Days Of Training Research Articles

Machine learning versus empirical models to predict daily global solar irradiation in an average year: Homogeneous parallel ensembles prevailed

Abstract Accurate predictive daily global horizontal irradiation models are essential for diverse solar energy applications. Their long-term performances can be assessed using average years. This study scrutinized 70 machine learning and 44 empirical models using two disjoint five-year average daily training and validation datasets, each comprising 365 records and 10 features. The features included day number, minimum and maximum air temperature, air temperature amplitude, theoretical and observed sunshine hours, theoretical extraterrestrial horizontal irradiation, relative sunshine, cloud cover and relative humidity. Fourteen machine learning algorithms, namely, multiple linear regression, ridge regression, lasso regression, elastic net regression, Huber regression, k-nearest neighbors, decision tree, support vector machine, multilayer perceptron, extreme learning machine, generalized regression neural network, extreme gradient boosting, gradient boosting machine and light gradient boosting machine were trained, validated and instantiated as base learners in 4 strategically designed homogeneous parallel ensembles—variants of pasting, random subspace, bagging and random patches—which also were scrutinized, producing 70 models. Specific hyperparameters from the algorithms were optimized. Validation showed that at least two ensembles outperformed its individual model. Huber-subspace ranked first with a root mean square error of 1.495 MJ/m2/day. The multilayer perceptron was most robust to the random perturbations of the ensembles which extrapolates to good tolerance to ground truth data noise. The best empirical model returned a validation root mean square error of 1.595 MJ/m2/day but was outperformed by 93% of the machine learning models with the homogeneous parallel ensembles producing superior predictive accuracies.

The Prevalence of Low Energy Availability in Cross-Country Skiers during the Annual Cycle.

A sustained mismatch between energy intake (EI) and exercise energy expenditure (EEE) can lead to Low Energy Availability (LEA), as well as health and performance impairments characteristic of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). Research in females has identified specific LEA cut-points for the risks of developing physiological and performance disturbances. Cut-points in males have yet to be evaluated; therefore, this study examined the prevalence of LEA in highly trained male cross-country skiers. The key purpose of this study was to analyze EI, resting energy expenditure (REE), EEE, and energy availability (EA) in highly trained cross-country skiers during the preparation and competition periods. The secondary objective of our study was to evaluate the relative contribution of fats and carbohydrates to EI, REE, and EEE. EI was determined by an estimated 24 h diet recall method, REE was assessed by indirect calorimetry, and EEE was estimated from heart rate in 27 cross-country skiers. EI amounted to 4050 ± 797 kcal/day on a typical training day (TD) and 5986 ± 924 kcal/day (p < 0.001) on a typical competition day (CD). REE on TDs (2111 ± 294 kcal/day or 30 ± 6 kcal/day/kg) was higher (p < 0.05) than on CDs (1891 ± 504 kcal/day or 27 ± 7 kcal/day/kg). The EA in the athletes was <15 kcal∙kg FFM-1·d-1 on TDs and <65 kcal∙kg FFM-1·d-1 on CDs. EI was not optimal, as indicated by low EA throughout TDs (June). This could be associated with insufficient EI along with a high amount of EEE (3690.7 ± 485.2 kcal/day). During the transition from TD to CD, an increase in the contribution of fats to EI and EEE was observed in cross-country skiers. The conception of LEA and REDs and their potential implication for performance is underestimated among coaches and athletes. The importance of appropriate dietary strategies is essential to ensure that enough calories are consumed to support efficient training.

