2,792 research outputs found
The 24-h Movement Compositions in Weekday, Weekend Day or Four-Day Periods Differentially Associate with Fundamental Movement Skills
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between weekday, weekend day and four-day physical activity (PA) behaviours and fundamental movement skills (FMS) in British preschool children from a low socio-economic status background using compositional data analysis (CoDA). One hundred and eighty-five preschool children aged 3ā4 years provided objectively assessed PA and sedentary behaviour (SB) data (GENEActiv accelerometer) and FMS (TGMD-2). The association of 24-h movement behaviours with FMS was explored using CoDA and isotemporal substitution (R Core Team, 3.6.1). When data were considered compositionally (SB, light PA (LPA), moderate and vigorous PA (MVPA)) and adjusted for age, BMI and sex, the weekday-derived composition predicted total motor competence (r2 = 0.07), locomotor (r2 = 0.08) and object control skills (r2 = 0.09); the weekend day-derived composition predicted total motor competence (r2 = 0.03) and object control skills (r2 = 0.03), the 4-day-derived composition predicted total motor competence (r2 = 0.07), locomotor (r2 = 0.07) and object control skills (r2 = 0.06) (all p < 0.05). Reallocation of 5 min of LPA at the expense of any behaviour was associated with significant improvements in total motor competence, locomotor and object control skills; for weekend-derived behaviours, MVPA was preferential. Considering movement behaviours over different time periods is required to better understand the effect of the 24-h movement composition on FMS in preschool children
Accelerometer-based physical activity levels differ between week and weekend ways in British preschool children
Participation in physical activity (PA) is fundamental to childrenās future health. Studies examining the temporal pattern of PA between weekdays and weekends in British preschool children are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare PA levels between week and weekend days for UK preschool children, using objective measurements. One hundred and eighty-five preschool children (99 boys, 86 girls, aged 4ā5 years), from central England wore a triaxial accelerometer (GENEActiv) for 4 days to determine PA. The time (min) and percentage (%) of time spent in light, moderate and vigorous PA (MVPA) was determined using specific cut-points for counts per minute related to 3ā5 year olds. Of the sample, none of the children met the UK recommended 180 min or more of PA per day. A significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed between the amount of time that preschool children spent in sedentary behaviours on weekdays (91.9%) compared to weekend days (96.9%). During weekdays and weekend days, 6.3% and 2.0% of time was spent in MVPA, respectively. Therefore, a substantial proportion of British preschool childrenās day is spent in sedentary behaviours, with less MVPA accrued during the weekend. Regular engagement during the weekdays provides opportunities to accrue PA, which may not be present on weekend days.N/
Structure and dynamics of colloidal depletion gels: coincidence of transitions and heterogeneity
Transitions in structural heterogeneity of colloidal depletion gels formed
through short-range attractive interactions are correlated with their dynamical
arrest. The system is a density and refractive index matched suspension of 0.20
volume fraction poly(methyl methacyrlate) colloids with the non-adsorbing
depletant polystyrene added at a size ratio of depletant to colloid of 0.043.
As the strength of the short-range attractive interaction is increased,
clusters become increasingly structurally heterogeneous, as characterized by
number-density fluctuations, and dynamically immobilized, as characterized by
the single-particle mean-squared displacement. The number of free colloids in
the suspension also progressively declines. As an immobile cluster to gel
transition is traversed, structural heterogeneity abruptly decreases.
