Prospectus, February 4, 1981

12 RUNNING FOR POSITIONS IN STU GO.; Severns speaks to Community News Class; Sign up for student insurance; $1.50 a gallon? Ouch!: Instructiors discuss oil de-regulation; Everything you always wanted to know about participating in class!; Did you know that?; The Ice Capades \u27celebrates\u27 at the Hall Feb. 10-15; Muddy Waters: Is he the father of Rock n\u27 Roll?; Media 1000$ catches Parkland\u27s eyes!; Ramblin\u27...; Classifieds; Homer has big celebration for their hero: Paul Lewis; 11 Amendments to Stugo Constitution; 250 enrolled in Learning Lab.; It\u27s Susan B. Anthony\u27s b-day!; 42 donated at the Blood Drive; Images getting ready to hit the presses.; Women\u27s team boosts record to 19-1; Cobras beat arch-rival Lake Land; Dunson slam takes game into overtime: Cobras upset No. 1 Kankakee in double OT; Women beat Cavaliers; Softball practice begins Feb. 9; Geoff Ray wins FF competition; Fast Freddy Contest; Collins, the perfect leaderhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1981/1028/thumbnail.jp

Physical Activity Increases White Matter Microstructure in Children

Children are becoming increasingly inactive, unfit, and overweight, yet there is relatively little causal evidence regarding the effects of physical activity on brain health during childhood. The present study examined the effects of an after-school physical activity program (FITKids2) on the microstructure of white matter tracts in 7- to 9-year-old children. We measured the microstructural properties of white matter via diffusion tensor imaging in 143 children before and after random assignment to either a 9-month after-school physical activity program (N = 76, mean age = 8.7 years) or a wait list control group (N = 67, mean age = 8.7 years). Our results demonstrate that children who participated in the physical activity program showed increased white matter microstructure in the genu of the corpus callosum, with no changes in white matter microstructure in the wait list control group which reflects typical development. Specifically, children in the physical activity program showed increases in fractional anisotropy (FA) and decreases in radial diffusivity (RD) in the genu from pre- to post-test, thereby suggesting more tightly bundled and structurally compact fibers (FA) and increased myelination (RD), with no changes in estimates of axonal fiber diameter (axial diffusivity, AD). The corpus callosum integrates cognitive, motor, and sensory information between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and the white matter tract plays a role in cognition and behavior. Our findings reinforce the importance of physical activity for brain health during child development

The effects of physical activity on functional MRI activation associated with cognitive control in children: a randomized controlled intervention

This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the influence of a 9-month physical activity program on task-evoked brain activation during childhood. The results demonstrated that 8- to 9-year-old children who participated in 60+ minutes of physical activity, 5 days per week, for 9 months, showed decreases in fMRI brain activation in the right anterior prefrontal cortex coupled with within-group improvements in performance on a task of attentional and interference control. Children assigned to a wait list control group did not show changes in brain function. Furthermore, at post-test, children in the physical activity group showed similar anterior frontal brain patterns and incongruent accuracy rates to a group of college-aged young adults. Children in the wait list control group still differed from the young adults in terms of anterior prefrontal activation and performance at post-test. There were no significant changes in fMRI activation in the anterior cingulate cortex for either group. These results suggest that physical activity during childhood may enhance specific elements of prefrontal cortex function involved in cognitive control

Linking ceragenins to water-treatment membranes to minimize biofouling.

Ceragenins were used to create biofouling resistant water-treatment membranes. Ceragenins are synthetically produced antimicrobial peptide mimics that display broad-spectrum bactericidal activity. While ceragenins have been used on bio-medical devices, use of ceragenins on water-treatment membranes is novel. Biofouling impacts membrane separation processes for many industrial applications such as desalination, waste-water treatment, oil and gas extraction, and power generation. Biofouling results in a loss of permeate flux and increase in energy use. Creation of biofouling resistant membranes will assist in creation of clean water with lower energy usage and energy with lower water usage. Five methods of attaching three different ceragenin molecules were conducted and tested. Biofouling reduction was observed in the majority of the tests, indicating the ceragenins are a viable solution to biofouling on water treatment membranes. Silane direct attachment appears to be the most promising attachment method if a high concentration of CSA-121a is used. Additional refinement of the attachment methods are needed in order to achieve our goal of several log-reduction in biofilm cell density without impacting the membrane flux. Concurrently, biofilm forming bacteria were isolated from source waters relevant for water treatment: wastewater, agricultural drainage, river water, seawater, and brackish groundwater. These isolates can be used for future testing of methods to control biofouling. Once isolated, the ability of the isolates to grow biofilms was tested with high-throughput multiwell methods. Based on these tests, the following species were selected for further testing in tube reactors and CDC reactors: Pseudomonas ssp. (wastewater, agricultural drainage, and Colorado River water), Nocardia coeliaca or Rhodococcus spp. (wastewater), Pseudomonas fluorescens and Hydrogenophaga palleronii (agricultural drainage), Sulfitobacter donghicola, Rhodococcus fascians, Rhodobacter katedanii, and Paracoccus marcusii (seawater), and Sphingopyxis spp. (groundwater). The testing demonstrated the ability of these isolates to be used for biofouling control testing under laboratory conditions. Biofilm forming bacteria were obtained from all the source water samples