Student Moods Before and After Body Expression and Dance Assessments. Gender Perspective.

Body expression and dance are activities that contribute to the integral well-being of people. In an educational context, the process of evaluating our students implies variations in their moods. This study tackles the states of mind that students perceive before and after the evaluation of a practice in the subject of Body expression and dance, developed through choreographies, that were, previously rehearsed, and later presented to the rest of the class in a specific session. Our main interest was the obtention of information on the states of mind of the students prior to the evaluation of their choreographies (cooperative task), and again once they had been performed. The study design consisted of two phases: two different choreographies separated by an interval of 2 months. The students were asked about their moods before and after performing their choreographies, which were evaluated. The participants, 167 in total, 35 women (20.5%) and 132 men (79.5%), aged 18 to 22 years old, filled out a POMS (Profile of Mood States) questionnaire, before and after the evaluation of each occasion. Differences were found in the stress-anxiety, vigor-activity, fatigue-immobility scales and the total mood score (PGMS). In all of them, except for the fatigue-immobility scale, we found a decrease in scores after the performance, compared to scores before. For the Stress-Anxiety factor, lower values were observed in the post-tests in comparison to the pre-tests, and also lower values in the pre- and post-test scores regarding the second choreography. We conclude that the practical evaluation of the subject through choreography modifies the mood states of the students, favoring their well-being after its execution, which is why evaluation through practice is considered a positive element in the educational process.

Fibre-type-specific and Mitochondrial Biomarkers of Muscle Damage after Mountain Races.

Consequences of running mountain races on muscle damage were investigated by analysing serum muscle enzymes and fibre-type-specific sarcomere proteins. We studied 10 trained amateur and 6 highly trained runners who ran a 35 km and 55 km mountain trail race (MTR), respectively. Levels of creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB isoform (CK-MB), sarcomeric mitochondrial CK (sMtCK), transaminases (AST and ALT), cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and fast (FM) and slow myosin (SM) isoforms, were assessed before, 1 h, 24 h and 48 h after the beginning of MTR. Significant SM increases were found at 24 h in the 55 km group. Levels of CK, CK-MB, AST and cTnI were significantly elevated in both groups following MTR, but in the 55 km group they tended to stabilize in at 48 h. Using pooled data, time-independent serum peaks of SM and CK-MB were significantly correlated. Moreover, concentration of sMtCK was significantly elevated at 1 and 24 h after the race in the 35 km group. Although training volume could confer protection on the mitochondria, the increase in serum CK-MB and SM in the 55 km group might be related to damage to the contractile apparatus type I fibres. Competing in long-distance MTRs might be related to deeper type I muscle fibre damage, even in highly trained individuals.

Free Play with Certain Equipment Constrains the Emergence of Exploratory Behavior and Physical Activity in Preschoolers.

The aim of this study was to establish whether various types of play equipment differentially constrain exploratory behavior and spontaneous physical activity patterns in preschoolers when they play freely with them. Fourteen children, 3-4 years old, played with four different types of equipment. The children wore an accelerometer and data were analyzed taking into account overall physical activity, the time spent at different intensity levels of move-ment, and the entropy of the time series. All trials were video-recorded and a systematic observation instrument was used to register actions and interactions with partners and equipment. The data were subsequently analyzed by means of principal component analysis (PCA) and the dynamic overlap order parameter, to identify the rate and breadth of exploratory behavior on different time scales. Our results revealed that the children were physically less active when playing with portable and small equipment. The PCA showed that when playing without equipment, the children usually played standardized games, like playing tag, in groups. Movement patterns were more or less varied depending on the equip-ment, and thus some equipment constrained the emergence of different types of games or motor behavior.

Posibilidades de las tareas de expresión corporal para suscitar emociones en el alumnado / The possibilities of expressive movement and creative dance tasks to provoke emotional responses

Actualmente existe un creciente interés por la influencia de las emociones en el rendimiento deportivo, así como en la actividad física relacionada con el bienestar. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las respuestas emocionales de estudiantes durante la práctica de Expresión Corporal y observar la influencia del tipo de tarea. 80 estudiantes de primer curso de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte participaron en 14 sesiones de 50 minutos de Expresión Corporal. Escribieron un diario después de cada sesión, en el que se recogían las emociones y sensaciones experimentadas en cada tarea. Tres investigadoras los analizaron, clasificaron las emociones y las relacionaron con el tipo de tareas. Los resultados muestran que la práctica de la Expresión Corporal provoca eminentemente comentarios relacionados con emociones positivas y que el tipo de tarea parece condicionar las emociones que se desencadenan (AU)

Recent research has focused on the influence of emotions on sport performance, as well as on the state of wellbeing among those who engage in physical activity. The aim of this study was to analyse the emotional responses of students engaging in expressive movement and creative dance, as well as observe the influence of type of task on these responses. Eighty students from a degree course in physical activity and sport sciences participated in fourteen, fiftyminute expressive movement and creative dance sessions. After each session, the students all recorded in personal diaries the sensations and emotions they experienced during each task. The diaries were analysed by three researchers, who classified the emotions and the tasks. The results showed that engaging in this activity primarily provokes comments related to positive emotions and that type of task may condition the emotions experienced (AU)

Prenatal programming of sporting success: associations of digit ratio (2D:4D), a putative marker for prenatal androgen action, with world rankings in female fencers.

Associations of the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a putative marker for prenatal androgen action, and of absolute finger length, a putative marker for pubertal-adolescent androgen action, with sport performance were examined in a multinational sample of 87 world-class women epee fencers. Lower (masculinized) digit ratios correlated, although not significantly so, with better current and highest past world rankings. These correlations were significant for right-hand 2D:4D with controls for the most salient factors for 2D:4D (ethnicity) and world rankings (years of international experience, height, and weight). Longer (masculinized) fingers correlated strongly with better current and highest past world rankings; these correlations became insignificant with the same controls. Replicating previous evidence for fencers, left-handedness was much more prevalent in this sample (21%) than in the female general population, and left-handers had somewhat, but not significantly so, lower 2D:4D as well as better world rankings than right-handers. These findings extend related evidence suggestive of prenatal programming of aptitude across a variety of sports, especially running and soccer. Some known extragenital effects of prenatal testosterone that contribute to the development of efficient cardiovascular systems, good visuospatial abilities, physical endurance and speed, and to the propensity for rough-and-tumble play, apparently promote sporting success in adult life.