The Effects of Sports Specialization and Injury Rates in Collegiate Athletes

BACKGROUND: Sport specialization has been thought to cause burnout, overuse injuries, and isolation within a pediatric population. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of sports specialization in collegiate athletes. METHODS: Twenty fourth-year athletes at The University of Akron (age 22.1 ±.72 yrs.) chose to participate in the study. Athletes were provided with a survey regarding high school sport participation, and informed consent was obtained to access their collegiate medical records. NExTT© database was used to collect data on the number of injuries each participant sustained while in collegiate athletics. The number of sports played in high school was then compared with the participants number of injuries throughout their collegiate career. RESULTS: Only 30% of participants specialized in high school. The injuries rates of those who specialized demonstrated no significant change from their counterparts who played multiple sports. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, sports specialization in high school does not significantly affect the rate of injury in collegiate athletics

A Synthesis and Analysis of Anhydrous Hydroxide Ion Conducting Polymer Electrolytes

This project investigates the synthesis and physical properties of polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (MePEGn where n=3 or 7) based polymer electrolytes. The two polymer electrolytes explored in the experiments were designed from two different MePEG chains that varied in their overall length and degree of polymerization. The first MePEG backbone contained three polymerized ethoxy groups and the second contained seven. Both MePEGn polymers were modified by substituting an imidazolium group in place of the alcohol functional group at the end of the PEG chain. This modification was made to create a polymer electrolyte with an attached positive charge that could facilitate the movement of hydroxide ions. These polymer electrolytes were synthesized in order to study various physical properties, such as ionic conductivity and viscosity, in anhydrous conditions to characterize the viability of the MePEG derivatives as alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AAEMFCs) polymer electrolyte membranes

Perceptions and Use of Nonnutritive Sweeteners Among College Students Based Upon Athletic Status, Gender, and Academic Major

Nonnutritive sweeteners, which include sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, and stevia may positively impact health of individuals by helping to reduce Caloric and added sugar intake. Athletes may consider these factors when attempting to improve performance and, as such, may benefit from their use. However, no one has examined sources of nutrition knowledge and perceptions as well as use of nonnutritive sweeteners in college students based upon athletic status, gender, and whether students are studying a health or non-health related major. The objective of this study was to compare college students’ sources of nutrition knowledge to their perceptions and consumption of nonnutritive sweeteners. Excerpts of two validated surveys were completed by 930 students enrolled in HLTH 1520: Healthful Living at Georgia Southern University. While the majority of students noted their primary source of nutrition knowledge was the Internet, non-collegiate athletes, regardless of their gender, consulted the Internet significantly more than collegiate athletes. No significant differences between perceptions and use of nonnutritive sweeteners based on gender, athletic status, or academic major were noted. Many college students felt artificial sweeteners were harmful, had no health benefits, and they didn’t trust the regulators that license and control them. Since research and regulation confirm safety and potential health benefits of nonnutritive sweeteners, these results suggest overall lack of education about nonnutritive sweeteners among college students. Future work may include examination of the extent that nutrition courses are covering the topic of nonnutritive sweeteners

Community conservation and remote sensing of the desert-adapted lions in northwest Namibia

Community-based conservation of the desert-adapted lions takes place within the semi-arid and arid environments of northwest Namibia. This area is primarily designated as communal conservancies, a form of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). The article describes the activities of the Lion Rangers program, a CBNRM organization, emphasizing how the use of remote sensing techniques, including the Spatial Analysis and Report Tools (SMART) software and mobile-app, GPS/satellite collars, and trail cameras, contribute to lion monitoring and limiting human–lion conflict (HLC). Remote sensing data are being integrated with historical and sociological research, with applicable lessons for lion conservation and conservation of other problem-causing species

Cultural ecosystem services and the avifauna of the Western Cape: a social-ecological systems investigation

