Decision-support systems are used in team sport for a variety of purposes including evaluating individual performance and informing athlete selection. A particularly common form of decision support ...is the traffic-light system, where color coding is used to indicate a given status of an athlete with respect to performance or training availability. However, despite relatively widespread use, there remains a lack of standardization with respect to how traffic-light systems are operationalized. This paper addresses a range of pertinent issues for practitioners relating to the practice of traffic-light monitoring in team sports. Specifically, the types and formats of data incorporated in such systems are discussed, along with the various analysis approaches available. Considerations relating to the visualization and communication of results to key stakeholders in the team-sport environment are also presented. In order for the efficacy of traffic-light systems to be improved, future iterations should look to incorporate the recommendations made here.
Calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics show significant promise towards bone
graft applications because of the compositional similarity to inorganic
materials of bone. With 3D printing, it is possible to ...create ceramic implants
that closely mimic the geometry of human bone and can be custom-designed for
unusual injuries or anatomical sites. The objective of the study was to optimize
the 3D-printing parameters for the fabrication of scaffolds, with complex
geometry, made from synthesized tricalcium phosphate (TCP) powder. This study
was also intended to elucidate the mechanical and biological effects of the
addition of Fe
+3
and Si
+4
in TCP implants in a rat distal
femur model for 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Doped with Fe
+3
and
Si
+4
TCP scaffolds with 3D interconnected channels were
fabricated to provide channels for micronutrients delivery and improved
cell-material interactions through bioactive fixation. Addition of
Fe
+3
into TCP enhanced early-stage new bone formation by
increasing type I collagen production. Neovascularization was observed in the
Si
+4
doped samples after 12 weeks. These findings emphasize that
the additive manufacturing of scaffolds with complex geometry from synthesized
ceramic powder with modified chemistry is feasible and may serve as a potential
candidate to introduce angiogenic and osteogenic properties to CaPs, leading to
accelerated bone defect healing.
This paper will represent a case study and analysis of government change in Uzbekistan, particularly since the inauguration of the current President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in late 2016. A landlocked ...Central Asian country of some 36 million people, one of the largest constituent republics of the former Soviet Union, Uzbekistan is a country struggling to reconcile its past with its future. By the admission of its leaders, the country is eager to break with the authoritarian, isolationist policies that defined much of its post-independence trajectory and set off down a new course of economic and political liberalization. So significant is this professed desire that the government now brands itself as “New Uzbekistan” – one commonly-seen slogan exhorts citizens to “live freely and prosperously in the New Uzbekistan.” (Yangi O’zbekistonda erkin va farovon yashaylik.) However, recent controversies in Uzbekistan demonstrate how this move towards a “New Uzbekistan” may be easier said than done, as societal expectations cultivated by an all encompassing rhetorical focus on reform collide with the contravening, ulterior motivations of the country’s leaders.
One common phenotype observed in response to many developmental perturbations is a change in proliferation or apoptosis. Further, it is often predicted that small changes in proliferation or ...apoptosis can explain the development of a structural birth defect. One flaw with this logic is that little is known about the relationships between proliferation and morphology in the face. Does proliferation actually play a role in the normal directional outgrowth and morphological changes which pattern the developing face? Here, we set out to understand the spatial distribution of proliferation in the developing mouse face and relate regional proliferation to the growth of the face over a small span of developmental time (E10‐E11). We use light sheet microscopy to capture total and proliferating nuclei in 30 E10.5 to 11.5 mouse embryo heads. Cells are quantified using a convolutional neural network methodology that has similar accuracy in cell identification to the between observer error. From these images, we then generate an atlas using linear and non‐linear transformation and perform analysis of embryo morphology and distribution of proliferation relative to total cells. Models of proliferation and its ability to alter morphology are generated in PhysiCell (www.physicell.org). We identify regions where there is both change in proliferation and morphology that relates to changes in the number of tail somites. We also use the spatial data gathered from these to inform a model of growth of the maxillary prominence to determine how much proliferation is likely to contribute to the directional growth of the maxilla.
