‘School, family and then hockey!’ Coaches’ views on dual career in ice hockey

Despite the extensive research into coaches’ roles in supporting athletic development and motivation for sport, few studies have examined coaches’ attitudes and practices towards athletes’ dual careers. The present study extends European research into athletes’ dual careers by examining Finnish ice hockey coaches’ attitudes and practices surrounding players’ education. Ten male coaches aged 27–52 participated in semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed with an existential-narrative theoretical framework and with thematic and structural narrative analysis. Three composite vignettes were created entitled ‘supporting athletic development and players in reaching their own goals’, ‘enjoyment and physically active lifestyle’ and ‘developing good persons’. The analysis revealed that although all coaches embraced the official rhetoric where school is a priority over ice hockey, most of them had few practical examples of how this view had informed their coaching practice. It is concluded that young players may be easily lured into dreams of professionalism, whereas coaches’ dominant narrative of education as a back-up may be ineffective to spark athletes’ interest and engagement with education. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017

Understanding elite rugby league players' experience of collision, effective contact coaching techniques, and player contact psychology: A focus group study

The current study performed a series of online focus groups to understand elite rugby league players’ experiences of collision. Eighteen rugby league players comprising different playing positions from four teams were recruited to participate in a series of online focus groups, via the Microsoft Team’s platform, facilitated by a moderator. Players were competing in Europe’s elite rugby league competition, the European Super League (ESL), during the 2021 season. All focus group data were transcribed, coded and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis guide to ensure robust exploring, interpreting and reporting through pattern-based analysis. The findings are split into five key themes: 1) the three-man tackle – the perceived optimal defensive strategy with simultaneous contact, 2) not all collisions are the same; matchplay events change the collision intensity, 3) bracing and blindsiding – two factors that influence experiences of collision and concussion, 4) coaching philosophies and orientations, 5) psychological readiness for collision. Collision sports have an inherent risk of injury; however, in some players’ subjective experiences, there are collision types that have a greater association with risk or intensity (blind-sided collisions or long closing distances). It is essential that future research comprehends the effects of these collision types and the further themes

Cyclophyllidea van Beneden in Braun, 1900

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Neuronal circuitry for pain processing in the dorsal horn

Neurons in the spinal dorsal horn process sensory information, which is then transmitted to several brain regions, including those responsible for pain perception. The dorsal horn provides numerous potential targets for the development of novel analgesics and is thought to undergo changes that contribute to the exaggerated pain felt after nerve injury and inflammation. Despite its obvious importance, we still know little about the neuronal circuits that process sensory information, mainly because of the heterogeneity of the various neuronal components that make up these circuits. Recent studies have begun to shed light on the neuronal organization and circuitry of this complex region

Building a tool to overcome barriers in research-implementation spaces: The conservation evidence database

Conservation practitioners, policy-makers and researchers work within shared spaces with many shared goals. Improving the flow of information between conservation researchers, practitioners and policy-makers could lead to dramatic gains in the effectiveness of conservation practice. However, several barriers can hinder this transfer including lack of time, inaccessibility of evidence, the real or perceived irrelevance of scientific research to practical questions, and the politically motivated spread of disinformation. Conservation Evidence works to overcome these barriers by providing a freely-available database of summarized scientific evidence for the effects of conservation interventions on biodiversity. The methods used to build this database – a combination of discipline-wide literature searching and subject-wide evidence synthesis – have been developed over the last 15 years to address the challenges of synthesizing large volumes of evidence of varying quality and measured outcomes. Here, we describe the methods to enhance understanding of the database and how it should be used. We discuss how the database can help to expand multi-directional information transfers between research, practice and policy, which should improve the implementation of evidence-based conservation and, ultimately, achieve better outcomes for biodiversity

Adherence to self-managed exercises for patients with persistent subacromial pain: the Ad-Shoulder feasibility study

