Exploring the Link between Athletic Identity, Self-compassion, Communication, and Mental Toughness of Table Tennis Student- Athletes

Table tennis student-athletes should be mentally tough as they train and perform under extreme pressure. It is essential to identify other mental skills that will aid mental toughness development. Accordingly, the study focused on assessing athletic identity, self-compassion, and intra-team communication. The relationship between the constructs was also explored. A multi-part questionnaire was fielded to 230 college student-athletes participating in table tennis singles event. Findings indicate high levels of athletic identity and intra-team communication among the participants; while moderate levels for self-compassion and mental toughness. Structural equation modeling revealed the dynamic relationship between the constructs. On one hand, self-compassionate participants who highly recognize their role as athletes, and communicate with the team are more mentally tough. On the other hand, uncompassionate self-responding lead student-athletes to become mentally weak. The study provides useful insights for practitioners in designing mental skills training geared towards optimal functioning and psychological wellness of young athletes

Interactions between convection and a moist vortex associated with an extreme rainfall event over southern West Africa

An intense mesoscale convective system (MCS) in the Guinea Coast region caused one of the highest ever recorded daily rainfall amounts at the Nigerian station Abakaliki on 12 June 2016 (223.5 mm). This paper provides a detailed analysis of the meso- and synoptic-scale factors leading to this event, including some so far undocumented dynamical aspects for southern West Africa. The MCS formed over the Darfur Mountains due to diurnal heating, then moved southwestward along a mid- to lower-tropospheric trough, and developed into a classical West African squall line in a highly sheared environment with pronounced midlevel dryness. Strong moisture flux convergence over Nigeria prior to the MCS passage led to extreme values in precipitable water and was caused by the formation of a local, short-lived heat low. According to the pressure tendency equation, the latter resulted from tropospheric warming due to MCS-forced subsidence as well as surface insolation in the resulting almost cloud-free atmosphere. In this extremely moist environment, the MCS strongly intensified and initiated the formation of a lower-tropospheric vortex, which resulted in a deceleration of the MCS and high rainfall accumulation at Abakaliki. Following the vorticity equation, the vortex formation was realized through strong low-level vortex stretching and upper-level vertical vorticity advection related to the MCS, which became “dynamically large” compared to the Rossby radius of deformation. Eventually, moisture supply and lifting associated with the vortex are suggested to promote the longevity of the MCS during the subsequent westward movement along the Guinea Coast

Flexural performance of concrete beams reinforced with steel–FRP composite bars

YesFlexural performance of concrete beams reinforced with steel–FRP composite bar (SFCB) was investigated in this paper. Eight concrete beams reinforced with different bar types, namely one specimen reinforced with steel bars, one with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars and four with SFCBs, while the last two with hybrid FRP/steel bars, were tested to failure. Test results showed that SFCB/hybrid reinforced specimens exhibited improved stiffness, reduced crack width and larger bending capacity compared with FRP-reinforced specimen. According to compatibility of strains, materials’ constitutive relationships and equilibrium of forces, two balanced situations, three different failure modes and balanced reinforcement ratios as well as analytical technique for predicting the whole loading process are developed. Simplified formulas for effective moment of inertia and crack width are also proposed. The predicted results are closely correlated with the test results, confirming the validity of the proposed formulas for practical use.National Natural Science Foundation of China (51678514), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M642335), the Science and Technology Project of Jiangsu Construction System (2018ZD047), the Cooperative Education Project of Ministry of Education, China (201901273053), the Blue Project Youth Academic Leader of Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province (2020), the Six Talent Peaks Project of Jiangsu Province (JZ038, 2016) and the Yangzhou University Top Talents Support Projec

Key lessons from the DACCIWA project for operational meteorological services

This document describes the conclusions of the EU-funded project Dynamics- Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) directly relevant to operational meteorological services. DACCIWA produced the most comprehensive observational dataset of the atmosphere over densely populated southern West Africa to date and used this dataset to foster our understanding of atmospheric processes, and to evaluate dynamical models and satellite data. With this document DACCIWA aims to help improve atmospheric predictions across time-scales, which are important for the development of greater resilience of the West African population to hazardous weather and climate change

Flexural behaviour of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars subjected to elevated temperature

The FRP reinforced concrete structures may be exposed to high temperatures that may reduce the structural integrity of the bars, and eventually of the entire structure. Therefore, the thermal stability of the FRP bars must be thoroughly investigated before they can be fully utilized in the construction industry. The flexural strength testing has long been a staple technique for measuring the uniaxial tensile strength of the brittle materials because it is inexpensive and convenient to run rather than the direct tension test. Although the results obtained were not the absolute tensile data, they can provide an indication about the relative tensile performance of the FRP bars. In this study, the flexural behaviour of the GFRP bars of varying nominal diameters (12.7 mm, 14.0 mm, 15.9 mm, 17.0 mm, and 20.5 mm) subjected to elevated temperatures (up to 150 °C) was investigated. The results showed that as the temperature increases, the flexural strength and stiffness of the GFRP bars decreases. As the temperature approaches the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the bars, a drastic strength and stiffness reduction was observed. These findings were also observed in the pure tension testing of the FRP bars done by other researchers. The bars with a larger nominal diameter showed a better flexural strength decay resistance than those with a smaller nominal diameter at elevated temperatures. However, a comparable flexural stiffness deterioration was observed at an increasing temperature

The primary care givers of autistic children : a close look

Qualitative research design was used in the study. Data was obtained through a recorded interview with the informants and observation on how they behaved during the interview proper and how they interacted with autistic children. Data was analyzed using Colaizzi’s method. The respondents were three (3) primary care givers of autistic children working in DLSUMC who have at least two (2) years of experience of taking care of autistic children, and willing and able to relate their experiences. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants. The study concluded that, the informants expressed their different experiences in taking care of autistic children. Their eagerness to take care of such children helped them perform their tasks as their primary caregivers. Learning to love the children in the institution served as means for them to also love their work. The primary caregivers considered the autistic children as special because they have a world of their own and they believed that such children needed utmost help. For them, in caring for autistic children, patience, and sacrifice are important. Like them, if people will just try to consider the fact that children with autism are really special and that they are also human beings who have individual skills, necessities and demands, people would understand that such children deserve proper treatment just like anyone else

Fuzzy logic controller for a DC - Dc boost converter

This thesis focuses on creating and implementing a Fuzzy Logic-based controller as a control system to regulate the output of a DC-DC Boost Converter. An algorithm is developed based on a set of rules based on human expertise, linguistic and understanding. Fuzzy sets and triangular membership functions are used to fuzzify crisp inputs coming from a feedback source. The fuzzified inputs will then undergo a fuzzy inference system, which is a set of rules used in calculations determining the crisp output. The crisp value in this thesis is the duty cycle, which controls the switching of the power transistor. Pulse width Modulation is used to dictate the value of the duty cycle which will also determine the boosted output voltage. This fuzzy logic algorithm will be implemented on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The purpose of this thesis is to compare the performance of the Fuzzy Logic controller with a commercial Regulating Pulse Width Modulator integrated circuit used in Switching Regulators, and to prove that non-model based systems are robust and adaptive in contrast with model-based systems

Flexural behaviour of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars subjected to elevated temperature

The FRP reinforced concrete structures may be exposed to high temperatures that may reduce the structural integrity of the bars, and eventually of the entire structure. Therefore, the thermal stability of the FRP bars must be thoroughly investigated before they can be fully utilized in the construction industry. The flexural strength testing has long been a staple technique for measuring the uniaxial tensile strength of the brittle materials because it is inexpensive and convenient to run rather than the direct tension test. Although the results obtained were not the absolute tensile data, they can provide an indication about the relative tensile performance of the FRP bars. In this study, the flexural behaviour of the GFRP bars of varying nominal diameters (12.7 mm, 14.0 mm, 15.9 mm, 17.0 mm, and 20.5 mm) subjected to elevated temperatures (up to 150 °C) was investigated. The results showed that as the temperature increases, the flexural strength and stiffness of the GFRP bars decreases. As the temperature approaches the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the bars, a drastic strength and stiffness reduction was observed. These findings were also observed in the pure tension testing of the FRP bars done by other researchers. The bars with a larger nominal diameter showed a better flexural strength decay resistance than those with a smaller nominal diameter at elevated temperatures. However, a comparable flexural stiffness deterioration was observed at an increasing temperature