Efficacy of the Ionic Balance band to improve selected health and fitness parameters following a two week exposure intervention: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

A recent trend has seen products marketed towards the health and fitness industry that proclaim beneficial effects through properties and mechanisms more commonly associated with complementary and alternative medicine. These claims are largely unsubstantiated with a lack of scientific research to support them. The Ionic Balance Band is one of several relatively new products that would appear to have a more plausible basis for an effect based upon the available literature. The Ionic Balance Band is claimed to improve the health and function of its wearer through generation of negative air ions, far infrared rays and alpha waves. This study investigated the efficacy of the Ionic Balance Band to improve selected health and fitness parameters following a two week exposure intervention under randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled conditions. A sample of 60 men and women, consisting primarily of sport and exercise science students, were randomly assigned to wear an Ionic Balance Band or a placebo control band for a two week period between pre- and post-test sessions. The test battery assessed physical performance parameters of; balance, lower and upper body power, muscular strength, anaerobic power and heart rate recovery as well as cognitive function and general health outcomes. Analysis of the data revealed that no significant improvements were gained from wearing an Ionic Balance Band compared to a placebo control band for any of the parameters assessed. The results did not support the claims of improved health or function that have been anecdotally reported from wearing an Ionic Balance Band. Further research is required to evaluate and understand the broader efficacy of negative air ions, far infrared rays and alpha waves to provide beneficial effects

Deciphering the Complex Alteration Recorded in Primitive Asteroids

CM chondrites are unequilibrated breccias sampling primitive asteroids altered by water-rock interactions. While much research has focused on bulk measurements, only tentative attempts have been made to elucidate the complex petrographic and O-isotopic heterogeneity at the clast and component scale utilising this high precision approach. Clasts of petrologic subtype CM1/2.0 – 2.8 were found in four falls and one very diverse find, LON 94101, the latter of which strengthens the case of a discrete parent body source for CM chondrites. The petrologic subtype of moderately altered clasts ranging from 2.2-2.6 appear to correlate well with variable ‘FeO’/SiO2 and Mg# compositions within their phyllosilicates, though this is poorly matched from meteorite to meteorite. Fully altered clasts (CM1/CM2.0) host an array of diverse textures ranging from dark, Mg-dominated matrix-rich clasts to those containing abundant chondrule pseudomorphs, comparable in large part to the diversity seen in CM2 material. An array of rarer, petrographically distinct lithologies, including incipiently altered, predominantly anhydrous examples, attest to the diversity of CM material in the meteorite record. Matrix phyllosilicates from 30 petrographically characterised CM lithologies and 4 cataclastic matrix fractions were micro-sampled to investigate lithology-specific aqueous alteration phenomena through their O-isotopes, obtained via a revised laser fluorination protocol for small, phyllosilicate-rich samples. The exclusion of a significant anhydrous precursor component within these fractions reveals a novel, apparently mass-dependent trend: the CM matrix fractionation line (CMF) at ~ Δ17O = -2.35 ± 0.46‰ (2σ), indicating the CM lithologies were altered within a narrow range of water to rock (WR) ratios and that historical O-isotope variation primarily just reflects variable amounts of anhydrous precursor. This weakens the case for a closed system style of alteration, where variable WR ratios may be expected; indeed, an open system may provide a better explanation where equilibration of water is achieved over a mineralogically diverse area on the CM asteroid

Updated application of a photo-identification based assessment model to southern right whales in South African waters, focussing on inferences to be drawn from a series of appreciably lower counts of calving females over 2015 to 2017

This paper extends the analyses of Brandão et al. (2013) which applied the three-mature-stages (receptive, calving and resting) model of Cooke et al. (2003) to photo-identification data available from 1979 to 2012 for southern right whales in South African waters, by taking five further years of data into account. The lower counts of calving females over 2015 to 2017 are indicated to be a reflection of time variability in the probability that a resting whale rests another year, rather than of any mass mortality. The 2017 number of parous females is estimated to be 1 765, the total population (including males and calves) 6 116, and the annual population growth rate 6.5%. This reflects a small decrease to the 6.6% increase rate estimated previously; even in the instance of lesser numbers seen in recent years than estimated previously. Information from resightings of grey blazed calves as adults with calves allows estimation of first year survival rate of 0.852, a slight increase from the previous estimate of 0.850, compared to a subsequent annual rate of 0.988

Implementing fluorescent MOFs as down-converting layers in hybrid light-emitting diodes

One of the most important non-radiative relaxation processes that limits the quantum yield of a fluorophore is related to aggregation of the molecules in the solid-state causing excimer quenching. To limit this quenching mechanism, the fluorophore can be contained within a well-ordered 3D system that minimises aggregation through rigid bonds and spatial separation in a defined topological construct. Herein, the synthesis, characterisation and application as a down-converter of a new luminescent 3D material (MOF-BTBMBA) that incorporates a building block based on a benzothiadiazole (BT) derivative (BTBMBA) in a metal-organic framework (MOF) is presented. Notably, photoluminescent quantum yield and hybrid LED performance are significantly improved for the MOF-based device compared to that prepared with the free ligand, highlighting the effectiveness of the rigid scaffold arrangement

Veterinary student competence in equine lameness recognition and assessment: a mixed methods study

