Peak Power Output in Loaded Jump Squat Exercise is Affected by Set Structure

International Journal of Exercise Science 11(1): 776-784, 2018. A priority in strength and power exercise might be to train with as high quality as possible for the shortest possible duration. In this context, peak power output could reflect quality. Designing an exercise session as a cluster set structure, as compared to a traditional set structure, may be a way to obtain higher peak power output in the session. But it is unknown whether that is obtainable for non-elite individuals performing loaded jump squat exercise. The aim of the present study was therefore to test the hypothesis that peak power output would be highest in a jump squat exercise session, which was structured with cluster sets, as compared to traditional sets. Ten individuals (2 women, 8 men; 26.5 ± 4.8 years, 1.81 ±0.08 m, 90.9 ± 13.2 kg) performed two loaded jump squat exercise sessions structured with cluster sets and traditional sets, respectively. The sessions were performed on two separate days, in counterbalanced order. The position of the barbell was used to calculate derived values including peak power output. Values calculated as averages across the entire exercise sessions showed peak power output to be 178 ± 181 W, corresponding to 4.1% ± 4.9%, higher in the session with cluster set structure, as compared to the session with traditional set structure (p = 0.005). It was concluded that for non-elite individuals, peak power output was approximately 4% higher in a loaded jump squat exercise session structured with cluster sets as compared to an exercise session structured with traditional sets

