Professional Elite Research Articles

The Creation of Classism in Medical Education: "Time" as a Form of Social Capital in First-Generation Low-Income Students.

Purpose: Previous research has noted that first-generation, low-income (FGLI) medical students experience “everyday forms of classism” because their social backgrounds are different from the typical medical student. 1,2 The reason for this difference is often described as FGLI students not having the right social capital 3 in the elite profession of medicine. 4 This study argues that not just any social capital creates classism in medical education, but specifically time as a form of social capital creates this system. Method: Using Sallee’s ideal worker theory 3 as a theoretical framework, this critical study explored the professional identity experiences of FGLI medical students. The ideal worker theory asserts that institutional structures, and the assumptions that lie beneath them, advantage some groups over others because those who are able to meet these expectations are better prepared to become an “ideal worker.” Data collection and analysis relied on a constructivist grounded theory approach, in which interviews were collected from 19 FGLI students from across the United States. Interview data were coded by a team of researchers for moments when students talked about how their status as FGLI students relates to time. Time was used as the unit of analysis because participants frequently referenced time when specifically discussing their struggles to meet the profession’s expectations. After the initial analysis focusing on where and how time was used, data were then categorized by how having time/not having time impacts them as physicians in training. Results: The results show that FGLI students expressed time as social capital in 3 ways. First, they indicated that because their parents had not completed higher education, they needed more time to figure things out in medical school. For example, participants discussed spending copious amounts of time trying to understand how to apply to medical school, learning how to create social networks, as well as having to explain medicine and their experiences as a medical trainee to their family members. Second, participants also described needing extra time because they had outside community commitments. Many were obligated to assist others in their family or neighborhood with their education. For example, many provided ongoing support to friends and family interested in a career in health care. They also had cultural expectations in their family and home life, which compromised their study time, and also needed to care for younger and older family members. Third, participants described that because they lacked economic resources, they were not able to take time for wellness and relaxation, such as vacations. They also described having to work to support their journey to and through medical school, which impinged on study time. Finally, because they relied on public transportation, essential activities of daily living such as laundry and grocery shopping took twice as long. Discussion: This study shows that in trying to meet the profession’s expectations as an ideal worker, FGLI students needed extra time, a form of social capital that is afforded to non-FGLI students by virtue of their relatively privileged familial background, but denied to those students whose parents either lack higher education or economic resources. As such, the time needed for FGLI students to meet medical education’s expectations is one of the mechanisms that helps to create, maintain, and reify medical education as a classist system. Significance: Although medical education has been previously labeled as a classist system, 1 how this system is created and reproduced has not been explored. This study demonstrates how time is the mechanism for keeping this system in place.

“The Battle of the Bridges”: Temporal Modernity in the Reimagining of Interwar London's Cityscape

AbstractThe impending collapse of Waterloo Bridge (built 1811–1817) in 1923 led to wide-ranging debate among professional and political elites about the need for preserving or replacing the bridge and about London's inadequate river crossings in general. Over a fifteen-year period, cabinet-level discussions on the problem of the Thames bridges occurred every year; the government struck a number of committees and a royal commission on solving cross-river traffic issues. A powerful elite lobby formed to fight for the preservation of old Waterloo Bridge, and the building of a new bridge at Charing Cross, a constitutional squabble arose over the respective authorities of Parliament and of London municipal government over the bridges, and a rancorous debate among politicians, town planners, architects, engineers, and the general public raged over the issue of the existing and proposed new bridges. A number of issues were at play and are discussed, but ultimately this article argues that it was competing, temporally connected conceptions of modernity that divided the two camps into preservationists and rebuilders.

