Using Stories in Coach Education

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how storied representations of research can be used as an effective pedagogical tool in coach education. During a series of continuing professional development seminars for professional golf coaches, we presented our research in the form of stories and poems which were created in an effort to evoke and communicate the lived experiences of elite professional golfers. Following these presentations, we obtained written responses to the stories from 53 experienced coaches who attended the seminars. Analysis of this data revealed three ways in which coaches responded to the stories: (i) questioning; (ii) summarising; and (iii) incorporating. We conclude that these responses illustrate the potential of storied forms of representation to enhance professional development through stimulating reflective practice and increasing understanding of holistic, person-centred approaches to coaching athletes in high-performance sport

The Debye-Waller Factor in solid 3He and 4He

The Debye-Waller factor and the mean-squared displacement from lattice sites for solid 3He and 4He were calculated with Path Integral Monte Carlo at temperatures between 5 K and 35 K, and densities between 38 nm^(-3) and 67 nm^(-3). It was found that the mean-squared displacement exhibits finite-size scaling consistent with a crossover between the quantum and classical limits of N^(-2/3) and N^(-1/3), respectively. The temperature dependence appears to be T^3, different than expected from harmonic theory. An anisotropic k^4 term was also observed in the Debye-Waller factor, indicating the presence of non-Gaussian corrections to the density distribution around lattice sites. Our results, extrapolated to the thermodynamic limit, agree well with recent values from scattering experiments.Comment: 5 figure

Dynamics of liquid 4He in Vycor

We have measured the dynamic structure factor of liquid 4He in Vycor using neutron inelastic scattering. Well-defined phonon-roton (p-r) excitations are observed in the superfluid phase for all wave vectors 0.3 < Q < 2.15. The p-r energies and lifetimes at low temperature (T = 0.5 K) and their temperature dependence are the same as in bulk liquid 4He. However, the weight of the single p-r component does not scale with the superfluid fraction (SF) as it does in the bulk. In particular, we observe a p-r excitation between T_c = 1.952 K, where SF = 0, and T_(lambda)=2.172 K of the bulk. This suggests, if the p-r excitation intensity scales with the Bose condensate, that there is a separation of the Bose-Einstein condensation temperature and the superfluid transition temperature T_c of 4He in Vycor. We also observe a two-dimensional layer mode near the roton wave vector. Its dispersion is consistent with specific heat and SF measurements and with layer modes observed on graphite surfaces.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

CT imaging of small animals using monochromatized synchrotron x rays

Rats and chicken embryos were imaged in vivo with a prototype Multiple Energy Computed Tomography (MECT) system using monochromatized x rays from the X17 superconducting wiggler at the National Synchrotron Light Source. The CT configuration coated of a horizontal low-divergence, fan-shaped beam, 70 mm wide and 0.5 mm high, and a subject rotating about a vertical aids. A linear-array high-purity Ge detector with 140 elements, each 0.5 mm wide and 6 mm thick, was used with a data acquisition system that provides a linear response over almost six orders of magnitude of detector current. The dual photon absorptiometry (DPA) algorithm was applied to images of the rat head acquired at 20 and 45 keV to obtain two new images, one representing the low-Z, and the other the intermediate-Z clement group. The results indicate that the contrast resolution and the quantification accuracy of the images improve stepwise; first, with the monochromatic beam and, second, the DPA method. The system is a prototype for a brain scanner

Adenovirus-mediated hypoxia-targeting cytosine deaminase gene therapy enhances radiotherapy in tumour xenografts

Hypoxia is closely associated with the radioresistance of tumours; therefore, targeting hypoxic areas is very important for cancer therapy. The aim of this study is to establish such a targeting strategy by applying a bacterial cytosine deaminase (BCD)/5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) gene therapy system and to examine whether the strategy enhances the efficacy of radiotherapy in a tumour xenograft. The hypoxia-responsive promoter 5HREp, in which five copies of the hypoxia-response element (HRE) enhance transcription from a cytomegalovirus minimal promoter, was employed to induce the expression of BCD under hypoxic conditions. The adenoviral vector Ad/5HREp-BCD, encoding the gene 5HREp-BCD, robustly induced BCD expression under hypoxic conditions and this led to significant cytotoxicity in combination with 5-FC in vitro. Intratumoral Ad/5HREp-BCD administration resulted in the expression of BCD at the border between normoxic and necrotic regions. The BCD/5-FC gene therapy enhanced the therapeutic effects of both single (12.5 Gy) and fractionated (3 Gy × 5 days) radiotherapy with few side effects and significantly increased tumour growth doubling time by up to 2.4-fold (P<0.01) and 2.5-fold (P<0.05), respectively. All of these results suggest that the present BCD/5-FC gene therapy has the ability to specifically target hypoxic tumour cells and significantly improves the control of tumour growth after radiotherapy

Quantification of longitudinal tissue pO2 gradients in window chamber tumours: impact on tumour hypoxia

