Physical activity patterns across time-segmented youth sport flag football practice.

BACKGROUND: Youth sport (YS) reaches a large number of children world-wide and contributes substantially to children's daily physical activity (PA), yet less than half of YS time has been shown to be spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Physical activity during practice is likely to vary depending on practice structure that changes across YS time, therefore the purpose of this study was 1) to describe the type and frequency of segments of time, defined by contextual characteristics of practice structure, during YS practices and 2) determine the influence of these segments on PA. METHODS: Research assistants video-recorded the full duration of 28 practices from 14 boys' flag football teams (2 practices/team) while children concurrently (N = 111, aged 5-11 years, mean 7.9 ± 1.2 years) wore ActiGraph GT1M accelerometers to measure PA. Observers divided videos of each practice into continuous context time segments (N = 204; mean-segments-per-practice = 7.3, SD = 2.5) using start/stop points defined by change in context characteristics, and assigned a value for task (e.g., management, gameplay, etc.), member arrangement (e.g., small group, whole group, etc.), and setting demand (i.e., fosters participation, fosters exclusion). Segments were then paired with accelerometer data. Data were analyzed using a multilevel model with segment as unit of analysis. RESULTS: Whole practices averaged 34 ± 2.4% of time spent in MVPA. Free-play (51.5 ± 5.5%), gameplay (53.6 ± 3.7%), and warm-up (53.9 ± 3.6%) segments had greater percentage of time (%time) in MVPA compared to fitness (36.8 ± 4.4%) segments (p ≤ .01). Greater %time was spent in MVPA during free-play segments compared to scrimmage (30.2 ± 4.6%), strategy (30.6 ± 3.2%), and sport-skill (31.6 ± 3.1%) segments (p ≤ .01), and in segments that fostered participation (36.1 ± 2.7%) than segments that fostered exclusion (29.1 ± 3.0%; p ≤ .01). Significantly greater %time was spent in low-energy stationary behavior in fitness (15.7 ± 3.4%) than gameplay (4.0 ± 2.9%) segments (p ≤ .01), and in sport-skill (17.6 ± 2.2%) than free-play (8.2 ± 4.2%), gameplay, and warm-up (10.6 ± 2.6%) segments (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The %time spent in low-energy stationary behavior and in MVPA differed by characteristics of task and setting demand of the segment. Restructuring the routine of YS practice to include segments conducive to MVPA could increase %time spent in MVPA during practice. As YS reaches a large number of children worldwide, increasing PA during YS has the potential to create a public health impact

Centimeter to decimeter hollow concretions and voids in Gale Crater sediments, Mars

Voids and hollow spheroids between ∼1 and 23 cm in diameter occur at several locations along the traverse of the Curiosity rover in Gale crater, Mars. These hollow spherical features are significantly different from anything observed in previous landed missions. The voids appear in dark-toned, rough-textured outcrops, most notably at Point Lake (sols 302-305) and Twin Cairns Island (sol 343). Point Lake displays both voids and cemented spheroids in close proximity; other locations show one or the other form. The spheroids have 1-4 mm thick walls and appear relatively dark-toned in all cases, some with a reddish hue. Only one hollow spheroid (Winnipesaukee, sol 653) was analyzed for composition, appearing mafic (Fe-rich), in contrast to the relatively felsic host rock. The interior surface of the spheroid appears to have a similar composition to the exterior with the possible exceptions of being more hydrated and slightly depleted in Fe and K. Origins of the spheroids as Martian tektites or volcanic bombs appear unlikely due to their hollow and relatively fragile nature and the absence of in-place clearly igneous rocks. A more likely explanation to both the voids and the hollow spheroids is reaction of reduced iron with oxidizing groundwater followed by some re-precipitation as cemented rind concretions at a chemical reaction front. Although some terrestrial concretion analogs are produced from a precursor siderite or pyrite, diagenetic minerals could also be direct precipitates for other terrestrial concretions. The Gale sediments differ from terrestrial sandstones in their high initial iron content, perhaps facilitating a higher occurrence of such diagenetic reactions

Anomalous tunneling conductances of a spin singlet \nu=2/3 edge states: Interplay of Zeeman splitting and Long Range Coulomb Interaction

The point contact tunneling conductance between edges of the spin singlet $\nu=2/3,\hat{K}=(3/3/0)$ quantum Hall states is studied both in the quasiparticle tunneling picture and in the electron tunneling picture. Due to the interplay of Zeeman splitting and the long range Coulomb interaction between edges of opposite chirality novel spin excitations emerge, and their effect is characterized by anomalous exponents of the charge and spin tunneling conductances in various temperature ranges. Depending on the kinds of scatterings at the point contact and the tunneling mechanism the anomalous interaction in spin sector may enhance or suppress the tunneling conductances. The effects of novel spin excitation are also relevant to the recent NMR experiments on quantum Hall edges.Comment: Revtex File, 7 pages: To be published in Physical Reviews

The prevalence of common mental disorders and PTSD in the UK military: using data from a clinical interview-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mental health of the Armed Forces is an important issue of both academic and public interest. The aims of this study are to: a) assess the prevalence and risk factors for common mental disorders and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, during the main fighting period of the Iraq War (TELIC 1) and later deployments to Iraq or elsewhere and enlistment status (regular or reserve), and b) compare the prevalence of depression, PTSD symptoms and suicidal ideation in regular and reserve UK Army personnel who deployed to Iraq with their US counterparts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were drawn from a large UK military health study using a standard two phase survey technique stratified by deployment status and engagement type. Participants undertook a structured telephone interview including the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and a short measure of PTSD (Primary Care PTSD, PC-PTSD). The response rate was 76% (821 participants).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The weighted prevalence of common mental disorders and PTSD symptoms was 27.2% and 4.8%, respectively. The most common diagnoses were alcohol abuse (18.0%) and neurotic disorders (13.5%). There was no health effect of deploying for regular personnel, but an increased risk of PTSD for reservists who deployed to Iraq and other recent deployments compared to reservists who did not deploy. The prevalence of depression, PTSD symptoms and subjective poor health were similar between regular US and UK Iraq combatants.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The most common mental disorders in the UK military are alcohol abuse and neurotic disorders. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms remains low in the UK military, but reservists are at greater risk of psychiatric injury than regular personnel.</p

Storytelling in den Vereinten Nationen: Mahbub ul Haq und menschliche Entwicklung

Ausgehend von der Beobachtung, dass Mitarbeiter der Vereinten Nationen eine wichtige Rolle in Prozessen des ideellen Wandels auf internationaler Ebene spielen können, beschäftigt sich dieser Beitrag mit einer bestimmten Form individuellem Einflusses – dem storytelling. Mein Verständnis von storytelling als Einflusstaktik kombiniert dabei kollektive Elemente der soziologischen Praxistheorie mit den reflexiven, akteursbezogenen Überlegungen von Michel de Certeau. Ich analysiere storytelling anhand von drei analytischen Elementen: einem (chronologischen) Plot, einer Reihe von Charakteren und einem interpretativen Thema – die jeweils ihre Wirkung im Zusammenspiel mit der Subjektivität ihres storytellers entfalten. Ich illustriere diese theoretischen Überlegungen mit dem Fall von Mahbub ul Haq, dem es als Sonderberater des United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Administrators zu Beginn der 1990er Jahre gelungen ist, die Idee der menschlichen Entwicklung im System der Vereinten Nationen und der internationalen Entwicklungspolitik zu etablieren

An exploratory analysis of planning characteristics in Australian visitor attractions

This paper provides an exploratory analysis of the planning practices of 408 Australian attraction operators. The results indicate that attraction managers can be divided into four categories: those that do not engage in any formal planning, those that adopt a short-term planning approach, those that develop long-term plans, and those that use both short-term and long-term planning approaches. An evaluation of the sophistication of attraction planning showed a bipolar distribution. Attraction managers favored a planning horizon of three or five years, and were inclined to involve their employees in the planning process. Managers relied strongly on their own research and tourism industry intelligence when formulating business plans. The content of plans tended to focus on operational activities, financial planning and marketing. The study provides a benchmark for the comparison of attraction planning efforts in various contexts. © 2006 Asia Pacific Tourism Association

Hepatitis C Virus Induces the Cannabinoid Receptor 1

BACKGROUND: Activation of hepatic CB(1) receptors (CB(1)) is associated with steatosis and fibrosis in experimental forms of liver disease. However, CB(1) expression has not been assessed in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), a disease associated with insulin resistance, steatosis and metabolic disturbance. We aimed to determine the importance and explore the associations of CB(1) expression in CHC. METHODS: CB(1) receptor mRNA was measured by real time quantitative PCR on extracted liver tissue from 88 patients with CHC (genotypes 1 and 3), 12 controls and 10 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The Huh7/JFH1 Hepatitis C virus (HCV) cell culture model was used to validate results. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: CB(1) was expressed in all patients with CHC and levels were 6-fold higher than in controls (P<0.001). CB(1) expression increased with fibrosis stage, with cirrhotics having up to a 2 fold up-regulation compared to those with low fibrosis stage (p<0.05). Even in mild CHC with no steatosis (F0-1), CB(1) levels remained substantially greater than in controls (p<0.001) and in those with mild CHB (F0-1; p<0.001). Huh7 cells infected with JFH-1 HCV showed an 8-fold upregulation of CB(1), and CB(1) expression directly correlated with the percentage of cells infected over time, suggesting that CB(1) is an HCV inducible gene. While HCV structural proteins appear essential for CB(1) induction, there was no core genotype specific difference in CB(1) expression. CB(1) significantly increased with steatosis grade, primarily driven by patients with genotype 3 CHC. In genotype 3 patients, CB(1) correlated with SREBP-1c and its downstream target FASN (SREBP-1c; R=0.37, FASN; R=0.39, p<0.05 for both). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: CB(1) is up-regulated in CHC and is associated with increased steatosis in genotype 3. It is induced by the hepatitis C virus