Effect of Aspartate Supplementation on Athletic Performance in Young Men

D-aspartic acid has been suggested to enhance athletic performance by regulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis by increasing plasma testosterone. Aspartate supplementation may be useful to increase testosterone for individuals with low plasma testosterone due to aging and other conditions. PURPOSE: To determine the effect of D-aspartic acid supplementation on athletic performance in young male athletes. METHODS: After screening for ACSM low risk, 9 healthy male athletes (average age = 22y, body weight = 82.7 kg and body fat = 10.4%) were randomized to two groups for supplementation using a double blinded parallel arm experimental design. They ingested either 3 grams of d-aspartic acid (Aspartate, n=5) or a Placebo (n=4) for 14 days supplied in capsule form. Subjects recorded and replicated previous 3 day diets prior to testing. Physical assessments were performed prior to and after supplementation included a peak VO2 test by cycle ergometer, 1 maximal repetition bench press and 1 maximal repetition squat (average values ±SD before supplementation were 41.7 ±6.4 ml/kg/min, 117.9 ±11.1 kg and 151.7 ±19.0 kg, respectively). RESULTS: The Aspartate group improved performance in 1 maximal repetition bench press by 4.5 ±1.6kg (average ±SEM, p=0.03) and 1 maximal repetition squat by 8.2 ±3.8kg (average ±SEM, p=0.04). No change in performance measures were observed in the Placebo group. Body composition did not change for either group. CONCLUSION: D-aspartic acid supplementation may lead to improved acute skeletal muscle synthesis improving upper and lower body muscle performance

Exact Ground State and Finite Size Scaling in a Supersymmetric Lattice Model

We study a model of strongly correlated fermions in one dimension with extended N=2 supersymmetry. The model is related to the spin $S=1/2$ XXZ Heisenberg chain at anisotropy $\Delta=-1/2$ with a real magnetic field on the boundary. We exploit the combinatorial properties of the ground state to determine its exact wave function on finite lattices with up to 30 sites. We compute several correlation functions of the fermionic and spin fields. We discuss the continuum limit by constructing lattice observables with well defined finite size scaling behavior. For the fermionic model with periodic boundary conditions we give the emptiness formation probability in closed form.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figure

Las organizaciones regionales en el marco de la ONU son una respuesta rápida para la solución de los conflictos originados por las nuevas amenazas del siglo XXI

La comunidad internacional esta inmersa en una dinámica y significativa transformación del sistema que orientó su accionar por casi cincuenta años. La posguerra fría configuró paulatinamente una situación mundial más compleja, fracturada y problemática donde EEUU ha sido la única potencia que sobrevivió a la situación anterior. Se originó el surgimiento desorganizado de situaciones conflictivas que se encontraban latentes o minimizadas por el conflicto mayor. Los problemas etnicos, religiosos y sociales han surgido con inusual violencia, provocando grandes desplazamientos de personas y la muerte de millares. El nuevo orden mundial anunciado hace unos años parece no ser tan ordenado. Muchísimo entusiasmo se puso en el nuevo rol de la ONU como una herramienta apropiada para encarar el problema de la seguridad internacional proporcionando un marco institucional ante los conflictos existentes. Una nueva era sin el veto del Consejo de Seguridad sería todo un desafío ya que su accionar inmovilizó a la ONU durante la guerra fría. Las respuestas que el sistema internacional espera muchas veces chocan con realidades que la limitan como ser la acción inconsulta unilateral y/o la parálisis de la comunidad internacional. Cada vez se plantea con mayor fuerza la necesidad de la paz que se basa en la cooperación a través de medidas de confianza mutua minimizando la ocurrencia de conflictos y la estabilidad regional que requiere el compromiso de los estados integrantes para el manejo de los conflictos. Esta participación regional surge como consecuencia de una estrategia nacional originada por una política de Estado. El vacío producido entre las decisiones políticas del Consejo de Seguridad y su implementación debe ser complementado a través de fórmulas regionales. Las regiones tienen un papel que jugar y la Carta de las Naciones Unidad en su Capítulo VII, prevé dicho papel. ¿Qué hay que hacer? Implementarlo correctamente acercando las diferentes percepciones de los Estados hacia un objetivo común.Aula "A": La seguridad internacional.Instituto de Relaciones Internacionales (IRI

Algorithmic Robustness

Algorithmic robustness refers to the sustained performance of a computational system in the face of change in the nature of the environment in which that system operates or in the task that the system is meant to perform. Below, we motivate the importance of algorithmic robustness, present a conceptual framework, and highlight the relevant areas of research for which algorithmic robustness is relevant. Why robustness? Robustness is an important enabler of other goals that are frequently cited in the context of public policy decisions about computational systems, including trustworthiness, accountability, fairness, and safety. Despite this dependence, it tends to be under-recognized compared to these other concepts. This is unfortunate, because robustness is often more immediately achievable than these other ultimate goals, which can be more subjective and exacting. Thus, we highlight robustness as an important goal for researchers, engineers, regulators, and policymakers when considering the design, implementation, and deployment of computational systems. We urge researchers and practitioners to elevate the attention paid to robustness when designing and evaluating computational systems. For many key systems, the immediate question after any demonstration of high performance should be: "How robust is that performance to realistic changes in the task or environment?" Greater robustness will set the stage for systems that are more trustworthy, accountable, fair, and safe. Toward that end, this document provides a brief roadmap to some of the concepts and existing research around the idea of algorithmic robustness