In long-lived vertebrates, individuals generally visit potential breeding areas or populations during one or more seasons before reproducing for the first time. During these years of prospecting, they select a future breeding site, colony, or mate and improve various skills and their physical condition to meet the requirements of reproduction. One precondition of successful reproduction is arri...

This longitudinal study investigated the influence of maturation on physical self-perceptions and the relationship with physical activity in early adolescent girls (N=150; mean age=12.79+/-0.31). Physical characteristics were measured and participants completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children, the Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile and the Pubertal Development ...

Human body temperature is an important sign of physical condition in terms of comfort, heat or cold stresses, and of performance. This paper presents the preliminary investigation into the design, manufacturing and testing of the textile based temperature sensor. This sensing fabric may be employed to measure the temperature of the human body on a continuous basis over extensive periods of time...

For optimal individual performance within any equestrian discipline horses must be in peak physical condition and have the correct psychological state. This review discusses the psychological factors that affect the performance of the horse and, in turn, identifies areas within the competition horse industry where current behavioral research and established behavioral modification techniques co...

In Western countries, the popularity of running events has increased exponentially during the last three decades. However, little is known about the profile of non-participants. This knowledge is crucial to tailor promotional actions towards people who are currently not participating. Therefore, this study aimed: (1) to examine which socio-ecological factors are related to participation in runn...

Methods 669 parents of children with JIA, 398 children with JIA, 801 parents of HC, and 796 HC completed independently the Pediatric Rheumatology Quality of Life scale (PRQL) (Filocamo et al. Rheumatology 2010). Children with JIA and HC who completed the questionnaire were aged > 7-8 years. The PRQL is a 10-item questionnaire that includes 2 subdimensions, physical health (PhH) and psychosocial...

OBJECTIVE Family-based treatment models that have shown effectiveness with juvenile offenders may also lead to reduced criminality in siblings of those offenders. However, the lasting effects of such treatments on siblings have not been evaluated. In the present study, the authors examined criminal outcomes for siblings of serious and violent juvenile offenders who had participated on average 2...

In this chapter we focus on the distribution function of the total claim amount S for the portfolio of an insurer. We are not merely interested in the expected value and the variance of the insurer’s random capital, but we also want to know the probability that the amounts paid exceed a fixed threshold. The distribution of the total claim amount S is also necessary to be able to apply the utili...