Lactate and ventilatory thresholds reflect the training status of professional soccer players where maximum aerobic power is unchanged

The aim of this study was to investigate maximum aerobic power (VO2 max) and anaerobic threshold (AT) as determinants of training status among professional soccer players. Twelve professional 1st team British male soccer players (age: 26.2 ± 3.3 years, height: 1.77 ± 0.05 m, body mass: 79.3 ± 9.4 kg) agreed to participate in the study and provided informed consent. All subjects completed a combined test of anaerobic threshold (AT) and maximum aerobic power on two occasions: Test 1) following 5 weeks of low level activity at the end of the off-season and Test 2) immediately following conclusion of the competitive season. AT was assessed as both lactate threshold (LT) and ventilatory threshold (VT). There was no change in VO2 max between Test 1 and Test 2 (63.3 ± 5.8 ml·kg-1·min-1 vs. 62.1 ± 4.9 ml·kg-1·min-1 respectively), however, the duration of exercise tolerance (ET) at VO2 max was significantly extended from Test 1 to Test 2 (204 ± 54 vs. 228 ± 68 s respectively) (P<0.01). LT oxygen consumption was significantly improved in Test 2 versus Test 1 (P<0.01) VT was also improved (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in VO2 (ml·kg-1·min-1) corresponding to LT and VT. The results of this study show that VO2 max is a less sensitive indicator to changes in training status in professional soccer players than either LT or VT

A qualitative study of the contribution of pharmacists to heart failure management in Scotland

Study objectives: (1) To identify the medication management needs of chronic heart failure (CHF) patients and their caregivers; (2) To examine the perceived support for medication management available to these people from health professionals; (3) To identify the actual and potential perceived contribution of pharmacists to medication management. Setting: A mixed urban/ rural region in the west of Scotland. Design: Semi-structured qualitative research interviews. Participants: A total of 50 people with CHF (NYHA Class II and III) due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction (33 males; mean age 67 years, 17 females; mean age 68 years) and 30 nominated caregivers recruited from the outpatient departments of two hospitals in the West of Scotland. Sampling was purposive to include patients from a range of CHF severity, ages and sexes. Main results: Managing medications was a responsibility shared by both the patients with CHF and caregivers. Treatment regimens were reported to be difficult to comply with. Health professionals were seen to provide little support for medication management. Pharmacists were viewed as being a good and accessible source of practical assistance who were also knowledgeable about the individual’s heart health history. Participants reported valuing advice from pharmacists about the side effects of medications and for their assistance in reducing the complex logistics of medication management and in having medications delivered. Conclusions: Patients with CHF and caregivers voiced a willingness to try to manage their medication regimen accurately but had a limited capacity to do so. Pharmacists were viewed as providing valuable support to patients with CHF and their caregivers, in terms of medication management. The extended role of pharmacists in medication management of CHF should be encouraged

Novel electrocardiographic criteria for the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy

Aims: In order to improve the electrocardiographic (ECG) diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), we evaluated novel quantitative parameters of the QRS complex and the value of bipolar chest leads (CF leads) computed from the standard 12 leads. Methods and results: We analysed digital 12-lead ECGs in 44 patients with ARVC, 276 healthy subjects including 44 age and sex-matched with the patients and 36 genotyped members of ARVC families. The length and area of the terminal S wave in V1 to V3 were measured automatically using a common for all 12 leads QRS end. T wave negativity was assessed in V1 to V6 and in the bipolar CF leads computed from the standard 12 leads. The length and area of the terminal S wave were significantly shorter, whereas the S wave duration was significantly longer in ARVC patients compared with matched controls. Among members of ARVC families, those with mutations (n = 15) had shorter QRS length in V2 and V3 and smaller QRS area in lead V2 compared with those without mutations (n = 20). In ARVC patients, the CF leads were diagnostically superior to the standard unipolar precordial leads. Terminal S wave duration in V1 &gt;48 ms or major T wave negativity in CF leads separated ARVC patients from matched controls with 90% sensitivity and 86% specificity. Conclusion: The terminal S wave length and area in the right precordial leads are diagnostically useful and suitable for automatic analysis in ARVC. The CF leads are diagnostically superior to the unipolar precordial leads

