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Programming high-speed and sprint running exposure in football: beliefs and practices of more than 100 practitioners worldwide
Get PDFPurpose: To gain knowledge on the beliefs and practices of football practitioners applying high-speed and sprint running exposure programming strategies.
Methods: One hundred and two football practitioners from twenty-two different countries, participated in a survey study consisting of a survey including five domains: demographic and professional characteristics (Who), importance of high-speed and sprint running exposure for physical capabilities development, preparation for competition, and injury prevention strategies (Why), exposure timing (When), methodological procedures for exposure monitoring and training scheduling (What), effectiveness of common training practices (How). Data were analyzed using a combination of descriptive statistics, generalized mixed-effects and multinomial logistic regression models.
Results: Data revealed five main findings: (1) overall agreement on the importance of exposure for physical capabilities development, preparation for competition, and injury prevention strategies; (2) different exposure timing and selective training scheduling for starting and non-starting players across typical and congested weeks; (3) lack of consensus on the conceptual constructs defining high-speed and sprint running metrics and the methodological procedures used for monitoring; 4) a probable association between match-related outcomes and exposure strategies used in training; and 5) a broad range of training methods considered as effective to elicit exposure.
Conclusions: This study provides actionable insights into the planning, implementing, and monitoring strategies for high-speed and sprint running exposure in football. While some conform with the evidence on high-speed and sprint running training in football, further research and professional debate is warranted to develop empirical knowledge and provide pragmatic recommendations helping practitioners in adopting evidence-informed decisions
Dietary fibre definition revisited - The case of low molecular weight carbohydrates
Get PDFLow molecular weight (LMW) non-digestible carbohydrates (namely, oligosaccharides and inulin) are accepted as dietary fibre in many countries worldwide. The inclusion of oligosaccharides as dietary fibre was made optional within the Codex Alimentarius definition in 2009, which has caused great controversy. Inulin is accepted as dietary fibre by default, due to being a non-digestible carbohydrate polymer. Oligosaccharides and inulin occur naturally in numerous foods and are frequently incorporated into commonly consumed food products for a variety of purposes, such as to increase dietary fibre content.
LMW non-digestible carbohydrates, due to their rapid fermentation in the proximal colon, may cause deleterious effects in individuals with functional bowel disorders (FBDs) and, as such, are excluded on the low FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, and polyols) diet and similar protocols. Their addition to food products as dietary fibre allows the use of associated nutrition/health claims, causing a paradox for those with FBDs, which is further complicated by lack of clarity on food labelling. Therefore, this review aimed to discuss whether the inclusion of LMW non-digestible carbohydrates within the Codex definition of dietary fibre is warranted.
This review provides justification for the exclusion of oligosaccharides and inulin from the Codex definition of dietary fibre. LMW non-digestible carbohydrates could, instead, be placed in their own category as prebiotics, recognised for their specific functional properties, or considered food additives, whereby they are not promoted for being beneficial for health. This would preserve the concept of dietary fibre being a universally beneficial dietary component for all individuals
Estimation of the optimal time needed for weaning of Intensive Care Unit tracheostomized patients on mechanical ventilation. A prospective observational study.
Get PDFDetermining the time that is required for weaning, as well as the factors that influence it can be used for the appropriate planning of patient's medical and nursing care. The aim of this study is to estimate the optimal time an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patient with tracheostomy needs to wean from mechanical ventilation. This prospective observational study was conducted on 162 patients from two general hospitals in Athens, Greece. A specially designed recording form was created to conduct the study. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v.25 for Windows was used to record and analyze the data. The level of statistical significance was set at α=5%. Results were found after comparing and associating the demographic and clinical characteristics and medical history of patients with the duration of weaning, the length of post-tracheostomy ICU stay and the time from intubation to tracheostomy. According to the results of our study, there are various factors that affect success and duration of weaning. More specifically, there seems to be an association between duration of weaning and age, number of closure attempts, success of closure, time from intubation to tracheostomy, length of the patient's post-tracheostomy ICU stay and diagnosis upon admission. The shorter the duration of weaning, the greater the benefits for the patients themselves, such us avoiding respiratory damage, reduction of mortality and morbidity and preventing of length of patient's ICU stay
Challenges in heart failure care in four European countries: a comparative study
Get PDFBackground In Europe, more than 15 million people live with heart failure (HF). It imposes an enormous social, organizational and economic burden. As a reaction to impending impact on healthcare provision, different country-specific structures for HF-care have been established. The aim of this report is to provide an overview and compare the HF-care approaches of Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK, and to open the possibility of learning from each other’s experience. Methods A mixed methods approach was implemented that included a literature analysis, interviews and questionnaires with HF-patients and caregivers, and expert interviews with representatives from healthcare, health service research and medical informatics. Results The models of HF-care in all countries analyzed are based on the European Society of Cardiology guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of HF. Even though the HF-models differed in design and implementation in practice, key challenges were similar: (i) unequal distribution of care between urban and rural areas, (ii) long waiting times, (iii) unequal access to and provision of healthcare services, (iv) information and communication gaps and (v) inadequate implementation and financing of digital applications. Conclusion Although promising approaches exist to structure and improve HF-care, across the four countries, implementation was reluctant to embrace novel methods. A lack of financial resources and insufficient digitalization making it difficult to adopt new concepts. Integration of HF-nurses seems to be an effective way of improving current models of HF-care. Digital solutions offer further opportunities to overcome communication and coordination gaps and to strengthen self-management skills
Growing the ‘I’ and ‘We’ in transformational leadership: A vision for coaching psychology
No full textThis paper presents the LEAD, LEARN & GROW Model of leadership – an approach emerging from practice-based insights – and describes how the Model was received by coaching psychologists in the context of a workshop facilitated by the first author at the Special Group in Coaching Psychology (SGCP) Annual Conference in December 2012. Participants’ reactions to the Model suggested that it had face validity and was a potentially useful framework for leadership coaching; thus, the idea for this article was born. In this article the authors describe both the model and the workshop in which it was explored and developed. Ideas and discussion emerging from the workshop participants have been incorporated into the article, which concludes with a series of questions offered as aids for further reflection and guidance in the application of the LEAD, LEARN & GROW Model
Practitioner perspectives on the use of selected Fear of Childbirth screening tools within a clinical context
Get PDFFear of childbirth (FOC), or tokophobia, can influence several medical and obstetric variables, and is a significant predictor of maternal and mental health outcomes and birth experiences. Current practice in the UK does not include initial screening for tokophobia, rather, assessment and support occur under extreme circumstances e.g., maternal requests for caesarean sections or pregnancy termination requests in order to avoid childbirth. Moreover, while there are several candidate outcome measures for FOC, none have been evaluated in terms of their perceived suitability by specialist practitioners within perinatal healthcare pathways. The present study explores the perceived barriers and facilitators reported by health professionals working within the maternity and mental health services for the use of FOC candidate outcome measures. Evaluated measures included the Fear of Birth Scale, the Oxford Worries about Labour Scale, The Wijma Delivery Expectancy Scale, the Slade-Pais Expectations of Childbirth Scale the Tokophobia Severity Scale. The Tokophobia Severity Scale, followed by the Slade-Pais Expectations of Childbirth Scales were the most favourable scales selected for use according to clinicians. The identification of preferred scales and how they can be used in the local maternity system is a step towards the application of these consistently in clinical practice, to aid in the identification and assessment of FOC. The use of the correct tool at each stage of contact with the local maternity system will improve clinician confidence in the identification of FOC and facilitate the efficient implementation of treatment and support through the development of pathways of care
Episomal vector-based generation of IPSC lines from healthy and Osteoarthritis (OA) patient synoviocytes for OA modelling in vitro
No full textThe development of a representative human, in vitro OA model could deepen understanding of disease mechanisms. Our research aimed to reprogram healthy and OA-derived synoviocytes to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), thereby generating a novel OA in vitro model. Comparison between the two models shall enable research into underlying processes with potential for clinical translation.
A meta-analysis of OA synovial biomarkers was conducted, identifying up to thirteen relevant pathophysiology-related factors, including, amongst others, IL-13, IL-10, IL-6, PIICP, and HA, with PIICP demonstrating the largest effect (SMD 6.11 [3.50, 8.72], p <0.00001). With these findings in mind, human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (HFLS) from healthy and OA patients were transduced using Sendai viral reprogramming. Two clones for each of the resulting iPSC lines were expanded and preliminarily analysed in triplicate by ICC and RT-qPCR for pluripotency characteristics.
Healthy HFLS-derived and OA-HFLS-derived iPSC (UoS-B and UoS-C lines, respectively) were generated, indicating successful reprogramming. Morphological observations demonstrated typical iPSC appearance, and ICC confirmed presence of pluripotency markers Tra-1-60, Oct3/4 and Nanog. Expression of Oct3/4, Nanog and Sox2 were confirmed by RT-qPCR with OA-iPSC lines expressing higher levels of all markers compared to non-OA iPSC. In particular, expression of Oct3/4 and Sox2 was 3.5 fold and 4.6 fold higher ( p <0.001) in OA-iPSCs (UoS-C) vs. non-OA iPSCs (UoS-B), respectively. Sendai virus clearance was confirmed by passage 4.
The successfully obtained OA and non-OA iPSCs can be differentiated towards mesenchymal lineages, including chondrocyte and bone progenitor cells, enabling phenotypic comparison and biomarker analysis as identified in meta-analysis. Cell bank dissemination of these cell lines could deepen further in vitro OA research, with potential impact for clinical translation via the identification of novel cellular and molecular targets
Handbook of anger, aggression, and violence
No full textThis handbook provides a detailed overview of the emotional, physical, and social implications of anger, aggression, and violence. The book covers the recognition, diagnosis, and evaluation of these areas, aiming to understand the aetiology of these behavioral features to assist with prevention and cure.
The book is divided into eight sections:
Placing Aggression, Anger, Aggression and Violence In Context
Causes and Precipitation of Anger, Aggression and Violence
Features of Anger, Aggression and Violence
Anger, Aggression and Violence in Defined Disorders and Conditions
Physical Measures of Pathology and Insights: Genetics
Physical Measures of Pathology and Insights: Non-Genetic
Treatments and Therapies
Methods and Techniques
Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence will be of use for behavioral scientists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses and doctors, neurologists, health scientists, general practitioners, research scientists and all those interested in altered behavior
