The role of rotational mobility and power on throwing velocity

Abstract: Talukdar, K, Cronin, J, Zois, J, and Sharp, AP. The role of rotational mobility and power on throwing velocity. J Strength Cond Res 29(4): 905–911, 2015—Sound rotational power and mobility are an integral component in functional performances, such as throwing and striking. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of rotational power and mobility on cricket ball–throwing velocity. Eleven professional cricketers and 10 under-19 club-level cricketers performed the chop and lift, seated and standing cricket ball throw, seated and standing side medicine ball throw, and seated active thoracic rotation range of motion (ROM) and hip rotation ROM on one occasion. Participants were divided into 2 groups (fast and slow) based on their standing cricket ball–throwing velocity. The seated and standing cricket ball throw on the dominant side was significantly different (p \u3c 0.00) between fast and slow throwers (11.03 and 10.7 km·h-1, respectively). Muscular performance measures, such as bilateral thoracic rotation ROM, hip external rotation ROM on the dominant side, and force and work required in the chop, were significantly different (

Use of QSARs in international decision-making frameworks to predict ecologic effects and environmental fate of chemical substances

This article is a review of the use, by regulatory agencies and authorities, of quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs) to predict ecologic effects and environmental fate of chemicals. For many years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been the most prominent regulatory agency using QSARs to predict the ecologic effects and environmental fate of chemicals. However, as increasing numbers of standard QSAR methods are developed and validated to predict ecologic effects and environmental fate of chemicals, it is anticipated that more regulatory agencies and authorities will find them to be acceptable alternatives to chemical testing

Automated workflows for modelling chemical fate, kinetics and toxicity.

Automation is universal in today's society, from operating equipment such as machinery, in factory processes, to self-parking automobile systems. While these examples show the efficiency and effectiveness of automated mechanical processes, automated procedures that support the chemical risk assessment process are still in their infancy. Future human safety assessments will rely increasingly on the use of automated models, such as physiologically based kinetic (PBK) and dynamic models and the virtual cell based assay (VCBA). These biologically-based models will be coupled with chemistry-based prediction models that also automate the generation of key input parameters such as physicochemical properties. The development of automated software tools is an important step in harmonising and expediting the chemical safety assessment process. In this study, we illustrate how the KNIME Analytics Platform can be used to provide a user-friendly graphical interface for these biokinetic models, such as PBK models and VCBA, which simulates the fate of chemicals in vivo within the body and in vitro test systems respectively

Methods for reliability and uncertainty assessment and for applicability evaluations of classification- and regression-based QSARs

This article provides an overview of methods for reliability assessment of quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models in the context of regulatory acceptance of human health and environmental QSARs. Useful diagnostic tools and data analytical approaches are highlighted and exemplified. Particular emphasis is given to the question of how to define the applicability borders of a QSAR and how to estimate parameter and prediction uncertainty. The article ends with a discussion regarding QSAR acceptability criteria. This discussion contains a list of recommended acceptability criteria, and we give reference values for important QSAR performance statistics. Finally, we emphasize that rigorous and independent validation of QSARs is an essential step toward their regulatory acceptance and implementation. Key words: QSAR acceptability criteria, QSAR applicability domain, QSAR reliability, QSAR uncertainty estimation, QSAR validation

Quantitative Structure - Skin permeability Relationships

This paper reviews in silico models currently available for the prediction of skin permeability with the main focus on the quantitative structure-permeability relationship (QSPR) models. A comprehensive analysis of the main achievements in the field in the last decade is provided. In addition, the mechanistic models are discussed and comparative studies that analyse different models are discussed

Cooperation in wild Barbary macaques: factors affecting free partner choice

A key aspect of cooperation is partner choice: choosing the best available partner improves the chances of a successful cooperative interaction and decreases the likelihood of being exploited. However, in studies on cooperation subjects are rarely allowed to freely choose their partners. Group-living animals live in a complex social environment where they can choose among several social partners differing in, for example, sex, age, temperament, or dominance status. Our study investigated whether wild Barbary macaques succeed to cooperate using an experimental apparatus, and whether individual and social factors affect their choice of partners and the degree of cooperation. We used the string pulling task that requires two monkeys to manipulate simultaneously a rope in order to receive a food reward. The monkeys were free to interact with the apparatus or not and to choose their partner. The results showed that Barbary macaques are able to pair up with a partner to cooperate using the apparatus. High level of tolerance between monkeys was necessary for the initiation of successful cooperation, while strong social bond positively affected the maintenance of cooperative interactions. Dominance status, sex, age, and temperament of the subjects also affected their choice and performance. These factors thus need to be taken into account in cooperative experiment on animals. Tolerance between social partners is likely to be a prerequisite for the evolution of cooperation

Al Qaeda at the bar: coordinating ideologues and mercenaries in terrorist organizations

Most terrorist groups have limited lifespans. A number of scholars and casual observers have noted that terrorist organizations often are comprised of two types of participants: ideologues or "true believers" dedicated to the group's cause, and mercenaries, who are adept at raising money through illegal means. The latter are interested primarily in their personal gains and have relatively little ideological commitment. Terrorist groups need both participants in order to function effectively. The purpose of the study is to understand the impact of communication on the compositions of terrorist groups. Three experimental treatments consider a coordination problem, and focus on the behavior of the mercenaries. Participants choose whether or not to participate in a terrorist attack. Payoffs are U-shaped in the number of participants, and increase with the number of successful attacks. The treatments allow communication between a leader and frontline fighters ("leader" treatment) or among the frontline fighters themselves ("communication" treatment). In the first treatment, a group leader can post messages to the members, which has a 19 % coordination success rate. For the communication treatment, all participants can post messages anonymously to each other, which yields a 27 % coordination success rate. By contrast, the baseline ("no communication" treatment) shows a success rate of 11 %. We conclude from our experimental evidence that disrupting communications among the frontline fighters is more effective in terminating terrorist organizations

Anti-infectives in Drug Delivery-Overcoming the Gram-Negative Bacterial Cell Envelope.

