Characterization of the Intra-Unit-Cell magnetic order in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d

As in YBa2Cu3O6+x and HgBa2CuO8+d, the pseudo-gap state in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d is characterized by the existence of an intra-unit-cell magnetic order revealed by polarized neutron scattering technique. We report here a supplementary set of polarized neutron scattering measurements for which the direction of the magnetic moment is determined and the magnetic intensity is calibrated in absolute units. The new data allow a close comparison between bilayer systems YBa2Cu3O6+x and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d and rise important questions concerning the range of the magnetic correlations and the role of disorder around optimal doping.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, submitted to physical review

Football training program and injury prevention program WTA: a season of analysis with IT management Weakrisk Sporstsolutions in Italan élite football players third division (Serie C).

Purpose: The aim of this study is analyze the relationship with training program and injury prevention program in professional football players during competitive season in AJ Fano Calcio 1906 srl (Italian 3rd Division Serie C, 2019-2020). In fact, it is very important for the team to try to minimize or greatly reduce the incidence of injuries to ensure a better choice of players available to the coach according to the match. Our analysis will try to better understand the importance of creating an adequate postural set up by optimizing the functioning of the muscle kinetic chains, during the pre-training phase. Twenty eigth (n=28) élite football players took part in this study (age 21.4±3.3; body weigth 79.7±3.4 ; heigth 182.4±5.5 ; fat mass 9.2±1.9 ; ), without goalkeepers. In pre-season (4 weeks, from july to august) and during a season (december) the players performed yo yo intermittent recovery test level 2 (IR2), to evaluate aerobic and anaerobic performance before the start of season. At same time the players perfomed jump test (SJ, CMJ, CMJAS, JUMPS 15’’), with Optojump Microgate (Microgate, Bolzano, Italy). Every players has been analyzed with K-GPS Live 50Hz (K-Sport Universal STATS, Montelabbate (PU), Italy) and Polar Team System PRO 2 (Polar Electro, Finland, OY) to recorder maximal heart rate during a intermittent test and official match. Every players has done from July (start preseason) to February (in season), 300 sessions of WTA primitive prevention training program before and after training to preparare muscle chains to daily workout, 244 training during this period. Pre and post training program, performed on a daily basis, highlighted that AJ Fano Calcio 1906 srl, total incidence injury is 3.14/1000h, training incidence injury is 1.34/1000h and match incidence injury is 23.6/1000h, respectively - 23.4% to UEFA data total incidence injury (4.1/1000h), -46.4% to UEFA data training incidence injury (2.5/1000h) and 22.3% to Uefa data match incidence injury (19.3/1000h). Infact, this improvement in match injury (contact and non-contact), probabily due, to difference level of football players: in professional third division there are players that have a reduced coordination and intervention times compared to top level players. This element is clear also in different energy cost (í) from different players level during official matches: first division (21.7±0.7%) vs third division (27±2.5%) (ES=3.05, p<0.05). This event represent energy expenditure during a match: third division has low physical, technical and tactical quality compare first division pro and players have high energy expenditure levels. Probabily our hypothesis on this type of prevention program (primitive WTA) should be used already started youth to prepare muscle chains and improve coordination and movements in future athletes to reduce injuries

