Bacterial Infections of the Central Nervous System

Purpose of Review:: Bacterial infections of the central nervous system are neurologic emergencies. Prompt recognition and treatment are essential not only to prevent mortality, but also to decrease neurologic sequelae. This article focuses on the two most common central nervous system bacterial infections, bacterial meningitis and spinal epidural abscess. Recent Findings:: Two outbreaks of serogroup B meningococcal disease have occurred on US college campuses. The meningococcal vaccine given to young adults does not contain serogroup B. Summary:: In bacterial meningitis and in bacterial spinal epidural abscess, the identification of and eradication of the pathogen with antimicrobial therapy is the easy part. It is the recognition of the disorder, the understanding of which diagnostic studies to obtain and their limitations, and the management of the neurologic complications that require the expertise of a neurologist

Exploring place-making in the Vredefort Dome, South Africa: A mixed-method approach

Any space – interior, exterior and landscapes – becomes a place to which people attach meaning. The process where by meaningful space or a sense of place is formed is rarely considered in developmental planning. This article argues for an interdisciplinary approach to the identification of different types of meaning attached to the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site, and proposes a methodology for assessing these as an aid to sensitive development interventions in such precious places

The meaning of place-making in planning: historical overview and implications for urban and regional planning

In its course of development, urban and regional planning has been greatly influenced by the modernist movement, which left human environments with various problematic ecological and social conditions. In reaction to these conditions, alternative planning approaches branched from the planning profession, one of these being the development approach known as place-making. Place-making is the physical designing of a place based on locational contexts. Place-making is offered as an alternative planning approach to current planning practice to ameliorate and possibly prevent continuation of the problematic ecological and social conditions. However, this implies that there has to come about a shift in the focus and aims of current planning practice. The main implications of place-making are that planning should become more contextually driven, holistic, multidisciplinary, as well as human and quality centred. Also, it is proposed to increase research on place in the South African context.&nbsp

An investigation into the attitudes of male undergraduate students towards menstruation: The psychometric properties of the Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych)Menstruation is an integral and normal part of human life, indeed of human existence. Instead of being celebrated as a noteworthy landmark of biological maturity in a young girl‟s life, menstruation has become an organic experience burdened with socio-cultural implications (Ussher, 2006). Existing studies suggest that males often view menstruation in a more negative light, which have shown to promote sexism and negative attitudes towards women (Marvan, Vazquez-Toboada, & Chrisler, 2013). The Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ) was designed to assess attitudes towards menstruation among men and women and has been applied in a variety of contexts (Brooks-Gun and Ruble, 1980). Despite the extensive use of this scale in various contexts (Jarrah & Kamel, 2012; Neşe Sahin Ozdemir, 2013) there is limited information on its psychometric properties, specifically the factor structure of the instrument. For the MAQ to be meaningful when used in South Africa, it is first necessary to explore the psychometric properties of the instrument when applied to a South African sample. Participants (n = 163) for the study were young male students from the University of the Western Cape who were recruited through purposive sampling. Permission to access students was obtained from the registrar‟s office. Informed consent was obtained from participants for data collection and for use of the data for research purposes. The questionnaires were anonymous in order to protect participant identities. To further ensure confidentiality, all data was kept on a password protected personal computer. Furthermore, this study utilised a cross-sectional research design. Two self-report measures were administered: the MAQ and a demographic questionnaire. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to uncover the underlying structure of the MAQ. The study found that both the EFA, as well as the forced factor solution, did not produce a meaningful pattern of loadings. All ethical guidelines stipulated by the University of the Western Cape were strictly adhered to

Overuse injuries in college and high school populations: occurrence and methodological issues in surveillance

Overuse injuries are difficult to define, can have long term effects and are underrepresented in the literature. This dissertation aimed to 1) compare the incidence of overuse injuries between college and high school athletes, 2) compare how overuse injuries are captured in injury surveillance to medical records, and 3) describe variation between clinicians in the assessment of the role of overuse and the assignment of an overuse mechanism of injury to hypothetical injury scenarios. Overuse injury rates and rate ratios calculated from data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Injury Surveillance System (ISS) and the High School RIO (Reporting Information Online) indicate that overuse injuries occurred three times more often in college than high school athletes (IRR: 3.28, 95% CI: 3.12, 3.44) and more often in female than male athletes (IRR: 1.55 95% CI: 1.43, 1.68) (Aim 1). A capture-recapture analysis of ISS and medical records for college mens and womens soccer injuries demonstrated that the ISS captured 63.7% (95% CI: 52.8%, 74.5%) of total overuse injuries (Aim 2). A survey which presented hypothetical injury scenarios was conducted among athletic trainers (ATs), the data collectors for injury surveillance (Aim 3). All but one scenario generated some degree of discordance among respondents regarding the role of overuse in the scenario and the probability of reporting an overuse mechanism of injury to surveillance. ATs also reported that nearly 50% of total treated injuries were overuse, and of those, only 62% were reported to surveillance. In summary, the findings demonstrate that overuse injuries comprise a significant proportion of injuries, specifically to college and female athletes (Aim 1). However, overuse injuries can be difficult to assess, which likely contributes to underreporting (Aim 2) and variability (Aim 3) in the reporting of these injuries. Based on these results, it is recommended a consensus definition for overuse injuries be created and adopted, with the goal of improving the capture of overuse injuries in surveillance systems. Improved capture will result in a more complete understanding of the incidence of overuse injuries and may lead to effective and targeted interventions to prevent these debilitating injuries.Doctor of Philosoph

An Analysis of Confidence Levels in Athletic Training Students during the Coronavirus Pandemic

International Journal of Exercise Science 16(3): 1284-1292, 2023. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created a challenge to athletic training students, with many classes converted to online education, and many clinical experiences interrupted. These changes may have negatively affected the confidence level of athletic training students in their athletic training skills. Purpose: To determine if athletic training students’ educational experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted their confidence levels in completing athletic training skills. Procedures: A cross-sectional design using an online survey of 56 athletic training students from 33 CAATE accredited athletic training programs was used. The survey consisted of questions about the percentage of online learning, didactically and clinically, during the pandemic and confidence levels for skills within the five athletic training domains. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and factorial ANOVAs were used to analyze the level of confidence by semester of clinical experience. Main Findings: Factorial ANOVA demonstrated lower perceived confidence levels for students who had more online clinical experience for the following domains: injury and illness prevention and wellness promotion, therapeutic intervention, and healthcare administration and professional responsibility. Confidence was also lower in correctly performing the clinical skills for evaluating spine and torso, developing and implementing a rehabilitation program for the lower extremity, and developing and implementing a rehabilitation program for the back. Principal Conclusion: Athletic training students who had large portion of their clinical and classroom experience online had perceived lower levels of confidence in performing clinical and administrative skills. Online learning may influence athletic training students’ confidence level in performing athletic training skills

Peripartum cardiomyopathy: Disease or syndrome?

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare form of pregnancy-associated heart failure and is considered to be a diagnosis of exclusion. There are many hypotheses on the aetiology of PPCM; however, the exact pathophysiological mechanism remains unknown. It shows many resemblances to other conditions, such as familial dilated cardiomyopathy or myocarditis, and therefore it can be hard to make a definite diagnosis. We describe four cases of peripartum-onset heart failure in women who were suspected of having PPCM. We discuss the differential diagnosis, pathophysiological mechanisms and various diagnostic modalities

Case report: a novel KERA mutation associated with cornea plana and its predicted effect on protein function

BACKGROUND: Cornea plana (CNA) is a hereditary congenital abnormality of the cornea characterized by reduced corneal curvature, extreme hypermetropia, corneal clouding and hazy corneal limbus. The recessive form, CNA2, is associated with homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations of the keratocan gene (KERA) on chromosome 12q22. To date, only nine different disease-associated KERA mutations, including four missense mutations, have been described. CASE PRESENTATION: In this report, we present clinical data from a Turkish family with autosomal recessive cornea plana. In some of the affected individuals, hypotrichosis was found. KERA was screened for mutations using Sanger sequencing. We detected a novel KERA variant, p.(Ile225Thr), that segregates with the disease in the homozygous form. The three-dimensional structure of keratocan protein was modelled, and we showed that this missense variation is predicted to destabilize the structure of keratocan, leading to the classical ocular phenotype in the affected individuals. All the four known missense mutations, including the variation found in this family, affect the conserved residues of the leucine rich repeat domain of keratocan. These mutations are predicted to result in destabilization of the protein. CONCLUSION: We present the 10th pathogenic KERA mutation identified so far. Protein modelling is a useful tool in predicting the effect of missense mutations. This case underline the importance of the leucin rich repeat domain for the protein function, and this knowledge will ease the interpretation of future findings of mutations in these areas in other families with cornea plana. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12881-015-0179-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Descriptive Epidemiology of Non–Time-Loss Injuries in Collegiate and High School Student-Athletes

CONTEXT: Research on non-time-loss (NTL) injuries, which result in less than 24 hours of restriction from participation, is limited. OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of NTL injuries among collegiate and high school student-athletes. DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. SETTING: Aggregate injury and exposure data collected from a convenience sample of National College Athletic Association varsity teams and 147 high schools in 26 states. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Collegiate and high school student-athletes participating in men's and boys' baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, and wrestling and women's and girls' basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and volleyball during the 2009-2010 through 2013-2014 and the 2011-2012 through 2013-2014 academic years, respectively, participated. Collegiate student-athletes participating in men's and women's ice hockey were also included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Injury data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program and the National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network were analyzed. Injury counts, rates per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs), and rate ratios were reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: A total of 11 899 and 30 122 NTL injuries were reported in collegiate and high school student-athletes, respectively. The proportion of NTL injuries in high school student-athletes (80.3%) was 1.61 times greater than that of collegiate student-athletes (49.9%; 95% CI = 1.59, 1.63). The NTL injury rate in high school student-athletes (8.75/1000 athlete-exposures [AEs]) was 2.18 times greater than that of collegiate student-athletes (4.02/1000 AEs; 95% CI = 2.13, 2.22). Men's ice hockey (5.27/1000 AEs) and boys' football (11.94/1000 AEs) had the highest NTL injury rates among collegiate and high school athletes, respectively. Commonly injured body parts in collegiate and high school student-athletes were the hip/thigh/upper leg (17.5%) and hand/wrist (18.2%), respectively. At both levels, contusions, sprains, and strains were the most frequent diagnoses. Contact with another player was the most cited injury mechanism (college = 38.0%, high school = 46.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Non-time-loss injuries compose large proportions of collegiate and high school sports injuries. However, the NTL injury rate was higher in high school than in collegiate student-athletes. Tracking NTL injuries will help to better describe the breadth of injuries sustained by athletes and managed by athletic trainers