Neuromuscular adaptations to different set configurations during a periodized power training block in elite junior Judokas

Although the impacts of traditional sets (TS) versus cluster (CL) sets resistance training have been broadly explored among recreationally trained populations, no studies have previously compared these set configurations among elite Judokas. Twenty-two elite male and female Judokas (age = 17.5 ± 1.2 years) performed identical periodized 4-week hypertrophy and strength blocks (8 weeks in total). Following this, for the final 4-week power training block, the cohort was separated into either TS (n = 11) or CL (n = 11) set structures. CL were prescribed by including 45-second intra-set rest every two repetitions. One-repetition maximum (1RM) and peak barbell velocities of the back squat and bench press, and countermovement (CMJ) jump height were assessed before and following each 4-week mesocycle. Significant strength and power improvements were observed after the 4-week hypertrophy training block (1RM bench press = Δ 3.82 kg, ES [95 % CI] = 1.34 [0.76, 1.93], p \u3c 0.001; 1RM squat = Δ 4.71 kg, ES = 0.52 [0.07, 0.96], p = 0.024; CMJ height = Δ 0.54 cm, ES = 0.62 [0.16, 1.07], p = 0.008) and after the 4-week maximal strength training block (1RM bench press = Δ 1.5 kg, ES = 0.68 [0.21, 1.41], p = 0.004; 1RM squat = Δ 5.47 kg, ES = 0.61 [0.15, 1.06], p = 0.010; CMJ height = Δ 0.45 cm, ES = 0.71 [0.23, 1.17], p = 0.003). However, no time × group differences were observed between the TS and CL groups following the 4-week power training block. Though traditional periodized resistance training improved neuromuscular qualities of elite junior Judokas, no between-group neuromuscular differences using either TS or CL suggests that both methods may be used as part of periodized training programs

Satellite Image Processing for the Coarse-Scale Investigation of Sandy Coastal Areas

In recent years, satellite imagery has shown its potential to support the sustainable management of land, water, and natural resources. In particular, it can provide key information about the properties and behavior of sandy beaches and the surrounding vegetation, improving the ecomorphological understanding and modeling of coastal dynamics. Although satellite image processing usually demands high memory and computational resources, free online platforms such as Google Earth Engine (GEE) have recently enabled their users to leverage cloud-based tools and handle big satellite data. In this technical note, we describe an algorithm to classify the coastal land cover and retrieve relevant information from Sentinel-2 and Landsat image collections at specific times or in a multitemporal way: the extent of the beach and vegetation strips, the statistics of the grass cover, and the position of the shoreline and the vegetation–sand interface. Furthermore, we validate the algorithm through both quantitative and qualitative methods, demonstrating the goodness of the derived classification (accuracy of approximately 90%) and showing some examples about the use of the algorithm’s output to study coastal physical and ecological dynamics. Finally, we discuss the algorithm’s limitations and potentialities in light of its scaling for global analyses

The emotional and social burden of heart failure: integrating physicians’, patients’, and caregivers’ perspectives through narrative medicine

Background: The The Roadmap Using Story Telling project used a narrative medicine (NM) framework to assess the perspectives of people with heart failure (HF), their informal caregivers and HF specialists of the impact of HF on the daily life of patients and their carers. Methods: Italian HF specialists participated on a voluntary basis, completing their own narratives, and inviting patients and their caregivers to write anonymously about their experiences, all on a dedicated online platform. The narratives were analyzed according to standard NM methodology. Results: 82 narratives were collected from patients, 61 from caregivers, and 104 from HF specialists. Analysis of the three points of view revealed the extent of the burden of illness on the entire family, particularly that of the caregiver. The impact was mainly experienced as emotional and social limitations in patients’ and their caregivers’ daily lives. The analysis of all three points of view highlighted a strong difference between how HF is perceived by patients, caregivers, and HF specialists. Conclusions: This NM project illustrates the complex issues of living with HF and gave insights to integrate three different perspectives into the HF pathway of care

