Simple Bodyweight Training Improves Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Minimal Time Commitment: A Contemporary Application of the 5BX Approach

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(3): 93-100, 2021. Bodyweight training (BWT) is a style of interval exercise based on classic principles of physical education. Limited research, however, has examined the efficacy of BWT on cardiorespiratory fitness. This is especially true for simple BWT protocols that do not require extraordinarily high levels of effort. We examined the effect of a BWT protocol, modelled after the original “Five Basic Exercises” (5BX) plan, on peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in healthy, inactive adults (20 ± 1 y; body mass index: 20 ± 5 kg/m2; mean ± SD). Participants were randomized to a training group that performed 18 sessions over six weeks (n=9), or a non-training control group (n = 10). The 11-minute session involved five exercises (burpees, high knees, split squat jumps, high knees, squat jumps), each performed for 60-seconds at a self-selected “challenging” pace, interspersed with active recovery periods (walking). Mean intensity during training was 82 ± 5% of maximal heart rate, rating of perceived exertion was 14 ± 3 out of 20, and compliance was 100%. ANCOVA revealed a significant difference between groups after the intervention, such that VO2peak was higher in the training group compared to control (34.2 ± 6.4 vs 30.3 ± 11.1 ml/kg/min; p = 0.03). Peak power output during the VO2peak test was also higher after training compared to control (211 ± 43 vs 191 ±50 W, p = 0.004). There were no changes in leg muscular endurance, handgrip strength or vertical jump height in either group. We conclude that simple BWT— requiring minimal time commitment and no specialized equipment — can enhance cardiorespiratory fitness in inactive adults. These findings have relevance for individuals seeking practical, time-efficient approaches to exercise

CHEMICAL CONTROL OF DEPREDATING BLACKBIRDS IN ONTARIO FIELD CORN

Corn depredation by red·winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) has been an agricultural problem in southwestern Ontario for many years. Large marsh areas along the shoreline of Lakes Erie and St. Clair provide ideal habitat for breeding and roosting. Concurrently, the vast monocultural field corn acreages in Kent and Essex Counties have over the years been the centers for blackbird depredation in the province. The expansion of corn production into other areas of Ontario has, however, resulted in a province·wide distribution of damage, and substantial crop losses for specific individual farmers (Tyler and Kannenberg, 1980). The Ontario Ministry of the Environment (OME) provided funding for a four·year research program on the importance, ecology and control of blackbirds in 1976 following mounting concern by Ontario corn producers. Dyer (1968) completed a major study on red-winged blackbirds in Dover Township, Kent County during the period 1964-68; however, the evaluation of 4-AP efficacy was a minor component of the project (Dyer, 1976). Thus, the OME required efficacy data on 4-AP for current Ontario conditions for registration purposes, regardless of the 1972 registration in the U.S.A. Methiocarb (3,5-dimethyl-4(methylthio) phenol methylcarbamate) (Mesurol®, Mobay Chemical Corp.) was also a candidate compound because of the known taste aversion properties (Rcigers, 1974; Crase and Dehaven, 1976). Again, the OME required data on the efficacy of methiocarb as a bird repellent in ripening field corn. Research on the potential for lethal roost control was an initial objective; however, this component of chemical control was not pursued. Conversely, lethal control at foraging sites was not an initial objective, however, ecological studies completed (Somers et aI., 1981b) suggested that the use of toxicants in a corn field may have potential. Pilot studies using Starlicide® (Ralston-Purina Co.) and a-chloralose at foraging sites were completed to evaluate this hypothesis

Ecology and Management of Depredating Blackbirds in Ontario Field Corn

Blackbird damage to field corn in southwestern Ontario has been a problem for farmers for many years (Whitney 1954; Dyer 1968). Historically, Kent and Essex counties were the major corn-growing regions in Ontario, and the most significant centers of corn depredation by blackbirds were in these counties. However, the development of new short-season cultivars has afforded the expansion of field corn production and corn depredation problems throughout southern Ontario. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment (OME) provided funding commencing in 1976 in response to these increased instances of corn depredation for a 4-year research program on the importance, ecology and control of blackbirds

GSE statistics without spin

Energy levels statistics following the Gaussian Symplectic Ensemble (GSE) of Random Matrix Theory have been predicted theoretically and observed numerically in numerous quantum chaotic systems. However in all these systems there has been one unifying feature: the combination of half-integer spin and time-reversal invariance. Here we provide an alternative mechanism for obtaining GSE statistics that is based on geometric symmetries of a quantum system which alleviates the need for spin. As an example, we construct a quantum graph with a particular discrete symmetry given by the quaternion group Q8. GSE statistics is then observed within one of its subspectra.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Robust Chauvenet Outlier Rejection

