Physiological demands of fencing: A narrative review

Background and Aim Fencers compete over long competition days (9-11 hours) wearing full body protective clothing whilst performing high-intensity explosive movements interspersed with low intensity preparatory or recovery movements. Therefore the aim of this review is to provide contemporary perspectives of the literature discussing the physiological and thermoregulatory demands of fencing to inform training, competition, and recovery practices. Methods Research articles were searched through three online databases (Pubmed, SPORTDiscus, and Google Scholar; 1985-2022) and included results discussing physiological demands for all three weapons (epée, foil, and sabre). Results The physiological demands of fencing performance are high and increase as fencers move from Poule fights to knockout Direct Elimination fights. Fencers compete at 75-100% of maximum heart rate, and ~75% maximal oxygen consumption in Direct Elimination fights. Fencing performance is reliant on the phosphocreatine and aerobic energy systems as shown through low blood lactate concentrations. Considerable variation in distance covered during competition is generally reported (i.e., 435 to 1652m in Direct Elimination fights). Despite fencers competing in full body protective clothing with a potentially large thermoregulatory challenge only one study has examined thermoregulatory responses during fencing whereby fencers’ gastrointestinal temperature can peak at >39°C. Conclusions Future research highlighted by the findings of this review includes studies of all weapon types especially foil and sabre, during actual competitive environments. Thermoregulatory responses of fencing need to be determined including measures of skin temperature, mask temperature (as a measure of micro-climates) and thermal sensation, allowing for appropriate cooling strategies to be applied between fights to maintain or improve performance. Practical Applications A greater understanding of the physiological demands of fencing performance will allow athletes, coaches, and practitioners to design training to prepare athletes for competition and allow fencing specific protocols to be developed to determine recovery strategies within fencing

Influence of surface on impact shock experienced during a fencing lunge

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sports surface on the magnitude of impact shock experienced during a lunge movement. Thirteen experienced, competitive fencers (age 32.4 +/- 4.6 years; Height 178.4 +/- 7.2 cm; Mass 74.4 +/- 9.1 kg) performed ten lunges on four different surfaces: concrete with an overlaid vinyl layer (COVL); wooden sprung court surface (WSCS); metallic carpet fencing piste overlaid on the WSCS and: aluminium fencing piste overlaid on the WSCS. An accelerometer measured accelerations along the longitudinal axis of the tibia at 1000Hz. The results identified a significantly (P < 0.05) larger impact shock magnitude was experienced during a lunge on the COVL (14.88 +/- 8.45g) compared to the WSCS (11.61 +/- 7.30g), WSCS with metallic carpet piste (11.14 +/- 6.38g) and WSCS with aluminium piste (11.95 +/- 7.21g). Furthermore, the two types of piste used had no significant effect the impact shock magnitude measured when overlaid on the WSCS compared to the WSCS on its own. The results of this investigation suggest that occurrences of injuries related to increased levels of impact shock, may be reduced through the utilization of a WSCS as opposed to a COVL surface, during fencing participation

Proving the Value of Honors Education:The Right Data and the Right Messaging

Administered within over 1,500 honors colleges and programs in two- and four-year institutions worldwide (National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) 2017; Scott and Smith 2016; Wolfensberger 2015), honors education serves the best interests of students and adds quality to the academic mission of host institutions by promoting the highest intellectual standards. Necessarily differing in form and content, all honors programs and colleges share the goals of identifying and supporting the most talented students as they achieve success in college and as they learn how to prepare not only for successful careers, but also for lifelong learning and meaningful civic engagement (Humphrey 2008). Certainly honors enthusiasts believe that these goals are met through innovative and challenging programming in areas of curriculum, undergraduate research, community engagement and service, and leadership. These beliefs, however, need to be backed by empirical data. Do honors programs and colleges achieve their goals? Do they increase the success of their students? Do they add measurable value to their institutions? How do we know? What data are needed to prove the worth of honors education, and how should those data be communicated to the administrators responsible for funding it—provosts, chancellors, and presidents? What are the obstacles to honors programs’ and colleges’ ability to gather those data and persuade various audiences? Nationally, a growing body of evidence confirms that honors students are more successful than other students (e.g., Cosgrove 2004; Pritchard and Wilson 2003). That every specific honors college or program know—not just hope or think—that it is effective in terms of recruiting, retaining, and promoting the success of its exceptional students is essential. Achieving this knowledge requires the right data, the right analyses, and the right communication. This paper details several ways to accomplish this task as well as some of the obstacles to this effort. We approach the idea of assessment and evaluation—or more simply, documenting positive effects of programs and persuading others of those effects—with social psychological research methods and while considering the politics of today’s higher education landscape. Specifically, we discuss how to obtain, understand, and use the simplest to the most complex data to prove the ultimate value of an honors program, and how to tailor messaging about those data. Honors colleges and programs are the model for undergraduate recruitment and success. Our goal is to help readers prove it

