Developmental Regulation of an Adhesin Gene during Cellular Morphogenesis in the Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Feasibility of aspirin and/or vitamin D3 for men with prostate cancer on active surveillance with Prolaris® testing

OBJECTIVES: To test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of aspirin and/or vitamin D3 in active surveillance (AS) low/favourable intermediate risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients with Prolaris® testing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Newly-diagnosed low/favourable intermediate risk PCa patients (PSA ≤ 15 ng/ml, International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Grade Group ≤2, maximum biopsy core length <10 mm, clinical stage ≤cT2c) were recruited into a multi-centre randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (ISRCTN91422391, NCT03103152). Participants were randomised to oral low dose (100 mg), standard dose (300 mg) aspirin or placebo and/or vitamin D3 (4000 IU) versus placebo in a 3 × 2 factorial RCT design with biopsy tissue Prolaris® testing. The primary endpoint was trial acceptance/entry rates. Secondary endpoints included feasibility of Prolaris® testing, 12-month disease re-assessment (imaging/biochemical/histological), and 12-month treatment adherence/safety. Disease progression was defined as any of the following (i) 50% increase in baseline PSA, (ii) new Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 4/5 lesion(s) on multi-parametric MRI where no previous lesion, (iii) 33% volume increase in lesion size, or radiological upstaging to ≥T3, (iv) ISUP Grade Group upgrade or (v) 50% increase in maximum cancer core length. RESULTS: Of 130 eligible patients, 104 (80%) accepted recruitment from seven sites over 12 months, of which 94 patients represented the per protocol population receiving treatment. Prolaris® testing was performed on 76/94 (81%) diagnostic biopsies. Twelve-month disease progression rate was 43.3%. Assessable 12-month treatment adherence in non-progressing patients to aspirin and vitamin D across all treatment arms was 91%. Two drug-attributable serious adverse events in 1 patient allocated to aspirin were identified. The study was not designed to determine differences between treatment arms. CONCLUSION: Recruitment of AS PCa patients into a multi-centre multi-arm placebo-controlled RCT of minimally-toxic adjunctive oral drug treatments with molecular biomarker profiling is acceptable and safe. A larger phase III study is needed to determine optimal agents, intervention efficacy, and outcome-associated biomarkers

Progress and prospects for event tourism research

This paper examines event tourism as a field of study and area of professional practice updating the previous review article published in 2008. In this substantially extended review, a deeper analysis of the field’s evolution and development is presented, charting the growth of the literature, focusing both chronologically and thematically. A framework for understanding and creating knowledge about events and tourism is presented, forming the basis which signposts established research themes and concepts and outlines future directions for research. In addition, the review article focuses on constraining and propelling forces, ontological advances, contributions from key journals, and emerging themes and issues. It also presents a roadmap for research activity in event tourism

Testing the relationships among involvement, sponsorship perceived fit and intention to purchase sponsors’ products: The case of esports tournament viewers

Purpose: Despite fast developments in esports sponsorship, limited research exists in the area of sponsorship evaluation in the esports context. The purpose of the present study was to test the relationships among esports involvement, sponsorship perceived fit, and viewers’ intention to buy the sponsor’s products, and examine the degree to which perceived fit mediates the relationship between the involvement dimensions and intention. Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on the theoretical model of sponsorship effects proposed by Wakefield et al. (2020) and obtained quantitative data from sampling esports viewers (n=285). Statistical analysis was carried out in three steps. Beyond the descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the goodness of fit of the measurement model. The mediation analysis was performed at the end of the study. Findings: The results supported the impact of one of the esports involvement dimensions (i.e., self-expression) on both perceived fit and esports viewers’ intentions to buy sponsors’ products. Involvement (self-expression) was found to have both direct and indirect relationships, through perceived fit, on purchase intentions. The study provided support for the associations among esports involvement dimensions, sponsorship perceived fit and purchase intentions. Originality/value: It is the first study to test a sponsorship evaluation model in the context of esports users. It does so by including a more detailed measurement of involvement (with threedimensions) in the hypothesized model. Practical implications: The practitioners should first consider the involvement profile of esports viewers. The more involved viewers will be more likely to have positive perceptions about the fit between the esports tournament and the sponsor

Segmenting Fitness Center Customers: Leveraging Perceived Ethicality for Enhanced Loyalty, Trust, and Word-of-Mouth Communication

In an era marked by a growing emphasis on business ethics and sustainability, fitness centers face a compelling need to align their practices with their members’ perceived ethical values. To explore the role of ethics in the fitness industry’s expanding business landscape, this study draws upon established theories in consumer-perceived ethicality (CPE), business ethics, and customer segmentation strategies. The paper’s objectives were to adapt and validate the CPE scale for the Greek context and categorize fitness center members based on their perceived ethicality and to examine the impact of perceived ethicality on loyalty, word-of-mouth communication, and trust towards fitness centers. The research involved 286 fitness center members who completed a questionnaire measuring CPE, loyalty, trust, and word-of-mouth communication. Utilizing clustering analysis, two distinct consumer segments emerged, each demonstrating unique patterns of perceived ethicality. Intriguingly, both the high- and low-CPE groups assigned considerable importance to word-of-mouth communication, followed by trust and loyalty. These findings provide valuable insights for businesses in the fitness industry seeking to enhance their ethical reputation and bolster customer retention. Furthermore, the translated CPE scale holds the potential to contribute significantly to the ongoing discourse on consumer behavior regarding business ethics and sustainability within the fitness sector

