Weight Classes Research Articles

Health-related quality of life in children under treatment for overweight, obesity or severe obesity: a cross-sectional study in the Netherlands

BackgroundIt is unknown whether weight class is associated with impairment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for children in the Netherlands. The aim of this study was to explore generic and weight-specific HRQOL in a clinical cohort of children with overweight, obesity or severe obesity aged 5–19 years in the Netherlands.Methods803 children from three clinical cohorts participated: mean age 11.5 (SD 2.9) years, 61.1% girls. The influence of weight class was explored in a subgroup of 425 children (25.2% with overweight, 32.5% obesity and 42.3% severe obesity), of whom the exact International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) BMI class was known. Generic HRQOL was measured by the PedsQL child report. Weight-specific HRQOL was measured by the IWQOL-Kids child or parent report. Average total, subscale and item scores were reported and the influence of the IOTF BMI class analyzed by multiple linear regression, corrected for age and sex.ResultsChildren with severe obesity had lower generic and weight-specific HRQOL scores than those with obesity or overweight. IOTF BMI class was negatively associated with item scores from all subscales, especially physical, social and emotional functioning. Children with overweight reported similar HRQOL total, subscale and item scores to children with obesity.ConclusionsIn the Netherlands, children treated for overweight, obesity or severe obesity experience problems on the majority of items within all subscales of generic and weight-specific HRQOL. Children with severe obesity especially report significantly more challenges due to their weight than children with obesity or overweight.

Analysis of Competition Performance Leading to Success at the International Powerlifting Federation World Championships Between 2013 and 2019.

van den Hoek, D, Garrett, J, Travis, SK, Oxnard, K, Howells, R, Owen, P, and Latella, C. Analysis of competition performance leading to success at the International Powerlifting Federation World Championships between 2013 and 2019. J Strength Cond Res 37(10): e555-e562, 2023-Despite being a global sport, there is a paucity of research investigating competition-related factors contributing to World Championship powerlifting success. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine competition strategies that underpin gold medalists' (GMs) and silver or bronze medalists' (SBMs) performances. Data collected from open-age International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championship events 2013-2019 were analyzed (1,312 competitors [males n = 734, females n = 578]). Attempt weight and success for the squat (SQ), bench press (BP), and deadlift (DL); 'total' competition scores; category (age, weight class, and sex); and placing were categorized into 3 groups: GMs, SBMs, and nonwinners (fourth place or lower). One-way analysis of variances determined between group differences. Odds ratios (ORs) for the likelihood of winning and placing (i.e., GMs or SBMs) were also calculated. The odds of winning a competition were increased 5.9 times for men and by 1.5 times for women, when successfully completing 8 or 9 of 9 lift attempts. These findings provide comprehensive insight into intracompetition-related factors that contribute to World Championship powerlifting success to directly inform coach and athlete strategies. This information may also hold relevance for competitive state or national competitions and extend to other similarly structured strength-based sports.

Morelloflavone as Phytomedicine-An Ethnopharmacological Review on the Therapeutical Properties, Biological Efficacy and Pharmacological Activity

Background:Flavonoids are low molecular weight class secondary metabolites found to be present throughout the plant kingdom. Structurally, flavonoid class phytochemicals consist of C6-C3-C6 chemical structures with different substitution patterns and have drug-like nature. Morelloflavone is a biflavonoid class phytochemical found to be present abundantly in the Garcinia genus. Morelloflavone has been investigated in the scientific field for its numerous pharmacological activities. The present work aims to discuss the scientific progress of health beneficial aspects and pharmacological potential of morelloflavone in medicine.Methods:The purpose of this work is to provide scientific information about the biological potential and health beneficial effects of flavonoids in medicine with special reference to the morelloflavone. In this work, we have collected the scientific data of morelloflavone for the biological potential and pharmacological activities against different types of human illnesses with their mechanism of action from Google, Google Scholar, Science Direct and PubMed and analyzed. Further, the preventive role of morelloflavone against various types of human illnesses and the mechanism of action have also been discussed in the present work. This work will provide upto- date information on the health beneficial aspects of morelloflavone in medicine for the prevention and treatment of human complications.Results:Morelloflavone exhibited a wide-range of pharmacologic activity in regulating numerous kinds of human disorders. Present work revealed the health beneficial aspects and pharmacological activities of morelloflavone for the prevention and treatment of human disorders due to its anti-microbial, anti-plasmodial, anti-oxidant, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor anti-restenosis, anti-HIV, aphrodisiac, anti-Alzheimer's and apoptotic potential in the medicine. Further, its biological potential on phospholipase A2, melanin, kallikreins, monoamine oxidase, aromatase, Eg5 Inhibition and proprotein convertases have been also analyzed in the present work. Analytical data signified the importance of modern analytical tools for the separation and isolation of morelloflavone in medicine.Conclusion:Present work revealed the detailed pharmacological activities of morelloflavone that can be utilized in the future for the development of new pharmacologic agents.

