Running Injuries Due to Strike Patterns

Running is a very repetitive activity that can lead to surmountable stresses to the body over time that could lead to injury. Running biomechanics can influence the effects that the body will experience. This paper will discuss the biomechanical effects that relate to two different strike patterns: rearfoot and forefoot. Research will be examined as to how the strike patterns can influence the major lower extremity joints: ankle, knee, and hip. Common injuries during running as related to strike pattern are also discussed through conclusions based on research studies

Non-Gaussian chain statistics and finite extensibility in liquid crystal elastomers

In this work we will derive an anisotropic generalisation of the finitely extensible chain model, due to Kuhn and Gr\"un, which is well known in rubber elasticity. This provides a chain energy that couples elastic behaviour to a probability distribution describing the orientations of liquid crystal monomers within a main chain elastomer. The key point is to invoke a maximum relative entropy assumption on the distribution of bond angles in an observed chain. The chain energy's fourth order Taylor expansion is also given, which couples to the second and fourth moments of the nematic distribution function only

Bill to Restrict Indoor Tanning for Minors in The State of Maine

Background: Melanoma is the deadliest and the most common type of cancer in individuals age 15 to 29. Evidence has shown that ultraviolet radiation overexposure at younger ages significantly increases the risk of developing non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancer in later years. Despite these concerns, approximately 1.6 million minors under the age of 18 participate in the use of indoor tanning devices annually. The high prevalence of skin cancer in the United States continues to be a public health issue that warrants continued preventative and regulatory action. In spite of the health risks associated with indoor tanning, the state of Maine does not restrict the use of tanning devices for minors, as 18 states now do. Therefore, the aim of this DNP project was to implement a health policy change initiative with the goal of restricting access to commercial indoor tanning devices for minors. Methods:The policy process framework and population health framework were used as models for implementing the health policy initiative. The population health framework was used to develop an argument for the public health implications of excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation and provides rationale for restricting UV exposure among minors. The policy process framework was used to guide and evaluate the legislative work of this project. The legislative work was accomplished in collaboration with Maine Representative Anne Perry and other stakeholders. Purpose/Implementation Plan: The purpose of this DNP project was to implement a substantive health policy change, that being the restriction of minors under the age of 18 from the use of commercial indoor tanning devices. The health policy change process included the following steps: 1. Create awareness of long-term health risks of indoor tanning devices among key legislators, constituents, and interest groups, 2. Work with legislators to bring a bill forward to restrict access to indoor tanning devices, 3. Evaluate the process and develop a proposal for sustainable action, if the legislation fails. The overall objective of this initiative was to decrease the risk of skin cancer among Maine’s youth. Results:A proposal for the policy change was presented to stakeholders and was developed in support of the initiative. LD #1297, An Act to Reduce Youth Cancer Risk was introduced through the efforts of the coalition. The first public hearing for LD #1297 was held on April 3, 2019 with the Health and Human Services Committee (HHS) in Augusta, Maine with support from the stakeholders. A work session was held on April 16, 2019 where the bill was voted “ought to pass” 7 to 3 by members of the HHS committee. Conclusion:The population health framework and application of the policy process framework to guide legislative efforts, resulted in greater support for LD #1297 by the HHS committee. Policy engagement to address the upstream causes of disease such as skin cancer is a professional responsibility of doctorally prepared nurse practitioners. This can be achieved by engaging in coalition building and enacting legislative initiatives for public health challenges such as the serious public health threat of indoor tanning by minors. Key Words: skin neoplasms, skin cancer, ultraviolet radiation, indoor tanning, artificial tanning, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanom

Maximum entropy methods as the bridge between macroscopic and microscopic theory

This paper investigates a function of macroscopic variables known as the singular potential, building on previous work by Ball and Majumdar. The singular potential is a function of the admissible statistical averages of probability distributions on a state space, defined so that it corresponds to the maximum possible entropy given known observed statistical averages, although non-classical entropy-like objective functions will also be considered. First the set of admissible moments must be established, and under the conditions presented in this work the set is open, bounded and convex allowing a description in terms of supporting hyperplanes, which provides estimates on the development of singularities for related probability distributions. Under appropriate conditions it is shown that the singular potential is strictly convex, as differentiable as the microscopic entropy and blows up uniformly as the macroscopic variable tends to the boundary of the set of admissible moments. Applications of the singular potential are then discussed, and particular consideration will be given to certain free-energy functionals typical in mean-field theory, demonstrating an equivalence between certain microscopic and macroscopic free-energy functionals. This allows statements about L^1-local minimisers of Onsager's free energy to be obtained which cannot be given by two-sided variations, and overcomes the need to ensure local minimisers are bounded away from zero and infinity before taking bounded variations. The analysis also permits the definition of a dual order parameter for which Onsager's free energy allows an explicit representation. Also the difficulties in approximating the singular potential by everywhere defined functions, in particular by polynomials, are addressed with examples demonstrating the failure of the Taylor approximation to preserve shape properties of the singular potential