Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2010. / Title from web page (viewed on Mar. 26, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Older individuals are known to adopt a less efficient breathing strategy than young adults during exercise. Whether different strategies are adopted by young and master athletes matched for height, weight and training volume during incremental and constant running is unclear.  In the first part of this thesis, it was demonstrated that during an incremental run to exhaustion and an 8 minute constant intensity run at 90% maximal aerobic speed, master athletes regulate their breathing less efficiently than young athletes.  Major differences in breathing regulation were also observed within the young athletic group (between individuals and between tests) indicating a heterogeneity of response in this population that was, at least partly, linked to baseline expiratory flow rates. An original approach (<i>i.e. </i>using urinary levels of the lung specific protein CC16 to detect a possible disruption of the airway epithelium during exercise in young athletes) was used in the second part of the thesis.  In the first instance, an increase in urinary CC16 after a short period of hyperpnoea of dry air in all the individuals studied (<i>i.e.</i> trained and untrained subjects with and without asthma) was demonstrated.  By comparing the response of summer and winter athletes it was then established that the rise of CC16 post-challenge was independent from the usual environment in which athletes train.  Finally, it was shown that the rise of urinary CC16 is more severe after a short exercise bout performed in cold dry than hot humid air.  Together these results confirm that exercise-induced hyperventilation can have a noxious effect on the fragile airway epithelium of healthy young athletes.

3 pp. / discontinued 3/4/11 / Nutrition misinformation, myths, fraud, and quackery can prevent athletes from attaining optimal performance. This publication provides a list of criteria to evaluate the myriad of information in the media surrounding the athlete and ergogenic aids.

This study aimed to compare the acute effects of two independent warm-up (WU) protocols, neuromuscular warm-up (NMWU) and standardized soccer warm-up (STWU), on three soccer-specific performance tests in adolescent male and female soccer players. Substantial evidence exists of NMWU programs reducing Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries, particularly in soccer. Regardless of this reduced risk of injury, NMWU program adherence is low. Enhanced athletic performance has been reported to encourage consistent WU adherence more effectively than injury risk, especially in youth athletes. Therefore this study compared the effects of a NMWU and a STWU on physical performance in youth soccer players to encourage adherence and implementation. Following familiarization with a locally developed NMWU, 35 (11 female, 24 male) student-athletes (mean age: 14.7 yrs) from two high school-based soccer academies completed four sessions over a two week period evaluating the effects of WU on three soccer specific performance tests. Performance tests included T-test (agility), vertical jump (Peak Power Output), and 20-m sprint (acceleration and speed). The first week of testing consisted of NMWU familiarization, Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1, and the collection of physical characteristics. The second week of testing consisted of two testing sessions, WU protocols were randomly assigned to the testing sessions ahead of time (session 1: STWU; session 2: NMWU) and were completed at the beginning of the session prior to testing. A series of five two-tailed repeated measures ANOVA were conducted to determine significant differences in WU means. The overall group demonstrated a significant increase in Peak Power Output (p=0.001) and agility (p=0.016) following the STWU compared to the NMWU. Neither WU demonstrated a measurable effect on 5m,10m, and 20m times. The findings of this research may have been influenced by the single use of the NMWU which may have limited the NMWU potential to enhance the three soccer-related performance tests. In order to explore the effectiveness of NMWU on performance enhancement as a means of improving its adherence in youth players, further research implementing NMWU over an extended period of weeks or months should be carried out, consistent with studies demonstrating NMWU impact on ACL injury risk in youth and adults. / Graduate

