Assessment of three-dimensional joint kinematics of the upper limb during simulated swimming using wearable inertial-magnetic measurement units

The analysis of the joint kinematics during swimming plays a fundamental role both in sports conditioning and in clinical contexts. Contrary to the traditional video analysis, wearable inertial-magnetic measurements units (IMMUs) allow to analyse both the underwater and aerial phases of the swimming stroke over the whole length of the swimming pool. Furthermore, the rapid calibration and short data processing required by IMMUs provide coaches and athletes with an immediate feedback on swimming kinematics during training. This study aimed to develop a protocol to assess the three-dimensional kinematics of the upper limbs during swimming using IMMUs. Kinematics were evaluated during simulated dry-land swimming trials performed in the laboratory by eight swimmers. A stereo-photogrammetric system was used as the gold standard. The results showed high coefficient of multiple correlation (CMC) values, with median (first–third quartile) of 0.97 (0.93–0.95) and 0.99 (0.97–0.99) for simulated front-crawl and breaststroke, respectively. Furthermore, the joint angles were estimated with an accuracy increasing from distal to proximal joints, with wrist indices showing median CMC values always higher than 0.90. The present findings represent an important step towards the practical use of technology based on IMMUs for the kinematic analysis of swimming in applied contexts.     

Pigment identification in a Greek icon by optical microscopy and infrared microspectroscopy

Optical microscopy, cross-section and fragment Micro-FTIR spectroscopic techniques along with microchemical tests were used for the identification of pigments in two different samples of an icon. Representing the Last Judgement, and painted by the Greek master Ioannis from the village of Kapesovo in the year 1771, the kneeling desk icon under investigation is a noteworthy contribution to the study of materials in post-Byzantine visual arts. The main components found in the ground layer of both samples were gypsum, beeswax and a proteinaceous material. Cinnabar, Prussian blue and cerussite were identified on the paint layers. The binding medium on the paint layers was weddelite. The materials used in the painting and ground layers were characterized in order to clarify the painting technique. Proteinaceous materials have been identified as binders for the pigments, indicating a tempera painting technique.     

A bookshelf in public health, medical care, and allied fields

This bibliography of nonserial publications consists of 610 annotations. It is intended as a guide to the development of a collection for librarians and for health professionals in research and education. References are mostly to publications from 1960. Titles are in English. Both primary and secondary sources are cited.     

Training load and schedule are important determinants of sleep behaviours in youth-soccer players

The current study examined how sleep may be influenced by the scheduling of training and match load within 10 youth-soccer players. Sleep was measured over a 14-day in-season period using a commercially available wireless sleep monitor. Each collected sleep variable; lights out, sleep latency, total sleep time wake after sleep onset and final awakening, was compared for the specific day within the training schedule (e.g. match day [MD], day after match [MD?+?1]) and to training/match load (high-speed distance (>5.5 m/s) [HSD] and rating of perceived exertion. The data were analysed using mixed models and effect sizes, to describe the magnitude of effects that training schedule and training load may have on sleep. A reduction of sleep duration was observed on the day after the match (MD?+?1) in relation to the training days preceding the match (MD-2: ?65 min, ES: 0.89?±?0.79; MD-1 ?61 min, ES: 0.82?±?0.64) and reduction on match day (+45 min; ES: 1.91?±?1.69). This may suggest youth-soccer players actively change their sleep scheduling behaviours in relation to the imposed soccer schedule. Increased high-speed running (for every 100 m) showed a small increase to total sleep time (+9 min; ES: 0.48?±?0.31). This may suggest that increases in training load may be associated with small increases in sleep quantity. Such observations may highlight that the type of day and the associated load within the training microcycle may have important consequences for sleep within youth-soccer players.     

Who gets what? Impact of financial aid policies

Because of the radical reorientation of financial aid policies in the eighties, loan indebtness and the amount of federal subsidy of loans have increased dramatically. Paralleling these developments has been the growth of the proprietary sector of postsecondary education and the use of federal-supported financial aid by this sector's students. This article examines the impact of current financial aid policies on different sectors. Evidence appears clear that new policy is required to serve equity and human and social capital development. The success of the proprietary sector in growing its market share at the expense of other sectors—in particular, community colleges—provides some useful lessons about aggressive recruiting.     

