The Effects of Offseason Training on Special Olympics Athletes

The Effects of Offseason Training on Special Olympics Athletes Tayler Holder, Alex White Department of Health and Human Performance PURPOSE: Many Special Olympics athletes focus on sport specific preseason training and have no fitness programs in the offseason. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of individualized fitness programs on fitness levels of Special Olympics athletes. METHODS: Participants were 3 Special Olympics athletes recruited from specialized exercise programs at the YMCA. Athletes were given an Athlete Pre-Program Survey and participated in field testing to assess their baseline needs. In the field we tested flexibility, strength, balance, and aerobic fitness levels by using the following tests: Back Saver Sit and Reach Test, Apley’s Test, Timed Sit-Stand Test, Partial Sit-up Test, Seated Push-up Test, Eyes Open and Eyes Closed Single Leg Stance, Multidirectional Functional Reach and the Three Minute Walk-Run Test. Based on the baseline assessment athletes were given an individualized exercise program and were retested after six weeks. RESULTS: Our specific intervention focused on balance and aerobic fitness. We measured the greatest post-intervention improvement in these areas. We used the Cohen statistic to calculate the effect size, which measures the strength of the correlation between the intervention program and the recorded improvements. Effect Size is represented as Small (0.1-0.3), Medium (0.3-0.5), or Large (\u3e0.5). A Large Effect Size was calculated for the following tests: Eyes Open Single Leg Stance (L/R), Eyes Closed Single Leg Stance (R), and the Three-Minute Walk/Run Distance. CONCLUSION: From the improvements shown in the brief six week intervention, we found the program to be effective at increasing the fitness levels of our Special Olympic Athletes. We anticipate that there would be more significant improvements in balance, flexibility, strength and aerobic fitness in a longer program

A Signature of Cosmic Strings Wakes in the CMB Polarization

We calculate a signature of cosmic strings in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We find that ionization in the wakes behind moving strings gives rise to extra polarization in a set of rectangular patches in the sky whose length distribution is scale-invariant. The length of an individual patch is set by the co-moving Hubble radius at the time the string is perturbing the CMB. The polarization signal is largest for string wakes produced at the earliest post-recombination time, and for an alignment in which the photons cross the wake close to the time the wake is created. The maximal amplitude of the polarization relative to the temperature quadrupole is set by the overdensity of free electrons inside a wake which depends on the ionization fraction $f$ inside the wake. The signal can be as high as $0.06 {\rm \mu K}$ in degree scale polarization for a string at high redshift (near recombination) and a string tension $\mu$ given by $G \mu = 10^{-7}$.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

What Causes Ultrahigh-Temperature Metamorphism? A Case Study from Southern Madagascar

This dissertation is an attempt to gain a better understanding of the tectonic significance of a particular subset of metamorphic rocks—ultrahigh-temperature metamorphic rocks—that are prevalent throughout Earth’s history, but for which there is no consensus as to how they form. The dissertation consists of three chapters: (1) a case study of an ultrahigh-temperature terrane exposed in southern Madagascar, (2) the development of a new technique for calculating the maximum temperatures reached by a metamorphic rock—one of the most fundamental data types upon which tectonic interpretations are made—based on the oxygen-isotope composition of minerals within the rock, and (3) an empirical evaluation of how quickly elements diffuse in the mineral titanite to gain a better understanding of the geological significance of U–Pb titanite dates obtained from high-temperature rocks. Ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism in southern Madagascar is found to have been the result of combined magmatic advection, high rates of radiogenic heat production, and a thin mantle lithosphere. Peak temperatures of metamorphism can be recovered from the oxygen isotope compositions of minerals so long as one of the minerals has a sufficiently high closure temperature (such as garnet or sillimanite). Elemental diffusion in titanite is sufficiently slow that U–Pb dates likely reflect the time and conditions of titanite (re)crystallization, not cooling ages, in all but the highest grade rocks. Data tables referenced in the main text are available as spreadsheets in the supplementary materials accompanying this dissertation

