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Abstract The aim of this work is to determine the effect of upper‐body high intensity interval training (HIIT) on cardiometabolic risks in individuals with chronic paraplegia. Twenty‐seven individuals (14 females, 13 males, mean ± SD age: 46 ± 9 years) with chronic paraplegia (spinal cord injury between T2 and L5 >1‐year post‐injury) took part in a randomized controlled trial and were included in the final analysis. Participants in the HIIT group (n = 18) performed ∼30 min of arm crank exercise (60 s intervals at 80%–90% peak heart rate) four times per week, for 6 weeks. Participants in the control (CON) group (n = 9) were asked to maintain their habitual diet and physical activity patterns over the study period. Outcome measures were taken at baseline and follow‐up. The primary outcome measures were fasting insulin, peak power output (PPO) and peak aerobic capacity (V̇O2peak). Secondary outcome measures included body composition, postprandial glycaemic control, fasting blood lipids, inflammatory biomarkers and resting blood pressure. Differences between groups were assessed by ANCOVA, using baseline values as a covariate. PPO was higher in the HIIT (101 W, 97–106) compared to the CON (90 W, 83–96) group at follow‐up (P = 0.006). There were no differences in fasting insulin (P = 0.415) or relative V̇O2peak (P = 0.417). Postprandial Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISIMatsuda) was higher in the HIIT (5.42, 4.69–6.15) compared to the CON (3.75, 2.46–5.04) group at follow‐up (P = 0.036). Six weeks of upper‐body HIIT increased PPO and ISIMatsuda, with no other beneficial effect on cardiometabolic component risks in persons with chronic paraplegia. Highlights What is the central question of this study? What is the effect of upper‐body high intensity interval training (HIIT) on cardiometabolic component risks in individuals with chronic paraplegia? What is the main finding and its importance? Six weeks of upper‐body HIIT increased PPO and improved insulin sensitivity, but had no beneficial effect on other cardiometabolic component risks in persons with chronic paraplegia. The large effect size observed for insulin sensitivity may be important in terms of reducing the risk of type‐2 diabetes in this population.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of injuries; time-loss and non-time loss, in elite male academy cricket. Design: Prospective cohort analysis. Methods: Annual injury incidence and prevalence from all cricket related injuries were calculated for 348 male academy players (under-13 to under-18) from the 18 First-Class County Cricket clubs in England and Wales across four years (2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21 and 2021/22), in accordance with the updated consensus statement for injury surveillance methods in cricket. Results: The average annual injury incidence was 115.0 injuries/100 players/year, with similar rates between time-loss (59.7 injuries/100 players/year) and non-time loss injury incidence (55.3 injuries/100 players/year). On average, 8.5 ​% of players were unavailable on any given day of the year due to injury. Match injury incidence (48.8 injuries/100 players/year) was higher than cricket-based training (25.2 injuries/100 players/year), gym-based training, illness, and ‘other’ injury incidences. Match bowling was the activity associated with the highest total (17.7 injuries/100 players/year), time-loss (10.3 injuries/100 players/year) and non-time loss (7.4 injuries/100 players/year) injury incidence. The lumbar spine was the body location most frequently injured (15.3 injuries/100 players/year) and was the most prevalent body location injured (2.9 ​% of players). Conclusions: The findings from this study provide, robust evidence of the extent of the injury problem in elite male academy cricketers. Bowling poses the greatest risk to players and the lumbar spine is the most common and prevalent injury location.

Abstract Background Suicide is a pressing matter for the military. Not only does it pose a health risk, but suicide also compromises operational readiness. Despite provision of suicide prevention clinical best practices, the Department of Defense suffers several challenges (e.g., clinician shortages) limiting the agency’s ability to effectively respond to service member suicide. Implementation of evidence-based suicide-specific group therapy is a possible solution to service member well-being needs and system challenges. Service members can also gain coping skills useful beyond managing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Methods This 2-arm non-inferiority randomized controlled trial compares a group therapy format of Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (i.e., G-BCBT) with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Group. Both therapies are delivered in-person at a United States Naval Medical Center. Participants (N = 136) are active-duty service members with recent suicidal thoughts or suicidal behavior. Evaluation features electronically delivered questionnaires at baseline, after each treatment session, and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. Discussion The primary outcome concerns G-BCBT impacts on suicidal ideation. Secondary outcomes of interest are suicide attempt, psychological distress (e.g., symptoms of depression, anxiety), and self-regulatory skills (e.g., emotion regulation). We also examine self-regulatory skills as treatment moderators. Clinical trial strengths and limitations are reviewed. Trial registration This study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (protocol NCT05401838).

