INTRA-LIMB VARIABILITY AND INTER-LIMB ASYMMETRY IN GYMNASTICS JUMP TESTS

The inter-limb symmetry of loading patterns during drop landings and the first contact of rebound jumps was examined in young, talent-selected female gymnasts. Each gymnast performed three trials of each task from two box heights (72 and 107 cm) onto two Kistler force platforms. A symmetry index and coefficient of variation was calculated from the peak ground reaction forces. The loading patterns for each gymnast was categorised as either symmetrical, significant asymmetry or inconclusive asymmetry. Landing forces increased with age for the 107cm landing task. Approximately 40-45% of gymnasts displayed inter-limb asymmetry across both tasks and heights. Low incidences (12-17%) of inconclusive asymmetry were observed, where the asymmetry observed was less than the intra-limb loading variability

IS A GYMNAST’S PERFORMANCE AND HEALTH AFFECTED BY VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY?

This study examined the effect of vitamin D deficiency on bone strength and jumping and competition performance in 38 sub-junior gymnasts. Each sub-junior gymnast completed anthropometry, blood, bone (pQCT), and biomechanical jumping tests, as well as a Tanner survey and 3 day food diary. Vitamin D was not related to bone health, and was not positively related to any biomechanical or competition performance measures. The repetitive, high impact training of gymnastics was most important for bone health

BIOMECHANICAL FIELD TEST OBSERVATIONS OF GYMNASTS ENTERING PUBERTY

This study examined growth, maturation and biomechanical jumping ability in 19 subjunior gymnasts during one year of high performance training. Each sub-junior gymnast completed anthropometry, bone (pQCT), and biomechanical jumping tests, as well as Tanner surveys. Large increases in jumping power production were observed after one year of training. Leg stiffness doubled during the period of rapid height growth and then reduced closer to baseline levels six months later. Whereas ankle extensor stiffness increased more rapidly when height growth was slower, and leg stiffness was stabilising. This study demonstrated that high performance, sub-junior gymnastics training results in large improvements in jumping strength and power, but also identified potential signs of heighted injury risk

Is a gymnast's performance and health affected by Vitamin D deficiency?

This study examined the effect of vitamin D deficiency on bone strength and jumping and competition performance in 38 sub-junior gymnasts. Each sub-junior gymnast completed anthropometry, blood, bone (pQCT), and biomechanical jumping tests, as well as a Tanner survey and 3 day food diary. Vitamin D was not related to bone health, and was not positively related to any biomechanical or competition performance measures. The repetitive, high impact training of gymnastics was most important for bone health

Modified‐Release Subantimicrobial Dose Doxycycline Enhances Scaling and Root Planing in Subjects With Periodontal Disease

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142084/1/jper0440.pd

Quantum enhancement of signal-to-noise ratio with a heralded linear amplifier

Amplification of signals is an elemental function for many information processing systems and communication networks. However, optical quantum amplification has always been a technical challenge in both free space and fiber optics communication. Any phase-insensitive amplification of quantum light states would experience a degradation of signal-to-noise ratio as large as 3 dB for large gains. Fortunately, this degradation can be surmounted by probabilistic amplification processes. Here we experimentally demonstrate a linear amplification scheme for coherent input states that combines a heralded measurement-based noiseless linear amplifier and a deterministic linear amplifier. The amplifier is phase-insensitive and can enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the incoming optical signal. By concatenating the two amplifiers, it introduces flexibility that allows one to tune between the regimes of high gain or high noise reduction and control the trade-off between these performances and a finite heralding probability. We demonstrate amplification with a signal transfer coefficient of >1Ts>1 with no statistical distortion of the output state. By partially relaxing the demand of output Gaussianity, we can obtain further improvement to achieve a =2.55 ±0.08Ts=2.55 ±0.08 with an amplification gain of 10.54. Since our amplification scheme only relies on linear optics and a post-selection algorithm, it has the potential of being used as a building block in extending the distance of quantum communication.Australian Research Council (ARC) (CE110001027)

A history of high-power laser research and development in the United Kingdom

The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years

Assessing changes in global fire regimes

PAGES, Past Global Changes, is funded by the Swiss Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences and supported in kind by the University of Bern, Switzerland. Financial support was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation award numbers 1916565, EAR-2011439, and EAR-2012123. Additional support was provided by the Utah Department of Natural Resources Watershed Restoration Initiative. SSS was supported by Brigham Young University Graduate Studies. MS was supported by National Science Centre, Poland (grant no. 2018/31/B/ST10/02498 and 2021/41/B/ST10/00060). JCA was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101026211. PF contributed within the framework of the FCT-funded project no. UIDB/04033/2020. SGAF acknowledges support from Trond Mohn Stiftelse (TMS) and University of Bergen for the startup grant ‘TMS2022STG03’. JMP participation in this research was supported by the Forest Research Centre, a research unit funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia I.P. (FCT), Portugal (UIDB/00239/2020). A.-LD acknowledge PAGES, PICS CNRS 06484 project, CNRS-INSU, Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, University of Bordeaux DRI and INQUA for workshop support.Background The global human footprint has fundamentally altered wildfire regimes, creating serious consequences for human health, biodiversity, and climate. However, it remains difficult to project how long-term interactions among land use, management, and climate change will affect fire behavior, representing a key knowledge gap for sustainable management. We used expert assessment to combine opinions about past and future fire regimes from 99 wildfire researchers. We asked for quantitative and qualitative assessments of the frequency, type, and implications of fire regime change from the beginning of the Holocene through the year 2300. Results Respondents indicated some direct human influence on wildfire since at least ~ 12,000 years BP, though natural climate variability remained the dominant driver of fire regime change until around 5,000 years BP, for most study regions. Responses suggested a ten-fold increase in the frequency of fire regime change during the last 250 years compared with the rest of the Holocene, corresponding first with the intensification and extensification of land use and later with anthropogenic climate change. Looking to the future, fire regimes were predicted to intensify, with increases in frequency, severity, and size in all biomes except grassland ecosystems. Fire regimes showed different climate sensitivities across biomes, but the likelihood of fire regime change increased with higher warming scenarios for all biomes. Biodiversity, carbon storage, and other ecosystem services were predicted to decrease for most biomes under higher emission scenarios. We present recommendations for adaptation and mitigation under emerging fire regimes, while recognizing that management options are constrained under higher emission scenarios. Conclusion The influence of humans on wildfire regimes has increased over the last two centuries. The perspective gained from past fires should be considered in land and fire management strategies, but novel fire behavior is likely given the unprecedented human disruption of plant communities, climate, and other factors. Future fire regimes are likely to degrade key ecosystem services, unless climate change is aggressively mitigated. Expert assessment complements empirical data and modeling, providing a broader perspective of fire science to inform decision making and future research priorities.Peer reviewe