Simultaneously, the mean single-particle dynamics saturates at a localization
length on the order of the short-range attractive potential range. Both
immobile cluster and gel regimes show dynamical heterogeneity. Non-Gaussian
distributions of single particle displacements reveal enhanced populations of
dynamical trajectories localized on two different length scales. Similar
dependencies of number density fluctuations, free particle number and dynamical
length scales on the order of the range of short-range attraction suggests a
collective structural origin of dynamic heterogeneity in colloidal gels.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure
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A 17O Paramagnetic NMR Study of Sm2O3, Eu2O3, and Sm-/Eu- Substituted CeO2
Paramagnetic solid-state NMR of lanthanide (Ln) containing materials can be challenging due to the high electron spin
states possible for the Ln f electrons, which result in large paramagnetic shifts, and these difficulties are compounded
for 17O due to the low natural abundance and quadrupolar character. In this work, we present examples of 17O NMR
experiments for lanthanide oxides and strategies to overcome these difficulties. In particular, we record and assign the
17O NMR spectra of monoclinic Sm2O3 and Eu2O3 for the first time, as well as performing density functional theory
(DFT) calculations to gain further insight into the spectra. The temperature dependence of the Sm3+ and Eu3+
magnetic susceptibilities are investigated by measuring the 17O shift of the cubic sesquioxides over a wide
temperature range, which reveal non-Curie temperature dependence due to the presence of low-lying electronic
states. This behaviour is reproduced by calculating the electron spin as a function of temperature, yielding shifts which
agree well with the experimental values. Using the understanding of the magnetic behaviour gained from the
sesquioxides, we then explore the local oxygen environments in 15 at% Sm- and Eu-substituted CeO2, with the 17O
NMR spectrum exhibiting signals due to environments with zero, one and two nearest neighbour Ln ions, as well as
further splitting due to oxygen vacancies. Finally, we extract an activation energy for oxygen vacancy motion in these
systems of 0.35 Ā± 0.02 eV from the Arrhenius temperature dependence of the 17O T1 relaxation constants, which is
found to be independent of the Ln ion within error. The relation of this activation energy to literature values for oxygen
diffusion in Ln-substituted CeO2 is discussed to infer mechanistic information which can be applied to further develop
these materials as solid-state oxide-ion conductors.Oppenheimer Foundation.
NECCES, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award No. DE-SC0012583.
Center for Functional Nanomaterials, which is a U.S. DOE Office of Science Facility
Scientific Data and Computing Center, a component of the Computational Science Initiative, at Brookhaven National Laboratory, under Contract No. DE-SC001270
Changes in the gut microbiota of mice orally exposed to methylimidazolium ionic liquids
Ionic liquids are salts used in a variety of industrial processes, and being relatively non-volatile, are proposed as environmentally-friendly replacements for existing volatile liquids. Methylimidazolium ionic liquids resist complete degradation in the environment, likely because the imidazolium moiety does not exist naturally in biological systems. However, there is limited data available regarding their mammalian effects in vivo. This study aimed to examine the effects of exposing mice separately to 2 different methylimidazolium ionic liquids (BMI and M8OI) through their addition to drinking water. Potential effects on key target organs-the liver and kidney-were examined, as well as the gut microbiome. Adult male mice were exposed to drinking water containing ionic liquids at a concentration of 440 mg/L for 18 weeks prior to examination of tissues, serum, urine and the gut microbiome. Histopathology was performed on tissues and clinical chemistry on serum for biomarkers of hepatic and renal injury. Bacterial DNA was isolated from the gut contents and subjected to targeted 16S rRNA sequencing. Mild hepatic and renal effects were limited to glycogen depletion and mild degenerative changes respectively. No hepatic or renal adverse effects were observed. In contrast, ionic liquid exposure altered gut microbial composition but not overall alpha diversity. Proportional abundance of Lachnospiraceae, Clostridia and Coriobacteriaceae spp. were significantly greater in ionic liquid-exposed mice, as were predicted KEGG functional pathways associated with xenobiotic and amino acid metabolism. Exposure to ionic liquids via drinking water therefore resulted in marked changes in the gut microbiome in mice prior to any overt pathological effects in target organs. Ionic liquids may be an emerging risk to health through their potential effects on the gut microbiome, which is implicated in the causes and/or severity of an array of chronic disease in humans
Preschool and parental influences on physical activity and fundamental movement skills in preschool children from low socio-economic backgrounds: A qualitative study.
