THE EFFECTS OF NEUROMUSCULAR TRAINING ON COUNTER-MOVEMENT JUMP PERFORMANCE IN HEALTHY YOUNG STUDENTS

Neuromuscular training (NT) programs are effective for improving measures of performance and used by athletes in all types of sports to increase sports performance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of NT on arm counter-movement jump (CMJ) performance in healthy young students. Thirteen healthy collegiate female students volunteered and underwent a series of NT exercise. The NT was performed for 50 minutes three times per week, for six weeks. Paired t-tests were used to analyze the differences in each parameter before and after training. The arm CMJ in explosive power, flight time, and jump height was statistically improved in post-training compared to pretraining. It is concluded that six weeks NT can improve the arm CMJ performance in young female students

Microstructure, magnetic and mechanical properties of Ni-Zn ferrites prepared by Powder Injection Moulding

Nowadays, the electronic industry demands small and complex parts as a consequence of the miniaturization of electronic devices. Powder injection moulding (PIM) is an emerging technique for the manufacturing of magnetic ceramics. In this paper, we analyze the sintering process, between 900 °C and 1300 °C, of Ni–Zn ferrites prepared by PIM. In particular, the densification behaviour, microstructure and mechanical properties of samples with toroidal and bar geometry were analyzed at different temperatures. Additionally, the magnetic behaviour (complex permeability and magnetic losses factor) of these compacts was compared with that of samples prepared by conventional powder compaction. Finally, the mechanical behaviour (elastic modulus, flexure strength and fracture toughness) was analyzed as a function of the powder loading of feedstock. The final microstructure of prepared samples was correlated with the macroscopic behaviour. A good agreement was established between the densities and population of defects found in the materials depending on the sintering conditions. In general, the final mechanical and magnetic properties of PIM samples were enhanced relative those obtained by uniaxial compaction

H-Ras oncogene counteracts the growth-inhibitory effect of genistein in T24 bladder carcinoma cells

Among eight human bladder cancer cell lines we examined, only T24 cells were resistant to the growth inhibition effect of genistein, an isoflavone and potent anticancer drug. Since the T24 cell line was the only cell line known to overexpress oncogenic H-Ras(val12), we investigated the role of H-Ras(val 12) in mediating drug resistance. Herein, we demonstrate that the phenotype of T24 cells could be dramatically reversed and became relatively susceptible to growth inhibition by genistein if the synthesis of H- Ras(val 12) or its downstream effector c-Fos had been suppressed. The inhibition of Ras-mediated signalling with protein kinase inhibitors, such as PD58059 and U0126 which inhibited MEK and ERK, in T24 cells also rendered the identical phenotypic reversion. However, this reversion was not observed when an inhibitor was used to suppress the protein phosphorylation function of PI3 K or PKC. These results suggest that the signal mediated by H-Ras(val 12) is predominantly responsible for the resistance of the cells to the anticancer drug genistein

EGFR L858R Mutation and Polymorphisms of Genes Related to Estrogen Biosynthesis and Metabolism in Never-Smoking Female Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients

Purpose: To assess whether polymorphisms of genes related to estrogen biosynthesis and metabolism are associated with EGFR mutations. Experimental Design: We studied 617 patients with lung adenocarcinoma, including 302 never-smoking women. On the basis of multiple candidate genes approach, the effects of polymorphisms of CYP17, CYP19A1, ER alpha, and COMT in association with the occurrence of EGFR mutations were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Results: In female never-smokers, significant associations with EGFR L858R mutation were found for the tetranucleotide (TTTA)(n) repeats in CYP19A1 (odds ratio, 2.6; 95%CI, 1.2-5.7 for 1 or 2 alleles with (TTTA)(n) repeats > 7 compared with both alleles with (TTTA) n repeats <= 7), and the rs2234693 in ERa (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1-4.0 for C/T and C/C genotypes compared with T/T genotype). The C/C genotype (vs. T/T genotype) of ERa was significantly associated with EGFR L858R mutation (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.1-8.1), in-frame deletion (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.1-7.6) and other mutations (OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.3-14.0). The genotype of COMT rs4680 was significantly associated with EGFR L858R mutation in female and male never-smokers showing OR's (95% CI) of 1.8 (1.0-3.2) and 3.6 (1.1-11.3), respectively, for genotypes G/A and G/G compared with genotype A/A. The number of risk alleles of CYP17, CYP19A1, ERa, and COMT was associated with an increasing OR of EGFR L858R mutation in female never-smokers (P = 0.0002 for trend). Conclusions: The L858R mutation of EGFR is associated with polymorphisms of genes related to estrogen biosynthesis and metabolism in never-smoking female lung adenocarcinoma patients. Clin Cancer Res; 17(8); 2149-58. (C) 2011 AACR

Single Spin Asymmetry ANA_N in Polarized Proton-Proton Elastic Scattering at s=200\sqrt{s}=200 GeV

