Körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit von professionellen Feuerwehrmännern

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) screening the physical fitness of a professional fire-brigade and (2) testing the influence of a training program on the physical fitness of professional firemen. The sample consisted of 95 professional firemen (42.0 ± 9.1 years) of a professional fire-brigade in Belgium. Stature and body mass were measured. Body composition was estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Physical condition was determined using the EUROFIT test battery. During 4 months the subjects performed an exercise program twice a week. High values for body mass index (BMI) (27.1±3.3kg/m2) and percentage of body fat (26.0±4.9%), and a low score for endurance capacity were observed. Correlation analyses demonstrate that motor capacity decreases with ageing. Analysing the differences (Test session 2 - Test session 1) indicates that there were no significant changes in physical fitness over the 4-month training period. Comparing the two groups with the different number of training sessions attended did not reveal any significant differences between the two groups. It can be concluded that (1) the firemen of the fire-brigade under study were rather old, had a high BMI and a high percentage of body fat; (2) the performance at the endurance shuttle run did not reach the anticipated standard; (3) the training program did not gain the desired results.Uvod Posao vatrogasca jedan je od tjelesno najzahtjevnijih. Ekstremno visoki profesionalni fizički zahtjevi rezultiraju velikim brojem ozljeda na radu, pa čak i visokom incidencijom prijevremene smrti. Očigledno je, promatra li se sigurnost vatrogasca u odnosu na ostatak populacije, da vatrogasci trebaju biti u odličnoj tjelesnoj kondiciji da bi bili sposobni obavljati tako zahtjevan posao. Potrebno je uravnotežiti profesionalna opterećenja s mogućnostima pojedinog vatrogasca, što je određeno različitim faktorima, kao što su dob, antropometrijske karakteristike (postotak masnog tkiva, bezmasna tjelesna masa, indeks tjelesne mase) i motoričke sposobnosti (snaga i izdržljivost). Pokazalo se da su vatrogasni zadaci, kao što su penjanje do požarnih izlaza, poslovi na dizalici, razvaljivanje ulaza i spašavanje žrtava, značajno povezani s nekim čimbenicima kao što su visina, tjelesna masa, bezmasna tjelesna masa, postotak masnog tkiva, snaga stiska šake, broj izvedenih sklekova, broj izvedenih “trbušnjaka” i izdržljivost. Istraživači u raznim zemljama (npr. Francuskoj, Kanadi, SAD-u) dosta su proučavali fizičku pripremu vatrogasaca. Svaki vatrogasac trenira barem dva puta tjedno kako bi unaprijedio svoju mišićnu snagu, izdržljivost i kardiovaskularni status te kako bi smanjio postotak masnog tkiva i povecao mišićnu masu Te su aktivnosti nužne za održanje fizičke pripremljenosti vatorgasaca. U Belgiji gotovo da i nema istraživanja koja su se bavila vatrogascima. Svrha ovog istraživanja je dvostruka: (1) ispitati fizičku pripremljenost profesionalne vatrogasne jedinice i (2) provjeriti utjecaj trenažnog programa na razinu fizičke pripremljenosti te grupe. Metoda Uzorak ispitanika činilo je 95 profesionalnih vatrogasaca (42.0 ± 9.1 god.). Izmjerena im je tjelesna visina i tjelesna masa. Sastav tijela procijenjen je pomocu BIA. Tjelesna sposobnost određena im je uz pomoć baterije testova EUROFIT. Kroz period od četiri mjeseca ispitanici (N=81) su sudjelovali u programu vježbanja u okviru kojega su radili na unapređenju različitih komponenata fizičke pripreme. Vatrogasci su vježbali dva puta tjedno po 45 minuta pod vodstvom dva trenera. Svaki je trening bio isplaniran tako da je naglasak bio na razvoju različite komponente fizičke pripremljenosti, ali nije bilo ciljanog treninga glede različitih testova baterije EUROFIT. Pojedini treninzi bili su organizirani u okviru dva radna sata u vatrogasnoj stanici. Kako pohađanje treninga nije bilo obvezno, broj ispitanika po pojedinom treningu varirao je od 0 do 23, u prosjeku 13 po treningu. Prisustvovanje treninzima se bilježilo tako da se taj faktor mogao uzeti u obzir u okviru analize rezultata. Rezultati Izmjerene su visoke vrijednosti BMI (27.1±3.3 kg/m2) i postotka masnog tkiva (26.0±4.9%), kao i niska razina tjelesne izdržljivosti. Korelacijska analiza pokazala je da se motorički kapacitet smanjuje sa životnom dobi. Analiza razlika pokazuje da nema statistički značajnih razlika u tjelesnoj sposobnosti nakon provedenog četveromjesečnog trenažnog programa u odnosu na inicijalno stanje. Usporedba dviju grupa s obzirom na razlicit broj ispitanika koji su prisustvovali pojedinim treninzima nije pokazala statistički značajne razlike u tjelesnoj pripremljenosti. Zaključak Može se zaključiti da su (1) vatrogasci ispitivane vatrogasne jedinice prilično stari, visokih vrijednosti indeksa tjelesne mase te imaju visok postotak masnog tkiva; (2) ispitanici nisu postigli zadane norme u primjenjivanom zadatku izdržljivosti, (3) trenažni program nije polučio željene rezultate.Das Ziel dieser Studie war zweifach: die körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit von professionellen Feuerwehrmännern zu überprüfen, und 2) den Einfluss eines Trainingsprogramms auf die körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit von professionellen Feuerwehrmännern zu testen. 95 professionelle Feuwerwehrmänner (die 42,0±9,1 Jahre alt waren) aus einer professionellen Feuerwehr aus Belgien nahmen an dieser Forschung teil. Es wurden sowohl die Statur und als auch die Hörpermasse gemessen. Die Hörperzusammensetzung wurde mittels der bioelektrischen Impedanzanalyse (BIA) geschätzt. Die körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit wurde mittels der EUROFIT-Testbatterie festgestellt. Während des viermonatigen Zeitraumes nahmen die Probanden zweimal pro Woche an einem Übungsprogram teil. Es wurden hohe Werte des Hörpermassenindexes (27,1±3,3kg/m2) und des Anteils vom Hörperfett (26,0±4,9%) erhalten, aber die Werte der Ausdauerkapazität waren niedrig. Die Horrelationsanalysen zeigten, dass sich die motorische Fähigkeit mit dem Alter verringert. Die Analyse von Unterschieden (Testmessung 2 – Testmessung 1) zeigte, dass bei den Feuerwehrmännern keine bedeutende Unterschiede in der körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit nach dem viermonatigen Trainingszeitraum entstanden. Der Vergleich von zwei Gruppen, die unterschiedlich oft an den Trainingsstunden teilgenommen haben, zeigte keine bedeutenden Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen. Aufgrund der durchgeführten Studie sind die folgenden Schlussfolgerungen möglich: 1) Die Feuerwehrmänner, die an der Forschung teilgenommen haben, waren ziemlich alt, sie hatten sowohl einen hohen Hörpermassenindex als auch den hohen Anteil vom Hörperfett. 2) Die Ergebnisse des Ausdauer- Pendellaufes haben die antizipierte Norm nicht erreicht. 3) Das Trainingsprogram hat die gewünschten Ergebnisse nicht erreicht

