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Background Several observational studies have shown that exercise reduces the risk of cognitive decline; however, evidences from long-term, well-conducted, randomized controlled trials are scanty. The principal aim of this study is to verify whether a long-term program of multimodal supervised exercise improves the cognitive function and/or reduces the rate of cognitive decline in older adults at different degrees of risk for dementia. Methods/design EPD is a parallel group, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Community-dwelling volunteers aged 50 years or more are being recruited from different community centers and screened for eligibility. Enrolled subjects are being divided in 3 groups: a) without subjective or objective cognitive impairment, b) with subjective memory complaints, and c) with mild cognitive impairments. Participants in each group (at least 180) are being randomly assigned (1:1) to an experimental group, performing a supervised training including aerobic and resistance exercises of moderate/high intensity, or to a control group. Primary outcome will be 48-months changes in Mini Mental State Examinations. Secondary outcomes will be changes in several cognitive tests including a composite cognitive score. Time points will be at baseline, and at 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months. Statistical analysis will be done as intention to treat, complete case and mixed model analysis. Discussion EPD is the first trial to examine the effects of a long exercise program (48 months) on cognitive performances. If successful, this trial may provide evidence for using long-term and multimodal exercise interventions for dementia prevention programs in the aging population. Trial registration The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with the code NCT02236416.

The outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) created an international public health emergency, challenging the psychological resilience of the general population. Regarding this matter, a web-based survey was performed. Data were collected from the following 1,668 self-selected volunteers: 800 athletes (28.30 ± 10.93 years old); 558 coaches (36.91 ± 11.93 years old); and 310 sports managers (42.07 ± 13.38 years old). To assess the level of psychological stress, an Impact of the Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) questionnaire was used. The results indicated that 34.4% of the participants who were interviewed were affected by subjective distress while 26.4% rated their psychological impact from the sports activity interruption as severe. Separated one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests showed significant differences in the IES-R total score (TS), indicating that the level of stress in terms of gender revealed that women were more stressed than men (p = 0.000), for "sports roles"in which the manager and coaches were more stressed than the athletes (p < 0.05), and "type of sport"in which fitness and individual athletes were more stressed than team athletes (p < 0.01). The middle-level athletes showed significantly more hyperarousal levels than high-level athletes (p = 0.012). The results of this survey may raise awareness of this problem and help athletic associations to have appropriate guidelines in order to better sustain their memberships and organize an optimal resumption of their sports activities. Along these lines, social interactions, which are typical of team sports, are crucial to warrant resilience and psychological health. The athletes by managing independently the new rules and measures, thanks to a clear communication, could improve their adaptive stress reaction. Copyright: © 2021 Fiorilli et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Fil: Luccini, Eduardo. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Luccini, Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Excelencia en Procesos y Productos de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Flores, M. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Ramírez, K. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Pérez Pinedo, H. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Herrera, Luis Alberto. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Parodi, M. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Parodi, M. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura; Argentina Fil: Matar, Maricel. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Matar, Maricel. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura; Argentina Fil: Gómez Insausti, J. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Barrea, L. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Barrea, L. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura; Argentina Fil: Mechini, M. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Calcagno, G. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Resumen: La capacidad de captación y almacenamiento de CO2 atmosférico por diferentes especies vegetales es un parámetro crucial a determinar ante el presente escenario de cambio climático planetario. En este trabajo se cuantifica y compara la captura y el almacenamiento de CO2 por la flora nativa de tres regiones muy disímiles de Perú, de las cuales algunas comparten especímenes en común. Las regiones comprendidas son el humedal costero de Villa María, el Lago Titicaca en el Altiplano de Puno y la selva amazónica de Loreto. El muestreo abarca desde especies gramíneas hasta arbóreas. Se delimitaron áreas representativas ocupadas homogéneamente por cada especie donde se realizaron muestreos de campo. En la etapa de laboratorio, el contenido de carbono en la estructura vegetal se determinó prioritariamente por método de “Walkley y Black” y la captura de dióxido de carbono se estimó mediante el “factor de conversión de carbono a dióxido de carbono”. Los valores de cantidad de dióxido de carbono capturado abarcan desde 44 tCO2/ha en la especie gramínea hinea del humedal costero hasta 644 tCO2/ha en árboles grandes de la selva amazónica. Abstract: The capacity for atmospheric CO2 uptake and storage by different native vegetal species is a crucial parameter to determine given the present planetary climate change scenario. In this work, the CO2 uptake and storage by native flora in three very different regions of Perú, several of them having common specimens, is quantified and compared. Spanned regions are the Villa María coastal wetland, the Titicaca Lake within the Puno Highland and the Loreto Amazonic jungle. Samples cover from grass up to trees. Representative areas were delimited, occupied mainly by homogeneous coverage of each species where field samplings were made. In the laboratory stage, the “Walkley and Black” method was used to determine the carbon content and the “carbon-to-carbon dioxide conversion factor” was used to estimate the carbon dioxide uptake. Carbon dioxide uptake values range from 44 tCO2/ha for the grass species of hinea within the coastal wetland up to 644 tCO2/ha for big trees within the Amazonia jungle.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the coaches’ point of view on the rhythmic gymnasts’ disordered eating behaviors, by focusing the attention on their knowledge of this problem, in relation to training and competition participation. The second aim is to assess if there is theoretical and/or practical collaboration between coaches and medical staff. Methods: One hundred and Sixty-nine rhythmic gymnastics coaches completed a 23 items questionnaire, based on the NCAA survey (National Collegiate Athletic Association). All the coaches had 15.2 ± 9.6 years of experience in coaching. Paired T-Test was used to compare the impact of disordered eating behaviors on health and performance and Chi-Squared analysis was used to compare different outputs obtained in the answers. Results: Coaches declared to have identified an average of 1.3 ± 1.7 symptomatic gymnasts during their careers, and 25% of them affirmed to have no good knowledge of the problem. Participants were informed that disordered eating behaviors may negatively influence both health and sport performance. About 88% of the coaches were aware that current eating disorders influence the decision to recruit an athlete. Ninety-one percent of the coaches never referred to a professional mental health. Conclusion: Coaches understood seriousness of the problem, even though the majority of the coaches did not refer to a therapist. It was recommended, instead, a multidisciplinary approach for a correct management, including coaches, psychologists and nutritionists. © 2018, Editura Universitatii din Pitesti. All rights reserved.

