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Introduction: There is a need for greater scientific attention to research on violence (e.g., insults, intimidation, beatings) in contexts where such behaviors are prevalent. The agonizing win-lose vision that oftentimes is characteristic of sports competition is not understood in the same way in grassroots sports as in professional sports. Although increasingly frequent, the federative systems for young athletes replicate professional competitions, and the agonizing win-lose vision and psychosocial agents that characterize sports competitions do not impact grassroots sports in the same way as in professional sports. The present study aimed to establish a predictive model of the influence of exposure to violence in initiation sports on peer social relations under competitive situations in young athletes., Method: Through a descriptive, non-randomized, and associative study, a sample of 503 young athletes (M age = 14.76 1 ± 72 years; 54.80% girls) was recollected, belonging to different Spanish sports centres who completed instruments designed to identify their exposure to violence, prosocial and aggressive tendencies among peers, and competitiveness., Results: The results show that increased exposure to violence in sports amplifies those effects that excessive motivation for success and external influences, increases the likelihood of aggressive behaviors in young athletes (mainly in boys), while the emergence of prosocial skills in both boys and girls reduces aggressiveness and exposure to violent behaviors., Discussion: For this reason, to offer a more than relevant background in reducing the effects of excessive competitiveness in grassroots sport, scientific contributions on the protective efficacy of prosocial tendencies against the emergence of aggressive behavior. In addition, contemplating the sociological analysis of the proliferation of insults, harassment, and violent behavior (e.g., observed behaviors or victimization) experienced in sports at very early ages will allow, in a more applied vision, the convenience of designing more psycho-educational sport practice strategies (e.g., social skills integrated into sports action, fair play) both for young athletes and for those adults who accompany them (e.g., parents, coaches, managers)., Conclusion: Addressing the effects of excessive competitiveness and violence in grassroots sports requires a comprehensive approach involving both sociological analysis and applied psycho-educational interventions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer AO declared a shared affiliation with the author MG-L to the handling editor at the time of review. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2025 González-Hernández, Gómez-López, Carlo and Manzano-Sánchez.)

Breast milk is a fluid of vital importance during the first stages of life of the newborn since, in addition to providing nutrients, it also contains cells and molecules of the immune system, which protect the neonate from infection and, at the same time, modulate the establishment of the microbiota. Bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) is relevant in preventing disease and sepsis in neonates. Therefore, the following work aimed to demonstrate the presence of BPI in the different stages of breast milk and its possible immune functions. Our results demonstrate for the first time the presence of soluble BPI and leukocytes and epithelial cells containing it, primarily in the colostrum stage. Using BPI at concentrations typical of colostrum, we observed that it reduces the growth of two distinct E. coli strains, enhances the uptake of these bacteria by monocytes, and suppresses the secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-8 in infected intestinal cells. These findings suggest that BPI transferred via colostrum from mother to newborn may play a significant role in providing antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory protection during the early stages of life.

Perfectionism includes various dimensions focused on different planes of psychological functioning, with both positive and negative elements that influence adaptation to the pursuit of achievement and personal satisfaction with efforts and their attainment. We examined participants' levels of perfectionism and the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety in young athletes, and we described the mediating factor of self-confidence as a determinant of sport performance. We utilized a non-experimental, descriptive, and transversal research design. A total of 263 Spanish young athletes ( M age = 15.79 years; SD = 1.07) who belonged to different sports clubs and engaged in different sports completed the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) and the Competitive Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2R). Our results confirmed our belief that self-confidence was a protective factor for diminishing the negative relationships between perfectionism, anxiety, and sport performance. Regarding the predictive power of these variables, the construction of exaggerated achievement expectations (or personal standards) by combining functional and dysfunctional resources was reflected in cognitive anxiety (dysfunctional) and was mediated by self-confidence (functional). Application of these elements into training via well planned communication may allow coaches to enhance young athletes' resources for mental and behavioral adjustment toward their sporting goal. In addition, this training approach may underscore athletes' self-perceived competence and enhance their self-confidence., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The pursuit of nutraceuticals to improve the quality of life for patients with neurodegenerative conditions is a dynamic field within neuropharmacology. Unfortunately, many nutraceuticals that show promise in preclinical studies fail to demonstrate significant clinical benefits in human trials, leading to their exclusion as therapeutic options. This discrepancy may stem from the categorical interpretation of preclinical and clinical results. Basic researchers often assume that non-human experimental animals exhibit less phenotypic variability than humans. This belief overlooks interindividual phenotype variation, thereby leading to categorical conclusions being drawn from experiments. Consequently, when human clinical trials are conducted, the researchers expect similarly conclusive results. If these results are not achieved, the nutraceutical is deemed ineffective for clinical use, even if numerous individuals might benefit. In our study, we evaluated whether analyzing phenotype variability and similarity through non-categorical methods could help identify rotenone (ROT)-treated rats that might benefit from consuming nano-emulsified punicic acid (Nano-PSO), even if the prevention of "parkinsonism" or the restoration of neurometabolic function is inconsistent across individuals. Our findings supported this hypothesis. The benefits of Nano-PSO were not categorical; however, analyzing phenotype variance allowed us to identify ROT rats with varying degrees of benefit from Nano-PSO consumption. Hence, the translational potential of results from basic science studies testing nutraceuticals as pharmaceutical products against neurodegeneration may improve if researchers also interpret their results using non-categorical methods of data analysis for population screening, even if the overall therapeutic outcomes for the entire population show internal inconsistencies.