Comparison of Dynamic-Static Balance Parameters of Elite Ice Hockey Players and Normal Individuals

Introduction: Our study aimed at stressing the significance of the vestibular system for ice hockey players, meanwhile focusing on the relation between the vestibular system and ice hockey for which balance is a significant factor. Our main aim was to compare the balance parameters of hockey players and normal individuals. Methods: Our experimental group consisted of 37 professional elite ice hockey players, and our control group consisted of 37 young males who have not previously been involved in sports as professionals. Participants had been subject to sensor organization test, adaptation test, weight-bearing/squat, unilateral stance, rhythmic weight-shifting tests of computerized dynamic posturography device. Results: Overall results indicate no significant difference between the control group and ice hockey players in the sensor organization test, which is caused by control group’s comprising adolescents with amateur sport involvement. In adaptation test and unilateral stance test, a significant difference was found between experimental and control groups. Discussion/Conclusions: This study determined the dynamic and static balance characteristics of ice hockey players. For this reason, it is useful to test the balance abilities of ice hockey players in static and dynamic conditions to evaluate their performance level. After testing individuals with vestibular problems with dynamic balance tests, appropriate sports exercises can be given to improve dynamic and static balance.

Impact of aerosols and reactive trace gases concentrations in India

The current scenario united the elite professionals, researchers and scientists throughout the globe to accelerate the sharing of scientific findings making the future brighter on mother Earth. The concentration of reactive trace gases in the atmosphere modulates the human health appreciably. This study presents the changes of aerosol and reactive gases load in the atmosphere from the recent past with the help of CAMS data in Indian domain. Reactive trace gases and aerosols (NO2, O3, SO2, CO & AOD) are now being recognised as having both positive and negative radiative forcing effects. The effects of changes have been studied and found that the concentration of chemically reactive gases and aerosols load drop down from their 17 years long period average (LPA) appreciably (60-70 %) over IGP and 35-40 % in other parts of India except O3 (Increase 20-30 %) in India during the month of April-2020.
 It is observed that the results are agrees quite well with the actual recorded data of CPCB stations located at 12 different places of India. The difference observed between actual observations and CAMS reanalysis during April -2019 & 2020 show that aerosol load in terms of PM-2.5 & PM-10 is appreciably drop down (60-70 %) over IGP and 25-30 % in other parts of India. The concentration of other reactive gases (NO2, SO2 &CO) also drops down about 32 %, 7 %, 17 % over IGP and 16 %, 8 %, 9 % in other parts of India respectively. The concentration of Ozone shows slightly positive behaviour over IGP and negative at other parts of India. 
 Few pockets of Central and South of India show higher concentration may due to ongoing essential activities of cluster of industries or delayed slowdown. The other reason may be the influx of moisture due to the pre-monsoon thunder storm activity during this period. Vertical air flow Omega (positive) at 850 hPa NCEP/NCAR reanalysis also support the confinement of gases at lower levels. This study is further brought out a message for future that we should use the natural resources judiciously as their long term consumption can cause severe health problems and a psychological burden or stress globally during this COVID-19 spread period.

Educational Success in Transitional China: The Gaokao and Learning Capital in Elite Professional Service Firms

AbstractDespite fruitful findings on the reasons underlying the desire for educational success and scarce credentials among students and families, there is little research on the meaning of educational success in the marketplace. As higher education in China has expanded to aid better-quality growth and the transition to a knowledge-based economy, educational success has become increasingly critical in the allocation of socioeconomic rewards. As such, insights into how educational success and concomitant credentials are valorized are empirically and theoretically significant. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 73 recruiters for elite professional service firms, this study analyses the meanings underlying the process of valorizing educational success and elite credentials. It shows that success in the gaokao, or entry to higher education, was qualitatively salient in excluding candidates, while information about subject domains and marks/class rank carried relatively less weight. Recruiters based the value of educational success on the notion of “learning ability,” which reflected their shared understandings about Chinese educational selection/institutions and wider conditions of elite professional firms. On this basis, this paper argues for the development of learning capital as a new theoretical lens for approaching educational success and credentials in transitional China.

Genetic profiles to identify talents in elite endurance athletes and professional football players.

