FOOT-TO-BALL INTERACTION IN PREFERRED AND NON-PREFERRED LEG AUSTRALIAN RULES KICKING

Kicking is an integral skill within Australian Rules Football (ARF) and the ability to kick with either foot is essential at the elite level. A principal technical factor in the kicking skill is the nature of impact between the kicking foot and ball (Ball, 2008a). This study compared characteristics of foot-to-ball interaction between preferred and non-preferred kicking legs in Australian Rules football (ARF). Eighteen elite ARF players performed a maximum distance kick on their preferred and non-preferred legs. From high-speed video (6000Hz), two-dimensional digitised data of seven points (five on the kick leg, two on the ball) were used to quantify parameters near and during impact. The preferred foot produced significantly larger foot speed, ball speed, work done on the ball, ball displacement while in contact with the foot and change in shank angle during the ball contact phase

KICK IMPACT CHARACTERISTICS OF JUNIOR KICKERS

Impact is important to kicking performance and while differences have been found between kick distances and between preferred and non-preferred leg kicks, no work has examined junior kickers. This study examined impact characteristics of the Australian football (AF) drop punt kick for juniors and compared these data with seniors from Smith et al. (2009). Twenty one junior AF players performed a maximum distance kick. The foot, ball and shank were digitised from 6000 Hz video to calculate seven foot/ball parameters. Junior players produced significantly smaller foot and ball speeds but not foot to ball speed ratios compared to senior players. Work was also significantly different due to lesser force being applied to the ball. Junior players should focus on increasing foot speed and force on the ball to increase kick distance

BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF THE HANDBALL IN AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL

The handball pass in Australian Football has become increasingly important in recent years. However, important technical elements of handballing have not been identified in the scientific literature. The purposes of this study were to provide a descriptive analysis of the handball through the evaluation of a player considered to have good technique, to compare handballs for maximal speed and accuracy, and to compare preferred and non-preferred hands. Three-dimensional data were collected from one elite level Australian Football player using Optotrak Certus. The player performed three handballs for maximal speed and three handballs for accuracy with both the preferred and non-preferred hand. Linear hand speed, linear shoulder speed, shoulder angular velocity and elbow angular velocity were larger in the maximal speed condition. Differences in the development of hand speed were found for preferred and non-preferred hands

Commensal observing with the Allen Telescope array: software command and control

The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is a Large-Number-Small-Diameter radio telescope array currently with 42 individual antennas and 5 independent back-end science systems (2 imaging FX correlators and 3 time domain beam formers) located at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory (HCRO). The goal of the ATA is to run multiple back-ends simultaneously, supporting multiple science projects commensally. The primary software control systems are based on a combination of Java, JRuby and Ruby on Rails. The primary control API is simplified to provide easy integration with new back-end systems while the lower layers of the software stack are handled by a master observing system. Scheduling observations for the ATA is based on finding a union between the science needs of multiple projects and automatically determining an efficient path to operating the various sub-components to meet those needs. When completed, the ATA is expected to be a world-class radio telescope, combining dedicated SETI projects with numerous radio astronomy science projects.Comment: SPIE Conference Proceedings, Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy, Nicole M. Radziwill; Alan Bridger, Editors, 77400Z, Vol 774

Prior events predict cerebrovascular and coronary outcomes in the PROGRESS trial

<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> The relationship between baseline and recurrent vascular events may be important in the targeting of secondary prevention strategies. We examined the relationship between initial event and various types of further vascular outcomes and associated effects of blood pressure (BP)–lowering.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> Subsidiary analyses of the Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study (PROGRESS) trial, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial that established the benefits of BP–lowering in 6105 patients (mean age 64 years, 30% female) with cerebrovascular disease, randomly assigned to either active treatment (perindopril for all, plus indapamide in those with neither an indication for, nor a contraindication to, a diuretic) or placebo(s).</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Stroke subtypes and coronary events were associated with 1.5- to 6.6-fold greater risk of recurrence of the same event (hazard ratios, 1.51 to 6.64; P=0.1 for large artery infarction, P<0.0001 for other events). However, 46% to 92% of further vascular outcomes were not of the same type. Active treatment produced comparable reductions in the risk of vascular outcomes among patients with a broad range of vascular events at entry (relative risk reduction, 25%; P<0.0001 for ischemic stroke; 42%, P=0.0006 for hemorrhagic stroke; 17%, P=0.3 for coronary events; P homogeneity=0.4).</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Patients with previous vascular events are at high risk of recurrences of the same event. However, because they are also at risk of other vascular outcomes, a broad range of secondary prevention strategies is necessary for their treatment. BP–lowering is likely to be one of the most effective and generalizable strategies across a variety of major vascular events including stroke and myocardial infarction.</p&gt

