Optimizing Health and Athletic Performance for Women

Purpose of Review The exponential growth of women participating in competitive sports throughout the years was made possible through several initiatives by the International Olympic Committee and the passage and implementation of Title IX as a federal law in the United States. However, this positive trend towards gender equity in sports has not transpired for women in medicine, especially in fields that care for elite athletes. This current review will discuss specific areas that can be tailored to help female athletes prevent injuries and optimize their athletic performance. We will also highlight how increased female team physician representation in sports may help optimize care for female athletes. Recent Findings Female athletes are considered high risk for certain conditions such as ACL tears, patellofemoral pain syndrome, bone stress injuries, sport-related concussions, and sexual violence in sport. Addressing factors specific to female athletes has been found to be valuable in preventing injuries. Strength and conditioning can optimize athletic performance but remains underutilized among female athletes. Although diversity in healthcare workforce has been found to be beneficial for multiple reasons, women remain underrepresented in sports medicine. Increasing female team physician representation may positively impact care for female athletes. Summary Team physicians must understand the physiologic, biomechanical, and anatomic factors that are unique to female athletes in order to tailor injury prevention programs and optimize their athletic performance. Advocating for gender equity in sports medicine to advance representation of women in the field will increase workforce diversity and promote excellence in sports medicine care.

Pathomorphosis of Vascular Dementia with Psychotic Symptoms

Objective: To study the pathomorphosis of vascular dementia over the past 30 years. The study of the pathomorphosis of mental disorders makes significant adjustments to the criteria for diagnosis and nosography. Dementia has also undergone pathomorphosis over the years. Materials and Methods: The research was carried out in the Psychiatric Hospitalsin Azerbaijan. A retrospective analysis was carried out for the period 1990-1999, which were compared with a similar contingent during 2010-2020. Results: The number of hospitalized patients with vascular dementia has increased over the past 10 years, which means both an increase in the incidence of the disease and an increase in symptoms requiring psychiatric treatment. Conclusions: Pathomorphosis has also manifested itself in sex. Thus, the number of female patients has increased in the last 10 years. As a result of the disease, there is a positive trend, a decrease in mortality.

Problems of legal regulation of a marriage agreement in the Russian Federation

This article is devoted to the application of the marriage contract by persons entering or already married. The authors define the relevance of concluding marriage contracts and emphasize the positive trend of their application in Russia. As a rule, the question of the division of property is the most difficult and problematic both in theory and in practice. In scientific circles, there is a discussion about the legal nature of the marriage contract. The specifics of its conclusion and the scope of regulation of relations do not give an unambiguous answer about the branch affiliation of this legal institution. There are also a large number of gaps in the Family Code of the Russian Federation due to the lack of legislative consolidation of some aspects related to the contractual regime of spouses’ property. In addition, there is still an unresolved issue regarding the conditions and procedure for concluding a marriage contract by minor citizens entering into marriage. In the article, the authors come to the conclusion that the marriage contract as a legal phenomenon requires more legal regulation at the legislative level.

Investigating Temporal and Spatial Precipitation Patterns in the Southern Mid-Atlantic United States

The investigation of regional vulnerability to extreme hydroclimatic events (e.g., floods and hurricanes) is quite challenging due to its dependence on reliable precipitation estimates. Better understanding of past precipitation trends is crucial to examine changing precipitation extremes, optimize future water demands, stormwater infrastructure, extreme event measures, irrigation management, etc., especially if combined with future climate and population projections. The objective of the study is to investigate the spatial-temporal variability of average and extreme precipitation at a sub-regional scale, specifically in the Southern Mid-Atlantic United States, a region characterized by diverse topography and is among the fastest-growing areas in North America. Particularly, this work investigates past precipitation trends and patterns using the North American Land Data Assimilation System, Version 2 (NLDAS-2, 12 km/1 h resolution) reanalysis dataset during 1980–2018. Both parametric (linear regression) and non-parametric (e.g., Theil-Sen) robust statistical tools are employed in the study to analyze trend magnitudes, which are tested for statistical significance using the Mann-Kendall test. Standard precipitation indices from ETCCDI are also used to characterize trends in the relative contribution of extreme events to precipitation in the area. In the region an increasing trend (4.3 mm/year) is identified in annual average precipitation with ~34% of the domain showing a significant increase (at the 0.1 significance level) of +3 to +5 mm/year. Seasonal and sub-regional trends are also investigated, with the most pronounced increasing trends identified during summers along the Virginia and Maryland border. The study also finds a statistically significant positive trend (at a 0.05 significance level) in the annual maximum precipitation. Furthermore, the number of daily extremes (daily total precipitation higher than the 95th and 99th percentiles) also depicts statistically significant increases, indicating the increased frequency of extreme precipitation events. Investigations into the proportion of annual precipitation occurring on wet days and extremely wet days (95th and 99th percentile) also indicate a significant increase in their relative contribution. The findings of this study have the potential to improve local-scale decision-making in terms of river basin management, flood control, irrigation scheme scheduling, and stormwater infrastructure planning to address urban resilience to hydrometeorological hazards.

