High school physical education and sport participation: impact on young adult physical activity behaviors

The link between High School Physical Education and High School Sport participation and subsequent young adult physical activity habits was explored in this study. There is evidence that activity behaviors track from adolescence to adulthood and these programs have high participation rates, yes very few studies have evaluated their potential for long-term public health impact. A survey was developed and used to collect data from college undergraduate students, (n=1339) about previous high school physical education and sport participation experiences and current college behaviors including body mass index, days of: aerobic, muscle strength, and flexibility and minutes of sport activity. Correlation, regression, ANOVA, and chi-square analyses revealed relationships of statistical and practical significance. More physical education classes was associated with higher adult activity levels (PE explained between 0.5%- 2% of unique variance). Tracking effects were identified and those who participated in either program reported higher activity levels than those who participated in minimum requirements or neither program (mean differences ranged from .91 days to 1.65 days more activity). National recommendations were used to compare groups on rates of healthy activity behaviors. Those who participated in physical education, both programs, and sport only reported the least, middle, and most individuals meeting recommendations for weekly activity respectively (effect sizes ranged from .092-.123). The HS PE requirement for graduation is too low to support healthy behavior tracking. Increasing the graduation requirement to daily physical education for all four years is recommended. Additional evidence for long-term health behavior benefits of sport participation was also discovered

Serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations are negatively correlated with serum 25(OH)D concentrations in healthy women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Circulating 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25 (OH)D), an accurate measure of vitamin D status, is markedly greater in individuals with increased exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) light via sunlight or the use of artificial UV light. Aside from the known relationship between vitamin D and bone, vitamin D has also been implicated in immune function and inflammation. Furthermore, a mass of evidence is accumulating that vitamin D deficiency could lead to immune malfunction. Our overall objective was to study the relationship between vitamin D status (as determined by serum 25(OH) D concentrations) and inflammatory markers in healthy women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This observational study included 69 healthy women, age 25–82 years. Women with high UVB exposure and women with minimal UVB exposure were specifically recruited to obtain a wide-range of serum 25(OH)D concentrations. Health, sun exposure and habitual dietary intake information were obtained from all subjects. Body composition was determined by dual-energy-x-ray absorptiometry. A fasting blood sample was collected in the morning and analyzed for serum 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone (iPTH), estradiol (E₂), cortisol, and inflammatory markers [tumor necrosis factor -alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 and -10 (IL-6, IL-10), and C-reactive protein (CRP)].</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Women with regular UVB exposure (Hi-D) had serum 25(OH)D concentrations that were significantly higher (<it>p </it>< 0.0001) and iPTH concentrations that were significantly lower (<it>p </it>< 0.0001) than women without regular UVB exposure (Lo-D). Although IL-6, IL-10, and CRP did not have a statistically significant relationship with 25(OH)D concentrations, linear regression models revealed a significant inverse relationship between serum 25(OH)D and TNF-α concentrations. This relationship remained significant after controlling for potential covariates such as body fat mass, menopausal status, age, or hormonal contraceptive use.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Serum 25(OH)D status is inversely related to TNF-α concentrations in healthy women, which may in part explain this vitamin's role in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases. Results gleaned from this investigation also support the need to re-examine the biological basis for determining optimal vitamin D status.</p

A framework for automated anomaly detection in high frequency water-quality data from in situ sensors

River water-quality monitoring is increasingly conducted using automated in situ sensors, enabling timelier identification of unexpected values. However, anomalies caused by technical issues confound these data, while the volume and velocity of data prevent manual detection. We present a framework for automated anomaly detection in high-frequency water-quality data from in situ sensors, using turbidity, conductivity and river level data. After identifying end-user needs and defining anomalies, we ranked their importance and selected suitable detection methods. High priority anomalies included sudden isolated spikes and level shifts, most of which were classified correctly by regression-based methods such as autoregressive integrated moving average models. However, using other water-quality variables as covariates reduced performance due to complex relationships among variables. Classification of drift and periods of anomalously low or high variability improved when we applied replaced anomalous measurements with forecasts, but this inflated false positive rates. Feature-based methods also performed well on high priority anomalies, but were also less proficient at detecting lower priority anomalies, resulting in high false negative rates. Unlike regression-based methods, all feature-based methods produced low false positive rates, but did not and require training or optimization. Rule-based methods successfully detected impossible values and missing observations. Thus, we recommend using a combination of methods to improve anomaly detection performance, whilst minimizing false detection rates. Furthermore, our framework emphasizes the importance of communication between end-users and analysts for optimal outcomes with respect to both detection performance and end-user needs. Our framework is applicable to other types of high frequency time-series data and anomaly detection applications

Vitamin D Status Is Not Associated with Outcomes of Experimentally-Induced Muscle Weakness and Pain in Young, Healthy Volunteers

