Basistests Suisse Sport Test Konzept: Validierung einer sportmotorischen Basistestbatterie für den Schul- und Nachwuchssport

Physical fitness can be evaluated in competitive and school sports with different field tests under different conditions and goals. To produce valid results, a field test must be practical and reach high standards of test criteria (objectivity, reliability, validity). The purpose of this study was to investigate the test criteria and the practicability of a group of field tests called «SUISSE Sport Test Konzept Basis Feldtestbatterie». For 20-m sprint, ventral trunk muscle test, standing long jump, 2-kg medicine ball shot, obstacle course and cooper-test, test quality and practicability were evaluated. 221 children and adolescents from competitive sports and different school levels took part in the study. According to school level, they were divided into 3 groups (P: 7–11.5 y, S1: 11.6–15.5 y, S2: 15.6–21.8 y). Objectivity was tested for time or distance measurement in all tests as well as for error rating in obstacle test. For reliability measurement, 162 subjects performed the field tests twice within a few weeks. For validity results of standing long jump were compared with counter movement jump performance on a force plate. Correlation analysis was performed and level of significance was set for p < 0.05. For accuracy standard error was calculated. All tests achieved sufficient to excellent objectiv - ity with correlation-coefficient (r) lying between 0.85 and 0.99. Reliability was very good (r = 0.84–0.97). In cooper- and trunk test, reliability was higher for athletes than for pupils (trunk test: r = 0.95 vs. r = 0.62, cooper-test: r = 0.90 vs. r = 0.78). In those tests the reliability decreases with increasing age (cooper-test: P: r = 0.84, S1: r = 0.69, S2: r = 0.52; trunk-test: P: r = 0.69, S1: r = 0.71; S2: r = 0.39). Validity for standing long jump was good (r = 0.75–0.86). The standard error of the mean was between 4–8%, with the exception for cooper-test (athletes: 6%, pupils: 11%) and trunk test (athletes: 14%, pupils: 46%). The results show that the evaluated group of field tests is a practicable, objective and reliable tool to determine physical skills in young athletes as well as in a scholar setting over a broad age range. Most of the tests achieved the test criteria with the grades good to excellent. The lower coefficient of reliability for cooper- and trunk test by the pupils could be explained by motivational problems in this setting. For up to 20 subjects, a tester can accomplish the tests within 3 h. Finally, age-dependent grades were elaborated

Distance doubling visual acuity test: a reliable test for nonorganic visual loss

BACKGROUND: To determine the value of the distance doubling visual acuity test in the diagnosis of nonorganic visual loss in a comparative observational case series. METHODS: Twenty-one consecutive patients with nonorganic visual acuity loss and 21 subjects with organic visual loss as controls were included. Best corrected visual acuity was tested at the normal distance of 5 meters using Landolt Cs. The patient was then repositioned and best corrected visual acuity was tested with the previous optotypes at double the distance via a mirror. RESULTS: Nonorganic visual acuity loss was identified in 21 of 21 patients. Sensitivity and specificity of distance-doubling visual acuity test in functional visual loss were found to be 100% (CI; 83%-100%) and 100% (CI; 82%-100%), respectively. CONCLUSION: Distance doubling visual acuity test is widely used to detect nonorganic visual loss. Our results show that this test has a high specificity and sensitivity to detect nonorganic visual impairment.

Aspirin, but not propranolol, attenuates the acute stress-induced increase in circulating levels of interleukin-6: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Psychosocial stress might increase the risk of atherothrombotic events by setting off an elevation in circulating levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6. We investigated the effect of aspirin and propranolol on the responsiveness of plasma IL-6 levels to acute psychosocial stress. For 5 days, 64 healthy subjects were randomized, double-blind, to daily oral aspirin 100mg plus long-acting propranolol 80 mg, aspirin 100mg plus placebo, long-acting propranolol 80 mg plus placebo, or placebo plus placebo. Thereafter, all subjects underwent the 13-min Trier Social Stress Test, which combines a preparation phase, a job interview, and a mental arithmetic task. Plasma IL-6 levels were measured in blood samples collected immediately pre- and post-stress, and 45 min and 105 min thereafter. The change in IL-6 from pre-stress to 105 min post-stress differed between subjects with aspirin medication and those without (p =0.033; eta p2=0.059). IL-6 levels increased less from pre-stress to 105 min post-stress (p <0.027) and were lower (p =0.010) at 105 min post-stress in subjects with aspirin than in subjects without aspirin. The significance of these results was maintained when controlling for gender, age, waist-to-hip ratio, mean arterial blood pressure, and smoking status. Medication with propranolol was not significantly associated with the stress-induced change in IL-6 levels. Also, aspirin and propranolol did not significantly interact in determining the IL-6 stress response. Aspirin but not propranolol attenuated the stress-induced increase in plasma IL-6 levels. This suggests one mechanism by which aspirin treatment might reduce the risk of atherothrombotic events triggered by acute mental stress.