'From alpha male to omega male' a grounded theory study of sexuality and intimacy in the lives of young men who have sustained traumatic brain injury

Original Aims: To explore the experiences, changes and difficulties in relation to their sexuality and intimate relationships, of young men who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) between the ages of 16-25. To review practical and emotional support received during rehabilitation in relation to sexuality and explore how this might be improved. To address some of the gaps in the literature relating to this area. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using the social constructionist approach to grounded theory. Participants: Eight men who had sustained a TBI between the ages of 16-25, with no pre-existing disabilities or mental health difficulties, were recruited to participate in the research. Main Findings: Four central categories and one core category were constructed from the analysis of the data. The central categories were “I felt like I was sinking at times” – “Wanting my old life back”; The aloneness of TBI; “A wasteland of intimacy” and A shift in the narrative of time. A core category of “From alpha male to omega male”: an unwanted, uninvited individuation was developed and elevated to this central position within the analysis because of its ability to account for and contain all the other categories embedded within the data. Proposals are made for possible theoretical developments which may help healthcare professionals to understand and work with people post –TBI; these include the concept of an unwanted, uninvited individuation and a development of Boss’ theory of ambiguous loss to specifically account for intrapersonal ambiguous loss in addition to interpersonal ambiguous loss. Key words: traumatic brain injury; sexuality; intimacy; constructivist grounded theory; individuation; ambiguous los

The Effective Action For Brane Localized Gauge Fields

The low energy effective action including gauge field degrees of freedom on a non-BPS p=2 brane embedded in a N=1, D=4 target superspace is obtained through the method of nonlinear realizations of the associated super-Poincare symmetries. The invariant interactions of the gauge fields and the brane excitation modes corresponding to the Nambu-Goldstone degrees of freedom resulting from the broken space translational symmetry and the target space supersymmetries are determined. Brane localized matter field interactions with the gauge fields are obtained through the construction of the combined gauge and super-Poincare covariant derivatives for the matter fields.Comment: 12 pages, no figure

Incremental hybrid intrusion detection for 6LoWPAN

IPv6 over Low-powered Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN) has grown in importance in recent years, with the Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) emerging as a major enabler. However, RPL can be subject to attack, with severe consequences. Most proposed IDSs have been limited to specific RPL attacks and typically assume a stationary environment. In this article, we propose the first adaptive hybrid IDS to efficiently detect and identify a wide range of RPL attacks (including DIO Suppression, Increase Rank, and Worst Parent attacks, which have been overlooked in the literature) in evolving data environments. We apply our framework to networks under various levels of node mobility and maliciousness. We experiment with several incremental machine learning (ML) approaches and various ‘concept-drift detection’ mechanisms (e.g. ADWIN, DDM, and EDDM) to determine the best underlying settings for the proposed scheme

Asymptotic normalization coefficients for 8B->7Be+p from a study of 8Li->7Li+n

Asymptotic normalization coefficients (ANCs) for 8Li->7Li+n have been extracted from the neutron transfer reaction 13C(7Li,8Li)12C at 63 MeV. These are related to the ANCs in 8B->7Be+p using charge symmetry. We extract ANCs for 8B that are in very good agreement with those inferred from proton transfer and breakup experiments. We have also separated the contributions from the p_1/2 and p_3/2 components in the transfer. We find the astrophysical factor for the 7Be(p,gamma)8B reaction to be S_17(0)=17.6+/-1.7 eVb. This is the first time that the rate of a direct capture reaction of astrophysical interest has been determined through a measurement of the ANCs in the mirror system.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 table