Sigma clipping is commonly used in astronomy for outlier rejection, but the number of standard deviations beyond which one should clip data from a sample ultimately depends on the size of the sample. Chauvenet rejection is one of the oldest, and simplest, ways to account for this, but, like sigma clipping, depends on the sample's mean and standard deviation, neither of which are robust quantities: Both are easily contaminated by the very outliers they are being used to reject. Many, more robust measures of central tendency, and of sample deviation, exist, but each has a tradeoff with precision. Here, we demonstrate that outlier rejection can be both very robust and very precise if decreasingly robust but increasingly precise techniques are applied in sequence. To this end, we present a variation on Chauvenet rejection that we call "robust" Chauvenet rejection (RCR), which uses three decreasingly robust/increasingly precise measures of central tendency, and four decreasingly robust/increasingly precise measures of sample deviation. We show this sequential approach to be very effective for a wide variety of contaminant types, even when a significant -- even dominant -- fraction of the sample is contaminated, and especially when the contaminants are strong. Furthermore, we have developed a bulk-rejection variant, to significantly decrease computing times, and RCR can be applied both to weighted data, and when fitting parameterized models to data. We present aperture photometry in a contaminated, crowded field as an example. RCR may be used by anyone at https://skynet.unc.edu/rcr, and source code is available there as well.Comment: 62 pages, 48 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

Recognizing Intimate Partner Violence in Primary Care: Western Cape, South Africa

Introduction: Interpersonal violence in South Africa is the second highest contributor to the burden of disease after HIV/ AIDS and 62 % is estimated to be from intimate partner violence (IPV). This study aimed to evaluate how women experiencing IPV present in primary care, how often IPV is recognized by health care practitioners and what other diagnoses are made. Methods: At two urban and three rural community health centres, health practitioners were trained to screen all women fo

Propulsion System Choices and Their Implications

In defining a space vehicle architecture, the propulsion system and related subsystem choices will have a major influence on achieving the goals and objectives desired. There are many alternatives and the choices made must produce a system that meets the performance requirements, but at the same time also provide the greatest opportunity of reaching all of the required objectives. Recognizing the above, the SPST Functional Requirements subteam has drawn on the knowledge, expertise, and experience of its members, to develop insight that wiIJ effectively aid the architectural concept developer in making the appropriate choices consistent with the architecture goals. This data not only identifies many selected choices, but also, more importantly, presents the collective assessment of this subteam on the "pros" and the "cons" of these choices. The propulsion system choices with their pros and cons are presented in five major groups. A. System Integration Approach. Focused on the requirement for safety, reliability, dependability, maintainability, and low cost. B. Non-Chemical Propulsion. Focused on choice of propulsion type. C. Chemical Propulsion. Focused on propellant choice implications. D. Functional Integration. Focused on the degree of integration of the many propulsive and closely associated functions, and on the choice of the engine combustion power cycle. E. Thermal Management. Focused on propellant tank insulation and integration. Each of these groups is further broken down into subgroups, and at that level the consensus pros and cons are presented. The intended use of this paper is to provide a resource of focused material for architectural concept developers to use in designing new advanced systems including college design classes. It is also a possible source of input material for developing a model for designing and analyzing advanced concepts to help identify focused technology needs and their priorities

Right coronary artery—Pulmonary artery arteriovenous fistula secondary to open heart surgery

A patient is described who underwent atrial septal defect repair at age 12 and presented 16 years later with angina. Coronary angiography revealed a right coronary artery to pulmonary artery fistula that had developed at the site of the previous thoracotomy. This is the first report of an acquired fistula of this type developing secondary to trauma associated with open heart surgery. Diagnosis, shunt quantification and treatment are discussed

Finite pseudo orbit expansions for spectral quantities of quantum graphs

We investigate spectral quantities of quantum graphs by expanding them as sums over pseudo orbits, sets of periodic orbits. Only a finite collection of pseudo orbits which are irreducible and where the total number of bonds is less than or equal to the number of bonds of the graph appear, analogous to a cut off at half the Heisenberg time. The calculation simplifies previous approaches to pseudo orbit expansions on graphs. We formulate coefficients of the characteristic polynomial and derive a secular equation in terms of the irreducible pseudo orbits. From the secular equation, whose roots provide the graph spectrum, the zeta function is derived using the argument principle. The spectral zeta function enables quantities, such as the spectral determinant and vacuum energy, to be obtained directly as finite expansions over the set of short irreducible pseudo orbits.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures, typos corrected, references added, vacuum energy calculation expande

Chaotic maps and flows: Exact Riemann-Siegel lookalike for spectral fluctuations

To treat the spectral statistics of quantum maps and flows that are fully chaotic classically, we use the rigorous Riemann-Siegel lookalike available for the spectral determinant of unitary time evolution operators $F$. Concentrating on dynamics without time reversal invariance we get the exact two-point correlator of the spectral density for finite dimension $N$ of the matrix representative of $F$, as phenomenologically given by random matrix theory. In the limit $N\to\infty$ the correlator of the Gaussian unitary ensemble is recovered. Previously conjectured cancellations of contributions of pseudo-orbits with periods beyond half the Heisenberg time are shown to be implied by the Riemann-Siegel lookalike