Start Of Season Research Articles

Nest Box Bacterial Loads Are Affected by Cavity Use by Secondary Hole Nesters.

Among the environmental factors that affect bird nesting in nest boxes, the influence of microbial communities is relatively poorly understood. In this study, nest boxes used for breeding by secondary cavity nesters were sampled before the start of the breeding season to assess the bacterial loads of the nest box in relation to their previous year status. Different parts of the wooden nest box offer variable conditions for the development of bacteria. During the breeding season, the nest box entrance hole is wiped out by birds, delivering bacteria to their bodies, but during winter, it is exposed to unfavourable external conditions. The interior of the nest box, in turn, is also wiped by birds, but the conditions during winter are more stable there. Therefore, samples from the entrance hole and the interior of the nest box were taken at two different study sites: an urban parkland and a natural forest. We predicted that both the occupancy of the nest boxes during the previous breeding season by birds and the nesting sites would influence the bacterial load of the nest box. To verify this prediction, two categories of nest boxes were sampled at both study sites: nest boxes occupied by any of the two tit species (Great Tit or Blue Tit) in the previous season for breeding and nest boxes that had remained empty that year. The interior bacterial load of the nest box was higher in the nest boxes occupied in the previous breeding season, but only in the forest area. Furthermore, the bacterial load of both the entrance hole of the nest box and the interior was significantly higher in the forest study area in both occupied and unoccupied nest boxes. Our results show that the bacterial load of the nest box is positively related to the presence of nests in the previous breeding season and can vary between different sites.

Effects of sociodemographic and player characteristics on baseline cognitive performance in 1000 rugby players: A retrospective 8-year follow-up study

ObjectivesTo analyze the effects of sociodemographic and player characteristics on the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool and neuropsychological scores over 8 years in a large sample of rugby players. DesignAn 8-year retrospective study of preseason clinical assessments of professional rugby players and players enrolled in training academies at professional clubs. MethodsThe Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-3 or -5, Trail Making Test and Digit Symbol Substitution Test were administered prior to the start of the competition season for each player. Statistical analyses included: (i) descriptive analyses of sociodemographic, player and neuropsychological characteristics; (ii) multivariate models to identify factors influencing cognitive scores at the first visit; and (iii) linear mixed models to assess the evolution of the scores over the years. ResultsOne thousand players were included (mean age: 22.8, males: 92 %). Twenty-two percent of the athletes reported baseline symptoms. A higher level of education was associated with better cognitive scores at the first visit and over the years. Forwards had poorer processing speed performances compared to backs at the first visit and over repeated assessments. Finally, the number of examinations was associated with improved cognitive scores showing a practice effect on all the neuropsychological tests, except for the Standardized Assessment of Concussion 5th edition. ConclusionsResults from this retrospective study could help to improve the management of athletes and return-to-play decision-making in collision sports.

Nirsevimab para la prevención de la enfermedad por virus respiratorio sincitial en niños. Posicionamiento de la Sociedad Española de Infectología Pediátrica

IntroductionNirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody for the prevention of disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), has recently been approved for use in Europe and Spain. ObjectivesTo provide recommendations for the administration of nirsevimab for prevention of RSV disease. MethodsThe approach chosen to develop these recommendations involved a critical review of the literature and the use of the Delphi and GRADE methods. An expert group was formed. The group engaged in three rounds to define the questions, express support or opposition, grade recommendations and establish the agreement or disagreement with the conclusions. ResultsIn the general neonatal population, routine administration of nirsevimab is recommended to reduce the frequency of illness and hospitalisation for bronchiolitis and RSV lower respiratory tract infection. Nirsevimab is recommended for all infants born in high-incidence RSV season and infants aged less than 6 months at the season onset. In infants born preterm between 29 and 35 weeks of gestation, with haemodynamically significant heart disease or with chronic lung disease, routine administration of nirsevimab is recommended to reduce the incidence of disease and hospitalisation due to bronchiolitis and RSV lower respiratory tract infection. In patients in whom palivizumab is currently indicated, its substitution by nirsevimab is recommended to reduce the burden of bronchiolitis. ConclusionsRoutine administration of nirsevimab to all infants aged less than 6 months born during the RSV season or aged less than 6 months at the start of the winter season is recommended to reduce the burden of disease and the frequency of hospitalization due to bronchiolitis.

