Predictors of physical activity during recess

Recess is a fundamental part of the school-day with the opportunity for children to participate in physical activity (PA). Substantial variability exists in the time and percent children spend in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during recess, suggesting the need to understand what variables predict recess PA. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between individual-level and school-level variables and recess PA with a large and diverse student and school sample. Participants were 1,728 Central Texas fourth graders from 19 schools, part of the Texas Initiative for Children’s Activity and Nutrition (I-CAN!). One school-week of children’s PA was collected using triaxial accelerometers between 2013 and 2015. Percent time and weekly time in MVPA during recess were calculated, and a mixed model was fit to the data to account for the hierarchical nature of the data. After calculating intra-class correlations (ICCs), schools accounted for a significant amount of the variance in percent time (ICC = 0.30 (95% CI: 0.18, 0.46)) and weekly time in MVPA (ICC =.23 (95% CI: 0.13, 0.37)). Gender (p<0.0001), bad weather (p≤0.024), and fitness (p<0.0001) were all significant predictors of recess MVPA in both models, with boys being more active than girls, bad weather negatively predicting recess MVPA, and fitness positively predicting recess MVPA. An interaction between fitness and gender was observed (p = 0.005) with fitness being more associated with boys’ recess MVPA than girls’ in the weekly MVPA model, but not in the percent MVPA model. Our study is the first to find that recess MVPA is related to fitness. Although a significant amount of the variance in recess MVPA was attributed to schools, the only school-level variable that significantly predicted recess MVPA was bad weather. This suggests that other school-level variables not in our study, like unfixed equipment and the social environment, might mediate recess PA and warrant further study to better inform recess policy.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

Effectiveness and feasibility of lowering playground density during recess to promote physical activity and decrease sedentary time at primary school

Background: This pilot study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of lowering playground density on increasing children’s physical activity and decreasing sedentary time. Also the feasibility of this intervention was tested. Methods: Data were collected in September and October 2012 in three Belgian schools in 187, 9–12 year old children. During the intervention, playground density was decreased by splitting up recesses and decreasing the number of children sharing the playground. A within-subject design was used. Children wore accelerometers during the study week. Three-level (class – participant - measurement (baseline or intervention)) linear regression models were used to determine intervention effects. After the intervention week the school principals filled out a questionnaire concerning the feasibility of the intervention. Results: The available play space was 12.18 ± 4.19 m2/child at baseline and increased to 24.24 ± 8.51 m2/child during intervention. During the intervention sedentary time decreased (−0.58 min/recess; -3.21%/recess) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (+1.04 min/recess; +5.9%/recess) increased during recess and during the entire school day (sedentary time: -3.29%/school day; moderate-to-vigorous physical activity +1.16%/school day). All principals agreed that children enjoyed the intervention; but some difficulties were reported. Conclusions: Lowering playground density can be an effective intervention for decreasing children’s sedentary time and increasing their physical activity levels during recess; especially in least active children

Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement

Assesses the effect of access to home computers and broadband Internet on students' math and reading test scores and its potential to close the achievement gap for the disadvantaged. Considers the role of parental monitoring

The Official Student Newspaper of UAS

UAS Answers: everybody's got one... -- Bring back the Communications minor -- Welcome to the Whalesong -- UAS In Brief -- Preparing for the Power & Privilege Symposium -- UAS students qualify for free software -- Students get your pens to paper -- Pizza with the UA President -- Appropriate or appropriation -- The horror of plastic at the Lakeside Grill -- From command inspections to due dates and deadlines -- Dancing to the rhythm of Alaska Native drumming -- The UAS latte factor -- Off Campus Calendar -- On Campus Calenda

Decompositions of Grammar Constraints

A wide range of constraints can be compactly specified using automata or formal languages. In a sequence of recent papers, we have shown that an effective means to reason with such specifications is to decompose them into primitive constraints. We can then, for instance, use state of the art SAT solvers and profit from their advanced features like fast unit propagation, clause learning, and conflict-based search heuristics. This approach holds promise for solving combinatorial problems in scheduling, rostering, and configuration, as well as problems in more diverse areas like bioinformatics, software testing and natural language processing. In addition, decomposition may be an effective method to propagate other global constraints.Comment: Proceedings of the Twenty-Third AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligenc

Plasma anandamide and other N-acylethanolamines are correlated with their corresponding free fatty acid levels under both fasting and non-fasting conditions in women

N-acylethanolamines (NAEs), such as anandamide (AEA), are a group of endogenous lipids derived from a fatty acid linked to ethanolamine and have a wide range of biological activities, including regulation of metabolism and food intake. We hypothesized that i) NAE plasma levels are associated with levels of total free fatty acids (FFAs) and their precursor fatty acid in fasting and non-fasting conditions and ii) moderate alcohol consumption alters non-fasting NAE levels. In a fasting and non-fasting study we sampled blood for measurements of specific NAEs and FFAs. In the fasting study blood was drawn after an overnight fast in 22 postmenopausal women. In the non-fasting study blood was sampled before and frequently after a standardized lunch with beer or alcohol-free beer in 19 premenopausal women. Fasting AEA levels correlated with total FFAs (r = 0.84; p <0.001) and arachidonic acid levels (r = 0.42; p <0.05). Similar results were observed for other NAEs with both total FFAs and their corresponding fatty acid precursors. In addition, AEA (r = 0.66; p <0.01) and OEA levels (r = 0.49;