Vitamin D receptors have been identified in skeletal muscle; and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include muscle weakness and pain. Moreover, increased serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations have been associated with improved muscle function. To further clarify the importance of vitamin D to muscle, we examined the association between vitamin D status and exercise-induced muscle pain and weakness in healthy people. Muscle damage to the elbow flexors was induced with eccentric exercise (EE) in 48 individuals (22.5 ± 3.2 yrs). Muscle pain ratings following unloaded movement and peak isometric force (IF) were collected before EE and for 4 days post-EE. Linear regression was used to determine if serum 25(OH)D was a predictor of any outcome. In males, R2-values from 0.48 to 1.00. R2 for IF ranged from 0 to 0.02 and P-values from 0.48 to 1.00. In females, R2 for pain ratings ranged from 0.01 to 0.11 and P-values from 0.14 to 0.59. R2 for IF ranged from 0 to 0.04 and P-values from 0.41 to 0.90. In conclusion, vitamin D status did not predict muscle pain or strength after EE-induced muscle damage in young healthy men and women

Current advancements in the management of spinal cord injury: A comprehensive review of literature.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) carries debilitating lifelong consequences and, therefore, requires careful review of different treatment strategies. Methods: An extensive review of the English literature (PubMed 1990 and 2019) was performed regarding recent advances in the treatment of SCI; this included 46 articles written over 28 years. Results: Results of this search were divided into five major modalities; neuroprotective and neuroregenerative pharmaceuticals, neuromodulation, stem cell-based therapies, and various external prosthetic devices. Lately, therapeutic strategies were mainly focused on two major areas: neuroregeneration and neuroprotection. Conclusion: Despite recent advancements, more clinical trials on a larger scale and further research are needed to provide better treatment modalities of this devastating neurological disease

In the Information Age, Do Dementia Caregivers Get the Information They Need? Semi-Structured Interviews to Determine Informal Caregivers’ Education Needs, Barriers, and Preferences

Most patients with dementia or cognitive impairment receive care from family members, often untrained for this challenging role. Caregivers may not access publicly available caregiving information, and caregiver education programs are not widely implemented clinically. Prior large surveys yielded broad quantitative understanding of caregiver information needs, but do not illuminate the in-depth, rich, and nuanced caregiver perspectives that can be gleaned using qualitative methodology. We aimed to understand perspectives about information sources, barriers and preferences, through semi-structured interviews with 27 caregivers. Content analysis identified important theme

Hormonal contraceptive use increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in active, young women [abstract]

Abstract only availableMany studies have shown that the estrogen in oral hormonal contraceptives (HC) increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D concentrations in women. As a hormone that regulates gene transcription estrogen is known to increase Vitamin-D binding protein concentrations, and therefore 25(OH)D concentrations in the blood. Furthermore, Vitamin D is a major regulator of bone metabolism and its status within the blood influences circulating levels of bone turnover markers. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of HC use on serum 25OHD concentrations and biochemical markers of bone turnover in active young females. Thirty-nine young (age 18-33 years), active (≥5 h of aerobic exercise per week) women participated (HC users, n=16; Non-users, n=23). Of the HC users, 9 were taking monophasic HC; 7 were taking triphasic HC. Fasting serum samples were taken during the early follicular phase (d2-5 of the menstrual cycle) and were analyzed for 25OHD and biochemical bone markers [bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), N-telopeptide of collagen cross-links (NTx), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and osteocalcin (OC)] using radioimmuno assay and ELISA, respectively. Serum 25OHD was significantly greater (p=.007) and BAP significantly lower (p=.002) in HC users compared with nonusers. No differences were found between groups for NTx, PTH or osteocalcin. Serum concentrations of BAP and Vitamin D were negatively correlated (r= -.453; p=.004). We conclude that HC use is associated with increased serum 25OHD concentrations and lower circulating BAP in young active females

External and Internal Influences on Institutional Approaches to Student Assessment: Accountability or Improvement?

The purpose of this study is to compare the influences of state characteristics related to student assessment, accreditation emphasis on student assessment, and institutional dynamics supporting student assessment on the approaches to student assessment that institutions have initiated. We conducted this study by examining the relevant literature, creating a national survey instrument, surveying undergraduate institutions throughout the United States, and analyzing the responses of the 885 public institutions who participated in our survey. Separate regressions were run for three different groups of institutional types on three approaches to assessment: cognitive, affective, and post-college. Regressions for the three institutional types explained 21 to 27% of the variance for cognitive assessment, 7 to 21% for affective assessment and 6 to 19% for post-college assessment. With the exception of a minor influence of state characteristics for doctoral and research universities, institutional dynamics and accreditation region were found to be the primary influences on student assessment approaches for all institutional types. We found that the drive for state-level accountability has not exceeded the influence of institutional accreditation and that internal dynamics appear to be the driving force of all three approaches to student assessment.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43623/1/11162_2004_Article_223326.pd