Ionospheric Modelling using GPS to Calibrate the MWA. II : Regional ionospheric modelling using GPS and GLONASS to estimate ionospheric gradients

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA), after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. The version of record is available on line at https://doi.org/10.1017/pasa.2016.22 COPYRIGHT: © Astronomical Society of Australia 2016.We estimate spatial gradients in the ionosphere using the Global Positioning System (GPS) and GLONASS (Russian global navigation system) observations, utilising data from multiple GPS stations in the vicinity of Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO). In previous work the ionosphere was characterised using a single-station to model the ionosphere as a single layer of fixed height and this was compared with ionospheric data derived from radio astronomy observations obtained from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Having made improvements to our data quality (via cycle slip detection and repair) and incorporating data from the GLONASS system, we now present a multi-station approach. These two developments significantly improve our modelling of the ionosphere. We also explore the effects of a variable-height model. We conclude that modelling the small-scale features in the ionosphere that have been observed with the MWA will require a much denser network of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations than is currently available at the MRO.Peer reviewe

Age-Related Declines in Lower Limb Muscle Function are Similar in Power and Endurance Athletes of Both Sexes: A Longitudinal Study of Master Athletes

The age-related decline in muscle function, particularly muscle power, is associated with increased risk of important clinical outcomes. Physical activity is an important determinant of muscle function, and different types of physical activity e.g. power-based versus endurance-based exercise appear to have differential effects on muscle power. Cross-sectional studies suggest that participation in power-based exercise is associated with greater muscle power across adulthood but this has not been investigated longitudinally. We recruited eighty-nine male and female power and endurance master athletes (sprint and distance runners respectively, baseline age 35–90y). Using jumping mechanography, we measured lower limb muscle function during a vertical jump including at least two testing sessions longitudinally over 4.5 ± 2.4y. We examined effects of time, discipline (power/endurance) and sex in addition to two- and three-way interactions using linear mixed-effects models. Peak relative power, relative force and jump height, but not Esslingen Fitness Index (indicating peak power relative to sex and age-matched reference data) declined with time. Peak power, force, height and EFI were greater in power than endurance athletes. There were no sex, discipline or sex*discipline interactions with time for any variable, suggesting that changes were similar over time for athletes of both sexes and disciplines. Advantages in lower limb muscle function in power athletes were maintained with time, in line with previous cross-sectional studies. These results suggest that improvements in lower limb function in less active older individuals following power-based training persist with continued adherence, although this requires further investigation in interventional studies

Effects of jumping exercise on maximum ground reaction force and bone in 8- to 12-year-old boys and girls: a 9-month randomized controlled trial

Objectives: To assess adaptations of the lower leg muscle-bone unit in 8- to 12-year-old children following a randomized controlled jumping exercise intervention for 9 months. Methods: Twelve boys and 10 girls (INT) performed a supervised jumping protocol during the first 10 min of their regularly scheduled physical education class twice a week, while 11 boys and 12 girls (CON) completed the regular curriculum. We assessed maximum voluntary ground reaction force during multiple one-legged hopping (F(m1LH)), and tibial bone strength/geometry by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) at the 4-, 14-, 38- and 66%-site pre, intermediate, and post intervention. Results: Whether increases in F(m1LH) (+2.1% points, P= 0.752), nor changes in bone strength/geometry (+1 to +3% points, 0.169<P<0.861), were significantly different for INT relative to CON. The relationship between F(m1LH) and volumetric bone mineral content at the 14%-site (vBMC(14%)) was very strong for both groups, pre and post intervention (0.51≤R(2)≤0.88). However, changes in F(m1LH) and vBMC(14%) were not correlated. Conclusions: In children, growth and exercise did not increase maximum muscle force and bone strength in proportion to each other, meaning that the adaptive processes were not tightly coupled or follow different time courses

Vibration or balance training on neuromuscular performance in osteopenic women

Maintaining neuromuscular function in older age is an important topic for aging societies, especially for older women with low bone density who may be at risk of falls and bone fracture. This randomized controlled trial investigated the effect of resistive exercise with either whole-body vibration training (VIB) or coordination/balance training (BAL) on neuromuscular function (countermovement jump, multiple 1-leg hopping, sit-to-stand test). 68 postmenopausal women with osteopenia or osteoporosis were recruited for the study. 57 subjects completed the 9-month, twice weekly, intervention period. All subjects conducted 30&thinsp;min of resistance exercise each training day. The VIB-group performed additional training on the Galileo vibration exercise device. The BAL-group performed balance training. An &quot;intent-to-treat&quot; analysis showed greater improvement in the VIB-group for peak countermovement power (p=0.004). The mean [95% confidence interval] effect size for this parameter was a &thinsp;+&thinsp;0.9[0.3 to 1.5] W/kg greater change in VIB than BAL after 9 months. In multiple 1-leg hopping, a significantly better performance in the VIB-group after the intervention period was seen on a &quot;per-protocol&quot; analysis only. Both groups improved in the sit-to-stand test. The current study provides evidence that short-duration whole-body vibration exercise can have a greater impact on some aspects of neuromuscular function in post-menopausal women with low bone density than proprioceptive training

Assessment of the NeQuick model at mid-latitudes using GNSS TEC and ionosonde data

The modelling of the Total Electron Content (TEC) plays an important role in global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) accuracy, especially for single-frequency receivers, the most common ones constituting the mass market. For the latter and in the framework of Galileo, the NeQuick model has been chosen for correcting the ionospheric error contribution and will be integrated into a global algorithm providing the users with daily updated information. In order to reach the ionosphere error correction level objective, the model itself as well as its use for Galileo are investigated. In our comparison process, we take advantage of various ionosphere data from several European stations (Dourbes in Belgium, El Arenosillo and Roquetes in Spain) where ionosonde and GPS TEC data are available for different solar activity levels. These data allow us to study NeQuick representation of the ionosphere at mid-latitudes. Constraining the model with ionosonde measurements, we investigate the difference between GPS-derived vertical TEC and corresponding values from NeQuick for a high solar activity level (year 2002). With this approach, we reach residual errors of less than 20% in standard deviation. We especially highlight the improvements from the latest (second) version of NeQuick and show the critical importance of the topside formulation