The Relationship between the Hamstring-to-Quadriceps Ratio and Jumping and Sprinting Abilities of Young Male Soccer Players

The correct torque ratio between the knee joint extensor and flexor muscle groups can effectively prevent injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament and hamstring strain. However, it is unclear whether a high torque ratio of the knee joint flexor muscles to the extensor muscles is beneficial for sport performance. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the hamstring-to-quadriceps (H/Q) ratio and sprint times (10-and 30-m) and jump heights (CMJ—countermovement jump and SJ—squat jump) in soccer players. The study examined 26 young elite soccer players (age: 18.1 ± 0.7 years; body height: 1.77 ± 0.05 m; body mass: 72.7 ± 5.7 kg). Knee joint flexor and extensor peak torques were assessed using the Cybex dynamometer (at 60◦/s, 120◦/s and 180◦/s). Additionally, each participant performed the CMJ, SJ, and 30 m sprint. A significant relationship was obtained between the H/Q ratio (60◦/s) and 30 m sprint time (r = 0.47). The positive direction of this relationship may indicate an important role of knee joint extensors in sprinting performance. Moreover, the H/Q ratio was not significantly associated with the CMJ, SJ or 10 m sprint performance. The H/Q ratio should be considered together with the peak torque values in terms of the assessment of sprinting and jumping performance. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Küçükçekmece Lagünü'nde (İstanbul) "Küçük Buzul Çağı" ve "Orta Çağ Ilık Dönemi" çökel kayıtları

