Is There a Reformation Into Identity Achievement for Life After Elite Sport? A Journey of Identity Growth Paradox During Liminal Rites and Identity Moratorium

Athletes’ identity development upon retirement from elite sport was examined through a model of self-reformation that integrates and builds on the theoretical underpinnings of identity development and liminality, while advancing seven propositions and supporting conceptual conjectures using findings from research on athletes’ transition out of sport. As some elite athletes lose a salient athletic identity upon retiring from sport, they experience an identity crisis and enter the transition rites feeling in between their former athletic identity and future identity post-sport life, during which a temporary identity moratorium status is needed for identity growth. Given the developmental challenges encountered in moratorium and psychosocial processes necessary to establish a new, fulfilling identity for life after elite sport, we identified key conditions, triggers, and processes that advance how a journey of identity growth paradox experienced during liminality serves as a catalyst toward identity achievement. Elite athletes must be encouraged to persevere in this challenging identity search and delay commitments for as long as it is necessary to achieve identity growth despite experiencing uncomfortable feelings of confusion, void, and ambiguity during the liminal phase. Reforming into an achieved identity for life after elite sport would corroborate the successful navigation of transition, as elite athletes evolved into a synthesized sense of self by cementing, through a negotiated adaptation pathway, constructed identity commitments that will provide new beginnings and meaningful directions to their life after elite sport.

Unknown negative genes in the positive RNA genomes of coronaviruses

Coronavirus family has a single-stranded RNA genome encoding 25-30 proteins in different viruses by the mechanism of positive-sense strategy. Extended open reading translation frames (genes) were found to locate under a negative-sense polarity in all coronaviruses genomes. These negative-sense genes varies in the range of 150-450 nt to encode negative genes polypeptides (NGP) with mol. wt. 5-30 kDa. It implies that coronaviruses besides positive genome strategy may have “a dark side of the Moon” expressing genes and virions through the negative strategy. It is noteworthy, that positive- and negative-sense genes colocolized in the same RNA regions of coronavirus genome, so called stacking genes. Ambisense stacking of genes in coronavirus genomes significantly increases virus diversity, genetic potential and extend virus-host adaptation pathway possibilities.

"The dark side of the Moon": unknown negative genes in the positive RNA genomes of coronaviruses

Coronavirus family has a single-stranded RNA genome encoding 25-30 proteins in different viruses by the mechanism of positive-sense strategy. Extended open reading translation frames (genes) were found to locate under a negative-sense polarity in all coronaviruses genomes. These negative-sense genes varies in the range of 150-450 nt to encode negative genes polypeptides (NGP) with mol. wt. 5-30 kDa. It implies that coronaviruses besides positive genome strategy may have “a dark side of the Moon” expressing genes and virions through the negative strategy. It is noteworthy, that positive- and negative-sense genes colocolized in the same RNA regions of coronavirus genome, so called stacking genes. Ambisense stacking of genes in coronavirus genomes significantly increases virus diversity, genetic potential and extend virus-host adaptation pathway possibilities.

The Framework for Generating Climate Risk Infographic and Applying to Risk Communication

<p>      Adaptation is an indispensable part of climate change impact, and risk assessment plays an important role between data arrangement and strategy planning. This study aims at developing a framework from risk assessment to information presentation, then applying to risk communication. This framework refers to Climate Risk Template, defining risk as to the integration of hazard, exposure and sensitivity; simultaneously, Climate Risk Template is an auxiliary tool basing on Climate Change Adaptation Six Steps(CCA6Steps), which is the systematic procedure to analyze risk and plan adaptation pathway. This study emphasized on landslide disaster as the key issue and selected community residents, roads as the protected targets. First of all, collate stimulated results of landslide potential evaluation and literature, cases, questionnaires which were probed into exposure and sensitivity. Next, establish a factors list of climate risk and giving weights to correlation factors by Entropy Method. Finally, use risk matrix to evaluate the risk value and present the results of risk assessment by infographic. For essentially helping on risk communication, this study proposes a framework to make the general public understand the causes of regional disaster risk and assists executive units to implement climate risk assessment and adaptation pathway planning. Eventually, the study will innovate a prototype of using this framework; therefore, users just have to write down the key issue, protected target and choose the composition factors of risk, then they can accomplish climate risk assessment and generate climate risk infographic by themselves.</p><p>Keywords: Climate risk template, Climate risk assessment, Risk communication, infographic</p>

Multi-purpose adaptation to SLR in Mediterranean urban coastal environments: the Barcelona case