Includes bibliographical references.The ecosystem services concept has become inextricably linked to the economic valuation approach. Such an approach rests upon a triple incoherency, inadequately accounting for relationships between natural components, social and natural components, and within society itself. These incoherencies have distracted the ecosystem services concept away from its initial grounds: the reliance of humans upon the natural world. The faults of these three arenas are reviewed and found to be insuperable – ecosystem services must be re-imagined if they are to support positive conservation efforts. Such re-imagination here takes place within the framework of Social-ecological Systems (SES) theory. Founded upon the unifying concept of change, SES theory introduces a needed awareness of the dynamic interactions which characterize the process by which ecosystem services are realized by people. This introductory chapter sets the premise from which the rest of this thesis will operate: that the ecosystem services concept must account for the temporal dynamics of social-ecological interactions. Once an element of change becomes linked to ecosystem services only then can the concept may speak meaningfully to the co-constitution of the social and ecological arena

Factors Impacting Athletic Identity in an Adolescent Population

Please enjoy Volume 7, Issue 1 of the JSMAHS. In this issue, you will find Professional, Graduate, and Undergraduate research abstracts, and case reports. Thank you for viewing this 7th Annual OATA Special Edition

Shear susceptibility of human mesenchymal stem cells increases with generation number: Implications for stem cell therapy scale-up and manufacturing

The ability of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) to withstand shear forces during processing is still debated as there have been reports of hMSCs being damaged during manufacturing. “Shear susceptibility” of suspended hMSCs (harvested from T-flasks) was investigated using a contractional flow device “torture chamber”.1 Surprisingly, hMSCs were found not to be any more shear susceptible than vero cells (commonly used for vaccine production) provided they are not passaged extensively. (figure 1) Therefore, the number of hMSC doublings before harvesting is limited, which presents a challenge for stem cell manufacturing and scale-up. In order to develop a scale up protocol for hMSCs, we first used HEK293T cells seeded on microcarriers. ANSYS FLUENT was used to model gentle agitation of cells seeded with microcarriers in a “100mm” culture dish to determine the lowest suitable agitation speed. Cells were seeded along with microcarriers in 10mL of media spinner flask with no agitation for 24 hours followed by orbital agitation at 35rpm. HEK293T cells scaled-up using orbital agitation were found to attach and spread to fresh microcarriers more efficiently than cells seeded into an impeller-mixed spinner flask. Transfer from “loaded” microcarriers to fresh microcarriers was found to occur via “contact transfer” or “bridging” between carriers. Hence, orbital agitation is thought to promote this transfer mechanism. For anchorage-dependent hMSCs, attachment efficiency to microcarriers upon seeding plays a significant role in cell production given the apparent passage limitations. Therefore, we expect that when the orbital agitation protocol is used for scale-up of hMSCs, significantly more hMSCs will survive the seeding/attachment process and transfer between microcarriers will be more efficient than in traditional spinner flask microcarrier culture. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

The Dutchman Vol. 6, No. 5

● Antiques for Fancy and for Fun ● Dutch by the Ton ● Beasts in Dutchland ● Church Architecture in Lancaster County ● Tracking the Elusive Distelfink ● Renascence of History ● Dutch Cheeses ● The Zehn-uhr Schtickhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/dutchmanmag/1004/thumbnail.jp

The Dutchman Vol. 6, No. 4

● Painted Tin or Tole ● Embroideries and Cutouts ● Moravian Architecture in Bethlehem ● Scratch-Carved Easter Eggs ● The Conestoga Horse ● The Reading Boat ● Lititz Specialties ● Pennsylvania Dutch Pioneers ● The Zehn-uhr Schtickhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/dutchmanmag/1003/thumbnail.jp

Human-Lion Conflict and the Reproduction of White Supremacy in Northwest Namibia

AbstractThroughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, colonial governments used human-lion interactions to further their efforts to reproduce white supremacy in northwest Namibia. Drawing on archival, oral, and published sources, Heydinger presents this “animal-sensitive history,” which examines the central role of livestock in antagonistic human-lion interactions. The government has historically played a major role in securing European dominance over lions, while African pastoralists have suffered from human-lion conflict. Government interventions had lasting effects on human livelihoods and the geography of lion survival. Lions were eradicated on white farms, but they thrived in Etosha—where livestock were prohibited—and yet maintain a tenuous presence in Kaokoveld. Heydinger examines the ways in which human livelihoods and lion survival remain linked to one another to this day.</jats:p