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On the Dynamics of Moisture Absorption and Its Impact on Dielectric Properties of Epoxy Networks under DC and AC Voltages
No full textThe effect of stoichiometry on the dynamics of moisture absorption in epoxy networks is reported. The results show that formulations containing an excess of epoxide groups are characterized by reduced water absorption. For all the considered formulations, water absorption is a reversible process. Water absorption reduces the glass transition temperature, Tg, with each 1 wt% of absorbed water reducing Tg by ~10 °C. We attribute this effect to water molecules masking network polar sites and, thereby, inhibiting the formation of intra- or inter-segmental hydrogen bonds. Dielectric spectroscopy reveals that a significant fraction of the absorbed water exhibits relaxation processes similar to the relaxation of the network polar groups and, thus, results in strengthening the existing relaxation peaks within the system. This phenomenon may be employed to magnify the presence of material polar groups, particularly when these groups have low concentration or cannot produce a detectable effect on the dielectric spectra. The presence of distributed absorbed water enhances charge transport, an effect reflected in a proportional reduction in DC breakdown strength. Conversely, AC breakdown strength is not critically affected for the levels of water absorption seen here
Brief stories of successful female role models in science help counter gender stereotypes regarding intellectual ability among young girls: A pilot study
Get PDFNegative stereotypes about female intellectual abilities occur in children as young as 6-years-old and can shape a child's educational path and career choice, particularly in relation to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The current study (N = 40) explored pre-existing gender stereotypes in a purposeful sample of 6 to 8-year-old white British girls at a dance and performing arts center and tested the impact of a brief story-based intervention that exposed young girls to intellectually brilliant female role models in STEM. Findings indicated that exposure to stories about women in science can help counter negative stereotypes concerning female intellectual ability. Another stereotype, “females are nicer than males”, was prevalent in most participants and was not affected by the current intervention. A key implication of this study is that young girls who learn about members of their own gender group who accomplished success in STEM fields may be more inclined to think of STEM careers as a possibility for females in future
Translational research in action: The use of technology to disseminate information to parents during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Get PDFThis paper addresses the research problem of how to reach, engage and support parents in home‐educating young children during the first national COVID‐19 lockdown in England (March–June 2020), which was addressed through using technology. An internet‐mediated research (IMR) approach is used to investigate the effectiveness of using technology and translational research as strategies for disseminating a rapidly produced digital guide, for promoting play‐based learning at home, to parents. Lockdown with the closure of early years provision led to parents finding themselves isolated at home with young children. Early years educators were managing a unique set of circumstances where communication with families, including those ‘harder‐to‐reach’ was contextually problematic. Qualitative data using IMR captured online interactions by unobtrusive and obtrusive methods; unsolicited emails and social media comments and questionnaire responses. Conventional content analysis identified emerging themes of access, availability, reliability and readability. Analysis showed a combination of factors impacted on the speed and scale of sharing and downloading the digital guide. First, being digitally ready as platforms were already used by early years educators and Local Authorities. Second, the professional drive of Local Authorities and early years educators to support families during the crisis and third, the availability of an easily accessible online resource seen as valuable in improving play‐based learning at home. Practitioner notes: What is already known about this topic? There are high levels of digital readiness in the United Kingdom. Technology is one method used by early years settings to communicate with parents. Parental engagement is challenging. What this paper adds? A translational research strategy (to share research‐informed‐knowledge with stakeholders) and internet‐mediated research (to gather data from stakeholders) combine effectively for use within the early years sector to disseminate research knowledge to parents and support home learning environments. The high levels of technology readiness of early years educators and parents in England provides opportunities for disseminating information and improving home learning environments. Accessing and sharing documents online may involve parents but is insufficient to engage. Implications for practice and/or policy Early years settings need to be more proactive in engaging with parents online. Technology provides opportunities to develop interaction and the sharing of information with parents. Digital media should be used as additional communication strategies and should not replace the fundamental importance of face‐to‐face‐interaction