Power production of the lower limbs in flutter-kick swimming

This study aimed to compare the power produced by the flutter-kick action at different swimming velocities. Eighteen high-level male swimmers completed a maximal 15-m flutter-kicking sprint and underwent two tests (one passive and one with maximal flutter-kicking) in which they were towed at six velocities ranging from 1.0 to 2.0 m/s. Power values were computed for each velocity, and selected kinematic indices were evaluated at 1.2 and 2.0 m/s. The highest power (54 ± 8 W) was observed at the velocity at which the drag equaled the propulsive force (1.27 ± 0.08 m/s), which was similar to that recorded in the flutter-kicking sprint (1.26 ± 0.09 m/s). Thereafter, power decreased significantly with increasing velocity, up to 17 ± 10 W (at 2.0 m/s). The angle between the horizontal and the line connecting the highest and lowest points of the malleolus trajectory was significantly wider at 1.2 m/s than at 2.0 m/s (75 ± 4° vs. 63 ± 6°). This could explain the change of power with velocity because all the other kinematic indices considered were similar at the two velocities. These results suggest that the propulsive role of the flutter-kick increases as the swimming velocity decreases.     

THE AGING WORKFORCE: REALITIES,MYTHS, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS By Jerry W. Hedge,Walter C. Borman,and Steven E. Lammlein

Numerous papers have purported the need for life span education, yet few have examined the attitudes of older citizens toward lifelong learning. To determine why they were not attending a free audit program at the university and to ascertain their attitudes toward education for the elderly, 99 subjects aged 62 and older (M. = 74.6) were interviewed. The systematic sample chosen from membership lists of senior citizen groups yielded 34 men and 65 women. Interviews utilized a survey questionnaire. The analysis compared those who were and were not interested in the program.

Results indicated that 68% (N = 65) of the subjects were not interested in attending university classes. The 32% (N = 31) who answered “yes” or “maybe” were significantly younger than those who were not interested; the two groups did not differ significantly on the other variables measured (sex, previous education, occupation, daily activities, attitude toward education for self and other older persons, etc.). Furthermore, only one subject actually enrolled in the university in the subsequent semester.

The findings fail to support the thesis that “education begets education.” However, it should be noted that subjects indicated that “living is learning,” and while formal education is acceptable for the elderly, it is not necessary for learning.     

Sexuality Sensitive Schooling

American schools, especially their physical education and sport programs, provide some of the most hostile social geographies in all of society for gay youth. With the aim of transforming schools toward more democratic and sexuality sensitive institutions, this paper reviews the literature on sexuality and education. In the review, three themes, critical for educators pursuing sexuality sensitive change in schools, are presented. These themes include the following: cultural experiences of gay and lesbian youth in the home, community, and school; consequences of sexuality-based victimization; and the role that physical education teachers and sport coaches can play in fostering sexuality sensitive schooling.     

Not Just a “Fleck” on the Epistemic Landscape: A Reappraisal of Ludwik Fleck’s Views of the Nature of Scientific Progress and Change in Relation to Contemporary Educational and Social Issues

In contrast to Thomas Kuhn, the work of Ludwik Fleck, a Polish-born physician, microbiologist, and epistemologist, is conspicuously absent from the science education literature. His originally obscure monograph first published in German in 1935, Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact, anticipates a number of views explicated by contemporary philosophers of science, cognitive psychologists, and learning theorists, and Fleck’s main thesis is, is many respects, strikingly similar to the oft-cited thesis developed later by Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Fleck’s work is perhaps the best example of the social influence on scientific commitment and thinking and is one of the first works to suggest different scales or varieties of change in science. At the same time as Fleck’s work gains recognition, momentum, and force in philosophical circles, some educators are calling for a critical appraisal of Kuhn’s impact on science education. This climate provides an ideal opportunity to assess (or perhaps in some cases reassess) the value of Fleck’s work in a science education context. The primary aim of this article, therefore, is to introduce educators in general, and science educators in particular, to the main ideas developed by Fleck in his Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact. Throughout this article, Fleck’s ideas are compared and contrasted to those of Thomas Kuhn—arguably one of the most popular referents in nature of science studies over the past decade. As will be discussed, many of the ideas developed by Fleck anticipate central issues and perspectives in philosophy, epistemology, sociology, education, and cognitive psychology.     

Diversified production of red figured pottery in Apulia (Southern Italy) in the late period

Late Apulian red figured pottery [1] from Egnatia (Fasano, Brindisi, Italy) was studied in order to widen the view on this ceramic class in Southern Italy. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) provided the samples elemental composition that allowed to make provenance hypotheses. Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS), supplied information about the minero-petrographic features of the objects to better understand their production technology. The set of results highlighted the contemporary presence in the Apulian land in the late 4th century BC of both local and imported finds and showed the existence of two different kinds of local production, the “classic” Attic and a peculiar one, characterized by the application of an engobe layer before the black gloss. Our previous studies resulted in the discovery that an engobe layer, with similar chemical and minero-petrographic characteristics, was present in finds from another site in central Apulia (Monte Sannace). So the discovery of red engobe on fragments from Egnatia, proves that its use was not an isolated occurrence, but was quite common in the production of red figured in Apulia during the Late period, appearing as a peculiar technological mark of Apulian potters.