Being Barefoot. Prevalence at Home, in School and during Sport: A Cross-Sectional Survey of 714 New Zealand Secondary School Boys

Background: It may be assumed that a combination of culture, climate and economic resource are the major reasons that non-industrialised countries have a higher prevalence of barefoot activity. New Zealand is an industrialised country with comparable resources to that of many European countries; however, it seems to remain socially acceptable to carry out barefoot activities. A chance observation of students competing barefoot on a tartan track, prompted us to determine the prevalence of barefoot activity in an all-boys secondary school in Auckland New Zealand. Method: An 11-question survey was administered at an Auckland boys secondary school, of high socioeconomic status, to determine the footwear habits of students (n=714) during: a) daily life b) school life (c) physical education class and (d) sport. To classify students as habitually barefoot or shod, students were asked to select whether they were barefoot most of the time (2-points), half of the time (1-point) or none of the time (0-points) in three settings: around the house, during sport and during school. A score of ≥3 was required to be considered habitually barefoot. Participants were also asked to specify, when running at their most recent athletics event (100m – 3,000m) on a track, whether they ran barefoot, in shoes, in spikes or another type of footwear. Finally, participants were asked to indicate if leg pain had interrupted running during the previous 12-months. Analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS. Results: 45% (95% CI: 41.5% - 49.5%) of the participants in our sample were classified as habitually barefoot. More than half of the sample reported being barefoot most of the time at home (n=404, 56.6%) and during PE class (n=420, 58.8%). Over 50% of the sample reported being barefoot half of the time or more during sport (n=380, 53.2%). A smaller amount went to the supermarket (n=140, 19.6%) or took the bus (n=59, 8.3%) whilst barefoot around half of the time or more. The percentage of barefoot competitors declined with increasing distance: 100m (46.5%), 200m (41.8%), 400m (38%), 800m (31%), 1500m (31%) and 3,000m (20%). The prevalence of leg pain interfering with running was 23.5%. There was no difference in the prevalence of leg pain between those classified as habitually barefoot and shod (Χ2(1, N=603) = 0.005, p = 0.946). Conclusion: The results of this survey demonstrate that over 50% of students at an all-boys secondary school in Auckland, of high socioeconomic status, are barefoot at home, during physical education and sport half of the time or more. These results may point towards a cultural difference between New Zealand and other modern industrialised countries

Circadian oscillator proteins across the kingdoms of life : Structural aspects 06 Biological Sciences 0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Circadian oscillators are networks of biochemical feedback loops that generate 24-hour rhythms and control numerous biological processes in a range of organisms. These periodic rhythms are the result of a complex interplay of interactions among clock components. These components are specific to the organism but share molecular mechanisms that are similar across kingdoms. The elucidation of clock mechanisms in different kingdoms has recently started to attain the level of structural interpretation. A full understanding of these molecular processes requires detailed knowledge, not only of the biochemical and biophysical properties of clock proteins and their interactions, but also the three-dimensional structure of clockwork components. Posttranslational modifications (such as phosphorylation) and protein-protein interactions, have become a central focus of recent research, in particular the complex interactions mediated by the phosphorylation of clock proteins and the formation of multimeric protein complexes that regulate clock genes at transcriptional and translational levels. The three-dimensional structures for the cyanobacterial clock components are well understood, and progress is underway to comprehend the mechanistic details. However, structural recognition of the eukaryotic clock has just begun. This review serves as a primer as the clock communities move towards the exciting realm of structural biology