text:
Biomechanics and medicine in swimming XI: the 2010 international symposium in midsummer Oslo.
This quadrennial conference was hosted in 2010 by the Norwegian
Sport University, NIH. Amongst the best performance-related
presentations were a case study of a change in butterfly kicking style
and large-scale longitudinal studies of talent identification and
overtraining in swimmers. Novel Technologies and Analyses: pressure
across the hand, active drag, computational fluid dynamics, markerless
video analysis, beat the bubbles, frontal cross-sectional area,
dataloggers/accelerometers, controlled trials with competitions, free
simulation software. Starts and Turns: gliding, starting blocks, step
starts, entry styles, underwater turn, start-time feedback, relay
changeover, other starts and turns. Strokes and Kicking: limb
coordination, freestyle/front crawl, butterfly. Training: reducing
volume, overtraining, imagery, altitude, taper, strength. Water Polo:
tests, offensive strategies. Miscellaneous: talent identification,
trends and performance trajectories, skill acquisition, tests, lactate,
swim suits, mushrooms.
KEYWORDS: elite athletes, psychology, skill, technology, tests, training.
|Article Type:
Biomechanics (Research)
Medical sciences (Conferences, meetings and seminars)
Hopkins, Will G.
Vandenbogaerde, Tom J.
|Pub Date:
|Name: Sportscience Publisher: Internet Society for Sport Science Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Health Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 Internet Society for Sport Science ISSN: 1174-9210
|Date: Annual, 2010 Source Volume: 14
|Event Code: 310 Science & research
|Geographic Scope: Norway Geographic Code: 4EXNO Norway
|Accession Number:
|Full Text:
The 2010 quadrennial BMS conference in Oslo was memorable for the
midnight twilight, the mainly wonderful summer weather, the nearby
Nordic forests and lakes, the mayoral reception at the town hall, where
one wall was a vast painting of Norwegians in an idyllic natural
setting, and the amazing Vigeland Sculpture Park, featuring many more
natural Norwegians. Is the Scandinavian attitude to nudity an
evolutionary adaptation to the need for vitamin D? Also memorable and
much appreciated was the thorough and thoughtful planning by our hosts
at the Norwegian Sport University (Norges idrettsh0gskolen, NIH), who
provided an opening fanfare by a brass quartet of student musicians, a
closing flute solo, free wi-fi, classy conference backpacks, and
highest-quality espresso coffee throughout the conference.
And there were some great presentations! Here we report only on those with practical application to competitive swimming performance or to research thereon. If your interest is the clinical, safety, adapted, or educational aspects of swimming, peruse the book of abstracts (see below) to find the many relevant presentations.
Prizes for the best oral, poster and student presentation (the Archimedes Award) went to topics related to health and mechanisms. We had to wait for nearly the last poster on the last day for our choice of the best performancerelated presentation: a case study by the coach of a top butterfly swimmer, who persevered with a change in kicking style for two years before his swimmer "got it" (to use his words) and went on to a personal best at age 30. See below. Runners-up were massive longitudinal studies of talent identification and overtraining.
Although this conference is focused on one sport, it is organized under the auspices of the World Commission of Science and Sports. WCSS is dedicated to bringing science to sport and to bridging gap between scientists and practitioners. There's a lot to be said for such specialty conferences, and this one was also just the right size: ~300 delegates (most of whom gave at least one presentation), nine unopposed keynote presentations, 125 oral presentations in three or four streams that didn't clash too badly, and 125 poster presentations. A real plus was having all the posters displayed throughout the conference, so there were many unopposed hours to view them. Each poster was also presented in four parallel chaired sessions, which was only partially successful, owing to the overlap of content, the crush of people, and the background noise: you had to fly backwards and forwards and make a special effort to push to the front to hear the presenter. In future we need email addresses in the abstracts so we can arrange to interact with presenters during or after the conference.
To mark the 40 years since the inception of BMS, Joao Paulo Vilas-Boas included in his opening address a quantitative review of the contents of the previous and current conferences. The main topics have always been biomechanics, physiology and "evaluation", with medicine and other disciplines playing roles similar to those at any sport-science conference. So whether or not you are a biomechanist or a medic, if you are interested in swimming research, come to the 2014 conference. The venue was announced at the closing ceremony: the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, and it will be sometime near Easter.
Videos of the keynote presentations are now available at the Coaches Info website. The conference abstracts can be downloaded as a PDF from the conference website. A welcome difference from the ACSM meeting, along with the incomparable coffee, is the availability of abstracts for all presentations. Even more welcome, and for the first time, the volume of full papers will also be available free as a 10-MB PDF, the aim being to get more recognition and citations of the published work. For access to a particular paper before the password-protection is removed from the PDF, contact us. To make the most of the abstracts, we suggest you get a small group together (no more than five) with an interest in a specific stroke or topic, set up the PDF of the abstracts on a big monitor, then use the Search window (not the Find form) to link to each abstract containing an appropriate keyword. It's great fun, and you will learn things from each other, as well as from the abstracts.
In what follows, use the code number shown in brackets (...) to search the abstracts PDF for the given abstract. Text after the number represents the first few words of the title that will take you uniquely to the paper when you search for it in the full volume. Abstract only implies either that the authors did not submit a full paper or that the submitted paper was rejected in the peer-review process.
In evaluating effects on performance, it's important to keep in mind the changes that will improve or impair the medal prospects of a top athlete. The smallest important such change is 0.3 of the amount of variation (expressed as a standard deviation) that a typical top athlete shows from competition to competition (Hopkins et al., 1999; Hopkins et al., 2009). An elite swimmer's time varies in this way by only 0.8% (Pyne et al., 2004), so the smallest important change in swim time is 0.3 of 0.8%, or about 0.25%. Use this value even for research on subelite competitive swimmers, in the hope that the findings will apply to elites. For research on youth swimmers aimed at team selection or talent identification, the smallest effect may be better defined via standardization: 0.20 of the between-swimmer standard deviation. See Magnitude Matters for more.
Novel Technologies and Analyses
An Italian group think they have developed the best technology yet for measuring thrust developed by the hand via pressure differences across the hand (O-002, abstract only). Another group has developed algorithms to analyze the data from 12 pressure sensors on the hand (O-005, Prediction of Propulsive.).
You can detect left-right asymmetry and wide swings in instantaneous stroke force by measuring "active drag": the tension in a line used to drag a swimmer through the water at slightly above maximum swimming speed while the swimmer swims all out (O-004, Measuring Active Drag.). This technique is not particularly new, and you can get the same information from an instrumented tether: synchronize it with video analysis and you can see what's going wrong. There was a good trade display of the latest version, the Torrent E-Rack, which for US$10,000 incorporates resisted training, assisted training, and synchronized video. The much simpler passive tether costs US$3000.
Bruce Mason gave only an average account of the biomechanics of active drag (O-006, A Method to Estimate Active.), but he redeemed himself completely in a keynote address about the biomechanical services provided to swimmers and their coaches at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra (KL-004, Biomechanical Services.). He presented a series of case studies of starts, turns, and strokes, where the high-tech equipment in the new pool at the AIS has been used to improve performance.
Most promising of the recent wizardry is the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to combine the swimmer's anthropometry (from laser scan) with the swimmer's current swimming style (from video analysis) to develop a computerized mathematical model of the swimmer actively swimming through water, complete with simulations of the vortices and waves that limit speed. The model can then be used to predict ways to improve the swimmer's technique, and you try out the most promising in the pool. The method has been around for some years now, and although we got the impression that one more level of model development and computer power is needed to fully realize the potential of this approach, it was rumored that the Russians might already be there. Swimming at the next Olympics may be partly a contest between nations with the most money to spend on computers and computer programmers.
A CFD analysis of finger positions of an elite male swimmer reached the following conclusion (O-076, abstract only): "For hand positions in which lift force plays an important role (e.g., insweep phases), abduction of the thumb may be better, whereas at higher angles of attack. the adduction of the thumb may be preferable... Fingers [should be] slightly spread... to create more propulsive force."
Development of markerless automated video analysis appears to be close to practical implementation (O-050, abstract only), the main breakthrough apparently being a statistical approach to dealing with the obscuring action of bubbles. Another group beat the bubbles by using a regression technique to identify limbsegment midlines in an analysis of the dive of 16 male elite swimmers (P-014, abstract only). Faster starters used a dolphin kick and performed deeper dives.
It's now possible to get a reasonable estimate of frontal cross-sectional area (responsible for drag) from an analysis of movements in the sagittal plane recorded from a single side-on camera (O-053, abstract only). We're not sure how this approach will "provide new practical insights into swimming analysis protocols".
Apparently successful merging of video with the data stream from a 3-D accelerometergyroscope data-logger was made possible by addition of a depth gauge with a resolution of 10 cm to the device (O-055, Whole Body Observation.). "Wavelet analysis" also helped, but it was difficult to understand the presenter on this point. Another author claimed that "the feasibility to use inertial sensors [accelerometer-gyroscopes] to characterize turning, gliding and stroke resumption in swimming was verified" in eight elites doing various swim movements (O-123, Analysis of Swim Turning.). We are skeptical about the current practicality and bulk of these devices.
You can get a swimmer's position down to an accuracy of one frame of a 25-Hz video if you use 2-D direct linear transformation (DLT) analysis of footage from three cameras (O-056, The Validity and Reliability of a Procedure ...).
If your team competes often in a season, and there are plenty of other teams in the competitions, and your coach wants to try some new strategy with the whole team, and the coach hasn't done anything else substantially different so far in the season, you can use competition results to estimate the effect of the strategy (O073, abstract only). The uncertainty of the estimate is typically about one third of what you get from the usual controlled trials, and the outcome is as valid as it is possible to get: the effect on competitive performance. It's best done with mixed modeling.
It was demonstrated at the last BMS meeting, but the authors have updated their free swimming simulation software (Swumsuit), and it looks very cool indeed, at least for teaching (O126, P-029, Advanced Biomechanical Simulations.) and possibly for research (P-030, abstract only). Downloads and more at the SWUM website.
Starts and Turns
Kinetic analysis of gliding combined with planimetry to determine cross-sectional area in six national-level males led the authors to recommend more emphasis on control of body position during the glides to reduce drag (O078, Hydrodynamic Characterization.).
A new FINA-sanctioned starting block with side grips and a steeper angle (9[degrees] rather than 5[degrees]) appears to produce starts that would represent a substantial small effect for 50- and 100-m events in seven male swimmers (P-004, abstract only) and in 14 elite swimmers (O-083, A Biomechanical Comparison of Elite.). The authors of the latter study concluded that "coaches and athletes should spend time adapting to the new block and the new starting technique".
Step starts were statistically significantly faster than no-step starts in repeated trials of relay changeovers (O-084, Comparison among Three.), but this is one of those occasions where statistical significance of a trivial effect practically guarantees the effect isn't worth worrying about. The swimmers also made more "missed trials" (bad changeovers?) with step starts.
A randomized controlled trial of 5+5 elite swimmers compared outcomes of instruction on pike vs flat entry (O-086, abstract only). Both groups changed their entry style significantly, but whether the changes would have substantial effects on swim time was unclear.
Does a new "apnea" underwater turn (O119, An Analysis of an Underwater ...) offer any advantages for the butterfly and breaststroke? The mean gain in time for the 10 swimmers was 0.07 s on average, which is not worthwhile, but apparently the swimmers had practiced the turn for only a few sessions (not stated in the abstract or full paper). So it might be worthwhile with enough practice, but only for 50- or 100-m events: the presenter mentioned that the reduction in breathing would probably impair performance in races with more than one turn.
A controlled trial of the effect of giving feedback about start times produced a statistically significant improvement in start time in the experimental group (O-121, abstract only), but it was done with regional-level swimmers and physed students, and in any case the gains would probably translate into a trivial effect in 50-m swim time. Inferring significance apparently via a comparison of P values in the two groups is also forbidden, although the presenting author said that this was a mistake in the abstract.
In the first of two controlled trials aimed at improving relay changeovers (O-122, abstract only), both groups of 13 junior elites received video feedback for the 4 d of training, but one group was given additional feedback on horizontal take-off force while the other received feedback on changeover time. The group receiving force feedback made bigger reductions in changeover time that would probably translate into medals (not enough data presented to be sure), and they made less false starts. In the other trial, eight elites practiced the traditional arm-swing start while another eight learned a single-step start. Both groups improved by a similar amount, but it's unclear from the ambiguous abstract whether the step start was better.
There was no immediate application to race times, but the following analyses may be of interest nevertheless: backstroke start (P-009, Biomechanical Characterization.); flat, pike or Volkov starts (O-085, Influence of Swimming Start ...); and gliding (P-036, Evaluation of the Gliding ...) .
Several correlational studies of starts or turns and performance time suffered from woefully inadequate sample sizes. Unless the relationships are very strong and therefore obvious anyway (for example, when there are novice and expert swimmers in the sample), you need hundreds of subjects to do the job properly. The only way correlation can work with samples of 10-20 is when the correlated variables are change scores derived from repeated measurements, in which the subjects spontaneously vary their technique substantially and there are substantial differences in the change in performance-see, for example, the paper on effects of tapering (P-072) reported in more detail below. It's even better when you make multiple observations on each subject, derive a slope representing the relationship between the movement and performance for each subject, then process the slopes with a simple t statistic. (See within subject modeling for more.) Anyway, here's a quick list of the studies: kinematic analysis of grab start in 12 national level (and this involved stepwise regression, which is right out of the question with this sample size) (P-020, Kinematics Analysis of Undulatory.); kinematic analysis of water-entry skill in 14 college elites (P-024, abstract only); and kinematic and kinetic analysis of tumble turns in eight elite females (P-033, Biomechanical Factors Influencing.).
Strokes and Kicking
In a keynote and original-research presentation on limb coordination (KL-002, InterLimb Coordination in Swimming), Ludovic Seifert mentioned complex systems, dynamical system theory, self-organization, and various constraints, although you don't have to understand these concepts to appreciate his main finding: the best swimmers achieve overlap of the propulsion phase of each arm at race pace, presumably by shortening the recovery phase of each stroke. Is there an application to performance enhancement here? Seifert also presented several original-research studies on coordination (O-044, Arm Coordination, Active Drag ...; P-037, Modelling Arm Coordination ...).
A string of light-emitting diodes down each arm facilitated automatic digitizing (P-127, Preliminary Results of.). Combined with high-speed video of four elite freestylers, the technique revealed that forward thrust (as determined by hip forward velocity) is maximum midway through the stroke rather than towards the end, as traditionally taught, and that these swimmers adopted an elbow angle of ~130[degrees] rather than the recommended 90[degrees]. The authors are getting a bigger sample size.
The findings were inconclusive with respect to race times, but you may have an interest in video analyses of front-crawl (P-005, P-035, abstracts only), and the freestyle in the previous paragraph.
Analysis of pressure difference across the hand combined with video of 23 varsity-level butterfly swimmers revealed patterns of hand force development that led to the following conclusions: coaches can adjust entry angle to eliminate time wasted when the hands are above the shoulders, and coaches can also encourage swimmers to begin elbow flexion as soon as the entry is complete (O-111, Quantitative Data Supplements.).
The most inspirational presentation for us was the case study presented by the coach of the 100-m butterfly Asian record holder, who took two years to change his kicking style, then went on to set a personal best as a 30-year old (P-077, Effects of Reduced Knee-bend.). The swimmer was taught to keep his legs straight in the upbeat and to delay bending the knees until the downbeat was initiated. The presentation of the longitudinal monitoring was almost exemplary, lacking only an inferential statistic for the uncertainty in the change in performance (but the effect was so clear that it didn't matter).
Continuing the long tradition initiated by Dave Costill, a group from Denmark reported on the effect of halving training volume and increasing training intensity for 12 weeks in a randomized controlled trial of 16+15 elite swimmers (20 male, 11 female) (O-026, P-078, abstracts only). VO2max dropped significantly by 3.8% in the experimental group compared with control. It was also apparent in the presenter's slide that performance in an all-out 200m test also declined by about 1.5%, but it was non-significant and it was presented as no change. On the other hand, 100-m sprint performance apparently improved, but the comparison of the changes in the two groups is not in the abstract. Amazingly, the coach allowed this 12-week study to straddle the Danish national championships, but the group had not investigated the effect of the first 6 wk of the program on change in competitive performance since the previous competition. Hopefully they will, and report it using chances of benefit and harm with respect to a smallest important change of 0.25%.
In a sometimes overwhelming keynote lecture, Pierre-Nicolas Lemyre told us all about one of the biggest and best studies yet of overtraining/burnout (KL-006, The Psycho Physiology of Overtraining.), involving psychometrics, hormones, and double maximal stress testing of 53 elite swimmers at the easy beginning (September), very hard middle (November), and peaking end (March) of a six month season. A measure of lack of motivation at the beginning of the season was the best predictor of level of burnout in the middle (r=0.52) and at the end (r=0.55). Change in cortisol in the stress test and several other measures were also substantial predictors of burnout, altogether giving a correlation of 0.82 in a multiple linear regression. Predictors of performance change from the previous season to the end of the monitored season were not presented in the abstract or the paper, alas, but presumably they would have been similar to the predictors of burnout. Now we need studies of interventions based on the predictors and aimed at reducing risk of burnout and enhancing performance. Let's hope you can do both in the same athlete.
There was apparently no significant effect of 3 wk of supplemental imagery training on performance in a controlled trial of 8+8 13-y old kids, but not even the full paper showed any data (P-107, Imagery Training in Young.).
Ferran Rodriguez presented a keynote on altitude training for swimmers (KL-008, Training at Real.), in which he gave credit to a recent meta-analysis of performance effects of the various kinds of hypoxic exposure (Bonetti and Hopkins, 2009), unfortunately without drawing on its findings. The forthcoming multi center altitude study he promoted here and in an earlier presentation (O-052, abstract only) would be a good opportunity to try out the competition-based new research design (O-073, abstract only, see above).
The reduction in training load during a taper before a national competition in 12 age-group swimmers correlated clearly and substantially (r=0.63) with change in performance in the competition from the previous "starting list time" (P-072, Changes of Competitive Performance.). When asked, the presenter thought the correlation was due more to higher training at the start of the taper than lower training at the end; that is, those who reached a higher training load before the taper had bigger gains in performance.
Four weeks of strength training improved the start times of five male and two female national-level swimmers by an average of 0.07 s (P-075, abstract only), or about 0.3% in a 50-m race. Although this change is the smallest worth having, it would be important to ensure the benefit transfers to actual overall swim time.
Water Polo
Means and standard deviations were reported for a new test battery (P-094, abstract only), but there were no statistics for validity (e.g., correlation with ability of players) or reliability (e.g., test-retest correlation). The same group reported a correlational study of muscle strength and throwing speed with 15 players (O-038, abstract only). See our earlier comments about inadequate sample size.
Looking for patterns of play in games using sophisticated modeling may be the way of the future. Here a group used Markov chains to analyze offensive play in 11 games between the same two teams at a world league final (O-041, A Markov Chain Model). Their conclusion: fast breaks and intense activities of the back players are important.
In a spectacular study of talent identification (O-071, Talent Prognosis.), 21 measures of fitness and anthropometry were taken on over 700 children of age 14 [+ or -] 4 y (mean [+ or -] SD) from two elite sport schools. Swimming competition data were collected ~7 y later on the 130 male and 113 female survivors (age 21 [+ or -] 3 and 20 [+ or -] 3 y). They were divided into three talent groups (why not use percent of world record as the outcome?), then linear and neural-net models were developed to predict the talent grouping from the original test scores. The neural net worked much better than the linear model, correctly predicting the talent group for 88% of the girls and 68% of the boys compared with only 69% and 50% respectively. The linear model does manage to identify the tests that matter most (extrinsic motivation-oh dear!-and a composite factor called swimming coordination), whereas a neural net is a black box that doesn't tell you what matters without extensive probing. Now what? Use the neural-net model to help filter future intakes?
Mixed modeling is the secret for analyzing age and calendar year trends in overall competitive performance times and for predicting performance of individual swimmers from their "quadratic trajectories" (O-074, abstract only). Is this the way to identify your country's strong and weak events and your promising talented individuals?
Stephen Langendorfer gave an inspirational keynote on skill acquisition at different stages of the lifespan (KL-007, Applying a Developmental Perspective.). But as an audience member summarized it in question time, he hijacked all the good techniques in teaching under his banner of the developmental view, and left all the bad things under the error correction view. Perhaps he should have given some credence to this prevailing view, given that we seem to have evolved to acquire behavior and culture in this efficient manner.
Our comments about sample size in correlational studies in the section on Starts and Turns applies to a study of field tests in 12 swimmers (P-110, abstract only) and of fitness tests in 25 male adolescents (P-079, abstract only). With larger sample sizes outcomes are clearer, although hardly surprising in the study of fitness tests of 72 young swimmers (P-121, Predictors of Performance.).
Some of the papers relating to lactate measurement sported big names, but we consider these to be of marginal utility. Those interested should search the abstract PDF for lactate. We have adopted the same approach to the many studies of swimsuits.
By our calculations from the full paper, Olympic swim times in the 2008 games were faster than predicted from the trend over previous Olympics by a large 1.7 [+ or -] 0.7 % (mean [+ or -] SD) (P-088, Identification of a Bias ...). Swimsuits were surely the main reason?
There was an intriguing abstract about beneficial effects of a mushroom extract on "infection, allergy and inflammation that. may improve health and training-related inflammation in elite swimmers and other athletes" (O-021, abstract only). Unfortunately the author did not turn up to present the study and to answer questions about the potentially harmful effects of anti-inflammatories and antioxidants on training adaptations. See this year's ACSM report for more on this topic.
Acknowledgements: funding to attend the conference was provided in part for WGH by the Norges idrettshogskole and by Sport and Recreation NZ for WGH and TJV. Salary support was provided by AUT University for WGH and by Swimming NZ for TJV.
Reviewer's Comment
This is an excellent analysis of performance related papers presented in BMS XI. I have noticed a trend towards more controlled trials at this conference, but sample sizes are still generally too small to study the small effects that make a difference to medal-winning. Placebo effects, both positive and negative, are also a problem in studies where swimmers cannot be blinded to the treatments. -Kari Keskinen
Bonetti DL, Hopkins WG (2009). Sea-level exercise performance following adaptation to hypoxia: a meta-analysis. Sports Medicine 39, 107-127
Hopkins WG, Hawley JA, Burke LM (1999). Design and analysis of research on sport performance enhancement. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 31, 472-485
Hopkins WG, Marshall SW, Batterham AM, Hanin J (2009). Progressive statistics for studies in sports medicine and exercise science. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 41, 3-12. Link to PDF.
Pyne D, Trewin C, Hopkins W (2004). Progression and variability of competitive performance of Olympic swimmers. Journal of Sports Sciences 22, 613-620
Published July 2010 [c]2010
Will G Hopkins, Tom J Vandenbogaerde
Institute of Sport and Recreation Research NZ, AUT University, Auckland 0627, New Zealand; Email.
Reviewer: Kari Keskinen, Finnish Society of Sport Sciences, Olympic Stadium, FI - 00250 Helsinki, Finland.
|Gale Copyright:
|Copyright 2010 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.


text:
Occasionally, neurological or brain disorders may occur in newborn babies. Premature babies (born before 37 weeks gestation) are especially at risk. Neurological complications may result from birth trauma, a difficult delivery, or when the baby takes in too little oxygen during the birth process.
The most common types of neurological problems in newborn babies include the following:
intraventricular hemorrhage - bleeding inside or around the ventricles, the spaces in the brain containing the cerebrospinal fluid. This is more common in premature babies.
periventricular leukomalacia - damage and softening of the white matter, the inner part of the brain that transmits information between the nerve cells and the spinal cord. This is also more common in premature babies.
Neurological disorders may be serious. Severe bleeding or tissue damage in the brain can destroy brain cells and cause long-term illness for the baby.
Listed in the directory below is some additional information regarding disorders of the brain and nervous system, for which we have provided a brief overview.
Intraventricular Hemorrhage
Periventricular Leukomalacia
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NFT co-founder Jane Pirone offered travel expert Peter Greenberg a few NYC secrets on a Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio podcast.
Co-Owner of NFT Featured in The Grey Lady
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You've had a good run, PSP. Seven years after its launch, it appears the platform is slowly retiring. While new PSP games still occasionally come out, it's clear that many gamers have moved on to new devices, including the Vita. To match the quieting demand for PSP games, GameStop is removing inventory from 25% of its stores.
"The consolidation is occurring to maximize the merchandising space in the smallest 25% of stores," a GameStop representative told Kotaku. "It will also provide a greater assortment in those stores that will continue to carry the category."
PSP will still be offered at the bigger GameStop stores, as well as online. While the PSP is far from being dead, this is definitely a sure sign that the platform is fading away.


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DREHERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) A wild bird sanctuary in eastern Pennsylvania offers children a different kind of egg hunt for Easter, offering as prizes realistic looking wooden replicas of raptor eggs.
The Republican-Herald of Pottsville reported Sunday that about 50 children scoured the forest floor on Saturday at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Drehersville.
The painted eggs are for such species as peregrine falcons, kestrels and hawks.
The event has been held at the sanctuary since 2007. It's so popular there's a waiting list.
Children are provided a short program about raptors and their offspring. Prizes include a Hawk Mountain Sanctuary bookmark, a pencil and an activity book about birds of prey.
Each participant is allowed to take home a wooden replica egg.
The 2,500-acre Hawk Mountain Sanctuary attracts 70,000 visitors annually.
Information from: Pottsville Republican and Herald, http://www.republicanherald.com


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WWF calls for an end to overfishing in the Western and Central Pacific
"The viability of the Western and Central Pacific tuna fishery should not be at risk because of short term economic interests. Without drastic measures, we could see the collapse of the bigeye tuna stock in the next few years, which will have direct impacts on other important tuna fisheries," said Alfred Cook, WWF´s Western Central Pacific Tuna Programme Officer.
"WWF calls on the Commission to follow scientific recommendations to substantially reduce the bigeye tuna catch," said Cook.
Over the last years, WWF has continuously been calling upon the WCPFC to adopt effective fisheries management measures including firm limits on the number of fishing vessels and reductions in the reliance on Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs).
Despite precipitous declines in the bigeye, yellowfin, and albacore tuna stocks, the measures implemented by WCPFC have been insufficient and too late. This is especially the case with bigeye tuna, a favoured sushi species, where the stock is overfished and experiencing continued overfishing.
"It's really disappointing," said Cook. "Just a few years ago, there was a lot of hope that the WCPFC, as the newest and, arguably, most successful tuna regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO), would be able to overcome the myopic self-interest and politics that have hamstrung RFMOs in other regions."
Too many vessels and in particular increasing distant water fleets fishing for too few fish constitutes one of the central problems contributing to overfishing in the region.
Despite repeated calls to reduce the number of vessels fishing for tuna in the region, the number of vessels continues to increase, with at least 45 more purse seiners currently under construction in Asian shipyards and expected to join 297 fishing boats already operating in the region, setting an all-time high. This excess of fishing capacity will undoubtedly lead to additional sustainability problems in the region.
The problem of overcapacity is not limited to the purse seine sector. Rapidly increasing capacity in the longline fishery from several distant water fishing nations is creating similar problems in the albacore tuna fishery.
While the albacore stock is not in the same dire condition as the bigeye tuna stock, the albacore population has plummeted over the last decade, making it less economical to operate and throwing the domestic small island state fisheries into turmoil.
Grahame Southwick, owner of the Fiji Fish Company, says the failure of the WCPFC to act has devastated the Pacific Island domestic long line fishery.
"We've worked tirelessly and responsibly to ensure the sustainability of the albacore fishery in Fiji, even securing the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-certification, only to have our fishery decimated by an ever-expanding distant water fleet from Asia." said Southwick.
"For years, we've been asking the WCPFC and the various national governments in the region to address the longline fleet overcapacity, but our requests seem to have fallen on deaf ears." Southwick and other albacore fishermen in the region continue to insist that something must urgently be done to address not only the excess fishing capacity from Asia, but also the subsidies provided from Asian states to their vessels that make it impossible for domestic fleets to compete economically.
There is some positive momentum, however. WWF has engaged a large group of responsible buyers, harvesters, processors, and traders, in making a pledge to the WCFPC Commission to support well-planned and designed tuna fishery improvement and conservation initiatives to sustain livelihoods, minimise environmental impacts and supply the world with responsibly-managed, high quality tuna through certification according to the MSC standards.
The world community, including the markets that purchase tuna from the region, are demanding the WCPFC take action. WWF and others are hoping that, despite the pessimism, the WCPFC will take decisive and effective measures to conserve the region's important tuna stocks this year.
Note to editors:
1 The WCPFC is responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and other marine resources in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The members of the WCPFC are:
Australia, Canada, China, Cook Islands, European Community, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Chinese Taipei, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States of America, Vanuatu
2 The annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) will take place in Cairns, Australia, on December 2-6.
For more detailed information:
• Alfred Cook, Western Central Pacific Ocean Tuna Programme Manager, WWF Smart Fishing Initiative, Email: email@example.com. Phone: +679 903 5008
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with more than 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
www.panda.org/media for latest news and media resources


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Irrational Games announces a preorder bonus for BioShock Infinite, their upcoming first-person shooter sequel. The game can be preordered on this page, which grants immediate access to play BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution, which can be used to earn in-game rewards for BioShock Infinite as described here. Here's word:
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Home | What is tax depreciation? | Improve cash flow | Fast facts | Order schedule | About us | Contact us
Tax depreciation is a deduction against assessable income whereby an investor can reduce the amount of tax payable. For example, investing in a residential property for income producing purposes may attract tax depreciation. A cash positive situation for your rental property results when an investor utilises the benefits and advantages of effective tax depreciation.
Crucial to any investment property is the need to reduce assessable income and therefore reduce tax payable.
For example, if you earn $90,000 a year from your employer and an additional $35,000 a year from say, two rental properties, your depreciation on both properties in any given year may be around $24,000.
Taking into account additional negative gearing factors such as interest on mortgage, repair and maintenance etc, your adjusted taxable income is:
Types of depreciation available
An investor is able to claim for two distinct types of building related depreciation.
Capital Words deductions for buildings and structures (Division 43)
These deductions are only available for residential properties built after 18 July 1985 where a flat rate of depreciation can be claimed against a building's original construction cost. Construction expenditure is determined on the basis of the actual cost incurred in the construction of the building. In addition, these costs may include architectural, engineering, surveying and building fees. Construction expenditure does not include the value of an owner/builder's contribution (eg. expertise and labour). Furthermore, the cost of acquiring land and costs incurred preparing the site for construction and afterwards landscaping are also specifically excluded.
Plant and equipment allowances (Division 40/42)
Plant and equipment items can be claimed even if the property was constructed prior to 1985. These items may include- appliances, hot water units, carpet, air-conditioning, and numerous other items. They are depreciated at an accelerated rate that is in excess of the flat rate utilised in Division 43. Second hand plant and equipment is also depreciable.


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Just Jared - 50 Most Popular Celebs 2012
2. Kristen Stewart
This year marked the end of the Twilight Saga for Kristen Stewart, but the end of the film franchise was overshadowed by the scandal. Scandal aside, Kristen was one of the year's fashion stars, popping up on many red carpets to promote her various films and at award shows.
The award: Best-Dressed
And the couturier's crown goes to: Bella Swan didn't just win the heart of the fandom for her membership in the year's hottest relationship; she also won all of the awards for hunting cougars in a cocktail dress.
Kristen Stewart attends the UK Premiere of 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2′ in Zuhair Murad.
Okay, wait. Let us explain.
Look, our whole take on celebrity red carpet fashion is that it's about telling a story with yourself and making an impact with your clothes. It doesn't always come down to "Is this pretty/not pretty?" As Saint Oscar said, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. And considering most of her year was spent with people talking about her sex life, rather than her work, we think this was a LOUD AND CLEAR message at the opening of her biggest film that she wasn't going to be shamed for her decisions.
Is it pretty? Not the point. For most of that week, this look was what the fashion and celebrity press were talking about. Mission accomplished, big time.
While she openly admits that she's more at ease in skinny jeans and Converse, Kristen Stewart still cemented her fashion status in 2012 with a series of cool looks. As the face of Balenciaga's Florabotanica fragrance she was often spotted wearing pieces from the label, including this monochrome jumpsuit from the spring/summer 2013 collection.
Kristen Stewart arrives at "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" Los Angeles premiere at Nokia Theater L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California (November 12, 2012).
Kristen Stewart attends the UK Premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" at Odeon Leicester Square in London, England (November 14, 2012).
Favorite Female: Kristen Stewart
It was a roller-coaster year for Kristen Stewart, but she still came out on top, nabbing the title of your favorite female celebrity.
1. Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart's an established industry stalwart, and she spent 2012 riding the high of two blockbuster films (Snow White and the Huntsman and Breaking Dawn – Part 2) and a well-received indie (On the Road). But nothing quite says domination like true redemption, and perhaps the most amazing thing she did in 2012 was survive a "scandal" — a.k.a. the entertainment media's favorite past time. A low point for sure. But it was how she handled the aftermath — with a very raw apology, wise career choices (adios, Cali) and a brave face at promotional events — in addition to her stellar career, interview red carpet moments, that earned her a spot on our list. It's one thing to make movies that sell. But it's another thing to rise above personal drama to be born again as a bigger person … and bigger star.
Dominating Moment: Celebrating and promoting On the Road at Cannes, a professional high point for anyone in the movie biz. It didn't hurt that she also showed up to boyfriend Robert Pattinson's Cosmopolis premiere in Cannes showing off her tightest red carpet game ever.
Best Appearances: Cannes was huge, obviously, but there was nothing more nail-bitingly huge than Kristen's first public appearance following "the incident": walking the On the Road red carpet at the Toronto Film Festival, looking nervous but still confident and collected.
And then there was that time she played giant quarters with Jimmy Fallon while barefoot in a LBD. NBD.
What We Expect From Her in 2013: She'll be starring in Focus, but we also expect her to lay low, hang with her dogs, and dig into some new projects. And our fingers are still crossed for a cookbook.
After a long-fought battle against red-carpet royalty like Diane Kruger, Emma Stone, and Kate Middleton, it was hot-to-trot vampire Kristen Stewart that came out on top as the red-carpet queen of 2012. Kristen's year was quite the roller-coaster ride, but she managed to keep her head (and her heels) high while promoting her trio of films: from the whirlwind Breaking Dawn Part 2 press tour to her breakneck schedule while plugging Snow White and the Huntsman and On the Road, Kristen hit the red carpet in a succession of sexy looks, including high-slit dresses, sheer gowns, and microminis. We're celebrating Kristen's win with a look back at some of her most memorable looks from the past 12 months — not including Converse sneakers.
Kristen Stewart
Slide #66 - Kristen Stewart wore Fall 2012 Marchesa at the Snow White and the Huntsman premiere in London.
Slide #69 - Kristen Stewart wore Fall 2012 10 Crosby Derek Lam at the Snow White and the Huntsman photocall in Berlin.
Slide #89 - Kristen Stewart wore Pre-Fall 2012 Reem Acra at the Cosmopolis premiere in Cannes.
Slide #92 - Kristen Stewart (wearing Balenciaga) and Tom Sturridge at the screening of On the Road in Cannes.
Slide #95 - Kristen Stewart wore Stella McCartney at the Snow White and the Huntsman premiere in Los Angeles.
Slide #152 - Kristen Stewart wore Fall 2012 Zuhair Murad at the Breaking Dawn Part 2 premiere in Los Angeles.
#1: Kristen Stewart
Stewart wins the award for Best Dressed Celebrity as she has appeared on this list more than any other celebrity beating out Robert Pattinson and Taylor Swift on this list by one look. Are you surprised? Well you shouldn't be since this has been an important year for Stewart as she travelled the world promoting the final 'Twilight' film and is now busy promoting her new film 'On The Road' too. This has been a controversial year and am sure Stewart will want to get 2012 behind her but she has more than just a cheating scandal to remember this year for, she has come out of her troubles all the more stronger (well in a fashion sense anyways) and she gets to finally leave Twilight's Bella in the dust.
Runner-up look: Kristen Stewart and Balenciaga make a good mix and with this look and her Zuhair Murad dress she managed to make the list twice in one week!
10. Kristen Stewart
Teen - The 12 Best Dressed Stars of 2012
Kristen Stewart
Kristen is somewhat of a reluctant fashionista, — she loves her Converse and t-shirts! — but when she does dress up for a red carpet, she always stuns. This was a big year of lace, and sheer for Kristen, as she wore sheer to two of her biggest premieres: Snow White and the Huntsman back in May, and a nude, lace gown to Breaking Dawn — Part 2 back in November. Although, our fave look might have to be her red-hot gown during the Cannes Film Festival.
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart also took this year to explore some non-Twilight territory, in addition to appearing in Breaking Dawn Part 2. She bucked up as a fiery princess in Snow White and the Huntsman and got a little scandalous with Garrett Hedlund in the adaptation of On the Road. Goodbye Bella, hello serious starlet.
Kristen Stewart
On The Road premiere in Toronto
TOP TOMBOY: Kristen Stewart
She'll sit front row at Balenciaga then don sneakers (or go barefoot!) on the red carpet.
1. Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart's stardom reached new stratospheric levels this year following the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, as well as revelations in her private life. Named as the face of Balenciaga's fragrance Florabotancia, and a close friend of Nicolas Ghesquière (he chose a picture of himself and the actress to personalise his twitter account), she was often spotted in outfits by the house. She relied on Zuhair Murad for a number of high impact red carpet dresses, including a nude strapless lace gown that caused a sensation. Off the red carpet, the laidback LA-style of October Vogue's cover star plays out in a boyish uniform of hooded sweatshirts, skinny jeans, converse trainers and baseball caps.
Who knew a creamy lace frock would look so fantastic paired on Kristen Stewart's fair skin? Zuhair Murad is a creative genius! Here she is at the Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 premiere, in November.
Favourite Woman . . . Kristen Stewart!
It's been a bigger year than usual for Kristen Stewart, who had three movies out (Snow White and the Huntsman, On the Road and Breaking Dawn Part 2) and survived a Hollywood cheating scandal. Our readers voted her as their favourite woman of the year with 31 percent of the votes; Kate Middleton came in second with 25 percent.
4. Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart's year went from tumultuous to triumphant within the matter of months. The young Hollywood starlet best known for her role as Twilight's Bella and now, her overly publicized cheating scandal, came back to wow us all with some major fashion risks and ended the year as the ruler of the red carpet. The scandal itself couldn't have been more formal but moving forward Kristen Stewart kept on, keeping on. She became the face of Balenciaga's Florabotanica and even subjected herself to a live question and answer session on the internet. She made her first red carpet appearance in a stunning floral Zuhair Murad knee-length dress and kept the A+ red carpet looks coming as she started promoting the Twilight Breaking Dawn: Part Two in November. With multiple sheer Zuhair Murad dresses and a catsuit to a custom Raf Simons designed Dior mini-dress, Kristen taught us all that she knows how to spins a scandal into a success better than the rest.
3. Kristen Stewart in Zuhair Murad
K-Stew amped up the glam factor for the promo tour of 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2′, cracking out sexy sheer numbers a-plenty. It all began at the LA premiere when she got all sultry on us thanks to a Zuhair Murad gown featuing a nude corset and chiffon panelling. Phwoar.
Kristen Stewart in the Jardin du Palais-Royal, Paris, photographed by Mario Testino. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
Kristen Stewart with dancer Jérémie Bélingard of the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris, photographed by Mario Testino. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
Kristen Stewart
With the Twilight Saga coming to an end, Kristen Stewart has really upped her red carpet style, ditching her iconic Chucks for numerous sheer ensembles.
10. Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart hit her red carpet stride this year, by which we mean her outfit choices. She still does not know how to stand like a normal person or keep her heels on.
Embroidery and Lace
It's all in the details! Stars turned out in showstopping feminine numbers that combined embroidery and lace. These handcrafted gowns certainly played up the natural beauty of Jessica Alba, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Swift, who all donned variations of the trends on the red carpet.
Kristen Stewart
Worn with a smoky eye. (OTR LA Premiere)
Kristen Stewart in A.L.C. (OTR NYC Screening)
Kristen Stewart
Slide #24 - Snow White and the Huntsman Premiere, May 2012
Slide #48 - The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2 Premiere in LA, November 2012
14. Kristen Stewart (3 roles)
K-Stew found herself at the end of the "Twilight" road with the long-awaited release of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2," but she's got plenty of other projects to keep her busy. She donned armor to kick some butt in "Snow White and the Huntsman," although that particular project kicked up some well-publicized personal drama with director Rupert Sanders. Stewart, who's tried her hand at "edgier" projects like "Welcome to the Rileys" and "The Runaways," had everyone in a tizzy with her sexy turn in "On the Road" as Dean Moriarty's child bride Marylou.
Forgetting the other drama she created this year, the actress created a whole lot of buzz for her surprisingly stunning red carpet style while promoting Snow White and the Huntsman.
Closing out the finale of the Twilight series, Stewart stepped up her fashion game like never before. The talented actress turned heads in sexy show-stopping looks from Zuhair Murad, Balenciaga and A.L.C., just to name a few. Needless to say, this best-dressed star came out on top in 2012.
Just Jared - 50 Most Popular Celebs 2012
6. Robert Pattinson
The award: Best Sex Scene
And the solid gold prophylactics go to: Not even the "Twilight" fandom could outvote the National Society for the Appreciation of Robert Pattinson's Nude Upperbutt! Despite a nomination for his vampire bang-a-lang in "Breaking Dawn," his skin-tastic turn as a slutty social climber in "Bel Ami" edged out the top spot.
Favorite Male Celebrity: Robert Pattinson
Big stars like Brad Pitt, David Beckham, and Ben Affleck couldn't beat out Robert Pattinson for the title of favorite male celebrity — an honor he picked up last year as well.
Favorite Shirtless Guy: Robert Pattinson
He may have kept his top on for most of the year, but when he showed skin on the beach in Malibu over the Summer, Robert Pattinson guaranteed his number one spot as your favorite shirtless guy of 2012.
#2: Robert Pattinson
Pattinson wins the award for Best Dressed Male as he was the most featured male on this list, and he has appeared more often than some female celebs some that's a major coup! Pattinson is not really known for being a fashionable celebrity but he knows how to turn it out on the red carpet and for major promotional events. The final 'Twilight' film was a major factor in Pattinson's fashion success as he mostly landed on this list while on tour to promote 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2″.
Runner-up look: Pattinson looks good in blue as this was a major colour for him since there are three blue looks from him.
They're some of the hottest guys on the big screen and on TV and now they've also made our list of the most popular actors this year!
1. Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
I don't know if there's ever a point at which you can have too much Robert Pattinson, but we sure did see a lot of him in 2012. Of course, there was the Twilight finale Breaking Dawn Part 2, but he also showed a different side as a social climber in Bel Ami and a rich playboy in David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis.
Robert Pattinson
You don't have to be a Twihard to fall for R-Patz. Brooding, mysterious, and just a little bit vulnerable.
6. Rob Pattinson
Pattinson's year was spent crisscrossing the globe in promotion of three flicks, giving the actor plenty of opportunities to break out his preferred Gucci suits, which he did in rapid, colorful succession. But it's not just tonal suit and shirt pairings the now former vampire got right; his grunge 2.0 getups have us wondering how much flannel we'll see on the Fall '13 runways.
1. Robert Pattinson
2012 was jammed pack with hunks, but it looks like EntertainmentWise readers only have one man on their mind as 'Twilight' hunk Robert Pattinson wins our 2012 Sexiest Award and from his clear win over the 19 other competitors.
Receiving a whopping 48% of the vote, Rob is your sexiest celebrity man of 2012.
Robert Pattinson
The 26-year-old Brit has grown up before our eyes, scrapping his mussed-up hair for a more proper look recently, thanks in some part to his never-ending parade of designer suits (like Gucci, Gucci, and more Gucci). This year, he headlined his own flick, Cosmopolis, as well as marked the triumphant end of The Twilight Saga, with Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Even though it's over, we'll always be on Team Edward!
Most Full: Robert Pattinson in BlackBook
After Ben & Jerry's and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, all he could do was loll and sip a diet soda. Wonder what Kristen's eating?
Hollywood Crush - 2012 Best of- Polls
The award: Best On-Screen Couple
And the matching tiaras go to: No surprise here! In the final year of "The Twilight Saga"'s big-screen run, its leading lovers, the newlywed Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, dominated in this category.
Sexiest Couple: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart continued their reign, picking up 2012's sexiest couple title for the third year in a row.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart:
The past year has held plenty of drama for Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Robsten had plenty of publicity during the promotional duties for their latest flick "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" as well.
Sexiest Couple . . . Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson!
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson had a bit of a rough year but came back sexier than ever in time for the premiere of Breaking Dawn Part 2 in November. Our readers voted them the sexiest couple of 2012 with 27 percent of the votes; The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder followed with 23 percent.


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KLRU Community Screenings presents a night with the producers on Tuesday, October 20. Producers and hosts from KLRU's award-winning local productions Texas Monthly Talks and Central Texas Gardener will preview the new seasons of their shows, answer questions about what it takes to make each show and talk about their favorite moments. KLRU will also present clips from a new local show called Austin Daytripper and let attendees tour the Central Texas Gardener set. The free screening starts at 7 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m. and Q&A will immediately follow the screening.
Please RSVP here by noon October 20.
KLRU Community Screenings made possible with support from Austin Community College.