Relationship between Comfort Meter values and the prickle rating of garments in wearer trails

Abstract. The latest prototype version of the CSIRO-developed Comfort Meter was used to measure representative samples of all the garments used in the Sheep Cooperative Research Centre wearer trials. The average wearer prickle ratings of the garment sets were compared to the average Comfort Meter values for the garments. Comfort Meter values were strongly correlated with average prickle ratings assigned by wearers of the garments. As average wool fibre diameter and fabric knit structure were changed in the fabrics used in the wearer trials, the relationship between the Comfort Meter value and the wearer prickle rating remained highly correlated. The correlation between the Comfort Meter value and the wearer prickle rating changed for a set of fabrics in which the yarn structures were changed. A possible mechanism to explain the various relationships is proposed

The Effects of Caffeinated Gum and Caffeine Capsules on Running Sprint Performance

Use of anhydrous caffeine is an established and widely used ergogenic method. In sprinting events, optimum performance is highly dependent on the simultaneous peak functioning of a host of physiological systems. Therefore, caffeine supplementation protocols need to be perfectly timed in order to achieve culmination in sprint performance parameters within a narrow time window. Typically, caffeine capsules are ingested approximately 1 h before exercise however absorption rates may be highly variable. An alternative mode of ingestion is through caffeinated gum where caffeine is rapidly absorbed through the buccal mucosa. Our aim was to investigate the acute effects of two distinct modes of caffeine ingestion on sprint performance. Following ethics approval, eight trained male sprinters aged 20.2 (±0.8) took part in a screening and familiarisation session before they completed four trials (3x40 m sprints with 4 min recovery between runs) a week apart. A double-blind randomized crossover design was adopted where, during the trials, participants received: 1) Caffeine gum (CAFG, 6 mg.kg-1 of body weight), 2) CAFG placebo (CAFGP), 3) Caffeine capsules (CAFC, mg.kg-1 of body weight), 4) CAFC placebo (CAFCP). General and sport-specific warm-up commenced 15 minutes before sprint one. Capsules were given 45 minutes and chewing gums 15 minutes before sprint one. The gums were chewed for 5 minutes. Blood lactate and glucose concentration, heart rate, arousal and feeling levels were recorded at baseline and different time points during testing. Mean time to complete the three sprints were 5.00(±0.23), 5.03(±0.17), 5.10(±0.15), and 5.10(±0.14) seconds for the CAFG, CAFC, CAFGP and CAFCP conditions respectively. Participants ran significantly faster (p<0.05) during the caffeine compared to the placebo conditions. Additionally, sprint two in the CAFG (2.25±0.45 % faster than CAFGP) was significantly faster (p=0.022) than in the CAFC (1.40±0.32 % faster than CAFCP). Blood glucose and arousal levels were also significantly higher during the caffeine trials. Our data confirms that caffeine is an effective ergogenic strategy for sprinters. Furthermore, the greatest performance gains in sprint two suggests that caffeinated gum may be a more efficacious mode of ingestion than traditional methods of caffeine ingestion

The Wool ComfortMeter and the Wool HandleMeter, new opportunities for wool

Two instruments have been developed by the Sheep CRC that provide the tools for a new standard in comfort and handle for the next generation of next-to-skin wool knitwear. The Wool ComfortMeter and Wool HandleMeter provide a rapid, accurate and objective measure of two important characteristics of wool knitwear that are currently determined by subjective assessment. The Wool HandleMeter allows the prediction of a set of handle attribute values that can quantify the hand feel of a lightweight jersey fabric. The instrument uses the principle of pushing a fabric sample through a ring. The force displacement curve associated with the fabric test is characterised and used to define each fabric. These values were then compared to the average handle values, as determined by a group of experts, of a large set of lightweight knitted fabrics. Algorithms were developed that enable the instrument to more accurately predict each of seven handle attributes than an individual expert. The Wool ComfortMeter provides a measure of the fibres that are protruding from the surface of the fabric that are responsible for the itchy sensation caused by some knitwear. The results from the instrument have been compared to the results from extensive wearer trials to provide an understanding of the relationship between the instrument value and the comfort perceptions of wearers. The results have shown a very clear relationship between the instrument and wearer trials

Nearshore marine ecology at Hutchinson Island, Florida: 1971-1974. VI. plankton dynamics, 1971-1973, VII. phytoplankton 1971-1973, VIII. zooplankton, 1971-1973, IX. diel plankton, 1973-1974, X. benthic algae species list

(Document has 122 pages.

