Period prevalence and perceived side Effects of hormonal contraceptive use and the menstrual cycle in elite athletes

Purpose: To identify the period prevalence of hormonal contraceptive (HC) use and characterise the perceived side effects associated with the menstrual cycle and HC use. Methods: 430 elite female athletes completed a questionnaire to assess; the period prevalence of HC use, the reasons for initiation and discontinuation of HCs and the side effects experienced by HC and non-HC users. Descriptive statistics, between-group comparisons and associations between categorical variables were calculated. Results: 49.5% of athletes were currently using HCs and 69.8% had used HCs at some point. Combined oral contraceptives were most commonly used (68.1%), with 30.0% using progestin-only contraceptives (implant = 13.1%; injection = 3.7%; intrauterine system = 2.8%). Perceived negative side effects were more common with progestin-only HC use (39.1%) compared to combined HC use (17.8%; P = 0.001) and were most prevalent in implant users (53.6%; P = 0.004). HC users reported perceived positive side effects relating to the ability to predict and/or manipulate the timing, frequency and amount of menstrual bleeding. Non-HC users had a menstrual cycle length of 29± 5 d and 77.4% reported negative side effects during their menstrual cycle, primarily during days 1-2 of menstruation (81.6%). Conclusions: Approximately half of elite athletes used HCs and progestin- only contraceptive users reported greater incidences of negative side effects, especially with the implant. Due to the high inter-individual variability in reported side effects, athletes and practitioners should maintain an open dialogue to pursue the best interests of the athlete

Quantifying local rainfall dynamics and uncertain boundary conditions into a nested regional-local flood modeling system

[Abstract:] Inflow discharge and outflow stage estimates for hydraulic flood models are generally derived from river gauge data. Uncertainties in the measured inflow data and the neglect of rainfall-runoff contributions to the modeled domain downstream of the gauging locations can have a significant impact on these estimated “whole reach” inflows and consequently on flood predictions. In this study, a method to incorporate rating curve uncertainty and local rainfall-runoff dynamics into the predictions of a reach-scale flood model is proposed. The methodology is applied to the July 2007 floods of the River Severn in UK. Discharge uncertainty bounds are generated applying a nonparametric local weighted regression approach to stage-discharge measurements for two gauging stations. Measured rainfall downstream from these locations is used as input to a series of subcatchment regional hydrological model to quantify additional local inflows along the main channel. A regional simplified-physics hydraulic model is then applied to combine these contributions and generate an ensemble of discharge and water elevation time series at the boundaries of a local-scale high complexity hydraulic model. Finally, the effect of these rainfall dynamics and uncertain boundary conditions are evaluated on the local-scale model. Accurate prediction of the flood peak was obtained with the proposed method, which was only possible by resolving the additional complexity of the extreme rainfall contributions over the modeled area. The findings highlight the importance of estimating boundary condition uncertainty and local rainfall contributions for accurate prediction of river flows and inundation at regional scales.María Bermúdez gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Regional Government of Galicia (postdoctoral grant reference ED481B 2014/156-0). Gemma Coxon was supported by NERC MaRIUS: Managing the Risks, Impacts and Uncertainties of droughts and water Scarcity, grant NE/L010399/1. Jim Freer and Paul Bates by NERC Susceptibility of catchments to INTense RAinfall and flooding, grant NE/K00882X/1. A free version of the model LISFLOOD-FP is available for download at www.bristol.ac.uk/geography/research/hydrology/models/lisflood/. A free version of the model Iber is available for download at www.iberaula.es. The river cross-section data, the LiDAR digital elevation model and the gauging station rainfall, stage, flow and rating curve data of the presented case study are freely available from the Environment Agency ([email protected])Xunta de Galicia; ED481B 2014/156-0Inglaterra. University of Bristol; NE/L010399/1Inglaterra. University of Bristol; NE/K00882X/

Resilience in education: An example from primary school in Fiji and technical vocational education and training

In the Pacific, the capacity of curriculum writers for integrating the content of climate change into their curricula and/or taught Resilience [Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) & Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)] in education is limited. This paper described the findings of a 2018 study on the integration of climate change into primary and secondary schools’ curricula and taught resilience in education in TVET. It involves teachers (n = 30) from Kadavu and Levuka islands, curriculum writers and editors from the Ministry of Education, GIZ, SPC, and USP—in Fiji. An exploratory design was used to explore the curricula for Fiji and the EU PacTVET project at SPC. Information was collected from workshops and training events, interviews and project documents. Using BEKA (Benchmarking, Evidencing, Knowing, Applying) and the concept of ako (e.g. to study or educate), a model of climate change and resilience in education was designed as part of this research to help Pacific schools with their curricula. These results indicate how behavioural changes may shape Resilience, thus placing them in a better position to achieve the UNFCCC, the SDGs, the Sendai Framework and the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) targets and objectives by 2030 and beyond

Hippocampal CA3 Transcriptome Signature Correlates with Initial Precipitating Injury in Refractory Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Background: Prolonged febrile seizures constitute an initial precipitating injury (IPI) commonly associated with refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (RMTLE). in order to investigate IPI influence on the transcriptional phenotype underlying RMTLE we comparatively analyzed the transcriptomic signatures of CA3 explants surgically obtained from RMTLE patients with (FS) or without (NFS) febrile seizure history. Texture analyses on MRI images of dentate gyrus were conducted in a subset of surgically removed sclerotic hippocampi for identifying IPI-associated histo-radiological alterations.Methodology/Principal Findings: DNA microarray analysis revealed that CA3 global gene expression differed significantly between FS and NFS subgroups. An integrative functional genomics methodology was used for characterizing the relations between GO biological processes themes and constructing transcriptional interaction networks defining the FS and NFS transcriptomic signatures and its major gene-gene links (hubs). Co-expression network analysis showed that: i) CA3 transcriptomic profiles differ according to the IPI; ii) FS distinctive hubs are mostly linked to glutamatergic signalization while NFS hubs predominantly involve GABAergic pathways and neurotransmission modulation. Both networks have relevant hubs related to nervous system development, what is consistent with cell genesis activity in the hippocampus of RMTLE patients. Moreover, two candidate genes for therapeutic targeting came out from this analysis: SSTR1, a relevant common hub in febrile and afebrile transcriptomes, and CHRM3, due to its putative role in epilepsy susceptibility development. MRI texture analysis allowed an overall accuracy of 90% for pixels correctly classified as belonging to FS or NFS groups. Histological examination revealed that granule cell loss was significantly higher in FS hippocampi.Conclusions/Significance: CA3 transcriptional signatures and dentate gyrus morphology fairly correlate with IPI in RMTLE, indicating that FS-RMTLE represents a distinct phenotype. These findings may shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying refractory epilepsy phenotypes and contribute to the discovery of novel specific drug targets for therapeutic interventions