AIM To evaluate the role of 99m-technetium methylene diphosphonate (Tc-99m MDP) bone scintigraphy on the detection of joint damage in asymptomatic alpine ski racers. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study included 20 male asymptomatic alpine ski racers (age range: 18-21 years). None of the skiers had a history of ski crashes. Bone scan findings of the racers were examined with Tc-99m MDP bone scint...

Cardiac fibrosis is linked to fibroblast-to-myofibroblast phenoconversion and proliferation but the mechanisms underlying this are poorly understood. Ski is a negative regulator of TGF-β-Smad signaling in myofibroblasts, and might redirect the myofibroblast phenotype back to fibroblasts. Meox2 could alter TGF-β-mediated cellular processes and is repressed by Zeb2. Here, we investigated whether ...

The ski oncogene encodes a transcription factor that induces both transformation and muscle differentiation in avian fibroblasts. The first 304 amino acids of chicken Ski, the transformation domain, are both necessary and sufficient to mediate these biological activities. Ski's biological duality is mirrored by its transcriptional activities: it coactivates or corepresses transcription dependin...

OBJECTIVE To determine the reliability of reporting of information on risk factors from a standard accident report form used by ski patrols and a follow up mail questionnaire or telephone interview among injured skiers and snowboarders. SETTING 19 ski areas in the Canadian province of Quebec between November 2001 and April 2002. PARTICIPANTS 4377 injured skiers and snowboarders seen by the ...

Cross-country ski racing has evolved rapidly in recent years. Of particular interest has been the development and proliferation of the faster freestyle or skating techniques. In spite of changes in technique and equipment, the fact that elite cross-country ski racers have some of the highest aerobic power values reported for endurance athletes has not changed. Successful ski racers have higher ...

Catalase is sorted to peroxisomes via a C-terminal peroxisomal targeting signal 1 (PTS1), which binds to the receptor protein Pex5. Analysis of the C-terminal sequences of peroxisomal catalases from various species indicated that catalase never contains the typical C-terminal PTS1 tripeptide-SKL, but invariably is sorted to peroxisomes via a non-canonical sorting sequence. We analyzed the relev...

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to investigate whether a ski helmet interferes with the sound localization and the time of sound perception in the frontal plane. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-three participants (age 30.7±10.2) were tested on the slope in 2 conditions, with and without wearing the ski helmet, by 6 different spatially distributed sound stimuli per each condition. Each of the ...

Alpine ski racing is known to be a sport with a high risk of injuries. Because most studies have focused mainly on top-level athletes and on traumatic injuries, limited research exists about injury risk factors among youth ski racers. The aim of this study was to determine the intrinsic risk factors (anthropometrics, biological maturity, physical fitness, racing technique) for injury among yout...

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are present in virtually all cervical cancers. An important step in the development of malignant disease, including cervical cancer, involves a loss of sensitivity to transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). HPV type 16 (HPV16) early gene expression, including that of the E6 and E7 oncoprotein genes, is under the control of the upstream regulatory region (URR), ...