Academic Research and Reform: A History of the Empirical Basis for NCAA Academic Policy

The purpose of this article is to provide an historical overview of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) academic reform, with a particular focus on the empirical basis for the decisions made. The authors outline four eras of academic reform, examine the types of information the NCAA has collected and used to make decisions about academic policy, and explore the limits of such academic data

Cognition and Economic Outcomes in the Health and Retirement Survey

Dimensions of cognitive skills are potentially important but often neglected determinants of the central economic outcomes that shape overall well-being over the life course. There exists enormous variation among households in their rates of wealth accumulation, their holdings of financial assets, and the relative risk in their chosen asset portfolios that have proven difficult to explain by conventional demographic factors, the amount of bequests they receive or anticipating giving, and the level of economic resources of the household. These may be cognitively demanding decisions at any age but especially so at older ages. This research examines the association of cognitive skills with wealth, wealth growth, and wealth composition for people in their pre and post-retirement years.

Effect of suspension systems on the physiological and psychological responses to sub-maximal biking on simulated smooth and bumpy tracks

The aim of this study was to compare the physiological and psychological responses of cyclists riding on a hard tail bicycle and on a full suspension bicycle. Twenty males participated in two series of tests. A test rig held the front axle of the bicycle steady while the rear wheel rotated against a heavy roller with bumps (or no bumps) on its surface. In the first series of tests, eight participants (age 19 – 27 years, body mass 65 – 82 kg) were tested on both the full suspension and hard tail bicycles with and without bumps fitted to the roller. The second series of test repeated the bump tests with a further six participants (age 22 – 31 years, body mass 74 – 94 kg) and also involved an investigation of familiarization effects with the final six participants (age 21 – 30 years, body mass 64 – 80 kg). Heart rate, oxygen consumption (VO<sub>2</sub>), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and comfort were recorded during 10 min sub-maximal tests. Combined data for the bumps tests show that the full suspension bicycle was significantly different (P < 0.001) from the hard tail bicycle on all four measures. Oxygen consumption, heart rate and RPE were lower on average by 8.7 (s = 3.6) ml · kg<sup>-1</sup> · min<sup>-1</sup>, 32.1 (s = 12.1) beats · min<sup>-1</sup> and 2.6 (s = 2.0) units, respectively. Comfort scores were higher (better) on average by 1.9 (s = 0.8) units. For the no bumps tests, the only statistically significant difference (P = 0.008) was in VO<sub>2</sub>, which was lower for the hard tail bicycle by 2.2 (s = 1.7) ml · kg-1 · min<sup>-1</sup>. The results indicate that the full suspension bicycle provides a physiological and psychological advantage over the hard tail bicycle during simulated sub-maximal exercise on bumps

Overexpression of HSP70 in mouse skeletal muscle protects against muscle damage and age‐related muscle dysfunction

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154339/1/fsb2fj030395fje-sup-0001.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154339/2/fsb2fj030395fje.pd

Formation of 3-nitrotyrosines in carbonic anhydrase III is a sensitive marker of oxidative stress in skeletal muscle

Oxidation of skeletal muscle proteins has been reported to occur following contractions, with ageing, and with a variety of disease states, but the nature of the oxidised proteins has not been identified. A proteomics approach was utilised to identify major proteins that contain carbonyls and/or 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) groups in the gastrocnemius (GTN) muscles of adult (5–11 14months of age) and old (26–28 14months of age) wild type (WT) mice and adult mice lacking copper, zinc superoxide dismutase ( Sod1 −/− mice), manganese superoxide dismutase ( Sod2 +/− mice) or glutathione peroxidase 1 ( GPx1 −/− mice). In quiescent GTN muscles of adult and old WT mice, protein carbonylation and/or formation of 3-NT occurred in several proteins involved in glycolysis, as well as creatine kinase and carbonic anhydrase III. Following contractions, the 3-NT intensity was increased in specific protein bands from GTN muscles of both adult and old WT mice. In quiescent GTN muscles from adult Sod1 −/− , Sod2 +/− or GPx1 −/− mice compared with age-matched WT mice only carbonic anhydrase III showed a greater 3-NT content. We conclude that formation of 3-NT occurs readily in response to oxidative stress in carbonic anhydrase III and this may provide a sensitive measure of oxidative damage to muscle proteins.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56035/1/362_ftp.pd

In-Season vs. Out-of-Season Academic Performance of College Student-Athletes

There is a commonly held belief within the intercollegiate athletics community that student-athletes perform better academically during their season of athletics competition than they do outside the season of competition. The thought is that the structured nature of the playing season leads to more structure in student-athletes’ academic lives and better academic performance. However, it is difficult to find empirical studies supporting this belief. A series of three studies was conducted to assess whether there is a difference in the grade-point average and credits earned of student-athletes in their season of competition vs. their off-season. These three studies are distinguished by NCAA membership division (Division I, Division II or Division III) and the specific nature of the data available in each of those divisions. The Division III study served as a pilot and examined over 3,000 student-athlete records at eight schools. The Division II study included nearly 12,000 student-athletes at 92 schools, and the Division I study involved analysis of a census of Division I student-athletes at over 325 colleges and universities followed term-by-term for up to four years. The separate divisional studies came to similar conclusions. Generally, the academic performance of student-athletes was shown to be better outside the season of competition than during the season—contrary to the conventional wisdom. The negative in-season effects were stronger in sports known to have high in-season time demands (e.g., Division I football, baseball and softball) and among student-athletes who entered college less well prepared academically

2-Ferrocenyl-N-(6-methyl-2-pyrid­yl)benzamide

The title compound, [Fe(C5H5)(C18H15N2O)], a product of the reaction of 2-ferrocenylbenzoic acid and 2-amino-6-methyl­pyridine, crystallizes with two dissimilar mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. In one mol­ecule, the picoline amide group is directed away from the 2-ferrocenylbenzene moiety (anti) whereas in the other, these are proximate (syn). In the crystal structure, mol­ecules aggregate into dimers via cyclic, asymmetric N—H⋯N inter­actions with graph set R 2 2(8), and are further augmented via intra­molecular C—H⋯O=C and inter­dimer C—H⋯π(arene) inter­actions. Dimers are linked into chains along the [102] direction via weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Investigating ceiling effects in longitudinal data analysis

Score limitation at the top of a scale is commonly termed "ceiling effect." Ceiling effects can lead to serious artifactual parameter estimates in most data analysis. This study examines the consequences of ceiling effects in longitudinal data analysis and investigates several methods of dealing with ceiling effects through Monte Carlo simulations and empirical data analyses. Data were simulated based on a latent growth curve model with T D 5 occasions. The proportion of the ceiling data [10%-40%] was manipulated by using different thresholds, and estimated parameters were examined for R D 500 replications. The results showed that ceiling effects led to incorrect model selection and biased parameter estimation (shape of the curve and magnitude of the changes) when regular growth curve models were applied. The Tobit growth curve model, instead, performed very well in dealing with ceiling effects in longitudinal data analysis. The Tobit growth curve model was then applied in an empirical cognitive aging study and the results were discussed