Testosterone identifies hatchling sex for Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii).

The threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) exhibits temperature-dependent sex determination, and individuals appear externally sexually monomorphic until sexual maturity. A non-surgical sex identification method that is suitable for a single in situ encounter with hatchlings is essential for minimizing handling of wild animals. We tested (1) whether plasma testosterone quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay differentiated males from females in 0-3 month old captive hatchlings, and (2) whether an injection of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) differentially elevates testosterone in male hatchlings to aid in identifying sex. We validated sex by ceolioscopic (laparoscopic) surgery. We then fit the testosterone concentrations to lognormal distributions and identified the concentration below which individuals are more likely female, and above which individuals are more likely male. Using a parametric bootstrapping procedure, we estimated a 0.01-0.04% misidentification rate for naïve testosterone samples, and a 1.26-1.39% misidentification rate for challenged (post-FSH injection) testosterone samples. Quantification of plasma testosterone concentration from small volume (0.1 mL) blood samples appears to be a viable, highly accurate method to identify sex of 0-3 month old hatchlings and could be a valuable tool for conservation measures and investigation of trends and variation in sex ratios for in situ wild nests.

A comparison of non-surgical methods for sexing young gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus).

Many turtle species have temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), raising the prospect that climate change could impact population dynamics by altering sex ratios. Understanding how climate change will affect populations of animals with TSD requires a reliable and minimally invasive method of identifying the sexes of young individuals. This determination is challenging in many turtles, which often lack conspicuous external sexual dimorphism until years after hatching. Here, we explore four alternatives for sexing three age classes of captive-reared young gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), a terrestrial turtle of conservation concern native to the southeastern United States: (1) naive testosterone levels, (2) testosterone levels following a follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) challenge, (3) linear morphological measurements, and (4) geometric morphometrics. Unlike some other turtle species, male and female neonatal gopher tortoises have overlapping naive testosterone concentration distributions, justifying more complicated methods. We found that sex of neonates (<7 days old) is best predicted by a "random forest" machine learning model with naive testosterone levels and morphological measurements (8% out-of-bag error). Sex of hatchlings (4-8 months old) was predicted with 11% error using a simple threshold on naive testosterone levels, or with 4% error using a simple threshold on post-FSH testosterone levels. Sex of juveniles (approximately 3.5 years old) was perfectly predicted using a simple threshold on naive testosterone levels. Sexing hatchlings at >4 months of age is the easiest and most reliable non-surgical method for sex identification. Given access to a rearing facility and equipment to perform hormone assays, these methods have the potential to supplant laparoscopic surgery as the method of choice for sexing young gopher tortoises.

Perspectives in football medicine.

The high injury rate among men's professional football players is well-known. Therefore, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) launched an injury study already in 2001. This study, the UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (ECIS), currently includes data from a total of 51 clubs from 18 European countries with more than 14,000 registered injuries. With the 21st World Cup (WC) in Russia just around the corner, we have from our study identified a higher match injury rate and a higher proportion of severe injuries in the European Championships compared to the preceding club competitive seasons. Moreover, we have also recently showed that the muscle injury rate is higher when players are given a recovery window of five days or less between two matches. Considering the congested match schedule of the upcoming WC, it is therefore likely that injuries and fatigue once again will be a topic of discussion this summer.

Severe musculoskeletal time-loss injuries and symptoms of common mental disorders in professional soccer: a longitudinal analysis of 12-month follow-up data.

