Background The body index [body mass, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist–height ratio] and functional fitness (aerobic capacity, muscular strength, balance, flexibility and functional ability) of people with Down syndrome (DS) are substantially lower than those in the general population, as DS has an overall negative impact on health. Aims This study explored the effect of a 24‐week basketball training programme on the body composition and functional fitness of adults with DS. Methods and procedure outcomes Twenty‐two adults with DS (24 ± 6 years; 25 ± 4 kg/m2) were randomly allocated to the experimental (n = 11, 67.04 kg) and control groups (n = 11, 69.36 kg). The experimental group performed 24 weeks of basketball programme training (3 times per week, 60 min per session), while the control group maintained their daily activities without any special physical training. Body composition and functional fitness parameters were measured before and after the intervention. To evaluate the differences between groups, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used while controlling for differences at baseline. Results Hip circumference and waist–height ratio were statistically different at baseline between the intervention and control groups. After the 24‐week basketball training programme, the results showed significant differences between the exercise and control groups for hip circumference, body mass, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist–height ratio, flexibility, aerobic capacity, static and dynamic balance, balance and basketball functional ability (P < 0.05). The exercise group showed significant improvements in all variables of body composition and functional fitness (P < 0.05) except for the waist–hip ratio. There was no statistical significance between all physical composition and functional health variables in the control group except for the standing long jump (P > 0.05), with effect sizes ranging from small to large. Conclusions and implications The basketball training programme improved body composition and functional fitness of adults with DS.

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In this paper, we propose a linearized finite element method (FEM) for solving the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation with wave operator. In this method, a modified leap-frog scheme is applied for time discretization and a Galerkin finite element method is applied for spatial discretization. We prove that the proposed method keeps the energy conservation in the given discrete norm. Comparing with non-conservative schemes, our algorithm keeps higher stability. Meanwhile, an optimal error estimate for the proposed scheme is given by an error splitting technique. That is, we split the error into two parts, one from temporal discretization and the other from spatial discretization. First, by introducing a time-discrete system, we prove the uniform boundedness for the solution of this time-discrete system in some strong norms and obtain error estimates in temporal direction. With the help of the preliminary temporal estimates, we then prove the pointwise uniform boundedness of the finite element solution, and obtain the optimal L 2 -norm error estimates in the sense that the time step size is not related to spatial mesh size. Finally, numerical examples are provided to validate the convergence-order, unconditional stability and energy conservation.

An error estimate is presented for a fully discrete, linearized and stabilized finite element method for solving the coupled system of nonlinear hyperbolic and parabolic equations describing incompressible flow with variable density. In particular, the error of the numerical solution is split into the temporal and spatial components, separately. The temporal error is estimated by applying discrete maximal L^p-regularity of time-dependent Stokes equations, and the spatial error is estimated by using energy techniques based on the uniform regularity of the solutions given by semi-discretization in time.

In order to enhance its cationic sorption capacity, waste sawdust was functionalized by monosodium glutamate (MG) to produce potentially biodegradable cationic sorbent. The crude sawdust (CS) and functionalized sawdust (FS) were compared for the sorption behaviors against methylene blue (MB) in a batch system. The effects of various experimental parameters (e.g. initial pH, sorbent dose, dye concentration, contact time, and temperature etc.) were investigated and the sorption kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics were elucidated. The MB removal ratio on CS and on FS increased as the initial pH increased, and reached to the maximum value beyond pH 5 and pH 6 for FS and CS, respectively. For 250 mg/l of MB solution, a removal ratio of greater than 95% could be achieved with 2.0 g/l or more of FS. The MB removal percentage decreased more significantly on CS than on FS with increasing initial MB concentration. The isothermal data of MB sorbed on CS and on FS followed the Langmuir model and the sorption capacities (Q m ) of CS and FS for MB were 87.7 and 188.7 mg/g, respectively. The MB removal on FS and on CS reached to the equilibrium at about 10 and 36 hr, respectively. The MB sorption processes on FS and CS followed the pseudo-first-order rate kinetics. The sorptions of MB on CS and on FS were spontaneous and exothermic processes, and lower temperatures were favorable for the sorption processes.

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