Occupational Athletes: An Integrated Approach to Firefighting Performance

Introduction: Over the past 20 years, the injury rates among firefighters have captured the interest of sport scientists. In order to prevent firefighter injuries, however, scholars must first gain a better understanding of firefighting performance (Smith, 2011). This has been a challenge, since to date sport scientists have focused primarily on the physical aspects of firefighting performance and have overlooked the multidimensional nature of firefighting performance (Gnacinski, Meyer, & Ebersole, in press). In the sport arena, sport scientists often use theoretical models to conceptualize the multiple demands experienced by an athlete. Guided by an integrated model of sport performance, the Meyer Athlete Performance Management Model (MAPM; Meyer, Merkur, Ebersole, & Massey, in press), the purposes of the current study were to: (a) describe the physical and psychological characteristics of cadets, recruits, and active firefighters; (b) compare physical and psychological characteristics of cadets, recruits, and active firefighters; and (c) provide evidence-based recommendations for the development of integrated firefighting training programs. Methods: Male cadets (n = 11), recruits (n = 27), and active firefighters (n = 15) completed a battery of physical (i.e., aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance, body composition, functional movement, muscular power) and psychological (i.e., personality, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, anxiety, psychological skills use) assessments. Results: No significant differences emerged between groups for any of the physical or psychological characteristics assessed with the exception of several psychological skills used during training. Specifically, cadets and active firefighters reported using self-talk, emotional control, and attentional control more than recruits (ps \u3c .001), active firefighters reported using automaticity more so than recruits (p = .003), and cadets reported using activation more so than recruits (p = .001). Discussion: Results of the current study supported the use of an integrated model of sport performance to conceptualize firefighting performance. Results of the current study also provided directions for firefighting training programs and future research

Physical conditions in CaFe interstellar clouds

Interstellar clouds that exhibit strong Ca I and Fe I lines were called CaFe clouds. The ionisation equilibrium equations were used to model the column densities of Ca II, Ca I, K I, Na I, Fe I and Ti II in CaFe clouds. The chemical composition of CaFe clouds is that of the Solar System and no depletion of elements onto dust grains is seen. The CaFe clouds have high electron densities n=1 cm^-3 that leads to high column densities of neutral Ca and Fe.Comment: Changed content, figure adde

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport)

The Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport; Kallus & Kellmann, 2016) has been utilized in over one hundred research studies on overtraining in sport (Kallus & Kellmann, 2016). Despite recommendations from researchers to incorporate the RESTQ-Sport into existing practices for monitoring athletes’ responses to training load, gaps in the literature impede the translation of the measure from research to practice (Saw, Main, & Gastin, 2015a; Taylor, Chapman, Cronin, Newton, & Gill, 2012). To address gaps in the literature and enhance knowledge regarding the measurement nuances of the RESTQ-Sport, three systematic studies were completed in the current dissertation project. For all three studies, online survey data were collected from athletes (N = 567) participating at various levels of competitive sport (i.e., collegiate, professional, Olympic/international). Results of the first study revealed several problems with the RESTQ-Sport measurement model, including item redundancy, inadequate scale reliability, and inadequate validity of the hierarchical factor structure. Results of the first study also indicated some evidence to support the simple structure underpinning profile analysis (i.e., 76 items loading on to 19 scales; Kellmann, 2010). Results of the second study revealed that while there is considerable overlap between the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the RESTQ-Sport, additional (29-46%) variance in RESTQ-Sport responses must be explained by variables other than mood states. Results of the second study, in conjunction with those of the first study, demonstrate that the POMS and RESTQ-Sport may be equally effective for identifying athletes at risk of overtraining, yet the RESTQ-Sport may provide more information than the POMS that can be used to enhance the specificity of individualized mood repair interventions. Results of the third study revealed that exercise intensity tolerance, pain catastrophizing, perceived susceptibility to sport injury, and chronic psychological stress are variables that explain significant proportions of variance in the perceived stress and recovery of non-contact and contact sport athletes’. Results of the third study highlighted the particular influence of chronic psychological stress on RESTQ-Sport responses. Taken together, the results of the dissertation research advance the RESTQ-Sport literature from a measurement perspective, and therefore prompt several implications for the improvement of professional practice

Discovery of CH and OH in the -513 km s-1 Ejecta of Eta Carinae

The very massive star, Eta Carinae, is enshrouded in an unusual complex of stellar ejecta, which is highly depleted in C and O, and enriched in He and N. This circumstellar gas gives rise to distinct absorption components corresponding to at least 20 different velocities along the line-of-sight. The velocity component at -513 kms-1 exhibits very low ionization with predominantly neutral species of iron-peak elements. Our statistical equilibrium/photoionization modeling indicates that the low temperature (T = 760 K) and high density (n_H=10^7 cm^-3) of the -513 kms-1 component is conducive to molecule formation including those with the elements C and O. Examination of echelle spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard the confirms the model's predictions. The molecules, H_2, CH, and most likely OH, have been identified in the -513 kms-1 absorption spectrum. This paper presents the analysis of the HST/STIS spectra with the deduced column densities for CH, OH and C I, and upper limit for CO. It is quite extraordinary to see molecular species in a cool environment at such a high velocity. The sharp molecular and ionic absorptions in this extensively CNO- processed material offers us a unique environment for studying the chemistry, dust formation processes, and nucleosynthesis in the ejected layers of a highly evolved massive star.Comment: tentatively scheduled for the ApJ 1 September 2005, v630, 1 issu

Tactical Athletes: An Integrated Approach to Understanding and Enhancing the Health and Performance of Firefighters-in-Training

International Journal of Exercise Science 8(4): 341-357, 2015. In an effort to reduce the rates of firefighter fatality, injury, and workplace stress, there has been a call for research to advance knowledge of firefighting performance and injury prevention. Physical and psychological variables important to firefighter health and performance have been identified, yet the interrelated nature of these variables has been overlooked. Given the overlap between the physical and psychological demands of firefighting and sport, and given that an integrated framework has been used in the sport domain to guide athlete health and performance research and practice, firefighter organizations could benefit from adopting a sport-based, integrated model of firefighter training and performance management. Guided by the Meyer Athlete Performance Management Model (MAPM), the purposes of the current study were to: (a) describe the physical and psychological characteristics of firefighters-in-training (i.e., cadets and recruits), and (b) explore relationships between the physical and psychological variables associated with health and performance. Firefighters-in-training employed by a Midwestern area fire department in the United States (N = 34) completed a battery of physical and psychological assessments at the department’s Fire and Safety Academy building. Results of the current study revealed significant correlations between several of the physical and psychological characteristics of firefighters-in-training. These results, along with the multidimensional data set that was also established in the current study, provide preliminary evidence for the use of a sport-based integrated performance model such as the MAPM to guide training and performance research in firefighter populations

Stream-field interactions in the magnetic accretor AO Piscium

UV spectra of the magnetic accretor AO Psc show absorption features for half the binary orbit. The absorption is unlike the wind-formed features often seen in similar stars. Instead, we attribute it to a fraction of the stream that overflows the impact with the accretion disk. Rapid velocity variations can be explained by changes in the trajectory of the stream depending on the orientation of the white-dwarf's magnetic field. Hence we are directly observing the interaction of an accretion stream with a rotating field. We compare this behavior to that seen in other intermediate polars and in SW Sex stars.Comment: Accepted for ApJ; 6 page

A Stable and Robust Calibration Scheme of the Log-Periodic Power Law Model

We present a simple transformation of the formulation of the log-periodic power law formula of the Johansen-Ledoit-Sornette model of financial bubbles that reduces it to a function of only three nonlinear parameters. The transformation significantly decreases the complexity of the fitting procedure and improves its stability tremendously because the modified cost function is now characterized by good smooth properties with in general a single minimum in the case where the model is appropriate to the empirical data. We complement the approach with an additional subordination procedure that slaves two of the nonlinear parameters to what can be considered to be the most crucial nonlinear parameter, the critical time $t_c$ defined as the end of the bubble and the most probably time for a crash to occur. This further decreases the complexity of the search and provides an intuitive representation of the results of the calibration. With our proposed methodology, metaheuristic searches are not longer necessary and one can resort solely to rigorous controlled local search algorithms, leading to dramatic increase in efficiency. Empirical tests on the Shanghai Composite index (SSE) from January 2007 to March 2008 illustrate our findings