Electronic sports (e-sports) is a growing entity that is estimated to be valued at USD $200 billion by the end of 2023. With the rapid rate of growth, it will come to a point that e-sports will need to be regulated including regulatory mechanisms of fair play, which includes sports doping. With the emergence of substances that provides unfair advantages in terms of concentration, staying awake and preventing anxiety including tremors, there is a need to regulate doping in e-sports. However, due to the nature of the sport, it might not be as straightforward to regulate as other sports.
Cu doped InVO4 (xCu-InVO4 (x = 0.06-0.15 wt %) was synthesized by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method for the removal of methylene blue (MB) under LED light irradiation. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated the coexistence of V5+ and V4+ species due to the O-deficient nature of the xCu-InVO4. The synthesized photocatalysts displayed a morphology of spherical and square shaped particles (20-40 nm) and micro-sized rectangle rods with a length range of 100-200 μm. The xCu-InVO4 exhibited superior adsorption and photodegradation efficiency compared to pristine InVO4 and TiO2 due to the presence of O2 vacancies, V4+/V5+ species, and Cu dopant. The optimum reaction conditions were found to be 5 mg L-1 (MB concentration), pH 6, and 100 mg of photocatalyst mass with a removal efficiency and mineralization degree of 100% and 96.67%, respectively. The main active species responsible for the degradation of MB were •OH radicals and h+. Reusability studies indicated that the 0.13Cu-InVO4 was deactivated after a single cycle of photocatalytic reaction due to significant leaching of V4+ and Cu2+ species.
Sports-related ocular traumas may be rare, but can have devastating and disabling consequences. The causes of eye-related injuries depend on the type of sports popular in a particular area or country. Badminton is a popular sport played by all age groups and socioeconomic segments and is popular in many parts of the world. It is most popular in South-East Asia, accounting for two-thirds of all ocular sports injury in Malaysia. In India, badminton has become quite popular in recent years. Shuttlecocks in badminton have been shown to be responsible for a high number of outpatient ocular sports-related, mostly blunt injuries. We report an unusual case of penetrating ocular injury due to a feather shuttlecock and its surgical management.
Interagency partnerships and collaborations underpin a settings-based approach to health promotion in all settings, including sport. This study used an online concept mapping approach to explore the challenges that Regional Sports Assemblies (RSAs) in Victoria, Australia experienced when working in partnerships to develop and deliver physical activity programs in a community sport context. Participants from nine RSAs brainstormed 46 unique partnership-related challenges that they then sorted into groups based on similarity of meaning and rated for importance and capacity to manage (6-point scale; 0 = least, 5 = most). A six cluster map (number of statements in cluster, mean cluster importance and capacity ratings)-Co-design for regional areas (4, 4.22, 2.51); Financial resources (3, 4.00, 2.32); Localised delivery challenges (4, 3.72, 2.33); Challenges implementing existing State Sporting Association (SSA) products (9, 3.58, 2.23); Working with clubs (8, 3.43, 2.99); and Partnership engagement (18, 3.23, 2.95)-was considered the most appropriate interpretation of the sorted data. The most important challenge was Lack of volunteer time (4.56). Partnerships to implement health promotion initiatives in sports settings involve multiple challenges, particularly for regional sport organisations working in partnership with community sport clubs with limited human and financial resources, to implement programs developed by national or state-based organisations.
This research aims to evaluate the effects of different cognitive training using imagery, general cognitive (CG) and specific cognitive (CS) (Paivio, 1985) to the achievement of service by the tekong in sepak takraw. The effects of imagery training with physical training towards achievement, imagery ability and exercise heart rate were also collected. The subjects consisted of 24 elite players sepak takraw (tekong) school level player that involved in Tunas Cemerlang program, aged 13 to 17 years old (M = 14.66, SD = 1.40). The subjects were divided into three groups, the test (CG & CS) and control (C) group with an exercise program to different imagery and physical training for eight weeks. Pre-test was conducted by testing the service performance appraisal based on the results of 25 landings repeated as in training, Miq-R questionnaire (Hall & Martin, 1997) and pulse rate immediately prior to the exercise of a service. ITP imagery training program adapted from Morris et at. (2005) was conducted using different imagery scripts for CG and CS groups and post-test was conducted at the end of the program. Independent samples t-test showed no significant difference when comparing the two test groups. Paired t-test and one-way ANOVA analysis showed that CG group significantly improved performance while not among C group. Analysis Miq-R and the average training heart rate is not significant for all subjects. The study has found that the imagery of CG and CS are not differed in terms of the effectiveness in improving achievement but both are suggested to be conducted in the training program to improve the service by the tekong.
