Measurement of talent in judo using a unique, judo-specific ability test.

AIM: Coaches of young athletes at early phases of development often use batteries of tests in order to obtain information that will be helpful in predicting their future success. However, little scientific inquiry has been conducted on the relevance of the testing process to the final selection and success of young prospects. The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits of a unique judo-specific ability test in early phases of talent development and selection. METHODS: Ten judokas (12-15 years of age) underwent assessment of general ability and specific judo ability 3 times during 1994 and 1995, at about 6-month intervals. The general ability test included: sit-ups, push-ups, and side-to-side jumps. The specific judo ability test was comprised of 10 stations in which the judokas performed physical ability and skill tasks. Following the 12-month training program the judokas were ranked by the 2 national judo coaches. Eight years after the beginning of the training program, the judokas were ranked once again by the national coaches. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed that the specific judo ability test did not correlate with either the 1995 or with the 2003 ranking. CONCLUSIONS: Because the unique judo-specific ability test was not found to be sensitive enough to accurately measure talent, it is suggested that future studies investigate the usefulness of tests reflecting a more open-skill environment.

Image analysis of nucleated red blood cells.

Bone marrow smears stained with Giemsa were scanned with a video camera under computer control. Forty-two cells representing the six differentiation classes of the red bone marrow were sampled. Each cell was digitized into 70 X 70 pixels, each pixel representing a square area of 0.4 micron2 in the original image. The pixel gray values ranged between 0 and 255. Zero stood for white, 255 represented black, while the numbers in between stood for the various shades of gray. After separation and smoothing the images were processed with a Sobel operator outlining the points of steepest gray level change in the cell. These points constitute a closed curve denominated as inner cell boundary, separating the cell into an inner and an outer region. Two types of features were extracted from each cell: form features, e.g., area and length, and gray level features. Twenty-two features were tested for their discriminative merit. After selecting 16, the discriminant analysis program classified correctly all 42 cells into the 6 classes.

The early breast cancer detection program of the Israel Cancer Association: a retrospective evaluation.

Between 1 January 1965 and 31 December 1975 82,262 women visited an early breast cancer detection center at least once. Subsequent to the visit 1,295 women were found to have breast cancer. The observed survival of these 1,295 patients (the study group) was compared to that of two control groups: 1) all breast cancer patients diagnosed in Israel in the five years preceding the start of the Early Detection program (2,402), and 2) all breast cancer patients diagnosed while the Early Detection Program was in progress, but who never visited an early detection center (6,315). The stage distribution of the study group showed significantly more early-stage cases than controls. The observed survival of the study group was significantly longer than that of the control groups, irrespective of mode of referral of the former to the Early Detection Program (by invitation, self-referral, or doctor-referral). The observed survival of study patients was longer than that of controls within each stage group, although most differences were not statistically significant and relatively large number of "unknowns" in key variables may have introduced bias into the study results. Future programs of the Israel Cancer Association should have clearly stated and measurable objectives and built-in mechanisms for ongoing evaluation.

Breast cancer in Israel: incidence and mortality, 1960-75.

Between 1960 and 1975, the incidence of breast cancer in Israel rose 20%. A steady rise in incidence was seen for women aged 60 or more years, whereas for women younger than 60 years, the incidence pattern was less regular, showing a definite rise only in the period 1970-75. Mortality from breast cancer also rose among women aged 60 or more years, but much more slowly than incidence. Among women younger than 60 years, breast cancer mortality was essentially unchanged. When mortality rates from a disease rise more slowly than incidence rates, it can be inferred that a greater proportion of new cases are being cured or are experiencing longer survival. It would appear that this is the case with breast cancer in Israel, and this trend, probably the result of earlier diagnosis, is encouraging.

Breast cancer in Israel: laterality and survival.

Laterality was examined in 10,702 cases of breast cancer in Israeli Jewish women. The overall left-right ratio was 1.04 and was higher in women over 60. The only population group with a left-right ratio less than 1 was the group of women born in Asian and Middle Eastern countries outside of Israel. There were no differences between the survival curves of women with right- or left-sided breast cancers at any stage. It is concluded that laterality of tumor is not an indicator of survival in breast cancer.