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Study aim: To investigate the effects of 6-month sensorimotor training on postural control of 5-6-year-old preschool children born with ‘biological risk factors’ (BRF). Material and methods: Sixty-four Hungarian preschoolers participated in this study, and were assigned to an experimental group (n = 17), control group 1 (n = 23) and control group 2 (n = 24). The experimental group (born with BRF) attended a 6-month balance intervention based on Ayres’ therapy, while control group 1 (born with BRF) and control group 2 (born with no BRF) fol­lowed the regular preschool schedule. Birth weight, gestational age at birth, Apgar score and other abnormalities during pregnancy and birth were considered to be BRF. A moveable platform (stabilometer) was used to examine the distance of center of pressure movements of all participants prior to the start and after the end of the intervention. The testing procedure was performed with four enjoyable tests in the same sequence (‘Mouse in the hole’, ‘Center’, ‘Christmas tree’, ‘Square painting’). Results: The balance intervention program resulted in significant improvements in postural control of the experimental group. In three of six variables the balance index scores of the intervention group approached the scores of their peers born without BRF, and they even had better performance in three of six variables. Conclusions: Balance training with instability training devices could help children born with BRF attain a higher level of inte­gration through the stimulation of tactile and balancing senses.

Abstract Background Amputation impairs the ability to balance. We examined adaptation strategies in balance following dysvascularity-induced unilateral tibial amputation in skilled prosthetic users (SPU) and first fitted amputees (FFA) (N = 28). Methods Excursions of center of pressure (COP) were determined during 20 s quiet standing using a stabilometry system with eyes-open on both legs or on the non-affected leg(s). Main measures: COP trajectories and time functions; distribution of reaction forces between the two legs; inclination angles obtained through second order regression analysis using stabilogram data. Results FFA vs SPU demonstrated 27.8% greater postural sway in bilateral stance (p = 0.0004). Postural sway area was smaller in FFA standing on the non-affected leg compared with SPU (p = 0.028). The slope of the regression line indicating postural stability was nearly identical in FFA and SPU and the direction of regression line was opposite for the left and right leg amputees. Conclusion Of the two adaptation strategies in balance, the first appears before amputation due to pain and fatigue in the affected leg. This strategy appears in the form of reduced postural sway while standing on the non-affected leg. The second adaptation occurs during rehabilitation and regular use of the prosthesis resulting in normal weightbearing associated with reduced postural sway on two legs and return to the normal postural stability on one leg.

Background/objectives: Children participate in various organized and informal physical activities (PAs) in their leisure time, presenting diverse objectives and environments for motor and social development. However, current research often focuses on specific, mostly organized activities, overlooking the complexity of participation across different settings. This study aimed to (1) identify groups of children with similar characteristics based on their participation in five organized and informal sports activities and (2) examine how the groups differ regarding gender, age, BMI, motor competencies (MCs), and attendance in institutionalized care at school., Methods: The study included n = 1717 1st and 2nd graders (M = 7.60 years, SD = 0.59, 50.7% girls) and n = 1319 3rd and 4th graders (M = 9.46 years, SD = 0.57, 49.4% girls) from the "EMOKK" study, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Data were collected via parent questionnaires on leisure sports participation, and MCs were assessed using MOBAK-1-2 and 3-4 tests. Latent profile analyses (LPAs) and univariate ANOVAs were used to identify group differences., Results: A three-profile LPA model best fits the data, revealing differences in participation across individual and team sports, optional school sports, free play on the school playground, and informal activities during leisure time. Children involved more in team sports (profiles: allrounder and very active sportsperson ) participate more in informal play and present better MCs than children participating mainly in individual sports (profile: individual sportsperson ). Girls were predominantly in the individual sports profile, while boys were more evenly spread across all groups. These findings highlight the importance of designing targeted interventions that promote participation in both organized and informal sports, particularly for children with lower levels of PA., Conclusions: Children show different patterns of engagement in different interrelated organized and informal leisure PA contexts. These specific patterns and the children's MCs should be taken into account for the targeted promotion of PAs during leisure time.

