Assessment of kinematic characteristics of preschoolers’ gait during the implementation of an intervention training program

The purpose of this study was to assess the kinematic characteristics of the gait of preschoolers before and after the implementation of an intervention training program. A group of twenty preschoolers without motor disorders participating in the study were assigned to two groups: the experimental group - 10 preschoolers (mean age 4.9±0.2 years) - and the control group - 10 preschoolers (mean age 4.8±0.3 years). Participants were assessed using the same test before and after the implementation of the intervention training program: they had to walk in a straight line three times along a distance of 5 meters (m). Kinematic variables were analysed based on 3D video processing using APAS software. Repeated Measures ANOVA was used to examine the effectiveness of the intervention training program (p<0.05). Results indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the Displacement of the Center of Mass during the Right Foot Support phase. There is a need for intervention training programs to enhance motor skill levels and the quality of movement in all children

Standing long jump and handheld halters; is jumping performance improved?

The purpose of this experimental study was to document the kinematic and dynamic characteristics of the standing long jump without extra loading and with handheld weights (halters) of different mass and to investigate any association between the former and jumpers’ performance. Fifteen subjects (13 males and 2 females) between the ages of 19 and 21 years old participated in this horizontal prospective study. Each participant performed standing long jumps. Regarding the jumping technique, free arm swinging without or with handheld halters of different weights (1.5 kg and 3 kg in each hand) was used. The subjects repeated the jumping set (consisted of free arm swinging jump, jumping with 3 kg and then with 6 kg handheld halters) three times and the three different technique jumps were performed in a random order. The jumping distance was significantly increased 7 cm (2.7%) with 3 kg handheld halters compared to free arm jumps (p=0.006). In addition the subjects jumped 5 cm further with 6 kg handheld weights (2.67±0.27 m) than without (2.62±0.21 m) (statistically significant difference, p=0.005). The horizontal displacement of the center of mass was significantly increased with 3 kg and 6 kg handheld compared to free arm jumps (p=0.007, p=0.005 respectively). Take off angle of center of mass difference was statistically significant between 0 kg (36±5o) and 6 kg (29±5o) handheld weights (12.13% decrease, p=0.001). A gradual significant increase in the horizontal take off velocity of the center of mass was depicted between free arm and 3 kg halters jump (3.5% increase) and 3 kg weights and 6 kg ones (3.69% increase). In conclusion greater distance is achievable during a loaded standing long jump due to 1) horizontal translation of the center of mass, 2) the greater ground reaction force that is generated, 3) decrease in take off angle of center of mass and 4) increase in the horizontal take off velocity of the center of mass

From boundary-work to boundary object: how biology left and re-entered the social sciences

In an archaeological spirit this paper comes back to a founding event in the construction of the twentieth-century episteme, the moment at which the life- and the social sciences parted ways and intense boundary-work was carried out on the biology/society border, with significant benefits for both sides. Galton and Weismann for biology, and Alfred Kroeber for anthropology delimit this founding moment and I argue, expanding on an existing body of historical scholarship, for an implicit convergence of their views. After this excavation, I look at recent developments in the life sciences, which I have named the ‘social turn’ in biology (Meloni, 2014), and in particular at epigenetics with its promise to destabilize the social/biological border. I claim here that today a different account of ‘the biological’ to that established during the Galton–Kroeber period is emerging. Rather than being used to support a form of boundary-work, biology has become a boundary object that crosses previously erected barriers, allowing different research communities to draw from it

In Search of the jüdische Typus: A Proposed Benchmark to Test the Genetic Basis of Jewishness Challenges Notions of “Jewish Biomarkers”

The debate as to whether Jewishness is a biological trait inherent from an “authentic” “Jewish type” (jüdische Typus) ancestor or a system of beliefs has been raging for over two centuries. While the accumulated biological and anthropological evidence support the latter argument, recent genetic findings, bolstered by the direct-to-consumer genetic industry, purport to identify Jews or quantify one’s Jewishness from genomic data. To test the merit of claims that Jews and non-Jews are genetically distinguishable, we propose a benchmark where genomic data of Jews and non-Jews are hybridized over two generations and the observed and predicted Jewishness of the terminal offspring according to either the Orthodox religious law (Halacha) or the Israeli Law of Return are compared. Members of academia, the public, and 23andMe were invited to use the benchmark to test claims that Jews are genetically distinct from non-Jews. Here, we report the findings from these trials. We also compare the genomic similarity of ∼300 individuals from nearly thirty Afro-Eurasian Jewish communities to a simulated jüdische Typus population. The results are discussed in light of modern trends in the genetics of Jews and related fields and provide a tentative answer to the ageless question “who is a Jew?

