To curb the spread of Covid-19, governments have introduced social distancing measures with varying degrees of enforcement, ranging from unenforced recommendations to quarantine. Physical activity is an important determinant of health, and it is likely affected by social distancing measures introduced to combat the pandemic. This study presents findings from an online survey examining behaviour and the perception of physical activity and exercise during the period of the movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia. A total of 307 respondents (male = 134, female = 173) participated in the survey, which comprised three sections with a total of 33 items. Results indicate that about 80% of the respondents engaged in physical activity and exercise during the MCO period, but male respondents reported a greater impact on their actual physical activity and exercise as compared to female respondents. This study reveals no significant correlation between gender and perception, but it does show a significant correlation between gender and behaviour (p < 0.05) in terms of physical activity and exercise during the MCO period. This study found that both genders have a positive understanding and awareness of the benefits of physical activity and exercise, which are crucial for physical and mental health during the pandemic.

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Background: Sedentary behaviour is a major health concern not only for the general population but for athletes as well. Young athletes are considered highly active individuals due to the training required in their sports and would easily meet weekly recommendations for physical activity participation. However, athletes may also have the tendency to be highly sedentary if they spend most hours of their day sitting. This may lead to undesirable changes in body composition, which may negatively affect their health and performance. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between sedentary behaviour and the body composition of university athletes. Methods: Data from 82 student-athletes (age = 20.02 ± 1.3 years; 38 males and 44 females) from different sports categories were gathered and analysed. Body composition, specifically body mass index, fat mass and fat-free mass, measured through bioelectric impedance analysis. Sedentary behaviour was quantified using a self-report physical activity questionnaire. Results: The analysis revealed no significant relationship between sitting time (hours/day) and body composition measures in both genders. A significant difference in sitting time was found when the groups were classified according to sports category (p = 0.03), where weight category sports (m = 6.99 h, standard deviation [SD] =2.74) indicated more sitting hours compared to non-weight category sports (m = 5.81 h, SD = 1.84). Between genders, there was no difference in reported sitting hours (p = 0.456); however, both groups spend relatively long periods sitting during the waking hours of the day. A moderate negative relationship was found between sports category and sitting time for the females only (r = −0.322, p = 0.028). For this population, females in the weight category had more sitting time than those in the non-weight category. Conclusion: These results suggest that among university student-athletes, sedentary behaviour is not associated with changes in body composition. Even so, sedentary behaviour was evident among the participants; hence, the importance of educating athletes about the detrimental effects of sedentary living on health and performance becomes more vital

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One of the major problems causing medication errors is ineffective communication between patients and health personnel. This paper discusses the communication issues in the healthcare environment and how medication errors can be avoided through effective communication. An internet-based search was conducted to locate relevant articles published between 2004 and 2017. Only articles that touch upon communication and health-related issues were selected. Online sources such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were utilized. The importance of good communication practices for effective health and improved patient safety in hospital settings has been highlighted. It is evident from this review that poor communication most frequent causes adverse effects, delay in treatment, medication errors, and wrong-site surgery. The major communication issues in healthcare environment include language barriers, the medium of communication, physical setting, and social setting. Healthcare workers tend to use technical language in the workplace because they consider the tone of communication to be always professional. It has been established that knowledge on professional-patient communication is essential and valuable in improving therapeutic outcomes. Patients need knowledge and support in order to be able and motivated to undergo medicine therapy. Health practitioners need to take responsibility for demanding and creating an environment where high-quality healthcare counselling is routinely practiced. To promote safe and effective practice in hospitals and avoid medication errors, clinicians should adhere to teamwork and effective communication with the patients. There is a need for designing strategies such as effective communication and teamwork amongst healthcare professionals, which can consequently influence the quality of healthcare services and patient outcomes.

