Implementation of the NCAA Sickle Cell Trait Screening Policy: A Survey of Athletic Staff and Student-athletes.

Objective: To describe the perspectives and experiences of athletic trainers, coaches, and student-athletes approximately three years post-implementation of the NCAA sickle cell trait (SCT) screening policy.

Participants: Two-hundred and eight student-athletes, 32 athletic trainers, and 43 coaches from 10 NCAA Division I (DI) institutions in North Carolina from January to June 2014.

Methods: Two online surveys were used to assess knowledge, perspectives, and experiences.

Gestational Exposure to Air Pollution Alters Cortical Volume, Microglial Morphology, and Microglia-Neuron Interactions in a Sex-Specific Manner.

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the brain, important for normal neural development in addition to host defense in response to inflammatory stimuli. Air pollution is one of the most pervasive and harmful environmental toxicants in the modern world, and several large scale epidemiological studies have recently linked prenatal air pollution exposure with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) are a primary toxic component of air pollution, and markedly activate microglia and in adult rodents.