Quantifying the Isometric Handgrip Exercise Stimulus: Are Less Expensive Alternatives Comparable to Computerized Dynamometers?

Isometric handgrip (IHG) training lowers resting blood pressure (BP), but the high cost of traditional computerized IHG devices can be a barrier to use. Inexpensive mechanical IHG devices could address the cost barrier, but the acute stimulus of such devices must be determined. This study compared changes in systolic and diastolic BP, heart rate (HR), muscular activation, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and pain between a computerized and a mechanical IHG device during an IHG bout. Twenty healthy adults (X ± SD; Age: 22.4 ± 2.2 yrs.; ♀= 9; BP: 114/64 ± 11/7 mmHg) randomly performed an IHG bout (4, 2-min IHG contractions at 30% of maximum voluntary contraction, separated by 4-mins rest) on each device. BP, HR, and forearm surface EMG data of the non-dominant arm were collected throughout. RPE and pain were acquired at the end of each contraction. SBP, HR, RPE and NRS-Pain scores did not differ between devices (p \u3e 0.05)\u3e However, statistically significant differences in DBP were observed (p \u3c 0.05), whereby the computerized device elicited a higher DBP response than did the mechanical device. Furthermore, significant elevations in muscular activation for only the biceps brachii and extensor carpi ulnaris were observed in the mechanical handgrip device (p \u3c 0.05). The mechanical IHG induced similar acute SBP, HR, RPE and NRS-pain scores as well as similar muscular activation for 3 of the 5 muscles tested as the traditional computerized device. These findings suggest that perhaps this inexpensive alternative device could be a feasible equivalent to the traditional computerized device during acute exercise. Future studies should examine whether this inexpensive handgrip device can elicit similar training-induced reductions in resting BP as with the traditional computerized devices

A broken fenestrated tracheostomy tube fragment removed from the right main bronchus

Aspiration of a broken tracheostomy tube fragment is a relatively rare complication with the potential to result in serious airway complications. Case reports of tracheal fragment aspiration have been documented infrequently in the past, with the earliest documented case in 1960. What follows is a case report of an 80-year-old male patient whose tracheostomy was replaced a year ago. While at home, the tracheostomy broke and the fragment lodged in his right main bronchus. He was unable to recall when the tracheostomy broke and only presented to the ear, nose and throat clinic for his annual follow-up appointment. The discussion highlights similar reported cases and emphasises some concerns regarding the long-term use of tracheostomies.Keywords: airway, aspiration, complication, foreign body, tracheostomy tub

Fitness profiles of elite Portuguese rugby union players

The aim of this study was to describe the fitness profiles of senior elite Portuguese rugby players. Forty-six senior Portuguese rugby players, classified as backs (n=22; age 26.2±2.8) and forwards (n=24; age 26.7±2.9) were assessed during physical testing sessions carried out for the Portuguese National rugby team. The body composition, maximum strength and anaerobic capacity of players are hypothesized to be important physical characteristics as successful performance in rugby is predicated on the ability to undertake skilled behaviours both quickly and whilst withstanding large forces when in contact situations. No absolute differences were found between the backs and forwards for the speed performance variables although positional differences were found across all speeds when assessed relative to body mass since the forwards were significantly heavier. Coaches and the management team can use this information for monitoring progressive improvements in the physiological capacities of rugby players. These physical characteristics of elite rugby players provide normative profiles for specific positions and should form the basis of developmental programmes for adolescents

Audio Universe: Tour of the Solar System

We have created a show about the Solar System, freely available for both planetariums and home viewing, where objects in space are represented with sound as well as with visuals. For example, the audience listens to the stars appear above the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and they hear the planets orbit around their heads. The aim of this show is that it can be enjoyed and understood, irrespective of level of vision. Here we describe how we used our new computer code, STRAUSS, to convert data into sound for the show. We also discuss the lessons learnt during the design of the show, including how it was imperative to obtain a range of diverse perspectives from scientists, a composer and representatives of the blind and vision impaired community.Comment: Published in Astronomy and Geophysics, Volume 63, Issue 2, Pages 2.38-2.40. This is the authors' accepted version of the manuscript. Visit https://www.audiouniverse.org for audio-visual resources. Our new sonification code, STRAUSS, is available at: https://github.com/james-trayford/strauss. Article is 5 pages with 3 figure

