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Background: The pre-season preparatory period is considered key for optimizing the physical fitness levels needed to withstand congested match periods and preventing injuries during the regular soccer season. This study contrasted the effects s of neuromuscular training (NMT) versus an endurance-dominated training (ET) program conducted during the preseason on measures of physical fitness and injury occurrence in female soccer players. Methods: Twenty-four female soccer players aged 17.0 ± 1.3 years from a professional soccer club participated in this study. Players were randomly assigned to NMT (n = 12) or ET (n = 12) groups according to their playing position. The preseason intervention program lasted six weeks, with three weekly sessions with a duration of 45–60 min per session. Exercises in the NMT group included muscle strengthening exercises, plyometrics, agility and dynamic stability exercises, while the ET group practiced a traditional pre-season training program consisting of running and sprinting exercises, fartlek, and high-intensity interval training. The training volumes were similar in the two study groups. Anthropometric measurements, physical fitness tests (i.e., linear and change-of-direction speed, muscle strength and power tests) and the overall injury rate per 1000 h of exposure (training, match) were recorded throughout the season. Results: No between group differences were found at pre (T1). Significant group-by-time interactions were observed for the 5, 10, and 30-m linear sprint speed tests (p < 0.001, 2.16 < d < 2.58), the T-test (p = 0.024, d = 1.03), the squat (p < 0.001, d = 4.04), and the countermovement jump test (p < 0.001, d = 2.21), the Loughborough soccer passing test (LSPT) (p = 0.019, d = 1.08), and the 1-RM back squat test (p < 0.001, d = 2.53). Post-hoc tests indicated that NMT provided larger improvements for SJ, CMJ, 1-RM back squat, the 5-m sprint, 10-m sprint, 30-m sprint, T-test and LSPT compared to ET (1.07 > d > 2.77). The injury rate across the season was significantly lower in the NMT (5.1/1000 h exposure) compared to ET (11.8/1000 h exposure) (p = 0.014). Conclusions: The findings support that six-weeks of preseason NMT versus ET induced larger performance improvements, and significantly reduced injury occurrence in elite female soccer players. Key points: • Our results indicate that the integration of 45 to 60 min of preseason neuromuscular training, three times per week, for 6 weeks, can improve physical fitness and prevent injuries in young female soccer players. • The present study demonstrated that the neuromuscular training program can reduce the incidence injury rate by more than 50% and the burden by more than 65% compared to the endurance-dominated training. • Neuromuscular training is an effective approach during the preseason period to improve diverse measures of physical fitness and to reduce injury occurrence. • Preseason neuromuscular training appears to improve the fitness level of female soccer players and as such could allow them to compete at the high level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test whether forming and memorizing more action plans has larger effects than generating fewer plans. In a randomized controlled trial with five intervention groups and one control group, 478 participants were asked to form one, two, three, four, or five action plans, or to complete questionnaires only (control group). One week later, behavior change was measured and participants of the intervention groups completed a free recall task. Outcome measures are daily intake of fruit and vegetables as well as recall of plans. Fruit and vegetable intake increased with higher numbers of plans, and was significantly larger in groups that formed four ( d = 0.36) or five plans ( d = 0.48) as compared to controls. The sum of recalled plans reflected the number of generated plans, but was unrelated to behavior change. Generating multiple plans benefits behavior change, but to be implemented they need not be recalled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design:Lithium has attracted much attention as a neuroregenerative agent for spinal cord injury in animal models. We hypothesized that the lithium can be beneficial to patients with spinal cord injury. The safety and pharmacokinetics of lithium has been studied in our earlier phase I clinical trial, indicating its safety. This is a phase II clinical trial to evaluate its efficacy on chronic spinal cord injury patients.Objectives:The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of lithium on chronic spinal cord injury patients.Setting:A major spinal cord injury rehabilitation center in Beijing, China.Methods:Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-week parallel treatment arms with lithium carbonate and with placebo. A total of 40 chronic spinal cord injury subjects were recruited. Oral lithium carbonate was titrated or placebo was simulated to maintain the serum lithium level of 0.6-1.2 mmol l−1 for 6 weeks, followed by a 6-month follow-up. The functional outcomes and the neurological classifications, as well as the safety parameters, adverse events and pharmacokinetic data were carefully collected and monitored.Results:No significant changes in the functional outcomes and the neurological classifications were found. The only significant differences were in the pain assessments using visual analog scale comparing the lithium and the placebo group. No severe adverse event was documented in the study.Conclusion:The lithium treatment did not change the neurological outcomes of patients with chronic spinal cord injury. It is worth to investigate whether lithium is effective in the treatment of neuropathic pain in chronic spinal cord injury.Sponsorship:China Spinal Cord Injury Network Company Limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of religious/spiritual resources may increase when dealing with the stress of a cancer diagnosis. However, there has been very little research conducted into changes in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices as a result of a cancer diagnosis outside the USA. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a breast cancer diagnosis on patients' religious/spiritual beliefs and practices in the UK where religious practice is different. The study used two methods. One compared the religious/spiritual beliefs and practices of 202 patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer with those of a control group of healthy women ( n = 110). The other examined patients' perceived change in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices at the time of surgery with those in the year prior to surgery. The aspects of religiousness/spirituality assessed were: levels of religiosity/spirituality, strength of faith, belief in God as well as private and public practices. Patient's perceived their belief in God, strength of faith and private religious/spiritual practices to have significantly increased shortly after surgery compared with the year prior to surgery. However, there were no significant differences in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices between patients and healthy participants. Change scores demonstrated both a reduction and an increase in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices. Although belief in God, strength of faith and private religious/spiritual practices were perceived by patients to be significantly higher after their cancer diagnosis, no significant differences in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices were found between the cancer group at the time of surgery and the control group. Different methodologies appear to produce different results and may explain contradictions in past US studies. Limitations of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtually all quantitative microdata used by social scientists derive from samples that incorporate clustering, stratification, and weighting adjustments (Kish 1965, 1992). Such data can yield standard error estimates that differ dramatically from those derived from a simple random sample of the same size. Researchers using historical U.S. census microdata, however, usually apply methods designed for simple random samples. The resulting p values and confidence intervals could be inaccurate and could lead to erroneous research conclusions. Because U.S. census microdata samples are among the most widely used sources for social science and policy research, the need for reliable standard error estimation is critical. We evaluate the historical microdata samples of the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) project from 1850 to 1950 in order to determine (1) the impact of sample design on standard error estimates, and (2) how to apply modern standard error estimation software to historical census samples. We exploit a unique new data source from the 1880 census to validate our methods for standard error estimation, and then we apply this approach to the 1850-1870 and 1900-1950 decennial censuses. We conclude that Taylor series estimation can be used effectively with the historical decennial census microdata samples and should be applied in research analyses that have the potential for substantial clustering effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The currently dominating hypothetico-deductive research paradigm for ecology has statistical hypothesis testing as a basic element. Classic statistical hypothesis testing does, however, present the ecologist with two fundamental dilemmas when field data are to be analyzed: (1) that the statistically motivated demand for a random and representative sample and the ecologically motivated demand for representation of variation in the study area cannot be fully met at the same time; and (2) that the statistically motivated demand for independence of errors calls for sampling distances that exceed the scales of relevant pattern-generating processes, so that samples with statistically desirable properties will be ecologically irrelevant. Reasons for these dilemmas are explained by consideration of the classic statistical Neyman-Pearson test procedure, properties of ecological variables, properties of sampling designs, interactions between properties of the ecological variables and properties of sampling designs, and specific assumptions of the statistical methods. Analytic solutions to problems underlying the dilemmas are briefly reviewed. I conclude that several important research objectives cannot be approached without subjective elements in sampling designs. I argue that a research strategy entirely based on rigorous statistical testing of hypotheses is insufficient for field ecological data and that inductive and deductive approaches are complementary in the process of building ecological knowledge. I recommend that great care is taken when statistical tests are applied to ecological field data. Use of less formal modelling approaches is recommended for cases when formal testing is not strictly needed. Sets of recommendations, "Guidelines for wise use of statistical tools", are proposed both for testing and for modelling. Important elements of wise-use guidelines are parallel use of methods that preferably belong to different methodologies, selection of methods with few and less rigorous assumptions, conservative interpretation of results, and abandonment of definitive decisions based a predefined significance level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We revisit and update the autoregressive-ouput-analysis method for constructing a confidence interval for the steady-state mean of a simulated process by using Rissanen's predictive least-squares criterion to estimate the autoregressive order of the process. This order estimator is strongly consistent when the output is autoregressive. The order estimator is combined with the standard autoregressive-output-analysis method to form a confidenceinterval procedure. Alternatives for estimating the degrees of freedom for the procedure are investigated. The main result is an asymptotically valid confidence-interval procedure that, empirically, has good small-sample properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]