Influence of reactive strength index modified on force- and power-time curves

Purpose: The reactive strength index modified (RSImod) has been recently identified and validated as a method of monitoring countermovement jump (CMJ) performance. The kinetic and kinematic mechanisms that optimize a higher RSImod score are, however, currently unknown. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to compare entire CMJ force-, power-, velocity- and displacement-time curves (termed temporal phase analysis) of athletes who achieve high versus low RSImod scores. Methods: Fifty-three professional male rugby league players performed three maximal effort CMJs on a force platform and variables of interest were calculated via forward dynamics. RSImod values of the top (high RSImod group) and bottom (low RSImod group) twenty athletes’ kinetic and kinematic-time curves were compared. Results: The high RSImod group (0.53±0.05 vs. 0.36±0.03) jumped higher (37.7±3.9 vs. 31.8±3.2 cm) with a shorter time to take-off (TTT) (0.707±0.043 vs. 0.881±0.122 s). This was achieved by a more rapid unweighting phase followed by greater eccentric and concentric force, velocity and power for large portions (including peak values) of the jump, but a similar countermovement displacement. The attainment of a high RSImod score therefore required a taller, but thinner, active impulse. Conclusion: Athletes who perform the CMJ with a high RSImod, as achieved by high jumps with a short TTT, demonstrate superior force, power, velocity and impulse during both the eccentric and concentric phases of the jump. Practitioners who include the RSImod calculation within their testing batteries may assume that greater RSImod values are attributed to an increase in these underpinning kinetic and kinematic parameters

The impact of community-based arts and health interventions on cognition in people with dementia: a systematic literature review

Objectives: Dementia is a progressive condition, affecting increasing numbers of people, characterised by cognitive decline. The current systematic review aimed to evaluate research pertaining to the impact of arts and health interventions on cognition in people with dementia. Method: A literature search was conducted utilising PsychInfo, Cochrane Reviews, Web of Science, Medline and British Humanities Index databases. Seventeen studies were included in the review, including those related to literary, performing and visual arts. Results: The review highlighted this as an emerging area of research with the literature consisting largely of small-scale studies with methodological limitations including lack of control groups and often poorly defined samples. All the studies suggested, however, that arts-based activities had a positive impact on cognitive processes, in particular on attention, stimulation of memories, enhanced communication and engagement with creative activities. Conclusion: The existent literature suggests that arts activities are helpful interventions within dementia care. A consensus has yet to emerge, however, about the direction for future research including the challenge of measurement and the importance of methodological flexibility. It is suggested that further research address some of these limitations by examining whether the impact of interventions vary depending n cognitive ability and to continue to assess how arts interventions can be of use across the stages of dementia

A novel approach for athlete profiling: The unilateral dynamic strength index

Bishop, C, Read, P, Lake, J, Loturco, I, and Turner, A. A novel approach for athlete profiling: The unilateral dynamic strength index. J Strength Cond Res 35(4): 1023–1029, 2021—The Dynamic Strength Index (DSI) provides a ratio of the peak force an athlete can produce in both isometric and ballistic tasks. Although the DSI measured during bilateral tests has been examined, unilateral DSI scores have not been reported to date and thus was the aim of the present study. Twenty-eight recreational sport athletes performed 3 trials of a unilateral isometric squat and countermovement jump (CMJ) to measure peak force in each task across 2 separate test sessions. The unilateral DSI was calculated using both left vs. right and dominant vs. nondominant limbs. Good to excellent reliability was shown in the isometric squat (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.86–0.96; coefficient of variation [CV] ≤ 5.7%) and the CMJ (ICC = 0.83–0.93; CV ≤ 5.8%) on both limbs. The DSI showed moderate to good reliability (ICC = 0.71–0.79; CV = 7.54–11.9%). Dynamic Strength Index scores of 0.52–0.55 and 0.55–0.59 were reported on the left and right limbs, respectively, with no significant differences reported between limbs. A significant difference (p = 0.04) was seen for the CMJ between left and right during the second test session only. The dominant and nondominant limbs reported mean DSI scores of 0.53–0.57, and significant differences were evident between limbs in both the isometric squat and CMJ (p < 0.01). This study provides normative data for the unilateral DSI and indicates acceptable levels of reliability, whereas the consistency of individual measures of peak force can be considered good when quantified unilaterally

Telomerecat: A ploidy-agnostic method for estimating telomere length from whole genome sequencing data.

Telomere length is a risk factor in disease and the dynamics of telomere length are crucial to our understanding of cell replication and vitality. The proliferation of whole genome sequencing represents an unprecedented opportunity to glean new insights into telomere biology on a previously unimaginable scale. To this end, a number of approaches for estimating telomere length from whole-genome sequencing data have been proposed. Here we present Telomerecat, a novel approach to the estimation of telomere length. Previous methods have been dependent on the number of telomeres present in a cell being known, which may be problematic when analysing aneuploid cancer data and non-human samples. Telomerecat is designed to be agnostic to the number of telomeres present, making it suited for the purpose of estimating telomere length in cancer studies. Telomerecat also accounts for interstitial telomeric reads and presents a novel approach to dealing with sequencing errors. We show that Telomerecat performs well at telomere length estimation when compared to leading experimental and computational methods. Furthermore, we show that it detects expected patterns in longitudinal data, repeated measurements, and cross-species comparisons. We also apply the method to a cancer cell data, uncovering an interesting relationship with the underlying telomerase genotype

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Comedian-in-Chief: Presidential Jokes as Enthymematic Crisis Rhetoric

To understand how jokes have functioned as part of U.S. presidents’ strategic communication, this project examined every available White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) speech over the last century, documenting various presidents’ approaches to humor. I argue that the ability to talk about difficult or taboo subjects through jokes’ deeply enthymematic ways of communicating has offered presidents expanded rhetorical spaces during crises, providing insights into why they started using humor with such routine frequency. Working with multiple factors shaping the modern presidency, presidents have used the elastic and inventive nature of enthymematic joking in attempts to move pressing issues outside immediate lines of criticism. The use of jokes in presidential communication is charted through three periods of WHCD. Several implications are drawn from this analysis, including the risks of humor as a rhetorical strategy

Publisher Correction: Telomerecat: A ploidy-agnostic method for estimating telomere length from whole genome sequencing data.

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