Survey responses from a sample of nearly 15,000 Australian sports fans were used to study the determinants of: (i) gambling behaviour, including if a person does gamble and the type of gambling engaged with; (ii) the number of sports and non-sports bets made over a 12-month period; and (iii) attitudes towards betting on sports. The probability of betting on sports decreased with increasing age and was lower for women and people with a university education. This gender difference varied with age, with the greatest difference found among the young. Similar effects were observed for the number of sports bets made, which declined with age. The gender difference in the number of sports bets also varied with age with the greatest difference found among the young arising from the high propensity of young men to bet on sports. Attitudes to sports betting were also analysed, with a key finding that, within friendship circles, the views that sports betting is perceived as harmless, common and very much a part of enjoying sports were stronger among young men. These permissive attitudes were stronger among people who bet on sports and those who bet on sports more frequently. The analysis of sports fans provides insights into the characteristics of the target market most likely to bet on sports, which can be used to inform public health initiatives and harm reduction campaigns.
There are many problems in the routine badminton teaching; there are mainly three aspects in college teaching. One is that the hardware equipment related to badminton is not enough; the second is that the badminton teaching does not meet the educational goals; the third is that the participation of college students is not high, which is no longer suitable for the current practical teaching. In order to improve the teaching method of badminton and improve the students' special performance of badminton, this paper studies the teaching of badminton based on multimedia environment. 82 students majoring in badminton were randomly divided into two classes. The experimental class (n = 41) used multimedia badminton teaching, and the control class (n = 41) used traditional badminton teaching, which lasted for one semester. Before and after the experiment, the students' physical fitness and badminton performance were tested. And the two classes of students were to send questionnaires to investigate interest in learning badminton and teaching satisfaction. The results of standing long jump, 50 m, and 800 m of the experimental class were improved by 0.2 m, 1.13s, and 16.25s, respectively. This shows that the physical quality and badminton performance of the experimental class under the multimedia environment are better than those of the control class under the general teaching. In the experimental class, 16 students are very interested in learning badminton, and 22 students are very satisfied with the multimedia teaching method; in the control class, only 9 students are very interested in learning badminton, and only 13 students are very satisfied with the traditional teaching method, which shows that the interest and satisfaction of students in the experimental class under the multimedia environment are higher than those in the control class under the traditional teaching.
The gut microbiome is known to play an important role in the day-to-day physiology and health of the human host. It is, therefore, not surprising that there is interest surrounding the gut microbiome and its potential to benefit athletic health and performance. This has, in part, been driven by the consideration that gut bacterial by-products (i.e. metabolic waste) could be harnessed by the host and utilised for a beneficial outcome. The concept of harnessing bacterial metabolites as beneficial health modulators has developed the theory of leveraging short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as novel supplements for enhancing athletic performance. This review discusses the current literature investigating SCFA administration in cellular, animal, and human models, with the aim of linking the demonstrated physiological/biochemical mechanisms to potential exercise/athletic benefit. In addition, practical implications and factors relating to SCFA-supplementation in athletic populations are considered. The literature demonstrates a tangible rationale that SCFAs can have a positive impact on human physiology to afford benefits to the athletic population. These advantages include the capacity to improve respiratory immunity to combat elevated levels/severity of upper respiratory tract infections often reported in athletes; the blunting of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic pathways to aid in exercise recovery; and the role of SCFAs as usable energy sources and metabolism modulators to fuel exercise and improve performance and/or endurance capacity. However, there is currently minimal research completed in human participants and thus further investigations into the direct benefit of SCFAs in exercise performance and/or recovery-based studies are required.