Diffusion of contrast medium after perineural injection of the palmar nerves: an in vivo and in vitro study

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Proximal diffusion of local anaesthetic solution after perineural anaesthesia may lead to the desensitisation of structures other than those intended. However, there is no evidence-based study demonstrating the potential distribution and diffusion of local anaesthetic solution after perineural analgesia in the distal limb. OBJECTIVE: To document the potential diffusion of local anaesthetic solution using a radiopaque contrast model and to evaluate the influence of walking compared with confinement in a stable after injection. METHODS: Radiopaque contrast medium was injected subcutaneously over one palmar nerve at the base of the proximal sesamoid bones in 6 nonlame mature horses. Horses were assigned randomly to stand still or walk after injection. Radiographs were obtained 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 min after injection and were analysed to determine the distribution and diffusion of the contrast medium. RESULTS: In 89% of injections an elongated pattern of the contrast medium was observed suggesting distribution along the neurovascular bundle. After 49% of injections a fine radiopaque line extended proximally from the contrast 'patch', and in 25% of injections a line extended distally. There was significant proximal and distal diffusion with time when sequential radiographs of each limb were compared. The greatest diffusion occurred in the first 10 min. Walking did not significantly influence the extent of either proximal or distal diffusion. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Significant proximal diffusion occurs in the first 10 min after perineural injection in the distal aspect of the limb and should be considered when interpreting nerve blocks. Distribution of local anaesthetic solution outside the fascia surrounding the neurovascular bundle or in lymphatic vessels may explain delayed or decreased effects.

A 6'-Fluoro-Substituent in Bicyclo-DNA Increases Affinity to Complementary RNA Presumably by CF-HC Pseudohydrogen Bonds

The synthesis of a novel bicyclic thymidine analogue carrying a β-fluoro substituent at C6' (6'F-bcT) has been achieved. Key steps of the synthesis were an electrophilic fluorination/stereospecific hydrogenation sequence of a bicyclo sugar intermediate, followed by an N-iodo-succinimide-induced stereoselective nucleosidation. A corresponding phosphoramidite building block was then prepared and used for oligonucleotide synthesis. Tm measurements of oligonucleotides with single and double incorporations showed a remarkable stabilization of duplex formation particularly with RNA as complement without compromising pairing selectivity. Increases in Tm were in the range of +1-2 °C compared to thymidine and +1-3 °C compared to a standard bc-T residue. Structural investigations of the 6'F-bcT nucleoside by X-ray crystallography showed an in-line arrangement of the fluorine substituent with H6 of thymine, however, with a distance that is relatively long for a nonclassical CF-HC hydrogen bond. In contrast, structural investigations in solution by (1)H and (13)C NMR clearly showed scalar coupling of fluorine with H6 and C6 of the nucleobase, indicating the existence of at least weak electrostatic interactions. On the basis of these results, we put forward the hypothesis that these weak CF-HC6 electrostatic interactions increase duplex stability by orienting and partially freezing torsion angle χ of the 6'F-bcT nucleoside.

Effects of inspiratory muscle training in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

BACKGROUND Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is remarkably common in elderly people with highly prevalent comorbid conditions. Despite its increasing in prevalence, there is no evidence-based effective therapy for HFpEF. We sought to evaluate whether inspiratory muscle training (IMT) improves exercise capacity, as well as left ventricular diastolic function, biomarker profile and quality of life (QoL) in patients with advanced HFpEF and nonreduced maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP). DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 26 patients with HFpEF (median (interquartile range) age, peak exercise oxygen uptake (peak VO2) and left ventricular ejection fraction of 73 years (66-76), 10 ml/min/kg (7.6-10.5) and 72% (65-77), respectively) were randomized to receive a 12-week programme of IMT plus standard care vs. standard care alone. The primary endpoint of the study was evaluated by positive changes in cardiopulmonary exercise parameters and distance walked in 6 minutes (6MWT). Secondary endpoints were changes in QoL, echocardiogram parameters of diastolic function, and prognostic biomarkers. RESULTS The IMT group improved significantly their MIP (p < 0.001), peak VO2 (p < 0.001), exercise oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold (p = 0.001), ventilatory efficiency (p = 0.007), metabolic equivalents (p < 0,001), 6MWT (p < 0.001), and QoL (p = 0.037) as compared to the control group. No changes on diastolic function parameters or biomarkers levels were observed between both groups. CONCLUSIONS In HFpEF patients with low aerobic capacity and non-reduced MIP, IMT was associated with marked improvement in exercise capacity and QoL.

