Effect of starting cadence on sprint-performance indices in friction-loaded cycle ergometry

The aims of the study were to investigate whether starting cadence had an effect on 10-s sprint-performance indices in friction-loaded cycle ergometry and to investigate the influence of method of power determination. In a counterbalanced order, 12 men and 12 women performed three 10-s sprints using a stationary (0 rev/min), moderate (60 rev/min), and high (120 rev/min) starting cadence Calculated performance indices were peak power, cadence at peak power, time to peak power, and work to peak power. When the uncorrected method of power determination was applied, there was a main effect for starting cadence in female participants for peak power (stationary 635 ± 183.7 W, moderate 615.4 ± 168.9 W and high 798.4 ± 120.1 W) and cadence at peak power (89.8 ± 2.3 rev/min, 87.9 ± 21.5 rev/min, and 113.1 ± 12.5 rev/min). For both the uncorrected and directly measured methods of power determination in men and women, there was a main effect for starting cadence for time to peak power and work to peak power. In women, for an uncorrected method of power determination, it can be concluded that starting cadence does affect peak power and cadence at peak power. This effect is, however, negated by a direct-measurement method of power determination. In men and women, for both uncorrected and directly measured methods o power determination, time to peak power and work to peak power were affected by starting cadence. Therefore, a higher-cadence start is unsuitable, particularly when sprint-performance indices are determined from an uncorrected method.</jats:p

Novel Schizophrenia Risk Gene TCF4 Influences Verbal Learning and Memory Functioning in Schizophrenia Patients

Background: Recently, a role of the transcription factor 4 (TCF4) gene in schizophrenia has been reported in a large genome-wide association study. It has been hypothesized that TCF4 affects normal brain development and TCF4 has been related to different forms of neurodevelopmental disorders. Schizophrenia patients exhibit strong impairments of verbal declarative memory (VDM) functions. Thus, we hypothesized that the disease-associated C allele of the rs9960767 polymorphism of the TCF4 gene led to impaired VDM functioning in schizophrenia patients. Method: The TCF4 variant was genotyped in 401 schizophrenia patients. VDM functioning was measured using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Results: Carriers of the C allele were less impaired in recognition compared to those carrying the AA genotype (13.76 vs. 13.06; p = 0.049). Moreover, a trend toward higher scores in patients with the risk allele was found for delayed recall (10.24 vs. 9.41; p = 0.088). The TCF4 genotype did not influence intelligence or RAVLT immediate recall or total verbal learning. Conclusion: VDM function is influenced by the TCF4 gene in schizophrenia patients. However, the elevated risk for schizophrenia is not conferred by TCF4-mediated VDM impairment. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Gender and Videogames: The political valency of Lara Croft

The Face: Is Lara a feminist icon or a sexist fantasy? Toby Gard: Neither and a bit of both. Lara was designed to be a tough, self-reliant, intelligent woman. She confounds all the sexist cliches apart from the fact that she’s got an unbelievable figure. Strong, independent women are the perfect fantasy girls—the untouchable is always the most desirable (Interview with Lara’s creator Toby Gard in The Face magazine, June 1997)

Can Ice Barriers around Oil and Gas Drilling Structures Reduce System Cost?

In the Canadian Beaufort Sea, the design ice load can often govern the cost of gravity based (GBS) oil or gas production structures. By installing suitable ice barriers around the structure, the design ice load for the GBS and hence its cost may be reduced. The cost of three candidate GBS were calculated as a function of design ice load and soil strength. Similarly the cost of the ice barrier was estimated as a function of barrier type, design ice load and soil strength. It was found that for some of the production structures on cohesive soils, the overall cost of the GBS plus the cost of the barrier was less than designing the GBS for the full ice load.NRC publication: Ye

Pumping two dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensates with Raman light scattering

We propose an optical method for increasing the number of atoms in a pair of dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensates. The method uses laser-driven Raman transitions which scatter atoms between the condensate and non-condensate atom fractions. For a range of condensate phase differences there is destructive quantum interference of the amplitudes for scattering atoms out of the condensates. Because the total atom scattering rate into the condensates is unaffected the condensates grow. This mechanism is analogous to that responsible for optical lasing without inversion. Growth using macroscopic quantum interference may find application as a pump for an atom laser.Comment: 4 pages, no figure

PTF10fqs: A Luminous Red Nova in the Spiral Galaxy Messier 99

The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) is systematically charting the optical transient and variable sky. A primary science driver of PTF is building a complete inventory of transients in the local Universe (distance less than 200 Mpc). Here, we report the discovery of PTF10fqs, a transient in the luminosity "gap" between novae and supernovae. Located on a spiral arm of Messier 99, PTF 10fqs has a peak luminosity of Mr = -12.3, red color (g-r = 1.0) and is slowly evolving (decayed by 1 mag in 68 days). It has a spectrum dominated by intermediate-width H (930 km/s) and narrow calcium emission lines. The explosion signature (the light curve and spectra) is overall similar to thatof M85OT2006-1, SN2008S, and NGC300OT. The origin of these events is shrouded in mystery and controversy (and in some cases, in dust). PTF10fqs shows some evidence of a broad feature (around 8600A) that may suggest very large velocities (10,000 km/s) in this explosion. Ongoing surveys can be expected to find a few such events per year. Sensitive spectroscopy, infrared monitoring and statistics (e.g. disk versus bulge) will eventually make it possible for astronomers to unravel the nature of these mysterious explosions.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, Replaced with published versio

Switchgrass is a promising, high-yielding crop for California biofuel

Ethanol use in California is expected to rise to 1.62 billion gallons per year in 2012, more than 90% of which will be trucked or shipped into the state. Switchgrass, a nonnative grass common in other states, has been identified as a possible high-yielding biomass crop for the production of cellulosic ethanol. The productivity of the two main ecotypes of switchgrass, lowland and upland, was evaluated under irrigated conditions across four diverse California ecozones - from Tulelake in the cool north to warm Imperial Valley in the south. In the first full year of production, the lowland varieties yielded up to 17 tons per acre of biomass, roughly double the biomass yields of California rice or maize. The yield response to nitrogen fertilization was statistically insignificant in the first year of production, except for in the Central Valley plots that were harvested twice a year. The biomass yields in our study indicate that switchgrass is a promising biofuel crop for California