Self-assessed tactical skills in tennis players:Psychometric evaluation of the Tactical Skills Questionnaire in Tennis

To our knowledge, no feasible, valid and reliable instrument exists to examine tactical skills over the course of multiple training and game situations in tennis yet. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Tactical Skills Questionnaire in Tennis (TSQT). The TSQT is a new instrument with closed-ended questions designed to examine tactical skills in tennis players. Participants were 233 competitive tennis players (age: 17.06 ± 4.74 years) competing on national or regional levels. With a principal component analysis (PCA) we identified four theoretically meaningful subscales for the 31-item TSQT: “Anticipation and positioning,” “Game intelligence and adaptability,” “Decision-making,” and “Recognizing game situations” and confirmed them with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (χ2 = 527.02, df = 426, p 0.05). Relative test-retest reliability was moderate with ICC values ranging from 0.65 to 0.71. National players outperformed regional players on the subscales “Game intelligence and adaptability,” “Decision-making,” and “Recognizing game situations” (p < 0.05), and there was a trend toward significance for “Anticipation and positioning” (p = 0.07). This study supported the psychometric properties of the TSQT. Evaluating tactical skills with the TSQT provides players, coaches and other professionals with insight in players' self-assessed tactical skills over the course of multiple training and game situations. It creates the opportunity for players to reflect on their skills and detect personal development areas with their coach. We advise to use this information as input for tailor-made training programs

Características das espécies que podem influenciar as dinâmicas populacionais de beija-flores na Floresta Atlântica no Sul do Brasil

