Ectopic spleen: An easily identifiable but commonly undiagnosed entity until manifestation of complications

AbstractINTRODUCTIONEctopic spleen is an uncommon clinical entity as splenectomy for treatment of ectopic spleens accounts for less than 0.25% of splenectomies. The most common age of presentation is childhood especially under 1 year of age followed by the third decade of life.PRESENTATION OF CASEThe present report refers to a patient with torsion of a pelvic spleen treated with splenectomy. The patient exhibited a period of vague intermittent lower abdominal pain lasted 65 days followed by a period of constant left lower quadrant pain of increasing severity lasted 6 days. On the first 65 days, vague pain was attributed to progressive torsion of the spleen which resulted in venous congestion. On the last 6 days, exacerbation of pain was attributed to irreducible torsion, infraction of the arterial supply, acute ischemia, strangulation and rupture of the gangrenous spleen. Diagnosis was made by CT which revealed absence of the spleen in its normal position, a homogeneous pelvic mass with no contrast enhancement, free blood in the peritoneal cavity, and confirmed by laparotomy.DISCUSSIONClinical manifestations of ectopic spleen vary from asymptomatic to abdominal emergency. Symptoms are most commonly attributed to complications related to torsion. Operative management, including splenopexy or splenectomy, is the treatment of choice in uncomplicated and complicated cases because conservative treatment of an asymptomatic ectopic spleen is associated with a complication rate of 65%.CONCLUSIONAlthough an ectopic spleen can be easily identified on clinical examination, it is commonly misdiagnosed until the manifestation of complications in adulthood

Antecedents and Consequences of Outward Emotional Reactions in Table Tennis

The purpose of the present study was to shed light on the behavioral component of emotions by investigating antecedents and consequences of outward emotional reactions during table tennis competitions. With regards to the antecedents of outward emotional reactions, in line with appraisal theories, we considered the importance and the controllability of the situation as two important constructs. Fifteen table tennis matches, involving in total 21 players (7 females) with a mean age of 16.71 (SD = 0.70), were video recorded during the finals of the youth National Championship in Greece. Based on the footage, outward emotional reactions after every point were classified as neutral, positive, or negative. Situational factors in relation to the scoring system, bearing the importance and the controllability of the situation, were formed to assess antecedents of outward emotional reactions. To measure the consequences of outward emotional reactions, the impact on the outcome of the next point was assessed. Generalized linear models with a logit link were computed separately for positive outward emotional reactions after having won a point and negative outward emotional reactions after having lost a point. In general, the results show that while situational factors bearing the importance of the situation could predict positive and negative outward emotional reactions, the effects of situational factors bearing the controllability of the situation were less conclusive. In addition, the results also showed interactive effects between the two constructs for both positive and negative outward emotional reactions. With regard to the consequences of outward emotional reactions, negative and positive outward emotional reactions could not predict the outcome of the next point. To conclude, this study highlights the behavioral component of emotions as a viable alternative to enhance our understanding of the role of emotions in sport

Meckel's Diverticulum in Adults: Surgical Concerns

Since Meckel's diverticulum (MD) is rarely diagnosed in adults, there is no consensus on what type of procedure to be performed for symptomatic MD and whether to resect or not an accidentally discovered MD. Treatment of symptomatic MD is definitive surgery, including diverticulectomy, wedge, and segmental resection. The type of procedure depends on: (a) the integrity of diverticulum base and adjacent ileum; (b) the presence and location of ectopic tissue within MD. The presence of ectopic tissue cannot be accurately predicted intraoperatively by palpation and macroscopic appearance. When present, its location can be predicted based on height-to-diameter ratio. Long diverticula (height-to-diameter ratio >2) have ectopic tissue located at the body and tip, whereas short diverticula have wide distribution of ectopic tissue including the base. When indication of surgery is simple diverticulitis, diverticulectomy should be performed for long and wedge resection for short MD. When indication of surgery is complicated diverticulitis with perforated base, complicated intestinal obstruction and tumor, wedge, or segmental resection should be performed. When the indication of surgery is bleeding, wedge and segmental resection are the preferred methods for resection. Regarding management of incidentally discovered MD, routine resection is not indicated. The decision making should be based on risk factors for developing future complications, such as: (1) patient age younger than 50 years; (2) male sex; (3) diverticulum length >2 cm; and (4) ectopic or abnormal features within a diverticulum. In this case, diverticulectomy should be performed for long and wedge resection for short MD

Psychological determinants of whole-body endurance performance

Background: No literature reviews have systematically identified and evaluated research on the psychological determinants of endurance performance, and sport psychology performance-enhancement guidelines for endurance sports are not founded on a systematic appraisal of endurance-specific research. Objective: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify practical psychological interventions that improve endurance performance and to identify additional psychological factors that affect endurance performance. Additional objectives were to evaluate the research practices of included studies, to suggest theoretical and applied implications, and to guide future research. Methods: Electronic databases, forward-citation searches, and manual searches of reference lists were used to locate relevant studies. Peer-reviewed studies were included when they chose an experimental or quasi-experimental research design, a psychological manipulation, endurance performance as the dependent variable, and athletes or physically-active, healthy adults as participants. Results: Consistent support was found for using imagery, self-talk, and goal setting to improve endurance performance, but it is unclear whether learning multiple psychological skills is more beneficial than learning one psychological skill. The results also demonstrated that mental fatigue undermines endurance performance, and verbal encouragement and head-to-head competition can have a beneficial effect. Interventions that influenced perception of effort consistently affected endurance performance. Conclusions: Psychological skills training could benefit an endurance athlete. Researchers are encouraged to compare different practical psychological interventions, to examine the effects of these interventions for athletes in competition, and to include a placebo control condition or an alternative control treatment. Researchers are also encouraged to explore additional psychological factors that could have a negative effect on endurance performance. Future research should include psychological mediating variables and moderating variables. Implications for theoretical explanations of endurance performance and evidence-based practice are described

Competitive Performance Effects of Psychological Skill Training for Youth Swimmers

This study assessed the effect of two different psychological methods of skills training-self-talk and goal setting-on the swimming performance of youth swimmers. We allocated a convenience sample of club and county level youth swimmers ( N  = 49; M age  = 10.8, SD  = 1.25) to one of the three groups: self-talk, goal setting, or a control group engaged in no systematic psychological method of skills training. The groups were balanced in terms of competitive performance ability, age, and gender. Participants in the experimental conditions (self-talk and goal setting) completed a 5-week psychological skills intervention program and were measured on pre- and post-200-m swimming time in competition. After controlling for level of engagement in the program, analysis of covariance revealed a significant omnibus effect ( p  = .006, η p 2  = .20) with post hoc pairwise comparisons using magnitude-based statistics demonstrating that goal setting had a small positive effect compared with self-talk ( η 2 = .40; ± 0.45). Both self-talk ( η 2 = .50; ±0.48) and goal setting ( η 2 = .71; ±0.4) showed a small and moderate positive effect, respectively, relative to the control group. A social validation check confirmed that the swimmers found the intervention to be relevant, beneficial, and meaningful for improving performance. Psychological skills training may be effective in improving youth swimming performance; specific mechanisms underlying these benefits need further exploration

Effects of psychological and psychosocial interventions on sport performance:a meta-analysis

Background: Psychologists are increasingly supporting the quest for performance enhancement in sport and there is a need to evaluate the evidence base underpinning their work. Objectives: To synthesize the most rigorous available research that has evaluated psychological, social, and psychosocial interventions with sport performers on variables relating to their athletic performance, and to address some of the perplexing issues in the sport psychology intervention literature (e.g., do interventions have a lasting effect on sport performance?). Methods: Randomized controlled trials were identified through electronic databases, hand-searching volumes of pertinent journals, scrutinizing reference lists of previous reviews, and contacting experts in the evaluation of interventions in this field. Included studies were required to evaluate the effects of psychological, social, or psychosocial interventions on sport performance in athletes when compared to a no-treatment or placebo-controlled treatment comparison group. A random effects meta-analysis calculating the standardized mean difference (Hedges’ g), meta-regressions, and trim and fill analyses were conducted. Data were analyzed at post-test and follow-up (ranging from 1 to 4 weeks after the intervention finished) assessments. Results: Psychological and psychosocial interventions were shown to enhance sport performance at post-test (k = 35, n = 997, Hedges’ g = 0.57, 95 % CI = 0.22–0.92) and follow-up assessments (k = 8, n = 189, Hedges’ g = 1.16, 95 % CI = 0.25–2.08); no social interventions were included or evaluated. Larger effects were found for psychosocial interventions and there was some evidence that effects were greatest in coach-delivered interventions and in samples with a greater proportion of male participants. Conclusions: Psychological and psychosocial interventions have a moderate positive effect on sport performance, and this effect may last at least a month following the end of the intervention. Future research would benefit from following guidelines for intervention reporting

Approach and avoidance coping during task performance in young men: The role of goal attainment expectancies

The present study investigated approach and avoidance coping strategies as a function of goal attainment expectancies in young men. Twenty-four male students participated in an experiment consisting of two rowing tests. After the initial test, participants were divided into two experimental groups and were assigned to conditions of attainable and unattainable goals for the final test, depending on performance in the initial test and experimental condition. Participants of the two groups reported similar goal attainment expectancies before the start of the final test; however, during the task expectancies for the attainable goal group increased, whereas those for the unattainable goal group decreased. After the conclusion of the task, participants were asked to respond with regard to coping strategies they used during the latest part of the final test, when goal attainment expectancies had been differentiated. The analysis revealed significant effects for effort increase, and mental and behavioural disengagement, whereas a non-significant but considerable effect was identified for planning. The higher goal attainment expectancies group scored higher on effort increase and planning, and lower on behavioural and mental disengagement, than the lower goal attainment expectancies group. The results of the present study are in accordance with the general theoretical assumptions of the control process theory, and more particularly highlight the importance of goal attainment expectancies as a factor influencing the employment of approach and avoidance coping strategies in achievement situations

Cognitive interference in sport

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN034665 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

SELF-TALK AND ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE

This chapter outlines theoretical and research literature on self-talk in the context of endurance sports. Three strands of self-talk research on endurance sports are overviewed: descriptive research, research on self-talk antecedents, and research on the effects of self-talk. In particular, we show that learning to use self-talk can benefit endurance performance. We then suggest priorities for future research on self-talk in the context of endurance sports. Finally, research on the effects of self-talk is used to provide practical guidance on learning to use self-talk to benefit performance results. © 2019 selection and editorial matter, Carla Meijen; individual chapters, the contributors