LIMIT CYCLE DYNAMICS ACROSS ELITE MALE ARTISTIC GYMNASTS

Biological systems described by their attractor dynamics provide a method to understand the fundamental characteristics of skilled movement. Here the limit cycle dynamics of the longswing were investigated across tiers of elite men’s gymnasts. Senior, junior and development elite gymnasts (N=21) performed three trials of eight consecutive longswings on high bar. Limit cycle analysis revealed a more symmetrical angular velocity of the centre of mass about the bar trajectory in phase space, higher recurrence, lower correlation dimension and lower variability for senior gymnasts suggesting a more deterministic, efficient and predictive technique. The addition of non-linear dynamics to traditional biomechanics offers complementary theoretical and coaching knowledge to movement coordination, control and skill

DYNAMICS OF A CYCLIC TASK BEFORE AND AFTER A CHANGE IN TASK CONSTRAINT: HORIZONTAL BAR LONGSWING

Returning to a consistent technique after a change in skill allows gymnasts to improve routine fluidity. This study investigates the limit cycle dynamics of the mass centre (CM) after a variation in task constraint during the horizontal bar longswing (LS). Gymnasts (n=12) from 3 different age categories completed 3 x 8 consecutive LS with LS four and five as accelerated LS. Senior gymnasts presented the most consistent limit cycle trajectory and lowest correlation dimension (CD) post- compared to pre- task constraint. Senior gymnasts displayed significantly lower CD post- constraint compared to both junior (p = .016) and development gymnasts (p\u3c .001). The increased proficiency attributed to senior gymnasts appears to increase the stability features of the LS limit cycle of the CM angular velocity after an imposed task constraint which may indicate readiness to progress to more complex horizontal bar skills

Ultra-Sensitive Hot-Electron Nanobolometers for Terahertz Astrophysics

The background-limited spectral imaging of the early Universe requires spaceborne terahertz (THz) detectors with the sensitivity 2-3 orders of magnitude better than that of the state-of-the-art bolometers. To realize this sensitivity without sacrificing operating speed, novel detector designs should combine an ultrasmall heat capacity of a sensor with its unique thermal isolation. Quantum effects in thermal transport at nanoscale put strong limitations on the further improvement of traditional membrane-supported bolometers. Here we demonstrate an innovative approach by developing superconducting hot-electron nanobolometers in which the electrons are cooled only due to a weak electron-phonon interaction. At T<0.1K, the electron-phonon thermal conductance in these nanodevices becomes less than one percent of the quantum of thermal conductance. The hot-electron nanobolometers, sufficiently sensitive for registering single THz photons, are very promising for submillimeter astronomy and other applications based on quantum calorimetry and photon counting.Comment: 19 pages, 3 color figure

The influence of the atmospheric boundary layer on nocturnal layers of noctuids and other moths migrating over southern Britain

Insects migrating at high altitude over southern Britain have been continuously monitored by automatically-operating, vertical-looking radars over a period of several years. During some occasions in the summer months, the migrants were observed to form well-defined layer concentrations, typically at heights of 200-400 m, in the stable night-time atmosphere. Under these conditions, insects are likely to have control over their vertical movements and are selecting flight heights which are favourable for long-range migration. We therefore investigated the factors influencing the formation of these insect layers by comparing radar measurements of the vertical distribution of insect density with meteorological profiles generated by the UK Met. Office’s Unified Model (UM). Radar-derived measurements of mass and displacement speed, along with data from Rothamsted Insect Survey light traps provided information on the identity of the migrants. We present here three case studies where noctuid and pyralid moths contributed substantially to the observed layers. The major meteorological factors influencing the layer concentrations appeared to be: (a) the altitude of the warmest air, (b) heights corresponding to temperature preferences or thresholds for sustained migration and (c), on nights when air temperatures are relatively high, wind-speed maxima associated with the nocturnal jet. Back-trajectories indicated that layer duration may have been determined by the distance to the coast. Overall, the unique combination of meteorological data from the UM and insect data from entomological radar described here show considerable promise for systematic studies of high-altitude insect layering

Copyrighr 2006 by me National Arc Educadon Association Scudies in An Educario n A

