bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of tidal dissipation on outcomes of binary–single encounters between stars and black holes in stellar clusters
Authors: Hellström Lucas , Askar Abbas , Trani Alessandro A , Giersz Mirek , Church Ross P , Samsing Johan
Published: October 2022

In the cores of dense stellar clusters, close gravitational encounters between binary and single stars can frequently occur. Using the tsunami code, we computed the outcome of a large number of binary–single interactions involving two black holes (BHs) and a star to check how the inclusion of orbital energy losses due to tidal dissipation can change the outcome of these chaotic interactions. Each interaction was first simulated without any dissipative processes and then we systematically added orbital energy losses due to gravitational wave emission [using post-Newtonian (PN) corrections] and dynamical tides and recomputed the interactions. We find that the inclusion of tides increases the number of BH–star mergers by up to 75 per cent; however, it does not affect the number of BH–BH mergers. These results highlight the importance of including orbital energy dissipation due to dynamical tides during few-body encounters and evolution of close binary systems within stellar cluster simulations. Consistent with previous studies, we find that the inclusion of PN terms increases the number of BH–BH mergers during binary–single encounters. However, BH–star mergers are largely unaffected by the inclusion of these terms.
The first OPEA model for solar X-ray flares
Authors: Yoldaş E , Dal H A
Published: October 2022

In this study, the flares detected in the solar hard X-ray (λ0.5–4.0 Å) data accumulated by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) from 2001 March–May were analysed. For the first time in the literature, the One Phase Exponential Association (OPEA) model was derived for the Sun and, for the first time, over X-ray data. 1014 flares were detected in the analysis. Contrary to expectations, it was seen that the flares can be modelled with three different OPEA models, not one model. The Plateau value was found to be 5.053 ± 0.110 s with the half-time of 2316.12 s for the flares during 2001 March, while it was 5.676 ± 0.138 s with the half-time of 3967.59 s for 2001 April and 5.338 ± 0.080 s with the half-time of 2755.66 s for 2001 May. The results indicate that the models exhibit a fluctuation in their form time by time. This means that there is a phenomenon that changes the energy of flares obtained in three consecutive months. We also demonstrate that the linear parts of the flare cumulative frequency distributions obtained in these data interestingly show a separation.
Monitoring drug–target interactions through target engagement-mediated amplification on arrays and in situ
Authors: Al-Amin Rasel A , Johansson Lars , Abdurakhmanov Eldar , Landegren Nils , Löf Liza , Arngården Linda , Blokzijl Andries , Svensson Richard , Hammond Maria , Lönn Peter , Haybaeck Johannes , Kamali-Moghaddam Masood , Jensen Annika Jenmalm , Danielson U Helena , Artursson Per , Lundbäck Thomas , Landegren Ulf
Published: October 2022

Drugs are designed to bind their target proteins in physiologically relevant tissues and organs to modulate biological functions and elicit desirable clinical outcomes. Information about target engagement at cellular and subcellular resolution is therefore critical for guiding compound optimization in drug discovery, and for probing resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies in clinical samples. We describe a target engagement-mediated amplification (TEMA) technology, where oligonucleotide-conjugated drugs are used to visualize and measure target engagement in situ, amplified via rolling-circle replication of circularized oligonucleotide probes. We illustrate the TEMA technique using dasatinib and gefitinib, two kinase inhibitors with distinct selectivity profiles. In vitro binding by the dasatinib probe to arrays of displayed proteins accurately reproduced known selectivity profiles, while their differential binding to fixed adherent cells agreed with expectations from expression profiles of the cells. We also introduce a proximity ligation variant of TEMA to selectively investigate binding to specific target proteins of interest. This form of the assay serves to improve resolution of binding to on- and off-target proteins. In conclusion, TEMA has the potential to aid in drug development and clinical routine by conferring valuable insights in drug–target interactions at spatial resolution in protein arrays, cells and in tissues.
Population-based analysis of radiation-induced gliomas after cranial radiotherapy for childhood cancers
Authors: Leary Jacob B , Anderson-Mellies Amy , Green Adam L
Published: October 2022

Background

Cranial radiotherapy (RT) used for pediatric CNS cancers and leukemias carries a risk of secondary CNS malignancies, including radiation-induced gliomas (RIG). Our aim was to characterize the epidemiology of RIG.

Methods

This retrospective study used SEER data (1975–2016). Cohort 1 included patients diagnosed with glioma as a second malignancy ≥2 years after receiving treatment for a first malignancy diagnosed at 0–19 years, either a primary CNS tumor (1a, n = 57) or leukemia (1b, n = 20). Cohort 2 included patients who received RT for a pediatric CNS tumor and died of presumed progressive disease >7 years after diagnosis, since previous studies have documented many missed RIGs in this group (n = 296). Controls (n = 10 687) included all other patients ages 0–19 years who received RT for a first CNS tumor or leukemia.

