Agreement Between the 2- and 3-Step Methods for Identifying Subtle Menstrual Disturbances.

Unlabelled: Recent methodological recommendations suggest the use of the "3-step method," consisting of calendar-based counting, urinary ovulation testing, and serum blood sampling, for the identification of subtle menstrual disturbances (SMDs). However, the use of the 3-step method is not always feasible, so a less demanding combination of calendar-based counting and urinary ovulation testing, that is, the 2-step method, may be a viable alternative.

Purpose: To investigate the agreement between the 2- and 3-step methods for the detection of SMDs.

Menstrual Cycle Phase Has No Influence on Performance-Determining Variables in Endurance-Trained Athletes: The FENDURA Project.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the MC and endogenous sex hormone concentrations on performance-determining variables in three distinct MC phases in endurance-trained females.

Methods: Twenty-one eumenorrheic trained/highly trained endurance athletes completed a standardized test battery during the early follicular phase (EFP), ovulatory phase (OP), and midluteal phase (MLP) for either one ( n = 7) or two test cycles ( n = 14). MC phases were determined using calendar-based counting, urinary ovulation testing, and verified with serum hormone analysis.

The Influence of Menstrual-Cycle Phase on Measures of Recovery Status in Endurance Athletes: The Female Endurance Athlete Project.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of menstrual-cycle (MC) phase on measures of recovery status, that is, resting heart rate, perceived sleep quality, and physical and mental readiness to train, among female endurance athletes.

Methods: Daily data were recorded during 1 to 4 MCs (ie, duration ≥21 and ≤35 d, ovulatory, luteal phase ≥10 d) of 41 trained-to-elite-level female endurance athletes (mean [SD]: age 27 [8] y, weekly training: 9 [3] h). Resting heart rate was assessed daily using a standardized protocol, while perceived sleep quality and physical and mental readiness to train were assessed using a visual analog scale (1-10).

Indian Endurance Athletes' Menstrual Cycle: Practices, Knowledge, Communication, Health, and Changes in Perceptions Across the Phases.

Purpose: To describe menstrual cycle (MC)-related practices, knowledge, communication, and health in Indian endurance athletes and to investigate the changes in their perception of sleep quality, readiness to train, training quality, fitness, and performance across the MC.

Methods: Data on female Indian athletes (N = 96, age 22 [3] y) competing in 7 endurance sports at (inter)national and state level were collected using an online questionnaire. A Friedman rank sum test was used to assess changes in sleep quality, readiness to train, training quality, fitness, and performance across MC phases (ie, during, immediately after, and just before the bleeding phase).

Using electrophysiological measures to evaluate the sense of presence in immersive virtual environments: An event-related potential study.

Sense of presence has been often explored in the context of virtual reality (VR) and immersive visual technologies; however, standardized and objective measures of the sense of presence have been difficult to find. Studies attempting to find physiological correlates of sense presence using electroencephalography (EEG) have reported mixed results. In the present study, we used brain event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by auditory stimuli to identify an objective physiological index of sense of presence during VR, attempting to replicate the findings of previous studies and explain the heterogeneity of results reported in the literature.

Evaluating the effect of multi-sensory stimulations on simulator sickness and sense of presence during HMD-mediated VR experience.

Some lines of evidence have shown that sensory input, especially related to vestibular and somatosensory stimulation, may reduce the symptoms related to simulator sickness and increase the sense of presence in VR. The present study aims at understanding how mechanical vibration and auditory stimulation can be used to improve user experience in the context of VR mediated by head-mounted displays. Four different groups comprising a total of 80 participants were tested under different conditions of sensory input (visual and vibration, visual-auditory, combined visual-auditory and vibratory, and visual only), during a VR roller-coaster experience.