PURPOSE: Psychological factors have shown to be predictors of injury in professional football. However, it seems that this is a two-way relationship, as severe musculoskeletal time-loss injuries have shown to be associated with the onset of symptoms of common mental disorders (CMD). There is no longitudinal study performed exploring this interaction between symptoms of CMD and injuries. The purpose of this study was to explore the interaction between severe musculoskeletal time-loss injuries and symptoms of CMD in professional football players over a 12-month period. METHODS: Players were recruited by their national players' unions in five European countries. Symptoms of CMD included in the study were related to distress, anxiety/depression, sleep disturbance and adverse alcohol use. RESULTS: A total of 384 professional football players were enrolled in the study, of whom 262 (68%) completed the 12-month follow-up period. The mean age of the participants at baseline was 27 ± 5 years, and they had played professional football for 8 ± 5 years on average. Symptoms of CMD at baseline were not associated with the onset of severe musculoskeletal time-loss injuries during the follow-up period with relative risks (and 95% CI) ranging from 0.6 (0.3-1.0) to 1.0 (0.5-2.2). In contrast, severe musculoskeletal time-loss injuries reported at baseline were associated with the onset of symptoms of CMD during the follow-up period with relative risks ranging from 1.8 (0.8-3.7) to 6.9 (4.0-11.9). CONCLUSION: No relationship was found between symptoms of CMD and the onset of severe musculoskeletal time-loss injuries. However, professional football players who suffered from severe musculoskeletal time-loss injuries are likely to develop subsequent symptoms of CMD. This study emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary medical approach, which not only focuses on the physical but also on the mental health of professional football players. An early identification of players at risk of symptoms of CMD, such as those suffering from severe musculoskeletal injuries, creates the opportunity for an interdisciplinary clinical medical team to treat the players timely and adequately. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prospective cohort study, Level II.

Validation of 3 T MRI including diffusion-weighted imaging for nodal staging of newly diagnosed intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer.

AIM: To prospectively validate 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for preoperative lymph node (LN) staging in a clinical setting, in intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients using laparoscopic extended LN dissection (ePLND) as the reference standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 2011 and May 2013, 40 newly diagnosed intermediate and high-risk PCa patients underwent preoperative LN staging with 3 T MRI DWI using histopathology of ePLND as the reference standard. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MRI DWI were calculated. A subgroup analysis of proven LN-positive patients was made to investigate differences in PSA, Gleason score, number, and size of LN metastases, estimated risk of LN involvement, and if curative treatment was indicated, between the true-positive and the false-negative groups. RESULTS: A total of 728 LN were harvested from six anatomical regions per patient (external, obturator, internal) with a mean number of 18 LNs per patient (range 11-40). Twenty patients had histologically proven LN-positive disease. MRI DWI was true positive in 11 patients, false negative in nine patients, false positive in two patients, and true negative in 18 patients, resulting in 90% specificity, 55% sensitivity, and 72.5% accuracy. The true-positive patients had significantly more involved LNs (mean 6.9 versus 2.7, p=0.017), with larger diameter (mean 12.3 versus 5.2 mm, p=0.048) and fewer were treated with curative intent (six versus nine, p=0.03), compared with the false-negative group. CONCLUSION: MRI DWI LN staging has a low sensitivity but high specificity. The true-positive patients have a considerably higher burden of LN metastases compared to false-negative patients.

Injuries in male professional football: A prospective comparison between individual and team-based exposure registration.

Methodological considerations of football injury epidemiology have only scarcely been described. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inter-rater agreement in injury capture rate and injury categorization for data registered in two different prospective injury surveillance audits studying the same two Norwegian male professional football clubs for two consecutive seasons, 2008-2009. One audit used team-based exposure (TBE) recording and the other individual-based exposure (IBE). The number of injuries recorded and corresponding injury rates (injuries/1000 h exposure) were compared between audits. Cohen's kappa and prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) coefficients were calculated for injury variables. Of 323 injuries included, the IBE audit captured 318 (overall capture rate 98.5%, training 98.9%, match 97.8%) and the TBE audit 303 injuries (overall capture rate 93.8%, training 91.4%, match 97.1%). Agreement analysis showed kappa and PABAK coefficients regarded as almost perfect (> 0.81) for 8 of 9 injury variables, and substantial (ƙ 0.75) for the variable injury severity. In conclusion, the capture rate for training injuries was slightly higher with IBE recording, and inter-agreement in injury categorization was very high.

