RESEARCH OF THE RHYTHMICAL ABILITIES OF RHYTHMIC GYMNASTS

Rhythmical abilities, being part of the coordination abilities of athletes, are an important factor for the successful realization in the complex-coordination kinds of sports. The initial learning of the exercises requires the strict following of a rhythm, set with music, to distinguish the different phases of motor activities and their duration. The rhythm of motor activities is subjected to the inner rhythm of the performer, to the different rhythm of the movements with the apparatuses, and to the rhythmical structure of the music accompaniment. The rhythmical execution and the harmonious connection between movements and music is one of the major characteristics of gymnastics events. The aim of the research is to study the rhythmical abilities of athletes, practicing kinds of sports whose motor activity requires the use of musical accompaniment and those which do not require such. The research was done among 72 individuals. Methods: For coordination in rhythm we used four tests: Frontal kicking with legs and arms on the wall - (Fkla), Jumps in four squares – (J4sq), Crossover jumps in four squares – (Cj4sq), Kicking with legs and arms – (Kla). The results from the tests – Jumps in four squares и Crossover jumps in four squares – correlate with each other significantly with the gymnasts (.710**) and moderately with the athletes practicing other kinds of sports (.358**). The results from the agility tests correlate significantly with the gymnasts (.723**), and moderately with the athletes from the other sports (.654**). The mean values (х=10.20, х=4.41) and (х=10.6, х=8.24) of the tests, performed with arms and legs are better with the gymnasts. The results from the research showed the necessity of adapting the applied tests so that they could be implemented in research with different age groups

Review of Microfluidic Methods for Cellular Lysis

Cell lysis is a process in which the outer cell membrane is broken to release intracellular constituents in a way that important information about the DNA or RNA of an organism can be obtained. This article is a thorough review of reported methods for the achievement of effective cellular boundaries disintegration, together with their technological peculiarities and instrumental requirements. The different approaches are summarized in six categories: chemical, mechanical, electrical methods, thermal, laser, and other lysis methods. Based on the results derived from each of the investigated reports, we outline the advantages and disadvantages of those techniques. Although the choice of a suitable method is highly dependent on the particular requirements of the specific scientific problem, we conclude with a concise table where the benefits of every approach are compared, based on criteria such as cost, efficiency, and difficulty

Novel Microfluidics Device for Rapid Antibiotics Susceptibility Screening

In recent years, excessive utilization of antibiotics has led to the emergence of antibiotic microbial resistance on a planetary scale. This recent phenomenon represents a serious threat to public health, as well as an enormous burden for healthcare systems’ budgets worldwide. Novel, rapid and cheap methods for antibiotic susceptibility screening are urgently needed for this obstacle to be overcome. In this paper, we present a microfluidic device for on-chip antibiotic resistance testing, which allows for antibiotic microbial resistance detection within 6 hours. The design, fabrication and experimental utilization of the device are thoroughly described and analyzed, as well as possibilities for future automation of the whole process. The accessibility of such a device for all people, regardless of economic status, was of utmost importance for us during the development of the project

Parameters influencing the droplet formation in a focusing microfluidic channel

In the present work a detailed numerical study of the parameters influencing the droplet formation in a flow-focusing microfluidic device are made. First, an extensive verification of the simulations with data from the literature is carried out. Influence of parameters like viscosity and inflow velocity are compared with the results from literature showing a good agreement. Some differences are attributed to the different numerical techniques used: in the present work a pure volume-of-fluid method is used, while in the reference study this method is combined with the level-set method. As a second step of the verification of the present model, a comparison with experimental data from the literature was carried out which shows a very good agreement. After the verification was completed, eight new simulations are carried out covering a wide range of velocities of the continuous phase uc. In these simulations the velocity of the discrete phase ud remains unchanged. The variation of the continuous phase velocity reveals that with increasing the value of uc, respectively the value of the capillary number Ca, the droplet length reaches a point of saturation, i.e. a point where the droplet length does not decrease any more. For the present setup this saturation occurs for Ca > 0,03. On the other hand, when the velocity of the continuous phase goes towards very low values (Ca < 0,01 for the present setup), the droplet size increases significantly. Further, it was found that for increasing capillary numbers Ca above a value around 0,015 for water/oil and above 0,025 for water + 40% glycerol / oil systems, a transmission from the dripping towards the jetting regimes of droplet formation occurs. It was shown that when the viscosity of the continuous phase increases, higher total pressure jumps in the droplet occur, also leading to the formation of smaller droplets

EARLINET all observations (2000-2010)

This collection contains all measurements that have been performed in the frame of the EARLINET project during the period April 2000 - December 2010. Some of these measurements are also part of the collections 'Calipso', 'Climatology', 'SaharanDust' or 'VolcanicEruption'. In addition this collection also contains measurements from the categories 'Cirrus', 'DiurnalCycles', 'ForrestFires', 'Photosmog', 'RuralUrban', and 'Stratosphere'. This collection also contains measurements not devoted to any of the above categories. More information about these categories and the contributing stations can be found in the file 'EARLINET_general_introduction.pdf' accompanying this dataset

EARLINET correlative observations for CALIPSO (2006-2010)

