Use of Sports Science Knowledge by Turkish Coaches

International Journal of Exercise Science 8(1) : 21-37, 2015. The purpose of this study is to examine the following research questions in Turkish coaching context: a) What are coaches’ perceptions on the application of sport science research to their coaching methods? b) What sources do coaches utilize to obtain the knowledge they need? c) What barriers do coaches encounter when trying to access and apply the knowledge they need for their sport? In addition, differences in research questions responses were examined based on gender, years of coaching experience, academic educational level, coaching certificate level, coaching team or individual sports, and being paid or unpaid for coaching. The participants were 321 coaches (255 men, 66 women) from diverse sports and coaching levels working in Ankara. The questionnaire “New Ideas for Coaches” by Reade, Rodgers and Hall (2008) was translated, adapted into Turkish, and validated for the current study. According to our findings among Turkish coaches, there is a high prevalence of beliefs that sport science contributes to sport (79.8%);however, there are gaps between what coaches are looking for and the research that is being conducted. Coaches are most likely to attend seminars or consult other coaches to get new information. Scientific publications were ranked very low by the coaches in getting current information. The barriers to coaches’ access to sport science research are finding out the sources of information, being able to implement the sport science knowledge into the field of coaching, lack of monetary support in acquiring knowledge, and language barriers. Also, differences in perceptions and preferences for obtaining new information were identified based on coaches’ gender, coaching contexts (i.e., professional-amateur), coaching settings (i.e., team/individual), and their other demographic characteristics (i.e., coaching experience, coaching educational level, and coaching certificate level). Future coach education programs should emphasize the development of coaches’ competencies in identifying and accessing eligible sports science knowledge sources and lack of money for acquiring information while also tailoring the messages based on differences in coaching contexts, coaching settings, and coaches’ demographic characteristics so as to ensure successful knowledge transfer

Predictive value of CHA2DS2-VASc and CHA2DS2-VASc-HS scores for failed reperfusion after thrombolytic therapy in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Background: Thrombolytic therapy is recommended for patients with acute ST-segment elevation myo- cardial infarction (STEMI) who cannot undergo primary percutaneous coronary intervention within the first 120 min. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the value of CHA2DS2-VASc and CHA2DS2- -VASc-HS scores in predicting failed reperfusion in STEMI patients treated with thrombolytic therapy.  Methods: A total of 537 consecutive patients were enrolled in the study; 139 had failed thrombolysis while the remaining 398 fulfilled the criteria for successful thrombolysis. Thrombolysis failure was defined with the lack of symptom relief, < 50% ST resolution-related electrocardiography within 90 min from initiation of the thrombolytic therapy, presence of hemodynamic or electrical instability or in-hospital mortality. CHA2DS2-VASc and CHA2DS2-VASc-HS scores, which incorporate hyperlipi- demia, smoking, switches between female and male gender, were previously shown to be markers of the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Results: History of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, heart failure, smoking, and CAD were significantly common in failed reperfusion patients (for all; p < 0.05). For prediction of failed rep- erfusion, the cut-off value of CHA2DS2-VASc score was ≥ 2 with a sensitivity of 80.90% and a specificity of 41.01% (area under curve [AUC] 0.660; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.618–0.700; p < 0.001) and the cut-off value of CHA2DS2-VASc-HS score was ≥ 3 with a sensitivity of 76.13% and a specificity of 67.63% (AUC 0.764; 95% CI 0.725–0.799; p < 0.001). The CHA2DS2-VASc-HS score was found to be statistically and significantly better than CHA2DS2-VASc score to predict failed reperfusion (p < 0.001).  Conclusions: The findings suggest that the CHA2DS2-VASc and especially CHA2DS2-VASc-HS scores could be considered as predictors of risk of failed reperfusion in STEMI patients.

Mortality risk factors in primary Sjögren syndrome:a real-world, retrospective, cohort study

