Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk in Collegiate Football Players and Nonathletes

Abstract

Collegiate American football players may be at risk for cardiovascular disease. Objective: To compare cardiovascular disease risk factors and cardiovascular structure and function parameters of football players, stratified by position, to a group of sedentary, nonathletes. Participants: Twenty-six collegiate football players and 13 nonathletes participated in this study. Methods: Blood pressures, anthropometrics, and blood chemistries were obtained and analyzed using standardized procedures. Resting echocardiography was used to evaluate cardiac morphology and function. Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation was assessed using high-resolution ultrasonography. Results: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was significantly higher amongst the linemen compared to the skill-position players (46% versus 0%, p < .05). Mildly abnormal wall thickness was noted in 20% of the football players. No significant differences in vascular function were observed between the groups. Conclusions: The increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in the collegiate linemen may increase cardiovascular disease risk.     

An Infection Control Program for a 2009 Influenza A H1N1 Outbreak in a University-Based Summer Camp

Abstract

Objectives: Describe two 2009-H1N1 influenza outbreaks in university-based summer camps and the implementation of an infection control program. Participants: 7,906 campers across 73 residential camps from May 21–August 2, 2009. Methods: Influenza-like-illness (ILI) was defined as fever with cough and/or sore throat. Influenza A was identified using PCR or rapid-antigen testing. We implemented an infection control program consisting of education, hand hygiene, disinfection, symptom screening, and ILI case management. Results: An initial ILI cluster involved 60 cases across 3 camps from June 17–July 2. Academic Camp-1 had the most cases (n = 45, 14.9% attack rate); influenza A was identified in 84% of those tested. Despite implementation of an infection control program, a second ILI cluster began on July 12 in Academic Camp-2 (n = 47, 15.0% attack rate). Conclusions: ILI can spread rapidly in a university-based residential camp. Infection control is an important aspect of the medical response but is challenging to implement.     

Picturing Empire and Illness

Reflecting on recent debates within cultural studies on non-Western modernities and ‘cultural studies in/of Asia’, this essay explores a cultural history of venereal disease (VD) in Korea under Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945). The colonial representation of and discourse on VD in Western colonial settings was often built around a missionary medical account of sin and disease and a colonial dialectic of white civilization and non-white backwardness. This essay draws attention to the colonial discourse on VD in the non-Western Japanese Empire and its East Asian context, which compels us to look into the colonial framing of disease and bodies in imperial contexts where ruler and ruled shared close racial, cultural and religious affinities and where colonial medical power did not stem from white hegemony and Christian religious authority. By using methods from cultural studies and feminist history, this essay uncovers and critically reads the Japanese colonial medical and popular cultural archives on VD that range from state documents to laboratory reports to patent medicine advertisements, in order to reconfigure Japan's colonial medical empire and its underlying, gendered assumptions. It clarifies not only the legal, military and institutional bases for the intense governmental control over VD, but also the cultural image, metaphor and knowledge of VD and the biomedical female body promoted by Japan's transnational patent medical industry in close collaboration with the colonial state. By doing so, this essay sheds light on the gendered epistemic violence of Japanese colonialism.     

