Functional Movement Screen Composite Scores for Collegiate Field Club Sport Athletes at One University

Context: Functional screening tools to detect musculoskeletal asymmetries and limitations present in functional movement patterns are available to use for the athletic population. Unfortunately, field club sport athletes do not have the opportunity to utilize functional screening tools. Further, normative data of Functional Movement Screen Composite Scores (FMS CS) has yet to be established in this population. Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish normative FMS CS among field club sport athletes, and determine if years of participation and current hours spent per week training have a significant effect on FMS CS. Foot type and orthotic use was also compared with FMS CS. Design: The study was a descriptive screening study. Setting: The assessments took place at an athletic training research lab and athletic training room at a DI Mid-Atlantic university. Patients and Other Participants: Thirty-one athletes (age 19.61+/-1.56 yrs, height 169.58+/-8.66 cm, weight 72.77+/-17.42 kg) participating in club soccer, rugby and lacrosse at a Division I Mid-Atlantic university during the 2017-2018 season volunteered for this study. Inclusion criteria for the study consisted of college students who are field club sport athletes between 18-23 years old who had not sustained an injury in the past twelve months that required removal from participation and training and completed the consent form. Exclusion criteria for the study consisted of an injury occurring in the past twelve months that required removal from participation and training and individuals not between the ages of 18-23 years old. Intervention: All participants completed the demographic questionnaire and seven movements of the FMS. A demographic questionnaire was completed to determine self-reported years of participation in the sport, number of hours spent training per week, foot type, and orthotic use. The participants were asked to complete the seven movements and three clearing tests of the FMS. Each participant completed three trials for each movement. Scores were calculated to determine FMS CS. Main Outcome Measures: The dependent variables were the Functional Movement Screen Composite Score and individual movement scores. Results: The mean FMS CS and standard deviation for all participants was 15.1+/-1.49. Women\u27s Lacrosse (n=4) had the highest average FMS CS (16.0+/-0.0). Participants with fewer years in sports (15.29+/-1.2 vs14.94+/-1.71) and hours of participation (15.17+/-1.63 vs 15+/-1.36) scored higher on the FMS CS. Those not wearing orthotics (n=28, 15.2+/-1.34) scored higher than those who do wear orthotics (n=3, 14.0+/-0.0). The one participant that reported a pes planus foot (15.0+/-0.0) scored higher than the seven participants with a pes cavus foot (14.7+/-1.98). Conclusions: Collegiate field club sport athletes score higher or comparable to varsity collegiate athletes on the FMS. More years of participation and hours per week were associated with decreased FMS CS

Athletic Identity

Limited data exists in college athletics about mental health conditions, while physical health remains the higher priority. In order to contribute to the limited understanding of student-athletes’ cognitive behavior, a documentary on collegiate student-athletes is produced, utilizing athletic identity as its main theme. Furthermore, the documentary shares personal experiences of how athletes have handled the transition from athletic role to an alternate identity, and how that change effected them mentally. The purpose of this study is to present evidence from a Division I athletic program to contribute towards answering the following questions: Are collegiate student-athletes struggling mentally with life after sports? What programs are in place to assist collegiate student-athletes with the transition? It is hoped this study will inform the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and collegiate athletic programs about the cognitive behavior among collegiate student-athletes as they transition into life after sports. In addition, encourage institutions to implement strategies that’ll assist student-athletes successfully transition both professionally and mentally

Innovative Movement Strategies for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review of Dance and Exergaming Interventions

Background: Given the types of symptoms present in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), interventions should address deficits in motor control, social interactions, and emotional intelligence. Alternative interventions, such as exercise video gaming (exergaming) and dance movement therapy, may address these deficits in an engaging, age-appropriate manner, thus meeting the unique needs of adolescents with ASD. Objectives: The purpose of this paper was first, to review the current literature on ASD for innovative movement strategies feasible to address emotional, social, cognitive, and physical outcomes for adolescents ages 11-18; and second, to determine the effectiveness of these interventions. Methods: The databases used were: Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, Psycinfo, REHABDATA, Human Kinetics Journal, and PEDro. Search terms included: autism or autism spectrum disorder; and dance, dancing or dance therapy, or exergaming, exergame, video gaming or video game. Selected articles were published in the last 10 years, written in English, and included subjects with ASD who participated in dance or exergaming interventions. After the initial screening of articles with relevant titles and abstracts, we included studies with evidence levels of 1-4. Results: Five dance therapy intervention studies showed moderate effectiveness for social and emotional outcomes such as empathy skills, emotional regulation, and negative symptoms of ASD. Four exergaming studies had moderate effectiveness for motor and physical outcomes, such as energy expenditure and perceived object control. Implications: Based on the review of dance and exergaming intervention studies, the authors recommend providing the interventions to selected clients depending on individual circumstances. Both dance and exergaming may be cost-effective and feasible in school settings. Future studies should include larger and more diverse samples with rigorous randomization procedures

First-Principles Analysis of Molecular Conduction Using Quantum Chemistry Software

We present a rigorous and computationally efficient method to do a parameter-free analysis of molecular wires connected to contacts. The self-consistent field approach is coupled with Non-equilibrium Green's Function (NEGF) formalism to describe electronic transport under an applied bias. Standard quantum chemistry software is used to calculate the self-consistent field using density functional theory (DFT). Such close coupling to standard quantum chemistry software not only makes the procedure simple to implement but also makes the relation between the I-V characteristics and the chemistry of the molecule more obvious. We use our method to interpolate between two extreme examples of transport through a molecular wire connected to gold (111) contacts: band conduction in a metallic (gold) nanowire, and resonant conduction through broadened, quasidiscrete levels of a phenyl dithiol molecule. We obtain several quantities of interest like I-V characteristic, electron density and voltage drop along the molecule.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Chem. Phys. (Special issue on molecular electronics, Ed. Mark Ratner

Exchange Reactions between Alkanethiolates and Alkaneselenols on Au{111}

When alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers on Au{111} are exchanged with alkaneselenols from solution, replacement of thiolates by selenols is rapid and complete, and is well described by perimeter-dependent island growth kinetics. The monolayer structures change as selenolate coverage increases, from being epitaxial and consistent with the initial thiolate structure to being characteristic of selenolate monolayer structures. At room temperature and at positive sample bias in scanning tunneling microscopy, the selenolate-gold attachment is labile, and molecules exchange positions with neighboring thiolates. The scanning tunneling microscope probe can be used to induce these place-exchange reactions

How Wagner Landed in a Far Away Galaxy: Examining Film from a Musical Perspective

What does music add to drama, or more specifically, movies? Without music, movies today would not be the same. When it comes to creating a film, the soundtrack is arguably just as important as videography or acting. We can come to a deeper understanding of filmmaking by examining the role music had to play in movies. By studying film music theory, we can better understand what music does to change a film. We can learn what it adds to the story or character development that takes place in a film. I will introduce film music theory and explore the roots that soundtracks have in opera, investigating Wagner’s leitmotif to discover how it influenced modern day movie scoring. Then I will demonstrate the application of these things by looking deeper into the soundtracks from two movies