Neuro-mechanical and metabolic adjustments to the repeated anaerobic sprint test in professional football players.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the neuro-mechanical and metabolic adjustments in the lower limbs induced by the running anaerobic sprint test (the so-called RAST). METHODS: Eight professional football players performed 6 × 35 m sprints interspersed with 10 s of active recovery on artificial turf with their football shoes. Sprinting mechanics (plantar pressure insoles), root mean square activity of the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), and biceps femoris (BF) muscles (surface electromyography, EMG) and VL muscle oxygenation (near-infrared spectroscopy) were monitored continuously. RESULTS: Sprint time, contact time and total stride duration increased from the first to the last repetition (+17.4, +20.0 and +16.6 %; all P < 0.05), while flight time and stride length remained constant. Stride frequency (-13.9 %; P < 0.001) and vertical stiffness decreased (-27.2 %; P < 0.001) across trials. Root mean square EMG activities of RF and BF (-18.7 and -18.1 %; P < 0.01 and 0.001, respectively), but not VL (-1.2 %; P > 0.05), decreased over sprint repetitions and were correlated with the increase in running time (r = -0.82 and -0.90; both P < 0.05). Together with a better maintenance of RF and BF muscles activation levels over sprint repetitions, players with a better repeated-sprint performance (lower cumulated times) also displayed faster muscle de- (during sprints) and re-oxygenation (during recovery) rates (r = -0.74 and -0.84; P < 0.05 and 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: The repeated anaerobic sprint test leads to substantial alterations in stride mechanics and leg-spring behaviour. Our results also strengthen the link between repeated-sprint ability and the change in neuromuscular activation as well as in muscle de- and re-oxygenation rates.

Intervention de la pensée représentative de futurs enseignant-e-s dans leurs prises de position envers l'intégration scolaire

In the past two decades, international recommendations have made inclusive education a priority issue. Many countries have adopted school policies inciting players to question their representations about the duties and purposes of schooling and their role therein. In Switzerland, a new national and cantonal framework defines the integration of students with disabilities or special educational needs in the regular classroom as a priority. However, progress in this area is modest and many researchers are left wondering how teachers could be better prepared to meet the special needs of some students. Initial training is thus seen as essential in bringing pre-service teachers to develop open attitudes toward students with disabilities or special educational needs. While many studies have examined the role of training in building professional attitudes, very few deal with teacher representations of inclusive education, let alone those of future teachers. Our research focuses on two samples of pre-service teachers in the beginning, middle or end of their initial training. 261 pre-service teachers for primary education and 212 pre-service teachers for secondaiy education are involved in the study. The research aims to highlight the role of their representative thinking in building their attitudes towards inclusive education. Our results show that objectification remains essentialist and focuses on the prototypes of the most publicized disabilities. They also showed the weakness of the training system as perceived by future teachers. Even though they have maintained or strengthened positive attitudes towards integration, most leave their training with a reinforced sense of apprehension when faced with the disabilities or special educational needs that they expect to encounter in their future work. Although pre-service teachers consider their training insufficient, it nevertheless positively influences their attitudes toward integration. In particular, greater internship practice, however modest it may be, has a significant effect on attitudes of future teachers by increasing their perception of competence and confidence. -- Ces deux dernières décennies, les recommandations internationales ont fait de l'inclusion scolaire une thématique prioritaire. De nombreux pays ont adopté des politiques scolaires obligeant les acteurs scolaires à interroger leurs représentations des missions de l'école et leur rôle au sein de celle-ci. En Suisse, un nouveau cadre national et cantonal a défini comme prioritaire l'intégration dans l'école ordinaire des élèves en situation de handicap ou ayant des besoins éducatifs particuliers. Or, les avancées en la matière restent modestes et de nombreux chercheurs se questionnent sur la manière dont les enseignant-e-s pourraient être mieux préparés à répondre aux besoins éducatifs particuliers de certains élèves. La formation initiale est ainsi perçue comme essentielle pour amener les futurs enseignant-e-s pour développer des attitudes ouvertes envers les élèves en situation de handicap ou ayant des besoins éducatifs particuliers. Si beaucoup d'études portent sur le rôle de la formation dans la construction d'attitudes professionnelles, très peu traitent des représentations des enseignant-e-s à l'égard de l'intégration scolaire et encore moins de celles des futurs enseignant-e-s. Notre recherche porte sur deux populations de futurs enseignant-e-s en début, au milieu ou en fin de formation. Elles sont composées respectivement de 261 étudiant-e-s se destinant à l'enseignement primaire et de 212 étudiant-e-s se destinant à l'enseignement secondaire. La recherche vise à mettre en évidence l'intervention de leur pensée représentative dans leurs prises de position envers l'intégration scolaire. Nos résultats montrent que l'objectivation reste essentialiste et se focalise sur les prototypes de situations de handicap les plus médiatisés. Nos résultats font également fait apparaître la faiblesse du dispositif de formation tel que perçu les futurs enseignant-e-s. Quand bien même ont-ils conservé ou renforcé des attitudes favorables à l'intégration, ils quittent pour la plupart leur formation avec une appréhension renforcée à l'égard des situations de handicap ou de besoins éducatifs particuliers qu'ils s'attendent à rencontrer dans leur future pratique. Bien que la formation soit jugée insuffisante par les étudiant-e-s, elle oriente néanmoins favorablement leurs prises de position envers l'intégration des élèves concernés. En particulier, une plus grande pratique de stage, si modeste soit-elle, a un effet important sur ces prises de position par l'augmentation du sentiment de compétence et la perception d'assurance des futurs enseignant-e-s.

