Injury and illness profiles during the 2014 South African Ironman triathlon

Background: There is a need for ongoing scrutiny of injury and illness profiles of ultra-distance athletes. This study aimed to record the medical history, illness and injuries of athletes receiving medical attention during the 2014 Ironman South Africa (IMSA) triathlon, and to investigate the temporal presentation of medical encounters.Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study. All athletes who required medical attention at the main medical tent and all of the medical posts or mobile units along the route were included in this study A total of 2 331 athletes started the race. Data included age, gender, time and stage of the race when medical attention was required, pre-race medical history and medication use, illness and injuries treated, special investigations performed, and weather conditions.Results: Overall, 179 athletes (7.7%) required medical attention. The incidence of medical encounters was 7.8%. A significantly higher percentage of younger participants encountered medical problems (P = 0.04). Most patient encounters (80.1%) occurred after the race. The median duration of treatment was 26 minutes. Medication was used by 35.1% of patients during the race. The most common medical encounters were exertion-related (71.2%), gastro-intestinal (16.4%), dermatological (11.9%), musculoskeletal (9.6%) and cardiorespiratory conditions (2.4%).Conclusion: Medical encounters occurred more frequently in later stages of the race. Most medical conditions were exertion-related. Potential higher risk may be associated with medication use, recent illness, and in younger participants. Temporal stacking of medical personnel, planning of resources according to expected conditions, preventative measures for high-risk behaviour, and on-going data collection with comparable methodology are recommended.Keywords: triathletes, medical encounters, medication use, treatment, event medical managemen

The Forward Premium Puzzle only emerges gradually

The forward premium puzzle (FPP) is the negative correlation between the forward premium and the realized exchange rate return at maturities of a month and beyond. Some recent evidence shows that at maturities of multiple years and at the highest intra day frequency the correlation is positive and close to one. This paper contributes by using futures data instead of forwards to complete the maturity spectrum at the (multi-) day level. We find that the correlation only slowly turns negative as the number of days to maturity is increased to the monthly level. The typical shape of the premium correlation with regard to the forward maturity length appears to be V-shaped

Budget Processes: Theory and Experimental Evidence

This paper studies budget processes, both theoretically and experimentally. We compare the outcomes of bottom-up and top-down budget processes. It is often presumed that a top-down budget process leads to a smaller overall budget than a bottom-up budget process. Ferejohn and Krehbiel (1987) showed theoretically that this need not be the case. We test experimentally the theoretical predictions of their work. The evidence from these experiments lends strong support to their theory, both at the aggregate and the individual subject level

Injury and illness profiles during the 2014 South African Ironman triathlon

   Background: There is a need for ongoing scrutiny of injury and illness profiles of ultra-distance athletes. This study aimed to record the medical history, illness and injuries of athletes receiving medical attention during the 2014 Ironman South Africa (IMSA) triathlon, and to investigate the temporal presentation of medical encounters.  Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study. All athletes who required medical attention at the main medical tent and all of the medical posts or mobile units along the route were included in this study A total of 2 331 athletes started the race. Data included age, gender, time and stage of the race when medical attention was required, pre-race medical history and medication use, illness and injuries treated, special investigations performed, and weather conditions.  Results: Overall, 179 athletes (7.7%) required medical attention. The incidence of medical encounters was 7.8%. A significantly higher percentage of younger participants encountered medical problems (P = 0.04). Most patient encounters (80.1%) occurred after the race. The median duration of treatment was 26 minutes. Medication was used by 35.1% of patients during the race. The most common medical encounters were exertion-related (71.2%), gastro-intestinal (16.4%), dermatological (11.9%), musculoskeletal (9.6%) and cardiorespiratory conditions (2.4%).  Conclusion: Medical encounters occurred more frequently in later stages of the race. Most medical conditions were exertion-related. Potential higher risk may be associated with medication use, recent illness, and in younger participants. Temporal stacking of medical personnel, planning of resources according to expected conditions, preventative measures for high-risk behaviour, and on-going data collection with comparable methodology are recommended.&nbsp

Molecular characterisation of congenital myasthenic syndromes in Southern Brazil

Objective To perform genetic testing of patients with congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) from the Southern Brazilian state of Parana. Patients and methods Twenty-five CMS patients from 18 independent families were included in the study. Known CMS genes were sequenced and restriction digest for the mutation RAPSN p.N88K was performed in all patients. Results We identified recessive mutations of CHRNE in ten families, mutations in DOK7 in three families and mutations in COLQ, CHRNA1 and CHRNB1 in one family each. The mutation CHRNE c. 70insG was found in six families. We have repeatedly identified this mutation in patients from Spain and Portugal and haplotype studies indicate that CHRNE c. 70insG derives from a common ancestor. Conclusions Recessive mutations in CHRNE are the major cause of CMS in Southern Brazil with a common mutation introduced by Hispanic settlers. The second most common cause is mutations in DOK7. The minimum prevalence of CMS in Parana is 0.18/100 000

Molecular characterisation of congenital myasthenic syndromes in Southern Brazil

Objective To perform genetic testing of patients with congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) from the Southern Brazilian state of Parana. Patients and methods Twenty-five CMS patients from 18 independent families were included in the study. Known CMS genes were sequenced and restriction digest for the mutation RAPSN p.N88K was performed in all patients. Results We identified recessive mutations of CHRNE in ten families, mutations in DOK7 in three families and mutations in COLQ, CHRNA1 and CHRNB1 in one family each. The mutation CHRNE c. 70insG was found in six families. We have repeatedly identified this mutation in patients from Spain and Portugal and haplotype studies indicate that CHRNE c. 70insG derives from a common ancestor. Conclusions Recessive mutations in CHRNE are the major cause of CMS in Southern Brazil with a common mutation introduced by Hispanic settlers. The second most common cause is mutations in DOK7. The minimum prevalence of CMS in Parana is 0.18/100 000

Exact Gap Computation for Code Coverage Metrics in ISO-C

Test generation and test data selection are difficult tasks for model based testing. Tests for a program can be meld to a test suite. A lot of research is done to quantify the quality and improve a test suite. Code coverage metrics estimate the quality of a test suite. This quality is fine, if the code coverage value is high or 100%. Unfortunately it might be impossible to achieve 100% code coverage because of dead code for example. There is a gap between the feasible and theoretical maximal possible code coverage value. Our review of the research indicates, none of current research is concerned with exact gap computation. This paper presents a framework to compute such gaps exactly in an ISO-C compatible semantic and similar languages. We describe an efficient approximation of the gap in all the other cases. Thus, a tester can decide if more tests might be able or necessary to achieve better coverage.Comment: In Proceedings MBT 2012, arXiv:1202.582