Strategy and its discontents: the place of strategy in national policymaking

This paper presents a collection of views about the definition, role, purpose and health of strategic policymaking. Introduction One of the liveliest debates to have taken place on ASPI’s blog, The Strategist, concerned the place of strategy in Canberra’s policymaking community. It seems that there’s little consensus around what strategy’s core business should be, let alone who should practice it and whether indeed enough strategy is being done by DFAT, Defence or other parts of government. The 11 short pieces printed here by eight authors with quite diverse perspectives span a broad range of views about the definition, role, purpose and health of strategic policymaking. There’s no more important debate in public policy than on the place of strategy in meeting complex national challenges. This paper hopefully will encourage a more structured debate about strategy’s place at the heart of national policymaking

Compilation of maintenance schedules based on their key performance indicators for fast iterative interaction

Finding the optimal solution for a scheduling problem is hard, both from a computational perspective and because it is frequently difficult to articulate what the user wants. Often there are a range of possible key performance indicators (such as makespan, resource utilisation, and priority of tasks), and thus here can be many objectives that we want to optimise. However, it will typically be hard for the user to state numerical trade-offs between these objectives. Instead, it can be helpful if the user can explore the solution space themselves, to find which compromises between objectives they prefer. This paper demonstrates the use of Multi-valued Decision Diagrams in consideration of scheduling a real maintenance problem, namely the scheduling of Irish Navy dockyard maintenance. We show how candidate schedules can be compiled into MDDs, based on their associated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This representation allows the possible values of KPIs to be restricted by the user, and achievable values of other KPIs can be quickly determined, thus enabling fast iterative interaction with the user in order to achieve a satisfactory balance between the KPIs. We experimentally compare the performance of the MDD with that of a database, showing that the MDD can be considerably faster

A time-motion analysis of turns performed by highly ranked Viennese waltz dancers

Twenty-four dance couples performing at the 2011 IDSF (International DanceSport Federation) International Slovenia Open were divided into two groups: the first twelve placed couples (top ranked) and the last twelve placed couples (lower ranked). Video recordings were processed automatically using computer vision tracking algorithms under operator supervision to calculate movement parameters. Time and speed of movement were analysed during single natural (right) and reverse (left) turns performed during the Viennese waltz. Both top and lower ranked dancers tended to perform similar proportionate frequencies of reverse (≈ 35%) and natural (≈ 65%) turns. Analysis of reverse turns showed that the top ranked dancers performed less turns on a curved trajectory (16%) than the lower ranked dancers (33%). The top ranked couples performed all turns at similar speeds (F = 1.31, df = 3, p = 0.27; mean = 2.09m/s) all of which were significantly quicker than the lower ranked couples (mean = 1.94m/s), the greatest differences found for reverse turns (12.43% faster for curved trajectories, 8.42% for straight trajectories). This suggests that the ability to maintain a high speed in the more difficult turns, particularly the reverse turns on a curved trajectory, results in the overall dance appearing more fluent as the speed of movement does not fluctuate as much. This aspect of performance needs to be improved by lower ranked dancers if they wish to improve rating of their performance. Future research should determine which factors relate to the speed of turns

Determining unstable game states to aid the identification of perturbations in football

Alternative approaches to the reductionist method for analysing football are needed to better understand factors typically not considered, for example off the ball runs by teammates. The dynamical systems approach, where the complex relationships between players is emphasised, predicts that goal scoring opportunities are preceded by instability in the balance between the two teams’ behaviours. The aim was to create operational definitions for determining unstable game states to facilitate the identification of perturbations, that is the causes of instability. Validity tests involving four English Premier League (EPL) football coaches and two performance analysts and subsequent reliability tests established five unstable game states; penalty box possession, counter attack, ratio of attacking to defending players, successful cross and successful shot. Eighteen EPL matches were analysed to present exemplar statistics for three teams of different standard (based on final league position) suggesting that teams create unstable situations differently, likely due to individual player characteristics, with home advantage and opposition strength effects, suggesting this may be a component of what constitutes a performance indicator for a team. Future studies need to consider individual player actions that create instability as well as provide objective measures that substantiate findings