<p> Proper evaluation of postural stability is an integral part of the comprehensive management of concussed athletes. Clinicians are in need of a cost-effective and objective tool to assist them in their assessments performed in a variety of health care settings. This non-experimental design compared the Wii Balance Board (WBB), a recreational gaming system, to the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS), a tool developed for sports medicine clinicians for the assessment of postural stability in concussed athletes. The WBB has been proven to be used in various settings for rehabilitation but has not yet been used for the assessment of postural stability (Butler et al., 2010). This study hypothesized whether the WBB, when compared to the BESS, is an objective tool that can be used as an acceptable measurement of postural stability in college athletes. Ninety-one male collegiate football players participated in the study and were measured for postural stability both with the WBB and the BESS tool. Findings revealed that there was a direct and positive correlation between these two instruments. The WBB when compared to the BESS is found to valid tool in assessing postural stability. These results lay the foundation for future research on the WBB and its' usefulness in measuring postural stability. The portable and cost effective WBB potentially could be used in various settings to aid in the concussion management of athletes. It is imperative that nursing becomes more actively involved in the research, prevention and education of concussions. Nursing plays an integral role in the management of concussions and future research on concussions should be conducted by nurse scholars. </p>

<p> Using Heideggerian interpretive phenomenology, this study illuminates the lived experience of an adapted dance program for individuals with Down syndrome and their family members. The overall pattern from both dancers and family members was adapted dance: connecting mind, body and soul. The primary theme from dancer interpretations was expressing a mosaic of positive experiences, and the primary theme from family member interpretations was experiencing pride in their loved ones. The dance program provided dancers an opportunity to express their authentic self while experiencing moments of full embodiment in the connection of their mind, body and soul. While dancers experienced the connection of mind-body-soul, family members recognized the importance of this connection in their loved one. This research is instrumental in advocating for opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome to experience dance as a social, physical and intellectual activity that results in learning and increasing social interactions. The research findings from this study can support future initiatives for dance programs that may influence a population that has limited access to physical activity and dance. The study's teaching strategies, dance activities, class procedures and sequences, and feedback techniques can be used by other professionals who teach individuals with intellectual disabilities.</p>

<p> Measures of visual status (normal sight, blindness), weight classification (normal weight, overweight, obesity), employment status (employed, unemployed) were obtained in 135 male and female adults. Results indicated that weight category was not associated with employment status and the number of employment interviews was unrelated to vision status and weight for both unemployed and employed participants after excluding data from three blind persons who reported an excessive number of job interviews. In addition, weight classification was not a significant predictor of employment status for blind or sighted adults and persons with blindness were three times more likely to be unemployed than self-employed and four times more likely to be unemployed than employed by an organization compared to normally-sighted individuals. These findings highlight the need to develop targeted strategies to reduce employment-based discrimination among adults with visual impairment.</p>

<p> Participation in a resistance training program requires proper nutrition timing to gain the results desired. The purpose of this research is to determine if there are strength gain differences in women when the timing of consuming a BCAA plus carbohydrate supplement is manipulated. The study will consist of a four week training program. Subjects will meet for three sessions per week and consist of 10-20 strength trained women. Subjects will be randomly assigned to one of three groups. One group consumed the BCAA-CHO supplement during exercise, one group consumed the BCAA-CHO supplement immediately after exercise and the other group consumed a placebo. Each session will consist of a five minute warm up followed by a periodized strength training program. The three groups will be compared to determine if there is a difference in strength and muscle hypertrophy when the ingestion time of BCAA-CHO differs.</p>