Results

For Cohort 1, 0.77% of patients receiving cranial RT developed RIG. 3.39% of patients receiving cranial RT for primary CNS tumors fell in cohort 2. Median latency to RIG diagnosis was 11.1 years and was significantly shorter for cohort 1b than 1a. Median OS for cohort 1 was 9.0 months. Receiving surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy were all associated with a nonstatistically significant improvement in OS (P .1–.2). A total of 1.8% of all brain tumor deaths fell in cohort 1, with 7.9% in cohort 2.

Conclusion

A total of 1%–4% of patients undergoing cranial RT for pediatric cancers later developed RIG, which can occur 3–35 years after RT. Given the substantial and likely underestimated impact on overall CNS tumor mortality, RIG is deserving of increased attention in preclinical and clinical studies.
Socio-Economic Status Differences in Changing Affordability of Tobacco Products from 2011–2012 to 2018–2019 in India
Authors: Sharma Nitika , Nazar Gaurang P , Chugh Aastha , Chopra Mansi , Mdege Noreen D , John Rijo M , Arora Monika , Karan Anup
Published: October 2022

Introduction

We studied the change in affordability of tobacco products, an important determinant of tobacco use, across the different socio-economic status (SES) in India.

Aims and Methods

We calculated affordability in the form of relative income price (RIP-cost of tobacco products relative to income) for the years 2011–2012 and 2018–2019 using three different denominators, that is per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and net state domestic product at national and state levels, respectively; monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE); and individual wages. We investigated RIP for cigarettes, bidis, and smokeless tobacco (SLT) across different SES groups (caste groups, type of employment, and education).

Results

RIP increased marginally for cigarettes, bidis and remained almost constant for SLT across casual workers. However, when RIP was adjusted with SES variables, there was no significant change (p > .05) in the affordability of products for casual workers in the year 2018–2019 as compared to 2011–2012. For regular workers, cigarettes and bidis became marginally less affordable (β < 1), whereas affordability remained constant for SLT. All products became more affordable for backward caste groups within regular workers. When RIP was calculated using MPCE all tobacco products became less affordable in the year 2018–2019. However, after adjusting for SES variables SLT reported no change in affordability. There was a marginal increase in affordability for all products when RIP was calculated with GDP.

Conclusions

Although implementation of GST has increased the price of tobacco products, it is still not sufficient to reduce the affordability of tobacco products, particularly SLT and especially for the lower SES group.

Implications

Tobacco use and economic disadvantage conditions of the population are intricately linked. Affordability of tobacco products is influenced by socio-economic indicators like age, sex, income, education, etc. The literature measuring the affordability of tobacco products across different SES groups is scant in India. Additionally, existing literature measures affordability of tobacco products based on per capita GDP as a proxy for income. This is the first study in Indian context to report the change in affordability of tobacco products across different SES groups after adjusting for SES indicators, using individual-level income data. We have calculated the change in affordability of tobacco products between the year 2011–2012 and 2018–2019 using GDP, household income, and individual wages as a proxy for income.
Ramucirumab for Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Elevated Alpha Fetoprotein Following Non–Sorafenib Systemic Therapy: An Expansion Cohort of REACH-2
Authors: Finn Richard S , Yau Thomas , Hsu Chih-Hung , De Toni Enrico N , Goyal Lipika , Galle Peter R , Qin ShuKui , Rao Sujata , Sun Fangfang , Wang Chunxiao , Widau Ryan C , Zhu Andrew X
Published: October 2022

Background

Ramucirumab is indicated for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and α-fetoprotein (AFP) ≥400 ng/mL following sorafenib. Here, we prospectively studied ramucirumab following non-sorafenib systemic therapies.

Materials and Methods

This open-label, non-comparative cohort of REACH-2 enrolled patients with advanced HCC, Child-Pugh class-A liver disease, and AFP ≥400 ng/mL who had received 1-2 lines of therapy, excluding sorafenib or chemotherapy. Ramucirumab was administered 8 mg/kg intravenously Q2W. The primary endpoint was safety. Secondary endpoints were overall survival, progression-free survival, objective response rate (RECIST v1.1), time to progression, pharmacokinetics, and patient-reported outcomes. Final analysis occurred after all enrolled patients completed ≥3 treatment cycles or discontinued treatment.

Results

Between April 27, 2018, and March 29, 2021, 47 patients were treated at 21 investigative sites in Asia, Europe, and USA. The most frequently reported grade ≥3 adverse events, regardless of causality, were hypertension (11%), proteinuria (6%), hyponatremia (6%), and AST increased (6%). Two patients died from adverse events (myocardial infarction and upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage), deemed related to treatment. Median progression-free survival, time to progression, and overall survival were 1.7 months, 2.8 months, and 8.7 months, respectively. The objective response rate was 10.6% with a median duration response of 8.3 months. Median time to deterioration in FHSI-8 total score was 4.4 months.

