FRONT FOOT SLIDE VARIABILITY AND ITS RELATION TO TENPIN BOWLING PERFORMANCE

In tenpin bowling, bowlers try to knock down as many pins as possible with the allotted number of tries. In the modern power game, they achieve this by generating a lot of momentum using heavy balls released accurately at great velocities (Strickland, 1996). It must be done consistently over many tries. Although accuracy of the front foot slide during the delivery phase seems less relevant compared to the accuracy of the ball release, its consistency is still paramount. The ability to slide the front foot consistently presumably enables the bowler to have a predictable stable base to deliver the ball more accurately. Variability in performing sports skills has been studied in various disciplines such as javelin and basketball (Bartlett, 2008), but no published data is available on tenpin bowling. In fact, published work on tenpin bowling is rather scarce; the only recent study was by Chu and colleagues (2002) which compared a number of kinematic variables in the sagittal plane between male and female bowlers. The purpose of this study was to look at how variability of the front foot slide was related to average bowling score (Bave) and ball release velocity (BRvel ). In addition, the variability of the foot kinematics between elite and amateur bowlers was also compared

Dynamics of resilience in forced migration: a 1-year follow-up study of longitudinal associations with mental health in a conflict-affected, ethnic Muslim population.

OBJECTIVE: The concept of 'resilience' is of increasing interest in studies of mental health in populations facing adversity. However, lack of longitudinal data on the dynamics of resilience and non-usage of resilience-specific measurements have prevented a better understanding of resilience-mental health interactions. Hence, the present study was conducted to investigate the stability of levels of resilience and its associations with sociodemographic and mental health exposures in a conflict-affected internal-migrant population in Sri Lanka. DESIGN: A prospective follow-up study of 1 year. SETTING: Puttalam district of North Western province in postconflict Sri Lanka (baseline in 2011, follow-up in 2012). PARTICIPANTS: An ethnic Muslim population internally displaced 20 years ago (in 1990) from Northern Sri Lanka, aged 18 or above and currently in the process of return migration. MEASURES: It was hypothesised that levels of resilience would be associated with mental health outcomes. Resilience was measured on both occasions using the 14-item Resilience Scale (RS-14), social support by the Multidimensional Social Support Scale and Lubben Social Network Scale and common mental disorders by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). RESULTS: Of 450 participants interviewed at baseline in 2011, 338 (75.1%) were re-interviewed in 2012 after a 1-year follow-up. The mean resilience scores measured by RS-14 were 80.2 (95% CI 78.6 to 81.9) at baseline and 84.9 (83.5 to 86.3) at follow-up. At both time points, lower resilience was independently associated with food insecurity, lower social support availability and social isolation. At both time points, there were significant associations with common mental disorders (CMDs) in unadjusted analyses, but they only showed independence at baseline. The CMD prevalence, maintenance and incidence at follow-up was 8.3%, 28.2% and 2.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this displaced population facing a potential reduction in adversity, resilience was more strongly and robustly associated with economic and social factors than with the presence of mental disorder

Reformation of corporate governance in Malaysia : do changes in audit and accountability practices increase institutional performance?

Following a sequence of financial crises around the world, a series of corporate governance codes were issued concerning best practice with regard to corporate governance reformation. Central to these codes was the aim of the government to create investor confidence, to raise the standard, drive corporate governance reforms and use as a benchmark monitoring and implementing as corporate governance practices and policies at the corporate company level. The Malaysian government is committed to ensure that corporate companies demonstrate a track record of good governance in order to attract and retain long-term investors. Therefore, after seven years, the first Malaysian Code on Corporate governance (MCCG) was introduced in 2000, while the revised MCCG was introduced in 2007. The amendments of MCCG 2000 involved the components of audit committees and board of directors. It was aimed to improve the quality of audit committees and board of director’s functions among Publicly Listed Companies (PLCs) in promoting accountability and high levels of protection for the investor. This article aims to examine the effect of the Malaysian Code on Corporate governance on audit and accountability practices by comparing practices prior to, and after the implementation of the Code. Furthermore, the relationship between changes in audit and accountability practices and institutional performance in terms of corporate governance reformation is also examined

An integrated approach of GRA coupled with principal component analysis for multi-optimization of shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process

Welding distortion is a critical issue as it leads to severe deterioration of structural integrity of welded work piece and dimensional precision. This study aims at studying the e ects of shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) parameters on the evolution of mechanical properties, including tensile strength, impact toughness, and hardness, along with angular distortion on a welded joint from SA 516 grade 70. Such parameters are analyzed and optimized by employing the Taguchi method and Grey relational analysis. SA 516 grade 70 is commercially used for fabrication of storage tanks, boilers and pressure vessels. SMAW is investigated with three levels of root gap, groove angle, electrode diameter, and pre-heat temperature, which were varied on a butt joint in flat (1 G) position to determine their e ects on response variables at room temperature. Nine experiments were designed using a Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, welded according to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) section IX, and samples were prepared and tested as per ASTM A 370. The Taguchi method and Grey relational analysis were employed to observe the most significant parameters and optimal levels that synergically yield improved responses. Results are validated by conducting confirmatory experiments that show good agreement with optimum results

Probability distributions comparative analysis in assessing rainfall process in time and space

The need for a reliable rainfall model to produce accurate simulation of rainfall series is imperative in water resources planning. Simulated series are used when there are shortages of observed series at location of interest. This study focuses on modelling of rainfall series with a range of probability distributions representing rainfall intensity of the Space-Time Neyman Scott (ST-NS) model. Theoretically, the ST-NS model is constructed by having parameters to represent the physical attributes of rainfall process. Therefore having appropriate distributions to describe the parameters are critical so that credible rainfall series could be generated. In this study, the performance of four probability distributions namely Mixed-Exponential, Gamma, Weibull and Generalized Pareto in representing rainfall intensity are assessed and compared. Model construction of the ST-NS model involved the merging of rainfall data from sixteen stations located all over Peninsular Malaysia. Simulations of hourly rainfall series for each distribution are carried at out of sample site. Performance assessments between the distributions are conducted using Root Mean Square Error, Akaike Information Criterion, Bayesian Information Criterion, Kolmogrov-Smirnov Test and Anderson-Darling Test. Results revealed that mixture type distributions tend to perform better. The performance of both Mixed-Exponential and Generalized Pareto are very similar and both are equally good at representing rain intensity in Peninsular Malaysia. The adopted method and the results could also be extended to other tropical regions

Keadaan Gizi dan Konsumsi Zat Gizi Anak Umur Dibawah 3 (Tiga) Tahun di Kabupaten Sragen dan Karawang

KEADAAN GIZI DAN KONSUMSI ZAT GIZI ANAK UMUR DIBAWAH 3 (TIGA) TAHUN DI KABUPATEN SRAGEN DAN KARAWAN

Crystal structure of 2′-hydroxyaceto-phenone 4-methylthiosemicarbazide

Support for this project came from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) under their Research University Grant Scheme (RUGS No. 9419400), Malaysian Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS No. 5524425) and the ScienceFund (Science Fund No. 5450726). We also thank Siti Khadijah Densabali for collecting the X-ray data. JJ wishes to acknowledge the Malaysian Government for sponsorship under the SGRA Scheme.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Nuclear maturation of immature bovine oocytes after vitrification using open pulled straw and cryotop methods

To date, at least two well known methods have been widely used for vitrification of oocytes and embryos at different stages in a variety of species. However, there is no reported data regarding the comparative effectiveness of these two methods for vitrification of immature bovine oocytes. The objective of this study is to compare the nuclear maturation of immature bovine oocytes vitrified using open pulled straw (OPS) and cryotop methods. Two experiments were conducted in this study. In the first experiment, cytotoxicity of vitrification solutions (VS) from both methods was studied. After removal of cryoprotectants, cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) was cultured in vitro and cleavage rate was monitored on Day 2 post-insemination (pi), whereas, morulae and blastocyst yields on Days 5 and 8 pi, respectively. The VS solutions significantly reduced zygotic cleavage rate, morulae and blastocyst rates compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The lowest cleavage rate resulted from prolonged exposure time to OPS-VS solutions (35.1%; P < 0.05). However, the morulae and blastocyst rates were significantly higher (P < 0.05) for embryos derived from oocytes exposed to cryotop solutions (40.5 and 22.4%, respectively). In the second experiment, effectiveness of both vitrification methods was compared for cryopreservation of immature bovine oocytes. After warming, COCs were cultured in vitro for 24 h. The polar body (PB+) and metaphase-II (MII) stage rates differed significantly among treatment groups. Oocytes vitrified using cryotop solution and device showed higher percentages of PB+ (36%) and MII (51%) rates. In addition, the lowest percentage of degenerated oocytes resulted from cryotop solution. The highest degenerated oocytes obtained by equilibration in OPS solution and vitrified using OPS device (40%; P < 0.05). In conclusion, our data demonstrated that cryotop solution was less toxic to the immature bovine oocytes and vitrification with the cryotop method resulted in higher survival and nuclear maturation rates.Key words: Immature oocyte, bovine, vitrification, cryotop, open pulled straw (OPS)

STUDI KOMPARASI METODE DEMONSTRASI DENGAN PEMBERIAN TUGAS TERHADAP KEMAMPUAN MENGENAL WARNA USIA 5-6 TAHUN

Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perbedaan kemampuan mengenal warna campuran pada anak usia 5-6 tahun melalui metode demonstrasi menggunakan video animasi dengan  metode pemberian tugas menggunakan media gambar di RA Babussalam Pontianak Utara. Penelitian ini menggunakan adalah metode eksperimen dengan bentuk Nonequivalent Control Group Design. Sampel dalam penelitian ini adalah 24 orang anak kelompok eksperimen dan 23 orang kelompok kontrol. Berdasarkan hasil analisis data tentang kemampuan mengenal warna campuran pada anak usia 5-6 tahun di RA Babusslam Pontianak Utara nilai  = -2.452 dan Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) = 0.014, karena  0.05) this means Ho is reject. It can be conculed there is a difference in differences end to know the color of the mixture in  the experimental class children taught by demonstration method using animated video and control class taught by work assignments method using by media image.   Key Word : Method, Demonstration, Work, Assignments, Colo