A Repeated Measures Experiment of Green Exercise to Improve Self-Esteem in UK School Children

Exercising in natural, green environments creates greater improvements in adult's self-esteem than exercise undertaken in urban or indoor settings. No comparable data are available for children. The aim of this study was to determine whether so called 'green exercise' affected changes in self-esteem; enjoyment and perceived exertion in children differently to urban exercise. We assessed cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle-run) and self-reported physical activity (PAQ-A) in 11 and 12 year olds (n = 75). Each pupil completed two 1.5 mile timed runs, one in an urban and another in a rural environment. Trials were completed one week apart during scheduled physical education lessons allocated using a repeated measures design. Self-esteem was measured before and after each trial, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and enjoyment were assessed after completing each trial. We found a significant main effect (F (1,74), = 12.2, p<0.001), for the increase in self-esteem following exercise but there was no condition by exercise interaction (F (1,74), = 0.13, p = 0.72). There were no significant differences in perceived exertion or enjoyment between conditions. There was a negative correlation (r = -0.26, p = 0.04) between habitual physical activity and RPE during the control condition, which was not evident in the green exercise condition (r = -0.07, p = 0.55). Contrary to previous studies in adults, green exercise did not produce significantly greater increases in self-esteem than the urban exercise condition. Green exercise was enjoyed more equally by children with differing levels of habitual physical activity and has the potential to engage less active children in exercise. © 2013 Reed et al

The teaching of recent and violent conflicts as challenges for history education

This paper has been written with the support of Projects EDU2015-65088P from the DGICYT (Ministry of Education, Spain) and also the Project PICT2012-1594 from the ANPCYT (Argentina) coordinated by the autho

Multiple ITS Copies Reveal Extensive Hybridization within Rheum (Polygonaceae), a Genus That Has Undergone Rapid Radiation

During adaptive radiation events, characters can arise multiple times due to parallel evolution, but transfer of traits through hybridization provides an alternative explanation for the same character appearing in apparently non-sister lineages. The signature of hybridization can be detected in incongruence between phylogenies derived from different markers, or from the presence of two divergent versions of a nuclear marker such as ITS within one individual.In this study, we cloned and sequenced ITS regions for 30 species of the genus Rheum, and compared them with a cpDNA phylogeny. Seven species contained two divergent copies of ITS that resolved in different clades from one another in each case, indicating hybridization events too recent for concerted evolution to have homogenised the ITS sequences. Hybridization was also indicated in at least two further species via incongruence in their position between ITS and cpDNA phylogenies. None of the ITS sequences present in these nine species matched those detected in any other species, which provides tentative evidence against recent introgression as an explanation. Rheum globulosum, previously indicated by cpDNA to represent an independent origin of decumbent habit, is indicated by ITS to be part of clade of decumbent species, which acquired cpDNA of another clade via hybridization. However decumbent and glasshouse morphology are confirmed to have arisen three and two times, respectively.These findings suggested that hybridization among QTP species of Rheum has been extensive, and that a role of hybridization in diversification of Rheum requires investigation

The role of rock joint frictional strength in the containment of fracture propagation

The fracturing phenomenon within the reservoir environment is a complex process that is controlled by several factors and may occur either naturally or by artificial drivers. Even when deliberately induced, the fracturing behaviour is greatly influenced by the subsurface architecture and existing features. The presence of discontinuities such as joints, artificial and naturally occurring faults and interfaces between rock layers and microfractures plays an important role in the fracturing process and has been known to significantly alter the course of fracture growth. In this paper, an important property (joint friction) that governs the shear behaviour of discontinuities is considered. The applied numerical procedure entails the implementation of the discrete element method to enable a more dynamic monitoring of the fracturing process, where the joint frictional property is considered in isolation. Whereas fracture propagation is constrained by joints of low frictional resistance, in non-frictional joints, the unrestricted sliding of the joint plane increases the tendency for reinitiation and proliferation of fractures at other locations. The ability of a frictional joint to suppress fracture growth decreases as the frictional resistance increases; however, this phenomenon exacerbates the influence of other factors including in situ stresses and overburden conditions. The effect of the joint frictional property is not limited to the strength of rock formations; it also impacts on fracturing processes, which could be particularly evident in jointed rock masses or formations with prominent faults and/or discontinuities