Conclusion

Ramucirumab demonstrated consistent and meaningful clinical activity with no new safety signals following non-sorafenib therapies in patients with advanced HCC and AFP ≥400 ng/mL. This represents one of the first sequencing studies for patients with advanced HCC not treated with sorafenib.
Sport, Economics, and Finance
Authors: Gerrard Bill
Published: October 2022

This chapter focuses on the economics and finance of professional team sports. The business models of individual pro sports teams and pro sports leagues are considered, and the key issues of the sporting and financial viability of teams and leagues are discussed. Four approaches to studying the business of professional team sports are identified: allocative (i.e., mainstream) economics, corporate finance, strategic management, and radical political economy. It is argued that only the radical political economy approach sets the business of sport in its social, cultural, and historical contexts, but this approach has had a very limited influence within the sports economics literature. The chapter then considers three ongoing debates in sports economics: the motivation of team owners, the role of league regulation, and innovation and the Moneyball story.
Sport, Globalization, and Glocalization
Authors: Beissel Adam , Andrews David L.
Published: October 2022

This chapter provides an overview of the key issues and expressions of the generative relationship linking the global and the local within contemporary sport culture by critically and empirically engaging sport as the nexus of global-local events, bodies, spaces, and practices. Following a brief introduction to the complex phenomenon of globalization, the chapter elucidates the social, cultural, political, economic, and technological issues complicit in sport’s concerted glocalization. Second, the discussion critically explicates the contrasting theoretical approaches that have been utilized in examining sport’s global-local, grobal-glocal, cosmopolitan-glocal, and lobal-grobal manifestations. Third, the chapter introduces the commercialized, corporatized, spectacularized, and celebritized uber-sport model to the globalization of sport debate, discussing how uber-sport and its assemblant relations are manifest through global/local sporting and cultural variations. This involves a critical exposition of the glocalized nature of various sport practices, institutions, events, spectacles, and bodies, with the English Premier League serving as the object of study for examining how the uber-sport assemblage is both grobal and glocal, ubiquitous and ubietous. Finally, the discussion points to ongoing and future research directions that will address the gaps within the sport, globalization, and glocalization literature.
Sport, Olympic Ideals, and Realities
Authors: Tomlinson Alan
Published: October 2022

The Olympic Games are the highest-profile multidiscipline sport events in human history. Their contemporary manifestation as a global media event has attracted the largest viewing figures for any sporting event; the London 2012 Olympic Games reportedly generated 3.6 billion viewers worldwide, with Beijing’s 2008 Summer Olympics coming a close second with 3.5 billion viewers. Only the FIFA Men’s World Cup has rivaled these figures. Blending historical data with contemporary evidence, this chapter (1) outlines the key issues underlying the crises and challenges faced by the IOC and the Olympics in a changing, volatile, and globalizing world since the organization’s inception in 1894; (2) evaluates and critiques theoretical and interpretive models that have been used to account for the survival of the Olympic phenomenon and its claimed ideals; and (3) examines contemporary debates concerning citizenship, participation, and the future of the Games as their existence has become increasingly questioned in the face of the realities of their overexpansion, excessive costs, vulnerability to corruption, and ethical myopia—and never more so than throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–2021.
Sport, Aggressive Play, and Violence
Authors: Young Kevin
Published: October 2022

At first glance, the topic of sports aggression and violence directs our attention to what happens on the field of play during athletic contests between competitors both within and outside accepted rule structures. Indeed, this is the way the subject matter has traditionally been defined and approached. Such an approach is both inescapable and useful. But the fact of the matter is that it is necessary to step back and consider the sociological underpinnings, outcomes, and associations of athlete aggression and violence. As such, a cluster of related issues quickly becomes apparent: why and how various sports require athletes to play in an aggressive manner; why aggressive socialization strategies are not embraced by all athletes in the same way; how coaches and administrators might play contributory roles; how risky play is linked with pain and, in turn, how injury is linked with litigation. Such questions inevitably bring larger sociological factors into focus, such as social control, social stratification, and social change. Rather than viewing athlete aggression and violence in isolation, this chapter considers these issues through the lens of existing debates to place the subject matter in broader and more expansive sociological context.
Sport, Injury, and Medical Intervention
Authors: Malcolm Dominic , Pullen Emma
Published: October 2022

This chapter explores the phenomenon of injury in sport and attendant medical intervention. Key issues include the contextually specific definition of injury used by athletes, the propensity of participants to disregard restrictions to their physical abilities, and the relative availability of suitably trained medical personnel. The chapter then identifies three main approaches to the study of sports injury, plus the main theoretical orientations and methodological assumptions in this field. It concludes with a discussion of three prominent debates: (1) the role of gender in mediating injury and medical treatment, (2) the degree of voluntarism/coercion experienced by participants, and (3) the balance between healthcare professionals’ promotion of health and performance. The conclusion discusses how medical and social concerns about concussion and chronic traumatic encephalopathy are reinvigorating this field, returning scholars to some core questions and encouraging the use of diverse theoretical developments.
Sport, Child Maltreatment, and Sexual Violence
Authors: Hartill Michael J.
Published: October 2022