A single epidermal stem cell strategy for safe ex vivo gene therapy.

There is a widespread agreement from patient and professional organisations alike that the safety of stem cell therapeutics is of paramount importance, particularly for ex vivo autologous gene therapy. Yet current technology makes it difficult to thoroughly evaluate the behaviour of genetically corrected stem cells before they are transplanted. To address this, we have developed a strategy that permits transplantation of a clonal population of genetically corrected autologous stem cells that meet stringent selection criteria and the principle of precaution. As a proof of concept, we have stably transduced epidermal stem cells (holoclones) obtained from a patient suffering from recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Holoclones were infected with self-inactivating retroviruses bearing a COL7A1 cDNA and cloned before the progeny of individual stem cells were characterised using a number of criteria. Clonal analysis revealed a great deal of heterogeneity among transduced stem cells in their capacity to produce functional type VII collagen (COLVII). Selected transduced stem cells transplanted onto immunodeficient mice regenerated a non-blistering epidermis for months and produced a functional COLVII. Safety was assessed by determining the sites of proviral integration, rearrangements and hit genes and by whole-genome sequencing. The progeny of the selected stem cells also had a diploid karyotype, was not tumorigenic and did not disseminate after long-term transplantation onto immunodeficient mice. In conclusion, a clonal strategy is a powerful and efficient means of by-passing the heterogeneity of a transduced stem cell population. It guarantees a safe and homogenous medicinal product, fulfilling the principle of precaution and the requirements of regulatory affairs. Furthermore, a clonal strategy makes it possible to envision exciting gene-editing technologies like zinc finger nucleases, TALENs and homologous recombination for next-generation gene therapy.

Impacts des technologies de l'information sur les modes de coordination à travers quatre études en systèmes d'information