Analysis of Winning and Losing Patterns of Korean Judo Athletes by Weight Class based on Major International Competitions

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify the scoring patterns of male and female Korean judo athletes by weight class, based on major international competitions from 2016 to 2021. METHODS We analyzed 1,508 scoring techniques, consisting of penalty, Waza-ari, and Ippon connected techniques, from male and female Korean athletes who participated in the Grand Prix, Grand Slam, Masters, World Championships, and Olympics. Chi-squared tests were conducted to examine differences in rounds, time, results, techniques, and continent by weight class.RESULTS In terms of differences in rounds, statistically significant differences were found in the men's lightweight and women's heavyweight categories. Statistically significant differences were found in the following: regarding differences in match time, in the men's heavyweight category; regarding match results, in the men's heavyweight category; and regarding differences in technique type, in the men's middleweight and heavyweight categories and in the women's lightweight and heavyweight categories. Finally, in terms of opponent continents, significant differences were found in both men's and women's lightweight categories. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, this study confirmed the differences in wins and losses of male and female Korean athletes according to their weight classes. Based on this, it is necessary to analyze and systematize the technology types of the world's top athletes, including Korean athletes, to improve their judo performance.

Definition of the solution of the homogeneous Volterra integral equation

In this paper, we study the solvability of a second-kind Volterra integral equation. By replacing the right-hand side and the unknown function, the integral equation is reduced to an integral equation, the kernel of which is not «compressiblek. Using the Laplace transform, the obtained equation is reduced to an ordinary first-order differential equation (linear). Its solution is found. The solution of the homogeneous integral equation corresponding to the original nonhomogeneous integral equation found in explicit form. Special cases of a homogeneous integral equation and its solutions are written for different values of the parameter k. Classes are indicated in which the integral equation has a solution. Singular integral equations were considered in works [1–3]. Their kernels were also «incompressiblek, but kernels had an another form. In this connection, the weight classes of the solution existence differ from the class of the solution existence for the equation considered in this work.

The study of relative age effects on weightlifting athletes in U15 and youth age groups

Within the sporting scope, the relative age effects refer to the possible advantages of participation and performance of athletes born in the first months of the year of selection in relation to others within the same age groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative age effects by comparing athletes in different body weight categories in the Under 15 (U-15) and youth age group athletes (males and females) in weightlifting. By using retrospective competition data from the Turkish Weightlifting Federation database, a total of 954 Olympic-style weightlifters (U15 and Youth age groups), 605 males and 349 females), who competed in the Turkish Weightlifting Championships between 2018 and 2019, were included in this study. The data on the birthdates of the athletes were divided into four quarters. The athletes were divided into three subset weight classes. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test. In males, the relative age effects were determined in lightweight athletes in the under 15 age group (χ²(3)= 10.00, p< .05), in lightweight athletes in the youth age group (χ²(3)= 10.83, p< .05), in middleweight category (χ²(3)= 14.09, p< .01) and heavyweight category (χ²(3)= 12.96, p< .01). However, relative age effects were not present in the female under 15 age group (p>.05). It can be stated that weightlifting athletes, under 15 age and youth age groups (except youth females), born in the first quarter of the year have a higher chance of success in athletic performance.

Introducing an efficiency index to evaluate eVTOL designs

The evolution of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft as part of the Advanced Air Mobility initiative will affect our society and the environment in fundamental ways. Technological forecasting suggests that commercial services are fast emerging to transform urban and regional air mobility for people and cargo. However, the complexities of diverse design choices pose a challenge for potential adopters or service providers because there are no objective and simple means to compare designs based on the available set of performance specifications. This analysis defines an aeronautically informed propulsion efficiency index (PEX) to compare the performance of eVTOL designs. Range, payload ratio, and aspect ratio are the minimum set of independent parameters needed to compute a PEX that can distinguish among eVTOL designs. The distribution of the PEX and the range are lognormal in the design space. There is no association between PEX values and the mainstream eVTOL architecture types or the aircraft weight class. A multilinear regression showed that the three independent parameters explained >90 % of the PEX distribution in the present design space.