A European Aerosol Research Lidar Network to Establish an Aerosol ClimatologyAerosols affect life on earth in several ways. They play an important role in the climate system; the effect of aerosols on the global climate system is one of the major uncertainties of present climate predictions. They play a major role in atmospheric chemistry and hence affect the concentrations of other potentially harmful atmospheric constituents, e.g. ozone. They are an important controlling factor for the radiation budget, in particular in the UV-B part of the spectrum. At ground level, they can be harmful, even toxic, to man, animals, and plants. Because of these adverse effects that aerosols can have on human life, it is necessary to achieve an advanced understanding of the processes that generate, redistribute, and remove aerosols in the atmosphere.A quantitative dataset describing the aerosol vertical, horizontal, and temporal distribution, including its variability on a continental scale, is necessary. The dataset is used to validate and improve models that predict the future state of the atmosphere and its dependence on different scenarios describing economic development, including those actions taken to preserve the quality of the environment. The EARLINET data set is the most comprehensive compilation of data available for this purpose.This project description is taken from: http://www.earlinet.org/index.php?id=earlinet_homepageSummary: Since the beginning of CALIPSO observations in June 2006 EARLINET has performed correlative measurements during nearby overpasses of the satellite at individual stations following a dedicated observational strategy. The EARLINET-CALIPSO correlative measurement plan considers the criteria established in the CALIPSO validation plan (http://calipsovalidation.hamptonu.edu). Participating EARLINET stations perform measurements, as close in time as possible and for a period of at least 30 min up to several hours, when CALIPSO overpasses their location within a horizontal radius of 100 km. Within the 16-day observational cycle of CALIPSO each station is overpassed within this distance 1-2 times during daytime (typically between 1100 and 1400 UTC) and 1-2 times during night time (typically between 0000 and 0300 UTC). Additional measurements are performed, mainly on a non-regular basis, when CALIPSO overpasses a neighboring station in order to study the horizontal variability of the aerosol distribution. The time schedule for correlative observations is calculated starting from the high-resolution ground-track data provided by NASA, and is updated and distributed to whole network weekly. The EARLINET-CALIPSO correlative dataset represents a statistically significant data set to be used for the validation and full exploitation of the CALIPSO mission, for studying the representativeness of cross sections along an orbit against network observations on a continental scale, and for supporting the continuous, harmonized observation of aerosol and clouds with remote-sensing techniques from space over long time periods

EARLINET observations related to volcanic eruptions (2000-2010)

A European Aerosol Research Lidar Network to Establish an Aerosol ClimatologyAerosols affect life on earth in several ways. They play an important role in the climate system; the effect of aerosols on the global climate system is one of the major uncertainties of present climate predictions. They play a major role in atmospheric chemistry and hence affect the concentrations of other potentially harmful atmospheric constituents, e.g. ozone. They are an important controlling factor for the radiation budget, in particular in the UV-B part of the spectrum. At ground level, they can be harmful, even toxic, to man, animals, and plants. Because of these adverse effects that aerosols can have on human life, it is necessary to achieve an advanced understanding of the processes that generate, redistribute, and remove aerosols in the atmosphere.A quantitative dataset describing the aerosol vertical, horizontal, and temporal distribution, including its variability on a continental scale, is necessary. The dataset is used to validate and improve models that predict the future state of the atmosphere and its dependence on different scenarios describing economic development, including those actions taken to preserve the quality of the environment. The EARLINET data set is the most comprehensive compilation of data available for this purpose.This project description is taken from: http://www.earlinet.org/index.php?id=earlinet_homepageSummary: Aerosols originating from volcanic emissions have an impact on the climate: sulfate and ash particles from volcanic emissions reflect solar radiation, act as cloud condensation and ice nuclei, and modify the radiative properties and lifetime of clouds, and therefore influence the precipitation cycle. These volcanic particles can also have an impact on environmental conditions and could be very dangerous for aircraft in flight. In addition to the routine measurements, further EARLINET observations are devoted to monitor volcano eruptions. The EARLINET volcanic dataset includes extended observations related to two different volcanoes in Europe Mt. Etna (2001 and 2002 eruptions), and the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland (April - May 2010 eruption). This dataset includes also recent events of volcanic eruptions in the North Pacific region (2008-2010) that emitted sulfuric acid droplets into the upper troposphere - lower stratosphere (UTLS) height region of the northern hemisphere. The EARLINET volcanic observations in the UTLS are complemented by the long-term stratospheric aerosol observations collected in the Stratosphere category

EARLINET climatology (2000-2010)

A European Aerosol Research Lidar Network to Establish an Aerosol ClimatologyAerosols affect life on earth in several ways. They play an important role in the climate system; the effect of aerosols on the global climate system is one of the major uncertainties of present climate predictions. They play a major role in atmospheric chemistry and hence affect the concentrations of other potentially harmful atmospheric constituents, e.g. ozone. They are an important controlling factor for the radiation budget, in particular in the UV-B part of the spectrum. At ground level, they can be harmful, even toxic, to man, animals, and plants. Because of these adverse effects that aerosols can have on human life, it is necessary to achieve an advanced understanding of the processes that generate, redistribute, and remove aerosols in the atmosphere.A quantitative dataset describing the aerosol vertical, horizontal, and temporal distribution, including its variability on a continental scale, is necessary. The dataset is used to validate and improve models that predict the future state of the atmosphere and its dependence on different scenarios describing economic development, including those actions taken to preserve the quality of the environment. The EARLINET data set is the most comprehensive compilation of data available for this purpose.This project description is taken from: http://www.earlinet.org/index.php?id=earlinet_homepageSummary: EARLINET climatological lidar observations are performed on a regularschedule of one daytime measurement per week around noon (on Monday), when theboundary layer is usually well developed, and two night-time measurements per week(on Monday and Thursday), with low background light, in order to perform Ramanextinction measurements. This regular schedule for observations minimizes the biasin the dataset possibly related to specific measurement conditions. The resultingdataset is used to obtain unbiased data for climatological studies.This dataset contains profiles of aerosol extinction, backscatter and lidar ratio.Several aerosol extinction/backscatter datasets can be present for the sameclimatological measurement in order to provide profiles either with a better temporalresolution or with an extended height range by using a larger temporal average.This is by far the largest dataset on the aerosol vertical distribution, and it isthe only one which is collected systematically and is covering a whol