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Background: Given that few children engage in the minimal requirement of moderate-to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), traditional games have been promoted as one of the strategies to improve MVPA levels to facilitate health enhancement, particularly in school settings. Nevertheless, little is known about the exercise intensity and enjoyment levels of traditional games in children. Methods: Participants (n = 600; 300 boys; age 10.1 ± 0.8) performed five selected traditional games (i.e. Bola Beracun, Baling Tin, Polis Sentri, Belalang Belatuk and Galah Panjang) for 20 min. Activity counts per minute (CPM), metabolic equivalent (METs) and activity time spent were recorded via accelerometer during all traditional games. Enjoyment responses were recorded before and after the traditional games. Results: No significant differences were observed across all traditional games for each variable (CPM, METs and enjoyment responses; p > 0.05). However, all selected traditional games played for 20 min elicited sufficient levels of MVPA based on CPM and METs thresholds (>500 CPM and >3 METs). The post-enjoyment score was significantly higher in all traditional games compared to pre-enjoyment (p < 0.01; effect size >0.47). Conclusions: Incorporating traditional games in a school setting for 20-min per session may facilitate sufficient levels of MVPA and augment enjoyment in children to promote multiple health benefits and future exercise engagement, respectively.

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Introduction: Exercise plays a role in enhancing neurogenesis and brain plasticity. Actively involved in musculoskeletal and cardiovascular activities at moderate intensity influences brain systems involved in working memory processes. This study aimed to investigate the effect of memorising before and after a single bout exercise on short-term memory. Materials and Methods: A total of 16 female university students with a mean age of 23.63 ± 1.46 years old were involved in this study. Participants completed a free recall test twice at pre- and post-exercise. The exercise session involved a single bout cycling ergometer at 50 watts while maintaining 60 rpm for 30 min and two five minutes periods of warm-up and cool down at 20 watts. Results: The percentage of words recalled in the free recall test post-exercise did not improve compared to pre-exercise. The percentage of immediate recency words recalled post-exercise (51.25 ± 21.87%) is higher than pre-exercise (48.75 ± 21.87%) but no significant difference compared to pre-exercise (p = 0.751). The percentage of words recalled post-exercise was correlated with heart rate during exercise (r = −0.59, p = 0.015). Conclusions: Participants with a higher heart rate during exercise had a lower percentage of words recalled at post compared to pre-exercise. However, a single bout of cycling exercise did not improve short-term memory.

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The aim of this study was to compare the dietary habits and Body Mass Index (BMI) between student-athletes and non-student athletes in UiTM (Universiti Teknologi MARA), as well as to study the relationship between their dietary habits and BMI. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions of the individual regarding what foods they eat, while BMI is one of the widely used tools to identify the nutritional status of the individual. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Respondents' body weight and height were self-measured, and respondents provide the data in the demographic section. Dietary habits questionnaire comprised of 18 questions, including the frequency of food intake from every section of the food pyramid, snack, fast food, vitamin and mineral supplements, breakfast, beverages intake and meal skipping. The result showed the mean dietary habits score of student-athletes were significantly (p < 0.01) higher than non-student athletes. This could indicate the awareness of the student-athlete to practice a good dietary habit for them to enhance their sports performance. Regarding BMI, majority of the respondents from both student-athletes (62%) and non-student athletes (70%) were in the normal weight BMI category, and no significant difference was found in both groups. In addition, present study found no significant relationship between dietary habits and BMI for both student-athletes (r-value = –0.093, p = 0.359) and non-student athletes' (r-value = –0.037, P = 0.713) groups, showing that dietary habits of the respondents does not correlate with their BMI. Although no significant association were found, normal BMI category and appropriate dietary habits are essential to be practised by everyone irrespective athletes or nonathletes, and this is to ensure a healthy lifestyle and reducing the risk of getting the non-communicable disease.

