3-Dimensional Scanning to Determine Body Volume and Composition With and Without a Wetsuit

Wetsuits are designed to improve swimming performance by providing increased buoyant forces, reduced drag forces, and compressive forces on the body. Recently, 3-D scanning technology (2015 Structure Scanner, Occipital) has been used to measure body volume, and may provide an alternative method to obtaining body composition. Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of this study is to use 3-D scanning to measure and compare body volume with and without a wet suit. Combined with mass, volume from 3-D scanning will provide density calculations for body composition analysis. A secondary purpose of this study is to measure the difference in body composition with and without a wetsuit. Methods: The Institutional Review Board has recently approved the study and data collection has started; therefore, no data are presented in this abstract. Participants will be 3-D scanned with and without a wetsuit (Company), followed by BodPod (COSMED) measurements with and without the wetsuit. Following measurements, the 3-D scan will be used to calculate volume using MeshLab Software (Company). 2x2 mixed-factor ANOVA will be run to analyze the differences between wetsuit conditions, and between measurement methods (3D Scan vs BodPod). By comparing measurements of body volume and calculations of body composition with and without a wetsuit, the validity of the 3-D scanning technique will be determined and this might lead to the development of empirically determined wetsuit fit criteria

Velocity-Specific Relationships Among Eccentric and Concentric Force Velocity Profiles and Jumping Performance

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationships among force velocity profiles during eccentric only movements (eFVP), concentric only movements (cFVP), and dynamic performance during a countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), and drop jump (DJ). Nineteen collegiate baseball players (1.85 ± 0.04 m, 86.4 ± 8.2 kg, 21.1 ± 1.8 years) from a single NCAA Division I team performed CMJ, SJ, and DJ, drop landings from varying heights, and hex bar jumps with varying weights. FVPs were created with a linear regression using the drop landings for eFVP and hex bar jumps for cFVP, which were used to calculate slopes and area under the entire FVP and velocity-specific regions. Correlations analyzed the results with bootstrapping for 95% confidence intervals. Area under eFVP correlated with cFVP at r=0.51 (p<0.05), cFVP slope presented strong correlations with CMJ height and DJ height while eFVP slopes did not relate to jumping performance or metrics. Area under the faster regions of cFVP and eFVP produced moderate and strong relationships to jumping performance. The area under the FVP, especially when separated into velocity-specific bands, may be a key metric which can audit or provide insight into velocity-based training program effectiveness and athlete comparisons

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Creating and curating an archive: Bury St Edmunds and its Anglo-Saxon past

This contribution explores the mechanisms by which the Benedictine foundation of Bury St Edmunds sought to legitimise and preserve their spurious pre-Conquest privileges and holdings throughout the Middle Ages. The archive is extraordinary in terms of the large number of surviving registers and cartularies which contain copies of Anglo-Saxon charters, many of which are wholly or partly in Old English. The essay charts the changing use to which these ancient documents were put in response to threats to the foundation's continued enjoyment of its liberties. The focus throughout the essay is to demonstrate how pragmatic considerations at every stage affects the development of the archive and the ways in which these linguistically challenging texts were presented, re-presented, and represented during the Abbey’s history

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Biomechanical Analysis of Jumping: The Influence of External Load and Countermovement Depth on Deceleration Strategies and Performance