This study aimed to explore the interaction between growth rate on specific injury incidence and burden on pre-, circa- and post-peak height velocity (PHV) periods. Injury and stature data collected during the 2000–2020 seasons in an elite football academy were retrospectively analysed. Only players with height measurements from childhood until the attainment of adult height were included in the study (N = 84). Growth data were smoothed using a cubic spline to calculate daily growth rate and height. Growth rate was categorised into three groups: fast (> 7.2 cm/year), moderate (3.5–7.2 cm/year) and slow (< 3.5 cm/year). Percentage of observed adult height was used to classify players as pre-PHV ( 95%). Overall and specific injury incidence and burden and rate ratios for comparisons between growth rate groups were calculated on pre-, circa- and post-PHV periods, separately. Overall injury incidence and burden were greater in pre-PHV players with quicker growth rates compared to players growing moderately and slowly. All in all, players with more rapid growth-rates were at higher risk for growth-related injuries in all pre-, circa- and post-PHV periods. Post-PHV, the incidence and burden of joint/ligament injuries were 2.4 and 2.6-times greater in players growing slowly compared to players growing moderately. Practitioners should monitor growth rate and maturity status and consider their interaction to facilitate the design of targeted injury risk reduction strategies.

Objectives To describe the injury profile of a novel format cricket competition (‘The Hundred’) and compare injury incidence and prevalence between the men’s and women’s competitions.Methods Medical staff prospectively collected injury data from the eight men’s and women’s teams during the 2021–2023 competitions. Injury definitions and incidence calculations followed the international consensus statement.Results In the men’s competition, 164 injuries were recorded, compared with 127 in the women’s competition. Tournament injury incidence was 36.6 (95% CI 31.4 to 42.7) and 32.5 (95% CI 27.3 to 38.7)/100 players/tournament in the men’s and women’s competition, respectively. Non-time-loss incidence (men’s 26.6 (95% CI 22.2 to 31.8), women’s 24.6 (95% CI 20.1 to 30.0)/100 players/tournament) was higher than time-loss incidence (men’s 10.0 (95% CI 7.5 to 13.5), women’s 7.9 (95% CI 5.6 to 11.3)/100 players/tournament). Injury prevalence was 2.9% and 3.6% in the men’s and women’s competitions, respectively. Match fielding was the most common activity at injury in both competitions. The thigh and hand were the most common body location time-loss injury in the men’s and women’s competitions, respectively.Conclusion A similar injury profile was observed between the men’s and women’s competition. Preventative strategies targeting thigh injuries in the men’s competition and hand injuries in the women’s competition would be beneficial. Compared with published injury rates, ‘The Hundred’ men’s presents a greater risk of injury than Twenty20 (T20), but similar to one-day cricket, with ‘The Hundred’ women’s presenting a similar injury risk to T20 and one-day cricket. Additional years of data are required to confirm these findings.

The relationship between popular vernacular Catholicism and the more official liturgical variety has varied over centuries. Following the subjugation of Ireland by the late 17th century, and the institution of anti-Catholic proscriptions, the number of priests available became more restricted. Religious observation subsequently centered on holy days and local sacred sites including healing wells, many of them dedicated to saints. Always central figures in death rituals, women who mourned the dead—“keening women”—were so called because they lamented the dead through a combination of voice and song. We will show how the songs relate to a deep liminal spirituality that existed semi-independently of official Church norms, and how the voice served to establish their position. In the Catholic revival of the late nineteenth century, such forms were ousted by European modes of worship, but persisted at the margins, allowing us insight into their previous vigor.

