An opportunistic infection occurring in severely immunocompromised individuals, for example, those with AIDS, toxoplasmosis of the central nervous system most often occurs when the patients’ CD4 T-lymphocyte count falls below 200. Toxoplasma gondii is acquired by ingesting contaminated water, food (uncooked meat), or by handling cat feces.

Also known as diabetic lumbosacral radiculoplexus neuropathy, Bruns–Garland syndrome, and many other names, diabetic amyotrophy (DA) is an uncommon (~1% of those with diabetes) and clinically variable asymmetric diabetic neuropathy with unclear pathophysiology. It is generally thought that DA is an immune-mediated microvasculitis causing ischemic nerve injury involving the lumbosacral plexus, nerve roots, and peripheral nerves.

This introduction sets the scene by exploring the richness of the diversity of learners and critically examines the imperative for educators within the current educational climate to employ pedagogies that transform learning experiences, particularly for those who continue to be marginalised and are increasingly disengaged from education. The aim of the introduction is to lay the foundation for the significance of supporting educators in pedagogical decisions that prioritise and are socially just and responsive to the inclusion of all learners, thereby engaging and empowering learners as active co-designers and self-regulators of respectful, meaningful and impactful learning. In scaffolding educator efficacy, the introduction encourages self-reflective strategies for sustained critique of applying inclusive, responsive, enabling and socially just pedagogical approaches within their educational practice.

First described by German neurologist Herman Oppenheim in 1898, the term “witzelsucht” comes from the German words “witz” meaning joke and “sucht” meaning addiction or obsession. This term is used to describe the pathological and inappropriate joking, pun-making, and/or childish excitement, most commonly seen in patients with lesions of the right frontal lobe, specifically the right orbitofrontal region. Witzelsucht has been reported in patients with right (or bilateral) frontal lobe brain tumors, infections, trauma, cerebral infarcts and hemorrhages, and neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal lobe dementia.

Carotid dissections and vertebral dissections cause ~20% of strokes in patients <45 years old and can be caused by direct trauma to or round the neck, whiplash injury, violent coughing, strenuous events like exercise or childbirth, or occur spontaneously. Arterial dissections are also more common in patients with connective tissue disease such as Marfan, Loeys–Deitz, and Ehlers–Danlos syndromes; osteogenesis imperfecta; fibromuscular dysplasia; and 𝛼1-antitrypsin deficiency. Carotid dissections are much more common than vertebral dissections, comprising ~70–80% of all cervicocerebral arterial dissections, and vertebral dissections comprising ~15%.

Myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibers (MERRF) syndrome, also called Fukahara syndrome, is a very rare maternally inherited mitochondrial disorder caused by a mutation in mitochondrial DNA. Approximately 80% of cases of MERRF are caused by an A-to-G mutation in the mitochondrial MT-TK gene, encoding tRNA.

While back pain is the most common presenting complaint to medical clinics, herniated vertebral discs are found to be the cause in only a small minority of those cases. Herniation of vertebral discs most commonly occurs in the lumbar spine secondary to chronic degenerative changes, though not uncommonly, acute trauma can cause herniation. In either case, the intervertebral disc herniates posterolaterally onto a spinal nerve root.

A comparative analysis of worldwide climate policies, taking the European Green Deal as a yardstick, shows only a limited degree of convergence. While the European Union (EU), the United States, Japan and People’s Republic of China (PRC) have set between 2050 and 2060 as a time limit to achieve climate neutrality, global practices aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to their implications are still largely ineffective and unco-ordinated. Despite significant efforts, rather than displaying a harmonious framework, climate policies spanning the EU, the United States, PRC, Latin America, Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Africa appear as a fragmented patchwork. This is true not only from the standpoint of external relations, comparing and contrasting the policy of different States and sovereign entities, but also internally, owing to such divisions as polycentric regulatory powers in federal States; asymmetric interests in geopolitical blocs such as the East, West, and Middle East; and different degrees of social cohesion in developing countries.

Internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO) is a specific syndrome producing a characteristic ophthalmoplegia in the setting of focal lesion of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) in the brainstem. The MLF is a heavily myelinated white matter tract in the brainstem that connects various nuclei throughout the length of brainstem from medulla to midbrain. It is located in dorsal brainstem close to the midline.

Fungal meningitis is far rarer than viral and bacterial meningitis and is more commonly seen in immunocompromised patients. The most common fungal pathogen is Cryptococcus neoformans, followed by Candida species, then Coccidioides, and then Histoplasma. In immunosuppressed patients, particularly those with AIDS and a CD4 count <200, cryptococcal meningitis infections represent a reemergence of an existing infection, and are a large contributor to HIV-related death. In addition to those with AIDS, those who have undergone an organ transplant, or with malignancy, or with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, or on chemotherapeutics are also at a higher risk of CNS fungal infections.