Dynamic inertial analysis of the technical boxing gesture of Jab

The purpose of this study is to analyze the inertial dynamics of the Jab technical gesture in boxing. The target is to test and establish with the precision of the latest generation inertial technology the real physical parameters of the mechanical components of the technical gesture subjected to analysis to use, in the event of an expected congruence, the parameters obtained as key elements in the project of sports training investigated for performative purposes, given that the literature on this subject is scarce and sometimes with data obtained using non-state-of-the-art equipment and therefore not reliable. Five boxers (n = 5) took part in this research, considered sufficient for an exploratory study, respectively two female (n = 2), (18.5 ± 6.4 years, weight 63.7 ± 0.4 kg, height 169 ± 1.4 cm; arm length 69.5 ± 2.1 cm) and three male (n = 3), (23.0 ± 3.5 years, weight 80.0 ± 7.0 kg, height 184.3 ± 7.1 cm; arm length 79.7 ± 2.5 cm). These athletes were from different levels of experience, also to obtain specific threshold data in the various stadiums, however, all participating in national level competitions (elitè level). From the dataset, it’s possible to appreciate a different average acceleration value in the Jab execution phase between 8.65 m/s² (woman) and 13.85 m/s² (man) of the stroke, statistically significant (p <0.05), even in the small sample. The same situation is true for the torsion phase of the trunk between the best performing male boxer (boxer 1) and the best female boxer (boxer 5) respectively 0.733 vs 0.338 g² (p <0.05). This allows us to understand how gender and category differences are a key element in relation to the training planning of the discipline and that often turn out to be quite generic and that doesn’t take into account accurately and weighed the differences and what are the values to be respected in the specific training workload and also in the performance level of the exercises necessary to achieve those physiological conditions and techniques useful for performance improvement. The differences in this sample were also evident between individuals of the same gender and level

Neutrinos from Accreting Neutron Stars

The magnetospheres of accreting neutron stars develop electrostatic gaps with huge potential drops. Protons and ions, accelerated in these gaps along the dipolar magnetic field lines to energies greater than 100 TeV, can impact onto a surrounding accretion disc. A proton-induced cascade so develops, and $\nu$-emission is produced from charged pion decays. Using GEANT4, a computer code that tracks particles produced in high energy collisions, we have calculated the resulting $\nu$-spectrum with extensive disc shower simulations. We show that the $\nu$-spectrum produced out of the proton beam is a power law. We use this result to propose accretion-powered X-ray binaries (with highly magnetized neutron stars) as a new population of point-like $\nu$-sources for km-scale detectors, such as ICECUBE. As a particular example we discuss the case of A0535+26. We show that ICECUBE should find A0535+26 to be a periodic $\nu$-source: one for which the formation and loss of its accretion disc can be fully detected. Finally, we briefly comment on the possibility that smaller telescopes, like AMANDA, could also detect A0535+26 by folding observations with the orbital period.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures. Updates to match accepted version in Astrophys.

Physical Efficiency Index (PEI) and injuries after return to play post Covid-19 in Italian Serie A.

The aim of this study is analyze physical performance in Italian Serie A 2019-2020, after return to play post Covid-19, in the 20 club participants in the championship (n=567 players, age 27.2±1.1, value: 8.12 mln), to understand the causes of injuries that occurred during the last 12 match for the conclusion of the Serie A and variation in high intensity production. The analysis of physical performance is analyzed with SPORTVU OPTICAL TRACKING (STATS PERFORM, CHICAGO, USA) during each football match, from 27 match day (June 2020, after lockdown) to 38 match day (August 2020). Using a semiautomatic video analysis system that has incorporated new parameters able to measure physical efficiency (“Method for game analysis”, patented in 2010, PCT/IB2010/002593, K-SPORT UNIVERSAL, MONTELABBATE, ITALY). At the same time we analyzed players absence from each match day for all teams (n=20), to better understand how many injuries the lockdown (3 and a half months) caused over time. Our research relates with a professional Top Level Championship, physical efficiency index and injuries occured during a post Covid-19 period. The championship was suspended due to the Covid-19 emergency on matchday 26 and restart from matchday 27a in June 2020. The percentage of absences due to injury by comparing matchday 27 (post lockdown) and matchday 38 (last season) has showed a statistically significant increase 26% (n=20; p<0.05). Negative correlations was found between PEI (Physical Efficiency Index) and number of injuries occured post lockdown respectively, (n=20, r = -0.25, p > 0.05). For the 2019-20 season there is a total number of absences equal to 2213; compared with the data of the last thirteen seasons , an increase of 6%, statistical meaningfulness, (n=20; p<0.05) is observed compared to the previous season (2018-19). Key performance indicators in this research not predict injuries and they have a low correlation with them. Future studies it’s necessary to have more information on absence of injuires and their relation with performance and techinical/tactical game intelligence. Of course, PEI (Physical Efficiency Index), it’s a good indicator of physical team condition

