East Midlands Top 500 Companies 2020

The East Midlands Top 500 Companies 2020 is a new index which celebrates the business success of the East Midlands as a region with a remarkably strong, diverse and resilient range of firms. The Top 500 is based on historic data from Companies House accounts submitted between July 2017 and June 2018. These are accessed from the Financial Analysis Made Easy FAME database supplied by Bureau Van Dijk. This is supplemented from other publicly available sources of business information. The report includes analysis of the significance, an overview of the regional business economy, and a series of company case studies. The index represents the strength and diversity of firms based in the East Midlands. The Top 500 Index provides a continuing baseline for comparison in future years, since it comprises data predating the effects of Brexit and COVID-19. This will be updated yearly. It includes companies with their registered offices located in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. All these businesses have been included in the ‘Top 200 Companies’ 2019 for Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, featured in the ‘Business Live’ coverage by Reach Media

Expertise affects inter-observer agreement at peripheral locations within a brain tumor

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a crucial tool for clinical brain tumor detection and delineation. Since the process of gross tumor volume delineation resides with clinicians, a better understanding of how they perform this task is required if improvements in life expectancy are to be made. Novice-expert comparison studies have been used to examine the effect of expertise on abnormality detection, but little research has investigated expertise-related differences in brain tumor delineation. In this study, undergraduate students (novices) and radiologists (experts) inspected a combination of T1 and T2 single and whole brain MRI scans, each containing a tumor. Using a tablet and stylus to provide an interactive environment, participants had an unlimited amount of time to scroll freely through the MRI slices and were instructed to delineate (i.e., draw a boundary) around any tumorous tissue. There was no reliable evidence for a difference in the gross tumor volume or total number of slices delineated between experts and novices. Agreement was low across both expertise groups and significantly lower at peripheral locations within a tumor than central locations. There was an interaction between expertise level and location within a tumor with experts displaying higher agreement at the peripheral slices than novices. An effect of brain image set on the order in which participants inspected the slices was also observed. The implications of these results for the training undertaken by early career radiologists and current practices in hospitals are discussed

A Novel Waveform to Extract Exercise Gas Exchange Response Dynamics: The Chirp Waveform

Characterizing exercise gas exchange response dynamics reveals important information about physiological control processes and cardiopulmonary dysfunction. However, current methods for extracting exercise response dynamics typically use multiple step-wise transitions, limiting applicability of this technique. PURPOSE: We designed a new protocol (chirp waveform) to extract exercise gas exchange response dynamics in a single visit. We tested the hypothesis that gas exchange response dynamics extracted from chirp forcing would be similar to those extracted from step-wise transitions. METHODS: Thirty-one participants (14 young healthy, 7 older healthy, and 10 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) visited the laboratory on three occasions. On visit 1, participants performed a ramp incremental test to determine the gas exchange threshold (GET). On visits 2-3, participants performed either a chirp or step-wise protocol in a randomized order. Chirp forcing consisted of sinusoidal fluctuations in work rate with constant amplitude and progressive shortening of sine periods. Square protocol consisted of 3 square-wave transitions each of 6 min duration. Work rate amplitude (from 20 W to ~95% of the individual’s GET) and exercise duration (30 min) were the same in both protocols. The input-output relationship was characterized using a first-order linear transfer function containing a system gain (K) and time constant (τ) [G(s)= K/(τ×s+1)]. Parameter identification was performed in Matlab using the Matlab System Identification toolbox. Agreement between measures was established using Bland-Altman analysis and Rothery’s Concordance Coefficient (RCC). RESULTS: No systematic bias (mean difference of chirp minus square-wave; Δmean) and good reliability was found for V̇O2 K [Δmean: 0.25(1.03) mL/min/W, p=0.179; RCC: 0.773, p=0.004], V̇O2 τ [Δmean: 0.30(7.08) s, p=0.815; RCC: 0.837, p2 K [Δmean: -0.19(1.57) mL/min/W, p=0.512; RCC: 0.827, pp=0.009] and good reliability (RCC: 0.794, p2 τ. CONCLUSION: The chirp waveform allows extraction of gas exchange response dynamics similar to those obtained from standard methods, thus overcoming the need for multiple tests

Skeletal muscle ATP turnover by 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy during moderate and heavy bilateral knee-extension

During constant-power high-intensity exercise, the expected increase in oxygen uptake (V̇O2) is supplemented by a V̇O2 slow component (V̇O2 sc ), reflecting reduced work efficiency, predominantly within the locomotor muscles. The intracellular source of inefficiency is postulated to be an increase in the ATP cost of power production (an increase in P/W). To test this hypothesis, we measured intramuscular ATP turnover with (31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and whole-body V̇O2 during moderate (MOD) and heavy (HVY) bilateral knee-extension exercise in healthy participants (n = 14). Unlocalized (31)P spectra were collected from the quadriceps throughout using a dual-tuned ((1)H and (31)P) surface coil with a simple pulse-and-acquire sequence. Total ATP turnover rate (ATPtot) was estimated at exercise cessation from direct measurements of the dynamics of phosphocreatine (PCr) and proton handling. Between 3 and 8 min during MOD, there was no discernable V̇O2 sc (mean ± SD, 0.06 ± 0.12 l min(-1)) or change in [PCr] (30 ± 8 vs. 32 ± 7 mm) or ATPtot (24 ± 14 vs. 17 ± 14 mm min(-1); each P = n.s.). During HVY, the V̇O2 sc was 0.37 ± 0.16 l min(-1) (22 ± 8%), [PCr] decreased (19 ± 7 vs. 18 ± 7 mm, or 12 ± 15%; P < 0.05) and ATPtot increased (38 ± 16 vs. 44 ± 14 mm min(-1), or 26 ± 30%; P < 0.05) between 3 and 8 min. However, the increase in ATPtot (ΔATPtot) was not correlated with the V̇O2 sc during HVY (r(2) = 0.06; P = n.s.). This lack of relationship between ΔATPtot and V̇O2 sc , together with a steepening of the [PCr]-V̇O2 relationship in HVY, suggests that reduced work efficiency during heavy exercise arises from both contractile (P/W) and mitochondrial sources (the O2 cost of ATP resynthesis; P/O)

