1,720,987 research outputs found
Poor estimates of motor variability are associated with longer grooved pegboard times for middle-aged and older adults
Full text linkGoal-directed movements that involve greater motor variability are performed with an increased risk that the intended goal will not be achieved. The ability to estimate motor variability during such actions varies across individuals and influences how people decide to move about their environment. The purpose of our study was to identify the decision-making strategies used by middle-aged and older adults when performing two goal-directed motor tasks and to determine if these strategies were associated with the time to complete the grooved pegboard test. Twenty-one middle-aged (48 ± 6 yr; range 40-59 yr, 15 women) and 20 older adults (73 ± 4 yr; range 65-79 yr, 8 women) performed two targeted tasks, each with two normalized target options. Decision-making characteristics were not associated with time to complete the test of manual dexterity when the analysis included all participants, but slower pegboard times were associated with measures of greater movement variability during the target-directed actions. When the data were clustered on the basis of pegboard time rather than age, relatively longer times for the faster group were associated with greater motor variability during the prescribed tasks, whereas longer times for the slower group were associated with increased risk-seeking behavior (α) and greater variability in the targeted actions. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study was the first to examine the association between decision-making choices and an NIH Toolbox test of manual dexterity (grooved pegboard test) performed by middle-aged and older adults. Significant associations were observed between decision-making choices and time to complete the test when the analyses were based on pegboard times rather than chronological age. This result indicates that decision-making choices of middle-aged and older adults, independent of age, were associated with time to complete a test of manual dexterity
A scoping review on how physical fitness is evaluated in sitting volleyball players
Full text linkIntroduction: Sitting volleyball is a widely practiced paralympic sport. A correct and standardized physical evaluation helps coaches to plan and manage the training. It is also important to evaluate physical fitness accurately and adopt standardized protocols to compare and normalize the data. The aim of the study was to evaluate physical fitness evaluation methods adopted in sitting volleyball and to eventually propose standard operating procedures. Evidence acquisition: English-written and peer-reviewed original articles were included in this review. The population studied was composed only of athletes practicing sitting volleyball. Articles were searched on the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus using keywords matched with Boolean operators. Two independent investigators collected and screened the studies against the eligibility criteria. Data were analyzed narratively. Evidence synthesis: Only 7 studies were eligible and included in this review, but a wide testing methodology exists. There are some tests commonly adopted in the studies included and these are the handgrip test, the agility t-test, the speed, and endurance test. These tests with the 2-site skinfold thickness evaluation, the modified push-ups, the shoulder-stretch test, the chest throw test and the simple reaction time task were included in the standard operating procedure. Conclusions: The literature on the topic is poor and standardization of the testing procedure to evaluate the physical fitness of people practicing SV has been provided
Dual-Task Conditions on Static Postural Control in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
No full textDual-task (DT) consists of the performance of two tasks simultaneously. An index of DT difficulty has been linked to decreased postural control. Because a wide range of DT is employed, this study aimed to evaluate its effects in static balance in older adults. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were screened, and the secondary tasks were grouped as manual, reaction time, discrimination and decision making, mental tracking, verbal fluency, working memory, or "other" tasks. A total of 66 studies have been included. The meta-analysis was conducted on 28 effects and showed a significant mean effect size of d = 0.24 (p = .02, SE = 0.10; confidence interval [0.04, 0.44]), indicating a worsening in stability during DT. In conclusion, postural control was worsened by the Stroop test and the arithmetic tasks improved it. The results do not underpin any conclusive statement on the impact of DT, and a standard operating procedure was created
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
Running Footwear and Impact Peak Differences in Recreational Runners
Full text linkSIMPLE SUMMARY: Running is a physical activity practiced by many people to maintain good levels of movement. Recreational runners commonly strike the ground with the postero–lateral zone of the foot, which may be associated with a higher biomechanical load on the lower limb, called impact peak. Different running shoes with specific cushioning are available to overcome the biomechanical load, e.g., shoes with a thickness difference between the forefoot and heel parts of the sole, called heel-to-toe drop. Analyzing the running pattern of recreational runners may be challenging because biomechanics laboratories mainly analyze these characteristics in individuals with visible alterations. To overcome these limitations, we employed a 3D markerless system; furthermore, we investigated footwear use. These parameters were studied to understand the behavior of those runners with and without a higher impact peak. Thirty participants underwent a running analysis and a questionnaire about their footwear. The study’s main finding highlighted kinematic and spatiotemporal differences between the runners presenting a