The sport participation legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and other international sporting events hosted in Australia

The legacy of an Olympic Games in a host city or country can take a variety of forms, including non-sporting benefits, such as enhanced urban infrastructure and national and international tourism profile, and sporting benefits, such as improved sporting facilities, strengthened sports organisations and potential increases in grassroots sport participation. This paper concentrates on the last of these, particularly in regard to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The paper examines claims by the Olympic movement concerning increased sports participation as a legacy and examines available evidence to consider whether the hosting of the Games boosted sports participation in Australia. While some estimates suggest that participation did increase following the hosting of the 2000 Olympics, the failure of relevant organisations to maintain an adequate and consistent data collection regime makes this conclusion extremely speculative. From 2001 onwards, with the existence of a more stable data collection system and increasing awareness of the idea of a sport participation legacy, it is possible to make more reliable estimates of the pattern of grassroots sports participation following the hosting of the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. However, even when reliable and consistent participation data are available, the question of causality in the context of the wider sport development and participation system remains to be addressed. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Reporting underage consensual sex after the Teddy Bear case: A different perspective

Doctors and researchers face a complex dilemma regarding the mandatory reporting of consensual underage sex, because of contradictions between the Children’s Act and the Sexual Offences Act. When providing underage children with sexual and reproductive health services, they have had to decide whether to provide these confidentially, in terms of the Children’s Act, or thereafter report the consensual but illegal sexual behaviour to the police, in terms of the Sexual Offences Act. The recent Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children, and Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) v. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development case addressed whether consensual underage sex ought to be a criminal offence and thus reported. The court held that aspects of sections 15 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act infringed on the constitutional rights of adolescents (aged 12 - 15 years) by proscribing many consensual sexual activities. McQuoid-Mason has described this case in detail. He submits that following the judgement, doctors are no longer under a reporting obligation in relation to consensual underage sex. We respectfully disagree. This article critiques McQuoid-Mason’s approach, sets out our views on the mandatory reporting obligations after the Teddy Bear case and concludes with some comments on the judgement’s implications for researchers and medical practitioners

The unidentified eruption of 1809: A climatic cold case

The "1809 eruption"is one of the most recent unidentified volcanic eruptions with a global climate impact. Even though the eruption ranks as the third largest since 1500 with a sulfur emission strength estimated to be 2 times that of the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo, not much is known of it from historic sources. Based on a compilation of instrumental and reconstructed temperature time series, we show here that tropical temperatures show a significant drop in response to the ~1809 eruption that is similar to that produced by the Mt. Tambora eruption in 1815, while the response of Northern Hemisphere (NH) boreal summer temperature is spatially heterogeneous. We test the sensitivity of the climate response simulated by the MPI Earth system model to a range of volcanic forcing estimates constructed using estimated volcanic stratospheric sulfur injections (VSSIs) and uncertainties from ice-core records. Three of the forcing reconstructions represent a tropical eruption with an approximately symmetric hemispheric aerosol spread but different forcing magnitudes, while a fourth reflects a hemispherically asymmetric scenario without volcanic forcing in the NH extratropics. Observed and reconstructed post-volcanic surface NH summer temperature anomalies lie within the range of all the scenario simulations. Therefore, assuming the model climate sensitivity is correct, the VSSI estimate is accurate within the uncertainty bounds. Comparison of observed and simulated tropical temperature anomalies suggests that the most likely VSSI for the 1809 eruption would be somewhere between 12 and 19ĝ€¯Tg of sulfur. Model results show that NH large-scale climate modes are sensitive to both volcanic forcing strength and its spatial structure. While spatial correlations between the N-TREND NH temperature reconstruction and the model simulations are weak in terms of the ensemble-mean model results, individual model simulations show good correlation over North America and Europe, suggesting the spatial heterogeneity of the 1810 cooling could be due to internal climate variability

The Role of Small to Moderate Volcanic Eruptions in the Early 19th Century Climate

