Strength and power throughout the menstrual cycle

2020 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Purpose: The purpose was to determine if maximal muscle performance varies across the menstrual cycle because historically this measurement has been left out of research and women report feeling differences between phases. Strength and ballistic force production were measured in normally cycling eumenorrheic women and in women on hormonal birth control. We expected greater performance during the follicular vs. luteal phase because of fluctuating hormones, specifically estrogen, for the normally cycling women and more constant values for women on birth control because of the lack of fluctuating hormones due to effects of birth control. Methods: Participants were physically active women between 18-40 years who were either 1) eumenorrheic and not taking hormonal birth control (N=13), or 2) taking birth control (N=10). Ovulation was determined via body temperature and LH strips, and along with menses, was tracked for one full cycle prior to strength testing as well as during their two months of strength testing. Identical assessments were performed on four visits in the luteal and follicular phases over two consecutive months of menstrual cycles. Tests included leg and arm strength, ballistic force production, and vertical jump. Results: Comparisons were made between the luteal and follicular phases within subjects and between the normally cycling and hormonal birth control groups. No significant differences were found in for strength or ballistic functional measures between menstrual phases or between the groups (p=>0.05). Conclusions: Meaningful differences between phases would suggest that hormonal fluctuations affect muscle performance. We found no difference in muscle function between follicular and luteal phases. This suggests that the hormonal variation during the menstrual cycle is insufficient to alter maximal neuromuscular output. One possibility is that the relatively low number of participants hampered the ability to detect differences. If there are no differences between phases, the female athlete does not need to adjust their training and competition schedules

Texas Exempt Wells: Where Does Fracking Fit

In the midst of a record-setting drought and an unprecedented oil and gas boom, an important question has arisen under Texas water law. Where do the water wells that supply fresh groundwater for the fracking process fit under the current Texas Water Code? Are these wells “exempt” under Texas Water Code section 36.117(b)(2) as water wells used solely for oil and gas drilling and exploration, which would excuse the wells from many requirements imposed on most other water wells? Specifically, must groundwater wells drilled for fracking comply with the groundwater conservation districts’ (GCDs) permitting requirements prior to drilling and operation? It remains uncertain whether such wells fall within the scope of section 36.117(b)(2), because fracking was not commonly used when Texas passed the current statutory exemption for oil and gas rig water supply wells in 1971. Moreover, GCDs disagree on whether fracking should be classified as drilling, exploration, or production, and, consequently, whether such wells are exempt from GCD requirements. This paper focuses on the scope of Texas Water Code section 36.117(b)(2) and whether this exempt well provision applies to groundwater wells that are drilled solely for use in hydraulic fracturing

Mapping the CMB III: combined analysis of QMAP flights

We present results from the QMAP balloon experiment, which maps the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and probes its angular power spectrum on degree scales. In two separate flights, data were taken in six channels at two frequency bands between 26 to 46 GHz. We describe our method for mapmaking (removal of 1/f-noise and scan-synchronous offsets) and power spectrum estimation, as well as the results of a joint analysis of the data from both flights. This produces a 527 square degree map of the CMB around the North Celestial Pole, allowing a wide variety of systematic cross-checks. The frequency dependence of the fluctuations is consistent with CMB and inconsistent with Galactic foreground emission. The anisotropy is measured in three multipole bands from l~40 to l~200, and the angular power spectrum shows a distinct rise which is consistent with the Saskatoon results.Comment: 4 pages, with 3 figures included. Submitted to ApJL. Window functions are available at http://pupgg.princeton.edu/~cmb/welcome.html and color figures and links at http://www.sns.ias.edu/~angelica/skymap.html#qma

An Analysis of the Efficacy and Treatment Trajectory of the START Social Skills Group for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Adolescence can be a time of new and complex social challenges and individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are in need of evidence-based interventions to bolster their social skills during this critical developmental period. While a number of social skill group interventions have been developed, many of these are in need of further research evidence of their effectiveness. A literature review was conducted and identified a number of strengths and weaknesses in the currently available interventions. The START group was designed to incorporate those strengths and improve upon those weaknesses. A previous pilot study of the START group indicated that it may be an effective intervention for this population. The current study expanded on this pilot study and investigated several important questions about the START group, including its effectiveness when compared to a waitlist control group and the trajectories of improvement of participants. Nineteen adolescents with ASD participated, and a number of outcome measures were utilized to examine social change, including parent report measures, participant self-report measures, behavioral observations, and subjective ratings. The analysis comparing the treatment and control groups resulted in large effect sizes on both the primary parent and participant measures. Other measures also exhibited small to large effect sizes. These results were not found to be statistically significant, which may be attributed to the small sample size. However, the relatively large effect sizes found indicate the clinical and social significance of this intervention. The analysis of the treatment trajectories of participants indicated that most of the outcome measures exhibited statistically significant improvement after only ten weeks of intervention. After this initial gain, the primary parent report measure continued to exhibit statistically significant improvement throughout the duration of the treatment. Other measures indicated positive but non-significant trends toward continued improvement. Possible explanations for this treatment trajectory are discussed. The clinical implications of these findings are explored, as are future research directions