Comparison of Body Composition Changes and Non-Contact Musculoskeletal Injuries Among Professional First-Class Cricket Pace Bowlers

Background. Pace bowling is the most injury susceptible position in cricket due to repeated high intensity maneuvers. Previous studies on pace bowlers have considered anthropometric, biomechanical, and kinesiological factors for deciphering the injury etiology. Study purpose. The purpose of this study was to prospectively investigate the association of body composition parameters with the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries among pace bowlers in cricket. Materials and methods. A total of 44 healthy professional male pace bowlers (N=44; Age: 22.89±4.5 years; Height: 176±9 cm; Body weight: 76.34±8.09 kg; BMI: 21.4±3.1) were recruited from various cricket academies. They were assessed on anthropometrics, body composition, and aerobic fitness before the start of Indian cricket season (typically mid-September). Any non-contact sports injury accounting for significant time loss during the season was recorded followed by assessment of change in body composition status among injured and non-injured pace bowlers. Results. We found hamstring injury as the most prevalent injury (05/12). Lower back injury accounted for highest severity with time loss of 48 matches. Injured pace bowlers underwent higher training volume (hours/day; p=.009) prior to injury incidence, were significantly heavier, and had greater volume of total body water. All the pace bowlers gained significant amount of fat-free mass (FFM) from pre- to post-season. Conclusions. Higher training workload and higher body weight were associated with more injury risk among pace bowlers. Further research accommodating other predictive factors of body composition and psychomotor learning must be carried out to precisely predict injury risk among pace bowlers in cricket.

Determining recovery of marine water quality of the Rio Doce using statistical and temporal comparisons with nearby river systems.

The Fundão dam breach affected the Rio Doce's estuarine and marine environments with water, tailings, scoured soil and/or sediments, and other debris. Time series and standard exceedance analyses are typically used to assess water quality recovery to baseline conditions after deteriorating water quality events. In the absence of historical measurements, impacts to water quality from the Fundão Event were compared with measurements of nearby rivers. Similar river systems with available water quality measurements were grouped into affected and unaffected estuarine and marine waters. Statistical and temporal comparisons of marine waters unaffected by the Rio Doce with those affected by the Rio Doce were evaluated for systematic differences. Multivariate statistical techniques were also used to assess water quality differences. Our results demonstrate that the Fundão dam breach had a short-term water quality impact on marine waters near the Rio Doce mouth. Principal component and comparative time series analyses clearly demonstrated this impact during the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 wet seasons. The ephemeral effects of the breach, however, did not compromise marine water quality. Exceedances of CONAMA standards for metals remained either at zero or at very low levels during the affected period (<5.7%). Before the start of the next wet season in October 2017, water quality impacts from the Event were statistically indistinguishable from unaffected marine waters, indicating recovery to baseline conditions. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:99-116. © 2023 NewFields Companies, LLC. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Methodological challenges and new perspectives of shifting vegetation phenology in eddy covariance data

While numerous studies report shifts in vegetation phenology, in this regard eddy covariance (EC) data, despite its continuous high-frequency observations, still requires further exploration. Furthermore, there is no general consensus on optimal methodologies for data smoothing and extracting phenological transition dates (PTDs). Here, we revisit existing methodologies and present new prospects to investigate phenological changes in gross primary productivity (GPP) from EC measurements. First, we present a smoothing technique of GPP time series through the derivative of its smoothed annual cumulative sum. Second, we calculate PTDs and their trends from a commonly used threshold method that identifies days with a fixed percentage of the annual maximum GPP. A systematic analysis is performed for various thresholds ranging from 0.1 to 0.7. Lastly, we examine the relation of PTDs trends to trends in GPP across the years on a weekly basis. Results from 47 EC sites with long time series (> 10 years) show that advancing trends in start of season (SOS) are strongest at lower thresholds but for the end of season (EOS) at higher thresholds. Moreover, the trends are variable at different thresholds for individual vegetation types and individual sites, outlining reasonable concerns on using a single threshold value. Relationship of trends in PTDs and weekly GPP reveal association of advanced SOS and delayed EOS to increase in immediate primary productivity, but not to the trends in overall seasonal productivity. Drawing on these analyses, we emphasise on abstaining from subjective choices and investigating relationship of PTDs trend to finer temporal trends of GPP. Our study examines existing methodological challenges and presents approaches that optimize the use of EC data in identifying vegetation phenological changes and their relation to carbon uptake.