BACKGROUND: What baseline predictors would be involved in mortality in people with primary Sjögren syndrome (SjS) remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the baseline characteristics collected at the time of diagnosis of SjS associated with mortality and to identify mortality risk factors for all-cause death and deaths related to systemic SjS activity measured by the ESSDAI score.METHODS: In this international, real-world, retrospective, cohort study, we retrospectively collected data from 27 countries on mortality and causes of death from the Big Data Sjögren Registry. Inclusion criteria consisted of fulfilling 2002/2016 SjS classification criteria, and exclusion criteria included chronic HCV/HIV infections and associated systemic autoimmune diseases. A statistical approach based on a directed acyclic graph was used, with all-cause and Sjögren-related mortality as primary endpoints. The key determinants that defined the disease phenotype at diagnosis (glandular, systemic, and immunological) were analysed as independent variables.FINDINGS: Between January 1st, 2014 and December 31, 2023, data from 11,372 patients with primary SjS (93.5% women, 78.4% classified as White, mean age at diagnosis of 51.1 years) included in the Registry were analysed. 876 (7.7%) deaths were recorded after a mean follow-up of 8.6 years (SD 7.12). Univariate analysis of prognostic factors for all-cause death identified eight Sjögren-related variables (ocular and oral tests, salivary biopsy, ESSDAI, ANA, anti-Ro, anti-La, and cryoglobulins). The multivariate CPH model adjusted for these variables and the epidemiological features showed that DAS-ESSDAI (high vs no high: HR = 1.68; 95% CI, 1.27-2.22) and cryoglobulins (positive vs negative: HR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.22-2.42) were independent predictors of all-cause death. Of the 640 deaths with available information detailing the specific cause of death, 14% were due to systemic SjS. Univariate analysis of prognostic factors for Sjögren-cause death identified five Sjögren-related variables (oral tests, clinESSDAI, DAS-ESSDAI, ANA, and cryoglobulins). The multivariate competing risks CPH model adjusted for these variables and the epidemiological features showed that oral tests (abnormal vs normal results: HR = 1.38; 95% CI, 1.01-1.87), DAS-ESSDAI (high vs no high: HR = 1.55; 95% CI, 1.22-1.96) and cryoglobulins (positive vs negative: HR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.16-2) were independent predictors of SjS-related death.INTERPRETATION: The key mortality risk factors at the time of SjS diagnosis were positive cryoglobulins and a high systemic activity scored using the ESSDAI, conferring a 2-times increased risk of all-cause and SjS-related death. ESSDAI measurement and cryoglobulin testing should be considered mandatory when an individual is diagnosed with SjS.FUNDING: Novartis.</p

Epidemiological profile and north-south gradient driving baseline systemic involvement of primary Sjogren's syndrome

Objective: To characterize the systemic phenotype of primary Sjögren’s syndrome at diagnosis by analysing the EULAR-SS disease activity index (ESSDAI) scores. Methods: The Sjögren Big Data Consortium is an international, multicentre registry based on worldwide data-sharing cooperative merging of pre-existing databases from leading centres in clinical research in Sjögren’s syndrome from the five continents. Results: The cohort included 10 007 patients (9352 female, mean 53 years) with recorded ESSDAI scores available. At diagnosis, the mean total ESSDAI score was 6.1; 81.8% of patients had systemic activity (ESSDAI score ≥1). Males had a higher mean ESSDAI (8.1 vs 6.0, P &lt; 0.001) compared with females, as did patients diagnosed at &lt;35 years (6.7 vs 5.6 in patients diagnosed at &gt;65 years, P &lt; 0.001). The highest global ESSDAI score was reported in Black/African Americans, followed by White, Asian and Hispanic patients (6.7, 6.5, 5.4 and 4.8, respectively; P &lt; 0.001). The frequency of involvement of each systemic organ also differed between ethnic groups, with Black/African American patients showing the highest frequencies in the lymphadenopathy, articular, peripheral nervous system, CNS and biological domains, White patients in the glandular, cutaneous and muscular domains, Asian patients in the pulmonary, renal and haematological domains and Hispanic patients in the constitutional domain. Systemic activity measured by the ESSDAI, clinical ESSDAI (clinESSDAI) and disease activity states was higher in patients from southern countries (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: The systemic phenotype of primary Sjögren’s syndrome is strongly influenced by personal determinants such as age, gender, ethnicity and place of residence, which are key geoepidemiological players in driving the expression of systemic disease at diagnosis.

Youth athletes' developmental outcomes by age, gender, and type of sport

The purpose of this study was to examine the athletes’ perceived developmental outcomes of competence, confidence, connection and character (the 4 Cs) in a competitive youth sport context with respect to age groups (12 – 14 vs 15 – 18-year-old), gender (girls and boys) and sport type (individual vs. team). Participants were 314 athletes (173 girls, 141 boys) and 31 coaches (5 Women, 26 Men) from artistic gymnastics, basketball, football, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Data were collected by the adapted and validated form of Positive Youth Development Measurement Toolkit. According to the findings, older group of athletes (15 – 18 years of age) had lower scores than their younger counterparts (12 – 14 years of age) in all of the developmental outcomes. Girls scored lower in competence outcome, while boys had lower scores in connection and character outcomes. Moreover, team sport athletes had lower scores in competence outcome (p < .05). The findings were discussed with the extant literature, and programmatic suggestions for future studies were provided

Structural studies of polythiophenes

A theoretical investigation of the electronic structures of the oligomers of thiophene (T) and their derivatives, namely, 2-methylthiophene (2MT), 3-methylthiophene (3MT), 2-cyanothiophene (2CT) and 3-cyanothiophene (3CT), are presented. The most stable forms of the monomer, dimer, trimer and tetramers are obtained by the semi-empirical quantum mechanical methodology using AM1 parametrization. All possible binding sites are investigated in order to understand the bonding in polythiophenes. The 3-substituted molecules form dimers which lie nearly at trans-planar positions but 2CT and 2MT favor cis conformations. The activation energies between these structures and local minima change from 0.2 to 1.8 kcal/mol. Methyl- and cyano-substituted polythiophenes favor linear growth mechanisms. The branching requires 3-6 kcal/mol per substitution. Polythiophenes seem to form fairly flexible chains as understood from the relatively low rotational barriers

