2,591 research outputs found
Does a loaded warm-up influence jump asymmetry and badminton-specific change of direction performance?
Purpose: Previously, it has been shown that loaded warm-up (LWU) can improve change of direction speed (CODS) in professional badminton players. However, the effect of asymmetry on CODS in badminton players and the influence of LWU on asymmetry has not been examined.
Methods: Twenty-one amateur badminton players (age: 29.5 ± 8.4; playing experience: 8.4 ± 4.2 years) completed two trials. In the first, they performed a control warm-up (CWU). In the second, they performed the same warm-up but with three exercises loaded with a weight vest (LWU). Following both warm-ups, players completed single leg jump (SLCMJ) and badminton-specific CODS tests.
Results: No significant differences between CWU and LWU were observed for CODS, SLCMJ or SLCMJ asymmetry. However, small effect sizes suggested faster CODS (mean difference: -5%; d = -0.32) and lower asymmetries (mean difference: -3%; d = -0.39) following LWU. Five players (24%) experienced CODS improvements greater than the minimum detectable change whilst two (10%) responded negatively. Asymmetry was not correlated with CODS following CWU (Ï = 0.079; p = 0.733) but was negatively associated with CODS after LWU (Ï = -0.491; p = 0.035).
Conclusion: LWU may prove a strategy to trial on an individual basis but generic recommendations should not be applied
A note on positive energy of topologically massive gravity
I review how "classical SUGRA" embeddability establishes positive energy E
for D=3 topologically massive gravity (TMG), with or without a cosmological
term, a procedure familiar from D=4 Einstein gravity (GR). It also provides
explicit expressions for E. In contrast to GR, E is not manifestly positive,
due to the peculiar two-term nature of TMG.Comment: 7 page
Power, Propulsion, and Communications for Microspacecraft Missions
The development of small sized, low weight spacecraft should lead to reduced scientific mission costs by lowering fabrication and launch costs. An order of magnitude reduction in spacecraft size can be obtained by miniaturizing components. Additional reductions in spacecraft weight, size, and cost can be obtained by utilizing the synergy that exists between different spacecraft systems. The state-of-the-art of three major systems, spacecraft power, propulsion, and communications is discussed. Potential strategies to exploit the synergy between these systems and/or the payload are identified. Benefits of several of these synergies are discussed
Radial HI Profiles at the Periphery of Galactic Disks: The Role of Ionizing Background Radiation
Observations of neutral hydrogen in spiral galaxies reveal a sharp cutoff in
the radial density profile at some distance from the center. Using 22 galaxies
with known HI distributions as an example, we discuss the question of whether
this effect can be associated exclusively with external ionizing radiation, as
is commonly assumed. We show that before the surface density reaches
(the same for
galaxies of different types), it is hard to expect the gas to be fully ionized
by background radiation. For two of 13 galaxies with a sharp drop in the HI
profile, the "steepening" can actually be caused by ionization. At the same
time, for the remaining galaxies, the observed cutoff in the radial HI profile
is closer to the center than if it was a consequence of ionization by
background radiation and, therefore, it should be caused by other factors.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
Topologically Massive Gravity and Ricci-Cotton Flow
We consider Topologically Massive Gravity (TMG), which is three dimensional
general relativity with a cosmological constant and a gravitational
Chern-Simons term. When the cosmological constant is negative the theory has
two potential vacuum solutions: Anti-de Sitter space and Warped Anti-de Sitter
space. The theory also contains a massive graviton state which renders these
solutions unstable for certain values of the parameters and boundary
conditions. We study the decay of these solutions due to the condensation of
the massive graviton mode using Ricci-Cotton flow, which is the appropriate
generalization of Ricci flow to TMG. When the Chern-Simons coupling is small
the AdS solution flows to warped AdS by the condensation of the massive
graviton mode. When the coupling is large the situation is reversed, and warped
AdS flows to AdS. Minisuperspace models are constructed where these flows are
studied explicitly
Vaccinia virus protein A46R targets multiple Toll-like-interleukin-1 receptor adaptors and contributes to virulence
