Effects of High-Carbohydrate Versus Mixed-Macronutrient Meals on Soccer Physiology and Performance

The purpose of the study was to measure the effects of an acute pre-competition high-carbohydrate (HCHO) meal versus a mixed-macronutrient (MM) meal on physiology, perceptual responses, and performance in 15 division I female collegiate soccer players. Being there are conjectural advantages to pre-exercise meals higher in fiber, fat, and protein, this study was conducted to evaluate the physiological and perceptual effects of pre-competition MM meals. This study used a randomized, investigator-blinded, crossover design involving two dietary interventions – HCHO and MM meals – that were consumed four hours prior to two separate intra-squad soccer scrimmages. Assessments included running metrics via global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices (total distance covered [TDC], high-speed running [HSR], sprint count, and explosive count), heart rate (HR) (average percent of max HR and time spent above 90% of max HR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), ratings of fatigue (ROF), gastrointestinal symptoms, and perceptions of satiety, hunger, and fullness. Descriptive statistics are presented as means and standard deviations (SDs) for normally distributed data and medians interquartile ranges (IQRs) for non-normal data. The GPS data were normally distributed, so paired samples t-tests were used to evaluate whether differences existed between the HCHO and MM conditions. Differences in HR, RPE, ROF, and gastrointestinal symptom data between conditions were evaluated with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test due to their non-normal distribution. Data from the hunger, satiety, and fullness scales demonstrated normality and were compared between the two conditions using within-subjects repeated measures ANOVAs involving time (pre-meal, pre-scrimmage, half-time, and end-scrimmage), condition (HCHO vs. MM), and time x condition analysis. Period effects were examined by comparing variables between the two scrimmages regardless of treatment assignment. Significance was set at the p \u3c 0.05 level. No statistically significant differences were found between the two meals with respect to GPS, HR, RPE, ROF, and gut symptom data. Significant main time effects were found for hunger, fullness, and satiety, though there were no significant condition main effects or time x condition interactions. With regard to period effects, TDC (8.0 vs. 7.5 km, p = 0.006), HSR (694 vs. 525 m, p = 0.002), and average percent of max HR (median: 89% vs. 88%, p = 0.038) were higher, while pre-scrimmage ROF was lower (median: 0 vs. 3, p = 0.032), for the second scrimmage than the first scrimmage, which suggests that players were slightly more fatigued going into the first scrimmage. The direction of the period differences in TDC and HSR were consistent regardless of which meal the participants were assigned pre-scrimmage. In total, these findings provide evidence that a meal with moderate amounts of protein, fat, and fiber consumed four hours prior to a 70-minute simulated soccer competition does not lead to more gastrointestinal symptoms and can be equally as ergogenic for performance and perceptual responses as a meal high in carbohydrate

Search for sterile neutrino oscillation using RENO and NEOS data

We present a reactor model independent search for sterile neutrino oscillation using 2\,509\,days of RENO near detector data and 180 days of NEOS data. The reactor related systematic uncertainties are significantly suppressed as both detectors are located at the same reactor complex of Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant. The search is performed by electron antineutrino\,($\overline{\nu}_e$) disappearance between six reactors and two detectors with baselines of 294\,m\,(RENO) and 24\,m\,(NEOS). A spectral comparison of the NEOS prompt-energy spectrum with a no-oscillation prediction from the RENO measurement can explore reactor $\overline{\nu}_e$ oscillations to sterile neutrino. Based on the comparison, we obtain a 95\% C.L. excluded region of $0.1<|\Delta m_{41}^2|<7$\,eV$^2$. We also obtain a 68\% C.L. allowed region with the best fit of $|\Delta m_{41}^2|=2.41\,\pm\,0.03\,$\,eV$^2$ and $\sin^2 2\theta_{14}$=0.08$\,\pm\,$0.03 with a p-value of 8.2\%. Comparisons of obtained reactor antineutrino spectra at reactor sources are made among RENO, NEOS, and Daya Bay to find a possible spectral variation.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures: This manuscript has been significantly revised by the joint reanalysis by RENO and NEOS Collaborations. (In the previous edition, the RENO collaboration used publicly available NEOS data to evaluate the expected neutrino spectrum at NEOS.

Protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 variant following booster vaccination or breakthrough infection in the UK

Following primary SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, whether boosters or breakthrough infections provide greater protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection is incompletely understood. Here we investigated SARS-CoV-2 antibody correlates of protection against new Omicron BA.4/5 (re-)infections and anti-spike IgG antibody trajectories after a third/booster vaccination or breakthrough infection following second vaccination in 154,149 adults ≥18 y from the United Kingdom general population. Higher antibody levels were associated with increased protection against Omicron BA.4/5 infection and breakthrough infections were associated with higher levels of protection at any given antibody level than boosters. Breakthrough infections generated similar antibody levels to boosters, and the subsequent antibody declines were slightly slower than after boosters. Together our findings show breakthrough infection provides longer-lasting protection against further infections than booster vaccinations. Our findings, considered alongside the risks of severe infection and long-term consequences of infection, have important implications for vaccine policy

Recent Developments in Photocatalytic Nanotechnology for Purifying Air Polluted with Volatile Organic Compounds: Effect of Operating Parameters and Catalyst Deactivation

Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is a successful method for indoor air purification, especially for removing low-concentration pollutants. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) form a class of organic pollutants that are released into the atmosphere by consumer goods or via human activities. Once they enter the atmosphere, some might combine with other gases to create new air pollutants, which can have a detrimental effect on the health of living beings. This review focuses on current developments in the degradation of indoor pollutants, with an emphasis on two aspects of PCO: (i) influence of environmental (external) conditions; and (ii) catalyst deactivation and possible solutions. TiO2 is widely used as a photocatalyst in PCO because of its unique properties. Here, the potential effects of the operating parameters, such as the nature of the reactant, catalyst support, light intensity, and relative humidity, are extensively investigated. Then the developments and limitations of the PCO technique are highlighted, especially photocatalyst deactivation. Furthermore, the nature and deactivation mechanisms of photocatalysts are discussed, with possible solutions for reducing catalyst deactivation. Finally, the challenges and future directions of PCO technology for the elimination of indoor pollutants are compared and summarized

Performance of the time-of-flight detector for a measurement of free fall of antihydrogen at the GBAR experiment

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. The GBAR experiment is designed to measure the free fall acceleration of antihydrogen atoms almost at rest. We have developed a time-of-flight (TOF) detector for the measurement of free fall time and annihilation position of antihydrogen atoms as well as for the rejection of cosmic ray muons. A scintillator array as a part of the TOF detector was installed and tested at the GBAR experimental hall. The performance of the TOF detector studied by cosmic ray muons is reported in this paper11sci

A feasibility study of extruded plastic scintillator embedding WLS fiber for AMoRE-II muon veto

AMoRE-II is the second phase of the Advanced Molybdenum-based Rare process Experiment aiming to search for the neutrino-less double beta decay of 100Mo isotopes using ~ 200 kg of molybdenum-containing cryogenic detectors. The AMoRE-II needs to keep the background level below 10-5 counts/keV/kg/year with various methods to maximize the sensitivity. One of the methods is to have the experiment be carried out deep underground free from the cosmic ray backgrounds. The AMoRE-II will run at Yemilab with ~ 1,000 m depth. However, even in such a deep underground environment, there are still survived cosmic muons, which can affect the measurement and should be excluded as much as possible. A muon veto detector is necessary to reject muon-induced particles coming to the inner detector where the molybdate cryogenic detectors are located. We have studied the possibility of using an extruded plastic scintillator and wavelength shifting fiber together with SiPM as a muon veto system. We found that the best configuration is two layers of plastic scintillators (PSs, 150 cm x 25 cm x 1.2 cm) with two WLS fibers per groove, which could separate radiogenic gammas well with muon detection efficiency above 99.4% along the length of the PS. Based on the expected flux from a prototype measurement at a 700 m deep underground, we found that the dead time of the muon veto system for AMoRE-II at the Yemilab with a 1 ms veto window is 0.6% of whole muon events.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication at NIM

Sterile Neutrino Search at the NEOS Experiment

An experiment to search for light sterile neutrinos is conducted at a reactor with a thermal power of 2.8 GW located at the Hanbit nuclear power complex. The search is done with a detector consisting of a ton of Gd-loaded liquid scintillator in a tendon gallery approximately 24 m from the reactor core. The measured antineutrino event rate is 1976 per day with a signal to background ratio of about 22. The shape of the antineutrino energy spectrum obtained from the eight-month data-taking period is compared with a hypothesis of oscillations due to active-sterile antineutrino mixing. No strong evidence of 3 + 1 neutrino oscillation is found. An excess around the 5 MeV prompt energy range is observed as seen in existing longer-baseline experiments. The mixing parameter sin(2)2 theta(14) is limited up to less than 0.1 for Delta m(41)(2) ranging from 0.2 to 2.3 eV(2) with a 90% confidence level. © 2017 American Physical Society304

Study of fast neutron detector for COSINE-100 experiment

A monitoring system for fast neutrons is planned in the COSINE experiment, a dark matter experiment with NaI crystals. We pursued several R&D approaches for a neutron detector using a liquid scintillator (LS). A pulse shape discrimination (PSD) technique is used for the identification of neutron events and the PSD properties of two different LS were compared. A good separation power between neutrons and γ has been achieved for energies between 200 keVee to 1500 keVee. The combination of alumina adsorption, filtration, and water extraction is effective in purifying the LS, which leads to a reduction in the α contamination by 210Po of more than a factor of two. The measured activities of the internal α are 0.36±0.04 mBq/kg and 0.21±0.03 mBq/kg before and after purification, respectively. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Mediala

Exploring coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering using reactor electron antineutrinos in the NEON experiment

Neutrino elastic scattering observation with NaI (NEON) is an experiment designed to detect neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering using reactor electron antineutrinos. NEON is based on an array of six NaI(Tl) crystals with a total mass of 13.3 kg, located at the tendon gallery that is 23.7 m away from a reactor core with a thermal power of 2.8 GW in the Hanbit nuclear power complex. The installation of the NEON detector was completed in December 2020, and since May 2021, the detector has acquired data at full reactor power. Based on the observed light yields of the NaI crystals of approximately 22, number of photoelectrons per unit keV electron-equivalent energy (keVee), and 6 counts/kg/keV/day background level at 2–6 keVee energy, coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) observation sensitivity is evaluated as more than 3σ assuming 1-year reactor-on and 100 days reactor-off data, 0.2 keVee energy threshold, and 7 counts/keV/kg/day background in the signal region of 0.2- 0.5 keVee. This paper describes the design of the NEON detector, including the shielding arrangement, configuration of NaI(Tl) crystals, and associated operating systems. The initial performance and associated sensitivity of the experiment are also presented. © 2023, The Author(s).11Nsciescopu