Regional differences in injury incidence in European professional football.

The objective of this study was to investigate regional differences in injury incidence in men's professional football in Europe. A nine-season prospective cohort study was carried out between 2001-2002 and 2009-2010 involving 1357 players in 25 teams from nine countries. Teams were categorized into different regions according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. Teams from the northern parts of Europe (n = 20) had higher incidences of injury overall [rate ratio 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06 to 1.20], training injury (rate ratio 1.16, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.27), and severe injury (rate ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.52), all statistically significant, compared to teams from more southern parts (n = 5). In contrast, the anterior cruciate ligament injury incidence was lower in the northern European teams with a statistically significant difference (rate ratio 0.43, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.77), especially for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury (rate ratio 0.19, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.39). In conclusion, this study suggests that there are regional differences in injury incidence of European professional football. However, further studies are needed to identify the underlying causes.

Cervical ribs: a common variant overlooked in CT imaging.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cervical ribs are congenital variants that are known to cause TOS or brachial plexopathy in up to 10% of the affected individuals. We investigated how often cervical ribs are present on cervical spine CT scans to determine the incidence in humans and the percentage of reported cervical ribs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cervical spine CT scans and the reports of 3404 consecutive adult patients were retrospectively reviewed to determine the presence of cervical ribs and whether they had been reported. RESULTS: Cervical ribs were found in 2.0% (67/3404) of the population. Of the 67 patients with cervical ribs, 27 (40.3%) had bilateral ribs. The prevalence of cervical ribs in women was twice that in men, 2.8% (39/1414) versus 1.4% (28/1990). Although African Americans accounted for 50.1% (1706/3404) and whites, 41.2% (1402/3404) of the patient population, African Americans were 70.1% (47/67) of patients with cervical ribs, whereas whites were 26.9% (18/67). Radiologists commented on 25.5% (24/94) of the cervical ribs in 25.4% (27/67) of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of cervical ribs in the human population has been a source of uncertainty due to the degree of difficulty that comes in detecting this often subtle congenital variation. In our sample, the prevalence was 2.0% of patients. Our study determined that cervical ribs are underreported in patients undergoing cervical spine CT. Given the potential clinical implications of these anatomic variants, neuroradiologists must be more meticulous in identifying cervical ribs when reviewing cervical spine CT scans.

Injury incidence and injury patterns in professional football: the UEFA injury study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the injury characteristics in professional football and to follow the variation of injury incidence during a match, during a season and over consecutive seasons. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study where teams were followed for seven consecutive seasons. Team medical staff recorded individual player exposure and time-loss injuries from 2001 to 2008. SETTING: European professional men's football. PARTICIPANTS: The first team squads of 23 teams selected by the Union of European Football Associations as belonging to the 50 best European teams. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: Injury incidence. RESULTS: 4483 injuries occurred during 566 000 h of exposure, giving an injury incidence of 8.0 injuries/1000 h. The injury incidence during matches was higher than in training (27.5 vs 4.1, p<0.0001). A player sustained on average 2.0 injuries per season, and a team with typically 25 players can thus expect about 50 injuries each season. The single most common injury subtype was thigh strain, representing 17% of all injuries. Re-injuries constituted 12% of all injuries, and they caused longer absences than non re-injuries (24 vs 18 days, p<0.0001). The incidence of match injuries showed an increasing injury tendency over time in both the first and second halves (p<0.0001). Traumatic injuries and hamstring strains were more frequent during the competitive season, while overuse injuries were common during the preseason. Training and match injury incidences were stable over the period with no significant differences between seasons. CONCLUSIONS: The training and match injury incidences were stable over seven seasons. The risk of injury increased with time in each half of matches.

UEFA injury study: a prospective study of hip and groin injuries in professional football over seven consecutive seasons.

