A prospective analysis of the injury incidence of young male professional football players on artificial turf

Background: The effects of synthetic surfaces on the risk of injuries is still debated in literature and the majority of published data seems to be contradictory. For such reasons the understanding of injury incidence on such surfaces, especially in youth sport, is fundamental for injury prevention. Objectives: The aim of this study was to prospectively report the epidemiology of injuries in young football players, playing on artificial turfs, during a one sports season. Patients and Methods: 80 young male football players (age 16.1 ± 3.7 years; height 174 ± 6.6 cm; weight 64.2 ± 6.3 kg) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. The participants were then divided in two groups; the first included players age ranging from 17 to 19 (OP) whereas the second included players age ranging from 13 to 16 (YP). Injury incidence was recorded prospectively, according to the consensus statement for soccer. Results: A total of 107 injuries (35 from the OP and 72 from the YP) were recorded during an exposure time of 83.760 hours (incidence 1.28/1000 per player hours); 22 during matches (incidence 2.84/1000 per player hours, 20.5%) and 85 during training (incidence 1.15/1000 per player hours, 79.5%). Thigh and groin were the most common injury locations (33.6% and 21.5%, respectively) while muscle injuries such as contractures and strains were the most common injury typologies (68.23%). No statistical differences between groups were displayed, except for the rate of severe injuries during matches, with the OP displaying slightly higher rates compared to the YP. Severe injuries accounted for 10.28% of the total injuries reported. The average time lost due to injuries was 14 days. Re-injuries accounted for 4.67% of all injuries sustained during the season. Conclusions: In professional youth soccer injury rates are reasonably low. Muscle injuries are the most common type of injuries while groin and thigh the most common locations. Artificial turf pitches don’t seem to contribute to injury incidence in young football players

Large-Scale Structure in Brane-Induced Gravity II. Numerical Simulations

We use N-body simulations to study the nonlinear structure formation in brane-induced gravity, developing a new method that requires alternate use of Fast Fourier Transforms and relaxation. This enables us to compute the nonlinear matter power spectrum and bispectrum, the halo mass function, and the halo bias. From the simulation results, we confirm the expectations based on analytic arguments that the Vainshtein mechanism does operate as anticipated, with the density power spectrum approaching that of standard gravity within a modified background evolution in the nonlinear regime. The transition is very broad and there is no well defined Vainshtein scale, but roughly this corresponds to k_*~ 2 at redshift z=1 and k_*~ 1 at z=0. We checked that while extrinsic curvature fluctuations go nonlinear, and the dynamics of the brane-bending mode C receives important nonlinear corrections, this mode does get suppressed compared to density perturbations, effectively decoupling from the standard gravity sector. At the same time, there is no violation of the weak field limit for metric perturbations associated with C. We find good agreement between our measurements and the predictions for the nonlinear power spectrum presented in paper I, that rely on a renormalization of the linear spectrum due to nonlinearities in the modified gravity sector. A similar prediction for the mass function shows the right trends. Our simulations also confirm the induced change in the bispectrum configuration dependence predicted in paper I.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures. v2: corrected typos, added more simulations, better test of predictions in large mass regime. v3: minor changes, published versio

A study of the association of HLA DR, DQ, and complement C4 alleles with systemic lupus erythematosus in Iceland

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldOBJECTIVE: To perform an exploratory analysis of the relative contribution of single MHC genes to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a homogenous white population. METHODS: MHC class II alleles and C4 allotypes were determined in 64 SLE patients and in ethnically matched controls. HLA-DR and DQ typing was performed by polymerase chain reaction amplification with sequence specific primers. C4 allotypes were determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: The frequency of C4A*Q0 was significantly higher in patients than in controls (46.9% v 25.3%, p = 0.002). HLA-DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 alleles in the whole group of SLE patients were not significantly different from those of controls. On the other hand increase in DRB1*03 was observed in the group of patients with C4A*Q0, as compared with patients with other C4A allotypes (p = 0.047). There was no significant correlation between severe and mild disease, as judged by the SLEDAI, and HLADR, DQ alleles and comparing the patients with C4A*Q0 with those with other C4A allotypes there was no significant difference regarding clinical manifestations. CONCLUSION: The results are consistent with the argument that C4A deficiency contributes independently to susceptibility and the pathogenesis of SLE. C4A*Q0 in SLE patients in Iceland shows weaker linkage disequilibrium with DR3 genes than reported in most other white populations and emphasises the role of ethnicity

APC loss in breast cancer leads to doxorubicin resistance via STAT3 activation

Resistance to chemotherapy is one of the leading causes of death from breast cancer. We recently established that loss of Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) in the Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus – Polyoma middle T (MMTV-PyMT) transgenic mouse model results in resistance to cisplatin or doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. Herein, we aim to establish the mechanism that is responsible for APC-mediated chemotherapeutic resistance. Our data demonstrate that MMTV-PyMT;ApcMin/+ cells have increased signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation. STAT3 can be constitutively activated in breast cancer, maintains the tumor initiating cell (TIC) population, and upregulates multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1). The activation of STAT3 in the MMTV-PyMT;ApcMin/+ model is independent of interleukin 6 (IL-6); however, enhanced EGFR expression in the MMTV-PyMT;ApcMin/+ cells may be responsible for the increased STAT3 activation. Inhibiting STAT3 with a small molecule inhibitor A69 in combination with doxorubicin, but not cisplatin, restores drug sensitivity. A69 also decreases doxorubicin enhanced MDR1 gene expression and the TIC population enhanced by loss of APC. In summary, these results have revealed the molecular mechanisms of APC loss in breast cancer that can guide future treatment plans to counteract chemotherapeutic resistance

