Ricerc@Sapienza

The prevalence of valvular heart disease (VHD) rises with age, reaching 11.7% in individuals older than 75 years.1 In young individuals, VHD is usually related to the presence of a congenital valve abnormality, as bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) or mitral valve prolapse. This is also the case for athletes, where in the presence of these abnormalities few restrictions exist in eligibility

Active transportation is defined as travelling on foot, by bicycle or other non-motorized means, sometimes in combination with other forms of public transportation, in contrast with the use of motor vehicles. The prevalence of sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity is a growing epidemic in most developed countries that spread over the last three decades; active transportation may be a promising approach to increase physical activity and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases improving cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic health.

Background: Several articles have proposed reference values in healthy paediatric subjects, but none of them has evaluated a large population of healthy trained adolescents. Design: The study purpose was to establish normal echocardiographic measurements of left heart (aortic root, left atrium and left ventricular dimensions and mass) in relation to age, weight, height, body mass index, body surface area and training hours in this specific population.

We welcome the paper by Bhuva et al. (1) who investigated whether real-world exercise training for a first-time marathon can reverse age-related aortic stiffening, concluding that training even at relatively low exercise intensity reduces central blood pressure and aortic stiffness, equivalent to a 4-year reduction in vascular age. Nonetheless, although we found these data particularly interesting and novel, the report raises additional issues that should be addressed by the authors. First, only marathon finishers were included in the study.

Objectives This research aims to investigate the relationship between coming out to family and coming out in sports for lesbian and gay athletes and to examine the internalization of sexual prejudice as a potential mediator of this relationship. Methods For this purpose, disclosure of sexual orientation to family, coming out in sports and internalized sexual prejudice in sports-related contexts, age, gender, socioeconomic status, education level, political orientation, type of sport (individual vs.

Sports activity is characterised by the influence of different factors, which relate to both psychological and emotional stress of athletes. As a consequence, mental and physical preparations are fundamental in pre-competition and competition activities. In fact, being able to manage the reactions to stressful events and high demanding conditions, and adapt the strategy depending on the ongoing situation and opponent's reactions allow the athletes to properly process the surrounding information, evaluate all the possible solutions, and finally take the right decision.

The impact of the 'International Criteria' for ECG interpretation in athletes has further improved the diagnostic accuracy of the 12-lead ECG use for pre-participation screening (PPS) and these criteria have been evaluated in different populations of athletes and settings proving good results.

None

The aims of this study were: (i) to determine kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic characteristics of Junzuki karate punch in professional karate athletes; (ii) to identify biomechanical parameters that correlate with punch force and lead to a higher punching performance; (iii) to verify the presence of muscle co-activation in the upper limb, trunk, and lower limb muscles. Data were collected from nine experienced karatekas from the Accademia Italiana Karate e Arti Marziali during the execution of the specific punch.