Orientador : Prof. Dr. James Joseph RoperTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação. Defesa: Curitiba, 18/03/2016Inclui referências : f. 08-14;24-28;56-62;112-120Área de concentração : Ecologia e conservaçãoResumo: A dinâmica populacional em beija-flores na América do Sul é praticamente desconhecida e pouco estudada, devido à dificuldade de captura e, consequentemente, ao baixo número de marcações e recapturas. No entanto, pela diversidade de espécies desta família e sua ampla distribuição, e o papel que desempenha na polinização de recursos efêmeros, entender a sua dinâmica populacional é importante para compreender também a sua ecologia e evolução. Aqui, começamos a preencher esta lacuna através da utilização de estudos de captura-marcação-recaptura para examinar a dinâmica da população e outros aspectos da ecologia de beija-flores. Examinamos a muda de algumas espécies e o dimorfismo sexual e identificação sexual molecular em um grupo de cinco espécies aparentemente monomórficas. Todas as espécies de beija-flores na área de estudo tendem a migrar, mas os detalhes da migração e as comparações foram difíceis de determinar, já que os indivíduos marcados não foram recapturados longe da nossa área. A espécie mais abundante e consistentemente comum foi o beija-flor-de-papo-branco (Leucochloris albicollis), com tamanho populacional variando aproximadamente entre 150-450 indivíduos (variação mensal), e com o pico de abundância em março, após a aparente temporada de reprodução entre novembro e dezembro. A sobrevivência para esta espécie foi estimada em 33% ao ano, o que é baixa para uma ave tropical. O padrão da muda das penas primárias de voo em nossa assembleia é semelhante ao já registrado em outras assembleias de beija-flores, no sentido proximal para o distal. Entretanto, em nossas espécies houve menos variação na sequência de troca das penas mais distais em comparação aos outros estudos. A muda das penas secundárias foi mais variável na sequência de troca, enquanto as retrices foram mais consistentes. O período de muda iniciou-se a partir de dezembro e se estendeu até meados de abril, mas determinar corretamente a duração do período foi difícil, uma vez que alguns indivíduos migraram enquanto realizavam a muda, delimitando a recaptura para determinar o período concreto. Três das cinco espécies aparentemente monomórficas - uma vez que o sexo foi identificado através de nossa nova técnica molecular para beija-flores - são sexualmente dicromáticas (Colibri serrirostris, Eupetomena macroura, L. albicollis) na reflexão de luz UV em suas penas. O tamanho e forma, no entanto, foram semelhantes em ambos os sexos para todas as espécies. Estes resultados demonstram que algumas espécies de beija-flores podem ser muito abundantes, mas que esta abundância pode variar amplamente ao longo do ano. Também, mostramos a existência de migração durante a muda, porém sem detalhamentos sobre a duração total deste período, permanecendo esta questão ainda desconhecida. As taxas de sobrevivência foram baixas para L. albicollis comparadas à outras espécies de aves tropicais, sugerindo relativamente alto sucesso reprodutivo. Por fim, mostramos dicromatismo sexual à luz UV (imperceptível aos seres humanos) em três das cinco espécies, sugerindo que pode haver também nas demais, mas que precisa ser descoberto em uma análise mais aprofundada das penas de outras regiões do corpo. Assim, com este estudo nós iniciamos um melhor entendimento das dinâmicas populacionais em beija-flores. Palavras-chave: coloração, dimorfismo sexual, dinâmicas populacionais, morfometria, muda das penas de voo, sexagem, TrochilidaeAbstract: Population dynamics in hummingbirds in South America is virtually unknown and unstudied, due to difficulty in their capture in numbers for mark and recapture studies. Yet, due to species diversity, distributions, the role they play as pollinators of ephemeral resources and their colorful displays, study of their population dynamics is important for understanding their ecology and evolution. Here, we begin to fill this lacuna by using capture-mark-recapture to examine population dynamics, and other aspects of hummingbird ecology. We examined molt in a variety of species and sexual dimorphism and molecular identification of the sexes in a group of five apparently monomorphic species. All hummingbird species in the study area tend to migrate, but details of migration and comparisons are difficult to determine because marked birds were never recaptured away from the study area. The most abundant and consistently common species, the Whitethroated Hummingbird (Leucochloris albicollis) had a population size that varied from ~150-450 individuals (monthly variation) in the study area, with the peak abundance in March, following after the apparent breeding season in November-December. Survival was estimated at 33% per year, which is low for a tropical bird. Molt is similar to that of other hummingbirds, from proximal to distal primary feathers, but in our study species varied less in the sequence of the most distal feathers as compared to other studies. Secondaries were quite variable in their sequence of molt, while retrices were more consistent. Molt took place beginning in December and continued to April, but defining the end of molt was difficult because species migrate while undergoing molt, and so recaptures to delimit the end of molt was not possible. Three of the five apparently monomorphic species, once sex was identified through our new molecular technique for hummingbirds, were sexually dichromatic (Colibri serrirostris, Eupetomena macroura, L. albicollis) in UV light reflectance in their feathers. Size and shape, however, were similar in both sexes. With these results, we find that hummingbird species can be very abundant, but abundance varies widely over the year, they migrate while molting but the details of their end points of migration remain unknown, and survival rates are low, suggesting relatively high reproductive success. We show sexual dichromatism in UV light (which humans do not perceive) in three of five species, and suggest that the others also are dichromatic, which will be discovered on further examination of the appropriate feathers. Thus, with this study we have begun to better understand hummingbird population dynamics. Keywords: coloration, molting of flight feathers, morphometry, population dynamics, sexing, sexual dimorphism, Trochilida

Potential Application of Whole Body Vibration Exercise for Improving the Clinical Conditions of COVID-19 Infected Individuals: A Narrative Review from the World Association of Vibration Exercise Experts (WAVex) Panel

COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease which leads to several clinical conditions related to the dysfunction of the respiratory system along with other physical and psychological complaints. Severely affected patients are referred to intensive care units (ICUs), limiting their possibilities for physical exercise. Whole body vibration (WBV) exercise is a non-invasive, physical therapy, that has been suggested as part of the procedures involved with pulmonary rehabilitation, even in ICU settings. Therefore, in the current review, the World Association of Vibration Exercise Experts (WAVEX) reviewed the potential of WBV exercise as a useful and safe intervention for the management of infected individuals with COVID-19 by mitigating the inactivity-related declines in physical condition and reducing the time in ICU. Recommendations regarding the reduction of fatigue and the risk of dyspnea, the improvement of the inflammatory and redox status favoring cellular homeostasis and the overall improvement in the quality of life are provided. Finally, practical applications for the use of this paradigm leading to a better prognosis in bed bound and ICU-bound subjects is proposed