Skinfold thickness in elite male professional football players: changes across 3 seasons including a COVID-19 lockdown period

ABSTRACT This study investigates variations in skinfold thickness in a European professional football team within and across multiple seasons, including before and after COVID-19 restrictions. Skinfold thickness was measured in 49 male players on 32 occasions across three seasons (2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21). Intra- and inter-seasonal trends were examined by comparing values for the sum of eight skinfolds (sum8) at key time points using linear mixed models. In each season, the largest differences in sum8 occurred after the preseason period. These differences ranged from a mean difference (Mdiff) of −11.0 mm (p < 0.001) in 2018/19 to −4.8 mm (p < 0.001) in 2020/21. Increases in sum8 occurred after each off-season; however, the increase after the off-season before the 2020/21 season (which included the COVID-19 lockdown period) was the lowest in magnitude and was not statistically significant (Mdiff = 2.9 mm, p = 0.06). Changes occurring in sum8 between the start and end of the competitive season did not follow a consistent pattern and were generally smaller in magnitude than the changes between other seasonal time points. Despite the notable heterogeneity in sum8 between players, changes within players generally followed a similar pattern between the different seasonal timepoints. In summary, changes in skinfold thickness were predominantly related to off-season and ‘preparation for competition’ periods. Increases in skinfold thickness can be mitigated during extended remote training periods with appropriate training and nutritional strategies.

Pola Kebakaran Hutan di Areal Konservasi Studi Kasus di Taman Nasional Bromo Tengger Semeru

Forest fires are disasters that can occur due to environmental conditions that support one of them, such as El Nino events or extreme climatic conditions. One of the factors that influences the occurrence of extreme climates is rainfall. Forest fires in Indonesia are mostly caused by human activities, which are supported by extreme climatic conditions. Forest areas that have the potential to cause forest fires include conservation areas that are closely related to human activities. Conservation areas that are closely related to humans include the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS). TNBTS has the function of a conservation area as well as a tourist area. The existence of humans who become tourists or visitors in conservation area locations creates opportunities for forest fires in conservation areas that are supported by extreme climatic conditions. TNBTS has a rainfall pattern, with the lowest rainfall occurring in May-Jun-Jul-Aug-Sept, while the highest is in Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb-Mar. When there is low rainfall, it can cause the TNBTS area to be prone to fire, so it is necessary to take preventive measures in the month before the dry season occurs. Prevention as an effort to control forest fires can be done by keeping the area tighter at the start of the dry season, namely in May. Based on hotspot data of fire incidents from 2001–2020, the most frequent occurrences were in other nationalities in 2001, 2014, and 2019. Based on the results of identification using data, not all hotspots can be declared fire incidents, but heat generated from the existing crater of Mount Semeru at the TNBTS location.&#x0D; Keywords: Bromo Tengger Semeru, Forest Fire, Conservation Area, Hotspot, National Park

Impact of meteorological parameters and air pollutants on airborne concentration of Betula pollen and Bet v 1 allergen

The intensity of birch pollen season is expressed by seasonal pollen integral (SPIn, the sum of the mean daily pollen concentration during the birch pollination period) and the amount of Bet v 1 allergen released per birch pollen grain expressed by pollen allergen potency (PAP). Betula pollen and Bet v 1 allergen were simultaneously measured in the air of Bratislava from 2019 to 2022 by using two Burkard traps (Hirst-type and cyclone) in order to evaluate the causes of the seasonal variation in the SPIn and PAP levels. The highest SPIn (19,975 pollen/m3) was observed in 2022 and the lowest one (1484 pollen/m3) in 2021. The average daily PAP level (4.0 pg Bet v 1/pollen) was highest in 2019 and lowest (2.5 pg Bet v 1/pollen) in 2020. We found that seasonal variation in SPIn was associated mainly with the changes in environmental conditions during the pre-season period, whereas the year-to-year variation in PAP levels was attributed to environmental conditions during both pre- and in-season periods. Our results indicate that rainy weather in June 2020 and cold overcast weather in January‒February 2021 resulted in low SPIn in 2021. On the other hand, dry weather in June 2021 and warm weather in January‒February 2022 resulted in high SPIn in 2022. The low average daily PAP level in 2020 was associated with (1) low levels of gaseous air pollutants in March, when the ripening of pollen takes place; (2) an earlier start of the birch main pollen season (MPS); and (3) dry weather during the MPS. On the other hand, high PAP level in 2019 was associated with higher levels of air pollutants in March and during the MPS.

