University of Costa Rica

About: University of Costa Rica is a education organization based out in San José, Costa Rica. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Venom. The organization has 9817 authors who have published 16781 publications receiving 238208 citations. The organization is also known as: UCR & Universidad de Costa Rica.

Kinesiological Factors in Vertical Jump Performance: Differences Within individuals

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in both the coordination patterns of segmental actions and the dynamics of vertical jumping that accompany changes in vertical jump performance (VJP) occurring from trial to trial in single subjects. Ground reaction forces and video data were analyzed for 50 maximal vertical jumps for 8 subjects. It was possible to predict VJP from whole-body or even segmental kinematics and kinetics in spite of the small jump performance variability. Best whole-body models included peak and average mechanical power, propulsion time, and peak negative impulse. Best segmental models included coordination variables and a few joint torques and powers. Contrary to expectations, VJP was lower for trials with a proximal-to-distal sequence of joint reversals.

Meson Transition Form Factors in Light-Front Holographic QCD

Abstract: We study the photon-to-meson transition form factors (TFFs) F{sub M{gamma}}(Q{sup 2}) for {gamma}{gamma}* {yields} M using light-front holographic methods. The Chern-Simons action, which is a natural form in 5-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, leads directly to an expression for the photon-to-pion TFF for a class of confining models. Remarkably, the predicted pion TFF is identical to the leading order QCD result where the distribution amplitude has asymptotic form. The Chern-Simons form is local in AdS space and is thus somewhat limited in its predictability. It only retains the q{bar q} component of the pion wavefunction, and further, it projects out only the asymptotic form of the meson distribution amplitude. It is found that in order to describe simultaneously the decay process {pi}{sup 0} {yields} {gamma}{gamma} and the pion TFF at the asymptotic limit, a probability for the q{bar q} component of the pion wavefunction P{sub q{bar q}} = 0.5 is required; thus giving indication that the contributions from higher Fock states in the pion light-front wavefunction need to be included in the analysis. The probability for the Fock state containing four quarks (anti-quarks) which follows from analyzing the hadron matrix elements, P{sub q{bar q}q{bar q}} {approx} 10%, agrees with the analysis of the pion elastic form factor using light-front holography including higher Fock components in the pion wavefunction. The results for the TFFs for the {eta} and {eta}{prime} mesons are also presented. The rapid growth of the pion TFF exhibited by the BABAR data at high Q{sup 2} is not compatible with the models discussed in this article, whereas the theoretical calculations are in agreement with the experimental data for the {eta} and {eta}{prime} TFFs.

Structure and serpentinization of the subducting Cocos plate offshore Nicaragua and Costa Rica

Abstract: The Cocos plate experiences extensional faulting as it bends into the Middle American Trench (MAT) west of Nicaragua, which may lead to hydration of the subducting mantle. To estimate the along strike variations of volatile input from the Cocos plate into the subduction zone, we gathered marine seismic refraction data with the R/V Marcus Langseth along a 396 km long trench parallel transect offshore of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Our inversion of crustal and mantle seismic phases shows two notable features in the deep structure of the Cocos plate: (1) Normal oceanic crust of 6 km thickness from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) lies offshore Nicaragua, but offshore central Costa Rica we find oceanic crust from the northern flank of the Cocos Nazca (CN) spreading center with more complex seismic velocity structure and a thickness of 10 km. We attribute the unusual seismic structure offshore Costa Rica to the midplate volcanism in the vicinity of the Galapagos hot spot. (2) A decrease in Cocos plate mantle seismic velocities from ∼7.9 km/s offshore Nicoya Peninsula to ∼6.9 km/s offshore central Nicaragua correlates well with the northward increase in the degree of crustal faulting outboard of the MAT. The negative seismic velocity anomaly reaches a depth of ∼12 km beneath the Moho offshore Nicaragua, which suggests that larger amounts of water are stored deep in the subducting mantle lithosphere than previously thought. If most of the mantle low velocity zone can be interpreted as serpentinization, the amount of water stored in the Cocos plate offshore central Nicaragua may be about 2.5 times larger than offshore Nicoya Peninsula. Hydration of oceanic lithosphere at deep sea trenches may be the most important mechanism for the transfer of aqueous fluids to volcanic arcs and the deeper mantle.