Background/objectives: 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is a form of oxidative DNA damage caused by oxidative stress (OS), which is considered a major factor in male infertility. The cellular defense system against 8-OHdG involves base excision repair (BER) with the enzyme 8-Oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (OGG1). However, studies on the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) OGG1 Ser 326 Cys have demonstrated that the Cys 326 Cys genotype could be the cause of an increment in oxidative DNA damage. In this study, the OGG1 Ser 326 Cys polymorphism and its effect on DNA oxidation were evaluated in 118 infertile men., Methods: Polymorphic screening was performed using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays, and oxidative DNA damage was evaluated through the quantification of 8-OHdG and total antioxidant capacity (TAC); in addition, electrical bioimpedance spectroscopy (EBiS) measurements were used as a reference for different electrical properties associated with 8-OHdG concentrations., Results: The detected Cys (G) allele frequency (0.4) was higher compared to the allele frequency reported in the "Allele Frequency Aggregator" (ALFA) and "Haplotype Map" (HapMap) projects for American populations (0.21-0.29), suggesting that the Cys (G) allele carrier could be a factor associated with American infertile populations. The values of 8-OHdG were twofold higher in carriers of the Cys 326 Cys (GG) genotype than the other genotypes and, in concordance, the TAC levels were threefold lower in Cys 326 Cys (GG) genotype carriers compared to the other genotypes. Moreover, the EBiS magnitude exhibited potential for the detection of different oxidative damage in DNA samples between genotypes., Conclusions: The Cys 326 Cys (GG) genotype is associated with oxidative DNA damage that could contribute to male infertility.

The susceptibility of athletes to experience of emotional and psychological difficulties arising from the pressure and expectations associated with achieving and maintaining high performance can become a vulnerability in the desire to achieve success in sport. This study aims to investigate the protective value in the perception of satisfaction in basic psychological needs against the vulnerability that perfectionism generates in the appearance of reactivity linked to fear of failure. A cross-sectional, relational, and semi-randomized research design was used, applying perfectionism, fear of failure, and basic psychological needs measures adapted to both the competitive sports context and the Spanish language in a sample of 372 young Spanish athletes, under descriptive analyses and predictive models. The results showed that as the age of the participants increased, the indicators of perfectionism and fear of failure decreased, with no gender differences. The results offer and confirm the positive relationships between the dimensions of perfectionism and fear of making mistakes (where processes such as self-devaluation and fear of failing the people that participants deemed as important to them are intertwined). The perception of satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, social relationships, and competence emerges as protective factors that mediate the perfectionism-fear of failure relationship. On the other hand, discrepancies are shown between the perfectionist dimensions concerning the relationships with the BPNs, describing certain sources of vulnerability, although there are adjustments of mental effort and discomfort in the young athletes. The conclusions offer the opportunity to investigate the aspects that facilitate the emergence of fear of failure in young athletes, mainly the performance of coaches connected to the emergence of patterns in pursuit of perfection.

Background: A negative lifestyle has a reported relationship with psychological problems and deteriorated well-being. However, there is little information regarding the mediating role of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in this relationship., Objectives: The objectives of the present study are twofold: first, to investigate the association between negative lifestyle, physical self-concept (PSC), and depression, and second, to assess the potential mediating role of CRF in this complex relationship., Methods: This cross-sectional study included 612 schoolchildren aged between 9 and 14 years from the Araucanía region (southern Chile). CRF was measured using the Leger test, and lifestyle, depression, and PSC were measured using validated questionnaires., Results: A negative lifestyle reported an inverse association with PSC ( p < 0.001) and a positive association with depression levels ( p < 0.001). The mediation analysis showed that CRF was positively related to PSC ( p < 0.001) and inversely related to depression ( p = 0.001); besides, the indirect effect CRF acted as a partial mediator in the association between a negative lifestyle and PSC (indirect effect = -1.15; SE = 0.01; 95% CI, -1.87, -0.55) and depression levels (indirect effect = 0.22; SE = 0.08; 95% CI, 0.08, 0.38)., Conclusion: In conclusion, CRF in schoolchildren played a potential mediating role in the association between a negative lifestyle and depression and PSC.

Gymnema sylvestre (GS) and berberine (BBR) are natural products that have demonstrated therapeutic potential for the management of obesity and its comorbidities, as effective and safe alternatives to synthetic drugs. Although their anti-obesogenic and antidiabetic properties have been widely studied, comparative research on their impact on the gene expression of adipokines, such as resistin (Res), omentin (Ome), visfatin (Vis) and apelin (Ap), has not been reported., Methodology: We performed a comparative study in 50 adult Mexican patients with obesity treated with GS or BBR for 3 months. The baseline and final biochemical parameters, body composition, blood pressure, gene expression of Res, Ome, Vis, and Ap, and safety parameters were evaluated., Results: BBR significantly decreased ( p < 0.05) body weight, blood pressure and Vis and Ap gene expression and increased Ome, while GS decreased fasting glucose and Res gene expression ( p < 0.05). A comparative analysis of the final measurements revealed a lower gene expression of Ap and Vis ( p < 0.05) in patients treated with BBR than in those treated with GS. The most frequent adverse effects in both groups were gastrointestinal symptoms, which attenuated during the first month of treatment., Conclusion: In patients with obesity, BBR has a better effect on body composition, blood pressure, and the gene expression of adipokines related to metabolic risk, while GS has a better effect on fasting glucose and adipokines related to insulin resistance, with minimal side effects.

