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Biceps Femoris Architecture and Strength in Athletes with a Previous Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
No full textThis study aimed to determine whether limbs with a history of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury reconstructed from the semitendinosus display different biceps femoris long head (BFlh) architecture and eccentric strength, assessed during the Nordic hamstring exercise, compared with the contralateral uninjured limb.The architectural characteristics of the BFlh were assessed at rest and at 25% of a maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in the control group (n = 52) and in the group who had previous ACL injury (n = 15) using two-dimensional ultrasonography. Eccentric knee flexor strength was assessed during the Nordic hamstring exercise.Fascicle length was shorter (P = 0.001; d range, 0.90-1.31) and pennation angle (P range, 0.001-0.006; d range, 0.87-0.93) was greater in the BFlh of the ACL-injured limb compared with those in the contralateral uninjured limb at rest and during a 25% MVIC. Eccentric strength was lower in the ACL-injured limb when compared with the contralateral uninjured limb. Fascicle length, MVIC, and eccentric strength were not different between the left and right limb in the control group.Limbs with a history of ACL injury reconstructed from the semitendinosus have shorter fascicles and greater pennation angles in the BFlh compared with those of the contralateral uninjured side. Eccentric strength during the Nordic hamstring exercise of the ACL-injured limb is significantly lower than that of the contralateral side. These findings have implications for ACL rehabilitation and hamstring injury prevention practices, which should consider altered architectural characteristics
Architectural Changes of the Biceps Femoris Long Head after Concentric or Eccentric Training
No full textPurpose: To determine i) the architectural adaptations of the biceps femoris long head (BFlf) following concentric or eccentric strength training interventions; ii) the time course of adaptation during training and detraining. Methods: Participants in this randomized controlled trial (control [n=28], concentric training group [n=14], eccentric training group [n=14], males) completed a 4-week control period, followed by 6 weeks of either concentric- or eccentric-only knee flexor training on an isokinetic dynamometer and finished with 28 days of detraining. Architectural characteristics of BFlf were assessed at rest and during graded isometric contractions utilizing two-dimensional ultrasonography at 28 days pre-baseline, baseline, days 14, 21 and 42 of the intervention and then again following 28 days of detraining. Results: BFlf fascicle length was significantly longer in the eccentric training group (p<0.05, d range: 2.65 to 2.98) and shorter in the concentric training group (p<0.05, d range: -1.62 to -0.96) after 42 days of training compared to baseline at all isometric contraction intensities. Following the 28-day detraining period, BFlf fascicle length was significantly reduced in the eccentric training group at all contraction intensities compared to the end of the intervention (p<0.05, d range: -1.73 to -1.55). There was no significant change in fascicle length of the concentric training group following the detraining period. Conclusions: These results provide evidence that short term resistance training can lead to architectural alterations in the BFlf. In addition, the eccentric training-induced lengthening of BFlf fascicle length was reversed and returned to baseline values following 28 days of detraining. The contraction mode specific adaptations in this study may have implications for injury prevention and rehabilitation
Towards Efficient Verification of Elementary Object Systems
No full textElementary Object Systems (EOS) is a class of Object Petri Nets that follows the “nets-within-nets” paradigm. It combines several practical as well as theoretical properties for the needs of multi-agent-systems. However, it comes with some constraints that limit their expressiveness for automatic verification purposes due to the highly expressive nature of the underlying class of Petri nets. In this paper, we proposed a set of transformation rules from EOS to basic Petri nets nets and show isomorphism of the state spaces in order to make verification feasible
Anxiety and motor performance: More evidence for the effectiveness of holistic process goals as a solution to the process goal paradox
No full textObjectives. Recent research has reported the benefits of using holistic rather than part process goals to avoid the negative effects associated with the conscious processing of task relevant information by skilled but anxious athletes. This experiment compared the efficacy of these two goal focus strategies in a neutral condition and a competitive condition in which cognitive state anxiety was elevated.
Design. Laboratory-based experimental design using a mixed model with between (process goal groups) and within-subjects (neutral and competitive) conditions.
Method. Thirty male and female undergraduate students aged between 19 and 44 years of age completed 896 practice repetitions of a race car driving simulation using discovery learning. Participants were then placed in either a holistic or part process goal group using stratified random assignment. The practice phase was followed by neutral and competitive conditions, during which driving performance and psychophysiological measures were collected.
Results. Analysis of variance of lap times and driving errors revealed that the holistic process goal group outperformed the part process goal group in the competition condition. Analysis of psychophysiological measures suggested that the performance of both process goal groups in the competitive condition was associated with the investment of compensatory effort.
Conclusions. Compared to part process goals, holistic process goals confer performance benefits for skilled athletes who perform under competitive pressure.The Leverhulme Trus
A critique of how developments within the auditing profession were integrated into the higher education audit modules
No full textThis overview gives a summary of the research started 15 years ago in relation to the
developments within the audit and governance environment. The developments focus on
their impact on public sector audit activity and how these developments have been
embedded in higher education (HE) programmes. The research and subsequent outputs
have contributed to the introduction of innovative teaching methods that reflect
contemporary developments in the audit profession. In introducing these developments the
teaching approach for audit orientated modules has moved away from a didactic approach
to experiential learning approach. This submission includes material from eight refereed
published journal articles, one refereed paper presented at a conference and a chapter from
a textbook. In addition, other journal publications and conference papers, which were
presented at both national and international conferences, are mentioned as contributions to
knowledge. At the time of submission of this work, one paper was under review for
publication. While related areas of research were ongoing in respect of audit training
within the profession and audit committees within Housing Associations. The period of
research activity spans the years 1995 – to 2011. These outputs cover three key areas in terms of contribution to learning. The first area
looks at the design and development of a case study as a teaching medium focusing on
experiential (hands on) learning as the basis for a module on computer auditing. This was
based on research into the practical audit approaches within the public sector. The public
sector was the focus of the initial research as it had a requirement for the presence of an
internal audit function. This focus on the public sector focus continued into subsequent
research. The application of audit techniques to provide a better appreciation of auditing
was introduced into module development as a consequence of the research findings. This
specifically applied information technology (IT) as a tool for audit which was embedded in
a case study, and more recently for forensic accounting purposes. The use of MS Office
Excel as a teaching medium was used initially to replicate audit software packages and
referred to as ‘Excel as an audit tool’. This was later replaced by commercial audit
software using datasets. The second theme considers the impact of policies by government
relating to aspects of accountability, value for money and performance measurement, again
with an emphasis on the public sector audit function in verifying data used as indicators.
The third area examines the working relationship between internal audit and the audit committee, with a focus on the influence of corporate governance codes on internal control
requirements and risk management. All three areas identify the changing face of audit as a
consequence of external pressures such as IT developments, accountability requirements,
pressures on limited resources and government codes of best practice recommendations
and guidelines. The integration of these developments in to HE focused initially on
undergraduate modules within the BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance programme. The
developments were later integrated into post graduate modules as well as acting as an
information conduit for local government in Wales.
The link between all three themes is that of the changes facing the audit profession and
how these have been incorporated into the teaching of audit at HE level. These changes
reflect the audit role in terms of the adoption of a proactive approach to responding, not
only to the application of technology, but also to both public and government expectations
in terms of indirect and direct requirements. This nexus between the themes is further
enhanced by the use of audited information conveyed electronically for the purpose of
performance verification of targets and the relationship between the efficient use of
resources and good governance approaches. The recognition of the research output in the
early stages was reinforced in 1998 by the award of Research Fellow from Grant Thornton
and involvement with the Welsh Chief Auditors Group (WCAG) which resulted in the research focusing on Welsh local government. Further research has incorporated forensic
auditing techniques and the internal audit function in the corporate arena. These were
further utilised within the innovative and ground breaking development of the BA (Hons)
Forensic Accounting programme. While the corporate governance work has taken the
international route of comparing corporate governance codes of best practice and formed
an important element within the post graduate programmes of MSc Accounting, MSc
Forensic Accounting and MSc Management and Development of International Financial
Systems.
Funded consultancy work has produced professional body reports on the training of
professional auditors in contrast to the academic development of teaching material with
journal papers contributing to the knowledge of both the HE community and practitioners.
Finally the research and development of lecture material has been utilised for a joint
publication of a textbook on auditing entitled Auditing Fundamentals (Davies & Aston 2010). This document discusses the three themes by critiquing how the changing face of auditing
influences the design and delivery of auditing modules within accounting programmes, in
the context of higher education. The collection and analysis of data, and especially
practitioner views, form part of the background to the research method adopted. The output
and findings provide the basis of the contribution to knowledge which informs HE practice
and the profession. The research output has contributed to enhancing both undergraduate
and post graduate teaching material as well as reports to parties outside the higher
education environment. The contribution to knowledge has been threefold, where the HE
environment of undergraduate and postgraduate students have been exposed to current
developments in auditing, along with an opportunity to learn via experiential learning
techniques. Members of the profession have been enlightened on the issues affecting their
working practices via conferences and training seminars. Finally management have
capitalised on the research output and utilised this to make informed decisions. Further
research opportunities have arisen as a direct result of research undertaken whilst other
opportunities for disseminating knowledge and information have occurred via
representations on various bodies and working parties including media interviews.