Higher age and present injury at the start of the season are risk factors for in-season injury in amateur male and female football players—a prospective cohort study

PurposeTo describe the injury prevalence, injury pattern, and potential baseline risk factors for injuries in male and female adolescent and adult amateur football players.MethodsThis prospective study followed adolescent and adult amateur football players over one season March–October 2020. The study was completed by 462 players (130 men, age 20.0 ± 5.7, 14–46 years) who answered a baseline survey and a weekly web survey during the season. A total of 1456 weekly surveys were registered from males and 5041 from females. Injuries were recorded with the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Overuse Injury Questionnaire (OSTRC-O2). Potential baseline risk factors (age, performance of strength/conditioning training, participation in other sports, perceived importance of sporting success, self-rated training and match load, perceived balance between training/match load and recovery, previous/present injury at start of season, and injury beliefs) and their association with injury were analysed with Poisson regressions within each sex.ResultsMales reported 95 injuries (262 injury weeks, weekly prevalence 18.0% (95% CI 16.1–20.1)) and females 350 injuries (1206 injury weeks, weekly prevalence 23.9% (95% CI 22.8–25.1)). Gradual-onset injuries accounted for 57% of the injuries in males and 66% in females. For males, substantial injuries were most common in the hip/groin (weekly prevalence 3.8%), ankle (2.1%), posterior thigh (2.0%), and knee (2.0%); and for females, in the knee (4.3%), ankle (2.5%), and lower leg/Achilles tendon (2.0%). Significant risk factors for injury were higher age (rate ratio males 1.05 per year increase (95% CI 1.02–1.08), females 1.03 (95% CI 1.01–1.05)), and present injury at baseline (males 1.92 (95% CI 1.27–2.89), females 1.58 (95% CI 1.19–2.09)).ConclusionAt any given week, almost one in five male and one in four female amateur football players reported new or ongoing injuries. Hip/groin injuries were more frequent in males, while female players had a higher prevalence of knee injuries. Older players and those with an existing injury at the start of the season were more prone to new injury during the season. Rehabilitation of pre-season injury and complaints are key to reduce the injury burden in amateur football.Level of evidenceLevel II.Trial registration number NCT04272047, Clinical trials

Can land surface phenology from Sentinel-2 time-series be used as an indicator of Macaronesian ecosystem dynamics?

Land surface phenology (LSP), the study of phenological patterns of vegetation using vegetation index (VI) time-series derived from multi-spectral satellite imagery, has helped to improve the understanding of the seasonal dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems from local to global scale. High spatial resolution satellite observations have emerged as a new possibility for monitoring the seasonal dynamics of heterogeneous ecosystems. Under-studied Macaronesian ecosystems have specific characteristics that make LSP estimation a complex task (e. g., frequent cloud cover, frequent presence of atmospheric aerosols, different degrees of vegetation density, diversity of plant species, landscape heterogeneity). Thus, this study aims to analyse the potential of LSP based on Sentinel-2 data to monitor the phenological dynamics of vegetation in the Macaronesian ecosystems of Canary Islands (Spain). NDVI time-series were generated using Sentinel-2 data from January 2018 to December 2021. NDVI time-series were smoothed using double logistic function. Three phenometrics, such as the start of the growing season (SOS), the end of the growing season (EOS) and the length of the growing season (LOS), were extracted using a threshold-based method (20%) only for pixels where the mean NDVI value of the smoothed four-year time-series was higher than 0.2. Growing season of the major of Macaronesian vegetation started between late summer and late autumn (start of the wet season) and ended between early spring and early summer (end of the wet season). The most representative Macaronesian tree species had a clear and marked seasonality, except for the laurel forest species. SOS of Juniperus phoenicea subsp. turbinata was slightly later than for Olea europaea var. sylvestris and Pinus canariensis, while the mean EOS was slightly later for Olea europaea var. sylvestris. The intra-specific variability of SOS and EOS in the laurel forests was very high. LSP derived from Sentinel-2 data contributed to understand the seasonal dynamics of the main Macaronesian ecosystems. However, the heterogeneity of laurel forests made it difficult the LSP estimation in laurel forests. Thus, complementary phenological approaches are suggested to improve the knowledge of the seasonal dynamics of this Macaronesian ecosystem.

