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An investigation into performance monitoring in women’s elite rugby sevens, with consideration towards the Countermovement Jump (CMJ) Test and the GPS-Derived Metric High Metabolic Load Distance (HMLD)
Full text linkThis study examined the effectiveness of performance monitoring strategies in elite women’s rugby sevens, by evaluating the Countermovement Jump (CMJ) test and the GPS-derived metric, High Metabolic Load Distance (HMLD). While GPS tracking is widely used to quantify athlete workload, HMLD remains underexplored in rugby sevens, despite its potential to reflect training and match intensity.
Seventeen elite female rugby sevens players (age: 26.4 ± 2.9 years; height: 167.6 ± 5.2 cm; body mass: 70.5 ± 8.9 kg) were monitored across one competitive season. CMJ performance was assessed using the Output Sports V2 Sensor, and GPS data were collected from STATSports Apex Pro technology.
Backs outperformed forwards in the CMJ (40.78 cm vs. 38.02 cm) and accumulated greater HMLD in both training (560.68 m vs. 470.17 m) and competition (263.85 m vs. 216.64 m). Significant positional differences were observed across GPS metrics. HMLD correlated most strongly with total distance (r = 0.82), suggesting that in rugby sevens, HMLD behaves more as a volume metric, rather than a measure of intensity. Current speed thresholds may not adequately capture the sport’s intensity, highlighting the need for sport-specific interpretations. CMJ performance improved over the season, though not linearly, suggesting varying levels of fatigue and physiological adaptation. HMLD volumes reflect the fluctuations and variability in training and competitive demand across a rugby sevens season.
This study highlights the value of integrating CMJ testing with monitoring of HMLD across a competitive season in elite women’s rugby sevens. The CMJ provides insight into neuromuscular function and lower-body power, whilst HMLD reflects the physical demands of training and competition. Together, they offer a comprehensive view of athlete readiness.
This research addresses the gap in the literature surrounding the application and interpretation of HMLD in women’s rugby sevens, and the disparity in research in the women’s game. These results contribute new insight into the use of HMLD in an elite rugby sevens environment, and emphasise that alongside CMJ testing, HMLD monitoring can bring significant value to an elite training programme. The metric has the potential to be individualised to athletes, for the most effective approaches in performance optimisation, injury prevention and return-to-play strategies
Visualising infections across scales
Full text linkThe ability to visualise biological structures and processes at the microscale has been instrumental in the development of modern medicine and the control of disease. In recent years, technological innovations have enabled imaging of large, mesoscale tissues, from organs to whole mammalian organisms. However, the development of these methods demonstrates the inherent weaknesses of imaging modalities designed to function at specific length scales. While modern microscale methods enable imaging at resolutions beyond the diffraction limit of light, resolving objects tens of nanometers apart, the field of view and working distance of these systems prevents analysis of mesoscale samples. Conversely, cutting-edge mesoscale imaging methods are capable of imaging whole mice, but lack the resolution of modern confocal microscopes. Holisic analyses are crucial in understanding biological processes and only by designing imaging pipelines capable of coupling high resolution microscopy with large sample mesoscopy can we develop a complete understanding of processes occurring within organisms. Influenza A virus (IAV) exemplifies the need for multiscale imaging approaches. Viral replication is governed by microscale, intracellular processes, while pathology and spread on the scale of the whole lung dictates virus transmission and patient outcomes. Here, I develop methods for imaging tissues across length scales, primarily using IAV as a model pathogen. On the mesoscale, I develop means of visualising infections in whole murine lungs, as well as skin, nerve, and bone tissue without the need for sectioning. On the microscale, I develop computational tools and laboratory assays capable of visualising interactions between viruses, elucidating the processes governing the emergence of viral strains with pandemic potential. By designing holistic imaging pipelines capable of analysing IAV infections across scales, these insights develop a more complete understanding of the spatial context of IAV infection, the interactions between viral populations, and the relationship between microscale processes and meso- and macroscale pathology
The search for strangeonium resonances: partial wave analysis of polarised photoproduction reaction γp → ηφp at the GlueX experiment
Full text linkThe strong force gives rise to a large hadron spectrum, many areas of which are still not well understood. Progress in mapping out these regions is vital for building better models of the strong force and verifying the predictions of its quantum field theory, Quantum Chromodynamics. This thesis focuses on the study of the so-called strangeonium states, which are mesons with s¯s quark content, and in particular on members of the φ meson series φ(1680) and φ3(1850). The former is a radially excited vector that has been seen by both e⁺e⁻ collider and photoproduction experiments, but whose reported mass does not match between the two, with observations from photoproduction being systematically higher; the latter is a tensor that has not been measured since the 1980s and never in experiments with high statistical power.
The data analysed in this thesis was collected at the GlueX experiment, which has produced the world’s largest photoproduction dataset to date since starting to run in 2016. A 9 GeV linearly polarised photon beam incident on a liquid hydrogen target was used to produce a variety of mesonic and baryonic resonances. The GlueX spectrometer allows both neutral and charged final states to be exclusively reconstructed with good resolution and angular acceptance. Results from the partial wave analysis of decay channel γp→ηφ p→K⁺K⁻γγ p are presented.