肠道病毒71型景德镇分离株全基因组序列分析

目的分析2011年景德镇地区重症手足口病患儿标本肠道病毒71型（EV71）分离株2011JDZ35全基因组序列特征。方法采集重症手足口病患儿咽拭子标本,进行病毒分离和逆转录一聚合酶链反应（RT．PCR）扩增分离病毒的全基因组序列,并进行全基因组核苷酸序列测定,参考EV71A、B、C各基因型的参考毒株和国内外分离毒株进行同源性分析并构建系统发生树。结果2011JDZ35株的基因组长度为7406bp,其中包括5’端非编码区（5’UTR）长742bp,病毒基因组编码区（ORF）全长6582bp及3’端非编码区（3’UTR）长82bp。ORF编码含2193个氨基酸残基的多聚蛋白。2011JDZ35株基因组的结构与FY08-C30-P14、EV71／Ningbo．CHN／065／2010、HZ08／Hang-zhou／2008十分接近,整个基因组的核苷酸同源性分别为97．3％,97．3％,97．7％;氨基酸同源性为99．1％,99．2％,99．2％。均属于C4亚型,而与Cox．A16国际标准株G10（U05876）及EWl国际标准株BrCr（U22521）差异较大,核苷酸同源性分别仅为77．5％,80．0％;氨基酸同源性为89．8％,94．8％。结论EWl型病毒2011JDZ35株全基因组的组成和结构符合肠道病毒特征,与其他EV71型病毒具有相同的基因组结构,2011JDZ35株与中国大陆浙江宁波株亲缘关系最近,与阜阳株和杭州株等中国大陆内陆地区分离株较近,而与马来西亚、我国台湾、厦门分离株的差异较为明显,与国际标准株则有较大差异;2011JDZ35株与浙江宁波株具有共同的进化途径,推断2011JDZ35株与浙江宁波株可能共同来源于2008年中国大陆地区流行的Ev7l病毒株同一种系。     

The Self-Forgiveness Process of Caregivers After the Death of Care-Receivers Diagnosed With Alzheimer's Disease

ABSTRACT

This study explores the relationship of self-forgiveness and adaptive coping, religious/spiritual practices, social support, decreased grief, and mental well-being. 133 caregivers were surveyed. Bivariate analysis and stepwise regression models revealed that decreased grief, adaptive coping, and social support were significant in explaining the variation in self-forgiveness. This is one of the first studies to address self-forgiveness as part of the grieving process of Alzheimer's caregivers. Future directions are explored supporting inclusion of self-forgiveness as an aspect of grief and adaptive coping; which is further enhanced by the level of social support experienced by the caregiver.     

A Profile of Support Group Use and Need Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Multiple Sclerosis

This study compared middle-aged and older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS, N = 1,275) according to their use of support groups and identified factors associated with perceived need. Over 64.6% (n = 824) of participants had attended a MS support group meeting at least once. Individuals who had never attended a group were more likely to reside in urban or suburban communities, report lower symptom interference, and fewer activity limitations. Women, individuals without a helper, and people with greater symptom interference were more likely to perceive a need for a support group. Findings raise questions for professionals involved in developing and implementing multiple sclerosis support groups.     

The Transformative Potential of Social Work's Evolving Practice in Dementia Care

Social workers in diverse service systems throughout the United States encounter many opportunities for improving quality of life for people with dementia and their families. Yet practice with this population is unclearly defined and a core set of competencies for such practice does not yet exist. Instead, it is shaped by roles within aging and health systems. These roles are informed by a biomedical disease model of dementia. This article examines social work practice and its connection to evolving views on aging and senility throughout the 20th century. New directions for practice are recommended to improve services for individuals with dementia.     

Assessment of Alzheimer’s Disease Symptom Recognition in Korean Americans and Psychometric Analysis of Alzheimer’s Disease Symptom Recognition Scale (ADSRS)

This study examined recognition of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms among Korean Americans (KAs) and assessed psychometric properties of the Alzheimer’s Disease Symptom Recognition Scale (ADSRS). A cross-sectional survey collected data from 209 KAs, using a self-administered questionnaire. Results show that KAs recognized symptoms related to memory and cognitive functioning well, but had very limited recognition of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Psychometric analysis of ADSRS identified 4 factors in their symptom recognition. Findings suggest a need to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s symptoms over the course of the disease. Assessment using ADSRS can be incorporated in communication in the practice context and public outreach.     

Reciprocity and Affection

This paper provides a view of the creation of social services to meet the needs of the elderly since the turn of the century. The framework herein reveals that the development of the social worker's role in dealing with the elderly remains historically consistent. Differentiations within the profession since 1900 have not affected services to the elderly as they have other client groups. Furthermore, social policies designed to provide services to the elderly have not met their needs.