The value of sponsor fit and sincerity when promoting health messages at sport and art events.

Commercial companies invest in sport and arts sponsorship to align their brand with highly engaged spectators. Competing for spectator attention are government and non-government organizations promoting healthy lifestyles. This study investigated spectator engagement on the effectiveness of health messages promoted at sponsored events. Surveys from 2165 adults attending 28 sponsored events collected data on event engagement, health message awareness, behavioral intention, and perceptions of sponsor fit and sincerity. Spectators who were more highly engaged in the event showed significantly greater levels of awareness and acceptance of the health message (all P < 0.01). Path analysis showed that product and event interest were significantly related to both fit and sincerity, and perceived sponsorship fit was significantly associated with greater behavioral intention (all P < 0.01). Product, category and event interest, fit and sincerity were significantly greater for positive advocacy messages than neutral or negative advocacy messages (all P < 0.05). Health message sponsorship is assisted by spectator engagement and perceived fit of sponsored health messages. There exists greater potential to actively leverage spectator engagement to build or reinforce the perceived fit and sincerity of health messages to strengthen existing awareness and behavioral intention.

Emergent geometries and nonlinear-wave dynamics in photon fluids.

Nonlinear waves in defocusing media are investigated in the framework of the hydrodynamic description of light as a photon fluid. The observations are interpreted in terms of an emergent curved spacetime generated by the waves themselves, which fully determines their dynamics. The spacetime geometry emerges naturally as a result of the nonlinear interaction between the waves and the self-induced background flow. In particular, as observed in real fluids, different points of the wave profile propagate at different velocities leading to the self-steepening of the wave front and to the formation of a shock. This phenomenon can be associated to a curvature singularity of the emergent metric. Our analysis offers an alternative insight into the problem of shock formation and provides a demonstration of an analogue gravity model that goes beyond the kinematic level.

Perilymphatic fistula.

A perilymph fistula is an abnormal connection between the inner and middle ear that allows escape of perilymph fluid into the middle ear compartment. The clinical symptomatology that follows leakage of fluid is by and large indistinguishable from a number of other pathologies that affect inner ear function. Definite diagnostic proof of a perilymph fistula remains elusive, and methods of diagnosis remain controversial. Traumatic tears in the oval or round windows remain a major cause of perilymph fistula, yet an index of suspicion in traumatic brain injury frequently remains low. The diagnosis of perilymph fistula must always be considered in the appropriate clinical setting of head trauma, barotrauma, and in patients with unresolved and undiagnosed episodes of recurrent vertigo or hearing loss. Surgical treatment with patching of oval and round windows remains the mainstay of therapy for this condition.

Prenatal magnetic resonance imaging assisting in differentiating between large degenerating intramural leiomyoma and complex adnexal mass during pregnancy.

We present an unusual case in which a 36-year-old patient was referred due to increasing upper left quadrant abdominal pain and a possible left adnexal mass at 22 weeks' gestation. Ultrasonography demonstrated a multiseptated cystic mass, with solid components measuring 12 cm in diameter. A thin sonolucency was thought to separate the mass from the uterus and thus the mass was considered consistent with an adnexal mass, possibly a mucinous cystadenoma. A large degenerating leiomyoma could not be ruled out with certainty and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed which depicted a thin band of myometrium encompassing the complex mass and was therefore diagnostic of a degenerating uterine leiomyoma. We discuss the contribution of MR imaging in the noninvasive diagnosis of undetermined solid pelvic masses visualized ultrasonographically.

The effects of a balance and strength training program on equilibrium in Parkinsonism: A preliminary study.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a balance and strength training program could improve equilibrium and strength in persons with stage I-III Parkinsonism. Subjects were pre-tested on strength and balance (EquiTest) and randomized into either a treatment or a control group. The treatment subjects participated in 10 weeks of lower limb strength training and balance exercises designed to challenge a stable posture and increase limits of stability. Both groups were then posttested on balance, knee flexion, knee extension, and ankle inversion strength. Subjects who received strength and balance training demonstrated significantly improved equilibrium and modest gains in knee flexion and extension strength, while the control group showed no improvement in conditions of destabilizing balance environments and significant declines in strength. Results indicate that 10 weeks of balance and strength training lead to improved equilibrium by producing positive changes in two different control mechanisms. One, training altered the ability to control the motor system when vestibular cues had to be the primary source of reliable feedback; and two, training helped subjects to override faulty proprioceptive feedback and utilize reliable visual or vestibular cues.