Outcomes of Total Knee Arthroplasty Revisions in Obese and Morbidly Obese Patient Populations

BackgroundThe obese population is at higher risk for complications following primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but little data is available regarding revision outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the role of body mass index (BMI) in the cause for revision TKA and whether BMI classification is predictive of outcomes. MethodsA multi-institutional database was generated, including revision TKAs from 2012 to 2019. Data collection included demographics, comorbidities, surgery types (primary revision, repeat revision), reasons for revision, lengths of hospital stay, and surgical times. Patients were compared using 3 BMI categories: nonobese (18.5 to 29.9), obese (30 to 39.9), and morbidly obese (≥40). Categorical and continuous variables were analyzed using chi-square and 1-way analysis of variance tests, respectively. Regression analyses were used to compare reasons for revision among weight classes. ResultsObese and morbidly obese patients showed significant risk for repeat revision surgery in comparison to normal weight patients. Obese patients were at higher risk for primary revision due to stiffness/fibrosis and repeat revision due to malposition. In comparison to the obese population, morbidly obese patients were more likely to require primary revision for dislocation and implant loosening. ConclusionSignificant differences in primary and repeat revision etiologies exist among weight classes. Furthermore, obese and morbidly obese patients have a greater risk of requiring repeat revision surgery. These patients should be informed of their risk for multiple operations, and surgeons should be aware of the differences in revision etiologies when anticipating complications following primary TKA.

Human Body Shapes Anomaly Detection and Classification Using Persistent Homology

Accurate sizing systems of a population permit the minimization of the production costs of the textile apparel industry and allow firms to satisfy their customers. Hence, information about human body shapes needs to be extracted in order to examine, compare and classify human morphologies. In this paper, we use topological data analysis to study human body shapes. Persistence theory applied to anthropometric point clouds together with clustering algorithms show that relevant information about shapes is extracted by persistent homology. In particular, the homologies of human body points have interesting interpretations in terms of human anatomy. In the first place, anomalies of scans are detected using complete-linkage hierarchical clusterings. Then, a discrimination index shows which type of clustering separates gender accurately and if it is worth restricting to body trunks or not. Finally, Ward-linkage hierarchical clusterings with Davies–Bouldin, Dunn and Silhouette indices are used to define eight male morphotypes and seven female morphotypes, which are different in terms of weight classes and ratios between bust, waist and hip circumferences. The techniques used in this work permit us to classify human bodies and detect scan anomalies directly on the full human body point clouds rather than the usual methods involving the extraction of body measurements from individuals or their scans.

Obesity increases the odds of multiple pregnancies: A nationwide register-based cohort study in Finland.

To investigate the effects of increased pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) on the risk of having spontaneous multiple pregnancies using a nationwide register-based study sample. Data from the National Medical Birth Register (MBR) (2004-2018) were used to evaluate the effects of a higher pre-pregnancy BMI on the risk of multiple pregnancies. Lower and higher pre-pregnancy BMI classes, using the WHO classification, were compared with a normal weight class. A logistic regression model was used to assess the primary outcomes. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) between the groups were compared. The model was adjusted by maternal age, maternal height, and maternal smoking status. The odds of multiple pregnancies were higher among women in the overweight group (aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.02-1.12), obesity class I group (aOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.18), and obesity class II group (aOR 1.15, 95% CI 1.03-1.28) compared with women in the non-overweight BMI class. Women in the underweight group had lower odds for multiple pregnancies (aOR 0.82, 95% CI 0.73-0.93). The odds of multiple pregnancies slightly increase with pre-pregnancy obesity, and this should be acknowledged as a minor risk factor for multiple pregnancies.

