Analysis of Gender and Success-Related Kinematic Differences of Elite Sport Rock Climbers During Competition

This study compared differences in kinematically based performance success characteristics of elite sport rock climbers during competition both within and across the variable of gender. The purpose of this study was to identify kinematically based performance success and gender differences in elite sport rock climbers for the development of further studies and gender-specific training procedures. The dependent variables included the kinematics of the dynamic grasping hand (DGH) and the center of mass (CM) and the timing of these variables. The participants included both the men and women competitors registered for the 1997 American Sport Climbing Federation\u27s Fall National competition held at the Boulder Rock Club in Boulder, Colorado. Analysis was performed on the top five placing participants in each respective gender category (N = I 0). For comparison within gender, the first through third place finishers were classified as the top performers with a higher degree of performance success than the bottom performers who placed fourth and fifth (n = 5). Adjusted R-squared values were computed by way of multiple regression for the kinematic variables; variables providing adjusted R-squared coefficients greater than .24 were selected for further analysis. A one-way repeated measures ANOV A was computed for the selected kinematic variables and finish place of the participants. Standardized mean difference effect sizes were computed to determine practical significance. No statistical significance was found at or below the .05level of probability for finish place and any of the kinematic variables. Effect size differences were found for the DGH and CM kinematics with the top-performing men and women exhibiting more controlled horizontal movements, and more powerful but still controlled vertical movement. The control of the vertical CM motion indicated by the tops was evident from lesser distances the CM traveled. The kinematics of the CM show the top men and women with less vertical distances traveled, indicating a more efficient movement. Gender differences included the males performing the route segment with slower times but with faster DGH events. The top men provided greater event vertical velocities while the women provided greater horizontal velocities and accelerations. These differences provide considerations for the development of specific training protocols to address performance success based requirements that are gender-specific

A Comparison of Self-Evaluation in Home Management and Achievement Motivation of University Students in Home Management Residence Laboratory Course

Self-evaluation in home management and its relationship to achievement motivation was investigated. The discrepancy between student self-evaluation and adviser evaluation was correlated with achievement motivation. The sample consisted of 33 female students, residents of -the Home Management House during Spring Quarter of the 1968-69 school year and Fall and Winter Quarters of the 1969-70 school year. The instruments used were: (1) a background questionnaire; (2) Management Resource Scale, and (3) Litwin Decision-Making Test. The statistical test used was the Pearson r (correlation coefficient). No significant relationship was found between absolute discrepancy between student self-evaluation in home management, and adviser evaluation and achievement motivation. However, when directionality of evaluation-deviation scores was considered, a significant relationship was found at the .05 level. Subjects who received positive evaluation-deviation scores were lower in achievement motivation than were subjects who received negative evaluation-deviation scores

Student procurement

This optometric survey was suggested by the fact that last year 402 students graduated from all optometric institutions in the United States, while some 800 to 1000 practicing optometrists were lost to the profession because of retirement or death. This survey is an attempt to isolate a portion of the problem by student procurement as it pertains to the individual practitioners and alumni of Pacific University. This isolates only one aspect of the problem arising in a program of obtaining students for the profession of Optometry; but we feel it is the most important one. In point, we wanted to find out what portion of the man in the profession are taking or spending time getting students into their profession. The question of this survey represents the major areas of endeavor in which the individual practitioner can participate in order to help alleviate the problem that exists at the present time

De novo variants of NR4A2 are associated with neurodevelopmental disorder and epilepsy

PURPOSE: This study characterizes the clinical and genetic features of nine unrelated patients with de novo variants in the NR4A2 gene. METHODS: Variants were identified and de novo origins were confirmed through trio exome sequencing in all but one patient. Targeted RNA sequencing was performed for one variant to confirm its splicing effect. Independent discoveries were shared through GeneMatcher. RESULTS: Missense and loss-of-function variants in NR4A2 were identified in patients from eight unrelated families. One patient carried a larger deletion including adjacent genes. The cases presented with developmental delay, hypotonia (six cases), and epilepsy (six cases). De novo status was confirmed for eight patients. One variant was demonstrated to affect splicing and result in expression of abnormal transcripts likely subject to nonsense-mediated decay. CONCLUSION: Our study underscores the importance of NR4A2 as a disease gene for neurodevelopmental disorders and epilepsy. The identified variants are likely causative of the seizures and additional developmental phenotypes in these patients