There is evidence that promoting school physical activity (PSPA) benefits children and adolescents, but little is understood about how this promotion may relate to academic achievement and school climate across varying levels of socioeconomic status (SES). Hence, the study aimed to address this knowledge gap by examining two main objectives: (1) determining the association between PSPA and academic achievement and school climate according to schools' SES and (2) exploring the potential mediating role of PSPA in the relationship between schools' SES and academic achievement and school climate. This cross-sectional study at the school level focused on 4,990 schools (including public, subsidized, and private schools) that participated in the National Educational Study 2018 (Chile), which was applied to primary schoolchildren (4th grade, aged 8-10 years). Schools were divided into non-PSPA ( n  = 4,280) and PSPA ( n  = 710) during the year 2018. Changes in academic achievement from 2017 to 2018 and school climate were considered. PSPA was associated with improvements in maths (low-SES OR: 1.80, p  < 0.001) and reading (middle-SES OR: 1.45, p  = 0.029; low-SES OR: 1.47, p  < 0.001). The indirect effect (IE) showed that PSPA partially mediated the relationship between SES and academic achievement in reading (IE = 1.017; SE = 0.12; 95%CI, -1.27, -0.77), maths (IE = -1.019; SE = 0.12; 95%CI, -1.25, -0.78), and school climate (IE = -0.46; SE = 0.52; 95%CI, -0.56, -0.35). In conclusion, PSPA was linked to positive changes in academic achievement, especially among low SES, and PSPA presented a potential mediating role in the relationship between SES of schools and academic achievement and school climate., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Delgado-Floody, Cristi-Montero, Jerez-Mayorga, Ruiz-Ariza, Guzmán-Guzmán, Álvarez, Gómez-López, Carter-Thuillier and Caamaño-Navarrete.)

Background: The aim was to diagnose Candida in the oral cavity of subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using a genotyping technique and compare the results with those from conventional diagnosis by Papanicolaou (Pap) staining., Methods: Palatal mucosa smears were performed on 18 dental care patients diagnosed with T2DM and grade I, II, and III prosthetic stomatitis who met the inclusion criteria; 18 healthy control subjects were also included in the study. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels were determined from total blood. Using exfoliative cytology, the Pap staining technique was used to diagnose candidiasis. Exfoliative cytology was also used for molecular diagnosis; DNA was obtained for Candida genotyping, and RNA was used for gene expression studies., Results: Clinical patterns indicated that all subjects were positive for Candida ; however, Pap analysis revealed only three positive subjects, whereas end-point polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis revealed 15 subjects with some type of Candida . The most common Candida species found were Candida guilliermondii (38.8%), Candida krusei (33.3%), Candida tropicalis , and Candida lusitaniae (22.2%). Interestingly, the coexpression of different species of Candida was found in various patients. In all patients, HbA1c levels were increased. Gene expression analysis showed a significant decrease ( p ≤ 0.05) in TLR2 expression in positive subjects, whereas TLR4 expression did not differ significantly among patients., Conclusions: The end-point PCR technique showed better sensitivity for the diagnosis of Candida when compared with the diagnosis by Pap staining. T2DM subjects showed an increased presence of C . guilliermondii that was correlated with decreased TLR2 expression.

Variational autoencoder architectures have the potential to develop reduced-order models for chaotic fluid flows. We propose a method for learning compact and near-orthogonal reduced-order models using a combination of a β-variational autoencoder and a transformer, tested on numerical data from a two-dimensional viscous flow in both periodic and chaotic regimes. The β-variational autoencoder is trained to learn a compact latent representation of the flow velocity, and the transformer is trained to predict the temporal dynamics in latent-space. Using the β-variational autoencoder to learn disentangled representations in latent-space, we obtain a more interpretable flow model with features that resemble those observed in the proper orthogonal decomposition, but with a more efficient representation. Using Poincaré maps, the results show that our method can capture the underlying dynamics of the flow outperforming other prediction models. The proposed method has potential applications in other fields such as weather forecasting, structural dynamics or biomedical engineering., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Tuberculosis (TB) of the central nervous system (CNS) is a lethal and incapacitating disease. Several studies have been performed to understand the mechanism of bacterial arrival to CNS, however, it remains unclear. Although the interaction of the host, the pathogen, and the environment trigger the course of the disease, in TB the characteristics of these factors seem to be more relevant in the genesis of the clinical features of each patient. We previously tested three mycobacterial clinical isolates with distinctive genotypes obtained from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with meningeal TB and showed that these strains disseminated extensively to the brain after intratracheal inoculation and pulmonary infection in BALB/c mice. In this present study, BALB/c mice were infected through the intranasal route. One of these strains reaches the olfactory bulb at the early stage of the infection and infects the brain before the lungs, but the histological study of the nasal mucosa did not show any alteration. This observation suggests that some mycobacteria strains can arrive directly at the brain, apparently toward the olfactory nerve after infecting the nasal mucosa, and guides us to study in more detail during mycobacteria infection the nasal mucosa, the associated connective tissue, and nervous structures of the cribriform plate, which connect the nasal cavity with the olfactory bulb.

