METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted including 34 healthy participants with a mean age of 22.26 ± 1.88 years. AA was measured using dynamic retinoscopy and the push-up, pull-away, modified push-up, and minus-lens techniques.
RESULTS: The mean AA scores for the push-up, pull-away, minus-lens, and modified push-up techniques and dynamic retinoscopy were 11.38 ± 2.03, 10.35 ± 1.64, 9.24 ± 1.18, 8.26 ± 1.44, and 7.2 ± 1.0 diopters, respectively. No AA measurements showed significant difference among ethnicities (Chinese, Malay, and Indian). This study suggested that AA obtained using push-up (p = 0.005) and pull-away (p = 0.017) methods and dynamic retinoscopy (p = 0.041) were significantly different according to sex. No significant difference was observed in AA for the minus-lens (p = 0.051) and modified push-up (p = 0.216) techniques by sex. A moderately negative correlation was found between AA and age for the push-up (r = -0.434, p = 0.010), pull-away (r = -0.412, p = 0.016), and minus-lens (r = -0.509, p = 0.002) techniques and dynamic retinoscopy (r = -0.497, p = 0.003). A weak negative correlation was found between age and AA measured using a modified push-up technique (r = -0.393, p = 0.022).
CONCLUSIONS: Mean AA was highest for the push-up technique, followed by the pull-away technique, the minus-lens technique, the modified push up technique, and dynamic retinoscopy. The push-up and pull-away methods and dynamic retinoscopy showed a significant difference in measurement of AA between sexes.
METHODS: In this three-year longitudinal study, 125 subjects (77 PD patients and 48 spousal/sibling controls) underwent clinical, biochemical and body composition assessments using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
RESULTS: Patients were older than controls (65.6 ± 8.9 vs. 62.6 ± 7.1, P = 0.049), with no significant differences in gender, comorbidities, dietary intake and physical activity. Clinically significant weight loss (≥5% from baseline weight) was recorded in 41.6% of patients, with a doubling of cases (6.5 to 13.0%) classified as underweight at study end. Over three years, patients demonstrated greater reductions in BMI (mean -1.2 kg/m2, 95%CI-2.0 to -0.4), whole-body fat percentage (-2.5% points, 95%CI-3.9 to -1.0), fat mass index (FMI) (-0.9 kg/m2, 95%CI-1.4 to -0.4), visceral fat mass (-0.1 kg, 95%CI-0.2 to 0.0), and subcutaneous fat mass (-1.9 kg, 95%CI-3.4 to -0.5) than in controls, with significant group-by-time interactions after adjusting for age and gender. Notably, 31.2% and 53.3% of patients had FMI<3rd (severe fat deficit) and <10th centiles, respectively. Muscle mass indices decreased over time in both groups, without significant group-by-time interactions. Multiple linear regression models showed that loss of body weight and fat mass in patients were associated with age, dyskinesia, psychosis and constipation.
CONCLUSIONS: We found progressive loss of weight in PD patients, with greater loss of both visceral and subcutaneous fat, but not muscle, compared to controls. Several associated factors (motor and non-motor disease features) were identified for these changes, providing insights on possible mechanisms and therapeutic targets.
BACKGROUND: The back squat is an integral aspect of any resistance training program to improve athletic performance. It is also used for injury prevention of the lower limbs.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of back squat training at different intensities on strength and flexibility of the hamstring muscle group (HMG).
METHODS: Twenty-two male recreational bodybuilders with at least two years of experience in resistance training were recruited to participate in a nine-week training program. They were randomly assigned to a heavy back squat group (90-95% of one repetition maximum) or a moderate-intensity back squat group (60-65% of one repetition maximum).
RESULTS: The heavy back squat group resulted in a significantly (p < 0.001) increased in one repetition maximum strength but a significant (p < 0.001) reduction in HMG flexibility when compared to their counterparts. The results of the study indicate that while a heavy back squat training program is effective in improving strength, it has an adverse effect on the flexibility of the HMG.
CONCLUSION: The implication of this study is that there is a tradeoff between strength and flexibility and trainers should select the appropriate training protocols for their athletes to maximize athletic performance.
OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to compare the magnitude of gender difference in speech-evoked auditory brainstem response results between monaural and binaural stimulations.
METHODS: A total of 34 healthy Asian adults aged 19-30 years participated in this comparative study. Eighteen of them were females (mean age=23.6±2.3 years) and the remaining sixteen were males (mean age=22.0±2.3 years). For each subject, speech-evoked auditory brainstem response was recorded with the synthesized syllable /da/ presented monaurally and binaurally.
RESULTS: While latencies were not affected (p>0.05), the binaural stimulation produced statistically higher speech-evoked auditory brainstem response amplitudes than the monaural stimulation (p<0.05). As revealed by large effect sizes (d>0.80), substantive gender differences were noted in most of speech-evoked auditory brainstem response peaks for both stimulation modes.
CONCLUSION: The magnitude of gender difference between the two stimulation modes revealed some distinct patterns. Based on these clinically significant results, gender-specific normative data are highly recommended when using speech-evoked auditory brainstem response for clinical and future applications. The preliminary normative data provided in the present study can serve as the reference for future studies on this test among Asian adults.
METHODS: Stimuli were presented in both monocular and dichoptic conditions at eight visual field locations/eye. The incommensurate stimulus frequencies ranged from 15.45 to 21.51 Hz. Five stimulus conditions differing in spatial frequency and orientation were examined for three viewing conditions. The resulting 15 stimulus conditions were examined in 16 normal subjects who repeated all conditions twice.
RESULTS: Several significant independent effects were identified. Response amplitudes were reduced for dichoptic viewing (by 0.85 times, p<4 x 10(-11)); offset by increases in responses for between eye differences of one octave of spatial frequency: lower (1.15 times, 0.1 cpd); higher (1.29 times, 0.4 cpd), both p<1.8 x 10(-7). Crossed orientations produced significant effects upon response phase (p=0.023) but not amplitude (p=0.062).
CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that dichoptic evoked potentials using multifocal frequency-doubling illusion stimuli are practical. The use of crossed orientation, or differing spatial frequencies, in the two eyes reduced binocular interactions.
SIGNIFICANCE: The results indicate a method wherein several spatial or temporal and frequencies per visual field region can be tested in reasonable time using a multifocal VEP using spatial frequency-doubling stimuli.