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ObjectivesThe role of a coach in enhancing athletes’ performance and achieving success is well-documented across numerous studies. However, the strategies employed by Chinese coaches in developing world champion gymnasts remain under explored.MethodsThis research involved a single case study focusing on a coach from the Chinese National Men’s Gymnastics Team, credited with nurturing eight world champion gymnasts.ResultsThe inductive content analysis leads to that 6 subthemes, “international perspective and collaborative ability,” “ability to control and regulate training loads,” “identifying athletes’ needs and transforming them into motivation,” “goal setting aligned with athletes’ abilities,” “adopting authoritative democratic coaching style,” and “establishing hierarchical-style friendship”, and 3 themes, “training management and planning,” “motivation and goal setting,” and “interpersonal communication” are manifested. An overarching theme “the successful experience of gymnastics world champion coach,” is derived from the analysis.ConclusionThis research bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, offering valuable insights into the successful experiences of gymnastics world champion coaches. The findings have the potential to influence coaching methodologies globally, fostering the development of resilient, motivated, and high-performing athletes. Future research should focus on sport-specific studies, longitudinal analyses, and cross-cultural comparisons to further advance the field of sports coaching and validate the effectiveness of these innovative coaching strategies.

ObjectivesThis study explores the significant impact of expressive ties (EI) between DanceSport couples on their competitive performance (CP). Utilizing a dyadic approach, we examined the performance achievement processes of DanceSport couples in relation to their EI.MethodsParticipants comprised 67 dyads of Chinese elite dancers aged between 16 and 30 years. The dyadic analysis was carried out using a structural equation model based on the actor-partner interdependence mediation model.ResultsWith regard to actor effects, both male (β = 0.292, p = 0.012) and female (β = 0.443, p

Objective: To assess the effects of 8 weeks of unilateral (UNI), bilateral (BI), and combined unilateral + bilateral (UNI + BI) resistance training on bench press and squat strength in adolescent boxers.Methods: Using the Gym Aware linear accelerometer, free-weight squat and bench press strength exercises were evaluated after an 8-week training intervention. Thirty adolescent boxers were randomly assigned to three groups: UNI, height: 1.73 ± 0.08 m, weight: 55.42 ± 5.85 kg; UNI + BI, height: 1.7 ± 0.06 m, weight: 54.73 ± 5.33 kg; and BI, height: 1.74 ± 0.06 m, weight: 59.67 ± 8.39 kg. Each group followed their designated UNI/BI/UNI + BI compound resistance training protocols, and the effects of 8 weeks of single-sided and bilateral intervention training on the performance of free-weight squat and bench press exercises at 30%, 50%, and 80% of 1-repetition maximum (1RM) were evaluated.Results: Significant improvements were observed in the 30% 1RM, 50% 1RM, and 80% 1RM outcomes for both squat and bench press exercises before and after the interventions (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). In the intergroup comparison, GymAware measurements revealed that the UNI and UNI + BI groups exhibited superior peak power values for squat and bench press exercises at 30% 1RM compared to the BI group.Discussion: UNI and UNI + BI training led to significantly higher output power values in bench press and squat exercises at 30% 1RM compared to the BI training group.

ObjectiveSmartphone addiction, as a key topic in the current field of behavioral addictions and public health, has brought many negative impacts on the physical, psychological, interpersonal communication, and even academic performance among contemporary college students. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to offer ideas for solving smartphone addiction among college students through investigating the potential mediating effect of self-esteem in the relationship between physical activity and smartphone addiction.MethodsBy the quota sampling, a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate 650 college students from 10 colleges in Guangzhou Higher Mega Center, and several self-reported instruments including physical activity rating scale-3 (PARS-3), mobile phone addiction tendency scale (MPATS), self-esteem scale (SES) were used to collect the related data needed for the present study. The descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, and mediating effect analysis in this study were performed in turn.ResultsThe results showed that physical activity (r = −0.124, p < 0.01) and self-esteem (r = −0.360, p < 0.01) were all negatively correlated with smartphone addiction, and both could also significantly and negatively predict smartphone addiction. There was a positive correlation between physical activity and self-esteem (r = 0.084, p < 0.05), and self-esteem could be significantly predicted by physical activity. And more important, the relationship between physical activity and smartphone addiction could be partially mediated by self-esteem, and the indirect effect value was −0.346 (95% Boot CI = −0.695; −0.023), along with the mediating effect accounted for 24% of the total effect between physical activity and smartphone addiction.ConclusionThe current study shows that physical activity could not only directly reduce smartphone addiction, but also decrease smartphone addiction by indirectly improving self-esteem, which is important in practice for solving this troublesome issue and then gradually developing a healthy behavior in daily life for college students in China, and even across the world in near future.

