391 research outputs found
Tracking 6 Weeks of training/surfing sessions of adolescent competitive surfers: Just what are these young surfers up to?
The assessment of weekly and even monthly surf practice/training hours is vital for understanding the loads these up and coming surfers endure. Such information will help understand what kind of training these athletes are undertaking, how long they are surfing, what they consider training, and also areas that should be improved upon in terms of specific training. The purpose of this study was to establish surfers\u27 training hours in terms of strength, balance and conditioning hours, as well as surfing hours, coached hours and competition hours. The monitoring of the athletes will provide insights into the weekly surf hours compared to land-based training these athletes do.https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuposters/1008/thumbnail.jp
Counting Complex Disordered States by Efficient Pattern Matching: Chromatic Polynomials and Potts Partition Functions
Counting problems, determining the number of possible states of a large
system under certain constraints, play an important role in many areas of
science. They naturally arise for complex disordered systems in physics and
chemistry, in mathematical graph theory, and in computer science. Counting
problems, however, are among the hardest problems to access computationally.
Here, we suggest a novel method to access a benchmark counting problem, finding
chromatic polynomials of graphs. We develop a vertex-oriented symbolic pattern
matching algorithm that exploits the equivalence between the chromatic
polynomial and the zero-temperature partition function of the Potts
antiferromagnet on the same graph. Implementing this bottom-up algorithm using
appropriate computer algebra, the new method outperforms standard top-down
methods by several orders of magnitude, already for moderately sized graphs. As
a first application, we compute chromatic polynomials of samples of the simple
cubic lattice, for the first time computationally accessing three-dimensional
lattices of physical relevance. The method offers straightforward
generalizations to several other counting problems.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Exact T=0 Partition Functions for Potts Antiferromagnets on Sections of the Simple Cubic Lattice
We present exact solutions for the zero-temperature partition function of the
-state Potts antiferromagnet (equivalently, the chromatic polynomial ) on
tube sections of the simple cubic lattice of fixed transverse size and arbitrarily great length , for sizes and and boundary conditions (a) and (b)
, where () denote free (periodic) boundary
conditions. In the limit of infinite-length, , we calculate the
resultant ground state degeneracy per site (= exponent of the ground-state
entropy). Generalizing from to , we determine
the analytic structure of and the related singular locus which
is the continuous accumulation set of zeros of the chromatic polynomial. For
the limit of a given family of lattice sections, is
analytic for real down to a value . We determine the values of
for the lattice sections considered and address the question of the value of
for a -dimensional Cartesian lattice. Analogous results are presented
for a tube of arbitrarily great length whose transverse cross section is formed
from the complete bipartite graph .Comment: 28 pages, latex, six postscript figures, two Mathematica file
Assessment of the 2016 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence high-sensitivity troponin rule-out strategy.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the limit of detection of high-sensitivity troponin (hs-cTn) and Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score combination rule-out strategy suggested within the 2016 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Chest Pain of Recent Onset guidelines and establish the optimal TIMI score threshold for clinical use. METHODS: A pooled analysis of adult patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain and a non-ischaemic ECG, recruited into six prospective studies, from Australia, New Zealand and the UK. We evaluated the sensitivity of TIMI score thresholds from 0 to 2 alongside hs-cTnT or hs-cTnI for the primary outcome of major adverse cardiac events within 30 days. RESULTS: Data were available for 3159 patients for hs-cTnT and 4532 for hs-cTnI, of these 376 (11.9%) and 445 (9.8%) had major adverse cardiac events, respectively. Using a TIMI score of 0, the sensitivity for the primary outcome was 99.5% (95% CI 98.1% to 99.9%) alongside hs-cTnT and 98.9% (97.4% to 99.6%)%) alongside hs-cTnI, identifying 17.9% and 21.0% of patients as low risk, respectively. For a TIMI score ≤1 sensitivity was 98.9% (97.3% to 99.7%)%) alongside hs-cTnT and 98.4% (96.8% to 99.4%)%) alongside hs-cTnI, identifying 28.1% and 35.7% as low risk, respectively. For TIMI≤2, meta-sensitivity was <98% with either assay. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the rule-out strategy suggested by NICE. The TIMI score threshold suggested for clinical use is 0. The proportion of patients identified as low risk (18%-21%) and suitable for early discharge using this threshold may be sufficient to encourage change of practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: ADAPT observational study/IMPACT intervention trial ACTRN12611001069943.ADAPT-ADP randomised controlled trial ACTRN12610000766011.EDACS-ADP randomised controlled trial ACTRN12613000745741.TRUST observational study ISRCTN no. 21109279
Lower Bounds and Series for the Ground State Entropy of the Potts Antiferromagnet on Archimedean Lattices and their Duals
We prove a general rigorous lower bound for
, the exponent of the ground state
entropy of the -state Potts antiferromagnet, on an arbitrary Archimedean
lattice . We calculate large- series expansions for the exact
and compare these with our lower bounds on
this function on the various Archimedean lattices. It is shown that the lower
bounds coincide with a number of terms in the large- expansions and hence
serve not just as bounds but also as very good approximations to the respective
exact functions for large on the various lattices
. Plots of are given, and the general dependence on
lattice coordination number is noted. Lower bounds and series are also
presented for the duals of Archimedean lattices. As part of the study, the
chromatic number is determined for all Archimedean lattices and their duals.
