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Late Adolescent Athletes Suffer More Musculoskeletal Injuries in Contact Sports Compared to Other Young Adults: A 10-Year NEISS Analysis
Full text linkOBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine general incidence rate patterns of musculoskeletal injuries in contact sports. We hypothesized that disparities exist in the rates, types, distribution, and severity of injuries among young adult athletes in contact sports.
METHODS: We conducted our analysis using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from 2014 to 2023. Analyses included individuals aged 15 to 25 who derived a musculoskeletal injury from basketball, soccer, rugby, or ice hockey. Injuries were classified into three categories: dislocations, strains/sprains, and fractures. Age was categorized into 3 distinct groups (15-18, 18-21, 21-25). Chi-square tests of independence and logistic regression models were used to analyze associations and calculate odds ratios (OR) for factors related to injury patterns and hospitalization.
RESULTS: The analysis included 45,917 reported cases and a weighted estimate of 1,532,982. The 15-18 age group accounted for 63.1% of injuries, with basketball being the most common sport (71.5% of injuries), followed by soccer (25.1%), rugby (1.8%), and ice hockey (1.7%). Mean age varied by sport: rugby (19.16 years), basketball (18.24 years), soccer, and ice hockey (both 17.95 years). Overall, the 21-25 age group had the highest odds of hospitalization (OR 0.844). Body parts most likely to result in hospitalization were upper leg (OR 19.44), neck (OR 7.27), and lower leg (OR 4.01). Injury frequencies generally decreased as age increased (R² = 0.903), except in rugby, and monthly trends aligned with typical competition seasons.
CONCLUSION: This analysis reveals significant disparities in musculoskeletal injury patterns among young adult contact sports players. The prevalence of injuries in 15-18-year-olds underscores the need for targeted prevention strategies in adolescents. Variations in injury between sports and genders highlight the importance of tailored approaches to injury prevention and treatment. Body parts associated with higher hospitalization risks provide crucial information for acute care management. These findings offer valuable insights for developing appropriate interventions to enhance athlete safety in contact sports.Cortez Brown
Kirk Zigle
Bibliography for the book How Flowers Made our World
No full textBibliography for the book How Flowers Made our World by David George Haskel
The LITS Latest: Library and Information Technology Services Newsletter, no. 8
No full textLITS Communications Tea
Micro-rubber from the Sewanee soccer turf causes proteotoxicity and disrupts the heat shock response
Full text linkProteostasis, the ability to maintain and regulate the proteome, is fundamental for cellular function, but progressively deteriorates with age. Moreover, genetic predisposition and environmental factors accelerate protein misfolding and may exacerbate conformational diseases such as Alzheimer’s (AD) and Huntington’s disease (HD). Previously, our laboratory found that exposure to nano-size particulate air pollution contributes to the misfolding of neurodegenerative disease-associated proteins. Here, we use C. elegans as a model system to determine if exposure to micro-rubber particles (obtained from the Sewanee soccer turf) similarly contributes to protein misfolding. To assay for an impaired ability to maintain proteostasis, we used a metastable HD-associated protein (polyQ) fused to YFP as a sensor. As proteostasis collapses, this sensor misfolds and aggregates into distinct fluorescent foci. We found that exposure to micro-rubber particles accelerated the formation of misfolded protein aggregates within the body wall muscle cells. Furthermore, we found that this led to proteotoxicity, as evidenced by detrimental effects on cellular function. A heat shock response (HSR) is a cytoprotective cellular defense mechanism that activates under conditions of stress and repairs damaged proteins. We ascertained the effects of micro-rubber particle exposure on this important transcriptional response, utilizing a reporter strain expressing GFP under the control of a heat-inducible promoter. While micro-rubber did not trigger an HSR on its own, we found that exposure attenuated the HSR following an acute heat shock. Ultimately, our data suggest that micro-rubber particles contribute to a decline in proteostasis, which may be relevant to neurodegenerative disease progression.Life Science Research fellowship, Faculty development gran
Episcopal Preaching in the Jazz Tradition: Improvisational Pedagogies
No full textThis Doctor of Ministry Project explores the dynamic intersection of Episcopal preaching and the jazz tradition, proposing improvisational pedagogy as both a lens and a methodology for homiletic formation. Drawing from the theological, cultural, and aesthetic frameworks of jazz, particularly its practices of imitation, assimilation and innovation, this study argues that preaching in the Episcopal Church can be revitalized through an embrace of improvisational principles. Through theological reflection, and Comparative analysis, the project examines how improvisation functions as a spiritual and pedagogical act that deepens the preacher's responsiveness to scripture, congregation, and the Holy Spirit. By engaging voices from homiletics, jazz studies, Black ecclesial traditions, and Episcopal liturgy, this work constructs a
model of preaching formation that affirms embodiment, contextual awareness, and creative freedom. Ultimately, this project contends that improvisational pedagogies not only enrich Episcopal preaching but also contribute to the wider homiletical discourse by offering a model of proclamation that is adaptive, relational, and rooted in the transformative potential of sacred performance
Stonemaker
No full textThis is a book of poems I did not want to write. Some of these poems came to me in dreams, others on morning runs, others in the shower, others while I scrambled eggs. I want to say they banged down the door, but—more often than not—they slipped in quietly and waited to be found, clearly leaving the choice up to me (whether or not to find them, that is).
My favorite poems came from sudden images, visions almost: My brother at the top of a pirate’s mast during a storm, a giant pink hand emerging from the ocean, a lightbulb in my mouth, hot chocolate dripping down my stomach. Some of these pieces are responses to the words and lines of others: if Eve was Earth, walk into the time that is coming. Some came from the myths and stories of my childhood—Genesis, Jonah, Noah, Medusa, Ceto, Pegasus—while others are myths and stories of my own making. Still others come from a moment that haunts me, a memory that flashes into my mind like the worst part of a movie rewound over and over: Another Telling, Another Telling, Another Telling.
Nearly every poem comes from a deep love of the more-than-human world and a deep love of the human world. What is the time we are walking into? How will we treat women? Will there be clean water? Cocoa beans or gulf streams? What will happen to the oceans? Will they rise into ten-foot walls of water outside the hospital? Who will be alive?
The book I wanted to write was one that would move readers to love the world enough to save it, to save each other. Yes, I wanted to write a book that would save the world. I sat down ready to force that book out of me. But try as I did to pummel these pages into submission, they would not budge. They waited patiently, and, instead, I found a book that did not need any forcing, already finished and ready, waiting deep inside me. To be clear: I do not believe this manuscript is, as yet, a finished book. I think the book inside me is already finished. This manuscript is as much of that book as I was able to access within a year. I sense, though, that there are still pages locked away in my chest that need a little more time before they’ll be ready to reveal themselves. (I suspect these future pages may greatly affect the order of the collection, which, I sense, remains unsettled.) The book I will eventually (god willing) finish writing may not necessarily be the book the world needs (which, by the way, what does that even mean?), but it is the book I need.
So, no, this is not what I wanted to write—but here it is anyway: a book for my daughter who does not yet exist. Here is everything I want to tell her about where she comes from and everything I think she might need to survive wherever it is we are going. This is a book that helped me let go so that, should I ever find her before me, I need not ask her to help bear what I’ve been asked to carry. May, instead, she fly—with the wings on her very own back—wild and unfettered
Bridging Traditional Value Investing and Growth: A Quantitative Framework for Superior Investment Strategy
Full text linkThis paper presents an innovative investment framework that merges traditional value investing principles with advanced, growth-oriented valuation metrics to deliver superior short-term, risk-adjusted returns. Addressing the increasing disconnect between classical valuation models and the realities of today’s dynamic equity markets, this approach integrates foundational ratios such as P/E, P/B, and ROE with modern tools including PEG, Growth-Adjusted P/E (GA-P/E), EV/EBITDA, EV/FCF, and asset turnover. This hybrid methodology provides a more holistic lens to identify undervalued yet high-potential equities, particularly in sectors driven by rapid innovation and reinvestment.
The model is tested through a diversified five-stock portfolio, equally weighted across the technology, consumer goods, healthcare, and energy sectors. Using historical data from Yahoo Finance and analytical tools grounded in the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), the portfolio is evaluated for alpha generation, beta exposure, volatility, and Sharpe ratio. Importantly, stock selection is aligned with macroeconomic indicators—such as GDP growth, inflation trajectories, and interest rate trends—to ensure consistency with current market conditions and forward-looking positioning.
Empirical results indicate that this dual-metric strategy consistently outperforms a traditional value-only approach in both total returns and risk-adjusted performance. Notably, companies like Microsoft, Nvidia, and ExxonMobil exemplify strong alignment with the integrated valuation model, validating the enhanced predictive power of growth-adjusted metrics in capturing future returns. Furthermore, the portfolio maintains robust diversification and downside protection, reinforcing the strategy’s resilience under varied market conditions.
In conclusion, this research affirms that traditional value investing, when enhanced with forward-looking growth indicators and informed by macroeconomic context, can evolve into a more agile and effective philosophy for modern portfolio construction. This framework offers investors a refined toolkit to navigate today’s complex markets while preserving the foundational discipline that has long defined successful equity investing
Do regenerative farming practices improve soil health and plant diversity on small farms around southeast Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau?
Full text linkResearch suggests that regenerative agricultural practices that enhance soil carbon sequestration may mitigate climate change, improve soil health and promote biodiversity. Small farmers around the world are adopting these practices out of a sense of stewardship. Methods to assess the effectiveness of these practices, however, are often designed for large operations. We sampled small (<200 acres) regenerative and conventional farms around the southeastern Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee to examine whether regenerative agriculture has positive impacts in this context. A 2022 pilot study of small farms comparing soil carbon between farmland managed with regenerative practices and adjacent unmanaged plots had inconclusive results, in part, due to the stratified random sampling method that had been developed for large farming operations. We shared the results of the pilot study, including soil carbon maps, with the farmers. Based upon these conversations, we modifed our sampling strategy to include conventional farms and measured new variables, including plant species richness and soil aggregate stability, in addition to soil organic carbon. We directed our sampling to where farmers have implemented regenerative practices most intensively and for the longest period. In contrast to the pilot study, data collected using methods modified to focus on farmer practices demonstrated significant results on some farms. One farm regenerating from strip mining showed considerable improvement, while others showed less dramatic results, depending on practices and soil type. This study shows that a collaborative adaptive study design integrating farmers’ insights may better reflect the positive effects of regenerative practices on small farms