Comparison of Three Physical Activity Measurement Tools to Assess Physical Activity Guideline Compliance in Children

Current physical activity recommendations suggest that children should have 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of three different physical activity measurement tools to assess whether children were meeting physical activity recommendations. Methods: Physical activity was assessed for one week via accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X), pedometer (New Lifestyles NL-1000), and for one day using a self report questionnaire (Self-Administered Physical Activity Checklist, or [SAPAC]) in thirty 5th-grade students. A total of 15 students, (11 ± 1 yrs; 11 female, 4 male) met compliance standards and were used for data comparisons. Minutes spent in MVPA per day were calculated from the SAPAC and accelerometer data using Sallis specifications and Freedson cut-points, respectively. Data from the SAPAC and accelerometers were compared with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention physical activity guidelines. Steps per day from the pedometers were compared with BMI referenced steps per day cut-point guidelines. All data are presented as mean ± SD. Results: SAPAC indicated MVPA of 460 ± 473 minutes per day. Accelerometer assessment indicated MVPA of 40 ± 15 minutes per day. Pedometer assessment indicated 8994 ± 3047 steps per day. Conclusions: Within this sample, 6% of subjects met minimum physical activity recommendations based on accelerometer data, whereas 20% met minimum physical activity recommendations using the pedometer. However, 100% of subjects met recommendations using the subjective self-report recall questionnaire. This pilot study indicates 5th-grade students dramatically over report estimated MVPA via self-report questionnaire. Therefore, objective physical activity assessment tools, such as accelerometers and pedometers may be better suited than self-report questionnaires to assess compliance with physical activity guidelines in 5th-grade students

Biotic and abiotic factors influencing forage fish and pelagic nekton community in the Columbia River plume (USA) throughout the upwelling season 1999–2009

Large river plumes modify coastal environments and can impact production across multiple trophic levels. From 1999 to 2009, the assemblages of forage fish, predator fish, and other pelagic nekton were monitored in coastal waters associated with the Columbia River plume. Surveys were conducted at night to target vertically migrating species, and community structure evaluated to better understand ecological interactions. Distinct inshore and offshore communities were identified during spring and summer that were correlated with ocean temperature, salinity, plume volume, and upwelling intensity. Resident euryhaline forage fish species, such as smelts, anchovy, herring, market squid, juvenile salmon, and spiny dogfish, showed a high affinity for inshore habitat and the lower salinity plume during spring. Highly migratory species, such as sardine, piscivorous hake, sharks, and mackerels, were associated with warmer, saltier waters offshore, during strong upwelling periods in summer. Overall, our study of pelagic nekton revealed that temporal dynamics in abundance and community composition were associated with seasonal abiotic phenomenon, but not interannual, large-scale oceanographic processes. Forage fish assemblages differed seasonally and spatially from the assemblages of major piscivorous predators. This finding suggests a potential role of the plume as refuge for forage fish from predation by piscivorous fish in the northern California Current.Keywords: Predator fish, Columbia River plume, California current, Community analysis, Forage fishKeywords: Predator fish, Columbia River plume, California current, Community analysis, Forage fis

Reduced Amygdala and Ventral Striatal Activity to Happy Faces in PTSD Is Associated with Emotional Numbing

There has been a growing recognition of the importance of reward processing in PTSD, yet little is known of the underlying neural networks. This study tested the predictions that (1) individuals with PTSD would display reduced responses to happy facial expressions in ventral striatal reward networks, and (2) that this reduction would be associated with emotional numbing symptoms. 23 treatment-seeking patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder were recruited from the treatment clinic at the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies, Westmead Hospital, and 20 trauma-exposed controls were recruited from a community sample. We examined functional magnetic resonance imaging responses during the presentation of happy and neutral facial expressions in a passive viewing task. PTSD participants rated happy facial expression as less intense than trauma-exposed controls. Relative to controls, PTSD participants revealed lower activation to happy (-neutral) faces in ventral striatum and and a trend for reduced activation in left amygdala. A significant negative correlation was found between emotional numbing symptoms in PTSD and right ventral striatal regions after controlling for depression, anxiety and PTSD severity. This study provides initial evidence that individuals with PTSD have lower reactivity to happy facial expressions, and that lower activation in ventral striatal-limbic reward networks may be associated with symptoms of emotional numbing

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations

The Impact of Childhood Obesity on Blood Vessel Health in American Indian Children