Analysis of Frameshifting Frequencies Due to Homopolymeric Nucleotide Tracts in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Organisms that are sensitive to the antimicrobial agent nitrofurantoin express nitroreductases, which reduce nitrofuran containing compounds to highly reactive and damaging intermediates. A single nitroreductase, nfsB, was identified in N. gonorrhoeae FA1090. The sequence of nfsB was modified to contain polyguanine tracts of varying lengths. Analysis indicated that mutations yielding nitrofurantoin resistance occurred at a higher rate in strains containing modified nfsB genes when compared to wildtype FA1090. The frequency of mutation also increased as polyguanine tract length increased. A polyguanine tract length of 5 residues did not produce elevated mutation frequencies. The use of PCR and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis proved to be a reliable method for quickly identifying nitrofurantoin resistant mutants that contained nfsB frameshift mutations. When nfsB fragments amplified from nitrofurantoin resistant mutants were electrophoresed, the presence of insertions or deletions in the nfsB coding sequence was easily detected

Ultrahigh-temperature osumilite gneisses in southern Madagascar record combined heat advection and high rates of radiogenic heat production in a long-lived high-T orogen

We report the discovery of osumilite in ultrahigh‐temperature (UHT) metapelites of the Anosyen domain, southern Madagascar. The gneisses equilibrated at ~930°C/0.6 GPa. Monazite and zircon U–Pb dates record 80 Ma of metamorphism. Monazite compositional trends reflect the transition from prograde to retrograde metamorphism at 550 Ma. Eu anomalies in monazite reflect changes in fO_2 relative to quartz–fayalite–magnetite related to the growth and breakdown of spinel. The ratio Gd/Yb in monazite records the growth and breakdown of garnet. High rates of radiogenic heat production were the primary control on metamorphic grade at the regional scale. The short duration of prograde metamorphism in the osumilite gneisses (<29 ± 8 Ma) suggests that a thin mantle lithosphere (<80 km) or advective heating may have also been important in the formation of this high‐T, low‐P terrane

The Big Questions For Biodiversity Informatics

This is the publisher's version, which the author has permission to share. The original version may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772001003739369Science is a sequence of generating new ideas, detailed explorations, incorporation of the results into a toolbox for understanding data, and turning them into useful knowledge. One recent development has been large-scale, computer-aided management of biodiversity information. This emerging field of biodiversity informatics has been growing quickly, but without overarching scientific questions to guide its development; the result has been developments that have no connection to genuine insight and forward progress. We outline what biodiversity informatics should be, a link between diverse dimensions of organismal biology – genomics, phylogenetics, taxonomy, distributional biology, ecology, interactions, and conservation status – and describe the science progress that would result. These steps will enable a transition from ‘gee-whiz’ to fundamental science infrastructure

Adding some Dirt to Clean energy: Applying clay nanocomposites in solar cells

Polymer clay nanocomposite (PCN) thin films have found application across a number of applications, ranging from oxygen barriers to flame retardants, where their resistance to molecular gas diffusion has proven remarkably effective, even in films only a few hundred nanometers thick. Deposited using a layer-by-layer processing approach that takes advantage of self-assembly of the constituent components, these composite thin films comprise highly organized, alternating molecular layers of functional polymers and exfoliated clay platelets, commonly montmorillonite or vermiculite. Here, we explore the potential application and utility of PCN thin films in solar cells, where they serve as conformal, transparent barrier films with the potential to impact solar cell lifetime, reliability, and safety. Solar cell failures commonly result when environmental moisture and corrosive or reactive gases penetrate a cell’s encapsulant. Moreover, such cell degradation can manifest as a gradual decline in solar cell performance or, in the case when degradation leads to significantly damaged electrical elements, much more dramatic arc-faults that can lead to complete and dramatic module failure, even igniting module fires. Here, we describe how the unique nanostructure, materials chemistry, and gas barrier properties of PCNs offer promise toward addressing these challenges. Applying the PCN coatings to various elements of a solar cell module, we demonstrate the efficacy of PCNs as gas barriers, corrosion inhibitors, and arc-fault flammability mitigators. I will discuss here not only the results of our studies but also potential mechanisms for effective PCN function and present some apparent limitations of select approaches to PCN integration. These results reveal significant potential for PCNs to impact photovoltaic and other energy-related technologies, and our work highlights how these diverse, highly functional thin films may offer tremendous new opportunities for other next generation materials advances. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Failure Analysis Results and Corrective Actions Implemented for the EMU 3011 Water in the Helmet Mishap

