Reaction norms for age and size at maturity in response to temperature: A puzzle for life historians.

Ectotherms mature later at smaller size when growth rates are lowered by reductions in food quality but they mature later at larger sizes when growth rate is lowered by reductions in temperature. We argue that this general pattern has been neglected by life history theorists and suggest that an explanation for these strikingly different responses to two environmental cues might be found by considering correlations between the growth coefficient of the Bertalanffy equation and asymptotic size in a model for the evolution of age and size at maturity

Daily metabolic expenditures: estimates from US, UK and polish time-use data

BACKGROUND: Behaviour has diverse economic, social and health consequences. Linking time spent in different daily activities to energy expenditure (EE) is one way of investigating the health and physiological consequences of behaviour and identifying targets to improve population health and well-being. METHODS: We estimated behaviour-related EE for respondents to time use surveys (TUS) from three countries: UK 2001, Poland 2012 and US 2003-13. The Harmonised Multinational Time Use Survey (MTUS) activity categories were matched to MET estimates from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities. We attach METs values to each successive activity in the TUS, together with both the original UK, Polish and US activity classifications and the 68-category MTUS activity classification. We used TUS estimates of activity durations across 24-h to estimate the Physical Activity Level (PAL) for respondents from the three countries and the average time spent and MET values for different activity categories. RESULTS: PAL values ranged from 1.59 in the US to 1.74 in Poland. The main sources of daily EE from PA were paid and unpaid work activities. Discretionary PA accounted for only a very small part (~ 3%) of adult daily energy expenditures. Using the harmonised MTUS 68-activity classification reduced the variability of the aggregate PAEE measure by ~ 20%, but the patterns of association between key demographics (age, sex, educational attainment) were unaffected. TUS data were further used to (1) identify sources of daily PA, and (2) assess adherence to physical activity guidelines (PAG) on a single-day basis. Estimated adherence levels were similar to those reported from other TUS as well as frequency based estimates. CONCLUSIONS: Comparative studies of energy expenditure based on harmonised time use activity categories could provide insight into the relative importance of different activities for energy expenditure across different countries and demographic groups. However, new observational studies combining TUS data with accelerometer, direct observation and other measures of activity intensity are required for more accurate MET assignments to activity categories in TUS

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy for treatment resistant depression: 18-month follow-up of the Halifax depression trial

Background Depressed patients with chronic and complex health issues commonly relapse; therefore, examining longer-term outcomes is an important consideration. For treatment resistant depression (TRD), the post-treatment efficacy of time-limited Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) has been demonstrated but longer-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness are unclear. Method In this superiority trial, 60 patients referred to Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT) were randomised to 2 groups (ISTDP=30 and CMHT=30). The primary outcome was Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HAM-D) scores at 18 months. Secondary outcomes included Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression scores and dichotomous measure remission. A health economic evaluation examined mental health costs with quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Results Statistically significant treatment differences in depression previously found at 6 months favouring ISTDP were maintained at 18-month follow-up. Group differences in depression were in the moderate to large range on both the observer rated (Cohen's d = .64) and self-report measures (Cohen's d = .70). At 18 months follow-up the remission rate in ISTDP patients was 40.0%, and 23.4% had discontinued antidepressants. Health economic analysis suggests that ISTDP was more cost-effective than CMHT at 18 months. Probabilistic analysis suggests that there is a 64.5% probability of ISTDP being cost-effective at a willingness to pay for a QALY of $25,000 compared to CMHT at 18 months. Limitations Replication of these findings is necessary in larger samples and future cost analyses should also consider indirect costs. Conclusions ISTDP demonstrates long-term efficacy and cost-effectiveness in TRD

Rethinking cultural diversity in the UK film sector:practices in community filmmaking