The investigation of five burial mounds at Lejrskov: Undersøgelse af fem høje

The investigation of five burial mounds at Lejrskov In 1995, five burial mounds were excavated at Lejrskov, west of Kolding (fig. 1). Originally, the five mounds belonged to a larger group of between 35 and 40 mounds. Some of the mounds in question were investigated earlier on by the National Museum, the Koldinghus Museum, or by locals. However, the results of these investigations were for the most part limited to the secondary graves, especially urns from the late Bronze Age. The oldest find from the mounds is from the Single Grave Culture. The largest of the five investigated mounds was that of Bredhøj (fig. 2-6). This mound had two construction phases, the younger of which made the mound reach a diameter of 35 metres and a preserved height of 2.2 metres. Eleven graves were dug into the mound. Of these, seven urn graves and a cremation grave were found in 1841. Moreover, the Bredhøj mound contained a stone cist, a cremation grave, a grave with an oak coffin, and possibly a board. The oldest phase of the mound was laid out on the contemporary surface (fig. 4, the layers of g and h). It consisted of well-preserved dark grey or blue-grey turf with distinct growth layers (fig. 4, layer d). An iron precipitation had formed around the older phase (fig. 4, the layers of f, c, and e). The turfs from the younger phase were brown, sandy and highly decomposed (fig 4, layer b). On top of this lay the modern topsoil (fig 4, layer a). Ploughed-down mound material was found outside the mound (fig. 4, the layers of k and I). Traces from a settlement and from ard-ploughing were found underneath the mound (fig. 16). One pit contained a flat-bellied vessel from the Single Grave Culture. The older phase contained no graves, so the Bredhøj mound was originally constructed as an empty mound. In the southeastern side of it, a 3.8-m long and 1.6 to 2.2-m wide stone cist, stretching from the ENE to the SSW had been built in connection with the younger phase (fig. 7-8). The dead person in the cist was buried in a log coffin made from oak, with four bronze caps from a folding chair, fragments of a bronze saw, a bronze band (perhaps a fibula?) and a stone for striking fire (fig. 9-13). One cap from the folding chair contained a little ash wood (Fraxinus excelsior), and the bottom of the caps contained pitch (fig. 10-11). None of the finds belong to the guide types of the period, but with the grave type, they fit into the general pattern of Period II of the early Bronze Age. The northern side of the mound contained an oak-coffin grave (fig. 14) with a barshaped pin that cannot be identified or dated. The western side of the mound contained a cremation grave of a body's length with the burnt bones of a 15-25-year-old woman, but no grave goods. The two graves cannot be dated with any certainty, but they may be from the early Bronze Age. The southern side of the mound contained a possible board, most probably from the Iron Age, consisting of an iron chisel and two iron mounts (fig. 15). Soil analysis from the Bredhøj mound shows that after the construction, a chemical process began, which changed the physical and chemical characteristics of the mound  decisively. The moist conditions and the lack of oxygen in the middle of the mound caused a redox process, which created the iron precipitation over and under the older mound (fig. 4, horizon B, D, and E). The good preservation conditions show that these iron precipitation layers were created shortly after the older mound phase was finished, and that the second phase was built shortly after the first one. Thus, the Bredhøj mound should be considered just one mound, and in spite of the non-central position, we should interpret the stone cist as a primary grave in an empty mound. Empty mounds from the Iron Age and the Viking Period are interpreted as grave monuments raised in honour of persons who died abroad. However, this may not apply to the Bronze Age. Perhaps the Bronze Age mounds were built by the persons who were later interred in them? This could be the case at Bredhøj. During the early Bronze Age, stone cists were used especially in northern Sealand and the western Limfjord area. These stone cists usually contain men, often warriors. Three out of eight stone cists in Northwest Germany contained folding chairs. These stone cists are all placed off the centre of the mound. Including the find from Bredhøj, folding chairs are known from 16 graves and one hoard in Denmark, Southern Sweden, and Northern Germany (fig. 17). An intact folding chair made of ashwood was found in the Guldhøj mound near Vamdrup (fig. 18). In the rest of the cases, folding chairs were indicated by the find of 4, 6, or 8 caps or bronze nails that assembled the legs of the chair. Sometimes, jingle-plates were hanging off the caps. The folding chairs were made of ashwood (the three Danish ones), pomaceae (two), hornbeam (one), and maple (one). The caps from Bredhøj were glued to the upper parts of the chair by the help of pitch, whereas they were rivetted to the wood of the German chairs. The folding chairs are often found in connection with swords. However, this is not the case in the Danish finds. Instead, the Guldhøj mound contained a sheath knife and a ledge axe, and the Storehøj mound contained an empty sword scabbard. Only the Bredhøj mound contained no weapons at all. However, a wooden sword scabbard like the one found at Storehøj could have mouldered. Folding chairs are considered evidence of high status. However, not all contemporary warriors' graves contain folding chairs. The folding chairs date from the Period II of the Bronze Age. Using dendrochronology, the Guldhøj-coffin has been dated to 1382 BC, and the Storehøj coffin to 1373 BC. Oak coffins from Period II usually date from 1380-1330 BC. Folding chairs occur during this period in Denmark, Northern Sweden, Northern Germany, and the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece, the Middle East, and Egypt (fig. 18)), but not in Central Europe. The occurrence in the North mirrors a network with many ramifications and centres, connecting the peoples from Greece across Italy and farther, through Europe to Northern Germany and Denmark. In this network, bronze, raw, luxury items, techniques, and ideas were exchanged. The remaining four grave mounds investigated in 1995 had all been ploughed down. They were all small, and in all of them the central grave had been plundered. Toftegård I had a 24-m diameter (fig. 19). A green stone axe from the Single Grave Culture was found in the ploughed-down filling from the mound. In the northern side of the mound, a secondary cremation grave the length of a person was found. It dates from the Period III of the early Bronze Age and contained the burnt bones of a 25-40- year-old woman and a sheep. The grave goods included two fibulas, a frame knife, and an ornament with two glass beads and a bronze spiral (fig. 20). Judging from the rare ornament, the woman interred here had a high status. Animal sacrifice occurs rarely, or is rarely recognised, in graves from the early Bronze Age. Toftegård II had a 16-m diameter (fig. 21). The central grave was almost destroyed. A knife from the Period III of the early Bronze Age (fig. 22) was found in the disturbed mound filling. An undated, secondary grave in the western side of the mound, containing nothing but a horse's skull, had been dug into the mound filling and 30 cm into the subsurface. Scattered pits and ard tracks were found under the mound. The Lysgård I mound (fig. 23) contained no grave. Under the modem ploughing layer was an up to 12-cm thick layer of mould, supposedly the remains of the mound. In the subsurface were stray pits, stone tracks, and ard tracks. Lysgård II had a diameter of 13 metres (fig. 24). The previously plundered central grave was dug 80 centimetres into the subsurface. The bottom of the grave had a layer of hand-size stones. This grave type dates from the Single Grave Culture or the late Neolithic Period. The eastern side of the mound had a secondary grave from the early Roman Iron Age. A warrior's grave from Period III of the early Bronze Age was found 3 or 4 metres south of the mound. It contained a tang sword in a scabbard, a longhanded dagger, a pair of tweezers, a fibula, and a spiral ring of gold (figs. 25-30). The sword scabbard is made from boards of hazel wood (Corylus avellana), covered with thin leather and lined with animal skin -probably a goat's skin- with the hair turned inwards, towards the blade. This grave was dug 1.3 metres into the subsurface sand. The grave type and grave goods of the warrior's grave at Lysgård II correspond to those of the contemporary warriors' graves. The use of wooden sword scabbards (most often made of hazel) covered with leather and lined with fine skin, the hairy side of which was turned inwards, was widespread. However, the Lysgård II grave differs from the contemporary graves by being a deep burial with no mound, placed close to an older mound. To get a better knowledge of the area where the mounds were built, analyses were made of macro-fossil plant material and pollen in soil samples from the well-preserved turfs in the filling of the Bredhøj mound, from the older, sealed surface under this mound, and from the Toftegård II mound. The macro fossils were mostly stalks and leaves of moss. Most of the moss remnants were identified as Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (Hedw.) Warnst, whereas Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. made up a smaller element. Apart from the moss remnants, two charred seeds from Polygonum lapathifolium/ Persicaria (pale willowweed/persicaria) were found, and also a grass seed, which could not be identified further. The pollen spectra from soils beneath the Toftegård II and the Bredhøj mounds and from the lower filling at Bredhøj suggest scattered remains of original woodlands around the mounds. Herbaceous vegetation dominated at and around the mound sites. Pollen spectra from the soils suggest that the mounds were built in an area grazed by husbandry. The pollen spectra from the lower filling at Bredhøj suggest that this material had been fetched in abandoned field areas near the mound. The exact construction time of the five mounds cannot be established, but they all existed by the end of the early Bronze Age. The older mounds are Lysgård Il, the central grave of which can be typologically dated to the Single Grave Culture or late Neolithic Period, and possiblyToftegård I with the stray find of a green stone axe from the Single Grave Culture. The younger mounds are those of Bredhøj with the stone cist from Period II of the early Bronze Age, and Toftegård II with a central grave from Period III. The two early Bronze Age mounds were constructed in an open area with limited tree growth, and the turfs were cut in an area that was previously cultivated, but was now used for grazing. The mounds were later used for secondary burials during the Bronze Age and the early Roman Iron Age. The stone cist in the Bredhøj mound, the warrior's grave at Lysgård II, and the cremated woman in Toftegård II were persons of a high status. These graves date from 1400-1100 BC. Kirsten. Prangsgaard and others                                         &nbsp

