Protective effects of photobiomodulation against resistance exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation in rats

We investigated whether low-level laser therapy (LLLT) prior to or post resistance exercise could attenuate muscle damage and inflammation. Female Wistar rats were assigned to non-LLLT or LLLT groups. An 830-nm DMC Laser Photon III was used to irradiate their hind legs with 2J, 4J, and 8J doses. Irradiations were performed prior to or post (4J) resistance exercise bouts. Resistance exercise consisted of four maximum load climbs. The load work during a resistance exercise bout was similar between Control (non-LLLT, 225 ± 10 g), 2J (215 ± 8 g), 4J (210 ± 9 g), and 8J (226 ± 9 g) groups. Prior LLLT did not induce climbing performance improvement, but exposure to 4J irradiation resulted in lower blood lactate levels post-exercise. The 4J dose decreased creatine kinase and lactic dehydrogenase levels post-exercise regardless of the time of application. Moreover, 4-J irradiation exposure significantly attenuated tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. There was minor macrophage muscle infiltration in 4J-exposed rats. These data indicate that LLLT prior to or post resistance exercise can reduce muscle damage and inflammation, resulting in muscle recovery improvement. We attempted to determine an ideal LLLT dose for suitable results, wherein 4J irradiation exposure showed a significant protective role.     

Acute kinematics changes in marathon runners using different footwear

The effects of running with or without shoes on injury prevention have been extensively studied, and several investigations have assessed biomechanical differences between them. However, findings are not consensual and further insights on biomechanical load associated with differently shod or barefoot conditions may be needed. This study aimed to observe if habitually shod marathon runners show acute alterations when running barefoot or with minimalist shoes, and to determine whether the running kinematical adaptations of wearing minimalist shoes were similar to barefoot running. Twelve male marathon runners ran on the treadmill at their average marathon pace in different footwear conditions: habitual running shoes, minimalist shoes, and barefoot. High-resolution infrared cameras and visual 3D software were used to assess kinematic data. The following parameters were studied: foot strike angle, cycle time, stance time, normalized stride length, hip, knee, and ankle angular position at initial contact, and their respective range-of-motion (ROM) during stance phase. Contrary to the expectations, it was found that highly trained habitually shod elite marathon runners changed their lower limb kinematic pattern both when running barefoot or wearing minimalist shoes. Minimalist shoes showed a trend towards intermediate biomechanical effects between running with and without shoes.     

Do the Demographic Differences Manifest in Motivation to Learn Science and Impact on Science Performance? Evidence from Sri Lanka

The present study examined whether gender, ethnicity, instructional medium and school category differences manifest in science performance and motivation to learn science among secondary school students in Sri Lanka. The mean of five successive term test scores was used as the measure of science performance. Level of motivation in terms of six dimensions was measured by using the Science Motivation Questionnaire. A sample of 1316 grade 11 students representing Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim ethnic groups from the three categories of public schools, which provide instructions in the vernacular languages of Sinhala or Tamil, participated in the study. Girls showed significantly higher performance in science compared to boys, and there was a significant gender difference in the levels of motivational dimensions in favor of girls. Although Tamil medium students possessed a higher level of motivation to learn science, Sinhala medium students outperformed their Tamil medium counterparts in science performance. Significant differences in science performance between Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim students were also observed. However, motivation towards learning science between Tamils and Muslims was not significantly different. Highly significant differences in both motivation to learn science and performance in science were found between three categories of schools. The present study provides information to education officials who have to achieve equity across gender, ethnicity, medium of instruction, and school category, teachers who deliver the subject and school principals who design academic support programs.     

An investigation into turn-away among information technology professionals in Brazil

Two important problems have been observed fairly frequently among information technology (IT) professionals, namely turn-over – where the IT professional moves to another company but still remains in the IT sector – and turn-away, in which the IT professional abandons the area in order to occupy a position in a different area, either in the same company or in another, sometimes assuming a managerial function. Few research papers were found with respect to the latter phenomenon. Based on that, the main thrust of this work is to understand how and why IT professionals in Brazil abandon their area, identifying typical characteristics in their career transition. Thus, from a literature review about career development and the analysis of the data collected, eight research hypotheses were developed in order to be analyzed by the researchers. A multiple case study method with several units of analysis was applied in two large companies in Brazil. In-depth interviews were conducted with IT professionals who had migrated to other areas within their organizations, they being considered the unit of analysis. The results accrued from this research reveal that IT professionals in Brazil need to have more growth opportunities than either their companies have been able to offer them or it is possible to offer within the technical arena.     