Background: Increased arterial stiffness, an independent predictor of premature cardiovascular events, has been observed in white American obese children yet data are limited in ethnic minority youth, which are disproportionately affected by the cardiovascular consequences of childhood obesity. Indeed, childhood obesity in ethnic minorities may accelerate arterial stiffness, precipitating the premature development of CVD. The aims of the present study were to determine 1) if arterial stiffness is increased in overweight/obese children, 2) if, despite similar levels of body adiposity, arterial stiffness is greater in ethnic minority compared to white American children, and 3) if the presence of cardiovascular disease risk factors worsens arterial stiffness in overweight or obese children. Methods and Results: Thirty-six children were studied: 18 healthy weight (BMI: 19.5±1.9 kg/m2) and 18 overweight/obese (26.8±3.5 kg/m2). Twenty-eight of the 36 children were white American and 8 were ethnic minorities (6 American Indian, 1 Hispanic, and 1 Filipino). Arterial stiffness, as indicated by aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), was assessed by pulse wave analysis (applanation tonometry, SphygmoCor CPV) of the carotid and radial arteries. A secondary indicator of arterial health, aortic augmentation index (AiX), was also assessed in the radial artery via a similar technique. There were no differences (P=0.46) in aPWV between the healthy weight (7.1 ± 1.4 m/s) overweight (7.1 ± 0.8 m/s) or obese (7.3 ± 1.2 m/s) children. In addition, no difference was found in aortic AiX between healthy weight (-0.5 ± 3.5%) overweight (4.5 ± 2.9%)or obese (6.1 ± 3.3%) children. However, after stratifying the children into white American and ethnic minority groups, an adverse influence of ethnicity on arterial stiffness emerged. Indeed, in the total sample, aPWV was markedly elevated (P=0.002) in the ethnic minority children (7.7±1.1 m/s) compared with their white American peers (6.8±0.5 m/s). On the contrary, no significant difference existed in aortic AiX between AI and WA children (5.50 ± 4.01 vs. 4.82 ± 2.66, p = .886). However, because obesity was overrepresented in the 8 ethnic minorities, we matched them with a subset of 8 white American children on the basis of sex, age and BMI. Nevertheless, despite similar degrees of obesity, the ethnic minorities still demonstrated with increased (P=0.03) aPWV (7.7±1.1 versus 6.8±0.4 m/s) compared with matched white American children. Again, there were no differences in aortic AiX between the groups, however, it was on average 5% higher in the AI/ethnic minorities (6.4 ± 3.1%) than in WA children (0.9 ± 3.7%). Lastly, despite a greater burden of risk factors, there was no significant difference in aortic PWV (7.1 ± 0.9 m/s vs. 7.4 ± 1.1 m/s) or aortic AiX (5.1 ± 2.7% vs. 4.8 ± 3.2%) between the group with zero - 1 risk factor and ≥ 2 risk factors, respectively.Conclusions: The impacts of childhood obesity on arterial stiffness appear to be worse in ethnic minorities. A variety of health disparities (e.g., cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and/or biological) may contribute to increase arterial stiffness in obese ethnic minority children placing them at risk of premature CVD

Increased Arterial Stiffness in South Dakota American Indian Children

Arterial stiffness has been observed in white American obese children, yet there are no data in American Indian youth, who are affected disproportionately by the cardiovascular consequences of childhood obesity and its accompanying risk factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of childhood overweight-obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors with arterial stiffness in South Dakota white American and American Indian children. Thirty-six (28 white American and 8 American Indian) children (age, 13 ± 1 years; grades 6-8) from a rural South Dakota elementary and middle school were studied: 18 had a healthy weight (body mass index (BMI), 19.5 ± 1.9 kg/m(2)) and 18 were overweight-obese (BMI, 26.8 ± 3.5 kg/m(2)). Arterial stiffness was assessed using applanation tonometry via pulse wave analysis to determine carotid-radial pulse wave velocity (crPWV) and aortic augmentation index (AIx). There were no differences (P = 0.94) in crPWV between healthy weight (7.1 ± 1.4 m/s) and overweight-obese (7.3 ± 1.0 m/s) children, even after controlling for risk factors. However, crPWV was markedly elevated (P = 0.002) in overweight-obese American Indian children (7.7 ± 1.1 m/s) compared with white American children (6.8 ± 0.5 m/s), and these differences remained after controlling for blood pressure and more severe obesity in the American Indians. An obesity-matched subgroup analysis indicated that crPWV (7.7 ± 1.1 vs 6.8 ± 0.4 m/s) remained significantly greater in the American Indians (P = 0.03). There were no between-group differences in aortic AIx. These findings indicate an adverse influence of American Indian ethnicity on arterial stiffening in children with elevated adiposity. Arterial stiffness in American Indian children may accelerate early adulthood vascular disease