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Methods for Capturing and Quantifying Contact Events in Collision Sports
Get PDFTechnological advancements have led to widespread use of wearable devices that capture external performance metrics in team sports. Tracking systems including global positioning system (GPS) technology with inbuilt microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), instrumented mouthguards (iMGs), and video analysis provide valuable insights into the contact demands of collision sports. In collision sports, successfully "winning the contact" is positively associated with better individual and team performance, but it also comes with a high risk of injury, posing a concern for player welfare. Understanding the frequency and intensity of these contact events is important in order for coaches and practitioners to adequately prepare players for competition and can simultaneously reduce the burden on athletes. Different methods have been developed for detecting contact events, although limitations of the current methods include validity and reliability issues, varying thresholds, algorithm inconsistencies, and a lack of code- and sex-specific algorithms. In this review, we evaluate common methods for capturing contact events in team collision sports and detail a new method for assessing contact intensity through notational analysis, offering a potential alternative for capturing contact events that are currently challenging to detect through microtechnology alone.</p
Lines, edges and intersections:Building border criminology from the margins
Get PDFAn abridged version of this paper was delivered at the ANZSOC annual conference in Christchurch on 4 December 2024, after the presentation of the Distinguished Criminologist award. Amongst other omissions, the long anecdote about my arrival in the United Kingdom was not included in the lecture due to time constraints. All the material that was delivered orally on the day is reproduced here without significant changes.</p
Global, Regional, and National Burden of Nontraumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage The Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
No full textImportance Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) represents the third most common stroke type with unique etiologies, risk factors, diagnostics, and treatments. Nevertheless, epidemiological studies often cluster SAH with other stroke types leaving its distinct burden estimates obscure.Objective To estimate the worldwide burden of SAH.Design, Setting, and Participants Based on the repeated cross-sectional Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study, the global burden of SAH in 1990 to 2021 was estimated. Moreover, the SAH burden was compared with other diseases, and its associations with 14 individual risk factors were investigated with available data in the GBD 2021 study. The GBD study included the burden estimates of nontraumatic SAH among all ages in 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2021.Exposures SAH and 14 modifiable risk factors.Main Outcomes and Measures Absolute numbers and age-standardized rates with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) of SAH incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) as well as risk factor–specific population attributable fractions (PAFs).Results In 2021, the global age-standardized SAH incidence was 8.3 (95% UI, 7.3-9.5), prevalence was 92.2 (95% UI, 84.1-100.6), mortality was 4.2 (95% UI, 3.7-4.8), and DALY rate was 125.2 (95% UI, 110.5-142.6) per 100 000 people. The highest burden estimates were found in Latin America, the Caribbean, Oceania, and high-income Asia Pacific. Although the absolute number of SAH cases increased, especially in regions with a low sociodemographic index, all age-standardized burden rates decreased between 1990 and 2021: the incidence by 28.8% (95% UI, 25.7%-31.6%), prevalence by 16.1% (95% UI, 14.8%-17.7%), mortality by 56.1% (95% UI, 40.7%-64.3%), and DALY rate by 54.6% (95% UI, 42.8%-61.9%). Of 300 diseases, SAH ranked as the 36th most common cause of death and 59th most common cause of DALY in the world. Of all worldwide SAH-related DALYs, 71.6% (95% UI, 63.8%-78.6%) were associated with the 14 modeled risk factors of which high systolic blood pressure (population attributable fraction [PAF] = 51.6%; 95% UI, 38.0%-62.6%) and smoking (PAF = 14.4%; 95% UI, 12.4%-16.5%) had the highest attribution.Conclusions and Relevance Although the global age-standardized burden rates of SAH more than halved over the last 3 decades, SAH remained one of the most common cardiovascular and neurological causes of death and disabilities in the world, with increasing absolute case numbers. These findings suggest evidence for the potential health benefits of proactive public health planning and resource allocation toward the prevention of SAH
“Open science” meets commercial realities:a qualitative study of factors influencing sharing in synthetic biology research in Australia