We previously reported that the arteriolar input in window chamber tumours is limited in number and is constrained to enter the tumour from one surface, and that the pO2 of tumour arterioles is lower than in comparable arterioles of normal tissues. On average, the vascular pO2 in vessels of the upper surface of these tumours is lower than the pO2 of vessels on the fascial side, suggesting that there may be steep vascular longitudinal gradients (defined as the decline in vascular pO2 along the afferent path of blood flow) that contribute to vascular hypoxia on the upper surface of the tumours. However, we have not previously measured tissue pO2 on both surfaces of these chambers in the same tumour. In this report, we investigated the hypothesis that the anatomical constraint of arteriolar supply from one side of the tumour results in longitudinal gradients in pO2 sufficient in magnitude to create vascular hypoxia in tumours grown in dorsal flap window chambers. Fischer-344 rats had dorsal flap window chambers implanted in the skin fold with simultaneous transplantation of the R3230AC tumour. Tumours were studied at 9–11 days after transplantation, at a diameter of 3–4 mm; the tissue thickness was 200 μm. For magnetic resonance microscopic imaging, gadolinium DTPA bovine serum albumin (BSA-DTPA-Gd) complex was injected i.v., followed by fixation in 10% formalin and removal from the animal. The sample was imaged at 9.4 T, yielding voxel sizes of 40 μm. Intravital microscopy was used to visualize the position and number of arterioles entering window chamber tumour preparations. Phosphorescence life time imaging (PLI) was used to measure vascular pO2. Blue and green light excitations of the upper and lower surfaces of window chambers were made (penetration depth of light ~50 vs >200 μm respectively). Arteriolar input into window chamber tumours was limited to 1 or 2 vessels, and appeared to be constrained to the fascial surface upon which the tumour grows. PLI of the tumour surface indicated greater hypoxia with blue compared with green light excitation (P < 0.03 for 10th and 25th percentiles and for per cent pixels < 10 mmHg). In contrast, illumination of the fascial surface with blue light indicated less hypoxia compared with illumination of the tumour surface (P < 0.05 for 10th and 25th percentiles and for per cent pixels < 10 mmHg). There was no significant difference in pO2 distributions for blue and green light excitation from the fascial surface nor for green light excitation when viewed from either surface. The PLI data demonstrates that the upper surface of the tumour is more hypoxic because blue light excitation yields lower pO2 values than green light excitation. This is further verified in the subset of chambers in which blue light excitation of the fascial surface showed higher pO2 distributions compared with the tumour surface. These results suggest that there are steep longitudinal gradients in vascular pO2 in this tumour model that are created by the limited number and orientation of the arterioles. This contributes to tumour hypoxia. Arteriolar supply is often limited in other tumours as well, suggesting that this may represent another cause for tumour hypoxia. This report is the first direct demonstration that longitudinal oxygen gradients actually lead to hypoxia in tumours. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Blood Transfusion Requirements for Patients With Sarcomas Undergoing Combined Radio- and Chemotherapy

Patients with bony and soft tissue sarcomas may require intensive treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which often leads to a fall in haemoglobin levels, requiring blood transfusion. There may be advantages in predicting which patients will require transfusion, partly because anaemia and hypoxia may worsen the response of tumours to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Between 1997 and 2003, a total of 26 patients who received intensive treatment with curative intent were identified. Transfusions were given to maintain the haemoglobin at 10g/dl or above during chemotherapy, and at 12 g/dl or above during radiotherapy. Eighteen (69%) required a transfusion, the majority as a result of both the chemotherapy and RT criteria. There were 78 transfusion episodes, and 181 units of blood given. In the 18 patients who required transfusion, the average number of units was 10.1, but seven patients required more blood than this. The most significant factor influencing blood transfusion was choice of intensive chemotherapy. Intensive chemotherapy and presenting Hb less than 11.6 g/dl identified 13 out of 18 patients who needed transfusion. Adding a drop in haemoglobin of greater than 1.7 g/dl after one cycle of chemotherapy identified 16 out of 18 patients who required transfusion. The seven patients who had heavy transfusion requirements were identified by age 32 or less, intensive chemotherapy and a presenting Hb of 12 g/dl or less. Erythropoietin might be a useful alternative to transfusion in selected patient groups, especially those with heavy transfusion requirements

Carbogen-induced changes in rat mammary tumour oxygenation reported by near infrared spectroscopy

We have evaluated the ability of steady-state, radially-resolved, broad-band near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to measure carbogen-induced changes in haemoglobin oxygen saturation (SO2) and total haemoglobin concentration in a rat R3230 mammary adenocarcinoma model in vivo. Detectable shifts toward higher saturations were evident in all tumours (n = 16) immediately after the onset of carbogen breathing. The SO2 reached a new equilibrium within 1 min and remained approximately constant during 200–300 s of administration. The return to baseline saturation was more gradual when carbogen delivery was stopped. The degree to which carbogen increased SO2 was variable among tumours, with a tendency for tumours with lower initial SO2 to exhibit larger changes. Tumour haemoglobin concentrations at the time of peak enhancement were also variable. In the majority of cases, haemoglobin concentration decreased in response to carbogen, indicating that increased tumour blood volume was not responsible for the observed elevation in SO2. We observed no apparent relationship between the extent of the change in tumour haemoglobin concentration and the magnitude of the change in the saturation. Near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy provides a rapid, non-invasive means of monitoring spatially averaged changes in tumour haemoglobin oxygen saturation induced by oxygen modifiers. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig