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CONTRIBUTION OF NEW START INFORMATION SYSTEM PROTOTYPE TO THE FALSE START DETECTION IN ATHLETICS
Get PDFThis study aimed at comparing a prototype of a new Start Information System (SIS) with a World Athletics (WA) certified SIS which was used in competition. Twenty sprinters performed sprints under simulated race conditions. Response time (RT) was recorded by the WA certified SIS and the new SIS prototype based on a custom force plate and a new event detection algorithm to assess RT as the onset of arm force reaction. The mean value from RT recorded by the new SIS prototype for trials for which the RT given by the WA certified SIS were ranged between 100 ms and 119 ms (RT WA 100-119 ms) was 0.047±0.019 s. This result highlighted RTWA 100-119 ms were probably false start according to the theoretical minimum auditory RT, despite being valid by the current WA regulation. The revisited new SIS prototype technologies were more appropriate to detect false start in athletics
BIOMECHANICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE KIZAMI TSUKI IN KARATE ATHLETES
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate the kinematics and kinetics characteristics of kizami tsuki karate punch technique. Punching actions represent the most frequently performed attacking techniques in karate combat competitions (75% of total actions, kizami tsuki being the most common). Six athletes were asked to perform three kizami tsuki against a hand-held target at their maximal speed. Punch kinematics and kinetics were recorded by means of stereophotogrammetry and forceplates. Power, lower and upper limb kinematics and their coordinative pattern during the punching actions were assessed to characterize the technique. A multiple linear regression model was devised to correlate punching kinematics and kinetic variables with maximal wrist velocity, considered as performance measure. Maximal net power, transformation time, average continuous relative phase between knee and elbow flexion-extension, and elbow peak flexion were significative predictors of wrist velocity (R2 = 0.84), indicating them as key factors to a proficient-performance of the kizami tsuki
PREVIOUS BALLISTIC AND HEAVY CONDITIONING STIMULI CAN ACUTELY ENHANCE THROWING PERFORMANCE
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a ballistic and a heavy load conditioning stimulus on subsequent bench throw performance. Eleven male, competitive rugby players (mean ± SD: body mass 91.5 ± 9.6kg, height 1.79 ± 0.03 m) with at least two years of resistance training exercise performed two ballistic bench throws after warm up. Following a 10-min rest, they performed either a ballistic bench throw (BAL) or a heavy load bench press (HEAVY) conditioning stimulus. Subsequent to a 4-minute rest, they performed another two ballistic bench press throws. No significant differences were revealed for peak power, peak force, rate of force development and force at peak power for either conditioning stimulus. However, significant differences were revealed for bar displacement for the BAL group, and for peak velocity and velocity at peak power for both groups. The results suggest that a ballistic conditioning stimulus can induce post activation performance enhancement and it appears more sport specific in its results than a heavy load conditioning stimulu
INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN WINTER BROOK TROUT (SALVELINUS FONTINALIS) MOVEMENT IN A SMALL NORTHERN MICHIGAN STREAM
Get PDFWinter is a time of year of low temperatures and limited food availability. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) survival in winter is dependent on several factors including their condition after spawning in the fall and possibly their behavior in winter. Ice that forms during winter can potentially aid in survival by decreasing predation risk, decreasing stress, and acting as a thermal refuge. The emphasis of this project was to evaluate the relationship between movement patterns of brook trout and winter ice distribution. In the fall of 2017 and again in the fall of 2018, brook trout in a northern Michigan stream were collected by electroshocking. All fish had their length and weight measured, and fish over 100 mm were tagged with a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT). Following tagging, fish were tracked and their locations within the field site were recorded as well as if they were in open water or under ice cover. In the spring of 2018 and 2019, electroshocking surveys were performed again, and tagged fish were measured for length and weight. Tracking surveys occurred biweekly and showed that brook trout used ice covered areas. Two movement groups were present, a sedentary group consisting of 90% of fish and a mobile group consisting of 10%. Surface covering ice was used by fish throughout all stages of winter. Recaptured brook trout did not demonstrate any statistically significant change in their Fulton’s condition factor. These results highlight the importance of specific surface cover during winter to brook trout behavior and their movement during winter