Infectious diseases are becoming a major menace to the state of health worldwide, with difficulties in effective treatment especially of nosocomial infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria being increasingly reported. Inadequate permeation of anti-infectives into or across the Gram-negative bacterial cell envelope, due to its intrinsic barrier function as well as barrier enhancement mediated by resistance mechanisms, can be identified as one of the major reasons for insufficient therapeutic effects. Several in vitro, in silico, and in cellulo models are currently employed to increase the knowledge of anti-infective transport processes into or across the bacterial cell envelope; however, all such models exhibit drawbacks or have limitations with respect to the information they are able to provide. Thus, new approaches which allow for more comprehensive characterization of anti-infective permeation processes (and as such, would be usable as screening methods in early drug discovery and development) are desperately needed. Furthermore, delivery methods or technologies capable of enhancing anti-infective permeation into or across the bacterial cell envelope are required. In this respect, particle-based carrier systems have already been shown to provide the opportunity to overcome compound-related difficulties and allow for targeted delivery. In addition, formulations combining efflux pump inhibitors or antimicrobial peptides with anti-infectives show promise in the restoration of antibiotic activity in resistant bacterial strains. Despite considerable progress in this field however, the design of carriers to specifically enhance transport across the bacterial envelope or to target difficult-to-treat (e.g., intracellular) infections remains an urgently needed area of improvement. What follows is a summary and evaluation of the state of the art of both bacterial permeation models and advanced anti-infective formulation strategies, together with an outlook for future directions in these fields

Low potency toxins reveal dense interaction networks in metabolism

Background The chemicals of metabolism are constructed of a small set of atoms and bonds. This may be because chemical structures outside the chemical space in which life operates are incompatible with biochemistry, or because mechanisms to make or utilize such excluded structures has not evolved. In this paper I address the extent to which biochemistry is restricted to a small fraction of the chemical space of possible chemicals, a restricted subset that I call Biochemical Space. I explore evidence that this restriction is at least in part due to selection again specific structures, and suggest a mechanism by which this occurs. Results Chemicals that contain structures that our outside Biochemical Space (UnBiological groups) are more likely to be toxic to a wide range of organisms, even though they have no specifically toxic groups and no obvious mechanism of toxicity. This correlation of UnBiological with toxicity is stronger for low potency (millimolar) toxins. I relate this to the observation that most chemicals interact with many biological structures at low millimolar toxicity. I hypothesise that life has to select its components not only to have a specific set of functions but also to avoid interactions with all the other components of life that might degrade their function. Conclusions The chemistry of life has to form a dense, self-consistent network of chemical structures, and cannot easily be arbitrarily extended. The toxicity of arbitrary chemicals is a reflection of the disruption to that network occasioned by trying to insert a chemical into it without also selecting all the other components to tolerate that chemical. This suggests new ways to test for the toxicity of chemicals, and that engineering organisms to make high concentrations of materials such as chemical precursors or fuels may require more substantial engineering than just of the synthetic pathways involved

Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease among coeliac disease patients in a Hungarian coeliac centre

BACKGROUND: Celiac disease, Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract with some common genetic, immunological and environmental factors involved in their pathogenesis. Several research shown that patients with celiac disease have increased risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease when compared with that of the general population. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in our celiac patient cohort over a 15-year-long study period. METHODS: To diagnose celiac disease, serological tests were used, and duodenal biopsy samples were taken to determine the degree of mucosal injury. To set up the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, clinical parameters, imaging techniques, colonoscopy histology were applied. DEXA for measuring bone mineral density was performed on every patient. RESULTS: In our material, 8/245 (3,2 %) coeliac disease patients presented inflammatory bowel disease (four males, mean age 37, range 22-67), 6/8 Crohn's disease, and 2/8 ulcerative colitis. In 7/8 patients the diagnosis of coeliac disease was made first and inflammatory bowel disease was identified during follow-up. The average time period during the set-up of the two diagnosis was 10,7 years. Coeliac disease serology was positive in all cases. The distribution of histology results according to Marsh classification: 1/8 M1, 2/8 M2, 3/8 M3a, 2/8 M3b. The distribution according to the Montreal classification: 4/6 Crohn's disease patients are B1, 2/6 Crohn's disease patients are B2, 2/2 ulcerative colitis patients are S2. Normal bone mineral density was detected in 2/8 case, osteopenia in 4/8 and osteoporosis in 2/8 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Within our cohort of patients with coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease was significantly more common (3,2 %) than in the general population