Racial disparities in parent knowledge of concussion and recognition of signs and symptoms

Introduction: Concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that can be sustained through participation in different sports. It is important that a parent be able to identify common and uncommon symptoms of a concussion to ensure the safety and good health of their child. The purpose of this study was to compare knowledge of concussion scores among White and African American parents and guardians. Methodology: This cross-sectional study consisted of a single survey of 53 questions that was given to parents/guardians of high school athletes at a preseason parent meeting. Parent and guardian knowledge of concussion was assessed through a series of 45 questions. Participants were asked to correctly identify signs and symptoms of concussion, answer questions regarding the anatomy of a concussion (i.e. a concussion is an injury to the brain), answer true/false questions about general concussion knowledge, select from a list the consequences of multiple concussions and select from a list the consequences of returning to play too soon from a concussion. Knowledge of concussion was calculated by summing correct responses for the 45 knowledge questions. Racial differences were calculated using an ANCOVA, controlling for socioeconomic school type. The statistical significance level was set a priori p ≤ 0.05 for all analyses. Results: Participants of this study consisted of 176 [115 (65.3%) White, 61 (34.7%) African American] parents/guardians of high school athletes. Significant differences in knowledge of concussion scores between White parents/guardians [38.50 ± 4.55 (85.6% correct)], and African American parents/guardians [35.15 ± 4.97, 78.1% correct)] were identified (F_(1,172) = 4.82, p = 0.03). Conclusion: Knowledge of concussion disparities exist between African American and White parents/guardians. This disparity could cause complications from concussion to surface among children and adolescents participating in sport as their parents/guardians may not be able to correctly identify the signs and symptoms in order to seek proper medical care. Practical Application: Findings from this study highlight quantitative differences in concussion knowledge of parents from different demographics. These findings underline disparities and inequities in access to concussion-health resources that need to be addressed.     

氟对鲤鱼脑抗氧化系统及细胞凋亡的影响

以鲤鱼为受试材料,研究了氟化钠对其脑组织的抗氧化系统、组织结构和细胞凋亡的影响.结果发现,染毒30 d时,随氟化钠浓度的升高,SOD、GSH活性表现为先诱导后抑制的趋势;暴露60 d与90 d后,SOD、GSH活性主要表现为抑制.而MDA水平在整个暴露实验期间均呈增高趋势.暴露90 d后,脑组织切片的显微观察结果显示,氟化钠能导致鲤鱼脑组织血栓形成及各细胞层结构发生病理学改变,并具有剂效相关性.生物检测结果显示,随着氟化钠暴露剂量增大,鱼脑细胞凋亡率的增加与MDA水平的升高呈正相关关系(r=0.9968),而Bcl-2的表达减弱与SOD、GSH活性呈正相关关系(r=0.9198,0.9889).     

Is fetal gender a risk factor for severe congenital cytomegalovirus infection?

Cytomegalovirus is the main cause of congenital viral infection and amniotic fluid viral load appears to be the single nonclinical prognostic factor. However, as in other infectious diseases, host genetics may influence the severity of the disease. To test this hypothesis, we looked retrospectively at the fetal gender in cases of severe congenital cytomegalovirus infection in our database. We also analyzed the international English literature covering this subject between 1985 and 2003. The proportion of females with brain abnormalities was statistically different from that of males (62/258: 24% vs 30/251: 12%, p = 0.004). The risk of abnormal brain development in infected fetuses was twice as high in females than in males (Chi² = 8.7; OR = 2, IC [1.26–3.21]). In our cases, amniotic fluid CMV DNA load was not significantly higher in males than in females (p = 0.06) and was also similar in severely and non-severely infected fetuses (p = 0.09). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Postnatal management and outcome for fetal-diagnosed intra-cerebral cystic masses and tumours

The increasing availability and resolution of non-invasive prenatal imaging has increased our ability to diagnose accurately a wide variety of fetal anomalies. It has also resulted in the serendipitous discovery of ‘lesions’ that may have little clinical impact upon the child's subsequent development although their ability to raise parental anxiety can be great. The purpose of this review is to put the postnatal clinical relevance of some of these findings into their proper context. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modified Weibull multi-state models for the analysis of animal carcinogenicity data

The Peto test is the standard method of analysis used in carcinogenicity studies to compare tumor incidence in groups of animals. It assumes that tumors are either instantly fatal or have no effect on mortality and requires a judgement of the lethality of each tumor. To avoid this requirement, parametric multi-state models have been proposed. In addition these allow estimation of tumor onset and mortality rates. This paper considers two such models and presents a modification. It is shown that the modified models provide a better fit to carcinogenicity data and simulated data are used to show that the modified models provide a modest increase in test power relative to the Peto test.     