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Purpose: This study examined the effects of coconut sports gel (CSG) on hydration measures, cognitive performance and anaerobic capacity in soccer players. Materials and Methods: Seven soccer players (age: 21 ± 1.6 years; body weight (BW): 63.2 ± 6.6 kg; height: 172.3 ± 6.0 cm; VO_{2 max}: 52.8 ± 1.4 ml. kg. min⁻¹) participated in this study. Participants underwent one preliminary testing and two experimental trials: CSG and placebo (PLA) separated at least 7 days apart. Each trial consisted of hydration measurements and two cognitive (concentration and reaction time [RT]) and anaerobic capacity (vertical jump [VJ] and repeated sprint ability [RSA]) tests at (i) baseline, (ii) dehydration and (iii) rehydration. A 90-min exercise-induced dehydration protocol was used to induce ~ 2.0% of BW loss after baseline testing. Participants were required to ingest either CSG (CHO: 26 g, K+: 381 mg) or PLA (CHO: 26 g, K+: 0 mg) at 1.2 g. kg⁻¹ BW of CHO within 30 min in a randomised order and replenished plain water (100% BW loss) during the 120 min of recovery period. Results: The results showed that participants were rehydrated after 2 h of recovery. Participants regained their BW from dehydration to rehydration: 61.3 ± 6.5 kg to 62.7 ± 6.6 kg (CSG trial) (p < 0.001) and 61.4 ± 6.3 kg to 62.6 ± 6.4 kg (PLA trial) (p = 0.001). Urine-specific gravity reduced from dehydration to rehydration: 1.0168 ± 0.0073–1.0082 ± 0.0068 (p = 0.019) and 1.0148 ± 0.0061–1.0108 ± 0.0054 (p = 0.286) in CSG and PLA trials, respectively. VJ and RSA performance were similar between trials and among time points (p > 0.05). The concentration scores, simple and choice RT tests showed no statistically significant difference in all time points between trials (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Cognitive performance and anaerobic capacity in soccer players were well maintained after rehydration. Therefore, CSG could be an alternative option for athletes for rehydration purposes.

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Background: Greater muscular strength can enhance the ability to perform general sports skills such as jumping, sprinting, and direction tasks. Resistance Training (RT) is broadly applied by strength and conditioning coaches to increase strength. However, Whole-Body Electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) recently served as an alternative method to increase muscular strength in high-performance athletes. This study aimed to examine the effects of two different training modalities on muscular strength. Methods: Sixty female collegiate softball players (Age = 23.52 ± 1.89 years; Height = 156.20 ± 1.71 cm; Mass = 53.21 ± 3.17 kg) were randomly assigned into 3 groups. All groups trained as usual for 8 weeks, with the first group performed 100 repetitions of dry swing (normal bat swing practice in softball). The second and third group performed a combination of dry bat swing with RT and WB-EMS, respectively. Muscular strength (upper body and lower body) for the 3 groups was evaluated before and after the 8-week program. Results: The main results showed that after the eight-week training, the upper and lower body strength significantly increased in both RT and WB-EMS groups compared to the control group (p = 0.000, and p = 0.000, respectively). While both groups contributed to the increase in muscular strentgth following 8 weeks of training, it was the RT that resulted in a larger magnitude of increase in strength. Conclusion: This study concluded that RT should be emphased in high performance athlete training while recognizing the potential benefit of WB-EMS in enhancing muscular strength.

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This research contrasts the physical activity-related self-efficacy before and after exergame play and the gender-wise expectancy related to beliefs and task values. Sedentary undergraduates (n=102; 51 males, 51 females) were recruited from a local university in Kota Bharu, Kelantan using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). Participants completed questionnaires assessing their self-efficacy, expectancy related beliefs, subjective task values and intention to participate in exergame play in the future. After exergame play, participants had a significantly higher degree of self-efficacy than before exergame play (mean score: before 27.1 ± 4.33 vs. after 32.2 ± 4.51; p < 0.001). Their belief in their ability to exercise on a regular basis varied considerably across gender, with higher values reported in male than in female participants (mean difference= 0.84, p=0.02). Other components, such as expectancy-related beliefs, task values, and intentions, were comparable between gender. Besides, participants also considered exergaming to be more attractive and stimulating than traditional physical exercise, thereby presenting greater beliefs in capability and greater desire to engage in exergaming in the future. The result suggests that exergame play can be used as an innovative approach to increase the level of physical activity among sedentary university students.