The present research study's main objective was to find out whether there is a relationship between the body mass index (BMI) and the psychological aspects related to motivation, needs such as autonomy, competence, and social relationships, and the intention of being physically active in Physical Education students in Primary and Secondary Education. To achieve this, a total of 574 students (mean = 13.66; standard deviation = 1.96) participated in this study, to whom a series of questionnaires was administered once permission had been obtained from the centers the students attended, alongside the latter's acceptance to participate in the study. The main results showed that the students with a higher BMI were those who had lower self-determined motivation values with regard to the three basic psychological needs observed and the intention of physical activity. In turn, our differential analysis identified that the students attending Primary Education had lower values of BMI, motivation, and intention to be physically active than the students attending Secondary Education, without finding differences based on the gender of the participants. The need to keep on investigating this topic is consequently gathered, using direct techniques for measuring BMI or proposing mixed research designs.

The use of tanning devices in Spain is regulated by the Royal Decree 1002/2002, which is based on the European standard EN60335-2-27. The European standard establishes that the total unweighted irradiance between 200 and 280 nm must not exceed 0.003 Wm -2 , a requirement that the Spanish regulation modified to 0.03 Wm -2 from 250 to 295 nm. With these differences, the compliance consideration of an artificial tanning device can vary. Spectral irradiance measurements of 41 tanning devices performed with a high-resolution spectroradiometer were analyzed. None of the tanning devices had irradiances higher than 0.003 Wm -2 between 250 (the shortest wavelength measured by the spectroradiometer) and 280 nm, but the limit required by Spanish regulation was exceeded by 11 devices, of which one would have been considered compliant according to the European standard since the effective irradiance was lower than 0.3 Wm -2 . Beyond noting the differences that can occur in sunbed inspections according to the established criteria, this work has shown the differences in the spectral and total values of devices in use in Spain, validating the need for periodic inspections., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to European Photochemistry Association, European Society for Photobiology.)

The extant literature has identified some variables that are associated with sport coaches' coaching style, like their basic psychological need satisfaction, their motivation for coaching, and their psychological well-being. Framed from a conceptual framework based on Self-Determination Theory applied to sport coaches, the current study explored how sport coaches' basic psychological needs are associated with their motivation (intrinsic vs. external), subjective vitality, and coaching behaviors (autonomy-supporting vs. need-thwarting). Participants were 184 Italian sport coaches (males = 65%, M age = 40.22, SD = 11.55, age range 19-74 years) from the "Centro CONI" project. They were requested to fill out online self-report questionnaires assessing the study variables. Structural equation modeling analyses suggested that sport coaches' satisfaction of basic psychological needs was associated with higher levels of intrinsic motivation to train as well as with higher levels of vitality that, in turn, were associated with coaching behaviors supporting athletes' autonomy. Moreover, sport coaches' frustration of basic psychological needs was associated with higher levels of external motivation to train that, in turn, were associated with higher levels of a need-thwarting coaching style. Overall, the findings provided additional support for understanding how sport coaches' basic psychological needs relate to their coaching styles.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of emotional intelligence between the perception of autonomy support from physical education teachers and self-esteem (positive and negative) in secondary-school physical education students. The study design was observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional. In total, 1069 secondary-school physical education students participated ( Mage = 14.55; SD = 1.54) (51.2% female; 48.8% male). The following scales were used: The Learning Climate Questionnaire adapted to Physical Education (i.e., autonomy support), the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (i.e., emotional attention, emotional clarity, and emotional repair), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (positive self-esteem, negative self-esteem). A structural equation model was performed with the latent variables controlled by age, sex, and the students' educational centre. The main results indicate that the explained variance was 37% for positive self-esteem and 26% for negative self-esteem. In addition, autonomy support directly predicts emotional intelligence ( p < 0.05) and positive self-esteem ( p < 0.001). On the other hand, all indirect effects of autonomy support on self-esteem across emotional intelligence were significant at p < 0.001. Finally, emotional clarity and emotional repair had a mediating effect on self-esteem, and it improves the total effect of autonomy support on positive self-esteem with values of β = 0.14 and β = 0.19, respectively, and a value of β = -0.07 and β = -0.06 for negative self-esteem. The findings reveal the necessity to improve emotional clarity and emotional repair in secondary-school students in improving positive self-esteem through the perception of autonomy support from the physical education teacher.