Background: Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is recognized as a pan-cancer predictive biomarker that potentially indicates who could benefit from treatment with PARP inhibitors (PARPi). Despite its clinical significance, HRD testing is highly complex. Here, we investigated in a proof-of-concept study whether Deep Learning (DL) can predict HRD status solely based on routine hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) histology images across nine different cancer types., Methods: We developed a deep learning pipeline with attention-weighted multiple instance learning (attMIL) to predict HRD status from histology images. As part of our approach, we calculated a genomic scar HRD score by combining loss of heterozygosity (LOH), telomeric allelic imbalance (TAI), and large-scale state transitions (LST) from whole genome sequencing (WGS) data of n = 5209 patients across two independent cohorts. The model's effectiveness was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), focusing on its accuracy in predicting genomic HRD against a clinically recognized cutoff value., Results: Our study demonstrated the predictability of genomic HRD status in endometrial, pancreatic, and lung cancers reaching cross-validated AUROCs of 0.79, 0.58, and 0.66, respectively. These predictions generalized well to an external cohort, with AUROCs of 0.93, 0.81, and 0.73. Moreover, a breast cancer-trained image-based HRD classifier yielded an AUROC of 0.78 in the internal validation cohort and was able to predict HRD in endometrial, prostate, and pancreatic cancer with AUROCs of 0.87, 0.84, and 0.67, indicating that a shared HRD-like phenotype occurs across these tumor entities., Conclusions: This study establishes that HRD can be directly predicted from H&E slides using attMIL, demonstrating its applicability across nine different tumor types., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Both actual motor competencies (AMC) and perceived motor competencies (PMC) play an important role in motor development research and children's physical and psychological development. PMC refer to children's perceptions of their motor competencies. To assess the PMC of first and second grade children (aged 6-9 years), the SEMOK-1-2 instrument was developed. The instrument is aligned to the validated MOBAK-1-2 instrument which assesses AMC in the competence areas "object movement" and "self-movement" Accounting for possible reading difficulties in younger children, the motor tasks and answer options were illustrated and explained verbally. The purpose of this study was to test and validate the SEMOK-1-2 instrument and investigate the associations between the constructs AMC, PMC and physical activity (PA), whereby PA was measured by the participation in team and individual sports. Data from N = 404 pupils in the German-speaking part of Switzerland from first and second grades ( M = 7.8 years, SD = 0.69, 49% boys) were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the factorial validity of the SEMOK-1-2 instrument. Structural equation models were used to investigate the association between the constructs. The analyses confirmed a two-factor structure with the factors PMC "object movement" and PMC "self-movement", corresponding to the factors existing in the MOBAK-1-2 instrument. Latent correlations between AMC factors and the corresponding PMC factors were r = 0.79 for "object movement" and r = 0.76 for "self-movement". Associations with external criteria and covariates, such as sex, were associated with both AMC and PMC. Analyses also revealed that children who participated more often in individual and team sports showed higher levels in both AMC and PMC. The confirmation of the two-factorial structure of the SEMOK-1-2 instrument and the associations between AMC and PMC as well as external criteria indicate construct and criterion validity. The SEMOK-1-2 instrument can be economically utilized for assessing PMC and is also suitable for the monitoring of PMC in the context of Physical Education., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Bretz, Strotmeyer, Seelig and Herrmann.)

In (pre)school, children acquire and deepen their basic motor competencies (BMCs) and interact with peers and friends. BMCs are a central developmental goal in childhood and the prerequisite for participation in sportive aspects of social life. Both motor competencies and social integration are linked to children's health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of the present study was to describe the connection between BMCs, social relationships, and aspects of HRQoL in (pre)school children. In this study, the BMCs of N = 1163 preschool children ( M = 5.7 years, SD = 0.57, 52% boys) and N = 880 first and second graders ( M = 7.5 years, SD = 0.58, 51% boys) were tested. The children's social integration was assessed by the teachers; the HRQoL was recorded from the parents' perspective. In both preschool and primary school, children with better BMCs also showed higher values in their social integration. Moreover, the results indicated a connection between BMCs and general HRQoL in primary school and BMCs and physical well-being in preschool. As BMCs, social integration, and HRQoL seem to be connected in (pre)school, this should be considered both from developmental and health-oriented perspectives, as well as for physical education (PE) lessons.

