The turbulent structure and diurnal growth of the Saharan atmospheric boundary layer

The turbulent structure and growth of the remote Saharan atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is described with in situ radiosonde and aircraft measurements and a large-eddy simulation model. A month of radiosonde data from June 2011 provides a mean profile of the midday Saharan ABL, which is characterized by a well-mixed convective boundary layer, capped by a small temperature inversion (<1K) and a deep, near-neutral residual layer. The boundary layer depth varies by up to 100% over horizontal distances of a few kilometers due to turbulent processes alone. The distinctive vertical structure also leads to unique boundary layer processes, such as detrainment of the warmest plumes across the weak temperature inversion, which slows down the warming and growth of the convective boundary layer. As the boundary layer grows, overshooting plumes can also entrain freetropospheric air into the residual layer, forming a second entrainment zone that acts to maintain the inversion above the convective boundary layer, thus slowing down boundary layer growth further.Asingle-column model is unable to accurately reproduce the evolution of the Saharan boundary layer, highlighting the difficulty of representing such processes in large-scale models. These boundary layer processes are special to the Sahara, and possibly hot, dry, desert environments in general, and have implications for the large-scale structure of the Saharan heat low. The growth of the boundary layer influences the vertical redistribution of moisture and dust, and the spatial coverage and duration of clouds, with large-scale dynamical and radiative implications

Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019)

Mental health symptoms and disorders are common among elite athletes, may have sport related manifestations within this population and impair performance. Mental health cannot be separated from physical health, as evidenced by mental health symptoms and disorders increasing the risk of physical injury and delaying subsequent recovery. There are no evidence or consensus based guidelines for diagnosis and management of mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes. Diagnosis must differentiate character traits particular to elite athletes from psychosocial maladaptations. Management strategies should address all contributors to mental health symptoms and consider biopsychosocial factors relevant to athletes to maximise benefit and minimise harm. Management must involve both treatment of affected individual athletes and optimising environments in which all elite athletes train and compete. To advance a more standardised, evidence based approach to mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes, an International Olympic Committee Consensus Work Group critically evaluated the current state of science and provided recommendations

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

Up-to-date understanding of overtraining syndrome and overlap with related disorders

Abstract: Introduction: The rigorous training regimens of elite athletes are, by nature, emotionally, physically, and mentally demanding. These regimens can result in marked improvements in athletic performance when they incorporate adequate intervals of rest and recovery. Continued training in the absence of adequate recovery progresses to a constellation of symptoms that affect medical and mental health, which is referred to as overtraining syndrome (OTS). Method: A literature review was conducted using PubMed, a database of reference on medical research maintained by the US national Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. Search terms included “overtraining syndrome”, “Unexplained Underperformance” (UUPS), “Burnout” in athletes. Results: The collection of the published work provides insight into the multidimensional composition and complexity of OTS in athletes. OTS progresses along a continuum without adequate recovery. Conclusion: Decreased athletic performance in the setting of increased training intensity without appropriate recovery, often accompanied by changes in mood, motivation, and general well-being are the distinctive features of OTS. OTS is preceded by stages of underperformance that are reversable and preventable, highlighting the importance of recognizing, managing, and preventing overtraining in athletes in order to prevent long-term negative outcomes is a maladaptive response to an imbalance between exercise and recovery

Integrating sports psychiatry in the interdisciplinary care of elite sports teams <subtitle>A conceptual model</subtitle>

Abstract: Introduction: Sports psychiatry is a developing field whose focus is the diagnosis, treatment, and management of mental illness in sports team members. Participation in elite sports can compromise mental health as psychiatric symptoms and disorders are often unrecognized until players experience performance failures, injury, or interpersonal concerns. Despite the growing recognition of psychiatric illness in sports, sports psychiatry is yet to be widely practiced in athlete healthcare management. Methods: We conducted a search on relevant publications on sports psychiatry and mental health in elite athletes. Results: Numerous papers detailed mental health statistics in elite athletes as well as outlined the development of sports psychiatry with respect to healthcare management. The papers describe cultural barriers to athlete mental health treatment include stigma, low mental health literacy, adverse mental health treatment experiences, busy schedules, and cultural/religious factors. Modifiable systemic factors include conflicts of interest for team clinicians caused by dual loyalty to sports franchises, and power relations encompassing intra-team hierarchies that prevent both help-seeking behaviors and the disclosure of harassment. Conclusion: The proposed model recommends that sports leagues and tournament organizations hire sports psychiatrists to monitor the standard of care provided within each sports franchise as a quality control initiative to incentivize sports franchises to offer the highest-level of healthcare, combating conflicts of interest and harassment. The conceptual model recommends each sports franchise integrate sports psychiatrists onsite with elite sports team members with the long-term goal of achieving SAMHSA’s full integration model pending available funding and sports culture shifts

A Local Material Basis Solution Approach to Reconstructing the Three-Dimensional Displacement of Rod-Like Structures From Strain Measurements

This paper presents a new approach for determining three-dimensional global displacement (for arbitrarily sized deformation) of thin rod or tetherlike structures from a limited set of scalar strain measurements. The approach is rooted in Cosserat rod theory with a material-adapted reference frame and a localized linearization approach that facilitates an exact local basis function set for the displacement along with the material frame. The solution set is shown to be robust to potential singularities from vanishing bending and twisting angle derivatives and from vanishing measured strain. Validation of the approach is performed through a comparison with both finite element simulations and an experiment, with average root mean square reconstruction error of 0.01%-1% of the total length, for reasonable sensor counts. An analysis of error due to extraneous noise sources and boundary condition uncertainty shows how the error scales with those effects. The algorithm involves relatively simple operations, the most complex of which is square matrix inversion, lending itself to potential low-power embeddable solutions for applications requiring shape reconstruction