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The attention in the society and rapid expansion of interest on the status and challenges of mental health among sporting athletes, especially in the elite sports setting, had increased exponentially. The present study was aimed to explore and gain a better understanding of mental health and psychological well-being of Malaysian elite athletes. It also provides insights into a broader aspect based on participants' personal experiences. A semi-structured interview was conducted for all 32 athletes (male, n = 16; female, n = 16) from a variety of sport: individual, team-sports; able-bodied, and Paralympic. Participants were aged between 19-38 years old (mean 25.69 years) from various ethnicity and religions. Six (6) themes (Personal understanding on mental health; Stigma of mental health; Symptoms, effects and sources of mental health; Coping strategies; Mental health and well-being support; Advice of athletes) and 19 subthemes were derived based on qualitative thematic analysis. Based on the analysis, subthemes, i.e. Presentation in mass media; Transition; Personal life-related issues; Performance expectation; Sporting environment are significant stressors causing mental health issues. The influence of spirituality and religion on the topic of mental health was also being highlighted. In conclusion, it is hopeful that the present study will stimulate interest and discussion in identifying methods and direction for both researchers and practitioners in bridging the theoretical-applied gap and offer effective supports to Malaysian athletes.

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The skill-related physical fitness evaluation index system is an important reference basis for evaluating the competitive level of tennis players. At present, there are few studies on the skill-related physical fitness evaluation index system of Chinese young male tennis players. Based on the characteristics of tennis events and the sensitive period of the development of young tennis players skill-related physical fitness variables, this study uses literature methods, Delphi method and other research methods to construct an evaluation index system for Chinese young male tennis players skills related physical fitness. The results show that: Chinese young male tennis players skill-related physical fitness includes six first-level indicators including speed, strength, endurance, agility, flexibility, and power, 11 second-level indicators such as aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, upper body power, and lower body power, etc., 16 third-level indicators such as the hexagon test, beep test, sit and reach, etc.

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Subchondral insufficiency fracture of the knee (SIFK) is an important differential diagnosis for knee pain. If diagnosed early, SIFK can be treated conservatively with non-weight bearing ambulation. If left untreated, this disease may lead to catastrophic complications such as subchondral fragment detachment and fragmentation or subchondral collapse which will warrant the need for surgical intervention. The author reports a 44-year-old triathlete that presented with complaint of a trivial left anteromedial knee pain for one-year duration. This disease presented at an unusual site of the medial tibial condyle. Moreover, the patient is a healthy triathlete that does not have any predisposing factors for SIFK. Magnetic resonance imaging showed subchondral insufficiency fracture of the medial tibial condyle with a complex multi-directional medial meniscus tear in the same knee. Could the undiagnosed medial meniscus injury be the causation leading to the development of SIFK? Here, the author will summarize the literature on various clinical features, work-up and management of SIFK.

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Returning to sport following an injury is a process that is riddled with difficulties, especially so for competitive athletes. This is a quantitative research employed survey method. A total of 130 cheerleaders (age = 25.66 ± 4.928 years old) participated in this study where they have suffered from an injury that has put them out from sports for 1-4 weeks. Two inventories were completed: 1) Adapted Sport Motivation Scale and 2) Readiness to Return to Sport Questionnaire. The demographic data collected were age, team cheer division, position in team and injury duration. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Pearson product-moment correlation, Independent T-test and One-way ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. Results from the study showed that there were significant effects (p < 0.05) of intrinsic motivation (toward accomplishment and experience stimulation) and extrinsic motivation (identified regulation, introjected and external regulation) of athletes towards returning to sport after injury. This demonstrated that motivation significantly influenced athletes' readiness to return to sport following an injury. Correlation analyses revealed that the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation towards athletes' readiness to return to sports following injury were associated with a positive renewed perspective on engaging in sports. As the athletes perceived themselves to be psychologically ready to return to sport after injury; it also reflected on their self-determination to attempt the sport again without fear, worry, concern and anxiety of reinjure from occurring. This study indicated the importance of motivation in assisting injured athletes in returning to sport. Most athletes returned to sport because of others' expectations on themselves although they were not fully mentally prepared to return to sport due to their fear and concerns of performing at peak performance again.