SVtL: System Verification through Logic: tool support for verifying sliced hierarchical statecharts

SVtL is the core of a slicing-based verification environment for UML statechart models. We present an overview of the SVtL software architecture. Special attention is paid to the slicing approach. Slicing reduces the complexity of the verification approach, based on removing pieces of the model that are not of interest during verification. In [18] a slicing algorithm has been proposed for statecharts, but it was not able to handle orthogonal regions efficiently. We optimize this algorithm by removing false dependencies, relying on the broadcasting mechanism between different parts of the statechart model

Synthesis And Properties Of Clay-ZrO2-Cellulose Fibre-Reinforced Polymeric Nano-Hybrids

Epoxy nano-hybrids reinforced with cellulose fibre (CF), nano-kaolinite (K), and micro-ZrO2 (Z) have been synthesized. The influence of CF/K/Z dispersions on the mechanical properties of these hybrids have been characterized in terms of elastic modulus, hardness, flexural strength, fracture toughness and indentation responses. This new but cost-effective approach has been developed to improve the physical and mechanical properties of polymeric materials without adversely affecting their processing characteristics. The mechanism of reinforcement in these organic/inorganic nanohybrid materials has been investigated. The micromechanisms of toughening and failure processes are identified and discussed in the light of observed nano- and micro-structures

Investigation of genomic DNA methylation by ultraviolet resonant Raman spectroscopy

Cytosine plays a preeminent role in DNA methylation, an epigenetic mechanism that regulates gene expression, the misregulation of which can lead to severe diseases. Several methods are nowadays employed for assessing the global DNA methylation levels, but none of them combines simplicity, high sensitivity, and low operating costs to be translated into clinical applications. Ultraviolet (UV) resonant Raman measurements at excitation wavelengths of 272 nm, 260 nm, 250 nm, and 228 nm have been carried out on isolated deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs), on a dNTP mixture as well as on genomic DNA (gDNA) samples, commercial from salmon sperm and non-commercial from B16 murine melanoma cell line. The 228 nm excitation wavelength was identified as the most suitable energy for enhancing cytosine signals over the other DNA bases. The UV Raman measurements performed at this excitation wavelength on hyper-methylated and hypo-methylated DNA from Jurkat leukemic T-cell line have revealed significant spectral differences with respect to gDNA isolated from salmon sperm and mouse melanoma B16 cells. This demonstrates how the proper choice of the excitation wavelength, combined with optimized extraction protocols, makes UV Raman spectroscopy a suitable technique for highlighting the chemical modifications undergone by cytosine nucleotides in gDNA upon hyper- and hypo-methylation events

A Process Algebraic Fluid Flow Model of Emergency Egress

Abstract-Pervasive environments offer an increasing number of services to a large number of people moving within these environments including timely information about where to go and when. People using these services interact with the system but they are also meeting other people and performing other activities as relevant opportunities arise. The design of such systems and the analysis of collective dynamic behaviour of people within them is a challenging problem. In previous work we have successfully explored a scalable analysis of stochastic process algebraic models of smart signage systems. In this paper we focus on the validation of a representative example of this class of models in the context of emergency egress. This context has the advantage that there is detailed data available from studies with alternative analysis methods. A second aim is to show how realistic human behaviour, often observed in emergency egress, can be embedded in the model and how the effect of this behaviour on building evacuation can be analysed in an efficient and scalable way

Traits associated with naturalization in Anolis lizards: comparison of morphological, distributional, anthropogenic, and phylogenetic models

