Physical Sciences Research Articles

Construction and Validation of a Cognitive Engagement Scale and Its Relationship with Ball Movement Sequence Performance in Rhythmic Gymnastics

The research aims to: build and record a measure of cognitive participation among second-year female students at the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Baghdad. The researchers used the descriptive approach in the survey style for the research sample. The sample was selected from female students and divided into: (10) female students for the survey sample, and (80) female students for the construction and codification sample. The data were statistically analyzed by the researchers using SPSS, the T-test for independent and correlated samples, Pearson's simple correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha, Chi-square, and Spearman-Brown. They were recruited for the samples. The study concluded that constructing a measure of cognitive participation for students in the second stage could be applied through the ease and difficulty of its expressions that are appropriate to the research sample, as well as the grades and levels that were reached, which showed that the sample fell within the rating (good and acceptable), and on the other hand the sample was characterized by participation. Cognitive through the results of the scale and its four axes. In conclusion, cognitive participation plays a positive role in performing the ball movement sequence in rhythmic gymnastics.

Cultural Responsiveness in Academic Physical Therapy: An Administrative Case Report.

This paper describes how the administrative leadership of 1 physical therapy department curated, implemented, and evaluated a culturally responsive administrative support strategy to foster a positive working environment. Participants' perceptions of culturally responsive practices were explored using climate survey data. This case occurred in the physical therapy and rehabilitation science department at an academic medical center in the United States. The department administers 5 educational programs, 3 faculty practices, a community clinic, and a robust research enterprise and employs over 100 employees. After a historic sociocultural event, administrators implemented a series of actions to understand the needs of department employees and to respond in a culturally responsive manner. Interventions included supportive activities, educational opportunities, and community-building events. The department administered an annual climate survey to assess the employees' perceptions of the working climate, perceived impacts of the culturally responsive interventions, and suggestions for improving department climate. Survey analysis included frequency statistics and thematic content analysis with sensitizing concepts from a culturally responsive practice framework previously applied in primary and secondary school settings. A total of 131 employees participated in the annual climate survey from 2020 to 2022. Employees' confidence to identify and address microaggressions in working environments showed trends of overall improvement, and overall self-reported experiences with racial discrimination decreased. Participants reported positive trends in addressing discrimination among colleagues but also reported addressing offensive behaviors perpetrated by patients. Findings suggest that culturally responsive interventions are associated with positive trends in employee climate. Interventions tailored to the audience and curated to deepen cultural knowledge, enhance self-awareness, and validate others fostered a shared commitment to cultural equity. Administrative leaders have a role in fostering an inclusive climate by capitalizing on culturally significant teachable moments with sound culturally responsive strategy, bidirectional culturally sensitive communication, individual development, and collective action.

Fencing Training with Reaction Time Lights

Authors Rafael Barañano-Alcaide Msc, PhD student for Complutense University of Madrid.(Spain). Corresponding author . rafabara@ucm.es Dr. Manuel Sillero-Quintana, Titular professor of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (INEF), Sports Department, Madrid, (Spain). Dr. Ricardo-Bernardez, Titular professor of optometry department of the University Complutense of Madrid.(Spain). Jimena Barañano-Perez, student of I.E.S Luis de Gongora of Córdoba (Spain). Rut Gonzalez-Jiménez Msc, PhD student for Complutense University of Madrid.(Spain). Abstract Objective: evaluate different reaction times in fencing training with reaction time lights Method: This manuscript proposes four specific exercises for evaluating the simple reaction time (SRT), the elective reaction time (ERT), the go/no-go response time (G/NG) and the decision decision-making after lunge (DML), march (DMM) and braking (DMB) in fencers. The sample consisted of 48 fencers (22 males and 17 females; age: 21 ± 13 years) from several fencing clubs in the region of Andalusia, competing at amateur (10 athletes), regional (17 athletes), national (7 athletes), and international (5 athletes) in the three official fencing weapons: Epee (E), Saber (S), and Foil (F). The exercises were developed for the Queling Sport lighting system, connected by Bluetooth with the ReactionX android application, which controlled the activation of the lights and recorded the reaction time and the correction of the execution for each trial. Results: The results by gender did not show significant differences. Considering the results by weapon, the foil fencers were fastest than saber fencers, in all the exercises, but they were only significantly faster in the DML and DMM exercises. The performance in all the exercises was directly related with the competition level of the fencer, but only significantly better in foil fencers than in sable fencers when the exercise required decision-making processes. Conclusions: We propose a reference scale to evaluate the perceptive ability of the fencers that could be applied in talent detection processes and for evaluating the specific perceptive ability of the fencers.