After signal was isolated from background using a combination of event selection criteria and statistical subtraction via the sPlot method, an extended maximum likelihood fit to angular decay distributions allowed the extraction of partial wave amplitudes. A partial wave consistent with the φ(1680) was observed, but no clear evidence of a φ3(1850) was found. The obtained amplitudes indicated a preference for natural parity exchange. A fit to the intensity of the wave identified as the φ(1680) resulted in a Breit-Wigner mass more compatible with the e⁺e⁻ measurements. A cross-section was also calculated, allowing an order-of-magnitude estimate that matched the existing predictions.
The results provide evidence against the additional vector meson states that have been previously hypothesised to explain the higher observed mass of the φ(1680) in photoproduction. They should also aid the development of models of the strangeonium spectrum
Preclinical investigation of the BCL-2 family protein MCL-1 as a potential therapeutic target in breast cancer
No full textAbstract not currently available
Anti-money laundering regulatory compliance by private sector art market actors: learning, experience, and interaction
Full text linkWith the adoption of the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (2018/843) on 30 May 2018, art market actors were explicitly added to the list of obliged entities to the extent that they store (within free zones and customs warehouses), trade, or act as an intermediary in the trade of works of art where the value of the transaction or linked transactions amounts to at least EUR 10,000. AML regulation essentially relies on market actors and their ways of managing risk to regulate economic crime, thereby working together with private sector actors on public matters. Through this collaboration, private governance regimes are created. These private governance regimes are shaped by and evolve with the experience and interactions of their actors. The collaboration is between private sector actors and also between national governments and international regulators.
This doctoral thesis analyses how the regulatory changes have impacted art market actors in Germany, how they have worked to address them, and what kind of organisational thinking is necessary to do this effectively. Getting involved in achieving public goals can be quite an abstract thing for art market actors and is sometimes viewed as counter to their purposes as profit-seeking private market actors. When designing private regulatory regimes, the experience, willingness, and attitude of those private actors are an essential part of their effectiveness. Upon examining this niche market in terms of how its actors learn, experience, and interact with regulatory compliance, I am drawing out generalisable lessons towards regulation.
This thesis adopts a socio-legal framework centred on regulatory discretion and social embeddedness. It is based on qualitative interviews conducted with art market actors in Germany between June and October 2022 and my professional experience in AML and sanctions compliance. Drawing on the generated data, I contribute new empirical knowledge on how AML compliance is learned, experienced, and shaped through interaction in the private sector art market. This thesis is thus about collaborative regulation and governance regimes, and how findings from learning, experience, and interaction can be used to understand why AML regulatory compliance takes specific forms and how to increase the relevance and practicality of the AML framework
Biochemical and functional characterisation of DEFECTIVELY ORGANISED TRIBUTARIES 3 (DOT3) and its role in phototropin signalling
No full textNo abstract available
A case study on project-based language learning in Chinese high school English education: student experiences, teacher transformation, and pedagogical implications
No full textThis qualitative case study explored how Project-based Language Learning (PBLL) can coexist with the high-stakes, examination-oriented English curriculum of a state high school in Chongqing, China. Over a one-month summer-holiday period, forty-four Grade 10 students and their experienced English teacher engaged in online collaborative planning and preparing for a travel-themed video-making project, which culminated in face-to-face English-speaking presentations conducted on-campus after the semester commenced. Grounded in Sociocultural Theory, Global Englishes, Communicative Language Learning and principles of Project-based Learning, the teacher and I collaboratively structured the project framework, integrating students’ input to dynamically refine weekly goals. Throughout, we encouraged flexible translanguaging between English and Chinese, documenting both the evolving learning process and the final publicly presented products and outcomes. Classroom observations, student artefacts, semistructured interviews, and focus-group discussions were analysed thematically. PBLL produced more varied spoken and written language output, as iterative drafting and rehearsals, collaborative problem-solving, interactive translanguaging practices, and engaging content collectively supported students in prioritising meaning before form during the learning process. Brief switches to Chinese lowered anxiety and often prompted voluntary English use in subsequent turns. Many learners shifted from external compliance to self-endorsed motivation, reporting higher confidence in speaking and teamwork. Most interviewed learners reported an increase in intrinsic motivation over the course of the project, noting improved confidence in speaking and enhanced teamwork skills. The teacher evolved from textbook transmitter to co-designer and facilitator, uncovering learners’ hidden strengths and integrating micro-projects into regular lessons. Challenges remained: heavier preparation, unfamiliar formative assessment, and misalignment with the National College Entrance Examination, which still omits speaking and collaboration. The study suggests that carefully scaffolded PBLL could create a complementary space alongside China’s current examinationoriented education system by addressing gaps in fostering students’ practical communication skills. The pedagogical insights gained from the project, particularly in enhancing students’ speaking confidence and autonomy, were successfully integrated by the participating teacher into regular classroom instruction. Additionally, the co-constructive collaboration between the researcher and teacher highlights a replicable model for future research and pedagogical practice. This collaborative framework, which included joint curriculum development, reflective practice, and mutual professional growth, could inspire broader applications in diverse language teaching contexts, encouraging educators and researchers to optimise teaching strategies and enhance learning environments. Future work could consider lengthen project cycles, involve cross-subject teachers, and provide systematic professional development to sustain the motivational and communicative gains observed
Post-stroke cognitive impairment: an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study of nursing practice in Indonesia
No full textAbstract not currently available
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