The aim of this study was to carry out a descriptive analysis of the main performance variables of national teams that competed in the Men's (Germany-Denmark 2019) and Women's (Germany 2017) senior handball World Cups, and to compare the spatial offensive performance indices of laterality and depth according to the gender of players, considering for this purpose the total number of throws made according to the finishing area. A documentary study was carried out based on the total number of throws made in 192 male and 154 female games of 48 national teams belonging to 33 countries, which participated in previous World Cups. The data were collected from the International Handball Federation (IHF) statistics. The results showed that the areas from which the highest number of shots were taken in both World Cups were the central and shallow areas of the field. Several gender differences were observed. More specifically, male teams made much more attempts from the left side area than female teams (data), who finished from the right side (data). The depth index reflected that, although the dominant execution by gender was from deep offensive zones, men's teams finished more often from the 1 st offensive line, while female teams finished from the 2 nd offensive line. This information will be useful for coaches in designing training tasks and for players in improving decision making., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © Academy of Physical Education in Katowice.)

Objectives: The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of fixed orthodontic appliances on oxidative stress (OS) and genotoxicity from oral epithelial cells., Materials and Methods: Samples of oral epithelial cells were obtained from fifty-one healthy voluntary subjects who had an indication for orthodontic treatment. The samples were obtained before treatment and after 6 and 9 months of treatment. OS was evaluated by quantitating 8-hydroxy-2'deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and by performing relative gene expression with antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). DNA degradation and instability were evaluated by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and fragment analysis for human identification., Results: The quantitation results showed that 8-OHdG increased during treatment, although this increase was not statistically significant. SOD increased by 2.5- and 2.6-fold after 6 and 9 months of treatment, respectively. CAT increased by threefold after 6 months of treatment, while after 9 months of treatment, the expression level decreased to a level similar to that before treatment. DNA degradation was found in 8% and 12% of DNA samples after 6 and 9 months of treatment, respectively, while DNA instability was detected in only 2% and 8% of DNA samples after 6 and 9 months of treatment, respectively., Conclusions: The results showed that OS and genotoxicity slightly changed after treatment with a fixed orthodontic appliance; in addition, a biological adaptation response to the treatment may occur after 6 months., Clinical Relevance: OS and genotoxicity in the buccal cavity are risk factors for oral and systemic diseases. This risk may be reduced through antioxidant supplementation, by using thermoplastic materials, or by reducing the orthodontic treatment time., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Bioactive peptides are biomolecules involved in very diverse mechanisms in vivo . It has been reported that bioactive peptides play a very important role in the regulation of physiological functions such as oxidative stress, hypertension, cancer and inflammation. It's been reported that the milk derived peptide (VPP) prevents the progress of hypertension in different animal models and human beings with mild hypertension. It has also been shown that oral administration of VPP produces an anti-inflammatory effect in adipose tissue of mouse models. Currently there are no reports on the possible interaction of VPP with the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), the main regulators of oxidative stress. This study analyzes the interaction between VPP and specific domains in the minimal promoter region of the genes SOD and CAT in blood samples of obese children using a QCM-D type piezoelectric biosensor. We also used molecular modeling (docking) to determine the interaction between the peptide VPP and the minimal promoter region of both genes. With QCM-D, we detected the interaction of VPP with the nitrogenous base sequences that comprise the minimal promoter regions of both genes CAT and SOD. These experimental interactions were explained at the atomic level by molecular docking simulations showing how the peptides are capable of reaching the DNA structures by means of hydrogen bonds with favored free energy values. It is possible to conclude that the combined use of docking and QCM-D allows for the determination of the interaction of small peptides (VPP) with specific sequences of genes.

The purpose of this study was to apply the Personal and Social Responsibility Model (TPSR) and verify its effects on responsibility and motivation according to educational stage. For this, teachers from Physical Education and other subjects were trained and a pre-test and a post-test were carried out. The intervention was carried out over five months. The total sample comprised 408 students after the inclusion criteria were applied to the initial sample of 430, including being 192 students from 5th and 6th grade of Elementary (M 10.16; SD = 0.77) and 222 from Secondary (M = 12.86; SD = 0.70), with a confidence level of 95% and 5% error margin. The total number of students in the experimental group was 216, with 192 in the control group. The results reflected improvements in the experimental group in terms of experience motivation, identified regulation, amotivation, autonomy, competence, social responsibility, SDI, and BPNs ( p < 0.05 and d Cohen > 0.2). The control group did not present differences in any variable. Considering the differences according to stage, the Elementary school group obtained values of p < 0.05 and d > 0.02 in experience motivation, amotivation, autonomy, competence, personal and social responsibility, SDI, and BPNs, which was not found in the Secondary school group. It is concluded that the TPSR may be applicable in both Elementary and Secondary schools to improve the motivation and responsibility of students, with the most favorable results for Elementary education students.

