THE COORDINATION VARIABILITY OF ‘TRADITIONAL’ AND ‘SPECIFIC’ SPRINT TRAINING EXERCISES COMPARED TO HIGH SPEED RUNNING.

This study aimed to compare specificity of three different resistance training exercises (Back Squat (BS), Bulgarian Split Squat (BSS), and Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (SL-RDL) compared to high speed running (HSR). Three-dimensional kinematic data were collected from 6 males (age 22.2 ± 1.6 years, height 1.85 ± 0.05 m, mass 77.55 ± 6.50 kg) who completed two sets of six repetitions with two repetitions in reserve for each resistance training exercise and two 10 second treadmill runs at 20 kph (5.56 m/s). Kinematic results from the hip, knee and ankle (max. flexion, max. extension, and range of motion) revealed there was not an exercise that was consistently similar to HSR. Coordination profiling revealed the BS exercise had similarities to HSR across all three joints, however the BSS did show greater specificity at the hip

The UK Cardiac and Vascular Surgery Interventional Anaemia Response (CAVIAR) Study: protocol for an observational cohort study to determine the impact and effect of preoperative anaemia management in cardiac and vascular surgical patients.

INTRODUCTION: Preoperative anaemia is linked to poor postsurgical outcome, longer hospital stays, greater risk of complications and mortality. Currently in the UK, some sites have developed anaemia clinics or pathways that use intravenous iron to correct iron deficiency anaemia prior to surgery as their standard of care. Although intravenous iron has been observed to be effective in a variety of patient settings, there is insufficient evidence in its use in cardiac and vascular patients. The aim of this study is to observe the impact and effect of anaemia and its management in patients undergoing cardiac and vascular surgery. In addition, the UK Cardiac and Vascular Surgery Interventional Anaemia Response (CAVIAR) Study is also a feasibility study with the aim to establish anaemia management pathways in the preoperative setting to inform the design of future randomised controlled trials. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The UK CAVIAR Study is a multicentre, stepped, observational study, in patients awaiting major cardiac or vascular surgery. We will be examining different haematological variables (especially hepcidin), functional capacity and patient outcome. Patients will be compared based on their anaemia status, whether they received intravenous iron in accordance to their hospital's preoperative pathway, and their disease group. The primary outcomes are the change in haemoglobin levels from baseline (before treatment) to before surgery; and the number of successful patients recruited and consented (feasibility). The secondary outcomes will include changes in biomarkers of iron deficiency, length of stay, quality of life and postoperative recovery. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol was approved by the London-Westminster Research Ethics Committee (15/LO/1569, 27 November 2015). NHS approval was also obtained with each hospital trust. The findings of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Clinical Trials registry (NCT02637102) and the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN55032357)

Image segmentation for improved consistency in image-interpretation of opium poppy

The image-interpretation of opium poppy crops from very high resolution satellite imagery forms part of the annual Afghanistan opium surveys conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United States Government. We tested the effect of generalization of field delineations on the final estimates of poppy cultivation using survey data from Helmand province in 2009 and an area frame sampling approach. The sample data was reinterpreted from pan-sharpened IKONOS scenes using two increasing levels of generalization consistent with observed practice. Samples were also generated from manual labelling of image segmentation and from a digital object classification. Generalization was found to bias the cultivation estimate between 6.6% and 13.9%, which is greater than the sample error for the highest level. Object classification of image-segmented samples increased the cultivation estimate by 30.2% because of systematic labelling error. Manual labelling of image-segmented samples gave a similar estimate to the original interpretation. The research demonstrates that small changes in poppy interpretation can result in systematic differences in final estimates that are not included within confidence intervals. Segmented parcels were similar to manually digitized fields and could provide increased consistency in field delineation at a reduced cost. The results are significant for Afghanistan’s opium monitoring programmes and other surveys where sample data are collected by remote sensing

Obesity is the most common risk factor for chronic liver disease: Results from risk stratification pathway using transient elastography

