The validity of estimating triceps brachii volume from single MRI cross-sectional area before and after resistance training

The aim of this study was to determine whether triceps brachii muscle volume can be adequately estimated from a single anatomical cross-sectional area (ACSA) and can the same model be used for prediction after training. Thirty-five healthy male non-athletes (age 21.6 ± 2.5 years, body mass index 24.8 ± 3.5 kg · m(-2)) volunteered for this study. The volumes of the upper arm extensors were calculated from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence scans and regression models were developed, which were used to predict muscle volumes from single MRI cross-sectional scans taken at different points along the humerus length. The same procedure was repeated after 12 weeks of maximal resistance training of the elbow extensors. Correlation coefficients were calculated for Model A with CSA(max), humerus length (HL), and body mass index (r = 0.919), a model with CSA(50%) and HL (r = 0.922), and a model with CSA(60%) and HL (r = 0.920) (P < 0.001). The standard error of estimate for Model A, Model CSA(50%), and Model CSA(60%) was 8.0%, 7.7%, and 7.8% respectively. Thesame prediction formula can be used for the left arm (r = 0.904). If a single ACSA is used for triceps brachii volume prediction, the best fit is with Model CSA(60%) and HL, both before and after training (r = 0.941). By introducing humerus length into the calculation, we simplify the procedure for volume measurement, since it can be obtained during MRI scanning.     

Un marco de referencia para una evaluación fiable de la lectoescritura

La evaluación del conocimiento y, especialmente, la de un proceso tan integrado en la cultura como la lectoescritura no deberían abordarse sólo desde y por los educadores, puesto que la funcionalidad de la lectoescritura se extiende más allá de las tareas escolares. Este artículo presenta un modelo experimentado de «lectoescritura global» y su evaluación, tanto por el ágil sistema de carpeta del educador como por sistemas más convencionales.     

E-learning and Evaluation in Modern Educational System

Implementation of information and communication technologies as well as emersion of new user interfaces and web 2.0 technologies changes the way of education system, the way of living and business transactions in general. The way we communicate, operate, produce and live is also changing. In accordance with it, the systems of education change from traditional to modern. The following changes occur： from content delivery to knowledge production, from transfer of knowledge from teachers to students towards encouragement of development and construction of knowledge, from courses and programs changing to the adaptation of the study environment, from the faculty professionalism to the quality of teaching and student learning and the early involvement of students in research work and projects. These occurring changes also affect the students＇ and professors＇ mobility. Here, the word ＂mobility＂ represents not only the student exchange programs and the easier transitions from one＇s home university to a foreign one, but also the way professors conduct their classes. With the development of certain software, students＇ class attendance no longer represents an important factor, as they can now learn from distance using the mentioned software, taking the learning process one step further. In order for above-mentioned changes to occur, the use of e-learning and the development of new tools are almost mandatory. With this in mind, the goal of this paper is to analyze quantitatively the changes that are occurring almost every day that affect the students＇ learning and the professors＇ teaching methods.     

The metaphorical department head: using metaphors as analytic tools to investigate the role of department head

This paper reports the results of a study that examined the ways a group of department heads in Ontario, Canada, describe their role. Despite their ubiquity and importance, department heads have been seldom investigated in the educational leadership literature. The study uses the metaphor as an analytic tool to examine the ways participants talked about their role. It was found that while department heads seem essential to the policy implementation, their role is rarely acknowledged. In the analysis, we use the term ‘Fifth Business’, originally coined by Robertson Davies, to refer to the actors in a play who were never assigned the role of heroes or villains, but whose work was to incarnate a role that was nonetheless essential to the play. The study concludes that by building on the complex ways department heads understand their role, school leaders and policy-makers could clarify their role and develop strategies to support them.     

Elite status maintained: a 12-year physiological and performance follow-up of two Olympic champion rowers

This case study reports the results of a 12-year (2005–2016) follow-up study of two Olympic champion rowers. The rowers were prospective athletes at the junior level when the study began, and we monitored their relevant physiological and performance data annually. Our findings indicated that their V?O_2max gradually increased up to about 22 years of age and leveled off at a value of approximately 7 l·min^?1 with minimal fluctuations thereafter. However, the variables that directly influence the V?O_2max changed. There was an age-related decline in maximal heart rate of about 0.5 beats·year^?1, while oxygen pulse, which serves as an indirect measure of stroke volume, correspondingly increased by about 1 ml O₂·beat^?1 per year, allowing the athletes to maintain exceptional V?O_2max values. Maximal minute power of the studied rowers, derived each year from their ramp-wise tests, closely resembled the mean power output sustained during the 2000-m all-out tests on a rowing ergometer. A 12-year improvement of 28% and 33% occurred for the mean power output sustained over 2000 and 6000-m on a rowing ergometer, respectively. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge on athletes representing the true elites of their respective sports.