Mario Leone

Discriminant analysis of anthropometric and biomotor variables among elite adolescent female athletes in four sports

The aim of this study was to identify anthropometric and biomotor variables that discriminated among groups of elite adolescent female athletes aged 14.3 ± 1.3 years (mean ± s) from four different sports (tennis, n = 15; swimming, n = 23; figure skating, n = 46; volleyball, n = 16). The anthropometric variables included body mass, height, bi-epicondylar breadth of the distal extremity of the humerus and femur, maximal girth of the calf and biceps and the sum of five adipose skinfolds. The biomotor variables were maximal aerobic power, muscular endurance and flexibility of the trunk. Discriminant analysis revealed three significant functions (P ≪ 0.05). The first discriminant function primarily represented differences between figure skaters and all other groups of athletes. The other two underlined anthropometric and biomotor differences between swimmers and volleyball players and between tennis players and swimmers, respectively. After validation, the analysis showed that 88% of the athletes were correctly classified in their respective sports. Our model confirms that elite adolescent female athletes show physical and biomotor differences that clearly distinguish them according to their particular sport.

Report of the first Outcome Measures in Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (OMMYD-1) international workshop: Clearwater, Florida, November 30, 2011

Groupe de recherche interdisciplinaire en maladies neuromusculaires (GRIMN), Centre de sante et de services sociaux de Jonquiere, Quebec, Canada Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universite de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada Department of Neurology, University of Milan, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Italy Human Genetics Unit, Centre hospitalier de l’Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada e ECOBES, Cegep de Jonquiere, Quebec, Canada Centre hospitalier universitaire de Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada Department of Health Sciences, Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada Faculty of Medicine, Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada Canadian Forces Health Services HQ, Directorate of Medical Policy, Quebec, Canada

Report of the second Outcome Measures in Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (OMMYD-2) international workshop San Sebastian, Spain, October 16, 2013

Report of the second Outcome Measures in Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (OMMYD-2) international workshop San Sebastian, Spain, October 16, 2013 Cynthia Gagnon *, Giovanni Meola , Luc J. Hebert , Luc Laberge , Mario Leone , Chad Heatwole i a Groupe de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les Maladies Neuromusculaires (GRIMN), Centre de Sante et de Services Sociaux de Jonquiere, Jonquiere, Quebec, Canada b Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universite de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada c Department of Neurology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, University of Milan, Milan, Italy d Faculty of Medicine, Universite Laval, Laval, Quebec, Canada e Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), Quebec, Quebec, Canada f ECOBES, Cegep de Jonquiere, Jonquiere, Quebec, Canada g Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada h Department of Health Sciences, Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada i Department of Neurology, The University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA Received 19 December 2014

Correlates of Body Dissatisfaction in Children.

OBJECTIVE To assess body dissatisfaction among children between 9 and 14 years of age and to examine factors (age, sex, body mass index, perceived shape, and self-esteem) associated with wanting a thinner or a larger shape. STUDY DESIGN Through at-school questionnaires, 1515 preadolescent children (51.2% girls) were asked to fill out the Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory and the Contour Drawing Rating Scale (body dissatisfaction). Trained assessors then weighed and measured the students individually. RESULTS Overall, 50.5% of girls wanted a thinner shape compared with 35.9% of boys. More boys wanted a larger shape compared with girls (21.1% vs 7.2%). Most of the preadolescents who were overweight or obese were unsatisfied whereas 58.0% of girls and 41.6% of boys who were underweight were satisfied with their body. Results of a multinomial logistic regression revealed that age, sex, body mass index, perceived shape, and self-esteem were significant correlates of the 4 body dissatisfaction contrasts (wanting a slightly thinner, much thinner, slightly larger, and much larger shape) and explained 50% of the variance. An interaction between sex and perceived shape was found, revealing that girls who perceived themselves as having a larger shape were more likely to desire a thinner shape than boys. CONCLUSIONS The high prevalence rate of body dissatisfaction among children suggests that current approaches in our society to prevent problems related to body image must be improved. The different results between girls and boys highlight the need to take into account sex differences when designing prevention programs that aim to decrease body dissatisfaction.

