Nearly 90% participation in sports activity 12 years after non-surgical management for anterior cruciate ligament injury relates to physical outcome measures

Purpose: Traditionally reconstructive surgery is recommended for patients planning to return to sport (RTS), especially to pivoting sports after anterior cruciate (ACL) rupture. Recent trends focus on delaying or avoiding surgery as some studies have found similar rates of RTS following both surgical and conservative management. This study aimed to establish long-term RTS levels in ACL-ruptured individuals treated conservatively, and to investigate the relationship between outcome measures and RTS, in particular, pivoting sports. Method: Fifty-five patients from a cohort of 132 ACL-deficient patients were followed-up for 12 (IQR 8,19) years post injury. Mean-aged 42 years, 22 patients were females and 33 males, 35 had meniscal injuries. Patients were treated with physiotherapy focussing on strength and dynamic stability training and not reconstructive surgery. Return to sport was measured on a 6-point scale. Outcome measures included: objective stability, subjective stability, quadriceps and hamstring strength. Spearman’s rho and Chi-square tests were used to assess the relationship between RTS and outcome measures. Results: Eighty-nine percent of ACL-deficient patients were currently participating in sport despite a 38% increase in anterior translation (p < 0.001) and a 7.5% loss of quadriceps strength (p = 0.004) compared to the contralateral side. Six patients (11%) did not RTS, ten (18%) returned to safe sports, five (9%) returned to running and 16 (29%) to non-strenuous sports involving limited twisting. Eighteen patients (33%) returned to pivoting sports, 12(22%) at recreational level and six (11%) at competitive level. The level of RTS was related to subjective stability (p = 0.002), and to quadriceps and hamstring strength of the injured leg (p < 0.001). Patients able to return to pivoting sports differed significantly from those not doing so in outcome measures including objective (p = 0.022) and subjective stability (p = 0.035), and quadriceps strength (p = 0.044). Conclusions: Eighty-nine percent of ACL-ruptured individuals treated conservatively lead an active sporting life. One-third returned to pivoting sports. Overall RTS was related to subjective and objective stability and quadriceps and to a lesser extent hamstring strength. This finding reinforced the importance of dynamic stability training as an initial treatment option in most cases

Time-to-event analysis for sports injury research part 2: time-varying outcomes

Background Time-to-event modelling is underutilised in sports injury research. Still, sports injury researchers have been encouraged to consider time-to-event analyses as a powerful alternative to other statistical methods. Therefore, it is important to shed light on statistical approaches suitable for analysing training load related key-questions within the sports injury domain. Content In the present article, we illuminate: (i) the possibilities of including time-varying outcomes in time-to-event analyses, (ii) how to deal with a situation where different types of sports injuries are included in the analyses (ie, competing risks), and (iii) how to deal with the situation where multiple subsequent injuries occur in the same athlete. Conclusion Time-to-event analyses can handle time-varying outcomes, competing risk and multiple subsequent injuries. Although powerful, time-to-event has important requirements: researchers are encouraged to carefully consider prior to any data collection that five injuries per exposure state or transition is needed to avoid conducting statistical analyses on time-to-event data leading to biased results. This requirement becomes particularly difficult to accommodate when a stratified analysis is required as the number of variables increases exponentially for each additional strata included. In future sports injury research, we need stratified analyses if the target of our research is to respond to the question: ‘how much change in training load is too much before injury is sustained, among athletes with different characteristics?’ Responding to this question using multiple time-varying exposures (and outcomes) requires millions of injuries. This should not be a barrier for future research, but collaborations across borders to collecting the amount of data needed seems to be an important step forward

An IoT architecture for preventive maintenance of medical devices in healthcare organizations

In recent years, hospitals have spent a significant amount on technologically advanced medical equipment to ensure not only the accuracy and reliability of medical devices, but also the required level of performance. Although medical devices have been revolutionized thanks to technology advancements, outdated maintenance strategies are still used in healthcare systems and services. Also, maintenance plans must often be developed for a mixture of advanced and obsolete technologies being used in medical devices. Therefore, most healthcare organizations have been facing the challenge of detecting equipment-related risks that would have been alleviated if effective integrity monitoring mechanisms were in place. Additionally, continuously growing volumes of large data streams, collected from sensors and actuators embedded into network-enabled sensors and microprocessors of medical equipment, require a scalable platform architecture to support the necessary storage and real-time processing of the data for device monitoring and maintenance. This paper investigates the issue of maintaining medical devices through an Internet-of-Things (IoT)-enabled autonomous integrity monitoring mechanism for those devices generating large-scale real-time data in healthcare organizations. The proposed architecture that includes an integrity monitoring framework and a data analytics module ensures the complete visibility into medical devices and provides a facility to predict possible failures before happening

