Echocardiographic study of structure and functional cardiac profile of football referees.

AIM: The aim of this study was to analyze, through echocardiography, the structure and functional cardiac profile of national category Spanish soccer referees. METHODS: The sample consisted of 54 licensed referees, who belonged to the Football Inter-Insular Federation of Las Palmas. The sample presented a mean age of 28.52 ± 6.39 years, a height of 1.76 ± 0.07 m, a body mass of 77.26 ± 10.74 kg and a Body Mass Index of 24.90 ± 2-73 kg/m2. The diastolic and systolic dimensions of the left ventricle were 50.03 ± 4.79 mm and 33.74 ± 5.23 mm, respectively. The thicknesses of the interventricular septum and the posterior wall of the left ventricle were 9.77 ± 1.53 mm and 9.47 ± 1.54 mm, respectively. The left ventricular mass was 112.80 ± 26.53 g/m2, the diastolic volume of the left ventricle 135.09 ± 39.63 mL and the ejected volume 47.34 ± 12.44 mL/m2. RESULTS: This study shows that the echocardiographic profile of football referees is characterized by presenting an increase in the left ventricular mass caused by an increase of the cardiac chambers and a normal systolic and diastolic function. The values obtained by football referees were higher than those found in sedentary people and lower than in professional football players. CONCLUSION: These differences may be due to the different physical training workloads employed by football players and referees.

Valoración de la composición corporal mediante cienantropometría e impedancia en escolares canarios / Assessment of body composition among school children from the Canary Islands by means of kinanthropometry and impedance

Antecedentes: La evolución de los estudios cineantropométricos ha permitido determinar que para obtener la composición corporal de un sujeto sólo sea necesario estudiar los componentes graso y muscular. El presente estudio tiene por objetivo valorar la composición corporal en escolares canarios mediante cineantropometría e impedancia, y comparar ambas técnicas de medida. Métodos: Diseño: estudio transversal. Sujetos: escolares canarios de entre 6 y 16 años de edad residentes en Gran Canaria y Tenerife. Selección de la muestra: muestreo, aleatorio estratificado simple, a partir de una población infinita de niños entre 6 y 16 años de edad, con un nivel de significación del 95% y un margen de error del 5%, y de p=q=0,5. El tamaño de la muestra obtenido a justado en función del porcentaje esperado de pérdidas es de 549 alumnos. Tratamiento estadístico: paquete informático SPSS 11.0. Se considera significativo el valor de p>=0,5. Comparación de los sistemas de medida mediante un modelo de regresión no lineal (método de Marquardt). Resultados: Hemos estudiado a 563 escolares: 254 niños y 309 niñas. Los dos procedimientos tienden a coincidir asintóticamente. El coeficiente de determinación para el porcentajede grasa ( A2) es de 0,93 y paral a masal ibre de grasa el A2 es de 0,63. Conclusiones: El modelo de regresión no lineal aplicado a un programa informático permite estimar la composición corporal corregida mediante datos obtenidos por impedancia, método con buena reproducibilidad a diferencia de la cineantropometría

Background: Kinanthropometric studies affirm that, to assess an individual's body composition, it is only necessary to establish his or her fat and muscle components. The purpose of this study was to assess body composition among school children from the Canary Islands by means of kinanthropometry and impedance, and to compare the two measuringte chniques. Methods: Design: Cross-sectional study. Subjects: Canary Island school children between the ages of 6 and 16 living on Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Sample selection: Stratified simple random sampling, from an infinite population of children between the ages of 6 and 16, with a level of significance of 95% and amargin of error of 5%,assuming that p=q=0.5. The required sample size, after adjustment for expected losses, was 549 school children. Statistical treatment: SPSS 11.0 statistical analysis application. A p value less than or equal to 0.5 was considered significant. The measuring systems were compared by means of a nonlinear regression model (the Marquardtm ethod). Results: We assessed 563 school children: 254 boys and 309 girls. The two procedure stended to coincide asymptotically. The coefficient of determination (A2) was 0.93 for the percentage of body fat and 0.63 for tal-free body mass. Conclusion: The application of the nonlinear regression model to a software application enables the estimation of corrected body composition on the basis of data obtained by means of impedance, which, unlike kinanthropometry, is a method with good reproducibility

Diferencias entre ERPS y EMG durante las tareas de discriminación sensormotora entre grupos de alta y baja habilidad motora / Differences in ERPS and EMG during sensorimotor discrimination tasks between high and low motor-ability groups

Se registraron eventos de potenciales sincronizados relacionados con las respuestas EMG durante tareas sensoriales motoras en sujetos (N=20) con habilidades motores variadas. Las latencias ERP y EMG aumentaron con tareas de mayor dificultad: El grupo de habilidad superior incrementó las amplitudes N100 (para estímulos frecuentes) y P200 (para estímulos raros) y decremento el tiempo de movimiento. Los resultados sugieren que la habilidad motora superior modificó la respuesta motora pero no afectó la latencia de ERP. El grupo de habilidades superiores necesitó un tiempo más corto, menos preparación o expectativa y menos errores para realizar la tarea sensoriomotora.

Event Related potentials synchronized with EMG responses were recorded during sensorimotor tasks for subjects (N=20) who varied in motor ability. ERPs and EMG latencies increases with increasing task difficulty. The high ability group increases N100 (for frequent stimuli) and P200 (for rare stimuli) amplitudes and decreases the movement time. Results suggest that the high motor ability modify motor response but the ERPs latency are unaffected. The high motor ability group needs a shorter time, less preparedness or expectancy and less errors for carrying out the sensorimotor tasks.

Anxiety and attention: is there an attentional bias for positive emotional stimuli?

Empirical research has shown that anxiety is associated with a systematic bias in the cognitive system. Anxious individuals (clinically anxious patients and normal individuals with high-trait anxiety) are characterized by a pattern of selective processing that favors the encoding of threatening information. Is this attentional bias specific to threat-related information, or does it operate for positive emotional stimuli? The research directly connected with the existence of an attentional bias for threat in anxiety was examined.

Neuroticism, mood, and retrieval of negative personal memories.

Most studies of the effects of neuroticism on memory investigate the recall of self-related material learned during the course of the experimental session. The present study was designed to examine the effects of neuroticism on more complex personal events in real life. High levels of neuroticism were associated with a tendency toward fewer happy thoughts and memories. The results also suggest that neuroticism increased retrieval of negative personal memories independent of depressed mood. These findings are discussed in relation to cognitive vulnerability to depression.