Scaling in Athletic World Records

World records in athletics provide a measure of physical as well as physiological human performance. Here we analyse running records and show that the mean speed as a function of race time can be described by two scaling laws that have a breakpoint at about 150-170 seconds (corresponding to the ~1,000 m race). We interpret this as being the transition time between anaerobic and aerobic energy expenditure by athletes.Comment: published in the Brief Communication section of Natur

Bond percolation on isoradial graphs: criticality and universality

In an investigation of percolation on isoradial graphs, we prove the criticality of canonical bond percolation on isoradial embeddings of planar graphs, thus extending celebrated earlier results for homogeneous and inhomogeneous square, triangular, and other lattices. This is achieved via the star-triangle transformation, by transporting the box-crossing property across the family of isoradial graphs. As a consequence, we obtain the universality of these models at the critical point, in the sense that the one-arm and 2j-alternating-arm critical exponents (and therefore also the connectivity and volume exponents) are constant across the family of such percolation processes. The isoradial graphs in question are those that satisfy certain weak conditions on their embedding and on their track system. This class of graphs includes, for example, isoradial embeddings of periodic graphs, and graphs derived from rhombic Penrose tilings.Comment: In v2: extended title, and small changes in the tex

Does the history of food energy units suggest a solution to "Calorie confusion"?

The Calorie (kcal) of present U.S. food labels is similar to the original French definition of 1825. The original published source (now available on the internet) defined the Calorie as the quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water from 0 to 1°C. The Calorie originated in studies concerning fuel efficiency for the steam engine and had entered dictionaries by 1840. It was the only energy unit in English dictionaries available to W.O. Atwater in 1887 for his popular articles on food and tables of food composition. Therefore, the Calorie became the preferred unit of potential energy in nutrition science and dietetics, but was displaced when the joule, g-calorie and kcal were introduced. This article will explain the context in which Nicolas Clément-Desormes defined the original Calorie and the depth of his collaboration with Sadi Carnot. It will review the history of other energy units and show how the original Calorie was usurped during the period of international standardization. As a result, no form of the Calorie is recognized as an SI unit. It is untenable to continue to use the same word for different thermal units (g-calorie and kg-calorie) and to use different words for the same unit (Calorie and kcal). The only valid use of the Calorie is in common speech and public nutrition education. To avoid ongoing confusion, scientists should complete the transition to the joule and cease using kcal in any context

Motif Minang Kaluak Paku Kacang Balimbiang pada Busana Kasual

Minangkabau sebagai salah satu suku bangsa yang mengisi kekhasan budaya Indonesia memiliki warisan budaya yang terpencar dalam berbagai aspek kehidupannya. Salah satu warisan budaya adalah seni ukir. Seni ukir yang dikembangkan dengan mengambil ide dari alam memiliki makna-makna filosofi bagi kehidupan masyarakat Minangkabau. Semua jenis ukiran yang dipahatkan di Rumah Gadang menunjukkan unsur penting pembentuk budaya Minangkabau bercerminkan kepada apa yang ada di alam. Salah satu ukiran pada rumah gadang yaitu kaluak paku. Kaluak paku adalah nama salah satu motif ukiran dalam adat Minangkabau. Berasal dari motif gulungan (kelukan/kaluak) pada ujung tanaman pakis (paku) yang masih muda. Ukiran kaluak paku rumah gadang melambangkan tanggung jawab seorang lelaki dalam adat Minangkabau kepada generasi penerus, sebagai ayah dari anak-anaknya dan sebagai mamak dari kemenakan (keponakan). Ukiran rumah gadang kaluak paku minangkabau inilah yang menjadi sumber ide penciptaan busana pada tugas akhir ini. Pada Penciptaan karya ini menggunakan beberapa metode, yaitu metode pendekatan estetis dan ergonomis, metode pengumpulan data dengan studi pustaka, dan motode penciptaan dengan teori Gustami Sp 3 tahap 6 Langkah. Dalam proses pembuatan karya dibutuhkan beberapa data, cara pengumpulan data acuan berdasarkan pengumpulan data pustaka yaitu berupa buku, jurnal pada media sosial, serta aplikasi pada smartphone seperti pinterest. Data yang dikumpulkan yang paling utama adalah gambar bentuk visual dari ukiran tanaman kaluak paku minangkabau dan busana kasual. Penciptaan karya yang dihasilkan yaitu berupa 8 busana kasual. Siluet pada kesuluruhan hasil karya yaitu memiliki siluet A yang mengembang pada bagian bawah. Pada penciptaan karya ini menggunakan bahan utama primisima. Perpaduan warna yang diterapkan menggunakan warna khas minangkabau yang diambil dari warna bendera adatnya “marawa” yaitu merah, hitam, dan kuning. Karya- karya yang dihasilkan dengan penggunaan warna tersebut sangat sesuai dengan tema yang mengangkat ukiran rumah gadang kaluak paku minangkabau. Kata Kunci : Minang, Kaluak Paku Kacang Balimbiang, Kasua

Memory Impedance in TiO2 based Metal-Insulator-Metal Devices

Large attention has recently been given to a novel technology named memristor, for having the potential of becoming the new electronic device standard. Yet, its manifestation as the fourth missing element is rather controversial among scientists. Here we demonstrate that TiO2-based metal-insulator-metal devices are more than just a memory-resistor. They possess resistive, capacitive and inductive components that can concurrently be programmed; essentially exhibiting a convolution of memristive, memcapacitive and meminductive effects. We show how non-zero crossing current-voltage hysteresis loops can appear and we experimentally demonstrate their frequency response as memcapacitive and meminductive effects become dominan

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease