Search Results (5)

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine differences in motor competence and muscular fitness between children engaged in combat sports and their peers who do not participate in structured physical activity. Methods: The sample consisted of 120 healthy eight-year-old children, evenly divided into two groups: 60 children practicing combat sports (karate, judo, and wrestling) for at least one year and 60 children without structured sports involvement. Motor competence was assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2), while muscular fitness was evaluated through standing broad jump, grip strength, 30 s sit-ups, bent arm hang, medicine ball throw, and push-ups. For differences between groups, the independent samples t-test was performed. Results: Results indicated that children practicing combat sports demonstrated significantly higher locomotor and manipulative skills (p < 0.01, ES = 0.76–1.25) and superior muscular fitness across all tests (p < 0.01, ES = 0.53–1.09) compared to their peers. Conclusions: These findings highlight the positive impact of combat sports on overall physical development, particularly in enhancing motor competence, muscle strength, and endurance. Given the critical role of motor competence and physical fitness at this age, integrating combat sports into daily routines can support long-term athletic development, encourage physical activity, and enhance overall health. Future research should explore the influence of specific combat sports on distinct physical attributes and consider additional factors such as total physical activity levels. Full article

This article expresses the importance and theoretical viability of Black religious communities reflecting on armed struggle as an option in their pursuit of liberation. African Americans have wrestled with various perspectives on what forms of resistance to white supremacy were religiously legitimate and those that were deemed practical. From moral suasion, immigration, a Black separate state, to violent resistance, Black people in the United States have debated these perspectives and have charted paths forward that continue to be accompanied by Black suffering and death at the hands of racists to the present day. While moral suasion has obtained a hegemonic place in mainstream Black political discourse, violent resistance has often been characterized as both religiously illegitimate and impractical. However, by using concepts from Afrofuturism and traditional African religion, the author will present Denmark Vesey as a model for contemporary Black religio-political thought. Using the themes of “past future”, time travel, resurrection, reincarnation, trance, and conjure, the author grounds himself in an African-centered epistemology that transcends the limitations of the Eurocentric model limited only to scientific “reality”. The author claims that by conjuring Vesey’s revolutionary interreligious Pan-African approach, it will provide more options for Black religio-political theory and praxis. Full article

Background and Objectives: Arm wrestling is a simple and popular activity among young people that causes distal-third humeral fractures. However, injury to the young population may cause economic loss; therefore, they need to return to work as soon as possible. Accordingly, we aimed to compare radiological and functional outcomes of distal-third humeral fractures caused by arm wrestling treated with double and single plating. Materials and Methods: Thirty-four patients with distal-third humeral fractures caused by arm wrestling were treated between January 2015 and January 2021. They were separated into double- and single-plating groups and treated using a triceps-sparing approach. Regular follow-up was performed to evaluate elbow functionality, range of motion, bone union, and complications; the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score was used for functional assessment. Results: Patients treated with single plating exhibited union rate, union time, and elbow range of motion similar to those of patients treated with double plating; however, they exhibited better pain and functional outcomes (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score) at 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months postoperatively (84.50 ± 5.01 vs. 61.70 ± 12.53 at 2 weeks, 96.20 ± 2.63 vs. 84.25 ± 14.56 at 1 month, and 100.00 vs. 94.76 ± 9.71 at 3 months, p < 0.05). The two groups exhibited no significant differences after 1 year (100.00 vs. 98.54 ± 3.99, p < 0.13). The overall complication rate was significantly higher in patients treated with double plating than in those treated with single plating (18.75% vs. 5.56%). Radial nerve palsy was observed in patients in both groups. Conclusions: In patients with distal-third humeral fractures caused by arm wrestling, single plating provides a union rate and elbow range of motion similar to those of double plating, with significantly fewer complications and lower surgical time and blood loss with improved early functional outcomes. Full article