© 2021, The Author(s). Background: Exercise is recommended for patients with subacromial pain. It has been suggested that good exercise adherence improves clinical outcomes. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the need for behavioural frameworks to enhance adherence to home exercise programmes for patients with subacromial pain. Methods: A feasibility study with pre-post design was used. Participants aged > 18 years, with subacromial pain, who had received conservative treatment during the past 6 months, were recruited. The Ad-Shoulder intervention consisted of 1–5 individual sessions provided over 3 months and was based on 5 self-management skills, which aimed to enhance the patients’ self-efficacy and adherence to self-managed exercises. The primary objectives were assessed according to predefined progression criteria: (1) the recruitment rate (10 patients enrolled within 12 weeks), (2) follow-up rate (≥ 80% on all self-reported measures), (3) objective physical activity measures (≥ 80% of participants would contribute valid data at each time point), (4) adherence with the self-managed exercises (≥ 80% of the participants would adhere to ≥ 80% of the assigned home exercise programme), (5) fidelity of the delivery of the intervention (the therapists delivered the intervention according to the protocol) and (6) adverse events (< 30% would report adverse events (including mild)). The results were reported using descriptive statistics. Results: Eleven patients were recruited during 16 weeks. Ten patients completed the self-reported measures at baseline and week 12. Objective physical activity measures were successfully obtained for 100% (11/11) at baseline, 64% (7/11) at week six and 82% at week 12. Fifty-five percent (6/11) of the participants satisfactorily completed at least 80% of their home exercise programme. All sessions were delivered according to the protocol. None of the patients reported any adverse events. Conclusions: Objective physical activity data measures at baseline and week 12, follow-up, the physiotherapists’ fidelity to the intervention and adverse events met our pre-specified progression criteria. Recruitment and adherence to the self-managed exercise programme were both below the anticipated level. Further intervention development is necessary to understand whether adherence to the self-managed exercises could be enhanced and additional methods of recruitment would need to be considered, including additional recruitment sites, in any planning for a future main trial. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04190836, Registered December 9, 2019—retrospectively registered

Topological crystalline insulator states in Pb(1-x)Sn(x)Se

Topological insulators are a novel class of quantum materials in which time-reversal symmetry, relativistic (spin-orbit) effects and an inverted band structure result in electronic metallic states on the surfaces of bulk crystals. These helical states exhibit a Dirac-like energy dispersion across the bulk bandgap, and they are topologically protected. Recent theoretical proposals have suggested the existence of topological crystalline insulators, a novel class of topological insulators in which crystalline symmetry replaces the role of time-reversal symmetry in topological protection [1,2]. In this study, we show that the narrow-gap semiconductor Pb(1-x)Sn(x)Se is a topological crystalline insulator for x=0.23. Temperature-dependent magnetotransport measurements and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrate that the material undergoes a temperature-driven topological phase transition from a trivial insulator to a topological crystalline insulator. These experimental findings add a new class to the family of topological insulators. We expect these results to be the beginning of both a considerable body of additional research on topological crystalline insulators as well as detailed studies of topological phase transitions.Comment: v2: published revised manuscript (6 pages, 3 figures) and supplementary information (5 pages, 8 figures

Study protocol: a mixed methods feasibility study for a loaded self-managed exercise programme for patellofemoral pain