The role of oxygen in the vertical distribution of nematodes: an experimental approach

The role of oxygen in the vertical distribution of nematodes was investigated by means of an experiment in which different oxygen conditions were imposed on sediment from an intertidal area of the Oosterschelde (The Netherlands). To test our hypothesis that the vertical distribution of the nematode assemblages was not influenced by changing oxygen conditions (e.g. nematodes do not migrate to favourable oxygen conditions), 5 cm sediment was inversed and incubated for 5 days at the lab. In a first treatment, food (diatoms) was added to the bottom; in a second treatment oxygen and food were added to the bottom. For each case and a control treatment, fresh, well-aerated Oosterschelde water was added on top of the sediment. The analysis of the field situation showed that nematodes were the most abundant taxon. Highest densities were observed in the subsurface sediment layer (1-2 cm). The lower abundance in the oxygen and algae-rich superficial layer (0-0.5 cm) could be due to the time of sampling relative to the tides or to biotic factors (e.g. macrofaunal activity). The vertical distribution of the nematode assemblages in the experimental and control treatments proved to be significantly different. An obvious segregation existed between the nematode species assemblage from the superficial (0-0.2cm) and the deeper layers (0.2-1 cm and 4-5 cm). Characterising genera for the superficial sediment layers were Daptonema, Ptycholaimellus, Prochromadorella and Microlaimus; for the deeper layers Terschellingia and Microlaimus. The occurrence of the first species assemblage is determined by the presence of free oxygen. The second species assemblage is adapted to the reduced sediment; nevertheless, artificial addition of limited amounts of oxygen to the deeper sediment layers favoured the assemblage as higher abundances were recorded. In general, oxygen seems to be important in determining the vertical distribution of nematodes in this experiment

Körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit von professionellen Feuerwehrmännern

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) screening the physical fitness of a professional fire-brigade and (2) testing the influence of a training program on the physical fitness of professional firemen. The sample consisted of 95 professional firemen (42.0 ± 9.1 years) of a professional fire-brigade in Belgium. Stature and body mass were measured. Body composition was estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Physical condition was determined using the EUROFIT test battery. During 4 months the subjects performed an exercise program twice a week. High values for body mass index (BMI) (27.1±3.3kg/m2) and percentage of body fat (26.0±4.9%), and a low score for endurance capacity were observed. Correlation analyses demonstrate that motor capacity decreases with ageing. Analysing the differences (Test session 2 - Test session 1) indicates that there were no significant changes in physical fitness over the 4-month training period. Comparing the two groups with the different number of training sessions attended did not reveal any significant differences between the two groups. It can be concluded that (1) the firemen of the fire-brigade under study were rather old, had a high BMI and a high percentage of body fat; (2) the performance at the endurance shuttle run did not reach the anticipated standard; (3) the training program did not gain the desired results.Uvod Posao vatrogasca jedan je od tjelesno najzahtjevnijih. Ekstremno visoki profesionalni fizički zahtjevi rezultiraju velikim brojem ozljeda na radu, pa čak i visokom incidencijom prijevremene smrti. Očigledno je, promatra li se sigurnost vatrogasca u odnosu na ostatak populacije, da vatrogasci trebaju biti u odličnoj tjelesnoj kondiciji da bi bili sposobni obavljati tako zahtjevan posao. Potrebno je uravnotežiti profesionalna opterećenja s mogućnostima pojedinog vatrogasca, što je određeno različitim faktorima, kao što su dob, antropometrijske karakteristike (postotak masnog tkiva, bezmasna tjelesna masa, indeks tjelesne mase) i motoričke sposobnosti (snaga i izdržljivost). Pokazalo se da su vatrogasni zadaci, kao što su penjanje do požarnih izlaza, poslovi na dizalici, razvaljivanje ulaza i spašavanje žrtava, značajno povezani s nekim čimbenicima kao što su visina, tjelesna masa, bezmasna tjelesna masa, postotak masnog tkiva, snaga stiska šake, broj izvedenih sklekova, broj izvedenih “trbušnjaka” i izdržljivost. Istraživači u raznim zemljama (npr. Francuskoj, Kanadi, SAD-u) dosta su proučavali fizičku pripremu vatrogasaca. Svaki vatrogasac trenira barem dva puta tjedno kako bi unaprijedio svoju mišićnu snagu, izdržljivost i kardiovaskularni status te kako bi smanjio postotak masnog tkiva i povecao mišićnu masu Te su aktivnosti nužne za održanje fizičke pripremljenosti vatorgasaca. U Belgiji gotovo da i nema istraživanja koja su se bavila vatrogascima. Svrha ovog istraživanja je dvostruka: (1) ispitati fizičku pripremljenost profesionalne vatrogasne jedinice i (2) provjeriti utjecaj trenažnog programa na razinu fizičke pripremljenosti te grupe. Metoda Uzorak ispitanika činilo je 95 profesionalnih vatrogasaca (42.0 ± 9.1 god.). Izmjerena im je tjelesna visina i tjelesna masa. Sastav tijela procijenjen je pomocu BIA. Tjelesna sposobnost određena im je uz pomoć baterije testova EUROFIT. Kroz period od četiri mjeseca ispitanici (N=81) su sudjelovali u programu