Barium uptake by diatoms and the 226Ra-Ba-Si system in the oceans.

Thesis. 1976. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences.Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science.Includes bibliographical references.M.S

Outcomes of the rope skipping \u27STAR\u27 programme for schoolchildren

Physical activity in children and adolescents is on a decline trend. To this end, we conducted a matched-pair randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a 4-week STAR (School-based; Train-the-trainer; Accessibility of resources; Recreational) skipping programme. 1,386 schoolchildren from 20 primary and secondary schools were recruited. Schools were randomized into the experimental or wait-list control group. Participants self-reported their health-related quality of life using the KIDSCREEN-27. Accelerometers were used to measure the time a subgroup of participants (n = 480) spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during school hours on five consecutive days. Measures were taken at pre- and post-test. At post-test, students in the experimental group, compared to those in the control group, engaged in less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during school hours. Health-related quality of life from two groups of students was similar, but the experimental group reported higher levels of autonomy and parent relationships. Results suggested that although the intervention did not increase students\u27 physical activity levels, it slightly improved their health-related quality of life. Future studies should explore personal factors that might mediate the effect of the intervention

Increasing students' physical activity during school physical education: Rationale and protocol for the SELF-FIT cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: The Self-determined Exercise and Learning For FITness (SELF-FIT) is a multi-component school-based intervention based on tenets of self-determination theory. SELF-FIT aims to increase students’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during physical education lessons, and enhance their autonomous motivation towards fitness activities. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial, we aim to examine the effects of the intervention on students’ MVPA during school physical education. Methods: Secondary 2 students (approximately aged 14 years) from 26 classes in 26 different schools will be recruited. After baseline assessments, students will be randomized into either the experimental group or wait-list control group using a matched-pair randomization. Teachers allocated to the experimental group will attend two half-day workshops and deliver the SELF-FIT intervention for 8 weeks. The main intervention components include training teachers to teach in more need supportive ways, and conducting fitness exercises using a fitness dice with interchangeable faces. Other motivational components, such as playing music during classes, are also included. The primary outcome of the trial is students’ MVPA during PE lessons. Secondary outcomes include students’ leisure-time MVPA, perceived need support from teachers, need satisfaction, autonomous motivation towards physical education, intention to engage in physical activity, psychological well-being, and health-related fitness (cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness). Quantitative data will be analyzed using multilevel modeling approaches. Focus group interviews will also be conducted to assess students’ perceptions of the intervention. Discussion: The SELF-FIT intervention has been designed to improve students’ health and well-being by using high-intensity activities in classes delivered by teachers who have been trained to be autonomy needs supportive. If successful, scalable interventions based on SELF-FIT could be applied in physical education at large. Trial registration: The trial is registered at the Australia New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (Trial ID: ACTRN12615000633583; date of registration: 18 June 2015)

(Dis)connections between specific language impairment and dyslexia in Chinese

postprin

Priming healthy eating. You can't prime all the people all of the time.

OBJECTIVE: In the context of a food purchasing environment filled with advertising and promotions, and an increased desire from policy makers to guide individuals toward choosing healthier foods, this study tests whether priming methods that use healthy food adverts to increase preference for healthier food generalize to a representative population. METHODS: In two studies (Study 1 n = 143; Study 2 n = 764), participants were randomly allocated to a prime condition, where they viewed fruit and vegetable advertisements, or a control condition, with no advertisements. A subsequent forced choice task assessed preference between fruits and other sweet snacks. Additional measures included current hunger and thirst, dietary restraint, age, gender, education and self-reported weight and height. RESULTS: In Study 1, hunger reduced preferences for fruits (OR (95% CI) = 0.38 (0.26-0.56), p <0.0001), an effect countered by the prime (OR (95% CI) = 2.29 (1.33-3.96), p = 0.003). In Study 2, the effect of the prime did not generalize to a representative population. More educated participants, as used in Study 1, chose more fruit when hungry and primed (OR (95% CI) = 1.42 (1.13-1.79), p = 0.003), while less educated participants' fruit choice was unaffected by hunger or the prime. CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary evidence that the effects of adverts on healthy eating choices depend on key individual traits (education level) and states (hunger), do not generalize to a broader population and have the potential to increase health inequalities arising from food choice.We gratefully acknowledge the participation of all NIHR Cambridge BioResource (CBR) volunteers. We thank the Cambridge BioResource staff for their help with volunteer recruitment, members of the Cambridge BioResource SAB and Management Committee for their support of our study and the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre for funding. Access to CBR volunteers and their data and samples is governed by the CBR SAB. Documents describing access arrangements and contact details are available at http://www.cambridgebioresource.org.uk/. We are grateful to Chris Holmes and Sarah Walker for advice, comment and discussion on this work from a marketing perspective and to Graham Finlayson for use of the food images. The study was funded by the Department of Health Policy Research Program (Policy Research Unit in Behavior and Health [PR-UN-0409-10109]). The Department of Health had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.01.01

Urban-Rural Differences in a Chain Supermarket’s Sales to SNAP Shoppers before and since COVID-19

Urban and rural settings have different economic and social factors that impact food access, with implications for food sales to SNAP participants This study examines food sales to SNAP participants from rural vs urban stores to provide insights into geographical disparities. We used de-identified transaction data from a large grocery chain with 496 stores in North Carolina from Oct 2019-Dec 2020 (n=32,182 store-weeks), classifying stores as urban or rural based on USDA definitions (main exposure). We identified SNAP sales from payment mode and defined SNAP participation as having used a SNAP EBT card within the last 3 months. Products are classified into nutritionally meaningful categories: fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes (FVNL), sugar sweetened beverages (SSB), junk food (JF) and processed meats (PM), linked to nutrition data. We used multivariate random effects models with robust standard errors to examine the association of rural/urban stores with the share of calories of food categories purchased (main outcomes). We controlled for annual county level factors (socio-demographic composition, food environment) and weekly store level factors (composition of sales among SNAP vs non-SNAP). There were 127 rural stores and 369 urban stores. Adjusting for covariates, rural stores sold an average of 13.12% of total calories sold from FVNL, compared to 13.27% among urban stores. Rural stores’ sales to SNAP participants had small but significantly higher share of total calories sold from SSBs (10.34% vs 9.36%), JF (30.68% vs 30.36%) and PM (5.7% vs 5.64%) compared to urban stores’ sales to SNAP participants. Rural store sales to SNAP participants appear to be marginally different from urban store sales to SNAP participants which support concerns around the need to improve healthy food access and limit unhealthy food access in rural settings.Bachelor of Science in Public Healt

Wellness and Multiple Sclerosis: The National MS Society Establishes a Wellness Research Working Group and Research Priorities

Background: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have identified “wellness” and associated behaviors as a high priority based on “social media listening” undertaken by the National MS Society (i.e. the Society). Objective: The Society recently convened a group that consisted of researchers with experience in MS and wellness-related research, Society staff members, and an individual with MS for developing recommendations regarding a wellness research agenda. Method: The members of the group engaged in focal reviews and discussions involving the state of science within three approaches for promoting wellness in MS, namely diet, exercise, and emotional wellness. Results: That process informed a group-mediated activity for developing and prioritizing research goals for wellness in MS. This served as a background for articulating the mission and objectives of the Society’s Wellness Research Working Group. Conclusion: The primary mission of the Wellness Research Working Group is the provision of scientific evidence supporting the application of lifestyle, behavioral, and psychosocial approaches for promoting optimal health of mind, body, and spirit (i.e. wellness) in people with MS as well as managing the disease and its consequences