IMPORTANCE OF THE NONLINEAR TIME SERIES ANALYSIS IN SPORTS

New possibilities for characterizing and discussing variability are obtained by means of nonlinear techniques of time series. Calculation of the fractal dimension allows determination of a measure of the degree of freedom. This fact is demonstrated using the example of standing balance. When the conditions are difficult the fractal dimension decreases. Another fact we discovered in a study of the breaststroke: When the load is increased the efficiency of the movement and the fractal dimension are also reduced

Wood-ash recycling affects forest soil and tree fine-root chemistry and reverses soil acidification

Wood ash was applied to a forest ecosystem with the aim to recycle nutrients taken from the forest and to mitigate the negative effects of intensive harvesting. After two years, the application of 8,000 kg ha−1 of wood ash increased soil exchangeable Ca and Mg. Similarly, an increase in Ca and Mg in the Norway spruce fine roots was recorded, leading to significant linear correlations between soil and root Ca and soil and root Mg. In contrast to these macronutrients, the micronutrients Fe and Zn and the toxic element Al decreased in the soil exchangeable fraction with the addition of wood ash, but not in the fine roots. Only Mn decreased in soil and in fine roots leading to a significant linear correlation between soil and root Mn. In soil, as well as in fine roots, strong positive correlations were found between the elements Ca and Mg and between Fe and Al. This indicates that the uptake of Mg resembles that of Ca and that of Al that of Fe. With the wood ash application, the pH increased from 3.2 to 4.8, the base saturation from 30% to 86%, the molar basic cations/Al ratio (BC/Al) of the soil solution from 1.5 to 5.5, and the molar Ca/Al ratio of the fine roots from 1.3 to 3.7. Overall, all below-ground indicators of soil acidification responded positively to the wood ash application within two years. Nitrate concentrations increased only slightly in the soil solution at a soil depth of 75-80 cm, and no signs of increased heavy metal concentrations in the soils or in the fine roots were apparent. This suggests that the recycling of wood ash could be an integral part of sustainable forest management because it closes the nutrient cycle and reverses soil acidificatio

Role of Amoxicillin Serum Levels for Successful Prophylaxis of Experimental Endocarditis Due to Tolerant Streptococci

The importance of amoxicillin serum profiles for successful prophylaxis of experimental endocarditis in rats was assessed. Animals with catheter-induced vegetations were challenged intravenously with large inocula of Streptococcus sanguis and received one of the following amoxicillin dosages: single or multiple bolus injection of 40 mg/kg; 40 mg/kg administered as a continuous infusion over 12 h; or either 9 or 18 mg/kg administered over 12 or 24 h, respectively. The regimen producing a single transient high peak serum level failed to prevent experimental endocarditis; in contrast, a second injection 6 h after the first resulted in successful prophylaxis. Likewise, the three regimens of continuous, relatively low-dose regimens prevented infections. Thus, the most important parameter for successful prophylaxis was the duration of inhibitory concentration of the drug in the serum. The total dose of antibiotic, the peak serum levels, or the area-under-the-curve values were not predictive of successful prophylaxi

Improved timber harvest techniques maintain biodiversity in tropical forests

Tropical forests are selectively logged at 20 times the rate at which they are cleared, and at least a fifth have already been disturbed in this way. In a recent pan-tropical assessment, Burivalova et al. demonstrate the importance of logging intensity as a driver of biodiversity decline in timber estates. Their analyses reveal that species richness of some taxa could decline by 50% at harvest intensities of 38 m3 ha-1. However, they did not consider the extraction techniques that lead to these intensities. Here, we conduct a complementary meta-analysis of assemblage responses to differing logging practices: conventional logging and reduced-impact logging. We show that biodiversity impacts are markedly less severe in forests that utilise reduced-impact logging, compared to those using conventional methods. While supporting the initial findings of Burivalova et al., we go on to demonstrate that best practice forestry techniques curtail the effects of timber extraction regardless of intensity. Therefore, harvest intensities are not always indicative of actual disturbance levels resulting from logging. Accordingly, forest managers and conservationists should advocate practices that offer reduced collateral damage through best practice extraction methods, such as those used in reduced-impact logging. Large-scale implementation of this approach would lead to improved conservation values in the 4 million km2 of tropical forests that are earmarked for timber extraction

Controls on magma supply from depth at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i

Magma supply rate from depth to the summit at Kīlauea volcano, Hawai'i is not constant through time. Even during the current Pu'u 'Ō'ō-Kupaianaha eruption (1983-present), a surge in supply occurred from 2003-2007. This surge was accompanied by summit inflation, increased CO2 emissions, and finally culminated in a dike intrusion and surface eruption. Recent work has suggested that a surge in supply is a result of an increase in dissolved volatiles in the melt zone. Alternatively, the surge could come from a mechanical change in the melt zone, perhaps as an increase in permeability or melt production. I develop a numerical model of two-phase flow between the melt zone and summit at Kīlauea to explore the role of volatile composition, conduit geometry, and pressure in the melt zone on supply rate. Results suggest that volatiles have a limited role in increasing supply, a dike-shaped conduit is likely, and pressure increases in the melt zone drive changes in supply. Additionally, a dike-shaped conduit yields a decoupling of conditions at the surface from those at depth, which impacts how conditions in the mantle below Kīlauea are inferred from surface deformation and summit gas emissions

Nephrotoxicity, high frequency ototoxicity, efficacy and serum kinetics of once versus thrice daily dosing of netilmicin in patients with serious infections

The effect of dosing regimen on nephrotoxicity, high frequency ototoxicity, efficacy and serum kinetics was studied in a prospective, randomised clinical study. Therapy was started with total daily doses of 6 mg/kg given once (od) or thrice (tid) daily to 56 and 57 patients, respectively. Subsequent doses were adjusted according to serum levels. No major differences in toxicity or efficacy were noticed between od and tid regimens: clinical failures occurred in two and two patients, four and five patients suffered from a decrease of ≥20 dB at least unilaterally at one frequency between 8 and 18 kHz, six and seven patients had a >25 μmol/L or >25% increase in serum creatinine, respectively. Serum creatinine or creatinine clearance did not change significantly during either therapy. Major differences between the two study groups were limited to pharmacokinetic parameters. Od dosing resulted in higher peak (mean of 21.6 vs 7.2 mg/L) and lower trough levels (0.5 vs 1.4mg/L). Half-lives of netilmicin determined between 1 and 8 h increased significantly during therapy with tid (from a mean of 2.75 to a mean of 3.33 h, P<0.01) but not significantly with od (rise from 2.8 to 3.03 h). Much longer half-lives were determined between 8 and 24 h in the od group (mean of 5.7 h, P<0.01). In conclusion, only minimal differences in toxicity and efficacy were observed. Their clinical relevance appears to be minima

Testing the equivalence principle: why and how?

Part of the theoretical motivation for improving the present level of testing of the equivalence principle is reviewed. The general rationale for optimizing the choice of pairs of materials to be tested is presented. One introduces a simplified rationale based on a trichotomy of competing classes of theoretical models.Comment: 11 pages, Latex, uses ioplppt.sty, submitted to Class. Quantum Gra

The Positron Decay of F18

[No abstract.