Introduction
During childhood, children develop their motor competencies. Basic motor competencies (BMC) are a central prerequisite for participation in sport activities (Herrmann et al., 2016) and ...form the basis for sport-specific skills (Hulteen et al., 2018). In school, children have a choice of formal (e.g. sports club) and informal (free play) settings in which they can engage in sports activities (Neuber & Golenia, 2018). Children who are active in sports clubs have a higher level of BMC (Herrmann et al., 2017).
Methods
As part of the longitudinal study “Development of basic motor competencies in childhood (EMOKK-study)”, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the BMC of N = 659 preschool children (51% boys) and N = 393 1st and 2nd grade children (49.4% boys) were assessed at two measurement points. In addition, parent questionnaires were used to assess the children’s sport participation. In initial analyses, the development of BMC was calculated using ANCOVA, with age as a covariate.
Results
Differences between girls and boys could be observed in preschool as well as in 1st and 2nd grade. Boys showed better performance in “object-movement” whereas girls were better in “self-movement”. From first to second grade, sports club participation increased (F(1, 467) = 28.546, p < .001, η2 = .058). In both measurement points, boys were more often active in sport clubs than girls. First and second graders who were active in a sports club performed significantly better in both competence areas (“object-movement”: t1: p < .001, d = .42; t2: p < .001, d = .68; “self-movement”: t1: p = .002, d = .38; t2: p = .001, d = .40) than children who were not.
Discussion
Children who were active in club sports show a higher level of BMC, which seems to persist in the longitudinal section. This indicates an early selection effect and the importance of BMC for club sport. In further analyses, variables on informal sport activities will also be considered.
References
Herrmann, C., Gerlach, E., & Seelig, H. (2016). Motorische Basiskompetenzen in der Grundschule. Begründung, Erfassung und empirische Überprüfung eines Messinstruments Basic motor competences in primary school. Rationale, assessment and empirical testing of a measurement instrument. Sportwissenschaft, 46(2), 60–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-015-0378-8
Herrmann, C., Heim, C., & Seelig, H. (2017). Diagnose und Entwicklung motorischer Basiskompetenzen Diagnosis and development of basic motor competencies. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 49(4), 173–185. https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000180
Hulteen, R. M., Morgan, P. J., Barnett, L. M., Stodden, D. F., & Lubans, D. R. (2018). Development of foundational movement skills: A conceptual model for physical activity across the sifespan. Sports Medicine, 48(7), 1533–1540. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0892-6
Neuber, N., & Golenia, M. (2018). Lernorte für Kinder und Jugendliche im Sport Learning centres for children and young people in sport. In A. Güllich & M. Krüger (Eds.), Sport in Kultur und Gesellschaft: Handbuch Sport und Sportwissenschaft (pp. 1–17). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-53385-7_24-1
The Role of Cyclo(His-Pro) in Neurodegeneration Grottelli, Silvia; Ferrari, Ilaria; Pietrini, Grazia ...
International journal of molecular sciences,
08/2016, Letnik:
17, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Neurodegenerative diseases may have distinct genetic etiologies and pathological manifestations, yet share common cellular mechanisms underpinning neuronal damage and dysfunction. These cellular ...mechanisms include excitotoxicity, calcium dysregulation, oxidative damage, ER stress and neuroinflammation. Recent data have identified a dual role in these events for glial cells, such as microglia and astrocytes, which are able both to induce and to protect against damage induced by diverse stresses. Cyclo(His-Pro), a cyclic dipeptide derived from the hydrolytic removal of the amino-terminal pyroglutamic acid residue of the hypothalamic thyrotropin-releasing hormone, may be important in regulating the nature of the glial cell contribution. Cyclo(His-Pro) is ubiquitous in the central nervous system and is a key substrate of organic cation transporters, which are strongly linked to neuroprotection. The cyclic dipeptide can also cross the brain-blood-barrier and, once in the brain, can affect diverse inflammatory and stress responses by modifying the Nrf2-NF-κB signaling axis. For these reasons, cyclo(His-Pro) has striking potential for therapeutic application by both parenteral and oral administration routes and may represent an important new tool in counteracting neuroinflammation-based degenerative pathologies. In this review, we discuss the chemistry and biology of cyclo(His-Pro), how it may interact with the biological mechanisms driving neurodegenerative disease, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and thereby act to preserve or restore neuronal function.
A variety of therapeutic strategies are currently under investigation to inhibit factors that promote tumor invasion, as metastasis is the most common cause of mortality for cancer patients. Notably, ...considerable emphasis has been placed on studying metastasis as a dynamic process that is highly dependent on the tumor microenvironment. In regards to breast cancer, chemokine C-C motif ligand 5 (CCL5), which is produced by tumor-associated stromal cells, has been established as an important contributor to metastatic disease. This review summarizes recent discoveries uncovering the role of this chemokine in breast cancer metastasis, including conditions that increase the generation of CCL5 and effects induced by this signaling pathway. In particular, CCL-5-mediated cancer cell migration and invasion are discussed in the context of intertwined feedback loops between breast cancer cells and stromal cells. Moreover, the potential use of CCL5 and its receptor chemokine C-C motif receptor 5 (CCR5) as targets for preventing breast cancer metastasis is also reviewed.