Association Between Obesity and Outcomes Following Endovascular Aneurysm Repair

Obesity is prevalent in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). There is an association between increasing body mass index (BMI) and increased overall cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. This study aims to assess the difference in mortality and complication rates between normal weight (NW), overweight (OW), and obese patients undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for infrarenal AAA. This is a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients undergoing EVAR for AAA between January 1998 and December 2019. Weight classes were defined as: BMI<18.5kg/m2, underweight; BMI 18.5-24.9kg/m2, NW; BMI 25.0-29.9kg/m2, OW; BMI 30.0-39.9kg/m2, obese; BMI>39.9kg/m2 morbidly obese. Primary outcomes were long-term all-cause mortality and freedom from reintervention. Secondary outcome was aneurysm sac regression (defined as a reduction in sac diameter of 5mm or more). Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and mixed model analysis of variance were used. The study included 515 patients (83% males, mean age 77±8years) with a mean follow-up of 3.8±2.8years. In terms of weight class, 2.1% (n=11) were underweight, 32.4% (167) were NW, 41.6% (n=214) were OW, 21.2% (n=109) were obese, and 2.7% (n=14) were morbidly obese. Obese patients were younger (mean difference -5.0years) but had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (33.3% vs. 10.6% for NW) and dyslipidemia (82.4% vs. 60.9% for NW). Obese patients had similar freedom from all-cause mortality (88%) compared to OW (78%) and NW (81%) patients. The same findings were evident for freedom from reintervention where obese (79%) was similar to OW (76%) and NW (79%). At a mean follow-up of 5.1±0.4years, sac regression was observed similarly across weight classes at 49.6%, 50.6%, and 51.8% for NW, OW, and obese, respectively (P=0.501). There was a significant difference in mean AAA diameter pre- and post-EVAR [F(2,318)=24.37, P<0.001] across weight classes. NW [mean reduction 4.8mm (2.0-7.6mm, P<0.001)], OW [mean reduction 3.9mm (1.5-6.3mm, P<0.001)], and obese [mean reduction 5.7mm (2.3-9.1mm, P<0.001)] achieved similar reductions. Obesity was not associated with increased mortality or reintervention in patients undergoing EVAR. Obese patients achieved similar rates of sac regression on imaging follow-up.

Effects of Led Lighting Training on Response Time in Greco-Roman Wrestlers

Abstract Introduction Response time is one of the determinants of performance effectiveness in wrestling competitions. Its high levels help wrestlers fight more effectively when performing appropriate technical and tactical actions. Different factors such as a proper warm-up, unexpected situations, muscle fatigue, asthenic reactions, competition prestige and previous injuries may exert an influence on perceptual abilities (including RT and MT) and affect fighting effectiveness. Getting to know determinants of response time may provide a lot of valuable practical information that can be used in wrestling-related training. The study sought to determine changes in response time in Greco-Roman wrestlers produced by LLT. Material and Methods Twenty-four Greco-Roman wrestlers (age = 18.6 1.8, years of experience = 6.0 1.6) took part in the study. The wrestlers were divided according to two weight classes (lightweight and heavyweight). Within LLT programme, they performed special motor tasks using Batak Pro (15 minutes in total). Between the tasks, response time (reaction time and movement time) was measured. Reaction time test (RT, version S1) of the Vienna Test System was used in the study. Results Response time changed in a variety of ways (different directions and intensity of changes). The changes were noted both in RT and MT. Contrary to LLT, a standard warm-up did not contribute to an improvement in RT. The greatest changes were observed after ten minutes of exercising. Intragroup differences in response time grew smaller in the course of the task performance. No differences in response time were noted between wrestlers representing different weight classes. Conclusions Physical exertion within LLT affects response time in Greco-Roman wrestlers regardless of their weight classes. The most favourable changes occur after 10 minutes of exercising that requires high attentional focus (exercises performed after a standard warm-up). The type of warm-up and the exercises used may constitute a factor improving performance effectiveness. It is recommended that in a pre-competition warm-up, more time should be devoted to exercises requiring high attentional focus.

AI revolutionising customer experience through personalisation and intelligent experiences

Artificial intelligence (AI) has existed in some fashion for almost seven decades, but its advancement has been limited to large companies and prestigious universities due to the cost of computing power. With the ubiquity of modern computing creating 97 zettabytes of data in the world by the end of 2022, companies are tapping into this new commodity to deliver a seamless, omnichannel customer experience using AI to compete above their weight class. The surge in online interactions since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has escalated consumer expectations, giving them more exposure to the personalisation practices of e-commerce leaders and raising the bar for everyone else. From web to mobile and in-person interactions, consumers now view personalisation as the default standard for engagement, making personalisation matter more than ever before as three-quarters of consumers switched to a new store, product or buying method during the pandemic. This paper sets out to highlight companies that are using AI to produce a stellar customer experience and discusses pitfalls that have been discovered along the way.

