Formation and Function of a Collegiate Athletics Sustainability Committee

Institutions of higher learning may be considered dual-identity organizations because of the perceived distinctiveness between universities’ academic and athletic missions. One way in which these barriers can be weakened is through cross-sector social partnerships (CSSPs), a form of collaborative engagement aimed at achieving a common societal goal. In this study, we examine the formation of a university-directed CSSP focused on enhancing environmentally sustainable initiatives within the Athletic Department. Interviews with 11 members of a so-called Green Team illustrate the processes of boundary spanning and boundary blurring. As demonstrated in the article, boundary spanning occurred under the leadership of a “champion” that assembled a team of stakeholders to assist with the major renovation of a pro-environmental football stadium. Though the sustainability committee has a common goal, not all experiences of Green Team members have been the same. In light of these differences, we identify key barriers and prescribe solutions that can lead to the realization of a new organizational form

Nat Genet

The function of the majority of genes in the mouse and human genomes remains unknown. The mouse embryonic stem cell knockout resource provides a basis for the characterization of relationships between genes and phenotypes. The EUMODIC consortium developed and validated robust methodologies for the broad-based phenotyping of knockouts through a pipeline comprising 20 disease-oriented platforms. We developed new statistical methods for pipeline design and data analysis aimed at detecting reproducible phenotypes with high power. We acquired phenotype data from 449 mutant alleles, representing 320 unique genes, of which half had no previous functional annotation. We captured data from over 27,000 mice, finding that 83% of the mutant lines are phenodeviant, with 65% demonstrating pleiotropy. Surprisingly, we found significant differences in phenotype annotation according to zygosity. New phenotypes were uncovered for many genes with previously unknown function, providing a powerful basis for hypothesis generation and further investigation in diverse systems.Comment in : Genetic differential calculus. [Nat Genet. 2015] Comment in : Scaling up phenotyping studies. [Nat Biotechnol. 2015

The Intervening Effects of Perceived Organizational Support on COVID-19 Pandemic Stress, Job Burnout and Occupational Turnover Intentions of Collegiate Sport Athlete-Facing Professionals

Already a challenging position in higher education, collegiate sport athlete-facing professionals have been exposed to excessive stress amid the COVID-19 pandemic that can result in emotional exhaustion and a mass exodus of valued employees within collegiate sport organizations. Accordingly, based on COR theory, we aimed to assess the intervening effects of perceived organizational support that can mitigate job burnout and occupational turnover intentions due to pandemic stress. A total of 427 academic support professionals in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I organizations responded to an online survey measuring pandemic stress, job burnout, occupational turnover intention, and organizational support. Hypotheses were tested through a serial-mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro for SPSS Model 6. Results showed that pandemic stress had a statistically significant effect on occupational turnover through job burnout. It was also confirmed that organizational support fully mediates the relationship between pandemic stress, job burnout, and occupational turnover. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of providing adequate organizational support towards employees under a high level of stress due to the pandemic. As ASPs adapt to the “new normal,” college sport organizations can assist employees by catering the support they provide to meet changing needs, especially by leveraging technologies that have been advanced during the pandemic. Further implications of the findings on collegiate sport organization literature are offered, as are suggestions for future research

Personalized multichannel transcranial direct current electrical stimulation guided by SEEG in epilepsy: Clinical and neurophysiological effects

International audienc

Personalized multichannel transcranial direct current electrical stimulation guided by SEEG in epilepsy: Clinical and neurophysiological effects

International audienc

Stereo-EEG based personalized multichannel transcranial direct current stimulation in drug-resistant epilepsy

