Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity is Associated with Functional Capacity in Young Healthy Individuals

Introduction: Impaired functional capacity and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) are predictors ofcardiovascular (CV) adverse outcomes in healthy individuals as well as in those with CV disease. However,interrelation between arterial PWV and functional capacity remain to be established. Hence, the aim of thepresent study was to assess the relationship between arterial PWV and functional capacity in young healthyindividuals.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on young healthy subjects (n=58) with ageranging between 17-24 years. The PWV from four regions was included for the study: brachial-ankle PWV,carotid-PWV/aortic PWV, heart-brachial PWV and heart-ankle PWV. Functional capacity was evaluatedusing a six-minute walk test (6MWT). Relationship between variables were assessed using bivariatecorrelations and multiple linear regression analysis.Results: Walking-distance was significantly correlated with age (r=0.334; p=0.010) and aortic-PWV(r=-0.259; p=0.049). Aortic PWV was robustly associated with 6MWD even after multiple adjustments withpotential confounders using several models.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that aortic-PWV is an independent predictor of functional capacity inyoung healthy individuals. There was an inverse association of aortic-PWV with walking-distance, suggestingthat higher the aortic PWV, lower is the functional capacity.

How to plan and write a budget for research grant proposal?

Medical research can have an enormous positive impact on human health. Health research improves thequality of human lives and society which plays a vital role in social and economic development of thenation. Financial support is crucial for research. However, winning a research grant is a difficult task. Asuccessful grant-winning application requires two key elements: one is an innovative research problemwith best probable idea/plan for tackling it and appropriate planning of budget. The aim of the presentpaper is to give an insight on funding agencies providing funding for health research including traditionalIndian medicine (from an Indian perspective) and key points for planning and writing budget section of agrant application.© 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Publishing Services byElsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Effect of Yoga on Short Term Heart Rate Variability Measure as a Stress Index in Subjunior Cyclists : A Pilot Study。

Subjunior athletes experience mental stress due to pressure from the coach, teachers and parents for better performance. Stress, if remains for longer period and not managed appropriately can leads to negative physical, mental and cognitive impact on children. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of integrated yoga module on heart rate variability (HRV) measure as a stress index in subjunior cyclists. Fast furrier transform technique of frequency domain method was used for the analysis of HRV. We have found a significant increase in high frequency (HF) component by 14.64% (P<0.05) and decrease in the low frequency component (LF) of HRV spectrum by 5.52% (P<0.05) and a decrease in LF/ HF ratio by 19.63% (P<0.01) in yoga group. In the control group, there was decrease in the HF component and, no significant difference in the LF component of HRV spectrum and LF/HF ratio. The results show that yoga practice decreases sympathetic activity and causes a shift in the autonomic balance towards parasympathetic dominance indicating a reduction in stress. In conclusion, yoga practice helps to reduce stress by optimizing the autonomic functions. So, it is suggested to incorporate yoga module as a regular feature to keep subjunior athletes both mentally and physically fit.