태권도선수의 파워태권도 경기력 향상을 위한 기술 분석

Power Taekwondo, a viewing-type taekwondo competition, is currently being piloted with the goal of attracting spectators’ interest and developing media-friendly games. The goal of the current study is to analyze the skills used in power Taekwondo and to identify the skills affecting wins and defeats. The results were calculated using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and three-way ANOVA based on the 85 videos of 2022 Power Taekwondo competition. Descripttive analysis revealed that the order of Power Taekwondo was round kick, push kick, kick-down, kick-from-the-back, fist, narae kick,dolgae-kick, and kick back round kick. The winner group’s used 49.1% of the body and 5.1% of the head, 54.2% in total and the defeated applied 41.8% of the body and 4.0% of the head, 45.8% in total. The difference in pre-emptive attack skills between the winners and the defeated was that the former attempted to spin and push kick than the latter and the winners focused on the central operation. The winners also used more pre-emptive attacks than the opposites. No significant difference between two groups was found with respect to the counter-attacks. Technical attempts by weight class showed differences among weight classes in the use of kick-down and kick-from-the-back. Under 75㎏ revealed more central operations than under 65㎏ and over 75㎏. In addition, the outer operation was confirmed in the order of over 75㎏, under 75㎏, and under 65㎏, respectively. Through the analysis of power Taekwondo’s skills, the attack style was pre-emptive a and the use of skills was turned-around-kick, kick-down, kick-from-the-back. The winners showed more centralized operation than the defeated. Although Power Taekwondo shows a difference in skills from the current Olympic Taekwondo competition, a large number of matches and various analysis of matches are required.

Maternal Prepregnancy Obesity Affects Foetal Growth, Birth Outcome, Mode of Delivery, and Miscarriage Rate in Austrian Women

The increasing obesity rates among women of reproductive age create a major obstetrical problem as obesity during pregnancy is associated with many complications, such as a higher rate of caesarean sections. This medical record-based study investigates the effects of maternal prepregnancy obesity on newborn parameters, birth mode, and miscarriage rate. The data of 15,404 singleton births that had taken place between 2009 and 2019 at the public Danube Hospital in Vienna were enrolled in the study. Newborn parameters are birth weight, birth length, head circumference, APGAR scores, as well as pH values of the arterial and venous umbilical cord blood. In addition, maternal age, height, body weight at the beginning and the end of pregnancy, and prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) have been documented. The gestational week of birth, the mode of delivery, as well as the number of previous pregnancies and births, are included in the analyses. Birth length, birth weight, and head circumference of the newborn increase with increasing maternal BMI. Furthermore, with increasing maternal weight class, there tends to be a decrease in the pH value of the umbilical cord blood. Additionally, obese women have a history of more miscarriages, a higher rate of preterm birth, and a higher rate of emergency caesarean section than their normal-weight counterparts. Consequently, maternal obesity before and during pregnancy has far-reaching consequences for the mother, the child, and thus for the health care system.

Functional and Compositional Changes in the Fecal Microbiome of a Shorebird during Migratory Stopover.

Shorebirds migrate long distances twice annually, which requires intense physiological and morphological adaptations, including the ability to rapidly gain weight via fat deposition at stopover locations. The role of the microbiome in weight gain in avian hosts is unresolved, but there is substantial evidence to support the hypothesis that the microbiome is involved with host weight from mammalian microbiome literature. Here, we collected 100 fecal samples of Ruddy Turnstones to investigate microbiome composition and function during stopover weight gain in Delaware Bay, USA. Using 16S rRNA sequencing on 90 of these samples and metatranscriptomic sequencing on 22, we show that taxonomic composition of the microbiome shifts during weight gain, as do functional aspects of the metatranscriptome. We identified 10 genes that are associated with weight class, and polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis in the microbiota is significantly increasing as birds gain weight. Our results support that the microbiome is a dynamic feature of host biology that interacts with both the host and the environment and may be involved in the rapid weight gain of shorebirds. IMPORTANCE Many animals migrate long distances annually, and these journeys require intense physiological and morphological adaptations. One such adaptation in shorebirds is the ability to rapidly gain weight at stopover locations in the middle of their migrations. The role of the microbiome in weight gain in birds is unresolved but is likely to play a role. Here, we collected 100 fecal samples from Ruddy Turnstones to investigate microbiome composition (who is there) and function (what they are doing) during stopover weight gain in Delaware Bay, USA. Using multiple molecular methods, we show that both taxonomic composition and function of the microbiome shifts during weight gain. We identified 10 genes that are associated with weight class, and polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis in the microbiota is significantly increasing as birds gain weight. Our results support that the microbiome is a dynamic feature of host biology that interacts with both the host and the environment and may be involved in the rapid weight gain of shorebirds.