International audienceOBJECTIVE: In epilepsy, multichannel transcranial direct electrical stimulation (tDCS) is applied to decrease cortical activity through the delivery of weak currents using several scalp electrodes. We investigated the long-term effects of personalized, multisession, stereotactic-EEG (SEEG)-targeted multichannel tDCS on seizure frequency (SF) and functional connectivity (Fc) as measured by EEG in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). METHODS: Ten patients suffering from DRE were recruited. Multichannel tDCS (Starstim, Neuroelectrics) was applied during three cycles (one cycle every 2 months) of stimulation. Each cycle consisted of five consecutive days where patients received tDCS daily in two 20 min sessions separated by 20 min. The montages were personalized to target epileptogenic area of each patient as defined by SEEG recordings. SF during and after treatment was compared with baseline. Fc changes were analysed using scalp EEG recordings. RESULTS: After the last tDCS session, five patients experienced a SF decrease of 50% or more compared with baseline (R: responders, average SF decrease of 74%). We estimated Fc changes between cycles and across R and non-responder (NR) patients. R presented a significant decrease in Fc (p < 0.05) at the third session in alpha and beta frequency bands compared to the first one. CONCLUSIONS: Multichannel tDCS guided by SEEG is a promising therapeutic approach. Significant response was associated with a decrease of Fc after three stimulation cycles. SIGNIFICANCE: Such results suggest that tDCS-induced functional plasticity changes that may underlie the clinical response

Tocilizumab induces corticosteroid sparing in rheumatoid arthritis patients in clinical practice

International audienceObjective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of introducing tocilizumab (TCZ) as co-therapy with CS in patients with RA.Methods. This study was an open, observational, retrospective multicentre study. RA patients treated with oral CS for >3 months who started treatment with TCZ between December 2009 and June 2011 in five centres were included. Variables included demographic data, disease history, co-treatments, disease activity and dose of CS at inclusion and at weeks 4, 8, 12 and 24. The evolution of disease activity and of the dose of CS (analysis of variance with repeated measures) were analysed, searching for factors correlated with changes in the dose of CS.Results. Inclusion of 130 patients [women 80.8%, mean age 56.7 years (S.D. 14.0), RA duration 16.3 years (S.D. 10.4), mean baseline 28-joint DAS (DAS28) 5.1 (S.D. 1.4), mean baseline dose of CS 10.0 mg/day (S.D. 8.2) prednisone equivalent. Decreases in the mean daily dose of CS and in the DAS28 were observed during follow-up [respectively 6.5mg (S.D. 4.8) at week 24 (P < 0.0001) and 3.0mg (S.D. 1.4) at week 24 (P < 0.0001)]. The only variable that correlated with the decrease in the dose of CS was the initial dose of the drug (r = 0.82, P < 0.001).Conclusion. The introduction of TCZ led to rapid and long-lasting CS sparing that did not correlate with the reduction in disease activity. It is possible that in patients treated with high-dose CS, the main objective of the clinician is to reduce dosage of CS rather than RA activity

Efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis

International audienc

Predictors of response and remission in a large cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with tocilizumab in clinical practice

Supplementary data are available at Rheumatology Online.International audienceObjective: The objective of this study was to identify predictors of response and remission to tocilizumab (TCZ) in RA patients seen in daily routine clinical practice.Methods: The efficacy of TCZ was evaluated after 12 and 24 weeks of treatment by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria. Regression analysis was performed to study the association between remission or EULAR response and the following characteristics: gender, age, current smokers, prior cardiovascular disease (CVD), 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28), CRP, RF or ACPA positivity, combination therapy with DMARDs and TCZ as the first biological therapy or after failure of at least one biological therapy.Results: In total, 204 patients were included with a mean DAS28 score of 5.14. EULAR response and remission were obtained in 86.1% and 40% of patients, respectively, at week 24. In multiple regression analysis, a high baseline CRP level [odds ratio (OR) 4.454 (95% CI 1.446, 13.726)] was significantly associated with EULAR response at week 24 and, inversely, age >55 years [OR 0.285 (95% CI 0.086, 0.950)] and prior CVD [OR 0.305 (95% CI 0.113, 0.825)] were significantly associated with lower EULAR response at week 24. Older age was also associated with less remission at week 24 [OR 0.948 (95% CI 0.920, 0.978)]. No additional effectiveness was found when TCZ was used in combination with a DMARD or when patients were naive to biological agents.Conclusion: In daily practice we identified three predictors of a better response for TCZ therapy in RA: a younger age, a high baseline CRP level and no history of CVD