The Performance Profile of a Division I Football Team

Reporting athletic performance characteristics of a Division I collegiate football team may serve to inform coaching personnel and sports performance staff about the most versatile players to utilize for various competitions. Performance data may also help guide developing athletes about benchmarks to achieve for optimal competitiveness. PURPOSE: Our aim was to observe athletic performance characteristics of and differences between designated starters (ST) vs non-starters (NST). METHODS: 44 athletes – ST (n=22) vs NST (n=22) – were selected using a convenience sample and equally distributed between offense and defense positions. Preseason performance data were analyzed related to select power, including counter movement jump (CMJ), vertical jump (VJ), and Nordic hamstring (NH) tests; and select strength assessments, including 1 repetition max (RM) on power clean (PC), front squat (FS), and bench press (BP). All tests were conducted by sport performance staff using free weights and VALD Performance (Queensland, Australia) equipment (i.e., NordBord, ForceDecks) and software. Data were analyzed via a two sampled equal variance, right-tailed t-test with a significance level set at p \u3c 0.05 and reported as mean±SD. RESULTS: The average age, height, and weight for ST vs. NST, respectively, were 21.2±1.4 & 20.4±1.0 y, 1.8±.4 & 1.9±.1 m, and 104.3±32.1 & 100.4±20.0 kg. Power related to CMJ peak, VJ, NH max of right + left leg averaged, and NH impulse between ST vs. NST were, respectively: 62±9.3 vs. 67.5±12.4 W/kg (p=0.053), .7±.1 vs. .7±.1 m (p=0.444), 553.1±61.3 vs. 478.0±142.1 N (p=0.017), and 7982.1±2235.6 vs 6833.8±1952.4 NS (p=0.040). PC, FS, and BP for ST vs NST were, respectively: 133.4±13.8 vs. 122.4±10.9 kg (p=0.004), 164.5±23.5 vs. 146.7±38.2 kg (p=0.049), and 140.8±20.7 vs. 132.9±15.9 kg (p=0.095). CONCLUSION: Specific to the group observed, there appears to be select power and strength performance characteristics that separate ST and NST. ST might be advised to maintain and NST should strive to achieve explosiveness and strength as described herein via augmented bilateral NH force and impulse in addition to developing a high 1 RM PC. Despite the ambiguity of athletic performance tests to identify talent and skill, coaches and players still might be able to utilize these standards for individualized success

Geometric Entropy for Lead vs Top-Rope Rock Climbing

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(2): 168-174, 2016. The complexity of movement of a rock climber’s center of mass during an ascent has been described as geometric entropy (GE). It has been proposed that lower geometric entropy could represent more fluid and economical movement during climbing. The purpose of the present study was to measure GE during rock climbing ascents under a lead condition (LD), where the climber connects a safety rope to several intermediate anchors during the ascent and under a top-rope condition (TR), where the safety rope is always anchored above the climber. Six experienced rock climbers volunteered to participate in the study. Each participant ascended a route on natural rock outdoors under three conditions. The first ascent was performed in a top-rope condition as an accommodation trial. The two remaining ascents were performed as LD and top-rope (TR2) in random order. Each LD and TR2 ascent was recorded via digital video at 30 Hz. A single point at the back center of each climber’s waist harness was manually digitized from the video images at 6 Hz and interpreted as the climber’s center of mass (CM). The displacement of CM was expressed as the line of motion (LM). Geometric Entropy (GE) was calculated as GE = ln((2∙LM)/CH)), where CH was the value of the convex hull about the LM. A within subjects, repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc testing was utilized to test for differences among ascent conditions with significance set at P \u3c0.05. Mean (±s.d) values for LM and GE were 81.5±11.3 m vs 77.6±7.3 m and 1.021±0.133 vs 0.924±0.062 for LD and TR2 respectively. There were no significant differences for LM and GE between ascent conditions. It was concluded that LM and GE do not vary between LD and TR ascent conditions

The Perceived Size and Shape of Objects in Peripheral Vision

Little is known about how we perceive the size and shape of objects in far peripheral vision. Observations made during an artistic study of visual space suggest that objects appear smaller and compressed in the periphery compared with central vision. To test this, we conducted three experiments. In Experiment 1, we asked participants to draw how a set of peripheral discs appeared when viewed peripherally without time or eye movement constraints. In Experiment 2, we used the method of constant stimuli to measure when a briefly presented peripheral stimulus appeared bigger or smaller compared with a central fixated one. In Experiment 3, we measured how accurate participants were in discriminating shapes presented briefly in the periphery. In Experiment 1, the peripheral discs were reported as appearing significantly smaller than the central disc, and as having an elliptical or polygonal contour. In Experiment 2, participants judged the size of peripheral discs as being significantly smaller when compared with the central disc across most of the peripheral field, and in Experiment 3, participants were quite accurate in reporting the shape of the peripheral object, except in the far periphery. Our results show that objects in the visual periphery are perceived as diminished in size when presented for long and brief exposures, suggesting diminution is an intrinsic feature of the structure of the visual space. Shape distortions, however, are reported only with longer exposures