During the development of the face, tissues move, change shape, and fuse in tightly orchestrated patterns to create all the parts of a normal face. These shape changes are driven by factors such as ...cell signaling, migration, proliferation, and apoptosis. However, the contributions of each of these drivers to morphogenesis are poorly studied. Here, we explore differential cell proliferation as a driver of mouse facial morphogenesis. We quantify patterns in both the spatial distribution and orientation of proliferation in the developing face in 3D over a critical period of murine facial development (E9.5‐E11.5). We use immunostaining with light sheet microscopy (LSM) to capture total and proliferating nuclei. To compare proliferative density in facial tissues, we segment these images using a novel convolutional neural network. We then generate atlases of average proliferation at each half‐day age point within our range and use these to identify relationships between morphology and cell proliferation. We show that regions with more dense proliferation tend to undergo more intensive shape changes. We then simulate outgrowth of the maxillary process using a cell simulation engine, PhysiCell, to demonstrate that differential proliferation is necessary to maintain expected morphology in growing tissues. In addition to differential proliferation, localized orientation of cell division could also affect morphology. In plants and some animal tissues, including murine limb buds, preferentially oriented cell proliferation drives shape change by causing tissue elongation in specific directions. We explore the orientation and distribution of cell proliferation using LSM: we inject pregnant dams with a synthetic nucleotide, EdU, 5 minutes before harvest to mark the daughter cells of proliferative events occurring in the interim. We then compare the angles of the proliferative axes for each pair of daughters relative to the primary direction of tissue growth. Preliminary results suggest that cell proliferation in the maxillary and nasal processes is oriented preferentially towards the axis of tissue growth. These results suggest that both the distribution and orientation of cell proliferation play a role in murine facial morphogenesis. Understanding the mechanisms underlying morphogenesis is important to guide future research that could lead to earlier and more robust diagnosis and treatment of syndromes and facial abnormalities.
To examine the effects of different protocols of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on VO
max improvements in healthy, overweight/obese and athletic adults, based on the classifications of work ...intervals, session volumes and training periods.
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
PubMed, Scopus, Medline, and Web of Science databases were searched up to April 2018. Inclusion criteria were randomised controlled trials; healthy, overweight/obese or athletic adults; examined pre- and post-training VO
max/peak; HIIT in comparison to control or moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) groups.
Fifty-three studies met the eligibility criteria. Overall, the degree of change in VO
max induced by HIIT varied by populations (SMD=0.41-1.81, p<0.05). When compared to control groups, even short-intervals (≤30s), low-volume (≤5min) and short-term HIIT (≤4weeks) elicited clear beneficial effects (SMD=0.79-1.65, p<0.05) on VO
max/peak. However, long-interval (≥2min), high-volume (≥15min) and moderate to long-term (≥4-12weeks) HIIT displayed significantly larger effects on VO
max (SMD=0.50-2.48, p<0.05). When compared to MICT, only long-interval (≥2min), high-volume (≥15min) and moderate to long-term (≥4-12weeks) HIIT showed beneficial effects (SMD=0.65-1.07, p<0.05).
Short-intervals (≤30s), low-volume (≤5min) and short-term (≤4weeks) HIIT represent effective and time-efficient strategies for developing VO
max, especially for the general population. To maximize the training effects on VO
max, long-interval (≥2min), high-volume (≥15min) and moderate to long-term (≥4-12weeks) HIIT are recommended.
The purpose of this review is to summarise the existing knowledge of the relationship between exposure to en-vironmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary ...disease (COPD). A possible causal relationship between ETS and COPD has long been suspected. Prenatal as well as postnatal ETS can reduce the lung function of the child permanently. Albeit the causality is multifactorial, new evidence has emerged since the Surgeon General's report from 2006 and suggests, that ETS is an independent and significant risk factor for developing COPD.
PDF
