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Basketball injuries constitute a significant portion of ambulatory medical care use in the United States each year, particularly among young adult males and African American males. Better surveillance of adult participation in sports and recreational activities is needed to better identify risk and protective factors for injuries.

The effects of Kouk Sun Do (KSD), a mind-body exercise on mental health in university students, were investigated in this pilot study. University students (N = 30) with self-reported anxiety symptoms were randomly assigned to either the treatment group or the waiting list control group. Eighteen participants (N = 18; seven in the treatment group and 11 in the waiting list control group) completed a pre-test and a post-test, and 12 participants dropped out before or during the intervention. Ten 70-min KSD exercise sessions were conducted three times per week over a 4-week period. Trait anxiety, depressive symptoms and general self-efficacy in coping with stress were measured with the pre-test and the post-test. Qualitative data were collected using open-ended questions regarding benefits of KSD at the last session. A two (group) by two (time) repeated-measure analysis of variance was used to analyse the data. Trait anxiety and depressive symptoms decreased whereas general self-efficacy increased over a 4-week period. The treatment group had significantly reduced trait anxiety and depressive symptoms compared with the control group across time. Qualitative data provided support that the self-induced relaxation effects of KSD may lead to reduced anxiety.

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Intranasal insulin has been the subject of attention not only with respect to enhancing memory processes, but also for its anorexic effects, as well as its effects on olfactory sensitivity. In the present study, the influence of intranasal insulin on gustatory sensitivity was investigated using intranasal applications of insulin or placebo in a double-blind manner alongside a control condition without any application. We hypothesised that, because it mediates satiety, intranasal insulin alters gustatory sensitivity, whereas placebo application and the control should not alter gustatory sensitivity. We did not expect the sensitivity to the different taste solutions to differ. Sweet, salty, bitter and sour liquids in four concentrations each were sprayed onto the tongue of healthy male subjects. Additionally, water with no taste was applied to enable calculation of taste sensitivity in terms of parameter d' of signal detection theory. The task of the subject was to identify the quality of the respective tastant. Gustatory sensitivity and blood parameters were evaluated using repeated-measures ANOVAs. Gustatory sensitivity (implying all tastants) improved significantly after intranasal insulin application compared to the application of placebo, although it did not reach significance compared to the control condition. Subjects performed best when detecting the sweet taste and worst when detecting the bitter taste. The blood parameters glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment and leptin did not differ with respect to insulin or placebo condition, nor did they differ regarding measurements preceding or following intranasal application, in confirmation of preserved peripheral euglycaemia during the experiment. Thus, it can be concluded that the application of intranasal insulin led to an improved gustatory sensitivity compared to placebo.

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