Optimized design of flexible sensors for snow and ice sports characterization and intelligent recognition of training technique movements

Skiing performance is affected by a variety of external factors, and real-time monitoring of skiers' skiing status is very important for improving athletes' skiing technique. There are problems in the training monitoring of snow sports athletes in a wide range of venues, such as difficulty in accurately obtaining the parameters of sports status, lack of quantitative assessment of the training effect, and inability to provide timely feedback. And traditional sensors cannot adapt to cold, humid and other weather conditions, which affects their stability. Traditional sensors can only provide limited motion data and cannot comprehensively evaluate the technical level of skiers. At the same time, it is difficult to provide sufficiently accurate data in complex snowy environments. To address this problem, this study proposes a flexible sensor that can contact with the human body and sense athletes' body postures and movements in real time. By combining the flexible sensor with ice and snow sports equipment, intelligent recognition of athletes' movements can be realized. By monitoring and analyzing athletes' movements in real time, problems can be detected in time and targeted adjustments and training can be carried out. The findings of the experiment demonstrate that the accuracy of the time synchronization model, the time-domain high-pass filtering model, the zero-speed correction model, and the improved zero-speed correction model are, respectively, 97, 94, 92, and 90 when the size of the training set is 800. At the distance of 2000 m, The CF-TENG, H-TENG and CS-TENG response times are 18 ms, 20 ms and 28 ms. The results show that the designed flexible sensors have good performance and can be used in the daily training of cross-country skiing and alpine skiing professional sports teams.

Solar irradiance prediction with variable time lengths and multi-parameters in full climate conditions based on photovoltaic greenhouse

Photovoltaic power generation can provide energy for greenhouses and achieve high quality and high yield of crops. In reality, solar irradiance is fluctuating and intermittent. Thus, the key to ensure efficient photovoltaic power use under greenhouse environmental conditions is to provide an accurate prediction of solar irradiance. Yet, currently studies on irradiance prediction in terms of the variable time lengths, multi-parameter and full climate conditions are rather limited. To improve the comprehensive performance of the prediction model, this paper proposes models of irradiance time series prediction such as Pyraformer, Informer, Transformer and TimesNet. Those models were tested based on the synergistic combination of weather conditions (WC), sunshine time accumulation (STA/h), instantaneous total irradiance (ITI/(W/m2)) and irradiance daily accumulation (IDA/(MJ/m2)). The model performance was rigorously evaluated with 9 prediction lengths, 5 training days, 4 seasons and 5 days for 9 weather conditions. The results showed that the Transformer model had the best overall prediction performance for STA, ITI, IDA and WC at different time steps of 10 min to 24 h. All models were suitable for predicting time series within 1 h. However, TimesNet model was not suitable for predicting time series with steps outside 1 h. On the other hand, by using the sun combination dataset, the Transformer model had the best performance at a time step of 10 min. The mean absolute error (MAE), mean-square error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2) of ITI were 0.118 W/m2, 0.059 W/m2, 0.243 W/m2 and 93.9 %, respectively. When exploring the minimum dataset, with the increase of data samples, the prediction effect of TimesNet showed an increasing trend. While, Transformer had the best prediction effect for the dataset with one year of use. When exploring seasonality, Pyraformer model had the best prediction effect on winter and summer, and TimesNet had the best prediction effect on autumn and spring. Local prediction of 9 climate conditions showed that the effects of snow and dust storm were not ideal. The research results showed that the characterization factors that were closely linked to irradiance. The prediction scheme proposed in this paper combined the advantages of different time steps, different factor combination datasets, different data volumes and seasonality, which greatly improves the generalization ability of the model. This study can provide a reference for irradiance prediction and more refined management of photovoltaic (PV) greenhouse.

