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Featured Application: This research shows the results of the body composition of Spanish female futsal athletes, but until now, no such sample had been analysed in Spain. These findings could be a guide for coaches and physical trainers to focus on and individualise training objectives to achieve maximum performance, in addition to the fact that these data could be useful for the detection of talent for a specific position in young players. Background: In any sport, it is of the utmost importance to identify variables capable of positively influencing scores. Futsal is a sport of intermittent high-intensity intervals that requires the athletes' physical, technical, and tactical skills. There are no specific recommendations on anthropometry–body composition for this sport. The aim of this study was to describe the somatotype and the anthropometric characteristics, body composition, and somatotype of a group of Spanish elite female futsal players of the first-division league. Methods: Eighty-eight players (24 ± 4.94 years) from 14 teams of the first women's division of the Spanish Futsal League were evaluated. Measurements were taken according to the anthropometric protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). Body composition (BC) and somatotype were calculated according to the 4-component model and Heath-Carter, respectively. Results: Pivot and goalkeeper positions were most different from the rest. Both were the heaviest positions and presented the largest mesomorphic data (4.13 ± 1.29 and 3.67 ± 0.95), kg of bone mass (10.60 ± 1.00 and 10.37 ± 1.08), and kg of lean mass (29.80 ± 1.25 and 29.12 ± 2.12), for the pivot and goalkeeper, respectively. Conclusion: The evaluation and evolution of the somatotype and BC is an assessment tool that could be a useful guide for technical and medical staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skeletal muscle excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling is altered in several models of phosphatidylinositol phosphate (PtdIns P) phosphatase deficiency and ryanodine receptor activity measured in vitro was reported to be affected by certain PtdIns Ps, thus prompting investigation of the physiological role of PtdIns Ps in E-C coupling. We measured intracellular Ca transients in voltage-clamped mouse muscle fibres microinjected with a solution containing a PtdIns P substrate (PtdIns(3,5) P or PtdIns(3) P) or product (PtdIns(5) P or PtdIns) of the myotubularin phosphatase MTM1. No significant change was observed in the presence of either PtdIns(5) P or PtdIns but peak SR Ca release was depressed by ~30% and 50% in fibres injected with PtdIns(3,5) P and PtdIns(3) P, respectively, with no concurrent alteration in the membrane current signals associated with the DHPR function as well as in the voltage dependence of Ca release inactivation. In permeabilized muscle fibres, the frequency of spontaneous Ca release events was depressed in the presence of the three tested phosphorylated forms of PtdIns P with PtdIns(3,5) P being the most effective, leading to an almost complete disappearance of Ca release events. Results support the possibility that pathological accumulation of MTM1 substrates may acutely depress ryanodine receptor-mediated Ca release. Overexpression of a mCherry-tagged form of MTM1 in muscle fibres revealed a striated pattern consistent with the triadic area. Ca release remained although unaffected by MTM1 overexpression and was also unaffected by the PtdIns-3-kinase inhibitor LY2940002, suggesting that the 3-phosphorylated PtdIns lipids active on voltage-activated Ca release are inherently maintained at a low level, inefficient on Ca release in normal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Ivermectin is a veterinary pharmaceutical generally used to control the ecto- and endoparasites of livestock, but its use has resulted in adverse effects on coprophilous insects, causing population decline and biodiversity loss. There is currently no information regarding the direct effects of ivermectin on dung beetle physiology and behaviour. Here, based on electroantennography and spontaneous muscle force tests, we show sub-lethal disorders caused by ivermectin in sensory and locomotor systems of Scarabaeus cicatricosus, a key dung beetle species in Mediterranean ecosystems. Our findings show that ivermectin decreases the olfactory and locomotor capacity of dung beetles, preventing them from performing basic biological activities. These effects are observed at concentrations lower than those usually measured in the dung of treated livestock. Taking into account that ivermectin acts on both glutamate-gated and GABA-gated chloride ion channels of nerve and muscle cells, we predict that ivermectin's effects at the physiological level could influence many members of the dung pat community. The results indicate that the decline of dung beetle populations could be related to the harmful effects of chemical contamination in the dung. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]