The Effect of a Competitive Futsal Match on Psychomotor Vigilance in Referees

Purpose: Referees’ physical and cognitive performance are important for successful officiating in team sports. There is a lack of research on cognitive performance in referees in general, and none in Futsal. The aim of the present study was to assess referees’ performance on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) before and after competitive Futsal matches during the FA National Futsal League 2015/16. Methods: Fourteen Futsal referees (mean ± SD: age 34.3 ± 10.0 years) from the FA National Futsal Group were included. The referees were required to undertake a 10-minute PVT at 60 minute before the match kick-off time (pre-test) and immediately after matches (post-test). They also completed the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) questionnaire before the pre-match PVT and after the post-match PVT. Result: Data were analysed by paired t-tests comparing pre- and post-match results. There was a significant difference in BRUMS parameters vigour (9.5 ± 2.5 pre- vs 6.3 ± 2.4 post-match, p = 0.001) and fatigue (1.4 ± 1.3 pre- vs 5.6 ± 3.1 post-match, p < 0.001). However, PVT performance was significantly improved (mean reaction time 248.3 ± 26.2 ms pre- vs 239.7 ± 22.4 ms post-match, p = 0.023). Conclusions: The present results show, contrary to our initial hypothesis, that psychomotor performance is improved as opposed to decreased after a single match. The post-match improvement suggests that exercise can acutely enhance cognitive performance, which could be used to inform warm-up practices (e.g. optimal duration and intensity) geared towards optimising cognitive performance of referees during matches

Woodland birds and rural towns: artificial clutch survival in fragmented Box-Ironbark forests

Woodland birds are declining throughout the agricultural landscapes of south-eastern Australia, but the specific mechanisms driving these declines remain unclear. Reproductive failure via clutch depredation could conceivably contribute to these declines. Although site-scale habitat may influence the risk of clutch failure, larger-scale influences, such as whether a landscape contains a rural town or not (&lsquo;landscape type&rsquo;), may also play a role. This study monitored artificial open-cup nests deployed in three pairs of the two landscape types and: 1) indexed clutch survival and predator assemblage; and 2) determined if clutch survival was influenced by landscape type and/or local habitat characteristics. High levels of clutch depredation were observed in both landscape types and for all landscapes, with no evidence to suggest that landscape type or habitat characteristics influenced clutch survival or the time-to-first-predator visit. Predator assemblage also was consistent between landscape types. Generalist avian predators were the most common egg predators. Such egg predators may be ubiquitous throughout the fragmented Box-Ironbark woodlands of south-eastern Australia

BET inhibition as a single or combined therapeutic approach in primary paediatric B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Paediatric B-precursor ALL is a highly curable disease, however, treatment resistance in some patients and the long-term toxic effects of current therapies pose the need for more targeted therapeutic approaches. We addressed the cytotoxic effect of JQ1, a highly selective inhibitor against the transcriptional regulators, bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family of proteins, in paediatric ALL. We showed a potent in vitro cytotoxic response of a panel of primary ALL to JQ1, independent of their prognostic features but dependent on high MYC expression and coupled with transcriptional downregulation of multiple pro-survival pathways. In agreement with earlier studies, JQ1 induced cell cycle arrest. Here we show that BET inhibition also reduced c-Myc protein stability and suppressed progression of DNA replication forks in ALL cells. Consistent with c-Myc depletion and downregulation of pro-survival pathways JQ1 sensitised primary ALL samples to the classic ALL therapeutic agent dexamethasone. Finally, we demonstrated that JQ1 reduces ALL growth in ALL xenograft models, both as a single agent and in combination with dexamethasone. We conclude that targeting BET proteins should be considered as a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of paediatric ALL and particularly those cases that exhibit suboptimal responses to standard treatment