The relationship between sport-specific training and a perceptuo-motor skills assessment as part of talent identification in young table tennis players (8-10 years)

A perceptuo-motor skills assessment was developed to better estimate the potential of youth table tennis players (8-10 years). Sport-specific training experience might influence the outcomes of this assessment and hinder a fair interpretation. Consequently, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the training experience (i.e. quantity and quality) and the perceptuo-motor skills assessment outcomes in youth table tennis players. For this purpose, data were collected during the national association’s talent days in the Netherlands (2010-2015). In total, 372 young table tennis players (8-10 years) were assessed by a perceptuo-motor skills questionnaire covering current training (hours/week), total training volume (hours) and quality of the trainer (high versus low). Non-parametric partial correlation analyses showed that training quantity outcomes (i.e. current training and training volume) are significantly associated with the test items of speed while dribbling, aiming at target and eye-hand coordination in both sexes with small to medium effect sizes. The multivariate GLM analyses revealed no significant differences between players receiving high versus low quality training regarding the perceptuo-motor skills assessment. The results indicated only a small transfer of skill and a substantial amount of task specificity; as such it seems legitimate to use the perceptuo-motor skills assessment as part of a talent identification programme. However, it seems sensible to take the training volume into account for a fair interpretation of the estimation of potential, especially when large differences exist between players regarding the training experience. Future studies using a longitudinal design could reveal more about the effect of training

The benefits of the 5-week Table Stars @school program as part of physical education in primary schools – A pilot intervention study

The Table Stars @school program was launched in 2010 to serve as a first introduction to table tennis in primary school children. The main aims of this pilot intervention study were 1. to evaluate the effect of Table Stars @school on the perceptuo-motor skills and selective attention in primary school children in comparison to regular physical education and 2. to find out how many and which children benefited more from Table Stars @school compared to regular physical education. A pilot intervention study was carried out including 177 children between 6 to 12 years from two regular primary schools. All children were tested by means of four perceptuo-motor tests (static balance, walking backwards, speed while dribbling, eye hand coordination) and a selective attention task (map mission). Both schools were exposed to both the Table Stars @school program and regular physical education in a different order. The results revealed no differences between the regular physical education classes and the Table Stars @school program on group level. However, both interventions showed different responders. Consequently, Table Stars @school seems to fit in as it meets the level of improvement of regular physical education classes and it can be of added value by addressing other children to improve perceptuo-motor skills and selective attention. Nevertheless, intensifying the program and/or integrating it into regular physical education is recommended to increase the effects and better add to the broader development of children

Mind Matters: Influencing Key Stakeholders

Mind Matters is an interactive game-based learning method designed to enrich the set of assessment and training instruments. Mind Matters is a training solution regarding leadership. Mind Matters evaluates participants on their personal leadership style regarding several dimensions. Here we focus on the competence of “influence key stakeholders.” Within Mind Matters, the player assumes the role of a junior researcher in a fictional company. The player’s task is to try out a mind-steering device by temporarily “taking over” game characters and steering their behaviors. Mind Matters generates an evaluation report for integration in an overall assessment evaluation of the participant or blended training program

Observations of snowpack properties to evaluate ground-based microwave remote sensing

Active microwave radar has been shown to have great potential for estimating snow water equivalent (SWE) globally from space. To help evaluate optimal active microwave sensor configurations to observe SWE, we evaluated ground-based Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar (12–18 GHz, cross-polarisation) using very high resolution in-situ observations of snowpack layering, dielectric permittivity and density over a 10 m snow trench on Toolik Lake, Alaska. Results showed that the thicknesses of layers within the 10 m trench were highly variable over short distances (< 1 m), even where total snow depth changed very little. Layer boundaries observed using NIR photography identified all bands of high radar backscatter. Although additional observations of density and dielectric permittivity helped to explain the causes of backscatter, not all snowpack properties which cause backscatter were coincident with strong vertical changes in density or permittivity. Further observations of high surface roughness in layer boundaries explained some areas of weak backscatter, nonetheless it was shown that a suite of coincident observations, rather than a single technique in isolation, were required to adequately explain the variability of backscatter and the influence of snowpack properties upon it

Is the level of eye-hand coordination and executive functioning related to performance in para table tennis players? – An explorative study

The goal of this explorative study was to explore whether eye-hand coordination and executive functions (i.e. cognitive flexibility, attention control and information processing) are related to the performance level in para table tennis players. The data of 11 elite (age 15-54) and 11 non-elite para table tennis players (age 13-49) were analyzed. The results showed that the elite players performed better than the median norm values for cognitive flexibility and attention control while the non-elite players demonstrated slower information processing than the median norm values (p 1000 points scored ≥ 24 catches per 30 s in the eye hand coordination task, whereas the players with 1000 and < 1000 rating scores in the executive functions tests. The results present a first profile of para table tennis players regarding their eye-hand coordination and executive functions and the relationship of these constructs with the performance level. Long-term international cooperation is recommended to understand the value of the measured constructs to predict future successes

Metabolic Profiling in Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) and Young Onset Type 2 Diabetes Fails to Detect Robust Urinary Biomarkers

It is important to identify patients with Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) as a molecular diagnosis determines both treatment and prognosis. Genetic testing is currently expensive and many patients are therefore not assessed and are misclassified as having either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Biomarkers could facilitate the prioritisation of patients for genetic testing. We hypothesised that patients with different underlying genetic aetiologies for their diabetes could have distinct metabolic profiles which may uncover novel biomarkers. The aim of this study was to perform metabolic profiling in urine from patients with MODY due to mutations in the genes encoding glucokinase (GCK) or hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 alpha (HNF1A), type 2 diabetes (T2D) and normoglycaemic control subjects. Urinary metabolic profiling by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and ultra performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to Q-TOF mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was performed in a Discovery set of subjects with HNF1A-MODY (n = 14), GCK-MODY (n = 17), T2D (n = 14) and normoglycaemic controls (n = 34). Data were used to build a valid partial least squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) model where HNF1A-MODY subjects could be separated from the other diabetes subtypes. No single metabolite contributed significantly to the separation of the patient groups. However, betaine, valine, glycine and glucose were elevated in the urine of HNF1A-MODY subjects compared to the other subgroups. Direct measurements of urinary amino acids and betaine in an extended dataset did not support differences between patients groups. Elevated urinary glucose in HNF1A-MODY is consistent with the previously reported low renal threshold for glucose in this genetic subtype. In conclusion, we report the first metabolic profiling study in monogenic diabetes and show that, despite the distinct biochemical pathways affected, there are unlikely to be robust urinary biomarkers which distinguish monogenic subtypes from T2D. Our results have implications for studies investigating metabolic profiles in complex traits including T2D.publishedVersio