Consolidating properties of Regalrez 1126 and Paraloid B72 applied to wood

This study is aimed at an assessment of the properties of two polymeric products applied to Norway spruce (Picea abies) and White poplar (Populus alba) wood species. It contributes to ongoing research experiments on the consolidating properties of two synthetic resins and their potential synergic action on wood, resulting from their different interaction with the substrate: Paraloid B72 and Regalrez 1126. Experiments were carried out on a series of samples of the two wood varieties. The consolidants were applied alone and one after the other, with one coat of Regalrez and then one of Paraloid. Porosity and variations in pore size distribution were ascertained by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). Colorimetric and IR spectroscopic measurements were also taken before and after aging by solar radiation and freeze/thaw cycles, to verify the possible slowing of photodegradation of the treated wood and the consolidating resistance. Results confirm that both products penetrate the wood with a different behaviour. After double treatment with Regalrez + Paraloid, a significant advantage was observed in terms of mechanical resistance and pore size distribution, although no advantages as regards resistance to photo-oxidizing processes or colour changes were observed.     

Prospective Teachers’ Difficulties in Interpreting Elementary Phenomena of Electrostatic Interactions: Indicators of the status of their intuitive ideas

Student teachers were tested before and after a teaching unit on electrostatic interactions in an attempt to consider their intuitive ideas and concept development. A study was made of students’ explanations of basic interactions: those between two charged bodies, and those between a charged body and a neutral body. Two indicators of the cognitive status of the explanations were investigated: “context dependence” and “certainty or confidence index”. This allowed cognitive comparisons to be established between the explanations of different electrostatic interactions, and between the degrees of difficulty they represent for satisfactory conceptual evolution. The greatest difficulties were found with explanations of the phenomena of electrostatic induction. The sample consisted of 52 students in primary school teacher education who participated in a teaching unit designed to overcome these obstacles.     

International Intelligence in Spain: An Approach to Information Resources for Business

The concept of international intelligence has taken on a greater importance for companies seeking to internationalize and access foreign markets. An exhaustive environmental scan—including international competitors, suppliers, clients in target countries, legislation and the political situation in other territories, and others—involves gathering the necessary information, its analysis and subsequent dissemination, and decision making. Within the context of the important role to be played by information management professionals who are specialized in foreign information, this article describes the information resources that Spanish companies have available to them that can assist them as they enter foreign markets.     

An annual JCR impact factor calculation based on Bayesian credibility formulas

Our aim deals with appraising the annual impact calculation of journals belonging to the JCR, in terms of the expected citation (with or without selfcitations) by published paper in a range of k-years. A Bayesian approach to the problem, should reflect not only the current prestige of a journal, but also taking into account its recent trajectory. In this wide context, credibility theory becomes an adequate mechanism deciding whether journal's impact factor calculation to be more or less plausible. Under prior belief that journal quality is determined by its impact factor, we model the citation-quality process by choosing a conjugated family of the exponential class in order to obtain a net impact credibility formula. Proposed weighting schema produces the effect of smoothing out any sudden increases or decreases in the year-by-year impact factor.     

A physiological,time–motion,and technical comparison of youth water polo and Acquagoal

Abstract

The aims of this study were to provide a profile of young water polo players and to compare technical and tactical aspects, movement patterns, and cardiac loads of youth water polo and Acquagoal codes. Ten young (age 12.3 years, s = 0.6) male water polo players underwent anthropometric (stature, body mass, body mass index, chest circumference, hand breadth, and length), strength, and [Vdot]O_2max evaluations. Friendly youth water polo and Acquagoal matches were arranged to evaluate heart rates and swimming patterns (horizontal and vertical, with and without the ball) of players, and technical and tactical aspects of matches (number of actions, passes, player involved in an action, lost possessions, shots, goals, and the origin and types of shot). Independent of code, matches imposed a high cardiac load on players. Vertical swimming occurred more frequently (P < 0.05) in Acquagoal (71%) than youth water polo (45%). Technical and tactical measures also differed (P < 0.05), with players performing more passes and shots inside the penalty area and showing a higher goal-to-shot ratio during youth water polo than during Acquagoal. These results indicate that youth water polo better resembles the swimming patterns of adult water polo and facilitates the technical and tactical aspects of play better than Acquagoal.     

