The study objective was to describe the types, localizations and severity of injuries among first division Bundesliga football players, and to study the effect of playing position on match and ...training injury incidence and severity, based on information from the public media. Exposure and injuries data from 1 448 players over 6 consecutive seasons were collected from a media-based register. In total, 3 358 injuries were documented. The incidence rate for match and training injuries was 11.5 per 1 000 match-hours (95% confidence interval CI: 10.9-12.2), and 61.4 per 100 player-seasons (95% CI: 58.8-64.1), respectively. Strains (30.3%) and sprains (16.7%) were the major injury types, with the latter causing significantly longer lay-off times than the former. Significant differences between the playing positions were found regarding injury incidence and injury burden (lay-off time per incidence-rate), with wing-defenders sustaining significantly lower incidence-rates of groin injuries compared to forwards (rate ratio: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.17-0.96). Wing-midfielders had the highest incidence-rate and injury burden from match injuries, whereas central-defenders sustained the highest incidence-rate and injury burden from training injuries. There were also significant differences in match availability due to an injury across the playing positions, with midfielders sustaining the highest unavailability rates from a match and training injury. Injury-risk and patterns seem to vary substantially between different playing positions. Identifying positional differences in injury-risk may be of major importance to medical practitioners when considering preventive measures.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has greatly extended the exploration of neuroplasticity in behaving animals and humans. Imaging studies recently uncovered structural changes that occur in gray and ...white matter, mainly after long-term training. A recent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study showed that training in a car racing game for 2 h induces changes in the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyri. However, the effect of short-term training on the white matter microstructure is unknown. Here we investigated the influence of short learning tasks on structural plasticity in the white matter, and specifically in the fornix, in humans and rats. Human subjects performed a 2 h spatial learning task, and rats underwent training for 1 d in a Morris water maze. Between tasks, subjects were scanned with DTI, a diffusion MRI framework sensitive to tissue microstructure. Using tract-based spatial statistics, we found changes in diffusivity indices in both humans and rats. In both species, changes in diffusion in the fornix were correlated with diffusion changes in the hippocampus, as well as with behavioral measures of improvement in the learning tasks. These results, which provide the first indication of short-term white matter plasticity in the human brain, suggest that the adult brain white matter preserves dynamic characteristics and can be modified by short-term learning experiences. The extent of change in white matter was correlated with their extent in gray matter, suggesting that all components of the neural network are capable of rapid remodeling in response to cognitive experiences.
TrkH is a bacterial ion channel implicated in K
uptake and pH regulation. TrkH assembles with its regulatory protein, TrkA, which closes the channel when bound to ADP and opens it when bound to ATP. ...However, it is unknown how nucleotides control the gating of TrkH through TrkA. Here we report the structures of the TrkH-TrkA complex in the presence of ADP or ATP. TrkA forms a tetrameric ring when bound to ADP and constrains TrkH to a closed conformation. The TrkA ring splits into two TrkA dimers in the presence of ATP and releases the constraints on TrkH, resulting in an open channel conformation. Functional studies show that both the tetramer-to-dimer conversion of TrkA and the loss of constraints on TrkH are required for channel gating. In addition, deletion of TrkA in Escherichia coli depolarizes the cell, suggesting that the TrkH-TrkA complex couples changes in intracellular nucleotides to membrane potential.