PA levels of children attending different preschools have been reported as varying greatly, with the characteristics of the preschool influencing a childās PA level (Pate, Pfeiffer, Trost, Ziegler and Dowda, [2004], Pediatrics 114, 1258-1263). Parents and teachers have been known to overestimate the PA levels that children complete and this may place a decreased importance on encouraging and supporting PA in preschool children (Tucker, [2008], Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 547-558). Settings with greater space and opportunities for outdoor play and PA are required, as a lack of space is a major cause of being overweight for 10-40% of children in developed countries (Blair, Wood and Sallis, [1994], Preventive Medicine, 23, 558-559). Mastery of Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) is a prerequisite to functioning on a daily basis (Venetsanou and Kambas, [2011], Physical Education and Sport, 9, 81-90); they provide the building blocks for future motor skills and PA. Failure to achieve mastery in these skills could prevent preschool children from participating in PA. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate nursery staff and parentsā perceptions of preschool childrenās PA, in relation to the environment, facilities, play and barriers to PA. With institutional ethics approval, focus groups were conducted in 4 preschools, with the inclusion of parents and staff of 3-5 year old children (n = 17, parents = 10, staff = 7) from North Warwickshire, England. Thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, [2006], Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101) was used to identify key themes and subthemes from the transcripts. Emergent themes included: outside exercise, outdoor equipment, the responsibility of PA, lack of exercise, modern lifestyles, time, cost, health and safety concerns of staff and staff training. Differences were apparent between preschools when discussing measurement of PA and FMS, PA at home, space in the settings and staff training. The findings suggest that preschools provide good opportunities for PA and FMS, especially for pre-schoolers from low socio-economic backgrounds. However, results also highlighted a need for more extensive training of staff in relation to PA and FMS opportunities. To increase PA and FMS in pre-schoolers, interventions are required which continue with the current levels of PA in preschools, combined with parental involvement to deliver PA; through encouraging indoor and outdoor activities and participating in less sedentary activities in the home environment. Interventions also need to provide staff training to support settings to deliver PA and FMS to preschool children.N/
Calibration and Cross-Validation of Accelerometery for Estimating Movement Skills in Children Aged 8-12 Years
This study sought to calibrate triaxial accelerometery, worn on both wrists, waist and both ankles, during childrenās physical activity (PA), with particular attention to object control motor skills performed at a fast and slow cadence, and to cross-validate the accelerometer cut-points derived from the calibration using an independent dataset. Twenty boys (10.1 Ā±1.5 years) undertook seven, five-minute bouts of activity lying supine, standing, running (4.5kmphā1) instep passing a football (fast and slow cadence), dribbling a football (fast and slow cadence), whilst wearing five GENEActiv accelerometers on their non-dominant and dominant wrists and ankles and waist. VO2 was assessed concurrently using indirect calorimetry. ROC curve analysis was used to generate cut-points representing sedentary, light and moderate PA. The cut-points were then cross-validated using independent data from 30 children (9.4 Ā± 1.4 years), who had undertaken similar activities whilst wearing accelerometers and being assessed for VO2. GENEActiv monitors were able to discriminate sedentary activity to an excellent level irrespective of wear location. For moderate PA, discrimination of activity was considered good for monitors placed on the dominant wrist, waist, non-dominant and dominant ankles but fair for the non-dominant wrist. Applying the cut-points to the cross-validation sample indicated that cut-points validated in the calibration were able to successfully discriminate sedentary behaviour and moderate PA to an excellent standard and light PA to a fair standard. Cut-points derived from this calibration demonstrate an excellent ability to discriminate childrenās sedentary behaviour and moderate intensity PA comprising motor skill activity.N/
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NMR reveals the surface functionalisation of Ti3C2 MXene.
(1)H and (19)F NMR experiments have identified and quantified the internal surface terminations of Ti3C2Tx MXene. -F and -OH terminations are shown to be intimately mixed and there are found to be significantly fewer -OH terminations than -F and -O, with the proportions highly dependent on the synthesis method.We are grateful for financial support by the Oppenheimer Foundation and EPSRC. Material synthesis and characterization at Drexel University was supported by the US National Science Foundation under grant number DMR-1310245.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Royal Society of Chemistry via http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C6CP00330
Resting State Functional Connectivity Correlates of Inhibitory Control in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Motor inhibition is among the most commonly studied executive functions in
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Imaging studies using probes of
motor inhibition such as the stop signal task (SST) consistently demonstrate
ADHD-related dysfunction within a right-hemisphere fronto-striatal network that
includes inferior frontal gyrus and pre-supplementary motor area. Beyond
findings of focal hypo- or hyper-function, emerging models of ADHD
psychopathology highlight disease-related changes in functional interactions
between network components. Resting state fMRI (R-fMRI) approaches have emerged
as powerful tools for mapping such interactions (i.e., resting state functional
connectivity, RSFC), and for relating behavioral and diagnostic variables to
network properties. We used R-fMRI data collected from 17 typically developing
controls (TDC) and 17 age-matched children with ADHD (aged
8ā13āyears) to identify neural correlates of SST performance
measured outside the scanner. We examined two related inhibition indices: stop
signal reaction time (SSRT), indexing inhibitory speed, and stop signal delay
(SSD), indexing inhibitory success. Using 11 fronto-striatal seed
regions-of-interest, we queried the brain for relationships between RSFC and
each performance index, as well as for interactions with diagnostic status. Both
SSRT and SSD exhibited connectivityābehavior relationships independent
of diagnosis. At the same time, we found differential
connectivityābehavior relationships in children with ADHD relative to
TDC. Our results demonstrate the utility of RSFC approaches for assessing
brain/behavior relationships, and for identifying pathology-related differences
in the contributions of neural circuits to cognition and behavior
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