The multicomponent nature of equilibrium in persons with parkinsonism: a regression approach.

Lower extremity strength and joint range of motion, body sway, and electromyography responses have all been determined to be factors in balance control of healthy older individuals. The purpose of this study was to identify variables which effect balance control (equilibrium scores) of persons with Parkinsonism, and examine their relationships and predictive abilities. The composite equilibrium score from the sensory organization protocol of the Equitest was used as the dependent variable for the regression analysis. The independent variables included: 1) strategy score; 2) path sway during voluntary body displacement; 3) percent peak torque of knee flexion relative to that of knee extension (%PTKFKE); 4) peak torque of inversion of the ankle at (PTINV); 5) dorsiflexion ROM; and 6) medium loop latency (EMG). The model produced a significant overall relationship accounting for 88% of the variability in equilibrium scores. Positive and significant coefficients indicated a predicted increase in the equilibrium composite score with increases in the strategy score, PTINV and %PTKFKE. These results suggest that postural control of persons with Parkinsonism can be strongly predicted by these three variables.

Does neuroretinitis rule out multiple sclerosis?

Neuroretinitis, a form of optic neuritis, is characterized by papillitis and a stellate macular exudate, or "macular star." The star implies the presence of a disc vasculopathy and secondary leakage of lipoproteinaceous material into the macula. Demyelinating optic neuritis would not be expected to produce a secondary macular exudate. We reviewed the literature on the risk of multiple sclerosis developing in a patient after an attack of optic neuritis, and rarely found a comment on the presence of a macular star. We then reviewed two series of 40 patients who had neuroretinitis and added ten patients of our own. Signs of multiple sclerosis had not developed in the 13 patients contacted retrospectively, nor in the patients followed up prospectively. We also noted that in our patients, neuroretinitis may be accompanied by other neurologic manifestations; neuroretinitis may be bilateral and may be staggered; papillitis may present without a macular star, only to have typical exudates develop up to two weeks later; and the macular exudate may take up to 12 months to resolve. We suggest that patients who demonstrate acute papillitis with a normal macula be reevaluated within two weeks for the development of a macular star. Its presence militates strongly against the subsequent development of multiple sclerosis.

Neurologic toxicity associated with hepatic artery infusion HAI of FUdR.

A 66-year-old man with hepatic metastases from gastric adenocarcinoma was treated on two occasions with 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine (FUdR) via hepatic artery infusion (HAI). The patient developed neurologic signs and symptoms including disorientation, oculomotor defects, ataxia and multifocal myoclonus during both attempts at HAI. Systemic drug toxicity is unusual when FUdR is given via HAI, and neurologic toxicity has not previously been reported. We postulate individual hypersensitivity to FUdR or selective concentration of FUdR in brainstem structures to explain the toxicity in this case.

Trigeminal-palatal synkinesis.

A patient developed synkinetic movements of facial musculature and "crocodile tears" following the removal of a large acoustic neurinoma. A reflex palatal movement resulted from tactile stimulation of the lower part of the face as well. Analysis of the palatal movement suggested action of the tensor veli palatini muscle, acting in isolation. We believe the palatal contraction represents a synkinetic phenomenon involving both sensory and motor nerve fibers within the motor root of the trigeminal nerve.

The value of visual evoked potential as a screening test in neurofibromatosis.

