A comparison of the anthropometric, strength, endurance and flexibility characteristics of female elite and recreational climbers and non-climbers.

There is limited information on the anthropometry, strength, endurance and flexibility of female rock climbers. The aim of this study was to compare these characteristics in three groups of females: Group 1 comprised 10 elite climbers aged 31.3 +/- 5.0 years (mean +/- s) who had led to a standard of 'hard very severe'; Group 2 consisted of 10 recreational climbers aged 24.1 +/- 4.0 years who had led to a standard of 'severe'; and Group 3 comprised 10 physically active individuals aged 28.5 +/- 5.0 years who had not previously rock-climbed. The tests included finger strength (grip strength, finger strength measured on climbing-specific apparatus), flexibility, bent arm hang and pull-ups. Regression procedures (analysis of covariance) were used to examine the influence of body mass, leg length, height and age. For finger strength, the elite climbers recorded significantly higher values (P < 0.05) than the recreational climbers and non-climbers (four fingers, right hand: elite 321 +/- 18 N, recreational 251 +/- 14 N, non-climbers 256 +/- 15 N; four fingers, left hand: elite 307 +/- 14 N, recreational 248 +/- 12 N, non-climbers 243 +/- 11 N). For grip strength of the right hand, the elite climbers recorded significantly higher values than the recreational climbers only (elite 338 +/- 12 N, recreational 289 +/- 10 N, non-climbers 307 +/- 11 N). The results suggest that elite climbers have greater finger strength than recreational climbers and non-climbers.     

Verteilte Metadatenverwaltung und Anfragebearbeitung für Internet-Datenquellen

Zusammenfassung.   Wir pr?sentieren in dieser Arbeit das ObjectGlobe-System, ein offenes und verteiltes Anfragebearbeitungssystem auf Internet-Datenquellen. ObjectGlobe erweitert die begrenzten F?higkeiten des Internets bezüglich Anfragebearbeitung, indem es einen offenen Marktplatz schafft, in dem eine Vielzahl von Anbietern Rechenzeit, Daten und Anfrageoperatoren bereitstellen. Den Schwerpunkt dieses Beitrags bildet die im Rahmen des ObjectGlobe-Projekts entwickelte Metadatenverwaltung MDV, ein verteiltes Metadaten-Management-System. Es besitzt eine 3-schichtige Architektur und unterstützt Caching und Replikation in der Mittelschicht, so dass Anfragen lokal ausgewertet werden k?nnen. Benutzer spezifizieren die Informationen, die sie ben?tigen und die repliziert werden, mit Hilfe einer besonderen Regelsprache. Um Replikate aktuell zu halten und die Replikation von neuen und relevanten Informationen anzusto?en, verwendet das MDV-System einen neuartigen Publish & Subscribe-Algorithmus. Wir beschreiben diesen Algorithmus im Detail und zeigen, wie er mit Hilfe eines normalen relationalen Datenbanksystems implementiert werden kann. Eingegangen am 19. November 2001 / Angenommen am 30. Juli 2002     

The reliability of distance run tests for children in grades K-4.

The purpose of this study was to determine test-retest reliability for the 1-mile, 3/4-mile, and 1/2-mile distance run/alk tests for children in Grades K-4. Fifty-one intact physical education classes were randomly assigned to one of the three distance run conditions. A total of 1,229 (621 boys, 608 girls) completed the test-retests in the fall (October), with 1,050 of these students (543 boys, 507 girls) repeating the tests in the spring (May). Results indicated that the 1-mile run/walk distance, as recommended for young children in most national test batteries, has acceptable intraclass reliability (.83 less than R less than .90) for both boys and girls in Grades 3 and 4, has minimal (fall) to acceptable (spring) reliability for Grade 2 students (.70 less than R less than .83), but is not reliable for children in Grades K and 1 (.34 less than R less than .56). The 1/2 mile was the only distance meeting minimal reliability standards for boys and girls in Grades K and 1 (.73 less than R less than .82). Results also indicated that reliability estimates remained fairly stable across gender and age groups from the fall to spring testing periods, with the exception of the noticeably improved values for Grade 2 students on the 1-mile run/walk test. Criterion-referenced reliability (P, percent agreement) was also estimated relative to Physical Best and Fitnessgram run/walk standards. Reliability coefficients for all age group standards were acceptable to high (.70 less than P less than .95), except for Fitnessgram standards for 5-year-old girls on the 1-mile test for both fall and spring and for 6-year-old boys and girls on the 1-mile test administered in the spring.