One of the major challenges for the modern society, is the development of a sustainable economy also aiming at the valorization of agro-industrial by-products in conjunction with at a significant reduction of generated residues from farm to retail. In this context, the present study demonstrates a biotechnological approach to yield bioactive peptides from a protein fraction obtained as a by-product of the rice starch production. Enzymatic hydrolysis, with the commercial proteases Alcalase and Protamex, were optimized in bioreactor up to 2 L of volume. The two best digestates, selected with respect to peptide release and extract antioxidant capacity, were further fractionated (cut-offs of 10, 5, and 1 kDa) via cross-flow filtration. Amino acid composition indicated that most of the fractions showed positive nutritional characteristics, but a putative bitter taste. A fraction obtained with Alcalase enzyme (retentate 8 kDa) exerted anti-inflammatory potential, while the smaller molecular weight fractions (retentate 1-5 kDa and permeate < 1 kDa) were more active in tyrosinase inhibition. The latter were further sub-fractionated by size-exclusion chromatography. From the 15 most anti-tyrosinase sub-fractions, 365 peptide sequences were identified via liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry. The present data support the possible exploitation of bioactive peptide from rice starch by-product as ingredients into food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic formulations., Competing Interests: ML was employed by Carminia snc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ferri, Tedeschi, Prandi, Michelini, Calabretta, Babini, Graen-Heedfeld, Bretz, Raddadi, Gianotti, Lamborghini and Tassoni.)

In preschool, children build new contacts and social relationships with other people. They learn to cooperate with their peers and communicate in groups. In addition to social relationships, basic motor competencies (in German: Motorische Basiskompetenzen (MOBAK)) are also seen as a central developmental goal in early childhood and are necessary for participation in the culture of sports and movement. The aim of this paper is to describe the connection between social relationships and basic motor competencies in early childhood. In this present study, the motor competencies of N = 548 preschool children (51% girls, M = 68.0 months, SD = 6.8) were tested in the competence areas of self-movement and object movement. The children's perceived social relationships were recorded from teacher and parent perspectives. The results clearly show a connection between social relationships and motor competencies in early childhood, with a stronger connection observed in boys. This finding is relevant both from a developmental and a health-oriented perspective, as it points to a link between physical and mental health, as well as technical and interdisciplinary competencies, in early childhood.

The rice-starch processing industry produces large amounts of a protein-rich byproducts during the conversion of broken rice to powder and crystal starch. Given the poor protein solubility, this material is currently discarded or used as animal feed. To fully exploit rice's nutritional properties and reduce this waste, a biotechnological approach was adopted, inducing fermentation with selected microorganisms capable of converting the substrate into peptide fractions with health-related bioactivity. Lactic acid bacteria were preferred to other microorganisms for their safety, efficient proteolytic system, and adaptability to different environments. Peptide fractions with different molecular weight ranges were recovered from the fermented substrate by means of cross-flow membrane filtration. The fractions displayed in vitro antioxidant, antihypertensive, and anti-tyrosinase activities as well as cell-based anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects. In the future, the peptide fractions isolated from this rice byproduct could be directly exploited as health-promoting functional foods, dietary supplements, and pharmaceutical preparations. The suggested biotechnological process harnessing microbial bioconversion may represent a potential solution for many different protein-containing substrates currently treated as byproducts (or worse, waste) by the food industry.

During advanced aging passive exercise (PE) is becoming a valuable therapeutic intervention to improve physical and mental performances. In the present study chronic low frequency pulsed electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure was presented to senescent rats in order to clarify the behavioural effects related to cognitive and motility functions. Male Wistar rats of 30-32 months old were treated with EMF for six weeks, 3 times per week, 24 min per sessions prior to the age of 32 months. Stimulation intensities varied from 45 to 1250 μT. Psychomotility was estimated in an open field (OF), attention ability in novel object recognition (NOR), and spatial learning in the Morris water maze (MWM) tests. The results showed that EMF stimulation enhanced novelty-induced motility of vertical type, i.e. frequency of rearing activity was increased. In the cognitive tests EMF exposure increased attention-based discrimination in NOR and facilitated working memory type of spatial learning in the MWM tests. No undesirable type of side effects could be obtained even after the highest dose used. It is concluded that EMF stimulation in senescent age supports cognitive and psychomotor function in rats. The notion that PE may have complementary beneficial action on brain and motor functions in senescent age is strengthened by the present experimental results., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Recently, the isolation of new health-related bioactive molecules derived from agro-food industrial by-products by means of environment-friendly extraction processes has become of particular interest. In the present study, a protein by-product from the rice starch industry was hydrolysed with five commercial proteolytic enzymes, avoiding the use of solvents or chemicals. The digestion processes were optimised, and the digestates were separated in fractions with four different molecular weight ranges by using a cross-flow membrane filtration technique. Total hydrolysates and fractions were tested in vitro for a wide range of biological activities. For the first time rice-derived peptides were assayed for anti-tyrosinase, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity and irritation capacities. Antioxidant and anti-hypertensive activities were also evaluated. Protamex, Alcalase and Neutrase treatments produced peptide fractions with valuable bioactivities without resulting cytotoxic or irritant. Highest levels of bioactivity were detected in Protamex-derived samples, followed by samples treated with Alcalase. Based on the present results, a future direct exploitation of isolated peptide fractions in the nutraceutical, functional food and cosmetic industrial fields may be foreseen., Competing Interests: We have the following interests: Fabien Guillon is employed by Sterlab Laboratories. Matteo Lamborghini is employed by Carminia snc. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter our adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials, as detailed online in the guide for authors.