PTPN4 germline variants result in aberrant neurodevelopment and growth

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are pleomorphic regulators of eukaryotic cellular responses to extracellular signals that function by modulating the phosphotyrosine of specific proteins. A handful of PTPs have been implicated in germline and somatic human disease. Using exome sequencing, we identified missense and truncating variants i

Cell Phone Detection Techniques

A team composed of Rick Pratt, Dave Puczyki, Kyle Bunch, Ryan Slaugh, Morris Good, and Doug McMakin teamed together to attempt to exploit cellular telephone features and detect if a person was carrying a cellular telephone into a Limited Area. The cell phone’s electromagnetic properties were measured, analyzed, and tested in over 10 different ways to determine if an exploitable signature exists. The method that appears to have the most potential for success without adding an external tag is to measure the RF spectrum, not in the cell phone band, but between 240 and 400MHz. Figures 1- 7 show the detected signal levels from cell phones from three different manufacturers

De novo variants of NR4A2 are associated with neurodevelopmental disorder and epilepsy

Purpose This study characterizes the clinical and genetic features of nine unrelated patients with de novo variants in the NR4A2 gene. Methods Variants were identified and de novo origins were confirmed through trio exome sequencing in all but one patient. Targeted RNA sequencing was performed for one variant to confirm its splicing effect. Independent discoveries were shared through GeneMatcher. Results Missense and loss-of-function variants in NR4A2 were identified in patients from eight unrelated families. One patient carried a larger deletion including adjacent genes. The cases presented with developmental delay, hypotonia (six cases), and epilepsy (six cases). De novo status was confirmed for eight patients. One variant was demonstrated to affect splicing and result in expression of abnormal transcripts likely subject to nonsense-mediated decay. Conclusion Our study underscores the importance of NR4A2 as a disease gene for neurodevelopmental disorders and epilepsy. The identified variants are likely causative of the seizures and additional developmental phenotypes in these patients

Results of Large-Scale Testing on Effects of Anti-Foam Agent on Gas Retention and Release

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of River Protection’s Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) will process and treat radioactive waste that is stored in tanks at the Hanford Site. The waste treatment process in the pretreatment facility will mix both Newtonian and non-Newtonian slurries in large process tanks. Process vessels mixing non-Newtonian slurries will use pulse jet mixers (PJMs), air sparging, and recirculation pumps. An anti-foam agent (AFA) will be added to the process streams to prevent surface foaming, but may also increase gas holdup and retention within the slurry. The work described in this report addresses gas retention and release in simulants with AFA through testing and analytical studies. Gas holdup and release tests were conducted in a 1/4-scale replica of the lag storage vessel operated in the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Applied Process Engineering Laboratory using a kaolin/bentonite clay and AZ-101 HLW chemical simulant with non-Newtonian rheological properties representative of actual waste slurries. Additional tests were performed in a small-scale mixing vessel in the PNNL Physical Sciences Building using liquids and slurries representing major components of typical WTP waste streams. Analytical studies were directed at discovering how the effect of AFA might depend on gas composition and predicting the effect of AFA on gas retention and release in the full-scale plant, including the effects of mass transfer to the sparge air. The work at PNNL was part of a larger program that included tests conducted at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) that is being reported separately. SRNL conducted gas holdup tests in a small-scale mixing vessel using the AZ-101 high-level waste (HLW) chemical simulant to investigate the effects of different AFAs, their components, and of adding noble metals. Full-scale, single-sparger mass transfer tests were also conducted at SRNL in water and AZ-101 HLW simulant to provide data for PNNL’s WTP gas retention and release modeling