Background: The adolescent growth spurt is associated with an increased risk of injury in young athletes. Aim: This study aimed to use an interdisciplinary collaboration between technical coaches, sports scientists, and medical staff to mitigate this risk. Subjects and methods: 77 male academy footballers were followed across two seasons. At-risk players were identified using somatic maturity status and growth rate in stature and the lower limbs, using thresholds of 88% to 92.8% of predicted adult stature, ≥7.2 cm/year, and ≥3.6 cm/year, respectively. During the 2019–20 season, players with symptoms of a growth-related injury or two of three risk factors were included in an intervention strategy that included modified training load, football-specific skills, balance, coordination and landing drills, and an individualised strength program. Results: For players with the three risk factors, there was a significant reduction in the incidence (rate ratio [RR] = 0.14 (5.2 per 1000h → 0.8 per 1000h, p = 0.05) and burden (RR = 0.08 (216 per 1000h → 17 per 1000h, p = 0.02) between the seasons. For players with ≤2 risk factors, there were no significant differences in injury risk between the baseline and intervention seasons. Conclusion: Overall, it may be possible to mitigate injury incidence and burden during the adolescent growth spurt in high-risk athletes.

We explored male professional rugby union players’ experiences and perceptions of their mental and physical health and well-being across the northern hemisphere off-season. 34 professional male rugby union players participated in individual semistructured interviews (mean (SD) age=27.5 (4.3) years). Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The off-season was characterised by three phases players undergo to preserve their mental and physical health and well-being to recover from the previous season and regenerate in preparation for the upcoming season. These included decompression from previous season, cognitive detachment from the rugby environment and preparation for preseason. Successful progression through all three phases was influenced by several variables (work and life demands, contextual factors, experience level). Recovery and regeneration strategies focused on physical distancing/getting away from the rugby environment to cognitively detach. Injured players appear an at-risk subgroup for threats to mental well-being (isolation, anxiety, reduced sense of achievement) as a result of reduced or minimal time away from the workplace due to treatment obligations. Younger professionals are a subgroup at risk of overtraining/injury due to inadequate rest, especially as this group are least likely to seek support/guidance. This study is the first investigation into male professional rugby union players’ experiences and perceptions of their mental and physical health and well-being across the off-season period. It highlights the distinct phases players undertake to mentally recover and regenerate and the need to consider education and support for potential at risk subgroups.

Abstract Background Physical activity is an important component of healthy lifestyles, with a central role in morbidity prevention. However, sporting and physical activity also involve an inherent injury risk. Some sports and activities have a higher injury risk, and may involve more severe injuries. Furthermore, injuries of a severe nature have substantial individual and societal consequences, including the burden of assessment, treatment, and potential on-going care costs. There are limited data on severe sports injury risk in England and Wales, and no national data describing risk across sports. The aims of this study are to identify the cases and incidence of: i) paediatric and ii) adult severe sports injury from 2012 to 2017; and to describe injury incidence in individual sports. Methods This study is an analysis of prospectively collected sport-related injuries, treated from January 2012 to December 2017. Incidents involving a severe injury (in-patient trauma care) in England and Wales, will be identified from the Trauma Audit Research Network registry. Data for patients who were: transfers or direct hospital admissions, with inpatient stays of ≥3 days, admissions to High Dependency areas, or in-hospital mortality after admission; and whose injury mechanism was sport, or incident description included one of 62 sporting activities, will be extracted. Data will be categorised by sport, and sports participation data will be derived from Sport England participation surveys. Descriptive statistics will be estimated for all demographic, incident, treatment and sport fields, and crude serious annual injury incidence proportions estimated. Poisson confidence intervals will be estimated for each sport and used to describe injury risk (incidence) across sporting activities. Discussion This study will be the first to describe the number of, and trends in severe sport-related injuries in England and Wales. These data are useful to monitor the number and burden of severe sports injury, and inform injury prevention efforts. The monitoring and mitigation of sports injury risk is essential for individuals, health services and policy, and to encourage physically active lifestyles and safer participation for adults and children.

The world is experiencing a fourth industrial revolution. Rapid development of technologies is advancing smart infrastructure opportunities. Experts observe decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation as the main drivers for change. In electrical power systems a downturn of centralised conventional fossil fuel fired power plants and increased proportion of distributed power generation adds to the already troublesome outlook for operators of low-inertia energy systems. In the absence of reliable real-time demand forecasting measures, effective decentralised demand-side energy planning is often problematic. In this work we formulate a simple yet highly effective lumped model for forecasting the rate at which electricity is consumed. The methodology presented focuses on the potential adoption by a regional electricity network operator with inadequate real-time energy data who requires knowledge of the wider aggregated future rate of energy consumption. Thus, contributing to a reduction in the demand of state-owned generation power plants. The forecasting session is constructed initially through analysis of a chronological sequence of discrete observations. Historical demand data shows behaviour that allows the use of dimensionality reduction techniques. Combined with piecewise interpolation an electricity demand forecasting methodology is formulated. Solutions of short-term forecasting problems provide credible predictions for energy demand. Calculations for medium-term forecasts that extend beyond 6-months are also very promising. The forecasting method provides a way to advance a novel decentralised informatics, optimisation and control framework for small island power systems or distributed grid-edge systems as part of an evolving demand response service.