The relationship of peritraumatic distress and dissociation with beliefs about memory following natural disasters

Objective: Metacognitive models posit that beliefs about thoughts and memories influence the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following traumatic events. This study examined the relationship of beliefs about memory with peritraumatic experiences in the development of PTSD symptoms following the Canterbury earthquakes and Queensland floods. Method: A convenience sample of individuals affected by these disasters (N = 662) was given questionnaires measuring peritraumatic distress and dissociation, beliefs about memory, and PTSD symptoms. Results: The results showed that individuals with a high level of peritraumatic distress and dissociation or high level of positive or negative beliefs about memory reported increased PTSD symptoms compared to those with a low level of the respective variable. Furthermore, peritraumatic distress and dissociation interacted with negative beliefs about memory. The difference in PTSD symptoms for those with a high compared to low level of peritraumatic distress and dissociation was elevated when individuals also reported a high level of negative beliefs about memory. This difference was diminished for individuals who reported a low level of negative beliefs about memory. Conclusions: These findings suggest that beliefs about memory may moderate the effects of peritraumatic distress and dissociation on PTSD symptoms following a natural disaster. Given that metacognitive beliefs are a modifiable risk factor, future research is warranted to consider their potential causal effects on PTSD outcomes, particularly for individuals with severe peritraumatic experiences

Environmental influences on stem borer incidence in Australian subtropical Corymbia plantations

Population dynamics of forest insect pests are a key determinant of forest health globally, but there is often insufficient information on tree susceptibility and environmental drivers of attack to construct pest population models that inform management. We investigated susceptibility of Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata (spotted gum) plantations to two stem borer families (Cerambycidae, Cossidae) for which the drivers of attack are largely unknown. We surveyed 20 plantations for borer incidence (proportion of trees attacked), severity (number of attacks/attacked tree) and height and collected environmental variables in six categories (site characteristics, physical soil characteristics, foliar nutrition, landscape structure, climate and management). Most attacks on tree stems were associated with the cerambycid beetle Phoracantha solida, which were positively related to secondary attack from the cossid moth Culama australis. Mean incidence of borer attack was 3.5% and highly variable across plantations (0–22%). Phoracantha solida incidence was highly correlated with severity at a plantation scale. Relative tree diameter was the most important associate of P. solida attack incidence; proportionately larger diameter trees were more likely to be attacked where no thinning had occurred. Foliar nutrients, specifically lower concentrations of potassium, iron and nitrogen, were associated with higher P. solida attack incidence. We suggest that measuring incidence can be used as a proxy for severity of P. solida-associated damage at a plantation scale in operational pest surveillance. The results indicate that thinning may reduce the occurrence of proportionately larger diameter trees being attacked. We also recommend further research to determine the effectiveness of adding fertiliser to remediate sites that are deficient in potassium, nitrogen and iron

Resisting Neoliberalism in Higher Education Volume II: Prising Open the Cracks

This book outlines the creative responses academics are using to subvert powerful market forces that restrict university work to a neoliberal, economic focus. The second volume in a diptych of critical academic work on the changing landscape of neoliberal universities, the editors and contributors examine how academics ‘prise open the cracks’ in neoliberal logic to find space for resistance, collegiality, democracy and hope. Adopting a distinctly postcolonial positioning, the volume interrogates the link between neoliberalism and the ongoing privileging of Euro-American theorising in universities. The contributors move from accounts of unmitigated managerialism and toxic workplaces, to the need to decolonise the academy to, finally, illustrating the various creative and counter-hegemonic practices academics use to resist, subvert and reinscribe dominant neoliberal discourses. This hopeful volume will appeal to students and scholars interested in the role of universities in advancing cultural democracy, as well as university staff, academics and students