Time-Varying Stock-Recruitment Model For Estimating Population Characteristics of Green Turtles

The stock-recruitment relationship (SR), customarily used in fisheries assessment, can be used to analyze demographic data of sea turtles to infer changes in hatchling production (R) as a function of nester abundance (S), recruitment rates and the influence of environmental conditions on these population features. The SR Cushing model (R=aS^b), where a and b are the model parameters) is well-suited for representing the dynamics of recovering populations, such as the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in Campeche, Mexico. This study aimed to explore the SR Cushing model using a time series of the abundance of nesters and hatchlings (1984–2020). By applying local regressions (9-yr moving windows), we found that the time series of parameter b (the change in R as a function of S) and the recruitment rate (hatchlings per nester) were inversely correlated with a 26-yr cycle of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation –sea surface temperature (SST), over the Atlantic– (r^2=0.83) and (r^2=0.64), respectively, at a 3-yr lag). Model diagnostics using the time-dependent Cushing model substantiated that the log-normal distribution of hatchlings of C. mydas in Campeche depends on the abundance of nesting females and on a low frequency SST signal (r^2=0.98). The positive trend in nester numbers of green turtles in Campeche during the past 44 years may be the result of persistent conservation efforts, while the drastic and sporadic changes in the growth rate of annual arrivals and hatchling production are suggestive of population dynamics driven by low frequency, basin-wide environmental signals.

Interplay between Asian Monsoon and Tides Affects the Plume Dispersal of the New Hu-Wei River off the Coast of Midwest Taiwan

In the coupled estuary–shelf system, plumes originating from the New Hu-Wei and Choshui rivers, consisting of many terrestrial materials, could contaminate the water of the Mailiao industrial harbor. To determine the contribution of the two rivers to pollution, the interaction between river-forced, tide-generating, and monsoon-driven water motions in and around the Mailiao industrial zone harbor was examined by performing a series of numerical model experiments. We used a three-dimensional general circulation model to examine the interplay between Asian monsoon-driven, river-forced, and tide-induced water motions, one of which could primarily affect the plume. The model-derived results for different river discharges revealed that almost all of the ammonium entering the harbor had a slope-positive trend, with oscillations in response to flood–ebb tidal cycles. The ammonium increased with time and flux, except for the 10 m3/s flux. Although the river discharge flux exceeded 200 m3/s, the ammonium entering the harbor was the same as that of the 200 m3/s flux; the ammonium concentration did not increase significantly with time after the flux exceeded 200 m3/s. In addition, irrespective of flood or ebb tidal currents being suppressed by strong Asian monsoons, this mechanism avoided contaminating the water quality of the harbor while northeasterly winds prevailed. By contrast, the southwesterly monsoon drove the geostrophic current northward along the coast; concurrently, the coastal sea level increased to form the surface isobar slope up toward the coast, producing a secondary flow to accelerate geostrophic alongshore currents. The northward geostrophic currents compressed the plumes shoreward, forming a relatively narrow-band plume; the coupling model demonstrated that the southwesterly monsoon-driven current pushed plumes favorably along the west pier into the harbor.