Different mechanisms of the host immune response against the primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in the mouse protection model have been described. It has been proposed that antibodies opsonize Naegleria fowleri trophozoites; subsequently, the polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) surround the trophozoites to avoid the infection. FcγRs activate signaling pathways of adapter proteins such as Syk and Hck on PMNs to promote different effector cell functions which are induced by the Fc portion of the antibody-antigen complexes. In this work, we analyzed the activation of PMNs, epithelial cells, and nasal passage cells via the expression of Syk and Hck genes. Our results showed an increment of the FcγRIII and IgG subclasses in the nasal cavity from immunized mice as well as Syk and Hck expression was increased, whereas in the in vitro assay, we observed that when the trophozoites of N. fowleri were opsonized with IgG anti-N. fowleri and interacted with PMN, the expression of Syk and Hck was also increased. We suggest that PMNs are activated via their FcγRIII, which leads to the elimination of the trophozoites in vitro, while in the nasal cavity, the adhesion and consequently infection are avoided., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Connecting desires for achievement, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and the perception of fear of failure is one of the most relevant questions in the understanding of negative mental responses in youth athletes. How to act with less fear is what every athlete seeks to feel to enhance their performance actions. This paper aims to shed light on a sample of 681 members of sports teams belonging to different Spanish clubs (391 boys and 290 girls), with a mean age of 16.2 years, and a high sports dedication (75.5% > 5 years of experience; 96.3% > two training sessions/week; 90.3% > 3 hours of training/week). The collected data used self-reports based on the tenets of achievement motivation, Self-Determination Theory, and fear of failure. Those aspects linked to task involvement were positively close to Basic Psychological Needs (BPNs), while those related to ego involvement moved away from task involvement and BPNs. Fear was associated positively and significantly only with ego, and negatively with the rest of the constructs. In the standardized direct effect, positive and significant associations were observed among all constructs except between an ego-involving climate and basic psychological needs satisfaction. The association between a task-involving climate and BPNs was significant in fostering relationships among group members, as well as in improving interpersonal cohesion, empathic understanding processes, and reducing fear of failure in youth athletes., (Copyright: © Academy of Physical Education in Katowice.)

Screen time (ST) and abdominal obesity have a negative effect on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, there is little information regarding the mediating role of the muscle quality index (MQI) in these relationships. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between HRQoL, physical status (i.e., anthropometrics and fitness), lifestyle (i.e., ST and physical activity), and the MQI, and then to determine the potential mediating role of the MQI in the relation of ST and abdominal obesity with HRQoL in Chilean schoolchildren. The cross-sectional study included 750 schoolchildren (girls, n = 332 and boys, n = 418) aged between 10 and 14 years (11.73 ± 1.08 y). MQI, lifestyle, fitness parameters, waist-to-height ratio (WtHR) and HRQoL were measured. HRQoL presented a significant correlation with WtHR (r: -0.19), VO2 max (r: 0.20), physical activity after school (r: 0.26), ST (r: -0.26) and MQI (r: 0.15). According to MQI, the high-MQI group reported higher HRQoL than the low-MQI group (low MQI: 36.10 ± 3.63 vs. high MQI: 37.43 ± 4.00, p < 0.001). In the mediation model, ST and abdominal obesity were negatively linked to HRQoL; the indirect effect confirmed that MQI is a partial mediator in the relation between ST and HRQoL (indirect effect = -0.04; SE = 0.02; 95% CI: -0.09, -0.01) and in the relation between abdominal obesity and HRQoL (indirect effect = -1.81; SE = 0.83; 95% CI: -3.41, -0.40). In conclusion, MQI is related to better HRQoL in schoolchildren, and the negative relation of ST and abdominal obesity with HRQoL is mediated by MQI.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of physically active breaks of a total duration of 10 min a day, introduced during curricular lessons, together with a 10 min physical activity intervention during the daily school recess period on obesity prevention, fitness, cognitive function, and psychological well-being in school-aged children. A sample of 310 children (139 boys vs. 171 girls), aged between 8 and 10 years (9.82 ± 0.51), was selected. Our strategy was implemented over a 6-month period and the participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group ( n = 157) or the non-intervention (control) group ( n =153). In the intervention group, a significant decrease ( p < 0.05) in body mass index, waist circumference, waist-height ratio, and relative body fat mass was achieved after the intervention (T1) compared to the values measured before intervention (T0); in the control group, no differences emerged between T0 and T1 for any of the parameters considered. We found a significant increase in the intervention group in standing long jump, Ruffier, and sit and reach test scores ( p < 0.001 for all). At T0, cognitive test scores did not differ between the girls and boys or between the intervention and control groups; instead at T1, significant differences were observed in the two groups regarding the total number of responses and the concentration performance scores ( p < 0.001). Consistently, in the intervention group, well-being levels significantly increased between T0 and T1 ( p < 0.001). Finally, the intervention had significant effects on the children regardless of gender. We may therefore conclude that schools should create more opportunities for teachers and students to introduce intervention strategies to promote regular PA during school recess.