Background: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is one of the most common forms of knee pain in adults under the age of 40, with a prevalence of 23% in the general population. The long-term prognosis is poor, with only one third of people pain-free 1 year after diagnosis. The biomedical model of pain in relation to persistent PFP has recently been called into question. It has been suggested that interventions for chronic musculoskeletal conditions should consider alternative mechanisms of action, beyond muscles and joints. Modern treatment therapies should consider desensitising strategies, with exercises that target movements and activities patients find fearful and painful. High-quality research on exercise prescription in relation to pain mechanisms, not directed at specific tissue pathology, and dose response clearly warrants further investigation. Our primary aim is to establish the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a definitive RCT which will evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a loaded self-managed exercise programme for people with patellofemoral pain. Method: This is a single-centred, multiphase, sequential, mixed-methods trial that will evaluate the feasibility of running a definitive large-scale randomised controlled trial of a loaded self-managed exercise programme versus usual physiotherapy. Initially, 8–10 participants with a minimum 3-month history of PFP will be recruited from an NHS physiotherapy waiting list and interviewed. Participants will be invited to discuss perceived barriers and facilitators to exercise engagement, and the meaning and impact of PFP. Then, 60 participants will be recruited in the same manner for the main phase of the feasibility trial. A web-based service will randomise patients to a loaded self-managed exercise programme or usual physiotherapy. The loaded self-managed exercise programme is aimed at addressing lower limb knee and hip weakness and is positioned within a framework of reducing fear/avoidance with an emphasis on self-management. Baseline assessment will include demographic data, average pain within the last week (VAS), fear avoidance behaviours, catastrophising, self-efficacy, sport and leisure activity participation, and general quality of life. Follow-up will be 3 and 6 months. The analysis will focus on descriptive statistics and confidence intervals. The qualitative components will follow a thematic analysis approach. Discussion: This study will evaluate the feasibility of running a definitive large-scale trial on patients with patellofemoral pain, within the NHS in the UK. We will identify strengths and weaknesses of the proposed protocol and the utility and characteristics of the outcome measures. The results from this study will inform the design of a multicentre trial

Multiplex Zymography Captures Stage-specific Activity Profiles of Cathepsins K, L, and S in Human Breast, Lung, and Cervical Cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cathepsins K, L, and S are cysteine proteases upregulated in cancer and proteolyze extracellular matrix to facilitate metastasis, but difficulty distinguishing specific cathepsin activity in complex tissue extracts confounds scientific studies and employing them for use in clinical diagnoses. Here, we have developed multiplex cathepsin zymography to profile cathepsins K, L, and S activity in 10 μg human breast, lung, and cervical tumors by exploiting unique electrophoretic mobility and renaturation properties.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Frozen breast, lung, and cervix cancer tissue lysates and normal organ tissue lysates from the same human patients were obtained (28 breast tissues, 23 lung tissues, and 23 cervix tissues), minced and homogenized prior to loading for cathepsin gelatin zymography to determine enzymatic activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cleared bands of cathepsin activity were identified and validated in tumor extracts and detected organ- and stage-specific differences in activity. Cathepsin K was unique compared to cathepsins L and S. It was significantly higher for all cancers even at the earliest stage tested (stage I for lung and cervix (n = 6, p < .05), and stage II for breast; n = 6, p < .0001). Interestingly, cervical and breast tumor cathepsin activity was highest at the earliest stage we tested, stages I and II, respectively, and then were significantly lower at the latest stages tested (III and IV, respectively) (n = 6, p < 0.01 and p < 0.05), but lung cathepsin activity increased from one stage to the next (n = 6, p < .05). Using cathepsin K as a diagnostic biomarker for breast cancer detected with multiplex zymography, yielded 100% sensitivity and specificity for 20 breast tissue samples tested (10 normal; 10 tumor) in part due to the consistent absence of cathepsin K in normal breast tissue across all patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To summarize, this sensitive assay provides quantitative outputs of cathepsins K, L, and S activities from mere micrograms of tissue and has potential use as a supplement to histological methods of clinical diagnoses of biopsied human tissue.</p

Bcl-2 protein family: Implications in vascular apoptosis and atherosclerosis

Apoptosis has been recognized as a central component in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, in addition to the other human pathologies such as cancer and diabetes. The pathophysiology of atherosclerosis is complex, involving both apoptosis and proliferation at different phases of its progression. Oxidative modification of lipids and inflammation differentially regulate the apoptotic and proliferative responses of vascular cells during progression of the atherosclerotic lesion. Bcl-2 proteins act as the major regulators of extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis signalling pathways and more recently it has become evident that they mediate the apoptotic response of vascular cells in response to oxidation and inflammation either in a provocative or an inhibitory mode of action. Here we address Bcl-2 proteins as major therapeutic targets for the treatment of atherosclerosis and underscore the need for the novel preventive and therapeutic interventions against atherosclerosis, which should be designed in the light of molecular mechanisms regulating apoptosis of vascular cells in atherosclerotic lesions