Is a Two-Day Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test a Valid Tool for The Diagnosis of Post-Exertional Malaise in Long COVID?

A two-day cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) protocol (maximal ramp-incremental cycle test repeated 24hr apart) in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients has suggested that day-2 performance is decreased relative to day-1. This difference has been attributed to post-exertional malaise (PEM), suggesting the two-day CPET as a protocol to investigate PEM in Long COVID (LC) patients. PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate any effects of PEM on exercise performance and cardiorespiratory and perceptual responses to a two-day CPET in LC patients to determine whether the day-1 CPET would impair performance, cardiorespiratory responses or perceptions of exercise at day-2. METHODS: Fifteen LC patients with one or more symptoms persisting for more than three months after their initial infection [n=7 females; n=1 hospitalized; mean(SD); age 53(11) yrs; body mass index 32.2(8.5) kg/m2; time between COVID-19 onset and CPET 13(7) months; forced expiratory volume in 1 second 89(15) %pred; forced vital capacity 92(14) %pred; diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide 92(15) %pred; total lung capacity 86(12) %pred] were studied. Prior to any exercise testing, PEM was assessed relative to the past six months using the modified DePaul Symptom Questionnaire (mDSQ) (0-4 symptoms frequency and severity scores). Each performed a two-day CPET protocol; ramp was 10-20 W/min, with the same ramp rate used for the day-1 and day-2 CPET. Peak oxygen uptake, peak work rate, and gas exchange threshold were measured using standard techniques. Ratings of perceived dyspnea and leg effort during cycling were recorded at peak exercise using the modified Borg’s Scale (0-10). One-sample t-tests were used to assess significance of test-retest mean difference. RESULTS: The mDSQ indicated the presence of PEM symptoms in 80% of participants. However, no significant differences between day-1 and day-2 CPET were found in any of the variables assessed. CONCLUSION: The absence of any difference in cardiorespiratory and perceptual responses in 2-day CPET testing, despite patient reported presence of PEM symptoms, suggests that the two-day CPET protocol may not be a valid tool for the diagnosis of PEM in LC patients

1966

Proper Watering by Earl P. Grey (page 1) Soil Structure and Plant Feeding for Trees and Shrubs on the Golf Course by William Teece (2) Power Golf Carts: A Blessing or a Curse by David Dunlavey (3) A Comparison by Paul White (3) Trees on a Golf Course by Oliver Leech (5) Turf Management Majors Want a Golf Team by Richard Rossiter (6) Class Will of \u2766 (7)Famous Last Words from 1966 (8) Turf Heating with Electric Cables by J.R. Barrett, Jr. and W.H. Daniel (A-1) Poa Annua Restriction by C. F. Kerr and W.H. Daniel (A-9) Phosphorus by Marvin H. Ferguson (A-14) Role of Potassium in Turf Grass management by R. E. Wagner (A-16) Role of Minor Elements in Turfgrass Management by Alexander Radko (A-22) Rhizoctonia Brown patch and Pythium Diseas by Malcolm C. Shurtleff (A-27) Sclerotinia Dollar Spot and Snow Mold by Noel Jackson (A-32) Fusarium Blight - Disease of Turf Grasses by George A. Bean (A-35) Observing the Weather - Old and New Techniques by Robert C. Copeland (A-39) Water Supply by Allan Grieve Jr. (A-41) Establishment and Maintenance of Campus Turf by William A. Lambert (A-51) Athletic Field Management by J. T. Williams (A-56

Control-focused, nonlinear and time-varying modelling of dielectric elastomer actuators with frequency response analysis

Current models of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are mostly constrained to first principal descriptions that are not well suited to the application of control design due to their computational complexity. In this work we describe an integrated framework for the identification of control focused, data driven and time-varying DEA models that allow advanced analysis of nonlinear system dynamics in the frequency-domain. Experimentally generated input–output data (voltage-displacement) was used to identify control-focused, nonlinear and time-varying dynamic models of a set of film-type DEAs. The model description used was the nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous input structure. Frequency response analysis of the DEA dynamics was performed using generalized frequency response functions, providing insight and a comparison into the time-varying dynamics across a set of DEA actuators. The results demonstrated that models identified within the presented framework provide a compact and accurate description of the system dynamics. The frequency response analysis revealed variation in the time-varying dynamic behaviour of DEAs fabricated to the same specifications. These results suggest that the modelling and analysis framework presented here is a potentially useful tool for future work in guiding DEA actuator design and fabrication for application domains such as soft robotics