Jumping performance has traditionally been measured by jump height alone. In recent years, the reactive strength index (RSI = Jump height / jump time)) has been used as another measure of jump performance. According to RSI, which was developed to assess eccentric force production, jump performance can improve by increasing jump height, decreasing jump time, or both simultaneously. However, it is not clear how force production correlates to RSI variables. If RSI is meant to be a practical measure of eccentric force production, it should correlate strongly to eccentric and amortization force production during jumping. Thus, the purpose of the first study was to determine the relationship between ground reaction force (GRF) variables to jump height, jump time, and the Reactive Strength Index (RSI). Twenty-six Division I male soccer players performed three maximum effort CMJs on a dual-force platform system that measured three-dimensional kinetic data. Vertical GRF (Fz) variables were divided into unloading, eccentric, amortization, and concentric phases and correlated to jump height, RSI (RSI= Jump height/jump time), and jump time (ground contact time from start to takeoff). Significant correlations were observed between jump height and RSI, concentric kinetic energy, peak power, concentric work, and concentric displacement. Significant correlations were observed between RSI and jump time, peak power, unload Fz, eccentric work, eccentric rate of force development (RFD), amortization Fz, amortization time, 2nd Fz peak, average concentric Fz, and concentric displacement. Significant correlations were observed between jump time and unload Fz, eccentric work, eccentric RFD, amortization Fz, amortization time, average concentric Fz, and concentric work. In conclusion, jump height correlated to variables derived from the concentric phase only, while Fz variables from the unloading, eccentric, amortization, and concentric phases correlated highly to RSI and jump time. These observations demonstrate the importance of countermovement Fz characteristics for time-sensitive CMJ performance measures. Further, RSI correlated strongly to Fz variables during eccentric and amortization phases. Researchers and practitioners should include RSI to improve their assessment of jump performance. The first study observed a strong relationship between jump performance and force production during the eccentric and amortization phases. But, there is limited research on force production during eccentric and amortization phases of the jump squat (JS), which is a countermovement jump performed with external load via barbell. Further, limited research has investigated the influence of countermovement technique on these variables. Therefore, the second and third studies investigated the effect of load and countermovement technique on kinetics during the eccentric and amortization phases of the jump squat. The second and third studies used the same protocol: On day one, participants performed a 3-repetition maximum (RM) back squat. On day two, participants performed JS with 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% of estimated 1-RM using three countermovement techniques: preferred (PREF), quarter (QTR), and full (FULL) depths. Participants wore flat athletic shoes, and were outfitted with reflective markers on the lower extremity to collect 3D kinematics. JS were performed on dual force platforms synchronized with the 3D data. The purpose of the second study was to compare vertical ground reaction forces (Fz) from the eccentric and amortization phases of the JS across loads and countermovement techniques. A convenience sample of 12 healthy, resistance-trained men (24.8 ± 4.04 yrs, 86.71 ± 15.59 kg, 1.78 ± 0.79 m, 3-RM Back Squat: 123.2 ± 23.79 kg) were recruited from the university kinesiology department. Dependent variables included: (1) eccentric rate of force development (RFD1 and RFD2); (2) first Fz peak (Fz1); (3) amortization Fz and time; (4) jump height; (5) RSI; (6) peak and average concentric power; (7) and countermovement depth. Eccentric RFD1 did not change with increasing loads (p\u3e0.05), but eccentric RFD2 decreased with increasing loads (p\u3c0.05). Amortization Fz was not different among the loaded conditions (p\u3e0.05), but was greater with load (15%-60% of 1-RM) than without (0% of 1-RM). Jump height and RSI declined with increasing loads (p\u3c0.05), and power peaked using 15% and 30% of 1-RM. The QTR JS resulted in greater amortization Fz, RSI, peak power, and average power (p\u3c0.05). Based on the second study, it is recommended that QTR techniques be used in conjunction with FULL or PREF techniques throughout a comprehensive training plan purposed for development of stretch-shortening cycle performance. The purpose of the third study was to compare joint kinetics from the eccentric and amortization phases of the JS across loads and countermovement techniques. A convenience sample of 10 healthy, resistance-trained men (24 ± 4.24 yrs, 88.35 ± 16.71 kg, 178.15 ± 7.15 cm, 3-RM Back Squat: 119.27 ± 21.78 kg) were recruited from the university kinesiology department. Joint kinetics were calculated in the sagittal plane of the hip, knee, and ankle. Dependent variables included: (1) eccentric work of the hip and knee; (2) Eccentric hip to knee work ratio; (3) hip, knee, and ankle moments during amortization; (4) jump height; (5) RSI; (6) countermovement depth; (7) peak power; (8) average concentric power; (9) and peak countermovement kinetic energy. Eccentric joint work was influenced by the interaction of load and technique at the hip (p\u3c0.05), but generally decreased (i.e. greater work) with increasing loads and greater countermovement depths for both joints. Eccentric hip to knee work ratio revealed more hip contribution to deceleration with increasing loads and countermovement depths, and knee dominant deceleration during the QTR JS. Amortization hip moment was significantly less using QTR compared to PREF or FULL (p\u3c0.05), but there was no main effect of technique on ankle or knee amortization moments (p\u3e0.05). Performance variables followed similar results of the second study. The QTR JS elicited greater RSI, peak and average concentric power, and less countermovement kinetic energy. Countermovement kinetic energy peaked using 15% of 1-RM with a FULL JS, indicating that increasing loads does not ensure an increase in downward kinetic energy despite verbal instruction to lower the weight as quickly as possible. In conclusion, the eccentric and amortization phases may have been previously undervalued for jump performance because they do not correlate to jump height. However, RSI has a strong relationship with eccentric and amortization force production, as intended. The presented studies further our understanding of force production in these phases when load and countermovement depth changes. The QTR JS elicits greater power output and RSI values, and is knee dominant during deceleration. The FULL JS elicits peak deceleration demands using 15% and 30% of 1-RM, accompanied by increasing contributions from the hip. It appears advisable to view the QTR and FULL JS as separate exercises with complementary stresses that could be combined in a comprehensive jump training program. Further, because the highest load did not result in greater deceleration demands (i.e. peak countermovement kinetic energy), coaches should consider defining, monitoring, and cueing specific countermovement strategies when organizing training programs