Recommended Measures for the Assessment of Cognitive and Physical Performance in Older Patients with Dementia: A Systematic Review

Aim/Goal: To recommend a set of neuropsychological and physical exercise tests for researchers to assess cognition and physical fitness in clinical trials with older patients with dementia; to create consensus, decrease heterogeneity, and improve research quality. Methods: A literature search (2005–2011) yielded 89 randomized controlled trials. To provide information on test recommendations the frequency of test use, effect size of the test outcome, study quality, and psychometric properties of tests were analyzed. Results: Fifty-nine neuropsychological tests (cognitive domains: global cognition, executive functioning, memory, and attention) and 10 exercise tests (physical domains: endurance capacity, muscle strength, balance, and mobility) were found. Conclusion: The Severe Impairment Battery, Mini Mental State Examination, and Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale – cognitive subscale were recommended to measure global cognition. The Verbal Fluency Test Category/Letters, Clock Drawing Test, and Trail Making Test-B were recommended to measure executive functioning. No specific memory test could be recommended. The Digit Span Forward, Digit Span Backward, and Trail Making Test-A were recommended to measure attention. As physical exercise tests, the Timed Up and Go and Six Meter Walk for mobility, the Six Minute Walk Distance for endurance capacity, and the Tinetti Balance Scale were recommended

Inducing physical inactivity in mice : preventing climbing and reducing cage size negatively affect physical fitness and body composition

Physical inactivity has emerged as an important and risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, independent of levels of exercise engagement. Moreover, inactivity is associated with poor brain functioning. However, little data on the effects of physical inactivity on the brain is available and few methods are suitable to investigate this matter. We tested whether preventing lid climbing and reducing cage size could be used to model physical inactivity in mice. Sixty young adult C57Bl6 mice (10 weeks old) were divided over six groups with different housing conditions: in cages of three different sizes with lids that either allowed or prevented lid climbing. Housing under these conditions was maintained for a period of 19 weeks before the mice were killed for body composition analysis. Physical fitness tests performed around 5 and 10 weeks into the intervention revealed that motor coordination in the balance beam test was reduced by 30.65%, grip strength by 8.91% and muscle stamina in the inverted screen test by 70.37% in non-climbing mice as compared to climbing controls. Preventing climbing increased visceral fat mass by 17.31%, but did not reduce muscle mass. Neither preventing climbing nor reducing cage size affected anxiety assessed in the Open Field test and the Elevated Plus Maze. We did not find any negative effect of inactivity on spatial learning and memory in the novel object location test or working memory measured with the Y-maze Alternation test. The reduced physical fitness and increase in visceral fat mass show that our inactivity method models most effects of physical inactivity that are observed in experimental and observational studies in humans. Whereas established methods such as hindlimb unloading mimic many of the effects of bed rest, our novel method can be applied to study the effects of less extreme forms of physical inactivity (i.e., sedentary behavior) in various disease models including rodent models for brain diseases (i.e., stroke, Alzheimer's disease)

Replication Data for: Towards reporting guidelines of research using whole-body vibration in human subjects– A Delphi consensus study

This dataset is part of the project called “Towards reporting guidelines of research using whole-body vibration in human subjects – A Delphi consensus study”. Whole-body vibration (WBV) utilizes vibrating platforms to expose individuals to mechanical vibration. In order to improve the quality of reporting and increase comparability of studies in this field, reporting guidelines are aimed to be established. To this end the Delphi methodology was employed. The integrated knowledge of WBV experts was collected to distil the specific aspects of WBV methodology that should be included in such guidelines. Over three rounds of completing online questionnaires, the expert panel rated candidate items. All three rounds of this questionnaire can be found in this dataset. On the basis of this study the executive group will establish reporting guidelines