Suchergebnisse

Cultural intelligence is the capability of a person to adapt effectively to different cultures. This capability has been investigated in areas such as management, military, and education. However, there are no studies in sport referring to this capability. It is important to study cultural intelligence in sport because of the increased globalisation resulting from coaches' and athletes' migration across countries and clubs. This study aimed to develop the CQsport and examine its factorial structure and psychometric properties; and examine coaches' cultural intelligence and their perceived cross-cultural training needs. Participants were 209 football coaches either with or without international experience. Participants completed an online survey consisting of CQsport and a cross-cultural training needs questionnaire. We used a Multi-Group analysis, within the SEM approach, to test group differences in the CQsport and performed a One-Way ANOVA for comparisons across groups concerning cross-cultural training needs. Coaches with international experience rated themselves with more cultural intelligence in the sports context than coaches with no international experience on the metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioural dimensions. Coaches with international experience also self-rated fewer training needs than coaches without international experience. This study represents the first attempt to examine football coaches' cultural intelligence and their cross-cultural training needs.

The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) has dramatically increased since the advent of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic. In Portugal, tuberculosis is still common in HIV‐negative patients, despite earlier diagnosis and countrywide directly observed therapy strategies. With the purpose of comparing some demographic and clinical aspects of TB in HIV‐infected and uninfected patients, the authors reviewed the files of patients admitted with a diagnosis of tuberculosis between January 2002 and December 2011. During this time period, there were 234 cases of tuberculosis, 43 (18%) of which occurred in HIV‐infected patients. In this group, 74% of patients were male, with a mean age of 38±11 years and the majority (51%) acquired HIV from heterosexual risk behavior. The most common site of infection was the lung, in both groups, but cases of extrapulmonary TB were significantly higher in the HIV‐infected group (67% versus 39%, p<0.01). Disseminated TB was the most common extrapulmonary diagnosis in the former group (28%) and lymph node TB (8%) in the latter. The duration of hospitalization was not statistically different between the two groups (mean of 26±16 days in HIV‐infected patients and 21±15 days in the HIV‐negative group, p=0.21). The mean CD4 count at TB diagnosis was 180±177/mm3. In 11 (26%) of the patients, HIV was diagnosed during the TB episode and in 5 cases, the diagnosis of tuberculosis occurred with immune reconstitution syndrome. In the majority of patients (60%), TB was the first AIDS‐defining condition. In 26 (60%) of patients there was microbiologic confirmation of TB, mainly by direct observation (69%), positive culture (46%) and molecular diagnostic technics (27%). While most patients were treated with the 4‐drug standard regimen, 16 (37%) of cases received alternative treatment. The mean duration of treatment was 8.5±4.8 months and the majority of patients (58%) were considered cured. About one‐third of patients were lost to follow‐up (32%). Tuberculosis is a heterogeneous disease, varying accordingly with the immunologic status of the host. The risk of extrapulmonary and disseminated TB increases with immunosuppression but, in this cohort, it did not seem to influence the length of hospitalization. The authors alert to the need of HIV screening whenever TB occurs, allowing for earlier diagnosis and prompt start of antiretroviral therapy.

This study deals with the optimization and scaling up of the production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), PHB, nanocomposites containing biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to generate materials with antimicrobial performance. First, a comparative study of the chemical and biological synthesis of AgNPs during the fermentation process of Cupriavidus necator at shake flask-scale was carried out. These experiments demonstrated the inherent capacity of C. necator to reduce the silver salt and produce AgNPs without the need for adding a reducing agent and, that the method of synthesis (with or without reducing agent) affects the dispersion of the AgNPs and their antimicrobial performance. Finally, the process was scaled-up to a 10 Liters bioreactor and the relevant physical properties of the PHB-AgNPs nanocomposites pressed into films were determined. From the characterization work, the AgNPs were found to be well dispersed and distributed into the polymer matrix, having a maximum frequency of particles with average diameter of 76–95 nm. Moreover, the presence of AgNPs did not cause any effect on the thermal properties of the biopolymer, although a slight reduction in crystallinity was seen. The developed materials presented a strong antimicrobial activity against the food-borne pathogens Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes, which makes them potentially suitable for active coatings and packaging applications. Complete biodisintegration of the samples occurred during composting conditions within the first 40 days. Interestingly, the presence of the AgNPs did not impair the profile of biodegradation of the microbial polymer. ; The authors would like to thank to the Active and intelligent fibre-based packaging – innovation and market introduction (ActInPak) COST Action FP1405 for the funding of the Short Therm Scientific Mission, to Octavio Cedenilla from the Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias-CSIC for the ICP-OES analysis and to Dr. Luis Cabedo, from Universitat Jaume I for his support with WAXD analyses and biodisintegration tests. Research leading to these results has received funding from the Comunidad de Madrid (P2013/MIT2807) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, (BIO2013-44878-R and AGL2015-63855-C2-1-R). Jinneth Lorena Castro-Mayorga is supported by the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (Colciencias) of the Colombian Government. ; Peer reviewed

31 p.-9 fig.-3 tab. ; This study deals with the optimization and scaling up of the production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), PHB, nanocomposites containing biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to generate materials with antimicrobial performance. First, a comparative study of the chemical and biological synthesis of AgNPs during the fermentation process of Cupriavidus necator at shake flask-scale was carried out. These experiments demonstrated the inherent capacity of C. necator to reduce the silver salt and produce AgNPs without the need for adding a reducing agent and, that the method of synthesis (with or without reducing agent) affects the dispersion of the AgNPs and their antimicrobial performance. Finally, the process was scaled-up to a 10Liters bioreactor and the relevant physical properties of the PHB-AgNPs nanocomposites pressed into films were determined. From the characterization work, the AgNPs were found to be well dispersed and distributed into the polymer matrix, having a maximum frequency of particles with average diameter of 76-95nm. Moreover, the presence of AgNPs did not cause any effect on the thermal properties of the biopolymer, although a slight reduction in crystallinity was seen. The developed materials presented a strong antimicrobial activity against the food-borne pathogens Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes, which makes them potentially suitable for active coatings and packaging applications. Complete biodisintegration of the samples occurred during composting conditions within the first 40days. Interestingly, the presence of the AgNPs did not impair the profile of biodegradation of the microbial polymer. ; The authors would like to thank to the Active and intelligent fibre-based packaging - innovation and market introduction (ActInPak) COST Action FP1405 for the funding of the Short Therm Scientific Mission, to Octavio Cedenilla from the Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias-CSIC for the ICP-OES analysis and to Dr. Luis Cabedo, from Universitat Jaume I for his support with mechanical testing, WAXD analyses and biodisintegration tests.Research leading to these results has received funding from the Comunidad de Madrid (P2013/MIT2807) and the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, (BIO2013-44878-R and AGL2015-63855-C2-1-R). Jinneth Lorena Castro-Mayorga is supported by the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (Colciencias) of the Colombian Government. ; Peer reviewed