226 research outputs found
Managing Load to Optimize Well-Being and Recovery During Short-Term Match Congestion in Elite Basketball
In elite basketball, players are exposed to intensified competition periods when participating in both national and international competitions. How coaches manage training between matches and in reference to match scheduling for a full season is not yet known. PURPOSE: First, to compare load during short-term match congestion (ie, ≥2-match weeks) with regular competition (ie, 1-match weeks) in elite male professional basketball players. Second, to determine changes in well-being, recovery, neuromuscular performance, and injuries and illnesses between short-term match congestion and regular competition. METHODS: Sixteen basketball players (age 24.8 [2.0] y, height 195.8 [7.5] cm, weight 94.8 [14.0] kg, body fat 11.9% [5.0%], VO2max 51.9 [5.3] mL·kg-1·min-1) were monitored during a full season. Session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE) was obtained, and load was calculated (s-RPE × duration) for each training session or match. Perceived well-being (fatigue, sleep quality, general muscle soreness, stress levels, and mood) and total quality of recovery were assessed each training day. Countermovement jump height was measured, and a list of injuries and illnesses was collected weekly using the adapted Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems. RESULTS: Total load (training sessions and matches; P < .001) and training load (P < .001) were significantly lower for ≥2-match weeks. Significantly higher well-being (P = .01) and less fatigue (P = .001) were found during ≥2-match weeks compared with 1-match weeks. CONCLUSION: Total load and training load were lower during short-term match congestion compared with regular competition. Furthermore, better well-being and less fatigue were demonstrated within short-term match congestion. This might indicate that coaches tend to overcompensate training load in intensified competition
Rotterdam Aphasia Therapy Study (RATS) - 3: " The efficacy of intensive cognitive-linguistic therapy in the acute stage of aphasia"; design of a randomised controlled trial
Background: Aphasia is a severely disabling condition occurring in 20 to 25% of stroke patients. Most patients with aphasia due to stroke receive speech and language therapy. Methodologically sound randomised controlled trials investigating the effect of specific interventions for patients with aphasia following stroke are scarce.
Bilayer manganites: polarons in the midst of a metallic breakdown
The exact nature of the low temperature electronic phase of the manganite
materials family, and hence the origin of their colossal magnetoresistant (CMR)
effect, is still under heavy debate. By combining new photoemission and
tunneling data, we show that in La{2-2x}Sr{1+2x}Mn2O7 the polaronic degrees of
freedom win out across the CMR region of the phase diagram. This means that the
generic ground state is that of a system in which strong electron-lattice
interactions result in vanishing coherent quasi-particle spectral weight at the
Fermi level for all locations in k-space. The incoherence of the charge
carriers offers a unifying explanation for the anomalous charge-carrier
dynamics seen in transport, optics and electron spectroscopic data. The
stacking number N is the key factor for true metallic behavior, as an
intergrowth-driven breakdown of the polaronic domination to give a metal
possessing a traditional Fermi surface is seen in the bilayer system.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, includes supplementary informatio
Shot noise for resonant Cooper pair tunneling
We study intrinsic noise of current in a superconducting single-electron
transistor, taking into account both coherence effects and Coulomb interaction
near a Cooper-pair resonance. Due to this interplay, the statistics of
tunneling events deviates from the Poisson distribution and, more important, it
shows even-odd asymmetry in the transmitted charge. The zero-frequency noise is
suppressed significantly when the quasiparticle tunneling rates are comparable
to the coherent oscillation frequency of Cooper pairs.Comment: A few minor changes; To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
The Dutch health insurance reform: switching between insurers, a comparison between the general population and the chronically ill and disabled
Background: On 1 January 2006 a number of far-reaching changes in the Dutch health insurance
system came into effect. In the new system of managed competition consumer mobility plays an
important role. Consumers are free to change their insurer and insurance plan every year. The idea
is that consumers who are not satisfied with the premium or quality of care provided will opt for
a different insurer. This would force insurers to strive for good prices and quality of care.
Internationally, the Dutch changes are under the attention of both policy makers and researchers.
Questions answered in this article relate to switching behaviour, reasons for switching, and
differences between population categories.
Methods: Postal questionnaires were sent to 1516 members of the Dutch Health Care Consumer
Panel and to 3757 members of the National Panel of the Chronically ill and Disabled (NPCD) in
April 2006. The questionnaire was returned by 1198 members of the Consumer Panel (response
79%) and by 3211 members of the NPCD (response 86%). Among other things, questions were
asked about choices for a health insurer and insurance plan and the reasons for this choice.
Results: Young and healthy people switch insurer more often than elderly or people in bad health.
The chronically ill and disabled do not switch less often than the general population when both
populations are comparable on age, sex and education.
For the general population, premium is more important than content, while the chronically ill and
disabled value content of the insurance package as well. However, quality of care is not important
for either group as a reason for switching.
Conclusion: There is increased mobility in the new system for both the general population and
the chronically ill and disabled. This however is not based on quality of care. If reasons for switching
are unrelated to the quality of care, it is hard to believe that switching influences the quality of care.
As yet there are no signs of barriers to switch insurer for the chronically ill and disabled. This
however could change in the future and it is therefore important to monitor changes.
Optimized Trigger for Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic-Ray and Neutrino Observations with the Low Frequency Radio Array
When an ultra-high energy neutrino or cosmic ray strikes the Lunar surface a
radio-frequency pulse is emitted. We plan to use the LOFAR radio telescope to
detect these pulses. In this work we propose an efficient trigger
implementation for LOFAR optimized for the observation of short radio pulses.Comment: Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research
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