Mindfulness Promotes the Ability to Deliver Performance in Highly Demanding Situations

Trait mindfulness helps people handle distress and improves their satisfaction with life. The aim of the present paper is to examine whether trait mindfulness also promotes positive functioning (i.e., performance) in highly demanding situations, such as in elite sports. Mindfulness has been shown to improve athletes’ ability to perform well, i.e., to increase their performance-delivery. However, researchers are still speculating about the underlying mechanism. The present research examines whether trait mindfulness enhances the ability of elite athletes to trigger performance in demanding situations by generally reducing competition anxiety and diminishing its negative impact when it occurs. Participants were 133 elite athletes from 23 different sports. They completed measures of trait mindfulness, competition anxiety, and performance-delivery. Mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation effects of mindfulness and competition anxiety on performance-delivery were tested. Our findings indicate that trait mindfulness is related to fewer performance worries and prevents the remaining worries from influencing athletes’ behavior, thereby helping them to perform better. Implications and directions for further research are discussed. Apart from benefits for psychological health, instructing people to become more mindful might be a promising approach to help them optimize their performance in demanding situations

Psychological skills training and a mindfulness-based intervention to enhance functional athletic performance: design of a randomized controlled trial using ambulatory assessment

Background: Struggling to deliver performance in competitions is one of the main reasons why athletes seek the advice of sport psychologists. Psychologists apply a variety of intervention techniques, many of which are not evidence-based. Evidence-based techniques promote quality management and could help athletes, for example, to increase and maintain functional athletic behavior in competitions/games (i.e., being focused on task relevant cues and executing movements and actions in high quality). However, well-designed trials investigating the effectiveness of sport psychological interventions for performance enhancement are scarce. The planed study is founded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and examines the effectiveness of two interventions with elite and sub-elite athletes. A psychological skills training (PST) and a mindfulness-based intervention (MI), administered as group-program, will be compared to a waiting-list control group concerning how they enhance functional athletic behavior - which is a prerequisite for optimal performance. Furthermore, we will investigate underlying mechanisms (mediators) and moderators (e.g., task difficulty, individual characteristics, intervention-expectancy and intervention-integrity). Methods/design: The presented trial uses a randomized controlled design with three groups, comparing PST, MI and a waiting list control condition. Both group interventions will last 5 weeks, consist of four 2 h sessions and will be administered by a trained sport psychologist. Primary outcome is functional athletic behavior assessed using ambulatory assessment in a competition/game. As secondary outcomes competition anxiety, cognitive interference and negative outcome expectations will be assessed. Assessments are held at pre- and post-intervention as well as at 2 months follow up. The study has been approved by the ethical committee of the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport. Discussion: Both PST and MI are expected to help improve functional behavior in athletes. By examining potential mechanisms of change and moderators of outcome we will not only be able to answer the question whether the interventions work, but also how, under what conditions, and for whom. This study may also fill a gap in sport psychology research, considering the current lack of randomized controlled trials. In the future, researchers could use the presented study protocol as template to investigate similar topics in sport psychology

Differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on performance-relevant psychological factors in sport: a randomized controlled trial

Background: Mental training intends to support athletes in mastering challenges in sport. The aim of our study was to investigate the differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on psychological variables relevant to athletic performance (e.g., handling emotions or attention control). We assumed that each approach has its own strengths (e.g., mindfulness has a differential effect on the acceptance of emotions), but for some goals (e.g., attention control), both training forms are expected to be equally successful (i.e., shared effects). Methods: A total of 95 athletes (Mage = 24.43, SDage = 5.15; 49% female) were randomly assigned into three groups: psychological skills training intervention (PST), mindfulness training intervention (MT), and wait-list control group (WL). Participants completed a questionnaire battery before and after the training (pretest and posttest). We assessed mindfulness, use of mental strategies, handling of emotions, attention in training and competition, as well as the dealing with failure. The two intervention programs each consisted of four 90-min group workshops conducted over a period of 4 weeks. Results: Both interventions passed the manipulation check, that is, PST led to more mental strategies being used (probabilities > 95%), and MT led to an increase in two of three aspects of mindfulness (probabilities > 98%) when compared to WL. Compared to WL, both interventions equally improved in the ability to not let emotions interfere with performance (probabilities > 99%) and in controlling attention in training and competition (probabilities > 89%). To a lesser extend, both interventions showed shared improvements in dealing with failure indicated by more action orientation (probabilities > 82%). We found a differential effect of MT on decreased experiential avoidance: MT decreased compared to WL and PST (probabilities > 92%), whereas PST did not differ from WL. Conclusion: We conclude that both forms of mental training lead to improvements in performance-relevant psychological factors, especially concerning the handling of emotions and attention control. The results of our study suggest that different paths may lead to the desired outcomes, and accordingly, both forms of mental training seem justified

How ubiquitous are physical and psychological complaints in young and middle adulthood?: A longitudinal perspective

Objectives: To investigate continuity and change of self-reported physical and psychological complaints in young adults over a period of 20years. Study design and setting: The Zurich Study - a long-term panel survey in psychiatric epidemiology - is based on a stratified sample of 591 subjects born in 1958 (women) and 1959 (men). The sample strata combine SCL-90-R high-scorers and low-scorers in a 2:1 ratio. Up to now, the Zurich Study has included six interviews between 1979 and 1999, i.e. 20 years of life in young adults. We analysed the longitudinal frequency data of a variety of physical and psychological complaints, as well as information about subjective suffering and use of professional help. The analyses utilised on the McNemar's test, the Q-test and Markov chain models. Results: Sleep disorders, depression, menstruation, backache, headache, stomach and bowel complaints yielded cumulative prevalence rates of 80% or higher. Physical and psychological complaints systematically differ with respect to the change patterns between 1979 and 1999. Moreover, strong differences were found in view of subjective suffering and use of professional help. Conclusions: Even though many self-reported physical and psychological complaints are very common in young adulthood, the underlying dynamics and the implications largely differ. It seems to be crucial whether respondents use somatic glasses or psychological lense

New Advances In Pulse Width Modulated Slip Power Recovery Drives For Pumps

LectureSince its invention by Nikola Tesla in 1888, the alternating-current (AC) motor has been a critical driver for the industrial age. One of his original three patents was the wound rotor induction motor (WRIM). Later, Westinghouse refined the design of the wound rotor motor to permit control of the speedtorque characteristics of the machine. This paper discusses a new advancement in Pulse Width Modulated slip power recovery drives (PWM-SPR) application for pumps. By using sophisticated adjustable speed drive control, a significant amount of slip power can be fed back to the utility line, hence resulting in energy savings. Also, application examples are discussed to enhance understanding

Six-month stability of individual differences in sports coaches’ burnout, self-compassion and social support

Using a three-wave prospective cross-lagged panel design, the study examined six-month stability of burnout, self-compassion and social support among sports coaches in terms of measurement invariance, mean-level change, rank-order stability, and structural stability. The participating coaches (N = 422; Mage = 44.48, SD = 11.03) completed an online questionnaire measuring self-compassion, social support, coach burnout and de- mographics at baseline and two follow-ups at three months and six months. The various forms of stability were assessed using structural equation modeling. There was no significant mean-level change in burnout, self- compassion, or social support, and all three constructs exhibited measurement invariance. Rank-order stability remained relatively high, ranging from 0.78 to 0.94 across the three time points. For all three constructs, co- variances between latent factors were invariant over time, indicating high structural stability. While self- compassion and social support were positively related, both were negatively related to coach burnout. These results confirm the importance of preventing and addressing symptoms of burnout, low self-compassion and poor social support in sports settings

Identification of Cellular Pathogenicity Markers for SIL1 Mutations Linked to Marinesco-Sjögren Syndrome.

Background and objective: Recessive mutations in the SIL1 gene cause Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome (MSS), a rare neuropediatric disorder. MSS-patients typically present with congenital cataracts, intellectual disability, cerebellar ataxia and progressive vacuolar myopathy. However, atypical clinical presentations associated with SIL1 mutations have been described over the last years; compound heterozygosity of SIL1 missense mutations even resulted in a phenotype not fulfilling the clinical diagnostic criteria of MSS. Thus, a read-out system to evaluate reliably the pathogenicity of amino acid changes in SIL1 is needed. Here, we aim to provide suitable cellular biomarkers enabling the robust evaluation of pathogenicity of SIL1 mutations. Methods: Five SIL1 variants including one polymorphism (p.K132Q), three known pathogenic mutations (p.V231_I232del, p.G312R, and p.L457P) and one ambiguous missense variant (p.R92W) were studied along with the wild-type proteins in Hek293 in vitro models by cell biological assays, immunoprecipitation, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence as well as electron microscopy. Moreover, the SIL1-interactomes were interrogated by tandem-affinity-purification and subsequent mass spectrometry. Results: Our combined studies confirmed the pathogenicity of p.V231_I232del, p.G312R, and p.L457P by showing instability of the proteins as well as tendency to form aggregates. This observation is in line with altered structure of the ER-Golgi system and vacuole formation upon expression of these pathogenic SIL1-mutants as well as the presence of oxidative or ER-stress. Reduced cellular fitness along with abnormal mitochondrial architecture could also be observed. Notably, both the polymorphic p.K132Q and the ambiguous p.R92W variants did not elicit such alterations. Study of the SIL1-interactome identified POC1A as a novel binding partner of wild-type SIL1; the interaction is disrupted upon the presence of pathogenic mutants but not influenced by the presence of benign variants. Disrupted SIL1-POC1A interaction is associated with centrosome disintegration. Conclusions: We developed a combination of cellular outcome measures to evaluate the pathogenicity of SIL1 variants in suitable in vitro models and demonstrated that the p. R92W missense variant is a polymorphism rather than a pathogenic mutation leading to MSS

SIL1 deficiency causes degenerative changes of peripheral nerves and neuromuscular junctions in fish, mice and human.

BACKGROUND: Marinesco-Sjögren Syndrome (MSS) is a rare neuromuscular condition caused by recessive mutations in the SIL1 gene resulting in the absence of functional SIL1 protein, a co-chaperone for the major ER chaperone, BiP. As BiP is decisive for proper protein processing, loss of SIL1 results in the accumulation of misshaped proteins. This accumulation likely damages and destroys cells in vulnerable tissues, leading to congenital cataracts, cerebellar ataxia, vacuolar myopathy and other MSS phenotypes. Whether the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is affected in MSS has not been conclusively shown. METHODS: To study PNS vulnerability in MSS, intramuscular nerves fibres from MSS patients and from SIL1-deficient mice (woozy) as well as sciatic nerves and neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) from these mice have been investigated via transmission electron microscopic and immunofluorescence studies accompanied by transcript studies and unbiased proteomic profiling. In addition, PNS and NMJ integrity were analyzed via immunofluorescence studies in an MSS-zebrafish model which has been generated for that purpose. RESULTS: Electron microscopy revealed morphological changes indicative of impaired autophagy and mitochondrial maintenance in distal axons and in Schwann cells. Moreover, changes of the morphology of NMJs as well as of transcripts encoding proteins important for NMJ function were detected in woozy mice. These findings were in line with a grossly abnormal structure of NMJs in SIL1-deficient zebrafish embryos. Proteome profiling of sciatic nerve specimens from woozy mice revealed altered levels of proteins implicated in neuronal maintenance suggesting the activation of compensatory mechanisms. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our combined data expand the spectrum of tissues affected by SIL1-loss and suggest that impaired neuromuscular transmission might be part of MSS pathophysiology