L'évolution de l'environnement économique, des chaînes de valeur et des modèles d'affaires des organisations augmentent l'importance de la coordination, qui peut être définie comme la gestion des interdépendances entre des tâches réalisées par des acteurs différents et concourants à un objectif commun. De nombreux moyens sont mis en oeuvre au sein des organisations pour gérer ces interdépendances. A cet égard, les activités de coordination bénéficient massivement de l'appui des technologies de l'information et de communication (TIC) qui sont désormais disséminées, intégrées et connectées sous de multiples formes tant dans l'environnement privé que professionnel. Dans ce travail, nous avons investigué la question de recherche suivante : comment l'ubiquité et l'interconnec- tivité des TIC modifient-elles les modes de coordination ? A travers quatre études en systèmes d'information conduites selon une méthodologie design science, nous avons traité cette question à deux niveaux : celui de l'alignement stratégique entre les affaires et les systèmes d'information, où la coordination porte sur les interdépendances entre les activités ; et celui de la réalisation des activités, où la coordination porte sur les interdépendances des interactions individuelles. Au niveau stratégique, nous observons que l'ubiquité et l'interconnectivité permettent de transposer des mécanismes de coordination d'un domaine à un autre. En facilitant différentes formes de coprésence et de visibilité, elles augmentent aussi la proximité dans les situations de coordination asynchrone ou distante. Au niveau des activités, les TIC présentent un très fort potentiel de participation et de proximité pour les acteurs. De telles technologies leur donnent la possibilité d'établir les responsabilités, d'améliorer leur compréhension commune et de prévoir le déroulement et l'intégration des tâches. La contribution principale qui émerge de ces quatre études est que les praticiens peuvent utiliser l'ubiquité et l'interconnectivité des TIC pour permettre aux individus de communi-quer et d'ajuster leurs actions pour définir, atteindre et redéfinir les objectifs du travail commun. -- The evolution of the economic environment and of the value chains and business models of organizations increases the importance of coordination, which can be defined as the management of interdependences between tasks carried out by different actors and con-tributing to a common goal. In organizations, a considerable number of means are put into action in order to manage such interdependencies. In this regard, information and communication technologies (ICT), whose various forms are nowadays disseminated, integrated and connected in both private and professional environments, offer important support to coordination activities. In this work, we have investigated the following research question: how do the ubiquity and the interconnectivity of ICT modify coordination mechanisms? Throughout four information systems studies conducted according to a design science methodology, we have looked into this question at two different levels: the one of strategic alignment between business and information systems strategy, where coordination is about interdependencies between activities; and the one of tasks, where coordination is about interdependencies between individual interactions. At the strategic level, we observe that ubiquity and interconnectivity allow for transposing coordination mechanisms from one field to another. By facilitating various forms of copresence and visibility, they also increase proximity in asynchronous or distant coordination situations. At the tasks level, ICTs offer the actors a very high potential for participation and proximity. Such technologies make it possible to establish accountability, improve common understanding and anticipate the unfolding and integration of tasks. The main contribution emerging from these four studies is that practitioners can use the ubiquity and interconnectivity of ICT in order to allow individuals to communicate and adjust their actions to define, reach and redefine the goals of common work.

Commentary on "The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration" by Luiz Pessoa - "On theory integration: Toward developing affective components within cognitive architectures"

In The Cognitive-Emotional Brain, Pessoa (2013) suggests that cognition and emotion should not be considered separately. We agree with this and argue that cognitive architectures can provide steady ground for this kind of theory integration and for investigating interactions among underlying cognitive processes. We briefly explore how affective components can be implemented and how neuroimaging measures can help validate models and influence theory development.

The contribution of individual and professional characteristics to general and work-related well-being

