Examining Lower Limb Injuries among Male Amateur Soccer Player

Amateur players far outnumbered professional athletes, but they are often under shadowed in literatures. Unlike professional athletes, amateur players may not possess the resources, knowledge or guidance in treating sports injuries. Soccer is one of the popular sports with fewer literatures addressing amateur players. Quantitative method was used for data collection and analysis. The practical contribution of this study lies in terms of the exploring of risks factors leading to lower limb injuries, most common type and area of injuries faced by amateur soccer players in contrast with professional players. Preventive measures were also discussed. The implications of these findings are valuable to coaches, physical therapists and governments for understanding amateur players and arouse public awareness on health and safety

Validity and Reliability of Curl-Up Test on Assessing the Core Endurance for Kindergarten Children in Hong Kong

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability and the criterion validity of a curlup test (CUT) as a measure of core stability, core endurance and dynamic stability in kindergarten children. CUT performance was also compared to half hold lying test (HHLT) and walking time on course (WTC) among without obstacle, with low obstacle and high obstacle measures of core stability, core endurance and dynamic stability. Methods: To estimate reliability, 33 males and 27 female kindergarten children (M aged=4.5 years old) performed the CUT on 2 different days. In the validity phase of the study, scores of all participants were obtained on three field test measures of core stability, core endurance and dynamic stability (CUT, HHLT and WTC). Results: Results indicate that the MCU test has no significant correlation on intra-class test-retest reliability (R=0.13, p>0.01). The criterion validity of the CUT for kindergarten children has is comparable to that of the HHLT(r=0.98, p<0.01) and WTC without obstacle(r=0.96, p<0.01), with low obstacle (r=0.96, p<0.01) and with high obstacle (r=0.98, p<0.01). Result indicates that the CUT test cannot produces reasonably accurate and stable measures of core stability, core endurance and dynamic stability. Conclusion: These preliminary findings provide evidences into the CUT test cannot produces reasonably accurate and stable measures of core stability, core endurance and dynamic stability for kindergarten children

The reasons of dropout of sport in Hong Kong school athletes

domains. The aim of this study was to identify the potential dropout reasons of school athletes and to examine if their perception of dropout was affected by the previous dropout experience. There were 50 subjects who were divided into two groups based on their previous dropout experience (Dropout Group=22, No Dropout Group=28). They filled a questionnaire about potential dropout reasons of the current sport. Coach and teammates were two predominated reasons of dropout; Influence of parent and training seemed to affect the termination of the sport to a lesser extent. Moreover, the perception of social value and lost focus were significantly different between two groups. Character of coach and teammates affect the engagement of training in school athletes. However, the parental influence had less influence than expected. Training intensity played little role as the dropout reason. Previous experience of dropout had an impact of potential dropout reasons on their current sport training

A Systematic Review of Recreation Therapy for Depression in Older Adults

Background: Recreation therapy (RT) provides a flexible and powerful treatment for depression associated with aging. This article reviewed the effectiveness of RT to treat depression in older adults. Method: Five electronic databases were employed to identify interventional studies on RT in depressed older adults: Pubmed, PsycINFO, ProQuest, Academic Search Premier and ERIC. Articles were screened against inclusion criteria and assessed with respect to methodological quality. Results: A systematic literature review included 18 articles. Fourteen studies reported improvement in depression but 6 studies lack adequate significance in the positive effect of RT. Methodological quality assessment of 13 randomizedcontrolled trials and 5 non-controlled studies indicated an overall mean of 5.67 ± 1.94 points out of 9. Conclusion: There were positive findings that RT is effective in improving geriatric depression. Future investigation is encouraged to explore the mechanism between physical activity RT and depression improvement

Validity and Reliability of Timed Up and Go Test on Dynamic Balance in 3-5 Years Old Preschool Children

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) among normal 3-5 years old preschool children in Hong Kong. Methods: Cross-sectional design was applied to this study. Sixty (30 female, 30 male) preschool children aged from 3 to 5 years old (mean age=4.22 ± 0.85) from local normal preschool was recruited using convenient sampling to perform three dynamic balance tests: Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and the Pediatric Balance Scale Test (PBS). A simple self-administrative questionnaire survey was also conducted with their parents. Results: Positive correlation (r=0.74, p<0.05) was found between TUG results obtained at two time points when assessing the test-retest reliability. Moderated negative correlations were found between TUG and SEBT or PBS, which indicated children with longer reaching distance or higher PBS score tend to use shorter time to complete TUG. Conclusion: TUG was a valid and reliable tool for assessing dynamic balance of preschool children aged between 3 and 5 years old. This can also be used for screening or early detection of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) for children aged 6 years old or younger

