A Regional Approach to Drinking Water Management: NL-BC Comparative Water Systems Study

Water is recognized as a basic human right, a critical service, a fundamental for sustainability, and a building block for resilience. In Canada, rural areas face unique challenges when it comes to drinking water management (e.g., multi-use watersheds, low population density, lack of economies of scale). Not only are these challenges in the present, but these unique issues are also important in terms of future adaptation and can act as barriers to future community and regional resilience. Research indicates that while managing drinking water is a critical issue for rural Canada, current management approaches appear to be ill equipped to address this issue, particularly in the context of regional resilience. In this report we propose a new approach to managing drinking water, using the regional scale and incorporating best practices related to regional development, new regionalism, regional resilience, water management, and sustainable infrastructure

The rapid stretch stimulus does not enhance muscle strength in active individuals following a 4-week proprioceptive neuromuscular strengthening protocol.

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) a technique widely used as a training modality among physically active individuals. PNF in the upper limb is combined with the rapid stretch stimulus at the beginning of every repetition of resistive diagonal PNF. The stretch stimulus is applied at the palm of the hand & fingers in the opposite direction to activate receptors. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of stretch stimulus with PNF exercises over 4-weeks for improvements in muscle strength. Eight participants were recruited & randomly divided into the CG, n=4 with no stretch stimulus & EG, n=4 with addition of stretch stimulus. Muscle strength of elbow flexors & maximum grip strength was measured. Mixed ANOVA showed that the rapid stretch stimulus is not sufficient in this small group to improve strength when combined with PNF diagonal strengthening (p\u3e0.05)

MOVEMENT VARIABILITY: A COMPARISON BETWEEN NOVICE, EXPERIENCED AND ELITE PERFORMERS

The purpose of this study was to investigate movement and its associated outcome variability for three levels of Olympic weightlifters performing the clean. Elite (n=2) experienced (n=5) and novice (n=5) weightlifters performed 12 lifts of the clean at 80% 1RM with 120s rest between each lift. Variability of relative phase, relative hip and knee angles and ground reaction force was calculated for each subject for the 12 trials. No significant differences were reported between groups for coordination, kinematic or outcome variability however, some differences (Fx) were reported for kinetic variability. For the majority of measures no significant differences were reported between groups for performance or outcome variability. In conclusion the traditional viewpoint of invariant movement patterns for elite performers was dismissed

Modifications to the Aesop's Fable paradigm change New Caledonian crow performances

While humans are able to understand much about causality, it is unclear to what extent non-human animals can do the same. The Aesop's Fable paradigm requires an animal to drop stones into a water-filled tube to bring a floating food reward within reach. Rook, Eurasian jay, and New Caledonian crow performances are similar to those of children under seven years of age when solving this task. However, we know very little about the cognition underpinning these birds' performances. Here, we address several limitations of previous Aesop's Fable studies to gain insight into the causal cognition of New Caledonian crows. Our results provide the first evidence that any non-human animal can solve the U-tube task and can discriminate between water-filled tubes of different volumes. However, our results do not provide support for the hypothesis that these crows can infer the presence of a hidden causal mechanism. They also call into question previous object-discrimination performances. The methodologies outlined here should allow for more powerful comparisons between humans and other animal species and thus help us to determine which aspects of causal cognition are distinct to humans.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

COMPARISON OF KINEMATICS AND ACCURACY OF OVERHAND AMERICAN FOOTBALL THROWING

This study examined elbow angle, wrist velocity and throwing accuracy during American Football throws. Six repetitions of three types of throws: Self-selected pass (SS), Lob pass (L), and a Bullet pass (B); were performed to hit a point scaled target from 10.97 m. Independent variables were frontal plane shoulder angle (more or less than 90º) and throw type; dependent variables were elbow angle in the sagittal plane, wrist velocity at ball release, and accuracy. There were no differences for shoulder angle for any variable; while throw types differed only for wrist speed (highest to lowest B, SS, and L). Significant interactions occurred for all variables. These findings suggest that recommendations for American football throwing technique are complicated by the combination of throw type and shoulder angle; and that with no restrictions subjects will throw with more accuracy

A STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE RELIABILITY AND CONSISTENCY OF THE SPORTS TUTOR TENNIS CUBETM VELOCITY, TRAJECTORY AND LANDING POINTS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and consistency of the Sports Tutor Tennis CubeTM ball launcher. Five identical (mass, diameter) competition standard tennis balls were each launched twenty-five times and flight was assessed using 3D infra red motion analysis. 3D resultant velocity was found to be 18.9 ± 0.89 m/s, landing points had a coefficient of variation in the lateral direction of 8.28% and 18.4% in the vertical direction Trajectory was also projected to estimate ball carry showing ball flight range (horizontal spread) of 14.9 ± 3.71 m. Results showed that whilst the commercially popular tennis ball launcher was stroke specific, it exhibited a level of variability This could be seen to bring variance to tennis players’ practice that they once thought did not occur with the use of tennis ball machines

Trial of NewGait System to Alter Running Mechanics in High School Athlete: a Case Report

Trial of NewGait System to Alter Running Mechanics in High School Athlete: a Case Repor

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE MODERN AND THE LOWER BODY GOLF SWING TECHNIQUES– PILOT STUDY WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR LOWER BACK INJURY RISK

The purpose of this study was to compare the biomechanical characteristics of the lower body swing to modern swing techniques, with a focus on lower back injury risk. Fifteen male individuals free from lower back injury participated in this study. Nine participants utilized the modern swing (age = 48.0 ± 13.6 years; height = 176.8 ± 4.4 cm; mass = 82.1 ± 5.3 kg) while six utilized the lower body swing (age = 53.9 ±12.1 years; height = 182.9 ± 6.1 cm; mass = 92.5 ± 14.8 kg). Whole body kinematics were recorded with a ten-camera motion analysis system while individuals performed 5 shots with a driver for maximum distance. Continuous waveform and discrete point analysis was used to explore the differences between these two techniques. The lower body swing demonstrated favourable kinematics in the majority of variables related to lower back pain and lumbar load