© The Author(s) 2017. Academic, policy and industry debates have tended to focus on the mainstream film sector when discussing cultural diversity. One of the persistent challenges for the sector has been how to diversify cultural representation and participation. This article suggests that participatory modes of community filmmaking make an important contribution to cultural diversity. Drawing on an evidence base derived from qualitative research conducted in three English regions, the article shifts the spotlight away from the mainstream and onto the margins of the film sector in order to explore more ‘bottom-up’ approaches to cultural diversity. It examines how community filmmakers interpret and engage with questions of cultural diversity and how this connects to the participatory and business practices that they adopt. The findings highlight the significance of processes of practice in how mediated cultural diversity manifests itself and the value of community filmmaking in contributing to wider cultural diversity debates and practices.The authors thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) for funding the ‘Community Filmmaking and Cultural Diversity: Practice, Innovation and Policy project’ (2013–2014)

Associations between community programmes and policies and children’s physical activity: the Healthy Communities Study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146309/1/ijpo12426.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146309/2/ijpo12426_am.pd

Associations between fruit and vegetable intake, leisure-time physical activity, sitting time and self-rated health among older adults : cross-sectional data from the WELL study

BackgroundLifestyle behaviours, such as healthy diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, are key elements of healthy ageing and important modifiable risk factors in the prevention of chronic diseases. Little is known about the relationship between these behaviours in older adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and sitting time (ST), and their association with self-rated health in older adults.MethodsThis cross-sectional study comprised 3,644 older adults (48% men) aged 55-65 years, who participated in the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life ("WELL") study. Respondents completed a postal survey about their health and their eating and physical activity behaviours in 2010 (38% response rate). Spearman\u27s coefficient (rho) was used to evaluate the relationship between F&V intake, LTPA and ST. Their individual and shared associations with self-rated health were examined using ordinal logistic regression models, stratified by sex and adjusted for confounders (BMI, smoking, long-term illness and socio-demographic characteristics).ResultsThe correlations between F&V intake, LTPA and ST were low. F&V intake and LTPA were positively associated with self-rated health. Each additional serving of F&V or MET-hour of LTPA were associated with approximately 10% higher likelihood of reporting health as good or better among women and men. The association between ST and self-rated health was not significant in the multivariate analysis. A significant interaction was found (ST*F&V intake). The effect of F&V intake on self-rated health increased with increasing ST in women, whereas the effect decreased with increasing ST in men.ConclusionThis study contributes to the scarce literature related to lifestyle behaviours and their association with health indicators among older adults. The findings suggest that a modest increase in F&V intake, or LTPA could have a marked effect on the health of older adults. Further research is needed to fully understand the correlates and determinants of lifestyle behaviours, particularly sitting time, in this age group

The Making of a Queen: TOR Pathway Is a Key Player in Diphenic Caste Development

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) provide a principal example of diphenic development. Excess feeding of female larvae results in queens (large reproductives). Moderate diet yields workers (small helpers). The signaling pathway that links provisioning to female developmental fate is not understood, yet we reasoned that it could include TOR (target of rapamycin), a nutrient- and energy-sensing kinase that controls organismal growth.Here, the role of Apis mellifera TOR (amTOR) in caste determination is examined by rapamycin/FK506 pharmacology and RNA interference (RNAi) gene knockdown. We show that in queen-destined larvae, the TOR inhibitor rapamycin induces the development of worker characters that are blocked by the antagonist FK506. Further, queen fate is associated with elevated activity of the Apis mellifera TOR encoding gene, amTOR, and amTOR gene knockdown blocks queen fate and results in individuals with worker morphology.A much-studied insect dimorphism, thereby, can be governed by the TOR pathway. Our results present the first evidence for a role of TOR in diphenic development, and suggest that adoption of this ancestral nutrient-sensing cascade is one evolutionary pathway for morphological caste differentiation in social insects

A Youth Compendium of Physical Activities: Activity Codes and Metabolic Intensities

A Youth Compendium of Physical Activities (Youth Compendium) was developed to estimate the energy costs of physical activities using data on youth only