Superstructure based on β-CD self-assembly induced by a small guest molecule

The size, shape and surface chemistry of nanoparticles play an important role in cellular interaction. Thus, the main objective of the present study was the determination of the β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) self-assembly thermodynamic parameters and its structure, aiming to use these assemblies as a possible controlled drug release system. Light scattering measurements led us to obtain the β-CD's critical aggregation concentration (cac) values, and consequently the thermodynamic parameters of the β-CD spontaneous self-assembly in aqueous solution: Δ[subscript agg]G[superscript o] = −16.31 kJ mol[superscript −1], Δ[subscript agg]H[superscript o] = −26.48 kJ mol[superscript −1] and TΔ[subscript agg]S[superscript o] = −10.53 kJ mol[superscript −1] at 298.15 K. Size distribution of the self-assembled nanoparticles below and above cac was 1.5 nm and 60–120 nm, respectively. The number of β-CD molecules per cluster and the second virial coefficient were identified through Debye's plot and molecular dynamic simulations proposed the three-fold assembly for this system below cac. Ampicillin (AMP) was used as a drug model in order to investigate the key role of the guest molecule in the self-assembly process and the β-CD:AMP supramolecular system was studied in solution, aiming to determine the structure of the supramolecular aggregate. Results obtained in solution indicated that the β-CD's cac was not affected by adding AMP. Moreover, different complex stoichiometries were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance and isothermal titration calorimetry experiments.Brazil. National Institute in Science and Technology in Nanobiopharmaceutics (NanoBiofar) (CNPq/MCT/FAPEMIG)Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas (Brazil)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1-R01-DE016516-03)Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (Process 4597-08-7)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (CEX APQ-00498/08

Comparative grading scales, statistical analyses, climber descriptors and ability grouping: International Rock Climbing Research Association position statement

The research base for rock climbing has expanded substantially in the past 3 decades as worldwide interest in the sport has grown. An important trigger for the increasing research attention has been the transition of the sport to a competitive as well as recreational activity and the potential inclusion of sport climbing in the Olympic schedule. The International Rock Climbing Research Association (IRCRA) was formed in 2011 to bring together climbers, coaches and researchers to share knowledge and promote collaboration. This position statement was developed during and after the 2nd IRCRA Congress which was held in Pontresina, in September 2014. The aim of the position statement is to bring greater uniformity to the descriptive and statistical methods used in reporting rock climbing research findings. To date there is a wide variation in the information provided by researchers regarding the climbers’ characteristics and also in the approaches employed to convert from climbing grading scales to a numeric scale suitable for statistical analysis. Our paper presents details of recommended standards of reporting that should be used for reporting climber characteristics and provides a universal scale for the conversion of climbing grades to a number system for statistical analysis

Curva de absorção de nitrogênio para a cultura do trigo.

Dentre os fatores que possuem maior influência na produtividade de trigo, a adubação nitrogenada destaca-se pela contribuição na expressão do potencial produtivo, além de representar um dos maiores custos com a cultura, necessitando ser manejada de forma eficiente e sustentável (Boschini, 2010). Devido a sua maior concentração nos tecidos vegetais e nos grãos, o nitrogênio (N) é o elemento mais demandado pela planta de trigo, e a adequada disponibilidade deste nutriente é fator determinante para potencializar o rendimento da cultura (De Bona et al., 2016)

Modelo para adubação nitrogenada em cobertura em taxa variada em trigo por meio do NDVI no sul do Brasil.

adubação nitrogenada na cultura do trigo é essencial para potencializar o rendimento de grãos da cultura, pois o nitrogênio (N) promove um maior número de afilhos, permitindo um maior número de grãos por espiga e o peso e teor de proteína dos grãos (Mantai et al., 2016). A adubação nitrogenada na cultura do trigo é baseada em três fatores fundamentais: teor de matéria orgânica do solo, cultura antecessora e expectativa de rendimento de grãos (Reunião..., 2018). A utilização destes parâmetros é simples, porém incompleta, já que o N é um elemento dinâmico no solo e passa por diversos processos que modificam sua forma, como mineralização, imobilização e desnitrificação. Além disso, a absorção de N pela cultura é variável entre anos e entre áreas dentro de uma mesma lavoura (Chavarria et al., 2015)

Classification of temporomandibular joint sounds based upon their reduced interference distribution

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sounds were recorded in 98 orthodontic retention patients, mean age 19 ± 8–6 (s.d.) years, by interview, auscultation and electronic recording. Sounds were found by auscultation in 41% and by interview in 32% of the subjects, more often in females than in males (P ≤ 0.05). A new method for time-frequency analysis, the reduced interference distribution (RID), was used to classify the electronic sound recordings into five subclasses, RID types 1–5, based upon location and number of their energy peaks. RID types 1–3 had a few energy peaks close in time. RID types 4–5, typical of subjects with crepitation, had multiple energy peaks occurring close in time for a period of 20–300 ms. RID type 1, found in 45% of the subjects, typical of patients with clicking, had its dominant energy peak located in a frequency range ≤600 Hz and was significantly more common in the female than in the male subjects (P≤ 0.01). RID type 2, found in 68% of the subjects, with the dominant peak in the range 600–1200 Hz, and RID type 3, found in 38% of the subjects, with the peak in the frequency range >1200 Hz, were found to have a similar gender distribution. RID type 4, found in 49% of the subjects, had the energy peaks distributed in the frequency range ≤600 Hz. RID type 5, found in 43% of the subjects, more often in females than in males (P≤ 0.05), had the peaks distributed over the whole frequency range from about 30 Hz up to about 3000 Hz. In conclusion, a more detailed classification could be made of the TMJ sounds by displaying the RIDs than by auscultation. This suggests that RID classification methods may provide a means for differentiating sounds indicating different types of pathology.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74694/1/j.1365-2842.1996.tb00809.x.pd