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Although there has been a rapid growth in the globalisation of sport and its delivery to world markets, nevertheless there is a variety of models of sport-business whose characteristics are the product of local histories, local political and sporting cultures, local economic conditions and so on. This paper does not seek to deny the increasingly obvious impact of globalisation on professional sport, but rather it seeks to articulate the ways in which such global phenomena are locally mediated in professional soccer systems in five countries, to identify and to explain local responses to global pressures. The five examples include the oldest professional football system, that of England, and a second contrasting European system, France, together with three relatively recently established professional football systems in Japan a developed capitalist economy, Algeria, which is developing a post-socialist sports economy, and China which is experimenting in sport as in other areas with a ‘socialist market economy’. The resultant evolution of professional sporting systems represents distinctive configurations of stakeholders in what are in effect contrasting business models, and reflects a situation of ‘diminishing varieties and increasing contrasts’, in contrast to the claims made by Elias in relation to global cultural phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To date, few studies have focused on the nutritional status of elderly hospitalized patients with diabetes. Our aims were to explore the prevalence of malnutrition among elderly diabetes patients admitted to the hospital, and to explore the relationships between malnutrition and geriatric syndromes, diabetic complications, and clinical outcomes. Methods A prospective, observational study including diabetes patients aged ≥65 years was carried out in a central hospital in Western China. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment incorporated into a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Follow up was carried out for ≤2.8 years. Results Of 302 participants, the prevalence of malnutrition, risk of malnutrition, and normal nutrition was 18.5%, 33.1% and 48.3%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, incontinence (odds ratio [OR] 3.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-9.36), diabetic microvascular complications (OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.06-4.61) and activities of daily living (ADL) dependence (OR 11.6, 95% CI 5.10-26.5) were independently associated with malnutrition. Malnourished patients had longer hospital stays ( P = 0.003) and higher mortality rates ( P < 0.001) than patients either at risk of malnutrition or with a normal nutritional status. Multivariate analysis also showed that malnutrition was independently associated with an increased risk of death (OR 2.86, 95% CI 1.30-6.28). Conclusions The present study showed a high prevalence of malnutrition among elderly diabetes patients hospitalized for geriatric care. Considering the negative impact of malnutrition on hospital stay and mortality, adequate nutritional care should be emphasized for each elderly patient with diabetes, regardless of body mass index. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 2485-2492. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]