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The field of Instructional Design and Technology has produced several instructional frameworks grounded in educational psychology to provide guidance for effective learning. The realm of athletics is an area that can benefit from these instructional frameworks by providing systematic methods to facilitate an efficient learning process. This study employed Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction to develop instructional guidelines for psychomotor skill learning of athletic movements to enhance athletic performance. This design and development study conducted model research through model development and model validation. Components of the guidelines reflected the Nine Events and were supported by research in motor skill learning in sports. These guidelines were then validated by subject matter experts and revised based on their recommendations. / Ph. D. / This study was conducted to establish instructional guideline that can be used to teach motor skills in sports. The guidelines were created and supported by current research in the literature and validated by experts in the field of teaching and athletic performance.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi verificar a influência do uso de meia-calça compressiva no estresse fisiológico e recuperação do Teste de Aptidão Aeróbia Específico para Ballet (TAAEB). Onze bailarinas clássicas amadoras (21,45 ± 4,66 anos de idade) foram submetidas a um delineamento cruzado randomizado e balanceado com dois ensaios experimentais, separados por sete dias: condição placebo com utilização de meia-calça de ballet sem compressão (PLA) e condição experimental com uso de meiacalça compressiva (MC). As participantes foram falsamente levadas a crer no efeito de PLA. O estresse fisiológico foi avaliado com base na execução integral do TAAEB e em cada uma de suas cinco fases. Durante, verificou-se frequência cardíaca (FC), percepção subjetiva de esforço (PSE) e carga interna de treinamento, bem como a percepção subjetiva de esforço (PSE). Até 5 minutos do fim do TAAEB verificou-se a FC de recuperação e 30 minutos do seu término a PSE geral. As avaliações para análise da recuperação do TAAEB foram realizadas antes (PRÉ), após 30 minutos (PÓS 30) e/ou 24 horas (PÓS24) do fim deste, com cegamento do avaliador. A fatigabilidade do tríceps sural (por desempenho no teste de elevação do calcanhar) foi vista PÓS30 e PÓS24 e a recuperação percebida e dor muscular de membro inferior apenas PÓS24. Antes de cada sessão o sono, estado de recuperação, dor, FC de repouso e status menstrual foram registrados para controle, assim como a crença na efetividade e sensação de conforto e aperto das meias. A normalidade dos dados foi verificada pelo teste Shapiro-Wilk. Para comparar condições aplicou-se teste t pareado e Wilcoxon, e, para comparação dos momentos mais condições experimentais o ANOVA Two-Way de medidas repetidas seguido por Sidak. Não houve diferença entre tratamentos (p>0,05) para qualquer marcador de estresse fisiológico e recuperação. A maioria das participantes acreditou no efeito de ambas as meias. O aperto de MC foi significativamente percebido e seu conforto significativamente menor (p<0,05). Concluímos, MC não influenciou o estresse fisiológico e recuperação do TAAEB. / The purpose of the present study was to verify the influence of the use of compressive pantyhose on the Ballet-specific Aerobic Fitness Test’s (BAFT) physiological stress and recovery. Eleven amateur classical dancers (21.45 ± 4.66 years old) underwent a randomized and balanced crossover design with two experimental trials separated for seven days: a placebo condition using uncompressed ballet pantyhose (PLA) and experimental condition with the use of compression pantyhose (CP). Participants were falsely led to believe in the effect of PLA. The effort intensity was evaluated in the integral execution of the BAFT and each of its five phases. During, heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and internal training load were monitored. After 5 and 30 minutes of its end it was taken recovery FC and general RPE, successively. The recovery indicators were assessed before and after the BAFT by blind evaluator. Triceps sural fatigability (by performance on the heel rise test) was seen 30 minutes and 24 hours after BAFT’s end and the perceived recovery and lower limb muscle pain only 24 hours after. Before each session the sleep, recovery status, pain, rest HR and menstrual status were recorded for control as well as belief in the effectiveness and comfort and pressure feeling of the socks. To compare conditions, the paired t-test and the Wilcoxon test were used, to compare moments and conditions the test the two-way ANOVA for repeated measures with Sidak. There was no difference (p>0.05) between treatments for any marker of physiological stress and recovery. Most participants believed in the effect of both socks. The CP’s pressure was significantly perceived and its comfort significantly lower (p<0.05). We concluded that the CP did not influence markers of BAFT physiological stress and recovery.

The primary goal of the Thoroughbred industry is to breed and train superior equine athletes capable of excelling on the racetrack. To date, research into the genetic underpinnings of athletic ability has been limited in the horse. Advances in equine genomics and the genetics of athletic performance in humans have opened up the possibility of investigating this important trait in the Thoroughbred. Initially, 46 candidate genes associated with human athletic performance were mapped in the equine genome by radiation hybrid (RH) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping. RH data and later the draft equine genomic sequence allowed us to identify microsatellites adjacent to these and other candidate genes (95 in total). Additional microsatellites were added to increase genome coverage, producing a final panel of 186 markers. All the potential markers were initially screened on a pool of DNA for 16 Thoroughbreds to ensure they were polymorphic. The panel was genotyped on 162 Thoroughbreds in total; Centimorgans (cM) between microsatellites were determined with CRI-MAP. The animal?s athletic ability was estimated using career winnings loge transformed to create a linear trait; unraced animals were treated as missing data. Linkage analysis was carried out using the MERLIN program, and association analysis was carried out using the QTDT program. Appropriate thresholds for statistical significance were determined by carrying out 1000 simulated genome scans based on the structure of the original data. LOD scores above 1.54 met the criteria of statistical significance (with a 5% chance of type I error). In the actual genome scan, the marker L12.2 had the highest observed LOD score of 1.16 and p-value of 0.01 and consequently was not significant; the association analysis also did not detect significant association with performance on the track. Given the complexity of the phenotype under investigation and the modest sample size, the lack of linkage/association was not unexpected. Nevertheless, this study has contributed to the RH and FISH maps of the equine genome. Additionally, the development of the genome scanning panel for this study has provided useful information on the most informative microsatellites for linkage or association studies in the Thoroughbred.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2010. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 154 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.