Exploring the Advantages and Techniques of Intraoperative Transcholecystic Methylene Blue Injection in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Introduction With the use of advanced instruments and techniques, the reported incidence of bile duct injury is low; however, the actual frequency might be slightly higher than reported. Most surgeons might encounter bile duct injury or bile duct-related complications in their early training days. Nevertheless, with newer techniques and technologies, cases of bile duct injuries have been mostly observed in open cholecystectomy. The predominant cause of injury is the misinterpretation of the anatomy of the bile duct, cystic duct, or aberrant right sectoral hepatic duct. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is currently the gold standard of therapy for cholecystitis. Materials and methods The study was conducted in the Department of General Surgery at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna, after obtaining clearance from the ethics committee. The duration of the study was one year. Results A total of 50 patients were enrolled in the study, whose ages ranged from 20 to 55 years. They were predominantly female. The mean operative time was 68.5 ± 8.7 minutes. There were no cases of conversion to an open procedure, bile duct injury, or biliary stricture. Conclusion The injection of methylene blue into the gallbladder fundus during laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a practical, affordable, and simple procedure that does not require any special equipment or radiation exposure for the improved delineation of the gallbladder and biliary system. The use of intraoperative methylene blue could be a low-cost and simple alternative for safe laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Online SPE-LC-MS-MS method for eight hydroxylated metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urine and determination of optimal sampling time after firefighter training

Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) are formed during incomplete combustion and firefighters are inadvertently at risk of being exposed to these and other hazardous compounds. Exposure to PAHs is often estimated by measuring their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PAH) in urine. Here, an online-SPE LC-MS-MS method was set up for eight OH-PAHs thus increasing sample throughput and minimizing manual handling. The method was validated over a 5-month period and showed good reproducibility with intra- and inter-day variation of 2.4–8.1 % and 1.6–6.5 %, respectively, of low-level samples and accuracy (91.6–104.8 %) for a standard reference material. The method was applied to urine samples from conscripts training to become firefighters to determine the optimal sampling time for this training activity before a large intervention study. In total, six conscripts sampled urine 6–8 times over a 40-hr period during a 3-day training course. All eight metabolites were detected in ≥ 97 % of the samples and showed peak excretion 4–6 hrs after the training corresponding to 8–10 hrs after first exposure. Samples taken the morning after the exercise contained low levels of most metabolites. Consequently, 4–6 hrs post exposure is recommended as the optimal sampling time for quantification of PAH exposure and monitoring of potential differences in exposure.

Assessment of Nutritional Status and Energy Availability of Indian Boxers.

Inadequate dietary intake and low energy availability (LEA) negatively impact athlete's health, recovery, and performance outcomes. Currently, there is no Indian study that assessed the energy availability (EA) of Indian boxers and studied the contributing factors to LEA. This study was undertaken with the objectives of assessing the EA of Indian boxers (lightweight category) and correlating it with contributing factors such as anthropometric measurements, body composition, dietary intake, nutrient intake, and exercise energy expenditure. This descriptive cross-sectional study recruited 30 state-level boxers of the lightweight category (females: nine) residing in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, using purposive sampling. Body composition was assessed using a body composition monitor. Anthropometric measurements were assessed using standard methods. Three-day exercise energy expenditure was calculated. Three-day dietary intake was assessed, which included two training days and one rest day using the three-day multiple-pass method. Dietary intake assessment included intake of all the meals, snacks, sports foods, sports, and dietary supplements. EA was calculated and participants were classified as moderate EA (30-45 kcal/kg FFM/day) and low EA (< 30 kcal/kg FFM/day). Descriptive and inferential statistical tests were conducted using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS, version 23; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY). Male boxers had a mean age of 18.43±0.93 years, and females had a mean age of 18.44±0.88 years. Among boxers, 36.67% (n=11) of participants were underweight, 46.67% (n=14) had a normal BMI, and 16.67% (n=5) were overweight. The mean body fat (%) for boxers was 13.11±1.8. Participants had insufficient consumption of different food groups before and after the energy intake adjustment. Processed packaged food consumption was popular among the participants. Various kinds of sports foods and supplements were consumed by a few athletes. Dietary supplements were not common among participants. The nutrient intake of the participants was inadequate. Participants could not fulfill energy/kg/day, carbohydrate/kg/day, protein/kg/day, and fat/kg/day requirements by 29%, 36.2%, 34.8%, and 23.9%, respectively. Iron and calcium intake was inadequate among female participants by 1.4% and 12.8%, respectively. Among male boxers, the mean EA was 29.71±3.74 kcal/kg FFM/day, and the mean EA of female boxers was 28.3±3.95 kcal/kg FFM/day. Around 66.67% of boxers in the present study had LEA, while the rest had reduced EA. EA had a moderately significant inverse relationship with fat-free mass (%). Energy intake was significantly related to EA and total body muscle % significantly moderated that relationship. The influence of fat-free mass (%), EEE (kcal), and energy intake (kcal)on the EA (kcal/kg FFM/day) was significant usingmultiplelinear regression analysis. The majority of the participants could not meet the food intake and nutrient recommendations. The majority of the participants had LEA. The higher the energy and nutrient intake, the higher the EA in the present study. EA had a moderately significant inverse relationship with fat-free mass (%) and exercise energy expenditure.