Sport Tourism as Driving Force for Destinations&rsquo; Sustainability

Sport tourism is a fast-growing segment of tourism offering new perspectives and supporting travelers&rsquo; behavior shift towards active living that is a boost for sustainable destinations. These interrelations between active living, active travelling, and sport tourism have a powerful environmental, economic, and social impact. Based on the recognized contribution of sport tourism in sustaining destinations, the current paper aims to (a) explore the state of sport tourism in the Adriatic&ndash;Ionian Region by identifying existing sport tourism initiatives, (b) analyze the current and future potentials of sport tourism in the area&rsquo;s sustainable growth, and (c) draw policy recommendations for sport tourism development in the region with a view to support the wider vision of sustainability. The review of existing sport tourism cases, revealing an existing investment towards this tourism form, was followed by a qualitative survey of the area&rsquo;s tourism stakeholders (Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia). Results reveal that sport tourism is estimated to help in building a unique identity closely linked to sustainability goals&mdash;the area represents a great natural and cultural beauty that can be emphasized by sport initiatives, while, once such efforts are incorporated in wider sustainability plans, the destinations&rsquo; profiles can be significantly upgraded

Exploring factors that predict repeated participation in running events in five European countries. Results from the Run for Health project (R4H).

Aim and research questions First, the study aims to investigate how the corona crisis and its related lockdown has/had an impact on sports participation in Flanders, Belgium, and which types of sports participants can be discerned. Second, we will focus on whether and to what extent different population segments are affected by the corona measures. Theoretical background and literature review In Flanders, i.e. the Dutch-speaking, northern part of Belgium, research has shown that before the corona crisis, 63 percent of the Flemish inhabitants aged 15 to 86 practice sport at least once a year (Scheerder et al., 2015), while for children aged 6 to 18 this equals 92 percent (Scheerder et al., 2013). Additionally, in order to take health recommendations into consideration, sports participation research should also focus on the frequency at which people are actively engaged in sports (Scheerder et al., 2019). It is believed that the Covid-19 disease has a major impact on physical activity behaviour and sports participation (Hammami et al., 2020; Parnell et al., 2020). At the 18th of March, social and public life paused in Belgium, as from that moment the corona restrictions started. The corona measures implied that people were only allowed to be physically active in their neighbourhood, with no other people except for members of their household, while at the same time usage of public sports infrastructure was forbidden. This meant that, from the installation of the corona measures onwards, only walking, running and cycling were allowed in public area. Later, non-motorised physical activities such as roller-skating and skateboarding were permitted too. The current study therefore aims to develop a typology of corona sports participants, as one can expect that sports participants are affected differently by the corona measures. Second, pre-corona studies demonstrated that not all segments in society have equal access to sports participation. For Flanders it has been shown that younger adults, men, higher educated people, and parents who do not have (younger) children are more likely to partake in sports (Hickey & Mason, 2017; Scheerder et al., 2015). The question raises whether the corona lockdown strengthened or weakened such social stratification patterns. Moreover, since the lockdown some population segments have more spare time left, as they do not have to commute, have no social obligations or are temporally unemployed, while on the contrary other groups, among which parents with school-aged children, can be expected to face additional barriers to engage in sports. Research design, methodology and data analysis A compact online sports participation questionnaire was carried out between March 30 and April 5, 2020, resulting in 13,515 valid responses. Data have been weighted based on gender, age, educational level and having at home living children or not, such that the data are representative for the Flemish population. A canonical correlation method has been performed to define specific types of sports participants, while logistic regressions are used to determine which social groupings belong to the different segments. Results/findings and discussion The results demonstrate that, on average, the sports participation frequency rose among adults (36% is more sports active, against 23% that is less sports active). Nevertheless, 75 percent indicates that they miss their pre-corona sports participation habits. Regarding children, the figures show that they are less sports active than they were before the corona restrictions (28% is more active, but 55% is less). Types that have been identified are the sports club members, event and non-organised sports participants. We will present an in-depth understanding of how the different sports segments have been affected during the corona measures. Conclusion, contribution and implication At the moment of resubmission (June 15th) the lockdown measures have been loosened, also for sports participation. Given the health aspects that are associated with sports participation, it is important for policy makers to get insight into how sports participation has been affected by the restrictions and among which groups these changes have been most severe. The typology proposed in our study might be an effective tool based on which the impact of the lockdown measures on sports participation behaviour, and the potential benefits/risks associated with (lack of) sports, can be analysed.edition: European sport management virtual conference book of abstractsstatus: publishe

Glycyrrhizin-Based Hydrogels Accelerate Wound Healing of Normoglycemic and Diabetic Mouse Skin

Efficient wound repair is crucial for mammalian survival. Healing of skin wounds is severely hampered in diabetic patients, resulting in chronic non-healing wounds that are difficult to treat. High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an important signaling molecule that is released during wounding, thereby delaying regenerative responses in the skin. Here, we show that dissolving glycyrrhizin, a potent HMGB1 inhibitor, in water results in the formation of a hydrogel with remarkable rheological properties. We demonstrate that these glycyrrhizin-based hydrogels accelerate cutaneous wound closure in normoglycemic and diabetic mice by influencing keratinocyte migration. To facilitate topical application of glycyrrhizin hydrogels on cutaneous wounds, several concentrations of glycyrrhizinic acid in water were tested for their rheological, structural, and biological properties. By varying the concentration of glycyrrhizin, these hydrogel properties can be readily tuned, enabling customized wound care