Background: Sports specialization is required for the advancement of elite-level skills of a competitor. Therefore, this study attempted to assess the applicability of anthropometric measurements for a tailored selection of sports disciplines. Methods: The sports disciplines studied in this report were wrestling, triple jumping, badminton, and tennis. The data used in this study were obtained from a PubMed search. Literature-derived data were used as a template to build a random Gaussian population of N = 500 subjects used for ratio calculation using the error propagation approach. The obtained ratios encompassed height/sitting height, height/length, height/arm length, height/waist circumference, height/chest circumference, sitting height/leg length, sitting height/arm length, sitting height/waist circumference, sitting height/chest circumference, arm/leg length, and arm length/forearm length. Results: There is a clear relationship between a sports discipline and the distribution of the anthropometric ratio. The anthropometric measurements of wrestlers are the most outstanding among the disciplines studied. The use of machine learning algorithms, that is, the decision tree classifier, allows for building a model able to distinguish between the disciplines of sports studied. Conclusions: The presented approach allows for selection of a specific sports discipline for a young person. Moreover, an extension of the model built by other sports disciplines and anthropometric measurement may be a practical tool for selecting sports subjects. Full article

The connection of a sterically constrained 3-methyl-pyrazine ring to a N-methyl-benzimidazole unit to give the unsymmetrical α,α’-diimine ligand L5 has been programmed for the design of pseudo-octahedral spin-crossover [Fe(L5)₃]²⁺ units, the transition temperature (T_1/2) of which occurs in between those reported for related facial tris-didentate iron chromophores fitted with 3-methyl-pyridine-benzimidazole in a LaFe helicate (T_1/2 ~ 50 K) and with 5-methyl-pyrazine-benzimidazole L2 ligands (T_1/2 ~350 K). A thorough crystallographic analysis of [Fe(L5)₃](ClO₄)₂ (I), [Ni(L5)₃](ClO₄)₂ (II), [Ni(L5)₃](BF₄)₂∙H₂O (III), [Zn(L5)₃](ClO₄)₂ (IV), [Ni(L5)₃](BF₄)₂∙1.75CH₃CN (V), and [Zn(L5)₃](BF₄)₂∙1.5CH₃CN (VI) shows the selective formation of pure facial [M(L5)₃]²⁺ cations in the solvated crystals of the tetrafluoroborate salts and alternative meridional isomers in the perchlorate salts. Except for a slightly larger intra-strand interannular twist between the aromatic heterocycles in L5, the metric parameters measured in [Zn(L5)₃]²⁺ are comparable to those reported for [Zn(L2)₃]²⁺, where L2 is the related unconstrained ligand. This similitude is reinforced by comparable ligand-field strengths (∆_oct) and nephelauxetic effects (as measured by the Racah parameters B and C) extracted from the electronic absorption spectra recorded for [Ni(L5)₃]²⁺ and [Ni(L2)₃]²⁺. In this context, the strictly high-spin behavior observed for [Fe(L5)₃]²⁺ within the 5–300 K range contrasts with the close to room-temperature spin-crossover behavior of [Fe(L2)₃]²⁺ (T_1/2 = 349(5) K in acetonitrile). This can be unambiguously assigned to an intraligand arm wrestling match operating in bound L5, which prevents the contraction of the coordination sphere required for accommodating low-spin Fe^II. Since the analogous 3-methyl-pyridine ring in [Fe(L3)₃]²⁺ derivatives are sometimes compatible with spin-crossover properties, the consequences of repulsive intra-strand methyl–methyl interactions are found to be amplified in [Fe(L5)₃]²⁺ because of the much lower basicity of the 3-methyl-pyrazine ring and the resulting weaker thermodynamic compensation. The decrease of the stability constants by five orders of magnitude observed in going from [M(L2)₃]²⁺ to [M(L5)₃]²⁺ (M = Ni^II and Zn^II) is diagnostic for the operation of this effect, which had been not foreseen by the authors. Full article