Goal Drought
Get PDFGoal Drought is a collection of free verse and prose poetry that focuses on the sport of soccer. The collection explores the roles of fans and players within the sport as well as the strategy, concepts, and controversies that make up much of soccer. Beyond just the game, the collection also engages with religious concepts and the more general themes of obsession, desire for community, and the act of participating and watching performances. Physicality and personal experience also play a large role in this work, and the collection mixes both jargon and more casual and conversational language to try and link the more technical or “insider” aspects of the game to the everyday lives of people who do and do not follow it
Effects of NMDA Receptor Antagonists on the Differential-Reinforcement-of-Low-Rate 72 Second (DRL 72) Responding in Rats
Get PDFThe noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist dextromethorphan and its metabolite dextrorphan have widespread effects on the central nervous system. Dextromethorphan alone and with quinidine (a CYP-450 2D6 inhibitor) have been shown to produce antidepressant effects in preclinical and clinical trials. Sex differences and the effect of estrous cycle on differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72 second (DRL72) responding have yet to be examined. The aim of the present study was to extend the preclinical antidepressant evidence of dextromethorphan and evaluate sex and estrous cycle influence using the DRL72 operant task in rats. Dextromethorphan (60.0 mg/kg) alone produced a decrease in responses and an increase in reinforcers. Dextromethorphan (60.0 mg/kg) with quinidine (30.0 mg/kg) produced a decrease in responses, an increase in reinforcers, and a rightward shift in the IRT peak analysis. No sex differences were found in training or testing. Furthermore, estrous cycle did not have an effect on training. These results indicate that dextromethorphan shows antidepressant effects, adding to previous literature for its potential to be used as an antidepressant in humans
ELECTROCORTICAL CHANGES OBSERVED IN THE N2 AS AN OUTCOME OF ATTENTION BIAS MODIFICATION TRAINING
Get PDFAnxiety disorders are currently one of the most predominant mental health conditions worldwide. Increased anxiety is associated with elevated attentional focus to threat also known as attentional bias to threat. Attention Bias Modification (ABM) is a type of computerized training, attempting to reduce attentional focus for threatening stimuli and has been found to successfully reduce symptoms of anxiety. Past studies have implemented ABM training as a possible tool to modulate attention away from threat in attempt to decrease pathological anxiety. The N2 is an event-related potential (ERP) detected in scalp EEG recordings that is associated with conflict monitoring and complex cognitive functioning. Past studies have found that anxious adults present increased N2’s during conflict processing, suggesting a relationship between hyperactive conflict monitoring and anxious symptomology. This thesis measured the effects of ABM on trait anxiety over a 6-week period. Each participant completed an attention bias task, questionnaires for anxiety and emotion related traits, as well as an EEG session (i.e., flanker task) pre and post the 6-week ABM training period. ABM training was administered through a modified dot-probe task; training attention away from threatening stimuli. The overall purpose of this thesis was to establish the effect of ABM (compared to control) training on ERP amplitudes and self-reported levels of anxiety. The results demonstrated a non-significant correlation between pre-trait anxiety scores and pre- ΔN2. Additionally, there was no significant effect of ABM on ΔN2 amplitudes or trait anxiety scores
Green Thumbs: Cultivating Greenery and Personal Freedoms in Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660 and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun
Get PDFIn her classic 1959 play, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry explores the impacts of generations of violence, exploitation, and discrimination on an African American family in Chicago’s Southside. Throughout the play, a family house plant comes to symbolize the matriarch\u27s hopes for her children, and her ability to nourish the plant reflects on her ability to fulfil her own modest dreams and provide for the dreams of her progeny. Similarly, we see plants fulfilling the same role in another tale of American racial injustice, namely Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660, an illustrated personal account of the artist’s experience in Japanese American concentration camps during World War II. In each of these works, cultivated greenery serves an important role for the people represented, a means of expression, an avenue for hope, and an outlet of personal freedom and autonomy
