Effects of Psychological Capital and Sport Anxiety on Sport Performance in Collegiate Judo Athletes.

Objectives: In this paper, we explore the relationship between the psychological capital, sport anxiety, and sport performance of collegiate judo athletes. Methods: The research object is the collegiate first-division judo athletes in Taiwan. Convenience sampling was used to conduct an online survey. A total of 106 questionnaires were issued, 102 valid questionnaires were returned, and the effective response rate was 96.23%. The data were analyzed by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The psychological capital of collegiate judo athletes has a significant positive impact on sport performance; moreover, the sport anxiety of collegiate judo athletes has a significant negative impact on psychological capital. Through psychological capital, sport performance can be improved. Therefore, psychological capital has an intermediary effect. Conclusion: This study shows the higher the level of mental capital of collegiate judo athletes, the better the positive impact on sport performance; in addition, the higher the sport anxiety, the lower the psychological capital. However, sport anxiety can improve sport performance through psychological capital; therefore, we recommend that the training plan of collegiate judo athletes focus on strengthening the athletes' mental skills to improve their sport performance.

Associations between Water Quality Measures and Chronic Kidney Disease Prevalence in Taiwan.

To determine the relationships between exposure to environmental contaminants in water and chronic kidney disease (CKD), we investigated the associations of 61 water attributes with the prevalence of CKD and End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) using data from 2005 to 2011 from all 22 counties and cities in the main island of Taiwan. We acquired patient information from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database to calculate the age-standardized CKD and ESRD prevalence rates and linked the patients' residences to the water quality monitoring data, which were sampled periodically for a total of over 45,000 observations obtained from the Taiwan Environmental Water Quality Information Database. The association analysis adjusting for gender, age, and annual effects showed that the zinc (Zn), ammonia, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and dissolved oxygen in rivers were weakly correlated with CKD (τ = 0.268/0.250/0.238/-0.267, p = 6.01×10-6/2.52×10-5/6.05×10-5/3.30×10-5, respectively), but none for ESRD. The importances of Zn and COD in rivers were also demonstrated in a CKD regression model. Moreover, an unusually high CKD prevalence was related to arsenic contamination in groundwater. A further prospective cohort study would improve our understanding of what level of environmental water with risky properties could affect the development of CKD.