplegic athletes, of an average age of 25 years, with a D8-D12 back injury, of the Open category, has been recruited. Athletes have been training with upper body overloads for 2 months with a frequency of 2 times a week. The 20m sprint test was executed after and before the two months. The T-test for dependent samples was used to detect the difference between the two groups (p < .05). Training with upper limb overloads showed a significant improvement (p < .05) of 42% in service response. According to the results, athletes from an average initial performance level of 5.2 have moved to an average level of 4.82, which corresponds to an almost excellent level. Overload training has proven effective in increasing fast strength in response to the technical gesture of the opponent's service

Study and evaluation of the impacts on the saddle in the L4-L5 and S1 lumbar area during horse riding training session through the use of the last generation inertial sensor

The aim of this study is to evaluate the extent of the impact and compression of the spine at the lumbosacral level in equestrian sports. In particular, through the use of inertial sensors (IMU) the impacts on the spine that occur during a training session on horseback will be analysed with specifications currently not present in the literature. Pathologies of the spine account for 5-15% of sports traumatology in horse riding. The study was performed using a K-Track IMU (K-Sport Universal) and the test was carried out by a volunteer, an 18-year-old rider (1.78 mt high, 66.5 kg weight) who participates in competitions, for each of the three horse gaits were performed 15 measurements on 50 meters long track. The data analysis show, that no impact event greater than 1g was detected in the walk, while in the trot as many as 363 events were overrun at an acceleration of 1g and 422 in the gallop. The data collected through IMU, highlighted the need for a partial restructuring of the training plan, which would be more adequate as it would contain a more significant number of specific mobilization and strengthening elements of the spine, for a more adequate building of the muscles involved and to better prevent localized trauma

Performance improvement in yo-yo intermittent recovery test Level 2 and during official matches: The role of speed endurance training production in Élite football players

This study aims to examine the performance improvement in yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 2 (IR2) and official matches, during a competitive season in professional football players (Italian 3rd Division Series C, 2019- 2020). Twenty-eight (n=28) élite football players participated in this study (age 21.4±3.3; body weight 79.7±3.4; height 182.4±5.5; fat mass 9.2±1.9), without goalkeepers. In the pre-season (4 weeks, from July to August), the players performed yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 2 (IR2), to evaluate aerobic and anaerobic performance before the start of the season. Every player has been analysed with a K-GPS Live device 50Hz (K-Sport Universal STATS, Italy) and Polar Team System PRO 2 heart-rate sensor (Polar Electro, Finland) to recorder maximal heart rate. After 12 weeks of training (in season), the same players repeat an IR2 test to check performance improvements and verify whether the training programme is correct. The first element was to determine whether the improvement in distance covered during a test is better, the same, or worse with respect to the pre-season. After 12 weeks of training, the difference between the first trial (pre-season) and the second one (in-season) is statistically significant (ES: 0.48; p<0.05; 24%). At the same time, there has been a significant improvement in match physical performance. Regarding the importance of speed endurance training during a season, it is necessary to improve performance in IR2 test after 12 weeks and improve maximal oxygen uptake and glycolytic enzyme activity. Comparing match performance before (T1) the second trial IR2 with match performance after second (T2) trial of this test, there are statistically meaningful changes

The winning shares in the major football leagues

The top football Leagues of the major national teams of Italy, England and Germany have a different attack feature for the homogeneity of each championship. The aim of the study is to analyse the common elements of the goals during a match, during the mid-season and the total number of the scored goals. The method is based on the correlation of data analysis obtained by InSTAT database, using as sample the first round of championship. The results show a great disparity and significant differences in the three different categories of data. This result is useful to understand the differences resulting by the specific features of each individual, independently of the first position in the League. Consequently, it would be useful a different training planning in the same sport season

Thromboembolic events and haematological diseases: a case of stroke as clinical onset of a paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria

