Anabolic responses to resistance training in older men and women: a brief review

Resistance training has been shown to be the most effective exercise mode to induce anabolic adaptations in older men and women. Advances in imaging techniques and histochemistry have increased the ability to detect such changes, confirming the high level of adaptability that remains in aging skeletal muscle. This brief review presents a summary of the resistance-training studies that directly compare chronic anabolic responses to training in older (>60 years) men and women. Sixteen studies are summarized, most of which indicate similar relative anabolic responses between older men and women after resistance training. Relatively small sample sizes in most of the interventions limited their ability to detect significant sex differences and should be considered when interpreting these studies. Future research should incorporate larger sample sizes with multiple measurement time points for anabolic responses.     

Second order efficiency of the ban-estimators for the multinomial family

Rao (1961, 1963) introduced a measure of second order efficiency (s.o.e.) of a best asymptotically normal (BAN) estimator and obtained the s.o.e's of some well known estimators of the parameter of the multinomial family. Koorts (1985) dealt with a calss of BAN estimators and derived the s.o.e, of the estimator belonging to this class. In this paper we derive a general expressiion for the s.o.e. of a BAN estiimator based on its estimating equation.     

Strong consistency of presmoothed Kaplan–Meier integrals when covariables are present

It is known that the Kaplan–Meier estimation may be improved via presmoothing methods. In this article, we introduce an extended presmoothed Kaplan–Meier estimator in the presence of covariates. The main result is the strong consistency of general empirical integrals based on such an estimator. As applications, one can obtain a consis-tent multivariate empirical distribution under censoring, and also can obtain a consistent estimation of regression parameters. We illustrate the new estimation methods through simulations and real data analysis.     

Does Low Willingness to Respond Introduce a Bias? Results from a Socio-epidemiological study among Young Men and Women

The aim of this study was to investigate if willingness to respond can introduce bias in a population survey and to study the socio-economic characteristics of those with high and low willingness to respond. Two groups of final-year pupils at compulsory school were surveyed five years after leaving school, at the age of 21. The data were collected during class meetings, by mailed questionnaires, telephone and personal interviews. The response rates in the studies were proportionally high – about 98% and 90% respectively. In both surveys there were more men compared to women who were late respondents or non-respondents. Long-term unemployment and lack of upper secondary school for both men and women, as well as living with a partner for men, corresponded to low willingness to respond to a survey. A higher alcohol consumption – between 1.5 to 6.5 times – was observed among those with lower willingness to respond. Even a low rate of non-response can introduce a serious bias and produce uncertain results in, for example, studies on the consequences of youth unemployment on alcohol consumption.