Reliability,usefulness and construct validity of the Combined Basketball Skill Test (CBST)

This study aimed to assess the reliability, usefulness and construct validity of the newly developed Combined Basketball Skill Test (CBST). Fifteen recreational (age = 22.8 ± 4.2 y, stature = 184.8 ± 6.5 cm, body mass = 81.6 ± 9.6 kg, training experience = 9.8 ± 5.3 y) and fifteen semiprofessional (age = 18.9 ± 3.3 y, stature = 190.5 ± 8.1 cm, body mass = 84.2 ± 11.2 kg, training experience = 11.1 ± 3.5 y) players volunteered to participate in this study. Test–retest reliability and usefulness were examined for recreational players, while construct validity was evaluated comparing the two player groups. The CBST is composed of 12 trials and its outcome measures include: completion time (sum of the 12 trial times); penalty time (sum of the times from the 12 trials); performance time (completion time + penalty time) and total number of errors. Relative reliability analysis showed acceptable ICC values (i.e. ≥0.70) in all the studied variables. Absolute reliability analysis showed a CV < 5% for completion (1.6%) and performance (2.0%) time, while a CV >5% is reported for the remaining variables. The usefulness of the test was considered “Marginal” and “Good” when comparing TE values with SWC₀₂ and SWC₀₅, respectively for all the studied variables. Likely and very likely differences were shown between recreational and semiprofessional players in all investigated variables. Results showed that the CBST is reliable, useful to detect moderate changes and valid to assess basketball skills.     

Innovation in times of crisis: National Systems of Innovation, structure, and demand

This article addresses the impact of the current economic downturn on innovation across Europe. Using micro- and macro-data, we investigate to what extent some structural characteristics of National Systems of Innovation, along with demand, affect firms’ persistency in terms of innovation investment. It emerges that the effects of the economic downturn in terms of firms’ innovation investment are not the same across European countries. The competences and quality of the human resources, the specialization in the high-technology sector, together with the development of the financial system seem to be the structural factors which are able to offset the effect of the economic downturn on innovation investments of firms across Europe. Finally, some considerations about policies during recessions are discussed.     

Effect of different number of players and training regimes on physiological and technical demands of ball-drills in basketball

This study aimed to analyse the effects of two factors (number of players and training regimes) on players’ physiological and technical demands in basketball ball-drills. Twenty-one young basketball players performed four different ball-drills (two levels for each factor). The number of players involved was 2vs2 and 4vs4, while ball-drill regimes were continuous and intermittent. Physiological demand was assessed using the percentage of maximal heart rate (%HR_max), Edwards’ training load and rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Furthermore, the following technical actions were collected: dribbles, steals, rebounds, turnovers, passes (total, correct, wrong and % of correct pass) and shots (total, scored, missed and % of made shot). A 2 × 2 (number of players × regime) two-way ANOVA with repeated measures was applied for physiological parameters and technical actions. The 2vs2 condition showed higher %HR_max (P < 0.001), Edwards’ training load (P < 0.001), RPE (P < 0.001), number of dribbles (P < 0.001), rebounds (P < 0.001), passes [total (P = 0.005) and correct (P = 0.005)] and shots [total (P < 0.001) scored (P < 0.001) and missed (P < 0.001)] than 4vs4. Moreover, the continuous regime revealed higher %HR_max (P < 0.001), Edwards’ training load (P < 0.001), RPE (P = 0.006) and dribbles (P < 0.001) than the intermittent regime. This study showed that both number of players and regime are useful variables able to modify basketball ball-drills workload.     

卢卡西维茨逻辑和菲尼蒂融贯性标准的近期发展

真值在最初的时候只有一个.为了更好地把握"真"这个真值,才引入了真值"假".在数学推理中,有这两个真值就足够了:因为处理数学句子只需使用一阶逻辑中的二值语义和证明论.然而当我们获得的信息不完全准确、有部分错误甚至被扭曲时,这两个经典的真值就不足以灵活地表达和处理我们的知识.我们将首先分析卢卡西维茨的无穷值逻辑在处理Rényi-Ulam问题时所起的作用."二十问"游戏中的信息流遵守布尔逻辑的规则,相比起来,该游戏的Rényi-Ulam变异所产生的回答却可能是错误的,对同一个问题重复提问得到的两个相同的回答所产生的信息,要多于仅仅只回答一次时得到的信息:幂等律A&A=A不再成立.这个游戏中的回答遵守卢卡西维茨的无穷值逻辑.这一逻辑在处理连续事件的融贯概率估计方面具有普遍的意义,它能够推广处理yes-no事件(即在任一可能世界中,要么发生要么不发生的那些事件)的菲尼蒂概率理论.假定事件集E={X1…,Xn)等于某布尔代数F上的一组元素,菲尼蒂证明了,定义在E上的映射p是"融贯的"当且仅当它可以延拓到F的概率测度上.p的融贯性意味着,如果一个赌徒A把概率度p(Xi)分配给每个事件Xi,他的对手B不可能迫使他下注,使得B确保在每个可能世界中都赌赢.菲尼蒂利用他提出的融贯性标准,得出了概率论的柯尔莫哥洛夫公理.使用卢卡西维茨逻辑,我们把菲尼蒂理论推广到测度值为实数区间[0,1]的那些事件上.只要经过恰当的规范化,这类事件的例子就是大量地、或显或隐地存在于我们日常生活的打赌之中.     

Measuring technological capabilities at the country level: A survey and a menu for choice

Several new measures of national technological capabilities have recently been developed. These attempts are a result of an often-implicit theoretical consensus about the nature of technology. The aim of this article is to compare their methodologies and results. The World Economic Forum (WEF), the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and the RAND Corporation are the institutions that have provided the measures examined here. We compare these authoritative attempts with our own measure of technological capability, ArCo. The results provide a broadly comparable ranking of countries, although a few significant differences do emerge.     