The Transcendence of the Social: Durkheim, Weismann, and the Purification of Sociology

Building on Fox Keller’s acute genealogy of the nature–nurture opposition as located in a certain specific social, cultural, and political history in the late nineteenth century (2010), in this paper, I address a parallel problem: the making of a really modern (i.e., non-biological) sociology nearly at the same time as the “hard disjunction” (Keller, 2010) between heredity and the environment, nature and nurture, was made. I argue rather provocatively that traces of borrowing from hard heredity to sociology can be seen in Durkheim’s strategic usage of Weismann to destroy Lamarckian sociology. The transcendence of the social in Durkheim is entirely isomorphic to Weismann’s transcendence of the germ plasm: in both cases, they aimed to construct objective realities, radically independent and exterior from individual tendencies and peculiarities. Weismann offered Durkheim an important scientific companion to make boundaries between sociology and biology. In a Latourian sense (Latour, 1993), the purification strategy of Durkheim was actually helped by a hybridization with Weismann’s biology. In conclusion, by taking Weismann as an anticipator of the genetics revolution a few years later, I argue for a profound complicity between twentieth century non-biological sociology and genetics. They both made space for a neat distinction between biological heredity and sociocultural transmission, heredity, and heritage. If sociology and genetics thought of themselves as rivals and even enemies in explaining social facts, they should reconsider their positions

Relationship between time and goal scoring of European soccer teams with different league ranking

The aim of the current study was to compare scored and conceded goals as well as the time period among teams of different league ranking. Researchers recorded the total games (n= 1446) of the top European leagues of Spain, Italy, Germany, and France for the period 2015-2016. The teams were divided into the ones which achieved their participation for European cups (L1), teams that remained to the category (L2), and teams which relegated to the lower category (L3). The researchers recorded the scored goals, the conceded goals, and the goal differences, per game, per half, and per 15min in total games for 2015-2016 season. The results showed that L1 teams were superior to L2 and L3 in overall goal scoring characteristics in both halves. The superior 15min periods were also explored. In addition, L2 teams performed higher than L3 teams in most of the variables. In conclusion, the difference between L1 with L2 and L3 teams is based in goal scoring during the whole game, in contrast with the difference between L2 and L3 teams that relies on stronger defense. On the other hand, L3 teams did not perform higher in any goal scoring pattern than the other two groups. It is obvious, that performance difference is achieved by the first half which is difficult to change during the second half. Thus, coaches have to emphasize achieving high performance in the first half of the game. Furthermore, they must use their substitutions so as to avoid poor performance periods and heighten the offensive and defensive play of their teams

A New Direction to Athletic Performance: Understanding the Acute and Longitudinal Responses to Backward Running

Backward running (BR) is a form of locomotion that occurs in short bursts during many overground field and court sports. It has also traditionally been used in clinical settings as a method to rehabilitate lower body injuries. Comparisons between BR and forward running (FR) have led to the discovery that both may be generated by the same neural circuitry. Comparisons of the acute responses to FR reveal that BR is characterised by a smaller ratio of braking to propulsive forces, increased step frequency, decreased step length, increased muscle activity and reliance on isometric and concentric muscle actions. These biomechanical differences have been critical in informing recent scientific explorations which have discovered that BR can be used as a method for reducing injury and improving a variety of physical attributes deemed advantageous to sports performance. This includes improved lower body strength and power, decreased injury prevalence and improvements in change of direction performance following BR training. The current findings from research help improve our understanding of BR biomechanics and provide evidence which supports BR as a useful method to improve athlete performance. However, further acute and longitudinal research is needed to better understand the utility of BR in athletic performance programs

Vrabas. The Effect of Natural and Artificial Grass on Sprinting Performance in Young Soccer Players

Abstract: The sprint performance on natural and artificial grass of 5 th generation was assessed. Sixty eight young male soccer players, which were divided in two groups according to their age [children (n=36; 12.1±0.5y) and adolescents (n=32; 14.2±0.4y)], performed 30-m sprint tests with and without handling the ball on natural and artificial grass. The performance was recorded during 0-10m, 10-30m, and 0-30m running distances. It was found that children were significantly faster during 0-10m running distance on the artificial compared to natural grass when handling the ball while adolescents revealed no differences in sprint performance between the surfaces irrespectively of the ball condition. In running distances 10-30m and 0-30m, children were significant faster in the artificial compared to the natural grass either with or without ball, while the adolescents were significantly faster in the artificial grass only without handling the ball. Children run faster on artificial than natural grass while adolescent soccer players are faster in artificial grass when they do not have to handle the ball. It is clear that children should be more careful when play soccer on artificial grass because the ball is moving faster and greater skill is needed in order to avoid injuries