Self-optimization of Stride Length Among Experienced and Inexperienced Runners

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(3): 446-453, 2017. Experienced runners appear to naturally select a stride length which is optimal for minimizing oxygen uptake. However, whether this ability is naturally built into the human body or whether it is learned through experience has not been previously tested. This study investigated whether inexperienced runners are as capable as experienced runners of self-optimizing stride length to minimize oxygen uptake. Thirty-three subjects (nineteen experienced and fourteen inexperienced) ran for twenty-minutes while preferred and economical stride lengths were measured. A t-test checked for differences between the experienced and inexperienced groups in the percent increase of oxygen uptake due to not running at the most economical stride length. No difference was found between groups with the increase in oxygen uptake due to not being optimized (p=0.47). The average percent increase in oxygen uptake above the most economical for inexperienced and experienced runners was 1.8% and 1.2% respectively. We concluded that inexperienced and experienced runners are equally capable of matching preferred stride length to economical stride length, thus athletes and coaches do not need to alter runner’s stride length when economy is the main concern

A latest Cretaceous to earliest Paleogene dinoflagellate cyst zonation of Antarctica, and implications for phytoprovincialism in the high southern latitudes

The thickest uppermost Cretaceous to lowermost Paleogene (Maastrichtian to Danian) sedimentary succession in the world is exposed on southern Seymour Island (65° South) in the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula. This fossiliferous shallow marine sequence, which spans the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, has allowed a high-resolution analysis of well-preserved marine palynomorphs. Previous correlation of Cretaceous–Paleogene marine palynomorph assemblages in the south polar region relied on dinoflagellate cyst biozonations from New Zealand and southern Australia. The age model of the southern Seymour Island succession is refined and placed within the stratigraphical context of the mid to high southern palaeolatitudes. Quantitative palynological analysis of a new 1102 m continuous stratigraphical section comprising the uppermost Snow Hill Island Formation and the López de Bertodano Formation (Marambio Group) across southern Seymour Island was undertaken. We propose the first formal late Maastrichtian to early Danian dinoflagellate cyst zonation scheme for the Antarctic based on this exceptional succession. Two new late Maastrichtian zones, including three subzones, and one new early Danian zone are defined. The oldest beds correlate well with the late Maastrichtian of New Zealand. In a wider context, a new South Polar Province based on Maastrichtian to Danian dinoflagellate cysts is proposed, which excludes most southern South American marine palynofloras. This interpretation is supported by models of ocean currents around Antarctica and implies an unrestricted oceanic connection across Antarctica between southern South America and the Tasman Sea

The most relevant diagnostic criteria for developmental dysplasia of the hip: a study of British specialists.

BACKGROUND: Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is the most common orthopaedic disorder in newborns. Despite this considerable variation in practice exists. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical relevance and a ranking order for the diagnostic criteria in DDH amongst paediatric orthopaedic surgeons practicing in the UK. METHOD: One hundred members of the British Society of Children's Orthopaedic Surgery (BSCOS) were asked to rate the importance of 37 criteria useful in the diagnosis of DDH in newborns, using a 10 cm visual analogue scale. We determined the consistency among specialists in rating the criteria with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and compared the results to a group of international peers. RESULTS: Ortolani/Barlow tests, asymmetry in abduction ≥20° and a first-degree relative treated for DDH ranked among the top ten. Participants demonstrated poor consistency in rating the 37 criteria (ICC 0.39; 95% CI 0.29, 0.52), but for clinical examination criteria alone their consistency improved (ICC 0.52; 0.35, 0.75). The importance ratings of members of BSCOS and members of the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society differed for 15/37 (41%) criteria (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Members of BSCOS had a preference for criteria relating to clinical examination and ultrasound

Public Sector Expenditure to Agriculture, Bank Credits, and Aggregate Output: A Causality Analysis of the Nigerian Evidence

This paper investigates the existence or otherwise of causal relationships between direct budgetary government expenditure on agriculture, indirect government funding through credit guarantees, and straight-bank-loans-and-advances to the agricultural sector, on one part, and the gross domestic product of the economy, on the other. It utilized descriptive statistical tools, regression analysis, diagnostic tests, and pairwise Granger causality technique against annual time-series Nigerian data from 1981 through 2019. The results indicates that agricultural credit guaranteed funding and direct credits from such banks like bank of industry and the commercial banks positively and significantly cause, as in affecting and boosting, the country’s GDP. Quite surprisingly, direct government budgetary expenditure on agriculture was revealed to cause and affect GDP, but negatively. The recommendations favor encouraging and increasing the indirect guaranteed funding and straight loans and advances by relevant banks in the country

Heterogeneity in ess transcriptional organization and variable contribution of the Ess/Type VII protein secretion system to virulence across closely related <em>Staphylocccus aureus </em>strains