Building relationships back into the food system: addressing food insecurity and food well-being

IntroductionFailures of the current food system sit at the core of the multitude of crises by being the root framework for both consumption choices and food production. Low-income households are disproportionately affected by these failures, impacting their food security and access to healthy and sustainable foods. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a bottom-up response towards an agri-food system transformation by providing an alternative food system based on agroecologically grown food that is sold locally and rooted in social values. Alongside other food citizenship movements and alternative food networks (AFN), CSAs are driven by the vision to develop a democratic, socially and economically just, and environmentally sustainable food system. Yet, low-income households are underrepresented in the CSA community.MethodOur paper presents findings from a co-produced intervention between the research team, four CSA farms based in Wales, United Kingdom and two food aid partners that sought to identify ways to improve the accessibility of CSA memberships for food-insecure households. Thirty-eight households received a weekly veg bag for a period of 2–4 months. We interviewed 16 household members at the project start and end of the harvest season. Building on the food well-being framework, we investigate impacts of a CSA membership on food-insecure households.ResultsWe found that CSA membership holistically improves food well-being, through strengthening producer-consumer relationships, increasing availability of healthy foods, helping people to care for their own and their families well-being, and building place-based food capability and literacy.DiscussionThis paper supports wider narratives that call for systematically prioritizing interventions that promote overall food well-being, which can lead to sustainable and just food systems with positive outcomes for financially excluded, food insecure households in localized AFNs.

Descriptive Analysis of Snakebite Surveillance Data in North Bank West Region, The Gambia, 2017 – 2021

Background: Snakebites affect about 5.4 million people worldwide resulting in over 137,880 deaths per year. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the incidence of snakebite cases is generally underestimated despite the adverse effect of snakebite when it occurs. We therefore conducted this study to describe the incidence of snakebites in the North Bank West Region of the Gambia. Methods: We reviewed snakebite surveillance data from 1st Jan 2017 to 31st Dec 2021 as recorded in health facility registers in North Bank West Region of The Gambia. Variables extracted were age, sex, date reported, health facility name, district of residence, and case outcome. We summarized the data by person, place, and time and results were presented using frequencies and proportions in tables, charts, graphs and maps. Results: A total of 197 cases were reported, the median age was 20 (IQR:13 -30) years, and males were 69.0% (136/197). 35.0% (69/197) of snakebite victims were between age group 10-19 years of age. There was a 5-year incidence rate of 31 snakebite cases per 100,000 population with a case fatality ratio of 4.1%. Jokadou District recorded the highest number of incidences (14 cases per 10,000) in 2017. 72.6% (143/197) of the snakebites occurred during the rainy season (June-October). The year 2020 recorded the highest incidence of snakebite in the region, 59 snakebite cases per 100,000 population. Conclusion: There was a high incidence of snakebite cases recorded and Jokadou District recording the highest with the peak occurring during the rainy season. We recommend that the Regional Health Directorate work with health facilities to regularly organize health education activities for the communities, especially during the start of the rainy season.

Monitoring Individual Tree Phenology in a Multi-Species Forest Using High Resolution UAV Images