Abstract The worldwide spread of invasive species affects native biodiversity and causes economic loss, but also allows better understanding of historical biogeographic patterns. Prediction of likely invaders facilitates economic and conservation decisions and gives insight into characteristics that have allowed natural colonization over evolutionary time. However, it is not clear what types of characters best predict naturalization or even whether naturalization is predictable at all. Squamate reptiles have been understudied subjects for invasion biology. Lizards of the genus Anolis have been highly successful colonizers both recently and over evolutionary time. Nineteen of the approximately 350 described species of Anolis have established naturalized populations. We constructed models of naturalization using morphological, distributional, anthropogenic, and phylogenetic characters and compared these single character class models to each other and to a composite model incorporating all four classes. We show that (1) each class of variables significantly predicts invasion, (2) a composite model significantly outperforms each of the submodels, and (3) the final composite model displays extraordinary ability to objectively identify naturalized species of Anolis

In situ neutron diffraction study on the effect of aluminium fluoride on phase transformation of mullite from alumina/clay

The effect of aluminium fluoride (AIF3) on the phase transformation sequence of mullite (3AI2032Si02) from two different types of kaolin (kaolinite and halloysite) (AI2Si20s(OH)4-2H20) within an alumina (A1203) matrix for a temperature range of 20 - 1500 C was investigated using in situ neutron diffraction. Samples containing a mixture of A1F3 (0 - 5 wt%), AI203 and kaolin were heated up to 1500 C and then furnace cooled. During the heating procedure, one hour neutron diffraction scans were conducted at 600, 900, 1100, 1200, 1300 and 1400 C, followed by six consecutive one hour scans at 1500 C and finally a one hour scan at room temperature upon cooling. The diffraction patterns collected between 1100 and 1500 C were analyzed by Rietveld analysis. The observed phase transformations exhibited a typical sequence found inclay/alumina ceramics. Corundum, mullite and cristobalite were observed. A common feature among the specimens containing different amounts of AIF3 and kaolin was that the content of corundum decreased as the amount of mullite increased, whilst the cristobalite content tended to peak near the temperature where the amounts of corundum and mullite were approximately equal. The mullitization temperature was reduced as the AIF3 content increased for both kaolinite and halloysite. The presence of AIF3 appeared to reduce the onset temperature for mullite nucleation, which is at a much lower temperature compared to that of grain growth. However, AIF3 also seemed to lower densification. Likewise mechanical properties of the resulting specimens were determined

The reliability of neurological measurement in the vastus medialis: implications for research and practice

The integrity of the corticomotor pathway is paramount in the optimal functioning of skeletal muscle. However, variability of neurophysiological assessment via peripheral nerve and transcranial magnetic stimulation can render interpretation difficult. Seldom evidence exists regarding the reliability of such measurements in the leg extensors, which have important locomotive and functional roles. This study aimed to assess the test-retest reliability of peripheral, corticospinal and intracortical responses in the vastus medialis. Transcranial magnetic and direct current electrical nerve stimulation were delivered to sixteen healthy young adults (8M and 8F) on two separate occasions. The Hoffmann reflex, maximal compound wave, motor evoked potential, corticospinal silent period, intracortical facilitation, and short-interval intracortical inhibition were recorded from the vastus medialis at rest, and during controlled submaximal voluntary contraction. Relative reliability was quantified using intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC2,1). Absolute reliability was quantified using standard error of measurement (SEm) and minimal detectable change (MDC). Corticospinal silent period, corticospinal silent period/motor evoked potential ratio, active motor evoked potential, maximal Hoffman reflex, and passive short-interval intracortical inhibition demonstrated "good to excellent" relative reliability (ICC ≥ 0.643). Intracortical facilitation demonstrated the lowest relative reliability (ICC = 0.420-0.908). Corticospinal silent period displayed the lowest absolute reliability (SEm ≤ 18.68%). Good reliability of the maximal compound wave, Hoffman reflex, motor evoked potential, and corticospinal silent period allow for reliable neurological evaluation of peripheral and corticospinal pathways in the vastus medialis. Future research should investigate reliability of the intracortical (short-interval intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation) measures by using different paired-pulse stimulus parameters. These findings hold important implications for neurophysiological assessment conducted in the leg extensor group