Habitual Nocturnal Sleep, Napping Behavior, and Recovery Following Training and Competition in Elite Water Polo: Sex-Related Effects.

To examine nocturnal sleep patterns, napping behaviors, and subjective wellness responses of elite water polo players within an in-season week and to identify whether sleeping patterns differ between men and women. Sleep characteristics of 10 male and 17 female professional water polo players were objectively assessed during 1week of the in-season period, including 5 training days, 1 match day, and 1day of rest. Internal load (rating of perceived exertion × duration of training or match) was assessed 30 minutes posttraining or postmatch, and the total quality of recovery was recorded every morning. A series of multilevel models were used to analyze the data. Time in bed and wake-up time were earlier on both training (P < .001) and rest days (P < .001) than on the day of the match. Internal workload did not predict any of the players' sleeping patterns. Midday naps predicted less time in bed (P = .03) and likely less sleep time (P = .08). The total quality of recovery was predicted only by the total sleep time (P < .01). Women exhibited higher sleep efficiency (P < .001), less waking after sleep onset (P = .01), and a lower number of awakenings (P = .02) than men. The current results indicate that the nocturnal sleep patterns of elite water polo players are not associated with internal load and that women display better nocturnal sleep quality compared with men. As long naps interfere with nocturnal sleep, and total nocturnal sleep time predicts total quality of recovery, we suggest that athletes follow hygiene sleep strategies to facilitate adequate nocturnal sleep and next-day recovery.

Simulation based CPR Training of EMS Staff and its Utility in Managing Remote Patients at Tertiary Care Hospital of Central India

Abstract Introduction: AVBRH is 1500-bedded tertiary care hospital that caters to patients from areas within more than a 50 km radius. Emergency medical services (EMS) are established and frequently on the run. The EMS team has 10 basic life support (BLS) ambulances with 20 drivers and 20 paramedical staff. Daily, 3–5 highly critical patients who are in need of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are transferred to the AVBRH hospital. The optimal medical care while transferring the patient to AVBRH hospital was unmonitored and without any benchmark. A low-risk simulation-based environment to practice can be valuable to maintain a wide array of skills. Effective and prompt delivery of expert instruction and guidance by a telesimulation is approved to be a beneficial approach in this setting. Training of EMS staff helps to improve patient care and satisfaction. Hence, we decided to undertake the simulation-based CPR training of the staff and correlate the outcome with existing mortality data of Medical record department (MRD). Objective: To optimize health care while transferring the patient to a tertiary hospital by BLS training and teleassisting. To see the impact of teaching and assisting on overall patient outcomes at the emergency department. Methodology: Forty EMS participants were enrolled and trained for 2 days. On day 1, they were trained in BLS, while on day 2, training in working as a team through simulation at school of virtual learning was done. They were trained to work as a team through simulated case scenarios with effective telecommunication while transferring the patient to the hospital. After training, these EMS staff were monitored and assisted according to the protocol of BLS by the emergency medicine department through telecommunication on the field for the next 3 months and reassessed again after the completion of 3 months. The following tabulated assessment format is used for EMS staff attending to the patient on the field. The prefield assessment on the same day of training and on postfield assessment after 3 months at school of virtual learning-simulation lab (SVL) was conducted. The data were gathered, tabulated, and analyzed for the percentage. Conclusion and Recommendation: Simulation-based teaching by a facilitator along with effective telesimulation creates an important link and gaps in the bridge between knowledge and technical skills. It has been found that overall patient care and performance of EMS staff was significantly improved; hence, recommendations for continuous assistance while transferring the patients are given. Training of the newly appointed EMS crew and the other available EMS services from the district should be aligned with assisted telecommunication services of AVBRH. Regular audit for quality improvement in EMS performance to be imparted.

