Search

Middle childhood and early adolescence have received disproportionately low levels of scientific attention relative to other life stages, especially as related to nutrition and health. This is partly due to the justified emphasis on the first 1000 days of life, and the idea that early deficits and consequences may not be fully reversible. In addition, these stages of life may superficially appear less "eventful" than infancy or late adolescence. Finally, there has been historical ambiguity and inconsistency in terminology, depending on whether viewing "childhood" through physiologic, social, legal, or other lenses. Nevertheless, this age bracket, which encompasses most of the primary education and basic schooling years for most individuals, is marked by significant changes, inflection points, and sexually driven divergence in somatic and brain growth and development trajectories. These constitute transformative changes, and thus middle childhood and early adolescence represents a major and last opportunity to influence long-term health and productivity. This review highlights the specificities of growth and development in school age, with a focus on middle childhood and early adolescence (5 years–15 years of age, for the purposes of this review), the role of nutrition, the short- and long-term consequences of inadequate nutrition, and the current global status of nutrition in this age group. Adequate attention and emphasis on nutrition in the school-age years is critical: (a) for maintaining an adequate course of somatic and cognitive development, (b) for taking advantage of this last major opportunity to correct deficits of undernutrition and "catch-up" to normal life course development, and (c) for addressing the nutritional inadequacies and mitigating the longer-term consequences of overnutrition. This review summarizes and provides a rationale for prioritizing nutrition in school-age children, and for the need to revisit priorities and focus on this part of the life cycle to maximize individuals' potential and their contribution to society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sketch-based image retrieval is demanding interest in the computer vision community due to its relevance in the visual perception system and its potential application in a wide diversity of industries. In the literature, we observe significant advances when the models are evaluated in public datasets. However, when assessed in real environments, the performance drops drastically. The big problem is that the SOTA SBIR models follow a supervised regimen, strongly depending on a considerable amount of labeled sketch-photo pairs, which is unfeasible in real contexts. Therefore, we propose SBIR-BYOL, an extension of the well-known BYOL, to work in a bimodal scenario for sketch-based image retrieval. To this end, we also propose a two-stage self-supervised training methodology, exploiting existing sketch-photo pairs and contour-photo pairs generated from photographs of a target catalog. We demonstrate the benefits of our model for the eCommerce environments, where searching is a critical component. Here, our self-supervised SBIR model shows an increase of over 60 % of mAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of 2 physical exercise programs carried out during working hours in an office work environment on health-related parameters of employees. Material and Methods: The participants included 47 healthy office worker volunteers (aged 45±11.95 years, 27% males) who formed 3 groups: circuit training (CT), brisk walk (BW), and control (C) groups. The interventions lasted 12 weeks with a weekly frequency of three 30-minute sessions in the middle of the workday. All employees were evaluated with a multicomponent battery test which included: anthropometric and body composition measurements, a cardiorespiratory fitness test, lipid profile, blood pressure, and mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress). Basic descriptive statistics were calculated. A repeated measures ANOVA was performed to summarize changes in the variables studied after the application of the physical exercise programs. Results: Generally, both exercise programs (CT and BW) maintained the body weight and body mass index while reducing body fat mass (a group × time interaction; 4.864 = F = 6.524, 0.001 = p = 0.015), although the CT intervention also showed relevant (inter-group) reductions in the waist-hip ratio (F = 11.311, p = 0.007) and increased skeletal muscle mass (F = 15.062, p = 0.003). Both exercise programs (CT and BW) improved the cardiorespiratory fitness test scores (a group × time interaction; F = 18.054, p < 0.001). There were no changes in the lipid profile or blood pressure after the interventions, but there was an improvement in mental health (4.760 = F = 8.087, 0.008 = p = 0.037). Conclusions: The findings suggest that both types of programs could be implemented in the employees' daily routine in order to improve their overall health. Nevertheless, studies with larger samples are necessary before the conclusions can be generalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of 2 physical exercise programs carried out during working hours in an office work environment on health-related parameters of employees.Material and Methods: The participants included 47 healthy office worker volunteers (aged 45±11.95 years, 27% males) who formed 3 groups: circuit training (CT), brisk walk (BW), and control (C) groups. The interventions lasted 12 weeks with a weekly frequency of three 30-minute sessions in the middle of the workday. All employees were evaluated with a multicomponent battery test which included: anthropometric and body composition measurements, a cardiorespiratory fitness test, lipid profile, blood pressure, and mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress). Basic descriptive statistics were calculated. A repeated measures ANOVA was performed to summarize changes in the variables studied after the application of the physical exercise programs.Results: Generally, both exercise programs (CT and BW) maintained the body weight and body mass index while reducing body fat mass (a group × time interaction; 4.864 ≤ F ≤ 6.524, 0.001 ≤ p ≤ 0.015), although the CT intervention also showed relevant (inter-group) reductions in the waist-hip ratio (F = 11.311, p = 0.007) and increased skeletal muscle mass (F = 15.062, p = 0.003). Both exercise programs (CT and BW) improved the cardiorespiratory fitness test scores (a group × time interaction; F = 18.054, p < 0.001). There were no changes in the lipid profile or blood pressure after the interventions, but there was an improvement in mental health (4.760 ≤ F ≤ 8.087, 0.008 ≤ p ≤ 0.037).Conclusions: The findings suggest that both types of programs could be implemented in the employees' daily routine in order to improve their overall health. Nevertheless, studies with larger samples are necessary before the conclusions can be generalized. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(1):39-51. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were: (i) to analyse anthropometric parameters, physical fitness, and throwing velocity of youth elite male handball players of different ages; and (ii) to develop a multivariate model that explains throwing velocity. Fifty-three male handball players (17.99±1.68 years old), members of the Icelandic national teams, participated in the study. The participants were classified into the U21 (n=12), U19 (n=17), and U17 (n=24) national teams. All were evaluated by basic anthropometry (body height, body mass, body mass index), physical fitness tests (counter movement jump, medicine ball throw, hand dynamometry, 10 m and 30 m sprint, Yo-Yo IR2 test) and ball velocity after various handball throws at goal (a 7-m throw, a 9-m ground shot after a three-step run-up, and a 9-m jump shot after a three-step approach). A one-way analysis of variance with a Bonferroni post-hoc test was used to establish the differences between the teams. Multiple linear regression was used to predict speed of the ball from each of the three shots taken for each team. There were no differences between the U21 and U19 teams except for the medicine ball throw, but the U19 team scored better than the U17 team in almost all variables. Ball speed after a handball shot was predicted (between 22% and 70% of accuracy) with only one or two physical fitness variables in each model medicine ball throw (in four models), counter movement jump (in two models), and 10 m sprint (in two models), being the variables that were most selective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the pacing strategies employed in 10 km open water swimming events, and to define which split time was most determinant for the final performance as a function of sex and classification in International Championships of the highest level. Six international competitions over the last five years were analysed retrospectively: Olympic Games, World Championships, and European Championships. The data corresponded to a total of 437 swimmers? competition histories (257 men, 180 women). A two-way analysis of variance (sex [2 levels: men, women], classification [3 levels: 1st to 3rd, 4th to 8th, 9th and below]) was performed for each split (0-2.5 km, 2.6-5.0 km, 5.1-7.5 km, and 7.6 to 10 km) and half (0-5 km, 5.1-10 km). The Bonferroni post-hoc test was used to compare means, and Pearson's simple correlation coefficient to determine correlations between the split times and the final performance (total time). In general, the medal winners and the seconde tier classified swimmers, both men and women, employed a negative pacing strategy (the first half of the race was swum slower than the second). Women, however, in proportional terms swam a faster first partial (0 to 2.5 km) than men. These results could help coaches convince their swimmers that the first split of the event should be swum as slowly as possible, while still ensuring that they are in the leading group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were (a) to analyze anthropometric, physical fitness, and throwing speed in women elite handball players of different ages and (b) to develop a multivariate model explaining handball performance from a multidimensional perspective. Eighty women handball players (18.2 ± 4.0 years in age) from national team selections participated in the study. The players belonged to A Team, under-19, under-17, and under-15 national teams. All were evaluated by basic anthropometry, physical fitness tests, and handball throwing speed. A 1-way analysis of variance was used to establish the differences between teams with a Bonferroni post hoc test. For each team, a discriminant analysis was performed to determine the predictor variables of performance. Pearson's simple correlation coefficients were calculated between each of the variables. The results of this particular study showed that (a) between the A Team and the U19 team, there were only differences in mass, countermovement jump (CMJ), medicine ball throw, and yo-yo test, (b) the A Team and U19 predictive models correctly classified 76 and 90% of the samples, respectively, with the variables involved being mass and body mass index (A Team) and 30-m sprint and 7-m throwing speed (U19 team), and (c) the 7- and 9-m throwing speeds were correlated with each other and with stature, mass, CMJ, and medicine ball throw (0.367 ≤ r ≤ 0.533; 0.001 ≤ p ≤ 0.05). These results could help improve coaches' knowledge of elite female teams, in particular, in the country where the study was conducted and in others of similar characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obese children are usually less active than their normal-weight counterparts, although the reasons for this remain unclear. The objective of the present study was to determine how a long-term program (3 years of intervention and 6 months of follow-up detraining) of physical exercise with or without a low calorie diet influenced sedentary obese children's intention to be physically active. The participants were 27 children, ages from 8 to 11 years, who formed two groups according to the program that they followed. One group followed an exercise program (three 90-min sessions per week), and the other this same exercise program together with a hypocaloric diet. The intention to be physically active was assessed via the Measurement of Intention to be Physically Active (MIFA) questionnaire. The subjects' scores at different times of the program (baseline, Year 3, and detraining) were compared using a repeated-measures ANOVA, and a post-hoc Tukey's test was applied to confirm the differences. After both the intervention and detraining, both groups showed greater intention to be physically active. This suggests the suitability of long-term physical exercise to generate greater intention to be physically active and thus establish healthy life habits including increased levels of physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that summarizes evidence on the effectiveness of exercise on functional aerobic capacity in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. It reviews seven databases of English language studies, in which the criteria for inclusion were identified by 12 randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies. It is also suggested that proper intensity of aerobic and aquatic exercises improved upper and lower limb physical performance of fibromyalgia patients.