Quantifying occurrence of deformation bands in sandstone as a function of structural and petrophysical factors and their impact on reservoir quality: an example from outcrop analog of Productive Series (Pliocene), South Caspian Basin

Deformation bands (DB) are known to influence porosity and permeability in sandstones. This study aims to predict the occurrence of DB and to quantify their impact on reservoir properties based on field measurements in the steeply dipping limb of a kilometer-scale fold in Yasamal Valley, western South Caspian Basin. An integrated approach of characterizing bands and their effect on reservoir properties included measurements of natural gamma radioactivity and permeability using portable tools, along with bed dip and the count of DB across distinct facies. A set of core analyses was performed on outcrop plugs with and without bands to estimate the alteration of rock properties at the pore scale. Interpretation of outcrop gamma-ray data indicates the absence of bands in Balakhany sandstones containing shale volume greater than 18% for unconsolidated and 32% for calcite-rich facies. A high amount of calcite cement appears to increase the number of DB. A poor, positive trend between bed dip and DB concentration was identified. We show that net to gross, defined as the thickness fraction of sandstone bound by mudstones, is among the parameters controlling the occurrence of bands. Samples containing a single DB show a 33% and 3% decrease in permeability and porosity, respectively, relative to the host rock. We reveal a new set of lithological and petrophysical factors influencing DB occurrence. This study offers a direct tool that can be applied in subsurface reservoir analogs to predict the occurrence and concentration of DB and estimate their influence on rock properties.

Trends in Complementary Feeding Indicators and Intake from Specific Food Groups among Children Aged 6–23 Months in Bangladesh

The present study aims to comprehensively analyse trends in complementary feeding indicators (Introduction of solid, semi-solid, and soft foods at 6–8 months (INTRO), Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD), Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF) and Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD)) among children aged 6–23 months in Bangladesh. The study used data from four rounds (2007, 2011, 2014, and 2017–2018) of nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHSs). The Cochran–Armitage test was performed to capture the trends in complementary feeding practices and intake from specific food groups. BDHSs are periodically conducted cross-sectional surveys in all seven administrative divisions of Bangladesh. The present analysis was performed among 8116 children (1563 in 2007, 2137 in 2011, 2249 in 2014, and 2167 in 2017–2018) aged 6–23 months. Overall, a decreasing trend was observed in all the complementary feeding indicators except INTRO from 2007 to 2014, but a substantial increase in MDD, MMF and MAD was noted in 2017–2018. A statistically significant reduction in consumption from different food groups such as legumes and nuts (p < 0.001), dairy products (p = 0.001), vitamin-A-rich fruits or vegetables (p < 0.001), and other fruits and vegetables (p < 0.001) was also observed. However, a positive trend was noted in the consumption of grains/roots/tubers (p = 0.027), and meat/fish/egg (p < 0.001). After experiencing a significant decreasing trend during 2007–2014, the recent BDHS indicates improvements in all complementary feeding indicators among young children in Bangladesh, which calls for integrated, multisectoral, and multicomponent interventions to sustain this progress.

Higher Iron Intake Is Independently Associated with Obesity in Younger Japanese Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

We aimed to analyze the association between dietary iron intake and obesity assessed by BMI after adjustment for nutrient intake (macronutrients and fiber) and food groups. The study design was cross-sectional. Patients with type-2 diabetes (n = 1567; 63.1% males; mean age 62.3 ± 11.6 years) were included in the study. To assess diet, consumption of typical food groups was determined by a food frequency questionnaire. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. We performed a binary regression analysis between quartiles of iron intake and obesity by quartiles of age group. A direct linear association was found for the highest quartile of iron intake and obesity in the younger age group of 30 to 54 years (OR = 3.641, 95% CI = 1.020–12.990; p trend = 0.011). Multivariate analysis using food groups as opposed to nutrients revealed a positive trend for obesity in the younger age group after adjusting for lifestyle factors, energy intake and bean and vegetable intake (p trend = 0.023). In all participants, an inverse association was observed before adjustment by vegetable intake (OR = 0.453, 95% CI = 0.300–0.684; p trend = 0.001). Higher iron intake was associated with obesity independent of macronutrient and fiber intake but only in the youngest quartile of age group examined.