Audiogenic reflex seizures in cats

This study aims at characterizing feline audiogenic reflex seizures (FARS). An online questionnaire was developed to capture information from owners with cats suffering FARS. This was collated with the medical records from the primary veterinarian. Ninety-six cats were included. Myoclonic seizures were one of the cardinal signs of this syndrome (90/96), frequently occurring prior to generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) in this population. Other features include a late-onset (median 15 years) and absence seizures (6/96), with most seizures triggered by high frequency sounds amid occasional spontaneous seizures (up to 20%). Half the population (48/96) had hearing impairment or were deaf. One third of cats (35/96) had concurrent diseases, most likely reflecting the age distribution. Birmans were strongly represented (30/96). Levetiracetam gave good seizure control. The course of the epilepsy was non-progressive in the majority (68/96) with an improvement over time in some (23/96). Only 33/96 and 11/90 owners respectively felt the GTCS and myoclonic seizures affected their cat’s quality of life (QoL). Despite this, many owners (50/96) reported a slow decline in their cat’s health becoming less responsive (43/50), not jumping (41/50), uncoordinated or weak in the pelvic limbs (24/50), and exhibiting dramatic weight loss (39/50). These signs were exclusively reported in cats experiencing seizures for >2 years with 42/50 owners stating these signs affected their cat’s QoL. In gathering data on audiogenic seizures in cats, we have identified a new epilepsy syndrome named FARS with a geriatric-onset. Further studies are warranted to investigate potential genetic predispositions to this condition

Negotiating sexuality and masculinity in school sport: An autoethnography

This autoethnography explores challenging and ethically sensitive issues around sexual orientation, sexual identity and masculinity in the context of school sport. Through storytelling, I aim to show how sometimes ambiguous encounters with heterosexism, homophobia and hegemonic masculinity through sport problematise identity development for young same-sex attracted males. By foregrounding personal embodied experience, I respond to an absence of stories of gay and bisexual experiences among males in physical education and school sport, in an effort to reduce a continuing sense of Otherness and difference regarding same-sex attracted males. I rely on the story itself to express the embodied forms of knowing that inhabit the experiences I describe, and resist a finalising interpretation of the story. Instead, I offer personal reflections on particular theoretical and methodological issues which relate to both the form and content of the story

Stories of success: Cultural narratives and personal stories of elite and professional athletes

Using a narrative methodology to explore the stories Olympic and elite athletes tell about success, we identified three alternatives to the dominant conception of success as the achievement of performance outcomes. In these alternatives, success is storied as: (1) ‘I did the best that I could’ – a controllable and sustainable story of effort and application; (2) ‘It’s the closest thing you can get to flying’ – a story where success relates to embodied experience and discovery; (3) ‘People I made the journey with’ – which prioritises relationships and connection between people. We reflect on three key insights: (1) success is a multidimensional concept, broader than the singular conception encapsulated within the dominant performance narrative; (2) through various narrative strategies, experienced athletes resist cultural pressures towards a singular conception of success; (3) for long-term performance and well-being, it is necessary to work towards multiple forms of success over time and across contexts

Time- and frequency-domain polariton interference

We present experimental observations of interference between an atomic spin coherence and an optical field in a {\Lambda}-type gradient echo memory. The interference is mediated by a strong classical field that couples a weak probe field to the atomic coherence through a resonant Raman transition. Interference can be observed between a prepared spin coherence and another propagating optical field, or between multiple {\Lambda} transitions driving a single spin coherence. In principle, the interference in each scheme can yield a near unity visibility.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Single-Shot Electron Diffraction using a Cold Atom Electron Source

Cold atom electron sources are a promising alternative to traditional photocathode sources for use in ultrafast electron diffraction due to greatly reduced electron temperature at creation, and the potential for a corresponding increase in brightness. Here we demonstrate single-shot, nanosecond electron diffraction from monocrystalline gold using cold electron bunches generated in a cold atom electron source. The diffraction patterns have sufficient signal to allow registration of multiple single-shot images, generating an averaged image with significantly higher signal-to-noise ratio than obtained with unregistered averaging. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) was also demonstrated, showing that cold atom electron sources may be useful in resolving nanosecond dynamics of nanometre scale near-surface structures.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article published in Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0953-4075/48/21/21400

