THE APPLICATION OF DETREMDED FLUCTUATION ANALYSIS IN RUNNING AND ITS INTEGRATION INTO A REAL-TIME SYSTEM

Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) provides valuable information regarding both training and injury when applied to running time series. However, there is limited information when applied to recreational runners, or within a real-time environment. Firstly, DFA was applied to the stride time series of select training runs and competitive runs for recreational runners completing a half marathon and full marathon. Results indicate recreational runners maintain similar stride time dynamics in a half marathon, compared to training, however, stride time variability becomes increasingly deterministic during a marathon, compared to training. Secondly, we explore the implementation of DFA in a real-time system and provide evidence to support the use of DFA in running feedback

Crops in the woolbelt : current options and emerging prospects

It has traditionally been more profitable to grow sheep for wool in the medium rainfall parts of the south-west of Western Australia than to grow crops . Crop production has been difficult owing to the hilly terrain, the frequency of waterlogging, the high incidence of damaging frosts in some areas, the frequency of losses from diseases, difficulties with wet weather at harvest, and a lack of adapted crop varieties. Advances over the past decade have made cropping on a limited scale potentially profitable in the woo/belt. This article is intended to bring the various options for crop production to the attention of wool growers. Further detailed information will be required for successful production and is available from your local office of the Department of Agriculture

Family history of breast and ovarian cancer and triple negative subtype in hispanic/latina women.

Familial breast and ovarian cancer prevalence was assessed among 1150 women of Mexican descent enrolled in a case-only, binational breast cancer study. Logistic regression was conducted to compare odds of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) to non-TNBC according to family history of breast and breast or ovarian cancer among 914 of these women. Prevalence of breast cancer family history in a first- and first- or second-degree relative was 13.1% and 24.1%, respectively; that for breast or ovarian cancer in a first-degree relative was 14.9%. After adjustment for age and country of residence, women with a first-degree relative with breast cancer were more likely to be diagnosed with TNBC than non-TNBC (OR=1.98; 95% CI, 1.26-3.11). The odds of TNBC compared to non-TNBC were 1.93 (95% CI, 1.26-2.97) for women with a first-degree relative with breast or ovarian cancer. There were non-significant stronger associations between family history and TNBC among women diagnosed at age <50 compared to ≥50 years for breast cancer in a first-degree relative (P-interaction = 0.14) and a first- or second-degree relative (P-interaction = 0.07). Findings suggest that familial breast cancers are associated with triple negative subtype, possibly related to BRCA mutations in Hispanic/Latina women, which are strongly associated with TNBC. Family history is an important tool to identify Hispanic/Latina women who may be at increased risk of TNBC, and could benefit from prevention and early detection strategies

Exploiting algal NADPH oxidase for biophotovoltaic energy.

Photosynthetic microbes exhibit light-dependent electron export across the cell membrane, which can generate electricity in biological photovoltaic (BPV) devices. How electrons are exported remains to be determined; the identification of mechanisms would help selection or generation of photosynthetic microbes capable of enhanced electrical output. We show that plasma membrane NADPH oxidase activity is a significant component of light-dependent generation of electricity by the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. NADPH oxidases export electrons across the plasma membrane to form superoxide anion from oxygen. The C. reinhardtii mutant lacking the NADPH oxidase encoded by RBO1 is impaired in both extracellular superoxide anion production and current generation in a BPV device. Complementation with the wild-type gene restores both capacities, demonstrating the role of the enzyme in electron export. Monitoring light-dependent extracellular superoxide production with a colorimetric assay is shown to be an effective way of screening for electrogenic potential of candidate algal strains. The results show that algal NADPH oxidases are important for superoxide anion production and open avenues for optimizing the biological component of these devices.We acknowledge the UK EPSRC, EnAlgae (European Regional Development Fund: INTERREG IVB NEW programme) and the US Department of Energy for funding. I.K.B. was supported by a training grant from the National Institutes of Health (T32ES015457). Work in the Merchant laboratory was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (grant no. DE–FC02– 02ER63421).This is the final published version. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pbi.1233

Unravelling the molecular control of calvarial suture fusion in children with craniosynostosis

Craniosynostosis, the premature fusion of calvarial sutures, is a common craniofacial abnormality. Causative mutations in more than 10 genes have been identified, involving fibroblast growth factor, transforming growth factor beta, and Eph/ephrin signalling pathways. Mutations affect each human calvarial suture (coronal, sagittal, metopic, and lambdoid) differently, suggesting different gene expression patterns exist in each human suture. To better understand the molecular control of human suture morphogenesis we used microarray analysis to identify genes differentially expressed during suture fusion in children with craniosynostosis. Expression differences were also analysed between each unfused suture type, between sutures from syndromic and non-syndromic craniosynostosis patients, and between unfused sutures from individuals with and without craniosynostosis.Anna K Coussens, Christopher R Wilkinson, Ian P Hughes, C Phillip Morris, Angela van Daal, Peter J Anderson and Barry C Powel

Self-reported current sleep behaviors of adult athletes from different competitive levels and sports

Objectives: To quantify self-reported current sleep behaviors in a range of adult athletes. In addition, to determine any differences in sleep duration and sleep quality, depending on sport type and competitive level. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 313 athletes (243 male, 70 female), competing in a variety of sports and competitive level, completed the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and a questionnaire which captured current sleep behaviors. Sleep quality was calculated using the global PSQI score (≥ 5 indicative of poor sleep quality). Results: On average, athletes self-reported sleep duration was 7:34 ± 1:00 h:min. Overall, 19% of athletes achieved less than 7 h of sleep, 50% achieved less than 8 h. Global PSQI score was 5.0 ± 2.4, with poor sleep quality found in 55% of athletes. Sleep duration was significantly shorter in runners compared to basketball, soccer and rugby players (p < 0.05). Recreational athletes slept significantly less (7:08 ± 0:54 h:min) than competitive (7:32 ± 1:00 h:min), national (7:50 ± 1:00 h:min) and elite level athletes (7:49 ± 0:51 h:min). No differences in sleep quality were found between sport or competitive level. Discussion: Half of the athletes failed to achieve 8 h of sleep per night and the majority reported compromised sleep quality. Sport type and competitive level may influence sleep duration; however, these factors do not seem to cause discrepancies in sleep quality. This study provides novel data into the sleep behaviors of adult athletes, and suggests strategies to improve sleep duration and quality may be warranted

Responses of the soil microbial community to nitrogen fertilizer regimes and historical exposure to extreme weather events : flooding or prolonged-drought

Extreme weather events, including flooding and prolonged-drought, may establish long-lasting effects on soil biotic and abiotic properties, thus influencing ecosystem functions including primary productivity in subsequent years. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer addition often improves soil fertility, thereby potentially alleviating legacy effects on soil function and plant productivity. The soil microbial community plays a central role in mediating soil functioning; however, little is known about the legacy impacts of extreme weather events and N fertilizer addition on soil bacterial communities and the key processes involved in carbon (C) cycling. Here, the potential legacy effects of waterlogging, prolonged-drought and N fertilizer addition (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg N/ha) on soil bacteria and microbial respiration were investigated. The abundance, diversity and composition of the bacterial community, and basal and induced-respiration rates, in a farming soil system were examined, using quantitative PCR, high-throughput DNA sequencing, and MicroResp™. Soils previously exposed to short-term waterlogging events and prolonged-drought (by air-drying for 4 months) were used in our study. Prolonged drought, but not waterlogging, had a strong legacy effect on the soil bacterial community and microbial respiration. The addition of N fertilizer up to 300 kg N/ha could not fully counteract the legacy effects of prolonged-drought on soil bacteria. However, N addition did increase bacterial abundance and diversity, and inhibited soil microbial respiration. Significant correlations between microbial respiration and bacterial community structure were observed, but N addition weakened these relationships. Our results suggest that the resilience (rate of recovery) of soil bacterial communities and functions to prolonged-drought is limited in farming systems, and therefore, may take a long time to recover completely. Subsequently, this should be explicitly considered when developing adaptation strategies to alleviate the impacts of extreme weather events

Symbiotic status alters fungal eco-evolutionary offspring trajectories

Despite host-fungal symbiotic interactions being ubiquitous in all ecosystems, understanding how symbiosis has shaped the ecology and evolution of fungal spores that are involved in dispersal and colonization of their hosts has been ignored in life-history studies. We assembled a spore morphology database covering over 26,000 species of free-living to symbiotic fungi of plants, insects and humans and found more than eight orders of variation in spore size. Evolutionary transitions in symbiotic status correlated with shifts in spore size, but the strength of this effect varied widely among phyla. Symbiotic status explained more variation than climatic variables in the current distribution of spore sizes of plant-associated fungi at a global scale while the dispersal potential of their spores is more restricted compared to free-living fungi. Our work advances life-history theory by highlighting how the interaction between symbiosis and offspring morphology shapes the reproductive and dispersal strategies among living forms

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 3.0

[1] The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) released its first gridded bathymetric compilation in 1999. The IBCAO bathymetric portrayals have since supported a wide range of Arctic science activities, for example, by providing constraint for ocean circulation models and the means to define and formulate hypotheses about the geologic origin of Arctic undersea features. IBCAO Version 3.0 represents the largest improvement since 1999 taking advantage of new data sets collected by the circum-Arctic nations, opportunistic data collected from fishing vessels, data acquired from US Navy submarines and from research ships of various nations. Built using an improved gridding algorithm, this new grid is on a 500 meter spacing, revealing much greater details of the Arctic seafloor than IBCAO Version 1.0 (2.5 km) and Version 2.0 (2.0 km). The area covered by multibeam surveys has increased from ∼6% in Version 2.0 to ∼11% in Version 3.0