158 research outputs found
An investigation into the use of a movement assessment protocol for under 14 rugby league players in a talent development environment
This study investigated the use of a movement assessment protocol for under-14 rugby league players by evaluating the relationships between chronological age, maturation, and anthropometry, and fitness and qualitative movement assessments (QMA) of 84 rugby league players within a talent development environment. A one-way ANOVA showed Quartile 1 players were more mature, taller (173.0±7.4 vs 165.0±8.0 cm) and heavier (72.5 vs 58.7 kg) than Quartile 4 players, with no difference evident for fitness or QMA measures. Earlier maturing players had significantly greater upper body power (5.39±0.46 vs 4.42±0.68 m), 20m speed (3.48±0.14 vs 3.65±0.19s) and power pass QMA (13.88±2.18 vs 12.00±1.98) than later maturing players. Body mass was positively related to power pass fitness (r=0.50) and QMA (r=0.22) scores, with negative relationships found for vertical jump performance (r=-0.24), sprint QMA (r=-.29) and turn off either foot QMA (r=-0.26). There is a need to educate coaches about the use of both fitness testing and qualitative movement assessments to identify talented U14 rugby league players, which potentially reduces relative age and maturational biases
Identifying Talent in Youth Sport: A Novel Methodology Using Higher-Dimensional Analysis.
Prediction of adult performance from early age talent identification in sport remains difficult. Talent identification research has generally been performed using univariate analysis, which ignores multivariate relationships. To address this issue, this study used a novel higher-dimensional model to orthogonalize multivariate anthropometric and fitness data from junior rugby league players, with the aim of differentiating future career attainment. Anthropometric and fitness data from 257 Under-15 rugby league players was collected. Players were grouped retrospectively according to their future career attainment (i.e., amateur, academy, professional). Players were blindly and randomly divided into an exploratory (n = 165) and validation dataset (n = 92). The exploratory dataset was used to develop and optimize a novel higher-dimensional model, which combined singular value decomposition (SVD) with receiver operating characteristic analysis. Once optimized, the model was tested using the validation dataset. SVD analysis revealed 60 m sprint and agility 505 performance were the most influential characteristics in distinguishing future professional players from amateur and academy players. The exploratory dataset model was able to distinguish between future amateur and professional players with a high degree of accuracy (sensitivity = 85.7%, specificity = 71.1%; p<0.001), although it could not distinguish between future professional and academy players. The validation dataset model was able to distinguish future professionals from the rest with reasonable accuracy (sensitivity = 83.3%, specificity = 63.8%; p = 0.003). Through the use of SVD analysis it was possible to objectively identify criteria to distinguish future career attainment with a sensitivity over 80% using anthropometric and fitness data alone. As such, this suggests that SVD analysis may be a useful analysis tool for research and practice within talent identification
A comparative study of WASP-67b and HAT-P-38b from WFC3 data
Atmospheric temperature and planetary gravity are thought to be the main
parameters affecting cloud formation in giant exoplanet atmospheres. Recent
attempts to understand cloud formation have explored wide regions of the
equilibrium temperature-gravity parameter space. In this study, we instead
compare the case of two giant planets with nearly identical equilibrium
temperature ( ) and gravity (. During Cycle 23, we collected WFC3/G141
observations of the two planets, WASP-67 b and HAT-P-38 b. HAT-P-38 b, with
mass 0.42 M and radius 1.4 , exhibits a relatively
clear atmosphere with a clear detection of water. We refine the orbital period
of this planet with new observations, obtaining . WASP-67 b, with mass 0.27 M and radius 0.83
, shows a more muted water absorption feature than that of
HAT-P-38 b, indicating either a higher cloud deck in the atmosphere or a more
metal-rich composition. The difference in the spectra supports the hypothesis
that giant exoplanet atmospheres carry traces of their formation history.
Future observations in the visible and mid-infrared are needed to probe the
aerosol properties and constrain the evolutionary scenario of these planets.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in The
Astronomical Journa
Probing reflection from aerosols with the near-infrared dayside spectrum of WASP-80b
The presence of aerosols is intimately linked to the global energy budget and
the composition of a planet's atmospheres. Their ability to reflect incoming
light prevents energy from being deposited into the atmosphere, and they shape
spectra of exoplanets. We observed five near-infrared secondary eclipses of
WASP-80b with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) aboard the \textit{Hubble Space
Telescope} to provide constraints on the presence and properties of atmospheric
aerosols. We detect a broadband eclipse depth of \,ppm for WASP-80b.
We detect a higher planetary flux than expected from thermal emission alone at
, which hints toward the presence of reflecting aerosols on this
planet's dayside, indicating a geometric albedo of at 3. We
paired the WFC3 data with Spitzer data and explored multiple atmospheric models
with and without aerosols to interpret this spectrum. Albeit consistent with a
clear dayside atmosphere, we found a slight preference for near-solar
metallicities and for dayside clouds over hazes. We exclude soot haze formation
rates higher than g cms and tholin formation rates
higher than g cms at . We applied the same
atmospheric models to a previously published WFC3/Spitzer transmission spectrum
for this planet and found weak haze formation. A single soot haze formation
rate best fits both the dayside and the transmission spectra simultaneously.