Monitoring tree phenology is important for understanding ecosystem functioning and for assessing ecosystem responses to climate change. Satellite imagery offers open-access global coverage but is restricted to forest-level analyses, due to its coarse spatial resolution. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery can monitor phenology at the individual tree level by utilizing a centimeter-scale resolution. Two research objectives were identified for this study: (1) to derive phenological metrics at the individual tree level, using various vegetation indices (VIs); and (2) to assess the accuracy of automatic crown delineation in a diverse ecosystem. To achieve this, fourteen multi-spectral UAV flights were performed, and the ability of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index 2 (EVI2), optimized soil-adjusted vegetation index (OSAVI), and chlorophyll index red-edge (CIre) to model seasonal phenology was assessed. A double logistic model was fitted on the VI observations for each individual tree, to derive the start of season (SOS) and end of season (EOS). Individual tree crowns were delineated automatically using marker-controlled watershed segmentation (MCWS), and the treetops were identified using a local maximum filter (LMF). Overall, the automatic segmentation performed well (F-score: 0.79, IoU: 0.58), with higher accuracies in single-species areas, while it underperformed in complex mixed forest structures. All VIs captured a strong seasonal signal for the deciduous trees and derived SOS and EOS estimates consistent with literature and ground observations. General phenological patterns included an early silver birch SOS, a quick beech budburst, and large within-species phenology variations for oak trees. Seasonal VI variation for coniferous evergreen trees was limited, and the resulting phenology estimates proved unreliable. In conclusion, these findings emphasize the capabilities of UAV imagery for individual tree crown phenology monitoring. However, they also show the difficulty of monitoring evergreen phenology with the commonly-used VIs and stress the need for further investigations.

Modelling of a Post-Mining Catchment for Future Simulations

Landform evolution modelling (LEM) provides an avenue for simulating how a landscape may evolve over extended time periods of thousands of years. CAESAR-Lisflood LEM which includes a hydrologic model (TOPMODEL) and a hydraulic model (Lisflood) can be used to assess the proposed final landform morphology of a mine site by simulating how the mine landform and the landscape would evolve over a 1000-year period. The accuracy of future simulations depends on the calibration and validation of the model to past and present events. Calibration and validation of the model involve finding a combination of parameters of the model which when applied and simulated gives model outputs similar to those observed for the real site scenario for corresponding input data. Calibrating the sediment output of the CAESAR-Lisflood model at the catchment level and using it for studying the equilibrium conditions of the landform is an area that has yet to be explored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to calibrate the CAESAR-Lisflood model and then validate it. To achieve this, the model was run for a rainfall event with a set of parameters, plus discharge and sediment data for the input point of the catchment, to analyse how similar the model output would behave when compared with the discharge and sediment data for the output point of the catchment. The model parameters were then adjusted until the model closely approximated the real site values of the catchment. The model was then validated by running it for a different set of events and checking that the model gave similar results to the real site values. The outcomes demonstrated that while the model can be calibrated to a greater extent for hydrology (discharge output) throughout the year, sediment output calibration may be slightly improved via the ability to change parameters to take into account the seasonal vegetation growth during the start and end of the wet season. This study is important for designing and testing post-mining rehabilitated landscape systems that assess hydrology and sediment movement in seasonal biomes.

Past and future changes in the start, end, and duration of the growing season in Poland

The aim of the study was to determine the direction and rate of the projected changes of the start, end, and duration of the growing season in Poland in two-time horizons: 2021–2050 and 2071–2100. The main part of the paper was preceded by an analysis of changes in the start and end dates and the duration of the growing season in Poland in the period 1966–2020. The growing season in Poland is projected to be the shortest in mountain areas and in the north-eastern regions of Poland, where the date of growing season start is the latest and the date of the growing season end is the earliest. Whereas the longest growing season due to the projected earliest start and latest end dates is expected in the southwestern Poland. In the case of the coast, its late end will be of the greatest importance for its duration as a result of the warming effect of the sea in the autumn–winter period. The most intensive changes are forecasted in the long-term perspective in the case of the scenario regarding a high level of greenhouse gas emissions. The forecasts show that outside mountain areas, the growing season duration will vary from less than 255 days in the northeastern regions to more than 290 days in southwest and western Poland. In the duration of the mountains, the growing season will vary from 180 days on Kasprowy Wierch to 188 days on Śnieżka. This suggests significant changes in agroclimatic conditions in Poland.

