"Glory is temporary, brain injury may be forever" : a neuropsychological study on the cumulative effects of sports-related concussive brain injury amongst Grade 12 school boy athletes
- Authors: Whitefield, Victoria Jane
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Sports injuries Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects Brain damage Brain -- Concussion Neuropsychological tests Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications Head -- Wounds and injuries
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DSc
- Identifier: vital:3104 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004471
- Description: The study investigated the long-term neuropsychological effects of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) due to participation in a contact sport amongst South African final year male high school athletes (N=189). The sample was divided by sports affiliation (Contact n = 115; Non-Contact n = 74) and concussion history (2+ Concussion n = 43; 0 Concussion n = 108). Comparative subgroups were statistically equivalent for age, education and estimated IQ (P > 0.05), with the Contact sport groups having markedly higher incidences of concussion than controls (p < 0.000). Measures included the ImPACT Verbal and Visual Memory, Visuomotor Speed and Reaction Time Composites, Digit Symbol Substitution and Digit Symbol Incidental Recall (immediate and delayed), the ImPACT Symptom Scale and a Post-concussion Symptom (PCS) questionnaire. Independent t-tests on cognitive measures at pre-and post-season revealed a predominant trend of Contact and 2+ Concussion groups performing worse, although only ImPACT Reaction Time at pre-season reached significance (p = 0.014). PCS comparisons revealed an overwhelming tendency of enhanced symptoms for Contact and 2+ Concussion groups with total scores being significantly different in most instances at pre-and post-season. Fatigue and aggression were the symptoms most pervasively high for the Contact and 2+ Concussion groups. Dependent t-test analyses at pre- versus post-season, revealed significant practice effects for the Contact group, not in evidence for controls on ImPACT Visual Motor Speed and Digit Symbol Incidental Recall-Delayed. Overall the results imply the possible presence of lingering neurocognitive and symptomatic concussion sequelae amongst South African final year high school participants of a contact sport. The indications gain potency when understood against the background of (i) Brain Reserve Capacity threshold theory, and (ii) the known risk of Type II error in group MTBI research, that might result in under-emphasis of subtle effects and miscalculation of cost-benefit risks. Clinical implications, and the need for prospective case-based research to ratify the results of this predominantly cross-sectional study, are discussed.
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- Date Issued: 2007
Reactions in the solid state
- Authors: Brown, Michael Ewart
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Solid state chemistry , Thermal analysis , Chemistry, Analytic
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DSc
- Identifier: vital:4529 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015762
- Description: I have chosen the title for this thesis, "Reactions in the Solid State", for two reasons: Firstly, it is broad enough to cover all of my areas of research, which have been: • Effects of irradiation on solids (PhD topic) • Silver refining (while at the Chamber of Mines) • Kinetics of decomposition of solids (with Dr A.K. Galwey and various others) • Techniques of thermal analysis • Pyrotechnic delay systems (with support from AECI Explosives) • Thermal and photostability of drugs (with Prof B.D. Glass) and, secondly, it was the title of the very successful book co-authored by Drs Andrew Galwey, David Dollimore and me. A large part of my research has been involved in the writing and editing of books, so these are covered in a separate commentary, while commentary on the more than 100 papers to which I have contributed forms the main part of this compilation. It is hoped that the electronic format will enable ready access of to all aspects of my research, including electronic versions of the original papers. The reader will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to access these.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Physics and applications of scintillation detectors
- Authors: Brooks, Francis Dey
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Nuclear physics Scintillation counters Nuclear counters Detectors
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DSc
- Identifier: vital:5482 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005268
- Description: The papers submitted in this volume present contributions and reviews on the physics of the scintillation process together with contributions to the development of scintillation detection techniques and the use of these techniques in nuclear physics research and in the applications of nuclear methods to other fields.
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- Date Issued: 1996
Studies related to the process of program development
- Authors: Williams, Morgan Howard
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Computer programming
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DSc
- Identifier: vital:4680 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007235
- Description: The submitted work consists of a collection of publications arising from research carried out at Rhodes University (1970-1980) and at Heriot-Watt University (1980-1992). The theme of this research is the process of program development, i.e. the process of creating a computer program to solve some particular problem. The papers presented cover a number of different topics which relate to this process, viz. (a) Programming methodology programming. (b) Properties of programming languages. aspects of structured. (c) Formal specification of programming languages. (d) Compiler techniques. (e) Declarative programming languages. (f) Program development aids. (g) Automatic program generation. (h) Databases. (i) Algorithms and applications.
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- Date Issued: 1994
Innovations in gold extraction
- Authors: Davidson, Raymond John
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Gold -- Analysis -- Research Gold -- Metallurgy -- Research Gold mines and mining -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DSc
- Identifier: vital:4317 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004975
- Description: The thesis takes the form of a collection of publications and patents concerning gold extraction which were presented over a period of 18 years while employed at the Anglo American Research Laboratories.
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- Date Issued: 1993