Volunteers are a core component of sport service delivery and an important element of the Olympic Games culture. However, little research has addressed the specific characteristics and experiences of individuals who dedicate their time and effort to volunteer at mega-sporting events, more specifically at the Olympic Games. The current study aims to contribute to the literature so that more effective volunteer recruitment and management strategies can be fostered. The purpose of the study was to investigate motives of volunteers at the Athens 2004 Olympics and examine the factorial structure of the Olympic Volunteer Motivation Scale (OVMS). Data were gathered from a volunteer sample of 146 individuals who offered their services in the Olympic Aquatic Center and the Olympic Village. Scores from the 18-item OVMS demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability. The extracted factors (Olympic related, Egoistic, and Purposive) were well defined and interpreted in terms of the items included. Given the fact that volunteers at the Olympic Games might be motivated by reasons that differ from those at local sporting events, the OVMS will provide information that could further support the Olympic volunteer movement in terms of effective volunteer recruitment and satisfaction.

We had previously demonstrated that lung cancer cells, upon contact with macrophages, could be induced to secrete angiogenic factors to promote tumor angiogenesis. In this study, we focused on the paracrine and autocrine regulation of interleukin (IL)-8 expression in sensitized lung cancer cells after interacting with macrophages. We found that the IL-8 mRNA expression in lung cancer cells significantly increased after coculture with phorbol myristate acetate-treated THP-1 cells and human primary lung macrophages. Fresh lung cancer CL1-5 cells cocultured with macrophage-sensitized lung cancer cells still had a 35% of increase in IL-8 mRNA expression. The addition of anti-inflammatory agents pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, pentoxifylline, aspirin, and dexamethasone could completely suppress the expression of IL-8 mRNA in fresh/sensitized lung cancer cell cocultures. Human recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and IL-1alpha could induce IL-8 expression in lung cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Neutralization with TNF-alpha and IL-1alpha antibodies in cocultures decreased the levels of IL-8 expression in sensitized lung cancer cells. Nuclear factor-kappaB transcriptional activity was also suppressed by the same antibodies, as confirmed by a reporter gene assay and the electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Our results highly suggest that both autocrine and paracrine regulation are involved in IL-8 expression of lung cancer cells cocultured with macrophage. Also, the regulations of IL-8 expression in lung cancer cells were through the nuclear factor-kappaB pathway and modulated by TNF-alpha and IL-1alpha.