Detecting the long-term spatiotemporal crop phenology changes in a highly fragmented agricultural landscape

Trends in crop phenometrics reveal the influence of climate variability and change on crop growth and development. However, the trends are less clear in fragmented tropical smallholder landscapes, because there is high spatial and temporal variability in crop phenology. Frequent historical and high spatial resolution (≤30 m) Earth observations are needed to track changes in crop phenology in fragmented landscapes but are often unavailable. The spatial–temporal gap can be closed by integrating infrequent high spatial resolution Earth observations with low spatial/high temporal resolution observations through data fusion. We fused 30 m resolution Landsat and 250 m resolution MODIS imagery to investigate trends in crop phenology from 2000 to 2020 in a fragmented agricultural landscape of Ethiopia. We used the Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (ESTARFM) that had recently been modified for application in fragmented agricultural landscapes. We used the non-parametric Mann–Kendall test for crop phenology trend analysis. Crop phenology based on Landsat–MODIS fusion was compared to MODIS-based crop phenology without fusion. We found data fusion yielded a smaller magnitude of changes in the start of season (SOS: -0.2-day-y−1) and end of season (EOS: -0.50-day-y−1) compared to MODIS SOS (-0.5-day-y−1) and EOS (1.38-day-y−1) due to MODIS-related mixing with the surrounding natural vegetation in the fragmented agricultural landscape. EOS showed a faster rate of change compared to SOS over the 21-years. The Landsat and MODIS fusion captured spatial variation in the timing and magnitude of change specific to crops and their growing environment, which has implications for adaptation strategies. Our results highlight the importance of long-term data fusion to improve the spatial dimension of crop phenology time series analysis. Integrating time series land cover maps into the data fusion processing chain could further improve long-term data fusion for crop phenology trend analysis.

PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS IN ELITE YUNIOR FEMALE ROLLER SKIER FROM 2021 SEASON: A CASE REPORT

The purpose was to evaluate the training program, body mass composition, aerobic performance laboratory and field test results, blood hormone concentration in elite junior female roller skier in successful competition season. Methods. Totally 206 training sessions (278 training hours) were analysed during six months (from April till September). Athlete wight and body fat changes were monitored, laboratory tests on a treadmill and field tests were performed and concentration of hormones in the blood was detected. Results. A polarised training intensity distribution was observed. The highest volume of training workloads (70 training hours per month) was achieved in the last month before start of World cup season, this change corelated with change in blood testosterone levels. Heart rate decreased by 7.51% at the anaerobic threshold load intensity and by 10.1% at lower intensity loads. Peak oxygen uptake (VO2max) of 49 ml/kg/min was reached in laboratory test. Increase of lean body mass by 2.4 kg was observed. The progress in 3000m running race time was detected from 14:30 minutes in the beginning of April to 13:16 minutes in June. Conclusion. VO2max in junior elite female roller skier is low in comparison with cross-country skiers, but the training workload intensity and volume are comparable with skiers. This research shows insight in top junior level female roller-skiers physiology and training, but specific values determining the success of this athlete are still to be determined if compared to traditional cross-country skier.

Immunogenomic profile at baseline predicts host susceptibility to clinical malaria.

Host gene and protein expression impact susceptibility to clinical malaria, but the balance of immune cell populations, cytokines and genes that contributes to protection, remains incompletely understood. Little is known about the determinants of host susceptibility to clinical malaria at a time when acquired immunity is developing. We analyzed peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from children who differed in susceptibility to clinical malaria, all from a small town in Mali. PBMCs were collected from children aged 4-6 years at the start, peak and end of the malaria season. We characterized the immune cell composition and cytokine secretion for a subset of 20 children per timepoint (10 children with no symptomatic malaria age-matched to 10 children with >2 symptomatic malarial illnesses), and gene expression patterns for six children (three per cohort) per timepoint. We observed differences between the two groups of children in the expression of genes related to cell death and inflammation; in particular, inflammatory genes such as CXCL10 and STAT1 and apoptotic genes such as XAF1 were upregulated in susceptible children before the transmission season began. We also noted higher frequency of HLA-DR+ CD4 T cells in protected children during the peak of the malaria season and comparable levels cytokine secretion after stimulation with malaria schizonts across all three time points. This study highlights the importance of baseline immune signatures in determining disease outcome. Our data suggests that differences in apoptotic and inflammatory gene expression patterns can serve as predictive markers of susceptibility to clinical malaria.

