Search

The concept of skill is a key element in football and has been studied from many different perspectives. A global view on skill-related football interventions help comprehend and identify gaps in current knowledge. The aim of this scoping review was threefold: (a) to scope the theoretical bases, concepts and skills that have been used in skill-related interventions in football, (b) to summarize the skill-related interventions, (c) to identify research gaps. A scoping literature search was carried out following JBI and PRISMA-ScR guidelines in APA PsycINFO, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. The main inclusion criterium was that studies had to examine football players aged U15 (non-beginners) to adult (high-performance/professional), encompassing both genders across youth and high-performance levels, and consider all types of interventional studies published in English peer-reviewed journals, focusing on acute and long-term adaptations. A total of 4086 peer-reviewed journal articles were identified, 83 of them were fully analyzed, and three key results were obtained: (a) the examined articles predominantly used two theoretical approaches for football skills (self-organization approaches and information processing, 42.2 and 19.3%, respectively), or did not have any theoretical grounding (38.6%), (b) a multitude of different key concepts (> 60) have been used, (c) most football skill-related research was conducted in Europe (81.0%) with samples heavily focused on male participants (90.1%). Findings highlight the need to clarify the conceptualization of football skill and broaden the scope on football skill throughout the world, especially to include ecological research designs with female participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid-membrane enclosed structures that are associated with several diseases, including those of genitourinary tract. Urine contains EVs derived from urinary tract cells. Owing to its non-invasive collection, urine represents a promising source of biomarkers for genitourinary disorders, including cancer. The most used method for urinary EVs separation is differential ultracentrifugation (UC), but current protocols lead to a significant loss of EVs hampering its efficiency. Moreover, UC protocols are labor-intensive, further limiting clinical application. Herein, we sought to optimize an UC protocol, reducing the time spent and improving small EVs (SEVs) yield. By testing different ultracentrifugation times at 200,000g to pellet SEVs, we found that 48 min and 60 min enabled increased SEVs recovery compared to 25 min. A step for pelleting large EVs (LEVs) was also evaluated and compared with filtering of the urine supernatant. We found that urine supernatant filtering resulted in a 1.7-fold increase on SEVs recovery, whereas washing steps resulted in a 0.5 fold-decrease on SEVs yield. Globally, the optimized UC protocol was shown to be more time efficient, recovering higher numbers of SEVs than Exoquick-TC (EXO). Furthermore, the optimized UC protocol preserved RNA quality and quantity, while reducing SEVs separation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Defensive action can decisively affect football match performance. However, there has been limited translation of the existing academic literature into improvement in applied practice. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to: (1) identify defence-related variables commonly linked to positive/negative performance outcomes, and thereby improve understanding of their potential applications; (2) determine potentially useful directions for future research. Methods: We searched the databases SPORTDiscus, PubMed and Web of Knowledge Core Collection in May 2023 for observational studies of adult male, football defence-related data, gathered from 2004 onwards at official international or domestic elite-level competitions. Each of the 119 papers was scored for quality according to a 14-item checklist, which itself was based on the Critical Review Form. The findings were organised according to two major themes: (1) variables used in defensive performance analysis and (2) methodological issues and future avenues of research. Results: Research found teams to vary the game styles that they had adopted, to decrease their spatial occupation of the pitch, and to increase intrateam movement synchronisation whilst defending. Given the research findings, regaining possession higher-up the pitch, whilst maintaining a balanced positioning and opting for an "intense" approach, appears advisable. Conclusion: A notable research–practice gap was identified. To better address coaches' "everyday concerns", future research should (1) become more "process-oriented", (2) acknowledge the specificities of certain subareas of the pitch, and (3) involve improved processing of spatial–temporal data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coral reefs are losing the capacity to sustain their biological functions1. In addition to other well-known stressors, such as climatic change and overfishing1, plastic pollution is an emerging threat to coral reefs, spreading throughout reef food webs2, and increasing disease transmission and structural damage to reef organisms3. Although recognized as a global concern4, the distribution and quantity of plastics trapped in the world’s coral reefs remains uncertain3. Here we survey 84 shallow and deep coral ecosystems at 25 locations across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian ocean basins for anthropogenic macrodebris (pollution by human-generated objects larger than 5 centimetres, including plastics), performing 1,231 transects. Our results show anthropogenic debris in 77 out of the 84 reefs surveyed, including in some of Earth’s most remote and near-pristine reefs, such as in uninhabited central Pacific atolls. Macroplastics represent 88% of the anthropogenic debris, and, like other debris types, peak in deeper reefs (mesophotic zones at 30–150 metres depth), with fishing activities as the main source of plastics in most areas. These findings contrast with the global pattern observed in other nearshore marine ecosystems, where macroplastic densities decrease with depth and are dominated by consumer items5. As the world moves towards a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution6, understanding its distribution and drivers provides key information to help to design the strategies needed to address this ubiquitous threat.Plastics were found in 77 out of 84 coral reefs surveyed in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, including in deeper reefs and remote and near-pristine reefs, such as in uninhabited central Pacific atolls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The most frequent histology of bladder tumors is urothelial carcinoma. Most are pure urothelial carcinomas (PUC) but up to one-third of the cases present variant histological (VH) features. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of variant histology in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) response in patients with urothelial muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 77 patients with bladder cancer who performed neoadjuvant chemotherapy at two institutions. Results: Complete pathological response (ypT0) was higher in patients with PUC (38.5%), comparing with VH (12%). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that variant histology is associated with an 89% lesser likelihood of tumor downstaging, with advanced clinical T stages and positive smoking history as independent predictors. The estimated mean cancer-specific survival was 68.91 months for PUC patients and 50.23 months for VH patients (log rank test, P = 0.024). Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that VH and clinical T stage were independent predictors of cancer-specific survival, indicating a worse outcome for patients with VH and advanced clinical T stages. Conclusions: There are only a few retrospective studies evaluating the clinical impact of variant histology tumors, which are mainly managed as PUC. Our results demonstrate that VH is associated with a worse likelihood of tumor downstaging after NAC and a worse cancer-specific survival in bladder cancer patients. There is a need for further studies and genetic analysis to identify the patients most likely to achieve ypT0 status and downstaging after NAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gelatinous zooplankton are increasingly acknowledged to contribute significantly to the carbon cycle worldwide, yet many taxa within this diverse group remain poorly studied. Here, we investigate the pelagic tunicate Pyrosoma atlanticum in the waters surrounding the Cabo Verde Archipelago. By using a combination of pelagic and benthic in situ observations, sampling, and molecular genetic analyses (barcoding, eDNA), we reveal that: P. atlanticum abundance is most likely driven by local island-induced productivity, that it substantially contributes to the organic carbon export flux and is part of a diverse range of biological interactions. Downward migrating pyrosomes actively transported an estimated 13% of their fecal pellets below the mixed layer, equaling a carbon flux of 1.96–64.55 mg C m−2 day−1. We show that analysis of eDNA can detect pyrosome material beyond their migration range, suggesting that pyrosomes have ecological impacts below the upper water column. Moribund P. atlanticum colonies contributed an average of 15.09 ± 17.89 (s.d.) mg C m−2 to the carbon flux reaching the island benthic slopes. Our pelagic in situ observations further show that P. atlanticum formed an abundant substrate in the water column (reaching up to 0.28 m2 substrate area per m2), with animals using pyrosomes for settlement, as a shelter and/or a food source. In total, twelve taxa from four phyla were observed to interact with pyrosomes in the midwater and on the benthos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of the Brazilian endemic parrotfish Sparisoma frondosum is confirmed for the Cape Verde Archipelago, in the Tropical Eastern Atlantic. In total, 12 species of reef fishes previously thought to be either endemic or originated in the Brazilian Province have been recently recorded as vagrants in the southern Caribbean and in West African offshore islands. We suggest that the seasonal and somewhat overlooked North Equatorial Countercurrent should receive more attention as a potential dispersal route for marine organisms crossing the Atlantic in a west-east direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exosomes are secreted membrane vesicles that share structural and biochemical characteristics with intraluminal vesicles of multivesicular endosomes (MVEs). Exosomes could be involved in intercellular communication and in the pathogenesis of infectious and degenerative diseases. The molecular mechanisms of exosome biogenesis and secretion are, however, poorly understood. Using an RNA interference (RNAi) screen, we identified five Rab GTPases that promote exosome secretion in HeLa cells. Among these, Rab27a and Rab27b were found to function in MVE docking at the plasma membrane. The size of MVEs was strongly increased by Rab27a silencing, whereas MVEs were redistributed towards the perinuclear region upon Rab27b silencing. Thus, the two Rab27 isoforms have different roles in the exosomal pathway. In addition, silencing two known Rab27 effectors, Slp4 (also known as SYTL4, synaptotagmin-like 4) and Slac2b (also known as EXPH5, exophilin 5), inhibited exosome secretion and phenocopied silencing of Rab27a and Rab27b, respectively. Our results therefore strengthen the link between MVEs and exosomes, and introduce ways of manipulating exosome secretion in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde are commonly united under the term "Macaronesia". This study investigates the coherency and validity of Macaronesia as a biogeographic unit using six marine groups with very different dispersal abilities: coastal fishes, echinoderms, gastropod molluscs, brachyuran decapod crustaceans, polychaete annelids, and macroalgae. We found no support for the current concept of Macaronesia as a coherent marine biogeographic unit. All marine groups studied suggest the exclusion of Cabo Verde from the remaining Macaronesian archipelagos and thus, Cabo Verde should be given the status of a biogeographic subprovince within the West African Transition province. We propose to redefine the Lusitanian biogeographical province, in which we include four ecoregions: the South European Atlantic Shelf, the Saharan Upwelling, the Azores, and a new ecoregion herein named Webbnesia, which comprises the archipelagos of Madeira, Selvagens and the Canary Islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]