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Introduction: Various fitness challenges had been invented and innovated in order to integrate exercise in life, especially during the new norm of Covid-19 pandemic. There is a lack of study on the effect of push-up exercise on sedentary women. The study aimed to compare the effects of six-week push-up (PU) and low-load bench press (BP) exercise interventions towards muscular strength (MS) and muscular endurance (ME) among healthy sedentary female youth. Methodology: Forty (n = 40) healthy sedentary female youth (aged 18.93 ±.97 years; body mass index 23.44 ± 4.5 kg/m²) were recruited in the study. Participants were divided into two groups of training interventions (push-up and bench press group). Resistance exercise intervention involving four sessions per week for six consecutive weeks. Each session comprised of 3 sets of 12 repetitions with one minute of rest between each set. Bench press exercise was performed at 40% 1RM for bench press group. One-repetition maximum bench press (1RM BP) test and one-minute push-up (1 Min PU) test were performed at pre and post-intervention to measure muscular strength and muscular endurance. A 2 × 2 mixed model ANOVA was employed to compare the effects of the two interventions following six-weeks of training. Result: Muscular strength and muscular endurance for the push-up group have significantly improved (p < .05), with at the end of the intervention were 59.75 ± 13.91 and 45.05 ± 6.59 as compared to during the pre-intervention of 42.0 ± 11.40 and 28.95 ± 5.93, respectively. A similar result also found for bench press group. Muscular strength and muscular endurance for bench press group had significantly increased (p < .05), from the pre-test of 44.50 ± 9.58 and 29.95 ± 6.28 to the post-test of 60.25 ± 10.45 and 41.45 ± 6.20, respectively. However, there is no significant difference observed between groups (bench press and push-up protocols) on muscular strength (p = .661) and muscular endurance (p = .472). Conclusions: The present study concludes that push-up and low-load bench press exercise interventions do significantly improve muscular strength and muscular endurance of sedentary female youth, with push-up as an alternative for bench press for sedentary female youth.

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Objective: This study identified stress contributing factors among secondary school physical education teachers and compared them based on teaching experience. Research Methodology: This study adopted a cross-sectional study design, and the data were obtained using the survey method. This study involved 258 physical education teachers within the secondary level of public schools. The questionnaire consisted of five constructs: career dilemma, career progression, misconceptions of career, work environment and work relationship. The teaching experience was divided into four categories of 1–5 years, 6–10 years, 11–15 years and 16 years above. Descriptive statistical analysis and one-way ANOVA were used to describe the findings. Findings: Three main contributing stressors among physical education teachers were career dilemma (mean [M] = 35.26, standard deviation [SD] = 5.17), development status (M = 34.77, SD = 4.48) and work relationship (M = 27.09, SD = 2.87). Factors contributing to stress based on teaching experience found that misconceptions of careers showed a significant result where F value (3, 254) = 3.95, p = 0.009 < 0.05. Tukey's post hoc analysis found that significant results were reported teaching experience between 1–5 and 6–10 years. Conclusions: It was evident that teaching experience had a major influence in determining the stress level among teachers. Teaching experience assisted teachers in decision-making, which leads to better handling of stressful situations. In addition, this study observed a misconception in a career as one of the contributing factors of stress experienced by the teachers with a teaching experience of 1–5 and 6–10 years who took part in this study.

