A qualitative exploration of perspectives of physical activity and sedentary behaviour among Indian migrants in Melbourne, Australia: how are they defined and what can we learn?

BackgroundAlthough perceptions of what constitutes physical activity (PA) may vary between culturally diverse populations, very little research has explored the perceptions of PA among Indian migrants. This study aimed to identify how PA and sedentary behaviour (SB) are defined and describe how these definitions are shaped by cultural background and migration among a sample of Indian migrants living in Australia.MethodsUsing an exploratory qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-one Indian migrants living in Melbourne (10 men and 11 women; age range: 18 to 65 years). Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were coded and analysed inductively using thematic analyses.ResultsData revealed two emerging themes: 1) Holistic perspectives related to PA, where although the majority of participants described PA as "any sort of movement", or "physical exercise", several of these descriptions had interwoven ideas related to the mind (mind-body connect), social, cultural, and to the outdoor environment; 2) Broader perspectives for SB, where descriptions of SB as "not having movement", "doing nothing" or "being lazy", were shaped with ideas of purpose and duration. Women spoke about how their perspectives of PA and SB may be shaped by native Indian experiences, particularly the gender roles, social caste, and regional subcultural norms which they perceived were important to consider among women who migrate to western settings.ConclusionsCultural background is important in shaping the perspectives of PA and SB among Indian migrants in Australia. Practitioners and researchers should consider the varying perspectives of PA to communicate and promote PA among migrant populations more effectively

Fluorometric Liposome Screen for Inhibitors of a Physiologically Important Bacterial Ion Channel

The bacterial K+ homeostasis machinery is widely conserved across bacterial species, and different from that in animals. Dysfunction in components of the machinery has an impact on intracellular turgor, membrane potential, adaptation to changes in both extracellular pH and osmolarity, and in virulence. Using a fluorescence-based liposome flux assay, we have performed a high-throughput screen to identify novel inhibitors of the KtrAB ion channel complex from Bacillus subtilis, a component of the K+ homeostasis machinery that is also present in many bacterial pathogens. The screen identified 41 compounds that inhibited K+ flux and that clustered into eight chemical groups. Many of the identified inhibitors were found to target KtrAB with an in vitro potency in the low µM range. We investigated the mechanisms of inhibition and found that most molecules affected either the membrane component of the channel, KtrB alone or the full KtrAB complex without a preference for the functional conformation of the channel, thus broadening their inhibitory action. A urea derivative molecule that inhibited the membrane component of KtrAB affected cell viability in conditions in which KtrAB activity is essential. With this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrate that targeting components of the K+ homeostasis machinery has the potential as a new antibacterial strategy and that the fluorescence-based flux assay is a robust tool for screening chemical libraries.This work was supported by FEDER funds through COMPETE 2020-POCI, Portugal 2020, and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029863 (PTDC/BIA-BQM/29863/2017), and by “Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento” FLAD Life Science 2020 awarded to JM-C. We acknowledge FCT fellowship SFRH/BPD/105672/2015 and contract DL 57/2016/CP1355/CT0026 awarded to AF, fellowship SFRH/BPD/107785/2015 to AP, and fellowship SFRH/BD/123761/2016 to CT-D

Evolutionary Computation on Road Safety

This study examines the psychological research that focuses on road safety in Smart Cities as proposed by the Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) sphere. It takes into account qualities such as VRUs’ personal information, their habits, environmental measurements and things data. With the goal of seeing VRUs as active and proactive actors with differentiated feelings and behaviours, we are committed to integrating the social factors that characterize each VRU into our social machinery. As a result, we will focus on the development of a VRU Social Machine to assess VRUs’ behaviour in order to improve road safety. The formal background will be to use Logic Programming to define its architecture based on a Deep Learning approach to Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, complemented with an Evolutionary approach to Computing