Objective: To find the optimal exercise program to be recommended in reducing adiposity and promoting long-term physical activity adherence in a sample of overweight adolescents. Methods: Forty-five overweight adolescents were randomly divided into three exercise groups, to perform two phases of physical activity as follows: in the first phase, the first group performed a 16-week moderate-intensity resistance training (RT), the second group performed a 16-week high-intensity RT, and the third group performed a 16-week aerobic training (AT); in the second phase, all groups performed a 6-week AT. Anthropometric body composition and fitness measures were considered as outcome measures. Results: After the second protocol, both RT groups showed a significant improvement in percentage of fat mass (F2,76= 5.843; p = 0.004; η2= 0.133) and free fat mass (F2,76= 6.254; p = 0.003; η2= 0.141), and in fitness tests (p < 0.01). The VO2max values of the RT groups were significantly higher than those of the AT group (F2,38= 4.264; p = 0.021; η2= 0.183). The rate of adherence to exercise was an average of 94% in both RT groups, whereas in the AT group, it was 83%. During the 12-week post-intervention follow-up, the number of participants who continued to perform physical activities was significantly higher in both the RT groups than in the AT group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The present study provides preliminary evidence that moderate-to-intense RT, followed by AT, can be an effective treatment for overweight adolescents, and the positive effects are maintained even after 12 weeks of follow-up. © 2017 Fiorilli et al.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to compare the changes of direction speed (CODS) and reactive agility (RA) in soccer players of different ages, in order to optimize the best training of these skills. METHODS: One hundred eighty-seven players, divided into bi-annual age-groups, U12, U14, U16 and U18, performed two tests: Y-Agility Test, carried out in planned and reactive mode (Y-PLAN and Y-REAC) and Illinois for Change of Direction Test (ICODT). Difference between Y-REAC minus Y-PLAN represents the index of reactivity (REAC-INDEX). RESULTS: MANOVA showed significant differences among groups (F3, 182=14.591; P