Effective Use of Catastrophe Multicriteria Decision Analysis in Delineating Groundwater Recharge Potential Zones

Multicriteria decision analysis based on Thom’s [1] Catastrophe Theory (CT) has been applied extensively in solving various social, physical and natural sciences problems. It has become a key tool for identifying the groundwater potentiality of an area with a Geographic Information System (GIS). This paper aimed to apply catastrophe theory effectively by utilizing the standardization formulae suggested by Li et al. [2] and the modified formulae provided by Hongwei Zhu [3]. Depending on the nature of a hydrogeological parameter, CT formulae were chosen to ensure that the least important features also get attention during standardization using Hongwei Zhu's formulae where applicable, which were not possible using Li’s formulae. The standardized values of the features of all the themes obtained using four formulae were sorted in ascending order to estimate the normalized values to ensure that no normalized value of a feature exceeds the others having very close but lower standardized values. The effective use of CT technique was employed in a GIS environment to delineate groundwater recharge potential zones of the middle-west part of Kushtia district, Bangladesh, by integrating influential recharge factors, such as land type, slope, drainage density, distance from surface water bodies, soil permeability, surface clay thickness, rainfall, topographic ruggedness index, topographic curvature index, topographic wetness index and topographic position index. The groundwater recharge potential zones were classified as very good (28.76%), good (32.17%), and moderately good (39.05%) for effective CT technique. But in case of the improper use of CT covering area were 17.24%, 54.05% and 28.71% respectively, and the respective most sensitive factors are rainfall and drainage density. Finally, recharge potential zones were validated using groundwater recharge data with a determinant coefficient of 0.92 and 0.84 for effective and improper use of CT technique respectively.

Nutritional Obesity and its Relationship to Body Mass Index and Resting Heart Rate among Practicing and Non-Practicing Students/University of Zakho; A Comparative Study

This comparative study investigates the relationship between nutritional obesity, body mass index (BMI), and resting heart rate (RHR) among practicing and nonpracticing students at the University of Zakho. The research aimed to identify the correlation between BMI and variables such as weight, height, and resting pulse, as well as to determine if there are significant differences in BMI and RHR between practicing and nonpracticing students. The study employed a descriptive approach with a comparative method of correlational relationships, using a sample of 71 students from the Departments of Physical Education and Sports Sciences and General Psychology. Key findings include a strong positive correlation between BMI and body weight, a positive correlation between BMI and RHR, and a non-significant correlation between BMI and height. The study also revealed significantly higher mean BMI and RHR in the nonpracticing group compared to the practicing group. These results highlight the beneficial effects of regular physical activity on weight management, obesity prevention, and cardiovascular fitness. The insights gained from this study can inform the development of targeted interventions and health promotion strategies to address obesity-related concerns among university students.

Implementation of Student Effectiveness Using Project Based Learning (PJBL) Learning Model to Improve Learning Outcomes in Class X-ATU 1 Students at SMKN 1 Gondang

This research was conducted with the aim of improving student learning outcomes using the Project Based Learning (PJBL) learning model in the subjects of Physics Science students at SMK Negeri 1 Gondang. This type of research uses the Classroom Action Research (PTK) method. The subjects are class X-ATU1 students at SMK Negeri 1 Gondang totaling 32 students. This research has a good impact on educational approaches that emphasize learning through real-world projects, where students are actively involved in exploration, collaboration, and problem solving. Real-world relevance and active student engagement are key focuses in PJBL, which encourages the development of critical thinking skills, creativity, and skills. This can be conveyed through the results of cycle I &; cycle II research, in cycle I with 22 students showing a percentage of 68% and carried out again in cycle II there was an increase in learning outcomes with 30 students showing a percentage of 82%. So in this study in cycles 1&2 experienced an increase in student learning outcomes.

Perspective on solving the problem of declining interest in physical activity in Poland.