No full textThis paper examines sharing of data and materials in synthetic biology research and the impact of intellectual property regulation and commercialization imperatives. Data-sharing, access to scientific knowledge, ownership of that knowledge and collaboration are critical issues in biotechnology research, as highlighted in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. We present a sociolegal investigation of drivers of sharing and hindrances to these activities in synthetic biology. This field has a particular emphasis on driving innovation through openness and sharing of the building blocks of research, as opposed to using intellectual property (IP) rights to limit access to these. We examine the perspectives and practices of synthetic biologists in both university and commercial settings, as well as commercialization professionals. We argue that synthetic biologists simultaneously manage two sets of imperatives. On the one hand, sharing is driven by cultural norms, pursuit of scientific progress and strategic benefits to the sharer. On the other, synthetic biologists need to protect their scientific careers, preserve the patentability of developments with commercial potential, and manage obligations to commercial partners and institutions. As their careers may not be purely academic or commercial, they need to appreciate the prerogatives of the particular “hat” that they are wearing on a given project, and also form judgments of commercial value, drawing on a distinction between fundamental and applied research.</p
Crossformer3D:cross spatio-temporal transformer for 3D human pose estimation
No full text3D human pose estimation can be handled by encoding the geometric dependencies between the body parts and enforcing the kinematic constraints. Recently, transformers have been adopted to better encode the long-range dependencies between the joints across both the spatial and temporal domains. However, previous studies have highlighted the need of improving the locality of vision Transformers. To this end, we propose a novel pose estimation Transformer featuring rich representations of body joints that are critical for capturing subtle changes across frames (i.e., inter-feature representations). More specifically, through two novel interaction modules: Cross-Joint Interaction and Cross-Frame Interaction, the model explicitly encodes the local and global dependencies between the body joints. The proposed architecture achieves state-of-the-art performance on two popular 3D human pose estimation datasets, Human3.6 and MPI-INF-3DHP. In particular, our proposed CrossFormer3D method boosts performance by 0.9% and 3%, compared to its closest counterpart, PoseFormer, using the detected 2D poses and ground-truth settings respectively.</p
The role of occupational therapy in primary care mental health services:a short report
No full textThis paper is a short report considering the role of occupational therapy in providing mental health services in primary care. Primary care is the first point of contact most people have with the healthcare system. Occupational therapists have a role working with people with mental illness but the role of an occupational therapist working in mental health in a primary care setting is not well understood. Common interventions discussed in the literature included lifestyle approaches, assessment and information gathering, and the teaching of skills for daily living. There was a clear divide in the literature regarding the use of generic or specialist (occupation-focused) roles. Physical health was often prioritized over mental health concerns. Limited research examined both the population group of people with mental health concerns and the practice setting of primary care, identifying the need for further research to articulate the role of occupational therapy in working with mental health in primary care settings.</p
Early Nutrition is Associated With Global Motion Perception and V5 Function in 7-Year-Old Children Born Very Preterm
No full textThe dorsal stream vulnerability hypothesis suggests that preterm birth may preferentially impair development of the dorsal visual pathway. We explored the effects of early nutrition on dorsal stream development in a well-characterized cohort of 7-year-old children born very preterm. The children had been admitted to a tertiary hospital neonatal intensive care unit either before (OldPro group) or after (NewPro group) a parenteral nutrition protocol change that was intended to increase protein intake and reduce fluid volume intake. We assessed dorsal stream function using the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response in V1 and V5 to coherent and incoherent random dot kinematograms (RDKs), quantified using functional magnetic resonance imaging. V1 and V5 regions of interest could be localized in 24 children (OldPro n = 11, NewPro n = 13). Motion coherence thresholds, a psychophysical measure of global motion perception, were also available for 22 of these children (OldPro n = 9, NewPro n = 13). The NewPro group demonstrated a higher V5 BOLD response to RDK stimuli (OldPro: mean = 0.5%, SD = 0.2%; NewPro: mean = 1.0%, SD = 0.6%) and exhibited lower (better) motion coherence thresholds (OldPro: median = 74.0%, IQR: 59.5%-81.2%; NewPro: median = 36.8%, IQR: 27.5%-44.5%), compared to the OldPro group. The V1 BOLD response did not differ between the groups. There was a significant association between V5 ΔBOLD (coherent minus incoherent stimulus BOLD response) and motion coherence threshold. Together, these findings suggest that early nutrition may influence dorsal stream development in children born very preterm.</p
Widening access to medicine: A realist review Journal: Medical Education