This chapter introduces and examines the broad area of child maltreatment and sexual violence in the context of sport, with a particular focus on sexual violence against children in sport. The chapter selectively covers some of the key issues, approaches, and debates within research, policy, and administration related to the (sexual) abuse and exploitation of children and athletes. Based in social science perspectives, the chapter covers a range of empirical issues, research findings, and theoretical arguments set within the historical development of a relatively new field of inquiry. In policy terms, developments in child protection and safeguarding in sport are discussed. The chapter closes by offering critical discussion on specific areas of debate within the sport sector in relation to its efforts to address child maltreatment and sexual violence.
Sport, Scandal, and Social Morality
Authors: Rowe David , Palmer Catherine
Published: October 2022

There is a deep and enduring relationship between sport and scandal. This chapter recognizes that sport scandals are enormously variable, involving moral and ethical conduct ranging from relatively mundane transgressions such as marital infidelity to serious breaches of the civil and criminal law. Using sociological and anthropological theories and concepts, it seeks to understand the social relationships implicated in the making, trajectory, and consequences of the sport scandal. Focusing especially on sport scandals involving “race” and gender, and the key role of the media, the chapter considers the creation of “moral panics” through sport and its recurring narratives of redemption, particularly in cases involving sport celebrities. In challenging arguments that sport scandals are mostly trivial, ephemeral, mediated dramas, it is concluded that they can be profoundly instructive about the constitution of social morality and serve to stimulate policy changes of considerable importance within the institution of sport and across wider society.
Sport, Ideology, and Power
Authors: Carrington Ben
Published: October 2022

When we think about “power” and “sport” we typically focus on the power of athlete’s bodies. While physical power and the development of highly specialized motor skills are important to success on the playing fields, a broader understanding of power would include a focus on those who run and organize sports, and the institutional structures and organizations that govern how sports are played, and by whom and under what conditions. Similarly, sports produce powerful narratives that emphasize sport’s positive social and personal outcomes, and it is widely believed that sports are removed from politics and operate in a separate, apolitical sphere of human activity. However, sports studies scholars have demonstrated that power is a central dimension of how sports are organized, played, and watched. Sports are also an important site for the reproduction and contestation of ideologies. This chapter maps key approaches to studying power and surveys the debates around ideology. The chapter outlines ongoing debates within sports studies on how power and ideology should be understood, critically evaluating the ideas of sport studies scholars and recent work in the areas of race, gender, and media in order to highlight the continuing need to study sports as a central domain of political struggle and ideological contestation.
Sport, Social Movements, and Athlete Activism
Authors: Hartmann Douglas
Published: October 2022

This chapter provides an overview of sociological research and theory on activism, protest, and social movements in and through sport. It begins with a brief review of sport’s complicated history with social change and protest, and the centrality of athletes therein. The first full section identifies key research issues: definitions, primary areas of activism in sport, and structural factors that make resistance challenging, such as its complicity with power and profit as well as long-standing cultural taboos about politics. The second section summarizes sport sociology’s defining theories and methods of analysis: race-based case studies with a focus on broader social context, resources, goals, and tactics. The final section highlights newer developments, ongoing debates in the field, and primary questions for future work. The conclusion suggests that the study of athletically oriented activism reveals both the cultural power of sport as well as the limitations of standard liberal democratic ideals about sport as an inherently progressive social force.
Sport, Animals, and Humans
Authors: Atkinson Michael , Gibson Kass
Published: October 2022

Sociologists have documented an array of cultural contexts and practices in which humans and animals collide by design, or accident, through the practice of human sport and leisure. From early studies of animal violence/rights and companionship in sports to more recent debates regarding the deep punctuation of animals within more-than-human sports and leisure networks, sociologists of sport have produced key works contributing to the larger sociology of animals library. Nevertheless, the pervasive confusion about the explicit or implicit goals of a sociology of or for animals in sport raises important questions about the actual purpose or meaning of sociological research for the animals themselves. This chapter provides a topographical view of major issues and sociological problems covered, theoretical and methodological preferences, and unresolved debates in the field. In the end, a case is made for the development of an interspecies physical cultural studies, and suggestions are offered for a more robust and meaningful critical analysis of how humans and other animals interact in and outside of sport.
Sport, Education, and Opportunity
Authors: Bailey Richard , Glibo Iva
Published: October 2022