Reflections on a degree initiative: the UK's Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers enter the University of Birmingham

This paper provides an opportunity to share experiences and perceptions of the first 5 years of a degree programme for professional dancers. A partnership developed in the mid-1990s between the UK's Birmingham Royal Ballet and the University of Birmingham, Westhill (now School of Education), to provide a part-time, post-experience, flexible study programme for full-time Company dancers. This is the first 'company customised' higher education programme to dovetail studies around rehearsal, performance and touring schedules. Methodology is based on a narrative by the author, informed by ongoing internal and external evaluations, in-depth interviews with dancers and Company managers, documentation and secondary sources. Outcomes indicate that the programme has made a positive difference to the Company, to the dancers and to the wider education and dance/arts world

Sexual abuse and the grooming process in sport: Learning from Bella's story

Through a process of collaborative autoethnography, we explore the experiences of one female athlete named Bella who was groomed and then sexually abused by her male coach. Bella’s story signals how the structural conditions and power relationships embedded in competitive sporting environments, specifically the power invested in the coach, provide a unique sociocultural context that offers a number of potentialities for sexual abuse and exploitation to take place. We offer Bella’s story as a pedagogical resource for those involved in the world of sport to both think about and with as part of a process of encouraging change at the individual and institutional levels

Abrir las puertas de la cárcel. La negociación del acceso en una etnografía

Este texto se presentó como comunicación al II Congreso Internacional de Etnografía y Educación: Migraciones y Ciudadanías. Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, 5-8 Septiembre 2008.El encierro, como forma de castigo, ha existido siempre, aunque ha ido matizando sus formas a lo largo de la historia. Sin embargo, las cárceles no han dejado de ser recintos especialmente herméticos. Aunque actualmente se rijan por leyes explícitamente implicadas en la reinserción y reeducación de las personas presas, la entrada en la prisión, sin delinquir, no es fácil. En nuestro caso, la realización de una investigación etnográfica con la pretensión de interpretar los significados que la actividad física tenía entre los diferentes grupos que conviven en una prisión de máxima seguridad, exigió un largo proceso de negociación del acceso. En definitiva, el acceso permite la entrada a recintos y la aproximación a las personas que nos van a proporcionar los datos para la posterior interpretación. En primer término, el acceso formal se relaciona con el oficial y, para nosotros, la clave estuvo en vender la investigación como interesante, a parte de ofrecer contraprestaciones a la institución. En este caso, el investigador tuvo la condición de personal voluntario y debió colaborar con la ONG a través de la que se gestionó la entrada. En segundo término, el acceso informal se relaciona con el rapport y depende en gran medida de las habilidades sociales del investigador/a. En el caso que nos ocupa, el contexto carcelario dificultó sobremanera la aproximación y, sobre todo, la equidistancia entre los colectivos de presos y funcionarios, tradicionalmente enfrentados. Básicamente, el acceso a las personas entrevistadas u observadas se consiguió en base a una medida equidistancia, no juzgar lo que se veía u oía, la condición de voluntario del investigador, las contraprestaciones ofrecidas, tanto a la institución como a las personas, un cambiante rol que iba desde la observación total hasta la participación total en actividades tan variopintas como el squash o el almuerzo en algún patio, y manteniendo, como constante, un comportamiento marcadamente ético, representado, sobre todo, por el cumplimiento de todos los compromisos adquiridos. La negociación comenzó a finales de 1998 y el acceso real se consiguió el 5 de Febrero de 2001, prolongándose el trabajo de campo hasta el verano de 2003. Con ello, demostramos que ninguna puerta, por anquilosada que esté, se debe ni puede resistir a la sinceridad etnográfica