Research engagement, impact and sustainable tourism

In this editorial, we reflect on how the Journal of Sustainable Tourism can contribute towards sustainable tourism researchers achieving more impact with their research. We propose some changes that can be tested in, and introduced gradually and collaboratively with, the community of the editorial board and authors. To support impactful mind sets, we will promote research that reflects diverse academic communities. To promote impactful research topics, we will encourage authors to frame their submitted articles against the Sustainable Development Goals, while research that is time sensitive will be fast tracked so it can contribute to current debates. To promote impactful methodologies, we shall favour articles that use mixed methods and action research, and those that conduct longitudinal, experimental, and evaluative research. To promote impactful partnerships, we will favour multidisciplinary approaches and research that has been co-created with stakeholders. To promote impactful communication and dissemination, we will continue to build an online community on social media for sustainable tourism researchers, we will promote articles in social media to raise their visibility, and we will provide free access to those articles that are deemed to have the greatest potential to impact positively on society

What to expect after the honeymoon: evolutionary psychology of part-time franchising

This study utilises an evolutionary psychology theoretical lens in investigating the motivational incentives governing part-time franchise adoption. Applying a qualitative approach with 26 interviews with part-time franchisees, the study reveals that males and females exhibit no difference in their cognitive abilities including business experience and business acumen. However, there are specific gender-based differences in male and female motivations and expected outcomes from their franchising business due to different areas of adaptive problems that were encountered. Men are more likely to perceive part-time franchising as a means of resource and status acquisition, while women are more likely to view it as a means of supplementary income generation whilst providing greater access to work-life flexibility. Based on the findings, we have developed a part-time franchising framework informed by an evolutionary theoretical lens. The results suggest that part-time franchising may offer an adjunct business growth model in many existing franchise systems

Mindfulness Induces Changes in Anterior Alpha Asymmetry in Healthy Older Adults

Objectives: Anterior alpha asymmetry is an EEG measure of relative left- or right-sided prefrontal cortical activity that has been associated with affective style, such that greater relative left-sided activity is associated with positive affect and approach-related behaviours. While mindfulness has been shown to enhance attention and affect, here we investigate the underlying neurobiological changes supporting these outcomes by assessing anterior alpha asymmetry. Methods: A longitudinal RCT was conducted to investigate the effect of an 8-week mindfulness training (MT) intervention on anterior alpha asymmetry and affect in a group of healthy adults aged over 60 years (n = 41). An active control computer-based attention training (CT) program (n = 26) designed to activate similar attentional components to mindfulness was used to determine if outcomes resulted from attention training or mindfulness-specific factors. The Sustained Attention to Response Task was used to assess attentional performance, while a breath counting task was used to classify mindfulness participants into high (MT-HIGH; n = 19) and low (MT-LOW; n = 22) proficiency groups. Results: While all groups displayed improved attentional performance, only the MT-HIGH and MT-LOW groups showed significant increases in positive affect as measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. The MT-HIGH group showed significantly increased relative left-sided activity at both Fp1/Fp2 and F3/F4 electrode pairs, while no significant changes were observed in the MT-LOW and CT groups. Conclusions: These results suggest that 8 weeks of mindfulness training is capable of inducing changes in resting anterior alpha asymmetry, but these results are dependent upon the level of proficiency achieved

Growing canarium nut agri-businesses in Vanuatu through local food tourism: A field study

This paper explores tourists’ motivation and behaviours regarding the purchase of local canarium nut food products while visiting Vanuatu. Specifically, the influence that tourists’ prosocial food motivation (buying local food to assist local people) and in situ promotional activities (being promotions that occur in Vanuatu during tourists’ stay) have on tourists’ self-reported purchase behaviour is investigated. In this field study, trained Ni-Vanuatu enumerators collected quantitative survey responses. Data from this exploratory study (n=61) were analysed using partial least square equation modelling. It was found that that tourists’ prosocial food motivation increases their interest in local food (passive purchase behaviour) while in situ promotional activities lead to tourists actively seeking out local food (active purchasing behaviour). Practical implications are that agri-businesses in Vanuatu will benefit from enhanced branding and labelling of local food products as well as promoting local foods to tourists’ in situ via personal selling and word-of-mouth communication