Acetylcholine (ACh), as a ligand of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), plays a key role in the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway; however, its role in the immunoglobulin A (IgA) response remains unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of ACh in the intestinal biomarkers involved in IgA synthesis and the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) involved in IgA transcytosis. Groups of mice were administered GTS-21 (an α7nAChR agonist) or mecamylamine (a non-selective nAChR antagonist) intraperitoneally for 7 days. Intestinal fluids were used for antibody concentration assessment by ELISA, cell suspensions from Peyer's patches and the lamina propria were obtained for flow cytometric analysis of plasma cells, and CD4 + T-cells expressing intracellular transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and IgA-producing interleukin (IL)-4, -5, -6 and -10, and isolated epithelial cells to determine the levels of pIgR mRNA using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Regarding to the untreated control group, the concentration of IgA was reduced in the mecamylamine group and unaltered in the GTS-21 group while IgM levels exhibited no differences; the percentage of IgA + plasma cells from Peyer's patches and the lamina propria, and the percentage of TGF-β + /CD4 + T-cells from Peyer's patches were greater in the GTS-21-group. In both treatment groups, the percentages of IgM + plasma cells and IL-6 + /IL-10 + CD4 + T cells were greater in both compartments; pIgR mRNA expression levels decreased in epithelial cells. The percentage of IL-4 CD4 + T-cells were greater in Peyer's patches and lower in the lamina propria in the mecamylamine group, and the percentage of IL-5 CD4 + T-cells in the lamina propria were decreased in both treatment groups. These findings require further examination to address the impact of cholinergic modulation on IgA-transcytosis via pIgR. The present study may be an experimental reference for clinical trials that address the role of nicotinic system in intestinal dysfunctions as postoperative ileus., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Carrizales-Luna et al.)

High performance sport for females is an area which is gaining more and more relevance today, but which hasn't received the same research interest as sport for males. The aim of the present study was to analyse the motivational climate perceived by high performance female athletes and the implications on perceived motor competence and autonomous behaviour and check the differences according category, sport experience and training hours in performance and master climate. The participants were 615 female athletes who practice top level team sports, with ages comprised of 16 to 38 (M = 22,10; SD = 4,91). The sample consisted of two different categories: junior (n = 242) and senior (n = 373). These players participated in different team sports, specifically football, handball, basketball and volleyball, training between 6 and 24 hours a week (M = 8,34; DT = 4,33). The variables measured were: perceived motivational climate in sport, autonomous behaviour and perceived motor competence. A cluster analysis was carried out using, as a variable, the perceived motivational climate, and showing the existence of two profiles, one related to ego and the other to task. The multivariate analysis showed that the profile orientated towards the task had significant differences compared to the autonomous behaviour (M = 4.66 vs M = 3.41). At the same time an analysis was carried out looking at different social demographic variables, revealing how there were differences in the sports experience (those participants with more than ten years' experience were more orientated towards ego, compared to those with less than ten years' experience) and the category (junior athletes were more orientated towards the task, compared to senior athletes). It was concluded that a greater orientation towards the task can lead to an improvement in the perception of motor competence, with the youngest and least experienced athletes being the most prominent in this category., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Abraldes et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The main objective of this study was to test the relationship between shoulder internal rotation strength and standing throwing velocity. A repeated measures cross-sectional study was conducted with 20 professional handball players (mean ± SD; age: 19.28 ± 2.55 years, weight: 81.52 ± 9.66 kg, height: 185 ± 6 cm, BMI: 23.74 ± 1.69). The participants were instructed to perform eight standing throws from the 7 m line of the handball court at maximum velocity to calculate the mean and maximum throwing velocity. An incremental test was performed to calculate the repetition maximum (1-RM) of internal rotation shoulder strength. A Pearson's correlation analysis with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was performed to determine whether correlations existed between dominant arm internal rotation strength characteristics and maximum and mean ball-throwing velocity. There is no correlation between the internal rotation strength of the throwing shoulder and the velocity of the ball in the standing handball throw.

