Practical and clinical approaches using pacing to improve selfregulation in special populations such as children and people with mental health or learning disabilities

For special populations such as people with a mental health issue or learning disability, a disconnect between the ability to accurately monitor and regulate exercise behaviour can lead to reduced levels of physical activity, which, in turn, is associated with additional physical or mental health problems. Activity pacing is a strategy used in clinical settings to address issues of pain amelioration, while self-pacing research is now well addressed in sport and exercise science literature. It has been proposed recently that these overlapping areas of investigation collectively support the development of self-regulatory, lifestyle exercise skills across broad population groups. Activity pacing appears to have substantial application in numerous development and rehabilitation settings and, therefore, the purpose of this short communication is to articulate how an activity pacing approach could be utilized among population groups in whom self-regulatory skills may require development. This paper provides specific examples of exercise practice across 2 discrete populations: children, and people with mental health and learning difficulties. In these cases, homeostatic regulatory processes may either be altered, or the individual may require extrinsic support to appropriately self-regulate exercise performance. A support-based exercise environment or approach such as programmatic activity (lifestyle) pacing would be beneficial to facilitate supervised and education-based self-regulation until such time as fully self-regulated exercise is feasible. [Abstract copyright: Journal Compilation © 2021 Foundation of Rehabilitation Information.

Differential G-protein-coupled receptor phosphorylation provides evidence for a signaling bar code.

G-protein-coupled receptors are hyper-phosphorylated in a process that controls receptor coupling to downstream signaling pathways. The pattern of receptor phosphorylation has been proposed to generate a "bar code" that can be varied in a tissue-specific manner to direct physiologically relevant receptor signaling. If such a mechanism existed, receptors would be expected to be phosphorylated in a cell/tissue-specific manner. Using tryptic phosphopeptide maps, mass spectrometry, and phospho-specific antibodies, it was determined here that the prototypical G(q/11)-coupled M(3)-muscarinic receptor was indeed differentially phosphorylated in various cell and tissue types supporting a role for differential receptor phosphorylation in directing tissue-specific signaling. Furthermore, the phosphorylation profile of the M(3)-muscarinic receptor was also dependent on the stimulus. Full and partial agonists to the M(3)-muscarinic receptor were observed to direct phosphorylation preferentially to specific sites. This hitherto unappreciated property of ligands raises the possibility that one mechanism underlying ligand bias/functional selectivity, a process where ligands direct receptors to preferred signaling pathways, may be centered on the capacity of ligands to promote receptor phosphorylation at specific sites

Improving Social Norms and Actions to Prevent Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence: A Pilot Study of the Impact of Green Dot Community on Youth

Sexual violence (SV) and intimate partner violence (IPV), which often cooccur with bullying, are serious public health issues underscoring the need for primary prevention. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a community-building SV and IPV prevention program, Green Dot Community, on adolescents’ perceptions of community social norms and their propensity to intervene as helpful actionists using two independent data sources. Green Dot Community takes place in towns and aims to influence all town members to prevent SV and IPV by addressing protective factors (i.e., collective efficacy, positive prevention social norms, and bystander helping, or actionism). In the current study, one town received Green Dot Community (the prevention-enhanced town), and two towns received prevention as usual (i.e., awareness and fundraising events by local IPV and SV advocacy centers). The program was evaluated using a two-part method: (a) A cross-sectional sample of high school students from three rural communities provided assessment of protective factors at two time points (Time 1, n = 1,187; Time 2, n = 877) and (b) Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from the state Department of Health were gathered before and after program implementation (Time 1, n = 2,034; Time 2, n = 2,017) to assess victimization rates. Youth in the prevention-enhanced town reported higher collective efficacy and more positive social norms specific to helping in situations of SV and IPV over time but did not differ on bystander behaviors or on victimization rates. Community-based prevention initiatives may be helpful in changing community norms to prevent SV/IPV

Enhanced He-alpha emission from "smoked" Ti targets irradiated with 400nm, 45 fs laser pulses

We present a study of He-like 1s(2)-1s2p line emission from solid and low-density Ti targets under similar or equal to 45 fs laser pulse irradiation with a frequency doubled Ti: Sapphire laser. By varying the beam spot, the intensity on target was varied from 10(15) W/cm(2) to 10(19) W/cm(2). At best focus, low density "smoked" Ti targets yield similar to 20 times more He-alpha than the foil targets when irradiated at an angle of 45 degrees with s-polarized pulses. The duration of He-alpha emission from smoked targets, measured with a fast streak camera, was similar to that from Ti foils

The 'Antiretrovirals, Sexual Transmission Risk and Attitudes' (ASTRA) study. Design, methods and participant characteristics.

Life expectancy for people diagnosed with HIV has improved dramatically however the number of new infections in the UK remains high. Understanding patterns of sexual behaviour among people living with diagnosed HIV, and the factors associated with having condom-less sex, is important for informing HIV prevention strategies and clinical care. In addition, in view of the current interest in a policy of early antiretroviral treatment (ART) for all people diagnosed with HIV in the UK, it is of particular importance to assess whether ART use is associated with increased levels of condom-less sex. In this context the ASTRA study was designed to investigate current sexual activity, and attitudes to HIV transmission risk, in a large unselected sample of HIV-infected patients under care in the UK. The study also gathered background information on demographic, socio-economic, lifestyle and disease-related characteristics, and physical and psychological symptoms, in order to identify other key factors impacting on HIV patients and the behaviours which underpin transmission. In this paper we describe the study rationale, design, methods, response rate and the demographic characteristics of the participants. People diagnosed with HIV infection attending 8 UK HIV out-patient clinics in 2011-2012 were invited to participate in the study. Those who agreed to participate completed a confidential, self-administered pen-and-paper questionnaire, and their latest CD4 count and viral load test results were recorded. During the study period, 5112 eligible patients were invited to take part in the study and 3258 completed questionnaires were obtained, representing a response rate of 64% of eligible patients. The study includes 2248 men who have sex with men (MSM), 373 heterosexual men and 637 women. Future results from ASTRA will be a key resource for understanding HIV transmission within the UK, targeting prevention efforts, and informing clinical care of individuals living with HIV

Connecting our world

This workshop will give participants the opportunity to build physical interfaces using a wide range of materials and calibrate them to enhance the existing capabilities of the Scratch Picoboard