1. Investigación

Myostatin is a growth factor related to muscular mass atrophy via mTOR pathway inhibition. Mutations in this gene have been correlated with high muscular mass development in different species of mammals, including human and dogs. Different studies have shown that sport practice increases myostatin gene expression. Some of them were conducted in canine breeds selected for different sport practices, including mushing sports. In this study, body weight, muscular mass, and serum levels of myostatin were analysed in different canine breeds, selected, and not selected for sprint and middle-distance racing, and the effect on epidemiological factors was evaluated. Sex, reproductive status, and canine breed affects body weight and muscular mass, being higher in males, and in sled canine breed. Age has an effect in body weight and myostatin serum levels, being lower in elder dogs. Sport practice and type of diet had an effect in muscular mass development but not in myostatin serum levels. Results showed a high positive correlation between muscular mass and body weight but not with myostatin levels. These results suggest that independent-myostatin mechanisms of mTOR pathway regulation could be related to muscular mass development in dogs.

Sleep is a crucial physiological process that promotes human health and well-being. Physical activity and sports participation are known to improve sleep quality in adolescents. The objective was to investigate how the characteristics of different sports affected this relationship in elite athletes. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 1,831 young Spanish elite athletes (1,059 males and 772 females) from 11 to 20 years old who self-reported their sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Questionnaire and provided information on their sports practice. Technical sports reported significantly better sleep quality than team sports (p=.004, d =- 0.39, small). Additionally, individual competition sports reported better sleep quality than team competition sports (p=.033, d=-0.15, trivial). Differences by the type of metabolism were not statistically significant. Better sleep quality was reported in outdoors training environment sports compared to indoors training environment sports (p=.023, d=-0.11, trivial). The type of sports practiced may influence sleep quality in adolescents and highlights the importance of considering sport characteristics when promoting sleep health. Further research is necessary to explore the underlying mechanisms and to validate these findings across different age groups and populations.

The aims of this study were to compare the running performance of possession and position games and to describe the external load of the same position game played on pitches of different dimensions. Using a GPS system (WIMU Pro, RealTrack Systems, Almería, Spain), the running demands of 25 professional soccer players were monitored during 18 possession (without a standardized role position) and 18 positional (with a specific role position) games of 9 vs. 9 + 2 floaters. Each format was developed in small (< 60 m2 per payer), medium (60–90 m2 per player) and large (> 90 m2 per player) sizes. Position games obtained significantly lower distance covered, peak speed and player load values than possession games (all p < 0.05). However, position games obtained significantly higher values of maximal acceleration, maximal deceleration, accelerations higher than 3 m·s−2 and decelerations lower than -3 m·s−2 than possession games (all p < 0.05). Likewise, large position games obtained significantly higher values of distance covered, distance covered > 21 km·h−1, peak speed and player load than small and medium sizes. Large size also showed significantly higher values of maximal acceleration and deceleration than small size, significantly fewer accelerations and decelerations, and fewer accelerations lower than 3 m·s−2 and decelerations higher than -3 m·s−2 compared to medium and small size (all p < 0.05). Practitioners should keep in mind the use of these games and their size to modify the external load of the players during their training.

The history of dance has long been associated with women, creating stereotypical limitations for men in this discipline, particularly evident in Physical Education (PE) where teachers often feel uncomfortable teaching Body Expression (BE) and dance content, especially male educators. Despite various artistic languages available for BE instruction in classrooms, body percussion (BP) has recently emerged as a multidisciplinary art form combining dance, theatre, and music, showing potential for transversal application in education. This study aimed to assess how BP practices are perceived by men and women and their effects on both genders. A specialized BP teaching application was introduced into higher education, involving 62 Spanish university students who completed the Profile Mood States questionnaire before and after the intervention. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences between men and women in pre- and post-tests. However, the findings indicated a positive experience for men, showcasing modifications in their emotional states – particularly reduced tension, depression, and anger, while exhibiting increased vigor. Fatigue, a common aspect in physically demanding PE activities, persisted. The study suggests that BP practices offer positive experiences related to BE and dance content, serving as a potentially more comfortable resource for classroom use compared to other artistic languages.

The PHYAFB database is a valuable resource for studying the physiological demands of female amateur basketball players during high-stress official games. It contains heart rate data from ten players aged 18 to 26, collected during ten crucial relegation phase matches, with 348,232 HR samples in CSV and Excel formats for easy access and analysis. The database includes Python source code for initial examination. The primary aim of the PHYAFB database is to provide a useful reference for other teams facing similar situations. Furthermore, the database represents a unique and valuable resource for sports scientists, coaches, and trainers seeking to comprehend the physiological demands of female basketball players during official competitions. Through the analysis of heart rate data, coaches and trainers can identify the intensity and duration of physical activity during games, enabling the development of more effective training programs. Additionally, the database can be used to compare the physiological demands placed on male and female basketball players or to investigate the impact of different game strategies on player performance.

The countermovement jump, the V-cut test, the muscle thickness and the adjacent subcutaneous fat thickness of the gastrocnemius medialis and rectus femoris are important physiological indicators for success in basketball. The aims of this study were to evaluate between-age-category and between-gender differences in these indicators and examine the relationships between physical tests and ultrasound measurements. The measurements were recorded in a sample of 131 elite basketball players (66 males) who played in three age-categories (U14, U16, or U18). We performed two-way analysis of covariance tests and age-adjusted partial correlation analyses. U16 and U18 males showed better performance in the countermovement jump and V-cut tests and lower adjacent subcutaneous fat thickness of the gastrocnemius medialis and rectus femoris compared to the U14 males (p≤.001) and to age-category equivalent female players (p≤.001). Comparisons between the age categories in females did not show significant differences in any of the study variables. Adjacent subcutaneous fat thickness of the gastrocnemius medialis explained 22.3% of the variation for the countermovement jump result and 12.9% of the variation for the V-cut result in males (p<.01). This study is the first to show the association and predictive role of subcutaneous fat thickness measured by ultrasound in physical performance of male and female elite youth basketball players.