The relationship between physical activity, motor competence and health-related fitness in 14-year-old adolescents

Physical activity, physical fitness, and motor competence are important health-related constructs. However, the relationship between them, particularly among children and adolescents, is still unclear. In this study, motor competence (measured by the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development), pedometer-determined physical activity and physical fitness (aerobic fitness, muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility and body composition) were examined in a cohort of 1585 adolescents (771 girls, 814 boys) of mean age 14.1 yrs. Significant gender differences were observed for all measures except motor competence. Apart from hip and shoulder flexibility, males outperformed females. For both males and females, motor competence was associated with all fitness measures, physical activity was associated only with aerobic fitness and aerobic fitness was associated with physical activity, motor competence, BMI and chest pass. Among males, aerobic fitness was also associated with all other fitness tests. The correlations were, in general, moderate to weak. The results challenge the current focus on physical activity rather than physical fitness as the preferred intervention

Applying Gaming Technology to Tomahawk Mission Planning and Training

Fall 2005 Simulation Interoperability Workshop, Paper Number 4 & Presentation.Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) SIW Conference PaperOver the past decade the computer gaming industry has not only generated its own multi-billion dollar section of the entertainment industry, but it has also made significant inroads into the military market, especially in training and simulation, starting with Marine Doom and continuing up to today ’s Full Spectrum Command and America ’s Army. This paper describes a Navy-funded research project that uses gaming technology for not only training, but also as an operational decision aid for the Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System (TTWCS). The research is aimed at adapting game engine technology to predict and simulate the motion of ground target vehicles (e.g. SCUD Launchers) through their local terrain over a given period of time, then use the associated rendering capabilities to provide realistic 3D views. The paper presents an overview of the TTWCS mission and how it will benefit from specific advances in gaming technology, especially in the areas of artificial intelligence, path finding, and physics. It discusses the current state of the project using existing commercial gaming technology and the future plans for adapting and expanding the open source game engine technology of the Delta3D project underway at the MOVES Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School

CATS: CfAO Treasury Survey of distant galaxies, supernovae, and AGN's

The NSF Science and Technology Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) is supporting a major scientific legacy project called the CfAO Treasury Survey (CATS). CATS is obtaining near-infrared AO data in deep HST survey fields, such as GEMS, GOODS-N, & EGS. Besides summarizing the main objectives of CATS, we highlight some recent imaging work on the study of distant field galaxies, AGNs, and a redshift z = 1.32 supernova. CATS plans the first data release to the community in early 2007 (check http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~irlab/cats/index.shtml for more details on CATS and latest updates).Comment: 2 pages. Proceedings of the IAU Symposium 235, "Galaxy Evolution across the Hubble Time", F. Combes & J. Palous (eds.

Crossover from 2D to 3D in a weakly interacting Fermi gas

We have studied the transition from two to three dimensions in a low temperature weakly interacting $^6$Li Fermi gas. Below a critical atom number, $N_{2D}$, only the lowest transverse vibrational state of a highly anisotropic oblate trapping potential is occupied and the gas is two-dimensional. Above $N_{2D}$ the Fermi gas enters the quasi-2D regime where shell structure associated with the filling of individual transverse oscillator states is apparent. This dimensional crossover is demonstrated through measurements of the cloud size and aspect ratio versus atom number.Comment: Replaced with published manuscrip

Investigation into feasibility of hybrid laser-GMAW process for welding high strength quenched and tempered steel

In this study, the feasibility of hybrid laser-gas metal arc welding process for replacement of conventional flux-cored arc welding procedure for welding high strength quenched and tempered steel was investigated. Experimental work focused on optimisation of process parameters to produce joint with desired properties. Hardness of the weld heat affected zone produced by both processes has been measured. Productivity and cost effectiveness of both processes were compared. It was concluded that hybrid laser-gas metal arc welding process is suitable for welding high strength quenched and tempered steel

Factors influencing ranchers’ intentions to manage for vegetation heterogeneity and promote cross-boundary management in the northern Great Plains