Regular assessment of psycho-physiological parameters in aged subjects helps to clarify physical and mental conditions which are important in the prevention of health-endangering events to assure a healthy aging. Thirty older care female residents consented voluntarily to participate in the study. The somatic and psycho-physiological parameters recorded were handgrip force, disjunctive reaction time, balance control and whole body movement coordination, the electrocardiogram and heart rate variability. Significant correlations were found between (a) reaction time and balance control efficiency (r = -0.567, p < 0.009), (b) reaction time and movement coordination accuracy (r = -0.453, p < 0.045), (c) cardiac state and movement coordination accuracy (r = 0.545, p < 0.016), (d) cardiac stress and cardiac state (r = -0.495, p < 0.031), and (e) cardiac stress and force (r = -0.822, p < 0.045). In conclusion, for the aim of establishing basic battery tests for assessing psycho-physiological condition of physical fitness our results emphasize the importance of systematic physical activity, endurance and strength training supporting muscle force, balance control and whole-body movement coordination, in addition to improving the cardiac stress index level. The strong interrelation among these parameters allows the drawing of a more complete view regarding the health condition of aged individuals.

The aim of this work was the development of a feed-control for a succinic acid production fed-batch process. The performed batch trials indicated a correlation between succinic acid production and base consumption pH control. Based on the metabolism of Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens, a theoretical correlation between base consumption and glucose feed was established and proved in cultivation trials. With the established fed-batch process, the succinic acid yield could be increased to 0.875 (g/g glucose) in comparison to batch processes (0.60) with similar glucose concentrations. Additionally, the results indicate that the osmolarity of the medium has a significant influence on succinic acid production., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Autolysis of riboflavin-producing B. subtilis can be induced by pH, lack of carbon source, and the buffer system. Stress factors like temperature shift or oxygen dearth enhance the autolysis process. After cultivation of a riboflavin-producing strain, the pH of the whole culture broth was adjusted to 6.5-7.5. At a temperature of 40 degrees C, autolysis started after 1 h. Adding a defined amount of commercially available endo- and exo-proteases enhanced both auto- and proteo-lysis. Optimization of endo- and exo-protease concentrations and of the time increased the degree of proteolysis. Additionally, the amount of DNA and Protein trapped in the riboflavin crystals could be significantly reduced by autolysis. After autolysis, the cultivation broth was centrifuged and the supernatant was cross-flow filtrated with a cut off of 10 kDa. Using this autolysate instead of yeast extract as a medium component for riboflavin production with B. subtilis, a riboflavin yield of 77% was obtained in comparison with the standard cultivation on yeast extract., (Copyright 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The time course in force development of gastrocnemius muscles isolated from frog (Rama esculenta) were investigated under the effect of stretching with different velocity and time characteristics. Time course of stretching were linear, parabolic and exponential. It was found that the changes in force development of both resting and activated muscles depend on the time characteristics of the stretching applied. Corresponding to data in literature, the length-tension curve of resting muscle in dynamic stretching differs from the length-tension curve measured in static circumstances, but the shape of the length-tension curve is not essentially affected by the change of the average rate of stretching with a duration of 0.1-0.4 s and constant size (0.2-0.25 lo, lo is the reference length). The results can be interpreted with the aid of a muscle model as well. In the case of a contracted muscle, if the stretching and the stimulation of the muscle begin at the same time, the active force development reaches its maximum approximately at about half-length of maximum stretch.