The Type VII protein secretion system, found in Gram-positive bacteria, secretes small proteins, containing a conserved W-x-G amino acid sequence motif, to the growth medium. Staphylococcus aureus has a conserved Type VII secretion system, termed Ess, which is dispensable for laboratory growth but required for virulence. In this study we show that there are unexpected differences in the organization of the ess gene cluster between closely related strains of S. aureus. We further show that in laboratory growth medium different strains of S. aureus secrete the EsxA and EsxC substrate proteins at different growth points, and that the Ess system in strain Newman is inactive under these conditions. Systematic deletion analysis in S. aureus RN6390 is consistent with the EsaA, EsaB, EssA, EssB, EssC and EsxA proteins comprising core components of the secretion machinery in this strain. Finally we demonstrate that the Ess secretion machinery of two S. aureus strains, RN6390 and COL, is important for nasal colonization and virulence in the murine lung pneumonia model. Surprisingly, however, the secretion system plays no role in the virulence of strain SA113 under the same conditions

Asperciones de permetrina microencapsulada para el control de la garrapata sureña del ganado, Boophilus microplus (Aeari:Ixodidae), infestando novillas lecheras Holstein en Santa Cruz, Islas Vírgenes Americanas

The effectiveness of two acaricides was evaluated for control of populations of the southern cattle tick, Boophilus microplus on dairy cattle in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Two different concentrations of a microencapsulated (ME) formulation of permethrin (0.05% and 0.10% ai) and one concentration of coumaphos emulsifiable concentrate (EC) (0.117% ai) were sprayed on Holstein heifers that had a natural infestation of ticks. The length of residual activity of EC coumaphos and ME permethrin at 0.05% (ai) was at least four days, and for ME permethrin at 0.10% ai at least seven days.There was no apparent increase in the residual activity period of ME permethrin in comparison to that in field trials of other formulations of permethrin against B. microplus. Percentage control for the three treatment groups from days 4 through 21 was ME permethrin (0.05% ai) 96%; ME permethrin (0.10% ai), 97%; coumaphos, 98.3%. There were no significant differences among the treatment groups (F = 2.21, df = 2,17, P&gt; 0.10). This research confirms the usefulness of permethrin as an alternative to coumaphos for control of B. microplus populations on cattle.Se evaluaron dos acaricidas por su efectividad para controlar las poblaciones de la garrapata sureña Boophilus microplus en ganado lechero en Santa Cruz, Islas Virgenes Americanas. Se asperjaron dos concentraciones diferentes de una formulación microencapsulada (ME) de permetrína (0.05 y 0.10% ia) y una concentración de coumaphos concentrado emulsificable (0,117% ia) sobre novillas Holstein que presentaban una infestación natural de garrapatas. La actividad residual del coumaphos y la permetrina ME (0.05% ia) fue por lo menos de cuatro días y la de permetrina ME (0.10% ia) fue de por lo menos siete días. El largo del periodo residual de la permetrina ME sobre el Boophilus microplus no aumentó en comparación con experimentos de campo con otras formulaciones de permetrinas. El porcentaje de control para los tres tratamientos desde los días 4 al 21 fue: permetrina ME (0.05% ia), 96%; permetrina ME (0,10% ia), 97%; coumaphos, 98.3%. Las diferencias entre las medias de los diferentes tratamientos no fueron significativas (F= 2.21; g.l. = 2,17, P&gt; 0.10). Esta investigación confirma que la permetrina es una alternativa para el control de B. microplus en poblaciones de ganado

The Global Health interactive Curricula Experience (iCE) Platform & App : Technology that Enables Inter-professional Innovation

Global Health Initiatives Committee (GHIC) Serves the Jefferson community as the premier point of engagement for students & faculty interested in medical and public health issues that transcend national boundaries Creates an institutional focus on preparing students for public service careers in population health and public policy at local, national, and global levels To enable all TJU faculty to: - Deliver global health education, in a friendly, interactive format - Does not require an expert to deliver - Can be used in very small or large pieces depending on your need

Advances in Gene Ontology Utilization Improve Statistical Power of Annotation Enrichment

Gene-annotation enrichment is a common method for utilizing ontology-based annotations in gene and gene-product centric knowledgebases. Effective utilization of these annotations requires inferring semantic linkages by tracing paths through edges in the ontological graph, referred to as relations. However, some relations are semantically problematic with respect to scope, necessitating their omission or modification lest erroneous term mappings occur. To address these issues, we created the Gene Ontology Categorization Suite, or GOcats—a novel tool that organizes the Gene Ontology into subgraphs representing user-defined concepts, while ensuring that all appropriate relations are congruent with respect to scoping semantics. Here, we demonstrate the improvements in annotation enrichment by re-interpreting edges that would otherwise be omitted by traditional ancestor path-tracing methods. Specifically, we show that GOcats’ unique handling of relations improves enrichment over conventional methods in the analysis of two different gene-expression datasets: a breast cancer microarray dataset and several horse cartilage development RNAseq datasets. With the breast cancer microarray dataset, we observed significant improvement (one-sided binomial test p-value = 1.86E-25) in 182 of 217 significantly enriched GO terms identified from the conventional path traversal method when GOcats’ path traversal was used. We also found new significantly enriched terms using GOcats, whose biological relevancy has been experimentally demonstrated elsewhere. Likewise, on the horse RNAseq datasets, we observed a significant improvement in GO term enrichment when using GOcat’s path traversal: one-sided binomial test p-values range from 1.32E-03 to 2.58E-44