BACKGROUND: Groin injury is a common injury in football and a complicated area when it comes to diagnosis and therapy. There is a lack of comprehensive epidemiological data on groin injuries in professional football. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence, pattern and severity of hip and groin injuries in professional footballers over seven consecutive seasons. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: European professional football. METHODS: During the 2001/2 to 2007/8 seasons, between nine and 17 clubs per season (23 clubs in total) were investigated, accounting for 88 club seasons in total. Time loss injuries and individual exposure during club and national team training sessions and matches were recorded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Injury incidence. RESULTS: A total of 628 hip/groin injuries were recorded, accounting for 12-16% of all injuries per season. The total injury incidence was 1.1/1000 h (3.5/1000 match hours vs 0.6/1000 training hours, p<0.001) and was consistent over the seasons studied. Eighteen different diagnostic entities were registered, adductor (n = 399) and iliopsoas (n = 52) related injuries being the most common. More than half of the injuries (53%) were classified as moderate or severe (absence of more than a week), the mean absence per injury being 15 days. Reinjuries accounted for 15% of all registered injuries. In the 2005/6 to 2007/8 seasons, 41% of all diagnoses relied solely on clinical examination. CONCLUSIONS: Hip/groin injuries are common in professional football, and the incidence over consecutive seasons is consistent. Hip/groin injuries are associated with long absences. Many hip/groin diagnoses are based only on clinical examination.

UEFA injury study--an injury audit of European Championships 2006 to 2008.

OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence and nature of injuries at European Championships, to compare training and match injury characteristics and to study differences in injury incidence between tournaments. DESIGN: Team physicians prospectively recorded individual player exposure and time loss injuries during 12 European Championships (men's EURO n = 1, men's Under-21 n = 2, men's Under-19 n = 3, men's Under-17 n = 3, women's Under-19 n = 3) from 2006 to 2008. SETTING: International football tournaments. PARTICIPANTS: 1594 men and 433 women. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: Injury incidence. RESULTS: 224 injuries (45 training, 179 match play) were registered among 208 (10%) players. No differences in training injury incidence were seen between tournaments (range 1.3-3.9 injuries/1000 hours). The men's EURO had the highest match injury incidence (41.6 injuries/1000 hours) followed by the men's Under-21 tournaments (33.9). The lowest match injury incidence was seen in the women's Under-19 tournaments (20.5). Training injuries constituted 20% of all injuries and caused 26% of all match unavailability. A greater proportion of match injuries were due to trauma (83 vs 47%, p<0.001) and occurred from player contact (75 vs 48%, p = 0.018) compared to training injuries. A higher frequency of re-injury was found among training injuries than match injuries (20 vs 6%, p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Match injury incidence increased with age, indicating greater risk with higher intensity of play. Training injury incidence was relatively low, but training injuries were responsible for a quarter of all match unavailability and may thus have a profound impact on team performance and should be the object of preventive measures.

Injuries among male and female elite football players.

All 12 female football clubs (228 players) and 11 of 14 male clubs (239 players) in the Swedish premier league were followed prospectively during the 2005 season. Individual exposure (playing time), injuries (time loss), and injury severity (days lost due to injury) were recorded by the team medical staffs. Injury incidence was higher for male players during both training (4.7 vs 3.8 injuries/1000 h, P=0.018) and match play (28.1 vs 16.1, P<0.001). However, no difference was found in the incidence of severe injury (absence >4 weeks) (0.7/1000 h in both groups). The thigh, especially the hamstrings, was the overall most commonly injured region in both sexes, while the hip/groin was more commonly injured in male players and the knee in female players. Knee ligament injuries accounted for 31% and 37% of the total time lost from football for male and female players, respectively. In conclusion, male elite players had a higher injury incidence than their female counterparts although no difference was observed in the incidence of moderate to severe injury. We recommend that preventive measures should be focused on hamstring and knee ligament injury in order to reduce the overall injury burden.

Previous injury as a risk factor for injury in elite football: a prospective study over two consecutive seasons.

