Determinants of the intention to use performance-enhancing substances among Portuguese gym users

The present study examined the determinants of the intentions to use prohibited performance- enhancing substances (PES) and the hypothesis of gender and PES use influencing Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) variables. A TPB approach was used. A convenience sample of Portuguese gym users (n = 453) completed an anonymous web-based survey. Variance-based structural equation modeling, multigroup analysis strategy, latent mean analysis approach and one-way ANOVA analysis were used. The findings showed that, at structural level, results support the TPB framework in terms of characterizing and predicting intentions to PES use in the gym users sample, and that subjective norms were the strongest predictor of PES use intentions. Female and male differed in intentions to use PES, subjective norms and beliefs. However, the predictive model in study remains invariable in both groups. Concerning PES use, results showed the existence of a significant difference, regarding all the TPB´s constructs of the PES users and nonusers’ groups, and that the predictive capacity of each predictor was different for each group. Psychological strategies should be based on subjective norms, alongside beliefs and attitudes towards PES use, since these variables influence the intention to use PES in that particular population

Profile of gym-goers who do not use performance-enhancement substances

This project was supported by FCT/MCTES UIDP/05608/2020, and UIDB/05608/2020 – Health & Technology Research Center (H&TRC).Introduction: Currently the use of prohibited performance-enhancing substances (PES) in fitness and gym settings is a public health concern as adverse health consequences are emerging. Understanding the characteristics of gym-goers who do not use these substances could lead to an important complement to the ongoing research about risk factors for PES use. This study aimed to identify the profile of PES non-use in gym-goers. Methods: In total, 453 gym-goers (mean age = 35.64 years; SD = 13.08 - the measure of central tendency location and measure of absolute dispersion, respectively) completed an online survey assessing sociodemographic factors, exercise characteristics, gym modalities, peers, social influence, attitudes, subjective norms, beliefs, intentions, and self-reported use of PES. Results: Decision Trees showed that being a woman, training less frequently, not practicing bodybuilding, and having a negative intention to consume PES were identified as characteristics of non-users of PES. Discussion: These results may support evidence-based anti-doping interventions to prevent abusive use of PES in the fitness context.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The role of artificial neural networks and 3-D analysis

In previous attempts to identify dynamical systems properties in patterns of play in team sports, only 2-D analysis methods have been used, implying that the plane of motion must be preselected and that movements out of the chosen plane are ignored. In the present study, we examined the usefulness of 3-D methods of analysis for establishing the presence of dynamical systems properties, such as phase transitions and symmetry-breaking processes in the team sport of rugby. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were employed to reconstruct the 3-D performance space in a typical one-versus-one subphase of rugby. Results confirm that ANNs are reliable tools for reconstructing a 3-D performance space and may be instrumental in identifying pattern formation in team sports generally

Interpersonal Pattern Dynamics and Adaptive Behaviour in Multiagent Neurobiological Systems: Conceptual Model and Data

Ecological dynamics characterizes adaptive behavior as an emergent, self-organizing property of interpersonal interactions in complex social systems. The authors conceptualize and investigate constraints on dynamics of decisions and actions in the multiagent system of team sports. They studied coadaptive interpersonal dynamics in rugby union to model potential control parameter and collective variable relations in attacker–defender dyads. A videogrammetry analysis revealed how some agents generated fluctuations by adapting displacement velocity to create phase transitions and destabilize dyadic subsystems near the try line. Agent interpersonal dynamics exhibited characteristics of chaotic attractors and informational constraints of rugby union boxed dyadic systems into a low dimensional attractor. Data suggests that decisions and actions of agents in sports teams may be characterized as emergent, self-organizing properties, governed by laws of dynamical systems at the ecological scale. Further research needs to generalize this conceptual model of adaptive behavior in performance to other multiagent populations

Conceptual Model and Data

Ecological dynamics characterizes adaptive behavior as an emergent, self-organizing property of interpersonal interactions in complex social systems. The authors conceptualize and investigate constraints on dynamics of decisions and actions in the multiagent system of team sports. They studied coadaptive interpersonal dynamics in rugby union to model potential control parameter and collective variable relations in attacker-defender dyads. A videogrammetry analysis revealed how some agents generated fluctuations by adapting displacement velocity to create phase transitions and destabilize dyadic subsystems near the try line. Agent interpersonal dynamics exhibited characteristics of chaotic attractors and informational constraints of rugby union boxed dyadic systems into a low dimensional attractor. Data suggests that decisions and actions of agents in sports teams may be characterized as emergent, self-organizing properties, governed by laws of dynamical systems at the ecological scale. Further research needs to generalize this conceptual model of adaptive behavior in performance to other multiagent populations

Mina Felicidad (valle de Bardají, Ribagorza)

Este artículo presenta información sobre la mina denominada Felicidad, situada en el valle de Bardají, en las laderas del Turbón. La mina fue trabajada en la Antigüedad y reabierta a finales del siglo XIX. El mineral es una caliza impregnada de metales pesados, especialmente hierro y manganeso.This work presents information about the mine called Feli-cidad, located in the Bardají valley on the slopes of Turbón. The mine was worked in antiquity and reopened at the end of the 19th century. The ore is a limestone impregnated with heavy metals mainly iron and manganese

Recording Peel Island. A digital and historical documentation

Between 2011 and 2017, the site of the former Peel Island lazaret, in Moreton Bay (Australia) was digitally documented by 3D laser technology thanks to a collaboration between CSIRO, the University of Queensland’s School of Architecture and the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service. The results of this collaboration are a series of virtual models and digital scan data, or pointclouds. Includes a booklet that aims to provide a historical context for the better interpretation of the produced material