Practical application of research outcomes in the field for elite athletes

Coaches, athletes and practitioners are keen to employ effective evidence-based interventions and strategies in the field to reduce the risk of illness compromising training and competitive performance. Factors affecting immune function and the risk of illness in athletes include: the volume, intensity and load of exercise training, degree of exposure to pathogens, underlying health and medical status of individual athletes, lifestyle behaviours including nutrition, sleep and recovery, and psychosocial issues related to training and competition. Given the lack of specific research studies on elite athletes it is necessary to look more broadly at related disciplines including clinical immunology, general medicine, sports medicine, nutrition, psychology, and exercise physiology. Long term planning by organisations, teams or individual athletes should include a yearly sports medicine consultation, review of primary and secondary vaccination schedules, advice on insect avoidance and malaria prevention, review of allergy and asthmatic conditions, establishing a medical network, and managing team and travel logistics. A dental review should also be considered. Environmental issues include strategies for dealing with jet lag, air pollution, water-based pathogens, thermal stress and culture shock when travelling abroad. The effectiveness of illness prevention or sick packs (containing a gel-based hand sanitiser, medicated lozenges, throat gargle, nasal decongestant, vitamins and minerals, and tissues) for immediate field use has been questioned but these are widely used. Athletes should be educated on coughing etiquette and tissue disposal. In terms of physical or exercise training there are several strategies for limiting the risk of training-induced impairments in immune health, including: increasing the frequency of shorter training sessions, reducing the overall weekly training volume or that of individual sessions, avoiding prolonged intensive sessions, reducing the size of load increments in frequency, volume and intensity, employing shorter rather than longer training macrocycles, implementing sufficient recovery after intense workouts and at the end of a long competitive season or the major competition for the year. There should be a review or debriefing session after competition involving medical, scientific and management staff, a written report of the medical events of the season and/or main competition, referral of athletes experiencing long-term or recurrent/persistent illness for medical review, and early preparations for the following season. A combination of experimental research addressing both efficacy (laboratory) and effectiveness (field) of interventions and strategies, emerging technologies, and the hard-earned clinical and practical experience of physicians, athletes and coaches, will pave the way for improved management of illness in athletes

Sphingosine kinases : emerging structure function insights

Sphingosine kinases (SK1 and SK2) catalyse the conversion of sphingosine into sphingosine 1-phosphate and control fundamental cellular processes, including cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, migration, and immune function. In this review, we highlight recent breakthroughs in the structural and functional characterisation of SK1 and these are contextualised by analysis of crystal structures for closely related prokaryotic lipid kinases. We identify a putative dimerisation interface and propose novel regulatory mechanisms governing structural plasticity induced by phosphorylation and interaction with phospholipids and proteins. Our analysis suggests that the catalytic function and regulation of the enzymes might be dependent on conformational mobility and it provides a roadmap for future interrogation of SK1 function and its role in physiology and disease

The Maputo Corridor : politics and pragmatic development in Southern Africa

The Maputo Corridor is the most significant development project undertaken by the South African government since 1994. The Corridor is an extremely complex project, bringing together a variety of actors from South Africa, Mozambique, and beyond. The project includes the rehabilitation and upgrading of major transport and communications infrastructure between Witbank and Maputo, institutional reform to expedite border-crossing, and incentives for labour-intensive investment in the areas adjacent to the Corridor. The Maputo Corridor is also the first build-operate- transfer highway in the region. The Maputo Corridor is a valid and fascinating subject for political inquiry because it provides insight into the new South African government's priorities and ideological stance. Research on the Corridor also contributes to our understanding of political power structures in the region. The primary goal of this dissertation was to come to an understanding of why and how the Maputo Corridor developed. Research was designed to test popular hypotheses from the South African media. These hypotheses were (1) that the Corridor was designed to isolate Gauteng from potential transport-based blackmail by the IFP and (2) that the Corridor was sponsored and directed by the leaders of Mpumalanga Province. This dissertation is composed of four main sections. First, the historical context of the Corridor starting in the 19th century is investigated. Repetitive historical themes with relevance for the present are identified. Second, the leaders and managers of the corridor project are pinpointed. Third, strategic motivations for the corridor in the current political environment are studied. The fourth part consists of an investigation of the means used to implement the Corridor. Several sources of information were used. These sources included indepth interviews with the Corridor's stakeholders, primary documentation, and secondary published sources

Leveraging Options: ASR as a Water Supply Management Tool

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

Manipulating graded exercise test variables affects the validity of the lactate threshold and VO2peak

Background To determine the validity of the lactate threshold (LT) and maximal oxygen uptake (V_ O2max) determined during graded exercise test (GXT) of different durations and using different LT calculations. Trained male cyclists (n = 17) completed five GXTs of varying stage length (1, 3, 4, 7 and 10 min) to establish the LT, and a series of 30-min constant power bouts to establish the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS). V_ O2 was assessed during each GXT and a subsequent verification exhaustive bout (VEB), and 14 different LTs were calculated from four of the GXTs (3, 4, 7 and 10 min)—yielding a total 56 LTs. Agreement was assessed between the highest V_ O2 measured during each GXT (V_ O2peak) as well as between each LT and MLSS. V_ O2peak and LT data were analysed using mean difference (MD) and intraclass correlation (ICC). Results The V_ O2peak value from GXT1 was 61.0 ± 5.3 mL.kg-1.min-1 and the peak power 420 ± 55 W (mean ± SD). The power at the MLSS was 264 ± 39 W. V_ O2peak from GXT3, 4, 7,10 underestimated V_ O2peak by ~1–5 mL.kg-1.min-1. Many of the traditional LT methods were not valid and a newly developed Modified Dmax method derived from GXT4 provided the most valid estimate of the MLSS (MD = 1.1 W; ICC = 0.96). Conclusion The data highlight how GXT protocol design and data analysis influence the determination of both V_ O2peak and LT. It is also apparent that V_ O2max and LT cannot be determined in a single GXT, even with the inclusion of a VEB

