The influence of different sources of polyphenols on submaximal cycling and time trial performance

The primary purpose of the study was to establish the effects of commercially available polyphenol-rich antioxidant supplements, Pycnogenol® with added bioflavonoids (PYC-B) and CherryActive (CHA), on 20 km cycling performance. Using a double-blind counterbalanced, repeated-measures design, nine male cyclists or triathletes (32.1 ± 11.2 years; maximal aerobic capacity 4.2 ± 0.7 L•min-1; maximal power output 391.7 ± 39.5 watts) consumed 200 mg of CHA, 120 mg of PYC-B, or 200 mg of placebo (PLA) capsules, 2 days before and on the day of each experimental trial. The experimental trials consisted of four 5 minute stages at 40%, 50%, 60%, and 70% maximal power output (Wmax), followed by a 20 km time trial (TT). Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between trials for heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, gross mechanical efficiency, oxygen consumption, or blood lactate, at any of the intensities completed during the initial 20 minute phase of the trial (p>0.05). Final 20 km TT times were not significantly different between trials (p=0.115), but, compared to PLA, PYC-B did significantly increase power output by 6.2% over the final 5 km of the TT (p=0.022). The study suggests that the PYC-B supplement could be beneficial towards the end of an intense bout of cycling exercise. However, as total 20 km time was not significantly different between trials the doses used are unlikely to benefit 20 km cycling time trial performance

Study of the mechanism of enantioseparation of macrocyclic glycopeptide-based chiral stationary phases

The purpose of this research has been to investigate the mechanisms of chiral separations in HPLC. The goal was to develop a method of interrogating chiral separations that is applicable to all CSPs. This dissertation focuses on the development and application of this approach. The macrocyclic glycopeptide CSPs were used to experimentally test our model/approach and to provide proof of principle;The linear solvation energy relationship (LSER), developed by Kamlet, Taft, and Abraham, was selected for its ability to de-convolute the interactions a solute experiences in a biphasic system. The LSER model has a term for each type of interaction that a solute can experience or participate in. These include interactions through polarizable n and pi electrons (eE), dipolar interactions (sS), hydrogen bond acceptance ( aA) and donation (bB), and dispersion forces ( vV). Each term has a component for the system\u27s ability to participate in the specified interaction, the lower case variables which are called system constants, and a component for the solutes ability to participate in the specified interaction, the upper case variables called solute descriptors;We obtained system constants for the macrocyclic glycopeptide CSPs in the reverse phase mode and the normal phase mode. With knowledge of the system constants, it is possible to determine the solute descriptors of each enantiomer. This is achieved using multiple linear regression analysis, with the system constants of a CSP as the independent variables, and the logarithm of the retention factor of one enantiomer as the dependent variable. The solute descriptors for each enantiomer are determined, and the differences in the solute descriptors reveal the relative importance of each intermolecular interaction in generating enantioselectivity;We applied this method of analysis to the reverse phase mode separations with the teicoplanin CSP. Several neutral compounds and amino acids were eluted and the solute descriptors for each enantiomer were determined. The statistical fits of the regression were excellent. It was found that steric repulsions and ion-dipole interactions had the strongest influence on enantioselectivity, with both types of hydrogen bonding having a weak influence on enantioselectivity. Dipolar interactions were found to be unimportant in generating enantioselectivity

‘The Killer Point’: Contemporary Reconfigurations of The Gap as a Crime Scene

In November 2008, Gordon Wood was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, model Caroline Byrne, over a decade after her body was found at the base of an ocean cliff in Eastern Sydney, New South Wales, known as The Gap -- a place that, even while bearing the reputation of a ‘notorious suicide spot’, has been widely promoted as a popular tourist attraction. This article explores the mainstream media’s reporting and regulation of meaning in relation to the crime and the dichotomous tensions and competing (re)interpretations of The Gap this has produced throughout the investigation into Caroline Byrne’s death. More generally, this article seeks to understand the ways in which legacies of violence, death and suffering are often embodied in and by the spaces and places where these acts take place and how we might begin to explain our own and the media’s frenetic fascination with and ambivalence towards these sites, using a critical discourse that moves beyond the lexicon of legal discourse. In doing so, this article explores the limitations of language; questioning whether available and relevant critical cultural vocabularies are able to adequately capture and communicate the sometimes unsettling complexities and intricacies of embodied places and spaces that ultimately challenge (and complicate) the conventions of crime scene (re)presentation as a result of their multiple other histories

