The Accuracy and Validity of Self-Reported Throwing Loads and the Characteristics of Throws by Elite Cricket Players in Australia

Objectives: To determine the relationship between elite cricket player’s self-reported and independently observed throwing volume. Examine whether sex, playing position, or time to upload self-reported data post training influences the accuracy of self-reported throwing loads. Describe the type and number of throws performed during elite cricket training, and identify characteristics such as type, distance and accuracy of throws. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of eight female and 18 male professional cricket players participated in the study. Overarm throws from 12 training sessions during the 2020-21 cricket year were observed. Player self-reported throwing volume data were retrieved post training, with the time difference between session completion and self-reported data upload recorded. Observations on throwing type (warm-up, drill throw), distance (± 30 meters) and accuracy (hit or miss target) of throws was noted. Correlation and agreement was assessed using a Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient and a Bland-Altman plot of agreement. Two, Independent-Samples Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to investigate if playing position and sex had an influence on absolute magnitude of error of reporting. Results: A moderate positive correlation was found between self-reported and observed throwing loads (rho = 0.65), however only 22% of players reported values within a clinically acceptable error of 10%. Players reported a mean absolute magnitude of error of 11.2 (9.8) throws and a mean magnitude of error of 24.8% (SD 16.0%). Sex did not influence reporting accuracy (p = 0.414). Playing position had a statistically significant (p = 0.031), though not clinically meaningful, relationship. Females uploaded self-reported data the day of training, whereas most males reported the day following. Reporting the day of training, or the day following training did not appear to result in poorer self-reported throwing load accuracy. Conclusions: The findings of this study question the validity of player self-reported throwing load as most players recorded in excess of 10% error. Sport support staff and players should consider whether the current accuracy of self-reported throwing load justifies its collection and use in the high-performance environment

Changing practices to better support first-year Health Science students

Entrance to university in Australia, in a post-Bradley era, is diversified and massified, with targets and programs to increase the participation of equity groups that were previously not represented. The changed cohorts have major implications for universities, in meeting the students’ needs, and as a moral and ethical response to enrolment. At the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) Fremantle campus, the 2011 cohort entering Health Sciences, experienced a high rate of failure and withdrawal from university. They entered university at a time when UNDA had begun to implement first year experience (FYE) pedagogical approaches but these had not been entirely implemented in all the Schools across campus. This research has tracked the performance of first year Health Science students from 2011 -2015.This paper discusses the School and Institutional-wide response that was initiated to address the issue of student attrition and how this led to a significant changes to the FYE transition approaches within the School to support students better at the start of their courses and student success with a reduction in failure rate and withdrawal rate of First Year students

The role of the innate and adaptive immunity in exercise induced muscle damage and repair

The immune system plays a crucial role in regulating tissue repair processes following damage. The cellular basis of tissue repair has best been studied in toxin-induced models due to their reliability and reproducible kinetics. These models have established a crucial role for innate and adaptive immune cells that follow a temporally regulated response that begins with a proinflammatory response that is subsequently replaced by a regulatory type 2 immune response to facilitate tissue repair and restore homeostasis. Inflammation is a crucial first response to cell damage that is modulated by the response of innate lymphoid cells and tissue resident regulatory T cells. In this review we examine the process of exercise induced muscle damage to provide comparisons of how this may follow a similar coordinated response as that mediated by toxin induced damage

Preferential mobilization and egress of Type 1 and Type 3 innate lymphocytes in response to exercise and hypoxia

The study examined the effect of exercise and hypoxia on the mobilization and egress of innate lymphocytes (ILCs) and adaptive T cell populations in the blood. The ILCs have emerged as a critical population of cells in immune regulation at mucosal surfaces in animals and humans. Eleven healthy male subjects performed (i) 45 min of exercise at 50% VO2 peak on a cycle ergometer under normoxia and (ii) hypoxia, or (iii) while resting in hypoxia. Blood samples were obtained pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise and 60 min post-exercise and were analyzed by flow cytometry to examine the type 1 and type 3 ILCs and CD4+ and CD8+ naive and memory cell populations. There was a significant increase in the number of type 1 (NK cells) and type 3 ILC22 cells in the blood in response to exercise under normal oxygen conditions followed by a significant egress of these cells following the cessation of exercise. Exercise performed under hypoxic conditions abrogated the mobilization response of NK cells and ILC22 cells. Type 3 LTi cells were mobilized into the blood only under hypoxic rest conditions. No significant changes were observed when we analysed total CD4+ and CD8+T cell populations or the naive and memory subsets. This study highlights that distinct innate populations are mobilised under different environmental conditions and types of stress

