EFFECT OF HOLD SLOPER ANGLE AND HOLD DEPTH ON MAXIMAL FINGER FORCE CAPACITY OF ROCK CLIMBERS

The purpose of this study was to identify the combined effect of sloper angle and hold depth on maximal finger force capacity (MFFC) of rock climbers. Eight experienced climbers performed vertical maximal finger contractions on four different size of holds (1, 2, 3 and 4 cm) with five different sloper angles from 0° to 40° (with 10° increment). The results of this study showed that mean MFFC ranged from 25.2 ± 4.1 kg to 49.1 ± 9.0 kg and differed significantly according to the sloper angle and hold depth. Besides, decreasing the hold depth and increasing the sloper angle of a hold leads to a fall of the MFFC. These results confirm the previous findings of hold depth effect and improve them for sloper holds by pointing out the interaction between hold depth and slope angle

BIOMECHANICS OF THE SINGLE-HANDED DYNAMIC MOVES ON CAMPUS BOARD AND EFFECT OF RUNG DISTANCE

The purpose of this study was to gain an insight into the kinematics and kinetics of the single-handed dynamic moves on campus board and investigate the effects of increased rung distance on biomechanical parameters. Eight climbers, six males and two females, performed various single-handed dynamic moves on an instrumented campus board. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected during each jumping move. The results showed that duration of acceleration and flight phases increased and duration of control phase decreased with increasing target distance. The reaction force on the starting rung in acceleration phase and the reaction force on target rung were found increasing with increasing target distance

EFFECTS OF PATELLAR TENDON STRAP ON ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ACTIVITY OF QUADRICEPS MUSCLES DURING DROP LANDING

The purpose of this study was to clarify how patellar tendon strap affects on electromyographic activity of quadriceps muscles during drop landing. Four healthy male athlete participants made three drop landings with/without strap and acceptable landing trials were analysed. There was a marginal delay for vastus lateralis onset timing for strapping condition and this may be one of the main contributions of strapping for decreasing knee pain during athletic activities

A Review of Studies Evaluating Insecticide Barrier Treatments for Mosquito Control From 1944 to 2018

Background and Purpose: Barrier insecticide treatments have a long history in mosquito control programs but have been used more frequently in the United States in recent years for control of invasive “backyard� species (eg, Aedes albopictus) and increases in incidence of vector-borne diseases (eg, Zika). Methods: We reviewed the published literature for studies investigating barrier treatments for mosquito control during the last 74 years (1944-2018). We searched databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to retrieve worldwide literature on barrier treatments. Results: Forty-four studies that evaluated 20 active ingredients (AIs) and 21 formulated products against multiple mosquito species are included. Insecticides investigated for efficacy included organochlorines (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT], β-hexachlorocyclohexane [BHC]), organophosphates (malathion), and pyrethroids (bifenthrin, deltamethrin, permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin) as AIs. Study design varied with multiple methods used to evaluate effectiveness of barrier treatments. Barrier treatments were effective at lowering mosquito populations although there was variation between studies and for different mosquito species. Factors other than AI, such as exposure to rainfall and application equipment used, also influenced control efficacy. Conclusions: Many of the basic questions on the effectiveness of barrier insecticide applications have been answered, but several important details still must be investigated to improve precision and impact on vector-borne pathogen transmission. Recommendations are made to assist future evaluations of barrier treatments for mosquito control and to limit the potential development of insecticide resistance

Analysis of relations between spatiotemporal movement regulation and performance of discrete actions reveals functionality in skilled climbing

In this review of research on climbing expertise, we focus on different measures of climbing performance, including spatiotemporal measures related to fluency and activity states (i.e., discrete actions), performed by climbers toward achieving the overall goal of getting to the end of a route efficiently and safely. Currently a broad range of variables have been reported, however, many of these fail to capture how climbers adapt to a route whilst climbing. We argue that spatiotemporal measures should be considered concurrent with evaluation of activity states (such as reaching or exploring) in order gain a more comprehensive picture of how climbers successfully adapt to a route. Spatial and temporal movement measures taken at the hip are a traditional means of assessing efficiency of climbing behaviors. More recently, performatory and exploratory actions of the limbs have been used in combination with spatiotemporal indicators, highlighting the influence of limb states on climbing efficiency and skill transfer. However, only a few studies have attempted to combine spatiotemporal and activity state measures taken during route climbing. This review brings together existing approaches for observing climbing skill at outcome (i.e., spatiotemporal assessments) and limb (i.e., activity states) levels of analysis. Skill level is associated with a spatially efficient route progression and lower levels of immobility. However, more difficult hold architecture requires significantly greater mobility and more complex movement patterning to maintain performance. Different forms of functional, or goal-supportive, movement variability including active recovery and hold exploration, have been implicated as important adaptations to physiological and environmental dynamics that emerge during the act of climbing. Indeed, recently it has also been shown that when climbing on new routes, efficient exploration can improve the transfer of skill. Ultimately, this review provides insight into how climbing performance and related actions can be quantified to better capture the functional role of movement variability

Is preference for mHealth intervention delivery platform associated with delivery platform familiarity?