Biomechanical analysis to determine the external power output on an immersible ergocycle.

Abstract The external power output (Pext) is unknown during chest-level immersion exercise on water immersible ergocycles (IE). This knowledge will allow the practitioner to prescribe accurately exercise on an IE to the same workload on dryland ergocycle (DE). To develop a mathematical model to calculate Pext during chest-level immersion exercise on IE at different pedalling rates (rpm) taking into account the water external force exerted on the legs and pedalling mechanism. Thirty healthy participants (age: 33 ± 10 years) performed a maximal incremental exercise test on IE (chest-level immersion) and on a DE. Pedalling rate was increased by 10 rpm every minute beginning at 40 till 120 rpm. Pext was calculated by applying the general fluid equation on all elements exposed to water external force exertions (legs and pedalling system). Regression analysis yielded the following equations to determine (1) IE Pext (W) based on pedalling rate (rpm): Pext (W) = 0.0004 (rpm)2.993 (r2 = 0.99, SEE = 7.6 W, p < 0.0001) and (2) when DE Pext (W) is known, IE pedalling rate (rpm) = 13.91 × DE Pext (W)0.329 (r2 = 0.99, SEE = 1.5 W, p < 0.0001). This study provides a mathematical model based on the general fluid equation to calculate IE Pext during chest-level immersion exercise using pedalling rate (rpm), IE pedalling system physical characteristics and lower limb size. This model can be used to determine Pext for any IE type for exercise training prescription.

Comparison and analysis of three different methods to evaluate vertical jump height

The purpose of this study was to compare three methods to assess vertical jump height, to determine their limitations and to propose solutions to mitigate their effects. The chosen methods were the contact mat, the optical system and the Sargent jump. The testing environment was designed such that all three systems simultaneously measured the vertical jump height. A total of 41 kinesiology students (18 women, 23 men, mean age 23·2 ± 4·5 years) participated in this study. Data show that the contact mat and the optical system essentially provide similar results (P = 0·912) and that the correlation coefficient between the two systems was 0·972 (r2 = 0·944). However, it was found that the Sargent jump has a tendency to overestimate the height, providing a measurement that is significantly different from the other two methods as the jumps are higher than 30·64 cm (P = 0·044). Through the design of the experiment, several sources of errors were identified and mathematically modelled. These sources include optical sensor placement, flat‐footed landing and hip/knee bend. Whenever possible, the errors were quantified and solutions were proposed.

The effect of exercise on sleep quality and psychological, physiological, and biological correlates in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot study.

Sleep problems affect roughly 75% of hospitalized individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia (Anderson and Bradley, 2013; Waters et al., 2012) and 50% of outpatients (Palmese et al., 2011). For these patients, sleep problems can interfere with their daytime activities as well as their ability to invest themselves fully in their own treatment (Waters et al., 2012). Currently, medication is the main strategy used to tackle sleep problems for these patients (Waters et al., 2012; Wilson and Argyropoulos, 2012) but this solution is far from ideal, primarily because longer sleeping hours do not result in any significant improvement in the quality of sleep subjectively reported by patients (Waters et al., 2012), many of which prefer an alternative to medication when seeking to reduce their sleep problems (Peacey et al., 2012). The purpose of the present research was to document the effects of a short-term physical training program on sleep quality and associated psychological, physiological and biological correlates. Eight patients (mean age= 33.8 ± 6.7) diagnosedwith schizophrenia by a psychiatrist (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) were recruited by clinical staff among outpatient clients at the Chicoutimi regional hospital to participate in the study. Each participant took part in a bi-weekly physical exercise program (75 min/session during eight weeks). Participants engaged in strength-training and cardiovascular fitness exercises indoors. They completed a 200 m circuit that

Prediction of work metabolism from heart rate measurements in forest work: some practical methodological issues