ObjectivesAlthough the positive association of partnership between DanceSport couples with competitive performance (CP) is documented, less is known about the mediating factors of this relationship. According to the related literature and self-determination theory (SDT), the present study finds and verifies that athlete engagement (AE) mediates the association between partnership and competitive performance.MethodsA total of 242 Chinese sports dancers were recruited using the purposive sampling method. The Partnership Scale-DanceSport Couples (PS-DSC), the Athlete Engagement Questionnaire (AEQ), and the Competitive Performance Questionnaire (CPQ) were adopted to collect data.ResultsThe obligatory instrumental ties, expressive ties, and interpersonal perception scores are all positively correlated with both athlete engagement and competitive performance, and athlete engagement scores are positively correlated with competitive performance. Athlete engagement completely mediates the association between obligatory instrumental ties and competitive performance, and it partially mediates the association between expressive ties, interpersonal perception, and competitive performance, with the mediating effect accounting for 25.29 and 24.40% of the total effect, respectively.ConclusionAthlete engagement mediates the association between DanceSport couples’ partnership and competitive performance. High levels of athlete engagement are needed to improve the chance of promoting obligatory instrumental ties, expressive ties, and interpersonal perception between DanceSport couples toward excellent competitive performance. Overall, the results represent an attempt to extend our understanding of the mechanisms by which the three partnership stereotype factors individually influence dancers’ cognitive and psychological states.

IntroductionDanceSport is described as a dance involving a male–female partner. It is important to comprehend the partnership between dance couples so that their competitive performance can be effectively supported. However, only a few studies have verified the influence of partnership between DanceSport couples on competitive performance and explored its psychological mechanism to provide means to deal with the partnership. The reason was that there was a lack of appropriate assessment tools.AimsThis multi-study outlines the development, content, and construct validity of a novel, mixed-method tool to assess DanceSport partnership.MethodsThe development of the Partnership Scale-DanceSport Couples (PS-DSC) included four studies and data from four samples of Chinese elite dancers (N = 914 total). In stage 1, outlined in study 1, PS-DSC items were generated and then refined using the feedback provided by academics, sports coaches, and elite dancers. In stage 2, outlined in studies 2 and 3, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to examine the structure of the PS-DSC items. In stage 3, outlined in study 4, composite reliability, discriminant validity, and convergent validity were assessed. The result of this process was a 13-item three-factor instrument. Based on these initial findings, the PS-DSC provided the first valid and reliable way of measuring partnerships between DanceSport couples.ConclusionThis study has taken the promising first step in developing a tool to comprehensively measure partnerships between DanceSport couples.

Linoleic acid (LA), a potentially algae-inhibiting chemical released by macroalgae, has been shown to hinder the growth of numerous bloom-forming species. The allelopathic effects of LA (varying from 100 μg/L to 900 μg/L) on harmful microalgae K. mikimotoi were examined using population growth dynamics and physiological levels of K. mikimotoi. LA (>500 μg/L) strongly inhibited algal growth with most cells halted at the S and G2 phases and an evident drop in photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a (chl a), chlorophyll c (chl c) and carotenoids). Furthermore, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters such as Fv/Fm, PI, ETo/RC showed a declining trend whereas ABS/RC, DIo/RC, TRo/RC showed an increasing trend with increasing LA exposure concentrations. The level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was considerably higher, indicating that LA promoted oxidative stress in K. mikimotoi. Excessive ROS promoted apoptosis in K. mikimotoi, which was noted by increased activity of caspase-3, caspase-9, and flow cytometry (FCM) data. Furthermore, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and N-Acetyl-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-CHO (Ac-DEVD-CHO) lowered the apoptotic rates of the LA-treated algal cells, indicating that the aforementioned inhibitors delayed K. mikimotoi apoptosis under LA treatment. To summarize, cell cycle arrest of K. mikimotoi is less sensitive to ROS, but the overproduction of ROS generated by LA activated caspase-3 and caspase-9, which further promoted the apoptosis of K. mikimotoi. This research showed that LA might have great potential and application prospects in controlling the outbreak of harmful algae.

Recently, immune response modulation at the epigenetic level is illustrated in studies, but the possible function of RNA 5-methylcytosine (m5C) modification in cell infiltration within the tumor microenvironment (TME) is still unclear. Three different m5C modification patterns were identified, and high differentiation degree was observed in the cell infiltration features within TME under the above three identified patterns. A low m5C-score, which was reflected in the activated immunity, predicted the relatively favorable prognostic outcome. A small amount of effective immune infiltration was seen in the high m5C-score subtype, indicating the dismal patient survival. Our study constructed a diagnostic model using the 10 signature genes highly related to the m5C-score, discovered that the model exhibited high diagnostic accuracy for PTC, and screened out five potential drugs for PTC based on this m5C-score model. m5C modification exerts an important part in forming the TME complexity and diversity. It is valuable to evaluate the m5C modification patterns in single tumors, so as to enhance our understanding towards the infiltration characterization in TME.