Gender may have an influence on the relationship between Functional Movement Screen scores and gait parameters in elite junior athletes - A pilot study.

Aims The aim of this study was to examine the effects of gender on the relationship between Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and treadmill-based gait parameters. Methods Twenty elite junior athletes (10 women and 10 men) performed the FMS tests and gait analysis at a fixed speed. Between-gender differences were calculated for the relationship between FMS test scores and gait parameters, such as foot rotation, step length, and length of gait line. Results Gender did not affect the relationship between FMS and treadmill-based gait parameters. The nature of correlations between FMS test scores and gait parameters was different in women and men. Furthermore, different FMS test scores predicted different gait parameters in female and male athletes. FMS asymmetry and movement asymmetries measured by treadmill-based gait parameters did not correlate in either gender. Conclusion There were no interactions between FMS, gait parameters, and gender; however, correlation analyses support the idea that strength and conditioning coaches need to pay attention not only to how to score but also how to correctly use FMS.

Photoinhibition of photosystem I in a pea mutant with altered LHCII organization.

Comparative analysis of in vivo chlorophyll fluorescence imaging revealed that photosystem II (PSII) photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) of leaves of the Costata 2/133 pea mutant with altered pigment composition and decreased level of oligomerization of the light harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complexes (LHCII) of PSII (Dobrikova et al., 2000; Ivanov et al., 2005) did not differ from that of WT. In contrast, photosystem I (PSI) activity of the Costata 2/133 mutant measured by the far-red (FR) light inducible P700 (P700(+)) signal exhibited 39% lower steady state level of P700(+), a 2.2-fold higher intersystem electron pool size (e(-)/P700) and higher rate of P700(+) re-reduction, which indicate an increased capacity for PSI cyclic electron transfer (CET) in the Costata 2/133 mutant than WT. The mutant also exhibited a limited capacity for state transitions. The lower level of oxidizable P700 (P700(+)) is consistent with a lower amount of PSI related chlorophyll protein complexes and lower abundance of the PsaA/PsaB heterodimer, PsaD and Lhca1 polypeptides in Costata 2/133 mutant. Exposure of WT and the Costata 2/133 mutant to high light stress resulted in a comparable photoinhibition of PSII measured in vivo, although the decrease of Fv/Fm was modestly higher in the mutant plants. However, under the same photoinhibitory conditions PSI photochemistry (P700(+)) measured as ΔA820-860 was inhibited to a greater extent (50%) in the Costata 2/133 mutant than in the WT (22%). This was accompanied by a 50% faster re-reduction rate of P700(+) in the dark indicating a higher capacity for CET around PSI in high light treated mutant leaves. The role of chloroplast thylakoid organization on the stability of the PSI complex and its susceptibility to high light stress is discussed.

[Biomechanics in the pathogenesis of spondylosis and spondylolisthesis]. / A spondylolysis és a spondylolisthesis kialakulásának biomechanikája.

The etiology and predisposing factors of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis, which are summarized in the first part of this article, have received considerable attention, but there biomechanics is little published. The goal of this article is to show a biomechanical model for the development of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. With mechanical equations it has been established, the pars interarticularis and the ligaments resist together the tensile and shear force, the bending moment if the pars interarticularis is uncracked. If the tensile stress in the pars interarticularis reaches its strength, crack occurs and the spondylolysis is developed. The cracked pars interarticularis is no longer capable of sustaining tension, the tensile force is transferred to the ligament. When the compressive strain of the pars interarticularis reaches its strain limit, the spondylolisthesis does not develop, because the vertebra can not slip with the unbroken ligaments. If the loading on the pars interarticularis would be decreasing, the cracks close and the pars interarticularis can ossify. If the tensile stress in the ligament reaches its strength and the ligament breaks, the pars interarticularis cracks through, the vertebra slips and the spondylolisthesis develops. In the last part of the article the methods of the conservative and operative treating are summarized.