The synthesis of novel boronate esters and N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-stabilized boronate esters: Spectroscopy, antimicrobial and antioxidant studies

Kilic, Ahmet/0000-0001-9073-4339A new class of cheap, easily-synthesizable and modifiable boronate esters (B-1-B-3) and their corresponding N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC)-stabilized boronate esters (B-4-B-6) have been synthesized for the first time under toluene reflux using a Dean-Stark apparatus to remove the water by-product. All these newly synthesized boronate compounds were characterized using elemental analysis, and their probable structures were proposed based on H-1, C-13 and, B-11 NMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis spectral results and LC-MS/MS spectrometry. Antimicrobial activities of the boronate esters (B-1-B-3) and their corresponding N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC)-stabilized boronate esters (B-4-B-6) were investigated against 7 bacteria and 3 fungi. The boronate ester (B-1) showed the best antimicrobial activity. Besides, boronate ester (B1) with (NHC)-stabilized boronate esters (B-5 and B-6) showed better antibacterial activity than antibiotics drugs. It has been observed that the (NHC)-stabilized boronate ester (B-5) removes the scavenging effect of H2O2+DMSO and stabilizes plasmid DNA at the highest rate when applied alone. Addition, the boronate esters (B-1-B-3) and their corresponding N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC)-stabilized boronate esters (B-4-B-6) have been tested for the radical scavenging activity of antioxidants. They have meaningful antioxidant activity compared to reference compounds. The results show that 100 mL of the boronate esters had low activity according to standards when DPPH radical removal activities were compared to standards. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Research Fund of Harran University (HUBAP Projects) Sanliurfa, Turkey [20006]We acknowledge gratefully the financial support from Research Fund of Harran University (HUBAP Projects No: 20006) Sanliurfa, Turkey

Synthesis and electrochemical investigation of chiral amine bis(phenolate)-boron complexes: In vitro antibacterial activity screening of boron compounds

A new class of low-cost, easily-synthesizable and modifiable chiral amine bis(phenolate) ligand (L), its chiral boron complex (LB), and five different salen groups (1-(3-Aminopropyl) imidazole (LB1), N,N-Diethyl-p-phenylenediamine (LB2), 2-Picolylamine (LB3), 4′-Aminoacetophenone (LB4), and 4-Amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidine (LB5)) containing chiral boron complexes were synthesized in this study. These newly synthesized chiral compounds were fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, FT-IR, UV–Vis, and LC-MS/MS spectroscopy, melting point, elemental analysis, and cyclic voltammetry techniques. The in vitro antibacterial activity of the synthesized different chiral boron complexes was tested against four pathogenic bacteria strains using the resazurin-based broth microdilution method, and the MIC values of each boron complex were determined. Based on the overall results, the N, N-Diethyl-p-phenylenediamine group containing chiral boron complex (LB2) showed the highest activity against all bacterial strains, with the lowest MIC value of 4 µg/mL which is nearly in the range of values for commercial antibacterial drugs

Interferon alpha might be an alternative therapeutic choice for refractory Neuro-Behçet's disease

Comments on Neuro-Behcet's DiseasePubMe

Recent advances in nanofibrous membranes: Production and applications in water treatment and desalination

Desalination of seawater is a promising technique that contributes a reliable and abundant source of clean potable water. This review investigates the current status and forthcoming advancement in nanofiber technology, with a special attention on its production along with its application in seawater desalination and water treatment. Nanofibers are the latest generation of nonwoven filter media, that contribute extraordinary features. In this paper, we discuss about the conventional techniques in the nanofiber production, like electrospinning (ES), melt blowing (MB), fibrillated bicomponent fiber extrusion, phase separation, drawing, self-assembly, and template synthesis, along with its benefits and limitations. We then present the developing nanofiber production techniques, like centrifugal spinning, plasma-induced synthesis, and solution blow spinning. Here, we also investigate the developing applications of nanofiber membranes (NFMs) in separation processes like forward osmosis (FO), membrane distillation, ultrafiltration (UF), microfiltration (MF), and nanofiltration (NF). This work also highlights the surface modifications performed in the NFMs for enhancing its efficiency. However, still there are difficulties to be considered and overpowered for NFM technology to approach further development. We believe that with additional advancement in the nanofiber manufacturing procedures and recognition of new utilization of NFMs, the nanofiber field of technology will develop and cross its present state towards commercialization and utilization.The authors would like to acknowledge the support of this research to Qatar University 's IRCC research program through grant number IRCC-2019-004