Cruise Summary Report - MEDWAVES survey. MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS (MEDWAVES)

The MEDWAVES (MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS) cruise targeted areas under the potential influence of the MOW within the Mediterranean and Atlantic realms. These include seamounts where Cold-water corals (CWCs) have been reported but that are still poorly known, and which may act as essential “stepping stones” connecting fauna of seamounts in the Mediterranean with those of the continental shelf of Portugal, the Azores and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. During MEDWAVES sampling has been conducted in two of the case studies of ATLAS: Case study 7 (Gulf of Cádiz-Strait of Gibraltar-Alboran Sea) and Case study 8 (Azores). The initially targeted areas in the Atlantic were: the Gazul Mud volcano, in the Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) area, included in the case study 7, and the Atlantic seamounts Ormonde (Portuguese shelf) and Formigas (by Azores), both part of the case study 8. In the Mediterranean the targeted areas were The Guadiaro submarine canyon and the Seco de los Olivos (also known as Chella Bank) seamount. Unfortunately it was not possible to sample in Guadiaro due to time constraints originated by adverse meteorological conditions which obligate us to reduce the time at sea focusing only in 4 of the 5 initially planned areas. MEDWAVES was structured in two legs; the first leg took place from the 21st September (departure from Cádiz harbour in Spain) to the 13th October 2016 (arrival in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal took place the 8th of October due to the meteorological conditions that obligated to conclude the first leg earlier as planned). during the Leg 1 sampling was carried out in Gazul, Ormonde and Formigas. The second leg started the 14th October (departure from Ponta Delgada) and finished the 26th October (arrival in Málaga harbour, Spain). MEDWAVES had a total of 30 effective sampling days, being 6 days not operative due to the adverse meteorological conditions experienced during the first leg which forced us to stay in Ponta Delgada from the 08th to the 13th October. During MEDWAVES the daily routine followed a similar scheme, depending of course on the weather and sea conditions. The main activity during the day, starting early in the morning (around 08:00 AM, once the night activities were finished), was the ROV deployment. Generally a single ROV dive of around 8 hours was performed, however in several occasions two dives were carried out in the same day (see General station list, Appendix II). After the ROV (and sometimes between two dives) the Box Corer and/or Van Veen Grab and/or Multicore was deployed. After these activities, during the night CTD-Rosette deployments and MB was conducted. Accordingly to this schema the scientific personnel worked in the day or in the night watch. A total of 215 sampling stations have been covered in MEDWAVES, using the following sampling gears: Multibeam echosounder, CTD-Rosette, LADCP, Box Corer, Van Veen Grab, Multicorer and a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). Table 1 sumamrised the number of sampling stations conducted with each gear in each sampling zone. Additionally MB surveys have been conducted during the transits between area

Static-stretching vs. contract-relax - proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching: study the effect on muscle response using tensiomyography

This study used tensiomyography to examine the changes observed in the response of the biceps femoris muscle of the dominant leg of ten young female gymnasts (Mean age ± SD: 13.2 ± 1.8 years, height: 153.9 ± 6.0 cm, body mass: 42.0 ± 5.3 kg) after performing two different stretching protocols: contract-relax (CR) and static-stretching (SS). Results revealed change of muscle response immediately after warm-up: increased velocity of deformation (V3mm), stiffness, holding time (Ts) and reduced relaxation time (Tr). The changes were most evident in the first three minutes after applying the two stretching protocols, being more evident in CR than in SS. The results suggests that athletes who include stretching in their warm-up will find the post warm-up mechanical response less impaired after the first three minutes and more so when using the techniques based on working with static-stretching, compared to techniques based in contract-relax.Este estudio utiliza tensiomiografía para examinar los cambios observados en la respuesta del músculo biceps femoral, de la pierna dominante, en diez jóvenes gimnastas femeninas (edad: 13,2 ± 1,8 años, altura: 153,9 ± 6,0 cm, masa corporal: 42,0 ± 5,3 kg), cuando realizan dos protocolos diferentes de estiramiento muscular: contract-relax (CR) y static-streching (SS). Los resultados revelan cambios de la respuesta muscular inmediatamente después del calentamiento (incremento de la velocidad de deformación (V3mm), stiffness y tiempo de sostén (Ts) y disminución del tiempo de relajación (Tr). Estas alteraciones son especialmente relevantes en los tres primeros minutos posteriores a la aplicación de los protocolos de estiramiento, siendo más evidentes en CR que en SS. Los resultados sugieren que los atletas que incluyen estiramientos en su calentamiento encontrarán la respuesta mecánica menos afectada una vez transcurridos los primeros tres minutos tras la finalización del calentamiento, y más aún cuando se utilizan técnicas basadas en el trabajo con Estiramiento-estático, en comparación con las técnicas basadas en la Contracción-Relajación