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Background: Wearable resistance works best with lighter load, but appropriate loading range is debatable. Objective: It is the main purpose of this study to investigate the kinematics and kinetics effect of wearable resistance (WR), when loaded on the lower limb body part during a martial arts front kick performance. Materials and Methods: Fifteen female martial arts athletes aged between 20 and 25 years old with body mass (BM) between 40 kg to 55 kg were recruited. Subjects were required to perform three repetitions for each condition: Unloaded (UL), calf loaded (CL) 3% BM and calf and thigh loaded (CTL) 3% BM in a randomised order that made up total 9 repetitions. Velocity, force and power were collected and used to assess the kinematic and kinetics of kicking executions using Kinovea Two-dimensional Motion Analysis Software. Data were statistically analysed to produce neural and mechanical profiles of the front kick, and comparisons of the outputs were made by using repeated-measure one-way analysis of variance test. Results: Overall, the results showed no significant differences within three WR conditions. Besides, the results also showed no significant difference when comparing between velocity, force and power for all three WR conditions. Conclusion: Evidently, 3% BM loading is still insufficient to observe the improvement. Most important, similar results obtained regardless of WR load placement location on the leg during front kick performance. Recommendation: In summary, researcher suggested that both loaded conditions more than 3% BM and below 30 kg might be sufficient and also effective for improving the front kick performance as well as future study should include the element of impulse–momentum to ensure the result can be more applicable to the competitive combat sports.

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Background: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is popular nowadays as it produces similar positive results to moderate-intensity exercise, and at the same time, it is time-efficient as it needs a shorter exercise duration. To date, immune responses following HIIT are not well documented. Aim: To determine the effects of Tabata workouts on the immune cell response in physically inactive individuals. Methods: A total of 12 physically inactive individuals (mean age = 22.0 ± 0.9 years) were recruited amongst students of Universiti Sains Malaysia in this training programme for 6 weeks (3 sessions/week). This programme consisted of four sets of Tabata workouts, with each set containing two types of exercise (20 s for each exercise) with rest intervals between exercises of 10 s. Heart rate and rate of perceived exertion were recorded during each exercise session. Bodyweight, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage and blood samples (2 mL) were collected at baseline, at midtest and following the 6 weeks of intervention. Blood samples were analysed for total leucocyte, lymphocyte, neutrophil and monocyte counts. Results: There were significant increases in total leucocyte (P = 0.042) and neutrophil counts (P = 0.039) following 6 weeks of Tabata workouts. An increasing trend was also observed for monocyte count (P = 0.065) but not for the lymphocyte count (P = 0.304). Participants' body weight, BMI and body fat percentage were maintained throughout the intervention period. Conclusion: HIIT induced positive immune cell response in physically inactive individuals. Hence, it can be recommended and incorporated in exercise programme design for physically inactive individuals.

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Introduction: Physical literacy (PL) is important among children and teenagers. Studies have shown that children with high level of PL tend to be more active and not only is an active lifestyle linked to lower risk of metabolic disease, it's also associated with better academic results. Physical Education (PE) curriculum in school is aimed to develop PL among school children and PE teachers plays an important role in achieving that goal. Although PE teachers are models of people with good PL, PE teachers in schools does not necessarily take this into account. Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify the level of perception PL among PE teachers in Malaysia. Methods: This quantitative study involved secondary school PE teachers (N=100) from Miri, Sarawak. Physical literacy was measured using the Perceived Physical Literacy Instrument (PPLI). Results: This study found that the overall level of PL is high among PE teachers (M = 4.23 ± 0.39) with no significant difference between gender, location and teaching experience. However, PE teachers who majored in PE have a significantly higher PL compared to PE teachers who were not PE majors. Conclusions: The significantly higher PL among PE teachers who majored in PE shows that they may be more suitable to teach PE. Whenever possible, PE should be taught by subject-qualified teachers for PE to be effective in developing PL among students.

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In tennis, the service is the only shot that a player can give himself without being influenced by his opponent, and it is said to be the most powerful and essential shot in the game to win the game (Kovacs and Ellenbecker, 2011). In this study, we will investigate the difference in speed and spin rate in services when a service is entered, when it is not entered, and when an ace is taken. Fourteen three-set singles matches of 20 participants in the ATP Challenger tournament were included in the analysis. The speed and spin rate was measured using the Trackman. The analysis included 1343 1^st service balls. We compared the speed and spin rate for each IN, FAULT and ACE in the 1^st service using one-way ANOVA. The speed of the 1^st service, IN was significantly slower than that of FAULT and ACE. The spin rate of the 1^st serve, IN had significantly more revolutions than the FAULT and ACE. The results of this study showed that the service was faster and lower spin rate when ACE was taken. However, it was found that the faster the speed of the service and the lower the spin rate, the higher the rate of FAULT. These considerations suggest that it is important to decide whether to take risks or play it safe, depending on the game situation at the time.

