1,721,183 research outputs found
National program "Alfabetizzazione Motoria" : guidelines and preliminary results on the validity of testing
No full textPatent ductus arteriosus : wait and see?
No full text"Patent ductus arteriosus is one of most common problems that physicians caring for preterm infants have to face. Although medical and surgical treatment of PDA has been extensively investigated, results from the randomized controlled trials and metanalysis are still inconclusive and many authors therefore suggest a less aggressive attitude toward PDA. In the present review evidence for and against routine treatment of PDA are analyzed. A strict selection of those patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment is probably an appropriate strategy at this time but further studies, mainly targeted to long term outcomes, are needed to provide definitive indications.
Muscle damage and repeated bout effect induced by enhanced eccentric squats
Full text linkBACKGROUND: Muscle damage and repeated bout effect have been studied after pure eccentric-only exercise. The aim of this study was to evaluate muscle damage and repeated bout effect induced by enhanced eccentric squat exercise using flywheel device. METHODS: Thirteen healthy males volunteered for this study. Creatine kinase blood activity (CK), quadriceps isometric peak torque and muscle soreness were used as markers of muscle damage. The dependent parameters were measured at baseline, immediately after and each day up to 96 hours after the exercise session. The intervention consisted of 100 repetitions of enhanced eccentric squat exercise using flywheel device. The same protocol was repeated after 4 weeks. RESULTS: After the first bout, CK and muscle soreness were significantly greater (P<0.05) than baseline respectively up to 72 and 96 hours. Isometric peak torque was significantly lower (P<0.05) up to 72 hours. After the second bout, CK showed no significant increase (P>0.05), while isometric peak torque and muscle soreness returned to values similar to baseline after respectively 48 and 72 hours. All muscle damage markers were significantly lower after second compared to first bout. CONCLUSIONS: The enhanced eccentric exercise induced symptoms of muscle damage up to 96 hours. However, it provided muscle protection after the second bout, performed four weeks later. Although it was not eccentric-only exercise, the enhancement of eccentric phase provided muscle protection
Performance and physical development in young rugby players: effects of age and player position
No full textIn rugby, the physical and functional characteristics are determinant for the performance already from the youth categories. In previous studies only seniors and juniors athletes were analysed. Then, the Italian Rugby Federation promoted an assessment concerning under-18 players to which various universities participated. A database of 256 subjects between 13 and 17 years old has been obtained. This study aims to assess the anthropometric and motor performance characteristics of young rugby players of four positional roles (props, locks, flankers and backs), belonging to two age classes (13-14 and 15-16 yrs).
The players performed a 15-m sprint test, countermovement jump, sit and reach flexibility test, incremental endurance test, rugby-specific shuttle running test. The weight, height, seated height, sum of selected skinfolds and derived indices were assessed.
Two-way ANOVAs showed that the height, weight, sprint time and vertical jump height were significantly different between the age classes and roles. Conversely, the sum of skinfolds, skelic index, shuttle-run test and endurance test showed significant difference only amongst the roles. Specifically, the locks were taller and more long-limbed than the other players. The props were the heaviest and showed the highest skinfold sum and BMI, whereas the backs showed the lowest values of those indices. In all the motor tests, a trend in the performance was observed, the backs showing the best results respectively followed by the flankers, locks and props.
A factor analysis allowed to identify three main factors, respectively relative to the body mass, the limb lengths, and the performance. Then, it was possible to individuate the different positions of subjects groups according to their roles as a function of the three factors.
In conclusion, already in young players and independently from the age, it is possible to identify anthropometric and functional peculiarities that characterize the four main rugby positions
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Idiosyncratic control of the center of mass in expert climbers
No full textHere, we studied posture and movement coordination
adopted by expert climbers. The investigation of such
expertise might be of particular interest to gain understanding
about the mechanisms underlying the biomechanical
control of vertical quadrupedal locomotion. A novel
custom setup was developed to analyze the motion of the
center-of-mass (COM) and complementary information
about the dynamic distribution of vertical reaction forces
under the feet during climbing in nine elite climbers (EC)
and nine control subjects. Two adaptive features were found
in EC. First, unexpectedly they tended to maintain larger
COM distances from the wall relative to controls, during
both the static and dynamic phases of vertical motion (by
5 cm in both cases). Second, while the control subjects
tended to restrain the lateral motion of the COM, all EC
demonstrated systematic COM oscillations (1.3 times
larger) associated with a significant alternating dynamic
redistribution of the body weight between the limbs during
the double support phase. The latter phenomenon likely
reflects an adopted basic climbing strategy in experts.
Furthermore, a convergence of the optimal solution towards
a more diagonal climbing strategy in EC may shed light on
the origin of the diagonal gait in primates and early
hominids habituated to quadrupedal vertical locomotion
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