A survey of chartered physiotherapists\u27 knowledge and current clinical practice regarding concussion in sport.

Abstract Background: There is currently much discussion in the sports medicine literature and mainstream media regarding diagnosing and managing concussion and the appropriate criteria to guide return-to-play decisions. In amateur sport, the chartered physiotherapist is often the primary healthcare professional present at sporting events. At present, there is no research to guide management of the concussed player by physiotherapists, which negatively impacts the consensus of concussion management. Objective: To identify current knowledge and clinical practice patterns (assessment and management) regarding concussion in sport among Irish chartered physiotherapists. Methods: Members of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports and Exercise Medicine with active email addresses (n=370) were invited to participate in an online cross-sectional survey consisting of four sections: demographics; knowledge; assessment; and, management of concussion. Results: A 26% (n=95) response rate was achieved. Of the participants, 35.8% (n=34) were aware of the current Concussion in Sport consensus statement. The mean score for knowledge about concussion was 61.6% (σ=11.1%) and mean score for management of concussion was 81.2% (σ=13.0%). There was no correlation between years of experience and knowledge scores (p=0.45) or management scores (p=0.86). Similarly, years of sports physiotherapy experience did not correlate with knowledge scores (p=0.91) or management scores (p=0.82). Conclusion: Respondents have a high level of knowledge regarding the assessment and management of concussion. It is important that sporting bodies regularly update their guidelines and that chartered physiotherapists look for future Concussion in Sport consensus statements as research in concussion continues to evolve

Does parental drinking influence children's drinking? A systematic review of prospective cohort studies.

AIMS: To evaluate evidence of the capacity for causal inference in studies of associations between parental and offspring alcohol consumption in the general population. METHODS: A systematic search for, and narrative analysis of, prospective cohort studies of the consequences of drinking, except where assessed prenatally only, or with clinically derived instruments. Primary outcome measures were alcohol use or related problems in offspring, which were collected at least 3 years after exposure measures of parental drinking. The systematic review included 21 studies comprising 26,354 families or parent-child dyads with quantitative effect measures available for each study. Criteria for capacity of causal inference included (1) theory-driven approach and analysis; (2) analytical rigour; and (3) minimization of sources of bias. RESULTS: Four of the 21 included studies filled several, but not all, criteria and were assessed to have some capacity for causal inference. These four studies found some evidence that parental drinking predicted drinking behaviour in adolescent offspring. The remaining 17 studies had little or no such capacity. CONCLUSIONS: There is a fairly large and consistent literature demonstrating that more parental drinking is associated with more drinking in offspring. Despite this, existing evidence is insufficient to warrant causal inferences at this stage

Maximising Output of Beef Within Cost Efficient, Environmentally Compatible Forage Conservation Systems.

End of Project ReportA comprehensive research programme showed the potential benefits of replacing a productive old permanent grassland pasture dominated by indigenous species with new perennial or Italian ryegrass swards, when each was managed intensively, conserved as silage and fed to beef cattle. Ancillary experiments showed how the silage systems could be modified to improve productivity. However, they also showed that under a less intensive regime, replacing this old permanent pasture by ryegrass reseeds would be difficult to justify.European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF

A Design-Led, Materials Based Approach to Human Centered Applications Using Modified Dielectric Electroactive Polymer Sensors

This paper describes a design-led exploratory scoping study into the potential use of an industry standard dielectric electroactive polymer (DEAP) sensor for applications in assistive healthcare. The focus of this activity was to explore the physical format and integration of soft materials and sensor combinations with properties that afford an opportunity for accurate and unobtrusive real time body mapping and monitoring. The work involved a series of practical investigations into the capacitance changes in the sensor brought on by deformation through different ways of stretching. The dielectric sensors were selected as a direct mapping tool against the body based on the similarity of the stretch qualities of both the sensor and human skin and muscle resulting in a prototype vest for real time breathing monitoring through sensing thoracic movement. This involved modification of the standard sensors and handcrafting bespoke sensors to map critically relevant areas of the thorax

Concussion Management, Education, and Return-to-Play Policies in High Schools: A Survey of Athletic Directors, Athletic Trainers, and Coaches

Background: Concussions represent 8.9% to 13.2% of all high school athletic injuries. How these injuries are managed is currently unknown. Hypothesis: There are differences in concussion management and awareness between boys football, boys ice hockey, and boys and girls soccer. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiologic study. Methods: High school athletic directors were contacted via email and asked to complete an online survey with four separate sections for athletic directors, head coaches, team physicians, or certified athletic trainers. Results: According to coaches, concussion awareness education was provided for football (97%), hockey (65%), and boys and girls soccer (57% and 47%, respectively) (P \u3c 0.01). Use of sideline screening tools was significantly greater for football (P = 0.03). All participants agreed that a player who has suffered a concussion cannot return to play the same day. Conclusion: There is a difference in concussion management and awareness between the four sports. Concussion education is well promoted in football but should be expanded in soccer and hockey. Players are not allowed to return to play the same day, and the majority are referred to a physician. Clinical Relevance: Study results highlight the differences in concussion education between sports. Healthcare providers should address these gaps

Motifs of Movement and Modernity

In ‘Modernity and Cinema: A Culture of Shocks and Flows’, Tom Gunning proposes a dialectical approach to modernity, contrasting experiences of ‘chaotic dissolution’ with patterns of ‘systematic organization’ (2006: 310). My audiovisual essay takes this intriguing idea as a point of departure, contrasting two distinct motifs of camera movement. In the first motif, the camera follows one or more characters as they wander across a dangerous city street. In the second, the camera dollies along a row of similar people or objects, evoking the repetitiveness of mass production. Although these motifs were transnational, most of my examples come from Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, suggesting that the dialectical culture of modernity shaped even the most classical filmmaking tradition

A commentary on "The hidden logic of film art" as audiovisual criticism

Over the course of a long career, Rudolf Arnheim applied the principles of gestalt psychology to the study of art. One of his signature techniques was the use of schematic diagrams to illustrate the underlying structure of paintings and other artworks. Although Arnheim wrote extensively about cinema, he never applied his schematic diagrams to film examples. The audiovisual essay The Hidden Logic of Film Art addresses this gap, using animated diagrams to illustrate the underlying structure of a scene from Barry Lyndon (1975). This commentary situates The Hidden Logic of Film Art within a larger history of audiovisual criticism, where schematic diagrams have long been used to explain the nuances of film form