Nightmares in Swiss elite athletes: Associated factors.

Nightmares, defined as extremely dysphoric dreams, can cause significant distress in everyday life if they occur frequently. Their aetiology is based on a disposition-stress model. As elite athletes often experience high stress levels, the present study investigated factors that might be associated with nightmare frequency in a large cohort of 2297 Swiss elite athletes (1066 women, 1231 men) with a mean age of 22.05 ± 7.53 years. In total, about 6% of the athletes reported frequent nightmares (once a week or more often). We found that well-established factors like female gender and general stress levels were related to nightmare frequency. To a smaller extent, the number of training hours, lost training days due to illness, and having early training sessions were also associated with nightmare frequency. Sport discipline was not related to nightmare frequency. An unexpected finding was the association between late alcohol intake 4 hr prior to bedtime and nightmare frequency. Our findings support the idea that stress related to practicing sports might affect nightmare frequency. Future research should study whether inventions designed for athletes suffering from frequent nightmares are beneficial for them and might even improve their athletic performance.

Training Workshop on Teaching/Learning in Health Professions Education for Medical Teachers: Feedback of the Participants

Background: For enhancing teaching skills of faculty members, 3-day Training Workshop on Teaching/Learning in Health Profession Education was organized at Bilwal Medical College Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Jamshoro Sindh Pakistan. Main objective of the study was to assess feedback of the participants at New World Kirkpatrick’s Model level 1 and 2. Methods: This was cross-sectional study conducted using self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire had 5-parts; 1) Demographics; 2) Rating of participants on attributes of training workshop at scale 1-10 (1=poor, 10=excellent); 3) Confidence level of the participants on skills learned in specific session at Likert scale 1-4 (1=Not-confident, 4=Extremely-Confident) on retro-pre-questionnaire; 4) Open-ended questions on strengths of workshop and 5) areas for improvement. The data was analyzed for central tendency. The data of retro-pre-questionnaire was normally distributed, so, t-test used for comparison of means. Data of open-ended questions was sorted manually. Results: The rating on attributes of training workshop i.e. usefulness (8.59±1.18), content (8.53±1.12), relevance (8.59±1.23) and facilitation (9.18±0.95) was notable and overall (8.82±0.95) too. The perceived confidence level of participants was significantly (&lt; 0.001) enhanced on five Skills Learned in Specific Sessions of Training Workshop: developing learning objectives (before 2.24±0.44, after 3.29±0.47 ); developing effective PowerPoint presentation (before 2.59±0.51, after 3.06±0.56), conducting large group teaching (before 2.53±0.72, after 3.12±0.60), developing lesson plan for teaching (before 2.12±0.60, after 3.18±0.64), and conducting small group teaching (before 2.76±0.75, after 3.41±0.51) Conclusion: Overall reaction of the participants was constructive and their confidence level was significantly enhanced on specific skills related to teaching/learning.

Assessing brain neuroplasticity: Surface morphometric analysis of cortical changes induced by Quadrato motor training.

