journal of strength and conditioning

Schram, B, Orr, R, Niederberger, B, Givens, A, Bernards, J, and Kelly, KR. Cardiovascular demand differences between male and female US Marine recruits during progressive loaded hikes. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-Despite having to carry the same occupational load, female soldiers tend to be lighter than male soldiers. The aim of this study was to determine the differences in cardiovascular load between female and male US Marine recruits during progressive load carriage hikes. United States Marine Corps recruits (565 male recruits; 364 female recruits) completed 6 loaded hikes over 6 weeks (1: 10 kg, 30 minutes; 2: 10 kg, 45 minutes; 3: 15 kg, 30 minutes, 4: 15 kg, 45 minutes; 5: 20 kg, 30 minutes; 6: 20 kg, 45 minutes) during which cardiovascular response was measured...

Zwitterionic coatings are an efficient strategy for preventing biomolecule adsorption and enhancing nanoparticle stability in solution. The properties of zwitterions and other antifouling materials, including suppression of nonspecific adsorption and improved colloidal stability of nanoparticles, are believed to derive from their electroneutral and highly hydrophilic nature. Among different zwitterions, short sulfobetaines have been demonstrated to be effective in preventing protein adsorption onto several nanoparticles and providing enhanced colloidal stability...

Inspired by geckos, fibrillar microstructures hold great promise as controllable and reversible adhesives in the engineering field. However, enhancing the adhesion strength and stability of gecko-inspired adhesives (GIAs) under complex real-world contact conditions, such as rough surfaces and varying force fields, is crucial for its commercialization, yet further research is lacking. Here, we propose a hierarchically designed GIA, which features a silicone foam (SF) backing layer and a film-terminated fibrillar microstructure under a subtle multiscale design...

Many biological structures take the form of fibres and filaments, and quantitative analysis of fibre organisation is important for understanding their functions in both normal physiological conditions and disease. In order to visualise these structures, fibres can be fluorescently labelled and imaged, with specialised image analysis methods available for quantifying the degree and strength of fibre alignment. Here we show that fluorescently labelled fibres can display polarised emission, with the strength of this effect varying depending on structure and fluorophore identity...

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a spectrum of conditions, progressing from mild steatosis to advanced fibrosis. Sarcopenia, characterized by decreased muscle strength and mass, shares common pathophysiological traits with NAFLD. An association exists between sarcopenia and increased NAFLD prevalence. However, data on the prevalence of sarcopenia in NAFLD and its impact on the outcomes of NAFLD remain inconsistent. AIM: To analyze the prevalence and outcomes of sarcopenia in patients with NAFLD...

Autism severity is currently defined and measured based exclusively on the severity levels of the two core symptom domains: social-communication and restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviors and interests. Autistic individuals, however, are often diagnosed with other medical, developmental, and psychological co-occurring conditions. These additional challenges such as intellectual disability, limited expressive and/or receptive language, and anxiety disorders, can have a tremendous impact on the day-to-day lives of autistic individuals, for both their adaptive functioning as well as their sense of wellbeing...

The use of food and agricultural waste-derived carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) has become of interest due to their biodegradability and cost-effectiveness. In the current research, cellulose was extracted from broccoli stems to produce carboxymethyl cellulose using a carboxymethylation reaction via chloroacetic acid (CAA) and sodium hydroxide (5-10 M). The effects of different synthesis conditions on the degree of substitution (DS) and viscosity of the synthesized CMC powder were investigated. The mechanical properties, water vapor permeability (WVP), and colour of CMC films were also evaluated...

CONTEXT: Use of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict clinical outcomes in thyroid nodule diagnostics has grown exponentially over the past decade. The greatest challenge is in understanding the best model to apply to one's own patient population, and how to operationalize such a model in practice. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A literature search of PubMed and IEEE Xplore was conducted for English language publications between January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2023 studying diagnostic tests on suspected thyroid nodules that utilized AI...

Orbital hybridization to regulate the electronic structures and surface chemisorption properties of transition metals is of great importance for boosting the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Herein, we developed a core-shell rambutan-like nanocarbon catalyst (FeAl-RNC) with atomically dispersed Fe-Al atom pairs from metal-organic framework (MOF) material. Experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that the strong p-d orbital hybridization between Al and Fe results in an asymmetric electron distribution with moderate adsorption strength of oxygen intermediates, rendering enhanced intrinsic ORR activity...

Ammonia (NH3 ) is a critical chemical for fertilizer production and a potential future energy carrier within a sustainable hydrogen economy. The industrial Haber-Bosch process, though effective, operates under harsh conditions due to the high thermodynamic stability of the nitrogen molecule (N2 ). This motivates the search for alternative catalysts that facilitate ammonia synthesis at milder temperatures and pressures. Theoretical and experimental studies suggest that circumventing the trade-off between N-N activation and subsequent NH x hydrogenation, governed by the Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi (BEP) relationship, is key to achieving this goal...