Nrltography is a form of practice-based research steeped in the arts and education. Alongside other arts-based, arts-informed and aesthetically defined methodologies, a/rltography is one of many emerging forms of inquiry that refer to the arts as a way of re-searching the world to enhance understanding. Yet, it goes even further by recognizing the educarive potential of teaching and learning as acts of inquiry. Together, the arts and education complement, resist, and echo one another through rhizomaric relarions of living inquiry. In this article, we demonstrate rhizomatic relations in an ongoing ptoject entitled &quot;The City of Richgate&quot; where meanings are constructed within ongoing a/rltographic inquiries described as collective artistic and educational praxis. Rhizomatic relations do not seek conclusions and therefore, neither will this account. Instead, we explore al rltographical situations as methodological spaces for furthering living inquiry. In doing so, we invite the art education communiry to consider rhizomatic relations performed through a/r/tography as a politically informed methodology of situations. Alrltography is an arts and education practice-based research methodology (Sullivan, 2004) press). The name itself exemplifies these features by setting art and graphy, and the identities of artist, researcher, and teacher (a/rlt), in contiguous relations. l None of these featmes is privileged over another as they occur simultaneously in and through time and space. Moreover, the acts of inquiry and the three identities resist modernist categorizations and instead exist as post-structural conceptualizations of practice (for example In this article, we wish to describe a/r/tographical inquiry as a methodology of situations and to do this, we share the journey of a collaborative project undertaken by a group of artists, educators, and Studies in Art Education The Rhizomatic Relations of Alrltography researchers working with a number of families in a nearby city. The , project is entitled &quot;The City of Richgate&quot; and examines issues related to immigration, place, and community within an artistically oriented inquiry. Although the project itself would be of interest to the field of art education, this article is dedicated to the elaboration of a/r/tography as a methodology of situarions. The project provides a way of elaborating upon alrltography as a methodology that provokes the creation of situations through inquiry, that responds to the evocative nature of situations found within data, and that provides a reRective and reflexive stance to situational inquiries. These situations are often found, created, or ruptured within the rhizomatic nature of a/r/tography. It is on this basis that the article is premised: rhizomatic relationality is essential to alrltography as a methodology of situations. Deleuze and Guattari (1987) describe rhizomes metaphorically through the image of crabgrass that &quot;connects any point to any other point&quot; (p. 21) by growing in all directions. Through this image they stress the importance of the &apos;middle&apos; by disrupting the linearity of beginnings and endings. After all, one fails to pursue a tangent if a particular line of thought is subscribed. Rhizomes resist taxonomies and create interconnected networks with multiple entry points (see Rhizomatic relationality affects howwe understand theoty and practice, product and process. Theory is no longer an abstract concept but rather an embodied living inquiry, an interstitial relational space for creating, teaching, learning, and researching in a constant state of becoming (see als

Physical activity interventions to improve daily walking activity in cancer survivors

Background Cancer patients may benefit from physical exercise programs. It is unclear, however, how sustained levels of physical activity are best achieved in this population. A systematic review was performed to summarize the current evidence of the effect of physical activity interventions on daily walking activity enhancement in cancer survivors, and to review the literature for its methodological quality. Methods A search in Medline, PEDro and the Cochrane databases was performed for English literature citations (randomized controlled trials; `RCTs`). In a first step, one reviewer abstracted data from the included studies on patients, physical activity interventions and outcomes. Two independent reviewers reviewed the methodological quality of these studies. Data were pooled using random-effects calculations. Results Our search identified 201 citations. Five RCTs that reported changes in daily step activity over time were identified, and were reviewed for methodological quality and substantive results. The median score across studies for methodological quality based on the PEDro criteria was 8. These 5 RCTs evaluated 660 participants with a mean age of 53.6 (SD 4.2) years. The mean change in daily step activity for patients with a physical exercise intervention was 526 daily steps (SD 537), with a range from -92 to 1299 daily steps. The data of three studies reporting the effect of combined physical activity and counseling on daily walking activity in breast cancer survivors were pooled, however; the I2 was 79%, indicating statistical heterogeneity between the three trials. Conclusion The 5 RCTs reviewed were of good methodological quality. Together they suggest that combined physical activity and counseling improves daily step activity in (breast) cancer survivors. Studies that define a step goal appear to be more effective in improving daily walking activity than studies that do not do so. However, the current results should be interpreted with caution because of the observed clinical and statistical heterogeneity. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the effects of goal targeted physical activity, with or without counseling, on daily walking in various cancer populations