Loaded hip thrust-based PAP protocol effects on acceleration and sprint performance of handball players

This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of two barbell hip thrust-based (BHT) post-activation potentiation (PAP) protocols on subsequent sprint performance. Using a crossover design, eighteen handball athletes performed maximal 15-m sprints before and 15s, 4min and 8min after two experimental protocols consisting of BHT loaded with either 50% or 85% 1RM (50PAP and 85PAP, respectively), in order to profile the transient PAP effects. The resulting sprint performances were significantly impaired at 15s only after the 85PAP protocol, which induced likely and very likely greater decreases compared to the 50PAP. At 4min and 8min, significant improvements and very likely beneficial effects were observed in the 10m and 15m performances following both protocols. Significant differences were found when comparing the two PAPs over time; the results suggested very likely greater performance improvements in 10m following the 85PAP after 4min and 8min, and possible greater performance improvements in 15m after 4min. Positive correlations between BHT 1RMs values and the greatest individual PAP responses on sprint performance were found. This investigation showed that both moderate and intensive BHT exercises can induce a PAP response, but the effects may differ according to the recovery following the potentiating stimulus and the individual`s strength level.     

Why Do I Feel I Don’t Belong to the Brazil on TV?

Telenovelas have been considered the predominant popular genre on television, the most widely available and popular national medium, in Brazil, for more than 30 years (Straubhaar, 1982). However, we argue in this article that although telenovelas do indeed have this remarkable penetration and popularity in Brazil, their reception is mediated by audience class, geographical location, race, and issues with media content. Many in the audience feel disenfranchised from the dominant telenovela representations, particularly on the primary network, TV Globo, because of their rural, Northeastern status and identity, or their Afro-Brazilian identity. They question their sense of belonging, not because they do not feel Brazilian, but because the “Brazil” they see on TV does not include them.     

Reference values and improvement of aerodynamic drag in professional cyclists

The aims of this study were to measure the aerodynamic drag in professional cyclists, to obtain aerodynamic drag reference values in static and effort positions, to improve the cyclists' aerodynamic drag by modifying their position and cycle equipment, and to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these modifications. The study was performed in a wind tunnel with five professional cyclists. Four positions were assessed with a time-trial bike and one position with a standard racing bike. In all positions, aerodynamic drag and kinematic variables were recorded. The drag area for the time-trial bike was 31% higher in the effort than static position, and lower than for the standard racing bike. Changes in the cyclists' position decreased the aerodynamic drag by 14%. The aero-helmet was not favourable for all cyclists. The reliability of aerodynamic drag measures in the wind tunnel was high (r > 0.96, coefficient of variation < 2%). In conclusion, we measured and improved the aerodynamic drag in professional cyclists. Our results were better than those of other researchers who did not assess aerodynamic drag during effort at race pace and who employed different wheels. The efficiency of the aero-helmet, and the validity, reliability, and sensitivity of the wind tunnel and aerodynamic field testing were addressed.     

Control of PDE-ODE cascades with Neumann interconnections

We extend several recent results on full-state feedback stabilization and state estimation of PDE-ODE cascades, where the PDEs are either of heat type or of wave type, from the previously considered cases where the interconnections are of Dirichlet type, to interconnections of Neumann type. The Neumann type interconnections constrain the PDE state to be subject to a Dirichlet boundary condition at the PDE-ODE interface, and employ the boundary value of the first spatial derivative of the PDE state to be the input to the ODE. In addition to considering heat-ODE and wave-ODE cascades, we also consider a cascade of a diffusion-convection PDE with an ODE, where the convection direction is “away” from the ODE. We refer to this case as a PDE-ODE cascade with “counter-convection.” This case is not only interesting because the PDE subsystem is unstable, but because the control signal is subject to competing effects of diffusion, which is in both directions in the one-dimensional domain, and counter-convection, which is in the direction that is opposite from the propagation direction of the standard delay (transport PDE) process. We rely on the diffusion process to propagate the control signal through the PDE towards the ODE, to stabilize the ODE.