Warum Pentose- und nicht Hexose-Nucleinsäuren??. Teil V. (Purin-Purin)-Basenpaarung in der homo-DNS-Reihe: Guanin, Isoguanin, 2,6-Diaminopurin und Xanthin

Why Pentose- and Not Hexose-Nucleic Acids? Purine-Purine Pairing in homo-DNA: Guanine,Isoguanine, 2,6-Diaminopurine, and Xanthine This paper concludes the series of reports in this journal [1–4] on the chemistry of homo-DNA, the constitutionally simplifie dmodel system of hexopyranosyl-(6′ → 4′)-oligonucleotide systems stidued in our laboratory as potentially natural-nucleic-acid alternatives in the context of a chemical aetiology of nucleic-acid structure. The report describes the synthesis and pairing properties of homo-DNA oligonucleotides which contain as nucleobases exclusively purines, and gives, together with part III of the series [3], a survey of what we know today about purine-purine pairingin homo-DNA. In addition, the paper discusses those aspects of the chemistry of homo-DNA which, we think, influence the way how some of the structural features of DNA (and RNA) are to be interpreted on a qualitative level. Purine-purine pairing occurs in the homo-DNA domain in great variety. Most prominent is a novel tridentate Watson-Crick pair between guanine and isoguanine, as well as one between 2,6-diaminopurine and xanthinone, both giving rise to very stable duplexes containing the all-purine strands in antiparallel orientation. For the guanine-isoguanine pair, constitutional assignment is based on temperature-dependent UV and CD spectroscopy of various guanine- and isoguanine-containg duplexes in comparison with duplexes known to be paired in the reverse guanine is replaced by 7-carbauguanine. Isoguanine and 2,6-diaminopurine also have the capability of self-pariring in the reverse-Hoogsteen mode, as previously observed for adenine and guanine [3]. In this type of pairing, the interchangeably. Fig. 36 provides an overall survey of the relative strength of pairing in all possible purine-purine combinations. Watson-Crick pairing of isoguanine with guanine demands the former to participate in its 3H-tautomeric form; hitherto this specific tautomer had not been considered in the pairing chemistry of isoguanine. Whereas (cumulative) purine-purine pairing in DNA (reverse-Hoogsten or Hoogsteen) seems to occur in triplexes and tetrapalexes only, its occurrence in duplexes in a characteristic feature of homo-DNA chemistry. The occurrence of purine-purine Watson-Crick base pairs is probably a consequence of homo-DNA's quasi-linear ladder structure [1][4]. In a double helix, the distance between the two sugar C-atoms, on which a base pair is anchored, is expected to be constrained by the dimensions of the helix; in a linear duplex, however, there would be no restrictions with regard to base-pair length. Homo-DNA's ladder-like model also allows one to recognize one of the reasons why nucleic-acid duplexes prefer to pair in antiparallel, rather than parallel strand orientation: in homo-DNA duplexes, (averaged) backbone and base pair axes are strongly inclined toward one another [4]; the stronger this inclination, the higher the preference for antiparallel strand orientation is expected to be (Fig. 16). In retrospect, homo-DNA turns out to be one of the first artificial oligonucleotide systems (cf. Footnote 65) to demonstrate in a comprehensive way that informational base pairing involving purines and pyrimidines is not a capability unique to ribofuranosyl systems. Stability and helical shape of pairing complexes are not necessary conditions of one another; it is the potential for extensive conformational cooperativity of hte backbone structure with respect to the constellational demands of base pairing and base stacking that determines whether or nor a given type of base-carrying backbone structure is an informational pairing system. From the viewpoint of the chemical aetiology of nucleic-acid structure, which inspired our investigations on hexopyranosyl-(6′ → 4′)-oligonucleotide systems in the first place, the work on homo-DNA is only an extensive model study, because homo-DNA is not to be considered a potential natural-nucleic-acid altenratie. In retrospect, it seems fortunate that the model study was carried out, because without it we could hardly have comprehended the pairing behavior of the proper nucleic-acid alternatives which we have studied later and which will be discussed in Part VI of this series. The English footnotes to Fig. 1–49 provide an extension of this summary.