Morphological markers for brain plasticity are still lacking and their findings are challenged by the extreme variability of cortical brain surface. Trying to overcome the "correspondence problem," we applied a landmark-free method (the generalized procrustes surface analysis (GPSA)) for investigating the shape variation of cortical surface in a group of 40 healthy volunteers (i.e., the practice group) subjected to daily motor training known as Quadrato motor training (QMT). QMT is a sensorimotor walking meditation that aims at balancing body, cognition, and emotion. More specifically, QMT requires coordination and attention and consists of moving in one of three possible directions on corners of a 50 × 50 cm2. Brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of practice group (acquired at baseline, as well as after 6 and 12 weeks of QMT), were 3D reconstructed and here compared with brain MRIs of six more volunteers never practicing the QMT (naïve group). Cortical regions mostly affected by morphological variations were visualized on a 3D average color-scaled brain surface indicating from higher (red) to lower (blue) levels of variation. Cortical regions interested in most of the shape variations were as follows: (1) the supplementary motor cortex; (2) the inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercolaris) and the anterior insula; (3) the visual cortex; (4) the inferior parietal lobule (supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus). Our results show that surface morphometric analysis (i.e., GPSA) can be applied to assess brain neuroplasticity processes, such as those stimulated by QMT.

Doormat Production and Its Impact on Socio-Economic Status of the Producers: A Study on Doormat Producers in Sadar Upazila in Thakurgaon District, Bangladesh

The objective of this paper is to explore the ways of playing the role of Doormat production in the economic development of the producers as income generating role of Doormat production in the economic development of the producers as income generating role of Doormat production in the economic development of the producers as income-generating activities. To fill the objective, Doormat Producing in Thakurgaon district was production in Thakurgaon district was Thakurgaon district selected as respondents. Along with secondary sources like literature and reports related to the producers were analyzed. It is worth mentioning that producing a Doormat is an important livelihood option for the artisans in Bangladesh in the current times. Mostly, poor people in the rural areas involve themselves in two ways such as self-producer and worker areas involve themselves in two ways, such as self-producers, and worker areas involve themselves in two ways, such as self-producers the young generation who had age range was a major portion of the Doormat producers was the young generation who had age range was a major portion of the Doormat producers were the young generation who had an age range of 21-30 years. It is regretful that one-third of the respondents can sign only. About 92.5% of the Doormat producers got training from non-government organizations like ESDO. A major portion of them had 30 days of training on Doormat production. All of the producers used their income and profit to maintain family necessities. About one-third of the respondents took a loan from local loan providing organizations while a loan from local loan-providing organizations while loans from local loan-providing organizations, while40% of the Doormat producers was changed due to involving 40% of the Doormat producerany bank, and they did not save money either. The financial status of 40% of the Doormat producerthe upper level compared to before. A significant portion of the producers are involved in social activities like participation in social and religious occasions with family members and neighbors. Moreover, there were variations in profit in Doormat production between self-producers and Doormat workers. Precisely, the self-producer of Doormats got much more profit than Doormat workers.

Effects of Early Gait Training on Inpatient Frailty After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the number of days of early gait training and frailty in in-hospital patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis, focusing on the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and clinical laboratory data. Sixty-nine patients admitted to the Ichinomiya West Hospital from November 1, 2019 to November 30, 2023 were included in the study. Of the 69 patients, those who started gait training on postoperative day 0 or 1 were defined as the early gait training group and those who started gait training later than postoperative day 1 were defined as the delayed gait training group. There was a significant difference in the number of days to gait training initiation, which was 3.9 days in the delayed gait training group and 0.9 days in the early gait training group. The early gait training group started early mobilization and had a significantly shorter postoperative hospital stay than the delayed gait training group. Clinical laboratory data showed that walking speed was significantly faster and grip strength was significantly higher in the early group. The number of days to gait training initiation was an independent predictor of changes in CFS scores. Early gait training in patients after TAVI may predict early improvements in physical function and movement, shorter hospital stay, and frailty at discharge.