The genetic profile that is needed to identify talents has been studied extensively in recent years. The main objective of this investigation was to approach, for the first time, the study of genetic variants in several polygenic profiles and their role in elite endurance and professional football performance by comparing the allelic and genotypic frequencies to the non-athlete population. In this study, genotypic and allelic frequencies were determined in 452 subjects: 292 professional athletes (160 elite endurance athletes and 132 professional football players) and 160 non-athlete subjects. Genotyping of polymorphisms in liver metabolisers (CYP2D6, GSTM1, GSTP and GSTT), iron metabolism and energy efficiency (HFE, AMPD1 and PGC1a), cardiorespiratory fitness (ACE, NOS3, ADRA2A, ADRB2 and BDKRB2) and muscle injuries (ACE, ACTN3, AMPD1, CKM and MLCK) was performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single Nucleotide Primer Extension (PCR-SNPE). The combination of the polymorphisms for the “optimal” polygenic profile was quantified using the genotype score (GS) and total genotype score (TGS). Statistical differences were found in the genetic distributions between professional athletes and the non-athlete population in liver metabolism, iron metabolism and energy efficiency, and muscle injuries (p<0.001). The binary logistic regression model showed a favourable OR (odds ratio) of being a professional athlete against a non-athlete in liver metabolism (OR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.28–3.01; p = 0.002), iron metabolism and energy efficiency (OR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.42–3.43; p < 0.001), and muscle injuries (OR: 2.70; 95% CI: 1.75–4.16; p < 0.001) in the polymorphisms studied. Genetic distribution in professional athletes as regards endurance (professional cyclists and elite runners) and professional football players shows genetic selection in these sports disciplines.

The role of professional elites in shaping management practice: How the old mentalities condition the adoption of new management ideas

This study explores how the adoption of management ideas is conditioned by wider macro-level mentalities that are not company based but that instead reflect professionally or nationally rooted ways of managing. Drawing from studies on professional mentalities and practices, we study Finnish top executives working in globally operating multinational corporations in the metal and forestry industries, showing how, starting in the 1980s, they adopted new management practices during the rise of globalisation, market liberalisation and post-Fordism. Altogether, a traditional engineering mentality strongly conditioned the dissemination of new management ideas, which needed to adapt with the existing mentality. As a result, we find three ways of management idea dissemination: (a) new ideas had to fit in with the old business elite mentality, (b) new ideas were side-lined and belittled by the old mentality and (c) new ideas were smuggled into management by reframing and widening the old mentality. By extending Guillén’s work on elite mentalities, the study contributes to the research on management ideas by exploring the role of societal macro-level mentalities in management learning, highlighting their role in times of societal transformation.

Nutritional supplements in combat sports: What we know and what we do

In recent years, nutrition applied to the sport has had a great response from technicians and science, justifying more and more the use of the support of food supplements, especially when considering elite athletes and/or professionals. The term combat sport refers to a varied and heterogeneous group of sporting activities, some recognized by the International Olympic Committee, others not; many aspects unite them. They are considered “minor” sports if compared to football, basketball, baseball, as they are less popular at a professional level, but with a great deal of participation at the amateur level; in this sense, everything concerning nutrition and food supplementation is often delegated to the practitioners themselves. This work would like to resume the current (however not abundant) literature and suggest a correct integration, based on the literature available even if not sport-specific, providing a tool for technicians and a starting point for specific works in the future. • Supplements are widely used in sports, but often without an accurate rationale. • Combat Sport (CS) have various components: strength, power, endurance, endurance. • The literature in CS is not abundant, some supplements are analyzed, for others it is practically absent. • Few have a scientific rationale and specific literature: creatine, caffeine, bicarbonate and b-alanine. • Others can be considered on the basis of a scientific rationale, but without the support of specific literature.

