COORDINATIVE PATTERNS BETWEEN CARVING TURN AND SKIDDING TURN DURING ALPINE SKIING

The purpose of this study was to investigate the coordinative patterns between segments and ski using the continuous relative phase (CRP) on anteroposterior and vertical axis during carving and skidding turn. Fourteen alpine ski instructors were participated in this study. Eight inertial measurement units were used to collect segment kinematic data. Each skier was asked to perform ten carving turns and ten skidding turns on the groomed 15° slope, respectively. CRP angles between all segments and ski were significantly increased during carving turn on the vertical axis. On the other hand, CRP angles between all segments and ski were significantly increased during skidding turn on anteroposterior axis. Therefore, skiers should perform the anti-phase movements of the lower spine-ski, pelvis-ski, thigh-ski and shank-ski on the vertical axis during the carving turn and the in-phase movements of the lower spine-ski, pelvis-ski, thigh-ski and shank-ski on the anteroposterior axis during skidding turn

Fabrication of Uniform Au–Carbon Nanofiber by Two-Step Low Temperature Decomposition

This paper presents a facile and efficient way to prepare carbon nanofibers ornamented with Au nanoparticles (Au/CNFs). Gold nanoparticles were first deposited in the channels of an anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane by thermal decomposition of HAuCl4and then carbon nanofibers were produced in the same channels loaded with the Au nanoparticles by decomposition of sucrose at 230 °C. An electron microscopy study revealed that the carbon nanofibers, ~10 nm thick and 6 μm long, were decorated with Au nanoparticles with a diameter of 10 nm. This synthetic route can produce uniform Au nanoparticles on CNF surfaces without using any additional chemicals to modify the AAO channels or the CNF surfaces

A deeply branching thermophilic bacterium with an ancient acetyl-CoA pathway dominates a subsurface ecosystem

<div><p>A nearly complete genome sequence of <em>Candidatus</em> ‘Acetothermum autotrophicum’, a presently uncultivated bacterium in candidate division OP1, was revealed by metagenomic analysis of a subsurface thermophilic microbial mat community. Phylogenetic analysis based on the concatenated sequences of proteins common among 367 prokaryotes suggests that <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ is one of the earliest diverging bacterial lineages. It possesses a folate-dependent Wood-Ljungdahl (acetyl-CoA) pathway of CO₂ fixation, is predicted to have an acetogenic lifestyle, and possesses the newly discovered archaeal-autotrophic type of bifunctional fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase/phosphatase. A phylogenetic analysis of the core gene cluster of the acethyl-CoA pathway, shared by acetogens, methanogens, some sulfur- and iron-reducers and dechlorinators, supports the hypothesis that the core gene cluster of <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ is a particularly ancient bacterial pathway. The habitat, physiology and phylogenetic position of <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ support the view that the first bacterial and archaeal lineages were H₂-dependent acetogens and methanogenes living in hydrothermal environments.</p> </div

Early response to antibiotic treatment in European patients hospitalized with complicated skin and soft tissue infections: analysis of the REACH study

Background: The treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTI) is challenging and many patients do not receive adequate first-line therapy. REACH (REtrospective Study to Assess the Clinical Management of Patients With Moderate-to-Severe cSSTI or Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Hospital Setting) was a retrospective observational study of cSSTI patients in real-life settings in European hospitals. In this analysis, we review characteristics and outcomes of patients with an early response (<= 72 hours) compared with those without an early response to treatment. We also compare the results according to two differing definitions of early response, one of which (Definition 1) requires resolution of fever within 72 hours, in line with previous US FDA guidelines. Methods: Patients were adults hospitalized with cSSTIs 2010-2011 and requiring treatment with intravenous antibiotics. Clinical management, clinical outcomes and healthcare resource use were assessed using a descriptive analysis approach. Results: The analysis set included 600 patients, of which 363 showed early response with Definition 1 and 417 with Definition 2. Initial treatment modification was frequent, and highest in patients without early response (48.1% with Definition 1). Patients without early response were more likely to have diabetes than those with early response (31.6% vs. 22.9%,respectively) and to suffer from more severe disease (e.g. skin necrosis: 14.8% and 7.7%,respectively), to be infected with difficult-to-treat microorganisms and to have recurrent infections. Furthermore, patients without early response had a higher rate of adverse clinical outcomes (e.g. septic shock) and higher use of healthcare resources. The results obtained with the two definitions for early response were largely similar. Conclusions: This study highlights the significance of early evaluation of patients in hospitals, in potentially preventing prolonged use of inappropriate or ineffective antibacterial therapy

Spatial Functional Characteristics of East Asian Patients with Occult Macular Dystrophy (Miyake disease); EAOMD Report No.2

PURPOSE: To describe the functional phenotypic features of East Asian patients with RP1L1-associated occult macular dystrophy (i.e., Miyake disease). DESIGN: An international multi-center retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Twenty-eight participants (53 eyes) with Miyake disease were enrolled at three centres: in Japan, China, and Korea. Ophthalmological examinations including spectral-domain optic coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) were performed. Patients were classified into three functional groups based on mfERG: Group 1, paracentral dysfunction with relatively preserved central/peripheral function; Group 2, homogeneous central dysfunction with preserved peripheral function; and Group 3, widespread dysfunction over the recorded area. Three functional phenotypes were compared in clinical parameters and SD-OCT morphological classification (severe phenotype, blurred/flat ellipsoid zone and absence of the interdigitation zone; mild phenotype, preserved ellipsoid zone). RESULTS: There were eight eyes in Group 1, 40 eyes in Group 2, and five eyes in Group 3. The patients in Group 1 showed significantly later onset (P=.005) and shorter disease duration (P=.002), compared with those in Group 2. All eight eyes in Group 1 showed the mild morphological phenotype, while 43/45 eyes in Groups 2 and 3 presented the severe phenotype, which identified a significant association between the functional grouping and the morphological classification (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: A spectrum of functional phenotypes of Miyake disease was first documented with identifying three functional subtypes. Patients with paracentral dysfunction had the mildest phenotype, and those with homogeneous central or widespread dysfunction showed overlapping clinical findings with severe photoreceptor changes, suggesting various extents of visual impairment

π+\pi^+ photoproduction on the proton for photon energies from 0.725 to 2.875 GeV

Differential cross sections for the reaction $\gamma p \to n \pi^+$ have been measured with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) and a tagged photon beam with energies from 0.725 to 2.875 GeV. Where available, the results obtained here compare well with previously published results for the reaction. Agreement with the SAID and MAID analyses is found below 1 GeV. The present set of cross sections has been incorporated into the SAID database, and exploratory fits have been made up to 2.7 GeV. Resonance couplings have been extracted and compared to previous determinations. With the addition of these cross sections to the world data set, significant changes have occurred in the high-energy behavior of the SAID cross-section predictions and amplitudes.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure

Differential cross sections and spin density matrix elements for the reaction gamma p -> p omega

High-statistics differential cross sections and spin density matrix elements for the reaction gamma p -> p omega have been measured using the CLAS at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass (CM) energies from threshold up to 2.84 GeV. Results are reported in 112 10-MeV wide CM energy bins, each subdivided into cos(theta_CM) bins of width 0.1. These are the most precise and extensive omega photoproduction measurements to date. A number of prominent structures are clearly present in the data. Many of these have not previously been observed due to limited statistics in earlier measurements