Concentric left ventricular morphology in aerobically trained kayak canoeists

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that upper body aerobically trained athletes (kayak canoeists) would have greater left ventricular wall thickness, but similar left ventricular diastolic chamber dimensions, compared with recreationally active and sedentary men. Ultrasound echocardiography was used to determine cardiac structure and function in highly trained kayak canoeists (n?=?10), moderately active (n?=?10) and sedentary men (n?=?10). The septal and posterior left ventricular walls were ～0.2?cm thicker in kayak canoeists (P?<?0.05), and left ventricular mass was 51% and 32% greater (P?<?0.05) in canoeists than in the sedentary and moderately trained participants, respectively. There were no differences in left ventricular chamber dimension, suggesting that the kayak canoeists had a concentric pattern of left ventricular adaptation to aerobic upper body training. Scaling the data to body composition indices had no effect on the outcome of the statistical analysis. There were no differences in resting Doppler left ventricular diastolic or systolic function among the groups. Ejection fraction was lower in the kayak canoeists, but the magnitude of the difference was within the normal variability for this measurement. Thus aerobically upper body trained athletes demonstrated a concentric pattern of cardiac enlargement, but resting left ventricle function was not different between athletes, moderately active and sedentary individuals.     

Step width alters iliotibial band strain during running

This study assessed the effect of step width during running on factors related to iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome. Three-dimensional (3D) kinematics and kinetics were recorded from 15 healthy recreational runners during overground running under various step width conditions (preferred and at least ± 5% of their leg length). Strain and strain rate were estimated from a musculoskeletal model of the lower extremity. Greater ITB strain and strain rate were found in the narrower step width condition (p < 0.001, p = 0.040). ITB strain was significantly (p < 0.001) greater in the narrow condition than the preferred and wide conditions and it was greater in the preferred condition than the wide condition. ITB strain rate was significantly greater in the narrow condition than the wide condition (p = 0.020). Polynomial contrasts revealed a linear increase in both ITB strain and strain rate with decreasing step width. We conclude that relatively small decreases in step width can substantially increase ITB strain as well as strain rates. Increasing step width during running, especially in persons whose running style is characterized by a narrow step width, may be beneficial in the treatment and prevention of running-related ITB syndrome.     

维吾尔族7—18岁城乡青少年身体形态比较

了解维吾尔族青少年身体形态状况、形态发育的变化特点及其变化规律,为改善维吾尔族青少年体质健康水平提供依据。采用专家访谈法、测试和数理统计法,于2012年10—12月,对新疆和田地区中小学7—18岁4800名维吾尔族青少年的身高、体重和胸围指标进行统计分析,并针对问题提出相关建议。     

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE UNESCO POLICY PAPER FOR CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION 1

In this article, the author reacts to a reading of the 1995 UNESCO Policy Paper for Change and Development in Higher Education. He begins by expressing concern about the overuse of practical training, the trade in the teaching of foreign medical students, and the very poor provision of information in the form of journal articles, textbooks, and computer networks in many parts of the world. He casts these concerns against certain ideals: that teaching in universities should take place in an atmosphere of research but that the number of universities that train scientists should be limited even if all universities should include a science component. Since all science doctorates should be completed rapidly so that the resulting thesis is up‐to‐date, science students should be free from dependence on teaching assistantships. Funding for higher education should be diversified; so should the institutions involved in research; however, the proliferation of small units should be avoided. In some cases, a single national or regional science institute is a good thing.