Our study wants to evaluate the effects of one year treatment with orlistat plus L-carnitine compared to orlistat alone on body weight, glycemic and lipid control, and insulin resistance state in ...type 2 diabetic patients. Two hundred and fifty-eight patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) > 8.0% in therapy with different oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin were enrolled in this study and randomised to take orlistat 120 mg three times a day plus L-carnitine 2 g one time a day or orlistat 120 mg three times a day. We evaluated at baseline, and after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months these parameters: body weight, body mass index (BMI), HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial plasma glucose (PPG), fasting plasma insulin (FPI), homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (Tg), retinol binding protein-4 (RBP-4), resistin, visfatin, high sensitivity-C reactive protein (Hs-CRP). We observed a faster, and better decrease of body weight, HbA1c, FPG, PPG, LDL-C, HOMA-IR with orlistat plus L-carnitine compared to orlistat. A faster improvement of TC, Tg, FPI, resistin, RBP-4, visfatin, and Hs-CRP was reached with orlistat plus L-carnitine compared to orlistat. We can safely conclude that the association of orlistat plus L-carnitine was better than orlistat in improving body weight, glycemic and lipid profile, insulin resistance, and inflammatory parameters and no significant adverse events were recorded.
In preschool, children build new contacts and social relationships with other people. They learn to cooperate with their peers and communicate in groups. In addition to social relationships, basic ...motor competencies (in German: Motorische Basiskompetenzen (MOBAK)) are also seen as a central developmental goal in early childhood and are necessary for participation in the culture of sports and movement. The aim of this paper is to describe the connection between social relationships and basic motor competencies in early childhood. In this present study, the motor competencies of
= 548 preschool children (51% girls, M = 68.0 months, SD = 6.8) were tested in the competence areas of self-movement and object movement. The children's perceived social relationships were recorded from teacher and parent perspectives. The results clearly show a connection between social relationships and motor competencies in early childhood, with a stronger connection observed in boys. This finding is relevant both from a developmental and a health-oriented perspective, as it points to a link between physical and mental health, as well as technical and interdisciplinary competencies, in early childhood.
We planned a randomized, double blind clinical trial to evaluate whether an antihypertensive intervention at the proximal or distal level of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system could have ...different effects on a broad range of innovative cardiovascular risk biomarkers. A total of 288 hypertensive Caucasian patients (115 men and 113 women), aged ≥ 18 years, were enrolled in this study. They were randomized to take losartan 50 mg per day or ramipril 5 mg per day for 1 month and titrated up to 100 mg per day and 10 mg per day for 13 months, respectively. At baseline, 1, 2 and 14 months after therapy initiation, we evaluated the following parameters: body weight, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), M-value, adiponectin (ADN), resistin (r), retinol binding protein-4 (RBP-4), visfatin, vaspin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). No variation of body weight, BMI, FPG or vaspin was obtained with either treatment. We recorded a similar improvement in SBP, DBP and Hs-CRP with both treatments; however, losartan also increased M-value, ADN and visfatin, whereas ramipril did not. Furthermore, losartan decreased r, RBP-4, MMP-2 and MMP-9, whereas ramipril did not have any effect on these parameters. In conclusion, we observed that short-term treatment with losartan improved several metabolic parameters (M-value, ADN, RBP-4, r and visfatin) and decreased vascular remodeling biomarkers (MMP-2 and MMP-9) in hypertensive subjects, whereas ramipril did not.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of acarbose on inflammatory biomarkers and insulin resistance in diabetic patients before and after a standardized oral fat load (OFL). Ninety six ...patients were assigned to take acarbose 50mg three times a day and 92 to take placebo; after the first month acarbose was titrated to 100mg three times a day. We evaluated the following parameters at the baseline, and after 1, 2 and 7months: body mass index (BMI), glycemic control, fasting plasma insulin, post-prandial plasma insulin, homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), blood pressure, lipid profile, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C reactive protein (Hs-CRP), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin). Furthermore, at the baseline and at the end of the study all patients underwent OFL, and an euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp to evaluate M value and total glucose requirement. Acarbose was better than placebo in improving glycemic and lipid profile, and HOMA-IR. Furthermore, acarbose gave a decrease of fasting plasma insulin, post-prandial insulin, s-ICAM-1, sVCAM-1, IL-6, and Hs-CRP, not observed with placebo, even if no significant differences between the two groups were observed. During the second OFL performed after the therapy with acarbose, we observed a significant decrease of all inflammatory parameters' peaks compared to the OFL administered at baseline. Acarbose was more effective than acarbose in reducing the post-OFL peaks of the various parameters included the inflammatory markers, after 7months of therapy.
PDF
