Parenting and the decline of physical activity from age 9 to 15

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a rapid decline in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during middle childhood and adolescence. Information on the environmental factors implicated in this decline is limited. This study focuses on family factors associated with the rate of decline in objectively measured physical activity during middle childhood and adolescence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Longitudinal analysis of 801 participants from 10 US sites in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development whose data included accelerometer-determined levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) between ages 9 and 15 years, as well as family process, BMI and demographic information. The sample included an even split of boys (49%) and girls (51%), was predominantly white (77%), and contained about 26% low income and 19% single parent families. The outcome measure was mean MVPA. It was based on 4 to 7 days of monitored physical activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Boys with lower parental monitoring scores and more days of parental encouragement had significantly more minutes of MVPA at age 9 years. The effect of parental monitoring, however, was moderated by early puberty. High parental monitoring was associated with decreased activity levels for boys experiencing later puberty and increased activity for boy experiencing early puberty. Minutes of MVPA for boys living in the Midwest decreased at significantly faster rates than boys living in any other region; and boys in the South declined faster than boys in the West. Girls in the Midwest and South declined faster than girls in the West and Northeast. Among girls, more days of parental exercise and transportation to activities were associated with more MVPA per day at age 9. However, more parental transportation to activities and less monitoring was associated with faster linear declines in daughters' MVPA between the ages of 9 and 15 years. For girls who experienced puberty early, parental encouragement was associated with more MVPA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Parenting processes, such as monitoring and encouragement, as well as the parents' own level of physical activity, showed significant, but small, gender-specific associations with MVPA levels at age nine and the linear rate of decline in MVPA between ages 9 and 15.</p

Special theme article : science and sociology of footwear

Journal editorial

A generative-oriented model-driven design environment for customizable video surveillance systems

To tackle the growing complexity and huge demand for tailored domestic video surveillance systems along with a high demanding time-to-market expectation, engineers at IVV Automação, LDAa are exploiting video surveillance domain as families of systems that can be developed following a pay-as-you-go fashion rather than developing an ex-nihilo new product. Several and different new functionalities are required for each new product’s hardware platforms (e.g., ranging from mobile phone, PDA to desktop PC) and operating systems (e.g., flavors of Linux, Windows and MAC OS X). Some of these functionalities have special economical constraints of development time and memory footprint. To better accommodate all the above listing requirements, a model-driven generative software development paradigm supported by mainstream tools is proposed to offer a significant leverage in hiding commonalities and configuring variabilities across families of video surveillance products while maintaining the new product quality.This work was funded through the Competitive Factors Operational Program COMPETE and through national funds though the Science and Technology Foundation - FCT, within the project: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022674. This work was developed in cooperation with IVV Automation; all support and means provided by the company is acknowledged

Metal induced folding: Synthesis and conformational analysis of the lanthanide complexes of two 44-membered hydrazone macrocycles

Six new lanthanide complexes of two 44-membered macrocycles have been prepared and characterised in solution. An analysis of the conformations of the free macrocycles and their lanthanide complexes both in solution (2D NMR) and in solid state (X-ray crystallography) demonstrate that the complexation induces changes in folding of the macrocycles

Trophic factors differentiate dopamine neurons vulnerable to Parkinson's disease

Recent studies suggest a variety of factors characterize substantia nigra neurons vulnerable to Parkinson's disease, including the transcription factors pituitary homeobox 3 (Pitx3) and orthodenticle homeobox 2 (Otx2) and the trophic factor receptor deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC), but there is limited information on their expression and localization in adult humans. Pitx3, Otx2, and DCC were immunohistochemically localized in the upper brainstem of adult humans and mice and protein expression assessed using relative intensity measures and online microarray data. Pitx3 was present and highly expressed in most dopamine neurons. Surprisingly, in our elderly subjects no Otx2 immunoreactivity was detected in dopamine neurons, although Otx2 gene expression was found in younger cases. Enhanced DCC gene expression occurred in the substantia nigra, and higher amounts of DCC protein characterized vulnerable ventral nigral dopamine neurons. Our data show that, at the age when Parkinson's disease typically occurs, there are no significant differences in the expression of transcription factors in brainstem dopamine neurons, but those most vulnerable to Parkinson's disease rely more on the trophic factor receptor DCC than other brainstem dopamine neurons

Chlamydophila pneumoniae induces expression of Toll-like Receptor 4 and release of TNF-α and MIP-2 via an NF-κB pathway in rat type II pneumocytes