Finally, we report calculations of chromatic zeros for several lattices; these
provide further support for our earlier conjecture that a sufficient condition
for to be analytic at is that is a regular
lattice.Comment: 39 pages, Revtex, 9 encapsulated postscript figures, to appear in
Phys. Rev.
Theory of Distinct Crystal Structures of Polymerized Fullerides AC60, A=K, Rb, Cs: the Specific Role of Alkalis
The polymer phases of AC60 form distinct crystal structures characterized by
the mutual orientations of the (C60-)n chains. We show that the direct electric
quadrupole interaction between chains always favors the orthorhombic structure
Pmnn with alternating chain orientations. However the specific quadrupolar
polarizability of the alkali metal ions leads to an indirect interchain
coupling which favors the monoclinic structure I2/m with equal chain
orientations. The competition between direct and indirect interactions explains
the structural difference between KC60 and RbC60, CsC60.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl
Relaxation dynamics and ionic conductivity in a fragile plastic crystal
We report a thorough characterization of the dielectric relaxation behavior
and the ionic conductivity in the plastic-crystalline mixture of 60%
succinonitrile and 40% glutaronitrile. The plastic phase can be easily
supercooled and the relaxational behavior is investigated by broadband
dielectric spectroscopy in the liquid, plastic crystalline, and glassy crystal
phases. The very pronounced alpha-relaxation found in the spectra is
characterized in detail. From the temperature dependence of the
alpha-relaxation time, a fragility parameter of 62 was determined making this
material one of the most fragile plastic-crystalline glass formers. A
well-pronounced secondary and faint indications for a third relaxation process
were found, the latter most likely being of Johari-Goldstein type. In addition,
relatively strong conductivity contributions were detected in the spectra
exhibiting the typical features of ionic charge transport.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Training opportunities in thoracic ultrasound for respiratory trainees: are current guidelines practical?
Respiratory trainees in the UK face challenges in meeting current Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) Level 1 training requirements for thoracic ultrasound (TUS) competence, specified as attending 'at least one session per week over a period of no less than 3 months, with approximately five scans per session performed by the trainee (under supervision of an experienced practitioner)'. We aimed to clarify where TUS training opportunities currently exist for respiratory registrars.This is an Open Access article. Click on the Publisher URL to access the full-text
Identification of a cytokine network sustaining neutrophil and Th17 activation in untreated early rheumatoid arthritis
© 2010 Cascão et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by sustained
synovitis. Recently, several studies have proposed neutrophils and Th17 cells as key players in the onset and
perpetuation of this disease. The main goal of this work was to determine whether cytokines driving neutrophil
and Th17 activation are dysregulated in very early rheumatoid arthritis patients with less than 6 weeks of disease
duration and before treatment (VERA).
Methods: Cytokines related to neutrophil and Th17 activation were quantified in the serum of VERA and
established RA patients and compared with other very early arthritis (VEA) and healthy controls. Synovial fluid (SF)
from RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients was also analyzed.
Results: VERA patients had increased serum levels of cytokines promoting Th17 polarization (IL-1b and IL-6), as
well as IL-8 and Th17-derived cytokines (IL-17A and IL-22) known to induce neutrophil-mediated inflammation. In
established RA this pattern is more evident within the SF. Early treatment with methotrexate or corticosteroids led
to clinical improvement but without an impact on the cytokine pattern.
Conclusions: VERA patients already display increased levels of cytokines related with Th17 polarization and
neutrophil recruitment and activation, a dysregulation also found in SF of established RA. 0 Thus, our data suggest
that a cytokine-milieu favoring Th17 and neutrophil activity is an early event in RA pathogenesis.This work was supported by a grant from Sociedade Portuguesa de Reumatologia/Schering-Plough 2005. RAM and RC were funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) SFRH/BD/30247/2006 and
SFRH/BD/40513/2007, respectively. MMS-C was funded by Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship PERG-2008-239422 and a EULAR Young Investigator Award
Scoring analysis of the men’s 2014, 2015 and 2016 world championship tour of surfing: the importance of aerial manoeuvres in competitive surfing.
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of aerial manoeuvres on scoring in professional surfing. 23631 waves were analysed for the number and types of aerial manoeuvres performed from the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Men's World Championship Tour. Additionally, the awarded score, timing and order of the aerial was also analysed. Descriptive statistics and Two Way ANOVA's were performed with Sidak Multiple Comparisons Post Hoc analysis. Results were a significantly higher score being awarded (P?0.0001) when including an aerial in competition across all three seasons. In 2015 surfers were awarded a significantly larger score when performing an air reverse, compared to 2014 (P=0.0002) and 2016 (P=0.0057). Surfers were also awarded a higher score for the full rotation aerial in 2015 compared to 2014 (P=0.0177). In 2015 surfers performing forehand aerials were awarded a greater score than in 2016 (P=0.0113). The timing of the aerial and score awarded was significantly greater in 2015 as opposed to 2014 when the aerial was their final manoeuvre (P< 0.0001) and when surfers timed the aerial performance early within the heat (P = 0.0027). If a surfer incorporates an aerial manoeuvre during competition, generally speaking, they will be awarded a significantly higher score
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