Quantifying frequency of use of methods of body mass loss in competing UK powerlifters

Previous research in Powerlifting (PL) has qualitatively investigated rapid weight-loss (RWL) in PL athletes and body image, however limited research exists in quantifying such methods adopted in PL. This study aimed to assess the frequency of RWL methods are adopted by male and female PL athletes in the United Kingdom (UK) during competition preparation. A total of n = 37 (n = 19 female, n = 18 male) competitive powerlifters completed an anonymous online questionnaire assessing RWL methods. A Chi-square cross tabulation was utilised to identify any significant differences between independent and dependent variables. Multiple regression analyses were then conducted to assess the contribution of biological sex and PL category on RWL methods. Commonly reported methods of weight loss were gradual dieting (49%), fluid restriction (46%), and water loading (51%). Differences between PL category (Junior, Open, Masters One) and adopting RWL were observed (X2 =4.220, p<0.05). PL category was a predictor of undertaking RWL (R2adj = 0.160, F(2, 34) = 4.429, p ≤ 0.05), whilst biological sex was a predictor of timeframe of undertaking RWL (R2adj = 0.123, F(2, 34) = 3.534, p ≤ 0.05). RWL strategies are adopted by PL athletes in order to make weight for competition. Despite known effects of RWL on strength performance, limited research currently exists on these strategies specifically within PL, therefore this may be a consideration for future research. Practitioners working with PL athletes may wish to consider appropriate nutrition and weight loss strategies in preparation for PL competitions

Effectiveness of anonymised information sharing and use in health service, police, and local government partnership for preventing violence related injury: experimental study and time series analysis

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of anonymised information sharing to prevent injury related to violence. Design: Experimental study and time series analysis of a prototype community partnership between the health service, police, and local government partners designed to prevent violence. Setting: Cardiff, Wales, and 14 comparison cities designated "most similar" by the Home Office in England and Wales. Intervention After a 33 month development period, anonymised data relevant to violence prevention (precise violence location, time, days, and weapons) from patients attending emergency departments in Cardiff and reporting injury from violence were shared over 51 months with police and local authority partners and used to target resources for violence prevention. Main outcome measures: Health service records of hospital admissions related to violence and police records of woundings and less serious assaults in Cardiff and other cities after adjustment for potential confounders. Results: Information sharing and use were associated with a substantial and significant reduction in hospital admissions related to violence. In the intervention city (Cardiff) rates fell from seven to five a month per 100 000 population compared with an increase from five to eight in comparison cities (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.58, 95% confidence interval 0.49 to 0.69). Average rate of woundings recorded by the police changed from 54 to 82 a month per 100 000 population in Cardiff compared with an increase from 54 to 114 in comparison cities (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.68, 0.61 to 0.75). There was a significant increase in less serious assaults recorded by the police, from 15 to 20 a month per 100 000 population in Cardiff compared with a decrease from 42 to 33 in comparison cities (adjusted incidence rate ratio 1.38, 1.13 to 1.70). Conclusion: An information sharing partnership between health services, police, and local government in Cardiff, Wales, altered policing and other strategies to prevent violence based on information collected from patients treated in emergency departments after injury sustained in violence. This intervention led to a significant reduction in violent injury and was associated with an increase in police recording of minor assaults in Cardiff compared with similar cities in England and Wales where this intervention was not implemented

Nonperturbative Vertices in Supersymmetric Quantum Electrodynamics

We derive the complete set of supersymmetric Ward identities involving only two- and three- point proper vertices in supersymmetric QED. We also present the most general form of the proper vertices consistent with both the supersymmetric and U(1) gauge Ward identities. These vertices are the supersymmetric equivalent of the non supersymmetric Ball-Chiu vertices.Comment: seventeen pages late

ImageJ2: ImageJ for the next generation of scientific image data

ImageJ is an image analysis program extensively used in the biological sciences and beyond. Due to its ease of use, recordable macro language, and extensible plug-in architecture, ImageJ enjoys contributions from non-programmers, amateur programmers, and professional developers alike. Enabling such a diversity of contributors has resulted in a large community that spans the biological and physical sciences. However, a rapidly growing user base, diverging plugin suites, and technical limitations have revealed a clear need for a concerted software engineering effort to support emerging imaging paradigms, to ensure the software's ability to handle the requirements of modern science. Due to these new and emerging challenges in scientific imaging, ImageJ is at a critical development crossroads. We present ImageJ2, a total redesign of ImageJ offering a host of new functionality. It separates concerns, fully decoupling the data model from the user interface. It emphasizes integration with external applications to maximize interoperability. Its robust new plugin framework allows everything from image formats, to scripting languages, to visualization to be extended by the community. The redesigned data model supports arbitrarily large, N-dimensional datasets, which are increasingly common in modern image acquisition. Despite the scope of these changes, backwards compatibility is maintained such that this new functionality can be seamlessly integrated with the classic ImageJ interface, allowing users and developers to migrate to these new methods at their own pace. ImageJ2 provides a framework engineered for flexibility, intended to support these requirements as well as accommodate future needs

Evaluating Workplace Mandates with Flows versus Stocks: An Application to California Paid Family Leave

Abstract. Employer mandates often have small effects on wages and employment. Such effects should be most evident using data on employment transitions and wages among new hires. Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) provides county by quarter by demographic group data on the number and earnings of new hires, separations, and recalls (extended leaves). The QWI is used to examine the effects of California’s 2004 paid family leave (CPFL) program, comparing outcomes for young women in California to those for other workers within and outside of California. CPFL had little effect on earnings for young women, but increased separations, hiring, and worker mobility. JEL codes: J32 (nonwage labor costs), J38 (public policy

The analytic structure of heavy quark propagators

The renormalised quark Dyson-Schwinger equation is studied in the limit of the renormalised current heavy quark mass m_R --> infinity. We are particularly interested in the analytic pole structure of the heavy quark propagator in the complex momentum plane. Approximations in which the quark-gluon vertex is modelled by either the bare vertex or the Ball-Chiu Ansatz, and the Landau gauge gluon propagator takes either a gaussian form or a gaussian form with an ultraviolet asymptotic tail are used.Comment: 21 pages Latex and 5 postscript figures. The original version of this paper has been considerably extended to include a formalism dealing with the renormalised heavy quark Dyson-Schwinger equation and uses a more realistic Ansatz for the gluon propagator

Experimental recovery of a qubit from partial collapse

We describe and implement a method to restore the state of a single qubit, in principle perfectly, after it has partially collapsed. The method resembles the classical Hahn spin-echo, but works on a wider class of relaxation processes, in which the quantum state partially leaves the computational Hilbert space. It is not guaranteed to work every time, but successful outcomes are heralded. We demonstrate using a single trapped ion better performance from this recovery method than can be obtained employing projection and post-selection alone. The demonstration features a novel qubit implementation that permits both partial collapse and coherent manipulations with high fidelity.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure