Athlete self-report measures in research and practice: considerations for the discerning reader and fastidious practitioner

Athlete self-report measures (ASRM) have the potential to provide valuable insight into the training response, however there exists a disconnect between research and practice which needs to be addressed. Namely, the measure or methods used in research are not always reflective of practice, or data primarily obtained from practice lacks empirical quality. This commentary reviews existing empirical measures, and the psychometric properties required to be considered acceptable for research and practice. This information will allow discerning readers to make a judgement on the quality of ASRM data being reported in research papers. Fastidious practitioners and researchers are also provided with explicit guidelines for selecting and implementing an ASRM, and reporting these details in research papers

MIPAS IMK/IAA CFC-11 (CCl3F) and CFC-12 (CCl2F2) Measurements: Accuracy, Precision and Long-Term Stability

Profiles of CFC-11 (CCl3F) and CFC-12 (CCl2F2) of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) aboard the European satellite Envisat have been retrieved from versions MIPAS/4.61 to MI-PAS/4.62 and MIPAS/5.02 to MIPAS/5.06 level-1b data using the scientific level-2 processor run by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA). These profiles have been compared to measurements taken by the balloon-borne cryosampler, Mark IV (MkIV) and MIPAS-Balloon (MIPAS-B), the airborne MIPAS-STRatospheric aircraft (MIPAS-STR), the satellite-borne Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and the High Resolution Dynamic Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), as well as the ground-based Halocarbon and other Atmospheric Trace Species (HATS) network for the reduced spectral resolution period (RR: January 2005-April 2012) of MIPAS. ACE-FTS, MkIV and HATS also provide measurements during the high spectral resolution period (full resolution, FR: July 2002-March 2004) and were used to validate MIPAS CFC-11 and CFC-12 products during that time, as well as profiles from the Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometer, ILAS-II. In general, we find that MIPAS shows slightly higher values for CFC-11 at the lower end of the profiles (below ~ 15 km) and in a comparison of HATS ground-based data and MIPAS measurements at 3 km below the tropopause. Differences range from approximately 10 to 50 pptv (~ 5-20 %) during the RR period. In general, differences are slightly smaller for the FR period. An indication of a slight high bias at the lower end of the profile exists for CFC-12 as well, but this bias is far less pronounced than for CFC-11 and is not as obvious in the relative differences between MIPAS and any of the comparison instruments. Differences at the lower end of the profile (below ~15 km) and in the comparison of HATS and MIPAS measurements taken at 3 km below the tropopause mainly stay within 10-50 pptv (corresponding to ~ 2-10% for CFC-12) for the RR and the FR period. Between similar to 15 and 30 km, most comparisons agree within 10-20 pptv (10-20 %), apart from ILAS-II, which shows large differences above similar to 17 km. Overall, relative differences are usually smaller for CFC-12 than for CFC-11. For both species -CFC-11 and CFC-12 - we find that differences at the lower end of the profile tend to be larger at higher latitudes than in tropical and subtropical regions. In addition, MIPAS profiles have a maximum in their mixing ratio around the tropopause, which is most obvious in tropical mean profiles. Comparisons of the standard deviation in a quiescent atmosphere (polar summer) show that only the CFC-12 FR error budget can fully explain the observed variability, while for the other products (CFC-11 FR and RR and CFC-12 RR) only two-thirds to three-quarters can be explained. Investigations regarding the temporal stability show very small negative drifts in MIPAS CFC-11 measurements. These instrument drifts vary between ~ 1 and 3% decade-1. For CFC-12, the drifts are also negative and close to zero up to similar to 30 km. Above that altitude, larger drifts of up to similar to 50% decade-1 appear which are negative up to similar to 35 km and positive, but of a similar magnitude, above

Seasonal and interannual variations of HCN amounts in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere observed by MIPAS

We present a HCN climatology of the years 2002-2012, derived from FTIR limb emission spectra measured with the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on the ENVISAT satellite, with the main focus on biomass burning signatures in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. HCN is an almost unambiguous tracer of biomass burning with a tropospheric lifetime of 5-6 months and a stratospheric lifetime of about 2 years. The MIPAS climatology is in good agreement with the HCN distribution obtained by the spaceborne ACE-FTS experiment and with airborne in situ measurements performed during the INTEX-B campaign. The HCN amounts observed by MIPAS in the southern tropical and subtropical upper troposphere have an annual cycle peaking in October-November, i.e. 1-2 months after the maximum of southern hemispheric fire emissions. The probable reason for the time shift is the delayed onset of deep convection towards austral summer. Because of overlap of varying biomass burning emissions from South America and southern Africa with sporadically strong contributions from Indonesia, the size and strength of the southern hemispheric plume have considerable interannual variations, with monthly mean maxima at, for example, 14 km between 400 and more than 700 pptv. Within 1-2 months after appearance of the plume, a considerable portion of the enhanced HCN is transported southward to as far as Antarctic latitudes. The fundamental period of HCN variability in the northern upper troposphere is also an annual cycle with varying amplitude, which in the tropics peaks in May after and during the biomass burning seasons in northern tropical Africa and southern Asia, and in the subtropics peaks in July due to trapping of pollutants in the Asian monsoon anticyclone (AMA). However, caused by extensive biomass burning in Indonesia and by northward transport of part of the southern hemispheric plume, northern HCN maxima also occur around October/November in several years, which leads to semi-annual cycles. There is also a temporal shift between enhanced HCN in northern low and mid- to high latitudes, indicating northward transport of pollutants. Due to additional biomass burning at mid- and high latitudes, this meridional transport pattern is not as clear as in the Southern Hemisphere. Upper tropospheric HCN volume mixing ratios (VMRs) above the tropical oceans decrease to below 200 pptv, presumably caused by ocean uptake, especially during boreal winter and spring. The tropical stratospheric tape recorder signal with an apparently biennial period, which was detected in MLS and ACE-FTS data from mid-2004 to mid-2007, is corroborated by MIPAS HCN data. The tape recorder signal in the whole MIPAS data set exhibits periodicities of 2 and 4 years, which are generated by interannual variations in biomass burning. The positive anomalies of the years 2003, 2007 and 2011 are caused by succession of strongly enhanced HCN from southern hemispheric and Indonesian biomass burning in boreal autumn and of elevated HCN from northern tropical Africa and the AMA in subsequent spring and summer. The anomaly of 2005 seems to be due to springtime emissions from tropical Africa followed by release from the summertime AMA. The vertical transport time of the anomalies is 1 month or less between 14 and 17 km in the upper troposphere and 8-11 months between 17 and 25 km in the lower stratosphere

The making of expert performers at Cirque du Soleil and the National Circus School: A performance enhancement outlook

In this paper, an applied analysis of the psychological processes and skills necessary for performance artists to excel in contemporary circus is presented. This analysis is based on applied experience at Cirque du Soleil and the National Circus School, leading contemporary circus programs in the world. The importance of learning the rules of the circus domain, transferring motor skills to the circus environment, and developing an artistic identity and mindful mind-set are discussed. Furthermore, general and discipline-specific performance pressures are identified and discussed in light of current performance enhancement techniques

Corrigendum to "Seasonal and interannual variations of HCN amounts in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere observed by MIPAS" published in Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 563-582, 2015

No abstract available

MIPAS measurements of upper tropospheric C2H6 and O3 during the southern hemispheric biomass burning season in 2003

Under cloud free conditions, the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) provides measurements of spectrally resolved limb radiances down to the upper troposphere. These are used to infer global distributions of mixing ratios of atmospheric constituents in the upper troposphere and the stratosphere. From 21 October to 12 November 2003, MIPAS observed enhanced amounts of upper tropospheric C2H6 (up to about 400 pptv) and ozone (up to about 80 ppbv). The absolute values of C2H6, however, may be systematically low by about 30% due to uncertainties of the spectroscopic data used. By means of trajectory calculations, the enhancements observed in the southern hemisphere are, at least partly, attributed to a biomass burning plume, which covers wide parts of the Southern hemisphere, from South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean to Australia. The chemical composition of the part of the plume-like pollution belt associated with South American fires, where rainforest burning is predominant appears different from the part of the plume associated with southern African savanna burning. In particular, African savanna fires lead to a larger ozone enhancement than equatorial American fires. In this analysis, MIPAS observations of high ozone were disregarded where low CFC-11 (below 245 pptv) was observed, because this hints at a stratospheric component in the measured signal. Different type of vegetation burning (flaming versus smouldering combustion) has been identified as a candidate explanation for the different plume compositions

Validation of MIPAS IMK/IAA methane profiles

The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) is an infrared (IR) limb emission spectrometer on the Envisat platform. It measures trace gas distributions during day and night, pole-to-pole, over an altitude range from 6 to 70 km in nominal mode and up to 170 km in special modes, depending on the measurement mode, producing more than 1000 profiles day-1. We present the results of a validation study of methane, version V5R-CH4-222, retrieved with the IMK/IAA (Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung, Karlsruhe/Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Grenada) MIPAS scientific level 2 processor. The level 1 spectra are provided by the ESA (European Space Agency) and version 5 was used. The time period covered is 2005-2012, which corresponds to the period when MIPAS measured trace gas distributions at a reduced spectral resolution of 0.0625 cm-1. The comparison with satellite instruments includes the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS), the HALogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE), the Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) and the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY). Furthermore, comparisons with MkIV balloon-borne solar occultation measurements and with air sampling measurements performed by the University of Frankfurt are presented. The validation activities include bias determination, assessment of stability, precision validation, analysis of histograms and comparison of corresponding climatologies. Above 50 km altitude, MIPAS methane mixing ratios agree within 3 % with ACE-FTS and SOFIE. Between 30 and 40 km an agreement within 3 % with SCIAMACHY has been found. In the middle stratosphere, there is no clear indication of a MIPAS bias since comparisons with various instruments contradict each other. In the lower stratosphere (below 25 km) MIPAS CH4 is biased high with respect to satellite instruments, and the most likely estimate of this bias is 14 %. However, in the comparison with CH4 data obtained from cryogenic whole-air sampler (cryosampler) measurements, there is no evidence of a high bias in MIPAS between 20 and 25 km altitude. Precision validation is performed on collocated MIPAS-MIPAS pairs and suggests a slight underestimation of its uncertainties by a factor of 1.2. No significant evidence of an instrumental drift has been found. © Author(s) 2015

Comparison of dot chromosome sequences from D. melanogaster and D. virilis reveals an enrichment of DNA transposon sequences in heterochromatic domains

BACKGROUND: Chromosome four of Drosophila melanogaster, known as the dot chromosome, is largely heterochromatic, as shown by immunofluorescent staining with antibodies to heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) and histone H3K9me. In contrast, the absence of HP1 and H3K9me from the dot chromosome in D. virilis suggests that this region is euchromatic. D. virilis diverged from D. melanogaster 40 to 60 million years ago. RESULTS: Here we describe finished sequencing and analysis of 11 fosmids hybridizing to the dot chromosome of D. virilis (372,650 base-pairs) and seven fosmids from major euchromatic chromosome arms (273,110 base-pairs). Most genes from the dot chromosome of D. melanogaster remain on the dot chromosome in D. virilis, but many inversions have occurred. The dot chromosomes of both species are similar to the major chromosome arms in gene density and coding density, but the dot chromosome genes of both species have larger introns. The D. virilis dot chromosome fosmids have a high repeat density (22.8%), similar to homologous regions of D. melanogaster (26.5%). There are, however, major differences in the representation of repetitive elements. Remnants of DNA transposons make up only 6.3% of the D. virilis dot chromosome fosmids, but 18.4% of the homologous regions from D. melanogaster; DINE-1 and 1360 elements are particularly enriched in D. melanogaster. Euchromatic domains on the major chromosomes in both species have very few DNA transposons (less than 0.4 %). CONCLUSION: Combining these results with recent findings about RNAi, we suggest that specific repetitive elements, as well as density, play a role in determining higher-order chromatin packaging