Tapering practices of New Zealand’s elite raw powerlifters

The major aim of this study was to determine tapering strategies of elite powerlifters. Eleven New Zealand powerlifters (28.4 ± 7.0 years, best Wilks score of 431.9 ± 43.9 points) classified as elite were interviewed, using semi-structured interviews, about their tapering strategies. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and content analyzed. Total training volume peaked 5.2 ± 1.7 weeks from competition while average training intensity (of 1RM) peaked 1.9 ± 0.8 weeks from competition. During tapering volume was reduced by 58.9 ± 8.4% while intensity was maintained (or slightly reduced) and the final weight training session was performed 3.7 ± 1.6 days out from competition. Participants generally stated that tapering was performed to achieve full recovery; that accessory work was removed around two weeks out from competition; and, deadlifting takes longer to recover from than other lifts. Typically participants stated that trial and error, and changes based on ‘feel’ were the sources of tapering strategies; equipment used and movements performed during tapering are the same as in competition; nutrition was manipulated during the taper (for weight cutting and/or performance aims); and, poor tapering occurred when too long (one week or more) was taken off training. These results suggest that athletes may benefit from continuing to strength train prior to important events with reduced volume and maintained intensity. Only exercises that directly assist sports performance should remain in the strength program during tapering, to assist with reductions in fatigue while maintaining/improving strength expression and performance

A signature of dynamic biogeography: enclaves indicate past species replacement

Understanding how species have replaced each other in the past is important to predicting future species turnover. While past species replacement is difficult to detect after the fact, the process may be inferred from present-day distribution patterns. Species with abutting ranges sometimes show a characteristic distribution pattern, where a section of one species range is enveloped by that of the other. Such an enclave could indicate past species replacement: when a species is partly supplanted by a competitor, but a population endures locally while the invading species moves around and past it, an enclave forms. If the two species hybridize and backcross, the receding species is predicted to leave genetic traces within the expanding one under a scenario of species replacement. By screening dozens of genes in hybridizing crested newts, we uncover genetic remnants of the ancestral species, now inhabiting an enclave, in the range of the surrounding invading species. This independent genetic evidence supports the past distribution dynamics we predicted from the enclave. We suggest that enclaves provide a valuable tool in understanding historical species replacement, which is important because a major conservation concern arising from anthropogenic climate change is increased species replacement in the future

Identification of paediatric cancer patients with poor quality of life

The primary objective was to describe predictors of physical, emotional and social quality of life (QoL) in children receiving active treatment for cancer. This Canadian multi-institutional cross-sectional study included children with cancer receiving any type of active treatment. The primary caregiver provided information on child physical, emotional and social QoL according to the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core scales. Between November 2004 and February 2007, 376 families provided the data. In multiple regression, children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia had better physical health (OR: 0.37, 95% CI 0.23, 0.60; P<0.0001) while intensive chemotherapy treatment (OR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.42, 3.85; P=0.0008) and having a sibling with a chronic condition (OR: 2.53, 95% CI: 1.54, 4.15; P=0.0002) were associated with poor physical QoL. Better emotional health was associated with good prognosis, less intensive chemotherapy treatment and greater household savings, whereas female children and those with a sibling with a chronic condition had poor social QoL. Physical, emotional and social QoL are influenced by demographic, diagnostic and treatment variables. Sibling and household characteristics are associated with QoL. This information will help to identify children at higher risk of poor QoL during treatment for cancer

What can we learn from geographical comparisons of childhood cancer survival?

With improvements in treatment for childhood cancer, comparisons of survival rates between countries have become important to inform future health policies and treatment strategies. Population-based cancer registry data are viewed as the gold standard for such comparisons, but even these have potential confounding factors. Here, we review the interpretation of recent geographical comparisons of childhood cancer survival from the viewpoint of the British Isles, a region with a 45-year record of national population-based cancer registration and a national childhood cancer clinical trials organisation in place for nearly 30 years. Using national data on referral patterns to tertiary paediatric oncology centres, we explore some of the reasons for lower survival rates in the past for some tumour groups and anticipate continued improvement in the next decade. Participation in international clinical trials coincided with rapid gains in survival for hepatoblastoma. This exemplifies the potential benefits of international collaborative clinical research, particularly for rare subgroups

Neurospora from natural populations: Population genomics insights into the Life history of a model microbial Eukaryote

The ascomycete filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa played a historic role in experimental biology and became a model system for genetic research. Stimulated by a systematic effort to collect wild strains initiated by Stanford geneticist David Perkins, the genus Neurospora has also become a basic model for the study of evolutionary processes, speciation, and population biology. In this chapter, we will first trace the history that brought Neurospora into the era of population genomics. We will then cover the major contributions of population genomic investigations using Neurospora to our understanding of microbial biogeography and speciation, and review recent work using population genomics and genome-wide association mapping that illustrates the unique potential of Neurospora as a model for identifying the genetic basis of (potentially adaptive) phenotypes in filamentous fungi. The advent of population genomics has contributed to firmly establish Neurospora as a complete model system and we hope our review will entice biologists to include Neurospora in their research