Reproductive Coercion and Relationship Abuse Among Adolescents and Young Women Seeking Care at School Health Centers.

ObjectiveTo investigate demographic differences and evaluate how reproductive coercion and relationship abuse influences young females' care-seeking and sexual health behaviors.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional baseline survey data from sexually active female students (aged 14-19 years) who sought care from school health centers. Outcomes included recent (previous 3 months) reproductive coercion, physical or sexual adolescent relationship abuse, and nonpartner sexual violence victimization. Cluster-adjusted χ tests compared demographics and generalized linear mixed models estimated associations among reproductive coercion, adolescent relationship abuse (physical and sexual abuse in romantic relationships), and care-seeking and sexual health behaviors.ResultsOf 550 sexually active high school females, 12% reported recent reproductive coercion and 17% reported physical or sexual adolescent relationship abuse, with no significant demographic differences. Prevalence of recent nonpartner sexual violence was 17%. There were no observed significant differences in care-seeking behaviors among those with recent reproductive coercion compared with those without. Physical or sexual adolescent relationship abuse was associated with increased odds of seeking testing or treatment for sexually transmitted infections (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.08, 95% CI 1.05-4.13). Females exposed to both adolescent relationship abuse and reproductive coercion had higher odds of having a partner who was 5 or more years older (aOR 4.66, 95% CI 1.51-14.4), having two or more recent sexual partners (aOR 3.86, 95% CI 1.57-9.48), and using hormonal contraception only (aOR 3.77, 95% CI 1.09-13.1 vs hormonal methods with condoms).ConclusionAlmost one in eight females experienced recent reproductive coercion. We did not observe significant demographic differences in reproductive coercion. Partner age and number of sexual partners may elevate risk for abusive relationships. Relationship abuse is prevalent among high school students seeking care, with no clear pattern for case identification. By failing to identify factors associated with harmful partner behaviors, our results support universal assessment for reproductive coercion and relationship abuse among high school-aged adolescents, involving education, resources, and harm-reduction counseling to all patients.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01678378

Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly Regeneration Evaluation

In April 2010 the Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA) was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). This technology requires hydrogen to recover oxygen from carbon dioxide. This results in the production of water and methane. Water is electrolyzed to provide oxygen to the crew. Methane is vented to space resulting in a loss of valuable hydrogen and unreduced carbon dioxide. This is not critical for ISS because of the water resupply from Earth. However, in order to have enough oxygen for long-term missions, it will be necessary to recover the hydrogen to maximize oxygen recovery. Thus, the Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) was designed to recover hydrogen from methane. During operation, the PPA produces small amounts of carbon that can ultimately reduce performance by forming on the walls and windows of the reactor chamber. The carbon must be removed, although mechanical methods are highly inefficient, thus chemical methods are of greater interest. The purpose of this effort was to determine the feasibility of chemically removing the carbon from the walls and windows of a PPA reactor using a pure carbon dioxide stream

Textbook Publishing for ESL Professionals

This panel discussion will describe and explain the process of open source textbook writing, something relatively new to the field of ESL. The panel speakers will discuss their experiences with open source publishing, and will describe and show three different textbook projects. Attendees will be able to view the completed and in-process textbooks and will see how they are accessible to learners around the world

Mapping the CMB I: the first flight of the QMAP experiment

We report on the first flight of the balloon-borne QMAP experiment. The experiment is designed to make a map of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy on angular scales from 0.7 to several degrees. Using the map we determine the angular power spectrum of the anisotropy in multipole bands from l~40 to l~140. The results are consistent with the Saskatoon (SK) measurements. The frequency spectral index (measured at low l) is consistent with that of CMB and inconsistent with either Galactic synchrotron or free-free emission. The instrument, measurement, analysis of the angular power spectrum, and possible systematic errors are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, with 5 figures included. Submitted to ApJL. Window functions and color figures are available at http://pupgg.princeton.edu/~cmb/welcome.htm