The effect of smartphone-based monitoring and treatment including clinical feedback versus smartphone-based monitoring without clinical feedback in bipolar disorder: the SmartBipolar trial—a study protocol for a randomized controlled parallel-group trial

Abstract Introduction A substantial proportion of patients with bipolar disorder experience daily subsyndromal mood swings, and the term “mood instability” reflecting the variability in mood seems associated with poor prognostic factors, including impaired functioning, and increased risk of hospitalization and relapse. During the last decade, we have developed and tested a smartphone-based system for monitoring bipolar disorder. The present SmartBipolar randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to investigate whether (1) daily smartphone-based outpatient monitoring and treatment including clinical feedback versus (2) daily smartphone-based monitoring without clinical feedback or (3) daily smartphone-based mood monitoring only improves mood instability and other clinically relevant patient-related outcomes in patients with bipolar disorder. Methods and analysis The SmartBipolar trial is a pragmatic randomized controlled parallel-group trial. Patients with bipolar disorder are invited to participate as part of their specialized outpatient treatment for patients with bipolar disorder in Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark. The included patients will be randomized to (1) daily smartphone-based monitoring and treatment including a clinical feedback loop (intervention group) or (2) daily smartphone-based monitoring without a clinical feedback loop (control group) or (3) daily smartphone-based mood monitoring only (control group). All patients receive specialized outpatient treatment for bipolar disorder in the Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark. The trial started in March 2021 and has currently included 150 patients. The outcomes are (1) mood instability (primary), (2) quality of life, self-rated depressive symptoms, self-rated manic symptoms, perceived stress, satisfaction with care, cumulated number and duration of psychiatric hospitalizations, and medication (secondary), and (3) smartphone-based measures per month of stress, anxiety, irritability, activity, and sleep as well as the percentage of days with presence of mixed mood, days with adherence to medication and adherence to smartphone-based self-monitoring. A total of 201 patients with bipolar disorder will be included in the SmartBipolar trial. Ethics and dissemination The SmartBipolar trial is funded by the Capital Region of Denmark and the Independent Research Fund Denmark. Ethical approval has been obtained from the Regional Ethical Committee in The Capital Region of Denmark (H-19067248) as well as data permission (journal number: P-2019–809). The results will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals, presented at scientific meetings, and disseminated to patients’ organizations and media outlets. Trial registration Trial registration number: NCT04230421. Date March 1, 2021. Version 1