Indications of laterall biases favouring left-handers have been found in various sports; especially interactive sports where the athletes have limited time to react to incoming objects. The aim of this study was therefore to explore whether any lateral biases exist in handball by examining 7-meter shots. A total of 6846 7-meter throws from 240 7-meter shooters across four seasons in the semi-professional Icelandic elite handball division (male and female) were analyzed. Out of the 240 7-meter shooters, of which 151 were male and 89 were female, 22% were left-handed (22% of the males and 20% of the females). The left-handed 7-meter shooters took a disproportionate number of the 7-meter shots, with left-handed shooters performing 29% of the 7-meter shots (27% in the male league and 33% in the female league). The results of a Bayesian two-level analysis indicated that left-handedness is not associated with greater success from the 7-meter line at the semi-professional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between relay exchange block time and final performance in 4 × 100-m and 4 × 200-m freestyle and 4 × 100-m medley relays as a function of sex (men and women) and classification (medallists and non-medallists) in international competitions. Nineteen international competitions covering a 13-year period (2000–2012) were analysed retrospectively. The data corresponded to a total of 827 team relay histories (407 men, 420 women). Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests were performed to determine any differences by sex, classification, and event. Similarly, the relationship between the exchange block times and final performance was examined by means of a Pearson correlation analysis. In the three events, the men’s exchange block times were shorter than those of the women (η2 = 0.049–0.109;P < 0.001). The exchange block time was especially relevant for the women’s relay medallists in the 4 × 100-m freestyle (r = 0.306,P = 0.021) and 4 × 100-m medley (r = 0.385,P = 0.011), while for men the relationship was clearer for the non-medallists. These results suggest that the exchange block time should be considered as one of the performance parameters of swimming relay starts, and thus should be included explicitly as part of training. In particular, the coach could design training targeted at standardising an optimal exchange block time equal to or less than that expected for other teams in the competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semen analysis is the first step in the evaluation of an infertile couple. Within this process, an accurate and objective morphological analysis becomes more critical as it is based on the correct detection and segmentation of human sperm components. In this paper, we present an improved two-stage framework for detection and segmentation of human sperm head characteristics (including acrosome and nucleus) that uses three different color spaces. The first stage detects regions of interest that define sperm heads, using k -means, then candidate heads are refined using mathematical morphology. In the second stage, we work on each region of interest to segment accurately the sperm head as well as nucleus and acrosome, using clustering and histogram statistical analysis techniques. Our proposal is also characterized by being fully automatic, where a user intervention is not required. Our experimental evaluation shows that our proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art. This is supported by the results of different evaluation metrics. In addition, we propose a gold-standard built with the cooperation of a referent expert in the field, aiming to compare methods for detecting and segmenting sperm cells. Our results achieve notable improvement getting above 98% in the sperm head detection process at the expense of having significantly fewer false positives obtained by the state-of-the-art method. Our results also show an accurate head, acrosome and nucleus segmentation achieving over 80% overlapping against hand-segmented gold-standard. Our method achieves higher Dice coefficient, lower Hausdorff distance and less dispersion with respect to the results achieved by the state-of-the-art method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the evidence for the effectiveness of aerobic exercise c interventions on reducing insulin resistance markers in obese children and/or adolescents. A secondary outcome was change 0 in percentage of body fat. Methods: A computerized search was made from seven databases: CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, 'S EMBASE, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Science Citation Index. The analysis was restricted to randomized controlled trials 1 that examined the effect of aerobic exercise on insulin resistance markers in obese youth. Two independent reviewers o screened studies and extracted data. Effect sizes (ES) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated, and the heterogeneity Ü5 of the studies was estimated using Cochran's Q-statistic. Results: Nine studies were selected for meta-analysis as they fulfilled the inclusion criteria (n = 367). Aerobic exercise ¿¡ interventions resulted in decreases in fasting glucose (ES= --0.39; low heterogeneity) and insulin (ES= --0.40; low heterogeneity) and in percentage of body fat (ES= --0.35; low heterogeneity). These improvements were specifically accentuated in adolescents (only in fasting insulin), or through programs lasting more than 12 weeks, three sessions per week, and over 60 min of aerobic exercise per session. Conclusions: This meta-analysis provides insights into the effectiveness of aerobic exercise interventions on insulin resistance markers in the obese youth population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest exhaustive survey of dietary patterns in infants from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) in North America documents and quantifies current trends in infant feeding. These include higher than generally recommended energy, protein, and saturated fat intakes. The majority of infants are bottle fed at some point in their first year of life, and their weaning diet often includes low intakes of fruits and vegetables, with high starchy, rather than green or yellow, vegetables. Early introduction of solids, use of cow's milk prior to 1 year of age, and high juice intake in the first 2 years - all less desirable diet practices - are improving, but are still prevalent. More preschoolers are likely to get sweets or sweetened beverages than a serving of fruit or a vegetable on a given day. These food intake patterns mimic the adult American diet and are associated with an increased risk of obesity in childhood and later life. But more importantly, these patterns appear to be set as early as 18 months of age, and by 20 months of age, they mimic the adult diet. Despite increase in total energy intake, and greater variety of foods, the basic characteristics of macronutrient intake distribution and food group contribution of energy to the diet before 2 years of age remain remarkably stable and similar to the family table. Obesity prevention needs to include specific targets in terms of breastfeeding and adequate formula feeding, as well as appropriate introduction of weaning foods with goals of changing the inadequate patterns documented in the FITS. These interventions will also require addressing parent and caregiver behaviors, including attending to hunger satiety cues (responsive feeding), and shaping early food preferences. This needs to be done starting at birth, in the first months of life. Early intervention offers a unique and potentially efficacious opportunity to shape the future dietary patterns of the next generation. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to follow-up the stability of young talented swimmers' performance and its biomechanical determinant factors (i.e., anthropometrics, kinematics, hydrodynamics and efficiency) during a competitive season. Thirty three (15 boys and 18 girls) young swimmers (overall: 11.81 ± 0.75 years old and Tanner stages 1-2 by self-evaluation) were evaluated. Performance, anthropometrics, hydrodynamics, kinematics and efficiency variables were assessed at three moments during a competitive season. Performance had a significant improvement (with minimum effect size) and a moderate-very high stability throughout the season. In the anthropometrics domain all variables increased significantly (ranging from without to minimum effect size) between moments and had a moderate-very high stability. Hydrodynamics presented no variations between all moments and had a low-very high stability throughout the season. In the kinematics domain, there were no variations between moment one and three, except for an increase in stroke frequency (without size effect). Speed fluctuation remained constant, with no significant variations. All kinematic variables had a low-very high stability. Efficiency variables did not present variations between moment one and three and had a low-moderate stability. Overall, young swimmers showed a minimum improvement in performance and in anthropometric factors; and a moderate stability of performance and its determinant factors (i.e., anthropometrics, hydrodynamics, kinematics and efficiency) during the competitive season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research which was conducted to investigate differences and discriminatory power of water polo game-related statistics in men in international championships and their relationship with competition. Researchers evaluated statistics from 230 matches. They found that game-related statistics were able to discriminate athletic performance in all phases of water polo competition.

The article reports on research which over the course of 12 years investigated the pacing strategies of male and female swimmers in 200 and 400 meter individual medleys in international swimming competitions. Researchers evaluated 821 male swimmers and 822 female swimmers. They found that men applied a positive pacing strategy in medley events and the women applied a negative pacing strategy.

The aims of this study were (i) to compare women's water polo game-related statistics by match outcome (winning and losing teams) and phase (preliminary, classificatory, and semifinal/ bronze medal/gold medal), and (ii) identify characteristics that discriminate performances for each phase. The game-related statistics of the 124 women's matches played in five International Championships (World and European Championships) were analyzed. Differences between winning and losing teams in each phase were determined using the chi-squared. A discriminant analysis was then performed according to context in each of the three phases. It was found that the game-related statistics differentiate the winning from the losing teams in each phase of an international championship. The differentiating variables were both offensive (centre goals, power-play goals, counterattack goal, assists, offensive fouls, steals, blocked shots, and won sprints) and defensive (goalkeeper-blocked shots, goalkeeper-blocked inferiority shots, and goalkeeper-blocked 5-m shots). The discriminant analysis showed the game-related statistics to discriminate performance in all phases: preliminary, classificatory, and final phases (92%, 90%, and 83%, respectively). Two variables were discriminatory by match outcome (winning or losing teams) in all three phases: goals and goalkeeper- blocked shots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of different physical exercise interventions on the lipid profile (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG)) of obese children. Method: A computerized search was made of seven databases using keywords. Effect sizes (ES) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and the heterogeneity (I2) of the studies was estimated using Cochran''s Q-statistic applied to the effect size means. The studies were grouped according to the intervention program—aerobic alone or combined (aerobic fitness, strength, and flexibility). Results: Seven studies were selected for review as satisfying the inclusion criteria. Six were randomized controlled trials (n =318) and one was a controlled clinical trial (groups not randomly assigned) (n =38). The main cumulative evidence indicates that the programs based on aerobic exercise alone have a moderate (ES=−0.49; I²=87) and a large effect (ES=−0.55; I²=77) on LDL-C and TG concentrations, respectively; and the programs based on combined exercise have a moderate effect (ES=0.50; I²=0) on HDL-C concentration. Conclusions: The programs based on aerobic exercise (60min, 3 times/week, ≤75% maximum heart rate) improve the LDL-C and TG concentrations. Moreover, the programs based on combined exercise (≥60min, >75% maximum heart rate) also improve the HDL-C concentration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of diverse interventions in aerobic fitness adjusted for weight in obese children. A computerized search of seven databases was carried out using keywords. Effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and the heterogeneity of the studies was assessed using Cochran's Q statistic applied to the effect size means. Nine studies were selected for review as satisfying the inclusion criteria ( n patients == 311). The conclusions of the meta-analysis were: (i) the programs based on aerobic exercise have a moderate positive effect on aerobic fitness; (ii) the programs based on aerobic exercise lasting more than 12 weeks (3000 minutes total exercise time) in three sessions per week (more than 60 min per session) obtain better results; (iii) overall, combined programs fail to achieve improvements in aerobic fitness; and (iv) few randomized clinical trials have been conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease. The knee and hip joints are the most frequently affected. Treatments fall into three main categories: pharmacological, non-pharmacological, and surgical. Treatments can be applied alone or in combination. In the last few years, within the non-pharmacological category have been a growing importance of physical exercise programs aimed to reduce pain in knee and hip joints. The purpose of this review was to summarize evidence for the effectiveness and structure of exercise programs on pain in patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis. To that end, several databases were searched, retrieving 33 studies that evaluated the influence of different exercise programs on pain. These studies were grouped according to the characteristics of the exercise program: land-based intervention (strength program, Tai Chi, aerobic program), aquatic intervention (hydrotherapy), and mixed exercise programs. The main conclusions drawn were: (i) despite recommendations for the use of exercise programs as pain therapy in patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis, very few randomized clinical studies were conducted; (ii) the structure of the exercise programs (content, duration, frequency and duration of the session) is very heterogeneous; (iii) on overall, exercise programs based on Tai Chi have better results than mixed exercise programs, but without clear differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the case of a nine-year-old Crohn's disease patient suffering from life-threatening ceftriaxone-induced immune hemolytic anemia. Presenting signs and symptoms; Past medical history; Diagnosis; Treatment; Outcome.

