Evaluation of the levels of physical activity amongst primary school children in Malta

Background: Malta is currently facing a childhood obesity epidemic. Almost 40% of primary and 42% of secondary school children are overweight or obese secondary to energy imbalances and increase in sedentary behaviour. Lack of physical activity is another risk factor for childhood obesity and hence adult obesity, leading to various physical, psychological, social and economic complications. The aim of the study was to assess general levels of physical activity in Maltese primary school children. -- Methods: One hundred and twenty, 9-year-old children from three state primary schools completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). The PAQ-C measures general levels of physical activity in children in terms of frequency, intensity and duration. It consists of ten items, covering different time-of-day segments for physical activity and scored using a five-point scale. -- Results: On average, children underwent physical activity twice in their spare time during week days. Children were mostly active during Physical Education lessons and school breaks. During weekends, children were involved in active games an average of 2-3 times. In general, children described themselves as partaking in physical activity, 3-4 times during the whole week, which is less than once daily. Physical activity frequency is low in Maltese children, potentially because of extreme academic pressure as well as preferential involvement in sedentary activities. -- Conclusion: School breaks and Physical Educations lessons should be used to their maximum potential to provide the best possible exercise for our children through school-based physical activity interventions to combat childhood obesity.peer-reviewe

Longitudinal effects of evidence-based physical education in Maltese children

Background: Malta is an obesogenic country with low levels of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) reported amongst Maltese children. Schools play a significant cost-effective role in delivering and encouraging physical activity and thus contributing to population health. So far, there were no specific school-based physical activity interventions in Malta. This creates a public health action gap. The study will assess the feasibility of Maltese children engaging in MVPA in more than 50% of Physical Education lesson time through an evidence-based PE curriculum. Its longitudinal effects on school children's anthropometric factors, cardiorespiratory fitness and biomechanical variables are evaluated. Methods: One-hundred twenty 9-to-10-year-old children, attending state primary schools, participated in a time-series study design over one scholastic year. The intervention group (n = 76) had Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) PE curriculum. The control group (n = 44) was taught the national PE curriculum. The functional outcome measures included vertical jump height and posturography. Lesson MVPA levels were measured with the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT). Other measurements included: BMI z-scores, waist circumference and resting heart rate (RHR). Results: Achievement of >50% of PE lesson time in MVPA intensity is feasible through an evidence-based PE curriculum (60.43% from a baseline of 36.43% in intervention group vs 39.06% from a baseline of 39.89% in control). The intervention group reported improvements in BMI z-scores (p = 0.007; CI = 0.02, 0.15), RHR (p = 0.009; CI = 1.10, 7.46), balance parameters and jump height (p = 0.020; CI = −2.42, −0.23).Conclusions: MVPA levels were successfully increased through the evidence-based physical education curriculum with resultant positive health effects. Force platform analysis allows objective fitness monitoring in schoolchildren. This study recommends the integration of evidence-based PE curricula as a public health initiative against childhood obesity.peer-reviewe

Longitudinal effects of evidence-based physical education in Maltese children

Background: Malta is an obesogenic country with low levels of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) reported amongst Maltese children. Schools play a significant cost-effective role in delivering and encouraging physical activity and thus contributing to population health. So far, there were no specific school-based physical activity interventions in Malta. This creates a public health action gap. The study will assess the feasibility of Maltese children engaging in MVPA in more than 50% of Physical Education lesson time through an evidence-based PE curriculum. Its longitudinal effects on school children's anthropometric factors, cardiorespiratory fitness and biomechanical variables are evaluated. Methods: One-hundred twenty 9-to-10-year-old children, attending state primary schools, participated in a time-series study design over one scholastic year. The intervention group (n = 76) had Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) PE curriculum. The control group (n = 44) was taught the national PE curriculum. The functional outcome measures included vertical jump height and posturography. Lesson MVPA levels were measured with the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT). Other measurements included: BMI z-scores, waist circumference and resting heart rate (RHR). Results: Achievement of >50% of PE lesson time in MVPA intensity is feasible through an evidence-based PE curriculum (60.43% from a baseline of 36.43% in intervention group vs 39.06% from a baseline of 39.89% in control). The intervention group reported improvements in BMI z-scores (p = 0.007; CI = 0.02, 0.15), RHR (p = 0.009; CI = 1.10, 7.46), balance parameters and jump height (p = 0.020; CI = −2.42, −0.23). Conclusions: MVPA levels were successfully increased through the evidence-based physical education curriculum with resultant positive health effects. Force platform analysis allows objective fitness monitoring in schoolchildren. This study recommends the integration of evidence-based PE curricula as a public health initiative against childhood obesity

Validation of reference gene stability for miRNA quantification by reverse transcription quantitative PCR in the peripheral blood of patients with COVID-19 critical illness.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgency to study the host gene response that leads to variable clinical presentations of the disease, particularly the critical illness response. miRNAs have been implicated in the mechanism of host immune dysregulation and thus hold potential as biomarkers and/or therapeutic agents with clinical application. Hence, further analyses of their altered expression in COVID-19 is warranted. An important basis for this is identifying appropriate reference genes for high quality expression analysis studies. In the current report, NanoString technology was used to study the expression of 798 miRNAs in the peripheral blood of 24 critically ill patients, 12 had COVID-19 and 12 were COVID-19 negative. A list of potentially stable candidate reference genes was generated that included ten miRNAs. The top six were analyzed using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in a total of 41 patients so as to apply standard computational algorithms for validating reference genes, namely geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and RefFinder. There was general agreement among all four algorithms in the ranking of four stable miRNAs: miR-186-5p, miR-148b-3p, miR-194-5p and miR-448. A detailed analysis of their output rankings led to the conclusion that miR-186-5p and miR-148b-3p are appropriate reference genes for miRNA expression studies using PaxGene tubes in the peripheral blood of patients critically ill with COVID-19 disease

A simplified, non-invasive fecal-based DNA integrity assay and iFOBT for colorectal cancer detection

Neoplasia cells exfoliated from colorectal epithelium have dysfunctional apoptotic mechanisms, thus it is possible to identify high-molecular weight DNA fragments in feces. This prospective single-center study was performed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of fecal-based DNA integrity versus immunological fecal occult blood test (iFOBT) and calprotectin for colorectal cancer (CRC) and adenoma detection

Satraplatin (JM-216) mediates G2/M cell cycle arrest and potentiates apoptosis via multiple death pathways in colorectal cancer cells thus overcoming platinum chemo-resistance

Satraplatin acts as a potent inhibitor of proliferation in castration-resistant prostate cancer, yet the basic and molecular pharmacological mechanisms are still unknown in all types of cancer including colorectal cancer (CRC). In an effort to explain the mechanism of tumour sensitivity to satraplatin, the cytotoxic effects in a panel of CRC cell lines was examined with regard to their p53 genotype in comparison with oxaliplatin