Performance profiling in professional mixed martial arts (MMA): comparing winning and losing performances.

The purpose of the study was to differentiate between winning and losing performances in professional MMA contests using performance profiles. 16 contests across 8 weight categories were analysed using a bespoke analysis template. Profiles for winners and losers were constructed using offensive striking (OS), defensive striking (DS), offensive grappling (OG) and defensive grappling (DG) data. Winners had significantly higher success rates for OS (P < 0.05, d = 0.50) and OG (P < 0.05, d = 0.77) than losers. Winners also had significantly more dominant control than losers for OS (P < 0.05, d = 0.86), OG (P < 0.05, d = 0.77) and DG (P < 0.05, d = 0.66). Winners displayed significantly greater OS (P < 0.05, d = 0.61) in the ground domain. Winners displayed higher levels of technical efficiency for OS and OG as well as the ability to maintain dominant positions during the bout. This allowed the winning athletes more opportunities to strike and attempt submissions which can lead to the stoppage of a contest. The findings suggest that an athlete’s striking efficiency and grappling control are key components of winning a professional MMA contest

Cash by any other name? evidence on labelling from the UK Winter Fuel Payment

This presentation was delivered at the Geary Institute, University College Dublin

Cash by any other name? evidence on labelling from the UK Winter Fuel Payment

Standard economic theory implies that the labelling of cash transfers or cash-equivalents (e.g. child benefits, food stamps) should have no effect on spending patterns. The empirical literature to date does not contradict this proposition. We study the UK Winter Fuel Payment (WFP), a cash transfer to older households. Exploiting sharp eligibility criteria in a regression discontinuity design, we find robust evidence of a behavioural effect of the labelling. On average households spend 41% of the WFP on fuel. If the payment was treated as cash, we would expect households to spend approximately 3% of the payment on fuel

The Foot Orthoses versus Hip eXercises (FOHX) trial for patellofemoral pain:a protocol for a randomized clinical trial to determine if foot mobility is associated with better outcomes from foot orthoses

Background: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a prevalent, often recalcitrant and multifactorial knee pain condition. One method to optimize treatment outcome is to tailor treatments to the patient's presenting characteristics. Foot orthoses and hip exercises are two such treatments for PFP with proven efficacy yet target different ends of the lower limb with different proposed mechanisms of effect. These treatments have not been compared head-to-head, so there is a dearth of evidence for which to use clinically. Only foot orthoses have been explored for identifying patient characteristics that might predict a beneficial effect with either of these two treatments. Preliminary evidence suggests patients will do well with foot orthoses if they have a midfoot width in weight bearing that is≥11mm more than in non-weight bearing, but this has yet to be verified in a study that includes a comparator treatment and an adequate sample size. This trial will determine if: (i) hip exercises are more efficacious than foot orthoses, and (ii) greater midfoot width mobility will be associated with success with foot orthoses, when compared to hip exercises. Methods: Two hundred and twenty participants, aged 18-40 years, with a clinical diagnosis of PFP will be randomly allocated with a 1:1 ratio to receive foot orthoses or progressive resisted hip exercises, and stratified into two subgroups based on their presenting midfoot width mobility (high mobility defined as ≥11mm). The primary outcome will be a 7-point Likert scale for global rating of change. All analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis using regression models. Discussion: This trial is designed to compare the efficacy of foot orthoses versus hip exercise, as well as to determine if high midfoot width mobility is associated with better outcomes with foot orthoses when compared to hip exercises. Results of this trial will assist clinicians in optimising the management of those with PFP by testing whether a simple measure of midfoot width mobility can help to determine which patients are most likely to benefit from foot orthoses. Trial registration: This trial is registered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ACTRN12614000260628

Relationship of CT densitometry to lung physiological parameters and health status in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: initial report of a centralised database of the NIHR rare diseases translational research collaborative.