<p> The frequency of oscillatory behaviors, like shivering, depends on the animal size and the properties of the muscles driving them. Titin and other muscular proteins play an important role in determining muscle properties, such as stiffness. Because the frequency of oscillatory behaviors depends on muscle properties, we predict that changes in titin's structure would affect these behaviors. The muscular dystrophy with myositis (<i> mdm</i>) mouse model is characterized by a deletion in the N2A region of titin. Homozygous <i>mdm</i> mutants are substantially smaller (body mass is &frac12; to &frac13;), have a stiffer gait, and have reduced lifespans compared to their wildtype and heterozygous siblings. In addition, we observed that mutants were heterothermic while wildtypes and heterozygotes were homeothermic when exposed to ambient temperatures ranging from 20-37 &deg;C. We measured the relationship between metabolic rate and the differential between body and ambient temperatures for all three genotypes. As the temperature differential increased, metabolic rates increased more rapidly in the mutants than in wildtype or heterozygous mice, indicating that the mutants have a much higher conductance than their age-matched siblings. We measured shivering frequency in the <i>mdm</i> mice. The frequency of tremor during shivering is expected to be directly proportional to (<i>k</i>/<i> m</i>)^0.5 where <i>k</i> is stiffness and <i> m</i> is body mass. Using an allometric relationship between body mass and shivering frequency, we calculated expected values for all three genotypes based on body mass alone. These predicted values allowed us to take into account the much lower body masses of the <i>mdm</i> mutants. The difference between expected and observed values was significantly larger for mutant mice than wildtypes or heterozygotes. Together, the heterothermy in mutants, the very high conductance, and the decreased tremor frequency demonstrate the thermoregulatory challenges faced by mice with the <i>mdm</i> mutation. Previous work at the whole-muscle level showed that despite the higher passive stiffness observed in <i>mdm</i> mutant muscles, these muscles are more compliant when activated compared to muscles from wildtype mice. The lower tremor frequencies in mutants are consistent with a reduced active muscle stiffness <i>in vivo</i>. These observations suggest that titin affects the tuning of shivering frequency by playing a role in setting active muscle stiffness.</p>

<p> BACKGROUD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver is the most frequent liver abnormality observed in obese children and adolescents. It is has yet to be determined whether sex and race plays a role in the effect of regular exercise without calorie restriction on intrahepatic lipid and regional adiposity in obese adolescent males and females. </p><p> OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of sex and race after a 3-month regular exercise regimen alone without calorie restriction on intrahepatic lipid (IHL) and regional adiposity in overweight adolescent males and females. More specifically, we examined the influences of sex and race on the changes in total (TAT) and visceral fat (VAT) and IHL in response to aerobic (AE) versus resistance (RE) exercise in obese adolescents using data published previously. </p><p> STUDY DESIGN &amp; METHODS: Thirty-one adolescent boys and twenty-eight overweight adolescent females (BMI &ge; 95th percentile, 12-18 years, Tanner stage III-V) were randomly assigned to either: AE (n = 29, 60 min/session, 3 days/week) or RE (n = 30, 60 min/session, 3 days/week). Outcome measurements included IHL by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and TAT and VAT assessed by MRI. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscular strength was also assessed. </p><p> RESULTS: No significant sex differences were seen between obese adolescent males and females for IHL, TAT and VAT after 3 months of exercise regardless of modality. There were no significant race differences between obese black and white adolescents for TAT. White adolescents (&Delta; -1.46 &plusmn; 0.2%) lost significantly more IHL than black adolescents (&Delta; -0.22 &plusmn; 0.1%) after 3 months of exercise regardless of modality. Improvement in CRF was not significantly different in the AE group compared to the RE group. Muscle strength index score significantly increased in the RE (&Delta; 0.33 &plusmn; 0.02) group compared to the AE group (&Delta; 0.04 &plusmn; 0.02). </p><p> CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that 3 months of AE versus RE exercise will improve body composition and fitness measurements consistently, with no influence of sex, between obese black and white adolescent males and females. Our observations suggest that regular exercise alone is an effective treatment strategy for the treatment of obesity in overweight black and white adolescents. </p>

The control mechanisms used by the central nervous system to maintain posture during changes in the base of support are not well understood. Two components, one proactive and one reactive, have been shown to contribute to balance. However, the way in which these elements are utilized for the control process is not clear. Athletic training, particularly in sports which require well-defined controlled movements, positively impacts the control of posture. Few studies have addressed the contribution of dance training on postural control and these results were inconclusive. Thus, the present goal was to contrast dancer and non-dancer strategies for the maintenance of upright balance. This study assessed postural control during multi-directional voluntary (leg lifts) and involuntary (surface tilts) weight shifting. Eleven classical ballet dancers and nine matched athletic non-dancers were recruited. Each participant performed five blocks of fast leg lifts in ten directions and maintained stance during five blocks of surface tilting (10° at 53°/s) in eight directions. A six-camera VICON 512 imaging system was used to determine 3-D body movement (120 Hz). To establish muscle activation patterns, EMG from four right leg muscle pairs was recorded at 1080 Hz. Simultaneously, two AMTI force plates measured ground reaction forces (1080 Hz). Group differences were evaluated by analysis of variance and principal component analysis. These experiments showed that control system redundancy is reduced through the recruitment of specific postural strategies that are selected based on the task goal. Limb unloading, voluntary or unexpected, requires control of the total body center of mass. During voluntary leg lifts, dancers and non-dancers achieve this goal differently. Dancers maintain vertical trunk alignment whereas non-dancers use changes in trunk orientation to generate movement and control COM displacement. In contrast, surface tilting produced stereo

This study investigates dyspnea and the mechanics of breathing during progressive exercise. Three subject groups, athletes, normal sedentary subjects and chronic obstructive diseased patients were studied during progressive exercise testing to exhaustion on a cycle ergometer. Subjects rated dyspnea on a Borg Scale. Inspiratory flow, esophageal/gastric pressures and rib cage/abdominal displacements were measured. / Subjects demonstrated two patterns of dyspnea response to changes in esophageal (pleural) pressure. All athletes, two normals and five patients were termed "low dyspnea responders", (LDR), whereas the remaining subjects were termed "high dyspnea responders", (HDR). / LDR demonstrated large, rapid negative gastric pressure swings, coupled with outward abdominal displacement during early inspiration when compared to HDR, suggesting that LDR utilized abdominal muscle relaxation at the onset of inspiration. This mechanism appears to provide an extra inspiratory force, contributing to the increasing pleural pressures required. This breathing pattern appears to diminish the sensation of dyspnea at a given pleural pressure.

<p> The success of Chinese professional athletes is attributable to the government-run elite sport system; it is seen as one of the most effective and successful systems at nurturing high-skilled athletes. However, within the Chinese professional sport system, tensions between athletes' athletic skills and overall personal development have been widely documented. Among all studies, very few have employed in-depth interviews with professional wushu athletes. In this study, the researcher utilized in-depth semi-structured interviews with professional wushu athletes from three of the 25 professional wushu teams in mainland China. The study was conducted in order to understand the potential conflicts between athletes' athletic skills development and overall personal development. Findings revealed that athletes bear the training at great cost to their future potential as self-sufficient members of Chinese society. Their academic, social, and vocational skills are subject to deep neglect that negatively impacts their post-competition careers. The system considers investment in preparation for the post-competitive lives of the athletes to be a distraction from, or even an impediment to, their success in competition. It is suggested that the Chinese sport system undertake a review and reformation of its approach to wushu training to provide athletes with the skills needed to successfully navigate a life outside of athletics.</p>

<p> The inhibitory reflex, also known as the cutaneous silent period (CSP), is a spinal reflex mediated by small diameter A-&delta; fibers, serving to protect the body from harmful stimuli (Leis et al., 1992; Kofler, 2003). Previous investigations have suggested that the inhibitory effects of this reflex only occur within extensor muscles. The present study sought to determine the influence of the inhibitory reflex within both flexor and extensor muscles of the upper limb thereby providing further insight into the spinal organization of this reflex. Two subsets of data were collected. 22 subjects had the inhibitory reflex evoked with three different stimulation conditions (digit II, V and II+III stimulation at 10x perceptual threshold). 14 subjects returned to have transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paired with digit II stimulation. Within both datasets subjects performed isometric contractions with each of the following upper limb muscles: abductor pollicis brevis (APB), flexor carpi radialis (FCR), extensor carpi radialis (ECR), biceps brachii long head (BIC), triceps brachii lateral head (TRI), anterior deltoid (AD), and posterior deltoid (PD). All stimulations were applied randomly during the isometric contractions. The first dataset included 20 stimulations in each condition within each muscle of the right arm. The second dataset included 10 stimulations of digit II only (CSP), TMS only (TMS), and a inhibitory reflex conditioned TMS (TMS+) within each muscle of the right arm. Distal muscle demonstrated the greatest influence for both the inhibitory reflex response and motor evoked potentials. A distal to proximal relationship was determined for the inhibitory response with a level of differential control occurring between the distal and proximal muscles. These results demonstrate evidence of the CSP in both flexor and extensor muscles of the upper limb, with the greatest effect taking place within the distal muscles. I hypothesize that this distal--proximal organization of cutaneous inhibitory reflexes may be influenced by the number of direct cortico-motoneuronal connections within the corticospinal tract. Thus, the cutaneous feedback plays a larger role in modulating direct descending input in distal muscles involved in grasping and manipulation, versus proximal muscles coordinating reaching.</p>