The development of perceptual skills is an important aspect of veterinary education. The authors investigated veterinary student competency in lameness evaluation at two stages, before (third year) and during (fourth/fifth year) clinical rotations. Students evaluated horses in videos, where horses were presented during trot on a straight line and in circles. Eye-tracking data were recorded during assessment on the straight line to follow student gaze. On completing the task, students filled in a structured questionnaire. Results showed that the experienced students outperformed inexperienced students, although even experienced students may classify one in four horses incorrectly. Mistakes largely arose from classifying an incorrect limb as lame. The correct detection of sound horses was at chance level. While the experienced student cohort primarily looked at upper body movement (head and sacrum) during lameness assessment, the inexperienced cohort focused on limb movement. Student self-assessment of performance was realistic, and task difficulty was most commonly rated between 3 and 4 out of 5. The inexperienced students named a considerably greater number of visual lameness features than the experienced students. Future dedicated training based on the findings presented here may help students to develop more reliable lameness assessment skills

A fully integrated GIS-based model of particulate waste distribution from marine fish-cage sites

Modern Geographical Information System (GIS) offers a powerful modelling environment capable of handling large databases. It is a very suitable environment in which to develop a suite of tools designed for environmental management of aquaculture sites, including carrying capacity prediction, land–water interactions and multi-site effects. One such tool, presented here, is a fully integrated and validated particulate fish waste dispersion module which uses mass balance to estimate waste input and takes account of variable bathymetry and variable settling velocity for feed and faecal components. The model also incorporates the effect of cage movement on waste dispersion, the first such model to do so. When tidal range was low (1.67 m), the maximum movement of a 22 m diameter circular cage was 10.1 m and 7.7 m easting and northing, respectively. Highest deposition from particulate fish waste is under the cage and incorporation of cage movement increased the effective area under a cage by 72%. This reduced peak deposition measurements by up to 32% and reduced the average modelled feed and faecal settlement at the cage centre by 23% and 11%, respectively. The model was validated by comparing model predictions with observed deposition measured using sediment traps during three 2-week field trips at a fish farm on the west coast of Scotland. The mean ratio of observed to predicted waste deposition at 5–25 m from the cage centre ranged from 0.9 to 1.06, whilst under the cage the model over-predicts deposition (observed/predicted=2.21). Although far-field data was seen to be comparable the near-field discrepancies resulted in variable overall accuracy in the model. The overall accuracy based on August 2001 data was ±50.9%, on February 2002, ±72.8% and on April 2002, ±50.6%. Summarizing the data resulted in an overall average predictive accuracy of ±58.1%. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The programming of sequences of saccades

Saccadic eye movements move the high-resolution fovea to point at regions of interest. Saccades can only be generated serially (i.e., one at a time). However, what remains unclear is the extent to which saccades are programmed in parallel (i.e., a series of such moments can be planned together) and how far ahead such planning occurs. In the current experiment, we investigate this issue with a saccade contingent preview paradigm. Participants were asked to execute saccadic eye movements in response to seven small circles presented on a screen. The extent to which participants were given prior information about target locations was varied on a trial-by-trial basis: participants were aware of the location of the next target only, the next three, five, or all seven targets. The addition of new targets to the display was made during the saccade to the next target in the sequence. The overall time taken to complete the sequence was decreased as more targets were available up to all seven targets. This was a result of a reduction in the number of saccades being executed and a reduction in their saccade latencies. Surprisingly, these results suggest that, when faced with a demand to saccade to a large number of target locations, saccade preparation about all target locations is carried out in paralle

Social origin and the financial feasibility of going to university: the role of wage penalties and availability of funding

The evidence on why students from lower social origin are persistently underrepresented in higher education (HE) suggests social, educational and economic factors all play a role. We concentrate on the influence of monetary costs/benefits and how these are influenced by social origin. In particular, we consider the effect of a class-based wage penalty in the labour market and, using evidence from a large-scale survey of Scottish students, we show how the greater financial constraints facing working-class students affects the incentive to participate in HE. Using a simple model of human capital investment, the low rate of working-class participation in HE is shown to be consistent with rational behaviour, i.e. weighing the monetary costs and benefits, participating in HE is a less attractive investment proposition for some students. We conduct simulations which suggest this could be mitigated by generous income-contingent support

Methods of a national colorectal cancer cohort study: the PIPER Project

A national study looking at bowel cancer in New Zealand has previously been completed (the PIPER Project). The study included 5,610 patients and collected medical information about how each person was found to have bowel cancer and the treatment they received. This paper reports how the study was carried out. The information collected in the study will be used to look at the quality of care being provided to New Zealand patients with bowel cancer, and to find out if differences in care occur based on where people live, their ethnicity and their socioeconomic status

Spina bifida-predisposing heterozygous mutations in Planar Cell Polarity genes and Zic2 reduce bone mass in young mice

Fractures are a common comorbidity in children with the neural tube defect (NTD) spina bifida. Mutations in the Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway contribute to NTDs in humans and mice, but whether this pathway independently determines bone mass is poorly understood. Here, we first confirmed that core Wnt/PCP components are expressed in osteoblasts and osteoclasts in vitro. In vivo, we performed detailed µCT comparisons of bone structure in tibiae from young male mice heterozygous for NTD-associated mutations versus WT littermates. PCP signalling disruption caused by Vangl2 (Vangl2Lp/+) or Celsr1 (Celsr1Crsh/+) mutations significantly reduced trabecular bone mass and distal tibial cortical thickness. NTD-associated mutations in non-PCP transcription factors were also investigated. Pax3 mutation (Pax3Sp2H/+) had minimal effects on bone mass. Zic2 mutation (Zic2Ku/+) significantly altered the position of the tibia/fibula junction and diminished cortical bone in the proximal tibia. Beyond these genes, we bioinformatically documented the known extent of shared genetic networks between NTDs and bone properties. 46 genes involved in neural tube closure are annotated with bone-related ontologies. These findings document shared genetic networks between spina bifida risk and bone structure, including PCP components and Zic2. Genetic variants which predispose to spina bifida may therefore independently diminish bone mass