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Although the available literature mentions a variety of anthropometric performance determinants for gymnastics, no one has until now made an attempt to determine the performance determinants of more advanced, young, South African (SA), female gymnasts. The purposes of this study were, therefore, firstly to determine the anthropometric variables that differ significantly @ 5 0,05) between successful and less successful young, SA, female gymnasts in the vault and floor item and secondly, to determine the anthropometric variables that contribute to the performance of young, SA, female gymnasts in the vault and floor item. Twelve young, female gymnasts (13,39 f 2,14 years) from a gymnastics club in the North-West Province of South Africa participated in this study. Only gymnasts who participated at level 6-9 and junior as well as senior olynlpic level were selected to participate in this study. Sixty one anthropometric variables were measured on the dominant side of the body according to the methods of Norton et al. (1996). Firstly, the descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) of the gymnastics population were calculated. This was followed by an analysis which intended to arrange the gymnasts in a ranking order according to the vault and floor performances (marks) that were reached during the South African Gymnastics Championships. Due to differences in the participation level, data was normalised by making use of correction factors. Independent t-tests and effect sizes revealed that the gymnasts who obtained the highest marks (top 5) during the execution of the vault and floor item during the South African Gymnastics Championships had statistical and practical significantly (p 5 0,05) larger relaxed and flexed upper arm, wrist and ankle circumferences as well as mesomorph values than the less successful gymnasts. The cluster analysis-reduced variables were used to perform a forward, stepwise multiple regression analysis which showed that flexed upper arm (53,93%) and chest circumference (3,6996); midstillion dactillion (12,38%), trochanterion-tibia1 lateral (5,77%) and foot length (1 1,50%); fat percentage (8,93%), ectomorphy (l,96%), bideltoied breadth (1,54%), triceps skinfold (0,23%) and iliospinal box height (0,07%) contributed 100% to the variance in gymnasts' vault performances. Bi-trochanterion- (34,86%), femur- (17,07%) and bi-deltoied breadth (4,93%); front thigh skinfold (19,71%); fat percentage (7,68%); acromial-radial (4,09%) and foot length (0,05%) as well as waist- (6,68%), chest- (2,92%) and gluteal thigh circumference (2;02%) were the anthropometric variables which contributed 100% to the variance in gymnasts' floor performances. Flexed upper arm circumference, fat percentage, ectomorphy, iliospinal box height and bitrochanterion and femur breadth as well as gluteal thigh circumference and foot length were, however, the only anthropometric variables which contributed significantly to gymnasts' vault and floor performances, respectively. The conclusion that can, therefore, be drawn is that larger upper arm and upper body circumferences; hand, foot, upper and total leg lengths; triceps skinfolds, fat percentages and ectomorphy as well as larger limb and torso circumferences; waist breadths; fat percentages and front thigh skinfolds as well as upper arm and foot lengths are the respective, important anthropometric vaulting and floor performance determinants for young, South African, female gymnasts and should be included in the sport scientific testing protocols of gymnasts. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

In British Columbia, humus form identification is widely use to infer the level of plant-available soil nutrients. This identification is based on field-observable (morphological) features. We recognize three major humu forms: Mors, Moders, and Mulls - which are differentiated according to the type of F horizon, and the presence/absence of organic matter-enriched Ah horizons. Mors represent humus forms where decomposition is dominated by fungi, with slow decomposition rates and accumulations of organic matter on the soil surface. Mors are characterized by the presence of a Fm (m - mycogenous) horizon. In contrast, Mulls represent humus forms with high rates of decomposition and faunal activity resulting in organic matter being intimately incorporated into the upper mineral soil layer instead of accumulating on its surface. Intermediate on the humus form gradient from Mors to Mull are the Moders. Moders are similar to Mors in that they have accumulations of organic matter on the surface of the mineral soil but decomposition is not fungus dominated, so they lack the diagnostic Fm horizon. The central concept of the Moder is represented by the Leptomoder, which is characterized by a Fz (z - zoogenous) horizon with an active population of soil meso- and microfauna, fungal mycelia are not present or present in small amounts. When both fungal mycelia and faunal droppings can be found, but neither clearly predominate over the other, an Fa (a - amphimorphic) horizon results. Fa horizons are characteristic of Mormoders, an integrade between Mors and Moders. Considering the prevalence of Mormoders and Leptomoders in B.C. and the difficulties in identifying Fa horizons, the aim of this study was to determine whether the morphological features used to differentiate these two Moder humus forms reflects differences in their physical, chemical and biotic properties.