Autism as a disorder of neural information processing: directions for research and targets for therapy

The broad variation in phenotypes and severities within autism spectrum disorders suggests the involvement of multiple predisposing factors, interacting in complex ways with normal developmental courses and gradients. Identification of these factors, and the common developmental path into which theyfeed, is hampered bythe large degrees of convergence from causal factors to altered brain development, and divergence from abnormal brain development into altered cognition and behaviour. Genetic, neurochemical, neuroimaging and behavioural findings on autism, as well as studies of normal development and of genetic syndromes that share symptoms with autism, offer hypotheses as to the nature of causal factors and their possible effects on the structure and dynamics of neural systems. Such alterations in neural properties may in turn perturb activity-dependent development, giving rise to a complex behavioural syndrome many steps removed from the root causes. Animal models based on genetic, neurochemical, neurophysiological, and behavioural manipulations offer the possibility of exploring these developmental processes in detail, as do human studies addressing endophenotypes beyond the diagnosis itself

HLA-DR Alpha 2 Mediates Negative Signalling via Binding to Tirc7 Leading to Anti-Inflammatory and Apoptotic Effects in Lymphocytes In Vitro and In Vivo

Classically, HLA-DR expressed on antigen presenting cells (APC) initiates lymphocyte activation via presentation of peptides to TCR bearing CD4+ T-Cells. Here we demonstrate that HLA-DR alpha 2 domain (sHLA-DRα2) also induces negative signals by engaging TIRC7 on lymphocytes. This interaction inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells via activation of the intrinsic pathway. Proliferation inhibition is associated with SHP-1 recruitment by TIRC7, decreased phosphorylation of STAT4, TCR-ζ chain & ZAP70, and inhibition of IFN-γ and FasL expression. HLA-DRα2 and TIRC7 co-localize at the APC-T cell interaction site. Triggering HLA-DR - TIRC7 pathway demonstrates that sHLA-DRα2 treatment inhibits proinflammatory-inflammatory cytokine expression in APC & T cells after lipopolysaccaride (LPS) stimulation in vitro and induces apoptosis in vivo. These results suggest a novel antiproliferative role for HLA-DR mediated via TIRC7, revise the notion of an exclusive stimulatory interaction of HLA-DR with CD4+ T cells and highlights a novel physiologically relevant regulatory pathway

First observations of separated atmospheric nu_mu and bar{nu-mu} events in the MINOS detector

The complete 5.4 kton MINOS far detector has been taking data since the beginning of August 2003 at a depth of 2070 meters water-equivalent in the Soudan mine, Minnesota. This paper presents the first MINOS observations of nuµ and [overline nu ]µ charged-current atmospheric neutrino interactions based on an exposure of 418 days. The ratio of upward- to downward-going events in the data is compared to the Monte Carlo expectation in the absence of neutrino oscillations, giving Rup/downdata/Rup/downMC=0.62-0.14+0.19(stat.)±0.02(sys.). An extended maximum likelihood analysis of the observed L/E distributions excludes the null hypothesis of no neutrino oscillations at the 98% confidence level. Using the curvature of the observed muons in the 1.3 T MINOS magnetic field nuµ and [overline nu ]µ interactions are separated. The ratio of [overline nu ]µ to nuµ events in the data is compared to the Monte Carlo expectation assuming neutrinos and antineutrinos oscillate in the same manner, giving R[overline nu ][sub mu]/nu[sub mu]data/R[overline nu ][sub mu]/nu[sub mu]MC=0.96-0.27+0.38(stat.)±0.15(sys.), where the errors are the statistical and systematic uncertainties. Although the statistics are limited, this is the first direct observation of atmospheric neutrino interactions separately for nuµ and [overline nu ]µ