<p>The coast around Barcelona can be considered a good paradigm of the highly pressured Mediterranean coastal zone. The combination of decreasing river sediment discharges, increasing urbanization and infrastructure development makes this a very sensitive coastline. If we also consider potential effects of SLR, future conditions will significantly worsen and, for urban coastal environments, this will be a significant challenge since natural and anthropic conditions will largely constrain the development and implementation of adaptation measures.</p><p>The coastal zone around Barcelona comprises different typologies which are common along the Mediterranean: (i) city front formed by artificial beaches; (ii) longshore transport (Sl) dominated coastline with different barriers and without accommodation space due to intensive urbanization and existing infrastructures (coastal railway); (iii) Sl-dominated coastline with accommodation space; (iv) harbor. This variability determines that current processes and hazards largely vary along the coast, and that expected SLR-induced impacts will also significantly vary. This variability is also found from the socio-economic standpoint, with different stakeholders with different interests and needs. Some examples are: the Barcelona municipality requiring healthy beaches to provide recreation space for beach users, and protection against storm impacts. The railway operator that needs to maintain overtopping rates below a given threshold to maintain train operability. Campsite owners requiring a stable coastline to have enough recreation space for clients (beach users) and to avoid infrastructure damages. In overall, the combination of hazards and stakeholders provides a wide range of (Mediterranean) conditions to be found in urban and periurban coastal environments and, in consequence, it is a good test site to develop general adaptation strategies for this kind of coasts.</p><p>Previous works have identified suitable adaptation measures: (i) a sediment management strategy to maintain beaches within a given status; (ii) a new spatial planning to promote the adaptation of uses in areas with existing accommodation space; (iii) accept to “sacrifice” some beaches in highly eroding zones; (iv) structures redevelopment to maintain targeted functionality. In order to develop an efficient and integrated adaptation strategy for the entire coast, it is necessary to build up an adaptation pathway incorporating different measures and their corresponding tipping points (ATP). The goal is to assess adaptation needs with time (to answer stakeholders’ needs), to determine ATPs, and to properly define adaptation measures. For this purpose, it is necessary to have detailed information on expected conditions (forcing, processes and hazards) taking place during the adaptation period. Within this context, this work will present a suitable adaptation pathway to this coastal stretch to SLR to maintain functions currently provided by the coast and considering stakeholders preferences and needs. Presented solutions could be used as an example for other Med urban coastal environments.   </p><p>This work was carried out within the framework of the M-CostAdapt (CTM2017-83655-C2-1-R) research project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE).</p>

Transcriptome analysis reveals microvascular endothelial cell-dependent pericyte differentiation

Microvascular homeostasis is strictly regulated, requiring close interaction between endothelial cells and pericytes. Here, we aimed to improve our understanding of how microvascular crosstalk affects pericytes. Human-derived pericytes, cultured in absence, or presence of human endothelial cells, were studied by RNA sequencing. Compared with mono-cultured pericytes, a total of 6704 genes were differentially expressed in co-cultured pericytes. Direct endothelial contact induced transcriptome profiles associated with pericyte maturation, suppression of extracellular matrix production, proliferation, and morphological adaptation. In vitro studies confirmed enhanced pericyte proliferation mediated by endothelial-derived PDGFB and pericyte-derived HB-EGF and FGF2. Endothelial-induced PLXNA2 and ACTR3 upregulation also triggered pericyte morphological adaptation. Pathway analysis predicted a key role for TGFβ signaling in endothelial-induced pericyte differentiation, whereas the effect of signaling via gap- and adherens junctions was limited. We demonstrate that endothelial cells have a major impact on the transcriptional profile of pericytes, regulating endothelial-induced maturation, proliferation, and suppression of ECM production.

ADAPTATION PATHWAY FOR A BARRIER ISLAND TO FUTURE HURRICANES

The numerical model XBeach is used to simulate hydrodynamics and morphological change of Bay Head, NJ, which is located on a developed barrier island. Bay Head is fronted with a seawall buried beneath its dunes, and the seawall has been shown to mitigate damage due to storm surge and waves during Hurricane Sandy (2012). The objective of this study is to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the seawall in mitigating damage from a synthetic storm and sea level rise, and refine an adaptation pathway previously created for Bay Head. Utilizing the wave and surge data generated from the North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study, synthetic Storm 391 is simulated using XBeach. Model results show the seawall is overtopped by storm surge and waves, causing overwash and reducing dune heights. As sea levels rise, the backbarrier region of the barrier island is severely eroded and the seawall acts as a barrier preventing elevated bay water levels from freely flowing across the island and into the ocean, exacerbating sediment transport on the backbarrier. To fully evaluate the capabilities and limitations of the seawall in mitigating storm damage, additional synthetic storms need to be simulated and the results re-evaluated. This will, in turn, lead to a comprehensive, more robust adaptation pathway for Bay Head.