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Introduction: Sports nutrition is essential to improve exercise performance and maintain healthy body composition. However, the knowledge of balanced nutrition often being neglected by student-athletes and coaches. Aims: This study aimed to investigate sports nutrition knowledge across gender and level of participation. Materials and Methods: The participants were 178 university student-athletes (96 males and 82 females) actively competing in various individual and team sports. The student-athletes completed a sports nutrition knowledge survey to determine the adequate score (mean >75%). Results: The overall sports nutrition knowledge was inadequate (61.6% ± 13.1%), specifically only 29 student-athletes who obtained >75% or higher. Male student-athletes score slightly higher than females (62.4% vs 61.6% score), respectively. However, there is no significant difference between gender and level of participation (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference between the level of participation (P > 0.05). Conclusions: There was inadequate sports nutritional knowledge among student-athletes regardless of gender and level of participation. The intervention to enhance sports nutritional knowledge and a balanced diet is important for health and optimal athletic performance. Future studies are needed to examine athletes' behaviour and nutritional intake before training or competition.

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Introduction: Vault kinematic variables have been found to be strongly correlated with vault difficulty (DV) values and judges' scores. However, the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique Code of Points (COP) was updated after every Olympic Games rendering previous regression models inadequate. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a prediction model for vault performance based on judges' scores. Methods: Handspring vaults (n = 70) were recorded during the Men's Artistic Gymnastic qualifying round of the 2017 China National Artistic Gymnastics Championship using a video camera placed 50 m perpendicular to the vault table. Kinematic data were coded and correlated with judges' official competition final scores (FSs). The vault samples were used to develop a mathematical model (n = 65) and to verify the scores against the predicted model (n = 5). Partial least squares regression was established using the statistical software to calibrate and cross validate the model. Results: The goodness-of-fit of a 3-factor model was utilised (R²_cal = 90.13% and R²_val = 87.30%) and a significant and strong relationship was observed between predicted Y (FS) and reference Y (FS) in both the calibration and validation models (r_cal = 0.949, r_val = 0.932) with Y-calibration error (RMSEC = 0.1727) and Y-prediction error (RMSEP = 0.1990). Maximum height, 2^nd-flight-time and DV were the key variables against FS. Using JSPM, 40% of new samples were within the acceptable range. Conclusion: Kinematic variables and known DV seem adequate to form a JSPM that could offer coaches an alternative scientific approach to monitor vault training.

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In recent years, the attacking tactics of top-level teams have been dominated by a combination of four attackers. The basic approach to defending against this move is to block in the direction of the toss (Read Block System). This study compares and examines the difference between the left and right sides of the crossover step of women's volleyball players using the read block system. Fifteen Japanese college women's volleyball players (age: 20.1 ± 1.1 years, height: 169.3 ± 5.5 cm) were eligible for the study. A time-synchronized 16 camera Mac3D optical motion capture systems (Motion Analysis Co.) and 10 force plates (Tec Gihan Co.) were used to determine three dimensional (3-D) coordinates of 38 retroreflective markers. The players were told that the toss from the setter would go up randomly in one of the left or right direction, and they were asked to block in response to the toss from the centre of the net. The results showed that the performance of the jump height (p = 0.04, d = 0.50), maximum block reach (p = 0.01, d = 0.51), and motion time (p = 0.02, d = 0.75) was better than the left, and the effect size was large. Since most of the subjects in this study were right-handed (two of the Opposites were left-handed), it is assumed that they tended to perform better on the left side, which is a block stepping similar to spike stepping. However, some players may not use the spiking hand, so individualized instruction is required.