Study Question: Does ART-based conception influence fetal fraction (FF) estimation and cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) testing performance?, Summary Answer: Mode of conception (ART versus natural) does not impact FF estimation or cffDNA test informativity rates., What Is Known Already: Pregnancies achieved via ART are increasing, and cffDNA testing is displacing traditional prenatal screening methods due to its high sensitivity and specificity and noninvasive nature. However, conflicting data exist on cffDNA testing performance and FF in ART pregnancies compared with natural pregnancies., Study Design, Size, Duration: We performed a case-control study that included 21 558 consecutive pregnancies (spontaneous, n = 15 707; ART, n = 5851). ART-conceived pregnancies were stratified into two groups according to oocyte origin. Samples were collected from April 2015 to September 2019., Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: The study included women from different centers worldwide. Blood samples were drawn from the 10th week of gestation onward. Massive parallel whole-genome sequencing was used to analyze cffDNA content in blood plasma. Two different types of technologies (single-end and paired-end) were applied because of analysis technology changes made by the sequencing provider over time. FF was determined using different methods depending on the type of technology used. Cases with an FF <2% or with failure in any quality control metrics were classified as noninformative. An analysis of covariance model was selected to identify which qualitative (sequencing methodology, mode of conception, type (i.e. multiplicity) of gestation and age (women >35 or <35 years old)) and quantitative (gestational age, BMI) variables were predictors of FF value. Multinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate whether the mode of conception impacted cffDNA testing performance., Main Results and the Role of Chance: A univariate t-test demonstrated no significant differences in FF values between ART (median FF = 9.2%) and spontaneous pregnancies (median FF = 9.2%). Also, a multivariate analysis showed that the mode of conception, did not strongly impact the percentage of FF. ART-treated women showed a lower incidence of high-risk cffDNA results compared to women who conceived naturally, specifically for trisomy (T)21 (0.7% versus 1.3%, P = 0.001) and T18 (0.1% versus 0.3%, P = 0.001). A multivariate model stratified by type of aneuploidy suggested that these differences were conditioned by oocyte origin, especially for the T21 risk classification (P < 0.0001). False-positive rates (FPRs) were significantly higher in the ART population, mainly for T13 (P = 0.001) and sexual chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs; P < 0.001). A multivariate model suggested that the differences observed in SCAs were caused by sequencing modality rather than by mode of conception. Likewise, ART-treated women who used their own oocytes had a higher probability of a false positive for T13 (P = 0.004)., Limitations, Reasons for Caution: Our study lacks follow-up data for low- and high-risk cases of both ART-conceived and naturally conceived pregnancies. Therefore, the results comparing FPR in both populations should be interpreted carefully. Also, collecting information about different ART modalities and regarding preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy treatments would help draw definite explanations for the trends observed in this study., Wider Implications of the Findings: This is the first study that demonstrates, with a large sample size, that FF is not influenced by mode of conception, demystifying the notion that patients undergoing ART have a higher probability of noninformative cffDNA testing results. Multivariate models stratified by oocyte origin and type of aneuploidy demonstrated that ART-conceived pregnancies do not have a higher probability of classification as a high-risk pregnancy in prenatal testing. This information is especially valuable to clinicians and genetic counselors when informing patients about the risks and limitations of cffDNA testing in ART pregnancies., Study Funding/competing Interest(s): This study was financially supported by Igenomix Lab S.L.U. All authors declare no conflict of interest., Trial Registration Number: N/A., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Many research studies have investigated motor impairments and delayed development in children with Down Syndrome (DS). However, very few studies detected these features in adults with DS. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between motor coordination and global development in subjects with DS, including adults. Furthermore, the second aim was to detect any differences in motor coordination and global development as a function of the practice of physical activity (PA) in this population., Methods: Twenty-five participants with DS (10 f, 15 m), with a chronological mean age of 27.24 years and development mean age of cognitive area of 4.93 years, were enrolled and divided into a physically active group (PA-G; n = 15) and a physically inactive group (PI-G; n = 10). All participants performed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) to assess fine and gross motor skills, while the Developmental Profile 3 (DP-3) checklist was administered to the parents in order to screen strengths and weaknesses of five developmental areas of their relatives with DS., Results: Our results showed positive correlations between the following variables: global motor coordination and global development, global motor coordination and adaptive behavior development area, aiming and catching skills and global development, aiming and catching skills and adaptive behavior development area. As for the practice of PA, PA-G showed higher scores than PI-G in all the tasks of both the M-ABC and the DP-3, though significant differences were found only for the global motor coordination, for the aiming and catching skills, as well as for the physical development area., Conclusions: The findings of this study reinforce the need to implement and encourage the practice of PA in order to promote well-being and social inclusion in subjects with DS.

Cholecystokinin 8 (CCK8) is an entero-octapeptide that participates in crosstalk with components of intestinal immunity via the CCK receptor (CCKR), but its role in modulation of the IgA response is not fully known under physiological conditions. Male eight-week-old BALB/c mice each were intraperitoneally injected once during 7 days with CCK8, devazapide (CCKR1 antagonist), L365,260 (CCKR2 antagonist) or vehicle (sham group). In intestinal lavages, total and secretory IgA (SIgA) were determined by ELISA; in lamina propria, IgA + B lymphocytes and IgA + plasma cells were analyzed by flow cytometry; mRNA levels of polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) in epithelial cells and α chain, interleukins (ILs) in lamina propria cells were assessed by qRTPCR. Regarding the sham conditions, IgA + plasma-cell percentage and IL-2, IL-5, IL-10 and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) mRNA levels were either increased by CCK8 or decreased by both CCKR antagonists. For IgA/SIgA responses, IL-4/IL-6 mRNA levels were decreased by all drugs and pIgR mRNA was increased by CCK8 and reduced by L365,260. IgA + B cell percentage and α chain mRNA levels were elicited by CCK8 and L365,260. Data suggested a presumable differential role of CCK/CCKR on the IgA-response; outcome of L365,260 on the elicitation of IgA + B cells and α chain mRNA needs further examination.

The relationship between sports practice and physical and mental health became an important issue during the COVID-19 pandemic, where keeping fit and exercising was one of the best and most popular ways to cope with the confinement situation. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between perfectionism and resilient resources with psychological well-being, differentiating sports category, gender and experience in a sample of athletes during confinement in different countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. An incidental and cross-sectional random sampling method was designed ( n = 583). The sample was analysed with three different instruments, evaluating perfectionism, resilience and psychological well-being patterns and comparing three groups with different levels of practice due to confinement (full reduction, moderate reduction and only access restrictions). Results show that both male and senior athletes were more organized, resistant to changes and focused their attention and efforts on their demands and potential. They were stimulated by obstacles that required more effort compared to U23, who reported higher concerns and lower organisational scores. Athletes who completely interrupted their sports dynamics showed higher indicators of perfectionism and performed worse in resilience and well-being. Despite this, age and the variability of the athletes' experiences proved to be relevant factors in an athlete's trajectory, and continued to represent a certain degree of balance in the face of COVID-19.