1,720,984 research outputs found
A Scott bench with ergonomic thorax stabilisation pad improves body posture during preacher arm curl exercise
No full textWe assessed whether the use of an ergonomic thorax stabilisation pad, during the preacher arm curl exercise, could significantly reduce the excessive shoulder protraction and thoracic kyphosis induced by the standard flat pad built into the existing preacher arm curl equipment. A 3D motion capture system and inclinometers were used to measure shoulder protraction and thoracic kyphosis in 15 subjects performing preacher arm curl with a plate-loaded machine provided with the standard flat pad. The same measures were repeated after replacing the flat pad with a new ergonomic pad, specifically designed to accommodate the thorax profile and improve body posture. Pad replacement significantly (p < 0.001) reduced shoulder protraction (from 12.0 +/- 2.4 cm to 7.9 +/- 2.6 cm) and thoracic kyphosis (from 35.5 +/- 8.2 degrees to 29.6 +/- 8.5 degrees), enabling postural and functional improvements within the entire spine, shoulder girdle and rib cage. The ergonomic pad may potentially allow a more effective training, prevent musculoskeletal discomfort and reduce the risk of injury
Comparison between Indoor Sled Tests on the SkillrunTM Treadmill and Outdoor Field Tests at Increasing Sled Loads
Full text linkThe aim of the study was to compare the power output during indoor sprints on a SKILLRUNTM treadmill with the power output expressed in outdoor sprints pushing an instrumented sled. The SKILLRUNTM has been chosen because it is able to simulate the outdoor sprint pushing a sled setting different loads and providing performance output data like speed and power. Two athletes were involved in this pilot study and were asked to perform indoor and outdoor sprints with the same overloads. Two dynamometric handles were designed and applied both on the treadmill for the indoor sprints and on the sled for the outdoor sprints. Power data were calculated throughout the force measured at the handles and the speed collected during the sprints. Kinematics data of trunk and lower limbs were also calculated by means of a set of inertial sensors (Xsens, Enschede, The Netherlands). The power–speed and the load–speed curves together with the kinematics results derived from the indoor and outdoor tests were compared, showing, in general, a good agreement between the indoor and outdoor conditions. These results highlighted the validity of the SKILLRUNTM treadmill in simulating a sprint with overloads
Exercise in type 2 diabetes: genetic, metabolic and neuromuscular adaptations. A review of the evidence
No full textThe biological responses to exercise training are complex, as almost all organs and systems are involved in interactions that result in a plethora of adaptations at the genetic, metabolic and neuromuscular levels.To provide the general practitioner and the sports medicine professionals with a basic understanding of the genetic, metabolic and neuromuscular adaptations at a cellular level that occur with aerobic and resistance exercise in subjects with type 2 diabetes.For each of the three domains (genetic, metabolic and neuromuscular), the results of the major systematic reviews and original research published in relevant journals, indexed in PubMed, were selected. Owing to limitations of space, we focused primarily on the role of skeletal muscle, given its pivotal role in mediating adaptations at all levels.Generally, training-induced adaptations in skeletal muscle are seen as changes in contractile proteins, mitochondrial function, metabolic regulation, intracellular signalling, transcriptional responses and neuromuscular modifications. The main adaptation with clinical relevance would include an improved oxidative capacity derived from aerobic training, in addition to neuromuscular remodelling derived from resistance training. Both training modalities improve insulin sensitivity and reduce cardiovascular risk.Taken together, the modifications that occur at the genetic, metabolic and neuromuscular levels, work correlatively to optimise substrate delivery, mitochondrial respiratory capacity and contractile function during exercise
The effects of one year of voluntary physical activity and structured exercise on patients with type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome : the Italian diabetes and exercise study
No full textTesis inédita presentada en la Universidad Europea de Madrid. Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el DeporteThe IDES study was a large prospective multicentre Randomized Controlled Trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of twelve months of intensive lifestyle intervention on modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors in a large cohort of people (606 subjects) with type2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. Primary outcome was HbA1c reduction, secondary outcomes were traditional and non traditional cardiovascular risk factors. This thesis was a sub-projects of the IDES study aimed to evaluate the effects of a structured exercise program on a series of selected metabolic (HbA1c; systolic and diastolic blood pressure; BMI; waist circumference) and physical fitness parameters (maximal oxygen consumption, upper body and lower body strength, flexibility) and the difference between high and low exercise intensities. Study Design: 606 Subjects were randomized into a control group receiving a standard treatment (exercise counselling aimed to increase voluntary physical activity; plus diet, plus drugs) and an exercise group receiving the same standard treatment plus a combined aerobic and resistance exercise program (two sessions a week). Voluntary physical activity was recorded by means of a validated questionnaire (Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity), exercise was recorded by means of a dedicated software. Both physical activity and exercise data were transformed into metabolic equivalents (METs.h-1.w-1 ). The exercise group was further randomized into an high intensity group (70% of maximal oxygen consumption and 80% of one repetition maximum) and a low intensity group (55% of maximal oxygen consumption and 60% of one repetition maximum) to see the effects of different exercise intensities on the selected metabolic and physical fitness parameters. Results: both exercise and control group statistically increased their voluntary physical activity. The exercise groups showed a statistical significant improvement in all the metabolic and physical fitness parameters; control group significantly improved only in maximal oxygen consumption and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. When the control group was divided into quintiles of accumulated non supervised physical activity, the more active subjects showed improvements in all the evaluated parameters. When the exercise group was divided into high and low intensity groups and further analyzed, no differences were evaluated between the two exercise group. Conclusion: This study showed that a structured exercise program plus a standard treatment is better than a standard treatment alone in the improvement of the selected metabolic and physical fitness parameters. Only the more active subjects in the control group showed significant improvements in all the evaluated parameters. Moreover, in this class of subjects training at different exercise intensity did not produced significant differences. [Resumen Teseo
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
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
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