The Effect of Music as a Motivational Tool on Isokinetic Concentric Performance in College Aged Students

International Journal of Exercise Science 7(1) : 54-61, 2014. Music has been identified as a motivational tool in physical activity and associated with improved performance in aerobic and anaerobic exercise. However, the effects of music on isokinetic strength testing have not been examined. The purpose of this study was to measure the difference in lower limb isokinetic force output in males and females when exposed to a motivational environment (arousing music) and non-motivational environment (silence). A 2 x 2 analysis of variance (group x gender) was used with participants (n = 19; 12 male, 7 female) serving as their own control. Participants performed 5 isokinetic concentric repetitions of knee extension and knee flexion at a set velocity of 60°/sec in both a non-music trial and music trial. Testing order was randomized to control for learning effect. No significant interactions were found for both the flexion and extension conditions (p \u3e .05); however, there was a main effect for gender on the extension variable (p \u3c .05). The authors concluded that music had no effect on lower limb force output in either males or females. The study may have been limited by a number of confounding effects, warranting a repeated yet enhanced research design of the study. Strength coaches, athletic trainers, and injury rehabilitation specialists (e.g., physical therapists) can use knowledge of this topic when working with clients and patients who are unmotivated to continue treatment. Music may not serve as an enhancer of patient or athlete performance in isokinetic testing or maximal isokinetic performance, but it may serve to increase enjoyment of otherwise monotonous activity

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Understanding Terrorist Network Topologies and Their Resilience Against Disruption

This chapter investigates the structural position of covert (terrorist or criminal) networks. Using the secrecy versus information tradeoff characterization of covert networks it is shown that their network structures are generally not small-worlds, in contradistinction to many overt social networks. This finding is backed by empirical evidence concerning Jemaah Islamiyah’s Bali bombing and a heroin distribution network in New York. The importance of this finding lies in the strength such a topology provides. Disruption and attack by counterterrorist agencies often focuses on the isolation and capture of highly connected individuals. The remarkable result is that these covert networks are well suited against such targeted attacks as shown by the resilience properties of secrecy versus information balanced networks. This provides an explanation of the survival of global terrorist networks and food for thought on counterterrorism strategy policy