Awareness of School Learning Environments

Now, and in the times that follow, student education should focus on developing inclusive skills such as problem-solving and decision-making, where the role of the learning environment plays a crucial part, i.e., it is a process where the screen of the universe of discourse is accomplished in order to consider not only the complex relationships that flow among the objects that populate it, but also its inner structure, co-existing incomplete/unknown or even self-contradictory information or knowledge. As a result, we will focus on the development of an Intelligent Social Machine to assess Learning Environments in high schools, based on factors like School and Disciplinary Climates as well as Parental Involvement. The formal background will be to use Logic Programming to define its architecture based on a Deep Learning-Big Data approach to Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, complemented by an Evolutionary approach to Computing grounded on Virtual Intellects

Acute renal failure in critically ill HIV-infected patients

Acute renal failure (ARF) is common among hospitalized HIV-infected patients [1]. To our knowledge, however, data regarding ARF in HIV-infected patients in the intensive care unit are still lacking

Annual variation in the levels of transcripts of sex-specific genes in the mantle of the common mussel, Mytilus edulis

Mytilus species are used as sentinels for the assessment of environmental health but sex or stage in the reproduction cycle is rarely considered even though both parameters are likely to influence responses to pollution. We have validated the use of a qPCR assay for sex identification and related the levels of transcripts to the reproductive cycle. A temporal study of mantle of Mytilus edulis found transcripts of male-specific vitelline coat lysin (VCL) and female-specific vitelline envelope receptor for lysin (VERL) could identify sex over a complete year. The levels of VCL/VERL were proportional to the numbers of sperm/ova and are indicative of the stage of the reproductive cycle. Maximal levels of VCL and VERL were found in February 2009 declining to minima between July - August before increasing and re-attaining a peak in February 2010. Water temperature may influence these transitions since they coincide with minimal water temperature in February and maximal temperature in August. An identical pattern of variation was found for a cryptic female-specific transcript (H5) but a very different pattern was observed for oestrogen receptor 2 (ER2). ER2 varied in a sex-specific way with male > female for most of the cycle, with a female maxima in July and a male maxima in December. Using artificially spawned animals, the transcripts for VCL, VERL and H5 were shown to be present in gametes and thus their disappearance from mantle is indicative of spawning. VCL and VERL are present at equivalent levels in February and July-August but during gametogenesis (August to January) and spawning (March to June) VCL is present at lower relative amounts than VERL. This may indicate sex-specific control mechanisms for these processes and highlight a potential pressure point leading to reduced reproductive output if environmental factors cause asynchrony to gamete maturation or release

Synthesis and Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis Activity of Imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]oxazine Derivatives against Multidrug-Resistant Strains

The emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis has raised concerns due to the greater difficulties in patient treatment and higher mortality rates. Herein, we revisited the 2-nitro-6,7-dihydro-5H-imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]oxazine scaffold and identified potent new carbamate derivatives having MIC90 values of 0.18–1.63 μM against Mtb H37Rv. Compounds 47–49, 51–53, and 55 exhibited remarkable activity against a panel of clinical isolates, displaying MIC90 values below 0.5 μM. In Mtb-infected macrophages, several compounds demonstrated a 1-log greater reduction in mycobacterial burden than rifampicin and pretomanid. The compounds tested did not exhibit significant cytotoxicity against three cell lines or any toxicity to Galleria mellonella. Furthermore, the imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]oxazine derivatives did not show substantial activity against other bacteria or fungi. Finally, molecular docking studies revealed that the new compounds could interact with the deazaflavin-dependent nitroreductase (Ddn) in a similar manner to pretomanid. Collectively, our findings highlight the chemical universe of imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]oxazines and their promising potential against MDR-TB

Lymphatic vessels in human adipose tissue

Despite being considered present in most vascularised tissues, lymphatic vessels have not been properly shown in human adipose tissue (AT). Our goal in this study is to investigate an unanswered question in AT biology, regarding lymphatic network presence in tissue parenchyma. Using human subcutaneous (S-) and visceral (V-) AT samples with whole mount staining for lymphatic specific markers and three-dimensional imaging, we showed lymphatic capillaries and larger lymphatic vessels in the human VAT. Conversely, in the human SAT, microcirculatory lymphatic vascular structures were rarely detected and no initial lymphatics were found