However, we emphasize that no models provide satisfactory fits in terms of the
chi-square of both spectra simultaneously, indicating longitudinal
dissimilarity in the atmosphere's aerosol composition.Comment: Published in ApJ Letters (20 Oct 2023
Pathologic gene network rewiring implicates PPP1R3A as a central regulator in pressure overload heart failure
Heart failure is a leading cause of mortality, yet our understanding of the genetic interactions underlying this disease remains incomplete. Here, we harvest 1352 healthy and failing human hearts directly from transplant center operating rooms, and obtain genome-wide genotyping and gene expression measurements for a subset of 313. We build failing and non-failing cardiac regulatory gene networks, revealing important regulators and cardiac expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs). PPP1R3A emerges as a regulator whose network connectivity changes significantly between health and disease. RNA sequencing after PPP1R3A knockdown validates network-based predictions, and highlights metabolic pathway regulation associated with increased cardiomyocyte size and perturbed respiratory metabolism. Mice lacking PPP1R3A are protected against pressure-overload heart failure. We present a global gene interaction map of the human heart failure transition, identify previously unreported cardiac eQTLs, and demonstrate the discovery potential of disease-specific networks through the description of PPP1R3A as a central regulator in heart failure
Transiting Exoplanet Studies and Community Targets for JWST's Early Release Science Program
The James Webb Space Telescope will revolutionize transiting exoplanet
atmospheric science due to its capability for continuous, long-duration
observations and its larger collecting area, spectral coverage, and spectral
resolution compared to existing space-based facilities. However, it is unclear
precisely how well JWST will perform and which of its myriad instruments and
observing modes will be best suited for transiting exoplanet studies. In this
article, we describe a prefatory JWST Early Release Science (ERS) program that
focuses on testing specific observing modes to quickly give the community the
data and experience it needs to plan more efficient and successful future
transiting exoplanet characterization programs. We propose a multi-pronged
approach wherein one aspect of the program focuses on observing transits of a
single target with all of the recommended observing modes to identify and
understand potential systematics, compare transmission spectra at overlapping
and neighboring wavelength regions, confirm throughputs, and determine overall
performances. In our search for transiting exoplanets that are well suited to
achieving these goals, we identify 12 objects (dubbed "community targets") that
meet our defined criteria. Currently, the most favorable target is WASP-62b
because of its large predicted signal size, relatively bright host star, and
location in JWST's continuous viewing zone. Since most of the community targets
do not have well-characterized atmospheres, we recommend initiating preparatory
observing programs to determine the presence of obscuring clouds/hazes within
their atmospheres. Measurable spectroscopic features are needed to establish
the optimal resolution and wavelength regions for exoplanet characterization.
Other initiatives from our proposed ERS program include testing the instrument
brightness limits and performing phase-curve observations.(Abridged)Comment: This is a white paper that originated from an open discussion at the
Enabling Transiting Exoplanet Science with JWST workshop held November 16 -
18, 2015 at STScI (http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science/exoplanets). Accepted
for publication in PAS
Spitzer phase curve observations and circulation models of the inflated ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76b
The large radii of many hot Jupiters can only be matched by models that have
hot interior adiabats, and recent theoretical work has shown that the interior
evolution of hot Jupiters has a significant impact on their atmospheric
structure. Due to its inflated radius, low gravity, and ultra-hot equilibrium
temperature, WASP-76b is an ideal case study for the impact of internal
evolution on observable properties. Hot interiors should most strongly affect
the non-irradiated side of the planet, and thus full phase curve observations
are critical to ascertain the effect of the interior on the atmospheres of hot
Jupiters. In this work, we present the first Spitzer phase curve observations
of WASP-76b. We find that WASP-76b has an ultra-hot day side and relatively
cold nightside with brightness temperatures of / at 3.6~\micron and / at 4.5~\micron, respectively. These results provide evidence
for a dayside thermal inversion. Both channels exhibit small phase offsets of
at 3.6~\micron and at
. We compare our observations to a suite of general
circulation models that consider two end-members of interior temperature along
with a broad range of frictional drag strengths. Strong frictional drag is
necessary to match the small phase offsets and cold nightside temperatures
observed. From our suite of cloud-free GCMs, we find that only cases with a
cold interior can reproduce the cold nightsides and large phase curve amplitude
at 4.5~\micron, hinting that the hot interior adiabat of WASP-76b does not
significantly impact its atmospheric dynamics or that clouds blanket its
nightside.Comment: 24 pages, 10 Figures, 5 Tables. Accepted to AJ. Co-First Author
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