Crystal structure of 2,4,6-tris(cyclohexyloxy)-1,3,5-triazine

The title compound, C21H33N3O3, is a tri-substituted cyclo­hex­yloxy triazine. In the crystal, the triazine rings form (C3i-PU) Piedfort units. The inter-centroid distance of the [pi]-[pi] inter­action involving the triazine rings is 3.3914 (10) Å. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by C-H...O hydrogen bonds, forming ribbons propagating along [1-10]. There are also weak C-H...N and C-H...O contacts present, linking inversion-related ribbons, forming a three-dimensional structure.

“But look: we have sat here too long”: Hilary Mantel’s tightrope walk of present-tense usage

Even after Hilary Mantel has won the Man Booker prize two times in a row with Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies, her novelistic account of the life of Thomas Cromwell, her intriguing decision to write these historical novels in the present tense gave cause to surprisingly little extended comment beyond a perfunctory nod to its evocation of immediacy. This presents not only a lacunae in the discussion about Mantel’s novels, but is also symptomatic for a change in the contemporary critical evaluation of present-tense narration in general. If present-tense narration once used to be a marker for experimental daring and might even have implied a certain hostility towards fictionality, Mantel’s novels give ample evidence that literary sensibilities have changed. In order to understand the scope and nature of this change, my paper puts Mantel’s use of the present tense in the context of both the historical development of present-tense usage and the ample contemporary landscape of present-tense narration. This allows me to show that the complexities of present-tense usage belie a reduction of its effect to an evocation of immediacy. Rather, I argue, Mantel uses it for a delicate tightrope walk between proximity and distance, history and fiction, authenticity and imagination.

The dust environment of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Rosetta OSIRIS and VLT observations in the 4.5 to 2.9 AU heliocentric distance range inbound

Context. The ESA Rosetta spacecraft, currently orbiting around cornet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, has already provided in situ measurements of the dust grain properties from several instruments, particularly OSIRIS and GIADA. We propose adding value to those measurements by combining them with ground-based observations of the dust tail to monitor the overall, time-dependent dust-production rate and size distribution. Aims. To constrain the dust grain properties, we take Rosetta OSIRIS and GIADA results into account, and combine OSIRIS data during the approach phase (from late April to early June 2014) with a large data set of ground-based images that were acquired with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) from February to November 2014. Methods. A Monte Carlo dust tail code, which has already been used to characterise the dust environments of several comets and active asteroids, has been applied to retrieve the dust parameters. Key properties of the grains (density, velocity, and size distribution) were obtained from. Rosetta observations: these parameters were used as input of the code to considerably reduce the number of free parameters. In this way, the overall dust mass-loss rate and its dependence on the heliocentric distance could be obtained accurately. Results. The dust parameters derived from the inner coma measurements by OSIRIS and GIADA and from distant imaging using VLT data are consistent, except for the power index of the size-distribution function, which is alpha = -3, instead of alpha = -2, for grains smaller than 1 mm. This is possibly linked to the presence of fluffy aggregates in the coma. The onset of cometary activity occurs at approximately 4.3 AU, with a dust production rate of 0.5 kg/s, increasing up to 15 kg/s at 2.9 AU. This implies a dust-to-gas mass ratio varying between 3.8 and 6.5 for the best-fit model when combined with water-production rates from the MIRO experiment.

Maternal separation followed by isolation-housing differentially affects prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response in C57BL/6 mice

Exposure to chronic stress is associated with an increased incidence of neuropsychiatric dysfunction. The current study evaluated two competing hypotheses, the cumulative stress and the match/mismatch hypothesis of neuropsychiatric dysfunction, using two paradigms relating to exposure to “stress”: pre-weaning maternal separation and post-weaning isolation-housing. C57BL/6 offspring were reared under four conditions: typical animal facility rearing (AFR, control), early handling (EH, daily 15 min separation from dam), maternal separation (MS, daily 4 hr separation from dam), and maternal and peer separation (MPS, daily 4 hr separation from dam and from littermates). After weaning, mice were either housed socially (2–3/cage) or in isolation (1/cage) and then tested for prepulse inhibition in adulthood. Isolation-housed MPS subjects displayed greater deficits in prepulse inhibition relative to socially-housed MPS subjects while socially-housed AFR subjects displayed greater deficits in prepulse inhibition relative to isolation-housed AFR subjects. The results indicate that these treatment conditions represent a potentially valuable model for evaluating the match/mismatch hypothesis in regards to neuropsychiatric dysfunction.