Predicting Dropout From Organized Football: A Prospective 4-Year Study Among Adolescent and Young Adult Football Players

Previous studies have shown that enjoyment is one of the key predictors of dropout from organized sport, including organized football. However, prospective studies, particularly studies focused on long-term dropout, are largely lacking. Drawing on the basic principles of interdependence theory, in the present prospective study among 1,762 adolescent and young adult football players (27.1% women, mean age 17.74 years, SD = 1.35), we tested the predictive value of sport enjoyment, perceived alternatives, and restraining forces on football players' short-term (6 months) and long-term (4 years) dropout from organized football. As anticipated, the results of the logistic regression and follow-up analyses indicate that players' enjoyment was the main predictor of (short-term and long-term) dropout. In addition, relative to remainers, dropouts perceived more alternatives in terms of other sports, had fewer family members involved in their football club, and were older at the time they started playing organized football. We conclude that particularly measures aimed at enhancing sport enjoyment may prevent players from dropping out from organized football in both the short and long term. In addition, dropout rates may be reduced by attracting and engaging youth at a very young age (from 6 years), and their siblings, parents, and other family members as well.

The Disconnect Between Short- and Long-Term Population Projections for Plant Reintroductions

The reintroduction of rare species in natural preserves is a commonly used restoration strategy to prevent species extinction. An essential first step in planning successful reintroductions is identifying which life stages (e.g., seeds or large adults) should be used to establish these new populations. Following this initial establishment phase, it is necessary to determine the level of survival, growth, and recruitment needed to maintain population persistence over time and identify management actions that will achieve these goals. In this 5-year study, we projected the short- and long-term population growth rates of a critically endangered long-lived shrub, Delissea waianaeensis. Using this model system, we show that reintroductions established with mature individuals have the lowest probability of quasi-population extinction (10 individuals) and the highest increase in population abundance. However, our results also demonstrate that short-term increases in population abundances are overly optimistic of long-term outcomes. Using long-term stochastic model simulations, we identified the level of natural seedling regeneration needed to maintain a positive population growth rate over time. These findings are relevant for planning future reintroduction efforts for long-lived species and illustrate the need to forecast short- and long-term population responses when evaluating restoration success.

Effectiveness of Nutritional Strategies on Improving the Quality of Diet of Children from 6 to 12 Years Old: A Systematic Review

Dietary habits, that are formed during childhood and consolidated in adulthood, are known to influence the development of future chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes. The aim of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional interventions carried out in recent years focused on improving the quality of the diet of the child population. A systematic search of the PubMed and Scopus databases was performed from January 2011 until September 2021. A total of 910 articles were identified and screened based on their title, abstract and full text. Finally, 12 articles were included in the current systematic review. Of those, in six studies the intervention was based on the provision of healthy meals and in the other six studies the intervention focused on modifying the school environment. Six of the studies selected included other components in their intervention such as nutritional education sessions, physical activity and/or families. A wide variety of methods were used for diet assessments, from direct method to questionnaires. The results suggest that interventions that modify the school environment or provide different meals or snacks may be effective in improving children’s dietary patterns, both in the short and long term. Further research is necessary to evaluate the real effectiveness of strategies with multidisciplinary approach (nutritional sessions, physical activity and family’s involvement).

Infraorbital Hyaluronic Acid Filler: Common Aesthetic Side Effects with Treatment and Prevention Options

Background Infraorbital hollows can give a fatigued or aged appearance which can be treated by volumizing the segmented transition from the tear trough to the cheek with hyaluronic acid filler. Due to thin skin and the complex anatomy of the infraorbital area, both short- and long-term side effects from this treatment are very common. While some patients are clear surgical candidates vs. filler candidates, in real-world practice, many, if not most patients are on a continuum where either procedure is appropriate, and the treatment decision is individualized based on each person’s risk vs. benefit profile. Objectives Common aesthetic side effects from hyaluronic acid filler treatment in the infraorbital area will be reviewed, including their etiology, prevention, detection, and treatment. Method The authors’ experience from injecting the infraorbital areas of more than 800 patients in private clinical practice and observations from both short and long-term follow ups over eight years is leveraged to provide detailed guidance. Results Recommendations on injection techniques, patient selection, and patient education are presented along with algorithms for the prevention and management of bruising, short- and long-term swelling, bumps, and blue discoloration (which is usually secondary to swelling from the filler rather than just the filler alone placed or migrating too superficially). Conclusion For nearly all patients, complete dissolution of filler with hyaluronidase is not required to address the issue, and the guidelines provided here will assist clinicians in management of side effects to increase patient satisfaction with their treatment and aesthetic outcome.

Attachment and grief in young adults after the loss of a close friend: a qualitative study

Background Although many lose a close friend each year, they are seldom the focus of grief research. However, these losses often cause severe and long-lasting reactions. Deaths among adolescents and young adults are also often caused by traumatic events, e.g. from accidents, suicides, and homicides, placing them at significant risk for complicated grief reactions. The focus of this paper is bereaved friends after the shootings at Utøya, Norway in 2011, which is among a few studies that focus on bereaved friends, exploring how attachment affects the grief process after the loss of a close friend. Methods This paper explores qualitative data from in-depth interviews with thirteen bereaved friends, conducted about 28 months after the loss. The interview sample consisted of eight females and five males, aged 18–31 years. The interviews were semi-structured, with a theme guide of 14 questions, and the method used for analyses was systematic text condensation. Results Two main themes were identified from the analyses of the interviews: Friendship and Grief, with the subordinate themes: The importance of the friendship, Longing and remembrance, How the loss has affected other relationships, How the loss has affected the friend’s daily lives, Processing of the grief and Not being family. For most of the bereaved friends the loss and the grief had a profound effect on them and their overall lives, from daily functioning in school or at work, to changes in attitudes, and the way they were met as bereaved. Conclusions The support, intimacy, and feelings of togetherness we share with our friends are of great importance and value for all people, but maybe especially for young people. When adolescents and young adults experience losses, their reactions are often intense and long-lasting, and especially complicated grief reactions can affect school performance and concentration, health, result in emotional problems; and disrupt development (e.g. identity formation and social skills). We don’t know much about the grief of bereaved friends and how their reactions can be explained. Thus, we hope that these findings could shed light on their grief reactions, and provide new knowledge on the short- and long-term psychological impact of losses of friends.

Lidar-derived aerosol concentration and their relationship with horizontal winds over an urban location

Lidar-derived aerosol vertical profiles obtained at Pune, a low latitude tropical station, on about 535 days during a ten-year period (1987 – 96) along with simultaneous pilot-balloon wind (speed and direction) data of India Meteorological Department, Pune have been used in the study to investigate the influence of horizontal winds on the aerosol characteristics in the lower atmosphere. Aerosol column content in the atmospheric boundary layer (surface to 1100 m altitude above ground-level) as well as aerosol number density at the surface level (at 50 m) showed relatively higher values over the lidar site whenever the winds were blowing from the main urban and industrial regions of the city of Pune. This effect was found to be more pronounced during the winter season. Wind speeds also correlate well with increased aerosol loading, but only during selected high wind speed episodes. Thus the study shows that the short- and long-term increases in aerosol concentration/loading over the observation site are, to a large extent, influenced by horizontal winds in the surface layers and this in turn, can be attributed to the increasing human/urban activity around the lidar site over the years.