Sports psychiatry is a young field of medicine and psychiatry that focuses on mental health among athletes, and sports and exercise within psychiatry and mental disorders. However, the development of sports psychiatry and its fields of activity vary from region to region and are not uniform yet. Sports psychiatry and the role of sports psychiatrists have also already been discussed in the field of sports and exercise medicine, and within medical teams in competitive and elite sports. A uniform definition on sports psychiatry, its fields of activity, sports psychiatrist, and the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities (plus attitudes, eKSA+A) of the sports psychiatrist were developed as part of an International Society for Sports Psychiatry (ISSP) Summit, as well as First International Consensus Statement on Sports Psychiatry. Three fields of activity can be distinguished within sports psychiatry: (i) mental health and disorders in competitive and elite sports, (ii) sports and exercise in prevention of and treatment for mental disorders, and (iii) mental health and sport-specific mental disorders in recreational sports. Each of these fields have its own eKSA+A. The definitions on sports psychiatry and sports psychiatrists, as well as the framework of eKSA+A in the different fields of activity of sports psychiatrists will help to unify and standardize the future development of sports psychiatry, establish a standard of service within sports psychiatry and together with the neighboring disciplines, and should be included into current, and future sports psychiatry education and training.
Herein, two stable lead(II) molecular-bowl-based metal-organic frameworks and their micro- and nanosized forms with open metal sites were presented. These materials could act as Lewis acid catalysts to cyanosilylation reaction. Moreover, the catalytic performances are size-dependent, with the catalyst with nanosized form being 1 order of magnitude more efficient than those with micro- and millisized forms.
Kajian ini adalah bertujuan untuk meneliti hubungan antara pengambilan kafein dan tahap keagresifan dalam kalangan atlet Kor SUKSIS. Kajian ini berbentuk kaedah tinjauan dengan menggunakan borang soal selidik berkaitan pengambilan kafein dan tahap keagresifan The Judgements About Moral Behavior in Youth Sport (JAMBYSQ). Peserta kajian terdiri daripada 80 orang atlet sukan berpasukan SUKSIS yang dipilih secara rawak. Data telah dianalisis menggunakan ujian statistik deskriptif, ujian t tidak bersandar dan korelasi Pearson. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa terdapat perbezaan signifikan (p = 0.014) bagi tahap kekerapan pengambilan kafein antara atlet lelaki (2.00 ± 0.87) dan atlet perempuan (1.50 ± 0.76). Selain itu, bagi tahap keagresifan pula tidak terdapat perbezaan signifikan antara atlet lelaki (3.37 ± 0.60) dan atlet perempuan (3.23 ± 0.66) serta tidak terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara pengambilan kafein dengan tahap keagresifan semasa bersukan (r = 0.024, n = 80, p =0.831). Kesimpulannya, walaupun kekerapan pengambilan kafein berbeza mengikut jantina tetapi ia tidak mempengaruhi tahap keagresifan dalam kalangan atlet Kor SUKSIS. Oleh itu, terdapat keperluan untuk mengkaji dos kafein yang sesuai yang dapat mencetus tahap keagresifan dalam kalangan atlet
It has been shown in previous studies that the flight trajectories of sports balls are influenced by their aerodynamic characteristics. These aerodynamic characteristics are primarily dependent on the physical shape and surface texture of the balls. Even though sepak takraw is well established as a sport, little is known regarding the aerodynamic characteristics of the sepak takraw ball, which has a rather complex shape and surface texture. Hence, the main objective of this research is to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics (specifically the drag and lift coefficients) and flow features of a modern sepak takraw ball commercially available in the market by means of numerical simulations and wind tunnel experiments using the smoke flow visualization technique. The aerodynamic characteristics and flow features of the ball are determined for non-spinning conditions at a wind speed of 3 m/s. It is found that the drag coefficient and lift coefficient of the sepak takraw ball is 0.4868400 and - 0.0130915, respectively. The images captured from the smoke flow visualization experiments reveal that the sepak takraw ball is in the subcritical flow regime at a wind speed of 3 m/s, which is the regime before the drag crisis. The laminar boundary layer separates from the upper and lower surfaces of the ball at points upstream of the equator of the ball, creating a large wake region downstream of the sepak takraw ball and resulting in high drag. This in turn, influences the trajectory of the sepak takraw ball in flight. The flow features observed from the smoke flow visualization experiments are representative of the flow during a sepak takraw game. Owing to the complexity of sepak takraw ball, it is recommended that the aerodynamic characteristics of the sepak takraw ball are investigated for spinning conditions in future studies.
Good badminton lunge skills have been quantitatively described using biomechanical attributes at both static and dynamic phases. The measurement of badminton lunge attributes has often been complicated by various experimental protocols used. No review article has considered or critically reviewed the attributes that align with badminton lunge performance. This paper, hence, presents a review of badminton lunge postures governed by various determinant attributes. This review was performed by involving a number of relevant search engines. A total of 21 articles that fulfilled the predefined inclusion criteria were analysed. The lunge determinant attributes, such as time, lunge distance, plantar, ground reaction force, joint, dynamic balance and muscle attributes, had been examined. Contradictory findings in the dynamic balance attributes, specifically the relative displacement between the centre of mass and the centre of pressure, are presented in this paper. The findings showed that time, lunge distance and ground reaction force determined lunge performance. On the other hand, plantar, joint, dynamic balance and muscle attributes appeared useful in minimising injuries to ensure efficient lunge performance.
Despite increasing publications in disability sport, no bibliometric analysis has been conducted to evaluate their impact.We conducted a systematic search of theWeb of Science Core Collection citation index on June 26, 2017 for publications published since 1980 to identify the top 50 most cited publications in disability sport. The top 50 cited publications were mainly articles and reviews published in the English language between 1993 and 2014. Most of the 148 authors who contributed to these publications were based in Europe and North America. The majority of the publications can be categorized as sociological and psychological as well as training and competition effects. The most researched events were the Paralympics and Special Olympics. These top-cited publications have contributed to the development of disability sport research.
Oxidation of o-xylene was performed using alkaline battery-based catalyst doped with platinum to investigate the properties and activities. O-xylene was selected as the model of volatile organic compound (VOC) in this work. Physicochemical properties of the selected catalysts were characterized by FE/TEM (field emission transmission electron microscopy), BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) analysis, XRD (X-ray powder diffraction), SEM/EDX (scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), and H2-TPR (hydrogen temperature programmed reduction). Major elements of the spent alkaline battery-based catalyst treated with sulfuric acid solution [SAB (400) catalyst] were manganese, zinc, iron, oxygen, carbon, chlorine, aluminum, sodium, silicon, and potassium. Increasing the doping amount of platinum on SAB (400) catalyst from 0.1 to 1 wt% increased particle size of platinum and lowered the temperature of TPR (TTP) for SAB (400) catalyst. Better redox properties were achieved with an increase in the o-xylene conversion according to the doping amount of platinum. When GHSV (gas hourly space velocity) was 40,000 h-1, o-xylene was oxidized completely over SAB (400) catalyst and 1.0 wt% Pt/SAB(400) catalyst at temperatures of 400 °C and 280 °C, respectively.
The deleterious effects of mental fatigue (MF) on athletes have been carefully studied in various sports, such as soccer, badminton, and swimming. Even though many researchers have sought ways to ameliorate the negative impact of MF, there is still a lack of studies that review the interventions used to counteract MF among athletes. This review aims to report the current evidence exploring the effects of interventions on MF and sport-specific performance, including sport-specific motor performance and perceptual-cognitive skills. Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and SPORTDicus (EBSCOhost) were combed through to find relevant publications. Additionally, the references and Google Scholar were searched for any grey literature. For the current review, we included only randomized controlled trials that involved athletes, a primary task to induce MF, interventions to counter MF with comparable protocols, and the outcomes of sport-specific motor performance and perceptual-cognitive skill. The selection criteria resulted in the inclusion of 10 articles. The manipulations of autonomous self-control exertion, person-fit, nature exposure, mindfulness, and transactional direct current stimulation showed that positive interventions counteract MF and improve sport-specific performance in different domains, including strength, speed, skill, stamina, and perceptual-cognitive skills. The selected interventions could significantly counteract MF and improve subsequent sport-specific performance. Moreover, self-regulation and attention resources showed the importance of the potential mechanisms behind the relevant interventions.