Tyrimo objektas. Moterų dubens dugno raumenų jėga ir jų treniravimo galimybės. Tyrimo problema. Dubens dugno raumenys vaidina svarbų vaidmenį šlapimo sulaikymui ir dubens organų palaikymui (Bo & Sherburn, 2005). Su amžiumi atrofuojasi (silpnėja ir nyksta) gleivinė, silpnėja dubens dugno raumenys, mažėja jungiamojo audinio, jis tampa ne toks elastingas, susilpnėja šlapimo pūslės sfinkteris (raumenų žiedas), pasikeičia šlapimo pūslės ir makšties anatomija (Thakar & Stanton, 2000). Kai sutrinka raumenų, laikančių uždarytą šlapimo pūslę, funkcija, gali atsirasti šlapimo nelaikymas. Ligoniai susiduria su daugybe socialinių ir psichologinių problemų, apribojamas žmogaus fizinis ir socialinis aktyvumas (Peeker et al., 2003). Tyrimo tikslas. Įvertinti dubens dugno raumenų treniravimo efektyvumą moterų šlapimo nelaikymo prevencijai. Tyrimo uždaviniai. 1. Įvertinti tiriamųjų dubens dugno raumenų jėgą prieš ir po kineziterapijos; 2. Įvertinti tiriamųjų dubens dugno raumenų pajėgumą amžiaus aspektu; 3. Nustatyti priklausomybę tarp dubens dugno raumenų pajėgumo, gimdymų skaičiaus ir gimdymo būdo; 4. Nustatyti ryšį tarp dubens dugno raumenų pajėgumo ir pilvo raumenų statinės ištvermės. Tyrimo metodika. Anketinės apklausos metu buvo išsiaiškintas tiriamųjų amžius, ūgis, svoris, gimdymų skaičius ir gimdymo būdas. Objektyvus dubens dugno raumenų jėgos testavimas buvo atliekamas penkiasdešimčiai moterų, naudojant dubens dugno raumenų treniruoklį bei dubens dugno raumenų funkcijos matavimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Object of research: Strength of women pelvic floor muscles and the possibilities of their training. Problem of research: Pelvic floor muscles play an important role in the urinary continence and support of pelvic organs (Bo & Sherburn, 2005). With age the mucous atrophies (weakens and wanes), the pelvic floor muscles weaken, connecting tissue diminishes, it becomes less elastic, sphincter (ring of muscles) of the bladder weakens, the anatomy of bladder and vagina changes (Thakar & Stanton, 2000). When the function of muscles that maintain the bladder closed disconcerts, the incontinence may manifest. Patients confront many social and psychological problems, physical and social activity of the person become limited (Peeker et al., 2003). Aim of research: Assess the effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle exercises to the prevention of incontinence of women. Goals of research: 1. Evaluate the strength of participants pelvic floor muscles before and after the physiotherapy; 2. Evaluate the strength of participants pelvic floor muscles with respect to the age; 3. Determine the relationship among the strength of pelvic floor muscles, number and ways of deliveries; 4. Determine the relationship between the strength of pelvic floor muscles and static endurance of abdominal muscles. Methods of research: With the help of questionnaire there were determined the age, height, weight, number of deliveries and ways of deliveries of participants. Pelvic floor muscle strength of fifty women was... [to full text]

