Ingesting a 12% carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage before each half of a soccer match simulation facilitates retention of passing performance and improves high-intensity running capacity in academy players

This study investigated the influence of ingesting a 12% carbohydrate plus electrolyte (CHO-E) solution providing 60 g of carbohydrate before each half of a 90-min soccer match simulation (SMS) protocol on skill performance, sprint speed and high-intensity running capacity. Eighteen elite academy (age 18±2 y) soccer players ingested two 250 mL doses (pre-exercise and at half-time) of a 12% CHO-E solution or electrolyte placebo administered in a double-blind randomised cross-over design. During an indoor (artificial grass pitch) SMS, dribbling, passing and sprint performance were assessed, and blood was drawn for glucose and lactate analysis. High-intensity running capacity was assessed following the SMS. Dribbling speed/accuracy and sprint speed remained unchanged throughout the SMS. Conversely, passing accuracy for both dominant (mean % difference (95% CI): 9 (3-15)) and non-dominant (mean % difference (95% CI): 13 (6-20)) feet was better maintained during the SMS on CHO-E (p < 0.05), with passing speed better maintained in the non-dominant foot (mean % difference (95% CI): 5.3 (0.7 to 9.9), p=0.032). High-intensity running capacity was greater in CHO-E vs. placebo (mean % difference (95% CI): 13 (6 to 20), p=0.010). Capillary blood glucose concentration was higher in CHO-E than placebo at half-time (CHO-E: 5.8±0.5 mM vs. placebo: 4.1±0.4 mM, p=0.001) and following the high-intensity running capacity test (CHO-E: 4.9±0.4 mM vs. placebo: 4.30.4 mM, p=0.001). Ingesting a 12% CHO-E solution before each half of a match can aid in the maintenance of soccer-specific skill performance, particularly on the non-dominant foot, and improves subsequent high-intensity running capacity

Development of ultrasound detection in American shad (Alosa sapidissima)

It has recently been shown that a few fish species, including American shad (Alosa sapidissima; Clupeiformes), are able to detect sound up to 180 kHz, an ability not found in most other fishes. Initially, it was proposed that ultrasound detection in shad involves the auditory bullae, swim bladder extensions found in all members of the Clupeiformes. However, while all clupeiformes have bullae, not all can detect ultrasound. Thus, the bullae alone are not sufficient to explain ultrasound detection. In this study, we used a developmental approach to determine when ultrasound detection begins and how the ability to detect ultrasound changes with ontogeny in American shad. We then compared changes in auditory function with morphological development to identify structures that are potentially responsible for ultrasound detection. We found that the auditory bullae and all three auditory end organs are present well before fish show ultrasound detection behaviourally and we suggest that an additional specialization in the utricle (one of the auditory end organs) forms coincident with the onset of ultrasound detection. We further show that this utricular specialization is found in two clupeiform species that can detect ultrasound but not in two clupeiform species not capable of ultrasound detection. Thus, it appears that ultrasound-detecting clupeiformes have undergone structural modification of the utricle that allows detection of ultrasonic stimulation

The Color of Childhood: The Role of the Child/Human Binary in the Production of Anti-Black Racism

The binary between the figure of the child and the fully human being is invoked with regularity in analyses of race, yet its centrality to the conception of race has never been fully explored. For most commentators, the figure of the child operates as a metaphoric or rhetorical trope, a non-essential strategic tool in the perpetuation of White supremacy. As I show in the following, the child/human binary does not present a contingent or merely rhetorical construction but, rather, a central feature of racialization. Where Black peoples are situated as objects of violence it is often precisely because Blackness has been identified with childhood and childhood is historically identified as the archetypal site of naturalized violence and servitude. I proceed by offering a historical account of how Black peoples came to inherit the subordination and dehumanization of European childhood and how White youth were subsequently spared through their partial categorization as adults

Integrating expertises and ambitions for data-driven digital building permits - the EUNET4DBP

The digitalization of the process for building permit (involving the use of 3D information systems) is seen as a priority in a wide part of the world. Since it is a very multidisciplinary use case, involving a variety of stakeholders tackling complex issues and topics, some of them joined their efforts and skills in the European Network for Digital Building Permit. The initial activity of the network, after a review of on-going experiences, was a workshop to share knowledge about the topics involved and to identify the main ambitions of the network with respect to three pillars (i.e. Process - Rules and Requirements - Technology) and the related requirements. It was achieved through a collective brainstorming activity guided by digital tools, whose results were further analysed in a post-processing phase. Such results are presented in this paper and will be the base for planning the future network activity. © Authors 2020

Classification of fracture and non-fracture groups by analysis of coherent X-ray scatter

Osteoporotic fractures present a significant social and economic burden, which is set to rise commensurately with the aging population. Greater understanding of the physicochemical differences between osteoporotic and normal conditions will facilitate the development of diagnostic technologies with increased performance and treatments with increased efficacy. Using coherent X-ray scattering we have evaluated a population of 108 ex vivo human bone samples comprised of non-fracture and fracture groups. Principal component fed linear discriminant analysis was used to develop a classification model to discern each condition resulting in a sensitivity and specificity of 93% and 91%, respectively. Evaluating the coherent X-ray scatter differences from each condition supports the hypothesis that a causal physicochemical change has occurred in the fracture group. This work is a critical step along the path towards developing an in vivo diagnostic tool for fracture risk prediction

Monitoring the EU protected Geomalacus maculosus (Kerry Slug): what are the factors affecting catch returns in open and forested habitats?

Geomalacus maculosus is a slug species protected under EU law with a distribution limited to the west of Ireland and north-west Iberia. The species, originally thought to be limited within Ireland to deciduous woodland and peatland, has been found in a number of commercial conifer plantations since 2010. While forest managers are now required to incorporate the protection of the species where it is present, no clear species monitoring protocols are currently available. This study examines the efficacy of De Sangosse refuge traps across three habitats frequently associated with commercial forest plantations in Ireland and compares them with hand searching, a commonly used method for slug monitoring. Catch data during different seasons and under different weather conditions are also presented. Results indicate that autumn is the optimal time for sampling G. maculosus but avoiding extremes of hot or cold weather. While refuge traps placed at 1.5 m on trees in mature conifer plantations and directly on exposed rock in blanket peatlands result in significantly greater catches, hand searching is the most successful approach for clear-fell areas. Hand searches in clear-fell preceded by rain are likely to result in greater numbers caught. The results of this study form, for the first time, the basis for G. maculosus monitoring guidelines for forestry managers. © 2016, The Ecological Society of Japa