BACKGROUND: The role of alveolar type II cells in the regulation of innate and adaptive immunity is unclear. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been implicated in host defense. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether Chlamydophila pneumoniae (I) alters the expression of TLR2 and/orTLR4 in type II cells in a (II) Rho-GTPase- and (III) NF-κB-dependent pathway, subsequently (IV) leading to the production of (IV) pro-inflammatory TNF-α and MIP-2. METHODS: Isolated rat type II pneumocytes were incubated with C. pneumoniae after pre-treatment with calcium chelator BAPTA-AM, inhibitors of NF-κB (parthenolide, SN50) or with a specific inhibitor of the Rho-GTPase (mevastatin). TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA expressions were analyzed by PCR. Activation of TLR4, Rac1, RhoA protein and NF-κB was determined by Western blotting and confocal laser scan microscopy (CLSM) and TNF-α and MIP-2 release by ELISA. RESULTS: Type II cells constitutively expressed TLR4 and TLR2 mRNA. A prominent induction of TLR4 but not TLR2 mRNA was detected after 2 hours of incubation with C. pneumoniae. The TLR4 protein expression reached a peak at 30 min, began to decrease within 1–2 hours and peaked again at 3 hours. Incubation of cells with heat-inactivated bacteria (56°C for 30 min) significantly reduced the TLR4 expression. Treated bacteria with polymyxin B (2 μg/ml) did not alter TLR4 expression. C. pneumoniae-induced NF-κB activity was blocked by TLR4 blocking antibodies. TLR4 mRNA and protein expression were inhibited in the presence of BAPTA-AM, SN50 or parthenolide. TNF-α and MIP-2 release was increased in type II cells in response to C. pneumoniae, whereas BAPTA-AM, SN50 or parthenolide decreased the C. pneumoniae-induced TNF-α and MIP-2 release. Mevastatin inhibited C. pneumoniae-mediated Rac1, RhoA and TLR4 expression. CONCLUSION: The TLR4 protein expression in rat type II cells is likely to be mediated by a heat-sensitive C. pneumoniae protein that induces a fast Ca(2+)-mediated NF-κB activity, necessary for maintenance of TLR4 expression and TNF-α and MIP-2 release through possibly Rac and Rho protein-dependent mechanism. These results indicate that type II pneumocytes play an important role in the innate pulmonary immune system and in inflammatory response mechanism of the alveolus

Epidemiology of influenza-associated hospitalization in adults, Toronto, 2007/8

The purpose of this investigation was to identify when diagnostic testing and empirical antiviral therapy should be considered for adult patients requiring hospitalization during influenza seasons. During the 2007/8 influenza season, six acute care hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area participated in active surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza requiring hospitalization. Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs were obtained from patients presenting with acute respiratory or cardiac illness, or with febrile illness without clear non-respiratory etiology. Predictors of influenza were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression analysis and likelihoods of influenza infection in various patient groups were calculated. Two hundred and eighty of 3,917 patients were found to have influenza. Thirty-five percent of patients with influenza presented with a triage temperature ≥38.0°C, 80% had respiratory symptoms in the emergency department, and 76% were ≥65 years old. Multivariable analysis revealed a triage temperature ≥38.0°C (odds ratio [OR] 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.3–4.1), the presence of respiratory symptoms (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.2–2.4), admission diagnosis of respiratory infection (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.3–2.4), admission diagnosis of exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/asthma or respiratory failure (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.6–3.4), and admission in peak influenza weeks (OR 4.2; 95% CI 3.1–5.7) as independent predictors of influenza. The likelihood of influenza exceeded 15% in patients with respiratory infection or exacerbation of COPD/asthma if the triage temperature was ≥38.0°C or if they were admitted in the peak weeks during the influenza season. During influenza season, diagnostic testing and empiric antiviral therapy should be considered in patients requiring hospitalization if respiratory infection or exacerbation of COPD/asthma are suspected and if either the triage temperature is ≥38.0°C or admission is during the weeks of peak influenza activity

Institutional investors and corporate governance

We provide a comprehensive overview of the role of institutional investors in corporate governance with three main components. First, we establish new stylized facts documenting the evolution and importance of institutional ownership. Second, we provide a detailed characterization of key aspects of the legal and regulatory setting within which institutional investors govern portfolio firms. Third, we synthesize the evolving response of the recent theoretical and empirical academic literature in finance to the emergence of institutional investors in corporate governance. We highlight how the defining aspect of institutional investors – the fact that they are financial intermediaries – differentiates them in their governance role from standard principal blockholders. Further, not all institutional investors are identical, and we pay close attention to heterogeneity amongst institutional investors as blockholders

A randomised control trial for evaluating over-the-counter golf orthoses in alleviating pain in amateur golfers

Background There are few studies to evaluate the effectiveness of orthoses on foot function and pain whilst playing golf. Objectives The study aimed to evaluate the capacity of three different types of orthoses to alleviate levels of pain, whilst playing golf. Method Over a period of 3 months, 32 amateur golfers took part in a Randomised Control Trial which looked at a prefabricated over-the-counter golf orthosis against a placebo and a cushioning Poron insole using two validated tools—the Foot Health Status Questionnaire and the Foot Posture Index. Results Of the 27 golfers that completed the trial, the results showed that the use of orthoses whilst playing golf reduced the levels of pain experienced, with equally positive responses in the placebo group. Of statistical significance (where p > 0.05) was the improvement in foot posture of the right foot (p = 0.053), for those using the Golf Orthaheel. A visual analogue scale showed statistically significant pain reduction (p = 0.007) when using the Poron insole. The results from this trial suggest that orthoses may have an effect in reducing pain and improving foot posture by controlling pronatory movements in golfers