Most private grasslands in the Great Plains are managed with the goal to optimize beef production, which tends to homogenize rangeland habitats. The subsequent loss of vegetation heterogeneity on private lands is detrimental to ecosystem function. However, conservation planners should understand the factors that lead to variation in management of rangelands. We used a mail survey targeted to ranchers in counties with intact rangeland in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska in 2016 to examine factors predicted to be related to attitudes about strategies leading to heterogeneity such as innovativeness and low risk aversion, and intended behaviors associated with creation of heterogeneity. We used survey questions and a set of relevant scales to examine predictors of behavioral intentions for rangeland management and conservation. Attitudes about fire and prairie dogs, two strategies that create heterogeneity, were largely negative, and ranchers with positive attitudes about fire and prairie dogs and higher perceived behavioral control of their ranch and surrounding landscapes had greater intention to engage in heterogeneity-promoting behaviors. Social norms were also important in predicting intended behaviors and attitudes. Our research suggests that heterogeneity of grasslands may remain low unless land managers understand the importance of spatial and temporal heterogeneity and recognize prescribed fire and prairie dogs, and other burrowing colonial mammals, as principal drivers of ecological processes on rangelands. Conservation organizations may find success by modeling management tools, reducing the perceived effort producers must make to adopt behaviors that support heterogeneity, and by developing programs that work to change social norms around fire and prairie dogs

Low Reproductive Success of Mallards in a Grassland-Dominated Landscape in The Sandhills of Nebraska

The Sandhills of Nebraska comprise approximately 5,000,000 ha of native grassland interspersed with numerous groundwater-fed wetlands. A substantial population of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) nests in this region. Previous investigations of nest survival probability of ducks in the Sandhills have estimated surprisingly low rates of nest survival for a grassland-dominated landscape. These investigations were conducted on public lands and most nest searching took place near wetlands where activity of nest predators might be highest. We predicted that mallards would nest at varying distances from wetlands and that survival probability of a representative sample of duck nests would increase with distance from wetlands. We decoy-trapped and radio-marked 71 female mallards, 32 during the 2005 nesting season and 39 during the 2006 nesting season, and monitored their individual choice of nest habitats, their survival during the nesting season, and survival of their nests. Mallards nested in various habitats, both near and far from wetlands. Nest survival probability (Ö = 0.03, SE = 0.02) was low relative to other studies regardless of distance to wetlands. Survival of females during the nesting season (Ö = 0.84, SE = 0.08), however, was high relative to other studies. This pattern could have resulted from the combination of a diverse community of nest predators, few predators of nesting females, and a population of largely second year females that put little effort into nesting

Low Reproductive Success of Mallards in a Grassland-Dominated Landscape in The Sandhills of Nebraska

The Sandhills of Nebraska comprise approximately 5,000,000 ha of native grassland interspersed with numerous groundwater-fed wetlands. A substantial population of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) nests in this region. Previous investigations of nest survival probability of ducks in the Sandhills have estimated surprisingly low rates of nest survival for a grassland-dominated landscape. These investigations were conducted on public lands and most nest searching took place near wetlands where activity of nest predators might be highest. We predicted that mallards would nest at varying distances from wetlands and that survival probability of a representative sample of duck nests would increase with distance from wetlands. We decoy-trapped and radio-marked 71 female mallards, 32 during the 2005 nesting season and 39 during the 2006 nesting season, and monitored their individual choice of nest habitats, their survival during the nesting season, and survival of their nests. Mallards nested in various habitats, both near and far from wetlands. Nest survival probability (Ö = 0.03, SE = 0.02) was low relative to other studies regardless of distance to wetlands. Survival of females during the nesting season (Ö = 0.84, SE = 0.08), however, was high relative to other studies. This pattern could have resulted from the combination of a diverse community of nest predators, few predators of nesting females, and a population of largely second year females that put little effort into nesting

Late Quaternary sea-level changes of the Persian Gulf

Late Quaternary reflooding of the Persian Gulf climaxed with the mid-Holocene highstand previously variously dated between 6 and 3.4 ka. Examination of the stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental context of a mid- Holocenewhale beaching allows us to accurately constrain the timing of the transgressive, highstand and regressive phases of the mid- to late Holocene sea-level highstand in the Persian Gulf. Mid-Holocene transgression of the Gulf surpassed today's sea level by 7100–6890 cal yr BP, attaining a highstand of N1 m above current sea level shortly after 5290–4570 cal yr BP before falling back to current levels by 1440–1170 cal yr BP. The cetacean beached into an intertidal hardground pond during the transgressive phase (5300–4960 cal yr BP) with continued transgression interring the skeleton in shallow-subtidal sediments. Subsequent relative sea-level fall produced a forced regression with consequent progradation of the coastal system. These new ages refine previously reported timings for the mid- to late Holocene sea-level highstand published for other regions. By so doing, they allow us to constrain the timing of this correlatable global eustatic event more accurately