The effect of arm training on thermoregulatory responses and calf volume during upper body exercise

Purpose: The smaller muscle mass of the upper body compared to the lower body may elicit a smaller thermoregulatory stimulus during exercise and thus produce novel training induced thermoregulatory adaptations. Therefore, the principal aim of the study was to examine the effect of arm training on thermoregulatory responses during submaximal exercise. Methods: Thirteen healthy male participants (Mean ±SD age 27.8 ±5.0yrs, body mass 74.8 ±9.5kg) took part in 8 weeks of arm crank ergometry training. Thermoregulatory and calf blood flow responses were measured during 30 minutes of arm cranking at 60% peak power (Wpeak) pre, and post training and post training at the same absolute intensity as pre training. Core temperature and skin temperatures were measured, along with heat flow at the calf, thigh, upper arm and chest. Calf blood flow using venous occlusion plethysmography was performed pre and post exercise and calf volume was determined during exercise. Results: The upper body training reduced aural temperature (0.1 ±0.3ºC) and heat storage (0.3 ±0.2 J.g-1) at a given power output as a result of increased whole body sweating and heat flow. Arm crank training produced a smaller change in calf volume post training at the same absolute exercise intensity (-1.2 ±0.8% compared to -2.2 ±0.9% pre training; P<.05) suggesting reduced leg vasoconstriction. Conclusion: Training improved the main markers of aerobic fitness. However, the results of this study suggest arm crank training additionally elicits physiological responses specific to the lower body which may aid thermoregulation

Reliability Evidence for the NC Teacher Evaluation Process Using a Variety of Indicators of Inter-Rater Agreement

In this study, various statistical indexes of agreement were calculated using empirical data from a group of evaluators (n = 45) of early childhood teachers. The group of evaluators rated ten fictitious teacher profiles using the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process (NCTEP) rubric. The exact and adjacent agreement percentages were calculated for the group of evaluators. Kappa, weighted Kappa, Gwet’s AC1, Gwet’s AC2, and ICCs were used to interpret the level of agreement between the group of raters and a panel of expert raters. Similar to previous studies, Kappa statistics were low in the presence of high levels of agreement. Weighted Kappa and Gwet’s AC1 were less conservative than Kappa values. Gwet’s AC2 statistic was not defined for most evaluators, as there was an issue found with the statistic when raters do not use each category on the rating scale a minimum number of times. Overall, summary statistics for exact agreement were 68.7% and 87.6% for adjacent agreement across 2,250 ratings (45 evaluators ratings of ten profiles across five NCTEP Standards). Inter-rater agreement coefficients varied from .486 for Kappa, .563 for Gwet’s AC1, .667 for weighted Kappa, and .706 for Gwet’s AC2. While each statistic yielded different results for the same data, the inter-rater reliability of evaluators of early childhood teachers was acceptable or higher for the majority of this group of raters when described with summary statistics and using precise measures of inter-rater reliability

Surficial Geologic Map of the Patriot 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky

The Patriot 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in Boone, Gallatin, and Grant Counties of northern Kentucky in the Outer Bluegrass physiographic province (McFarlan, 1943). Broad to narrow ridges, steep hillsides, and the Ohio River Valley characterize the topography of the quadrangle. The Ohio River has been made navigable by a series of high-level dams, and the Markland Locks and Dam controls the river level in this area (Ray, 1974). The bedrock geology, originally mapped by Swadley (1969), consists, from oldest to youngest, of the Point Pleasant Formation, the Kope Formation, the Fairview Formation, the Bellevue Tongue of the Grant Lake Limestone, and the Bullfork Formation. The Point Pleasant Formation is approximately 50 to 90 percent limestone and the remainder is shale; it is more than 55 ft thick and occurs along the lower hillsides near the Ohio River and tributary streams. The Kope Formation consists of approximately 80 percent shale and 20 percent limestone, is 190 to 235 ft thick, and is exposed along stream valleys and hillsides. The Fairview Formation is interbedded limestone (50 percent) and shale (50 percent), 105 to 115 ft thick, and occurs as a resistant unit on ridgetops. The Bellevue Tongue of the Grant Lake Limestone consists of rubbly-weathering limestone 3 to 5 ft thick on ridgetops. The Bullfork Formation is interbedded limestone (approximately 50 percent) and shale (50 percent), more than 45 ft thick, and occurs as thin caps on higher ridges in the quadrangle (Swadley 1969a). All formations are fossiliferous.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kgs_cr/1006/thumbnail.jp

Soil greenhouse gas emissions and soil C dynamics in bioenergy crops

Second generation bioenergy crops short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus x giganteus are the two main bioenergy crops grown in the UK. The first aim of this research was to quantify the in situ soil greenhouse gas (GHG) budget and to establish the drivers of these GHG fluxes for SRC willow and Miscanthus. The second aim of this research was to provide a more in-depth understanding of C cycling under Miscanthus i.e. litter and roots through two field experiments. The main findings were: The results from this work confirmed minimal emissions of CH4 and N2O from soil in second generation crops (non-food crops), SRC willow and Miscanthus. CO2 flux was found to be the major efflux from soils in both crops and showed a positive correlation with temperature and showed a negative correlation with soil moisture content. The majority of total CO2 flux from the soil surface under Miscanthus was from underground processes, with little contribution from aboveground litter decomposition to total flux. Litter played an important part in providing nutrients to the soil, which is vital in these crops since they are not fertilised. The high C:N ratio of Miscanthus litter and the high lignin content of SRC willow, resulted in an accumulation of litter on the soil surface and so may promote long-term C sequestration. Overall, the results from this work, combined with other literature would suggest that these crops offer advantages to first generation crops but more field-based studies are required to be able to say if these crops can offer large-scale GHG savings needed from this renewable energy source

Public Perceptions of Registry Laws for Juvenile Sex Offenders

Understanding jurors’ perceptions of juvenile defendants has become increasingly important as more and more juvenile cases are being tried in adult criminal court rather than family or juvenile court. Intellectual disability and child maltreatment are overrepresented among juvenile delinquents, and juveniles (particularly disabled juveniles) are at heightened risk for falsely confessing to crimes. In two mock trial experiments, we examined the effects of disability, abuse history, and confession evidence on jurors’ perceptions of a juvenile defendant across several different crime scenarios. Abused juveniles were treated more leniently than nonabused juveniles only when the juvenile’s crime was motivated by self-defense against the abuser. Jurors used disability as a mitigating factor, making more lenient judgments for a disabled than a nondisabled juvenile. Jurors also completely discounted a coerced confession for a disabled juvenile, but not for a nondisabled juvenile. In fact, compared with when it was portrayed as voluntary, jurors generally discounted a juvenile’s coerced confession. Implications for public policy and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Surficial Geologic Map of the Newport 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky

The Newport 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in the Outer Bluegrass physiographic province (McFarlan, 1943) in the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area of northern Kentucky and includes parts of Kenton and Campbell Counties. Topography is characterized by a relatively broad expanse of upland with moderate relief that is bounded by the Ohio River Valley, Licking River Valley, and Fourmile Creek. Gibbons (1973) mapped the bedrock geology of this quadrangle, which was later digitized by Sparks (2002). The entire quadrangle is underlain by horizontal Ordovician limestone and shale, consisting of the Point Pleasant Formation, Kope Formation, Fairview Formation, Bellevue Tongue of the Grant Lake Limestone, and Bull Fork Formation.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kgs_cr/1005/thumbnail.jp

The effect of caffeine mouth rinse on self-paced cycling performance

The aim of the study was to determine whether caffeine mouth rinse would improve 30 min self-paced cycling trial. Twelve healthy active males (age 20.5±0.7 years, mass 87.4±18.3 kg) volunteered for the study. They attended the laboratory on 3 separate occasions performing a 30 min self-paced cycling trial. On one occasion water was given as a mouth rinse for 5 s (PLA), on another occasion a 6.4% maltodextrin (CHO) solution was given for 5 s and finally a caffeine solution (containing 32 mg of caffeine dissolved in 125 ml water; CAF) was given for 5 s. Distance cycled, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, cadence, speed and power output were recorded throughout all trials. Distance cycled during the CAF mouth rinse trial (16.2±2.8 km) was significantly greater compared to PLA trial (14.9±2.6 km). There was no difference between CHO and CAF trials (P=0.89). Cadence, power and velocity were significantly greater during the CAF trial compared to both PLA and CHO (P0.05). Caffeine mouth rinse improves 30 min cycling performance by allowing the participant to increase cadence, power and velocity without a concurrent increase in perceived exertion and heart rate