A Social Identity Approach to Sport Psychology: Principles, Practice, and Prospects.

Drawing on social identity theory and self-categorization theory, we outline an approach to sport psychology that understands groups not simply as features of sporting contexts but rather as elements that can be, and often are, incorporated into a person's sense of self and, through this, become powerful determinants of their sport-related behavior. The underpinnings of this social identity approach are outlined, and four key lessons for sport that are indicative of the analytical and practical power of the approach are presented. These suggest that social identity is the basis for sports group (1) behavior, (2) formation and development, (3) support and stress appraisal, and (4) leadership. Building on recent developments within sport science, we outline an agenda for future research by identifying a range of topics to which the social identity approach could fruitfully contribute

A Microbiological Map of the Healthy Equine Gastrointestinal Tract.

Horses are exquisitely sensitive to non-specific gastrointestinal disturbances as well as systemic and extraintestinal conditions related to gut health, yet minimal data are available regarding the composition of the microbiota present in the equine stomach, small intestine, and cecum and their relation to fecal microbiota. Moreover, there is minimal information regarding the concordance of the luminal and mucosal microbial communities throughout the equine gut. Illumina-based 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of the luminal and mucosal microbiota present in seven regions of the gastrointestinal tract of nine healthy adult horses revealed a distinct compositional divide between the small and large intestines. This disparity in composition was more pronounced within the luminal contents, but was also detected within mucosal populations. Moreover, the uniformity of the gut microbiota was much higher in the cecum and colon relative to that in the stomach, jejunum and ileum, despite a significantly higher number of unique sequences detected in the colon. Collectively, the current data suggest that while colonic samples (a proxy for feces) may provide a reasonable profile of the luminal contents of the healthy equine large intestine, they are not informative with regard to the contents of the stomach or small intestine. In contrast to the distinct difference between the highly variable upper gastrointestinal tract microbiota and relatively uniform large bowel microbiota present within the lumen, these data also demonstrate a regional continuity present in mucosal microbial communities throughout the length of the equine gut

Prehabilitation in patients undergoing colorectal surgery fails to confer reduction in overall morbidity : results of a single-center, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial

Objective: Patients undergoing major surgery are prone to a functional decline due to the impairment of muscle, cardiorespiratory and neurological function as a response to surgical stress. Currently, there are solely weak recommendations in the ERAS protocol regarding the role of preoperative physical activity and prehabilitation in patients undergoing colorectal surgery. Studies in heterogenous cohorts showed contradictory results regarding the impact of prehabilitation on the reduction of postoperative complications. This randomized controlled trial assesses the impact of prehabilitation on postoperative complications in patients undergoing colorectal surgery within an ERAS protocol. Methods: Between July 2016 and June 2019, a single-center, single-blinded , randomized controlled trial designed to test whether physiotherapeutic prehabilitation vs. normal physical activities prior to colorectal surgery may decrease morbidity within a stringent ERAS protocol was carried out. The primary endpoint was postoperative complications assessed by Comprehensive Complications Index (CCI®). Primary and secondary endpoints for both groups were analyzed and compared. Results: A total of 107 patients (54 in the pERACS and 53 in the control cohort) were included in the study and randomized. Dropout rate was 4.5% (n = 5). Mean age (SD) in the control cohort was 65 (29–86) and 66 (24–90) years in pERACS cohort. The pERACS cohort contained more female patients (40% vs. 55%, p = 0.123) and a higher percentage of colorectal adenocarcinoma (32% vs. 23%, p = 0.384) although not significant. Almost all patients underwent minimally invasive surgery in both cohorts (96% vs 98%, p = 1.000). There was no between-cohort difference in the primary outcome measure 30-day Comprehensive Complications Index (15 [0 – 49] vs. 18 [0 – 43], p = 0.059). Secondary outcome as complications assessed according to Clavien-Dindo, length of hospital stay, reoperation rate and mortality showed no difference between both cohorts. Conclusion: Routine physiotherapeutic prehabilitation cannot be recommended for patients undergoing colorectal surgery within an ERAS protocol (Grade A recommendation). To eliminate other confounders like geographical difference or difference in surgical technique, further multicenter RCTs are needed