How do adults with cystic fibrosis cope following a diagnosis of diabetes?

The official published version of the article can be obtained from the link below.Aim. This paper is a report of a study examining the experience of adults with cystic fibrosis in adapting to the diagnosis of diabetes, a second chronic illness. Background. Diabetes is a common complication of cystic fibrosis; the onset signifies the development of a second chronic illness. Both cystic fibrosis and diabetes are complex conditions, which require daily treatment schedules as part of their management. However, it is unclear how people already living with cystic fibrosis respond to the diagnosis of diabetes. Method. A qualitative method was chosen to obtain an ‘insider’ experience of adjusting to a second chronic illness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2004 with 22 adults with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings. Four recurring themes were identified: emotional response to diagnosis of diabetes, looking for an understanding, learning to live with diabetes, and limiting the impact of diagnosis. Having cystic fibrosis appeared helpful in limiting the impact of the diagnosis of diabetes. Juggling conflicting dietary demands of cystic fibrosis and diabetes coupled with the lack of practical professional advice available was seen as one of the biggest challenges in adapting to diabetes. Conclusion. Healthcare professionals need increased awareness of diabetes amongst adults with cystic fibrosis and provide adequate support and structured evidence-based education throughout the course of the illness, particularly in relation to diet. Nevertheless, patients’ familiarity with regular daily routines and problem-solving attitudes, already developed in the context of cystic fibrosis, may be drawn on to limit the impact of diabetes

Does priming really put the gloss on performance?

Priming has recently emerged in the literature as offering advantages in the preparation for skilled performance. Accordingly, the current study tested the efficacy of imagery against a priming paradigm as a means of enhancing motor performance: in essence, contrasting a preparation technique primarily under the conscious control of the performer to an unconscious technique promoting automaticity. The imagery intervention was guided by the PETTLEP model, while the priming intervention took the form of a scrambled sentence task. Eighteen skilled field-hockey players performed a dribbling task under imagery, priming, skill-focus, and control conditions. Results revealed a significant improvement in speed and technical accuracy for the imagery condition as opposed to the skill-focus, control, and priming conditions. In addition, there were no significant differences in performance times or technical accuracy between the priming and control conditions. The study provides further support for the efficacy of imagery to elicit enhanced motor skill performance but questions the emerging emphasis on priming as an effective tool in preparation for physical tasks

Applied sport psychology: Are we a profession?

Although the field of applied sport psychology has developed, it faces further challenges on its way towards gaining greater professional status. The following principal criteria of professionalism are proposed as a test of such status (Carr, 1999): (a) provide an important public service; (b) underpinning knowledge base; (c) organizational regulation; (d) distinct ethical dimension; and (e) professional autonomy. This paper undertakes to explore the nature of implications for practice and the extent to which the suggested principal criteria justify a distinctive applied sport psychology profession. In doing so, we hope to stimulate debate on these, and other issues, in order that an even greater professionalization of our applied discipline may emerge

Gamma rays from accretion onto rotating black holes

Ionized matter falling onto an isolated, rotating black hole will be heated sufficiently that proton-proton collisions will produce mesons, including neutral pions, which decay into gamma rays. For massive (1000 M sub circled dot), black holes, the resulting gamma-ray luminosity may exceed 10 to the 36th power engs/s, with a spectrum peaked near 20 MeV

Structure Functions are not Parton Probabilities

We explain why contrary to common belief, the deep inelastic scattering structure functions are not related to parton probabilities in the target.Comment: 4 pages. Invited talk presented during the `International Light-Cone Workshop', Trento, ECT, September 3-11, 2001. Updated Report-Number