Physiological Characteristics of Female Soccer Players and Health and Performance Considerations: A Narrative Review
Get PDFFemale soccer has seen a substantial rise in participation, as well as increased financial support from governing bodies over the last decade. Thus, there is an onus on researchers and medical departments to develop a better understanding of the physical characteristics and demands, and the health and performance needs of female soccer players. In this review we discuss the current research, as well as the knowledge gaps, of six major topics: physical demands, talent identification, body composition, injury risk and prevention, health, and nutrition. Data on female talent identification are scarce, and future studies need to elucidate the influence of relative age and maturation selection across age groups. Regarding the physical demands, more research is needed on the pattern of high-intensity sprinting during matches and the contribution of soccer-specific movements. Injuries are not uncommon in female soccer players, but targeting intrinsically modifiable factors with injury prevention programmes can reduce injury rates. The anthropometric and physical characteristics of female players are heterogenous and setting specific targets should be discouraged in youth and sub-elite players. Menstrual cycle phase may influence performance and injury risk; however, there are few studies in soccer players. Nutrition plays a critical role for health and performance and ensuring adequate energy intake remains a priority. Despite recent progress, there is considerably less research in female than male soccer players. Many gaps in our understanding of how best to develop and manage the health and performance of female soccer players remain
Death by Prox(y)amity: Participation with the Pandemic through the mobile multiplayer game Among Us (2018)
Get PDFAs in-person social interaction became the primary mode of transmission of the Covid-19 virus, alternative modes of social interaction were adopted to maintain interpersonal communication during the pandemic. Games, both analogue and digital, became a safe and engaging mode of communication often enabled by accelerated developments of video conferencing software such as Zoom.
Within an analysis of the mobile multiplayer game Among Us (2018), this paper will question the influence and potential effects of the game’s internal structures on participants’ sense of the real and ‘imagined communities’ (Anderson, 1983) when played over video conferencing software. Arguing that new modes of camaraderie are developed through a shared ‘definition of the situation’ (Goffman, 1986) within online environments. This research will identify how the current pandemics ‘state of exception’ (Agamben, 2005) is paralleled and processed through the game mechanic of the “emergency meeting” echoing the activities of the Daily Briefings, including the number of the dead, that have defined representation of U.K Covid response.
This paper will further assert that hyper-real substitutions for physical connection can be built through virtual environments. This will be argued as actualised through both an ‘autopoietic feedback loop’ (Fisher-Lichte, 2008) that is produced by the participants, though what Jan Murray describes as ‘procedural authorship’ (1999) of the virtual space. Within this process of a collaboratively constructed situational understanding, participants of Among Us are argued to roleplay new narratives of avoiding proximity through a zero-stakes game of digitised murder, whilst simultaneously processing the pandemics ‘state of exception’
Yes, I Can! Use the positive power of self-efficacy
No full textWhat does it mean to have agency and where does this come from? Academic researcher and musician, Dr. Laura Ritchie, demonstrates how self-efficacy and taking charge of your thinking are key ingredients to enacting your agency.
This talk was presented for TEDxUCLA on May 15, 202
Intake duration of anthocyanin-rich New Zealand blackcurrant extract affects cardiovascular responses during moderate-intensity walking but not at rest
