IMPLEMENTATION OF A QUALITY PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM AS DEFINED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SPORT AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS IN SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

Improving the quality of physical education is necessary to achieve potential health-benefits in the child and adolescent populations. PURPOSE: This study described instruction time, teacher qualifications and facilities available to support physical education in high schools (10th, 11th, 12th grades) located in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and examined whether there are demographic characteristics of the school (locale, size, socio-economic status) that affect these components. METHODS: 39 of the 91 public high schools in Allegheny, Beaver, Indiana and Westmoreland counties were recruited to participate in this cross-sectional quantitative study. The physical education department chairperson or physical education teacher designated by the school district was invited to complete an electronic self-administered survey. The online survey assessed time requirements for physical education, teacher qualifications, and instructional facilities that the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) has identified to be important for offering quality physical education programs. RESULTS: The number of days that physical education was offered per week was 2.8±1.4, 2.7±1.4, and 2.5±1.4 in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, respectively. Physical education was offered for 104.9±54.3, 100.1±55.1, and 92.3±53.4 min/wk in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, respectively. Further analysis showed that the allocated physical education instruction time was not influenced by physical education teacher qualifications or facilities available to support physical education instruction. Moreover, the pattern of results was not affected by school size, school locale, or socio-economic status of the school. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that high schools in Southwestern Pennsylvania do not offer physical education daily and do not offer the recommended 225 minutes of physical education per week. It does not appear that the factors recommended by NASPE influence the amount of time that is allocated for physical education instruction. However, this does not suggest that these factors do not influence physical activity time within physical education. Thus, it may be necessary to revise the NASPE guidelines for quality physical education to include participation in physical activity rather than duration of instruction time

Cardio-respiratory fitness and muscular fitness levels of Scottish youth and their associations with physical activity

The purpose of this study was to examine the current health status of a sample of Scottish youth in relation to physical fitness. A sample of 76 children aged 10.2 ± 0.56 years had indices of fatness, physical activity, cardio-respiratory fitness and muscular fitness assessed. A high percentage of participants were found to have unhealthy levels of cardio-respiratory fitness and explosive strength (82.9% and 81.6%, respectively). A positive (β = 0.242) although weak (R2 = 0.39) overall relationship was observed between physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness,though was stronger in the boys than the girls (R2 =0.725 vs. R2 = 0.347). The data suggests that interventions improving physical activity participation, weight status and physical fitness are essential prior to adolescence in order to improve health and well-being

An Assessment of the Novel COVISTRESS Questionnaire: COVID-19 Impact on Physical Activity, Sedentary Action and Psychological Emotion

International audienceGlobally the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has triggered an economic downturn and a rise in unemployment. As a result, global communities have had to face physical, health, psychological and socio-economical related stressors. The purpose of this study was to assess and report the impact of isolation and effect of coronavirus on selected psychological correlates associated with emotions. Following ethical approval, a mixed methods observational study was conducted using the validated COVISTRESS questionnaire. Two observational study scenarios were evaluated namely "Prior" to the COVID-19 outbreak and "Currently", i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic. 10,121 participants from 67 countries completed the COVISTRESS questionnaire. From the questionnaire responses only questions that covered the participant's occupation; sociodemographic details, isolation and impact of coronavirus were selected. Further analyses were performed on output measures that included leisure time, physical activity, sedentary time and emotions. All output measures were evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) with an intensity ranging from 0-100. Descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Spearman correlational analysis were applied to the leisure time, physical activity, sedentary time and emotional feeling datasets; p = 0.05 was set as the significance level. Both males and females displayed similar output measures. The Wilcoxon signed rank test showed significant differences with respect to "Prior" COVID-19 and "Currently" for sedentary activity (Z = -40.462, p r > 0.081) for "Prior"; and poor correlations (r) between leisure, physical activity and sedentary action (i.e., -0.078 > r > 0.167) for "Current". The correlations (r) between sedentary action and emotion for "Prior" and "Currently" were (-0.100 > r > 0.075) and (-0.040 > r > 0.041) respectively. The findings presented here indicate that the COVISTRESS project has created awareness in relation to the physical and psychological impact resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings have also highlighted individual distress caused by COVID-19 and associated health consequences for the global community

The major worldwide stress of healthcare professionals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic - the international COVISTRESS survey

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has initiated an upheaval in society and has been the cause of considerable stress during this period. Healthcare professionals have been on the front line during this health crisis, particularly paramedical staff. The aim of this study was to assess the high level of stress of healthcare workers during the first wave of the pandemic.Materials and methodsThe COVISTRESS international study is a questionnaire disseminated online collecting demographic and stress-related data over the globe, during the pandemic. Stress levels were evaluated using non-calibrated visual analog scale, from 0 (no stress) to 100 (maximal stress).ResultsAmong the 13,537 individuals from 44 countries who completed the survey from January to June 2020, we included 10,051 workers (including 1379 healthcare workers, 631 medical doctors and 748 paramedical staff). The stress levels during the first wave of the pandemic were 57.8 33 in the whole cohort, 65.3 +/- 29.1 in medical doctors, and 73.6 +/- 27.7 in paramedical staff. Healthcare professionals and especially paramedical staff had the highest levels of stress (p < 0.001 vs non-healthcare workers). Across all occupational categories, women had systematically significantly higher levels of work-related stress than men (p < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between age and stress level (r = -0.098, p < 0.001). Healthcare professionals demonstrated an increased risk of very-high stress levels (>80) compared to other workers (OR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.87-2.41). Paramedical staff risk for very-high levels of stress was higher than doctors' (1.88, 1.50-2.34). The risk of high levels of stress also increased in women (1.83, 1.61-2.09; p < 0.001 vs. men) and in people aged <50 (1.45, 1.26-1.66; p < 0.001 vs. aged >50).ConclusionsThe first wave of the pandemic was a major stressful event for healthcare workers, especially paramedical staff. Among individuals, women were the most at risk while age was a protective factor

