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Successful shooting performance in competition is reliant on several factors such as shooting techniques and competition-associated psychological stresses. This study examined the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to upcoming competition and its association with shooting outcomes in elite junior shooting players. The cortisol awakening response (CAR) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) secretion after awakening were measured for two consecutive days (the day before and on the day of competition for the selection of national shooting team members) in 19 junior men and 21 junior women players, and the shooting scores of the individual players were obtained. The total cortisol secretion during the CAR period (CARauc) increased, but total DHEA secretion during the post-awakening period (Daucawk) decreased on the day of competition, compared with one day before competition. The CARauc was higher in women than in men players, whereas Daucawk was higher in men than in women players across the two consecutive days. Cortisol and DHEA levels were comparable between low-scored (below the mean scores for air pistol or air rifle players) and high-scored players one day before competition. However, the CARauc on the day of competition was higher and the variations in the CARauc and molar CARauc/Daucawk ratios across the two consecutive days were greater in low-scored than in high-scored men and women players. These results indicated that upcoming competition involves alterations of the CAR and DHEA secretion after the awakening period, and greater HPA response to the upcoming competition was adversely associated with shooting scores in junior shooting athletes.Lay summaryAn important upcoming competition was perceived as a strong stressor on awakening that induced alteration in CAR and DHEA secretion after the awakening period in elite shooting players. This study observed that, irrespective of their age and period of shooting practice, the HPA axis function on the day of competition was associated with shooting outcomes in elite shooting players.

OBJECTIVE Patients with advanced cancer commonly experience multiple symptoms that present as groups or clusters. The present study aimed to examine whether hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction underlies the concurrent multiple symptoms in patients with advanced cancer. METHODS Patients' cortisol levels were determined in saliva samples collected after awakening (0, 30, and 60 minutes after awakening) and at nighttime (21:00-22:00 PM) from 46 patients with lung cancer (15.2% women), with a mean (standard deviation) age of 64.3 (9.2) years and 47 healthy participants (53.2% women; age = 62.0 [4.6] years). Cancer-related symptoms were measured using the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI). RESULTS Compared with healthy participants, patients showed a significantly reduced cortisol awakening response (F(1,364) = 46.2, p < .001) and had flatter diurnal slope of cortisol (larger β values) (mean [standard error of the mean] = -0.64 [0.06] versus -0.18 [0.05], p < .001). Altered HPA axis function was significantly and adversely associated with performance status and burden of symptoms (all p values < .01). However, each MDASI item varied widely in the degree of association with the HPA axis function. Hierarchical clustering analysis based on Spearman's rank correlation with complete linkage identified that nausea was clustered with vomiting, numbness, and dry mouth, whereas the other nine MDASI core symptoms associated with altered HPA axis function were clustered together. CONCLUSIONS Altered HPA axis function may be a possible biological pathway that can explain the concurrence of core symptoms in patients with advanced lung cancer.

This paper presents a chromatic dispersion monitoring technique using a clock-frequency component for carrier-suppressed return-to-zero (CSRZ) signal. The clock-frequency component is extracted by a clock-extraction (CE) process. To discover which CE methods are most efficient for dispersion monitoring, we evaluate the monitoring performance of each extracted clock signal. We also evaluate the monitoring ability to detect the optimum amount of dispersion compensation when optical nonlinearity exists, since it is more important in nonlinear transmission systems. We demonstrate efficient CE methods of CSRZ signal to monitor chromatic dispersion for optimum compensation in high-speed optical communication systems. Keywords: Carrier-suppressed return-to-zero (CSRZ), clock component, chromatic dispersion monitoring, optical nonlinearity, optimum dispersion compensation.

Objective: To investigate effects of Cervi Cornu on Adjuvant Athritis in rats, the edema inhibit rate, the anaJgesic effects, the number of WBC, RA facter, Platelet, the quantity of CRP, total protein, albumin and globuline in the blood serum were measured in the arthritis part. Results: The results obtained as fonows ; 1. After arthritis of Sprague dawley(SD) rats was induced by injecting Freund's complete adjuvant for 2 weeks, any treatment was not for Control group, acupunctured for Treat Ⅰ group. normal saJine was ora] administrated for the Treat Ⅱ group, Cervi Cornu Ex. was oral administrated for Treat Ⅲ, and Cervi Cornu Herbal-acupullcture was injected for Trea Ⅳ group during 2 weeks every other day. Selected point was on pressure pain point in both groups. And then the edema inhibit rate were checked. The edema inhibit rate was in Treat I group, Treat IV group, in Treat III. there was significance in the edema inhibit rate between Control group and Treat group, in order of Treat Ⅰ, Ⅳ, Ⅲ.(p