ABSTRACT
Background and Study Aims: Materials and Methods: Results: Conclusions: In sports, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected variables such as training, recovery or athletes' sleep quality, uncertainty about the future generating distress and anxiety in athletes. There are two cognitive purpose of the current study: knowledge about the subjectively experienced stress in martial arts athletes from selected Europe Union countries during the 4th wave of the pandemic;and knowledge of the likely of using coping strategies, and if so, with what frequency. Three hundred and forty-one competitive martial arts athletes from Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain were investigated (female n = 129, male n = 212). The athletes represented (according to division of the combat sports under forms of the direct confrontation): workings of weapons (fencing);hits (boxing, karate, kickboxing, Muay Thai, taekwondo);throws and grips of immobilisation of opponent's body (Brazilian jiu-jitsu, freestyle wrestling, judo) were investigated. In this paper we analyse workings of weapons and hits as conventional "striking combat sports” SCS (in consequence FSCS or MSCS – for female and male respectively), while throws and grips of immobilization of opponent's body as "grappling combat sports” GCS (FGCS and MGCS respectively). The Perception of Stress Questionnaire was used to measure intrapsychic stress, external stress and emotional tension in athletes, while through the Brief COPE questionnaire the frequency of use of 14 coping strategies was examined. The highest intrapsychic stress levels, during the 4th wave of the pandemic, were registered by Slovak athletes, external stress was the highest among Italian martial arts athletes, while the highest emotional tension levels were reported by Latvian athletes. The lowest values were observed in Lithuanian martial arts athletes, in all three stress dimensions. Also, martial arts athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 reported significantly higher levels of stress and used (during the 4th wave) more frequent denial, behavioural disengagement and less frequent positive reframing (as coping strategies). Gender and type of sport-dependent strategies to deal with stress were discussed: FSCS group used less frequently emotion-focused coping strategies than male athletes from both MSCS and MGCS (apparently a surprising result), and with a higher frequency dysfunctional coping strategies. No important differences were found between the four investigated groups of athletes MGCS, MSCS, FGCS and FSCS) with respect to the problem-focused coping strategies. Martial arts (combat sports) athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 reported significantly higher levels of intrapsychic stress, emotional tension and external stress, compared to athletes which reported that they have not suffered from COVID-19. Denial and behavioural disengagement (as dysfunctional coping strategies) were more frequent among athletes which reported that they were sick with COVID-19, while positive reframing was significantly less used. The research can be of interest for martial arts athletes, coaches, parents and sports psychologists seeking to promote the most effective strategies to deal with negative stress, if the pandemic will have long-term consequences for athletes' mental health and well-being. © ARCHIVES OF BUDO ;HEALTH PROMOTION AND PREVENTION.
ABSTRACT
In this article's Data Availability Statement, the URL to the replication code was missing. Find the full Data Availability Statement below along with the link to the openly available code on GitHub. Data Availability Statement. If possible, results of computed indicators or aggregated statistics will be made available through the website of the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) or the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). Details of methodologies employed for computing indicators can be found on the World Bank COVID19 Mobility Task Force Github repository. Code adjusted for running a system under PURA is maintained on the University of Tokyo's Spatial Data Commons Github repository and can be found here: https://github.com/SpatialDataCommons/CDR-wb-indicators-package. © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Applied Probability Trust.
ABSTRACT
This case study investigates the magnitude and nature of the spatial effect generated by the anti-COVID measures on land surface temperature (LST) in the city of Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely), Romania. The measures were taken by the Romanian government during the state of emergency (March 16 - May 14, 2020) due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic. The study shows that - contrary to previous studies carried out on cities in China and India in most of the urban areas of Marosvasarhely LST has increased in the period of health emergency in 2020 concerning the large average of the years 2000-2019. Remote sensing data from the MODIS and the Landsat satellites show. that MODIS data, having a moderate spatial (approximately 1 km) but good temporal resolution (daily measurements), show a temperature increase of +0.78 degrees C, while Landsat data, having better spatial (30 m) but lower temporal resolution, show an even greater increase, +2.36 degrees C in the built-up areas. The difference in temperature increase is mainly due to the spatial resolution difference between the two TIR band sensors. The LST anomaly analysis performed with MODIS data also shows a positive anomaly increase of 1 degrees C. However, despite this increase, with the help of the hotspot-coldspot analysis of the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic we were able to identify 46 significant coldspots that showed a 1- 2 degrees C decrease of LST in April 2020 compared to the average of the previous years in April. Most of these coldspots correspond to factory areas, public transport epicenters, shopping centers, industrial polygons. and non-residential areas. This shows that anti-COVID measures in the medium-sized city of Marosvasarhely had many effects on LST in particular areas that have links to the local economy, trade. and transport. Paired sample t-test for areas identified with LST decrease shows that there is a statistically significant difference in the average LST observed before and after anti-COVID measures were applied. MODIS-based LST is satisfactory for recognizing patterns and trends at large or moderate geographical scales. However, for a hotspot-coldspot analysis of the urban heat islands, it is more suitable to use Landsat data.
