A low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet combined with six weeks of crossfit training improves body composition and performance

A low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (LCKD) is a popular approach to weight and fat loss. CrossFit is a high-intensity power training (HIPT) type exercise for all levels of age and fitness that has gained recognition as one of the fasting growing sports in America. No previous research has been found which examines body composition changes or performance in individuals consuming a LCKD and participating in CrossFit training. PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of a 6-week LCKD and CrossFit program on body composition and performance. METHODS: Twenty-seven non-elite CrossFit subjects (mean ± SD age = 34.58 ± 9.26 years) were randomly assigned to a LCKD (males, n = 3; females, n = 9) or control (CON) (males, n = 2; females, n = 13) group. LCKD was instructed to consume an ad libitum diet and restrict carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams per day (RESULTS: Compared to the CON group, the LCKD group significantly decreased weight (0.18 ± 1.30, -3.45 ± 2.18 kg), BMI (0.07 ± 0.43, -1.13 ± 0.70 kg/m2), percent body fat (%BF) (0.01 ± 1.21, -2.60 ± 2.14%), and fat mass (FM) (0.06 ± 1.12, -2.83 ± 1.77kg), respectively. There was no significant difference in lean body mass (LBM) change between or within groups. We found no significant difference in total performance time change between the CON group and the LCKD group; however, both groups significantly decreased total performance time (CON: -41.20 ± 43.17 sec.; LCKD: -55.08 ± 44.29 sec.). Additionally, there were no significant differences in vertical jump and standing long jump change between or within groups. For both groups, the overall change in vertical jump was significant (2.31 ± 4.55 cm) but the change in standing long jump was not. Carbohydrate intake was significantly lower (11.4 ± 5.6%, 40.06 ± 6.81%) and fat intake was significantly higher (62.88 ± 4.19%, 38.38 ± 4.18%) in LCKD at weeks 2, 4, and 6 compared to CON, respectively. There was no statistical difference in total kilocalories or protein intake between or within groups throughout the study. CONCLUSION: A LCKD combined with 6 weeks of CrossFit training can lead to significant decreases in %BF, FM, weight, and BMI while maintaining LBM. Additionally, significant improvements in total performance time and power can be achieved. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: With the overwhelming increase in obesity and metabolic disease throughout the United States many Americans are searching for the most effective diet and exercise program which promotes fat loss and increases overall quality of life. This study provides valuable insight into the use of a LCKD combined with CrossFit training for 6 weeks to improve body composition and performance outcomes

Fortnight

Fortnight is a two-week long, fully immersive, experience based in the interactions and communications of daily life. Up to 200 participants sign up to receive messages that are sent to their mobile phones, email, and home address; these messages contain a series of poetic nudges that encourage those participating to question their sense of place. Participants also receive daily invitations to visit locations throughout their city where they can pause to reflect on what it means to be here now. Fortnight enables the experience of “theatre” to penetrate beneath a seemingly brittle aesthetic surface of performance, deep into the consciousnesses of our participants as they begin to interact with and perceive world around us as the performance itself; the place where we act out our own daily lives. In Fortnight, the spectator becomes participant; the journey becomes narrative. Fortnight therefore subverts the notion of an audience, in which each spectator’s perspective is forced to examine not the situation and setting of performers on a stage, but rather the situation and setting of our own sense of place and the meaning we apportion to our everyday lives. Fortnight uses various forms of ubiquitous technology such as: Radio Frequency Identification (aka, RFID tags of the type contained in key fobs), which are used in badges sent to each participant that allow them to interact with real-world “portals” to trigger certain effects in their surroundings; QR technology (in the form of barcodes on posters that reveal additional hidden messages, should the participant choose to delve further; SMS messages; email; and, Twitter. Alongside this, older modes of communication such as handwritten letters, give Fortnight a decidedly low-fi aesthetic. Throughout Fortnight, participants are encouraged to explore the creative possibilities of pervasive and communicative media without reverting to mere technological fetishism. In Fortnight, each mode of communication is used not only for its functionality but also as symbols that bind the project and the participant together, rooting them to the here and now with the everyday tools of modern society. The mediated messages within Fortnight lead participants down a living, breathing rabbit hole where the familiar becomes unfamiliar and reality distorts. The project becomes an experience for the participant that is as immersive as their own life; creating an alternative reality, that not only co-exists alongside their own everyday realities, but also merges with them.This is a performance with shared responsibilities, reflecting the actions and consequences of our daily lives: what we put in, we get out

