High Tackle Headache:Implications of Referee Agreement for Tackle Height Law Change

Objectives: Rugby Union has a relatively high risk of injury. Early evidence suggests a benefit of lowering tackle height to reduce head and neck injuries, although concerns persist among stakeholders regarding implementation challenges. This study aimed to understand whether referees can reach the same conclusion regarding tackle height in a controlled environment (ie, video) and whether priming influenced these decisions.Methods: Forty-eight active referees completed a questionnaire based on high-tackle decision-making guidelines after watching tackles. Participants were randomly assigned one of two instructional videos containing a high or legal tackle to investigate the impact of priming on law interpretation.Results: The percent agreement regarding tackle height was 78.1% between participants, 62.7% between participants and an experienced analyst, and 74.0% between participants and a gold-standard referee. Mean intra-rater reliability when determining whether a tackle was high was substantial (percent agreement: 91.2%). For high tackles, 83% of participants agreed on the danger level, 57% on the contact location and 71% on the presence of mitigating factors. No significant effects of priming were observed. Inter-rater agreement among participants and the gold-standard referee was moderate for all items except danger and height, which showed strong agreement.Conclusion: These results suggest a need for improved referee training to support changes to the legal tackle height

Service expectations and performance evaluation in sport child camps:participants and parents' perspectives

Aim: The current study aims to examine the differences between service expectations and service performance evaluation in sport child camps among participants and their parents. Methods: Data were collected from 258 sport child camp participants and 226 parents, before and after the camp experience, to obtain their service expectations and service performance evaluations, respectively. Paired samples t tests were conducted to examine whether a significant difference existed between expectations and performance evaluations among both participants and parents. Results: Significant differences were found between participants’ expectations and performance evaluations regarding Contact with Physical Environmental, Food and Fun. For parents, significant differences were found between expectations and performance evaluations regarding Staff, Activities Program, Service Failures and Recovery, and Food. In general, participants had higher expectations than their evaluations of the service delivered by sport child camp. In turn, parents evaluated the service performance with higher scores than their initial expectations of the sport child camp. Conclusion: This study represents an advance in the knowledge about participants and parents’ expectations with the sport child camp services and highlights the importance of contrasting expectations and performance of the service. The results allow sport child camp managers to diagnose where improvements should be targeted and are useful to identify strengths and weaknesses of service quality

Does being vegetarian make you boyfriend material? Investigating the role of dietary preferences on mate appeal

Altering consumer demand for meat calls for a deep understanding of the factors consistently influencing people's appetite for meat and thus acting as a barrier to dietary change. Previous research has supported the link between meat and masculinity and its implications for mate appeal, whereby omnivores are perceived as more attractive potential romantic partners due to greater perceived masculinity. The present study extends this research by distinguishing between the role of dietary preference on short- and long-term mate appeal. An experimental study presented participants with profiles of ostensible men either described as having omnivorous or vegetarian diets. Results indicated that there were no differences in mate desirability nor in perceived intelligence, wealth or caringness, contradicting previous research highlighting the romantic benefits of meat consumption. Vegetarian men, however, were rated as more faithful, possibly alluding to some greater appeal for long-term romantic relationships, but further replications are needed. Implications and directions for further research are discussed

Effect of gravity-induced shape change on the diffusion-limited evaporation of thin sessile and pendant droplets

