Abstract: The present subject matter relates to methods and systems for assessing an athlete's risk of injury and for determining athletic performance training and treatment programs. The methods and systems comprise a series of observational and objective medical tests, recorded electronically through a customized software and mobile application package, which allows for pre-diagnosis of or propensity for potential injury. Test results are collected, analyzed and then used to recommend both treatment and performance training recommendations for the purposes of safety and athletic performance enhancement.

Abstract: Provided is a method of developing user-generated challenges in a virtual environment. The method includes receiving registration information transmitted over a communication network, validating the registration information, establishing a user account on a computer and associating a first virtual character with the user account. A user is granted access to a course creation tool comprising a plurality of different course portions that are to be arranged in the virtual environment to construct a course to be navigated from a start point to an end point. Included along the course, to be encountered by another virtual character between the starting point and the end point, is a challenge region that is to interfere with a progression of the another virtual character along the course in a direction generally toward the end point. Two or more virtual obstacles represented by icons are selectable for inclusion in the challenge region.

Abstract: A method of rejecting insoluble impurities during the production of sodium carbonate from trona ore comprising removal of minus 10 micrometer insoluble impurities from a calcined, crushed trona feed stream, slurried feed stream, and/or recrystallized slurried feed stream with the resulting sodium carbonate product containing less than about 0.2% insoluble impurities.

Abstract: A method for solution mining nahcolite, capable of extracting nahcolite from geological formations lean in nahcolite comprising injecting high pressure water (which may include recycled aqueous solution of bicarb and sodium carbonate) at a temperature of at least 250° F. into the formation, dissolving nahcolite in the hot water to form a production solution and recovering the production solution. The invention also includes the processing of the production solution to provide sodium carbonate and, optionally, sodium bicarbonate, comprising: decomposing the sodium bicarbonate portion of the hot aqueous production solution to form a hot aqueous solution of sodium carbonate; evaporating water from the hot aqueous solution comprising sodium carbonate to form a concentrated solution of sodium carbonate; producing sodium carbonate monohydrate from the concentrated solution of sodium carbonate by crystallization; and dewatering and calcining the sodium carbonate monohydrate to produce anhydrous sodium carbonate.