Factors predicting physical activity among children with special needs.

IntroductionObesity is especially prevalent among children with special needs. Both lack of physical activity and unhealthful eating are major contributing factors. The objective of our study was to investigate barriers to physical activity among these children.MethodsWe surveyed parents of the 171 children attending Vista Del Mar School in Los Angeles, a nonprofit school serving a socioeconomically diverse group of children with special needs from kindergarten through 12th grade. Parents were asked about their child's and their own physical activity habits, barriers to their child's exercise, and demographics. The response rate was 67%. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine predictors of children being physically active at least 3 hours per week.ResultsParents reported that 45% of the children were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, 38% with autism, and 34% with learning disabilities; 47% of children and 56% of parents were physically active less than 3 hours per week. The top barriers to physical activity were reported as child's lack of interest (43%), lack of developmentally appropriate programs (33%), too many behavioral problems (32%), and parents' lack of time (29%). However, child's lack of interest was the only parent-reported barrier independently associated with children's physical activity. Meanwhile, children whose parents were physically active at least 3 hours per week were 4.2 times as likely to be physically active as children whose parents were less physically active (P = .01).ConclusionIn this group of students with special needs, children's physical activity was strongly associated with parental physical activity; parent-reported barriers may have had less direct effect. Further studies should examine the importance of parental physical activity among children with special needs

Infection of human cytomegalovirus in cultured human gingival tissue.

BackgroundHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in the oral cavity plays an important role in its horizontal transmission and in causing viral-associated oral diseases such as gingivitis. However, little is currently known about HCMV pathogenesis in oral mucosa, partially because HCMV infection is primarily limited to human cells and few cultured tissue or animal models are available for studying HCMV infection.ResultsIn this report, we studied the infection of HCMV in a cultured gingival tissue model (EpiGingival, MatTek Co.) and investigated whether the cultured tissue can be used to study HCMV infection in the oral mucosa. HCMV replicated in tissues that were infected through the apical surface, achieving a titer of at least 300-fold at 10 days postinfection. Moreover, the virus spread from the apical surface to the basal region and reduced the thickness of the stratum coreum at the apical region. Viral proteins IE1, UL44, and UL99 were expressed in infected tissues, a characteristic of HCMV lytic replication in vivo. Studies of a collection of eight viral mutants provide the first direct evidence that a mutant with a deletion of open reading frame US18 is deficient in growth in the tissues, suggesting that HCMV encodes specific determinants for its infection in oral mucosa. Treatment by ganciclovir abolished viral growth in the infected tissues.ConclusionThese results suggest that the cultured gingival mucosa can be used as a tissue model for studying HCMV infection and for screening antivirals to block viral replication and transmission in the oral cavity

The State of the Birds United States of America 2009

Foreword Birds Are Important Indicators of Our Nation’s Environmental Health The United States is blessed with diverse landscapes, a wealth of natural resources, and spectacular wildlife, including more than 800 bird species. Birds are a national treasure and a heritage we share with people around the world, as billions of migratory birds follow the seasons across oceans and continents. Our passion for nature is evident: Wildlife watching generates $122 billion in economic output annually, and one in every four American adults is a bird watcher. In the past 200 years, however, the U.S. human population has skyrocketed from about 8 million to 300 million. As we have harvested energy and food, grown industries, and built cities, we have often failed to consider the consequences to nature. During our history, we have lost a part of our natural heritage—and degraded and depleted the resources upon which our quality of life depends. We have lost more than half of our nation’s original wetlands, 98% of our tallgrass prairie, and virtually all virgin forests east of the Rockies. Since the birth of our nation, four American bird species have gone extinct, including the Passenger Pigeon, once the world’s most abundant bird. At least 10 more species are possibly extinct. Birds are bellwethers of our natural and cultural health as a nation— they are indicators of the integrity of the environments that provide us with clean air and water, fertile soils, abundant wildlife, and the natural resources on which our economic development depends. In the past 40 years, major public, private, and government initiatives have made strides for conservation. Has it been enough? How are birds faring? In an unprecedented partnership, government wildlife agencies and conservation groups have come together to produce this first comprehensive analysis of the state of our nation’s birds. The results are sobering: bird populations in many habitats are declining—a warning signal of the failing health of our ecosystems. Where we have been negligent too long, such as in Hawaii, we are on the verge of losing entire suites of unique and beautiful birds and native plant communities. At the same time, we see heartening evidence that birds can respond quickly and positively to conservation action. Many waterfowl species have undergone significant increases in the past 40 years, a testament to coordinated conservation efforts in wetlands. Through focused conservation efforts, we have brought magnificent Peregrine Falcons and Bald Eagles back from the brink of extinction. We ask you to join us in continuing to reverse the damage to our nation’s habitats and protect our remaining natural landscapes—the foundation upon which our precious resources, our wildlife, and the lives of our children depend. Cooperative conservation efforts among the government, conservation organizations, and ordinary citizens—private landowners, hunters, and bird watchers—really are making a difference