A Comparison of Active and Passive Recovery on Lactate Concentration and Subsequent Performance of Repeated Work Bouts in University Ice Hockey Players

This study examined the effect of active and passive recovery on lactate concentration and subsequent performance of repeated work bouts in IS male college ice hockey players. Using a repeated measure design, subjects performed a series of skating tests before and after a 15-minute recovery. The skating test consisted of skating a course for 7 shifts lasting 40 sec per shift with 90 sec rest between shifts. The recovery active (low intensity cycling) or passive (sitting) recovery lasted for 15 minutes followed by an identical seven shift skating test. Lactate was measured at rest, 3-5 min following the first skating test and 12-15 min into the recovery period. A 2 x 2 analysis of variance with repeated measures of distance and heart rate revealed significant differences between period 1 and 2 for both variables ( p=0.002 and p = 0.001 respectively). There was no interaction between periods and recovery for either distance or heart rate. Passive versus active recovery also showed no statistically significant difference for distance skated or heart rate. No significant difference was found in lactate between active or passive recovery. However, lactate at 3-5 min was greater than at 12-15 min (p\u3c0.001). Pearson correlation coefficient showed no relationship for lactate changes during active recovery to skating distance (r = 0.11, p\u3e0.05) or HR (r ~ 0.21, p\u3e0.05) in the second period. No relationship was found among heart rate during period 2 for either active or passive 12 min lactate values. There appeared to be a trend for greater skating distance in period 2 when active recovery was used, but the difference was not significant. It was concluded that active recovery did not enhance lactate removal or subsequent performance of repeated work bouts

The role of a point of care test for the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease is a systemic autoimmune disease associated with gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal symptoms, triggered by gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. It affects 1% of the general population (1, 2), although 75% remain undiagnosed (3). Delayed diagnosis can lead to a poor quality of life and complications (3). The under-detection could be due to non-specific symptoms and under-utilisation of serological testing (4). Several point of care tests for coeliac disease have been developed in the past decade, which may potentially help to improve case detection. A few recent studies have shown that Simtomax, a point of care test detecting IgA-/IgG-deamidated gliadin peptide antibodies (IgA/IgG-DGP), appeared to have comparable sensitivities to conventional serology. However, further studies are required to validate the diagnostic performance of Simtomax. The null hypothesis of my thesis is that a point of care test has no role in the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease. We aimed to evaluate the sensitivities, utility and cost effectiveness of the point of care test, Simtomax, in various domains: Study 1: To assess the role of Simtomax as a primary care case finding tool for coeliac disease in high risk individuals in community pharmacies. Study 2: To demonstrate the diagnostic accuracy of Simtomax in secondary care, in patients referred with gastrointestinal symptoms or self-reported gluten sensitivity. Study 3: To establish the diagnostic accuracy of Simtomax and its cost effectiveness of coeliac testing in patients with iron deficiency anaemia in the endoscopy setting. Study 4: To investigate whether Simtomax is a reliable surrogate marker for predicting histological remission in patients with known coeliac disease on a gluten free diet

Internet Development and Information Control in the People's Republic of China

Since its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has exerted great effort in manipulating the flow of information and prohibiting the dissemination of viewpoints that criticize the government or stray from the official Communist party view. The introduction of Internet technology in the mid-1990’s presented a challenge to government control over news sources, and by extension, over public opinion. While the Internet has developed rapidly, broadened access to news, and facilitated mass communications in China, many forms of expression online, as in other mass media, are still significantly stifled. This report discusses the history of this issue and examines the U.S.'s response

Wedang Uwuh; A Natural Antioxidant from Yogyakarta

Natural antioxidants are still favoured due to their high benefits and safety compared to synthetic ones. Wedang uwuh is one example of a traditional drink consisting of various spices (cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, sappanwood, nutmeg, and ginger) rich in antioxidants. This study aimed to determine the optimum infusion method of ready to drink wedang uwuh to achieve its maximum antioxidant potential. Two groups of wedang uwuh samples (grounded and ungrounded) were infused in hot water (90ºC) using tea bags in different timings (1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 minutes). Then their antioxidant activity was measured using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging assay method. The results showed the highest when we infused grounded wedang uwuh  for 15 minutes with the IC50 value of 7.97 µg/mL. The smaller the particle size and the longer the infusion time yields lower IC50 value, thus achieving more potent antioxidant activity

College Student Dating Partner Drinking Profiles: Differences in Relationship Functioning and Relationship-Specific Alcohol Expectancies

