A CREDIBLE PATHWAY FOR HEAY ION DRIVEN TARGET FABRICATION AND INJECTION

A261. A CREDIBLE PATHWAY FOR HEAY ION DRIVEN TARGET FABRICATION AND INJECTIO

Refining and regaining skills in fixation/diversification stage performers: The Five-A Model

Technical change is one of many factors underpinning success in elite, fixation/diversification stage performers. Surprisingly, however, there is a dearth of research pertaining to this process or the most efficacious methods used to bring about such a change. In this paper we highlight the emergent processes, yet also the lack in mechanistic comprehension surrounding technical change, addressing issues within the motor control, sport psychology, coaching and choking literature. More importantly, we seek an understanding of how these changes can be made more secure to competitive pressure, and how this can be embedded within the process of technical change. Following this review, we propose The Five-A Model based on successful coaching techniques, psychosocial concomitants, the avoidance of choking and principles of effective behaviour change. Specific mechanisms for each stage are discussed, with a focus on the use of holistic rhythm-based cues as a possible way of internalising changes. Finally, we suggest the need for further research to examine these five stages, to aid a more comprehensive construction of the content and delivery of such a programme within the applied setting

Genome-wide association and Mendelian randomisation analysis provide insights into the pathogenesis of heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A small proportion of HF cases are attributable to monogenic cardiomyopathies and existing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have yielded only limited insights, leaving the observed heritability of HF largely unexplained. We report results from a GWAS meta-analysis of HF comprising 47,309 cases and 930,014 controls. Twelve independent variants at 11 genomic loci are associated with HF, all of which demonstrate one or more associations with coronary artery disease (CAD), atrial fibrillation, or reduced left ventricular function, suggesting shared genetic aetiology. Functional analysis of non-CAD-associated loci implicate genes involved in cardiac development (MYOZ1, SYNPO2L), protein homoeostasis (BAG3), and cellular senescence (CDKN1A). Mendelian randomisation analysis supports causal roles for several HF risk factors, and demonstrates CAD-independent effects for atrial fibrillation, body mass index, and hypertension. These findings extend our knowledge of the pathways underlying HF and may inform new therapeutic strategies

Radiation induced structural and motional changes occurring in silica filled silicone polymer foams as probed by multinuclear NMR

The aging of polymeric composite materials through factors such as thermal and mechanical stresses, environment, radiation, and chemical attack can affect the length of time for which a given material can maintain its engineering performance. Iterative interactions and cumulative reactions may result in the material or device reaching a critical age where its properties fail unexpectedly and catastrophically. The mechanical poperty changes associated with multi-mechanism aging may be subtle, and may not necessarily change linearly as a function of time in service. Since such linear relationships are often used in lifetime predictions, there is a fundamental need to develop and employ spectroscopic methods to investigate the structural and motional changes that occur in these organic-inorganic materials as a result of aging in chemically, thermally, or radioactively harsh environments. Silica filled polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite systems are of technological interest due to their chemical and environmental resilience. Silica is usually chosen as the filler phase due to the significant reinforcement of the composite material through hydrogen bonding between the polymer chains and the surface groups on the filler. Unfilled PDMS is known to crosslink when exposed to high-energy radiation. The presence of a silica filler phase, which has a higher electron density than the polymer matrix, has been proposed to result in an increased incidence of crosslinking or scission due to backscatter of the incident radiation. Cohen-Addad has used {sup 1}H relaxation times to characterized cross-link density in unirradiated filled PDMS and Charlesby has reported {sup 1}H relaxation studies of irradiation induced changes in unfilled PDMS systems of average molccular weights up to 1 MDalton. However, no specific studies have been reported on aging of silica-filled PDMS based polymers systems. To this end the authors have applied Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methods to gain insight into the processes that are contributing to mechanical failure of silica filled polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based cushions. The studies so far have concentrated on (A) {sup 1}H, {sup 13}C, and {sup 29}Si Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) measurements of chemical speciation from chemical shifts, and (B) {sup 1}H relaxation measurements