Pattern reversal visual evoked potential (VEP) test was performed in 30 asymptomatic patients with neurofibromatosis (NF). All patients had normal visual acuity, visual fields, and ophthalmoscopic examination results. Pattern reversal VEP was abnormal in eight patients (26%). Seven of these patients had computed tomographic scans with reformated orbital views. Orbital computed tomographic scans were abnormal in six patients and in each case showed enlargement of the optic nerve on the side of VEP abnormality. Our data indicate that pattern reversal VEP is a valuable screening test in asymptomatic patients with NF. Because of the high incidence of VEP abnormality in such patients, VEP abnormality must be interpreted cautiously when a patient with NF is suspected of having other diseases or disorders that potentially affect the visual pathways.

Paraneoplastic tonic pupils.

Tonic pupils developed in two patients with malignancies outside the nervous system. Symptoms and signs of more generalized somatic and autonomic nervous system involvement were also present. Although the exact morphologic basis for autonomic dysfunction in patients with paraneoplastic neurologic deterioration is uncertain, recent studies suggest that in some cases an autoimmune mechanism is responsible and may be directed against autonomic ganglion cells.

Neuroretinitis.

Twelve patients had neuroretinitis characterized by optic disc swelling with marked peripapillary and macular exudates. Individual cases demonstrated bilateral involvement, associated chorioretinitis, and symptoms and signs indicating extraocular CNS involvement. Detailed diagnostic investigation, performed in half of the cases, failed to demonstrate a cause. A temporal relationship to viral disease was present in five of 12 cases, although clinical findings in some cases indicated the condition does not simply represent a monophasic response to viral illness. Regardless of the degree of initial visual impairment or the severity of disc swelling and retinal involvement, ultimate visual outcome was generally excellent, but visual impairment persisted in some patients.

Chiasmal osteoma following tuberculous meningitis. Case report.

Clinical and radiological signs of a chiasmal lesion developed in a man 25 years after successful treatment of tuberculous meningitis. Surgical exploration and pathological examination demonstrated a mature chiasmal osteoma. The bony growth may have been a sequela of the prior infection.

Abducens nerve palsy due to spontaneous dissection of the internal carotid artery.

A patient had angiographic and computed tomographic features of a dissecting aneurysm of the extracranial internal carotid artery, with intracranial extension into the cavernous sinus. Isolated abducens nerve palsy resolved without treatment, within a two-month period.

Malignant optic glioma presenting radiologically as a "cystic" suprasellar mass: case report and review of the literature.

The diagnosis of malignant glioma of the optic nerves and chiasm may be difficult because these rare lesions may mimic other suprasellar lesions. We report a case of glioblastoma multiforme of the optic chiasm in which the appearance of the lesion on computed tomographic (CT) scan was consistent with that of craniopharyngioma or cystic pituitary adenoma. We suggest that malignant optic glioma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of an adult with progressive visual loss of rapid onset, even when ophthalmological examination strongly suggests extrinsic compression of the anterior optic pathways and when the CT scan apparently indicates a cystic mass lesion.

Evoked potentials in the evaluation of visual field defects due to chiasmal or retrochiasmal lesions.

We used monocular full-field and hemifield pattern reversal stimulation to study visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in 20 patients with confirmed defects of the visual pathways. In 10 of 12 patients with homonymous field defects, it was possible to lateralize the brain lesion but not to predict the site of the lesion within the hemisphere. In four of eight patients with bitemporal field defects, VEPs suggested involvement at the chiasmal level. In the remaining cases, VEPs provided no correlation with perimetric and radiologic findings. We found that VEPs usually corroborated other diagnostic studies but subtle defects were not detected reliably, and large hemianopic defects were occasionally not lateralized accurately. VEP analysis is therefore of only limited value in assessment for clinical purposes of patients with homonymous or bitemporal hemianopias.

Chiasmal apoplexy. Report of four cases.

Four patients with chiasmal syndromes were found to have intrachiasmal hematomas. Computerized tomography scans showed high-density suprasellar masses in all cases. Cryptic vascular anomalies were presumed to be responsible for spontaneous bleeding into the chiasm in three of the cases. In the remaining case, hemorrhage was due to an occult optic glioma. Surgical evacuation of clotted blood resulted in improved visual function in three of the four cases.