Small-to-moderate volcanic eruptions can lead to significant surface cooling when they occur clustered, as observed in recent decades. In this study, based on new high-resolution ice-core data from Greenland, we produce a new volcanic forcing data set that includes several small-to-moderate eruptions not included in prior reconstructions and investigate their climate impacts of the early 19th century through ensemble simulations with the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model. We find that clustered small-to-moderate eruptions produce significant additional global surface cooling (∼0.07 K) during the period 1812–1820, superposing with the cooling by large eruptions in 1809 (unidentified location) and 1815 (Tambora). This additional cooling helps explain the reconstructed long-lasting cooling after the large eruptions, but simulated regional impacts cannot be confirmed with reconstructions due to a low signal-to-noise ratio. This study highlights the importance of small-to-moderate eruptions for climate simulations as their impacts can be comparable with that of solar irradiance changes

Improving physical and mental health in patients with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy: strategies to promote and improve physical activity quality and quantity.

Objective: Prostate cancer continues to be one of the highest-incident cancers among men. Reducing serum testosterone with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a common effective treatment. While well-demonstrated for cancer suppression, there are numerous adverse effects caused by ADT that can contribute to short- and long-term prognosis. Increased levels of physical activity (PA) during treatment may reduce these side effects. However, uptake of PA is low. The purpose of this review is to identify and evaluate the current literature on strategies to promote and increase the levels of PA in patients with prostate cancer undergoing ADT. Data Sources: Electronic databases including CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Scopus, and grey literature were searched using Google Scholar up until April 2020. Conclusion: At present the most appropriate modes and dosages of PA for specific ADT toxicities is not known. It is established that some PA in the form of exercise, whether aerobic or resistance, is better than being sedentary for improvements in physical health, but beyond this prescription specifics have not been established. Further research is required to understand the impact of PA on the mental and physical health of men with prostate cancer undergoing ADT. Implications for Nursing Practice: Being physically active and avoiding sedentary behaviour is important for men with prostate cancer undergoing ADT, especially the implementation of strength training. PA in the form of exercise can assist in reducing the adverse physical side effects in the short- and long-term, with limited understanding of the effects on mental health. PA improves mental health outcomes across populations, which may also translate to men with prostate cancer, although further research is required. An important strategy to improve PA within the prostate cancer population is to provide an early referral to an exercise professional, such as an accredited exercise physiologist/clinical exercise physiologist or physical therapist/physiotherapist, and is supported by research as best practice for people affected by cancer undergoing active treatment

The Research Unit VolImpact: Revisiting the volcanic impact on atmosphere and climate – preparations for the next big volcanic eruption

This paper provides an overview of the scientific background and the research objectives of the Research Unit “VolImpact” (Revisiting the volcanic impact on atmosphere and climate – preparations for the next big volcanic eruption, FOR 2820). VolImpact was recently funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and started in spring 2019. The main goal of the research unit is to improve our understanding of how the climate system responds to volcanic eruptions. Such an ambitious program is well beyond the capabilities of a single research group, as it requires expertise from complementary disciplines including aerosol microphysical modelling, cloud physics, climate modelling, global observations of trace gas species, clouds and stratospheric aerosols. The research goals will be achieved by building on important recent advances in modelling and measurement capabilities. Examples of the advances in the observations include the now daily near-global observations of multi-spectral aerosol extinction from the limb-scatter instruments OSIRIS, SCIAMACHY and OMPS-LP. In addition, the recently launched SAGE III/ISS and upcoming satellite missions EarthCARE and ALTIUS will provide high resolution observations of aerosols and clouds. Recent improvements in modeling capabilities within the framework of the ICON model family now enable simulations at spatial resolutions fine enough to investigate details of the evolution and dynamics of the volcanic eruptive plume using the large-eddy resolving version, up to volcanic impacts on larger-scale circulation systems in the general circulation model version. When combined with state-of-the-art aerosol and cloud microphysical models, these approaches offer the opportunity to link eruptions directly to their climate forcing. These advances will be exploited in VolImpact to study the effects of volcanic eruptions consistently over the full range of spatial and temporal scales involved, addressing the initial development of explosive eruption plumes (project VolPlume), the variation of stratospheric aerosol particle size and radiative forcing caused by volcanic eruptions (VolARC), the response of clouds (VolCloud), the effects of volcanic eruptions on atmospheric dynamics (VolDyn), as well as their climate impact (VolClim)

Preliminary estimation of fat depth in the lamb short loin using a hyperspectral camera

© 2018 CSIRO. The objectives of the present study were to describe the approach used for classifying surface tissue, and for estimating fat depth in lamb short loins and validating the approach. Fat versus non-fat pixels were classified and then used to estimate the fat depth for each pixel in the hyperspectral image. Estimated reflectance, instead of image intensity or radiance, was used as the input feature for classification. The relationship between reflectance and the fat/non-fat classification label was learnt using support vector machines. Gaussian processes were used to learn regression for fat depth as a function of reflectance. Data to train and test the machine learning algorithms was collected by scanning 16 short loins. The near-infrared hyperspectral camera captured lines of data of the side of the short loin (i.e. with the subcutaneous fat facing the camera). Advanced single-lens reflex camera took photos of the same cuts from above, such that a ground truth of fat depth could be semi-automatically extracted and associated with the hyperspectral data. A subset of the data was used to train the machine learning model, and to test it. The results of classifying pixels as either fat or non-fat achieved a 96% accuracy. Fat depths of up to 12 mm were estimated, with an R 2 of 0.59, a mean absolute bias of 1.72 mm and root mean square error of 2.34 mm. The techniques developed and validated in the present study will be used to estimate fat coverage to predict total fat, and, subsequently, lean meat yield in the carcass

Characterization of Microvascular-Based Self-healing

Abstract A protocol is described to assess self-healing of crack damage in a polymer coating deposited on a substrate containing a microvascular network. The bio-inspired coating/substrate design delivers healing agent to cracks in the coating via a three-dimensional microvascular network embedded in the substrate. Through capillary action, monomer flows from the network channels into the crack plane where it is polymerized by a catalyst embedded in the coating. The healing efficiency of this materials system is assessed by the recovery of coating fracture toughness in a four-point beam bending experiment. Healing results for the microvascular networks are compared to data for a coating containing microencapsulated healing agents. A single crack in a brittle epoxy coating is healed as many as seven times in the microvascular systems, whereas microcapsule-based healing occurs for only one cycle. The ability to heal continuously with the microvascular networks is limited by the availability of catalyst in the coating

Building motivation to participate in a quality improvement collaborative in NHS hospital trusts in Southeast England: a qualitative participatory evaluation.

OBJECTIVES: This study explores the barriers and facilitators that impact on the motivation of practitioners to participate in a quality improvement collaborative. DESIGN: A qualitative and formative evaluation using a participatory approach, the researcher-in-residence model which embraces the concept of 'coproducing' knowledge between researchers and practitioners using a range of research methods such as participant observation, interviews and documentary analysis. The design, creation and application of newly generated evidence are facilitated by the researcher through negotiation and compromise with team members. PARTICIPANTS: Senior and middle managers, doctors and nurses. SETTING: Two hospitals in Southeast England participating in a Patient Safety Improvement Collaborative and the facilitator (host) of the collaborative, based in Central London. RESULTS: The evaluation has revealed facilitators and barriers to motivation categorised under two main themes: (1) inherent motivation and (2) factors that influence motivation, interorganisational and intraorganisational features as well as external factors. Facilitators included collaborative 'champions,' individuals who drove the quality improvement agenda at a local level, raising awareness and inspiring colleagues. The collaborative itself acted as a facilitator, promoting shared learning as well as building motivation for participation. A key barrier was the lack of board engagement in the participating National Health Service organisations which may have affected motivation among front-line staff. CONCLUSIONS: Collaboratives maybe an important way of engaging practitioners in quality improvement initiatives. This study highlights that despite a challenging healthcare environment in the UK, there remains motivation among individuals to participate in quality improvement programmes as they recognise that improvement approaches may facilitate positive change in local clinical processes and systems. Collaboratives can harness this individual motivation to facilitate spread and adoption of improvement methodology and build engagement across their membership