This chapter considers the current position of sports in schools, focusing on the justifications and consequences of their inclusion and the extent to which they can provide adequate opportunities to meet the needs of all students. It presents some perennial issues related to students’ opportunities, focusing on inequalities based on gender. It provides both theoretical and empirical insights into sports in schools and the varied opportunities it creates. This discussion draws on philosophical, sociological, and educational perspectives that will help the reader to gain insights into this inherently complex situation. Finally, the chapter discusses values and goals as well as the granted status of school sports at the nexus of sport, education, and opportunities.
Sport, Social Mobility, and Elite Athletes
Authors: Spaaij Ramón , Ryder Suzanne
Published: October 2022

This chapter explores the association between sport and social mobility. Drawing on a review of literature and primary research on elite women’s road cycling, it is shown that opportunities for social mobility exist in sport, with key mechanisms being earnings, occupational status, educational attainment, and social prestige. However, it is evident from the literature and the primary data that these opportunities and pathways are not distributed evenly. There is considerable evidence to support the argument that, on the whole, sport is not the social equalizer it is considered to be, regardless of what high-profile rags-to-riches stories may suggest. Social factors such as gender, race-ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (and the intersections between them) moderate opportunities for social mobility in and through sport. Those from privileged backgrounds, and especially white middle-class males, are more likely to benefit from social mobility opportunities and pathways in sport than persons from underserved communities. This social stratification pattern is influenced by conditions and circumstances of early life, which shape disparities in access to sport participation opportunities from an early age. The case study of women’s road cycling illustrates how these dynamics will vary across sports labor markets of different size, depending on both the economic opportunities within a sport and the resources required to enter the sport and to maintain a playing career.
Sport, Lifestyle, and Alternate Pathways
Authors: Thorpe Holly , Dumont Guillaume
Published: October 2022

The past three decades have seen research on recreational action sport participants growing steadily alongside transformations of these sporting cultures. This chapter focuses on key issues in this literature, including the highly mobile and alternative work and career paths carved out by those seeking to pursue this lifestyle, and the growing body of scholarship on action sport professionals (i.e., athletes, coaches, agents, journalists, photographers, social media producers, development volunteers). With recent inclusion into the Olympic Games of more youth-focused action sports, the industry structures and professional opportunities for action sport participants are changing rapidly, calling for a reexamination of their commercialization, institutionalization, and professionalization. Thus, this chapter considers key transformations at stake in the field, including approaches to studying action sports cultures and new career pathways that are emerging alongside industry changes. We conclude by mapping new lines of inquiry and key debates in the field of action sports studies.
Sport, Policy, and Politics
Authors: Sam Michael P.
Published: October 2022

The subject of policy and politics occupies an important place in the study of sport and society. This chapter considers the domain’s key issues, including those surrounding distribution (e.g., state emphasis on mass or elite sport), regulation (e.g., doping, match-fixing), and governance (e.g., accountability, modernization). The field of sport policy and politics is characterized by a breadth of theoretical perspectives that fall broadly within pluralist, institutional, and ideational approaches. These approaches are discussed in light of their merits and potential contributions toward understanding policy processes, program implementation, and policy outcomes. The chapter concludes with a consideration of future scholarship priorities at the nexus of sport, politics, and policy.
Sport, Social Exclusion, and Discrimination
Authors: Jeanes Ruth , Lucas Ryan
Published: October 2022

This chapter examines the ways in which sport can contribute to social exclusion and discrimination in society. The chapter first overviews and conceptualizes social exclusion before discussing the mechanisms that serve to exclude certain individuals, groups, and communities from and within sport. Various theories of social exclusion are reviewed, highlighting social exclusion as a multilayered, relational process occurring on a continuum. The chapter considers whether sport in its traditional form can be inclusive. The conclusion points to future research directions, including the need to examine exclusionary processes in sport using an intersectional lens and the importance of engaging with marginalized populations in the development of social policy and practices aimed at addressing their experiences of exclusion.
Sport, Disability, and Inclusion
Authors: Brittain Ian , Christiaens Matej
Published: October 2022

This chapter examines the intersectionality of disability and sport and their possible connection to the increased inclusion of disabled people within the wider society. Compared to sport for non-disabled people, which has been around for centuries, disability sport and sport for disabled people are relatively new concepts. Ludwig Guttmann was a pioneer when he introduced sport as part of a rehabilitation regime at Stoke Mandeville hospital in the United Kingdom, which later evolved into the second largest multisport event in the world, the Paralympic Games. Despite such success, disabled people still face an uphill battle to find and engage in sporting opportunities and achieve broader inclusion within society. Moreover, the Paralympic Games might not bring the societal change that is often hoped for. While more and more community sport clubs self-identify as being inclusive, ableist attitudes remain a key characteristic to how inclusion is operationalized in practice. This chapter explores some of the key issues and debates pertaining to the inclusion of disabled people in sport and society, in addition to some of the models and theories pertaining to disability.
Sport, Masculinities, and Heteronormativity
Authors: Magrath Rory , Anderson Eric
Published: October 2022