BACKGROUND: Previous injury is often proposed to be a risk factor for football injury, but most studies rely on players reporting their own medical history and are thus potentially subject to recall bias. Little is known about the natural variation in injury pattern between seasons. OBJECTIVES: To study whether prospectively recorded injuries during one season are associated with injuries sustained during the following season, and to compare injury risk and injury pattern between consecutive seasons. METHODS: The medical staffs of 12 elite Swedish male football teams prospectively recorded individual exposure and time loss injuries over two full consecutive seasons (2001 and 2002). A multivariate model was used to determine the relation between previous injury, anthropometric data, and the risk of injury. RESULTS: The training and match injury incidences were similar between seasons (5.1 v 5.3 injuries/1000 training hours and 25.9 v 22.7/1000 match hours), but analysis of injury severity and injury patterns showed variations between seasons. Players who were injured in the 2001 season were at greater risk of any injury in the following season compared with non-injured players (hazard ratio 2.7; 95% confidence interval 1.7 to 4.3, p<0.0001). Players with a previous hamstring injury, groin injury, and knee joint trauma were two to three times more likely to suffer an identical injury in the following season, whereas no such relation was found for ankle sprain. Age was not associated with an increased injury risk. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed previous results showing that previous injury is an important risk factor for football injury. Overall injury incidences were similar between consecutive seasons, indicating that an injury surveillance study covering one full season can provide a reasonable overview of the injury problem among elite football players in a specific environment. However, a prolonged study period is recommended for analyses of specific injury patterns.

High risk of new knee injury in elite footballers with previous anterior cruciate ligament injury.

BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is a severe event for a footballer, but it is unclear if the knee injury rate is higher on returning to football after ACL injury. OBJECTIVE: To study the risk of knee injury in elite footballers with a history of ACL injury compared with those without. METHOD: The Swedish male professional league (310 players) was studied during 2001. Players with a history of ACL injury at the study start were identified. Exposure to football and all time loss injuries during the season were recorded prospectively. RESULTS: Twenty four players (8%) had a history of 28 ACL injuries in 27 knees (one rerupture). These players had a higher incidence of new knee injury of any type than the players without ACL injury (mean (SD) 4.2 (3.7) v 1.0 (0.7) injuries per 1000 hours, p = 0.02). The risk of suffering a knee overuse injury was significantly higher regardless of whether the player (relative risk 4.8, 95% confidence interval 2.0 to 11.2) or the knee (relative risk 7.9, 95% confidence interval 3.4 to 18.5) was used as the unit of analysis. No interactive effects of age or any other anthropometric data were seen. CONCLUSION: The risk of new knee injury, especially overuse injury, was significantly increased on return to elite football after ACL injury regardless of whether the player or the knee was used as the unit of analysis.

hK5 and hK7, two serine proteinases abundant in human skin, are inhibited by LEKTI domain 6.

BACKGROUND: Several skin diseases and atopic disorders including Netherton syndrome and atopic dermatitis have been associated with mutations and deviations of expression of SPINK5, the gene encoding the human 15-domain serine proteinase inhibitor LEKTI. The biochemical mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not yet been fully clarified. OBJECTIVES: To identify target proteinases of LEKTI important for processes of desquamation and inflammation of the skin which will enable the development of specific drugs. METHODS: The inhibitory activities of LEKTI domains 6 and 15 were tested on a number of commercially available serine proteinases and also on the purified kallikreins hK5 and hK7. In addition, recombinant hK5 was used. RESULTS: LEKTI domain 6 is a potent inhibitor of hK5 and hK7, whereas LEKTI domain 15 exhibits inhibitory activity on plasmin. hK5 and hK7 in particular are relevant to skin disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The inhibition of hK5 and hK7 by LEKTI domain 6 indicates an important regulatory role of LEKTI in processes of skin desquamation and inflammation, which may explain the severe pathological symptoms associated with abnormalities of SPINK5 and/or its expression. Thus, LEKTI represents a potential drug for the treatment of these disorders.