Get PDFWe examined effects of intake duration of New Zealand blackcurrant (NZBC) extract on cardiovascular responses during supine rest and moderate-intensity walking. Recreationally active men (n=15, age: 24±6 yr, BMI: 24.7±4.3 kg·m-2) volunteered in a randomized, cross-over design. One metabolic equivalent (1-MET) was measured (3.97±0.66 mL·kg-1·min-1) and an incremental walking test was performed to individualize speed at 4 (n=3) or 5 (n=12) METs for the 30-min walk (5.7±0.7 km·hr-1). NZBC extract (210 mg of anthocyanins) was taken with breakfast for 7 and 14 days, with a 14-days washout. The final dose was ingested 2-hr before recording of the cardiovascular responses (Portapres Model-2). At rest, %changes at 7- and 14-days intake were observed for stroke volume (+6.8% (trend), p=0.065; +8.5%, p=0.012), cardiac output (+10.1%, p=0.007; +8.5%, p=0.013), total peripheral resistance (-12.0%, p=0.004; -13.1%, p=0.011), diastolic (-5.7%, p=0.045; -9.7%, p=0.015) and mean arterial pressure (-4.4%, p=0.040; -7.2%, p=0.029), but without intake duration effect. During walking, %changes at 7- and 14-days intake were observed for stroke volume (+7.7% (trend), p=0.063; +9.9%, p=0.006), cardiac output (+8.7%, p=0.037; +10.1%, p=0.007), diastolic blood pressure (-6.2%, p=0.042; -10.6%, p=0.001), and total peripheral resistance (-9.6%, p=0.042; -13.5%, p=0.005) but without intake duration effect. During walking, %changes at 14-days were observed only for mean arterial pressure (-6.4%, p=0.018) and arterio-venous oxygen difference (-7.9%, p=0.019). NZBC extract affects cardiovascular responses at rest and during moderate-intensity exercise with 7- and 14-day intake. Only during moderate-intensity exercise, a longer intake of NZBC extract was required for an effect on some cardiovascular responses
Effect of losartan on performance and physiological responses to exercise at high altitude (5035 m)
Get PDFObjective: Altitude-related and exercise-related elevations in blood pressure (BP) increase the likelihood of developing pulmonary hypertension and high-altitude illness during high-altitude sojourn. This study examined the antihypertensive effect and potential exercise benefit of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist losartan when taken at altitude. Methods: Twenty participants, paired for age and ACE genotype status, completed a double-blinded, randomised study, where participants took either losartan (100 mg/day) or placebo for 21 days prior to arrival at 5035 m (Whymper Hut, Mt Chimborazo, Ecuador). Participants completed a maximal exercise test on a supine cycle ergometer at sea level (4 weeks prior) and within 48 hours of arrival to 5035 m (10-day ascent). Power output, beat-to-beat BP, oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate (HR) were recorded during exercise, with resting BP collected from daily medicals during ascent. Before and immediately following exercise at 5035 m, extravascular lung water prevalence was assessed with ultrasound (quantified via B-line count). Results: At altitude, peak power was reduced relative to sea level (p<0.01) in both groups (losartan vs placebo: down 100±29 vs 91±28 W, p=0.55), while SpO2 (70±6 vs 70±5%, p=0.96) and HR (146±21 vs 149±24 bpm, p=0.78) were similar between groups at peak power, as was the increase in systolic BP from rest to peak power (up 80±37 vs 69±33 mm Hg, p=0.56). Exercise increased B-line count (p<0.05), but not differently between groups (up 5±5 vs 8±10, p=0.44). Conclusion: Losartan had no observable effect on resting or exercising BP, exercise-induced symptomology of pulmonary hypertension or performance at 5035 m
Evaluation of Milk Consumption after Resistance Training on the Glycemic Control and Irisin Levels of Type II Diabetic Men: A Quasi-experimental Study
Get PDFIntroduction: The consumption of high-protein foods after resistance training increases training
achievement, which may benefit diabetic patients. The present study aimed to investigate the effects
of milk consumption after resistance training on the glycemic control and irisin levels of type II
diabetic (T2D) men.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 36 male patients with T2D, mean age of
53.6±4.8 years and mean body mass index of 27.1±3.6 kg/m2. The patients were randomly divided
into three groups of control, resistance training (RT), and resistance training and milk consumption
(RTM). Eight weeks of RT was performed in three sets of 12 maximum repetitions three days per
week. The RTM group consumed 500 milliliters of low-fat milk after the exercise. Fasting blood
glucose, insulin, HbA1c, irisin, weight, waist-to-hip ratio, muscle strength, and limb circumference
were measured before and after the intervention. Data analysis was performed using repeated
measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results: Compared to the RT group, the leg strength (mean±95% CI: -49.80±31.53; P<0.001), arm
circumference (mean±95% CI: -3.41±1.97; P<0.001), and thigh circumference (mean±95% CI: -
5.16±2.98; P<0.001) improved significantly in the RTM group. However, no significant interaction
effects were observed for the other variables between the RT and RTM groups.
Conclusion: Despite more improvement in the muscle strength and circumference, the beneficial
effects of RT were not augmented by additional post-exercise milk consumption in the male patients
with T2D