Morphometric evaluations and yields of commecial cuts of pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) in different weight classes

The aimed of this study was to analyze the yield, correlations, and profitability of different commercial cuts of pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) in seven weight classes. Data on 380 fish were obtained, with weight ranging 4.7 to 48.2 kg. The Kruskal-Wallis’s test (? = 0.05) was used to compare the average income. And Spearman’s correlation (? = 0.05) was used to verify the correlation between morphometric measurements and yields. To obtain profit in each weight class due to the cut produced, an economic analysis was performed considering the cost of buying the fish. The weight classes 1 (&lt; 8 kg) and 6 (23.1 to 32 kg) had the highest yields and weight classes 1 (&lt; 8.0 kg) and 2 (8.1 to 11.0 kg) the lowest residues production. The yield of fillet mignon and tail fillet is higher in weight classes 4 (14.1 to 18 kg), 5 (18.1 to 23.0 kg) and 6 (23.1 to 32.0 kg), while the yield of loin and residues did not differ between weight classes. The production of the commecial cuts presented a higher economic return than the production of pirarucu deboned in all weight classes, but it is not recommended to take the pirarucu production above 32 kg. The measure of average circumference has a moderately positive correlation with the deboned yield, and can be used to determine the yields of this commercial cut.

Design and Development of Children's Calibration Phantoms for Whole and Mobile Body Counters

Abstract The experiences from several past radiological accidents (e.g., Fukushima Daiichi, Chernobyl, and Goiania) have shown that not only occupationally radiation-exposed adults but also children of all age groups can be affected by such an accident. Moreover, in asymmetric conflicts, children could possibly be affected by the explosion of a radiological dispersal device. Whole-body counting facilities all over the world are well prepared to measure children and adults but suffer in the case of newly born babies and toddlers owing to a lack of corresponding calibrations. A series of calibration phantoms representative of adult persons and larger children is commercially available or can be constructed from easily accessible materials, but for newly born and children up to 20 kg, only very few phantoms have been described which approximate the infantile body, and only very roughly. The aim of this work was to improve the current unsatisfactory situation. Two main steps toward achieving this aim included the compilation of anthropomorphic data for children and the construction of a modular set of calibration phantoms for the weight classes between 3 and 20 kg from simple, readily accessible, and cheap materials. The phantoms are made from commercially available freezer packs, which can be filled with a radionuclide solution. By using calibrations based on these purposely-built realistic weight class phantoms, internal radioactive contamination in children can be assessed more reliably than would be otherwise possible with the standard adult phantom calibrations.

Carcass characteristics of Nordic native cattle breeds

Native livestock breeds are part of the history of the Nordic people and comprise a resource for future food production. In this study, net gain and carcass characteristics of two Danish, three Finnish, one Icelandic, six Norwegian and five Swedish native cattle breeds were retrieved and compared to commercial breeds: two beef breeds and two dairy breeds. Breed data were collected from national databases and sorted into six animal categories: young bull, bull, steer, heifer, young cow and cow, for which means and standard deviations were calculated within each country. The native breeds ranged from small-sized milking type breeds with low net gain, carcass weights and EUROP classification to larger multipurpose breeds with high net gains, carcass weights and EUROP classification. All Finnish and most of the Norwegian and Swedish native breeds had lower net gain and carcass weight than the dairy breeds in the same category and country, but with similar carcass conformation and fatness scores. The two Danish native breeds had higher net gain, carcass weight and conformation class than the reference dairy breed, but lower than the reference beef breeds. The net gain and carcass traits of the Icelandic native breed were similar to the smallest-sized native breeds from the other countries. The carcass traits of the native breeds indicate that they have comparative advantages in an extensive production system based on forage and marginal grasslands. They may also succeed better in the value-added markets than in mainstream beef production.

태권도 차등점수제 도입에 따른 태권도경기의 득점 및 감점 분석

In this study, after the introduction of the differential scoring system that can score up to five points, we conducted it to find out what kind of game technology changes in Taekwondo competition and to provide basic data to improve Taekwondo players' performance. At the 32nd Tokyo Olympics, a total of 65 games were played from the round of 16 to the final of the women's four-weight taekwondo division. The results of analyzing the difference in technology frequency, score and score rate by weight class, and reduction score by rotation are as follows. First, among the women's taekwondo games, the frequency of skills in a total of four weight classes was in the order of turn kick, push kick, fist, and score, followed by turn kick, drop kick, and push kick. Second, in a total of four weight classes among women's taekwondo games, the act of falling down, going outside the limit, and catching or pushing opponents appeared in order.