Dynamics of a Quantum Phase Transition and Relaxation to a Steady State

We review recent theoretical work on two closely related issues: excitation of an isolated quantum condensed matter system driven adiabatically across a continuous quantum phase transition or a gapless phase, and apparent relaxation of an excited system after a sudden quench of a parameter in its Hamiltonian. Accordingly the review is divided into two parts. The first part revolves around a quantum version of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism including also phenomena that go beyond this simple paradigm. What they have in common is that excitation of a gapless many-body system scales with a power of the driving rate. The second part attempts a systematic presentation of recent results and conjectures on apparent relaxation of a pure state of an isolated quantum many-body system after its excitation by a sudden quench. This research is motivated in part by recent experimental developments in the physics of ultracold atoms with potential applications in the adiabatic quantum state preparation and quantum computation.Comment: 117 pages; review accepted in Advances in Physic

Maternal Programming of Sexual Behavior and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Function in the Female Rat

Variations in parental care predict the age of puberty, sexual activity in adolescence and the age at first pregnancy in humans. These findings parallel descriptions of maternal effects on phenotypic variation in reproductive function in other species. Despite the prevalence of such reports, little is known about potential biological mechanisms and this especially true for effects on female reproductive development. We examined the hypothesis that parental care might alter hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian function and thus reproductive function in the female offspring of rat mothers that vary pup licking/grooming (LG) over the first week postpartum. As adults, the female offspring of Low LG mothers showed 1) increased sexual receptivity; 2) increased plasma levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and progesterone at proestrus; 3) an increased positive-feedback effect of estradiol on both plasma LH levels and gonadotropin releasing-hormone (GnRH) expression in the medial preoptic region; and 4) increased estrogen receptor α (ERα) expression in the anterioventral paraventricular nucleus, a system that regulates GnRH. The results of a cross-fostering study provide evidence for a direct effect of postnatal maternal care as well as a possible prenatal influence. Indeed, we found evidence for increased fetal testosterone levels at embryonic day 20 in the female fetuses of High compared to Low LG mothers. Finally, the female offspring of Low LG mothers showed accelerated puberty compared to those of High LG mothers. These data suggest maternal effects in the rat on the development of neuroendocrine systems that regulate female sexual behaviour. Together with studies revealing a maternal effect on the maternal behavior of the female offspring, these findings suggest that maternal care can program alternative reproductive phenotypes in the rat through regionally-specific effects on ERα expression

Social Competitiveness and Plasticity of Neuroendocrine Function in Old Age: Influence of Neonatal Novelty Exposure and Maternal Care Reliability

Early experience is known to have a profound impact on brain and behavioral function later in life. Relatively few studies, however, have examined whether the effects of early experience remain detectable in the aging animal. Here, we examined the effects of neonatal novelty exposure, an early stimulation procedure, on late senescent rats' ability to win in social competition. During the first 3 weeks of life, half of each litter received daily 3-min exposures to a novel environment while the other half stayed in the home cage. At 24 months of age, pairs of rats competed against each other for exclusive access to chocolate rewards. We found that novelty-exposed rats won more rewards than home-staying rats, indicating that early experience exerts a life-long effect on this aspect of social dominance. Furthermore, novelty-exposed but not home-staying rats exhibited habituation of corticosterone release across repeated days of social competition testing, suggesting that early experience permanently enhances plasticity of the stress response system. Finally, we report a surprising finding that across individual rat families, greater effects of neonatal novelty exposure on stress response plasticity were found among families whose dams provided more reliable, instead of a greater total quantity of, maternal care

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Design of the ECCE Detector for the Electron Ion Collider

Preprint submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods A. The file archived on this institutional repository has not been certified by peer review.32 pages, 29 figures, 9 tablesThe EIC Comprehensive Chromodynamics Experiment (ECCE) detector has been designed to address the full scope of the proposed Electron Ion Collider (EIC) physics program as presented by the National Academy of Science and provide a deeper understanding of the quark-gluon structure of matter. To accomplish this, the ECCE detector offers nearly acceptance and energy coverage along with excellent tracking and particle identification. The ECCE detector was designed to be built within the budget envelope set out by the EIC project while simultaneously managing cost and schedule risks. This detector concept has been selected to be the basis for the EIC project detector.Office of Science in the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) 20200022DR; This research used resources of the Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05- 00OR22725. The work of AANL group are supported by the Science Committee of RA, in the frames of the research project # 21AG-1C028. And we gratefully acknowledge that support of Brookhaven National Lab and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility which are operated under contracts DESC0012704 and DE-AC05-06OR23177 respectivel