Individual heart rate (HR) to workload relationships were determined using 93 submaximal step-tests administered to 26 healthy participants attending physical activities in a university training centre (laboratory study) and 41 experienced forest workers (field study). Predicted maximum aerobic capacity (MAC) was compared to measured MAC from a maximal treadmill test (laboratory study) to test the effect of two age-predicted maximum HR Equations (220-age and 207-0.7 × age) and two clothing insulation levels (0.4 and 0.91 clo) during the step-test. Work metabolism (WM) estimated from forest work HR was compared against concurrent work measurements while taking into account the HR thermal component. Results show that MAC and WM can be accurately predicted from work HR measurements and simple regression models developed in this study (1% group mean prediction bias and up to 25% expected prediction bias for a single individual). Clothing insulation had no impact on predicted MAC nor age-predicted maximum HR equations. Practitioner summary: This study sheds light on four practical methodological issues faced by practitioners regarding the use of HR methodology to assess WM in actual work environments. More specifically, the effect of wearing work clothes and the use of two different maximum HR prediction equations on the ability of a submaximal step-test to assess MAC are examined, as well as the accuracy of using an individuals step-test HR to workload relationship to predict WM from HR data collected during actual work in the presence of thermal stress.

Strength-Training Induces Skeletal Muscle Adaptations in Patients with Myotonic Dystrophy Type I: A Case Study: 2302 June 2, 3: 45 PM - 4: 00 PM.

PURPOSE: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is the most prevalent inherited neuromuscular disease in adults. This multisystemic disease is characterized by skeletal muscle impairments including muscle wasting. Slowing muscle wasting in this population using strength training seems a promising strategy, but it remains unknown if it would trigger cellular and molecular responses similar to the ones observed in healthy people. The objective of this case study is to evaluate the effect of a strength-training program on skeletal muscle adaptations in a DM1 patient. METHODS: One male with DM1 (age = 36) underwent a 12-week strength-training program, twice a week, consisting of 2 sets of 6 exercises at 6 RM supplemented by functional tasks. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsy samples were obtained pre- and post-training program. The proportion of type I and II myofibers and the cross sectional area (CSA) of each type were determined by immunohistochemistry. The percentage of centrally nucleated fibers (CNF) was obtained following staining with hematoxyline/eosine Two blinded evaluators analyzed the data. RESULTS: Following the 12-week strength-training program, the patient showed an increase in the CSA of type I myofibers evaluated at 46% (p<0.05) by evaluator #1 and 51% (p<0.05) by evaluator #2. For type II myofibers, the increase in CSA was evaluated to 24% (p<0.05) and 29% (p<0.05) by evaluator #1 and #2, respectively. A muscle fiber-type switching was also induced by the 12-week strength-training program as shown by the increase in the proportion of type II myofibers from 29% to 71% (p<0.05) noted by the evaluator #1 and the similar observation noted by evaluator #2 (28% to 72%, p<0.05). No change was observed in the percentage of CNF by both evaluators. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that skeletal muscle of patients with DM1 could undergo adaptations linked to muscle growth as demonstrated by the increase in the CSA of type I and type II myofibers. It also seems that strength-training parameters used in this study could also influence the distribution of myofibers, in favour of type II. Further studies comprising a higher number of participants are needed to validate our findings and determine to which extent and how skeletal muscles of patients with DM1 adapt to strength training stimulus.

Assessment of the impact of an exercise program on the physical and functional capacity in patients with autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay: An exploratory study

Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is a neuromuscular disorder caused by the mutation of the SACS gene. Clinical symptoms of this disease include progressive ataxia, spasticity, and peripheral neuropathy. Similar to other neuromuscular disorders, these patients are prone to physical deconditioning which may lead to a loss of functional capacity. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of a training program on the physical fitness and the functional capacity of ARSACS patients. Twelve patients (age: 28.1 ± 8.2 years) participated in this study. They followed an eight-week training program including physical activities, strength-power and aerobic training. Compared to the initial evaluation, measures of physical fitness and functional capacity were significantly improved (p ≤ 0.05) for 11 of the 12 tests. Positive gains were also observed for fall frequency and for upper-limb incoordination. This paper supports the importance of a training program for ARSACS patients in order to improve their quality of life. Through these types of interventions, it may be possible to slow down the progression of the disease and help maintain functional capacity.