Background: Previous studies show an increasing incidence of gram-negative organisms in surgical site infections after spine surgery. This study is looking for the association of the post-operative prophylactic use of Bactrim and the gram-negative surgical site infection after lumbar spine surgery Methods: Patients who underwent lumbar spine surgery between August 2010 and December 2019 at the institution were retrospectively reviewed. Results: There were 11 infections out of 511 cases where no oral antibiotics were given (2.2%). There were 2 infections out of 84 cases where Bactrim was given (2.4%). This was not statistically significant (P=0.89). The organisms cultured from the no oral antibiotic group were 8 cases of methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), 1 case of E. coli, 1 case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 1 case of MRSA. The organisms cultured from the Bactrim group were 1 case of MRSA, and 1 case of combined Citrobacter freundii and methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference in SSIs when Bactrim was given for two weeks after surgery. However, two subjects who developed infection from the Bactrim group were paradoxically affected by gram-negative and antibiotic resistant organisms. So, clinicians should be judicious in their use of oral antibiotics after spine surgery. Level of Evidence: III

Responses to sprint interval exercise (SIE) are hypothesized to be perceived as unpleasant, but SIE protocols are diverse, and moderating effects of various SIE protocol parameters on affective responses are unknown. We performed a systematic search to identify studies (up to 01/05/2021) measuring affective valence using the Feeling Scale during acute SIE in healthy adults. Thirteen studies involving 18 unique trials and 316 unique participant (142 women and 174 men) affective responses to SIE were eligible for inclusion. We received individual participant data for all participants from all studies. All available end-of-sprint affect scores from each trial were combined in a linear mixed model with sprint duration, mode, intensity, recovery duration, familiarization and baseline affect included as covariates. Affective valence decreased significantly and proportionally with each additional sprint repetition, but this effect was modified by sprint duration: affect decreased more during 30 s (0.84 units/sprint; 95% CI: 0.74–0.93) and 15–20 s sprints (1.02 units/sprint; 95% CI: 0.93–1.10) compared with 5–6 s sprints (0.20 units/sprint; 95% CI: 0.18–0.22) (both p < 0.0001). Although the difference between 15–20 s and 30 s sprints was also significant (p = 0.02), the effect size was trivial (d = −0.12). We observed significant but trivial effects of mode, sprint intensity and pre-trial familiarization, whilst there was no significant effect of recovery duration. We conclude that affective valence declines during SIE, but the magnitude of the decrease for an overall SIE session strongly depends on the number and duration of sprints. This information can be applied by researchers to design SIE protocols that are less likely to be perceived as unpleasant in studies of real-world effectiveness.Systematic Review RegistrationOpen Science Framework, https://osf.io/sbyn3.

Abstract Background Experiencing a lower limb amputation (LLA) or spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-changing event, affecting physical and systemic function as well as having psychological and social impacts. However, the severity of the physical impairment and/or motor disability demonstrates a poor relationship with patient-reported quality of life, suggesting that other factors determine such outcomes. As such, holistic health-related quality of life (QoL) assessment is an important tool to monitor long-term outcomes. While there are some studies that have assessed the influence of variables such as age at time of injury occurrence and time since injury on changes in QoL, there are no systematic reviews which synthesise this evidence. Methods/design All follow-up study designs will be included, where data from multiple time points are presented. Searches will target both SCI and LLA populations where a validated measure of QoL has been used: Medical Outcome Study Short-Form 36/12 or the World Health Organization Quality of Life instruments 100 and BREF. Studies must include adult participants (≥ 18 years at time of injury) and detail time since injury event and patient age. The primary objective is to establish the effects of participant age and time since injury on QoL scores. Secondary objectives include determining between-group effects (i.e. LLA vs. SCI). We will search PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases, supplemented by hand-searching references within existing review articles and experimental studies. Reviewer pairs will conduct screening and quality assessment of included papers. Results will be stratified by impairment, QoL tool, age/time since injury and additional variables such as sex, race, comorbidity or disease aetiology, as appropriate. If sufficient high-quality data exist, a meta-analysis will be conducted. Discussion The results of this systematic review will summarise evidence of how QoL changes across the life course, relative to both patient age and time since injury, for both LLA and SCI populations. By enabling a direct comparison of different chronic conditions, disability-specific differences in QoL changes over the life course can be identified. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42018096633.

The 2019 and 2020 Super League (SL) seasons included several competition rule changes. This study aimed to quantify the difference between the 2018, 2019 and 2020 SL seasons for duration, locomotor and event characteristics of matches. Microtechnology and match event data were analysed from 11 SL teams, comprising 124 players, from 416 competitive matches across a three-year data collection period. Due to an enforced suspension of league competition as a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions, and subsequent rule changes upon return to play, season 2020 was divided into season 2020a (i.e. Pre-COVID suspension) and season 2020b (i.e. Post-COVID suspension). Duration, locomotor variables, and match events were analysed per whole-match and ball-in-play (BIP) periods with differences between seasons determined using mixed-effects models. There were significant (ρ ≤ 0.05) reductions in whole-match and BIP durations for adjustables and backs in 2019 when compared to 2018; albeit the magnitude of reduction was less during BIP analyses. Despite reduced duration, adjustables reported an increased average speed suggesting reduced recovery time between bouts. Both forwards and adjustables also experienced an increase in missed tackles between 2018 and 2019 seasons. When comparing 2019 to 2020a, adjustables and backs increased their average speed and distance whilst all positional groups increased average acceleration both for whole-match and BIP analyses. When comparing 2020a to 2020b, all positional groups experienced reduced average speed and average acceleration for both whole-match and BIP analyses. Forwards experienced an increased number of tackles and carries, adjustables experienced an increased number of carries, and backs experienced an increased number of missed tackles when comparing these variables between season 2020a and 2020b. Rule changes have a greater effect on whole-match duration and locomotor characteristics than those reported during BIP periods which suggests the implemented rule changes have removed stagnant time from matches. Amendments to tackle related rules within matches (e.g., introduction of the 'six-again' rule) increases the number of collision related events such as carries and tackles.

This investigation examined match play physical performance across a professional football season using a multicamera computerized tracking system. A linear mixed-effects model, controlling for situational and contextual variables, identified decreases in team average total distance (TD): season quarter 1 (Q1) (11,047 m) > season quarter 2 (Q2) (10,473 m) (P = 0.002; ES = Small), season quarter 3 (Q3) (10,449 m) (P < 0.001; ES = Moderate), and season quarter 4 (Q4) (10,385 m) (P < 0.001; ES = Moderate); work rate (WR): Q1 (115 m/min) > Q3 (108 m/min) (P < 0.001; ES = Moderate), Q4 (107 m/min) (P < 0.001; ES = Moderate); Q2 (109 m/min) > Q4 (107 m/min) (P = 0.003; ES = Small); high-speed running distance (HSR): Q1 (1,051 m) > Q2 (813 m) (P = 0.006; ES = Small); number of high-speed runs (NHSR): Q1 (87) > Q2 (65) (P < 0.001; ES = Small), Q3 (64) (P = 0.002; ES = Small); sprint distance (SD): Q1 (202 m) > Q4 (130 m) (P < 0.001; ES = Moderate), Q2 (179 m) > Q3 (165 m) (P = 0.035; ES = Small), Q4 (130 m) (P < 0.001; ES = Moderate) and number of sprints (NS): Q1 (20.4) > Q3 (10.2) (P < 0.001; ES = Moderate), Q4 (8.3) (P < 0.001; ES = Large); Q2 (14.9) > Q3 (10.2) (P < 0.001; ES = Moderate), Q4 (8.3) (P < 0.001; ES = Large). Within-position changes were observed for WR: Q1 (122 m/min) > Q4 (113 m/min) (P = 0.002; ES = Large) in central midfielders and for NS: Q1 > Q3 in wide defenders (21.7 vs. 10.8) (P = 0.044; ES = Large) and central midfielders (18.1 vs. 8.3) (P = 0.002; ES = Large); Q1 > Q4 in central defenders (13.1 vs. 5.3) (P = 0.014; ES = Large), wide defenders (21.6 vs. 7.1) (P < 0.001; ES = Very Large), central midfielders (18.1 vs. 8.5) (P = 0.005; ES = Large), and wide midfielders (20.8 vs. 12.2) (P = 0.012; ES = Large); Q2 > Q3 in central midfielders (16.9 vs. 8.3) (P = 0.002; ES = Large) and Q2 > Q4 in wide defenders (16.3 vs. 7.1) (P = 0.005; ES = Very Large), central midfielders (16.9 vs. 8.5) (P = 0.004; ES = Large), and wide midfielders (20.8 vs. 12.2) (P = 0.007; ES = Large). The match-play physical performance was reduced across the competitive season. The most notable reductions were observed in wide defenders, central midfielders, and wide midfielders in sprint performance indices.

