John Kiely

Background Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae is an uncommon zoonotic pathogen primarily associated with reptiles. While most infections are gastrointestinal, invasive infections such as bacteremia, osteomyelitis, meningitis, and septic arthritis have been reported, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. Pulmonary infections are exceedingly rare. Case Presentation A 66-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis on a TNF-α inhibitor presented with a two-week history of progressive cough and dyspnoea. She reported prolonged exposure to a pet snake. Sputum cultures confirmed S. enterica subsp. arizonae, with susceptibility to ciprofloxacin. Imaging revealed the right lower lobe infiltrates without cavitation. She was successfully treated with ciprofloxacin for two weeks, with resolution of symptoms. Conclusion This case highlights an uncommon presentation of Salmonella infection in an immunocompromised patient with bronchiectasis. With increasing exotic pet ownership, clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for S. arizonae in patients with known reptile exposure.

Background Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae is an uncommon zoonotic pathogen primarily associated with reptiles. While most infections are gastrointestinal, invasive infections such as bacteremia, osteomyelitis, meningitis, and septic arthritis have been reported, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. Pulmonary infections are exceedingly rare. Case Presentation A 66-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis on a TNF-α inhibitor presented with a two-week history of progressive cough and dyspnoea. She reported prolonged exposure to a pet snake. Sputum cultures confirmed S. enterica subsp. arizonae, with susceptibility to ciprofloxacin. Imaging revealed the right lower lobe infiltrates without cavitation. She was successfully treated with ciprofloxacin for two weeks, with resolution of symptoms. Conclusion This case highlights an uncommon presentation of Salmonella infection in an immunocompromised patient with bronchiectasis. With increasing exotic pet ownership, clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for S. arizonae in patients with known reptile exposure.

The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between, and within, drop jump (DJ) neuromuscular performance (NMP) qualities and maximal horizontal deceleration ability. We also compared DJ NMP qualities in “high” versus “low” horizontal deceleration ability athletes. Twenty‐nine university athletes performed: (1) DJs on force plates from 20 (DJ20) and 40 cm (DJ40) heights and (2) maximal horizontal deceleration, measured using radar, following a 20 m acceleration. Maximal horizontal deceleration was evaluated using deceleration (HDEC; m·s⁻²), across the entire deceleration phase and during early and late deceleration sub‐phases. Of the DJ variables assessed, DJ20 and DJ40 reactive strength index (RSI) and concentric mean force had the largest correlations with HDEC (r = −0.54 to −0.61) and the largest differences between high and low HDEC groups (d = 1.20 to 1.40). These correlations were stronger with the early than late HDEC sub‐phase (r = −0.54 to −0.66 vs. r = −0.24 to −0.40). Notably, eccentric mean force in DJ40 had large correlations with both DJ20 and DJ40 concentric mean force (r = 0.67 to 0.77), whereas at DJ20 these correlations were small (r = 0.22 to 0.40). Similarly, DJ40 eccentric mean force had a much larger difference between the high and low HDEC groups than DJ20 (d = 1.11 vs. 0.51). These findings suggest DJ RSI from either height may be used as a proxy for HDEC ability, while DJ kinetic analyses should use a higher height to distinguish those with a better capacity to generate eccentric braking forces under increased eccentric loading demands. HIGHLIGHTS: Players with greater drop jump reactive strength index (RSI) demonstrated superior horizontal deceleration ability. Drop jump RSI had a greater association with the early compared to the late horizontal deceleration sub‐phase. Of the drop jump kinetic variables examined, concentric mean force had the largest associations with horizontal deceleration ability.

Radar technology has the potential for providing new insights into maximal horizontal deceleration ability. This study aimed to investigate the intra- and inter-day reliability and sensitivity of kinematic and kinetic variables obtained from a novel, maximal horizontal deceleration test, using radar technology. Thirty-eight university sport athletes completed testing for intra-day analysis. Twelve of these participants also completed the deceleration test on a second day for inter-day analysis. The maximal horizontal deceleration test required participants to decelerate maximally following 20 m maximal horizontal sprint acceleration. Reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV%). Sensitivity was evaluated by comparing typical error (TE) to the smallest worthwhile change (SWC). A number of kinematic and kinetic variables had good (ICC > 0.75, CV < 10%) overall intra-day reliability, and were sensitive to detect small-to-moderate changes in deceleration performance after a single familiarisation session. Only kinetic variables had good overall inter-day reliability and were sensitive to detect moderate changes in deceleration performance. The utilisation of this test protocol to assess maximal horizontal deceleration can provide new insights into individual maximal horizontal deceleration capabilities. Future work using this or similar approaches may provide insights into the neuromuscular performance qualities needed to decelerate maximally.