Retrospective Review of Fluoroscopic Swallowing Studies and Outcomes at an Academic Health Center

Introduction: Aspiration is often associated with underlying medical conditions and can cause pneumonia or death. Aspiration risk can be assessed via video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) or barium swallow (BaSw). We aimed to assess the diagnoses and clinical course of patients who were evaluated for potential aspiration through VFSS or BaSw to determine if there is a degree of aspiration that increases the risk of developing pneumonia and/or death. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 374 patients in TJUH who were evaluated via VFSS or BaSw from January 1 to June 30, 2017. We recorded the degree and contents of aspiration, the underlying diagnoses, and evidence of subsequent pneumonia. We then collected data for any future admissions concerning for pneumonia. Results: Of the 374 patients, 165 had swallowing studies positive for laryngeal penetration or aspiration. Of the 165 patients, 78 patients (47.2%) had evidence of clinical and radiological pneumonia, and 18 of those 78 patients (23.1%) died. We found that 61 of 165 exhibited laryngeal penetration. Of those 61, 23 patients (37.7%) showed clinical and radiological signs of pneumonia, and 7 of the 23 (30.4%) died of aspiration pneumonia. Discussion: The incidence of pneumonia was considerable in persons with an abnormal swallow and the mortality rate was substantial. Minimally abnormal swallows with laryngeal penetration, but no true aspiration, still had serious consequences. While the incidence of pneumonia was lower (37.7%), there was a substanitial mortality rate (30.4%)

Charged Condensate and Helium Dwarf Stars

White dwarf stars composed of carbon, oxygen or heavier elements are expected to crystallize as they cool down below certain temperatures. Yet, simple arguments suggest that the helium white dwarf cores may not solidify, mostly because of zero-point oscillations of the helium ions that would dissolve the crystalline structure. We argue that the interior of the helium dwarfs may instead form a macroscopic quantum state in which the charged helium-4 nuclei are in a Bose-Einstein condensate, while the relativistic electrons form a neutralizing degenerate Fermi liquid. We discuss the electric charge screening, and the spectrum of this substance, showing that the bosonic long-wavelength fluctuations exhibit a mass gap. Hence, there is a suppression at low temperatures of the boson contribution to the specific heat -- the latter being dominated by the specific heat of the electrons near the Fermi surface. This state of matter may have observational signatures.Comment: 10 pages; v2: to appear in JCAP, brief comments and section titles added, typos correcte

Charged Condensation

We consider Bose-Einstein condensation of massive electrically charged scalars in a uniform background of charged fermions. We focus on the case when the scalar condensate screens the background charge, while the net charge of the system resides on its boundary surface. A distinctive signature of this substance is that the photon acquires a Lorentz-violating mass in the bulk of the condensate. Due to this mass, the transverse and longitudinal gauge modes propagate with different group velocities. We give qualitative arguments that at high enough densities and low temperatures a charged system of electrons and helium-4 nuclei, if held together by laboratory devices or by force of gravity, can form such a substance. We briefly discuss possible manifestations of the charged condensate in compact astrophysical objects.Comment: 1+11 pages; v2: comments and reference added, PLB versio

Evangelical Author & Secular Publisher: Prospects for Partnership

Presenters discuss issues for authors to consider when choosing between religious and secular publishing outlets, providing context from their personal experiences with secular publishers