Systems model and individual simulations of training strategies in elite short-track speed skaters

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of simulated training strategies on performance potential in elite short-track speed skaters. Training load and field-based criterion performances from fifteen athletes (10 males, 5 females) were collected over a 3-month training period and the relationship between training loads and performance was computed with a variable dose-response model using a genetic algorithm. Individual simulations of tapers preceded or not preceded by an overload training (OT) were assessed. We obtained a significant correlation between actual and modelled performances (R² = 0.76 ± 0.07). Regarding model parameters, no significant difference was found between males and females but the time to recover performance tended to be lower in females. Simulations in which the taper parameters were free highlighted that an exponential or a step taper were the most effective for increasing performance compared to a linear taper (p < 0.05). Optimal exponential taper duration after OT was 10.7 ± 2.4d and the optimal load reduction was 75.9 ± 3.7%. OT intensity had the greatest influence on the predicted performance, followed by OT duration, taper decay, and to a lesser extent load reduction during taper and taper duration. Thus, a variable dose-response systems model allows the evaluation of different taper strategies and their potential effect on performance changes.     

Electrical and mechanical response of skeletal muscle to electrical stimulation after acute passive stretching in humans: a combined electromyographic and mechanomyographic approach

Two mechanisms have been suggested to explain stretching-induced maximum force depression: a mechanical alteration in the stretched muscle and an impairment of neural activation. Electrical stimulation allows standardization of the level of muscle activation without being limited by neural control. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stretching-induced changes in the electrical and mechanical properties of muscle during electrically elicited contractions. Twelve participants (age 22 +/- 1 years; body mass 75 +/- 2 kg; stature 1.79 +/- 0.02 m; mean +/- standard error) underwent six electrical stimulations of the medial gastrocnemius muscle before and after stretching. During the contractions, surface electromyogram (EMG) and mechanomyogram (MMG) were recorded simultaneously together with force. After stretching we found: (i) no differences in EMG parameters; (ii) MMG amplitude decreased by 4 +/- 1% (P < 0.05); and (iii) the peak force, the peak rate of force development, and the acceleration peak of force development decreased by 12 +/- 3%, 14 +/- 1%, and 24 +/- 5%, respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, acute passive stretching did not change EMG properties but altered the mechanical characteristics of the contracting muscle. Indeed, muscle force-generating capacity and stiffness of the muscle-tendon unit were significantly impaired.     

Exploiting the Similarity of Non-Matching Terms at Retrieval Time

In classic Information Retrieval systems a relevant document will not be retrieved in response to a query if the document and query representations do not share at least one term. This problem, known as term mismatch, has been recognised for a long time by the Information Retrieval community and a number of possible solutions have been proposed. Here I present a preliminary investigation into a new class of retrieval models that attempt to solve the term mismatch problem by exploiting complete or partial knowledge of term similarity in the term space. The use of term similarity enables to enhance classic retrieval models by taking into account non-matching terms. The theoretical advantages and drawbacks of these models are presented and compared with other models tackling the same problem. A preliminary experimental investigation into the performance gain achieved by exploiting term similarity with the proposed models is presented and discussed.     

Forging Habsburg Muslim girls: gender,education and empire in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878–1918)

This article explores the entanglement of gender, education and empire in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Habsburg period throughout the analysis of a unique institution: Sarajevo’s Muslim Female School. Established at the very end of the nineteenth century, this pedagogical institution was the only school in Austria-Hungary specifically devoted to Muslim girls. The article begins by presenting the development of the Habsburg Empire’s educational policy in Bosnia after 1878 and demonstrates that it was deeply bound with its imperial ‘civilising mission’. Through an analysis of the programmes taught at Sarajevo’s Muslim Female School, the article detects the model of ‘Hapsburg Muslim femininity’ promoted by this institution. By investigating the reports the teachers sent to the authorities, it explores how this school was perceived by the Muslim population. The last section is devoted to the schoolgirls’ experience of this school, and especially to their access to the written word.     

Interference of medical contrast media on laboratory testing

The use of contrast media such as organic iodine molecules and gadolinium contrast agents is commonplace in diagnostic imaging. Although there is widespread perception that side effects and drug interactions may be the leading problems caused by these compounds, various degrees of interference with some laboratory tests have been clearly demonstrated. Overall, the described interference for iodinate contrast media include inappropriate gel barrier formation in blood tubes, the appearance of abnormal peaks in capillary zone electrophoresis of serum proteins, and a positive bias in assessment of cardiac troponin I with one immunoassay. The interference for gadolinium contrast agents include negative bias in calcium assessment with ortho-cresolphthalein colorimetric assays and occasional positive bias using some Arsenazo reagents, negative bias in measurement of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and zinc (colorimetric assay), as well as positive bias in creatinine (Jaffe reaction), total iron binding capacity (TIBC, ferrozine method), magnesium (calmagite reagent) and selenium (mass spectrometry) measurement. Interference has also been reported in assessment of serum indices, pulse oximetry and methaemoglobin in samples of patients receiving Patent Blue V. Under several circumstances the interference was absent from manufacturer-supplied information and limited to certain type of reagents and/or analytes, so that local verification may be advisable to establish whether or not the test in use may be biased. Since the elimination half-life of these compounds is typically lower than 2 h, blood collection after this period may be a safer alternative in patients who have received contrast media for diagnostic purposes.     

Structuring fragmented knowledge: a case study

When the need to record and track the point of view of different actors in organizational processes becomes a key point for decision makers, a common representation of knowledge from different perspectives and a map of the situation and the decision and action needs could be useful. A methodology that easily and transparently integrates different ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ tools in a common knowledge structuring approach is proposed to deal with complexities and uncertainties in a socio-technical contest. The purpose of this paper is to show the potentialities of this methodology in a real case, in terms of organizational knowledge acquisition and structuring in a multi-actor public context, a university faculty, in relation to a radical change.     

Firms’ genetic characteristics and competence-enlarging strategies: A comparison between academic and non-academic high-tech start-ups

This paper argues that academic high-tech start-ups exhibit peculiar “genetic characteristics” that leave an enduring imprint on firm development. We formulate a series of hypotheses on the effects of such genetic characteristics on the post-entry strategies that academic high-tech start-ups adopt to enlarge their initial competence endowments. In the empirical section, we use matched-pair statistical techniques and run several regressions to test the theoretical hypotheses. Our findings contribute to the literature on the antecedents of the strategies adopted by academic high-tech start-ups. They also allow us to derive implications for academic entrepreneurs, university managers and policy makers.     

The effect of scholar collaboration on impact and quality of academic papers

We study how scholar collaboration varies across disciplines in science, social science, arts and humanities and the effects of author collaboration on impact and quality of co-authored papers. Impact is measured with the aid of citations collected by papers, while quality is determined by the judgements expressed by peer reviewers. To this end, we take advantage of the dataset provided by the first-ever national research assessment exercise of Italian universities, which involved 20 disciplinary areas, 102 research structures, 18,500 research products, and 6661 peer reviewers. Collaboration intensity neatly varies across disciplines: it is inescapable is most sciences and negligible in most humanities. We measured a general positive association between cardinality of the author set of a paper and citation count as well as peer quality of the contribution. The correlation is stronger when the affiliations of authors are heterogeneous. There exist, however, notable and interesting counter-examples.