Automorphism groups of countable algebraically closed graphs and endomorphisms of the random graph

We establish links between countable algebraically closed graphs and the endomorphisms of the countable universal graph $R$. As a consequence we show that, for any countable graph $\Gamma$, there are uncountably many maximal subgroups of the endomorphism monoid of $R$ isomorphic to the automorphism group of $\Gamma$. Further structural information about End $R$ is established including that Aut $\Gamma$ arises in uncountably many ways as a Sch\"{u}tzenberger group. Similar results are proved for the countable universal directed graph and the countable universal bipartite graph.Comment: Minor revision following referee's comments. 27 pages, 3 figure

Post-Newtonian gravitational radiation and equations of motion via direct integration of the relaxed Einstein equations. V. Evidence for the strong equivalence principle to second post-Newtonian order

Using post-Newtonian equations of motion for fluid bodies valid to the second post-Newtonian order, we derive the equations of motion for binary systems with finite-sized, non-spinning but arbitrarily shaped bodies. In particular we study the contributions of the internal structure of the bodies (such as self-gravity) that would diverge if the size of the bodies were to shrink to zero. Using a set of virial relations accurate to the first post-Newtonian order that reflect the stationarity of each body, and redefining the masses to include 1PN and 2PN self-gravity terms, we demonstrate the complete cancellation of a class of potentially divergent, structure-dependent terms that scale as s^{-1} and s^{-5/2}, where s is the characteristic size of the bodies. This is further evidence of the Strong Equivalence Principle, and supports the use of post-Newtonian approximations to derive equations of motion for strong-field bodies such as neutron stars and black holes. This extends earlier work done by Kopeikin.Comment: 14 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev. D; small changes to coincide with published versio

Variation in Sex Allocation and Floral Morphology in an Expanding Distylous Plant Hybrid Complex

Premise of research. Sex allocation, the relative energy devoted to producing pollen, ovules, and floral displays, can significantly affect reproductive output and population dynamics. In this study, we investigated floral morphology and gamete production in bisexual, distylous plants from a self-incompatible hybrid complex (Piriqueta cistoides ssp. caroliniana Walter [Arbo]; Turneraceae). Sampling focused on two parent types (C, V) and their stable hybrid derivative (H). Since H morphotypes are heterotic for growth and fruit production, we hypothesized that they would produce larger flowers with more gametes. We also anticipated that plants with long styles (long morphs) would produce less pollen than short morphs, since long-morph pollen is larger. Methodology. Over two consecutive summers, flowers were collected from 1465 individual plants in 28 field populations. Floral parameters were measured digitally, and each flower’s pollen number, ovule number, and stigma-anther separation was quantified under a dissecting microscope. Gamete production (n = 332) and stigma-anther separation (n = 119) were also quantified for plants from a greenhouse accession. Pivotal results. Floral display differed among morphotypes, with H plants producing the largest flowers and C plants displaying the least petal separation. Hybrid morphotypes produced significantly more pollen than parental morphotypes, and pollen quantity was significantly greater for long morphs. Ovule production, however, was greatest for V flowers. Stigma-anther separation differed between years and style morphs (greater for short morphs) but not among morphotypes or within a single season. Conclusions. Differences in pollen production between morphs were not consistent with trade-offs in pollen size and number or selection for increased male function in short morphs. Greater stigma-anther separation in short morphs supported the hypothesis of selection to reduce pollen interference. Enhanced floral display and pollen production followed other heterotic traits observed in H morphotypes. The superior ability of H morphotypes to attract pollinators and sire seeds might partially explain this hybrid zone’s continuing expansion

Idempotents and one-sided units in infinite partial Brauer monoids

We study monoids generated by various combinations of idempotents and one- or two-sided units of an infinite partial Brauer monoid. This yields a total of eight such monoids, each with a natural characterisation in terms of relationships between parameters associated to Brauer graphs. We calculate the relative ranks of each monoid modulo any other such monoid it may contain, and then apply these results to determine the Sierpinski rank of each monoid, and ascertain which ones have the semigroup Bergman property. We also make some fundamental observations about idempotents and units in arbitrary monoids, and prove some general results about relative ranks for submonoids generated by these sets. Dedicated to Dr Des FitzGerald on the occasion of his 70th birthday.Comment: To appear in J Algebra. V2 incorporates referee's suggestions: 37 pages; 7 figures; 1 table. V1: 38 pages; 8 figures; 2 table