Since its foundation in the late 19th century, sport has traditionally been charged with socializing boys and men into an environment in which they are expected to exhibit physical toughness, emotional stoicism, and the rejection of anything deemed to be feminine—including homosexuality. In the 21st century, however, attitudes toward homosexuality and its presence in sport have improved. This chapter draws upon research from a range of sports to outline this shift in attitude. It also discusses dominant theoretical perspectives—hegemonic masculinity theory and inclusive masculinity theory—and how these have evolved over recent years, as well as some of the ongoing debates which pervade the field, including where further research is required.
Sport, Nationalism, and National Identities
Authors: Bairner Alan , Han Peizi
Published: October 2022

At the most basic level of analysis, it is easy to see the extent to which sport, arguably more than any other form of social activity in the modern world, facilitates flag-waving and the playing of national anthems, both formally, at moments such as medal ceremonies, and informally through the activities of fans. It is important to appreciate, however, that the precise nature of the relationship between sport and nationalism varies dramatically from one political setting to another and that, as a consequence, it is vital that, in order to understand it, we are alert to a range of different concepts, theoretical approaches, and research methods. This chapter addresses these issues and examines the interplay between sport and nationalism in various parts of the world. Notably more attention is paid to the non-Western world than is common in such discussions. In addition, we identify athlete naturalization and sport and the politics of secessionism as two of the topics that are likely to be increasingly important in the future.
Sport, Spectatorship, and Fandom
Authors: Dixon Kevin
Published: October 2022

This chapter sets out to review and deliberate upon some of the dominant and reoccurring issues, approaches, and debates within the sociology of sport as they relate to the maintenance and evolution of sport fandom cultures. The treatment encourages readers to visualize all sports fans as both products and constituents of cultures in which consumption is of paramount importance. Much evidence considered demonstrates how fans embody consumption experiences within a “fan habitus” and how they use consumption to gauge the social capital of others within sport fandom groups. Finally, this chapter addresses the fluidity of sport fandom cultures, the role of prosumption, and the potential implications of technological advancements on fan cultures into the future.
Sport, Television, and Structuration
Authors: Billings Andrew C. , Buzzelli Nicholas R.
Published: October 2022

In an age of ubiquitous new/mobile media options, television remains the preeminent form of media consumption for sports fans worldwide. This chapter explores the reasons for television’s entrenched domination in a broadening media landscape, along with the constrictions inherent within the legacy platform. It also articulates the political-economic drivers, the content shaping, and the complexities of audience engagement within televised sport. The argument advanced is that while televised sport has evolved dramatically over time, the structures underpinning the rendering of it have stayed remarkably constant. Ultimately, the symbiotic relationship between sport stakeholders (athletes, teams, sponsors, organizations, etc.) and the television networks facilitating sports media products reifies the reason why sports television remains the de facto heuristic for facilitating sport fandom and consumption.
Sport, Militarism, and Signification
Authors: Butterworth Michael L.
Published: October 2022

This chapter attends to the pervasive inclusion of militarism in contemporary sport, focusing primarily on the symbolic uses of the military and war in sporting contexts in the United States. Militarism is defined not merely as the presence of military personnel or war machinery but more so as a discourse that affirms the necessity of war and what James Der Derian calls the military-industrial-media-entertainment network. From this perspective, sport is among the most visible and persuasive sites for inducing public support of militarism’s values. The chapter especially highlights sport militarism as an instrument of the state, a vehicle for propaganda, and a manifestation of civil religion. It summarizes the prevailing approaches to these issues and also points to areas that require additional scholarly attention.
Sport, Law, and Ethics
Authors: Epstein Adam
Published: October 2022

This chapter demonstrates how sport, law, and ethics provide examples of the constant struggle between right and wrong. Throughout history, sport has revealed examples of fraud and the consequences for misconduct, including the price one might pay for blowing the whistle on such wrongdoing. Examples of misdeeds are offered primarily from the American perspective, especially in the context of intercollegiate sport, but international examples, particularly through the Olympic Movement, offer the chance to explore how ethics and law create boundaries, establish norms, and provide a means of dispute resolution. Though the degree to which the civil or criminal law engages sport depends upon the circumstances, specific ways to address dealing with ethics in sport include offering participants a legally binding and enforceable contract to play by the rules. If that does not ensure compliance, governmental regulation might be the last and necessary means to maintain civility and order in sport.
Informed Decision-Making and Capabilities in Population-based Cancer Screening
Authors: Bolt Ineke L L E , Schermer Maartje H N , Bomhof-Roordink Hanna , Timmermans Danielle R M
Published: October 2022