Potential Residential Exposure to Toxics Release Inventory Chemicals during Pregnancy and Childhood Brain Cancer

BACKGROUND: Although the susceptibility of the developing fetus to various chemical exposures is well documented, the role of environmental chemicals in childhood brain cancer etiology is not well understood. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate whether mothers of childhood brain cancer cases had greater potential residential exposure to Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) chemicals than control mothers during pregnancy. METHODS: We included 382 brain cancer cases diagnosed at < 10 years of age from 1993 through 1997 who were identified from four statewide cancer registries. One-to-one matched controls were selected by random-digit dialing. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted. Using residential history of mothers during pregnancy, we measured proximity to TRI facilities and exposure index, including mass and chemicals released. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using conditional logistic regression to estimate brain cancer risk associated with TRI chemicals. RESULTS: Increased risk was observed for mothers living within 1 mi of a TRI facility (OR = 1.66; 95% CI, 1.11–2.48) and living within 1 mi of a facility releasing carcinogens (OR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.05–2.82) for having children diagnosed with brain cancer before 5 years of age, compared to living > 1 mi from a facility. Taking into account the mass and toxicity of chemical releases, we found a nonsignificant increase in risk (OR = 1.25; 95% CI, 0.67–2.34) comparing those with the lowest versus highest exposure index. CONCLUSIONS: Risk of childhood brain cancers may be associated with living near a TRI facility; however, this is an exploratory study and further studies are needed

Preoperative International Normalized Ratio Thresholds in Hip Fracture: An Analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program

Background: Hip fractures are one of the most common orthopaedic injuries among the elderly, and as life expectancy continues to rise, the incidence of hip fractures has increased. The international normalized ratio (INR) is routinely obtained preoperatively to assess a patient’s readiness for surgery to evaluate bleeding risk. We aimed to 1) assess the relationship between preoperative INR in hip fracture patients and postoperative complication rates and 2) establish an INR threshold under which patients would be safe to proceed to surgery without INR correction. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed cases of hip fracture surgical stabilization in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2018. Cases were stratified into four groups based on preoperative INR levels: 1) \u3c 1.4, 2) ≥1.4 and Results: Thirty-five thousand nine hundred-ten cases were identified, with 33,484 (93.2%) performed on patients with preoperative INR \u3c 1.4, 867 (2.4%) on INR ≥1.4 and Conclusions: In this study we found a threshold of INR\u3c 1.6 to be safe for patients prior to undergoing hip fracture surgery. Below this value patients avoid an increased risk of both transfusions and 30-day mortality seen at higher INR values. These findings may allow for adjustments to preoperative protocols and improve outcomes of hip fracture surgery in this population

The Allen Telescope Array Twenty-centimeter Survey - A 690-Square-Degree, 12-Epoch Radio Dataset - I: Catalog and Long-Duration Transient Statistics

We present the Allen Telescope Array Twenty-centimeter Survey (ATATS), a multi-epoch (12 visits), 690 square degree radio image and catalog at 1.4GHz. The survey is designed to detect rare, very bright transients as well as to verify the capabilities of the ATA to form large mosaics. The combined image using data from all 12 ATATS epochs has RMS noise sigma = 3.94mJy / beam and dynamic range 180, with a circular beam of 150 arcsec FWHM. It contains 4408 sources to a limiting sensitivity of S = 20 mJy / beam. We compare the catalog generated from this 12-epoch combined image to the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS), a legacy survey at the same frequency, and find that we can measure source positions to better than ~20 arcsec. For sources above the ATATS completeness limit, the median flux density is 97% of the median value for matched NVSS sources, indicative of an accurate overall flux calibration. We examine the effects of source confusion due to the effects of differing resolution between ATATS and NVSS on our ability to compare flux densities. We detect no transients at flux densities greater than 40 mJy in comparison with NVSS, and place a 2-sigma upper limit on the transient rate for such sources of 0.004 per square degree. These results suggest that the > 1 Jy transients reported by Matsumura et al. (2009) may not be true transients, but rather variable sources at their flux density threshold.Comment: 41 pages, 19 figures, ApJ accepted; corrected minor typo in Table