Background: Although the majority of research on partner drinking styles has examined married couples, dating partners may influence one another\u27s problem behaviors including alcohol use. Objectives: This study identified patterns of at-risk alcohol use in college women and their dating partners using a person-centered statistical approach (i.e., latent profile analysis). Methods: Participants were 286 college student women in dating relationships. They completed questionnaires regarding their own and their partners\u27 drinking, alcohol use severity, intimate partner violence (IPV), relationship satisfaction, and relationship-specific alcohol expectancies. Data were collected in 2012 through 2013. Results: Results revealed three distinct, latent classes based on both partners\u27 alcohol outcomes. The Low-Risk group (58%) consisted of non-heavy drinking partners. In the High-Risk - Higher Men class (27%), men drank more than women; however, both men and women were high-risk drinkers. The High-Risk - Higher Women group (15%) consisted of high-risk drinking partners but women consumed more alcohol than men. Both high-risk couple groups were more dissatisfied in their relationships and experienced more IPV, but held stronger beliefs about how alcohol influenced their relationship. Conclusions/Importance: Findings indicate that there are several distinct classes of dating couples that differ in relationship problems and beliefs about alcohol\u27s impact on their relationship. Riskier couples differ in behaviors and alcohol-related beliefs from low-risk couples. These findings may inform the development of more efficacious alcohol interventions tailored toward high-risk drinking dating couples

Developmental Curiosity and Social Interaction in Virtual Agents

Infants explore their complex physical and social environment in an organized way. To gain insight into what intrinsic motivations may help structure this exploration, we create a virtual infant agent and place it in a developmentally-inspired 3D environment with no external rewards. The environment has a virtual caregiver agent with the capability to interact contingently with the infant agent in ways that resemble play. We test intrinsic reward functions that are similar to motivations that have been proposed to drive exploration in humans: surprise, uncertainty, novelty, and learning progress. These generic reward functions lead the infant agent to explore its environment and discover the contingencies that are embedded into the caregiver agent. The reward functions that are proxies for novelty and uncertainty are the most successful in generating diverse experiences and activating the environment contingencies. We also find that learning a world model in the presence of an attentive caregiver helps the infant agent learn how to predict scenarios with challenging social and physical dynamics. Taken together, our findings provide insight into how curiosity-like intrinsic rewards and contingent social interaction lead to dynamic social behavior and the creation of a robust predictive world model.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables; accepted to CogSci 2023 with full paper publication in the proceeding

Surface design for immobilization of an antimicrobial peptide mimic for efficient anti‐biofouling

Microbial surface attachment negatively impacts a wide range of devices from water purification membranes to biomedical implants. Mimics of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) constituted from poly(N‐substituted glycine) "peptoids" are of great interest as they resist proteolysis and can inhibit a wide spectrum of microbes. We investigate how terminal modification of a peptoid AMP‐mimic and its surface immobilization affect antimicrobial activity. We also demonstrate a convenient surface modification scheme for enabling alkyne‐azide "click" coupling on amino‐functionalized surfaces. Our results verified that the N‐ and C‐terminal peptoid structures are not required for antimicrobial activity. Moreover, our peptoid immobilization density and choice of PEG tether resulted in a "volumetric" spatial separation between AMPs that, compared to past studies, enabled the highest AMP surface activity relative to bacterial attachment. Our analysis suggests the importance of spatial flexibility for membrane activity and that AMP separation may be a controlling parameter for optimizing surface anti‐biofouling

Report on influenza viruses received and tested by the Melbourne WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in 2017

As part of its role in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in Melbourne received a record total of 5866 human influenza positive samples during 2017. Viruses were analysed for their antigenic, genetic and antiviral susceptibility properties and were propagated in qualified cells and hens’ eggs for use as potential seasonal influenza vaccine virus candidates. In 2017, influenza A(H3) viruses predominated over influenza A(H1)pdm09 and B viruses, accounting for a total of 54% of all viruses analysed. The majority of A(H1)pdm09, A(H3) and influenza B viruses analysed at the Centre were found to be antigenically similar to the respective WHO recommended vaccine strains for the Southern Hemisphere in 2017. However, phylogenetic analysis indicated that the majority of circulating A(H3) viruses had undergone genetic drift relative to the WHO recommended vaccine strain for 2017. Of 3733 samples tested for susceptibility to the neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir and zanamivir, only two A(H1)pdm09 viruses and one A(H3) virus showed highly reduced inhibition by oseltamivir, while just one A(H1)pdm09 virus showed highly reduced inhibition by zanamivir.The Melbourne WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza is supported by the Australian Government Department of Health. MXT was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship