Consent and brain trauma in schools

In a recently published edition of the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, we read with interest responses given by readers on ‘how should coaches, parents and participants be informed of the risks and rewards of their participation’ (2017: 54) in sports with a risk of head trauma. Over the past decade, increasing attention has been forthcoming on the issues of traumatic brain injuries, repetitive sub-concussive traumas and the long-term, and sometimes fatal, implications of concussion (McKee et al. 2014) often focusing on contact sports, such as American Football, Ice Hockey or the various codes of Rugby

Keck NIRSPEC Radial Velocity Observations of Late-M dwarfs

We present the results of an infrared spectroscopic survey of 23 late-M dwarfs with the NIRSPEC echelle spectrometer on the Keck II telescope. Using telluric lines for wavelength calibration, we are able to achieve measurement precisions of down to 45 m/s for our late-M dwarfs over a one to four year-long baseline. Our sample contains two stars with RV variations of >1000 m/s. While we require more measurements to determine whether these RV variations are due to unseen planetary or stellar companions or are the result of starspots known to plague the surface of M dwarfs, we can place upper limits of <40 MJsini on the masses of any companions around those two M dwarfs with RV variations of <160 m/s at orbital periods of 10-100 days. We have also measured the rotational velocities for all the stars in our late-M dwarf sample and offer our multi-order, high-resolution spectra over 2.0 to 2.4 micron to the atmospheric modeling community to better understand the atmospheres of late-M dwarfs.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Privileging the bromance: a critical appraisal of romantic and bromantic relationships

In this research, utilising data from 30 semi-structured interviews, we examine how  heterosexual undergraduate men compare their experiences of bromances to that of their romantic relationships (romances). We find that the increasingly intimate, emotive and trusting nature of bromances offers young men a new social space for emotional disclosure, outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. Participants state that the lack of boundaries and judgement in a bromance is expressed as emotionally rivalling the benefits of a heterosexual romance. Our participants mostly determined that a bromance offered them elevated emotional stability, enhanced emotional disclosure, social fulfilment, and better conflict resolution, compared to the emotional lives they shared with girlfriends. Thus, this research provides an empirically grounded conceptual framework for understanding men’s view of close homosocial relationships in comparison to their romantic relationship in the 21st century

The experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual students and staff at a further education college in South East England

Research exploring the educational experiences of LGB students and staff members has traditionally been characterised by homophobia, hostility, victimisation and marginalisation. Recent research has evidenced a shift in the experiences of LGB young people, to somewhat more accepting and positive narratives, including within post-compulsory schooling. Yet, there is limited research exploring the lived experiences of LGB staff members in the Further Education context. Utilising inclusive masculinity as a sociological paradigm, this research explores the qualitative data from the narratives of 26 LGB staff and students at one Further Education college in the South of England. The results find a distinct lack of homophobia within this college, a nuanced understanding of homosexually themed language, an organisational culture of inclusivity and widespread symbolic visibility of the LGB community. Overall, our research aligns with broader social patterns that the experiences for LGB persons is improving

Still an occupational hazard?:The relationship between homophobia, heteronormativity, student learning and performance, and an openly gay university lecturer

This study examined the complex relationship between homophobia, heteronormativity, and an openly gay lecturer in a British university setting. First, heterosexual undergraduate sports students’ levels of homophobia were recorded. Then, after taught sessions, participants were asked to estimate the frequency of homosexual-heterosexual examples and content used, as well as to complete tests to measure academic progress. This was followed by an end-of-course examination. Results indicated (a) no relationship between levels of homophobia and levels of heteronormativity; (b) that levels of heteronormativity and homophobia were unrelated to a student’s ability to learn from an openly gay lecturer or their examination performance; (c) the presence of an openly gay lecturer significantly reduced homophobia among undergraduate students. These findings offer support to gay educators by highlighting the minimal impact on student learning and performance from being open about their sexuality. Instead, these results suggest that being open about homosexuality could reduce homophobia among undergraduate students

Upgrading High School Math: A Look at Three Transition Courses

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs focuses on the nature of instruction in transition math courses, the consequences of student placement in the new transition courses, and the linkages among course type, course content, and student achievement. The findings presented here are based on both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from seven high school across four districts in two states. We studied transition math courses in seven high schools in San Diego and San Francisco in California and in Buffalo and Rochester in New York. We chose schools that had high percentages of minority and low-income students, because the problem of dead-end classes for low-achieving students is most sever in such schools. The transition math courses were initiated as early as 10 years ago in Rochester, New York schools, and 3 to 5 years ago in California schools

From Management to Prevention: the New Cure for Sports Concussion

A case for directing attention away from concussion management and towards the prevention of concussions in sport

Response to: ‘Don’t Let Kids Play Football’: A Killer Idea

In a recent BJSM editorial, it was stated that ‘shutting down youth sports programmes’ is not the answer to injury concerns in contact sport; suggesting there may be unintended consequences, such as increasing sedentary behaviour.1 With physical inactivity a leading cause of mortality, concerns about decreasing participation in physical activity are justified. This issue has even been discussed in a previous editorial in the BJSM.2 There is no evidence, however, to suggest that collision sports (specifically) are necessary to combat sedentary lifestyles of youth. There also continues to be a distinct misunderstanding of what has been called for in regards to the banning of tackling in school rugby, which will now be clarified

Ethics and injury risk in World Rugby and England Rugby tackle-height trial

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The identification of mitochondrial DNA variants in glioblastoma multiforme

Background: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes key proteins of the electron transfer chain (ETC), which produces ATP through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and is essential for cells to perform specialised functions. Tumor-initiating cells use aerobic glycolysis, a combination of glycolysis and low levels of OXPHOS, to promote rapid cell proliferation and tumor growth. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressively malignant brain tumor and mitochondria have been proposed to play a vital role in GBM tumorigenesis. Results: Using next generation sequencing and high resolution melt analysis, we identified a large number of mtDNA variants within coding and non-coding regions of GBM cell lines and predicted their disease-causing potential through in silico modeling. The frequency of variants was greatest in the D-loop and origin of light strand replication in non-coding regions. ND6 was the most susceptible coding gene to mutation whilst ND4 had the highest frequency of mutation. Both genes encode subunits of complex I of the ETC. These variants were not detected in unaffected brain samples and many have not been previously reported. Depletion of HSR-GBM1 cells to varying degrees of their mtDNA followed by transplantation into immunedeficient mice resulted in the repopulation of the same variants during tumorigenesis. Likewise, de novo variants identified in other GBM cell lines were also incorporated. Nevertheless, ND4 and ND6 were still the most affected genes. We confirmed the presence of these variants in high grade gliomas. Conclusions: These novel variants contribute to GBM by rendering the ETC. partially dysfunctional. This restricts metabolism to anaerobic glycolysis and promotes cell proliferation