Motion analysis of elite Polish soccer goalkeepers throughout a season

The study aims were to determine the distance covered by goalkeepers during matches in the context of game duration and result, to identify the area of their most frequent activity, and to assess goalkeepers' involvement in games finished with a win, draw, or loss. The investigation was based on two innovative tools: the goalkeeper's activity index (GAI) and an analysis of 5-min periods. A video tracking system was used to monitor 17 goalkeepers from Polish National League teams during 15 matches. The GAI was applied to assess their involvement in the game. Elite goalkeepers covered 72.7%, 25.8%, and 2.5% of the distance during the game by walking/jogging, running, and sprinting, respectively. The distances covered in lost, won, and drawn matches turned out similar (mean \ub1 SD: 4800 \ub1 906 m, 4696 \ub1 1033 m, and 4660 \ub1 754 m, respectively). There were no significant differences between the distances covered in the first and second halves. The area of most frequent activity was the middle sector of the penalty area between the goal and penalty area lines. ANOVA results showed that in drawn matches, goalkeepers' activity significantly differed in mean values of the GAI in comparison with that in won and lost games (p = 0.034, p = 0.039, respectively). It was noted that goalkeepers tended to intervene more often in games where their team was winning rather than in those with a losing result. Their direct involvement in defending the goal was the lowest in drawn games

Preferential consolidation of emotional reactivity during sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Many studies have investigated whether sleep affects cognitively unmodulated reactivity to emotional stimuli. These studies operationalize emotion regulation by using subjective and/or objective measures to compare pre- and post-sleep reactivity to the same emotional stimuli. Findings have been inconsistent: some show that sleep attenuates emotional reactivity, whereas others report enhanced or maintained reactivity. Across-study methodological differences may account for discrepant findings. To resolve the questions of whether sleep leads to the attenuation, enhancement, or maintenance of emotional reactivity, and under which experimental conditions particular effects are observed, we undertook a synthesized narrative and meta-analytic approach. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases for relevant articles, using search terms determined a priori and search limits of language = English, participants = human, and dates = January 2006–June 2021. Our final sample included 24 studies that investigated changes in emotional reactivity in response to negatively and/or positively valenced material compared to neutral material over a period of sleep compared to a matched period of waking. Primary analyses used random effects modeling to investigate whether sleep preferentially modulates reactivity in response to emotional stimuli; secondary analyses examined potential moderators of the effect. Results showed that sleep (or equivalent periods of wakefulness) did not significantly affect psychophysiological measures of reactivity to negative or neutral stimuli. However, self-reported arousal ratings of negative stimuli were significantly increased post-sleep but not post-waking. Sub-group analyses indicated that (a) sleep-deprived participants, compared to those who slept or who experienced daytime waking, reacted more strongly and negatively in response to positive stimuli; (b) nap-exposed participants, compared to those who remained awake or who slept a full night, rated negative pictures less negatively; and (c) participants who did not obtain substantial REM sleep, compared to those who did and those exposed to waking conditions, had attenuated reactivity to neutral stimuli. We conclude that sleep may affect emotional reactivity, but that studies need more consistency in methodology, commitment to collecting both psychophysiological and self-report measures, and should report REM sleep parameters. Using these methodological principles would promote a better understanding of under which conditions particular effects are observed

The Pseudoautosomal Regions of the U/V Sex Chromosomes of the Brown Alga Ectocarpus Exhibit Unusual Features

International audienceThe recombining regions of sex chromosomes (pseudoautosomal regions, PARs) are predicted to exhibit unusual features due to their being genetically linked to the nonrecombining, sex-determining region. This phenomenon is expected to occur in both diploid (XY, ZW) and haploid (UV) sexual systems, with slightly different consequences for UV sexual systems because of the absence of masking during the haploid phase (when sex is expressed) and because there is no homozygous sex in these systems. Despite a considerable amount of theoretical work on PAR genetics and evolution, these genomic regions have remained poorly characterized empirically. We show here that although the PARs of the U/V sex chromosomes of the brown alga Ectocarpus recombine at a similar rate to autosomal regions of the genome, they exhibit many genomic features typical of nonrecombining regions. The PARs were enriched in clusters of genes that are preferentially, and often exclusively, expressed during the sporophyte generation of the life cycle, and many of these genes appear to have evolved since the Ectocarpales diverged from other brown algal lineages. A modeling-based approach was used to investigate possible evolutionary mechanisms underlying this enrichment in sporophyte-biased genes. Our results are consistent with the evolution of the PAR in haploid systems being influenced by differential selection pressures in males and females acting on alleles that are advantageous during the sporophyte generation of the life cycle

Evolutionary dynamics of sex-biased gene expression in a young XY system : insights from the brown alga genus Fucus

publishedVersio

Varicellovirus UL 49.5 proteins differentially affect the function of the transporter associated with antigen processing, TAP

Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes play an important role in the protection against viral infections, which they detect through the recognition of virus-derived peptides, presented in the context of MHC class I molecules at the surface of the infected cell. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays an essential role in MHC class I–restricted antigen presentation, as TAP imports peptides into the ER, where peptide loading of MHC class I molecules takes place. In this study, the UL49.5 proteins of the varicelloviruses bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), pseudorabies virus (PRV), and equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) are characterized as members of a novel class of viral immune evasion proteins. These UL49.5 proteins interfere with MHC class I antigen presentation by blocking the supply of antigenic peptides through inhibition of TAP. BHV-1, PRV, and EHV-1 recombinant viruses lacking UL49.5 no longer interfere with peptide transport. Combined with the observation that the individually expressed UL49.5 proteins block TAP as well, these data indicate that UL49.5 is the viral factor that is both necessary and sufficient to abolish TAP function during productive infection by these viruses. The mechanisms through which the UL49.5 proteins of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 block TAP exhibit surprising diversity. BHV-1 UL49.5 targets TAP for proteasomal degradation, whereas EHV-1 and EHV-4 UL49.5 interfere with the binding of ATP to TAP. In contrast, TAP stability and ATP recruitment are not affected by PRV UL49.5, although it has the capacity to arrest the peptide transporter in a translocation-incompetent state, a property shared with the BHV-1 and EHV-1 UL49.5. Taken together, these results classify the UL49.5 gene products of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 as members of a novel family of viral immune evasion proteins, inhibiting TAP through a variety of mechanisms

A partially sex-reversed giant kelp sheds light into the mechanisms of sexual differentiation in a UV sexual system

In UV sexual systems, sex is determined during the haploid phase of the life cycle and males have a V chromosome whereas females have a U chromosome. Previous work in the brown alga Ectocarpus revealed that the V chromosome has a dominant role in male sex determination and suggested that the female developmental programme may occur by 'default'. Here, we describe the identification of a genetically male giant kelp strain presenting phenotypic features typical of a female, despite lacking the U-specific region. The conversion to the female developmental programme is however incomplete, because gametes of this feminized male are unable to produce the sperm-attracting pheromone lamoxirene. We identify the transcriptomic patterns underlying the male and female specific developmental programmes, and show that the phenotypic feminization is associated with both feminization and de-masculinization of gene expression patterns. Importantly, the feminization phenotype was associated with dramatic downregulation of two V-specific genes including a candidate male-determining gene. Our results reveal the transcriptional changes associated with sexual differentiation in a UV system, and contribute to disentangling the role of sex-linked and autosomal gene expression in the initiation of sex-specific developmental programmes. Overall, the data presented here imply that the U-specific region is not required to initiate the female developmental programme, but is critical to produce fully functional eggs, arguing against the idea that female is the 'default' sex in this species

Formation of two-dimensional weak localization in conducting Langmuir-Blodgett films

We report the magnetotransport properties up to 7 T in the organic highly conducting Langmuir-Blodgett(LB) films formed by a molecular association of the electroactive donor molecule bis(ethylendioxy)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDO-TTF) and stearic acid CH$_3$(CH$_2$)$_{16}$COOH. We show the logarithmic decrease of dc conductivity and the negative transverse magnetoresistance at low temperature. They are interpreted in the weak localization of two-dimensional (2D) electronic system based on the homogeneous conducting layer with the molecular size thickness of BEDO-TTF. The electronic length with phase memory is given at the mesoscopic scale, which provides for the first time evidence of the 2D coherent charge transport in the conducting LB films.Comment: 5 pages, 1 Table and 5 figure

Factors Defining the Functional Oligomeric State of Escherichia coli DegP Protease

Escherichia coli DegP protein is a periplasmic protein that functions both as a protease and as a chaperone. In the absence of substrate, DegP oligomerizes as a hexameric cage but in its presence DegP reorganizes into 12 and 24-mer cages with large chambers that house the substrate for degradation or refolding. Here, we studied the factors that determine the oligomeric state adopted by DegP in the presence of substrate. Using size exclusion chromatography and electron microscopy, we found that the size of the substrate molecule is the main factor conditioning the oligomeric state adopted by the enzyme. Other factors such as temperature, a major regulatory factor of the activity of this enzyme, did not influence the oligomeric state adopted by DegP. In addition, we observed that substrate concentration exerted an effect only when large substrates (full-length proteins) were used. However, small substrate molecules (peptides) always triggered the same oligomeric state regardless of their concentration. These results clarify important aspects of the regulation of the oligomeric state of DegP