Cette thèse porte sur la contribution des caractéristiques individuelles et des situations professionnelles au bien-être. En combinant différentes perspectives théoriques, notamment la théorie de la construction de la carrière, la théorie de la justice organisationnelle, les modèles du bien-être au travail, et les conceptualisations de l'incivilité au travail, un certain nombre d'hypothèses sont proposées concernant le lien entre certaines caractéristiques individuelles et situationnelles et le bien-être général et professionnel. Les deux premières études se focalisent sur la validation d'une échelle d'adaptabilités de carrière et sur le rôle médiateur de cette adaptabilité dans la relation entre des dispositions et le bien-être. La troisième étude évolue l'hypothèse d'un possible effet de médiation de l'adaptabilité mais cette fois de la relation entre insécurité professionnelle et charge de travail d'une part et le bien-être d'autre part. La quatrième étude adopte une perspective longitudinale et analyse les associations entre les dimensions de la personnalité, l'adaptabilité de carrière et le bien-être dans quatre parcours professionnels différents. La cinquième étude porte sur une autre caractéristique individuelle, à savoir la croyance en un monde juste. Cette étude illustre comment la croyance en un monde juste influence les perceptions de justice organisationnelle une année après, qui ont une incidence importante sur le bien-être. Enfin, la dernière étude se concentre sur une population spécifique, les immigrants en Suisse, et souligne qu'être la cible d'incivilité sur le lieu de travail est généralement liée au pays d'origine. Globalement, cette thèse met en évidence que les caractéristiques individuelles ont des effets tant directs qu'indirects sur le bien-être et que ces mêmes caractéristiques explique en partie, les relations entre la situation professionnelle et le bien-être. Plus spécifiquement, des situations professionnelles peuvent influencer l'expression de certaines caractéristiques individuelles, soit en contribuant à leurs activations ou à leurs inhibitions. De plus, l'impact des caractéristiques individuelles sur le bien-être semble dépendre de la situation professionnelle. Il est donc important de considérer les influences simultanées et réciproques des caractéristiques individuelles et de la situation contextuelle et professionnelle pour rendre compte du bien-être général et professionnel. -- This thesis explores how individual characteristics and professional situations correspond to well-being. Drawing from various theoretical backgrounds, such as career construction theory, justice theory, models of job strain, and theories on subtle discrimination, a number of specific hypotheses are put forward pertaining to a selection of individual and professional aspects as well as general and work-related well-being. The six studies presented in this thesis focus on specific aspects and adopt different methodological and theoretical approaches. The first two studies concern the validation of the career adapt-abilities scale and test the potential of career adapt-abilities to mediate the relationship between dispositions and outcomes. The third study extends the hypothesis of career adapt-abilities as a mediator and finds that it mediates the effects of job insecurity and job strain on general and professional well-being. The fourth study adopts a longitudinal approach and tests the associations between personality traits and career adaptability and well-being in four different professional situations. Study five concerns another individual characteristic, belief in a just world, and illustrates how justice beliefs drive perceptions of organizational justice, which in turn impact, on well-being outcomes one year later. The final study focuses on the professional experiences of a specific population, immigrants in Switzerland, and confirms that being a target of incivilities is related to national origin. Globally, this thesis finds that individual characteristics have direct and indirect influences on well-being and that these characteristics may also mediate the associations between professional situations and outcomes. In particular, the professional situation may alter the display of individual characteristics, either by contributing to their activation or their depletion, and the ways in which individual factors influence well-being does seem to depend on the professional situation. It is thus necessary to adopt a "both...and" perspective when studying the impact of individual and professional characteristics as these factors mutually influence each other.

Financial integration, capital misallocation and global imbalances

This paper shows that in a stylized model with two countries, characterized by different levels of financial development, the following facts can be replicated: 1) persistent current account surpluses and 2) high TFP growth in China. Under autarky, entrepreneurs in the emerging country overinvest in short-term projects and underinvest in long-term projects because short-term assets help them secure long-term investments in the presence of credit constraints. This creates an aggregate misallocation of capital. When financial markets integrate, entrepreneurs with long-term projects can have access to cheaper short-term assets abroad, which leaves them more resources to invest in their projects. This both reduces capital misallocations and generates capital outflows.

Dual and Opposite Effects of hRAD51 Chemical Modulation on HIV-1 Integration.

The cellular DNA repair hRAD51 protein has been shown to restrict HIV-1 integration both in vitro and in vivo. To investigate its regulatory functions, we performed a pharmacological analysis of the retroviral integration modulation by hRAD51. We found that, in vitro, chemical activation of hRAD51 stimulates its integration inhibitory properties, whereas inhibition of hRAD51 decreases the integration restriction, indicating that the modulation of HIV-1 integration depends on the hRAD51 recombinase activity. Cellular analyses demonstrated that cells exhibiting high hRAD51 levels prior to de novo infection are more resistant to integration. On the other hand, when hRAD51 was activated during integration, cells were more permissive. Altogether, these data establish the functional link between hRAD51 activity and HIV-1 integration. Our results highlight the multiple and opposite effects of the recombinase during integration and provide new insights into the cellular regulation of HIV-1 replication.

Professional trajectories, individual characteristics and staying satisfied and healthy

Staying satisfied and healthy in the face of a complex and uncertain professional world is a priority for individuals. This article examines the contribution of personality traits, career adaptability, and prior well-being as predictors of well-being over 1 year in four different professional trajectory groups: those who remained employed, those who experienced a professional change, those who moved from unemployment to employment, and those who remained unemployed. Results show meaningful differences between these groups in terms of well-being over 1 year. Employed individuals have higher life satisfaction and self-rated health than unemployed individuals. Regaining employment contributes to improved well-being. Different professional situations correspond to varying levels of career adaptability, suggesting it may be a precursor for career changes. Personality traits and career adaptability predict well-being over time, but the strongest predictor of future well-being is prior well-being. Results are discussed in light of career development, personality, and well-being theory.