Attitudes of medical students, clinicians and sports scientists towards exercise counseling

We compared the amount of exercise undertaken by medical students, clinicians, and sport scientists with the National Australian Physical Activity (NAPA) Guidelines. A second aim was to compare attitudes to exercise counseling as preventive medicine between university- and clinic-based professionals. The research setting was a university medical school and a sports science sports medicine centre. A 20-item questionnaire was completed by 216 individuals (131 medical students, 43 clinicians and 37 sports scientists). Self-reported physical activity habits, exercise counseling practices and attitudes towards preventive medicine were assessed. The physical activity undertaken by most respondents (70%) met NAPA Guidelines. General practitioners had significantly lower compliance rates with NAPA Guidelines than other professionals. More than half of clinicians and medical students (54%) were less active now compared with levels of activity undertaken prior to graduate training. Most physicians (68%) reported they sometimes discuss physical activity with patients. In contrast, the majority of non-medically qualified respondents (60%) said they never discuss physical activity with their doctor. Most respondents (70%) had positive attitudes to exercise counseling. Sports scientists and respondents who were highly active in childhood had more positive attitudes to exercise counseling than others. Health professionals in this study were more active than the general population; however healthy exercise habits tend to deteriorate after the commencement of medical training. Despite the important role of doctors in health promotion, the degree of exercise counseling to patients is low

Training and Competition Readiness in Triathlon

Triathlon is characterized by the multidisciplinary nature of the sport where swimming, cycling, and running are completed sequentially in different events, such as the sprint, Olympic, long-distance, and Ironman formats. The large number of training sessions and overall volume undertaken by triathletes to improve fitness and performance can also increase the risk of injury, illness, or excessive fatigue. Short- and medium-term individualized training plans, periodization strategies, and work/rest balance are necessary to minimize interruptions to training due to injury, illness, or maladaptation. Even in the absence of health and wellbeing concerns, it is unclear whether cellular signals triggered by multiple training stimuli that drive training adaptations each day interfere with each other. Distribution of training intensity within and between different sessions is an important aspect of training. Both internal (perceived stress) and external loads (objective metrics) should be considered when monitoring training load. Incorporating strength training to complement the large body of endurance work in triathlon can help avoid overuse injuries. We explore emerging trends and strategies from the latest literature and evidence-based knowledge for improving training readiness and performance during competition in triathlon

Performance indicators related to points scoring and winning in international rugby sevens

Identification of performance indicators related to scoring points and winning is needed to inform tactical approaches to international rugby sevens competition. The aim of this study was to characterize team performance indicators in international rugby sevens and quantify their relationship with a team’s points scored and probability of winning. Performance indicators of each team during 196 matches of the 2011/2012 International Rugby Board Sevens World Series were modeled for their linear relationships with points scored and likelihood of winning within (changes in team values from match to match) and between (differences between team values averaged over all matches) teams. Relationships were evaluated as the change and difference in points and probability of winning associated with a two within- and between-team standard deviations increase in performance indicator values. Inferences about relationships were assessed using a smallest meaningful difference of one point and a 10% probability of a team changing the outcome of a close match. All indicators exhibited high within-team match-to-match variability (intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.00 to 0.23). Excluding indicators representing points-scoring actions or events occurring on average less than once per match, 13 of 17 indicators had substantial clear within-team relationships with points scored and/or likelihood of victory. Relationships between teams were generally similar in magnitude but unclear. Tactics that increase points scoring and likelihood of winning should be based on greater ball possession, fewer rucks, mauls, turnovers, penalties and free kicks, and limited passing

Structure-function analysis of lipid substrates and inhibitors of sphingosine kinases

The sphingosine kinases, SK1 and SK2, catalyse the formation of the bioactive signalling lipid, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), from sphingosine. SK1 and SK2 differ in their subcellular localisation, trafficking and regulation, but the isoforms are also distinct in their selectivity toward naturally occurring and synthetic ligands as substrates and inhibitors. To date, only the structure of SK1 has been determined, and a structural basis for selectivity differences in substrate handling by SK2 has yet to be established. Here we present a structural rationale, based on homology modelling and ligand docking, to account for the capacity of SK2, but not SK1, to efficiently process the pharmacologically active substances, fingolimod (FTY720) and safingol, as substrates. We propose that two key residue differences in hSK2 (Ser305/Thr584 in place of Ala175/Ala339 in hSK1) facilitate conformational switching in the lipid head group anchor residue, Asp308 (corresponding to Asp178 in hSK1), to accommodate substrate diversity for SK2. Our analysis accounts for the contrasting behaviour of fingolimod and safingol as non-turnover inhibitors of SK1, but substrates for SK2, and the observed stereoselectivity for phosphorylation of the pro-S hydroxymethyl group of fingolimod to generate (S)-FTY720-P in vivo. We also rationalise why methylation of the pro-R hydroxymethyl of FTY720 switches the behaviour of the resulting compound, (R)-FTY720 methyl ether (ROMe), to SK2-selective inhibition. Whilst the pharmacological significance of (S)-FTY720-P is firmly established, as the active principle of fingolimod in treating relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the potential importance of SK-mediated phosphorylation of other substrates, such as safingol and non-canonical naturally occuring substrates such as (4E,nZ)-sphingadienes, is less widely appreciated. Thus, the contribution of SK2-derived safingol 1-phosphate to the anti-cancer activity of safingol should be considered. Similarly, the biological role of sphingadiene 1-phosphates derived from plant-based dietary sphingadienes, which we also show here are substrates for both SK1 and SK2, merits investigation