Gluteus Maximus Activity during Bilateral Countermovement Jump in D1 Female Athletes

The objective of this study was to compare left and right gluteus maximus muscle activation in division one (D1) female basketball players, while performing a countermovement (CMJ). The study asked, What impact does the bilateral CMJ have on gluteal activation in D1 female athletes? The null hypothesis stated no significant differences would be found in gluteal activation between the right and left gluteus maximus muscles. Nine female participants volunteered for the study. Pre-screening of participants involved assessment of the Functional Movement ScreenTM squat pattern and muscular voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC) of the right and left gluteus maximus. Surface electrodes were placed on the belly of each gluteus maximus to record muscle activation while performing three trials of the CMJ. Data was analyzed using the Delsys EMGWorks® software. Root mean square (RMS) values were normalized to the MVIC for each gluteus maximus. Means for the right and left gluteus maximus activation during the countermovement portion of the jump and landing portion were calculated separately. A match paired t-test compared the right and left gluteus maximus activation for the CMJ and landing. Results indicated no statistically significant differences in gluteus maximus during CMJ task. The null hypothesis is accepted. No significant differences were noted at CMJ p=0.79 and at landing p=0.11. Further research should be performed using multiple MVICs and greater resistance during MVIC testing

What are Little Boys Made Of, Made of? Victorian Art and the Formation of Gender

Given that educators increasingly have to integrate social and moral education within the general curriculum, this paper considers ways in which the visual arts may or may not be a useful resource for challenging the stereotypical preconceptions about gender and sexual identity held by many people in a post-industrial, intercultural society. Focusing on Tate Britain’s inaugural exhibition for the opening of its new galleries, ‘Exposed: the Victorian Nude’, the paper examines a selection of artefacts that are assumed to represent the sexual mores of Britain at a pivotal time in the construction of its national identity. With reference to the social history of art and feminist theoretical ‘interventions’, the exhibits are analysed as possible evidence of the Victorians’ ‘skills, beliefs and values about sexual relationships, identity and intimacy’ the lifelong study of which provides the Sex Education Forum (1997:1) with a definition of sex education. Subsequently two questions are posed: firstly, what does the exhibition’s selection and hang say about contemporary beliefs? Secondly, can historical artworks be constructively used with young people (post-16) as a catalyst for discussion of sex, gender and sexuality

The Case for Absolute Spontaneity in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason

Kant describes the understanding as a faculty of spontaneity. What this means is that our capacity to judge what is true is responsible for its own exercises, which is to say that we issue our judgments for ourselves. To issue our judgments for ourselves is to be self-conscious – i.e., conscious of the grounds upon which we judge. To grasp the spontaneity of the understanding, then, we must grasp the self-consciousness of the understanding. I argue that what Kant requires for explaining spontaneity is a conception of judgment as an intrinsic self-consciousness of the total unity of possible knowledge. This excludes what have been called ‘relative’ accounts of the spontaneity of the understanding, according to which our judgments are issued through a capacity fixed by external conditions. If so, then Kant conceives of understanding as entirely active. Or, to put it another way, he conceives of this capacity as absolutely spontaneous

Exploring the Production of Extracellular Matrix by Astrocytes in Response to Mimetic Traumatic Brain Injury

Following injury to the central nervous system, extracellular modulations are apparent at the site of injury, often resulting in a glial scar. Astrocytes are mechanosensitive cells, which can create a neuroinhibitory extracellular environment in response to injury. The aim for this research was to gain a fundamental understanding of the affects a diffuse traumatic brain injury has on the astrocyte extracellular environment after injury. To accomplish this, a bioreactor culturing astrocytes in 3D constructs delivered 150G decelerations with 20% biaxial strain to mimic a traumatic brain injury. Experiments were designed to compare the potential effects of media type, number of impacts, and impacts with or without strain. Multiple impacts on astrocytes resulted in increased apoptosis, supporting cumulative effects of multiple traumatic brain injury events. Surprisingly, the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and S100B by astrocytes was downregulated following injury. With multiple impacts, astrocytes downregulated collagen and glycosaminoglycan expression at acute time points. Suppression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 coupled with unchanging production of transforming growth factor beta-1 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 indicates an inability to degrade damaged ECM or produce new ECM. This was supported by long-term studies which indicate significant decreases in chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and collagen I accumulation. This could suggest astrocytes experiencing damaging mechanical stimulation enter a survival state ceasing to moderate the extracellular environment at short time points after injury

Do Lattice Protein Simulations Exhibit Self-Organized Criticality?

Proteins are known to fold into tertiary structures that determine their functionality in living organisms. The goal of my research is to better understand the protein folding process through a lattice HP model simulation with a Monte-Carlo based algorithm. Specifically, amino acids in the chain at each time step are allowed to fold to certain locations according to two main criteria: folds must maintain bond length and should be thermally and energetically favorable. This simulation will then be used to examine whether the folding process can be viewed through the lens of self-organized criticality (SOC). In particular, I am interested in whether there are features of the folding process that are independent of the size of the protein. The power law behavior found in SOC systems was not clearly found for the protein lengths studied. Further studies of the model should be investigated

International Finance and the Developing World: The Next Twenty Years

international finance, capital flows, development