Summary: Obesity is the primary risk factor for the development of obstructive sleep apnea, and physical inactivity plays an important role. However, most studies have either only evaluated physical activity subjectively or objectively in obstructive sleep apnea. The objectives of this study were: (i) to assess the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea severity (both apnea–hypopnea index and desaturation parameters) and both objectively and subjectively measured physical activity after adjustment for anthropometry and body composition parameters; and (ii) to assess the relationship between objective and subjective physical activity parameters and whether obstructive sleep apnea severity has a modulatory effect on this relationship. Fifty‐four subjects (age 47.7 ± 15.0 years, 46% males) were categorized into groups according to obstructive sleep apnea severity: no obstructive sleep apnea; mild obstructive sleep apnea; and moderate‐to‐severe obstructive sleep apnea. All subjects were evaluated with subjective and objective physical activity, anthropometric and body composition measurements, and 3‐night self‐applied polysomnography. A one‐way ANOVA was used to evaluate the differences between the three obstructive sleep apnea severity groups and multiple linear regression to predict obstructive sleep apnea severity. Differences in subjectively reported sitting time (p ≤ 0.004) were found between participants with moderate‐to‐severe obstructive sleep apnea, and those with either mild or no obstructive sleep apnea (p = 0.004). Age, body mass index and neck circumference explained 63.3% of the variance in the apnea–hypopnea index, and age, body mass index and visceral adiposity explained 67.8% of the variance in desaturation parameters. The results showed that the person's physical activity does not affect obstructive sleep apnea severity. A weak correlation was found between objective and subjective physical activity measures, which could be relevant for healthcare staff encouraging patients with obstructive sleep apnea to increase their physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the efficacy of lactic acid-producing organisms Bifidobacterium bifidum and Streptococcus thermophilus in preventing acute diarrhea in children. Patients and methods; Diarrheal disease and rotavirus shedding.

The author discusses the treatment of pediatric obesity based on physical exercise programs. Topics addressed include the association between obese children's fitness levels and cardiovascular disease risk, the aerobic component's indication of the limits of cardiovascular function, and exercise programs aimed at reducing blood low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride levels. Also mentioned are types of aerobic activities.

The aims of this study were (i) to know the effects of an exercise program on a group of people with depression and anxiety and (ii) to compare theses effects with a transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral group therapy (TCBGT). The participants were 15 people with depression and/or anxiety symptoms. The participants followed an exercise program. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed with validated questionnaires. An exercise program can be used as a treatment option for people with depression and/or anxiety with good results in comparison with TCBGT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although coaching is considered an important determinant of athletes' potential doping behavior (PDB), there is an evident lack of studies that have examined coaching-strategy-and-training-methodology (CS&TM) in relation to PDB. This study was aimed to identify the specific associations that may exist between CS&TM-factors and other factors, and PDB in high-level swimming. The sample comprised 94 swimmers (35 females; 19.7 ± 2.3 years of age) and consisted of swimmers older than 18 years who participated in the 2017 National Championship. Variables were collected by previously validated questionnaires, with the addition of questions where athletes were asked about CS&TM to which they had been exposed. Multinomial logistic regression was applied for the criterion PDB (Negative PDB -- Neutral PDB -- Positive PDB). The higher risk for positive-PDB was found in males (OR: 6.58; 95%CI: 1.01-9.12); therefore, all regressions were adjusted for gender. Those swimmers who achieved better competitive result were less prone to neutral-PDB (0.41; 0.17-0.98). The positive-PDB was evidenced in those swimmers who perceived that their training was monotonous and lacked diversity (1.82; 1.41-5.11), and who were involved in training which was mostly oriented toward volume (1.76; 1.11-7.12). The lower likelihood of positive-PDB is found in those who replied that technique is practiced frequently (0.12; 0.01-0.81), those who replied that coach regularly provided the attention to explain the training aims (0.21; 0.04-0.81), and that coach frequently reviewed and discussed the quality of execution of specific tasks (0.41; 0.02-0.81). The findings on the relationships between the studied variables and PDB should be incorporated into targeted anti-doping efforts in swimming. Further studies examining sport-specific variables of CS&TM in younger swimmers and other sports are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Highest-level soccer players reduce match running performance towards the end of matches, with TD being greater reduced than HIR. As players do not reduce their MRP in the latest stages of the second half, and that influence of situational factors was not observed, it seems that the decline of match running performance in highest-level soccer may not be a consequence of fatigue or situational factors but of pacing strategies. It is widely recognized that there is a decline in match running performance (MRP) towards the end of matches. To clarify whether it is primarily a consequence of fatigue, pacing or situational influences, this study aimed to examine MRP across 15-min match periods for players on different playing positions. Players' MRP (n = 244) were examined from the UEFA Champions League matches (n = 20) using a semiautomatic optical tracking system. Linear mixed models for repeated measures were adjusted to analyze MRP over the six 15-min match periods while controlling the influence of situational factors. No effects of match outcome, match location, team, and opponent quality on total distance (TD) and high-intensity running (HIR) for players in all playing positions were found (F = 0.03–2.75; all p > 0.05). Significant differences in TD (F = 17.57–53.01; η2 = 0.39–0.52, all large effect sizes) and HIR (F = 3.67–7.64; η2 = 0.05–0.19, small to medium effect sizes) among six 15-minute match periods were found for players in all playing positions. In addition, players in all playing positions covered less TD (d = 1.41–2.15, large to very large effect sizes) and HIR (d = 0.16–0.6, trivial to medium effect sizes) in the last compared to the first 15-min match period. No differences in TD and HIR between the last two match periods in the second half were observed. This study confirmed that soccer players reduce MRP towards the end of matches, and suggest that the decline of MPR in highest-level soccer may be a consequence of pacing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Obstructive sleep apnea is linked to severe health consequences such as hypertension, daytime sleepiness, and cardiovascular disease. Nearly a billion people are estimated to have obstructive sleep apnea with a substantial economic burden. However, the current diagnostic parameter of obstructive sleep apnea, the apnea–hypopnea index, correlates poorly with related comorbidities and symptoms. Obstructive sleep apnea severity is measured by counting respiratory events, while other physiologically relevant consequences are ignored. Furthermore, as the clinical methods for analysing polysomnographic signals are outdated, laborious, and expensive, most patients with obstructive sleep apnea remain undiagnosed. Therefore, more personalised diagnostic approaches are urgently needed. The Sleep Revolution, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, aims to tackle these shortcomings by developing machine learning tools to better estimate obstructive sleep apnea severity and phenotypes. This allows for improved personalised treatment options, including increased patient participation. Also, implementing these tools will alleviate the costs and increase the availability of sleep studies by decreasing manual scoring labour. Finally, the project aims to design a digital platform that functions as a bridge between researchers, patients, and clinicians, with an electronic sleep diary, objective cognitive tests, and questionnaires in a mobile application. These ambitious goals will be achieved through extensive collaboration between 39 centres, including expertise from sleep medicine, computer science, and industry and by utilising tens of thousands of retrospectively and prospectively collected sleep recordings. With the commitment of the European Sleep Research Society and Assembly of National Sleep Societies, the Sleep Revolution has the unique possibility to create new standardised guidelines for sleep medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of the present study were: (i) to compare beach handball game-related statistics by match outcome (winning and losing teams), and (ii) to identify characteristics that discriminate performances in the match. The game-related statistics of the 72 women's matches played at the VIII Women's Beach Handball World Championship (2018) were analysed. The game-related statistics were taken from the official website. A validation of the data showed their reliability to be very good (the inter-observer mean reliability was a=0.82 and the intra-observer mean was a=0.86). For the differences between winning/losing teams a parametric (unpaired t-test) or non-parametric (Mann-Whitney U test) test was applied depending on whether the variable met or did not meet normality, respectively. A stepwise discriminant analysis was then performed to determine the variables that predicted performance (victory or defeat). Five variables showed differences between the winning and losing teams: total points (p<.001; ES=1.09), technical faults (p<.001; ES=-0.96), the number of players with either negative (p<.001; ES=-0.86) or positive (p<.001; ES=1.05) valuations and overall valuation (p<.001; ES=1.29). The predictive model correctly classified 80.6% of the matches using two variables (Wilks's=0.618; canonical correlation index=0.618): overall valuation and GK shots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared volleyball game-related statistics by outcome (winners and losers of sets) and set number (total, initial, and last) to identify characteristics that discriminated game performance. Game-related statistics from 314 sets (44 matches) played by teams of male 14- to 15-year-olds in a regional volleyball championship were analysed (2011). Differences between contexts (winning or losing teams) and "set number" (total, initial, and last) were assessed. A discriminant analysis was then performed according to outcome (winners and losers of sets) and "set number" (total, initial, and last). The results showed differences (winning or losing sets) in several variables of Complexes I (attack point and error reception) and II (serve and aces). Game-related statistics which discriminate performance in the sets index the serve, positive reception, and attack point. The predictors of performance at these ages when players are still learning could help coaches plan their training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to describe the daily physical activity (PA) during recess of primary-school children and its relationship with the play area and their age. 738 children (8.5±1.7 years, range six to eleven years) participated in the study. The playground recess PA of each child was measured using accelerometry. An ANOVA was used to determine the differences in PA by play area (large >15 m²/child and small area <8 m²/child) in each age group. In general, the children in larger play areas were more active than the children in small play areas (effect size = .36). This difference was larger in nine-year (effect size = .81), ten-year (effect size = .60) and eleven-year old children (effect size = .55). It seems necessary to carry out strategies that provide a greater opportunity for PA in small playgrounds with a high density of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Establishing energy requirements in infants and young children is important in developing age-appropriate diet recommendations but most published guidelines for energy requirements have 1 or more limitations related to the data underlying the calculations. Objective To develop a comprehensive set of daily energy requirements for infants and young children aged 0–24 mo meeting the ideals of worldwide applicability to all healthy children based on the use of the doubly labeled water (DLW) technique to measure total energy expenditure (TEE), the use of recent, international growth charts, and calculation of values across a wide range of body weight. Methods Daily estimated energy requirements (EERs) were calculated in 1-mo increments from 0 to 24 mo for boys, girls, and combined, using as inputs the following: 1) TEE measured using the DLW technique, 2) energy deposition estimates from the Institute of Medicine, and 3) body weight values from the 25th to 75th percentiles from the 2006 WHO growth charts. EERs were combined for age groups 0 to <6, 6–8, 9–11, and 12–24 mo by averaging EERs from individual months. The EER calculations were supported by a systematic literature review and a meta-regression of existing studies. Results Energy requirements naturally increase with age and are slightly higher in boys than in girls. The EERs derived in this study are similar to those in other recent international efforts. Conclusions