Advanced prostate cancer (PCa) patients are offered androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to control their cancer’s growth. ADT impairs sexual function and the sleep patterns of ADT patients. Since ADT deprives patients of estrogen, and supplemental estrogen reduces such problems in menopausal women, I studied whether administering estrogen reduces these problems for castrated male rats as a model for PCa patients on ADT. First, I tested how early versus late estradiol treatment after castration influenced rats’ sexual behaviour. Estradiol increases mounting behaviour to comparable levels regardless of when the treatment was started after castration, suggesting that estrogen’s ability to restore male sexual interest is insensitive to a delay since castration. Secondly, to understand the biological basis of these behavioural effects, I examined brain and muscle tissues from the same animals. Specifically, I compared changes in 1) estrogen receptors (ERs) and c-Fos protein (a neuronal activation marker) levels in brain areas controlling sex behavior; 2) ERs levels in pelvic floor muscles, important for erection; and 3) ERs levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Prolonged castration increases ER? levels in the preoptic area (POA), a key brain area that regulates mating behaviour, and estradiol treatment reduced these effects. In the POA, mating-induced c-Fos expression was not affected by estradiol regardless of when the treatment began post-castration. Estrogen may upregulate ERs in pelvic floor muscles, and downregulate ERs in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, depending on administration time after castration. These findings suggest that mating activates POA neurons, and this activation induces mounting only in the presence of estrogen. Additionally, the duration after castration influences ER autoregulation in the pelvic floor muscles, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex in response to estradiol. Lastly, I studied how estrogen modulates the sleep-wake behaviour of orchiectomized rats. Estradiol promotes baseline wakefulness during the dark period and prevents castration-induced impairment in sleep recovery after sleep deprivation. These findings suggest that estradiol may positively influence the sleep-wake behaviour of castrated males. Collectively, I demonstrate that estrogen administered to castrated rats improves sexual and sleep functions. It may similarly improve the quality of life of PCa patients on ADT.

Previous studies have suggested that protective responses in the pelvic floor muscles (PFMs), described in terms of hypertonicity and over-reactivity, are associated with and may worsen the symptoms of provoked vestibulodynia (PVD, i.e., chronic vulvar pain). A recent study reported that, upon manual palpation of the PFM, hypertonicity was consistently found in the superficial but not the deep PFM layers. The goals of this study were to compare superficial and deep PFM resting tone, protective response magnitude and onset timing to moderate perceived vulvar pain between women with and without PVD. Eleven women with PVD and eleven control women Tcompleted a gynecological examination and standardized PFM electromyography (EMG) testing. Three trials of sTurface EMG activity of the PFM were recorded while a pressure-pain stimulus (PPS) was applied to the vulvar vestibule. Increasing pressure was applied to achieve a perceived pain intensity rating of 6/10 using an 11-point numerical rating scale presented visually. The women with PVD had higher resting EMG activity in their superficial PFMs (p=0.04) as compared to the control group, while no difference was found at the level of the deep PFMs (p=0.12). Participants in both groups demonstrated contractile responses to the PPS in both the superficial and the deep PFM, and these responses were significantly higher (p=0.0001) in the superficial (50.06 vs 38.69 % maximal voluntary electrical activation [MVE]) as compared to the deep (24.88 vs 22.52 %MVE) PFM layers. Women with PVD had significantly higher PFM responses at the superficial layer as compared to the control women (p<0.0005). The onset of the superficial and deep EMG PFM responses followed the PPS application in both groups. No differences were found between the deep and superficial PFM onset latency to the timing of the PPS application.The results of this study suggest that women with PVD have superficial PFMs that are more responsive to vulvar pain than those in non-affected women. The findings also suggest that superficial PFM over-reactivity, rather than deep PFM over-reactivity, is part of the PFM dysfunction reported in women with PVD. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-26 15:46:22.84