IntroductionObesity has been associated with liver fibrosis yet guidelines do not emphasise it as an independent risk factor in which to have a high index of suspicion of advanced disease. We aimed to elucidate the effect of a raised body mass index on the risk of liver disease using data from a community risk stratification pathway. MethodsWe prospectively recruited patients from a primary care practice with hazardous alcohol use and/or type 2 diabetes and/or obesity. Subjects were invited for a transient elastography reading. A threshold of ≥8.0kPa defined an elevated reading consistent with clinically significant liver disease. ResultsFive hundred and seventy six patients participated in the pathway of which, 533 patients had a reliable reading and 66 (12.4%) had an elevated reading. Thirty one percent of patients with an elevated reading had obesity as their only risk factor. The proportion of patients with an elevated reading was similar among those with obesity (8.9%) to patients with more recognised solitary risk factors (Type 2 diabetes 10.8%; Hazardous alcohol use 4.8%). Obesity in combination with other risk factors further increased the proportion of patients with an elevated reading. In multivariate logistic regression, increasing BMI and type 2 diabetes were significantly associated with an elevated reading. ConclusionObesity as a single or additive risk factor for chronic liver disease is significant. Future case finding strategies using a risk factor approach should incorporate obesity within proposed algorithms

Approaches to research & development for ‘great pedagogy’ and ‘great CPD’ in teaching school alliances : teaching schools R&D network national themes project 2012-14

This report summarises the findings of research into the implementation of collaborative research and development (R&D) within teaching school alliances (TSAs). The five alliances that are the focus of this study all undertook collaborative R&D projects over a two year period (2012-2014) linked to one of two themes: 'what makes great pedagogy?' (theme 1) or 'what makes great professional development that leads to consistently great pedagogy?’ (theme 2). This work was part of a wider national project involving 66 alliances in total: the alliances received funding as well as support and facilitation from externally commissioned experts. The five alliances in this study were selected to offer a reasonable spread in terms of focus, approach and geography

A bestiary of non-linear functions for growth analysis

Plant growth is an essential ecological process, integrating across scales from physiology to community dynamics. Predicting the growth of plants is essential to understand a wide range of ecological issues, including competition, plant-herbivore interactions and ecosystem functioning.
A challenge in modeling plant growth is that growth rates almost universally decrease with increasing size, for a variety of reasons. Traditional analyses of growth are hampered by the need to remain within the structures of linear models, which handle this slowing poorly. We demonstrate the implementation of a variety of non-linear models that are more appropriate for modeling plant growth than are the traditional, linear, models.
Ecological inference is frequently based on growth rates, rather than model parameters. Traditional calculations of absolute and relative growth rates assume that they are invariant with respect to time or biomass, which is almost never valid. We advocate and demonstrate the calculation of function-derived growth rates, which highlight the time- and biomass-varying nature of growth. We further show how uncertainty in estimated parameter values can be propagated to express uncertainty in absolute and relative growth rates. 
The use of non-linear models and function-derived growth rates can facilitate testing novel hypotheses in population and community ecology. Even so, we acknowledge that fitting non-linear models can be tricky. To foster the spread of these methods, we make many recommendations for ecologists to follow when their hypotheses lead them into the subject of plant growth. 
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Long-Term Crop Rotation Diversification Enhances Maize Drought Resistance Through Soil Organic Matter

Climate change adaptation requires building agricultural system resilience to warmer, drier climates. Increasing temporal plant diversity through crop rotation diversification increases yields of some crops under drought, but its potential to enhance crop drought resistance and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We conducted a drought manipulation experiment using rainout shelters embedded within a 36-year crop rotation diversity and no-till experiment in a temperate climate and measured a suite of soil and crop developmental and eco-physiological traits in the field and laboratory. We show that diversifying maize-soybean rotations with small grain cereals and cover crops mitigated maize water stress at the leaf and canopy scales and reduced yield losses to drought by 17.1 ± 6.1%, while no-till did not affect maize drought resistance. Path analysis showed a strong correlation between soil organic matter and lower maize water stress despite no significant differences in soil organic matter between rotations or tillage treatments. This positive relationship between soil organic matter and maize water status was not mediated by higher soil water retention or infiltration as often hypothesized, nor differential depth of root water uptake as measured with stable isotopes, suggesting that other mechanisms are at play. Crop rotation diversification is an underappreciated drought management tool to adapt crop production to climate change through managing for soil organic matter