Viral immune evasion strategies target key aspects of the host antiviral response. Recently, it has been recognized that Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have a role in innate defense against viruses. Here, we define the function of the vaccinia virus (VV) protein A46R and show it inhibits intracellular signalling by a range of TLRs. TLR signalling is triggered by homotypic interactions between the Toll-like-interleukin-1 resistance (TIR) domains of the receptors and adaptor molecules. A46R contains a TIR domain and is the only viral TIR domain-containing protein identified to date. We demonstrate that A46R targets the host TIR adaptors myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), MyD88 adaptor-like, TIR domain-containing adaptor inducing IFN-beta (TRIF), and the TRIF-related adaptor molecule and thereby interferes with downstream activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and nuclear factor kappaB. TRIF mediates activation of interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and induction of IFN-beta by TLR3 and TLR4 and suppresses VV replication in macrophages. Here, A46R disrupted TRIF-induced IRF3 activation and induction of the TRIF-dependent gene regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted. Furthermore, we show that A46R is functionally distinct from another described VV TLR inhibitor, A52R. Importantly, VV lacking the A46R gene was attenuated in a murine intranasal model, demonstrating the importance of A46R for VV virulence
Amorphous Systems in Athermal, Quasistatic Shear
We present results on a series of 2D atomistic computer simulations of
amorphous systems subjected to simple shear in the athermal, quasistatic limit.
The athermal quasistatic trajectories are shown to separate into smooth,
reversible elastic branches which are intermittently broken by discrete
catastrophic plastic events. The onset of a typical plastic event is studied
with precision, and it is shown that the mode of the system which is
responsible for the loss of stability has structure in real space which is
consistent with a quadrupolar source acting on an elastic matrix. The plastic
events themselves are shown to be composed of localized shear transformations
which organize into lines of slip which span the length of the simulation cell,
and a mechanism for the organization is discussed. Although within a single
event there are strong spatial correlations in the deformation, we find little
correlation from one event to the next, and these transient lines of slip are
not to be confounded with the persistent regions of localized shear --
so-called "shear bands" -- found in related studies. The slip lines gives rise
to particular scalings with system length of various measures of event size.
Strikingly, data obtained using three differing interaction potentials can be
brought into quantitative agreement after a simple rescaling, emphasizing the
insensitivity of the emergent plastic behavior in these disordered systems to
the precise details of the underlying interactions. The results should be
relevant to understanding plastic deformation in systems such as metallic
glasses well below their glass temperature, soft glassy systems (such as dense
emulsions), or compressed granular materials.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figure
Chiral Supergravity
We study the linearized approximation of N=1 topologically massive
supergravity around AdS3. Linearized gravitino fields are explicitly
constructed. For appropriate boundary conditions, the conserved charges
demonstrate chiral behavior, so that chiral gravity can be consistently
extended to chiral supergravity.Comment: 30 page
A detailed study of the diastereoselective catalytic hydrogenation of 6-hydroxytetrahydroisoquinoline-(3R)-carboxylic ester intermediates
A key step towards a highly-selective antagonist of ionotropic glutamate receptors entails the diastereoselective arene hydrogenation of an enantiopure tetrahydroisoquinoline. An extensive screen using parallel reactors was conducted and led to the discovery of several Pd/C catalysts giving high yield and improved diastereoselectivity from 75 : 25 to 95 : 5. A detailed kinetic study of the best system was performed and supports the reduction occuring in two-steps.
Mapping Children's Discussions of Evidence in Science to Assess Collaboration and Argumentation
The research reported in this paper concerns the development of children's skills of interpreting and evaluating evidence in science. Previous studies have shown that school teaching often places limited emphasis on the development of these skills, which are necessary for children to engage in scientific debate and decision-making. The research, undertaken in the UK, involved four collaborative decision-making activities to stimulate group discussion, each was carried out with five groups of four children (10-11 years old). The research shows how the children evaluated evidence for possible choices and judged whether their evidence was sufficient to support a particular conclusion or the rejection of alternative conclusions. A mapping technique was developed to analyse the discussions and identify different "levels" of argumentation. The authors conclude that suitable collaborative activities that focus on the discussion of evidence can be developed to exercise children's ability to argue effectively in making decisions
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