Breaking down the barriers: Strength training in long distance triathletes

INTRODUCTION: Long distance triathletes complete large endurance training volumes with approximately half reporting to including some form of strength training (ST) in their program. However, the characteristics of this ST is currently unknown. Despite not all triathletes incorporating ST, research indicates that the completion of concurrent strength and endurance training in runners, cyclists and short course triathletes can significantly improve cycling and running economy and potentially reduce injury occurrence, likely resulting in performance improvements. Previous research has hypothesised barriers to ST in endurance athletes, however there is no empirical evidence to support such hypotheses. Therefore the primary aims of this investigation were to identify perceived barriers towards the completion of ST in long distance triathletes and ST characteristics. It was hypothesised that long distance triathletes would report limited time available for ST and fear of hypertrophy limiting their endurance performance as primary barriers to ST completion

On Cutting Temperature Measurement During Titanium Machining With an Atomization-Based Cutting Fluid Spray System

The poor thermal conductivity and low elongation-to-break ratio of titanium lead to the development of extreme temperatures (in excess of 550 C) localized in the tool-chip interface during machining of its alloys. At such temperature level, titanium becomes highly reactive with most tool materials resulting in accelerated tool wear. The atomization-based cutting fluid (ACF) spray system has recently been demonstrated to improve tool life in titanium machining due to good cutting fluid penetration causing the temperature to be reduced in the cutting zone. In this study, the cutting temperatures are measured both by inserting thermocouples at various locations of the tool-chip interface and the tool-work thermocouple technique. Cutting temperatures for dry machining and machining with flood cooling are also characterized for comparison with the ACF spray system temperature data. Findings reveal that the ACF spray system more effectively reduces cutting temperatures over flood cooling and dry conditions. The tool-chip friction coefficient indicates that the fluid film created by the ACF spray system also actively penetrates the tool-chip interface to enhance lubrication during titanium machining

Overexpression and knock-down studies highlight that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 28 controls proliferation and migration in human prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers inmen. It is critical to identify and characterize oncogenes that drive the pathogenesis of human prostate cancer. The current study builds upon previous research showing that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM)28 is involved in the pathogenesis of numerous cancers. Our novel study used overexpression, pharmacological, and molecular approaches to investigate the biological function of ADAM28 in human prostate cancer cells,with a focus on cell proliferation andmigration. The results of this study provide important insights into the role of metalloproteinases in human prostate cancer. The expression of ADAM28 protein levels was assessed within human prostate tumors and normal adjacent tissue by immunohistochemistry. Immunocytochemistry and western blotting were used to assess ADAM28 protein expression in human prostate cancer cell lines. Functional assays were conducted to assess proliferation and migration in human prostate cancer cells in which ADAM28 protein expression or activity had been altered by overexpression, pharmacological inhibition, or by siRNA gene knockdown. The membrane bound ADAM28 was increased in human tumor biopsies and prostate cancer cell lines. Pharmacological inhibition of ADAM28 activity and/or knockdown of ADAM28 significantly reduced proliferation and migration of human prostate cancer cells, while overexpression of ADAM28 significantly increased proliferation and migration. ADAM28 is overexpressed in primary human prostate tumor biopsies, and it promotes human prostate cancer cell proliferation and migration. This study supports the notion that inhibition of ADAM28 may be a potential novel therapeutic strategy for human prostate cancer. Abbreviations: ADAM = a disintegrin and metalloproteinase, CTGF = connective tissue growth factor, DHT = dihydrotestosterone, IGF = insulin-like growth factor, IGFBP-3 = IGF binding protein-3, IL-6 = interleukin 6, RPMI = Roswell Park Memorial Institute, VEGF = vascular endothelial growth factor, VWF = von Willebrand factor

A Comparative Structural Bioinformatics Analysis of the Insulin Receptor Family Ectodomain Based on Phylogenetic Information

The insulin receptor (IR), the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) and the insulin receptor-related receptor (IRR) are covalently-linked homodimers made up of several structural domains. The molecular mechanism of ligand binding to the ectodomain of these receptors and the resulting activation of their tyrosine kinase domain is still not well understood. We have carried out an amino acid residue conservation analysis in order to reconstruct the phylogeny of the IR Family. We have confirmed the location of ligand binding site 1 of the IGF1R and IR. Importantly, we have also predicted the likely location of the insulin binding site 2 on the surface of the fibronectin type III domains of the IR. An evolutionary conserved surface on the second leucine-rich domain that may interact with the ligand could not be detected. We suggest a possible mechanical trigger of the activation of the IR that involves a slight ‘twist’ rotation of the last two fibronectin type III domains in order to face the likely location of insulin. Finally, a strong selective pressure was found amongst the IRR orthologous sequences, suggesting that this orphan receptor has a yet unknown physiological role which may be conserved from amphibians to mammals