Lack of safe water availability and access to clean water cause a higher risk of infectious diseases and other diseases as well. Heavy metals (HMs) are inorganic pollutants that cause severe threats to humans, animals, and the environment. Therefore, an effective HM removal technology is urgently needed. In the present study, a customized bipolar membrane electrodialysis process was used to remove HMs from aqueous solutions. The impacts of the feed ionic strength, applied electrical potential, and the type and concentration of HMs (Cd2+ , Co2+ , Cr3+ , Cu2+ , and Ni2+ ) on the process performance were investigated...

Shigellosis is a severe gastrointestinal disease that annually affects approximately 270 million individuals globally. It has particularly high morbidity and mortality in low-income regions; however, it is not confined to these regions and occurs in high-income nations when conditions allow. The ill effects of shigellosis are at their highest in children ages 2 to 5, with survivors often exhibiting impaired growth due to infection-induced malnutrition. The escalating threat of antibiotic resistance further amplifies shigellosis as a serious public health concern...

(1) Background: Trainers and athletes have always sought to reduce the failure of muscle function during long endurance events. However, nowadays, it is a topic that is generating much debate in the scientific field. Currently, deep-sea water (DSW) intake seems to be a suitable hydration alternative for this type of endurance event. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether DSW consumption during a triathlon event could preserve muscle function after exercise. (2) Methods: Nineteen trained male triathletes (age = 39...

In this study, proteolytic bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain SM4 (OQ349573), were isolated from tannery solid waste dumping yard soil and employed to produce extracellular protease enzymes. The bacteria exhibited optimal growth after 30 h of incubation at 37 °C and pH 7. Under conditions of 55 °C, pH 8, and a substrate concentration of 2 %, the crude enzyme displayed its highest activity at 105 UmL-1 . Notably, the produced crude enzyme showed no discernible inhibitory effects on detergents, metal salts, or organic solvents...

Developing cost-effective monolith catalyst with superior low-temperature activity is critical for oxidative efficacious removal of industrial volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, the complexity of the industrial flue gas conditions demands the need for high moisture tolerance, which is challenging. Herein, CoMn-Metal Organic Framework (CoMn-MOF) was in situ grown on Ni foam (NiF) at room temperature to synthesize the cost-effective monolith catalyst. The optimized catalyst, Co1Mn1/NiF, exhibited excellent performance in toluene oxidation (T90  = 239 °C) due to the substitution of manganese into the cobalt lattice...

Based on real-time detection of plantar pressure, gait recognition could provide important health information for rehabilitation administration, fatigue prevention, and sports training assessment. So far, such researches are extremely limited due to lacking of reliable, stable and comfortable plantar pressure sensors. Herein, a strategy for preparing high compression strength and resilience conductive iongels has been proposed by implanting physically entangled polymer chains with covalently cross-linked networks...

BACKGROUND: Sufficient shoulder flexor strength is necessary for accurate movement of the shoulder joint because several factors can cause compensatory movements of the scapula. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the influence of external fixation on the isometric shoulder flexors strength (ISFS) in individuals with and without scapular elevation (SE) during shoulder flexion. METHODS: The healthy and SE groups included 29 individuals. The ISFS was measured using a tensiometer (kg) under conditions of with and without external fixation, in a random order...

Circular reinforced concrete wound glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) columns and reinforced concrete filled GFRP columns are extensively utilized in civil engineering practice. Various factors influence the performance of these two types of GFRP columns, thereby impacting the whole project. Therefore, it is highly significant to establish the prediction models for ultimate displacement and ultimate bearing capacity to optimize the design of the two types of GFRP columns. In this study, based on the experiments conducted under different conditions on the two kinds of GFRP columns, automatic machine learning along with four other commonly used machine learning methods were employed for modeling to analyze how the column parameters (cross section shape, concrete strength, height of GFRP column, wound GFRP wall thickness, inner diameter of wound GFRP column) affect their performance...

Patient-specific flanged acetabular components are utilized to treat failed total hip arthroplasties with large acetabular defects. Previous clinical studies from our institution showed that these implants tend to lateralize the acetabular center of rotation. However, the clinical impact of lateralization on implant survivorship is debated. Our goal was to develop a finite element model to quantify how lateralization of the native hip center affects periprosthetic strain and implant-bone micromotion distributions in a static level gait loading condition...

Creating the optimal environment for effective and long term osseointegration is a heavily researched and sought after design criteria for orthopedic implants. A validated multi-material finite element model was developed to replicate and understand the results of an experimental in-vivo push-out osseointegration model. The finite element (FE) model results closely predicted global force (at 0.5mm) and stiffness for the 50%-90% porous implants with an r2 of 0.97 and 0.98 respectively. In addition, the FE global force at 0...