Circuit training improves physiological conditions among wheelchair basket players

The utilization of a wheelchair exclusively has a profound impact on an individual's musculoskeletal, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory functions. Various programs focusing on physical activity intervention have proven to effectively enhance these physiological responses in wheelchair users. Nevertheless, there has been a limited number of studies investigating the impact of a circuit training physical activity adaptive program on improving these parameters in wheelchair basketball participants. Therefore, the primary aim of this research was to evaluate and identify alterations in cardiorespiratory fitness and musculoskeletal strength among wheelchair basketball players following a circuit training intervention. The study involved 36 male wheelchair basketball athletes with spinal cord injuries aged between 19 and 26 years. They were divided into an experimental group participating in a circuit training program [EG, n = 18], and a control group undergoing exclusively aerobic upper-body exercise training [CG, n = 18]. Anthropometric measurements and the 12-minute wheelchair propulsion distance test, which evaluates the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), were conducted for all participants at the commencement and conclusion of the training period. The results demonstrated a significant interaction between Time and Group for the 12-minute wheelchair propulsion distance variable, indicating a notable improvement in the intervention group (p &lt; 0.001). Conversely, no significant changes were observed in the control group. Hence, the findings suggest that incorporating circuit training exercises into the daily training regimen can have a substantial positive influence on the cardiorespiratory fitness and musculoskeletal strength of wheelchair basketball players. Key words: physiology; exercise; sport; spinal cord injuries; cardiorespiratory fitness.

Reducing neuroendocrine psychosocial stress response through socio-emotional dyadic but not mindfulness online training.

Stress-related diseases pose significant health risks and show wide prevalence. Empirical evidence suggests that contemplative practices, such as socio-emotional dyadic mental exercises, hold promise in mitigating the adverse effects of stress and promoting psychosocial well-being. This study aimed to investigate the differential effects of two online contemplative mental training programs on the psychosocial stress response: the first involved classic mindfulness practices, while the second incorporated a socio-emotional dyadic approach known as Affect Dyad. The study was conducted as part of the longitudinal CovSocial project's phase 2 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 140 individuals participated in the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), where the psychosocial stress response was assessed with cortisol saliva samples and subjective stress questionnaires in a cross-sectional design after the active training groups finished their intervention period. Participants were randomly assigned to the socio-emotional training group, mindfulness-based training group, or a control group that did not receive any training. Both training programs consisted of a ten-week intervention period with a daily 12-minute app-based mental training practice and weekly 2-hour online coaching sessions led by mental training teachers. Results showed that the socio-emotional Dyad group but not the mindfulness-based group exhibited significantly lower cortisol levels at 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes after the stressor as well as lower total cortisol output compared to the control group during the TSST, indicating a reduced hormonal stress response to a social stressor. Subjective markers did not show differences between the three groups. These findings indicate that the daily socio-emotional dyadic practice, which emphasizes non-judgmental and empathic listening as well as the acceptance of challenging emotions in the presence of others within one's daily life context, may serve as a protective factor against the adverse effects of psychosocial stress triggered by the fear of negative social judgments. Given the high prevalence of stress-related diseases, such online mental training programs based on dyadic practices may thus represent an efficient and scalable approach for stress reduction.

Muscle morphological changes and enhanced sprint running performance: A 1-year observational study of well-trained sprinters.

Numerous cross-sectional studies have attempted to identify the muscle morphology required to achieve high sprint velocity. Our longitudinal study addressed an unanswered question of cross-sectional studies: whether hypertrophy of the individual trunk and thigh muscles induced by daily training (e.g., sprint, jump, and resistance training) is linked to an improvement in sprint performance within well-trained sprinters. Twenty-three collegiate male sprinters (100-m best time of 11.36±0.44s) completed their daily training for 1year without our intervention. Before and after the observation period, the sprint velocities at 0-100m, 0-10m, and 50-60m intervals were measured using timing gates. The volumes of 14 trunk and thigh muscles were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. Muscle volumes were normalized to the participants' body mass at each time point. Sprint velocities increased at the 0-100m (p<0.001), 0-10m (p=0.019), and 50-60m (p=0.018) intervals after the observation period. The relative volumes of the tensor fasciae latae, sartorius, biceps femoris long head, biceps femoris short head, semitendinosus, and iliacus were increased (all p<0.050). Among the hypertrophied muscles, only the change in the relative volume of the semitendinosus was positively correlated with the change in sprint velocity at the 50-60m interval (p=0.018 and ρ=0.591). These findings suggest that semitendinosus hypertrophy seems to be associated with sprint performance improvement within well-trained sprinters during the maximal velocity phase.