Corporate turnarounds as strategic reorientations: A field study of turnaround attempts from firm-based decline

This study develops and empirically tests propositions derived from a model of the corporate turnaround process. This model, based on several established streams of organizational research, proposes that successful turnaround attempts for firms suffering from firm-based decline (as opposed to industry decline) will be positively associated with declining firms (a) changing their strategic orientation, (b) changing their strategic decision makers, (c) maintaining enough slack resources to enact strategic change and (d) being able to combine several or all three of these factors in one turnaround attempt.Hypotheses based on propositions from the model are tested with regression analyses utilizing field data collected from structured interviews with top managers in 29 corporations attempting turnarounds (some successful, some unsuccessful) from firm-based decline. The results indicate that declining firms are more likely to have successful turnaround attempts when these firms: (a) significantly alter their strategic orientation as part of the turnaround attempt, (b) are able to combine this change in strategic orientation with Chief Executive Officer changes, (c) empower new Directors on the Board of Directors and (d) are not collapsing towards a financial crisis at the time of the turnaround attempt. Implications of these findings for both corporate management and turnaround research are discussed.The study extends and improves on past corporate turnaround research in several ways. First, past research is integrated and extended by combining several independent streams of research into an inclusive and detailed model of the turnaround process. Second, an important distinction is made between turnaround attempts from firm-based decline (r-type decline) and industry-based decline (k-type decline). The study design then subsequently controls the potential sample of firms restricting it to firms attempting turnarounds from firm-based decline. Finally, the study uses structured interviewing to collect data, which is a methodology that enables clearer testing of the hypotheses relative to the case-based or archival methods used by past researchers.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio

Bilateral Ground Reaction Force Asymmetry During Supramaximal Drop Landings

Bilateral vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF) asymmetries have not been investigated during supramaximal drop heights. The first purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of drop height on impact and attenuation vGRF impulses. 19 young adults completed the protocol (14 males, 5 females, age: 21.3 ± 0.75 years, mass: 75.1 ± 10.2 kg, height: 171.4 ± 7.9 cm, 1RM back squat relative to mass: 1.72 ± 0.4), which included bilateral drop landings starting at 0.3 m going up to 1.52 m in increments of 0.152 m. Asymmetries were calculated from impact impulse, loading rate, peak vGRF, attenuation impulse, and total impulse. Linear regressions analyzed these variables with respect to drop height at the group and individual levels. All dependent variables measuring asymmetrical force production produced negative regression slopes at the group level, but the adjusted R2 values ranging 0.06 to 0.15 indicate drop height accounted for minimal variance in asymmetry variables. However, examination of individual asymmetry responses reveals noteworthy adjusted R2 values for athlete monitoring and return to play considerations in competitive sport. Seven participants displayed significant reductions in asymmetry values as drop height increased with R2 values ranging from 0.23-0.64. Practitioners and coaches using landing asymmetry measurements to support return to play decisions should consider the inclusion of larger drop heights to avoid false positive asymmetry results and encourage participants to land as quickly as possible with maximal effort

Exploring the Use of 3D Scanning to Determine Whole-Body Volume While Wearing a Triathlon Wetsuit

Background: Commercial 3 Dimension (3D) scanners are relatively new to anthropometry. The purpose of this study was to explore ability of using a 3D imaging instrument to measure body volume with and without wearing a wetsuit. Three experiments were conducted to achieve this purpose: (1) to determine if the 3D imaging instrument could accurately measure volume of static objects; (2) to determine the resolution of accuracy of measuring volume of static objects; and (3) to compare whole-body volume of wearing a wetsuit using 3D imaging as well as another body volume measure (air displacement technique). Methods: Three experiments were performed: (1) measurement of volume of a mannequin head and a box using a 3D scanner, water displacement (for mannequin head), and dimension measurements (for box) techniques for determining volume, (2) volume measurements of 1, 2, and 3 layers of neoprene to assess the resolution capabilities of the 3D scanner, and (3) body volume with and without wearing a wetsuit using a 3D scanner and BodPod (air displacement instrument). Results: (1) Mannequin head volume using the 3D scanner was 1.46% greater than a water displacement technique; the box volume from scanning was significantly greater than volume calculated by measuring dimensions of a box. (2) The volume of a single layer of neoprene was 25.3% less with scanning than the criterion; the volume of two layers was 27.2% less than the criterion; the volume of three layers was not significantly different from the criterion. (3) Body volume was not influenced by the interaction of wetsuit and device; body volume was on average 5% greater with wetsuit than without regardless of instrument. Conclusions: We demonstrated that body volume as measured by a 3D scanner increased when a wetsuit was worn