The reproducibility of perceptually regulated exercise responses during short-term cycle ergometry

This is the author's PDF version of an article published in International journal of sports medicine in 2004. The definitive version is available at www.thieme-connect.com.The purpose of this study was to assess the reproducibility over four trials of perceptually regulated exercise intensity during short-term cycle ergometry. Recent research has suggested that an improvement in the reproducibility (better agreement) of the exercise output would be observed with a repeated practice of using regulatory tools such as Borg’s 6-20 rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. Eighteen healthy active volunteers (nine males mean age (± SD) 24.7 ± 3.4 yr, and nine females 27.6 ± 5.4 yr) completed four identical intermittent effort production trials on a cycle ergometer, over a period of two-three weeks, with all trials being between three and five days apart. After warm-up, the volunteers were asked to produce four x three-minute bouts of exercise at RPE levels: 13, 15, 9, and 17 (in this order). Power output (W), percentage maximum heart rate reserve (%MHRR), and oxygen consumption (VO2; ml•kg-1•min-1) were recorded in the final minute of each bout. Analysis revealed that the 95% limits of agreement (LoA) between repeated trials did not decrease for the objective markers of exercise intensity, remaining wide throughout. In the worst case comparisons the LoA represented changes (expressed as a proportion of the mean of two trials) of up to 58.3% in power output (T2 vs. T3 at RPE 9), 65.5% in %MHRR (T1 vs. T2 at RPE 13) and 36.5% in VO2 (T3 vs. T4 at RPE 17). These findings question the use of ratings of perceived exertion to regulate exercise effort. That the reproducibility of effort is also not seen to improve with practice raises doubts over the validity of using the RPE scale for providing training intensities for this type of exercise.This article was submitted to the RAE2008 for the University of Chester - Allied Health Professions and Studies

Method of producing high T(subc) superconducting NBN films

Thin films of niobium nitride with high superconducting temperature (T sub c) of 15.7 K are deposited on substrates held at room temperature (approx 90 C) by heat sink throughout the sputtering process. Films deposited at P sub Ar 12.9 + or - 0.2 mTorr exhibit higher T sub c with increasing P sub N2,I with the highest T sub c achieved at P sub n2,I= 3.7 + or - 0.2 mTorr and total sputtering pressure P sub tot = 16.6 + or - 0.4. Further increase of N2 injection starts decreasing T sub c

Late Neogene planktonic foraminifers in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Italian stratotypes

67 p., 25 fig., 36b pl., 10 tables.http://paleo.ku.edu/contributions.htm

An evaluation of planktonic foraminiferal zonation of the Oligocene

42 p., 8 pl., 7 fig.http://paleo.ku.edu/contributions.htm

Stratigraphic significance of uvigerinid foraminifers in the Western Hemisphere

100 p., including 40 pl., 3 fig.http://paleo.ku.edu/contributions.htm

On the zero set of G-equivariant maps

Let $G$ be a finite group acting on vector spaces $V$ and $W$ and consider a smooth $G$-equivariant mapping $f:V\to W$. This paper addresses the question of the zero set near a zero $x$ of $f$ with isotropy subgroup $G$. It is known from results of Bierstone and Field on $G$-transversality theory that the zero set in a neighborhood of $x$ is a stratified set. The purpose of this paper is to partially determine the structure of the stratified set near $x$ using only information from the representations $V$ and $W$. We define an index $s(\Sigma)$ for isotropy subgroups $\Sigma$ of $G$ which is the difference of the dimension of the fixed point subspace of $\Sigma$ in $V$ and $W$. Our main result states that if $V$ contains a subspace $G$-isomorphic to $W$, then for every maximal isotropy subgroup $\Sigma$ satisfying $s(\Sigma)>s(G)$, the zero set of $f$ near $x$ contains a smooth manifold of zeros with isotropy subgroup $\Sigma$ of dimension $s(\Sigma)$. We also present a systematic method to study the zero sets for group representations $V$ and $W$ which do not satisfy the conditions of our main theorem. The paper contains many examples and raises several questions concerning the computation of zero sets of equivariant maps. These results have application to the bifurcation theory of $G$-reversible equivariant vector fields

