Publications by authors named "Samuel L Watkins"

Article Synopsis
  • Superconducting qubits can get messed up by tiny energy sources that break apart the pairs of particles needed for superconductivity, making a problem known as "quasiparticle poisoning."
  • Researchers found that a silicon crystal glued to its holder has way more low-energy sound events (called phonons) compared to a similar crystal that wasn't glued, which could affect how well these systems work.
  • The extra phonon events in the glued crystal get less frequent over time, suggesting that the stress from the glue is causing these disturbances and may be impacting other scientific devices too.
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Cognitive function defines performance in objective tasks that require conscious mental effort. Extreme environments, namely heat, hypoxia, and cold can all alter human cognitive function due to a variety of psychological and/or biological processes. The aims of this Focused Review were to discuss; (1) the current state of knowledge on the effects of heat, hypoxic and cold stress on cognitive function, (2) the potential mechanisms underpinning these alterations, and (3) plausible interventions that may maintain cognitive function upon exposure to each of these environmental stressors.

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tyrosine (TYR) ingestion on cognitive and physical performance during soccer-specific exercise in a warm environment.

Methods: Eight male soccer players completed an individualised 90 min soccer-simulation intermittent soccer performance test (iSPT), on a non-motorised treadmill, on two occasions, within an environmental chamber (25 °C, 40 % RH). Participants ingested tyrosine (TYR; 250 mL sugar free drink plus 150 mg kg body mass(-1) TYR) at both 5 h and 1 h pre-exercise or a placebo control (PLA; 250 mL sugar free drink only) in a double-blind, randomised, crossover design.

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Goal line officials (GLO) are exposed to extreme environmental conditions when employed to officiate in professional European soccer cup competitions. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of such environments on GLO decision-making ability. Thirteen male participants were exposed to three conditions: cold (-5°C, 50% relative humidity (RH)); temperate (18°C, 50% RH); and hot (30°C, 50% RH) for 90 min per condition, with a 15 min half-time break after 45 min.

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Precooling lowers skin (Tsk) and core temperature (Tre) and can improve performance in hot conditions, but has predominantly been studied in males. This study investigated the effects of precooling on self-paced 2,000-m rowing performance, within females, in hot, humid conditions. Eight physically active females (19.

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This study investigated the reliability and validity of a novel nonmotorised treadmill (NMT)-based soccer simulation using a novel activity category called a "variable run" to quantify fatigue during high-speed running. Twelve male University soccer players completed 3 familiarization sessions and 1 peak speed assessment before completing the intermittent soccer performance test (iSPT) twice. The 2 iSPTs were separated by 6-10 days.

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Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acetaminophen on repeated sprint cycling performance.

Methods: Nine recreationally active male participants completed a graded exercise test, a familiarisation set of Wingate Anaerobic Tests (WAnTs) and two experimental sets of WAnTs (8 × 30 s sprints, 2 min active rest intervals). In the experimental WAnTs, participants ingested either 1.

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