Measuring Fluorescent Dye in the Bubbly and Sediment-Laden Surfzone

Decisions about recreational beach closures would be enhanced if better estimates of surfzone contaminant transport and dilution were available. In situ methods for measuring fluorescent Rhodamine WT dye tracer in the surfzone are presented, increasing the temporal and spatial resolution over previous surfzone techniques. Bubbles and sand suspended by breaking waves in the surfzone interfere with in situ optical fluorometer dye measurements, increasing the lower bound for dye detection (≈ 1 ppb) and reducing (quenching) measured dye concentrations. Simultaneous turbidity measurements are used to estimate the level of bubble and sand interference and correct dye estimates. After correction, root-mean-square dye concentration errors are estimated to be < 5% of dye concentration magnitude, thus demonstrating the viability of in situ surfzone fluorescent dye measurements. The surfzone techniques developed here may be applicable to other environments with high bubble and sand concentrations (e.g., cascading rivers and streams)

Quantifying vertical mixing in estuaries

© 2008 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License. The definitive version was published in Environmental Fluid Mechanics 8 (2008): 495-509, doi:10.1007/s10652-008-9107-2.Estuarine turbulence is notable in that both the dissipation rate and the buoyancy frequency extend to much higher values than in other natural environments. The high dissipation rates lead to a distinct inertial subrange in the velocity and scalar spectra, which can be exploited for quantifying the turbulence quantities. However, high buoyancy frequencies lead to small Ozmidov scales, which require high sampling rates and small spatial aperture to resolve the turbulent fluxes. A set of observations in a highly stratified estuary demonstrate the effectiveness of a vessel-mounted turbulence array for resolving turbulent processes, and for relating the turbulence to the forcing by the Reynolds-averaged flow. The observations focus on the ebb, when most of the buoyancy flux occurs. Three stages of mixing are observed: (1) intermittent and localized but intense shear instability during the early ebb; (2) continuous and relatively homogeneous shear-induced mixing during the mid-ebb, and weakly stratified, boundary-layer mixing during the late ebb. The mixing efficiency as quantified by the flux Richardson number Rf was frequently observed to be higher than the canonical value of 0.15 from Osborn (J Phys Oceanogr 10:83–89, 1980). The high efficiency may be linked to the temporal–spatial evolution of shear instabilities.The funding for this research was obtained from ONR Grant N00014-06-1-0292 and NSF Grant OCE-0729547

A Comparison of Approaches to Estimate the Inbreeding Coefficient and Pairwise Relatedness Using Genomic and Pedigree Data in a Sheep Population

Genome-wide SNP data provide a powerful tool to estimate pairwise relatedness among individuals and individual inbreeding coefficient. The aim of this study was to compare methods for estimating the two parameters in a Finnsheep population based on genome-wide SNPs and genealogies, separately. This study included ninety-nine Finnsheep in Finland that differed in coat colours (white, black, brown, grey, and black/white spotted) and were from a large pedigree comprising 319 119 animals. All the individuals were genotyped with the Illumina Ovine SNP50K BeadChip by the International Sheep Genomics Consortium. We identified three genetic subpopulations that corresponded approximately with the coat colours (grey, white, and black and brown) of the sheep. We detected a significant subdivision among the colour types (FST = 5.4%, P<0.05). We applied robust algorithms for the genomic estimation of individual inbreeding (FSNP) and pairwise relatedness (ΦSNP) as implemented in the programs KING and PLINK, respectively. Estimates of the two parameters from pedigrees (FPED and ΦPED) were computed using the RelaX2 program. Values of the two parameters estimated from genomic and genealogical data were mostly consistent, in particular for the highly inbred animals (e.g. inbreeding coefficient F>0.0625) and pairs of closely related animals (e.g. the full- or half-sibs). Nevertheless, we also detected differences in the two parameters between the approaches, particularly with respect to the grey Finnsheep. This could be due to the smaller sample size and relative incompleteness of the pedigree for them

Palaeozoic giant dragonfies were hawker predators

The largest insects to have ever lived were the giant meganeurids of the Late Palaeozoic, ancient stem relatives of our modern dragonfies. With wingspans up to 71cm, these iconic insects have been the subject of varied documentaries on Palaeozoic life, depicting them as patrolling for prey through coal swamp forests amid giant lycopsids, and cordaites. Such reconstructions are speculative as few defnitive details of giant dragonfy biology are known. Most specimens of giant dragonfies are known from wings or isolated elements, but Meganeurites gracilipes preserves critical body structures, most notably those of the head. Here we show that it is unlikely it thrived in densely forested environments where its elongate wings would have become easily damaged. Instead, the species lived in more open habitats and possessed greatly enlarged compound eyes. These were dorsally hypertrophied, a specialization for long-distance vision above the animal in fight, a trait convergent with modern hawker dragonfies. Sturdy mandibles with acute teeth, strong spines on tibiae and tarsi, and a pronounced thoracic skewness are identical to those specializations used by dragonfies in capturing prey while in fight. The Palaeozoic Odonatoptera thus exhibited considerable morphological specializations associated with behaviours attributable to ‘hawkers’ or ‘perchers’ among extant Odonata.This work benefted from a grant of the French ‘Agence Nationale de la Recherche’ via the program ‘Investissements d’avenir’ (ANR-11-INBS-0004-RECOLNAT)JP and MP gratefully acknowledge research support from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic No. 18-03118 SThe work of MSE was supported by US National Science Foundation grant DEB-114416

Impacts of climate change on plant diseases – opinions and trends

There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases in the coming decades. This review addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods