Perfectionism and burnout in canoe polo and kayak slalom athletes: The mediating influence of validation and growth-seeking

Recent research suggests that validation-seeking and dimensions of perfectionism may be antecedents of athlete burnout. The present investigation examined whether validation and growth-seeking mediate the relationship between selforiented and socially prescribed perfectionism and burnout. One-hundred and fifty canoe polo and kayak slalom athletes recruited from the top two divisions in the UK completed measures of validation and growth-seeking (GOI), perfectionism (HMPS), and athlete burnout (ABQ). Analyses supported the mediating role of validation-seeking in the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and burnout. However, while bivariate correlations indicated that self-oriented perfectionism was positively related to both validation and growth-seeking, neither mediated the self-oriented perfectionism-burnout relationship. The findings suggest that validation-seeking may be an important psychological factor in the development of burnout for athletes exhibiting high levels of socially prescribed perfectionism. The relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and athlete burnout remains unclear because of its association with multiple motives and with socially prescribed perfectionism

Historic landmarks in clinical transplantation: Conclusions from the consensus conference at the University of California, Los Angeles

The transplantation of organs, cells, and tissues has burgeoned during the last quarter century, with the development of multiple new specialty fields. However, the basic principles that made this possible were established over a three-decade period, beginning during World War II and ending in 1974. At the historical consensus conference held at UCLA in March 1999, 11 early workers in the basic science or clinical practice of transplantation (or both) reached agreement on the most significant contribution of this era that ultimately made transplantation the robust clinical discipline it is today. These discoveries and achievements are summarized here is six tables and annotated with references

Patient-Specific Prosthetic Fingers by Remote Collaboration - A Case Study

The concealment of amputation through prosthesis usage can shield an amputee from social stigma and help improve the emotional healing process especially at the early stages of hand or finger loss. However, the traditional techniques in prosthesis fabrication defy this as the patients need numerous visits to the clinics for measurements, fitting and follow-ups. This paper presents a method for constructing a prosthetic finger through online collaboration with the designer. The main input from the amputee comes from the Computer Tomography (CT) data in the region of the affected and the non-affected fingers. These data are sent over the internet and the prosthesis is constructed using visualization, computer-aided design and manufacturing tools. The finished product is then shipped to the patient. A case study with a single patient having an amputated ring finger at the proximal interphalangeal joint shows that the proposed method has a potential to address the patient's psychosocial concerns and minimize the exposure of the finger loss to the public.Comment: Open Access articl

A generic model for the assessment of disease epidemiology: the computational basis of DisMod II

Epidemiology as an empirical science has developed sophisticated methods to measure the causes and patterns of disease in populations. Nevertheless, for many diseases in many countries only partial data are available. When the partial data are insufficient, but data collection is not an option, it is possible to supplement the data by exploiting the causal relations between the various variables that describe a disease process. We present a simple generic disease model with incidence, one prevalent state, and case fatality and remission. We derive a set of equations that describes this disease process and allows calculation of the complete epidemiology of a disease given a minimum of three input variables. We give the example of asthma with age-specific prevalence, remission, and mortality as inputs. Outputs are incidence and case fatality, among others. The set of equations is embedded in a software package called 'DisMod II', which is made available to the public domain by the World Health Organization

US Caribbean fish trap fishery socioeconomic study

Concerns over the potential impacts of trap fishing on coral reefs and associated habitats prompted a socioeconomic study to characterize the U.S. Caribbean fish trap fishery in anticipation of management actions. Stratified random interviews of one hundred fishermen revealed the presence of a diverse fishery, with appreciable inter-island differences in levels of fishing dependence, fishing practices, and capital investment. High levels of fishing dependence Were observed among fishermen in the U.S. Virgin Islands, whereas Puerto Rican fishermen exhibited a more diversified livelihood strategy. Fishermen from St. Croix derived 62% of their household income from fish traps, significantly more than fishermen from St. Thomas/St. John and Puerto Rico, who derived 45% and 41%, respectively, of their household incomes from fish traps. The St. Thomas/St. John fleet was also larger and more capital-intensive than the Crucian and Puerto Rican fleets. This structural heterogeneity suggests that fishermen from the various islands may respond differently to the same regulatory constraint. Thus, targeted policies may be necessary to improve the socioeconomic performance of the fishery and the political acceptability of management actions

From theory to 'measurement' in complex interventions: methodological lessons from the development of an e-health normalisation instrument

<b>Background</b> Although empirical and theoretical understanding of processes of implementation in health care is advancing, translation of theory into structured measures that capture the complex interplay between interventions, individuals and context remain limited. This paper aimed to (1) describe the process and outcome of a project to develop a theory-based instrument for measuring implementation processes relating to e-health interventions; and (2) identify key issues and methodological challenges for advancing work in this field.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> A 30-item instrument (Technology Adoption Readiness Scale (TARS)) for measuring normalisation processes in the context of e-health service interventions was developed on the basis on Normalization Process Theory (NPT). NPT focuses on how new practices become routinely embedded within social contexts. The instrument was pre-tested in two health care settings in which e-health (electronic facilitation of healthcare decision-making and practice) was used by health care professionals.<p></p> <b>Results</b> The developed instrument was pre-tested in two professional samples (N = 46; N = 231). Ratings of items representing normalisation 'processes' were significantly related to staff members' perceptions of whether or not e-health had become 'routine'. Key methodological challenges are discussed in relation to: translating multi-component theoretical constructs into simple questions; developing and choosing appropriate outcome measures; conducting multiple-stakeholder assessments; instrument and question framing; and more general issues for instrument development in practice contexts.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> To develop theory-derived measures of implementation process for progressing research in this field, four key recommendations are made relating to (1) greater attention to underlying theoretical assumptions and extent of translation work required; (2) the need for appropriate but flexible approaches to outcomes measurement; (3) representation of multiple perspectives and collaborative nature of work; and (4) emphasis on generic measurement approaches that can be flexibly tailored to particular contexts of study

Structure Modeling of All Identified G Protein–Coupled Receptors in the Human Genome

G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs), encoded by about 5% of human genes, comprise the largest family of integral membrane proteins and act as cell surface receptors responsible for the transduction of endogenous signal into a cellular response. Although tertiary structural information is crucial for function annotation and drug design, there are few experimentally determined GPCR structures. To address this issue, we employ the recently developed threading assembly refinement (TASSER) method to generate structure predictions for all 907 putative GPCRs in the human genome. Unlike traditional homology modeling approaches, TASSER modeling does not require solved homologous template structures; moreover, it often refines the structures closer to native. These features are essential for the comprehensive modeling of all human GPCRs when close homologous templates are absent. Based on a benchmarked confidence score, approximately 820 predicted models should have the correct folds. The majority of GPCR models share the characteristic seven-transmembrane helix topology, but 45 ORFs are predicted to have different structures. This is due to GPCR fragments that are predominantly from extracellular or intracellular domains as well as database annotation errors. Our preliminary validation includes the automated modeling of bovine rhodopsin, the only solved GPCR in the Protein Data Bank. With homologous templates excluded, the final model built by TASSER has a global C(α) root-mean-squared deviation from native of 4.6 Å, with a root-mean-squared deviation in the transmembrane helix region of 2.1 Å. Models of several representative GPCRs are compared with mutagenesis and affinity labeling data, and consistent agreement is demonstrated. Structure clustering of the predicted models shows that GPCRs with similar structures tend to belong to a similar functional class even when their sequences are diverse. These results demonstrate the usefulness and robustness of the in silico models for GPCR functional analysis. All predicted GPCR models are freely available for noncommercial users on our Web site (http://www.bioinformatics.buffalo.edu/GPCR)

Adequacy of Iodine Status and Associations with Gut Health : A Prospective Cohort Study among Infants in 8 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Peer reviewe

3D positioning of ACL attachment sites during flexion

It is essential when performing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction that the replacement ligament has sufficient mechanical properties to function during all activities. In order to mechanically test a synthetic ligament and assess how well it will function, it is necessary to know how the device will be loaded both axially and in torsion for different activities. We have developed a novel method by which the 3D movement of ACL attachment sites can be calculated from standard MRI data; which can then, in turn, be processed to estimate torsional and tensional loading data. The 3D shape of an individual patient knee was determined from standard MRI images using image segmentation techniques. The knee was then moved into position for each degree of flexion (ranging from -10deg to 140deg). The positions were known from published interventional MRI data which has recorded bone positions of ten healthy patients during flexion when weight bearing. Finally, the locations of the attachment sites throughout flexion were determined and the torsional and tensional loading within the synthetic ligament calculated. The ligament data were analysed assuming that the synthetic ligament was implanted at 90deg of flexion without pre-tension.The results demonstrated significant twisting during hyperextension of the synthetic ligament (maximum 95.5deg), which would result in an approximate torsional force of 3.9N and a torque of 0.01Nm. This correlates with previous work by Zavatsky et al. which examined the mechanics behind ligament twisting [1]. Maximum ligament elongation (3.46mm) was found at 50deg of flexion, which would represent axial loading of 336N. For the calculations the synthetic ligament was assumed to be comparable to the native ACL, with a stiffness of 97Nmm-1[2], diameter 6mm and shear modulus 0.00172GPa. This study highlights the importance of considering both ligament twist as well as elongation when testing synthetic ligaments for ACL reconstruction. Some in vivo trials of synthetic ACL replacement devices have found fibre wear to be an issue; it is possible that cyclic torsional loading tests could have predicted these problems.[1] Zavatsky et al. J Eng Med (1994) 208 p229[2] Hosseini et al. J Orthop Sci (2009) 14 p29

Microbial catabolic activities are naturally selected by metabolic energy harvest rate

The fundamental trade-off between yield and rate of energy harvest per unit of substrate has been largely discussed as a main characteristic for microbial established cooperation or competition. In this study, this point is addressed by developing a generalized model that simulates competition between existing and not experimentally reported microbial catabolic activities defined only based on well-known biochemical pathways. No specific microbial physiological adaptations are considered, growth yield is calculated coupled to catabolism energetics and a common maximum biomass-specific catabolism rate (expressed as electron transfer rate) is assumed for all microbial groups. Under this approach, successful microbial metabolisms are predicted in line with experimental observations under the hypothesis of maximum energy harvest rate. Two microbial ecosystems, typically found in wastewater treatment plants, are simulated, namely: (i) the anaerobic fermentation of glucose and (ii) the oxidation and reduction of nitrogen under aerobic autotrophic (nitrification) and anoxic heterotrophic and autotrophic (denitrification) conditions. The experimentally observed cross feeding in glucose fermentation, through multiple intermediate fermentation pathways, towards ultimately methane and carbon dioxide is predicted. Analogously, two-stage nitrification (by ammonium and nitrite oxidizers) is predicted as prevailing over nitrification in one stage. Conversely, denitrification is predicted in one stage (by denitrifiers) as well as anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation). The model results suggest that these observations are a direct consequence of the different energy yields per electron transferred at the different steps of the pathways. Overall, our results theoretically support the hypothesis that successful microbial catabolic activities are selected by an overall maximum energy harvest rate