One of the leading areas of Polish research addressed in the physical culture sciences, is the declining interest in physical activity. The likely reason for this situation may be the inadequate communication of physical culture to today's generations: BB (baby boomers), X (great unknowns), Y (millennials), Z (snowflakes), Alpha (digital). Therefore, the aim of this article is to address the problem of declining interest in physical activity in Poland by identifying the appropriate approach of teachers, trainers and instructors to today's generations. The specifics of BB, X, Y, Z and Alpha generations are described and their expectations regarding physical activity are indicated. It was concluded that activating these social groups should be done by prompting topics that are important to them. Thus, BB value organizational stability, X need to see the purposefulness and attractiveness of the activities, Y equate physical activity with personal development, Z only take up useful forms of activities, and finally Alpha like smart technology-assisted activities.

Deep learning accelerated numerical simulation for three-dimensional compressible fluids

Numerical simulation of fluid flow is a long-standing challenge across many physical application domains, including engineering, climate, and the physical science. There has been a surge of interest in high order schemes aimed at improving simulation accuracy on coarse grids. However, for high-dimensional fluids, the computational cost escalates with the number of dimensions involved. In this paper, we propose a deep learning-based approach to accelerate the numerical computation and further improve the accuracy in simulating three-dimensional (3D) compressible fluids which can be described by Eulerian equations. The proposed work utilizes 3D Euler transformer networks to learn the interpolation coefficients for cell boundaries, which are applied to approximate the boundary fluxes of fluid on coarser grids. Benefiting from learning features of high-resolution fluid flow, our learned interpolation method yields finer performance on coarse grids, thereby accelerating the fluid simulations and improving the numerical accuracy. The numerical experiments confirm that the proposed method improves performance in inference of coarse-grained dynamics.

Topological properties of fractals via M-polynomial

Sierpiński graphs are frequently related to fractals, and fractals apply in several fields of science, i.e., in chemical graph theory, computer networking, biology, and physical sciences. Functions and polynomials are powerful tools in computer mathematics for predicting the features of networks. Topological descriptors, frequently graph constraints, are absolute values that characterize the topology of a computer network. In this essay, Firstly, we compute the M-polynomials for Sierpiński-type fractals. We derive some degree-dependent topological invariants after applying algebraic operations on these M-polynomials.

Generalized quantum master equations can improve the accuracy of semiclassical predictions of multitime correlation functions

Multitime quantum correlation functions are central objects in physical science, offering a direct link between the experimental observables and the dynamics of an underlying model. While experiments such as 2D spectroscopy and quantum control can now measure such quantities, the accurate simulation of such responses remains computationally expensive and sometimes impossible, depending on the system’s complexity. A natural tool to employ is the generalized quantum master equation (GQME), which can offer computational savings by extending reference dynamics at a comparatively trivial cost. However, dynamical methods that can tackle chemical systems with atomistic resolution, such as those in the semiclassical hierarchy, often suffer from poor accuracy, limiting the credence one might lend to their results. By combining work on the accuracy-boosting formulation of semiclassical memory kernels with recent work on the multitime GQME, here we show for the first time that one can exploit a multitime semiclassical GQME to dramatically improve both the accuracy of coarse mean-field Ehrenfest dynamics and obtain orders of magnitude efficiency gains.

The Vulcan Mission to Io: Lessons Learned during the 2022 JPL Planetary Science Summer School

A mission to Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system, was suggested as a priority for the New Frontiers program in the 2013 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. We present a New Frontiers–class mission concept, Vulcan, that was designed as an educational exercise through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s 2022 Planetary Science Summer School. Vulcan would leverage an instrument suite consisting of wide- and narrow-angle cameras, a thermal infrared spectrometer, two fluxgate magnetometers, and ion and electron electrostatic analyzers to conduct the most thorough investigation of Io to date. Using 78 flybys over a 2 yr primary science mission, Vulcan would characterize the effects of tidal forces on the differentiation state, crustal structure, and volcanism of Io and investigate potential interactions between Io's volcanoes, surface features, and atmosphere. Although Vulcan was developed as an academic exercise, we show that a New Frontiers–class mission to Io could achieve transformative science in both geophysics and plasma physics, unifying typically disparate subfields of planetary science. A dedicated mission to Io, in combination with the Europa Clipper and Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer missions, would address fundamental questions raised by the 2023 Planetary Science Decadal Survey and could complete our understanding of the spectrum of planetary habitability. Lessons learned from Vulcan could be applied to a New Frontiers 5 Io mission concept in the near future.