Incentive-based approaches to sustainable fisheries (now replaced by EEN0508)

Using examples from more than a dozen fisheries, we highlight the failures of ‘command control’ management and show that approaches that empower fishers with the incentives and the mandate to be co-custodians of the marine environment can promote sustainability. Evidence is provided that where harvesters share well-defined management responsibilities over fish, and experience both the pain of overexploitation and the gains from conservation, they are much more likely to protect fish stocks and habitat. The key insight is that to maintain marine ecosystems for present and future generations, fishing incentives must be compatible with long-term goals of sustainability.incentives, sustainability, rights, fisheries management

Incentive-based approaches to sustainable fisheries

The failures of traditional target-species management have led many to propose an ecosystem approach to fisheries to promote sustainability. The ecosystem approach is necessary, especially to account for fishery-ecosystem interactions, but by itself is not sufficient to address two important factors contributing to unsustainable fisheries — inappropriate incentives bearing on fishers, and the ineffective governance that frequently exists in commercial, developed fisheries managed primarily by total harvest limits and input-controls. We contend that much greater emphasis must be placed on fisher motivation when managing fisheries. Using evidence from more than a dozen ‘natural experiments’ in commercial fisheries, we argue that incentive-based approaches that better specify community, individual harvest, or territorial rights and also price ecosystem services — coupled with public research, monitoring and effective oversight — promote sustainable fisheries.incentives, sustainability, rights, fisheries management

Transforming bonds: ritualising post-mortem relationships in the Netherlands

People continue relationships with their dead in a variety of ways. Since the 1990s, the idea of ‘continuing bonds’ has provided a framework for exploring and understanding post-mortem relationships. However, the dynamics of the bonds between the living and the dead have received little attention. By looking at the intersection of things, practices and spaces, this paper demonstrates that expressions of continuing bonds do not always point to continuity, and indeed can signify discontinuity. It explores the ‘transforming bonds’ between the recently bereaved and their deceased in the Netherlands, illustrating how post-mortem relationships change and how such changes affect the social location of the deceased and the bereaved. By attending to the ritual dynamics of separation, transition and integration, two aspects of the social and material relationships between the living and the dead are highlighted. First, attention is given to the ways wherein the bereaved relocate their deceased through material objects within and outside of their homes, enabling them to renegotiate the absence–presence of the deceased. Second, the paper illustrates that personalised incorporation practices are inevitably linked to negotiations and contestations in the social sphere, and the norms and values of the social environment

Emergence of contact injuries in invasion team sports : an ecological dynamics rationale

The incidence of contact injuries in team sports is considerable, and injury mechanisms need to be comprehensively understood to facilitate the adoption of preventive measures. In Association Football, evidence shows that the highest prevalence of contact injuries emerges in one-on-one interactions. However, previous studies have tended to operationally report injury mechanisms in isolation, failing to provide a theoretical rationale to explain how injuries might emerge from interactions between opposing players. In this position paper, we propose an ecological dynamics framework to enhance current understanding of behavioural processes leading to contact injuries in team sports. Based on previous research highlighting the dynamics of performer–environment interactions, contact injuries are proposed to emerge from symmetry-breaking processes during on-field interpersonal interactions among competing players and the ball. Central to this approach is consideration of candidate control parameters that may provide insights on the information sources used by players to reduce risk of contact injuries during performance. Clinically, an ecological dynamics analysis could allow sport practitioners to design training sessions based on selected parameter threshold values as primary and/or secondary preventing measures during training and rehabilitation sessions

Treatment of infantile spasms: emerging insights from clinical and basic science perspectives.

Infantile spasms is an epileptic encephalopathy of early infancy with specific clinical and electroencephalographic (EEG) features, limited treatment options, and a poor prognosis. Efforts to develop improved treatment options have been hindered by the lack of experimental models in which to test prospective therapies. The neuropeptide adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is effective in many cases of infantile spasms, although its mechanism(s) of action is unknown. This review describes the emerging candidate mechanisms that can underlie the therapeutic effects of ACTH in infantile spasms. These mechanisms can ultimately help to improve understanding and treatment of the disease. An overview of current treatments of infantile spasms, novel conceptual and experimental approaches to infantile spasms treatment, and a perspective on remaining clinical challenges and current research questions are presented here. This summary derives from a meeting of specialists in infantile spasms clinical care and research held in New York City on June 14, 2010

Comparative chromosome painting discloses homologous Segments in distantly related mammals

Comparative chromosome painting, termed ZOO-FISH, using DNA libraries from flow sorted human chromosomes 1,16,17 and X, and mouse chromosome 11 discloses the presence of syntenic groups in distantly related mammalian Orders ranging from primates (Homo sapiens), rodents (Mus musculus), even-toed ungulates (Muntiacus muntjak vaginalis and Muntiacus reevesi) and whales (Balaenoptera physalus). These mammalian Orders have evolved separately for 55-80 million years (Myr). We conclude that ZOO-FISH can be used to generate comparative chromosome maps of a large number of mammalian species