This Is “Ladies’ Night”: A Case Study of a Grassroots Golf Program for Black Females

While there is a growing body of literature concerning the experiences of racial minorities in the mainstream sports of basketball and football, less is known of the experiences of Black females in non-traditional sports such as golf. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of Black females engaged in the Ladies’ Night golf program with a specific focus on how gender, race, and social class interact to shape their experiences, as well as if a sense of community is experienced, and if present what contributes to this. In order to address the purpose and research questions, I conducted an intrinsic qualitative case study of a golf program founded and run by a Black female in which the majority of the participants are Black female beginner golfers. Individual interviews with the golf instructor and seven of her participants were conducted. These women were self-identifying Black and female who attended at least three of the original ladies’ clinics. Additional data were gathered through two observations of the ladies’ clinics, pictures and commentary placed on social media, demographic information, and my reflexive journal. The findings revealed four main themes. First, the participants described the challenges associated with being both Black and female in golf. Second, the ladies’ clinics serve as safe spaces where Black females can learn the game of golf in a non-intimidating and relaxed environment. This safe space environment is created through the instructor being relatable, the TopGolf environment contributing to a relaxed atmosphere, the participants feeling as though they belong to a sisterhood, and empowerment. Third, participation in these clinics is rewarding as it meets a need the ladies have. Finally, the clinics make golf appealing to the participants. This research demonstrates examples of sense of community amongst Black females in a non-traditional sport setting, as well as examines how race, gender, and social class interact to shape these experiences. The practical implications include the importance of creating non-intimidating environments, the impact of a relatable instructor, and emphasizing a lack of competition for underrepresented minority female groups in sport

Race Appropriate Sports: Is Golf Considered More Appropriate for Whites Compared to Racial Minorities?

For various reasons, certain races tend to play particular sports. Sports with low costs of participation (e.g., basketball and football) have higher percentages of minority participants relative to sports with high costs of participation (e.g., golf). In addition to the cost of participation being a deterrent, stereotypes can also play a role into who plays various sports. Certain races tend to feel most competent in a particular sport (e.g., African Americans in basketball). This study focuses on the degree to which stereotypes contribute to the under representative rates of minorities in golf, compared to their overrepresented White counterparts. Data were collected from 217 students at a large US public university. A pilot test was used to develop a scale depicting the "general golfer." In the primary study, participants used a 7-point scale to rate the degree to which the "general golfer," Whites, Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans exhibited these characteristics. Examples of these characteristics include "refined", "etiquette", and "skillfulness." The scale items were all reliable. The correlation between the general golfer and Whites was the strongest (r = .50), followed by Asians (r = .36), Hispanics (r = .29), and African Americans (r = .23). The correlation between the general golfer and Whites was significantly stronger than correlations between the general golfer and African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians, t's > 2.3, p's < .05. In addition, Whites were viewed as more appropriate for golf relative to racial minorities. Stereotypes can influence which races people view as appropriate and not appropriate for golf. These stereotypes can in turn impact participation, or lack thereof, of certain races in golf. If certain racial groups are not considered appropriate for a sport in which mental strength, etiquette, and persistence are valued, this could also impact access to jobs in which these characteristics are also valued. In addition, these stereotypes can potentially lead to self-limiting behavior by the negatively affected races

Cytotoxic Activity and Composition of Petroleum Ether Extract from Magydaris tomentosa (Desf.) W. D. J. Koch (Apiaceae).

The petroleum ether extract of Magydaris tomentosa flowers (Desf.) W. D. J. Koch has been analyzed by GC-MS. It is mainly constituted by furanocoumarins such as xanthotoxin, xanthotoxol, isopimpinellin, and bergaptene. Other coumarins such as 7-methoxy-8-(2-formyl-2-methylpropyl) coumarin and osthole also occurred. The antiproliferative activity of Magydaris tomentosa flower extract has been evaluated in vitro on murine monocyte/macrophages (J774A.1), human melanoma (A375) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) tumor cell lines, showing a major activity against the latter

Headspace Volatile Composition of the Flowers of Caralluma europaea N.E.Br. (Apocynaceae)

