THE ROLE OF ANXIETY IN GOLF PUTTING PERFORMANCE

Anxiety’s influence on performance continues to be one of the main research interests for sport psychologists (Hanin, 2000). It is apparent, though, that there is a lack of empirical research characterising the multi-disciplinary effect of anxiety on sports performance. The current study aimed to ascertain biomechanical (accuracy, movement variability) and psychological (anxiety) markers to determine how anxiety affects golf putting

Modifying and Supplementing Annie\u27s Project to Increase Impact in New Jersey and Beyond

Annie\u27s Project is a widely known risk management program emphasizing five areas of risk and creating support networks for women in agriculture. Designed as an 18-hr course delivered through a series of face-to-face classes, it can be adapted to meet the learning needs and time constraints of the target audience and instructors. This article describes modifications and additions to the traditional program delivery that were implemented by the Annie\u27s Project New Jersey team: synchronous learning at multiple locations, archived video-recorded classes, condensed 1-day workshops, a supplemental program about estate and farm transition planning, archived webinars, and international adaptations of the program

Understanding a Low Vitamin D State in the Context of COVID-19

While a low vitamin D state has been associated with an increased risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 in addition to an increased severity of COVID-19 disease, a causal role is not yet established. Here, we review the evidence relating to i) vitamin D and its role in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease ii) the vitamin D status in the Irish adult population iii) the use of supplemental vitamin D to treat a deficient status and iv) the application of the Bradford-Hill causation criteria. We conclude that reverse causality probably makes a minimal contribution to the presence of low vitamin D states in the setting of COVID-19. Applying the Bradford-Hill criteria, however, the collective literature supports a causal association between low vitamin D status, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and severe COVID-19 (respiratory failure, requirement for ventilation and mortality). A biologically plausible rationale exists for these findings, given vitamin D’s role in immune regulation. The thresholds which define low, deficient, and replete vitamin D states vary according to the disease studied, underscoring the complexities for determining the goals for supplementation. All are currently unknown in the setting of COVID-19. The design of vitamin D randomised controlled trials is notoriously problematic and these trials commonly fail for a number of behavioural and methodological reasons. In Ireland, as in most other countries, low vitamin D status is common in older adults, adults in institutions, and with obesity, dark skin, low UVB exposure, diabetes and low socio-economic status. Physiological vitamin D levels for optimal immune function are considerably higher than those that can be achieved from food and sunlight exposure alone in Ireland. A window exists in which a significant number of adults could benefit from vitamin D supplementation, not least because of recent data demonstrating an association between vitamin D status and COVID-19. During the COVID pandemic, we believe that supplementation with 20-25ug (800–1000 IU)/day or more may be required for adults with apparently normal immune systems to improve immunity against SARS-CoV-2. We expect that higher monitored doses of 37.5–50 ug (1,500–2,000)/day may be needed for vulnerable groups (e.g., those with obesity, darker skin, diabetes mellitus and older adults). Such doses are within the safe daily intakes cited by international advisory agencies

Stochastic Dynamics of Lexicon Learning in an Uncertain and Nonuniform World

We study the time taken by a language learner to correctly identify the meaning of all words in a lexicon under conditions where many plausible meanings can be inferred whenever a word is uttered. We show that the most basic form of cross-situational learning - whereby information from multiple episodes is combined to eliminate incorrect meanings - can perform badly when words are learned independently and meanings are drawn from a nonuniform distribution. If learners further assume that no two words share a common meaning, we find a phase transition between a maximally-efficient learning regime, where the learning time is reduced to the shortest it can possibly be, and a partially-efficient regime where incorrect candidate meanings for words persist at late times. We obtain exact results for the word-learning process through an equivalence to a statistical mechanical problem of enumerating loops in the space of word-meaning mappings.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Version 2 contains additional discussion and will appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Numerical atomic orbitals for linear scaling

The performance of basis sets made of numerical atomic orbitals is explored in density-functional calculations of solids and molecules. With the aim of optimizing basis quality while maintaining strict localization of the orbitals, as needed for linear-scaling calculations, several schemes have been tried. The best performance is obtained for the basis sets generated according to a new scheme presented here, a flexibilization of previous proposals. The basis sets are tested versus converged plane-wave calculations on a significant variety of systems, including covalent, ionic and metallic. Satisfactory convergence (deviations significantly smaller than the accuracy of the underlying theory) is obtained for reasonably small basis sizes, with a clear improvement over previous schemes. The transferability of the obtained basis sets is tested in several cases and it is found to be satisfactory as well.Comment: 9 pages with 2 encapsulated postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Genome-wide association study of primary open-angle glaucoma in continental and admixed African populations.