vježbanja u okviru kojega su radili na unapređenju različitih komponenata fizičke pripreme. Vatrogasci su vježbali dva puta tjedno po 45 minuta pod vodstvom dva trenera. Svaki je trening bio isplaniran tako da je naglasak bio na razvoju različite komponente fizičke pripremljenosti, ali nije bilo ciljanog treninga glede različitih testova baterije EUROFIT. Pojedini treninzi bili su organizirani u okviru dva radna sata u vatrogasnoj stanici. Kako pohađanje treninga nije bilo obvezno, broj ispitanika po pojedinom treningu varirao je od 0 do 23, u prosjeku 13 po treningu. Prisustvovanje treninzima se bilježilo tako da se taj faktor mogao uzeti u obzir u okviru analize rezultata. Rezultati Izmjerene su visoke vrijednosti BMI (27.1±3.3 kg/m2) i postotka masnog tkiva (26.0±4.9%), kao i niska razina tjelesne izdržljivosti. Korelacijska analiza pokazala je da se motorički kapacitet smanjuje sa životnom dobi. Analiza razlika pokazuje da nema statistički značajnih razlika u tjelesnoj sposobnosti nakon provedenog četveromjesečnog trenažnog programa u odnosu na inicijalno stanje. Usporedba dviju grupa s obzirom na razlicit broj ispitanika koji su prisustvovali pojedinim treninzima nije pokazala statistički značajne razlike u tjelesnoj pripremljenosti. Zaključak Može se zaključiti da su (1) vatrogasci ispitivane vatrogasne jedinice prilično stari, visokih vrijednosti indeksa tjelesne mase te imaju visok postotak masnog tkiva; (2) ispitanici nisu postigli zadane norme u primjenjivanom zadatku izdržljivosti, (3) trenažni program nije polučio željene rezultate.Das Ziel dieser Studie war zweifach: die körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit von professionellen Feuerwehrmännern zu überprüfen, und 2) den Einfluss eines Trainingsprogramms auf die körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit von professionellen Feuerwehrmännern zu testen. 95 professionelle Feuwerwehrmänner (die 42,0±9,1 Jahre alt waren) aus einer professionellen Feuerwehr aus Belgien nahmen an dieser Forschung teil. Es wurden sowohl die Statur und als auch die Hörpermasse gemessen. Die Hörperzusammensetzung wurde mittels der bioelektrischen Impedanzanalyse (BIA) geschätzt. Die körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit wurde mittels der EUROFIT-Testbatterie festgestellt. Während des viermonatigen Zeitraumes nahmen die Probanden zweimal pro Woche an einem Übungsprogram teil. Es wurden hohe Werte des Hörpermassenindexes (27,1±3,3kg/m2) und des Anteils vom Hörperfett (26,0±4,9%) erhalten, aber die Werte der Ausdauerkapazität waren niedrig. Die Horrelationsanalysen zeigten, dass sich die motorische Fähigkeit mit dem Alter verringert. Die Analyse von Unterschieden (Testmessung 2 – Testmessung 1) zeigte, dass bei den Feuerwehrmännern keine bedeutende Unterschiede in der körperliche Leistungsfähigkeit nach dem viermonatigen Trainingszeitraum entstanden. Der Vergleich von zwei Gruppen, die unterschiedlich oft an den Trainingsstunden teilgenommen haben, zeigte keine bedeutenden Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen. Aufgrund der durchgeführten Studie sind die folgenden Schlussfolgerungen möglich: 1) Die Feuerwehrmänner, die an der Forschung teilgenommen haben, waren ziemlich alt, sie hatten sowohl einen hohen Hörpermassenindex als auch den hohen Anteil vom Hörperfett. 2) Die Ergebnisse des Ausdauer- Pendellaufes haben die antizipierte Norm nicht erreicht. 3) Das Trainingsprogram hat die gewünschten Ergebnisse nicht erreicht