This updated set of EERs for infants and young children expand and improve upon the methodology used to establish previous published guidelines. These estimates have multiple potential uses including planning age-appropriate menus for the complementary feeding period, the development of foods that are more precisely targeted to the needs of infants and children at particular ages, and establishing macronutrient requirements within specific age groups based on a percentage of energy, such as dietary fat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's football has been far less studied than men's. This work's objectives were to: (1) analyze the differences in psychological skills, mental toughness (MT), and anxiety in women football players according to their level (national team, first division, and second division); and (2) predict those three levels (using a multivariate model) according to the players' psychological skills, mental toughness, and anxiety. One hundred and forty‐two Icelandic women football players (23.5 ± 3.5 years) participated in the study. They were classified into three groups according to their level: national team, and first and second divisions. Three questionnaires were used: the Test of Performance Strategies Questionnaire, the Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire, and the Sport Anxiety Scale‐2 questionnaire. A one‐way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc correction was used to examine differences between teams. Applying a classification tree analysis, the participants were classified into three groups according to their level. There were few differences between the three groups in psychological skills, but in mental toughness and anxiety the national team had the highest and lowest values respectively, and the first and second division players differed in relaxation in competition (TOPS), total score and confidence (SMTQ), and worry (SAS‐2). The classification tree correctly classified 54.9% of the sample with the variables total score (SMTQ) and activation in practice (TOPS). Therefore, given the relevance that psychological attributes appear to have for women football players' performance, it would seem indispensable to incorporate the figure of the sports psychologist into national and club teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were: to analyse psychological skills, mental toughness, and anxiety in elite handball players as functions of category (age group) and sex, and to develop a multivariate model explaining handball performance from a psychological perspective. One hundred and seventy four handball players (18.8 ± 3.5 years), components of the national teams, participated in the study. They were classified into official categories (age groups). Three questionnaires were used: the Test of Performance Strategies Questionnaire, the Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire, and the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 questionnaire. A one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc correction was used to examine differences between teams for each sex. A discriminant analysis was performed for each team to classify the participants into two groups according to their performance level (starters and non-starters). The results showed there to be no differences in the variables studied as a function of age. However, men reported lower anxiety than women. The discriminant analysis correctly classified high percentages of the players (65.2% to 100%). In the younger players, the variables selected were related to mental toughness and anxiety. For the men's and women's A Teams the most discriminating variables were emotional control in practice and relaxation in competition, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embedded systems control and monitor a great deal of our reality. While some "classic" features are intrinsically necessary, such as low power consumption, rugged operating ranges, fast response and low cost, these systems have evolved in the last few years to emphasize connectivity functions, thus contributing to the Internet of Things paradigm. A myriad of sensing/computing devices are being attached to everyday objects, each able to send and receive data and to act as a unique node in the Internet. Apart from the obvious necessity to process at least some data at the edge (to increase security and reduce power consumption and latency), a major breakthrough will arguably come when such devices are endowed with some level of autonomous "intelligence". Intelligent computing aims to solve problems for which no efficient exact algorithm can exist or for which we cannot conceive an exact algorithm. Central to such intelligence is Computer Vision (CV), i.e., extracting meaning from images and video. While not everything needs CV, visual information is the richest source of information about the real world: people, places and things. The possibilities of embedded CV are endless if we consider new applications and technologies, such as deep learning, drones, home robotics, intelligent surveillance, intelligent toys, wearable cameras, etc. This paper describes the Eyes of Things (EoT) platform, a versatile computer vision platform tackling those challenges and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray screening systems have been used to safeguard environments in which access control is of paramount importance. Security checkpoints have been placed at the entrances to many public places to detect prohibited items, such as handguns and explosives. Generally, human operators are in charge of these tasks as automated recognition in baggage inspection is still far from perfect. Research and development on X-ray testing is, however, exploring new approaches based on computer vision that can be used to aid human operators. This paper attempts to make a contribution to the field of object recognition in X-ray testing by evaluating different computer vision strategies that have been proposed in the last years. We tested ten approaches. They are based on bag of words, sparse representations, deep learning, and classic pattern recognition schemes among others. For each method, we: 1) present a brief explanation; 2) show experimental results on the same database; and 3) provide concluding remarks discussing pros and cons of each method. In order to make fair comparisons, we define a common experimental protocol based on training, validation, and testing data (selected from the public \mathbb GDX ray database). The effectiveness of each method was tested in the recognition of three different threat objects: 1) handguns; 2) shuriken (ninja stars); and 3) razor blades. In our experiments, the highest recognition rate was achieved by methods based on visual vocabularies and deep features with more than 95% of accuracy. We strongly believe that it is possible to design an automated aid for the human inspection task using these computer vision algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interventions