COVID‐19 lockdown consequences on body mass index and perceived fragility related to physical activity: A worldwide cohort study

International audienceBackground: This paper is a follow-up study continuing the COVISTRESS network previous research regarding health-related determinants.Objective: The aim was to identify the main consequences of COVID-19 lockdown on Body Mass Index and Perceived Fragility, related to Physical Activity (PA), for different categories of populations, worldwide.Design: The study design included an online survey, during the first wave of COVID-19 lockdown, across different world regions.Setting and participants: The research was carried out on 10 121 participants from 67 countries. The recruitment of participants was achieved using snowball sampling techniques via social networks, with no exclusion criteria other than social media access.Main outcome measures: Body Mass Index, Physical Activity, Perceived Fragility and risk of getting infected items were analysed. SPSS software, v20, was used. Significance was set at P < .05.Results: Body Mass Index significantly increased during lockdown. For youth and young adults (18-35 years), PA decreased by 31.25%, for adults (36-65 years) by 26.05% and for the elderly (over 65 years) by 30.27%. There was a high level of Perceived Fragility and risk of getting infected for female participants and the elderly. Correlations between BMI, Perceived Fragility and PA were identified.Discussion and conclusions: The research results extend and confirm evidence that the elderly are more likely to be at risk, by experiencing weight gain, physical inactivity and enhanced Perceived Fragility. As a consequence, populations need to counteract the constraints imposed by the lockdown by being physically active

Changes in Cannabis Consumption During the Global COVID-19 Lockdown: The International COVISTRESS Study

Introduction: COVID-19 lockdown measures have been sources of both potential stress and possible psychological and addiction complications. A lack of activity and isolation during lockdown are among the factors thought to be behind the growth in the use of psychoactive substances and worsening addictive behaviors. Previous studies on the pandemic have attested to an increase in alcohol consumption during lockdowns. Likewise, data suggest there has also been a rise in the use of cannabis, although it is unclear how this is affected by external factors. Our study used quantitative data collected from an international population to evaluate changes in cannabis consumption during the lockdown period between March and October, 2020. We also compared users and non-users of the drug in relation to: (1) socio-demographic differences, (2) emotional experiences, and (3) the information available and the degree of approval of lockdown measures. Methods: An online self-report questionnaire concerning the lockdown was widely disseminated around the globe. Data was collected on sociodemographics and how the rules imposed had influenced the use of cannabis and concerns about health, the economic impact of the measures and the approach taken by government(s). Results: One hundred eighty two respondents consumed cannabis before the lockdown vs. 199 thereafter. The mean cannabis consumption fell from 13 joints per week pre-lockdown to 9.75 after it (p < 0.001). Forty-nine respondents stopped using cannabis at all and 66 admitted to starting to do so. The cannabis users were: less satisfied with government measures; less worried about their health; more concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and their career; and more frightened of becoming infected in public areas. The risk factors for cannabis use were: age (OR = 0.96); concern for physical health (OR = 0.98); tobacco (OR = 1.1) and alcohol consumption during lockdown (OR = 1.1); the pre-lockdown anger level (OR = 1.01); and feelings of boredom during the restrictions (OR = 1.1). Conclusion: In a specific sub-population, the COVID-19 lockdown brought about either an end to the consumption of cannabis or new use of the drug. The main risk factors for cannabis use were: a lower age, co-addictions and high levels of emotions.publishedVersio

Perspectives on ENCODE

The Encylopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project launched in 2003 with the long-term goal of developing a comprehensive map of functional elements in the human genome. These included genes, biochemical regions associated with gene regulation (for example, transcription factor binding sites, open chromatin, and histone marks) and transcript isoforms. The marks serve as sites for candidate cis-regulatory elements (cCREs) that may serve functional roles in regulating gene expression1. The project has been extended to model organisms, particularly the mouse. In the third phase of ENCODE, nearly a million and more than 300,000 cCRE annotations have been generated for human and mouse, respectively, and these have provided a valuable resource for the scientific community.11Nsciescopu

Expanded encyclopaedias of DNA elements in the human and mouse genomes

AbstractThe human and mouse genomes contain instructions that specify RNAs and proteins and govern the timing, magnitude, and cellular context of their production. To better delineate these elements, phase III of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project has expanded analysis of the cell and tissue repertoires of RNA transcription, chromatin structure and modification, DNA methylation, chromatin looping, and occupancy by transcription factors and RNA-binding proteins. Here we summarize these efforts, which have produced 5,992 new experimental datasets, including systematic determinations across mouse fetal development. All data are available through the ENCODE data portal (https://www.encodeproject.org), including phase II ENCODE1 and Roadmap Epigenomics2 data. We have developed a registry of 926,535 human and 339,815 mouse candidate cis-regulatory elements, covering 7.9 and 3.4% of their respective genomes, by integrating selected datatypes associated with gene regulation, and constructed a web-based server (SCREEN; http://screen.encodeproject.org) to provide flexible, user-defined access to this resource. Collectively, the ENCODE data and registry provide an expansive resource for the scientific community to build a better understanding of the organization and function of the human and mouse genomes.11Nsciescopu