Informed decision-making (IDM) is considered an important ethical and legal requirement for population-based screening. Governments offering such screening have a duty to enable invitees to make informed decisions regarding participation. Various views exist on how to define and measure IDM in different screening programmes. In this paper we first address the question which components should be part of IDM in the context of cancer screening. Departing from two diverging interpretations of the value of autonomy—as a right and as an ideal—we describe how this value is operationalized in the practice of informed consent in medicine and translate this to IDM in population-based cancer screening. Next, we specify components of IDM, which is voluntariness and the requirements of disclosure and understanding. We argue that whereas disclosure should contain all information considered relevant in order to enable authentic IDM, understanding of basic information is sufficient for a valid IDM. In the second part of the paper we apply the capability approach in order to argue for the responsibility of the government to warrant equal and real opportunities for invitees for IDM. We argue that additional conditions beyond mere provision of information are needed in order to do so.
The RAC/ROP GTPase activator OsRopGEF10 functions in crown root development by regulating cytokinin signaling in rice
Authors: Liu Huili , Huang Jiaqing , Zhang Xiaojing , Liu Guolan , Liang Wei , Zhu Guangqi , Dong Mengge , Li Ming , Zhang Jie , Yang Weiyuan , Xiao Wu , Cheung Alice Y , Tao Li-Zhen
Published: October 2022

RAC/Rho of plant (ROP) GTPases are major molecular switches that control diverse signaling cascades for plant growth, development, and defense. Here, we discovered a signaling node that connects RAC/ROPs to cytokinins. Rice (Oryza sativa) plants develop a fibrous root system mainly composed of crown roots. Cytokinin signaling via a phosphorelay system is critical for crown root development. We show that OsRopGEF10, which activates RAC/ROPs, acts upstream of the cytoplasmic-nuclear shuttling phosphotransfer proteins AHPs of the cytokinin signaling pathway to promote crown root development. Mutations of OsRopGEF10 induced hypersensitivity to cytokinin, whereas overexpressing this gene reduced the cytokinin response. Loss of OsRopGEF10 function reduced the expression of the response regulator gene OsRR6, a repressor of cytokinin signaling, and impaired crown root development. Mutations in OsAHP1/2 led to increased crown root production and rescued the crown root defect of Osropgef10. Furthermore, auxin activates the ROP GTPase OsRAC3, which attenuates cytokinin signaling for crown root initiation. Molecular interactions between OsRopGEF10, OsRAC3, and OsAHP1/2 implicate a mechanism whereby OsRopGEF10-activated OsRAC3 recruits OsAHP1/2 to the cortical cytoplasm, sequestering them from their phosphorelay function in the nucleus. Together, our findings uncover the OsRopGEF10–OsRAC3–OsAHP1/2 signaling module, establish a link between RAC/ROPs and cytokinin, and reveal molecular crosstalk between auxin and cytokinin during crown root development.
Socioeconomic disadvantage, chronic stress, and proinflammatory phenotype: an integrative data analysis across the lifecourse
Authors: Lam Phoebe H , Chen Edith , Chiang Jessica J , Miller Gregory E
Published: October 2022

Socioeconomic disadvantage confers risk for many chronic illnesses, and theories have highlighted chronic psychological stress and alterations to inflammatory processes as key pathways. Specifically, disadvantage can heighten chronic stress, which may promote a proinflammatory phenotype characterized by immune cells mounting exaggerated cytokine responses to challenge and being less sensitive to inhibitory signals. Importantly, lifecourse perspectives emphasize that such immune alterations should be more potent earlier in life during a sensitive period when bodily tissues are highly plastic to environmental inputs. However, examining these propositions is resource intensive, as they require cell-culturing approaches to model functional inflammatory activities, a wide age range, and longitudinal data. Here, we integrated data from five independent studies to create a diverse sample of 1,607 individuals (960 with longitudinal data; 8 to 64 years old; 359 Asian, 205 Black, and 151 Latino/a). Leveraging the resulting lifecourse data, rich interview assessments of disadvantage and stress, and ex vivo assessments of inflammation, we examined two questions: (1) Does chronic stress account for the link between disadvantage and proinflammatory phenotype? (2) Is there a developmental period during which inflammatory responses are more sensitive to disadvantage and chronic stress? Disadvantage was associated with higher chronic stress, which was linked with a proinflammatory phenotype cross-sectionally, longitudinally, and in terms of prospective change across 1.5 to 2 years. Consistent with the sensitive period hypothesis, the magnitude of these indirect associations was strongest in earlier decades and declined across the lifecourse. These findings highlight the importance of taking a lifecourse perspective in examining health disparities.
Protonation structure of the closed-cubane conformation of the O2-evolving complex in photosystem II
Authors: Saito Keisuke , Mino Hiroyuki , Nishio Shunya , Ishikita Hiroshi
Published: October 2022

