EFFECTS OF INDIVIDUALIZED TRAINING AND RESPIRATORY MUSCLE TRAINING IN IMPROVING SWIMMING PERFORMANCE AMONG COLLEGIATE SWIMMERS - AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Previous researches have been conducted to determine the types of training to improve swimming performance. Nevertheless, no study has been done on the individualized training approach among swimmers. Hence, this study aimed (i) to examine the effects of respiratory muscle training on swimming performance (ii) to examine the effects of combined respiratory muscle training with individualized training on swimming performance, and (iii) to compare the differences between the isolated respiratory muscle training, combined intervention of respiratory muscle training with individualized training and usual training on swimming performance.  For this, 45 collegiate swimmers with no previous injuries and swims regularly for at least 1 hour per week participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned into three groups; Group A: Respiratory muscle training and Individualized Training, Group B: Respiratory muscle training alone, and Group C: Usual training session. The difference within the groups after four weeks of the intervention was analyzed using Paired T-test, while the differences between intervention groups were analyzed using repeated measure two-way ANOVA. Both the intervention groups (Group A and B) showed significant improvement after four weeks of intervention, whereas in group comparison, Group A showed tremendous improvement in swimming performance (F (17,238) = 8.385, p<0.05, np2 = 0.375). Thus, the current study has proven that the combination of respiratory muscle training with individualized training could further enhance the swimming performance in terms of heart rate, Vo2 max, stroke volume, perceived exertion, and SWOLF score. Future studies on athletic swimmers with a larger sample size are recommended to further examine the individualized training approach

DOES PLAYING LOCATION-BASED AUGMENTED REALITY GAME INCREASES THE LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?

Recently, there are an increasing trend in location-based augmented reality (AR) games that require players to move around physically to acquire the in-game features as well as game bonuses. The introduction of this location-based augmented reality (AR) games, specifically, Pokémon Go, has made the players physically move around to achieve higher levels and indirectly, improves the level of physical activity. Thus, the objective of the current study is to examine the association between the time spent playing location-based AR games specifically Pokémon Go, and the level of physical activity of the players in Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was circulated among Pokémon Go players and based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 47 players were recruited in the study. Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was used to identify the level of physical activity. The association between time spent playing Pokémon Go and level of physical activity were examined using the Chi-square test. The results of the current study showed no significant association between days spent playing Pokémon Go and level of physical activity (p = .14), hours spent playing Pokémon Go and physical activity (p = .516), or between daily hours spent playing Pokémon Go and daily sedentary time (p = .283). Nevertheless, the mean of the study reported that the physical activity level of the players increased concurrently as the player’s game frequency increases. Further studies are required to shed light on how location-based AR games can be implemented as potential strategies to engage an active lifestyle

Optimization of wear parameters for aluminium 4% fly-ash composites

458-464Dry sliding wear behaviour of aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) prepared by stir casting with 4% as fly ash reinforcement has been studied in the work. Dry sliding wear tests have been conducted using a pin-on-disc wear-testing machine to study the effect of changeable process parameters such as load, time, and sliding velocity, which have been used as design variables on the output parameters wear rate (WR) and coefficient of friction (COF). Sensitivity analysis has been carried out to find out the most significant parameter that can be controlled to minimize the WR. Further, the wear parameters have been optimized using the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach to reduce the WR. Therefore, this study offers useful insights to composite manufacturers, especially for automotive industries

Optimization of wear parameters for aluminium 4% fly-ash composites

Dry sliding wear behaviour of aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) prepared by stir casting with 4% as fly ash reinforcement has been studied in the work. Dry sliding wear tests have been conducted using a pin-on-disc wear-testing machine to study the effect of changeable process parameters such as load, time, and sliding velocity, which have been used as design variables on the output parameters wear rate (WR) and coefficient of friction (COF). Sensitivity analysis has been carried out to find out the most significant parameter that can be controlled to minimize the WR. Further, the wear parameters have been optimized using the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach to reduce the WR. Therefore, this study offers useful insights to composite manufacturers, especially for automotive industries

Open University Malaysia : way forward in Science and Technology education

One of Malaysia’s national agenda is to move towards a scientific and progressive society. Government strategies for Malaysia described in this paper highlights the importance of life long learning in achieving its national agenda. Open University Malaysia as a pioneer in open and distance education has a role in promoting life long learning in Malaysia. This paper highlights the key features of the university i.e. blended learning mode and e-learning platform which offers various benefits that could provide supports for creating an innovative society. In the context of science and technology, creating an innovative society means creating manpower with good foundation in basic science knowledge and science skills, a sense of appreciation of contributions and innovations in science and technology, positive attitudes and awareness on ethical issues. This paper proposes strategies to invest in the future by retraining man-power, promoting basic science and increasing the quality of technical courses. (Authors' abstract

Trending Advancements in Technologies Pertinent to Therapeutical Pharmacodynamics

It is omniscient that pharmacodynamics of a drug is understood as its effect on body by interacting with the structure of targets to either activate or inhibit their function/action. Based on the activity of the drug to the target binding site they have been classified into different types. Physiological, cellular, molecular, biochemical, and toxicological effects individually have a significant role in drug’s effect and response. The mechanism of action, dosage and its response, therapeutic index are some of the noteworthy parameters to be considered in drug pharmacodynamics. This chapter comprehends the above-mentioned concepts, their importance in pharmacodynamics of drug, and the impact of recently developed methods like genome-wide or transcriptome-wide sequencing, chronopharmacodynamics, systems biology, pharmacometabolomics, etc., in different stages of drug discovery process, and how the digitization of therapeutics and healthcare direct the path to personalized medicine. The integration of bioinformatics, systems biology, and big data related approaches like ML & AI with the pharmacological (PK/PD) study highly benefits the patients’ therapeutics

Degradable click-reaction-based polymers as highly functional materials

The efficient development of functional and sustainable polymers not only requires rapid formation under mild conditions but also a high degree of control over the polymer structure, as well as gentle degradation routes that do not diminish their function. A significant step forward was set by the groups of Wu and Sharpless, as outlined in ACS Central Science, in which they use sulfur exchange click chemistry to access polymers via a chain-growth mechanism and pave the way toward mild degradation and application as degradable gels