Persistent Asymmetric Structure of Sagittarius A^* on Event Horizon Scales

The Galactic Center black hole Sagittarius A^* (Sgr A^*) is a prime observing target for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which can resolve the 1.3 mm emission from this source on angular scales comparable to that of the general relativistic shadow. Previous EHT observations have used visibility amplitudes to infer the morphology of the millimeter-wavelength emission. Potentially much richer source information is contained in the phases. We report on 1.3 mm phase information on Sgr A^* obtained with the EHT on a total of 13 observing nights over four years. Closure phases, which are the sum of visibility phases along a closed triangle of interferometer baselines, are used because they are robust against phase corruptions introduced by instrumentation and the rapidly variable atmosphere. The median closure phase on a triangle including telescopes in California, Hawaii, and Arizona is nonzero. This result conclusively demonstrates that the millimeter emission is asymmetric on scales of a few Schwarzschild radii and can be used to break 180° rotational ambiguities inherent from amplitude data alone. The stability of the sign of the closure phase over most observing nights indicates persistent asymmetry in the image of Sgr A^* that is not obscured by refraction due to interstellar electrons along the line of sight

Morphological asymmetry and interspecific hybridization: A case study using hylid frogs

The limited studies addressing developmental stability of interspecific hybrids suggest a positive association between the level of fluctuating asymmetry and 1) the degree of divergence between parental species, and 2) the recency of the contact zone. To evaluate these associations, we examined asymmetry in a recentlyestablished hybrid population of treefrogs (Hyla cinerea and H. gratiosa) that show marked structural gene divergence. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), directional asymmetry, and antisymmetry were assessed for eight paired osteometric traits in allozymically-defined parental and hybrid categories. FA levels varied considerably among traits. Nonetheless, for any given trait, the hybrid categories did not demonstrate elevated levels of FA compared to the parental categories, or compared to frogs from a non-hybridizing parental population. The only trait that differed statistically among categories (pterygoid length) involved a significantly lower FA value for the Fl hybrids. Thus, observed FA values do not support expectations that the hybrid categories should experience decreased developmental stability

Morphological asymmetry and interspecific hybridization: A case study using hylid frogs

The limited studies addressing developmental stability of interspecific hybrids suggest a positive association between the level of fluctuating asymmetry and 1) the degree of divergence between parental species, and 2) the recency of the contact zone. To evaluate these associations, we examined asymmetry in a recentlyestablished hybrid population of treefrogs (Hyla cinerea and H. gratiosa) that show marked structural gene divergence. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), directional asymmetry, and antisymmetry were assessed for eight paired osteometric traits in allozymically-defined parental and hybrid categories. FA levels varied considerably among traits. Nonetheless, for any given trait, the hybrid categories did not demonstrate elevated levels of FA compared to the parental categories, or compared to frogs from a non-hybridizing parental population. The only trait that differed statistically among categories (pterygoid length) involved a significantly lower FA value for the Fl hybrids. Thus, observed FA values do not support expectations that the hybrid categories should experience decreased developmental stability

Stereotactic MRI-guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy (SMART) for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Promising Approach.

Locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) is characterized by poor prognosis and low response durability with standard-of-care chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy treatment. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), which has a shorter treatment course than conventionally fractionated radiotherapy and allows for better integration with systemic therapy, may confer a survival benefit but is limited by gastrointestinal toxicity. Stereotactic MRI-guided adaptive radiation therapy (SMART) has recently gained attention for its potential to increase treatment precision and thus minimize this toxicity through continuous real-time soft-tissue imaging during radiotherapy. The case presented here illustrates the promising outcome of a 69-year-old male patient with LAPC treated with SMART with daily adaptive planning and respiratory-gated technique