The universal remote console: a universal access bus for pervasive computing

V2, a technical committee of the International Committee for information technology standards is developing standards for information technology access interfaces. As part of this endeavor, V2 is to issue the Universal Remote Console architecture, a set of draft standards for public review and comment. The five standards specify communications between a Target - a device or service the user wishes to access and a universal remote console-software that is typically hosted on a user's personal device. The standards specify mechanisms for the discovery, selection, configuration, and operation of user interfaces and its options.     

ISSN exercise & sport nutrition review: research & recommendations

Sports nutrition is a constantly evolving field with hundreds of research papers published annually. For this reason, keeping up to date with the literature is often difficult. This paper is a five year update of the sports nutrition review article published as the lead paper to launch the JISSN in 2004 and presents a well-referenced overview of the current state of the science related to how to optimize training and athletic performance through nutrition. More specifically, this paper provides an overview of: 1.) The definitional category of ergogenic aids and dietary supplements; 2.) How dietary supplements are legally regulated; 3.) How to evaluate the scientific merit of nutritional supplements; 4.) General nutritional strategies to optimize performance and enhance recovery; and, 5.) An overview of our current understanding of the ergogenic value of nutrition and dietary supplementation in regards to weight gain, weight loss, and performance enhancement. Our hope is that ISSN members and individuals interested in sports nutrition find this review useful in their daily practice and consultation with their clients.     

Cognitive and learning difficulties and how they affect access to IT systems

In October 2005, the IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center and T.J. Watson Research Center hosted a symposium on “cognitive and learning difficulties and how they affect access to IT systems”. The central premise of the symposium was the recognition that cognitive and learning difficulties have a profound impact on a person’s ability to interact with information technology (IT) systems, but that little support is currently being offered by those systems. By bringing together internationally renowned experts from a variety of different, but complementary, research fields, the symposium aimed to provide a complete overview of the issues related to this topic. This paper summarises the discussions and findings of the symposium.     

Psychological impact of benign breast biopsy: A longitudinal, comparative study.

The impact of benign breast biopsy (BBB) on distress and perceptions of risk for breast cancer (BC) was examined. Interviews were conducted with 100 women shortly after notification of biopsy results and 4 and 8 months post-BBB. Compared with matched healthy comparison (HC) women without BBB, the BBB group evidenced greater BC-specific distress at baseline. BC-specific distress declined after BBB, remaining elevated relative to the HC group at the 8-month follow-up. Dispositional (optimism, informational coping style), demographic (education), clinical (family history of BC), and cognitive (BC risk perception) variables were associated with baseline levels of BC-specific distress or persistence of distress. Results support the monitoring process model (S. M. Miller, 1995) and the cognitive social health information processing model (S. M. Miller, Y. Shoda, & K. Hurley, 1996). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of four weeks of creatine supplementation and high-intensity interval training on cardiorespiratory fitness: a randomized controlled trial

Background  

High-intensity interval training has been shown to be a time-efficient way to induce physiological adaptations similar to those of traditional endurance training. Creatine supplementation may enhance high-intensity interval training, leading to even greater physiological adaptations. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and creatine supplementation on cardiorespiratory fitness and endurance performance (maximal oxygen consumption (VO_2PEAK), time-to-exhaustion (VO_2PEAKTTE), ventilatory threshold (VT), and total work done (TWD)) in college-aged men.     

Stigma, social context, and mental health: Lesbian and gay couples across the transition to adoptive parenthood.

This is the first study to examine change in depression and anxiety across the first year of adoptive parenthood in same-sex couples (90 couples: 52 lesbian, 38 gay male). Given that sexual minorities uniquely contend with sexual orientation-related stigma, this study examined how both internalized and enacted forms of stigma affect the mental health of lesbians and gay men during the transition to parenthood. In addition, the role of contextual support was examined. Higher perceived workplace support, family support, and relationship quality were related to lower depressive and anxious symptoms at the time of the adoption, and higher perceived friend support was related to lower anxiety symptoms. Lower internalized homophobia and higher perceived neighborhood gay-friendliness were related to lower depressive symptoms. Finally, individuals with high internalized homophobia who lived in states with unfavorable legal climates regarding gay adoption experienced the steepest increases in depressive and anxious symptoms. Findings have important implications for counselors working with sexual minorities, especially those experiencing the transition to parenthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of β-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training on endurance performance and body composition in men; a double-blind trial

Background  

Intermittent bouts of high-intensity exercise result in diminished stores of energy substrates, followed by an accumulation of metabolites, promoting chronic physiological adaptations. In addition, β-alanine has been accepted has an effective physiological hydrogen ion (H⁺) buffer. Concurrent high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and β-alanine supplementation may result in greater adaptations than HIIT alone. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of combining β-alanine supplementation with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on endurance performance and aerobic metabolism in recreationally active college-aged men.     

Structure–Thermodynamic‐Property Relationships in Cyanovinyl‐Based Microporous Polymer Networks for the Future Design of Advanced Carbon Capture Materials

Nitrogen‐rich solid absorbents, which have been immensely tested for carbon dioxide capture, seem until this date to be without decisive molecular engineering or design rules. Here, a family of cyanovinylene‐based microporous polymers synthesized under metal‐catalyzed conditions is reported as a promising candidate for advanced carbon capture materials. These networks reveal that isosteric heats of CO₂ adsorption are directly proportional to the amount of their functional group. Motivated by this finding, polymers produced under base‐catalyzed conditions with tailored quantities of cyanovinyl content confirm the systematical tuning of their sorption enthalpies to reach 40 kJ mol^?1. This value is among the highest reported to date in carbonaceous networks undergoing physisorption. A six‐point‐plot reveals that the structure–thermodynamic‐property relationship is linearly proportional and can thus be perfectly fitted to tailor‐made values prior to experimental measurements. Dynamic simulations show a bowl‐shaped region within which CO₂ is able to sit and interact with its conjugated surrounding, while theoretical calculations confirm the increase of binding sites with the increase of Ph? C?C(CN)? Ph functionality in a network. This concept presents a distinct method for the future design of carbon dioxide capturing materials.     

The effect of beta-alanine supplementation on neuromuscular fatigue in elderly (55–92 Years): a double-blind randomized study

Background

Ageing is associated with a significant reduction in skeletal muscle carnosine which has been linked with a reduction in the buffering capacity of muscle and in theory, may increase the rate of fatigue during exercise. Supplementing beta-alanine has been shown to significantly increase skeletal muscle carnosine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of ninety days of beta-alanine supplementation on the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWC_FT) in elderly men and women.

Methods

Using a double-blind placebo controlled design, twenty-six men (n = 9) and women (n = 17) (age ± SD = 72.8 ± 11.1 yrs) were randomly assigned to either beta-alanine (BA: 800 mg × 3 per day; n = 12; CarnoSyn?) or Placebo (PL; n = 14) group. Before (pre) and after (post) the supplementation period, participants performed a discontinuous cycle ergometry test to determine the PWC_FT.

Results

Significant increases in PWC_FT (28.6%) from pre- to post-supplementation were found for the BA treatment group (p < 0.05), but no change was observed with PL treatment. These findings suggest that ninety days of BA supplementation may increase physical working capacity by delaying the onset of neuromuscular fatigue in elderly men and women.

Conclusion

We suggest that BA supplementation, by improving intracellular pH control, improves muscle endurance in the elderly. This, we believe, could have importance in the prevention of falls, and the maintenance of health and independent living in elderly men and women.