Some haematological diseases are associated to an increased risk of thromboembolic events. We report a case of paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) in which a cerebrovascular event represented the first clinical manifestation of disease. PNH is associated to thromboembolic events, generally of venous districts often involving unusual locations such as mesenteric vessels, sagittal veins, inferior vena cava and renal veins. To our knowledge arterial thrombotic episodes are rare and the involvement of arterial cerebral vessels is exceptional. Then, our case points out the importance of investigating about haematological disorders in all patients presenting with a stroke, in which the common predisposing conditions are excluded

Prospective validation of the CLIP score: a new prognostic system for patient with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma

Prognosis of patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) depends on both residual liver function and tumor extension. The CLIP score includes Child-Pugh stage, tumor morphology and extension, serum alfa-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, and portal vein thrombosis. We externally validated the CLIP score and compared its discriminatory ability and predictive power with that of the Okuda staging system in 196 patients with cirrhosis and HCC prospectively enrolled in a randomized trial. No significant associations were found between the CLIP score and the age, sex, and pattern of viral infection. There was a strong correlation between the CLIP score and the Okuda stage, As of June 1999, 150 patients (76.5%) had died. Median survival time was 11 months, overall, and it was 36, 22, 9, 7, and 3 months for CLIP categories 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 to 6, respectively. In multivariate analysis, the CLIP score had additional explanatory power above that of the Okuda stage. This was true for both patients treated with locoregional therapy or not. A quantitative estimation of 2-year survival predictive power showed that the CLIP score explained 37% of survival variability, compared with 21% explained by Okuda stage. In conclusion, the CLIP score, compared with the Okuda staging system, gives more accurate prognostic information, is statistically more efficient, and has a greater survival predictive power. It could be useful in treatment planning by improving baseline prognostic evaluation of patients with RCC, and could be used in prospective therapeutic trials as a stratification variable, reducing the variability of results owing to patient selection

La conservazione preventiva del patrimonio librario come possibile alternativa al restauro tradizionale

The present paper focuses on the close relation between library collections and their preservation environment, aiming, in particular, at highlighting the importance of promoting and sustaining the monitoring. The paper proposes some simple and ready-to-use technologies – smart monitoring – to prevent future damages

Disability and inclusion: Swimming to overcome social barriers

Nowadays all people can and must practice physical activity and engage themselves in various sports specialties. Among the various sports, swimming is ideal in all situations where the weight of the body is a problem, such as in cases of lower limbs disability (amputations, paralysis, etc.). The objective of this study is to investigate if disabled and not-disabled athletes can derive performance benefits and if it is possible to reduce the gap between the competition times between athletes, through a single, performance and training activity. The sample is made up of 12 athletes, including 6 disabled, belonging to the S2 category, and 6 not-disabled athletes skilled in the back. After an anamnesis and a careful initial valuation, it was proposed to all the athletes to do the HIIT method (for 4 weeks), Tabata method (for 4 weeks), and Pilates one (for 8 weeks). Moreover, to the disabled athletes were given physiotherapy sessions to increase joint ROM for 8 weeks. The aim is to promote social inclusion for disabled athletes, often marginalized by the group, to break down those who are the pillars of difference

Football the performance level of athletes with disabilities for the "fourth category" 7-a-side championship

The work presented is important because it allows us to demonstrate the actual benefits, in this case concerning the physical sphere, of motor and sports practice on athletes with various disabilities. The study was conducted on 10 athletes belonging to a football school, each of whom has various types of diagnosed disabilities such as down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual-cognitive disability, or motor disability, characterized by low functionality. Considering the problem, which is to adapt the performance level of the athletes to the performance model required for the "Fourth Category" 7-a-side football championship for disabled people, obtained by comparing it with the same, however, referred to 11-a-side football, they underwent an 8-week mesocycle of training, with the administration of motor evaluation tests both at the beginning and at the end of this period. The test results will then be compared with the statistical t test technique for dependent samples. From this comparison, significant differences emerged about endurance and sprint tests, and insignificant differences for the standing long jump. The conclusion therefore leads us to state that, through training, it is possible to increase the parameters of the performance level of disabled athletes to make them conform to the performance model and physiological commitment that the Fourth Category Championship requires