Caspian Elite Consensus: a Pact of Integration in a Globalizing World

Contemporary activities in the geopolitical space including the countries of the Caspian Sea Basin and its adjacent regions give relevance to the problem under study. Globalism has an impact on the development of regional processes, making adjustments in their course. This article aims to analyze the consensus achieved by the political leaders of the Caspian states regarding their integration. The leading approach in the research explores the position of modern Russian elitology, taking professional elites to be a synergetic system striving for the acmeological pinnacle of their (elites’) competence. This approach helps to find out the adequacy of their professional activities, the objectivity of their assessments of reality, and the impact of their political decisions. Comparative analysis has made it possible to identify the points of convergence, while the use of political conflictology techniques has made it possible to identify and curb the emergence of threats in a timely manner. The combination of such methods and approaches enhances the objectivity of conclusions and assessments of the Caspian leaders’ actions.&#x0D; The paper analyses the activities of regional political elites who created a political and legal platform for a new stage of constructive development of dialogue between cultures and socio-economic cooperation. It is noted that this process had a complex gradual nature of harmonizing different positions, compromises and smoothing over the contradictions of national interests. In this process, the Caspian countries have demonstrated genuine tolerance, political correctness and democracy in addressing the complex geopolitical challenges and reaffirmed their desire to resolve existing problems in a peaceful manner. The materials of this paper may prove useful for the development of further integration strategies, as well as for the expert support of the critical decisions on security issues and the formation of independent regional financial, political and cultural systems.

Anterior-Posterior and Inter-Limb Lower Body Strength Asymmetry in Soccer, Basketball, Futsal, and Volleyball Players.

Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine strength asymmetries in elite athletes of different sports and (2) to examine the magnitude of asymmetries between elite and u18 athletes. Materials and Methods: A total of 254 athletes participated in this study. For the first purpose of the study, the group consisted of adult professional male basketball players (n = 30), elite male (n = 30) and female soccer players (n = 20), male futsal players (n = 30), elite male goalkeepers (n = 22), and professional female volleyball players (n = 20). For the second purpose, male youth goalkeepers (n = 22), youth female (n = 20) and male soccer players (n = 30), and youth male basketball players (n = 30) were compared to the adult athletes of the same sport. Asymmetries were measured utilizing a Humac Norm and Rehabilitation device. Testing included three maximal concentric flexion and extension repetitions at an angular speed of 60°/s. The differences in asymmetries were assessed using ANOVA followed by an LS means post-hoc analysis. An independent samples t-test was used to identify the differences between adult and youth players. Results: It was indicated that none of the groups demonstrated asymmetries greater than 10%, other than the elite female soccer players and female volleyball players. Significant differences were demonstrated between youth and adult soccer players (males and females), with the adult groups demonstrating increased asymmetries. Conclusions: Special consideration should be given to female soccer players and volleyball players, as soccer and volleyball practice and competition at the professional level may induce greater lower -limb asymmetries. The isokinetic parameters can be useful for planning strength and conditioning interventions in order to reduce or prevent those imbalances. Additional unilateral and bilateral jumping testing is encouraged for the verification of imbalances.

Maximum Isometric and Dynamic Strength of Mixed Martial Arts Athletes According to Weight Class and Competitive Level.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes must achieve high strength levels to face the physical demands of an MMA fight. This study compared MMA athletes’ maximal isometric and dynamic strength according to the competitive level and weight class. Twenty-one male MMA athletes were divided into lightweight professional (LWP; n = 9), lightweight elite (LWE; n = 4), heavyweight professional (HWP; n = 4), and heavyweight elite (HWE; n = 4). The handgrip and isometric lumbar strength tests assessed the isometric strength, and the one-repetition maximum (1RM) bench press and 4RM leg press the dynamic strength. Univariate ANOVA showed differences between groups in absolute and relative 1RM bench press and absolute isometric lumbar strength. Post hoc tests showed differences in 1RM bench press between HWE and LWE (117.0 ± 17.8 kg vs. 81.0 ± 10.0 kg) and HWE and LWP athletes (117.0 ± 17.8 kg vs. 76.7 ± 13.7 kg; 1.5 ± 0.2 kg·BW−1 vs. 1.1 ± 0.2 kg·BW−1). In addition, there was a correlation between 1RM bench press and isometric lumbar strength for absolute (r = 0.67) and relative values (r = 0.50). This study showed that the 1RM bench press and isometric lumbar strength were associated and could differentiate MMA athletes according to their competitive level and weight class. Therefore, optimizing the force production in the upper body and lower back seems important in elite and professional MMA athletes.

