Perceptions and Determinants of Eating for Health and Performance in High-Level Male Adolescent Rugby Union Players

Sports nutrition recommendations provide guidance on dietary strategies to optimise sports performance. However, research indicates that young athletes often find it difficult to follow these guidelines in practice. Limited research exists on the determinants that influence adherence to sports nutrition guidelines. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and determinants of eating for health and performance in high-level male adolescent rugby union players. Determinants were explored using semi-structured individual interviews in New Zealand high-level male rugby union players (n = 20, 16⁻18 years). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then underwent thematic analysis. Perceptions of eating for health and performance included balance and variety, appropriate portions, and specific foods. Both adolescent- and sport-specific determinants influenced the food choices of participants. Determinants relevant to adolescent lifestyles included the influence of significant others such as peers and family but also included the taste, cost, convenience, and availability of food. Sports-specific determinants revolved around the desire to enhance sports performance, motivation to perform, and team culture. The media (mainstream and social media), physical appearance, and feeling good were identified as both adolescent- and sport-specific factors influencing food choice. These findings highlight the importance of having support and positive role modelling to help young athletes make optimal food choices for health and performance. Strategies to further enable healthy eating practices should aim to strengthen the support available to young athletes in the home, school, and sporting environments and should include education on appropriate social media use to inform eating for health and performance

Transformation Pathways of Silica under High Pressure

Concurrent molecular dynamics simulations and ab initio calculations show that densification of silica under pressure follows a ubiquitous two-stage mechanism. First, anions form a close-packed sub-lattice, governed by the strong repulsion between them. Next, cations redistribute onto the interstices. In cristobalite silica, the first stage is manifest by the formation of a metastable phase, which was observed experimentally a decade ago, but never indexed due to ambiguous diffraction patterns. Our simulations conclusively reveal its structure and its role in the densification of silica.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Histological heterogeneity of glomerular segmental lesions in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) involves considerable histological heterogeneity in terms of location and quality of the glomerular segmental lesions. The present study investigated the heterogeneity of segmental lesions in each variant of FSGS, determined by the Columbia classification, and its clinical relevance. All glomerular segmental lesions of 80 cases of primary FSGS were evaluated histologically based on location [tip (TIP), perihilar (PH), or not otherwise specified (NOS)], and quality (cellular or fibrous). Among the 1,299 glomeruli of the 80 biopsy specimens, 210 glomeruli (16.2%) had segmental lesions, comprising 57 (27%) cellular TIP, 4 (2%) fibrous TIP, 42 (20%) cellular NOS, 86 (41%) fibrous NOS, and 21 (10%) fibrous PH lesions. Each case was also classified into one of the five histological variants of the Columbia classification: collapsing (COL), TIP, cellular (CEL), PH, or NOS. Overlap of segmental lesions in different location categories was seen in the COL, TIP, and PH variants, and heterogeneity of quality was apparent in the COL and CEL variants. Histological findings of the CEL variant (endocapillary hypercellularity) were observed in nine of the 13 COL variants. Both location and quality correlated with disease duration, degree of proteinuria, and histological severity of global glomerular sclerosis and tubulo-interstitial lesions. These results demonstrated the histological heterogeneity of glomerular segmental lesions in all variants of the Columbia classification, except NOS. However, the fidelity of location and dominance of histological features were generally conserved in the TIP and PH variants. The COL and CEL variants warrant further investigation because of their overlapping histological findings and apparent histological heterogeneity in the glomerular segmental lesions

Inhibition of Y1 receptor signaling improves islet transplant outcome

Failure to secrete sufficient quantities of insulin is a pathological feature of type-1 and type-2 diabetes, and also reduces the success of islet cell transplantation. Here we demonstrate that Y1 receptor signaling inhibits insulin release in β-cells, and show that this can be pharmacologically exploited to boost insulin secretion. Transplanting islets with Y1 receptor deficiency accelerates the normalization of hyperglycemia in chemically induced diabetic recipient mice, which can also be achieved by short-term pharmacological blockade of Y1 receptors in transplanted mouse and human islets. Furthermore, treatment of non-obese diabetic mice with a Y1 receptor antagonist delays the onset of diabetes. Mechanistically, Y1 receptor signaling inhibits the production of cAMP in islets, which via CREB mediated pathways results in the down-regulation of several key enzymes in glycolysis and ATP production. Thus, manipulating Y1 receptor signaling in β-cells offers a unique therapeutic opportunity for correcting insulin deficiency as it occurs in the pathological state of type-1 diabetes as well as during islet transplantation.Islet transplantation is considered one of the potential treatments for T1DM but limited islet survival and their impaired function pose limitations to this approach. Here Loh et al. show that the Y1 receptor is expressed in β- cells and inhibition of its signalling, both genetic and pharmacological, improves mouse and human islet function.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Concussion and long-term cognitive function among rugby players-The BRAIN Study

OBJECTIVE: The BRAIN Study was established to assess the associations between self-reported concussions and cognitive function among retired rugby players. METHODS: Former elite-level male rugby union players (50+ years) in England were recruited. Exposure to rugby-related concussion was collected using the BRAIN-Q tool. The primary outcome measure was the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (PACC). Linear regressions were conducted for the association between concussion and PACC score, adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: A total of 146 participants were recruited. The mean (standard deviation) length of playing career was 15.8 (5.4) years. A total of 79.5% reported rugby-related concussion(s). No association was found between concussion and PACC (β -0.03 [95% confidence interval (CI): -1.31, 0.26]). However, participants aged 80+ years reporting 3+ concussions had worse cognitive function than those without concussion (β -1.04 [95% CI: -1.62, -0.47]). CONCLUSIONS: Overall there was no association between concussion and cognitive function; however, a significant interaction with age revealed an association in older participants

ADAM8 in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a retrospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAMs) have been associated with multiple malignancies. ADAMs are involved in cell fusion, cell migration, membrane protein shedding and proteolysis. ADAM8 has been found to be overexpressed in squamous cell carcinomas of the lung. A new study showed that ADAM8 is significantly overexpressed in metastasis of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We determined ADAM8 levels in the serum of 79 HNSCC patients at the time of diagnosis, in 35 patients 3 months after treatment and in 10 patients 1 year after therapy and compared the results to the sera of 31 healthy volunteers. We also constructed tissue microarrays to detect ADAM8 immunohistochemically in 100 patients. The results were correlated with the survival data of the patients to determine the diagnostic and prognostic value.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The data demonstrated that patients with high ADAM8 expression in the tumor have worse survival rates. We found that high ADAM8 serum levels correlated with high ADAM8 expression in tumor samples. Soluble ADAM8 levels did not show any prognostic or diagnostic properties.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In summary ADAM8 expression is a prognostic factor for survival of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.</p

Insights from Amphioxus into the Evolution of Vertebrate Cartilage

Central to the story of vertebrate evolution is the origin of the vertebrate head, a problem difficult to approach using paleontology and comparative morphology due to a lack of unambiguous intermediate forms. Embryologically, much of the vertebrate head is derived from two ectodermal tissues, the neural crest and cranial placodes. Recent work in protochordates suggests the first chordates possessed migratory neural tube cells with some features of neural crest cells. However, it is unclear how and when these cells acquired the ability to form cellular cartilage, a cell type unique to vertebrates. It has been variously proposed that the neural crest acquired chondrogenic ability by recruiting proto-chondrogenic gene programs deployed in the neural tube, pharynx, and notochord. To test these hypotheses we examined the expression of 11 amphioxus orthologs of genes involved in neural crest chondrogenesis. Consistent with cellular cartilage as a vertebrate novelty, we find that no single amphioxus tissue co-expresses all or most of these genes. However, most are variously co-expressed in mesodermal derivatives. Our results suggest that neural crest-derived cartilage evolved by serial cooption of genes which functioned primitively in mesoderm

The ethics of digital well-being: a multidisciplinary perspective

This chapter serves as an introduction to the edited collection of the same name, which includes chapters that explore digital well-being from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, psychology, economics, health care, and education. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to provide a short primer on the different disciplinary approaches to the study of well-being. To supplement this primer, we also invited key experts from several disciplines—philosophy, psychology, public policy, and health care—to share their thoughts on what they believe are the most important open questions and ethical issues for the multi-disciplinary study of digital well-being. We also introduce and discuss several themes that we believe will be fundamental to the ongoing study of digital well-being: digital gratitude, automated interventions, and sustainable co-well-being