Time-to-birth prediction models and the influence of expert opinions

Preterm birth is the leading cause of death among children under five years old. The pathophysiology and etiology of preterm labor are not yet fully understood. This causes a large number of unnecessary hospitalizations due to high--sensitivity clinical policies, which has a significant psychological and economic impact. In this study, we present a predictive model, based on a new dataset containing information of 1,243 admissions, that predicts whether a patient will give birth within a given time after admission. Such a model could provide support in the clinical decision-making process. Predictions for birth within 48 h or 7 days after admission yield an Area Under the Curve of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUC) of 0.72 for both tasks. Furthermore, we show that by incorporating predictions made by experts at admission, which introduces a potential bias, the prediction effectiveness increases to an AUC score of 0.83 and 0.81 for these respective tasks

Measurement of the Transverse Beam Spin Asymmetry in Elastic Electron Proton Scattering and the Inelastic Contribution to the Imaginary Part of the Two-Photon Exchange Amplitude

We report on a measurement of the asymmetry in the scattering of transversely polarized electrons off unpolarized protons, A$_\perp$, at two Q$^2$ values of \qsquaredaveragedlow (GeV/c)$^2$ and \qsquaredaveragedhighII (GeV/c)$^2$ and a scattering angle of $30^\circ < \theta_e < 40^\circ$. The measured transverse asymmetries are A$_{\perp}$(Q$^2$ = \qsquaredaveragedlow (GeV/c)$^2$) = (\experimentalasymmetry alulowcorr $\pm$ \statisticalerrorlow$_{\rm stat}$ $\pm$ \combinedsyspolerrorlowalucor$_{\rm sys}$) $\times$ 10$^{-6}$ and A$_{\perp}$(Q$^2$ = \qsquaredaveragedhighII (GeV/c)$^2$) = (\experimentalasymme tryaluhighcorr $\pm$ \statisticalerrorhigh$_{\rm stat}$ $\pm$ \combinedsyspolerrorhighalucor$_{\rm sys}$) $\times$ 10$^{-6}$. The first errors denotes the statistical error and the second the systematic uncertainties. A$_\perp$ arises from the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange amplitude and is zero in the one-photon exchange approximation. From comparison with theoretical estimates of A$_\perp$ we conclude that $\pi$N-intermediate states give a substantial contribution to the imaginary part of the two-photon amplitude. The contribution from the ground state proton to the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange can be neglected. There is no obvious reason why this should be different for the real part of the two-photon amplitude, which enters into the radiative corrections for the Rosenbluth separation measurements of the electric form factor of the proton.Comment: 4 figures, submitted to PRL on Oct.

Algorithmic Complexity for Short Binary Strings Applied to Psychology: A Primer

Since human randomness production has been studied and widely used to assess executive functions (especially inhibition), many measures have been suggested to assess the degree to which a sequence is random-like. However, each of them focuses on one feature of randomness, leading authors to have to use multiple measures. Here we describe and advocate for the use of the accepted universal measure for randomness based on algorithmic complexity, by means of a novel previously presented technique using the the definition of algorithmic probability. A re-analysis of the classical Radio Zenith data in the light of the proposed measure and methodology is provided as a study case of an application.Comment: To appear in Behavior Research Method

Number preferences in lotteries

We explore people's preferences for numbers in large proprietary data sets from two different lottery games. We find that choice is far from uniform, and exhibits some familiar and some new tendencies and biases. Players favor personally meaningful and situationally available numbers, and are attracted towards numbers in the center of the choice form. Frequent players avoid winning numbers from recent draws, whereas infrequent players chase these. Combinations of numbers are formed with an eye for aesthetics, and players tend to spread their numbers relatively evenly across the possible range

ECMO for COVID-19 patients in Europe and Israel

Since March 15th, 2020, 177 centres from Europe and Israel have joined the study, routinely reporting on the ECMO support they provide to COVID-19 patients. The mean annual number of cases treated with ECMO in the participating centres before the pandemic (2019) was 55. The number of COVID-19 patients has increased rapidly each week reaching 1531 treated patients as of September 14th. The greatest number of cases has been reported from France (n = 385), UK (n = 193), Germany (n = 176), Spain (n = 166), and Italy (n = 136) .The mean age of treated patients was 52.6 years (range 16–80), 79% were male. The ECMO configuration used was VV in 91% of cases, VA in 5% and other in 4%. The mean PaO2 before ECMO implantation was 65 mmHg. The mean duration of ECMO support thus far has been 18 days and the mean ICU length of stay of these patients was 33 days. As of the 14th September, overall 841 patients have been weaned from ECMO support, 601 died during ECMO support, 71 died after withdrawal of ECMO, 79 are still receiving ECMO support and for 10 patients status n.a. . Our preliminary data suggest that patients placed on ECMO with severe refractory respiratory or cardiac failure secondary to COVID-19 have a reasonable (55%) chance of survival. Further extensive data analysis is expected to provide invaluable information on the demographics, severity of illness, indications and different ECMO management strategies in these patients