Системне та креативне мислення здобувачів вищої освіти як вимога сьогодення

Introduction. The own vision of modern thinking of higher education students through the prism of systemic and creative thinking is analyzed and formed. It was found that for the effective development of the country, future generations need to think modernly, creating innovations of the future. The leading competencies of higher education seekers, which will be in demand in 2025, are characterized. Among the main features inherent in creative people are: creative productivity, flexibility, originality, complexity. Detailed features inherent in creative people and creative techniques. Purpose. The aim of the article is to substantiate the importance and priorities of the educational environment through the prism of systematic and creative thinking of higher education seekers, which is due to the challenges of today. Results. It is proposed to introduce in the educational process disciplines that require modern development trends (systemic and creative thinking), which will create favorable conditions for the implementation of creative and creative ideas of higher education. It was found that in addition to thorough professional knowledge, skills and abilities, a modern specialist must have the basics of systems sciences; to determine the place of its subject area in the world of universal, systemic, laws of nature and society; be able to respond in a timely and flexible manner to today's challenges and, if necessary, eliminate the risks associated with them in their activities. Conclusion. It is proved that higher education institutions are not only responsible for the formation of future professional, technical and social elites, but also teach mass student contingents to form modern skills, knowledge and abilities. Given the skills possessed by Ukrainian applicants for higher education today, it should be noted that graduates of Ukrainian higher education institutions must now develop skills that will be in demand at the professional level in the future. For the effective development of the country, future generations need to think creatively and systematically, creating innovations of the future.

High return to sport rate and few re-ruptures at long term in professional footballers after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with hamstrings.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures are considered high burden injuries in sports with high pivotal activity, especially for professional footballers. A lack of evidence exists about long-term follow up of professional elite athletes who underwent ACL reconstruction. The purpose of the study is to analyze the return to play and the career of professional footballers who underwent ACL reconstruction with hamstrings, to evaluate re-rupture and reoperation at either indexed and contralateral knee, and to assess the long-term clinical subjective outcomes and satisfaction. Twenty-eight professional footballers that underwent 33 ACL reconstructions were retrospectively included in the study. All surgical interventions were performed using hamstring tendons graft and an over the top technique. Inclusion criteria were: inability to compete due to joint instability caused by total or subtotal ACL lesion, patients contracted to a professional football team at time of surgery. Exclusion criteria were: multi-ligament reconstruction or concomitant meniscal allograft transplantation. Patients were contacted by phone and a brief questionnaire about surgery was administered. Subsequently, a Lysholm knee scoring scale was obtained. After that, an online research was performed on publicly available websites in order to retrieve information of the patients included after surgery. In all cases, ACL Reconstruction was performed with hamstring tendons using a non-anatomic Double-Bundle technique in 16 cases (49%), an Over-The-Top Single-Bundle technique in 9 cases (27%), and an Over-The-Top Single-Bundle plus Lateral Plasty technique in 8 cases (24%); moreover, a meniscal lesion was present in 20 cases (61%). Three (9%) of the 33 ACL reconstruction failed (2/16 Double-Bundle, 1/9 Single- Bundle, 0/8 Single-Bundle + Lateral Plasty; p = n.s.), with two of them within 12months from surgery. Other procedures, mainly arthroscopic meniscectomies, were performed in 10 cases (30%). The first official match was played after an average of 8.0 ± 3.6 (4.6-18.2) months in 31 cases (94%). Patients were evaluated after 12.6 ± 3.3years (6.7-17.5) from the indexed ACL reconstruction. The average Lysholm score was 94.2 ± 8.3. In our small case-series, professional soccer players were able to return to play at a competitive level with a hamstrings over the top technique. Patients with long careers had a high percentage of reoperation on the contralateral knee. IV.