ABSTRACT
Referring to a total lockdown due to COVID-19 in Metropolitan France, this study investigates the geospatial correlation between nighttime light emission and the relative change of NO2 air pollution (dNO(2) %). To address the research problem, near-surface NO2 data and nighttime light data were implemented. Stable night lights were obtained for a long period on average (2014-2019) using Day-Night Band (DNB) data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The relative change in tropospheric NO2 was calculated using Sentinel-5P satellite data from the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI). The dNO(2) calculation was performed considering an equivalent reference period (April 2019) to the major lockdown period in France (April 2020). The correlation between the variables DNB nighttime lights and dNO(2) was tested with a statistical T-test. The findings revealed an intense phenomenon of decreasing NO2 air pollution in France (decreases by -25% to -50%). Decreases < -50% were mainly recorded in the greater Paris metropolitan area, in Alsace, and other locations. The results showed a strong and statistically significant inverse geospatial correlation between the two variables under anti-COVID-19 control measures. The higher was the emission of nighttime lights, the higher was the degree of tropospheric NO2 decrease in the regions of France (R-2 =0.72). It is concluded that employing remote sensing techniques, DNB nighttime light is a reliable indicator to estimate the degree of air decontamination. DNB as an independent variable is recommended for future research on changes in the concentration of other pollutant gases.
ABSTRACT
Background and Study Aims: Materials and Methods: Success in sports among athletes on a similar level of skill can depend on individual differences in experienced stress and coping strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many areas of life, including sports. The aim of the current study was to verify two hypotheses: (H1) emotional tension, external stress, and intrapsy-chic stress among martial arts athletes will be significantly higher during the height of the pandemic than in the pre-pandemic period;(H2) martial arts athletes will less frequently use problem-focused strategies of coping with stress, such as active coping and planning, during the height of the pandemic. The study used the Perception of Stress Questionnaire measuring the following dimensions of stress: emotional tension, external stress, and intrapsychic stress. Coping strategies were measured with the Brief COPE questionnaire distinguishing 14 coping strategies. Seven hundred and eighty-one athletes (including 116 martial arts athletes) from Poland, Romania, and Slovakia took part in the study in the pre-pandemic period. During the height of the pandemic, athletes from Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Spain took part in the study (n = 1,032, including 396 martial arts athletes). Results: Conclusions: Higher levels of emotional tension, external stress, and intrapsychic stress were observed among Polish and Romanian martial arts athletes in the pre-pandemic period. Stress levels were higher before the pandemic than during its peak, when the lowest levels of emotional tension and external stress were reported by martial arts athletes in Romania, and the highest – in Lithuania and Spain. On the other hand, the lowest levels of intrapsychic stress were reported by martial arts athletes in Poland, and the highest – in Lithuania. Key gen-der-dependent strategies of coping with stress were identified. Male and female martial arts athletes used denial, focus on and venting of emotions, substance use, and acceptance. Additionally, men used self-blame and women used behavioural disengagement. The effects of the pandemic do not involve an increase in subjectively perceived psychological stress among martial arts athletes from countries variously affected by the pandemic. The use of maladaptive coping strategies – denial, substance use, venting negative emotion etc. – allows for lowering the subjectively experienced stress (the emotional tension, external stress and intrapsychic stress) of martial arts athletes. It was the use of these strategies which facilitated lower stress levels. The second hypothesis, that martial arts athletes will less frequently use problem-focused strategies of coping with stress, such as active coping and planning, during the height of the pandemic, was confirmed. © 2020, the Authors. Published by Archives of Budo.