Effects of combat training on visuomotor performance in children aged 9 to 12 years - an eye-tracking study.

BACKGROUND: Data on visuomotor performance in combat training and the effects of combat training on visuomotor performance are limited. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a specially designed combat sports (CS) training program on the visuomotor performance levels of children. METHODS: A pre-post comparative design was implemented. A total of 26 students aged 9-12 years underwent 40-min CS training sessions twice a week for 8 weeks during their physical education classes. The CS training program was designed by a karate coach and a motor control specialist. The other 30 students continued their regular activities and were considered as a control group. Each student's eye movement was monitored using an eye tracker, whereas the motor performance was measured using a target hitting system with a program-controlled microprocessor. The measurements were taken 8 weeks before (baseline), 1 day before (pretest), and 1 week after (posttest) the designated training program. The task used for evaluating these students was hitting or tracking random illuminated targets as rapidly as possible. A two-way analysis of variance [group(2) × time(3)] with repeated measures of time was performed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: For the children who received combat training, although the eye response improvement was not significant, both the primary and secondary saccade onset latencies were significantly earlier compared to the children without combat training. Both groups of students exhibited improvement in their hit response times during the target hitting tasks. CONCLUSION: The current finding supported the notion that sports training efforts essentially enhance visuomotor function in children aged 9-12 years, and combat training facilitates an earlier secondary saccade onset.

Impact of background music listening on anxiety in cancer patients undergoing initial radiation therapy: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing radiation therapy (RT) often experience anxiety, which may jeopardize the treatment success. The efficacy of music interventions in reducing anxiety remains contentious. This randomized trial aimed to evaluate the impact of music listening on anxiety symptoms in patients undergoing initial RT. METHODS: First-time RT patients were randomly allocated to experimental and control groups. The Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), Distress Thermometer (DT), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI-C) were administered pre- and post-RT. Changes in physiological anxiety symptoms were monitored over 10 consecutive days starting from the first day of RT. The experimental group received music during RT; the control group did not. The generalized linear mixed model was used to estimate the pre-post difference in the BSRS-5, DT, and BAI-C scores between the music intervention and control group. RESULTS: This study included 50 patients each in the experimental and control groups. BSRS-5 and DT scores were significantly reduced in the experimental group post-RT (p = 0.0114 and p = 0.0023, respectively). When music listening was discontinued, these scores rebounded. While the posttest BAI-C score was significantly lower in the experimental group (p < 0.0001), the pre-post difference between the two groups was not significant (p = 0.0619). On cessation of music listening, the BAI-C score also rebounded. CONCLUSIONS: For cancer patients undergoing initial RT, music listening intervention significantly reduced anxiety symptoms measured using the BSRS-5, DT, and BAI-C scores after two weeks. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of music listening intervention in reducing anxiety symptoms, thereby potentially improving the quality of life of cancer patients undergoing RT.

Effectiveness of multimedia courses in improving self-care among patients with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Ninety percent of patients receiving radiation therapy experience side effects. Busy schedules and intensive health education programs may lead to incomplete education content delivery and inaccurate patient self-care implementation. This study investigated whether multimedia health education improves the accuracy of patient self-care implementation compared with paper-based education. METHODS: From March 11, 2020 to February 28, 2021, 110 patients were randomly divided into experimental and control groups, each comprising 55 participants. Paper-based materials were used along with multimedia materials. Radiology self-care awareness questionnaires were administered to both groups before the first treatment and on day 10. The differences in radiology self-care awareness between the two groups was analyzed with inferential statistics, independent t tests, categorical data, and Pearson's chi-squared test. Differences between the two groups were considered significant at a p value of < 0.05. RESULTS: The treatment accuracy rate improved from 10.9 to 79.1% in the control group and from 24.8 to 98.5% in the experimental group, indicating an improvement in both groups. The difference was significant. These results indicate that the intervention could improve the effectiveness of self-care. CONCLUSIONS: Participants who used pretreatment multimedia health education exhibited a higher rate of having a correct understanding of treatment self-care than did the control group. These findings can inform the development of a patient-centered cancer treatment knowledge base for improved quality of care.

Association of sports vision with age, gender, and static visual acuity among nonathletic population.