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Introduction: The absence of a scale adapted to Turkish to determine the level of insufficiency in the physical activities of athletes sometimes causes difficulties in our clinical practices. Our study aims to adapt the Short Form-10 (SF-10) of the Disablement in the Physically Active Scale (DPA) to Turkish. Materials and Methods: Athletes who are healthy or have any musculoskeletal injuries participated in the study. DPA-TR SF-10, which consists of ten items, and the SF-12 scale used in the analysis of concurrent validity were applied to 106 athletes. Results: As a result of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), no item was required to be removed from the scale. A high level of correlation was found between DPA-TR SF-10 and physical component summary sub-score of the SF-12 scale (r = 0.61; p< 0.01). The reliability coefficient obtained as a result of the reliability analysis was estimated to be 0.91. All items in the scale were determined to be distinctive. In order to facilitate the calculation of the DPA-TR SF-10 score, the sum of the answers given to the 5-point Likert Scale was evaluated. Thus, the lowest score of the DPA-TR SF-10 is 10, and 50 is the highest score. Conclusion: DPA-TR SF-10 has been provided in Turkish to evaluate physically active individuals/athletes as a valid and reliable measurement tool.

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The purpose of this study is to describe the resting electrocardiogram (ECG) seen among 176 professional male footballers from Sabah Football Association Club during preparticipation evaluation. Data were analysed retrospectively from 2017 to 2019. Majority of the players were Sabah natives (n = 153, 87%) while the remaining were Malay footballers (n = 23, 13%). Mean age of the players was 19.9 ± 3.1, mean body mass index was 22.6 kg/m² ± 7, mean resting heart rate was 53.6 beats per minute ± 9.4, mean systolic blood pressure was 122.3 mmHg ± 12, and mean diastolic blood pressure was 65.1 mmHg ± 8.8. Using the International Criteria for ECG Interpretation in Athletes 2017 consensus guidelines, 8.5% (n = 15) had abnormal ECG while 2.8% (n = 5) had borderline ECG. The most common ECG changes seen in the normal findings were sinus bradycardia (n = 123, 69.9%), early repolarization (n = 115, 65.3%) and left ventricular hypertrophy (n = 83,47.2%). Abnormal ECGs were abnormal t wave inversion (n = 7,4.0%) and pre-excitation syndrome (n = 5,2.9%). All footballers with abnormal ECG findings were subjected to further evaluation by a cardiologist using echocardiography assessment and exercise stress test. They passed the cardiology assessment; thus, they were deemed fit to play. ECG is a valuable tool for pre-participation health screening prior to exercise or sports participation, as it is vital for a physician to identify any abnormal ECG to minimise the risk of sudden cardiac death during exercise due to cardiac pathology.

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Carbohydrate ingestion during exercise has been extensively investigated to enhance exercise performance, particularly during prolonged exercise (>2 h) when endogenous carbohydrate is limited. The pertinent benefit of carbohydrate ingestion is that it delays the depletion of vital energy source for exercise, hence delaying fatigue. Athletes have often been advised to drink or rehydrate (replace body fluid loss) to ensure sufficient energy source and to avoid dehydration during exercise Nevertheless, the ability for athletes to rehydrate in a real race setting, maybe challenging due to fluid availability and the nature of the event, such as during a running event. As an alternative to drinking, carbohydrate mouth rinsing has resulted in enhanced prolonged exercise performance. The underlying mechanism responsible for this improvement has been associated with the activation of the oral receptor that is related to reward and behavioural centre of the brain that contributed to enhancing exercise performance. Numerous studies have examined factors that influence the effectiveness of carbohydrate mouth rinsing. While these studies have presented convincing evidence to support their hypothesis, future studies are required to provide new insight into the effectiveness of carbohydrate mouth rinsing on exercise performance. These questions include how the environmental condition and dehydration level may influence the effectiveness of carbohydrate mouth rinsing on endurance exercise performance.

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