Despite its importance to the management of training stress, monotony and recovery from exercise, training load has not been quantified during periods of intensity training in youths. This study aimed to (1) examine and quantify the training load (TL) in youth national team basketball players during a 2-week training camp according to maturity timing and (2) determine which parameters were related to under-18 (U18) national team selection. Twenty-nine U-16 national team basketball players underwent an anthropometric assessment to determine maturity timing. Players were categorised by maturity timing (early vs. average), whilst TL parameters during a 2-week training camp (i.e., 21 sessions) prior to FIBA U16 European Championship were used for group comparison and to predict future U-18 national team selection. The early-maturing players, who were taller and heavier (p < 0.05), experienced greater training strain in week 1 (p < 0.05) only. Irrespective of maturity timing, training loads in week 2 were predictive of onward selection for the U-18 national team. Conclusion: Based on present findings, practitioners are encouraged to develop their athletes’ ability to tolerate high weekly loads, but also to be mindful that athletes’ perceived exertion during national team training may be influenced by maturity timing.

Abstract Background Despite obesity being highly prevalent in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), our current understanding of the interactions between energy balance components, which may contribute to this, is limited. The primary aim of this study is to identify the intra-individual variability of physical activity dimensions across days and suggest an appropriate monitoring time frame for these constructs in adults with SCI. The secondary aim is to examine these parameters with regard to energy intake and dietary macronutrient composition. Methods Participants [33 men and women with chronic (> 1 year post injury) paraplegia; age = 44 ± 9 years (mean ± S.D.] wore an Actiheart™ PA monitor and completed a weighed food diary for 7 consecutive days. Spearman-Brown Prophecy Formulae, based on Intraclass Correlations of .80 (acceptable reliability), were used to predict the number of days required to measure energy balance components. Linear mixed-effects analyses and magnitude-based inferences were performed for all energy intake, expenditure and physical activity dimensions. Adjustments were made for age, injury level, wear time, sex, day of the week and measurement order as fixed effects. Results To reliably measure energy expenditure components; 1 day [total energy expenditure (TEE)], 2 days [physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE), light-intensity activity, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA)], 3 days [physical activity level (PAL)] and 4 days (sedentary behaviour) are necessary. Device wear time (P 1 year) paraplegia and propose suitable measurement durations to achieve acceptable reliability in outcome measures. Device wear time and measurement order play a role in the quality of energy expenditure and intake data, respectively, and should be considered when designing and analysing studies of energy balance components in persons with SCI. Trial registration N/A

Intertidal culture of the Pacific geoduck clam (Panopea generosa) involves planting juveniles in the sediment in tubes covered with mesh for predator protection. We examined the interactive effects of tube diameter (10.2 and 15.2 cm), tube length (25.4 and 30.5 cm), and mesh size (6 and 12 mm) on percent shell-length increase, percent wet-weight increase, and percent survivorship of cultured juvenile geoducks (mean shell length ± SD = 29.6 ± 4.8 mm) over 12 months. Percent increase in shell length and wet weight were both significantly affected by the main effects of tube diameter and mesh size, as well as the interaction between the two factors. Shell length was also significantly affected by the main effect of tube length. Geoducks were significantly shorter and lighter in the 10-cm/6-mm (diameter/mesh) treatment than in the 10-cm/12-mm, 15-cm/6-mm, and 15-cm/12-mm treatments. The 25-cm-long tubes were associated with significantly longer (but not heavier) individuals than the 30-cm ones. Average survivorship (±SE) ranged from 38.3 ± 7.1% to 55.0 ± 6.5% (mean ± SD: 47.7 ± 2.5%) in the eight treatments and was not significantly affected by any main effects or interaction terms. The results have implications for commercial intertidal geoduck culture in British Columbia (Canada) and Washington (USA) where clams are protected with solid plastic tubes. Keywords: Geoduck clam, Intertidal culture, Panopea generosa, Predator protection, Tubes