Poster 382: A Multi-Center Epidemiologic Analysis of the Injuries Affecting Female and Male Collegiate Basketball Players

Objectives: Basketball is a high-intensity sport associated with acute and overuse injuries in both females and males. With the growing popularity of basketball at all levels domestically and globally, there has been an increased emphasis in understanding the injury patterns of these athletes. A large proportion of the current literature on basketball injuries utilize publicly available websites to obtain medical data. Thus, there is a need for prospectively collected data from healthcare professionals as it pertains to basketball injuries. By utilizing a conference-specific injury database, this study sought to characterize the types of injuries affecting elite intercollegiate female and male basketball players. Upon establishing commonly recognized injury patterns as well as associated return to sport data, this study can potentially help guide prevention and treatment protocols. Methods: A blinded conference-specific injury database was utilized to perform a retrospective review of injuries for male and female Division I collegiate basketball players from 2017 to 2021. Analysis included musculoskeletal injuries stratified by anatomic location, gender, time missed and injury diagnosis. Time missed was categorized as no time away from sport, less than three weeks away from sport and more than three weeks away from sport. “Estimated athlete risk per year” was used as a surrogate for risk per athlete-year since observation periods were not known for each individual athlete due to the data being blinded. On average, athletes were followed for 2.3 years, which assumes an equal number of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors per year and no athletes transferring/quitting. To estimate athlete exposure hours (AEH), total season length in weeks was multiplied by 20 hours per week as this is the maximum duration of sport-related activity according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association bylaws. Team rosters as well as season start and end dates were obtained from publicly available schedules on the Pac-12 website. Injury rate (IR) per 1000 AEHs was calculated by the following formula: IR per 1000 AEH= [(Number of total in-season injuries) / (Season length in weeks * 20 hrs / week * number of athletes on the team)] * 1000. Relative risk (RR) was used to compare estimated athlete risk per year between genders with statistical significance being defined by a 95% confidence interval (CI) not including one (p &lt; 0.05). Results: A total of 663 college basketball players out of 853 (77.7%) suffered 4532 total injuries. Significantly more females suffered an injury (314 out of 360, 87.2%) when compared to males (349 of 493, 70.8%; RR: 1.23 [95% CI: 1.15 - 1.32]). The most common injuries across genders were ankle and hindfoot injuries accounting for 1007 out of 4532 (22.2%), knee injuries accounting for 750 injuries (16.5%), head/face injuries accounting for 532 injuries (11.7%), forefoot injuries accounting for 446 injuries (9.8%) and hand/wrist/forearm injuries accounting for 359 injuries (7.9%). Women were significantly more likely to suffer a knee injury (RR: 1.49 [95% CI: 1.27-1.75]), a head/face injury (RR: 1.32 [95% CI: 1.09-1.60]) or a midfoot/forefoot injury (RR: 1.42 [95% CI: 1.14-1.76]) (Table 1). Although ankle sprains were the most common injury, 259 ankle sprains out of 660 (39.2%) did not result in any time away from sport and 306 ankle sprains (46.4%) resulted in time away from sport but less than three weeks. One hundred and ninety-one concussions affected 146 out of 853 athletes (17.1%). Eighty-two out of 360 female athletes (22.8%) suffered a concussion as compared to 64 out of 493 male athletes (13.0%; RR: 1.23, [95% CI: 1.15-1.32]). Return to sport data was not specified for 22 out of 191 concussions. Of the remaining 169 concussions, 17 (10.1%) resulted in more than three weeks away from sport (Table 2). Conclusions: Lower extremity injuries were expectedly the most common injuries seen in both male and female basketball players, however these injuries did not result in substantial periods of missed playing time. Most current injury prevention strategies and proprioceptive training exercises focus on the lower extremity, with the ankles in particular. The current study, however, demonstrates that basketball players suffer from a variety of injuries suggesting that injury prevention techniques should be expanded to include all areas of the body. Females suffered significantly more injuries than males. Specifically, females suffered more knee injuries, head/face injuries, midfoot/forefoot injuries and concussions. Variations in anatomy, muscle strength and proprioceptive patterns are all possible rationales for this increased injury rate in females, however the definitive rationale is not completely understood. One additional possible rationale is that psychosocial factors have been shown to cause males to underreport symptoms. Understanding the injury patterns and the prognoses of such injuries can help physicians guide the expectations of these athletes, optimize the patient-athlete relationship and ultimately keep our collegiate basketball players safe. [Table: see text][Table: see text]