The influence of pitch dimensions on performance during small-sided and conditioned soccer games

Abstract

This study examined the influence of pitch dimensions in small-sided soccer games in shaping opportunities for performers to maintain ball possession, pass to teammates and shoot at goal. Fifteen amateur standard male participants (M = 21.87, σ = 1.96 years) played 5 v 5 small-sided soccer games in three varying pitch conditions (28 m × 14 m, 40 m × 20 m and 52 m × 26 m). Thirty sequences of play in each condition were selected for digitisation using TACTO software, allowing the capture of bi-dimensional displacement coordinate data of all players and the ball. The values of interpersonal distance between all attackers and immediate defenders and the relative distances of defenders to intercept a shot and a pass were computed as dependent variables. Results showed existence of fewer opportunities to maintain ball possession on smaller pitches, compared to medium and larger pitches. Conversely, the different dimensions set to the pitch did not influence opportunities for players to shoot at goal, or to perform passes to other teammates. By examining the specific spatial–temporal relationships of players and key-task constraints, the data from this study explain how effects of manipulating pitch dimensions of small-sided games might enhance opportunities for acquiring specific movement and decision-making skills.     

The (Re)Emergence of a Religio-Spiritual Self-Cultivation Focus in Asian Martial Arts Monographs Published in Spain (1906–2009)

This article presents one analytical theme emerging from a bibliometric and content analysis of an annotated bibliography, compiled by the first author, comprising 1564 Asian martial arts monographs published in Spain between 1906 and 2009. The analysis reveals that the use of Asian martial arts and religio-spiritual self-cultivation practices, while very old in their indigenous South East Asian context, only appeared in published texts in Spain from the 1960s and this theme has been increasingly written about in the last two decades. In our analytical discussion, we contextualise this shift from a socio-historical perspective, focusing on three aspects: first and second, how this shift in focus in Asian Martial Art publishing fits with the patterns of societal secularisation in Spain, the rise of the New Age movement and counter-cultural spiritualities across Western culture; third, we comment on how, from this broader socio-historical context, Asian martial arts were well placed to fill ‘cultural spaces’ created by these changes.     

Creatine supplementation does not decrease oxidative stress and inflammation in skeletal muscle after eccentric exercise

Abstract

Thirty-six male rats were used; divided into 6 groups (n = 6): saline; creatine (Cr); eccentric exercise (EE) plus saline 24 h (saline + 24 h); eccentric exercise plus Cr 24 h (Cr + 24 h); eccentric exercise plus saline 48 h (saline + 48 h); and eccentric exercise plus Cr 48 h (Cr + 48h). Cr supplementation was administered as a solution of 300 mg · kg body weight^?1 · day^?1 in 1 mL water, for two weeks, before the eccentric exercise. The animals were submitted to one downhill run session at 1.0 km · h^?1 until exhaustion. Twenty-four and forty-eight hours after the exercise, the animals were killed, and the quadriceps were removed. Creatine kinase levels, superoxide production, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) level, carbonyl content, total thiol content, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, interleukin-1b (IL-1β), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kb), and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) were analysed. Cr supplementation neither decreases Cr kinase, superoxide production, lipoperoxidation, carbonylation, total thiol, IL-1β, NF-kb, or TNF nor alters the enzyme activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxides in relation to the saline group, respectively (P < 0.05). There are positive correlations between Cr kinase and TBARS and TNF-α 48 hours after eccentric exercise. The present study suggests that Cr supplementation does not decrease oxidative stress and inflammation after eccentric contraction.     

Technical Reliability Assessment of the Actigraph GT1M Accelerometer

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the Actigraph GT1M (Pensacola, FL, USA) accelerometer activity count and step functions. Fifty GT1M accelerometers were initialized to collect simultaneous acceleration counts and steps data using 15-sec epochs. All reliability testing was completed using a mechanical shaker plate to perform six different test conditions in Experiment 1 and 18 test conditions in Experiment 2. The overall intra- and inter-instrument reliability of the GT1M was CV_intra = 2.9% and CV_inter = 3.5% for counts and CV_intra = 1.1% and CV_inter = 1.2% for steps. No batch effects were evident in the 50 GT1Ms. The Actigraph GT1M accelerometer demonstrated good reliability for measuring both counts and steps. However, the ability of the GT1M to consistently detect acceleration at a given acceleration and frequency condition varied widely. Future studies clarifying the filtering limitations and the threshold necessary to detect the occurrence of movement are warranted.