Me or We? The Effect of Team and Individual Sports Activity on Executive Functioning

There is limited research examining the processes by which open and closed motor skill sports optimize Executive Functions (EFs). The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of motor sequencing and repetitive movement in individual and team sports and their influence on EFs. The study also investigated gender differences in EF abilities within a sporting context. We tested 40 University students (17 = Male, 23 = Female) aged 17-29 (M = 20.47, SD = 2.75) who were randomly assigned to a team and individual sports-oriented intervention focused on either repetitive or variable motor sequential movement. We predicted that individuals in the variable motor sequencing and team condition would yield the best EF performance. Our results suggested a significant interaction effect of Gender x “Team/Individual” on EF measures, as females and males performed significantly different on a team compared to those in the individual conditions. For performance of intervention, we found an overall main effect of Team/Individual, such that participants in the Team conditions finished faster on the sports task than those in the Individual conditions. A significant main effect of Gender was also found, as males generally outperformed female participants. These findings have implications for optimizing sport and EF performance between genders

Epistemic landscapes, optimal search and the division of cognitive labor

This paper examines two questions about scientists’ search for knowledge. First, which search strategies generate discoveries effectively? Second, is it advantageous to diversify search strategies? We argue pace Weisberg and Muldoon (2009) that, on the first question, a search strategy that deliberately seeks novel research approaches need not be optimal. On the second question, we argue they have not shown epistemic reasons exist for the division of cognitive labor, identifying the errors that led to their conclusions. Furthermore, we generalize the epistemic landscape model, showing that one should be skeptical about the benefits of social learning in epistemically complex environments

HOLA: a High-Order Lie Advection of Discrete Differential Forms With Applications in Fluid Dynamics

The Lie derivative, and Exterior Calculus in general, is ubiquitous in the elegant geometric interpretation of many dynamical systems. We extend recent trends towards a Discrete Exterior Calculus by introducing a discrete framework for the Lie derivative defined on differential forms, including a WENO based numerical scheme for its implementation. The usefulness of this operator is demonstrated through the advection of scalar and vector valued fields (arbitrary discrete k-forms) in a desirable intrinsic and metric independent fashion. Examples include Lie advection of fluid flow vorticity, and we conclude with a significant discussion on the conservative Lie advection of fluid mass density for robust free surface flows in computer graphics

Kinematics of the Swift Creek Landslide, Northwest Washington

Deep-seated landslides significantly influence mountain landscapes in Washington State, yet relatively few of these landslides have been studied in detail. I selected the Swift Creek landslide, a large (approximately 5.489 x 105 m2 [54.89 hectares]), deep-seated landslide located on Sumas Mountain in northwest Washington, to be the site of a detailed study. This study, the first phase in a planned long-term study to be conducted by WWU, consisted of a detailed topographic survey, geomorphic mapping, repeated GPS surveying of monitoring points (consisting of six surveys from July 2002 to June 2003), tree-core analysis (dendrogeomorphology), and historic aerial photograph analysis. The landslide is most likely rooted in altered ultramafites, primarily consisting of serpentinite at the surface, and closely resembles a large earthflow (even though the underlying material is bedrock). The landslide is failing by rotational movement at the head of the landslide, transitioning to a flow toward the toe of the landslide. The toe of the landslide is almost completely devoid of vegetation (most likely because of the presence of serpentinitic soils and the high activity of the landslide), and is the site of frequent failures during the winter. Horizontal movement of monitoring points on the landslide varied from 37 m to less than the 95% horizontal precision of the GPS survey (generally less than 2 meters) during the course of this study (July 2002 to June 2003). The greatest amount of movement was observed on the toe. Rapid movement of points on the toe (\u3e10m annually for many of the points) is related to shallow mass wasting caused by intense rain fall. Points upslope from the toe generally movedphotographs, geomorphic activity on the landslide increased to a maximum in the 1970s and has slightly diminished since that time. Aerial photographs and a comparison between topographic data from 1972 and 2002 indicate that the toe of the landslide has enlarged steadily in both thickness and horizontal extent since the initiation of the landslide and continues to enlarge

Severe Lumbar Disability Is Associated With Decreased Psoas Cross-Sectional Area in Degenerative Spondylolisthesis

Study Design: Retrospective cohort. Objectives: Alterations in lumbar paraspinal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) may correlate with lumbar pathology. The purpose of this study was to compare paraspinal CSA in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis and severe lumbar disability to those with mild or moderate lumbar disability, as determined by the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 101 patients undergoing lumbar fusion for degenerative spondylolisthesis. Patients were divided into ODI score ≤40 (mild/moderate disability, MMD) and ODI score \u3e40 (severe disability, SD) groups. The total CSA of the psoas and paraspinal muscles were measured on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results: There were 37 patients in the SD group and 64 in the MMD group. Average age and body mass index were similar between groups. For the paraspinal muscles, we were unable to demonstrate any significant differences in total CSA between the groups. Psoas muscle CSA was significantly decreased in the SD group compared with the MMD group (1010.08 vs 1178.6 mm2, P =.041). Multivariate analysis found that psoas CSA in the upper quartile was significantly protective against severe disability (P =.013). Conclusions: We found that patients with severe lumbar disability had no significant differences in posterior lumbar paraspinal CSA when compared with those with mild/moderate disability. However, severely disabled patients had significantly decreased psoas CSA, and larger psoas CSA was strongly protective against severe disability, suggestive of a potential association with psoas atrophy and worsening severity of lumbar pathology. © The Author(s) 2018

James B. Macelwane Award to Dan McKenzie, Gerald Schubert and Vytenis M. Vasyliunas

To those earth scientists who have followed the revolutionary development of plate tectonics from its dawning, it may come as a surprise that Dan McKenzie can have done so much and still be young enough to qualify for the James B. Macelwane Award. Nonetheless it is so. He was born on February 21, 1941. He received his advanced education at King's College, Cambridge University, and was awarded a B.A. in 1963 and a Ph.D. in 1966. He became a Fellow of the college in 1965. He was fortunate enough to be a student in Edward Bullard's Department of Geodesy and Geophysics just in those exciting years when the validity of sea floor spreading was demonstrated. McKenzie was one of the first to realize the broader implications of the computer fitting of continents by Bullard and others which assumed that the drifting crust is rigid

Epistemic Landscapes, Optimal Search, and the Division of Cognitive Labor

This paper examines two questions about scientists’ search for knowledge. First, which search strategies generate discoveries effectively? Second, is it advantageous to diversify search strategies? We argue pace Weisberg and Muldoon (2009) that, on the first question, a search strategy that deliberately seeks novel research approaches need not be optimal. On the second question, we argue they have not shown epistemic reasons exist for the division of cognitive labor, identifying the errors that led to their conclusions. Furthermore, we generalize the epistemic landscape model, showing that one should be skeptical about the benefits of social learning in epistemically complex environments