Biomechanics of the bobsleigh push phase.

The purpose of this work was to provide a fundamental, in-depth analysis of kinematics and kinetics of the bobsleigh push phase to establish a basis for performance analysis and enhancement. Fifteen elite male athletes performed maximal effort push starts, while ground reaction forces (GRF) and 3D marker trajectories were simultaneously recorded for ground contacts of different sub-sections of the push phase (start acceleration phase: first and second ground contact after the initial push-off from the start block, acceleration phase: 10 m and high-velocity phase: 30 m). To obtain a comprehensive view of the push phase, whole-body kinematics as well as joint kinetics were analysed and compared across the push phase.

Evidence-based exercise recommendations to improve functional mobility in older adults - A study protocol for living systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Objectives: This is a protocol for a living systematic review and meta-analysis.This review will assess the effects of state-of-the-art exercise interventions designed to promote functional mobility. Therefore, after identifying all potential interventions, we will use the F.

Cost Minimized Immunoaffinity Purification of EPO and Its Analogs in Doping Control-A Step-by-Step Protocol for Human Urine and Blood.

A cost minimized immunoaffinity protocol was developed, which allows the direct purification of ERAs (urinary and recombinant human EPO, Darbepoetin, EPO-Fc, CERA) from human urine. The method applies magnetic beads and needs no covalent immobilization of the capture antibody. It requires only 10 mL of urine, 1 μg of anti-EPO antibody, and 25 μL of bead slurry.

The use of four K-wires does not lead to a reduction of the MPTA in the context of a one-dimensional tibial deflection correction of patients with ACL re-rupture and pathologically increased tibial slope.

Purpose: Anterior tibial closing wedge osteotomy (ATCWO) has been shown to significantly reduce failure rates of revision anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions in patients with a posterior tibial slope (PTS) ≥12°. Recent findings suggest a slight but significant reduction of the medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) resulting in a varus knee where the sagittal osteotomy plane is based on a total of two guide wires defining the osteotomy wedge without respecting the frontal plane. We hypothesize that the placement of a total of four guide wires intraoperatively can reduce the influence on the MPTA.

Grounded cognition and the representation of momentum: abstract concepts modulate mislocalization.

Literature on grounded cognition argues that mental representations of concepts, even abstract concepts, involve modal simulations. These modalities are typically assumed to reside within the body, such as in the sensorimotor system. A recent proposal argues that physical invariants, such as momentum or gravity, can also be substrates in which concepts can be grounded, expanding the assumed limits of grounding beyond the body.

Female athletes explicitly gesture in emotional situations.

Introduction: Both appraisal emotion approaches and self-regulation theory emphasize that appraising an event as conducive or detrimental to one's current goals may trigger an affective response that can be observed nonverbally. Because there may be a female advantage in the inhibition and self-regulation of emotions, we hypothesized that female but not male athletes regulate emotions during sports through explicit nonverbal behaviors.

Methods: All nonverbal hand movement behavior of right-handed female and male tennis athletes was recorded during competitive matches.

Work conditions and determinants of health status among industrial shift workers: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: This study investigated potential health status differences among forging, manufacturing, and logistics workers.

Methods: We included 403 participants (age: 41 ± 12 years) from a medium-sized steel company (forge: 64, manufacturing: 299, logistics: 99). Health status was multifactorial assessed: (1) Frequency of musculoskeletal complaints (German Pain Questionnaire).

Effectiveness of workplace health promotion programs for industrial workers: a systematic review.

Background: Workplace health promotion is essential for individual and organisational well-being and disease prevention, also in industrial workers. As the transfer of the evidence on the effectiveness of such programs into practice is limited due to scattered effects, the need for a consolidation of the available studies is given. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesise the evidence on the effectiveness of workplace health promotion programs for industrial workers.

Supervised Exercise for Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Cost-Utility Analysis Alongside the PREFERABLE-EFFECT Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the cost utility of a 9-month supervised exercise program for patients with metastatic breast cancer (mBC), compared with control (usual care, supplemented with general activity advice and an activity tracker). Evidence on the cost-effectiveness of exercise for patients with mBC is essential for implementation in clinical practice and is currently lacking.

Methods: A cost-utility analysis was performed alongside the multinational PREFERABLE-EFFECT randomized controlled trial, conducted in 8 centers across Europe and Australia.

The α- and β-Subunits of Nitric Oxide-Sensitive Guanylyl Cyclase in Pericytes of Healthy Human Dental Pulp.

Nitric oxide-sensitive guanylyl cyclase (NO-GC) is a heterodimeric enzyme with an α- and a β-subunit. In its active form as an αβ-heterodimer, NO-GC produces cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophophate (cGMP) to regulate vasodilation and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). In contrast to VSMCs, only a few studies reported on the expression of the NO-GC αβ-heterodimer in human pericytes.

Comparison of Maximum Isometric Strength of the Hip Joint Abductor and Knee Joint Extensor Muscles between Knee Osteoarthritis Patients with and without Self-reported Instability.

Patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) often have impaired muscle function of the weight-bearing muscles, particularly in the knee and hip joints. This can lead to a significant loss of strength and power and may play a role in the perceived instability of the knee joint. The purpose of this study was to compare the maximum isometric strength of the hip abductor and knee extensor muscles between patients with KOA with and without perceived instability.

Physiological Responses of Elite Cheerleaders During Training and Simulated Competition Routines.

Purpose: Competitive cheerleading (cheersport) is a physically demanding sport; however, there is a lack of information regarding its acute physiological responses during training or competition in these athletes. Thus, this study aimed to investigate these responses during both training sessions and simulated cheerleading competition routines (full-outs) among elite cheersport athletes.