targeting parenting focused modifiable factors to prevent obesity and promote healthy growth in the first 1000 days of life are needed. Scale-up of interventions to global populations is necessary to reverse trends in weight status among infants and toddlers, and large scale dissemination will require understanding of effective strategies. Utilizing nutrition education theories, this paper describes the design of a digital-based nutrition guidance system targeted to first-time mothers to prevent obesity during the first two years. The multicomponent system consists of scientifically substantiated content, tools, and telephone-based professional support delivered in an anticipatory and sequential manner via the internet, email, and text messages, focusing on educational modules addressing the modifiable factors associated with childhood obesity. Digital delivery formats leverage consumer media trends and provide the opportunity for scale-up, unavailable to previous interventions reliant on resource heavy clinic and home-based counseling. Designed initially for use in the United States, this system’s core features are applicable to all contexts and constitute an approach fostering healthy growth, not just obesity prevention. The multicomponent features, combined with a global concern for optimal growth and positive trends in mobile internet use, represent this system’s future potential to affect change in nutrition practice in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to recent advances in machine learning, there has been an explosive development of multiple methodologies that automatically extract information from architectural floor plans. Nevertheless, the lack of a standard notation and the high variability in style and composition make it urgent to devise reliable and effective approaches to analyze and recognize objects like walls, doors, and rooms from rasterized images. For such reason, and with the aim of bringing some significant contribution to the state-of-the-art, this paper provides a critical revision of the methodologies and tools from rule-based and learning-based approaches between the years 1995 to 2021. Datasets, scopes, and algorithms were discussed to guide future developers to improve productivity and reduce costs in the construction and design industries. This study concludes that most research relies on a particular plan style, facing problems regarding generalization and comparison due to the lack of a standard metric and the limited public datasets. However, the study also highlights that combining existing tasks can be employed in various and increasing applications. • Review the automatic procedures for analyzing architectural floor plans of raster images. • Raster plans are common in architectural analysis, which usually discards low-level geometric and topological data. • The analysis is complex as architectural plans present a high degree of relationship in several non-uniform styles. • Compared to traditional rule-based models, machine learning has led floor plan analysis over the last few years. • Future works must account for new datasets, a standard result metric, and a style-invariant focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between block time and final performance for each sex in 50-m and 100-m individual freestyle, distinguishing between classification (1st to 3rd, 4th to 8th, 9th to 16th) and type of starting platform (old and new) in international competitions. Twentysix international competitions covering a 13-year period (2000- 2012) were analysed retrospectively. The data corresponded to a total of 1657 swimmers' competition histories. A two-way ANOVA (sex × classification) was performed for each event and starting platform with the Bonferroni post-hoc test, and another two-way ANOVA for sex and starting platform (sex × starting platform). Pearson's simple correlation coefficient was used to determine correlations between the block time and the final performance. Finally, a simple linear regression analysis was done between the final time and the block time for each sex and platform. The men had shorter starting block times than the women in both events and from both platforms. For 50- m event, medalists had shorter block times than semi-finalists with the old starting platforms. Block times were directly related to performance with the old starting platforms. With the new starting platforms, however, the relationship was inverse, notably in the women's 50-m event. The block time was related for final performance in the men's 50-m event with the old starting platform, but with the new platform it was critical only for the women's 50-m event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood obesity is currently one of the most prevailing and challenging public health issues among industrialized countries and of international priority. The global prevalence of obesity poses such a serious concern that the World Health Organization (WHO) has described it as a "global epidemic." Recent literature suggests that the genesis of the problem occurs in the first years of life as feeding patterns, dietary habits, and parental feeding practices are established. Obesity prevention evidence points to specific dietary factors, such as the promotion of breastfeeding and appropriate introduction of nutritious complementary foods, but also calls for attention to parental feeding practices, awareness of appropriate responses to infant hunger and satiety cues, physical activity/inactivity behaviors, infant sleep duration, and family meals. Interventions that begin at birth, targeting multiple factors related to healthy growth, have not been adequately studied. Due to the overwhelming importance and global significance of excess weight within pediatric populations, this narrative review was undertaken to summarize factors associated with overweight and obesity among infants and toddlers, with focus on potentially modifiable risk factors beginning at birth, and to address the need for early intervention prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are no published harmonized nutrient reference values for the complementary feeding period. The aim of the study was to develop proposals on adequate and safe intake ranges of micronutrients that can be applied to dietary guidance and menu planning. Dietary intake surveys from 6 populous countries were selected as pertinent to the study and reviewed for data on micronutrients. The most frequently underconsumed micronutrients were identified as iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, E, and folate. Key published reference values for these micronutrients were identified, compared, and reconciled. WHO/FAO values were generally identified as initial nutrient targets and reconciled with nutrient reference values from the Institute of Medicine and the European Food Standards Authority. A final set of harmonized reference nutrient intake ranges for the complementary feeding period is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]