More pace variation and pack formation in successful world-class 10,000-m runners than in less successful competitors

Purpose To determine different relationships between, and predictive ability of, performance variables at intermediate distances with finishing time in elite male 10,000 m runners. Methods Official electronic finishing and 100 m split times of the men’s 10,000 m finals at the 2008 and 2016 Olympic Games and IAAF World Championships in 2013 and 2017 were obtained (125 athlete performances in total). Correlations were calculated between finishing times and positions and performance variables relating to speed, position, time to the leader and time to the runner in front at 2000, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 9900 m. Stepwise linear regression analysis was conducted between finishing times and positions and these variables across the race. One-way ANOVA was performed to identify differences between intermediate distances. Results The standard deviation and kurtosis of mean time, skewness of mean time and position and time difference to the leader were either correlated with or significantly contributed to predictions of finishing time and position at one of the analysed distance at least (0.81 ≥ r ≥ 0.30 and 0.0001 ≤ P ≤ 0.03, respectively). These variables also displayed variation across the race (0.0001 ≤ P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions The ability to undertake a high degree of pace variability, mostly characterised by acceleration in the final stages, is strongly associated with the achievement of high finishing positions in championship 10000 m racing. Furthermore, the adoption and maintenance of positions close to the front of the race from the early stages is important to achieve a high finishing position

Mine

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/7254/thumbnail.jp

Just a Cottage Small (By a Waterfall) / music by James F. Hanley; words by B.G. De Sylva

Cover: photo of John McCormack; Publisher: Harms Incorporated (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_d/1067/thumbnail.jp

Accelerating exhaustive pairwise metagenomic comparisons

In this manuscript, we present an optimized and parallel version of our previous work IMSAME, an exhaustive gapped aligner for the pairwise and accurate comparison of metagenomes. Parallelization strategies are applied to take advantage of modern multiprocessor architectures. In addition, sequential optimizations in CPU time and memory consumption are provided. These algorithmic and computational enhancements enable IMSAME to calculate near optimal alignments which are used to directly assess similarity between metagenomes without requiring reference databases. We show that the overall efficiency of the parallel implementation is superior to 80% while retaining scalability as the number of parallel cores used increases. Moreover, we also show thats equential optimizations yield up to 8x speedup for scenarios with larger data.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

System data communication structures for active-control transport aircraft, volume 2

The application of communication structures to advanced transport aircraft are addressed. First, a set of avionic functional requirements is established, and a baseline set of avionics equipment is defined that will meet the requirements. Three alternative configurations for this equipment are then identified that represent the evolution toward more dispersed systems. Candidate communication structures are proposed for each system configuration, and these are compared using trade off analyses; these analyses emphasize reliability but also address complexity. Multiplex buses are recognized as the likely near term choice with mesh networks being desirable for advanced, highly dispersed systems

System data communication structures for active-control transport aircraft, volume 1

Candidate data communication techniques are identified, including dedicated links, local buses, broadcast buses, multiplex buses, and mesh networks. The design methodology for mesh networks is then discussed, including network topology and node architecture. Several concepts of power distribution are reviewed, including current limiting and mesh networks for power. The technology issues of packaging, transmission media, and lightning are addressed, and, finally, the analysis tools developed to aid in the communication design process are described. There are special tools to analyze the reliability and connectivity of networks and more general reliability analysis tools for all types of systems

Analysis of lower limb internal kinetics and electromyography in elite race walking.

The aim of this study was to analyse lower limb joint moments, powers and electromyography patterns in elite race walking. Twenty international male and female race walkers performed at their competitive pace in a laboratory setting. The collection of ground reaction forces (1000 Hz) was synchronised with two-dimensional high-speed videography (100 Hz) and electromyography of seven lower limb muscles (1000 Hz). As well as measuring key performance variables such as speed and stride length, normalised joint moments and powers were calculated. The rule in race walking which requires the knee to be extended from initial contact to midstance effectively made the knee redundant during stance with regard to energy generation. Instead, the leg functioned as a rigid lever which affected the role of the hip and ankle joints. The main contributors to energy generation were the hip extensors during late swing and early stance, and the ankle plantarflexors during late stance. The restricted functioning of the knee during stance meant that the importance of the swing leg in contributing to forward momentum was increased. The knee flexors underwent a phase of great energy absorption during the swing phase and this could increase the risk of injury to the hamstring muscles

Towards Intelligent Dynamic Deployment of Mobile Sensors in Complex Resource-Bounded Environments

Decision-making in the face of uncertainty requires an understanding of the probabilistic mechanisms that govern the complex behavior of these systems. This issue applies to many domains: financial investments, disease control, military planning and homeland security. In each of these areas, there is a practical need for efficient resource-bounded reasoning capabilities to support optimal decision-making. Specifically, given a highly complex system, with numerous random variables and their dynamic interactions, how do we monitor such a system and detect crucial events that might impact our decision making process? More importantly, how do we perform this reasoning efficiently--to an acceptable degree of accuracy in real time--when there are only limited computational power and sensory capabilities? These questions encapsulate nontrivial key issues faced by many high-profile Laboratory missions: the problem of efficient inference and dynamic sensor deployment for risk/uncertainty reduction. By leveraging solid ideas such as system decomposition into loosely coupled subsystems and smart resource allocation among these subsystems, we can parallelize inference and data acquisition for faster and improved computational performance. In this report, we propose technical approaches for developing algorithmic tools to enable future scientific and engineering endeavors to better achieve the optimal use of limited resources for maximal return of information on a complex system. The result of the proposed research effort will be an efficient reasoning framework that would enable mobile sensors to work collaboratively as teams of adaptive and responsive agents, whose joint goal is to gather useful information that would assist in the inference process

Muscle-tendon morphology and function following long-term exposure to repeated and strenuous mechanical loading

We mapped structural and functional characteristics of muscle‐tendon units in a population exposed to very long‐term routine overloading. Twenty‐eight military academy cadets (age = 21.00 ± 1.1 years; height = 176.1 ± 4.8 cm; mass = 73.8 ± 7.0 kg) exposed for over 24 months to repetitive overloading were profiled via ultrasonography with a senior subgroup of them (n = 11; age = 21.4 ± 1.0 years; height = 176.5 ± 4.8 cm; mass = 71.4 ± 6.6 kg) also tested while walking and marching on a treadmill. A group of eleven ethnicity‐ and age‐matched civilians (age = 21.6 ± 0.7 years; height = 176.8 ± 4.3 cm; mass = 74.6 ± 5.6 kg) was also profiled and tested. Cadets and civilians exhibited similar morphology (muscle and tendon thickness and cross‐sectional area, pennation angle, fascicle length) in 26 out of 29 sites including the Achilles tendon. However, patellar tendon thickness along the entire tendon was greater (P < .05) by a mean of 16% for the senior cadets compared with civilians. Dynamically, cadets showed significantly smaller ranges of fascicle length change and lower shortening velocity in medial gastrocnemius during walking (44.0% and 47.6%, P < .05‐.01) and marching (27.5% and 34.3%, P < .05‐.01) than civilians. Furthermore, cadets showed lower normalized soleus electrical activity during walking (22.7%, P < .05) and marching (27.0%, P < .05). Therefore, 24‐36 months of continuous overloading, primarily occurring under aerobic conditions, leads to more efficient neural and mechanical behavior in the triceps surae complex, without any major macroscopic alterations in key anatomical structures