Itinerario intelectual y recepción de Zygmunt Bauman en Francia

La sociología de Zygmunt Bauman ha tenido una recepción muy diversa en el mundo, dependiendo de los contextos intelectuales y de los periodos de producción del autor. A partir de un estudio de la prolífica obra de Bauman, este artículo se propone describir las distintas etapas de ese itinerario, con el fin de comprender el proceso que condujo a tales disparidades. Este análisis tratará de explicar la tibia recepción del pensador en el ámbito intelectual francés, así como las polémicas que suscitó su trabajo en el mundo académico de habla inglesa. Por último, se busca definir parcialmente la forma y el estado actual de lo que Bauman llamó la "sociología líquida" en años recientes.Zygmunt Bauman's sociology has known very divers receptions, depending on the intellectual contexts and periods of writing. Through a study of the proliferous work of the author, this article aims at describing the different steps of this path, in order to grasp the process leading to such disparities. This analysis will try to explain the feeble reception of the thinker within the French intellectual sphere, as well as the several polemics engendered by his work in the English-speaking academic world. Lastly, this article would like to partially define the form and status of what the author has called "liquid sociology" in recent years

Contrast in chloride exclusion between two grapevine genotypes and its variation in their hybrid progeny

Potted grapevines of 140 Ruggeri (Vitis berlandieri × Vitis rupestris), a good Cl− excluder, and K 51-40 (Vitis champinii × Vitis riparia ‘Gloire’), a poor Cl− excluder, and of a family obtained by crossing the two genotypes, were used to examine the inheritance of Cl− exclusion. Rooted leaves were then used to further investigate the mechanism for Cl− exclusion in 140 Ruggeri. In both a potting mix trial (plants watered with 50 mM Cl−) and a solution culture trial (plants grown in 25 mM Cl−), the variation in Cl− accumulation was continuous, indicating multiple rather than single gene control for Cl− exclusion between hybrids within the family. Upper limits of 42% and 35% of the phenotypic variation in Cl− concentration could be attributed to heritable sources in the potting mix and solution culture trials, respectively. Chloride transport in roots of rooted leaves of both genotypes appeared to be via the symplastic pathway, since addition of 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulphonic acid (PTS), an apoplastic tracer, revealed no obvious PTS fluorescence in the laminae of either genotype, despite significant accumulation of Cl− in laminae of K 51-40 during the PTS uptake period. There was no significant difference in either unidirectional 36Cl− flux (10 min) or 36Cl− uptake (3 h) into roots of rooted leaves exposed to 5, 10, or 25 mM Cl−. However, the percentage of 36Cl− transported to the lamina (3 h) was significantly lower in 140 Ruggeri than in K 51-40, supporting reduced Cl− loading into xylem and implicating the root stele in the Cl− exclusion mechanism

Sudden death and cardiac arrest without phenotype: the utility of genetic testing.

Approximately 4% of sudden cardiac deaths are unexplained [the sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS)], and up to 6-10% of survivors of cardiac arrest do not have an identifiable cardiac abnormality after comprehensive clinical evaluation [idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF)]. Genetic testing may be able to play a role in diagnostics and can be targeted to an underlying phenotype present in family members following clinical evaluation. Alternatively, post-mortem genetic testing (the "molecular autopsy") may diagnose the underlying cause if a clearly pathogenic rare variant is found. Limitations include a modest yield, and the high probability of finding a variant of unknown significance (VUS) leading to a low signal-to-noise ratio. Next generation sequencing enables cost-efficient high throughput screening of a larger number of genes but at the expense of increased genetic noise. The yield from genetic testing is even lower in IVF in the absence of any suggestion of another phenotype in the index case or his/her family, and should be actively discouraged at this time. Future improvements in diagnostic utility include optimization of the use of variant-calling pipelines and shared databases as well as patient-specific models of disease to more accurately assign pathogenicity of variants. Studying "trios" of parents and the index case may better assess the yield of sporadic and recessive disease

Factors Governing Pasting Properties of Waxy Wheat Flours

Citation: Purna, S. K. G., Shi, Y. C., Guan, L., Wilson, J. D., & Graybosch, R. A. (2015). Factors Governing Pasting Properties of Waxy Wheat Flours. Cereal Chemistry, 92(5), 529-535. doi:10.1094/cchem-10-14-0209-rWaxy wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) contains endosperm starch lacking in amylose. To realize the full potential of waxy wheat, the pasting properties of hard waxy wheat flours as well as factors governing the pasting properties were investigated and compared with normal and partial waxy wheat flours. Starches isolated from six hard waxy wheat flours had similar pasting properties, yet their corresponding flours had very different pasting properties. The differences in pasting properties were narrowed after endogenous alpha-amylase activity in waxy wheat flours was inhibited by silver nitrate. Upon treatment with protease, the extent of protein digestibility influenced the viscosity profile in waxy wheat flours. Waxy wheat starch granules swelled extensively when heated in water and exhibited a high peak viscosity, but they fragmented at high temperatures, resulting in more rapid breakdown in viscosity. The extensively swelled and fragmented waxy wheat starch granules were more susceptible to a-amylase degradation than normal wheat starch. A combination of endogenous a-amylase activity and protein matrix contributed to a large variation in pasting properties of waxy wheat flours