This study focuses on the sedimentary records of climatic changes in the Küçükçekmece Lagoon over the last 1300 a. The main objective of the study is to investigate the envirenmental conditions in Istanbul during the Little Ice Age (LIA, 600-100 a BP) and Medieval Warm Period (MWP, 1000-600 a BP), which occurred in Europe during the last millenia. The Küçükçekmece Lagoon is situated on the northern shoreline of the Sea of Marmara, west of İstanbul. It has a surface area of 15 km2, maximum depth of 20 m and water volume of 145x106m3. The lagoon is connected to Sea of Marmara via a 2 km long natural narrow channel. The main freshwater input is mainly from small sterams and groundwater springs (Altun el al., 2009). The Little Ice Age was a period of mountain glacier expansion during 16th–mid 19th century period during which European climate was strongly impacted (Bradley and Jones, 1993; Jones et al., 1998; Mann et al., 1998, 1999; Mann, 2002). This period begins with a trend towards enhanced glacial conditions in Europe following the warm conditions of the so-called MWP. The LIA terminated with a dramatic retreat of the Alpine glaciers during the 20th century. During this period the temperature was 0.5-0.7ºC lower than 1950’s avarage. The previous Holocene climate studies in Turkey are rare and mostly confined to the Black Sea and Central Anatolia regions (e.g., Jones et al. 2006; Fleitmann et al, 2009; Kuzucuoğlu et al, 2011). In view of the variability of the present-day climate of Turkey mainly because of its geographic location and topography, and scarcity of data in NW Turkey, the recovery of late Holocene climate records from Küçükçekmece Lagoon (İstanbul) is very important. For this prupose we collected one short interface core (0.6 m) and one 4.5 m long piston core from the Küçükçekmece lagoon. The cores were analyzed for physical properties (magnetic susceptibilty: MS, gamma density, and resistivity) at 5 mm resolution using Multi Sensor Core Logger (MSCL), and multi-elemental analyis at 0.2 mm resolution using XRF (X-Ray Fluoresance) core scanner. The cores were then sampled at 50 mm intervals for total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC), and micropaleontological (ostracoda and benthic foraminifera) analysis. The micropaleontological analysis was made in the sand size fraction under binocular microscope. The ostracoda and benthic foraminifera individuals are identified. Suitable species of ostracoda (Loxoconcha sp.) and benthic foraminifera (Ammonia sp.) were picked and analyzed for the stable oxygen and carbon isotope analysis. Four samples were dated using AMS 14C analysis. The ages were calibrated to calendar year by CALIB 6.0 software using INTCAL 9.0 and MARINE 9.0 options. The short and long cores were correlated using the MS profiles and a continuous composite section was constituted. The lithology of the composite core section in general consists of homogenous olive green mud that rarely includes layers of plant remains and laminated intervals. The benthic foraminifera and ostracoda distribution suggests that the lagoon has been brackish over the last 1300 a. The age model was obtained from the calibrated AMS C-14 datings of two total bulk organic carbon and two plant remain layers. The multiproxy data were used to analyze the evaporation/precipitation changes in sediment cores. Increasing MS (SI), Ti (cps) values and decreasing of d18O-d13C (‰ VPDB), Ca/Ti, Sr/Ca ratio and TOC (%wt) values were interpreted to show wet conditions. We also modified the Leng and Marshall’s (2004) d18O-d13C model for the Küçükçekmece Lagoon. The multi-proxy physical properties, geochemical and stable O- and C-isotope data in Küçükçekmece Lagoon show that wet conditions prevailed during ca 220-70 a BP, 1300-750 a BP and dry conditions during ca 70- 0 a BP, 750-220 a BP. The late (250-100 a BP) and early episodes (600- 250 a BP) of the Little Ice Age period was wet and and dry, respectively. During the the Medieval Warm Period (1000-600 a BP) wet conditions occurred in the region. The climate records also show that decadal-scale wet periods occurred during 340-270 a BP and 680-610 a BP, and dry periods during ca 1050 – 1000 a BP, 1130-1080 a BP and 1260-1210 a BP. Climatic records of Küçükçekmece Lagoon shows similarity with European records in Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period. Keywords: Küçükçekmece Lagoon (İstanbul), Little Ice Age, Medieval Warm Period.Küçükçekmece Lagünü çökellerinde Günümüzden Önce (GÖ) 1300 yıldaki iklim değişimleri ile Avrupa’da soğuk dönem olan Küçük Buz Çağı (GÖ 600-100) ve öncesinde yaşanan Orta Çağ Ilık Dönemi’in (GÖ 1000-600) İstanbul’daki koşulların karşılaştırmasını amaçlamaktadır. Bu nedenle Küçükçekmece Lagünü’nden uzunlukları 0.6 ve 4.5 m olan iki çökel karotunda; 5 mm çözünürlükle Çok Sensörlü Karot Logu Alıcısı (Multi Sensor Core Logger, MSCL) ile manyetik duyarlılık, P-Dalga hızı, yoğunluk ve öz direnç; 0.2 mm çözünürlükle XRF (X -Ray Fluorescence) tarayıcısı ile 25 elementin analizi ve 50 mm çözünürlükle toplam inorganik (TIC)–organik (TOC) karbon analizleri yapılmıştır. Ayrıca 50 mm aralıkla örnekler yıkanıp elenerek elde edilen çökeller içinden belirlenen ostrakod (Loxoconcha sp.) ve bentik foraminifer (Ammoniasp.) türleri toplanarak duraylı oksijen ve karbon analizleri yapılmıştır. Karotlar AMS 14C yöntemleri ile yaşlandırılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre Küçük Buz Çağı’nın (GÖ 600-100) GÖ 250-100 yılları arasındaki son bölümünde yağışlı; ilk bölümünde (GÖ 600-250 yılları arası) ise bölgede kurak koşulların egemen olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Buna göre, Ortaçağ Ilık Dönemi (GÖ 1000-600 yılları) ve Karanlık Çağ Soğuk Dönemi’nin (GÖ 1500-1000 yılları) son evresini içeren GÖ 1200-600 yılları arasında yağışlı ve GÖ 1300-1200 yılları arasında ise kuraktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Küçükçekmece Lagünü (İstanbul), Küçük Buz Çağı, Ortaçağ Ilık Dönemi

Cambio estacional en el rendimiento aeróbico de jugadores jóvenes de fútbol

Los estudios longitudinales que evalúan el cambio estacional en la capacidad aeróbica de los jugadores de fútbol jóvenes de diferentes categorías de edad son limitados. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar los cambios estacionales del nivel aeróbico de los jugadores de la academia juvenil de un equipo de fútbol profesional. Esta investigación se realizó con un total de 51 futbolistas de las categorías U14, U15, U16, U17 y U18 de un equipo de fútbol de élite. Las capacidades aeróbicas de los atletas se midieron mediante la prueba Yo-YoIRT 1. En los análisis, las evaluaciones de distribución normal de los datos se realizaron con la prueba de Shapiro-Wilk y las homogeneidades de varianza se probaron con la prueba de Levene. Se utilizó la prueba ANOVA de una vía para analizar todos los datos paramétricos; todas las evaluaciones estadísticas se realizaron con la ayuda del programa SPSS 21. De acuerdo con la prueba Yo-YoIRT 1, se determinaron aumentos y/o disminuciones en las evaluaciones de pretemporada, mitad de temporada y final de temporada. Como resultado, los sujetos de todas las categorías aumentaron significativamente al final de la temporada en comparación con la pretemporada y la temporada media. Los grupos de edad U14 y U16 lograron una aceleración creciente a partir de la pretemporada. Sin embargo, en los grupos de edad U15, U17, U18, la aceleración disminuye en la mitad de la temporada y aumenta al final de la temporada. Se cree que se pueden observar diferencias en las respuestas a las cargas de entrenamiento durante el crecimiento y la maduración. Se puede sugerir que el incremento al final de la temporada respecto a la pretemporada, en todos los grupos, puede deberse a que la adaptación de los deportistas a los programas de entrenamiento se ve afectada por las características del desarrollo en cuanto a las categorías de edad a lo largo del tiemp

Designing a digital twin for quantum key distribution

Classical optical devices lack precision when they operate on single photons. We report a Quantum Digital Twin (QDT) to improve Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) implementations. We show a QDT increasing the Key Exchange Rate under environmental events.The research leading to these results has received funding from the EC through the H2020 NGIatlantic.eu 3rd open call (03-275), the MICINN IBON (PID2020-114135RB-I00), the U.S. NSF ICE-T program through the award # 1836921, the U.S. Department of Energy under Award Number DE-SC-0022336, and the ICREA Institution.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Modelling climate and societal resilience in the Eastern Mediterranean in the last Millennium

This article analyses high-quality hydroclimate proxy records and spatial reconstructions from the Central and Eastern Mediterranean and compares them with two Earth System Model simulations (CCSM4, MPI-ESM-P) for the Crusader period in the Levant (1095–1290 CE), the Mamluk regime in Transjordan (1260–1516 CE) and the Ottoman crisis and Celâlî Rebellion(1580–1610 CE). During the three time intervals, environmental and climatic stress tested the resilience of complex societies.We find that the multidecadal precipitation and drought variations in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean cannot be explained by external forcings (solar variations, tropical volcanism); rather they were driven by internal climate dynamics. Our research emphasises the challenges, opportunities and limitations of linking proxy records, palaeoreconstructions and model simulations to better understand how climate can affect human history

The Effect of High Intensity Interval Training on Agility Performance

Background and Study Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on agility performances of male football and volleyball players in university teams.Material and Methods: 10 non-elite male football players (mean age 21.17 +/- 0.70 years, mean height 176.88 +/- 4.86 cm, and mean weight 79.12 +/- 8.31 kg) and 10 non-elite male volleyball players (mean age 20.84 +/- 1.54 years, mean height 185.41 +/- 8.31 cm, and mean weight 78.93 +/- 8.85 kg) volunteered for the study. The participants performed HIIT (30 sec exercise/30 sec rest) twice a week for four weeks. Agility T test was performed with the participants before and after the training.Results: There found no statistical difference (p>0.05) in terms of the agility performance values of the male football and volleyball players before and after the training. The pre and post training measurements after Yo-Yo IRT 1 showed that while the group with the football players did not recover in their agility performances up to 48 hours, the volleyball players were able to recover 48 hours after the training. Conclusion: It was found out that HIIT practises had no effect on improving agility time; however, it was effective in recovery of agility time post Yo-Yo IRT 1