During EVA (Extravehicular Activity) No. 23 aboard the ISS (International Space Station) on 07/16/2013 water entered the EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) helmet resulting in the termination of the EVA (Extravehicular Activity) approximately 1-hour after it began. It was estimated that 1.5-L of water had migrated up the ventilation loop into the helmet, adversely impacting the astronauts hearing, vision and verbal communication. Subsequent on-board testing and ground-based TT and E (Test, Tear-down and Evaluation) of the affected EMU hardware components led to the determination that the proximate cause of the mishap was blockage of all water separator drum holes with a mixture of silica and silicates. The blockages caused a failure of the water separator function which resulted in EMU cooling water spilling into the ventilation loop, around the circulating fan, and ultimately pushing into the helmet. The root cause of the failure was determined to be ground-processing short-comings of the ALCLR (Airlock Cooling Loop Recovery) Ion Filter Beds which led to various levels of contaminants being introduced into the Filters before they left the ground. Those contaminants were thereafter introduced into the EMU hardware on-orbit during ALCLR scrubbing operations. This paper summarizes the failure analysis results along with identified process, hardware and operational corrective actions that were implemented as a result of findings from this investigation

Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen EBNA-LP is essential for transforming naïve B cells, and facilitates recruitment of transcription factors to the viral genome.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen leader protein (EBNA-LP) is the first viral latency-associated protein produced after EBV infection of resting B cells. Its role in B cell transformation is poorly defined, but it has been reported to enhance gene activation by the EBV protein EBNA2 in vitro. We generated EBNA-LP knockout (LPKO) EBVs containing a STOP codon within each repeat unit of internal repeat 1 (IR1). EBNA-LP-mutant EBVs established lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from adult B cells at reduced efficiency, but not from umbilical cord B cells, which died approximately two weeks after infection. Adult B cells only established EBNA-LP-null LCLs with a memory (CD27+) phenotype. Quantitative PCR analysis of virus gene expression after infection identified both an altered ratio of the EBNA genes, and a dramatic reduction in transcript levels of both EBNA2-regulated virus genes (LMP1 and LMP2) and the EBNA2-independent EBER genes in the first 2 weeks. By 30 days post infection, LPKO transcription was the same as wild-type EBV. In contrast, EBNA2-regulated cellular genes were induced efficiently by LPKO viruses. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that EBNA2 and the host transcription factors EBF1 and RBPJ were delayed in their recruitment to all viral latency promoters tested, whereas these same factors were recruited efficiently to several host genes, which exhibited increased EBNA2 recruitment. We conclude that EBNA-LP does not simply co-operate with EBNA2 in activating gene transcription, but rather facilitates the recruitment of several transcription factors to the viral genome, to enable transcription of virus latency genes. Additionally, our findings suggest that EBNA-LP is essential for the survival of EBV-infected naïve B cells

Sleep abnormalities in the synaptopathies—SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability and Phelan–McDermid syndrome

Neurodevelopmental disorders are frequently associated with sleep disturbances. One class of neurodevelopmental disorders, the genetic synaptopathies, is caused by mutations in genes encoding proteins found at the synapse. Mutations in these genes cause derangement of synapse development and function. We utilized a validated sleep instrument, Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) to examine the nature of sleep abnormalities occurring in individuals with two synaptopathies—Phelan–McDermid syndrome (PMD) (N = 47, male = 23, female = 24, age 1–46 years) and SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability (SYNGAP1-ID) (N = 64, male = 31, female = 33, age 1–64 years), when compared with unaffected siblings (N = 61, male = 25, female = 36, age 1–17 years). We found that both PMD and SYNGAP1-ID have significant sleep abnormalities with SYNGAP1-ID having greater severity of sleep disturbance than PMD. In addition, sleep disturbances were more severe for PMD in individuals 11 years and older compared with those less than 11 years old. Individuals with either disorder were more likely to use sleep aids than unaffected siblings. In conclusion, sleep disturbances are a significant phenotype in the synaptopathies PMD and SYNGAP1-ID. Improved sleep is a viable endpoint for future clinical trials for these neurodevelopmental disorders