Methods: Six Coed and 10 All Girl elite cheerleaders were included in this study.

High expression of H2AX/γ-H2AX is associated with distinct biological pathway alterations and shorter survival in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The histone gene H2AX and its phosphorylated protein γ-H2AX play a crucial role in the DNA damage response. This study investigates the expression of H2AX mRNA and its phosphorylated γ-H2AX protein in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), its association with distinct biological pathway alterations and its potential as a biomarker.

Materials And Methods: Expression of H2AX mRNA in 76 OPSCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort was analyzed.

The influence of resistance training on inflammatory markers, body composition and functional capacity in healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Older adults experience chronic inflammation, which is associated with health conditions such as sarcopenia, and resulting in reduced functional capacity. Resistance training (RT) is a beneficial intervention for improving health in the elderly.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of RT on inflammatory biomarkers, body composition, and functional capacity in healthy adults aged 60 years and over.

COVID-19 and social distancing: pandemic has altered social relationships and contacts in older adults over 4 years.

Introduction: Social isolation is a main risk factor for loneliness, health issues and psychological diseases. With its restriction measures, the coronavirus pandemic has led to an objective reduction in meaningful interactions, communication, and social contacts in general (social isolation). However, it has been shown that older adults cope differently with social isolation.

Annual Banned-Substance Review 17th Edition-Analytical Approaches in Human Sports Drug Testing 2023/2024.

The 17th edition of the annual banned-substance review on analytical approaches in human sports drug testing is dedicated to literature published between October 2023 and September 2024. As in previous years, focus is put particularly on new or enhanced analytical options in human doping controls as well as investigations into the metabolism and elimination of compounds of interest, which represent central (while not exclusive) cornerstones of the global anti-doping mission. New information published within the past 12 months on established doping agents as well as new potentially relevant substances are reviewed and discussed in the context of the World Anti-Doping Agency's 2024 Prohibited List.

Finding the needle in the haystack of isokinetic knee data: Random Forest modelling improves information about ACLR-related deficiencies.

The difficulties of rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, subsequent return-to-sport (RTS) let alone achieving pre-injury performance, are well known. Isokinetic testing is often used to assess strength capacities during that process. The aim of the present machine learning (ML) approach was to examine which isokinetic data differentiates athletes post ACL reconstruction (ACLR) and healthy controls.

Examining the Effects of Different Exertion Levels and Reference Standards on the Diagnostic Accuracy of Exercise ECG for Detecting Coronary Artery Disease - A Pilot Study.

Background: Exercise electrocardiogram (ECG) is frequently used for evaluating patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it has been downgraded in international guidelines due to a limited sensitivity and specificity, compared with other non-invasive tests.

Methods: We hypothesized, that a sufficient exertion going beyond 85% of the age predicted maximal heart rate (APMHR), by considering the achieved level of workload can improve sensitivity and specificity of the exercise ECG.

Beyond the Pitch: Unveiling the Concave Hull as Soccer's Ecological Niche in Practice Design.

An ecological niche is a field in a landscape of affordances, rich in information inviting its inhabitants to develop functionality and effectiveness of their behavior. This idea means that, in sports like soccer, the playing area encapsulates an ecological niche, replete with affordances inviting collective and individual technical-tactical actions, contextualized with associated psychological and physical demands. To examine the co-adaptive relationships framing players' actions in their ecological niche, the present study employed a crossover design with repeated measures to compare the players' transactions within 11 vs.

Metastatic breast cancer patients' preferences for exercise programs: a latent class analysis using data from a survey in five European countries.

Purpose: We aimed to identify metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients' preferences for exercise programs and identify patients' characteristics associated with these preferences, to facilitate implementation of exercise programs for MBC patients.

Methods: We used data from a multinational cross-sectional survey conducted among MBC patients. Patients reported their preferred exercise frequency, intensity, type, session duration, and supervision mode.

The Influence of Two Teaching Approaches on Foot Loading in Skiing Beginners-A Comparative Study.

(1) Background: Alpine skiing, with its long history, has experienced numerous innovations and developments on all levels ranging from technology to fashion over the past 120 years. However, teaching approaches for beginners remained quite consistent for many decades and are mainly grounded in experience. The One-Ski-Method (OSM) is an alternative approach to the predominant snowplow (SP) method with the strategy to initially experience and acquire the elementary positions and actions on one ski in order to subsequently transfer these to two skis.

Sportizumab - Multimodal progressive exercise over 10 weeks decreases Th17 frequency and CD49d expression on CD8 T cells in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) represents a neuroinflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by the predominance of circulating T cell subsets with proinflammatory characteristics and increased central nervous system (CNS)-homing potential. Substantial evidence confirms various beneficial effects of chronic exercise interventions in MS, but it is unknown how long-term multi-modal intense exercise affects MS-associated lymphocytes that are commonly targeted by medication in persons with relapsing remitting MS (pwRRMS).

Methods: A total of 45 participants with defined RRMS were randomized to either the exercise (n = 22) or passive waitlist-control group (n = 23).

Frequency and intensity of change of directions in German Bundesliga soccer.

The aim of this study was to investigate the change of direction (COD) frequencies and intensities of high-performance soccer players of the German Bundesliga independent of tactical and match context. COD data were collected from 18 German Bundesliga soccer teams (season 2016-2017; 308 fixtures) by an optical tracking system (OTS) (TRACAB). CODs were tracked using a modified algorithm and were sub-categorized by entry velocity (<3.