Occupational Therapists Use of the School Playground to Address the Social Participation of Preschool and Elementary School Children with Disabilities

The purposes of this study were to: (a) learn if and how school based occupational therapists address the social participation needs of children with disabilities, (b) to learn if school based occupational therapists utilize the school playground to address the social participation of children with disabilities, (c) if so, to understand how occupational therapists utilize the school playground to address the social participation of children with disabilities; and (d) to learn what influences occupational therapists’ use of the school playground to address social participation of children with disabilities

Tracking of toddler fruit and vegetable preferences to intake and adiposity later in childhood

This study examined whether toddlers' liking for fruit and vegetables (FV) predicts intake of FV later in childhood, how both relate to childhood adiposity and how these were moderated by factors in infancy. Children in the Gateshead Millennium Study were recruited at birth in 1999–2000. Feeding data collected in the first year were linked to data from a parental questionnaire completed for 456 children at age 2.5 years (30 m) and to anthropometry, skinfolds and bioelectrical impedance and 4‐day food diary data collected for 293 of these children at age 7 years. Aged 30 months, 50% of children were reported to like eight different vegetables and three fruits, but at 7 years, children ate a median of only 1.3 (range 0–7) portions of vegetables and 1.0 portion of fruit (0–4). Early appetite, feeding problems and food neophobia showed significant univariate associations with liking for FV aged 30 m, but the number of vegetables toddlers liked was the only independent predictor of vegetable consumption at age 7 years (odds ratio (OR) 1.28 p < 0.001). Liking for fruit aged 30 m also independently predicted fruit intake (OR = 1.31, p = 0.016), but these were also related to deprivation (OR = 2.69, p = 0.001) maternal education (OR = 1.28, p = 0.039) and female gender (OR = 1.8, p = 0.024). Children eating more FV at age 7 years had slightly lower body mass index and skinfolds. An early liking for FV predicted increased later intake, so increasing early exposure to FV could have long term beneficial consequences

Library STEAM Kits: Developing Circulatable Curriculum for Community STEAM Learning

Public libraries serve as repositories for a movement described as cultivation of the Library of Things. In the wake of COVID-19, the West Lafayette Public Library enhanced its existing Library of Things collection through the creation of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) kits. Since 2017, the West Lafayette Public Library has held regular free STEAM programs for the community; those programs were put on hold during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which concurred with a library renovation. These kits provide the community with the ability to learn STEAM concepts at home engaging, hands-on activities that may otherwise be cost-prohibitive. Through this program, the West Lafayette Public Library facilitates accessible STEAM education activities for those of all ages without direct librarian supervision. Since the library’s reopening, the program has only expanded. Generally, feedback on the program has been positive; however, more diverse offerings as well as robust advertising may be necessary for wider community impact. The STEAM kits were made with the assistance of student employees and volunteers whose expertise was essential to the success of the program. Likewise, the program was significantly strengthened by community partnerships with local organizations that shared similar goals. The purpose of this essay is to inform other education professionals about the process required to facilitate a STEAM kit program as well as the successes and difficulties the authors faced along the way

Changing the stability conditions in a back squat: the effect on maximum load lifted and erector spinae muscle activity

The aim of this study was to identify how changes in the stability conditions of a back squat affect maximal loads lifted and erector spinae muscle activity.  Fourteen male participants performed a Smith Machine squat (SM), the most stable condition, a Barbell back squat (BB) and Tendo-Destabilising Bar squat (TBB), the least stable condition.  A one repetition max (1-RM) was established in each squat condition, before electromyography (EMG) activity of the erector spinae was measured at 85% of 1-RM. Results indicated that the SM squat 1-RM load was significantly (p = 0.006) greater (10.9%) than BB squat, but no greater than TBB squat.  EMG results indicated significantly greater (p < 0.05) muscle activation in the TBB condition compared to other conditions.  The BB squat produced significantly greater (p = 0.036) EMG activity compared to the SM squat.  A greater stability challenge applied to the torso seems to increase muscle activation.  The maximum loads lifted in the most stable and unstable squats were similar.  However, the lift with greater stability challenge required greatest muscle activation.   The implications of this study may be important for training programmes; coaches wishing to challenge trunk stability, while their athletes lift maximal loads designed to increase strength

The challenges of models-based practice in physical education teacher education: a collaborative self-study

There are two purposes of this study. The first is to examine our experiences as beginning teacher educators who taught using models-based practice (using the example of Cooperative Learning). The second is to consider the benefits of using collaborative self-study to foster deep understandings of teacher education practice. The findings highlight the challenges in adapting school teaching practices to the university setting, and the different types of knowledge required to teach about the “hows” and “whys” of a models-based approach. We conclude by acknowledging the benefits of systematic study of practice in helping to unpack the complexities and challenges of teaching about teaching. Our collaborative self-study enabled us to develop insights into the intertwined nature of self and practice, and the personal and professional value of our research leads us to encourage teacher educators to examine and share their challenges and understandings of teaching practice