PURPOSE: Excellent vision is essential to performing well in sports. Sports vision includes visual, perceptual, cognitive, and oculomotor tasks that enable athletes to process and respond to what is seen. We aimed to examined how sports vision parameters - dynamic visual acuity (DVA), eye movement (EM), peripheral vision (PV), and momentary vision (MV) - varied with age and sex and assessed how static visual acuity (SVA) affect sports vision performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sports vision was assessed at 45 cm distance at best-corrected SVA in 310 nonathletic participants (age, 6-60 years). Among these 310 participants, 108 university students underwent their sports vision test at 45 cm and 2.5 m distance, with and without glasses. The 4 sports vision parameters were measured by Athlevision software package installed to a laptop. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare sports vision performance in relation to age group and sex. Repeated-measures ANOVA with 1 within-factor (4 conditions) were used to analyze how sports vision varied among the near/far distance with/without glasses conditions. RESULTS: DVA increased during childhood, peaked during the 20s or 30s, and gradually decreased during middle age (P < 0.0001). DVA was significantly better in males than in females (P = 0.0001). The other 3 sport vision parameters - EM, PV, and MV - exhibited similar age trends (P < 0.001) but did not differ between two sexes. The university students with mild myopia had similar DVA, EM, and PV at both near and far distances, with and without correction; but moderate or severe myopic students with uncorrected vision had worse DVA, EM, and PV at 2.5 m than at 45 cm. CONCLUSION: Low SVA in uncorrected myopia significantly interferes the performance in sport vision tests applied in this study, especially in far distance. Improve static vision, such as myopic correction, may significantly improve sports vision, which is important in athletic performance and safety.

Stereopsis and Response Times between Collegiate Table Tennis Athletes and Non-Athletes.

Table tennis athletes and non-athletes potentially differ in stereopsis and eye-hand response times (RT), but whether stereopsis correlates with response time has scarcely been discussed. We aimed to compare stereopsis and RT between collegiate table tennis athletes and non-athletes and to examine the correlation between stereopsis and RT. From December 2016 to October 2019, table tennis athletes (n = 80) and non-athletes (n = 56) were recruited. Stereopsis was measured in four modes (A25, A50, R25, R50: approaching and receding directions at 25 mm/s or 50 mm/s). RT was measured with simple and choice tasks at zero, shoulder, and random distance. For stereopsis, the judged deviations were smaller during the approaching phases. Men had smaller A25 than women (p =0.012), whereas table tennis athletes showed smaller R25 and A50 than non-athletes (p = 0.03, 0.01, respectively). RT increased from simple to choice conditions and from zero to random, followed by shoulder distance. Men were significantly faster than women in choice tasks (p < 0.01). Table tennis athletes performed better in RT than the non-athletes (p < 0.05). No correlation was observed between stereopsis and RT (r = -0.01 to 0.12). In conclusion, athletes from table tennis sports showed better stereopsis and RT than non-athletes. Men had better stereopsis and RT than women. There was no correlation between stereopsis and RT.

Training effect of a stationary preprogrammed target dummy on visual response time and contest performance of karate athletes.

BACKGROUND: Response time (RT) is crucial in karate athletes and can be trained. The aim of this study was to compare standing eye-hand RT and contest performance in nonelite karate athletes who underwent 6 weeks of training using either a stationary preprogrammed target dummy (experimental group) or traditional karate instruction (control group). METHODS: Forty male nonelite karate athletes (20 in each group) were recruited. Standing RT and contest performance was assessed before and after training. Attack RT (eye-hand or eye-leg) and success rate were measured in the experimental group only during training. RESULTS: Age, years of karate practice, Body Mass Index, and standing RT before training did not significantly differ between groups. In the control group, standing RT was significantly improved in the dominant hand after training (25.62±24.18 ms, P=0.0003), but there was no significant improvement in standing RT of the nondominant hand and karate contest score. In the experimental group, standing RT was significantly faster after training (improvement in dominant hand: 69.84±50.85 ms, P<0.0001; improvement in nondominant hand: 68.94±59.43 ms, P<0.0001), and the karate contest score was significantly improved (P=0.0234). During the training period, mean attack RT improved from 1047.4 ms in week1 to 944.9 ms in week6 (P<0.001). However, the success rate gradually decreased from 89.3% (week 1) to 62.4% (week 6) (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A 6-week training using a stationary preprogrammed target dummy improved contest performance and standing RT in both the dominant and nondominant hands of nonelite karate athletes. Improvements of RT in the dominant hand were also seen in the control group.