Funder: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000009OBJECTIVES: To establish a database network for the study of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) and compare the results to CT lung density as the most direct measure of emphysema. DESIGN: A central electronic database was established to permit the upload of anonymised patient data from remote sites. Prospectively collected CT data were recorded onto disc, anonymised, analysed at the coordinating centre and compared with the clinical features of the disease. SETTING: Tertiary referral centres with expertise in the management of AATD focused on academic Biomedical Research Units and Wellcome Clinical Research Facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from 187 patients over 1 year from eight UK academic sites. This included patient demographics, postbronchodilator physiology, health status and CT. Analysis was undertaken at the coordinating centre in Birmingham. RESULTS: Patient recruitment in the 12 months reached 94% of target (set at 200) covering the whole spectrum of the disease from those with normal lung function to very severe chronic obstructive lung disease. CT scan suitable for analysis was available from 147 (79%) of the patients. CT density, analysed as the threshold for the lowest 15% of lung voxels, showed statistically significant relationships with the objective physiological parameters of lung function as determined by spirometric Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) severity staging (p<0.001) and carbon monoxide gas transfer (p<0.01). Density also correlated with subjective measures of quality of life (p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Establishment of the network for data collection and its transfer was highly successful facilitating future collaboration for the study of this rare disease and its management. CT densitometry correlated well with the objective clinical features of the disease supporting its role as the specific marker of the associated emphysema and its severity. Correlations with subjective measures of health, however, were generally weak indicating other factors play a role

Extended Sentinel Monitoring of Helicoverpa zea Resistance to Cry and Vip3Aa Toxins in Bt Sweet Corn: Assessing Changes in Phenotypic and Allele Frequencies of Resistance

Transgenic corn and cotton that produce Cry and Vip3Aa toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely planted in the United States to control lepidopteran pests. The sustainability of these Bt crops is threatened because the corn earworm/bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is evolving a resistance to these toxins. Using Bt sweet corn as a sentinel plant to monitor the evolution of resistance, collaborators established 146 trials in twenty-five states and five Canadian provinces during 2020–2022. The study evaluated overall changes in the phenotypic frequency of resistance (the ratio of larval densities in Bt ears relative to densities in non-Bt ears) in H. zea populations and the range of resistance allele frequencies for Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa. The results revealed a widespread resistance to Cry1Ab, Cry2Ab2, and Cry1A.105 Cry toxins, with higher numbers of larvae surviving in Bt ears than in non-Bt ears at many trial locations. Depending on assumptions about the inheritance of resistance, allele frequencies for Cry1Ab ranged from 0.465 (dominant resistance) to 0.995 (recessive resistance). Although Vip3Aa provided high control efficacy against H. zea, the results show a notable increase in ear damage and a number of surviving older larvae, particularly at southern locations. Assuming recessive resistance, the estimated resistance allele frequencies for Vip3Aa ranged from 0.115 in the Gulf states to 0.032 at more northern locations. These findings indicate that better resistance management practices are urgently needed to sustain efficacy the of corn and cotton that produce Vip3Aa

Beyond outputs: pathways to symmetrical evaluations of university sustainable development partnerships

As the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014) draws to a close, it is timely to review ways in which the sustainable development initiatives of higher education institutions have been, and can be, evaluated. In their efforts to document and assess collaborative sustainable development program outcomes and impacts, universities in the North and South are challenged by similar conundrums that confront development agencies. This article explores pathways to symmetrical evaluations of transnationally partnered research, curricula, and public-outreach initiatives specifically devoted to sustainable development. Drawing on extensive literature and informed by international development experience, the authors present a novel framework for evaluating transnational higher education partnerships devoted to sustainable development that addresses design, management, capacity building, and institutional outreach. The framework is applied by assessing several full-term African higher education evaluation case studies with a view toward identifying key limitations and suggesting useful future symmetrical evaluation pathways. University participants in transnational sustainable development initiatives, and their supporting donors, would be well-served by utilizing an inclusive evaluation framework that is infused with principles of symmetry

Scalable production of large quantities of defect-free few-layer graphene by shear exfoliation in liquids

To progress from the laboratory to commercial applications, it will be necessary to develop industrially scalable methods to produce large quantities of defect-free graphene. Here we show that high-shear mixing of graphite in suitable stabilizing liquids results in large-scale exfoliation to give dispersions of graphene nanosheets. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy show the exfoliated flakes to be unoxidized and free of basal-plane defects. We have developed a simple model that shows exfoliation to occur once the local shear rate exceeds 10(4) s(-1). By fully characterizing the scaling behaviour of the graphene production rate, we show that exfoliation can be achieved in liquid volumes from hundreds of millilitres up to hundreds of litres and beyond. The graphene produced by this method performs well in applications from composites to conductive coatings. This method can be applied to exfoliate BN, MoS2 and a range of other layered crystals