Abelian covers of alternating groups
No full textLet G = A_n , a finite alternating group. We study the commuting graph of G and establish,
for all possible values of n barring 13, 14, 17 and 19, whether or not the independence number is equal to
the clique-covering number.11 page
Family Witnessed Resuscitation: focus group inquiry into UK student nurse experiences of simulated resuscitation scenarios.
No full textTo describe the impact of family member presence on student nurse performance in a witnessed resuscitation scenario.
To explore student nurses’ attitudes to simulated family witnessed resuscitation and their views about its place in clinical practice
Observation as a Method to Enhance Collective Efficacy: An Integrative Review
No full textObjectives
This review provides an integrative argument for the use of observation as an intervention to manipulate individual collective efficacy beliefs in sports teams.
Design
An exploration of the conceptual and empirical evidence underpinning observation-based interventions for increasing collective efficacy.
Method
A presentation of reflections on the following. First, we reflect on existing techniques used to increase self- and collective efficacy beliefs. Second, we consider collective efficacy in the context of observational learning and the various modeling techniques employed in the sports and motor performance literature. Third, we highlight relevant literature from neuroscience, outlining the analogous neural pathways evident for social cognition (i.e., collective efficacy) and observation.
Results
This review presents a case for the use of observation interventions to manipulate collective efficacy, drawing upon social psychological frameworks of human behavior, the observation-based literature, and contemporary understanding of brain and behavior.
Conclusions
Observation-based interventions are suited for collective efficacy manipulation in sport. There is a need to advance understanding of this relationship in order to maximize improvements in collective efficacy across group contexts.non
Hamstring strength and flexibility after hamstring strain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textObjective To systematically review the evidence base related to hamstring strength and flexibility in previously injured hamstrings.
Design Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Data sources A systematic literature search was conducted of PubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and EMBASE from inception to August 2015.
Inclusion criteria Full-text English articles which included studies which assessed at least one measure of hamstring strength or flexibility in men and women with prior hamstring strain injury within 24 months of the testing date.
Results Twenty-eight studies were included in the review. Previously injured legs demonstrated deficits across several variables. Lower isometric strength was found <7 days postinjury (d=−1.72), but this did not persist beyond 7 days after injury. The passive straight leg raise was restricted at multiple time points after injury (<10 days, d=−1.12; 10–20 days, d=−0.74; 20–30 days, d=−0.40), but not after 40–50 days postinjury. Deficits remained after return to play in isokinetically measured concentric (60°/s, d=−0.33) and Nordic eccentric knee flexor strength (d=−0.39). The conventional hamstring to quadricep strength ratios were also reduced well after return to play (60:60°/s, d=−0.32; 240:240°/s, d=−0.43) and functional (30:240°/s, d=−0.88), but these effects were inconsistent across measurement methods.
Conclusions After hamstring strain, acute isometric and passive straight leg raise deficits resolve within 20–50 days. Deficits in eccentric and concentric strength and strength ratios persist after return to play, but this effect was inconsistent across measurement methods. Flexibility and isometric strength should be monitored throughout rehabilitation, but dynamic strength should be assessed at and following return to play
Effects of competition on the sleep patterns of elite rugby union players
No full textNo published research has assessed sleep patterns of elite rugby union players following match-play. The present study examined sleep patterns of professional rugby union players, prior and post-match-play, to assess the influence of competition. Twenty-eight male rugby union players (24.4 ± 2.9 years, 103.9 ± 12.2 kg) competed in one of four competitive home matches. Player's sleep behaviours were monitored continuously using an Actiwatch® from two days before the match, until three days post-match. Repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences across the time points measured for time to bed (F = 26.425, η(2) = 0.495, p < .001), get up time (F = 21.175, η(2) = 0.440, p < .001), time spent in bed (F = 10.669, η(2) = 0.283, p < .001), time asleep (F = 8.752, η(2) = 0.245, p < .001) and percentage of time moving (F = 4.602, η(2) = 0.146 p < .05). Most notable, post hocs revealed a significant increase for time in bed the night before the match (p < .01; 95% CI = 0 : 10-1 : 28 h; 9.7 ± 13.5%) compared with the reference night sleep. Furthermore, time asleep significantly decreased post-match (p < .05; 95% CI = -0:03 to -1:59 h; -19.5 ± 19.8%) compared to two nights pre-match. Across all time points, sleep latency and efficiency for most players were considered abnormal compared to that expected in normal populations. The results demonstrate that sleep that is deprived post-match may have detrimental effects on the recovery process.Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarshi