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Purpose: To examine the effects of acute curcumin (CURC) supplementation on recovery from a soccer match in male professional players. Methods: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design, 11 players from the under-23 team of an English Premier League club (age 19 [1] y, body mass 79.4 [7.9] kg, height 180.8 [5.7] cm) consumed 500 mg of CURC or a control (medium-chain triglycerides) immediately and 12 and 36 hours after a 90-minute match. Countermovement jump height (CMJ), reactive strength index (RSI), delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS, 0–200 mm), and subjective well-being were measured before and 12, 36, and 60 hours postmatch. Global positioning systems measured external load during matches, and dietary intake was recorded across the testing period. Results: External load and dietary intake did not differ between conditions (P ≥.246). CURC attenuated deficits in CMJ (P ≤.004) and RSI (P ≤.001) and reduced DOMS (P ≤.004) at all postmatch time points (except 60 h post for RSI). The greatest difference between control and CURC was 12 hours post for CMJ (P <.001, 1.91 [4.40] cm, 95% CI, 1.25 to 2.57, g = 0.36) and RSI (P =.003, 0.40 [0.41] AU, 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.63, g = 0.90) and 36 hours post for DOMS (P <.001, 47 [23] mm, 95% CI, −67 to −27, g = 2.12). Conclusions: CURC intake <36 hours after a soccer match attenuated DOMS and muscle function deficits, suggesting that CURC may aid recovery in professional male soccer players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having engaged in interdisciplinary team-teaching in both the two-course cluster format and the single course format, we intend to show how we helped students recognize and find their own integrative insights between the disciplines of history and economics. In the process we not only compare the advantages and disadvantages of each format but also illustrate more fully the differences between multidisciplinarity and true integration. We show (1) how the weaknesses and strengths of our two disciplines complement each other, (2) how the different goals of each discipline can be reached using the methods of the other, and (3) how appropriately-designed readings, writing assignments, group presentations, and other activities can help students to achieve the goals of integrative interdisciplinary pedagogy.

The author examines the reluctance of most American colleges and universities to address grade inflation. In addressing the problem of grade inflation, the author describes two proposals he made to his faculty's Educational Planning Committee. The first, presented in spring 2002, proposed that two new items be added to each course listed on students' transcripts: the number of students in the course section and the average grade awarded. At the end of the transcript, a cumulative average of all the grades in all of the course sections would be listed alongside the student's own cumulative average. Anyone examining the transcript could thus see how well the student had performed relative to the other students in his or her courses. The author counters the following three objections from faculty colleagues: (1) All students can excel; (2) Academic freedom extends to grading; and (3) We must not disadvantage our students. Following the Academic Council's rejection of the author's transcript-notation measure, he proposed that that the university registrar make available to all department chairs, at the end of every semester (1) the average grade given in each course taught in the department, and (2) the average grade awarded by each department in the school or college for that semester. This second proposal passed the Educational Planning Committee in 2004 but was voted down by the Academic Council. The primary objection was that this information might be used against a professor in the tenure, promotion, or merit-pay processes. The author's experience suggests that anyone seeking to curb grade inflation must, early in the process, thoroughly inform the various constituencies of the ways in which they are collectively harmed by the inflation. (Contains 11 resources.)

Purpose: To examine whether consuming casein protein (CP) before sleep would enhance recovery after a nighttime soccer match in professional players. Methods: In a randomized, crossover design, 10 professional soccer players from the reserve squad of a team in the highest tier of English soccer consumed 40 g of CP or 40 g of carbohydrates (CON) 30 min presleep after a soccer match (kick off: 7 PM). To assess recovery, countermovement-jump height, reactive strength index, muscle soreness, and the adapted Brief Assessment of Mood (BAM+) Questionnaire were measured before and 12, 36, and 60 h after each match. Dietary intake across the testing period was also recorded. Results: There were unclear differences in external load in the matches and dietary intake between CON and CP. Casein protein had a most likely and likely beneficial effect on countermovement-jump recovery at 12 and 36 h postmatch (CP −1.6; ±1.2% vs CON −6.6; ±1.7%; −4.1; ±2.3% vs −0.4; ±1.1%, respectively). Reactive strength index recovery was most likely enhanced with CP at 12 and 36 h postmatch, and muscle soreness, as measured with a visual analog scale (in millimeters), was most likely greater in CON versus CP at 12 h postmatch (72; ±17 vs 42; ±20 mm). BAM+ was possibly lower in CON at 36 h postmatch but unaffected at other time points. Conclusions: Presleep CP accelerates functional recovery in professional soccer players and, therefore, provides a practical means of attenuating performance deficits in the days after a match. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]