Introduction: The primary purpose of this research was to determine whether women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) demonstrate pelvic floor muscle (PFM) strength or endurance deficits and/or changes in the motor control patterns used during maximum voluntary PFM contractions (PFM MVCs) and coughing. A secondary purpose was to determine the effect of age on these parameters. Methods: After first validating the use of vaginal pressure to study the functional output of the PFMs, three studies were carried out to address these objectives. In two studies vaginal pressure and PFM and abdominal muscle electromyography (EMG) data were recorded simultaneously during PFM MVCs and maximum effort coughs in continent women, women with mild SUI and women with moderate to severe SUI in both supine and standing. In the final study, the effect of continence status and age on PFM strength and endurance was measured with vaginal pressure. Results: Changes in vaginal pressure induced by PFM MVCs and coughing were found to reflect changes in urethral pressure. The women with SUI and the continent women were found to be equally able to produce peak PFM EMG and vaginal pressure amplitudes during PFM MVCs and coughs. Compared to the continent women, the women with SUI delayed activating their abdominal muscles during the PFM MVCs. During coughing, vaginal pressure and PFM EMG peaked simultaneously in the continent women, while in the women with SUI vaginal pressure peaked after PFM EMG. During both the PFM MVCs and the coughs, the EMG activity in all of the muscles tested was higher at the onset of vaginal pressure generation in the women with SUI compared to the continent women. No difference was found in PFM endurance between the women with and without SUI. The ability to generate peak vaginal pressure during coughing decreased with age. Conclusions: PFM weakness does not appear to play a significant role in SUI. Rather, the results of this research suggest that a combination of motor control deficits and delays in pressure transmission are associated with SUI in women. / Thesis (Ph.D, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-21 09:37:12.923

Purpose: Intravaginal probes used for recording electromyography (EMG) from the pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) likely record activity from nearby muscles (crosstalk), and move during functional tasks, causing motion artifact data contamination, threatening the validity of results obtained. This study investigated the test-retest reliability and validity of surface EMG recordings from the PFMs using a novel, theoretically superior electrode in comparison to a commercially available intravaginal probe, the FemiscanTM. Methods: Healthy subjects (n=20) performed tasks with each vaginal electrode in situ: i) PFM maximal voluntary contractions (MVC), ii) coughs, iii) unilateral hip adductor/external rotator contractions at 25%MVC, 50%MVC, and MVC while keeping the PFMs relaxed or maximally contracted, and iv) transversus abdominis contractions (TrA; recorded using fine-wires) at 25%MVC, 50%MVC, MVC. Analyses: i) Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), ii) t-tests of proportions (α=0.05), iii) repeated measures ANOVAs and Tukey’s post-hoc testing (α=0.05) and iv) cross-correlation functions between peaks of transversus abdominis and PFM activity were used to determine the between-trial and between-day reliability of each vaginal electrode, a difference in prevalence of motion artifact contamination between electrodes, and the presence of crosstalk from the hip and TrA, respectively. Results: Between-trial reliability of both vaginal electrodes was excellent (ICC(3,1)=0.943-0.974). Between-day reliability was less consistent (ICC(3,1)=0.788-0.924 and 0.648-0.715 for the FemiscanTM and novel electrode, respectively). No significant difference in the proportion of files contaminated with motion artifact using each electrode existed. At submaximal intensities of hip muscle contractions, the FemiscanTM recorded significantly higher EMG amplitudes compared to what it recorded when the hip was relaxed, whereas the novel electrode did not, indicating that the FemiscanTM recorded crosstalk from the hip musculature. Low cross-correlation coefficients (<0.90) and large time delays (≥ 0.5 milliseconds) between peaks of PFM and TrA activity indicated that neither vaginal electrode recorded crosstalk from the TrA. Conclusion: The novel electrode is a promising tool to record EMG from the PFMs, as it records less crosstalk from the hip musculature than current technology while maintaining a high degree of reliability when comparing results collected within the same session; however, this electrode should not be used to compare one’s muscle activity between days. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2011-02-07 14:46:30.811

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No description available.