Impaired motor control after sport-related concussion could increase risk for musculoskeletal injury: Implications for clinical management and rehabilitation

This review presents a conceptual framework and supporting evidence that links impaired motor control after sport-related concussion(SRC)to increased risk for musculoskeletal injury.Multiple studies have found that athletes who are post-SRC have higher risk for musculoskeletal injury compared to their counterparts.A small body of research suggests that impairments in motor control are associated with musculoskeletal injury risk.Motor control involves the perception and processing of sensory information and subsequent coordination of motor output within the central nervous system to perform a motor task.Motor control is inclusive of motor planning and motor learning.If sensory information is not accurately perceived or there is interference with sensory information processing and cognition,motor function will be altered,and an athlete may become vulnerable to injury during sport participation.Athletes with SRC show neuroanatomic and neurophysiological changes relevant to motor control even after meeting return to sport criteria,including a normal neurological examination,resolution of symptoms,and return to baseline function on traditional concussion testing.In conjunction,altered motor function is demonstrated after SRC in muscle activation and force production,movement patterns,balance/postural stability,and motor task performance,especially performance of a motor task paired with a cognitive task(i.e.,dual-task condition).The clinical implications of this conceptual framework include a need to intentionally address motor control impairments after SRC to mitigate musculoskeletal injury risk and to monitor motor control as the athlete progresses through the return to sport continuum.     

Health education for Somali Bantu refugees via home visits

Background: Somali Bantu refugees, with unique health information needs, created challenges for health and social service providers. Objectives: A service innovation was developed (i) to raise awareness, especially among local health and social service providers, about the Bantu refugees’ presence in the community, their culture, and their information needs and (ii) to deliver needed health information, emphasizing child health, to the Bantu mothers in their homes. Methods: The project consisted of: (i) a community conference targeting local health and social service providers, describing the refugees’ presence in the community, their culture, and information needs. (ii) Focus groups conducted with members of the Bantu population elicited additional information needs. (iii) Curriculum was developed based on identified needs, and (iv) the curriculum was delivered to the refugees in their homes. A clinical informationist and MP3 technology enhanced the project. Findings: Conference attendees’ evaluation responses indicated improved understanding of Bantu culture. Focus groups’ identification of health information needs provided a framework for the health education curriculum. A project website made educational materials available to other healthcare providers. Conclusions: The project raised awareness of the Bantus’ presence, culture, and information needs. Identification of other unmet needs demonstrated that additional support for refugees is required.     

关联理论与汉语句末虚词的语篇功能

现代汉语句末虚词"啊/呀""吧""呢""嘛"等,一般称为"情态虚词",以别于具有较多实质语义或语法功能的"了""吗""的"等虚词.其实,前者固然表达情态,如分别表示,"关注""存疑""深究""确信"等;但此等虚词对于篇章的连接,也具有非常重要的作用.从关联理论及语篇标记的视角,参照以往研究,对该等情态虚词之语篇功能考察,可以看到:(一)"啊/呀"除了对当时的情景或对话内容表示"关注"而外,尚有特别标示"该语句乃针对当前语境而发"的功能;(二)"吧"除了标示"存疑"而外,尚有标示"该句乃针对先前所说或所发生的情景而发";(三)"呢"主要标示两种不同的、但前后呼应的语篇功能:(1)寻求与上文对比,(2)要求继续对话.这三个句末虚词,在语篇组织上,均具有增强关联性的功能.故除了当作"情态虚词"处理而外,还可以看作是"语篇标记".作为语篇标记,其强弱排序应为:呢>吧>啊/呀.此一排序,恰恰与其情态性质之强弱相反:呢<吧<啊/呀.     

Training in culture: the case of aikido education and meaning-making outcomes in Japan and the United States

This study investigated whether a relationship existed between instructional style and points of emphasis in the training context of the martial art aikido and the perceptions which practitioners of aikido generated for aikido-related concepts. The findings were gathered within and compared across aikido training settings in two cultures — Japan and the United States. Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data gathered for this investigation revealed several potent differences between the manner in which Japanese and American aikido practitioners represented their understandings of aikido-related concepts. Differences in the manner in which aikido practitioners in Japan and the United States represented their understandings of aikido reflected the teaching emphasis observed in the respective cultures. It was concluded that aikido instructors represented the values of their own culture in the context of aikido training, and thus served as important mediating forces influencing the meaning which practitioners generated for aikido. An additional finding revealed that in neither culture were participants able to accurately represent how practitioners in the “other” culture structured their understandings of aikido. It was reasoned that both cultural groups generated faulty perceptions of how the “other” group understood aikido because they utilized a similar pattern of projection, using their own meanings of aikido to represent the understandings of practitioners in the “other” cultural group.     

The role of effort in moderating the anxiety-performance relationship: Testing the prediction of processing efficiency theory in simulated rally driving

We tested some of the key predictions of processing efficiency theory using a simulated rally driving task. Two groups of participants were classified as either dispositionally high or low anxious based on trait anxiety scores and trained on a simulated driving task. Participants then raced individually on two similar courses under counterbalanced experimental conditions designed to manipulate the level of anxiety experienced. The effort exerted on the driving tasks was assessed though self-report (RSME), psychophysiological measures (pupil dilation) and visual gaze data. Efficiency was measured in terms of efficiency of visual processing (search rate) and driving control (variability of wheel and accelerator pedal) indices. Driving performance was measured as the time taken to complete the course. As predicted, increased anxiety had a negative effect on processing efficiency as indexed by the self-report, pupillary response and variability of gaze data. Predicted differences due to dispositional levels of anxiety were also found in the driving control and effort data. Although both groups of drivers performed worse under the threatening condition, the performance of the high trait anxious individuals was affected to a greater extent by the anxiety manipulation than the performance of the low trait anxious drivers. The findings suggest that processing efficiency theory holds promise as a theoretical framework for examining the relationship between anxiety and performance in sport.     

Steps counts among middle school students vary with aerobic fitness level

The purpose of this study was to examine if steps/day taken by middle school students varied based on aerobic fitness classification. Middle school students (N = 223; 112 girls, 111 boys) were assigned to three aerobic fitness categories (HIGH, MOD, LOW) based on results of the FlTNESSGRAM PACER test. Four weekdays of pedometer monitoring determined activity levels (steps/day). Boys accumulated significantly more steps/day than girls, 11,589 +/- 3,270 and 10,232 +/- 2,517 steps/day, respectively; F(1,219) = 16.0, p < .001, eta2 = .055. There were no differences in steps/day between grades. HIGH fit participants accumulated significantly more steps/day, F(2, 217) = 12.2, p < .101, eta2 = .101, than moderately fit and low fit participants (approximately 1,491 and ; 2,867 steps/day, respectively). Middle school students who participated in sports in addition to physical education (PE) accumulated significantly more steps/day (approximately 980 steps/day) than those participating in PE only, F(1, 219) = 10.0, p < .01, eta2 = .044. Although the relationship between physical activity and aerobic fitness was moderate (0.35; p < .01), these data demonstrated significant differences in accumulated steps/day among youth of varying aerobic fitness levels. Whether improved fitness levels were the result of additional activity or the cause of it remains to be determined. Regardless, the fittest middle school students were also the most active and accumulated a significant amount of steps/day through organized extracurricular physical activities.