The influence of psychological change factors of tennis training strategy using optimized recurrent neural network and artificial intelligence

Due to the specialization of tennis technical training, the teaching focus of tennis teaching has gradually shifted to the psychological skills training of tennis players. This work addresses the impact of psychological factors on tennis players' insufficient concentration in teaching and training on match results. It discusses the psychological changes' influencing factors in tennis training strategies and analyzes the current psychological changes that are easy to occur in tennis teaching. The Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) can simulate the human brain's information processing and learning process to establish models to study human psychological changes. To explore the influence of psychological changes on tennis training, artificial intelligence technology is combined to optimize the performance of RNN, and a prediction model of psychological distress in tennis training is constructed. Additionally, a questionnaire is applied to compare the sports state of tennis players before and after the psychological regulation intervention. The findings demonstrate that following psychological regulation, 73 % of players perform as usual, 20 % present exceptionally well, and 7 % do not perform as well as usual. These results indicate an improvement compared to previous performances, highlighting the efficacy of psychological regulation supported by optimized RNN under AI assistance. This study aims to foster a consistently positive psychological state among tennis players during daily training and competitions, ensuring that their competitive performance levels remain normal or even exceed their usual standards.

Personalized Daily Hand Movement Training Methods and Effects: A Case Study

This study proposes a method for personalized daily hand exercise training to address the lack of personalization in rehabilitation training and its disconnect from daily life. This research aims to evaluate the impact of Happiness Memory Therapy on patients’ hand function through gamified daily life training. The methodology integrates Happiness Memory Therapy and Positive Mirror Theory to assist in life game design. Patient interviews and empathy are used to gather life experiences, interests, hobbies, and challenges, which are then incorporated into personalized rehabilitation training. The experimental process includes pre- and post-intervention tests to assess changes in subjective well-being (SWLS), happiness (SHS), positive and negative emotions (PANAS), psychological well-being (PWB), and hand function impairment (DASH). The results show that the intervention significantly enhances patients’ subjective well-being, happiness, positive emotions, and reduces negative emotions and hand function impairments. In conclusion, Happiness Memory Therapy and Positive Mirror Theory are effective in developing personalized daily hand exercise training methods and have a significant impact on improving the psychological health and quality of life of stroke patients, offering new ideas and methods for personalized rehabilitation training.

Detection times of clodronic acid in horses with orthopedic disease.

Clodronic acid is designated as a controlled medication for competition horses by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports and, according to the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, clodronic acid is not to be administered to racehorses younger than 3.5 years or within 30 days prior to a race. In this study, 35 horses involved in competition were treated with a single dose of 1.53 mg clodronic acid/kg bodyweight intramuscularly. Plasma samples were obtained before treatment and 10, 20, 30, and 40 days post-administration. Clodronic acid concentrations were measured using a validated method, and the data were fitted using a nonlinear mixed effects model. The estimated depletion half-life of clodronic acid was 10.6 days (inter-individual variability: 17.9%). Age, body weight, sex, disease severity, dose, training days, training, and competition did not significantly impact the depletion half-life. The percentage of horses predicted via simulation to have clodronic acid concentrations below the assay's limit of quantification of 1.0 ng/mL was 93.9% at day 30 and 99.4% at Day 40. This study provides rationale to the equestrian federations and horse racing authorities to reliably establish a detection time for clodronic acid, assisting equine veterinarians in recommending a competition withdrawal time for the horses under their care.