A comprehensive study of the effect of gravity-induced shape change on the diffusion-limited evaporation of thin sessile and pendant droplets on a horizontal substrate is performed. Specifically, theoretical predictions for the evolution, and hence the lifetime, of sessile and pendant droplets evaporating in four modes of evaporation, namely, the constant contact radius (CR), the constant contact angle (CA), the stick-slide (SS), and the stick-jump (SJ) modes, are obtained. In particular, it is shown that gravity-induced shape change can cause quantitative differences in the evolution of sessile and pendant droplets compared to that of a droplet in the absence of (or in the neglect of) the effect of gravity (a "zero-gravity droplet"). For example, whereas sessile and pendant droplets evaporating in the CR mode evolve in qualitatively the same manner as a zero-gravity droplet, the evolution of droplets evaporating in the CA mode is more complicated. Specifically, while a zero-gravity droplet evaporating in the CA mode evolves according to the well-known d2 and 2/3 laws, an initially large sessile droplet evolves according to qualitatively different d and 1/2 laws, and an initially large pendant droplet evolves with the contact radius and the volume (but not, of course, the contact angle) behaving as if the droplet was evaporating in the CR mode. It is also found, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, that the maximum height of a sessile droplet evaporating in the CA mode is a nonmonotonic function of time when the initial volume of the droplet is sufficiently large. Furthermore, it is found that for all four modes of evaporation a sessile droplet always evaporates faster, and hence has a shorter lifetime, than a zero-gravity droplet with the same initial volume, which in turn always evaporates faster, and hence has a shorter lifetime, than a pendant droplet with the same initial volume. It is also shown that for all four modes of evaporation the lifetime of a droplet is a monotonically increasing function of the initial volume of the droplet, that the lifetime of a droplet evaporating in the CA mode is always longer than that of the same droplet evaporating in the CR mode, and that the lifetimes of droplets evaporating in the SS and SJ modes both always lie between the lifetimes of the same droplet evaporating in the extreme modes.</p

Influence of fibre orientation on mechanical behaviour of Onyx-carbon fibre composites fabricated via additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing has introduced new possibilities for fabricating composite materials with tailored mechanical properties, particularly through precise control of fibre orientation. This study explores the influence of carbon fibre reinforcement orientation on the mechanical performance of Onyx FR-A composites, manufactured using the Markforged FX20 printer. Mechanical tests, including tensile, compressive, open-hole tension (OHT), and interlaminar shear stress (ILSS) tests, were conducted on specimens with varying fibre orientations (0° and 90° relative to the loading axis). The findings demonstrate that fibre orientation plays a crucial role in determining material behaviour, with 0° orientations providing enhanced tensile and compressive strength compared to 90° orientations. Additionally, additive manufacturing enables the creation of complex geometries, such as OHT specimens, without secondary processes like drilling, which can damage fibres, offering significant advantages over traditional methods. The results offer critical insights into composite design for high-performance applications

A Model of the Mechanisms Underpinning Unconventional Aqueous Humor Outflow

PURPOSE: To develop a mathematical model of the unconventional outflow pathway.METHODS: The unconventional pathway is modeled as having two key components: the uveo-vortex and the trans-scleral pathways. The uveo-vortex pathway is modeled using Starling's law and the trans-scleral flow using predominately hydrostatic forces. We include transcytosis from the choriocapillaris (CC) and collapsibility of the suprachoroidal space (SCS) as particular features. There is considerable uncertainty in a number of model parameter values, and we identify the most significant ones using sensitivity analysis.RESULTS: The model successfully generates a fluid flow from anterior to posterior in the choroidal tissue and the SCS, which also demonstrates many of the known physiological features, including the insensitivity of the unconventional flow to fluctuations in the IOP, albumin removal by the trans-scleral flow, and the CC as a net absorber of fluid from, and supplier of albumin to, the choroidal tissue. The model supports the two previously proposed mechanisms of the action of prostaglandin F2α analogues.CONCLUSIONS: We have developed a theoretical model of the unconventional aqueous outflow pathway that successfully captures its physiological features and elucidates the actions of prostaglandin F2α analogues and other drugs.</p

Dataset for "The influence of occupant behaviour on indoor air quality and COVID-19 risk in refugee shelters and temporary houses"

The dataset contains the monitored data in six temporary houses in Japan. The dataset contains the outdoor temperature of the location and the indoor parameters of the temporary houses: indoor concentration of carbon dioxide, indoor temperature and relative humidity. The dataset also contains monitored occupant behaviour: occupancy, window and door operation, use of kitchen

Cannabis Use Cessation and the Risk of Psychotic Disorders:A Case–Control Analysis from the First Episode Case–Control EU-GEI WP2 Study: L’arrêt de l’utilisation du cannabis et le risque de troubles psychotiques: Une analyse cas-témoins tirée de l’étude cas-témoins EU-GEI WP2 centrée sur les premiers épisodes psychotiques

Objectives: To establish whether the risk of psychotic disorders in cannabis users changes with time following cannabis cessation using data from the European Network of National Networks studying Gene–Environment Interactions in Schizophrenia (EU-GEI) case–control study. Methods: The EU-GEI case–control study collected data from first episode psychosis patients and population controls across sites in Europe and Brazil between May 2010 and April 2015. Adjusted logistic regressions were applied to examine whether the odd of psychosis case status changed: (1) with time following cannabis cessation and (2) across different cannabis use groups. Results: Psychosis risk declined following cessation of cannabis use (β = −0.002; 95% CI −0.004 to 0.000; P = 0.067). When accounting for duration of use, this effect remained (β = −0.003; 95% CI −0.005 to −0.001; P = 0.013). However, in models adjusting for frequency and potency of use the result was not significant. Analysis of different cannabis use groups indicated that ex-users who stopped 1 to 4 weeks previously had the highest risk for psychotic disorder compared to never users (OR = 6.89; 95% CI 3.91–12.14; P &lt; 0.001); risk declined for those who stopped 5 to 12 weeks previously (OR = 2.70; 95% CI 1.73–4.21; P &lt; 0.001) and 13 to 36 weeks previously (OR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.00–2.33; P = 0.050). Ex-users who stopped 37 to 96 weeks (OR = 1.01; 95% CI 0.66–1.57; P = 0.949), 97 to 180 weeks (OR = 0.73; 95% CI 0.45–1.19; P = 0.204), and 181 weeks previously or more (OR = 1.18; 95% CI 0.76–1.83; P = 0.456) had similar psychosis risk to those who had never-used cannabis. Conclusion: Risk of psychotic disorder appears to decline with time following cannabis cessation, receding to that of those who have never used cannabis after 37 weeks or more of abstinence. Although, preliminary results suggest that frequent users of high potency types of cannabis might maintain an elevated risk compared to never users even when abstaining for longer than 181 weeks.</p

The role of multicriteria decision analysis in the development of candidate classification criteria for antisynthetase syndrome:analysis from the CLASS project

OBJECTIVES: To develop and evaluate the performance of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA)-driven candidate classification criteria for antisynthetase syndrome (ASSD).METHODS: A list of variables associated with ASSD was developed using a systematic literature review and then refined into an ASSD key domains and variables list by myositis and interstitial lung disease (ILD) experts. This list was used to create preferences surveys in which experts were presented with pairwise comparisons of clinical vignettes and asked to select the case that was more likely to represent ASSD. Experts' answers were analysed using the Potentially All Pairwise RanKings of all possible Alternatives method to determine the weights of the key variables to formulate the MCDA-based classification criteria. Clinical vignettes scored by the experts as consensus cases or controls and real-world data collected in participating centres were used to test the performance of candidate classification criteria using receiver operating characteristic curves and diagnostic accuracy metrics.RESULTS: Positivity for antisynthetase antibodies had the highest weight for ASSD classification. The highest-ranked clinical manifestation was ILD, followed by myositis, mechanic's hands, joint involvement, inflammatory rashes, Raynaud phenomenon, fever, and pulmonary hypertension. The candidate classification criteria achieved high areas under the curve when applied to the consensus cases and controls and real-world patient data. Sensitivities, specificities, and positive and negative predictive values were &gt;80%.CONCLUSIONS: The MCDA-driven candidate classification criteria were consistent with published ASSD literature and yielded high accuracy and validity.</p