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) v3 and the Disease Extent Index (DEI) for the assessment of disease activity in 4 primary childhood (c-) systemic vasculitides. METHODS: Patients fulfilling the EULAR/PRINTO/PRES (Ankara) c-vasculitis classification criteria for Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), childhood (c) polyarteritis nodosa (c-PAN), c-Wegener's granulomatosis (c-WG) and c-Takayasu arteritis (c-TA) with disease duration at the time of diagnosis ≤3 months were extracted from the PRINTO database. The performance of the BVAS and DEI were examined by assessing convergent validity, the pattern of disease involvement, and responsiveness. We also evaluated alternative unweighted scoring methods for both tools. RESULTS: The analysis set included 796 patients with 669 HSP, 80 c-PAN, 25 c-WG and 22 c-TA. The median age at diagnosis was 6.9 years (6.6-12) and median delay in making the diagnosis from the onset of signs/symptoms was 0.01 (0.003-0.027) years. A strong correlation was found between the BVAS and DEI (rs=0.78) while correlation with the physician global assessment was moderate (rs=0.48) with BVAS and poor with DEI (rs=0.25). Both the BVAS and DEI sub-scores and total scores were able to descrive the disease involvement in the 4 childhood vasculitides. Responsiveness was large (>1.5) for both tools. The performance characteristics of the BVAS and DEI with the unweighted methods were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that both the BVAS and DEI are valid tools for the assessment of the level of disease activity in a large cohort of childhood acute and chronic vasculitides.

Fil: Quispe Prado, W. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Quispe Prado, W. Universidad Nacional José María Arguedas. Facultad de Ingeniería; Perú Fil: Herrera, Luis Alberto. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Sichez Muñoz, J. Universidad Nacional José María Arguedas. Facultad de Ingeniería; Perú Fil: Parodi, Miguel Ángel. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura; Argentina Fil: Parodi, Miguel Ángel. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Matar, Maricel. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Matar, Maricel. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura; Argentina Fil: Gómez Insausti, J. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Calcagno, G. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Barrea, L. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Mechini, M. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Luccini, E. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Química e Ingeniería; Argentina Fil: Luccini, E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Excelencia en Productos y Procesos de la Provincia de Córdoba; Argentina Resumen: Se estudia el modo de dispersión de un dado contaminante vertido en un curso de agua mediante un método experimental consistente en el uso de un “marcador” o sustancia “traza”. Se aplica en un tramo de 100 metros del río Chumbao en la Provincia de Andahuaylas, Perú. En la práctica, el marcador utilizado es una solución de sal común (cloruro de sodio) vertido mediante un tubo de dos pulgadas, recolectando las muestras tramo abajo cada 30 segundos. Analizando la conductividad eléctrica de las muestras se estima la concentración de marcador en cada punto de recolección, y con ello los posibles valores de los parámetros de dispersión de un eventual contaminante sobre el río. Se comprueba que un modelo simple de dispersión gaussiana representa de un modo suficientemente preciso las condiciones observadas. Abstract: The dispersion of a given contaminant poured in a water course is studied through an experimental method consistent in the use of a “marker” or “trace” substance. It is applied in a 100 m section of Chumbao River in Andahuaylas Province, Perú. In practice, the used tracer is a common salt (sodium chloride) solution poured through a two-inch tube, collecting samples at the end of the section at a rate of 30 seconds. The concentration of tracer at each collection point is estimated by analyzing the electric conductivity of the samples, and from them the possible values of the dispersion parameters of an eventual contaminant on the river. It is verified that a simple Gaussian dispersion model is precise enough to represent the observed conditions.

Capri (NA).