We report a high precision measurement of the transverse single spin asymmetry $A_N$ at the center of mass energy $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV in elastic proton-proton scattering by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The $A_N$ was measured in the four-momentum transfer squared $t$ range $0.003 \leqslant |t| \leqslant 0.035$ \GeVcSq, the region of a significant interference between the electromagnetic and hadronic scattering amplitudes. The measured values of $A_N$ and its $t$-dependence are consistent with a vanishing hadronic spin-flip amplitude, thus providing strong constraints on the ratio of the single spin-flip to the non-flip amplitudes. Since the hadronic amplitude is dominated by the Pomeron amplitude at this $\sqrt{s}$, we conclude that this measurement addresses the question about the presence of a hadronic spin flip due to the Pomeron exchange in polarized proton-proton elastic scattering.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry and cross section for inclusive neutral pion production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

We report a measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL and the differential cross section for inclusive Pi0 production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The cross section was measured over a transverse momentum range of 1 < p_T < 17 GeV/c and found to be in good agreement with a next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculation. The longitudinal double-spin asymmetry was measured in the range of 3.7 < p_T < 11 GeV/c and excludes a maximal positive gluon polarization in the proton. The mean transverse momentum fraction of Pi0's in their parent jets was found to be around 0.7 for electromagnetically triggered events.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (RC

Partonic flow and ϕ\phi-meson production in Au+Au collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV

We present first measurements of the $\phi$-meson elliptic flow ($v_{2}(p_{T})$) and high statistics $p_{T}$ distributions for different centralities from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. In minimum bias collisions the $v_{2}$ of the $\phi$ meson is consistent with the trend observed for mesons. The ratio of the yields of the $\Omega$ to those of the $\phi$ as a function of transverse momentum is consistent with a model based on the recombination of thermal $s$ quarks up to $p_{T}\sim 4$ GeV/$c$, but disagrees at higher momenta. The nuclear modification factor ($R_{CP}$) of $\phi$ follows the trend observed in the $K^{0}_{S}$ mesons rather than in $\Lambda$ baryons, supporting baryon-meson scaling. Since $\phi$-mesons are made via coalescence of seemingly thermalized $s$ quarks in central Au+Au collisions, the observations imply hot and dense matter with partonic collectivity has been formed at RHIC.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submit to PR

High pTp_{T} non-photonic electron production in pp+pp collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 200 GeV

We present the measurement of non-photonic electron production at high transverse momentum ($p_T >$ 2.5 GeV/$c$) in $p$ + $p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV using data recorded during 2005 and 2008 by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The measured cross-sections from the two runs are consistent with each other despite a large difference in photonic background levels due to different detector configurations. We compare the measured non-photonic electron cross-sections with previously published RHIC data and pQCD calculations. Using the relative contributions of B and D mesons to non-photonic electrons, we determine the integrated cross sections of electrons ($\frac{e^++e^-}{2}$) at 3 GeV/$c < p_T <~$10 GeV/$c$ from bottom and charm meson decays to be ${d\sigma_{(B\to e)+(B\to D \to e)} \over dy_e}|_{y_e=0}$ = 4.0$\pm0.5$({\rm stat.})$\pm1.1$({\rm syst.}) nb and ${d\sigma_{D\to e} \over dy_e}|_{y_e=0}$ = 6.2$\pm0.7$({\rm stat.})$\pm1.5$({\rm syst.}) nb, respectively.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figure

Evolution of the differential transverse momentum correlation function with centrality in Au+Au collisions at sNN=200\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV

We present first measurements of the evolution of the differential transverse momentum correlation function, {\it C}, with collision centrality in Au+Au interactions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV. {\it C} exhibits a strong dependence on collision centrality that is qualitatively similar to that of number correlations previously reported. We use the observed longitudinal broadening of the near-side peak of {\it C} with increasing centrality to estimate the ratio of the shear viscosity to entropy density, $\eta/s$, of the matter formed in central Au+Au interactions. We obtain an upper limit estimate of $\eta/s$ that suggests that the produced medium has a small viscosity per unit entropy.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, STAR paper published in Phys. Lett.

Measurement of Transverse Single-Spin Asymmetries for Di-Jet Production in Proton-Proton Collisions at s=200\sqrt{s} = 200 GeV

We report the first measurement of the opening angle distribution between pairs of jets produced in high-energy collisions of transversely polarized protons. The measurement probes (Sivers) correlations between the transverse spin orientation of a proton and the transverse momentum directions of its partons. With both beams polarized, the wide pseudorapidity ($-1 \leq \eta \leq +2$) coverage for jets permits separation of Sivers functions for the valence and sea regions. The resulting asymmetries are all consistent with zero and considerably smaller than Sivers effects observed in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS). We discuss theoretical attempts to reconcile the new results with the sizable transverse spin effects seen in SIDIS and forward hadron production in pp collisions.Comment: 6 pages total, 1 Latex file, 3 PS files with figure