Proterozoic Bushveld-Vredefort catastrophe: Possible causes and consequences

Bushveld Complex and Vredefort Dome are unique features, formed in close proximity during the same time interval, approximately 2 Ga. Both show evidence of catastrophic events in the shallow marine environment of the otherwise stable Kaapvaal Craton. Explanation by multiple impacts of an asteroid, brecciated by an inter-asteroidal collision and disintegrating in Earth's gravity field is supported by pseudotachylite, shatter cones, coesite, and stishovite at Vredefort but these shock phenomena were not found in the Bushveld Complex. The Bushveld Complex was formerly interpreted as a lopolith, a view incompatible with gravity, electrical resistivity, magnetic, and seismic-reflection data. It is outlined by five inward-dipping lobes of layered ultramafic-mafic plutonic rocks that partly coalesce to form a basin-like feature 400 km in diameter and 65,000 sq. km. in area, equivalent to a small lunar mare. The Bushveld Complex is orders of magnitudes larger than other proposed terrestrial impact structures and differs from them in important ways. Its principal members, in order of age, are Rooiberg Felsite, RLS, and Lebowa Granite. The Bushveld-Vredefort events occurred during the interval from neutral or reducing atmosphere to oxidizing atmosphere. This transition is usually related to the evolution of photosynthesizing organisms. If the impact hypothesis for Bushveld-Vredefort can be confirmed, it may represent a global catastrophe sufficient to contribute to environmental changes favoring aerobic photosynthesizing eukaryotes over anaerobic prokaryotes

Dilemmas and Challenges in the Marketing of Hybrid Organizations: A Theoretical Exploration of Dutch Sheltered Work Companies

__Abstract__ This article explores the dilemmas and challenges that hybrid organizations face when developing marketi

Enhanced motivational interviewing for reducing weight and increasing physical activity in adults with high cardiovascular risk: the MOVE IT three-arm RCT.

BACKGROUND: Motivational interviewing (MI) enhanced with behaviour change techniques (BCTs) and deployed by health trainers targeting multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) may be more effective than interventions targeting a single risk factor. OBJECTIVES: The clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an enhanced lifestyle motivational interviewing intervention for patients at high risk of CVD in group settings versus individual settings and usual care (UC) in reducing weight and increasing physical activity (PA) were tested. DESIGN: This was a three-arm, single-blind, parallel randomised controlled trial. SETTING: A total of 135 general practices across all 12 South London Clinical Commissioning Groups were recruited. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1742 participants aged 40-74 years with a ≥ 20.0% risk of a CVD event in the following 10 years were randomised. INTERVENTIONS: The intervention was designed to integrate MI and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), delivered by trained healthy lifestyle facilitators in 10 sessions over 1 year, in group or individual format. The control group received UC. RANDOMISATION: Simple randomisation was used with computer-generated randomisation blocks. In each block, 10 participants were randomised to the group, individual or UC arm in a 4 : 3 : 3 ratio. Researchers were blind to the allocation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes are change in weight (kg) from baseline and change in PA (average number of steps per day over 1 week) from baseline at the 24-month follow-up, with an interim follow-up at 12 months. An economic evaluation estimates the relative cost-effectiveness of each intervention. Secondary outcomes include changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and CVD risk score. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 69.75 years (standard deviation 4.11 years), 85.5% were male and 89.4% were white. At the 24-month follow-up, the group and individual intervention arms were not more effective than UC in increasing PA [mean 70.05 steps, 95% confidence interval (CI) -288 to 147.9 steps, and mean 7.24 steps, 95% CI -224.01 to 238.5 steps, respectively] or in reducing weight (mean -0.03 kg, 95% CI -0.49 to 0.44 kg, and mean -0.42 kg, 95% CI -0.93 to 0.09 kg, respectively). At the 12-month follow-up, the group and individual intervention arms were not more effective than UC in increasing PA (mean 131.1 steps, 95% CI -85.28 to 347.48 steps, and mean 210.22 steps, 95% CI -19.46 to 439.91 steps, respectively), but there were reductions in weight for the group and individual intervention arms compared with UC (mean -0.52 kg, 95% CI -0.90 to -0.13 kg, and mean -0.55 kg, 95% CI -0.95 to -0.14 kg, respectively). The group intervention arm was not more effective than the individual intervention arm in improving outcomes at either follow-up point. The group and individual interventions were not cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced MI, in group or individual formats, targeted at members of the general population with high CVD risk is not effective in reducing weight or increasing PA compared with UC. Future work should focus on ensuring objective evidence of high competency in BCTs, identifying those with modifiable factors for CVD risk and improving engagement of patients and primary care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN84864870. FUNDING: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 23, No. 69. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. This research was part-funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London

Reducing weight and increasing physical activity in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease: a randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of enhanced motivational interviewing intervention with usual care.

OBJECTIVE: The epidemic of obesity is contributing to the increasing prevalence of people at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), negating the medical advances in reducing CVD mortality. We compared the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an intensive lifestyle intervention consisting of enhanced motivational interviewing in reducing weight and increasing physical activity for patients at high risk of CVD. METHODS: A three-arm, single-blind, parallel-group randomised controlled trial was conducted in consenting primary care centres in south London. We recruited patients aged 40-74 years with a QRisk2 score ≥20.0%, which indicates the probability of having a CVD event in the next 10 years. The intervention was enhanced motivational interviewing which included additional behaviour change techniques and was delivered by health trainers in 10 sessions over 1 year, in either group (n=697) or individual (n=523) format. The third arm received usual care (UC; n=522). The primary outcomes were physical activity (mean steps/day) and weight (kg). Secondary outcomes were changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and CVD risk score. We estimated the relative cost-effectiveness of each intervention. RESULTS: At 24 months, the group and individual interventions were not more effective than UC in increasing physical activity (mean difference=70.05 steps, 95% CI -288.00 to 147.90 and mean difference=7.24 steps, 95% CI -224.01 to 238.50, respectively), reducing weight (mean difference=-0.03 kg, 95% CI -0.49 to 0.44 and mean difference=-0.42 kg, 95% CI -0.93 to 0.09, respectively) or improving any secondary outcomes. The group and individual interventions were not cost-effective at conventional thresholds. CONCLUSIONS: Enhancing motivational interviewing with additional behaviour change techniques was not effective in reducing weight or increasing physical activity in those at high CVD risk

"I code as much as I can because you never know what they might ask for”. The role of the coach in Performance Analysis: The view of the analyst

Performance Analysis (PA) is viewed as an integral feature of soccer; however, the processes underpinning such practice are often described as simple, linear procedures. This fails to acknowledge the dynamism of PA and given increased investment and employment of analysts in professional soccer, scrutiny of the current processes and duties associated with the role would seem timely. To this purpose, eight full-time analysts in the English Football League (EFL) and English National League (National League) participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews and transcripts were subjected to inductive reflective thematic analysis. The data analysis revealed two higher-order categories (Flying solo / Coach control) and four themes classified as lower-order (PA pragmatism / Identifying indicators / The reticent coach / Autocratic presentations). The findings of this study highlight that the responsibilities of the performance analyst range from acting on their own initiative to responding to requests and instructions from the coach. Subsequently, the responsibility for individual actions/activities related to PA is dependent on what aspects of analysis are to be used, who is the recipient of the data/video/presentation, when in the relationship between analyst and coach the activities are developed and when in the match-play process they are carried out

Are you lookin’ at me? A mixed-methods case study to investigate the influence of coaches’ presence on performance testing outcomes in male academy rugby league players

The study used a mixed-methods approach to examine how the presence of coaches influenced male academy rugby league players’ performance during physical performance testing. Fifteen male rugby players completed two trials of 20 m sprint, countermovement jump and prone Yo-Yo test; one with only the sport scientist present and a second where the sport scientist conducted the battery with both the club's lead strength and conditioning coach, academy manager, and the first team assistant and head coach present. Players and coaches then completed one-to-one semi-structured interviews to explore their beliefs, attitudes and opinions towards physical performance testing. In all tests, the players’ performance was better when the coaches were present compared to when tests were conducted by the sport scientist alone. Interviews revealed performance testing was used by coaches to exercise their power over players to socialise them into the desired culture. Players’ own power was evident through additional effort during testing when coaches were present. Practitioners should ensure consistency in the presence of significant observers during performance testing of male rugby players to minimise their influence on test outcome

New diagnostic and treatment strategies in renal artery stenosis: a promising pursuit or disappointment foretold?

Clinical management of renal artery stenosis has seen a major shift, after randomised clinical trials have shown no group benefit of endovascular intervention relative to optimal medical control. However, the inclusion criteria of these trials have been criticised for focusing on a subset of patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis where intervention was unlikely to be beneficial. Moreover, new imaging and computational techniques have become available, which have the potential to improve identification of patients that will respond to interventional treatment. This review addresses the challenges associated with clinical decision making in patients with renal artery stenosis. Opportunities for novel diagnostic techniques to improve patient selection are discussed, along with ongoing Dutch studies and network initiatives that investigate these strategies

Season-long increases in perceived muscle soreness in professional rugby league players: role of player position, match characteristics and playing surface

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Sports Sciences on 14/09/2015, available online: DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2015.1088166Rugby League (RL) is a high-impact collision sport characterised by repeated sprints and numerous high-speed impacts and consequently players often report immediate and prolonged muscle soreness in the days after a match. We examined muscle soreness after matches during a full season to understand the extent to which match characteristics influence soreness. Thirty-one elite Super League players provided daily measures of muscle soreness after each of the 26 competitive fixtures of the 2012 season. Playing position, phase of the season, playing surface and match characteristics were recorded from each match. Muscle soreness peaked at day 1 and was still apparent at day 4 post-game with no attenuation in the magnitude of muscle soreness over the course of the season. Neither playing position, phase of season or playing surface had any effects on the extent of muscle soreness. Playing time and total number of collisions were significantly correlated with higher ratings of muscle soreness, especially in the forwards. These data indicate the absence of a repeated bout effect or ‘contact adaptations’ in elite rugby players with soreness present throughout the entire season. Strategies must now be implemented to deal with the physical and psychological consequences of prolonged feeling of pai

Physiological responses to an intensified period of rugby league competition

This study investigated the physiological responses to an intensified period of rugby league competition and the subsequent impact on match performance. The participants were 7 rugby league players competing in an international student tournament. The tournament involved three 80-minute games over a 5-day period, with 48 hours between each match. Baseline measures of upper and lower body neuromuscular functions via a plyometric press-up (PP) and countermovement jump (CMJ), respectively (peak power and peak force were measured), blood creatine kinase (CK), and perceptions of well-being were assessed with a questionnaire. These measures were repeated every morning of the competition; neuromuscular fatigue and CK were additionally assessed within 2 hours after the cessation of each game. During each match, player movements were recorded via global positioning system units. There were meaningful reductions in upper (effect size [ES] = 20.55) and lower body (ES = 20.73) neuromuscular functions, and perceptual well-being (ES = 21.56) and increases in blood CK (ES = 2.32) after game 1. These changes increased in magnitude as the competition progressed. There were large reductions in the relative distance covered in high-speed running (ES = 21.49) and maximal accelerations (ES = 20.85) during game 3. Additionally, moderate reductions in the percentage of successful tackles completed were observed during game 3 (ES = 20.59). Collectively, these results demonstrate that during an intensified period of rugby league competition, characterized by only 48 hours between matches, fatigue will accumulate. This cumulative fatigue may compromise highintensity match activities such as high-speed running, accelerations, and tackling. Furthermore, CMJs and PPs appear to be sensitive measures for monitoring neuromuscular function in rugby league players