CSR : a new governance approach for regulating professional sport ? : the case of french professionnal sports clubs

The purpose of this paper is to examine the CSR practices and their implementation in the context of French professional sports clubs. In doing so, it analyses the link between the governance of sports clubs and CSR, which is viewed as a component of governance expanded to stakeholders and contributing to the creation of shared value. Drawing on interview data with key stakeholders of four professional sport clubs (football and basketball) and secondary material, the study sheds light on the determinants, the implementation as well as the impact of CSR on the governance of the professional clubs under examination.

Synaptic Integration of Adult-Born Hippocampal Neurons Is Locally Controlled by Astrocytes.

Adult neurogenesis is regulated by the neurogenic niche, through mechanisms that remain poorly defined. Here, we investigated whether niche-constituting astrocytes influence the maturation of adult-born hippocampal neurons using two independent transgenic approaches to block vesicular release from astrocytes. In these models, adult-born neurons but not mature neurons showed reduced glutamatergic synaptic input and dendritic spine density that was accompanied with lower functional integration and cell survival. By taking advantage of the mosaic expression of transgenes in astrocytes, we found that spine density was reduced exclusively in segments intersecting blocked astrocytes, revealing an extrinsic, local control of spine formation. Defects in NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated synaptic transmission and dendrite maturation were partially restored by exogenous D-serine, whose extracellular level was decreased in transgenic models. Together, these results reveal a critical role for adult astrocytes in local dendritic spine maturation, which is necessary for the NMDAR-dependent functional integration of newborn neurons.

Maturation and Functional Integration of New Granule Cells into the Adult Hippocampus.

The adult hippocampus generates functional dentate granule cells (GCs) that release glutamate onto target cells in the hilus and cornus ammonis (CA)3 region, and receive glutamatergic and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inputs that tightly control their spiking activity. The slow and sequential development of their excitatory and inhibitory inputs makes them particularly relevant for information processing. Although they are still immature, new neurons are recruited by afferent activity and display increased excitability, enhanced activity-dependent plasticity of their input and output connections, and a high rate of synaptogenesis. Once fully mature, new GCs show all the hallmarks of neurons generated during development. In this review, we focus on how developing neurons remodel the adult dentate gyrus and discuss key aspects that illustrate the potential of neurogenesis as a mechanism for circuit plasticity and function.

An affected core drives network integration deficits of the structural connectome in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a genetic disease known to lead to cerebral structural alterations, which we study using the framework of the macroscopic white-matter connectome. We create weighted connectomes of 44 patients with 22q11DS and 44 healthy controls using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging, and perform a weighted graph theoretical analysis. After confirming global network integration deficits in 22q11DS (previously identified using binary connectomes), we identify the spatial distribution of regions responsible for global deficits. Next, we further characterize the dysconnectivity of the deficient regions in terms of sub-network properties, and investigate their relevance with respect to clinical profiles. We define the subset of regions with decreased nodal integration (evaluated using the closeness centrality measure) as the affected core (A-core) of the 22q11DS structural connectome. A-core regions are broadly bilaterally symmetric and consist of numerous network hubs - chiefly parietal and frontal cortical, as well as subcortical regions. Using a simulated lesion approach, we demonstrate that these core regions and their connections are particularly important to efficient network communication. Moreover, these regions are generally densely connected, but less so in 22q11DS. These specific disturbances are associated to a rerouting of shortest network paths that circumvent the A-core in 22q11DS, "de-centralizing" the network. Finally, the efficiency and mean connectivity strength of an orbito-frontal/cingulate circuit, included in the affected regions, correlate negatively with the extent of negative symptoms in 22q11DS patients, revealing the clinical relevance of present findings. The identified A-core overlaps numerous regions previously identified as affected in 22q11DS as well as in schizophrenia, which approximately 30-40% of 22q11DS patients develop.