Research and Practice in Talent Identification and Development - Some Thoughts on the State of Play

Although there has been considerable growth in talent identification and development research, the mixed quality and lack of applied focus means little has changed in the field. We propose the Performance-Outcome-Process continuum, a structure which examines ideas based on what and how they contribute to the talent development process. Reflecting a pracademic focus we highlight the importance of understanding the processes and mechanisms of development-focused constructs to best bridge the research-practice divide. We suggest a pragmatic approach that prioritises the quality of research and the importance of applied impact; at least in research which claims to be for sport. Lay Summary: To bridge the research-practice divide in Talent Identification and Development, it is important that translational and pragmatic research becomes the norm, with progression from the retrospective studies which have been typical in this domain. Focusing on the processes and mechanisms that generate comprehensive development would seem a logical step especially for investigations that want to make a difference in applied settings

Structural Hotspots Determine Functional Diversity of the Candida Glabrata Epithelial Adhesin Family

For host colonization, the human fungal pathogen Candida glabrata is known to utilize a large family of highly related surface exposed cell wall proteins, the lectin like epithelial adhesins Epas . To reveal the structure function relationships within the entire Epa family, we have performed a large scale functional analysis of the adhesion A domains of 17 Epa paralogs in combination with three dimensional structural studies of selected members with cognate ligands. Our study shows that most EpaA domains exert lectin like functions and together recognize a wide variety of glycans with terminal galactosides for conferring epithelial cell adhesion. We further identify several conserved and variable structural features within the diverse Epa ligand binding pockets, which affect affinity and specificity. These features rationalize why mere phylogenetic relationships within the Epa family are weak indicators for functional classification and explain how Epa like adhesins have evolved in C. glabrata and related fungal specie

Recommandations de bonne pratique sur la prise en charge des femmes enceintes exposées au mercure organique et leurs enfants à naître. Recommandations de la Société de toxicologie clinique, associée à la Société française de toxicologie analytique, à la Société française de santé publique, à la Société francophone de santé environnement, à la Société française de pédiatrie, à la Société française de néonatalogie, au Collège national des gynécologues obstétriciens

National audienceIntroductionLa Société de toxicologie clinique (STC) a été sollicitée par les pouvoirs publics pour produire des recommandations concernant la prise en charge des femmes enceintes exposées au mercure organique et leurs enfants à naître.MéthodeCes recommandations, avec la participation d’experts appartenant à des sociétés savantes concernées par la prise en charge des femmes enceintes et/ou de leurs enfants, ont été établies selon la méthodologie des recommandations pour la pratique clinique définie par la Haute Autorité de santé (HAS).RésultatsLa principale source d’exposition de la population au méthylmercure (MeHg) est alimentaire, notamment par la consommation de poissons fortement contaminés. Les biomarqueurs d’exposition fiables pour la surveillance de l’imprégnation au MeHg des populations sont le mercure total dans les cheveux et dans le sang total. L’effet critique du MeHg est l’altération des fonctions cognitives résultant d’une exposition prénatale, et 11 μg/g de cheveux la valeur de la concentration capillaire de mercure maternelle, à partir de laquelle cet effet critique peut survenir chez l’enfant. La population prioritaire pour le dépistage est celle des femmes en âge de procréer, ainsi que les enfants âgés de moins de 7 ans, consommant plus de 2 portions de poissons par semaine, ou résidant dans les bourgs isolés de Guyane, particulièrement les femmes enceintes et leurs enfants allaités. Un suivi médical est recommandé pour les femmes enceintes ayant une concentration capillaire de mercure supérieure à 2,5 μg/g de cheveux (limite supérieure de l’intervalle de confiance du 95e percentile dans la population française) ainsi que pour leurs nouveau-nés. Si la concentration capillaire chez la mère et/ou l’enfant a dépassé 11 μg/g, l’enfant doit bénéficier d’un suivi neurodéveloppemental.ConclusionLes mesures de réduction alimentaire des expositions sont primordiales : l’indication de la chélation se discute dans les cas où des effets neurotoxiques sévères sont possibles. Dans ces recommandations, la prise en charge d’une exposition maternelle au MeHg ainsi que celle de l’enfant à naître sont détaillées dans un organigramme

Nonverbal post-shot celebrations and their relationship with performance in elite handball

Nonverbal behaviour has an important function in team sports, but research is limited. Adopting a psychological momentum (PM) framework, this study explores the relationship between a team’s history of events, nonverbal post-shot celebrations in the form of gestures and touch shown by the shooter after scoring, and subsequent team performance during handball matches. A naturalistic design with systematic observation was chosen for the present study. Based on an existing coding scheme, 616 post-shot periods from 18 high-stake matches of the highest league in Sweden were analysed. Results showed that the better a team’s prior performance, the more gestures were displayed after scoring in the following period. A high degree of touch when playing well, and a low degree of touch when playing poorly were related to positive subsequent team performance, while, showing much touch when playing poorly, or showing little touch when playing well were related to negative subsequent team performance. The amount of displayed gesture and touch alone was not significantly related to subsequent team performance. To conclude, nonverbal post-shot celebrations were related to subsequent team performance, but only when the ongoing history of events was taken into account, and only for touch. Based on these results, the history of events emerges as an important variable when the dynamics of ongoing team sport matches are investigated. Furthermore, touch, compared to gesture, seems to be of more importance for subsequent team performance. As expected when investigating complex phenomena in ongoing matches, the findings resulted in small effect sizes