Published online: 22 July 2016Background: The aim of this paper was to ascertain whether greater familiarity with a smartphone or tablet was associated with participants’ preferred mobile delivery modality for eHealth interventions. Methods: Data from 1865 people who participated in the Australian Health and Social Science panel study were included into two multinomial logistic regression analyses in which preference for smartphone and tablet delivery for general or personalised eHealth interventions were regressed onto device familiarity and the covariates of sex, age and education. Results: People were more likely to prefer both general and personalised eHealth interventions presented on tablets if they reported high or moderate tablet familiarity (compared to low familiarity) and people were more likely to prefer both general and personalised eHealth interventions presented on smartphones if they reported high or moderate smartphone familiarity, were younger, and had university education (compared to completing high school or less). Conclusion: People prefer receiving eHealth interventions on the mobile devices they are most familiar with. These findings have important implications that should be considered when developing eHealth interventions, and demonstrates that eHealth interventions should be delivered using multiple platforms simultaneously to optimally cater for as many people as possible.Daniel Granger, Corneel Vandelanotte, Mitch J. Duncan, Stephanie Alley, Stephanie Schoeppe, Camille Short and Amanda Reba

Comparative grading scales, statistical analyses, climber descriptors and ability grouping: International Rock Climbing Research Association position statement

The research base for rock climbing has expanded substantially in the past 3 decades as worldwide interest in the sport has grown. An important trigger for the increasing research attention has been the transition of the sport to a competitive as well as recreational activity and the potential inclusion of sport climbing in the Olympic schedule. The International Rock Climbing Research Association (IRCRA) was formed in 2011 to bring together climbers, coaches and researchers to share knowledge and promote collaboration. This position statement was developed during and after the 2nd IRCRA Congress which was held in Pontresina, in September 2014. The aim of the position statement is to bring greater uniformity to the descriptive and statistical methods used in reporting rock climbing research findings. To date there is a wide variation in the information provided by researchers regarding the climbers’ characteristics and also in the approaches employed to convert from climbing grading scales to a numeric scale suitable for statistical analysis. Our paper presents details of recommended standards of reporting that should be used for reporting climber characteristics and provides a universal scale for the conversion of climbing grades to a number system for statistical analysis

The outlook of building information modeling for sustainable development

As human needs evolve, information technologies and natural environments require a wider perspective of sustainable development, especially when examining the built environment that impacts the central of social-ecological systems. The objectives of the paper are (a) to review the status and development of building information modeling (BIM) in regards to the sustainable development in the built environment, and (b) to develop a future outlook framework that promotes BIM in sustainable development. Seven areas of sustainability were classified to analyze forty-four BIM guidelines and standards. This review examines the use of BIM in sustainable development, focusing primarily on certain areas of sustainability, such as project development, design, and construction. The developed framework describes the need for collaboration with the multiple disciplines for the future adoption and use of BIM for the sustainable development. It also considers the integration between “BIM and green assessment criteria”; and “BIM and renewable energy” to address the shortcomings of the standards and guidelines

Coordination in climbing: effect of skill, practice and constraints manipulation

BACKGROUND: Climbing is a physical activity and sport involving many subdisciplines. Minimization of prolonged pauses, use of a relatively simple path through a route and smooth transitions between movements broadly define skilled coordination in climbing. OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of the constraints on skilled coordination in climbing and to explore future directions in this emerging field. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted in 2014 and retrieved studies reporting perceptual and movement data during climbing tasks. To be eligible for the qualitative synthesis, studies were required to report perceptual or movement data during climbing tasks graded for difficulty. RESULTS: Qualitative synthesis of 42 studies was carried out, showing that skilled coordination in climbing is underpinned by superior perception of climbing opportunities; optimization of spatial-temporal features pertaining to body-to-wall coordination, the climb trajectory and hand-to-hold surface contact; and minimization of exploratory behaviour. Improvements in skilled coordination due to practice are related to task novelty and the difficulty of the climbing route relative to the individual's ability level. CONCLUSION: Perceptual and motor adaptations that improve skilled coordination are highly significant for improving the climbing ability level. Elite climbers exhibit advantages in detection and use of climbing opportunities when visually inspecting a route from the ground and when physically moving though a route. However, the need to provide clear guidelines on how to improve climbing skill arises from uncertainties regarding the impacts of different practice interventions on learning and transfer