No full textWhile medical school selection research has largely focused on the validity of tools and processes, less attention has been paid to the quality and impact of widening access (WA) pathways. Existing studies are often limited in scope, focusing on single institutions or interventions. This study aimed to develop transferable insights into WA selection practices through a realist evaluation across four Australian medical schools.MethodsBuilding on a prior realist review, we employed the RAMSES II protocol to explore how contextual factors and mechanisms interact to influence WA outcomes through case studies at four medical schools. Data collection included institutional document and website reviews, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 41 staff and 17 first-year students. The evaluation framework examined Context (diversity within sociocultural settings), Interventions (targeted pathways, adjusted selection scores), Mechanisms (institutional, dispositional, situational), and Outcomes (applicant diversity, selection success).ResultsTwo key interventions were identified as successful across all sites: (1) targeted pathways with selection score adjustments for under-represented groups (e.g., Indigenous, rural, low socio-economic backgrounds), and (2) sustained partnerships with these communities to raise awareness of medicine as a viable career. These partnerships aimed to enhance applicants’ dispositions and readiness for selection.DiscussionThe resulting programme theory identified five main mechanisms underpinning effective WA: visionary leadership, Indigenous cultural safety, longitudinal relational engagement, tailored applicant support, and preparation for selection processes. While demographic shifts, particularly in rural and Indigenous representation, were observed over a 12-year period, the scope of WA remains narrow. Structural changes within institutions pose significant risks to the sustainability of these efforts. ConclusionWe argue for a national, coordinated approach to WA in medical education, underpinned by long-term investment, robust evaluation, and a broader conceptualisation of equity in access. WA must be embedded as a core institutional commitment rather than a peripheral initiative. <br/
Democratic Assemblage:Power, Normativity, and Responsibility in More-than-Human Participation
No full textOver the past two decades, the scholarly community interested in participatory and deliberative democracy has focused their attention on democratic innovations. Designs such as participatory budgets and citizens assemblies have been conceptualised as the actualisation of democratic ideals in a micro setting, in relative isolation from each other and the wider society (Bussu et al. 2022). In recent years the attention of democracy scholarship turned toward the connectivity between various democratic innovations and raised questions about their political and societal impact (Dean et al. 2019; Jaquet et al. 2023; Parry et al. 2021). The deliberative systems approach (Mansbridge et al. 2012) makes important steps towards understanding connectivity by exploring the transmission between public space, where democratic innovations are located, and empowered space, where governments reside (Dryzek 2009). However, both democratic innovations and deliberative systems are too often conceptualised in relatively static terms. Systems imply clear structures, and democratic innovations tend to apply expert-generated design that intends to guide human interaction. This view pays limited attention to the role of materiality and more-than-human world – including physical space, objects, technology, nonhuman animals, weather phenomena, etc. – in democratic participation
Perceptions of air pollution and health communication for people with asthma among Australia’s Arabic-speaking communities
No full textAir pollution is a major public health risk factor globally and a significant threat to people with respiratory conditions. People with asthma, and particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, are disproportionally affected and have less capacity to protect themselves from air pollution. There is a critical lack of accessible resources and advice for people with asthma who are from CALD backgrounds. This qualitative study aimed to better understand Arabic-speaking Australians’ perceptions of air quality, support their health literacy, and co-design resources to help them reduce their exposure to air pollution. A virtual roundtable discussion was conducted with key stakeholders from Australian Arabic-speaking communities to explore perceptions of air pollution and effective ways to communicate related public health messages to people with asthma within these communities. Australian Arabic-speaking communities generally have low awareness of air pollution. Although they use social media platforms and traditional media widely, more needs to be done to raise their awareness of air pollution and related health issues through targeted bilingual (English-Arabic) messaging and audiovisual material. The importance of religious and other community leaders in promoting environmental and public health messages within the diverse Arabic-speaking communities was highlighted. Future asthma-awareness and air pollution literacy campaigns should be designed in ways that reach CALD communities that have previously been underserved by public health promotion. Culturally sensitive health communication approaches are particularly important as Australia’s population continues to diversify.</p