Vernacular Videos in the Participatory Culture of Web 2.0: The Contribution of Amateurs and Artists to the Development of Audio-visual Language

The revolution in communication technologies is changing language and this, in turn, will change human thinking. This statement can now be taken for granted. The fact that it is supported by many authors, including Marshal Mc Luhan (1964), Neil Postman (1992) and Lev Manovich (2002), is already evidence of it. The issue of information in the public sphere of Web 2.0 is controversial and much debated. The democratization of cyberspace brings with it the chance to develop a complex audiovisual grammar that anticipates video art and experimental films. The online environment features both to audiovisual experiments undertaken by amateur videographers and professional elites. In this place of extremes, there is room for developing both narrative and non-narrative expressions of self-reflexive audiovisual products. Whereas Lev Manovich (2002) states that the avant-garde becomes legitimised in the cut and paste era of digital filmmaking, which replaces the sequential narrative, this article sets out to determine the contribution of amateur videographers and artists to the development of the new audiovisual grammar of web 2.0. My case studies focus on the two main tendencies of home-made audiovisual products, both of them leading to the effectiveness of audiovisual communication. The video-confession replaces the visual narrative illustration with a form of orality that increases the audience’s imaginative participation. The DIY-videos, non-narrative metaphors in essay form, complement abstract comprehension. These new forms approach Astruc’s concept of caméra stylo, enhancing the audiovisual communication of the mass audience. Thus, the audience is able to comprehend a richer and more sophisticated cinematic language.

The Primacy of Secondary Things: A Sustained Scientific Dialogue on Three Edges of the Journalistic Field

While the sociology of journalism has traditionally granted epistemic privilege to the mainstream news media, professional elites and their dominant meta-discourse, there is a recent trend to research journalism from other points of view. Researchers have investigated alternative and community media, journalists with low visibility or legitimacy in the workplace, as well as heterodox conceptions of professional excellence. These studies shed new light on little studied sub-groups and practices. How can we integrate them into a sustained scientific dialogue between researchers? This paper presents a methodologically original attempt to do so by dialogically re-interrogating material from studies of three situations where journalism absorbs precarious and politicised agents in the field (media activists), new practices and tasks that need doing (online discussion administration) and unusual kinds of professional attributes (experiencing emotionality in crisis reporting). In each case journalism’s pursuit of professional autonomy is at stake, since conditions of production clash with established professional myths and practices or generate incompatibilities with institutionalised expectations. Our three-way exchange using the bridging/sensitising concept of edge focuses on the conversion or convertibility of external forms of capital (legitimacies, resources and experiences) into forms redeemable and tradeable in a professional field. It exhibits how forces external to the journalistic profession are (made) present in each case but refracted differently in each local configuration. We call for a more systematic and relational study of these kinds of localised refractions.

Strength Level of Professional Elite Soccer Players after the COVID-19 Lockdown Period: A Retrospective Double-Arm Cohort Study.

Background It is well known that periods of inactivity generate a loss of muscle strength, a fundamental component of sports performance in soccer. However, little information is available on the decrease in strength levels in professional soccer players after the quarantine lockdown that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim To compare the isokinetic peak torque profiles of professional soccer players from different teams before and after the quarantine period generated by COVID-19. Methods A retrospective observational study was performed using data collected from two different professional elite-level soccer teams just before and immediately after the COVID-19 quarantine period. One team gave individual instructions to its players for conditioning maintenance at home during the quarantine period, while the other team used regular video calls to maintain the player's conditioning status on home training. The main outcomes were the mean peak torque of knee extensors and flexors, from concentric and eccentric contractions of each playing position. Analysis. A two-way ANOVA analysis was used to compare peak torque before and after the quarantine period and between both teams' strategies, showing a statistically significant reduction in eccentric knee flexor peak torque from the team that did not have remote monitoring. Conclusions Remote monitoring programs are recommended so that athletes are less affected by the deleterious effects of confinement.

TaniaJenkins.Doctors' orders: The making of status hierarchies in an elite profession

TaniaJenkins.Doctors' orders: The making of status hierarchies in an elite profession