The volatile constituents of the flowers of Caralluma (Apteranthes) europaea (Guss.) N.E. Br. (Apocynaceae - Asclepiadoideae) from Lampedusa Island were analyzed by headspace method. The analyses allowed the identification and quantification of 41 compounds. The main components were, among the monoterpenoids, terpinolene (23.3%), a-terpinene (19.1%) and linalool (18.4%), whereas, among the carbonylic compounds the major constituents were heptanal (2.0%), octanoic acid (2.4%) and hexanoic acid (1.7%). It is worth to mention the presence of a nitrogen containing compound, indole (0.8%) and of a sulphur containing compound, dimethylsulphide (t). The compounds found in the flowers of C. europea have been compared with data available in the literature as regard to their odor, presence in other sapromyiophilous taxa, possible role as semiochemicals, and presence in decaying organ matter. 89.3% of total constituents have been described in other sapromyiophilous taxa. Some of the compounds are present in several type of decaying organic matter (excrements, body in decomposition, and spoiled fish, etc). Several volatiles found in C. europea flowers are used as semiochemicals in Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera and other insects. Sixteen volatiles, accounting for 32.4% of the total constituents, are described as attractants of some Diptera families with a biology linked to decaying organic matters. Our data thus confirm that C. europea floral bouquet falls within the sapromyiophilous pollination syndrome

Cost-effectiveness of AQP4 antibody detection with cell-based assay compared with elisa for devic disease diagnosis in Colombia

Q1Q1A44Objectives Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) or Devic disease is a rare chronic condition characterized by demyelinating lesions in the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to evaluate cost-effectiveness of the detection of antibodies against the protein aquaporin water channel 4 (AQP4) with cell-based assay (CBA), compared with ELISA, for the diagnosis of NMO in Colombia. Methods A decision tree model was constructed to compare costs, correctly diagnosed cases and relapses averted in patients with clinical suspicion of NMO, that were subjected to diagnostic tests for the detection of AQP4 antibodies. The analysis was undertaken from a third-party payer perspective, one year time horizon (first year with the disease) taking all costs for treatment and relapses, in 2014 Colombian pesos, from official published prices (1 USD = 2,033 COP). Since the CBA kit is not available in Colombia (currently samples are processed abroad), the price was obtained from the manufacturer and set in a national laboratory. Clinical variables were from a systematic literature review. Univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (a Monte Carlo simulating a cohort of 1000 patients) were conducted. Results Identification of AQP4 antibodies with CBA is a dominant strategy: more effective (855 correctly diagnosed patients compared with 765 detected by ELISA, and 130 avoided relapses), and less costly, with expected yearly costs per correctly diagnosed Devic patient of USD $14,658 compared with$15,614 for ELISA. Using CBA may represent savings in terms of reduced costs of treating disease and relapse with hospitalization. Conclusions AQP4 antibody identification by the CBA method is a cost-saving diagnostic test, dominant over the ELISA method

Cost-effectiveness of biological therapy compared with methotrexate in the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in Colombia

Artículo original2993-2997The objectives of the study are to develop a cost-effectiveness model comparing biological therapy (BT) with methotrexate (MTX) alone, in the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), combining clinical and quality-of-life data from international trials with local costs and local epidemiological data. We designed a six-month cycle Markov model with five functional states, based on Health Assessment Questionnaire, with patients initiating treatment in any of the predefined states, based on a sample of 150 local RA patients. Simulations ran for 10 and 20 years, and for the whole life span. Utilities, in quality-adjusted life years (QALY), were taken from international literature. Discount rate was 3 % for costs and utilities. We calculated direct and indirect costs using a combination of international and local data. Results are presented as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER). ICERs in euros per QALY were 143,072 for 10 years; 139,332 for 20 years; and 137,712 for the whole life span. Total costs with MTX were lower than with BT, despite higher out of pocket, productivity, and complication costs. Under conventional thresholds, and for the "average" RA patient, BT would not be cost-effective in Colombia. BT compared to MTX provides more QALYs, but at a high cost. When ICERs were estimated for Colombia, BT would not be cost-effective. We propose different thresholds for different conditions, perhaps prioritizing chronic diseases that lead to disability

Structural correlates of semantic and phonemic fluency ability in first and second languages

Category and letter fluency tasks are commonly used clinically to investigate the semantic and phonological processes central to speech production, but the neural correlates of these processes are difficult to establish with functional neuroimaging because of the relatively unconstrained nature of the tasks. This study investigated whether differential performance on semantic (category) and phonemic (letter) fluency in neurologically normal participants was reflected in regional gray matter density. The participants were 59 highly proficient speakers of 2 languages. Our findings corroborate the importance of the left inferior temporal cortex in semantic relative to phonemic fluency and show this effect to be the same in a first language (L1) and second language (L2). Additionally, we show that the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and head of caudate bilaterally are associated with phonemic more than semantic fluency, and this effect is stronger for L2 than L1 in the caudate nuclei. To further validate these structural results, we reanalyzed previously reported functional data and found that pre-SMA and left caudate activation was higher for phonemic than semantic fluency. On the basis of our findings, we also predict that lesions to the pre-SMA and caudate nuclei may have a greater impact on phonemic than semantic fluency, particularly in L2 speakers