There is a need to update scientific assumptions in sport to promote the critical thinking of scientists, coaches, and practitioners and improve their methodological decisions. On the basis of complex systems science and theories of biological evolution, a systematization and update of theoretical and methodological principles to transform the understanding of sports training is provided. The classical focus on learning/acquiring skills and fitness is replaced by the aim of increasing the diversity/unpredictability potential of teams/athletes through the development of synergies. This development is underpinned by the properties of hierarchical organization and circular causality of constraints, that is, the nestedness of constraints acting at different levels and timescales. These properties, that integrate bottom-up and top-down all dimensions and levels of performance (from social to genetic), apply to all types of sport, ages, or levels of expertise and can be transferred to other fields (e.g., education, health, management). The team as the main training unit of intervention, the dynamic concept of task representativeness, and the co-adaptive and synergic role of the agents are some few practical consequences of moving from training to synergizing.

Previous research describes dynamic stability and functional strength as key aetiological risk factors associated with lower limb non-contact musculoskeletal injury. Due to the multifactorial natur...

This investigation aimed to determine the countermovement jump (CMJ) neuromuscular performance (NMP) qualities that differentiate between athletes with high or low horizontal deceleration ability. Twenty-seven male university team sport athletes performed a CMJ on vertical axis force plates and a maximal horizontal deceleration following a 20 m maximal horizontal sprint acceleration. The instantaneous velocity throughout the maximal horizontal deceleration test was measured using a radar device. The deceleration ability was evaluated using the average deceleration (HDEC, m·s⁻²) and change in momentum—referred to as the horizontal braking impulse (HBI, N·s·kg⁻¹). Participants were dichotomised into high and low HDEC and HBI according to a median-split analysis, and CMJ variables calculated for the overall eccentric, eccentric-deceleration and concentric phases. When horizontal deceleration ability was defined by HDEC, the CMJ concentric (effect size (ES) = 0.95) and eccentric (ES = 0.72) peak forces were the variables with the largest difference between groups. However, when defined using HBI, the largest difference was the concentric (ES = 1.15) and eccentric (ES = −1.00) peak velocities. Only the concentric mean power was significantly different between the high and low groups for both HDEC (ES = 0.85) and HBI (ES = 0.96). These findings show that specific eccentric and concentric NMP qualities may underpin the horizontal deceleration abilities characterised by HDEC and HBI. Specific NMP training interventions may be beneficial to target improvements in either of these measures of horizontal deceleration abilities.

Elite athlete status is a partially heritable trait, as are many of the underpinning physiological, anthropometrical, and psychological traits that contribute to elite performance. In recent years, our understanding of the specific genetic variants that contribute to these traits has grown, such that there is considerable interest in attempting to utilise genetic information as a tool to predict future elite athlete status. In this review, we explore the extent of the genetic influence on the making of a sporting champion and we describe issues which, at present, hamper the utility of genetic testing in identifying future elite performers. We build on this by exploring what further knowledge is required to enhance this process, including a reflection on the potential learnings from the use of genetics as a disease prediction tool. Finally, we discuss ways in which genetic information may hold utility within elite sport in the future, including guiding nutritional and training recommendations, and assisting in the prevention of injury. Whilst genetic testing has the potential to assist in the identification of future talented performers, genetic tests should be combined with other tools to obtain an accurate identification of those athletes predisposed to succeed in sport. The use of total genotype scores, composed of a high number of performance-enhancing polymorphisms, will likely be one of the best strategies in the utilisation of genetic information to identify talent in sport.

Over the expanse of evolutionary history, humans, and predecessor Homo species, ran to survive. This legacy is reflected in many deeply and irrevocably embedded neurological and biological design features, features which shape how we run, yet were themselves shaped by running. Smoothness is a widely recognised feature of healthy, proficient movement. Nevertheless, although the term ‘smoothness’ is commonly used to describe skilled athletic movement within practical sporting contexts, it is rarely specifically defined, is rarely quantified and remains barely explored experimentally. Elsewhere, however, within various health-related and neuro-physiological domains, many manifestations of movement smoothness have been extensively investigated. Within this literature, smoothness is considered a reflection of a healthy central nervous system (CNS) and is implicitly associated with practiced coordinated proficiency; ‘non-smooth’ movement, in contrast, is considered a consequence of pathological, un-practiced or otherwise inhibited motor control. Despite the ubiquity of running across human cultures, however, and the apparent importance of smoothness as a fundamental feature of healthy movement control, to date, no theoretical framework linking the phenomenon of movement smoothness to running proficiency has been proposed. Such a framework could, however, provide a novel lens through which to contextualise the deep underlying nature of coordinated running control. Here, we consider the relevant evidence and suggest how running smoothness may integrate with other related concepts such as complexity, entropy and variability. Finally, we suggest that these insights may provide new means of coherently conceptualising running coordination, may guide future research directions, and may productively inform practical coaching philosophies.