Dribble Deficit: A novel method to measure dribbling speed independent of sprinting speed in basketball players

Basketball tests assessing dribbling speed predicated on total performance times are influenced by sprinting speed. This study examines an approach termed Dribble Deficit to counter this limitation by examining the relationships between sprinting and dribbling speed during linear and change-of-direction (COD) tasks measured using total performance time and Dribble Deficit. Ten semi-professional basketball players completed linear sprints and COD sprints with and without dribbling. Dribble Deficit was calculated as the difference between the best time for each dribbling trial and corresponding non-dribbling trial for linear and COD sprints. Large to very large significant relationships (P < 0.05) were evident between linear sprint and dribble times (R = 0.64–0.77, R² = 0.41–0.59), and between COD sprint and dribble times (R = 0.88, R² = 0.77). Conversely, trivial-small relationships were evident between linear sprint time and linear Dribble Deficit (R = 0.01–0.15, R² = 0.00–0.02). A non-significant, moderate, negative relationship was observed between COD sprint time and COD Dribble Deficit (R = ?0.45, R² = 0.20). These findings indicate Dribble Deficit provides a more isolated measure of dribbling speed than tests using total performance times. Basketball practitioners may use Dribble Deficit to measure dribbling speed independent of sprint speed in test batteries.     

Remarques critques à propos de l'enquête internationale sur la litteratie

There is no doubt of the necessity and importance of an international comparative inquiry concerning literacy. The difficulties involved in such an inquiry are also incontestable. In France the seemingly improbable results of the survey led to the French authorities – who had no doubt been insufficiently vigilant during the earlier stages of the survey – refusing to make the results public. These results highlight a number of methodological flaws that beset this vast undertaking, drawing attention to the need for better procedural precautions and a more adequate notion of literacy. This article presents a synthesis of the counter-investigations demanded by the French authorities, which justify their doubts on the IALS methods, and opens up a debate on the conception of literacy that was applied in the tests.     

Committing to vaccine R&D: a global science policy priority

The amount of vaccine R&D performed, especially that geared towards health issues affecting the developing world, is relatively modest. Despite immunisation representing the most effective tool for achieving disease eradication, and the general consensus being optimistic about the development of a vaccine capable of fighting AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, neither private nor public entities are investing sufficiently in the field. Reasons can be associated both with a lack of market incentives as well as with the low priority that these diseases are given on Western political agendas. However, seen through a “Global Public Good” lens, it appears to be in the interest of high-income countries, and their governments in particular, to invest public resources – financial and infra-structural – in vaccine R&D for global pandemics. The paper suggests managing international cooperation through the creation of a global fund. It discusses a number of proposals put forward in the existing literature and offers a range of policy options.     

Delayed preconditioning-mimetic actions of exercise or nitroglycerin do not affect haemodynamics and exercise performance in trained or sedentary individuals

Nitroglycerin induces the so-called second window of protection (SWOP), which alleviates myocardial damage and stunning after ischaemia/reperfusion. To determine whether myocardial performance during exercise is improved in the second window of protection, we studied the haemodynamic responses of 12 trained and 11 sedentary individuals during a sequence of maximal tests on a cycle ergometer. A baseline test (basal test) was followed by a second effort performed during the second window of protection (exercise-SWOP test). Haemodynamics was also evaluated after pharmacologically induced SWOP 48 h after transdermal administration of 10 mg of nitroglycerin (pharmacologically induced SWOP test). The exercise-SWOP and pharmacologically induced SWOP tests were separated by a 1-week washout period. Endothelial-dependent vasodilatation after nitroglycerin pre-treatment was also assessed in five sedentary individuals to determine whether nitrate donors could affect vascular function. We found that nitroglycerin pre-treatment did not induce any improvement in haemodynamics in either trained or sedentary individuals, since maximum values of workload, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, myocardial contractility, and double product were similar between the exercise-SWOP and pharmacologically induced SWOP tests in both groups. Furthermore, nitroglycerin pre-treatment did not alter flow-mediated dilation during pharmacologically induced SWOP. Although nitroglycerin pre-treatment alleviates post-ischaemic myocardial stunning, our results suggest that it does not affect the myocardial performance of healthy individuals during exercise performed in the second window of protection, independently of the training status of the individuals. Moreover, nitroglycerin pre-treatment does not ameliorate endothelial function.     

Nanolime suspensions applied on natural lithotypes: The influence of concentration and residual water content on carbonatation process and on treatment effectiveness

Ca(OH)2 particles with submicrometric dimensions (nanolimes) are recently introduced in cultural heritage conservation, in order to improve lime treatments. Lime nanoparticles are typically produced by a chemical precipitation process in supersaturated aqueous solutions of the reactants (calcium chloride [CaCl₂] and sodium hydroxide [NaOH]); water is then partially substituted with 2-propanol in order to improve stability and to reduce a random orientation of the particles. Aim of the present work is to analyse the influence of the nanolime suspensions concentration on the carbonatation process, in relation to the residual water content too. The obtained lime nanoparticles are characterised by X-rays diffraction (XRD) and profile analysis. Afterwards, the influence of the suspension concentration on stones protective treatments is evaluated: alcoholic nanolime suspensions, characterised by different concentration values, are applied on several natural lithotypes. Standard tests are performed to estimate the superficial consolidation and the protective treatment effectiveness: “Scotch tape test” (STT) and capillarity test. Porosimetric investigations are performed too.