In photosystem II (PSII), one-electron oxidation of the most stable state of the oxygen-evolving Mn4CaO5 cluster (S1) leads to the S2 state formation, Mn1(III)Mn2(IV)Mn3(IV)Mn4(IV) (open-cubane S2) or Mn1(IV)Mn2(IV)Mn3(IV)Mn4(III) (closed-cubane S2). In electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the g = 4.1 signal is not observed in cyanobacterial PSII but in plant PSII, whereas the g = 4.8 signal is observed in cyanobacterial PSII and extrinsic-subunit-depleted plant PSII. Here, we investigated the closed-cubane S2 conformation, a candidate for a higher spin configuration that accounts for g > 4.1 EPR signal, considering all pairwise exchange couplings in the PSII protein environment (i.e. instead of considering only a single exchange coupling between the [Mn3(CaO4)] cubane region and the dangling Mn4 site). Only when a ligand water molecule that forms an H-bond with D1-Asp61 (W1) is deprotonated at dangling Mn4(IV), the g = 4.1 EPR spectra can be reproduced using the cyanobacterial PSII crystal structure. The closed-cubane S2 is less stable than the open-cubane S2 in cyanobacterial PSII, which may explain why the g = 4.1 EPR signal is absent in cyanobacterial PSII.
Reducing Public Stigma Towards Psychosis: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Effects of Social Contact Based Brief Video Interventions
Authors: Jankowski Samantha E , Yanos Philip , Dixon Lisa B , Amsalem Doron
Published: October 2022

Background and Hypothesis

Public stigma reduces treatment-seeking and increases the duration of untreated psychosis among young people with psychosis. Social contact-based video interventions have been shown to be effective at reducing stigma; however, more research is needed regarding very brief interventions less than 2 minutes long, which are suitable for social media platforms and particularly relevant for young adults. We recently conducted three randomized control trials and demonstrated the efficacy of such videos to reduce stigma toward individuals with psychosis among young adults of the general public. However, it is unclear what elements contributed to the effectiveness of these very brief interventions.

Study Design

The present article proposes a conceptual framework to discern what elements contributed to the efficacy of these interventions. We first review the existing literature describing social contact-based interventions and how they impact the cognitions, emotions, and behaviors of participants.

Study Results

Then, using this lens, we suggest an alternate observation of the data from our studies by examining changes in stigmatizing views across time, rather than utilizing mean scores and conceptualizing how key characteristics of our interventions helped reduce stigma. We also highlight future research directions, including the need to look at mediators and moderators of change and the need to examine behavioral outcomes.

Study Conclusions

By hypothesizing how these interventions are proposed to work, this framework is intended to provide a roadmap for further development of brief video-based interventions to reduce stigma.
Contextual Origins of Black-White Educational Disparities in the 21st Century: Evaluating Long-Term Disadvantage Across Three Domains
Authors: Michelmore Katherine , Rich Peter
Published: October 2022

How much do black-white educational disparities reflect differences in family, school, and neighborhood contexts? We use 16 years of statewide student administrative data from Michigan to update this classic sociological question with attention to observed racial differences in the duration of exposure to contextual disadvantage. We show that a longitudinal measure of family economic disadvantage explains significantly more of the black-white gap in test scores, high school completion, and college entry than a cross-sectional measure commonly used in education research. Racial differences in school context—much more than differences in neighborhood context—explain a large portion of remaining black-white educational disparities. Controlling for black-white differences in exposure to disadvantage across all three contexts reduces 8th and 11th grade test score gaps by over 60% and completely reverses educational attainment gaps, revealing a black net advantage. Our results demonstrate the need to incorporate longitudinal measures in educational administrative data and suggest that schools play a substantial role, after family disadvantage, in the persistence of racial educational inequality. More broadly, our study amplifies the argument that undoing systemic racism will require a confrontation with the deep contextual roots of black-white inequality in the 21st century.
PFOA exposure causes variations of Acot1 among tissues in rats, and Acot1 in serum can be potentially used as a sensitive marker for health monitoring
Authors: Zhou Yongbing , Qiao Ying , Zhang Xuemin , Ma Xingzhuang , Liu Hui , Wang Li
Published: October 2022

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a type of 8-carbon perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) widely used in industrial and domestic products, which now is a persistent organic pollutant (POP) found in the environment. Its structure is similar to fatty acids, which enables it to induce the expression of ACOT genes. To investigate the expression levels of Acot1 in various tissues and organs after exposure to PFOA for 28 days in rats, and to compare the variations of Acot1 expression in different tissues, we sectioned samples and incubated with Acot1 antibody. The results show that the transcription and protein expression levels of Acot1 in the liver and kidney of rats increased significantly. Meanwhile, the transcription and protein expression of Acot1 gene were also detected in testis, muscle, and adipose. The results of immunohistochemistry were also verified by western blot detection, and we detected the transcription of Acot1 gene in these tissues and found that they all increased in varying degrees. In this study, the expression of Acot1 protein in rat serum was detected for the first time, and the expression of Acot1 in rat serum was found to be significantly increased after PFOA exposure. In addition, the expression level of Acot1 in rat organism was found to be higher than that in the control group after 4 days of depuration for 7 days of acute PFOA exposure, and Acot1 protein expression also showed an increase with increasing exposure time, indicating that Acot1 can be used as a sensitive biomarker for health monitoring of PFOA occupational workers or exposed persons.