This paper presents a decentralized informatics, optimization, and control framework to enable demand response (DR) in small or rural decentralized community power systems, including geographical islands. The framework consists of a simplified lumped model for electrical demand forecasting, a scheduling subsystem that optimizes the utility of energy storage assets, and an active/pro-active control subsystem. The active control strategy provides secondary DR services, through optimizing a multi-objective cost function formulated using a weight-based routing algorithm. In this context, the total weight of each edge between any two consecutive nodes is calculated as a function of thermal comfort, cost (tariff), and the rate at which electricity is consumed over a short future time horizon. The pro-active control strategy provides primary DR services. Furthermore, tertiary DR services can be processed to initiate a sequence of operations that enables the continuity of applied electrical services for the duration of the demand side event. Computer simulations and a case study using hardware-in-the-loop testing is used to evaluate the optimization and control module. The main conclusion drawn from this research shows the real-time operation of the proposed optimization and control scheme, operating on a prototype platform, underpinned by the effectiveness of the new methods and approach for tackling the optimization problem. This research recommends deployment of the optimization and control scheme, at scale, for decentralized community energy management. The paper concludes with a short discussion of business aspects and outlines areas for future work.

In an effort to combat growing demands on players, athlete monitoring has become a central component of professional sport. Despite the introduction of new technologies for athlete monitoring, little is understood about the practices employed in professional rugby clubs. A questionnaire was circulated amongst conditioning staff across the 12 Premiership rugby clubs to capture the methods used, relative importance, perceived effectiveness and barriers to the use of multiple different athlete monitoring measurements. Previous injury, Global Positioning System (GPS) metrics, collision counts and age were deemed the most important risk factors for managing future injury risk. A wide range of GPS metrics are collected across clubs with high-speed running (12/12 clubs), distance in speed zones (12/12 clubs) and total distance (11/12 clubs) the most commonly used. Of the metrics collected, high-speed running was deemed the most important for managing future injury risk (5/12 clubs); however, there was considerable variation between clubs as to the exact definition of high-speed running, with both absolute and relative measures utilised. While the use of such monitoring tools is undertaken to improve athlete welfare by minimising injury risk, this study demonstrates the significant heterogeneity of systems and methods used by clubs for GPS capture. This study therefore questions whether more needs to be done to align practices within the sport to improve athlete welfare.

Oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) have recently been targeted for conservation in the western North Atlantic following severe declines in abundance. Pop-up satellite archival tags were applied to 11 mature oceanic whitetips (10 females, 1 male) near Cat Island in the central Bahamas 1-8 May 2011 to provide information about the horizontal and vertical movements of this species. Another large female was opportunistically tagged in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Data from 1,563 total tracking days and 1,142,598 combined depth and temperature readings were obtained. Sharks tagged at Cat Island stayed within 500 km of the tagging site for ~30 days before dispersing across 16,422 km(2) of the western North Atlantic. Maximum individual displacement from the tagging site ranged from 290-1940 km after times at liberty from 30-245 days, with individuals moving to several different destinations (the northern Lesser Antilles, the northern Bahamas, and north of the Windward Passage). Many sharks returned to The Bahamas after ~150 days. Estimated residency times within The Bahamas EEZ, where longlining and commercial trade of sharks is illegal, were generally high (mean = 68.2% of time). Sharks spent 99.7% of their time shallower than 200 m and did not exhibit differences in day and night mean depths. There was a positive correlation between daily sea surface temperature and mean depth occupied, suggesting possible behavioral thermoregulation. All individuals made short duration (mean = 13.06 minutes) dives into the mesopelagic zone (down to 1082 m and 7.75°C), which occurred significantly more often at night. Ascent rates during these dives were significantly slower than descent rates, suggesting that these dives are for foraging. The sharks tracked appear to be most vulnerable to pelagic fishing gear deployed from 0-125 m depths, which they may encounter from June to October after leaving the protected waters of The Bahamas EEZ.