Developing a Team Mission Statement: Who are we? Where are we going? How are we going to get there?

A mission statement defines a groups purpose, describes the beliefs in how a group should function, and indicates the unique values of a group (Collins & Porras, 1991; Levin, 2000). Few studies in sport have specifically investigated the influence of a mission statement, but several high-performance teams have cited mission statements as a key for improved team performance and functioning (Hodge, Henry, &Smith, 2014; Yukelson, 1997). Recently, it has become more common for consultants to provide overviews of team building interventions in sport (e.g., Dunn & Holt, 2004; Pain & Harwood, 2009). However, even with initial evidence that mission statements may be beneficial for team cohesion and performance, little has been written about the process of developing a mission statement in the sport realm. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to outline the authors’ experiences leading an activity to develop a season-long mission statement with a collegiate varsity gymnastics team. Additionally, an overview of how the consultants gained entry and developed trust with the coaching staff and team, as well as reflections on what went well in the process and what could be enhanced for the greatest impact will be discussed

Youth Definitions of Success, Obstacles to Success, and How Significant Others Can Help: Providing Youth a Voice in Their Own Development

Positive Youth Development (PYD) programmes are often conceptualized and led by adults with little or no youth input. The purpose of this study was to better understand youth definitions of success, obstacles they face in achieving success, and how they perceive others can help. Interviews were conducted with 24 youth from three different contexts (swim club, church group, and reform home) in Trinidad and Tobago. The results indicated that youth have a varied understanding of success. Further, many youths’ definitions mirror those prescribed in PYD literature. Youth identified a variety of obstacles in their quest for success, and though similarities existed, several obstacles were context dependent. Finally, youth identified support and assistance as the best mechanisms to propel them to success. Support, both informal and formal, points to the significant role non-parent adults serve in the lives of youth. Implications for youth programmes and future research are discussed

Psychotropic drug influences on brain acetylcholine utilization

The cholinergic antisynthesis agent HC-3 was given intraventricularly to young male rats 20–30 days old to deplete brain acetylcholine (ACh). The rate of HC-3 induced depletion of ACh was used as an index of ACh utilization. Total brain ACh was determined following various doses of chlordiazepoxide, pentobarbital, chlorpromazine, methotrimeprazine, imipramine, morphine, d -amphetamine, scopolamine, LSD-25, and phencyclidine given i.p. alone and after intraventricular administration of HC-3. It was found that psychotropic drugs have marked differential effects on the rate of HC-3 induced ACh depletion.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46382/1/213_2004_Article_BF00421968.pd

Multidisciplinary Prospective Study of Mother-to-Child Chikungunya Virus Infections on the Island of La Réunion

In a prospective study on the island of La Réunion, Marc Lecuit and colleagues find frequent transmission of Chikungunya virus by viremic mothers giving birth during an outbreak, resulting in serious infant illness

NATO’s strategic thinking in the changing security environment:

Some argue that the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused NATO to change course and put more emphasis on Collective Defence, which as we know, was the initial intent of the 1949 Washington Treaty. I contest that argument by explaining that the NATO has never lost sight of this initial intent. In its Strategic Concepts NATO has always maintained Collective Defence as one of its core tasks. In response to the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, it had just stepped up its efforts to be prepared to defend the Euro-Atlantic area - witness the expressions of political will at subsequent NATO Summits and the increased defense budgets of its member states

Potato (Solanum tuberosum, L.) calcium-dependent protein kinase and its relation with tuberization

Se purificó a homogeneidad una quinasa de proteínas dependiente de calcio (CDPK) de fracciones solubles de plantas de papa, (Solanum tuberosum L.). La CDPK de papa es estrictamente dependiente de calcio (K0,5= 0,6 μM) y fosforila una amplia variedad de sustratos, entre los cuales el syntide 2 es el mejor aceptor de fosfatos (Km = 33 μM). La quinasa es inhibida por quelantes de calcio, derivados de fenotiazina y W7 (IC50= 0,25 mM). Anticuerpos policlonales dirigidos contra el dominio regulatorio de la CDPK de soja reconocen un polipéptido de 53 kDa en las fracciones purificadas de papa. En ensayos de autofosforilación la misma banda aparece fuertemente marcada con [γ³²P]ATP en presencia de calcio. La actividad de CDPK es alta en plantas no inducidas a tuberizar, pero aumenta 2.5 veces en el comienzo del desarrollo del tubérculo y disminuye a la mitad de la actividad de las plantas no inducidas cuando el tubérculo está completamente formado. Se observó fosforilación dependiente de calcio de sustratos endógenos específicos de los estadios tempranos de formación del tubérculo (bandas de 68, 51 y 46 kDa). Estos polipéptidos no aparecieron en plantas no inducidas ni el tubérculos maduros. indicando que éste es un evento específico de los primeros estadios. Además se detectó la defosforilación de un polipéptido específico en las plantas inducidas, lo que sugiere la existencia de fosfatasas. La preincubación de los extractos crudos de estas plantas con inhibidores de fosfatasas produjo un aumento del 100 % en la actividad de CDPK. El ácido jasmónico, propuesto como inductor de tuberización no indujo este proceso cuando se agregó a los medios de cultivo de plantas cultivadas in vitro. Produjo un aumento del crecimiento de plantas en bajas concentraciones y una inhibición del crecimiento al tratar las plantas con altas concentraciones. Además produjo una disminución en la actividad de CDPK de las plantas tratadas en forma dependiente de la concentración. La sacarosa es esencial para la tuberización. Plantas tratadas con altas concentraciones (8 %) de este azúcar presentaron un importante aumento en la actividad de CDPK y en la actividad de fosfatasas de proteínas capaces de defosforilarsustratos de la quinasa. Nuestros resultados sugieren que la CDPK y fosfatasas asociadas participan en el control de los primeros estadios de tuberización y que la sacarosa probablemente interviene en esta regulación modulando la actividad de estas enzimas. El ácido jasmónico no tendría participación en los eventos tempranos de la formación del tubérculo.A soluble Ca²+-dependent protein kinase(CDPK) was purifled to homogeneity in potato (Solanum tuberosum, L.) plants. Potato CDPK was strictly dependent on Ca²+ (K0,5=0,6 μM) and phosphorylated a wide diversity of substrates, in which syntide 2 was the best phosphate acceptor (Km= 33 μM). The kinase was inhibited by Ca²+ -chelating agents, phenotiazine derivatives, and W7 (IC50= 0,25 mM), polyclonal antibodies directed against the regulatory region of the soybean CDPK recognized a 53 kD polypeptide. In an autophosphorylation assay, this same band was strongly labeled with [y32P]ATP in the presence of Ca²+. CDPK activity was high in nontuberized plants, but increased 2.5 fold at the onset of tuber development and was reduced to one-half of its original activity when the tuber had completed formation. In the early stages of tuberization, Ca²+-dependent phosphorylation of endogenous targets (specific bands of 68, 51, and 46 kD) was observed. These polypeptides were not labeled in nontuberizing plants or in completely formed tubers, indicating that this phosphorylation is a stage-specific event. In addition, dephosphorylation of specific polypeptides was detected in tuberizing plants, suggesting the involvement of a phosphatase. Preincubation of crude extracts with phosphatase inhibitors rendered a 100% increase in CDPK activity. Jasmonic acid, proposed as a tuber inductor, was unable to induce this process when added to in vitro cultured plants media. An increase of plant growth at low concentration, and an inhibition of growth at high concentration was observed. In addition, CDPK activity decreased in all treatments in a concentration-dependent way. Sucrose was essential for tuberization. CDPK activity increased in plants treated with high sucrose concentration (8 %). An increase in phosphatase activity was also observed. Our results suggest that CDPK and associated phosphatases could participate in the control of early stages of tuberization, and sucrose might regulate the activity of these enzymes. Jasmonic acid would not be involved in these early events in tuber development.Fil:Mac Intosh, Gustavo Carlos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

To Act or Not to Act?: Student-Athlete Perceptions of Social Justice Activism

Issues related to social justice and activism have always permeated sports, but recently, due to the high profile cases of several elite-level athletes (i.e., Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe), these issues have become much more prominent in the contemporary sporting climate. Even though these highly visible actions are publicized in today’s media environment, little is known about how collegiate student-athletes perceive engaging in social justice activism. Therefore, the current study surveyed 2,092 collegiate student-athletes on their attitudes toward activism engagement using a theory of planned behavior framework with particular attention paid to how gender and ethnicity/race influenced these relationships. A series of MANOVAs indicated that female student-athletes, in relation to male student athletes, and student-athletes of color, in comparison to White student-athletes, held higher perceptions on most of the subscales related to activism. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms were significant predictors of athletes’ intention to engage in activism. In addition, interactions of the three predictors with race and gender influenced the final regression model indicating the strength of each predictor was impacted by athlete race and gender. Future research directions and implications for programming in relation to study findings are discussed