The Religions Zionist Sector at Bay

In the last decades Religious Zionism moved from the margins to the center of Israeli society and politics. Members of this sector (RZS) are located today in top positions in Israeli politics, businesses, and among professional elites, academia, and the military, gaining growing influence over the national decision-making processes and policies. No wonder, then, that public opinion polls indicate that the members of the RZS are the most satisfied and optimistic in Israel today. The fact that the RZS is positioned mostly on one side of the political spectrum (Right), the tight interrelations within this sector and its widening periphery have further increased its national impact. It is argued here that this is a critical development in Israeli politics as this sector’s members, and in particular those voting for the RZS parties, show relatively low commitment to core democratic values together with a clear preference for the Jewish aspect over the democratic aspect of the state of Israel. Furthermore, whereas in the past the RZS was politically represented by one main party (with some splinter groups coming and going), in the 2021 elections two parties (Yamina and the Religious Zionist Party (RZP)) collided head-on. For the first time each of these parties, the first more modernist and the second more fundamentalist, claimed to be the only authentic representative of this sector. The competition between them intensified when the election results showed that each of the two had gained the same number of seats in the Knesset, with the leader of Yamina unexpectedly becoming the new Israeli prime minister. It is argued here that the future balance of power between these two parties and their respective constituencies will determine the future of the RZS as a whole—whether it will establish itself as a pivotal actor in Israeli politics or remain at the margins.

Organisational membership and professional excellence among medical practitioners

Professional organizations play indispensible role among medical practitioners ensuring gold standard medical care and treatment. Organisational membership effectuates expression of clinical work, scientific understanding and ardour for distinction. Considering ever-exceeding scientific unfurling in clinical horizon and organisations’ role in upholding therapeutic excellence, it was decided to construe membership status among certain doctors inter-alia, reckoning allied benefits, if any. Study was conducted among 72 doctors selected semi-purposively from certain consenting medicos connected to scholar through various links during August’ 19 - October’ 19 incorporating medicos from diverse age-groups, specialities and functional domains. Sample size was calculated on basis of membership percentage observed in pilot study. Structured pre-tested questionnaire was formulated including participants’ personal attributes and parameters related to their membership in professional organisations with benefits ensued there-by. Questionnaires were circulated online, collected, analysed and tabulated.Majority (44.4%) belonged to 41-50 years and overall 59.7% availed organizational membership. Most were male (66.7%), post-graduate (52.7%), private practitioner (30.6%) with 47.2% harbouring 21-30 years expertise. Many benefitted by ‘relevant information’ (74.4%), ‘professional acquaintance’ (55.8%) and publication (51.1%). Personal reason (27.9%), scarce time, routine commitments (23.2% each) represented common pretexts for missing membership errands. Post-graduate, middle aged, experienced, male, private practitioners found significantly endowed with wealth of clinical information, publications, clinical acquaintances, professional knowledge and interactive confidence being associative.Study elicited precious information about elite professionals elucidating orientation towards model clinical society. Further research is recommended to explore factors that could play important role in professional lives to achieve excellence.

Prevalence of Risk Factors of the Female Athlete Triad among Young Elite Athletes of Pakistan.

BackgroundFemale athletes who are not vigilant about their food choices and choose extraneous physical activities may head towards negative health effects.PurposeThe purpose was to determine the prevalence of risk factors that may lead to the Female Athlete Triad among young elite athletes in Pakistan.Study Design & MethodsA cross sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in 2018 at Pakistan Sports Board to investigate the risk factors of The Female Athlete Triad among young elite athletes based in national training camps of major metropolitan cities. Trained and professional female elite athletes of age 18 – 25 years, able to comprehend questionnaire in English were included. Athletes completed the questionnaire including demographics, educational qualifications, Body Mass Index, sports participation, and playing hours. The Eating Aptitude Test-26 (EAT-26) and questionnaires on risks of amenorrhea and risks of low bone mineral density were completed. Individual prevalence of the risk factors of three components was assessed. The data were analyzed using SPSS-20 and descriptive statistics applied.ResultsA sample of 60 elite athletes, (23.57 + 2.37 years, BMI 21.97 <u”>+1.90) who participated in various sports were included. EAT-26 results indicated that 50% of athletes were at risk of an eating disorder. Disordered Eating behaviors in need of referral were identified in 83.3%. Risks for amenorrhea were identified in 15%, and concerning low Bone Mineral Density, no risks were identified, except the intake of caffeinated beverages in 51.7%.ConclusionThe prevalence of risk for disordered eating was found to be significant among female elite athletes of Pakistan, but risk of amenorrhea and low bone mineral density were not of major concern.Level of evidence3b