Computerized Agility Training Improves Change-of-Direction and Balance Performance Independently of Footwear in Young Adults

Understanding the effects of training in different footwear on sporting performance would be useful to coaches and athletes. Purpose: This study compared the effects of computerized agility training using 3 types of footwear on change-of-direction and balance performance in young adults. Method: Thirty recreationally active young adults (M_age = 22.8 ± 3.1 years; M_height = 1.71 ± 0.7 m; M_bodymass = 73.4 ± 10.3 kg) were randomly assigned to a 6-week computerized agility training intervention in 1 of 3 footwear groups (n = 10/group): barefoot, minimal footwear, or traditional shoes. Participants had no previous barefoot or minimal-footwear training experience. Dependent variables included change-of-direction test time to completion, Star Excursion Balance Test, and single-leg stability evaluation. Testing was performed at the start of the training program, after 2 weeks, after 4 weeks, and at the end of the training program. Results: No group or time interactions were found for any of the dependent variables. Time main effects were observed for the performance measures of change of direction, Star Excursion, and single-leg-with-eyes-open stability evaluation. Participants improved in all 3 tests as early as 2 weeks into the intervention, with improvements continuing through the entire 6-week intervention. Conclusions: The lack of interaction and footwear effects suggests that agility and balance improvements during foot agility training are independent of footwear in a recreationally active young-adult population. Computerized agility training improves change-of-direction and balance performance within 2 weeks of training implementation. Future studies should consider footwear training effects in different populations, including frail older adults and athletes.     

Sand training: Exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammatory responses to matched-intensity exercise

This study compared markers of muscle damage and inflammation elevated by a matched-intensity interval running session on soft sand and grass surfaces. In a counterbalanced, repeated-measures and crossover design, 10 well-trained female athletes completed 2 interval-based running sessions 1 week apart on either a grass or a sand surface. Exercise heart rate (HR) was fixed at 83–88% of HR maximum. Venous blood samples were collected pre-, post- and 24?h post-exercise, and analysed for myoglobin (Mb) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Perceptual ratings of exertion (RPE) and muscle soreness (DOMS) were recorded immediately post- and 24?h post-exercise. A significant time effect showed that Mb increased from pre- to post-exercise on grass (p?=?.008) but not on sand (p?=?.611). Furthermore, there was a greater relative increase in Mb on grass compared with that on sand (p?=?.026). No differences in CRP were reported between surfaces (p?>?.05). The HR, RPE and DOMS scores were not significantly different between conditions (p > .05). These results suggest that in response to a matched-intensity exercise bout, markers of post-exercise muscle damage may be reduced by running on softer ground surfaces. Such training strategy may be used to minimize musculoskeletal strain while still incurring an equivalent cardiovascular training stimulus.     

Microbial dark matter coming to light: challenges and opportunities

Microbes are the most abundant and diverse cellular life forms on Earth and colonize a wide range of environmental niches.However,more than 99％of bac-terial and...     

Employing teachers' ratings in selection of achievement tests in reading and mathematics with a behaviorally disturbed population

The usefulness of a particular standardized achievement test with a specific population may be determined largely on the basis of experience. Sixty-six behaviourally disturbed students were administered portions of a test battery including the Reading Recognition subtest of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT), PIAT Reading Comprehension, the Reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), and Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT); PIAT Mathematics, WRAT Arithmetic, Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test (SDMT), and KeyMath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test. Toward the end of the academic year, teachers estimated students' grade levels in reading and mathematics. Results indicated that, in mathematics, the SDMT and the PIAT predicted teachers' ratings equally well and better than the other tests; in reading, all tests predicted teachers' ratings equally well except for the PIAT Reading Comprehension, which performed less well than others. Explanations for these results are offered, together with suggestions for identifying achievement tests suitable to specific populations.     

Playing for position: education policy,Physical Education and nationalism in Wales

This paper explores the connections between Physical Education, nationalism and citizenship in England and Wales focusing upon how education legislation, in particular the National Curriculum (NC) and Local Management of Schools (LMS), are implicated in the cultural production of ideational differences between and amongst the peoples of England and Wales. As our previous research has centred heavily on the making and implementation of education policy and PE in England, we take this opportunity to adjust our gaze and focus squarely on issues of cultural production in Wales, particularly relationships between the construction of images of Welsh identity and education policy and practice relating to PE and sport in schools. The analysis highlights that tendencies towards a narrow, conservative, cultural restoration are as evident in Wales as they are in England and obstruct progression towards more innovative and progressive ideals.