Near-infrared Observations of Be/X-ray Binary Pulsar A0535+262

We present results obtained from an extensive near-infrared spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Be/X-ray binary A0535+262/HDE 245770 at different phases of its ~111 day orbital period. This observation campaign is a part of the monitoring programme of selective Be/X-ray binary systems aimed at understanding the X-ray and near-IR properties at different orbital phases, especially during the periastron passage of the neutron star. The near-IR observations were carried out using the 1.2 m telescope at Mt. Abu IR observatory. Though the source was relatively faint for spectroscopic observations with 1.2 m telescope, we monitored the source during the 2011 February--March giant outburst to primarily investigate whether any drastic changes in the near-IR JHK spectra take place at the periastron passage. Changes of such a striking nature were expected to be detectable in our spectra. Photometric observations of the Be star show a gradual and systematic fading in the JHK light curves since the onset of the X-ray outburst that could suggest a mild evacuation/truncation of the circumstellar disc of the Be companion. Near-IR spectroscopy of the object shows that the JHK spectra are dominated by the emission lines of hydrogen Brackett and Paschen series and HeI lines at 1.0830, 1.7002 and 2.0585 micron. The presence of all hydrogen emission lines in the JHK spectra, along with the absence of any significant change in the continuum of the Be companion during X-ray quiescent and X-ray outburst phases suggest that the near-IR line emitting regions of the disc are not significantly affected during the X-ray outburst.Comment: 10 Pages, 5 Figures, Accepted for publication in Res. in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Identification of Low Temperature Stress Regulated Transcript Sequences and Gene Families in Italian Cypress

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Cold acclimation is a complex transcriptionally controlled process regulated by many different genes and genic-interactions in plants. The northward spreading of woody species is mainly limited by winter harshness. To increase our knowledge about the biological processes underlying cold acclimation, plants evolved in warmer climates can serve as models. In this work, a Suppression Subtractive Hybridization approach using PCR-select was used to isolate Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) transcript sequences putatively expressed under low temperature stress. After assessing the reliability of the subtractive step, a total of 388 clones were selected and sequenced. Following sequence assembly and removal of the redundant cDNAs, 156 unique transcripts were identified and annotated in order to assign them a putative functional class. Most of the identified transcripts were functionally classified pertaining to stress in cellular and chloroplast membranes, which are previously known to be severely damaged by cold treatment. Among the identified functional gene families, the extensively represented ones were dehydrins, early light-inducible proteins, senescence-associated genes and oleosins. The last three gene families were further selected for phylogenetic analysis, with the corresponding protein sequences across the complete genomes of the model plants Populus trichocarpa, Vitis vinifera, Physcomitrella patens, and Arabidopsis thaliana. The relationship with the ortholog sequences coming from these species and their further implications are discussed

High glucose-induced hyperosmolarity contributes to COX-2 expression and angiogenesis: Implications for diabetic retinopathy

Background: We tested the hypothesis that glucose-induced hyperosmolarity, occurring in diabetic hyperglycemia, promotes retinal angiogenesis, and that interference with osmolarity signaling ameliorates excessive angiogenesis and retinopathy in vitro and in vivo. Methods and Results: We incubated human aortic (HAECs) and dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) with glucose or mannitol for 24 h and tested them for protein levels and in vitro angiogenesis. We used the Ins2 Akita mice as a model of type 1 diabetes to test the in vivo relevance of in vitro observations. Compared to incubations with normal (5 mmol/L) glucose concentrations, cells exposed to both high glucose and high mannitol (at 30.5 or 50.5 mmol/L) increased expression of the water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP1) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. This was preceded by increased activity of the osmolarity-sensitive transcription factor Tonicity enhancer binding protein (TonEBP), and enhanced endothelial migration and tubulization in Matrigel, reverted by treatment with AQP1 and TonEBP siRNA. Retinas of Ins2 Akita mice showed increased levels of AQP1 and COX-2, as well as angiogenesis, all reverted by AQP1 siRNA intravitreal injections. Conclusions: Glucose-related hyperosmolarity seems to be able to promote angiogenesis and retinopathy through activation of TonEBP and possibly increasing expression of AQP1 and COX-2. Osmolarity signaling may be a target for therapy