Leptogenicity of the Food Environment and Food Choice Behaviour in Leisure Centres

Leisure centres offer a platform for physical activity. Previous research however suggests that leisure centre food environments may not be congruent with the leptogenic (lean promoting) physical activity offer. Despite this, there is a paucity of research evaluating the food environment and food consumer behaviour in UK leisure centres. A situational analysis was carried out in leisure centres using the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO), and the food offer was categorised using the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM). Semi-structured interviews were used to explore leisure centre café users' (n 7), managers' (n 2) and catering managers' (n 2) perceptions of the leisure centre food environment and the perceived influences on behaviour. As a result of the findings, a 2-week long experiment was carried out to determine the impact of Calorie information on consumer intention to make healthy food choices and on purchase behaviour. Questionnaires, based on an adapted version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (ATPB), were distributed to café users. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to examine the strength of the hypothesised pathways of the model. The impact of the experiment on the ATPB and energy (kcal) purchased were evaluated using independent samples t-tests. Additionally, consumers were profiled based on their responses to the ATPB using a hierarchical cluster analysis. All stakeholders were supportive of increasing the healthiness of the food environment in leisure centres, however catering managers and managers had concerns over potential financial implications. During the experiment, Calorie information significantly increased consumer confidence and control, however there was no statistical increase in intention to make healthy choices or in the leptogenicity of purchase behaviour. SEM offered a novel approach to demonstrate the strength of the hypothesised pathways and confirmed that the strongest pathway to intention is via attitudes. Three consumer segments were identified; nutritionally motivated, nutritionally ambivalent and nutritionally disinterested. Future research should focus on increasing the availability and visibility of healthy choices, targeting influential people and challenging habit and preference

Caffeine gum improves 5 km running performance in recreational runners completing parkrun events.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether caffeine gum improves the performance of recreational runners completing parkruns (weekly, 5 km, mass participant running events). Methods Thirty-six recreational runners (M = 31, F = 5; age 33.7 ± 10.7 y; BMI 23.1 ± 2.4 kg/m2) capable of running 5 km in < 25 min were recruited to a study at the Sheffield Hallam parkrun, UK. Runners were block randomized into one of three double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over intervention trials with caffeine gum as the treatment (n = 6 per intervention trial) or into one of three non-intervention trials that ran concurrently with the intervention trials (n = 6 per non-intervention trial). Changes in conditions across different parkruns were adjusted for using data from the non-intervention trials. Runners in the randomized cross-over intervention trials chewed gum supplying 300 mg of caffeine or a placebo gum for 5 min, starting 30 min before each parkrun. Results Caffeine gum improved 5 km parkrun performance by a mean of 17.28 s (95% CI 4.19, 30.37; P = 0.01). Adjustment for environmental conditions using data from the non-intervention trials attenuated the statistical significance (P = 0.04). Caffeine gum also decreased RPE by 1.21 (95% CI 0.30, 2.13; P = 0·01) units relative to placebo. Conclusions A 300 mg dose of caffeine supplied in chewing gum improved the performance of recreational runners completing 5 km parkruns by an average of 17 s. Trial Registration The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02473575 before recruitment commenced

Rare variants implicate NMDA receptor signaling and cerebellar gene networks in risk for bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is an often-severe mental health condition characterized by alternation between extreme mood states of mania and depression. Despite strong heritability and the recent identification of 64 common variant risk loci of small effect, pathophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we analyzed genome sequences from 41 multiply-affected pedigrees and identified variants in 741 genes with nominally significant linkage or association with bipolar disorder. These 741 genes overlapped known risk genes for neurodevelopmental disorders and clustered within gene networks enriched for synaptic and nuclear functions. The top variant in this analysis - prioritized by statistical association, predicted deleteriousness, and network centrality - was a missense variant in the gene encoding D-amino acid oxidase (DAOG131V). Heterologous expression of DAOG131V in human cells resulted in decreased DAO protein abundance and enzymatic activity. In a knock-in mouse model of DAOG131, DaoG130V/+, we similarly found decreased DAO protein abundance in hindbrain regions, as well as enhanced stress susceptibility and blunted behavioral responses to pharmacological inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). RNA sequencing of cerebellar tissue revealed that DaoG130V resulted in decreased expression of two gene networks that are enriched for synaptic functions and for genes expressed, respectively, in Purkinje neurons or granule neurons. These gene networks were also down-regulated in the cerebellum of patients with bipolar disorder compared to healthy controls and were enriched for additional rare variants associated with bipolar disorder risk. These findings implicate dysregulation of NMDAR signaling and of gene expression in cerebellar neurons in bipolar disorder pathophysiology and provide insight into its genetic architecture

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Does a whale eat ice cream?

Esta historia de ficción pertenece al primer nivel de lectura de los tres primeros años de primaria con contenido conceptual apropiado a la edad. A veces,los niños hacen demasiadas preguntas, a veces las preguntas parecen absurdas, pero a veces no es que las preguntas sean absurdas: tal vez los adultos no sepan todas las respuestas, o no siempre tengan razón. Una sencilla historia en rima con un inusual final.SCBiblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín, 5 - 3 planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; [email protected]

Factors affecting sclerotinia stem rot infections in canola

Key messages 1. When conditions are ideal for canola, over half of the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum lesions can be removed from the stubble following Harvest Weed Seed Control (HWSC) guidelines. 2. The numbers of sclerotes left in the soil following a badly infected sclerotinia stem rot crop is highly variable, but can be significant in patches. Rotation of canola with non-host crops is therefore recommended. 3. Even in a dry and late start to the season sclerotinia stem rot infection was recorded in up to 10% of plants, however the severity of infection and subsequent yield loss was less. 4. It is estimated that, if a better understanding of factors affecting sclerotinia stem rot infection of canola led to improved management of the disease and an increase in yield, by as little as 1%, then the benefits to WA grain growers will be close to $1.5 million per annum