Swing kinematics of male and female skilled golfers following prolonged putting practice

Abstract

Given that males and females respond differently to endurance-based tasks, prolonged putting practice may provide an avenue to examine gender-related differences in golf swing kinematics. The aim of this project was to determine if 40 min of putting affects thorax and pelvis kinematics during the full swing of males and females. Three-dimensional trunk kinematics were collected during the swings of 19 male (age: 26 ± 7 years, handicap: 0.6 ± 1.1) and 17 female (age: 24 ± 7 years, handicap: 1.4 ± 1.7) golfers before and after 40 min of putting. Angular displacement at address, top of backswing and ball contact for the pelvis, thorax, and pelvis–thorax interaction were calculated, in addition to the magnitude of peak angular velocity and repeatability of continuous segment angular velocities. Female golfers had less pelvis and thorax anterior–posterior tilt at address, less thorax and thorax–pelvis axial rotation at top of backswing, and less pelvis and thorax axial rotation and pelvis lateral tilt at ball contact pre- to post-putting. Analysis of peak angular velocities revealed that females had significantly lower thorax–pelvis lateral tilt velocity pre- to post-putting. In conclusion, an endurance-based putting intervention affects females’ thorax and pelvis orientation angles and velocities to a greater extent than males.     

The accuracy and precision of DXA for assessing body composition in team sport athletes

Abstract

This study determined the precision of pencil and fan beam dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) devices for assessing body composition in professional Australian Football players. Thirty-six professional Australian Football players, in two groups (fan DXA, N = 22; pencil DXA, N = 25), underwent two consecutive DXA scans. A whole body phantom with known values for fat mass, bone mineral content and fat-free soft tissue mass was also used to validate each DXA device. Additionally, the criterion phantom was scanned 20 times by each DXA to assess reliability. Test–retest reliability of DXA anthropometric measures were derived from repeated fan and pencil DXA scans. Fat-free soft tissue mass and bone mineral content from both DXA units showed strong correlations with, and trivial differences to, the criterion phantom values. Fat mass from both DXA showed moderate correlations with criterion measures (pencil: r = 0.64; fan: r = 0.67) and moderate differences with the criterion value. The limits of agreement were similar for both fan beam DXA and pencil beam DXA (fan: fat-free soft tissue mass = ?1650 ± 179 g, fat mass = ?357 ± 316 g, bone mineral content = 289 ± 122 g; pencil: fat-free soft tissue mass = ?1701 ± 257 g, fat mass = ?359 ± 326 g, bone mineral content = 177 ± 117 g). DXA also showed excellent precision for bone mineral content (coefficient of variation (%CV) fan = 0.6%; pencil = 1.5%) and fat-free soft tissue mass (%CV fan = 0.3%; pencil = 0.5%) and acceptable reliability for fat measures (%CV fan: fat mass = 2.5%, percent body fat = 2.5%; pencil: fat mass = 5.9%, percent body fat = 5.7%). Both DXA provide precise measures of fat-free soft tissue mass and bone mineral content in lean Australian Football players. DXA-derived fat-free soft tissue mass and bone mineral content are suitable for assessing body composition in lean team sport athletes.     

Formation of multilayered biopolymer microcapsules and microparticles in a multiphase microfluidic flow

This paper reports the development of a scalable continuous microfluidic-based method for the preparation of multilayered biopolymer microcapsules and microparticles, with a size range of 1 to 100 μm, in a single-layered polydimethylsiloxane-based device. This new approach has been utilised to produce polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based microparticles, layered with subsequent stage wise coatings of polylactide-based block copolymers and polyvinylpyrrolidone. The production process was shown to allow for on-chip encapsulation of protein and vitamin molecules in the biopolymer micro particles, without any further handling after collection from the device. We have studied the release profiles in the case of model molecules of distinctive molecular weights, namely, vitronectin, horse radish peroxidase, and vitamin B(12). We compared the release properties of the microparticles to those from macro-gels of the same materials prepared off-chip. The results indicated that the microparticles have definitively different molecular weight cut-off characteristics, likely due to a denser microstructure within the microparticles compared to the bulk hydrogels. This difference suggests that significant benefits may exist in the use of this method to produce layered biopolymer microparticles in achieving improved controlled release and encapsulation.     

Up in the air: Are airlines following the new DOT rules on equal pricing for people with disabilities when websites are inaccessible?

This paper details the findings from a study of airline compliance with Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations requiring that persons with disabilities not be discriminated against in the pricing of airline travel. These regulations mandate that if an airline website is inaccessible for persons with disabilities, the airline must charge the same price that is available on the website and may not charge a fee for purchasing tickets over the phone. To evaluate compliance, the websites of leading airlines were examined for accessibility in terms of the ability to check flight schedules and order tickets. Among the four airlines with barriers to accessibility on their websites, a series of phone calls were made by researchers to assess whether the DOT regulations would be followed. Two of the airlines, USAirways and United, practiced discriminatory pricing, even after being made aware of the regulations, in over one-third of the phone calls. This paper details the findings from the study and analyzes the data in terms of website accessibility, civil rights for travelers with disabilities, and policy implications.     

A learned flavor preference persists despite the extinction of conditioned hedonic reactions to the cue flavors

Learned flavor preferences can be strikingly persistent in the face of behavioral extinction. Harris, Shand, Carroll, and Westbrook (2004) suggested that this persistence may be due to flavor preference conditioning’s producing a long-lasting change in the hedonic response to the conditioned stimulus (CS+) flavor. In the present study, the CS+ flavor was presented in simultaneous compound with 16% sucrose, whereas the CS− flavor was presented with 2% sucrose. During subsequent two- and one-bottle tests, the CS+ and CS− flavors were presented in 2% sucrose. Hedonic reactions during training and test were assessed using an analysis of the microstructure of licking behavior. Conditioning resulted in greater consumption of the CS+ than of the CS− that did not extinguish over repeated two- and one-bottle tests. The mean lick cluster size was higher for the CS+ than for the CS− only on the first cycle of tests. Since lick cluster size can be used as an index of stimulus palatability, the present results indicate that although the hedonic reaction to the CSs did change, this was not maintained across repeated tests. Thus, changes in the hedonic response to the conditioned flavors cannot explain the resistance to the extinction of learned flavor preferences.     

Representations of single and compound stimuli in negative and positive patterning

In four experiments, rats were trained on different patterning discriminations before being tested with compounds composed of novel combinations of the trained stimuli. In Experiment 1, rats were trained on a negative-patterning schedule (A+ B+ AB-) intermixed with reinforced presentations of a second compound (CD+). On a subsequent test, the rats responded more to two novel compounds, AC and BD, than to A and B, but less than to CD. In Experiment 2, rats were trained on two concurrent negative-patterning discriminations (A+ B+ AB-, C+ D+ CD-). On test, they responded more to AC and BD than to AB and CD, but less than to the single stimuli. In Experiment 3, rats were trained on two concurrent positive-patterning discriminations (A-B- AB+, C- D- CD+). On test, their response rates to AC and BD were not different from the response rates to the trained compounds (AB and CD). Finally, in Experiment 4, rats were trained on a positive- and negative-patterning discrimination concurrently. Once again, on test, response rates to AC and BD were not different from responding on reinforced trials of the trained discriminations (A+, B+, and CD+). We discuss the implications of these findings for elemental and configural models of stimulus representation.