Horizontal transmission of the microsporidium, Nosema adaliae, from the two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata, to the green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea

1 online resource (vi, 28 p.) : ill.Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-28)The green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea Stephens, and the two-­‐spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata L., are two natural enemies commonly used in biological control in North America. They are used in greenhouses and agriculture through augmentative release, and are mass-­‐produced in commercial insectaries in Europe. Both have been found to host different species of microsporidia; however Nosema adaliae has been successfully identified and maintained within A. bipunctata, having a chronic effect on its host. Due to coexistence of the two insects, horizontal transmission of N. adaliae from A. bipunctata to C. carnea will provide knowledge of host specificity of the pathogen and lacewing susceptibility. The objective of this study is to determine if N. adaliae is successfully transmitted through oral consumption, if dose affects transmission, and if the pathogen has effects on C. carnea larval development. Three treatments of varying numbers of infected and non-­‐infected A. bipunctata eggs were fed to C. carnea larvae, and development was observed over 30 days. Experimental trials were conducted under controlled environmental conditions. Test larvae were examined for microsporidian spores upon death or after the 30 days trials had concluded. The microsporidium was transmitted to two lacewing larvae that died early in their development suggesting acute effects of the pathogen. Low pathogen transmission suggests pathogen resistance and poor susceptibility of C. carnea to N. adaliae

Anatomical and diffusion MRI of deep gray matter in pediatric spina bifida

AbstractIndividuals with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM) exhibit brain abnormalities in cortical thickness, white matter integrity, and cerebellar structure. Little is known about deep gray matter macro- and microstructure in this population. The current study utilized volumetric and diffusion-weighted MRI techniques to examine gray matter volume and microstructure in several subcortical structures: basal ganglia nuclei, thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala. Sixty-six children and adolescents (ages 8–18; M = 12.0, SD = 2.73) with SBM and typically developing (TD) controls underwent T1- and diffusion-weighted neuroimaging. Microstructural results indicated that hippocampal volume was disproportionately reduced, whereas the putamen volume was enlarged in the group with SBM. Microstructural analyses indicated increased mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) in the gray matter of most examined structures (i.e., thalamus, caudate, hippocampus), with the putamen exhibiting a unique pattern of decreased MD and increased FA. These results provide further support that SBM differentially disrupts brain regions whereby some structures are volumetrically normal whereas others are reduced or enlarged. In the hippocampus, volumetric reduction coupled with increased MD may imply reduced cellular density and aberrant organization. Alternatively, the enlarged volume and significantly reduced MD in the putamen suggest increased density

The TRPC6 inhibitor, larixyl acetate, is effective in protecting against traumatic brain injury-induced systemic endothelial dysfunction

BACKGROUND: The incidence of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) is on the rise in the USA. Concussions, or mild TBIs without skull fracture, account for about 75% of all TBIs. Mild TBIs (mTBIs) lead to memory and cognitive deficits, headaches, intraocular pressure rises, axonal degeneration, neuroinflammation, and an array of cerebrovascular dysfunctions, including increased vascular permeability and decreased cerebral blood flow. It has been recently reported that besides vascular dysfunction in the cerebral circulation, mTBI may also cause a significant impairment of endothelial function in the systemic circulation, at least within mesenteric microvessels. In this study, we investigated whether mTBI affects endothelial function in aortas and determined the contribution of transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels to modulating mTBI-associated endothelial dysfunction. METHODS: We used a model of closed-head mTBI in C57BL/6, 129S, 129S-C57BL/6-F2 mice, and 129S-TRPC1 and 129S-C57BL/6-TRPC6 knockout mice to determine the effect of mTBI on endothelial function in mouse aortas employing ex vivo isometric tension measurements. Aortic tissue was also analyzed using immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR for TRPC6 expression following mTBI. RESULTS: We show that in various strains of mice, mTBI induces a pronounced and long-lasting endothelial dysfunction in the aorta. Ablation of TRPC6 protects mice from mTBI-associated aortic endothelial dysfunction, while TRPC1 ablation does not impact brain injury-induced endothelial impairment in the aorta. Consistent with a role of TRPC6 activation following mTBI, we observed improved endothelial function in wild type control mice subjected to mTBI following 7-day in vivo treatment with larixyl acetate, an inhibitor of TRPC6 channels. Conversely, in vitro treatment with the pro-inflammatory endotoxin lipopolysaccharide, which activates endothelial TRPC6 in a Toll-like receptor type 4 (TLR4)-dependent manner, worsened aortic endothelial dysfunction in wild type mice. Lipopolysaccharide treatment in vitro failed to elicit endothelial dysfunction in TRPC6 knockout mice. No change in endothelial TRPC6 expression was observed 7 days following TBI. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that TRPC6 activation may be critical for inducing endothelial dysfunction following closed-head mTBI and that pharmacological inhibition of the channel may be a feasible therapeutic strategy for preventing mTBI-associated systemic endothelial dysfunction