higher impact peak and those without it. Furthermore, we observed that runners without an impact peak prefer shoes with a lower heel-to-toe drop, while the other group prefers shoes with a higher heel-to-toe drop. Investigating biomechanics characteristics is essential to reduce possible injury. ABSTRACT: Running is a physical activity and the investigation of its biomechanical aspects is crucial both to avoid injuries and enhance performance. Recreational runners may be liable to increased stress over the body, particularly to lower limb joints. This study investigates the different running patterns of recreational runners by analyzing characteristics of the footwear impact peak, spatiotemporal, and kinematic parameters among those that present with a peak impact and those that do not, with a 3D markerless system. Thirty recreational runners were divided into two groups: impact peak group (IP) (n = 16) and no impact peak group (n = 14) (n-IP). Kinematic and spatiotemporal parameters showed a large Cohen’s d effect size between the groups. The mean hip flexion was IP 40.40° versus n-IP 32.30° (d = −0.82). Hip extension was IP 30.20° versus n-IP 27.70° (d = −0.58), and ankle dorsiflexion was IP 20.80°, versus n-IP 13.37° (d = −1.17). Stride length was IP 117.90 cm versus n-IP 105.50 cm (d = −0.84). Steps per minute was IP group 170 spm, versus n-IP 163 spm (d = −0.51). The heel-to-toe drop was mainly 10–12 mm for the IP group and 4–6 mm for the n-IP group. Recreational runners whose hip extension is around 40°, ankle dorsiflexion around 20°, and initial foot contact around 14°, may be predisposed to the presence of an impact peak
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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES IN SPORTS SCIENCES AND HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMS IN DIFFERENT POPULATIONS
Full text linkIn recent years, the population is becoming more sedentary and characterized by an increase in the mean age. One of the consequences is a population with a higher risk of chronic diseases, increasing the risk to incur in disability and death. Consequently, health promotion programs, cheaper than interventions, are acquiring an increasingly central role in the politics of Governments. Health promotion programs want to maintain and improve the physical, cognitive, psychical, and social sphere of people. Considering that psychic and social sphere are strictly dependent on the physical condition, the interest of this thesis was on motor tests ideal for health promotion programs.
The motor evaluation can take place through laboratory and field tests. Laboratory tests, usually, are more reliable and valid while field tests can be adopted for a larger population, because they are more economic and quick to propose. Since health promotion is aimed at a general population, field tests were investigated. Furthermore, in other disciplines, replicable and precise protocols are adopted and these are named standard operating procedures (SOPs). Unfortunately, in the field of Sports Sciences, SOPs are still not widely adopted. For this reason, the Ph.D. project wanted to examine SOPs in Sports Sciences and health promotion programs in different populations such as young and older adults, and in a population with special needs. This was carried on through reviews of the literature (review, scoping review, and systematic review and meta-analysis) and original studies that evaluated the Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT).
During Study 1, the use of SOPs was considered in a population composed of adolescents for the evaluation of the strength of the lower limbs through vertical jumps. The result of the review highlighted the lack of SOPs in vertical jumps and consequently, SOPs were proposed for the countermovement and the squat jump test.
During Study 2, a visually impaired population practicing the sport of goalball was analysed using a scoping review of the literature. Field tests adopted in this sport are different and, consequently, SOPs were proposed for the evaluation of goalball players.
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Study 3, through a systematic review of the literature and a meta-analysis on older adults, assessed whether SOPs existed for the assessment of people in dual-task situations. Again, SOPs did not exist and guidelines to execute in the most appropriate way the secondary tasks were proposed.
Study 4 is a pilot study that analysed the influence of a secondary task on the execution of a test to evaluate manual dexterity, the GPT. In conclusion, it was noted that the performance of a cognitive task is more disturbing than a motor task. This study was carried on to provide SOPs for the GPT in a dual-task contest. Study 5 wanted to evaluate the influence that the time spent on smartphones has on the GPT execution. This study was performed to study if normative data created for the GPT had to be updated. The investigation concluded that in young adults, the time spent on the smartphone does not influence the time to conclude the GPT. During Study 6 was investigated if the time to complete the GPT was influenced by the stress level and if a breathing exercise proposed to reduce the stress was useful before the execution of the manual dexterity test. In conclusion, stress does not influence significantly the GPT execution even if it changes the final time. For this reason, it was suggested to adopt, before the execution of the manual dexterity investigation, a short breathing exercise to reduce the effect of the stress.
In conclusion, although the field investigated during these three years is reduced to a few tests and specific populations, it is clear that in the Sports Sciences it is necessary to create and follow SOPs in the evaluation of physical fitness, especially for those populations at risk such as children, adolescents, adults and older adults and people with specific needs, and this thesis provided indications and feedback useful for future studies
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