Summary
Cholesterol deficiency, a new autosomal recessive inherited genetic defect in Holstein cattle, has been recently reported to have an influence on the rearing success of calves. The affected ...animals show unresponsive diarrhea accompanied by hypocholesterolemia and usually die within the first weeks or months of life. Here, we show that whole genome sequencing combined with the knowledge about the pedigree and inbreeding status of a livestock population facilitates the identification of the causative mutation. We resequenced the entire genomes of an affected calf and a healthy partially inbred male carrying one copy of the critical 2.24‐Mb chromosome 11 segment in its ancestral state and one copy of the same segment with the cholesterol deficiency mutation. We detected a single structural variant, homozygous in the affected case and heterozygous in the non‐affected carrier male. The genetic makeup of this key animal provides extremely strong support for the causality of this mutation. The mutation represents a 1.3kb insertion of a transposable LTR element (ERV2‐1) in the coding sequence of the APOB gene, which leads to truncated transcripts and aberrant splicing. This finding was further supported by RNA sequencing of the liver transcriptome of an affected calf. The encoded apolipoprotein B is an essential apolipoprotein on chylomicrons and low‐density lipoproteins, and therefore, the mutation represents a loss of function mutation similar to autosomal recessive inherited familial hypobetalipoproteinemia‐1 (FHBL1) in humans. Our findings provide a direct gene test to improve selection against this deleterious mutation in Holstein cattle.
Summary
White‐spotting coat colour phenotypes in cattle are either fixed characteristics of specific cattle breeds or occur sporadically owing to germline genetic variation of solid‐coloured parents. ...A Brown Swiss cow showing a piebald pattern resembling colour‐sidedness was referred for genetic evaluation. Both parents were normal solid‐brown‐coloured cattle. The cow was tested negative for the three known DNA variants in KIT, MITF and TWIST2 associated with different depigmentation phenotypes in Brown Swiss cattle. Whole‐genome sequencing of the cow was performed and a heterozygous variant affecting the coding sequence of the bovine KIT gene was identified on chromosome 6. The variant is a 40 bp deletion in exon 9, NM_001166484.1:c.1390_1429del, and leads to a frameshift that is predicted to produce a novel 50 amino acid‐long C‐terminus replacing almost 50% of the wt KIT protein, including the functionally important intracellular tyrosine kinase domain (NP_001159956.1:p.(Asn464AlafsTer50)). Interestingly, among three available offspring, two solid‐coloured daughters were genotyped as homozygous wt whereas a single son showing a slightly milder but still obvious depigmentation phenotype inherited a copy of the novel variant allele. The genetic findings provide strong evidence that the identified loss‐of‐function KIT variant most likely represents a de novo germline mutation that is causative owing to haploinsufficiency.
Summary
Recently, the Swiss breeding association reported an increasing number of white‐spotted cattle in the Brown Swiss breed, which is normally solid brown coloured. A total of 60 Brown Swiss ...cattle with variably sized white abdominal spots, facial markings and depigmented claws were collected for this study. A genome‐wide association study using 40k SNP genotypes of 20 cases and 1619 controls enabled us to identify an associated genome region on chromosome 22 containing the MITF gene, encoding the melanogenesis associated transcription factor. Variants at the MITF locus have been reported before to be associated with white or white‐spotted phenotypes in other species such as horses, dogs and mice. Whole‐genome sequencing of a single white‐spotted cow and subsequent genotyping of 172 Brown Swiss cattle revealed two significantly associated completely linked single nucleotide variants (rs722765315 and rs719139527). Both variants are located in the 5′‐regulatory region of the bovine MITF gene, and comparative sequence analysis showed that the variant rs722765315, located 139 kb upstream of the transcription start site of the bovine melanocyte‐specific MITF transcript, is situated in a multi‐species conserved sequence element which is supposed to be regulatory important. Therefore, we hypothesize that rs722765315 represents the most likely causative variant for the white‐spotting phenotype observed in Brown Swiss cattle. Presence of the mutant allele in a heterozygous or homozygous state supports a dominant mode of inheritance with incomplete penetrance and results in a variable extent of coat colour depigmentation.