A review of elliptical and disc galaxy structure, and modern scaling laws

A century ago, in 1911 and 1913, Plummer and then Reynolds introduced their models to describe the radial distribution of stars in `nebulae'. This article reviews the progress since then, providing both an historical perspective and a contemporary review of the stellar structure of bulges, discs and elliptical galaxies. The quantification of galaxy nuclei, such as central mass deficits and excess nuclear light, plus the structure of dark matter halos and cD galaxy envelopes, are discussed. Issues pertaining to spiral galaxies including dust, bulge-to-disc ratios, bulgeless galaxies, bars and the identification of pseudobulges are also reviewed. An array of modern scaling relations involving sizes, luminosities, surface brightnesses and stellar concentrations are presented, many of which are shown to be curved. These 'redshift zero' relations not only quantify the behavior and nature of galaxies in the Universe today, but are the modern benchmark for evolutionary studies of galaxies, whether based on observations, N-body-simulations or semi-analytical modelling. For example, it is shown that some of the recently discovered compact elliptical galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5 may be the bulges of modern disc galaxies.Comment: Condensed version (due to Contract) of an invited review article to appear in "Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems"(www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-90-481-8818-5). 500+ references incl. many somewhat forgotten, pioneer papers. Original submission to Springer: 07-June-201

Comparison of Marker- and Markerless-Derived Lower Body Three-Dimensional Gait Kinematics in Typically Developing Children

Background: Marker-based motion capture is the current gold standard for three-dimensional (3D) gait analysis. This is a highly technical analysis that is time-consuming, and marker application can trigger anxiety in children. One potential solution is to use markerless camera systems instead. The objective of this study was to compare 3D lower limb gait kinematics in children using both marker-based and markerless motion capture methods. Methods: Ten typically developing children (age 6–13 yrs) completed five barefoot walks at a self-selected speed. A 10-camera marker-based system (Oqus, Qualisys) and a 7-camera markerless system (Miqus, Qualisys) captured synchronised gait data at 85 Hz. Generalised Additive Mixed Models were fitted to the data to identify the random effects of measurement systems, age, and time across the gait cycle. The root-mean-square difference (RMSD) was used to compare the differences between systems. Results: Significant interactions and differences were observed between the marker-based and markerless systems for most joint angles and planes of motion, particularly with regard to time and age. Conclusions: Despite differences across all kinematic profiles, the RMSD in this study was comparable to previously published results. Alternative model definitions and kinematic crosstalk in both systems likely explain the differences. Age differences were not consistent across joint levels, suggesting a larger sample size is required to determine how maturation may affect markerless tracking. Further investigation is required to understand the deviations and differences between systems before implementing markerless technology in a clinical setting

The Alberta Ambassador Program: delivering Health Technology Assessment results to rural practitioners

BACKGROUND: The purpose of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is to make the best possible summary of the evidence regarding specific health interventions in order to influence health care and policy decisions. The need for decision makers to find relevant HTA data when it is needed is a barrier to its usefulness. These barriers are highest in rural areas and amongst isolated practitioners. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team developed an interactive case-based instructional strategy on the topic of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) management using clinical evidence derived by HTA. The evidence for each of 18 CNCP interventions was distilled into single-sheet summaries. Clinicians and HTA specialists ('Ambassadors') conducted 11 two-hour interactive sessions on CNCP in eight of Alberta's nine health regions. Pre- and post-session evaluations were conducted. RESULTS: The sessions were attended by 130 individuals representing 14 health and administrative disciplines. The ambassador model was well received. The use of content experts as ambassadors was highly rated. The educational strategy was judged to be effective. Awareness of the best evidence in CNCP management was increased. Although some participants reported practice changes as a result of the workshops, the program was not designed to measure changes in patient outcome. CONCLUSION: The ambassador program was successful in increasing awareness of the best evidence in CNCP management, and positively influenced treatment decisions. Its teaching methods were felt to be unique and innovative by participants. Its methods could be applied to other clinical content areas in order to increase the uptake of the results of HTA

Forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services

Forests are critical habitats for biodiversity and they are also essential for the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services that are important to human well-being. There is increasing evidence that biodiversity contributes to forest ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. Here we provide a review of forest ecosystem services including biomass production, habitat provisioning services, pollination, seed dispersal, resistance to wind storms, fire regulation and mitigation, pest regulation of native and invading insects, carbon sequestration, and cultural ecosystem services, in relation to forest type, structure and diversity. We also consider relationships between forest biodiversity and multifunctionality, and trade-offs among ecosystem services. We compare the concepts of ecosystem processes, functions and services to clarify their definitions. Our review of published studies indicates a lack of empirical studies that establish quantitative and causal relationships between forest biodiversity and many important ecosystem services. The literature is highly skewed; studies on provisioning of nutrition and energy, and on cultural services, delivered by mixed-species forests are under-represented. Planted forests offer ample opportunity for optimising their composition and diversity because replanting after harvesting is a recurring process. Planting mixed-species forests should be given more consideration as they are likely to provide a wider range of ecosystem services within the forest and for adjacent land uses. This review also serves as the introduction to this special issue of Biodiversity and Conservation on various aspects of forest biodiversity and ecosystem services