Памяти Игоря Анатольевича Руднева

This article is in memory of the professor Igor A. Rudnev – Doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, teacher, founder and member of the editorial board of the journal ‘Superconductivity: Fundamental and Applied Research’ and just a unique person.

The Correlation of Emotional Intelligence with Students Academic Resilience in University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of emotional intelligence with academic resilience. A sample of 400 students were taken from 10 different departments of the university of Malakand. These 10 departments were further accumulated into 3 faculties i.e. 1. Faculty of Physical Sciences, 2. Faculty of Social Sciences, 3. Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Among these, 4 of the departments were taken from physical sciences, 3 from social sciences and 3 from arts and humanities. The data was collected through simple random sampling technique. The first instrument was an emotional intelligence scale which was self-report consisting of 45 items of Likert scale, second instrument was academic resilience scale of 27 items, self-report, Likert scale was used. Data was analyzed through SPSS by applying descriptive statistics and correlation between variable i.e. emotional intelligence and academic resilience. The study found positive correlation between emotional intelligence and academic resilience.

The effect of educational situations according to the dimension (sequential - total) in learning the net lift

The aim of the research is to identify the learners’ preferred educational style according to the dimension (sequential and total), by designing educational situations according to the dimension (sequential and total) in learning the deadlift. The researcher assumed that there were statistically significant differences between the results of the pre- and post-tests for the two experimental research groups in learning the deadlift. For the sake of post-testing for students, the researcher used the experimental method to suit the nature of the research. The research population was intentionally selected from first-level students in the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences - Samarra University for the academic year (2023-2024), as it reached (97) male and female students distributed into three divisions. Study section: Section (A) numbered (33), Section (B) numbered (32), and Section (C) numbered (32). As for the research sample, it was identified and chosen randomly. The first experimental group was represented by Section (B), which adopted the dimension ( Sequential) and its number is (15) students who tend to the sequential style according to the Felder and Silverman scale. As for the second experimental group, it was represented by Section (C) and its number is (15) students, which adopted the (total) dimension of those who tend to the holistic style according to the Felder and Silverman scale. Thus, it reached The proportion of the research sample was (30.927%) from members of the overall population, and the researcher used the assessment of the apparent form of performance as a means of collecting data. The main research experiment lasted (5) weeks with two educational units during one week for each group, and the statistical means were (arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Percentage, mode, skewness coefficient, simple correlation coefficient, T-test for related samples - for independent samples. The results showed that the educational situations prepared according to the dimension (sequential - total) have a positive impact on learning the movement of the net for the two experimental research groups under study, and it was recommended The researcher uses educational situations that take into account the different learning styles of learners because this has a positive impact on learning outcomes.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACTUAL, CONCEPTUAL AND PROSEDURAL QUESTIONS ON THE MOVING MATERIALS OF CLASS VIII SMP

The students' knowledge of Physics Science material, especially in the subject of the motion of objects, is still below the expected KKM standard. Motion material is the basis or prerequisite for understanding further science material related to object motion material in class VIII to class IX. So far, there has never been an assessment related to the abilities of students' knowledge dimensions. This research focuses on assessing faktual, konseptual and prosedural knowledge according to the IC issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture. This type of research is development research using the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) development model. The purpose of this research is to describe the process of developing factual, conceptual and prosedural knowledge questions and to find out the dimensions of students' knowledge on the material motion of objects. The data obtained in this research is in the form of qualitative and quantitative data. Empirical validity analysis of 14 multiple-choice items and essays yielded the characteristics of the questions consisting of validity of 13 (92.8%) valid items, reliability of items with Cronbach's alpha 0.630 on 8 multiple-choice items and Cronbach's alpha 0.638 on 5 essay items greater than the r table value of 0.6, the level of difficulty is 64,3% items with moderate criteria, the discriminating power is 28,57% very good, 28,57% good questions, and 28,57% sufficient.

PHYSICAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL DYNAMICS: A SOCIOPHYSICS PERSPECTIVE

Sociophysics is an interdisciplinary field that uses methods from the physical sciences to study human behavior and interactions. It includes mathematical and computational techniques such as big data analysis, statistical modeling, network theory, and simulations. It analyzes complex systems to understand the dynamics of society. Historically, sociophysics emerged from applying statistical mechanics and thermodynamics to social phenomena. Foundational work has modeled opinion dynamics, crowd behavior, and information diffusion in social networks, and provided insights into consensus, polarization, and social stability. The basic concepts are based on treating individuals as agents, using network theory, and applying statistical mechanics and dynamical systems. Methods include big data analysis, statistical modeling, simulations, and network analysis. Future research will aim to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, utilize real-time data, and apply findings to public policy. Sociophysics aims to improve our understanding of social systems and solve today's society's complex problems. In this study, the field of sociophysics, its historical development, studies in the literature, and methods were generally discussed.

Navigating the Intersection: A Phenomenological Exploration of Physical Science Teachers Teaching Biology

This paper presents research on the lived experiences of physical science teachers teaching biology in junior high school. Previous research in teaching science in spiral progression approach identifies teachers‘ challenges and how they are overcoming them. This study adopted a phenomenological research design to provide a broader and in-depth insight into the specialized knowledge and understanding that physical science teachers possess about how to effectively teach biology to students. The findings informed that the orientation of the participants is practically didactic. Moreover, the overall PCK of the physical science teachers in teaching biology was adaptive or able to adjust to comply with the required learning competencies of teaching biology.

Finding a predictive value for the achievement of running the 800 m in terms of some biochemical indicators among female students of the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences

The 800m event was discussed, and that some biochemical indicators have a direct impact on the students’ ability to continue performing with maximum effort and in the shortest possible time, as this event falls within the most difficult energy production systems, which is the lactic acid system. The importance of research is to find a predictive equation for the completion of this race in terms of some Biochemical indicators for them this equation will be a valuable tool for trainers. As for the problem of the research, and through the researcher’s follow-up of the local championships, he noticed that there is a difference in the completion of the 800 m event for women between high and low, and between one student and another, and one student and another. This may be one of the most important reasons for the quality and trends of the training provided to them or the study of the biochemical components of the female students. The research sample represents female students in the College of Education. Physical Education and Sports Sciences at the University of Dohuk used special tests and measurements and used statistical laws rather than extracting results. The researcher concluded that the contribution of the hemoglobin Hp index had the highest percentage of contribution to the completion of 800 meters among female students of the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. She recommended the need to pay attention to the percentages of the contribution that the study showed to the hemoglobin Hp index.

Deep Learning of Transition Probability Densities for Stochastic Asset Models with Applications in Option Pricing

Transition probability density functions (TPDFs) are fundamental to computational finance, including option pricing and hedging. Advancing recent work in deep learning, we develop novel neural TPDF generators through solving backward Kolmogorov equations in parametric space for cumulative probability functions. The generators are ultra-fast, very accurate and can be trained for any asset model described by stochastic differential equations. These are “single solve,” so they do not require retraining when parameters of the stochastic model are changed (e.g., recalibration of volatility). Once trained, the neural TDPF generators can be transferred to less powerful computers where they can be used for e.g. option pricing at speeds as fast as if the TPDF were known in a closed form. We illustrate the computational efficiency of the proposed neural approximations of TPDFs by inserting them into numerical option pricing methods. We demonstrate a wide range of applications including the Black-Scholes-Merton model, the standard Heston model, the SABR model, and jump-diffusion models. These numerical experiments confirm the ultra-fast speed and high accuracy of the developed neural TPDF generators. This paper was accepted by Kay Giesecke, finance. Funding: H. Su received research funding support from Nottingham Business School at Nottingham Trent University. M. V. Tretyakov was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [Grant EP/X022617/1]. D. P. Newton received research funding support from the School of Management at Bath University. Supplemental Material: The online appendices and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01448 .

A Comparison of Glutathione and Malondialdehyde Concentrations in Athletes Engaged in Certain Sports

Sports stimulate the body to adapt to physical activity, causing biochemical and functional metabolic changes in various systems and organs of the body due to exercise. Antioxidants and free radicals affect the biological activity of living organisms, leading to physiological changes in all body systems due to exercise. This study, conducted from December 2023 to February 2024, included 120 blood samples from male basketball (40), football (40), and volleyball (40) players ages 18-27 years, from the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at Tikrit University. Blood samples were collected ten minutes before and ten minutes after 70 minutes of exercise on the same day. The study found no significant differences in glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations before and after exercise among the groups. The findings suggest that the type of sport (football, basketball, or volleyball) with an anaerobic system does not significantly affect antioxidant and fat peroxidation levels, though slight variations due to increased lactic acid in muscles were noted, leading to muscle fatigue and minor changes in GSH and MDA concentrations.