Toxicity of 4-methylimidazole on isolated brain mitochondria: using both in vivo and in vitro methods

4-methylimidazole (4MI) is a compound widely used in various industrial and consumer applications. The most important sources of exposure include chemical caramel coloring, ammoniated molasses, dyes and pigments, rube, cleaning and agricultural chemicals. Toxicity attributed to 4MI in foods has recently become a focus of research. Recent studies showed that 4MI induced adverse changes in various target tissues. Brain is known to be a target organ for 4MI-induced toxicity but its cytotoxic mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. In this study, experiments were divided into two parts: (1) using in vivo methodology, doses of 4MI at 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg were administered orally to mice daily for 14 to obtain brain mitochondria; and (2) utilizing in vitro methodology, brain mitochondria were incubated with 4MI at 400, 800, or 1600 μM concentrations. Subsequently, the neurotoxicity of 4MI was assessed using mitochondrial dysfunction tests, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) collapse, mitochondrial swelling, and cytochrome c release. Our results from both in vivo and in vitro experiments on isolated brain mitochondria showed a significant decrease in complex II activity and also marked elevation in the ROS formation, MMP collapse, mitochondrial swelling, and enhanced release of cytochrome c. Data indicated that 4MI induced neurotoxicity through the impairment of electron transfer chain especially at complex II and elevated ROS formation leading to subsequent oxidative stress events including mitochondrial membrane depolarization, mitochondrial swelling, and release of cytochrome c, which is the starting point of mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis signaling and neurodegeneration.     

Organophosphate dichlorvos induced dose‐related differential alterations in lipid levels and lipid peroxidation in various regions of the fish brain and spinal cord

Abstract

The effect of dichlorvos (DDVP) (0–0, dimethyl 2: 2‐dichlorovinyl phosphate), on various lipid fractions and lipid peroxidation in the discrete areas of the brain and spinal cord were studied in the fresh water teleost (Heteropneustes fossilis). Fishes were exposed to three different doses (3.0, 6.0 and 9.0 ppm) of DDVP daily for 7 days. Dose‐related increase in the levels of total lipids, cholesterol and esterified fatty acids was detected in the fore brain, optic lobes, cerebellum, medulla oblongata and spinal cord. However, phospholipids were significantly decreased in the aforementioned regions of the central nervous system. The rate of lipid peroxidation was significantly increased in all the regions of the CNS.     

Evaluation of Selective Culling of Infected Individuals to Control Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease

Abstract: Sustainable strategies to manage infectious diseases in threatened wildlife are still lacking despite considerable concern over the global increase in emerging infectious diseases of wildlife and their potential to drive populations to extinction. Selective culling of infected individuals will often be the most feasible option to control infectious disease in a threatened wildlife host, but has seldom been implemented or evaluated as a management tool for the conservation of threatened species. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is threatened with extinction by an infectious cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). We assess the success of an adaptive management trial involving selective culling of infected Tasmanian devils to control DFTD. Demographic and epidemiological parameters indicative of disease progression and impact were compared between the management site and a comparable unmanaged control site. Selective culling of infected individuals neither slowed rate of disease progression nor reduced population‐level impacts of this debilitating disease. Culling mortality simply compensated for disease mortality in this system. Failure of selective culling to impede DFTD progress and reduce its impacts in the managed population was attributed to DFTD's frequency‐dependent nature, its long latent period and high degree of infectivity, and the presence of a cryptic hidden disease reservoir or continual immigration of diseased individuals. We suggest that increasing the current removal rate and focusing removal efforts prior to the breeding season are options worth pursuing for future management of DFTD in this population. On the basis of our experience, we suggest that disease‐management programs for threatened wildlife populations be developed on the principles of adaptive management and utilize a wide variety of strategies with regular reviews and adaptation of strategies undertaken as new information is obtained.     

Sonography of fetal cerebrospinal anomalies

Congenital anomalies of the central nervous system (CNS) are among the most frequent malformations. Current ultrasound equipment can give a precise diagnosis of many of these lesions from early gestation. High-resolution transvaginal probes play a major role both in allowing an early diagnosis and for better defining subtle details of both normal and abnormal cerebral anatomy. The diagnostic accuracy of prenatal ultrasound is, however, heavily dependent upon the expertise of the sonologist, the type of equipment employed, and the time dedicated to the scan. Fetal sonography is effective in identifying neural tube defects, although alpha-fetoprotein screening seems to give a greater sensitivity. The accuracy of ultrasound in the identification of CNS malformations other than neural tube defects remains unclear because of the ascertainment biases of the few large prospective studies that have been conducted to date. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.