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a complex disease with a major genetic contribution. Its prevalence varies greatly among ethnic groups, and is up to five times more frequent in black African populations compared to Europeans. So far, worldwide efforts to elucidate the genetic complexity of POAG in African populations has been limited. We conducted a genome-wide association study in 1113 POAG cases and 1826 controls from Tanzanian, South African and African American study samples. Apart from confirming evidence of association at TXNRD2 (rs16984299; OR[T] 1.20; P = 0.003), we found that a genetic risk score combining the effects of the 15 previously reported POAG loci was significantly associated with POAG in our samples (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.26-1.93; P = 4.79 × 10-5). By genome-wide association testing we identified a novel candidate locus, rs141186647, harboring EXOC4 (OR[A] 0.48; P = 3.75 × 10-8), a gene transcribing a component of the exocyst complex involved in vesicle transport. The low frequency and high degree of genetic heterogeneity at this region hampered validation of this finding in predominantly West-African replication sets. Our results suggest that established genetic risk factors play a role in African POAG, however, they do not explain the higher disease load. The high heterogeneity within Africans remains a challenge to identify the genetic commonalities for POAG in this ethnicity, and demands studies of extremely large size

Multiwavelength Observations of the Blazar Mrk 421 in December 2002 and January 2003

We report on a multiwavelength campaign on the TeV gamma-ray blazar Markarian (Mrk) 421 performed during December 2002 and January 2003. These target of opportunity observations were initiated by the detection of X-ray and TeV gamma-ray flares with the All Sky Monitor (ASM) on board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and the 10 m Whipple gamma-ray telescope.The campaign included observational coverage in the radio (University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory), optical (Boltwood, La Palma KVA 0.6m, WIYN 0.9m), X-ray (RXTE pointed telescopes), and TeV gamma-ray (Whipple and HEGRA) bands. At TeV energies, the observations revealed several flares at intermediate flux levels, peaking between 1 and 1.5 times the flux from the Crab Nebula. While the time averaged spectrum can be fitted with a single power law of photon index Gamma =2.8, we find some evidence for spectral variability. Confirming earlier results, the campaign reveals a rather loose correlation between the X-ray and TeV gamma-ray fluxes. In one case, a very strong X-ray flare is not accompanied by a comparable TeV gamma-ray flare. Although the source flux was variable in the optical and radio bands, the sparse sampling of the optical and radio light curves does not allow us to study the correlation properties in detail. We present a simple analysis of the data with a synchrotron-self Compton model, emphasizing that models with very high Doppler factors and low magnetic fields can describe the data.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A Multi-wavelength View of the TeV Blazar Markarian 421: Correlated Variability, Flaring, and Spectral Evolution

We report results from a multi-wavelength monitoring campaign on Mrk 421 over the period of 2003-2004. The source was observed simultaneously at TeV and X-ray energies, with supporting observations frequently carried out at optical and radio wavelengths. The large amount of simultaneous data has allowed us to examine the variability of Mrk 421 in detail. The variabilities are generally correlated between the X-ray and gamma-ray bands, although the correlation appears to be fairly loose. The light curves show the presence of flares with varying amplitudes on a wide range of timescales both at X-ray and TeV energies. Of particular interest is the presence of TeV flares that have no coincident counterparts at longer wavelengths, because the phenomenon seems difficult to understand in the context of the proposed emission models for TeV blazars. We have also found that the TeV flux reached its peak days before the X-ray flux during a giant flare in 2004. Such a difference in the development of the flare presents a further challenge to the emission models. Mrk 421 varied much less at optical and radio wavelengths. Surprisingly, the normalized variability amplitude in optical seems to be comparable to that in radio, perhaps suggesting the presence of different populations of emitting electrons in the jet. The spectral energy distribution (SED) of Mrk 421 is seen to vary with flux, with the two characteristic peaks moving toward higher energies at higher fluxes. We have failed to fit the measured SEDs with a one-zone SSC model; introducing additional zones greatly improves the fits. We have derived constraints on the physical properties of the X-ray/gamma-ray flaring regions from the observed variability (and SED) of the source. The implications of the results are discussed. (Abridged)Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Ap