Firms face the challenge for ensuring compliance with their corporate sustainability standards (CSS) in their supply chains, i.e. internally, by their suppliers, and also upstream by subsuppliers. ...Supplier management strategies to ensure compliance with CSS in the supply chain usually focus on suppliers. These strategies fall short when ensuring compliance of sub-suppliers. Firms' sustainable supplier management practices focusing on first-tier suppliers have been studied extensively, while little is known on how firms reach out to sub-suppliers. Firms' challenges include the identification of sub-suppliers, the evaluation of compliance levels, and the execution of corrective action. This study investigates the management of sub-suppliers to ensure sub-suppliers' compliance with CSS of two focal firms in the electronics and retail/food industries using case study research. It focuses on the activities of the focal firm and its perception of sub-suppliers' compliance with its CSS. The findings propose that firms can improve sub-suppliers' compliance with CSS by actively managing sub-suppliers through assessment and collaboration. It was found that (1) public attention on the mediating first-tier supplier, (2) perceived risks of sub-supplier's non-compliance with CSS, and (3) a firm's channel power are antecedents to sub-supplier management. Involving strategic business partners suggests amplifying the positive effect of managing sub-suppliers on sub-suppliers' compliance with CSS. This paper is one of the first studies addressing the management of sub-suppliers from a sustainability perspective. It proposes a framework for understanding sub-supplier management to achieve compliance with sustainability standards, which can also be used for further research and theory development.
The food industry and its supply chains have significant sustainability implications. Effective supply chain management requires careful consideration of multiple tiers of partners, especially with ...respect to sustainability issues. Firms increasingly approach their sub-suppliers to drive compliance with social and environmental efforts. A number of complexities and unique challenges make sub-supplier management more difficult than direct supplier management, e.g. a lack of contractual relationships to sub-suppliers, few opportunities to put direct pressure on sub-suppliers, or lack of transparency concerning sub-suppliers' involvement in a focal firm's supply chains. The literature has not investigated, either from sustainability or other perspectives, the critical success factors (CSFs) for firms' sub-supplier management. Therefore, this study seeks to explore and increase understanding of critical factors that help to overcome the complexities and unique challenges of sub-supplier management, with a focus on the food industry. Using data and information from a year-long field study in two food supply chains, the research identified 14 CSFs that influence the success of sub-suppliers' compliance with corporate sustainability standards (CSS). The identified CSFs can be classified into (1) focal firm-related, (2) relationship-related, (3) supply chain partner-related, and (4) context-related CSFs. The present research expands on the theory of critical success factors by applying the theory to the sustainability and sub-supplier management context. In support of critical success theory, it was found that CSFs do exist and their management will be necessary for effective sub-supplier management success as highlighted and exemplified by field study insights from practitioners. Multiple research avenues are necessary for further evaluation of sub-supplier management in the food industry and other industries who may find similar issues that arose from the food industry.
•Critical success factors (CSFs) for sub-supplier management in sustainable food supply chain management are examined.•Fourteen CSFs influencing sub-suppliers' compliance with corporate sustainability standards are identified.•CSFs can be classified into (1) focal firm-related, (2) relationship-related, (3) supply chain partner-related, and (4) context-related CSF.•A one year field study was used to complete this research.•The theory of critical success factors is expanded to sustainability and sub-supplier management.
This study extends research on buyer firm roles in improving supplier sustainability practices by considering institutions - norms and rules - in the organisational field in which suppliers and ...sub-suppliers operate, exerting pressures on these actors to align their respectivepractices. We introducethe resource-based view to arrive at a framework outlining key capabilities for institutional entrepreneurs that seek institutionalisation of corporate sustainability standards (CSS) as a new institution across a multi-tier supply chain. The paper draws on the results of an exploratory research study using six comparative case studies within four industries. While institutional entrepreneurship explains how organisations drive institutional change, the resource-based view outlines criteria for organisational capabilities enabling the focal firm to achieve the targeted institutional change. Our analysis suggests five key capabilities enabling a buying firm to effectively institutionalise their requirements in multi-tier supply chains: (1) inter-firm dialogue, (2) risk management, (3) external stakeholder collaboration, (4) cross-functional integration, and (5) continuous improvement. The key organisational capabilities identified help to extend the theory of institutional entrepreneurship with concepts that facilitate institutional change in multi-tier supply chains with respect to corporate sustainability. This exploratory work opens up avenues of additional research in general and supply chain theory development.
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