Doing descriptive phenomenological data collection in sport psychology research

Researchers in the field of sport psychology have begun to highlight the potential of phenomenological ap-proaches in recognising subjective experience and the essential structure of experience. Despite this, phenom-enology has been used inconsistently in the sport psychology literature thus far. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide theoretically informed practical guidelines for researchers who wish to employ the descrip-tive phenomenological interview in their studies. The recommended guidelines will be supported by under-pinning theory and brief personal accounts. An argument will also be presented for the potential that descrip-tive phenomenology holds in creating new knowledge through rich description. In doing so, it is hoped that this method will be utilised appropriately in future sport psychology research to not only strengthen and diver-sify the existing literature, but also the knowledge of practitioners working within the applied world of profes-sional sport

Gene Expression in a Drosophila Model of Mitochondrial Disease

Background A point mutation in the Drosophila gene technical knockout (tko), encoding mitoribosomal protein S12, was previously shown to cause a phenotype of respiratory chain deficiency, developmental delay, and neurological abnormalities similar to those presented in many human mitochondrial disorders, as well as defective courtship behavior. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we describe a transcriptome-wide analysis of gene expression in tko25t mutant flies that revealed systematic and compensatory changes in the expression of genes connected with metabolism, including up-regulation of lactate dehydrogenase and of many genes involved in the catabolism of fats and proteins, and various anaplerotic pathways. Gut-specific enzymes involved in the primary mobilization of dietary fats and proteins, as well as a number of transport functions, were also strongly up-regulated, consistent with the idea that oxidative phosphorylation OXPHOS dysfunction is perceived physiologically as a starvation for particular biomolecules. In addition, many stress-response genes were induced. Other changes may reflect a signature of developmental delay, notably a down-regulation of genes connected with reproduction, including gametogenesis, as well as courtship behavior in males; logically this represents a programmed response to a mitochondrially generated starvation signal. The underlying signalling pathway, if conserved, could influence many physiological processes in response to nutritional stress, although any such pathway involved remains unidentified. Conclusions/Significance These studies indicate that general and organ-specific metabolism is transformed in response to mitochondrial dysfunction, including digestive and absorptive functions, and give important clues as to how novel therapeutic strategies for mitochondrial disorders might be developed.Public Library of Scienc