UEFA Champions League study: a prospective study of injuries in professional football during the 2001-2002 season.

BACKGROUND: No previous study on adult football involving several different countries has investigated the incidence and pattern of injuries at the highest club competitive level. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk exposure, risk of injury, and injury pattern of footballers involved in UEFA Champions League and international matches during a full football season. METHOD: Eleven top clubs (266 players) in five European countries were followed prospectively throughout the season of 2001-2002. Time-lost injuries and individual exposure times were recorded during all club and national team training sessions and matches. RESULTS: A total of 658 injuries were recorded. The mean (SD) injury incidence was 9.4 (3.2) injuries per 1000 hours (30.5 (11.0) injuries per 1000 match hours and 5.8 (2.1) injuries per 1000 training hours). The risk of match injury was significantly higher in the English and Dutch teams than in the teams from France, Italy, and Spain (41.8 (3.3) v 24.0 (7.9) injuries per 1000 hours; p = 0.008). Major injuries (absence > 4 weeks) constituted 15% of all injuries, and the risk of major injury was also significantly higher among the English and Dutch teams (p = 0.04). National team players had a higher match exposure, with a tendency towards a lower training injury incidence than the rest of the players (p = 0.051). Thigh strain was the most common injury (16%), with posterior strains being significantly more common than anterior ones (67 v 36; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of injury in European professional football is high. The most common injury is the thigh strain typically involving the hamstrings. The results suggest that regional differences may influence injury epidemiology and traumatology, but the factors involved are unclear. National team players have a higher match exposure, but no higher risk of injury than other top level players.

Methods for epidemiological study of injuries to professional football players: developing the UEFA model.

A problem with epidemiological studies of football injuries is the inconsistent manner in which injury is defined and data are collected. Projects have been initiated to study the incidence and causes of injury in football, but there is no uniformly accepted reporting system. In this report, some common pitfalls encountered in the recording of injury are addressed, and practical guidelines for epidemiological studies are provided. An injury reporting system developed for the UEFA Football Safety Project for studies on professional footballers is used as a starting point for a general discussion on injury registration and compared with other existing reporting systems. The recording definition of injury may vary between studies depending on its purpose. A time loss injury definition is practical for all playing levels, and, as a minimum, results on time loss injuries should therefore always be reported separately to allow direct comparisons between studies. There is a need to agree on a uniform sports injury classification system with corresponding diagnostic criteria, as well as standardised return to play criteria after injury.

A congested football calendar and the wellbeing of players: correlation between match exposure of European footballers before the World Cup 2002 and their injuries and performances during that World Cup.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the correlation between exposure of footballers in European clubs to match play in the months before the World Cup 2002 and their injuries and performances during that World Cup. METHODS: The team doctors at 11 of the best football clubs in Europe prospectively recorded players' exposure and injuries during the 2001-2002 season (July 2001-May 2002). Sixty five players participated in the World Cup in Korea/Japan (June 2002). During the World Cup, the clubs reported injuries sustained by these players, and their performance was evaluated by three international experts. RESULTS: The number of team matches during the season varied between 40 and 76 for the different countries involved. The individual player had a mean of 36 matches during the season. Top players played more matches, especially during the final period of the season. Players who participated in the World Cup played more matches during the season than those who did not (46 v 33 matches). World Cup players did not show any increased risk of injury during the season. About 29% incurred injuries during the World Cup, and 32% performed below their normal standard. The players who underperformed had played more matches during the 10 weeks before the World Cup than those who performed better than expected (12.5 v 9, p<0.05). Twenty three (60%) of the 38 players who had played more than one match a week before the World Cup incurred injuries or underperformed during the World Cup. CONCLUSIONS: There is considerable variation in the number of matches played per season in European professional football leagues. Top level players are obliged to play many matches especially during the final period of the season.