Transfusing our lifeblood: reframing research impact through inter-disciplinary collaboration between health geography and nurse education

The authors wish to thank the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for funding this seminar series (Grant Number: ES/L000741/1).Geographers have long grappled with how their research can positively impact individuals, communities and society. Demonstrating research impact is an increasingly important aspect of academic life internationally. In this paper we argue that agendas for encouraging ‘impact’ would be well-served if impact through teaching was identified and stimulated more explicitly, and if academics better recognised and seized the opportunities that already exist for such impact. We take engagement between health geography and nurse education as an example of how social scientists could demonstrate research impact through inter-disciplinary involvement in the education of health care professionals, and specifically student nurses. We begin by showing how the UK's Research Excellence Framework (widely regarded as the key reference point for research performance management regimes internationally) has tended to produce an undervaluation of impact via education in many disciplines. A comprehensive overview of international scholarship at the intersection between geography and nursing is then presented. Here we trace three ‘waves of enquiry’ that have focused on research interactions before calling for a fourth focused on critical pedagogy. To illustrate the possibilities of this fourth wave, we sketch a case study that outlines how engagement with research around blood donation could help provide a foundation for critical pedagogy that challenges student nurses to practice reflexively, think geographically and act justly. Finally, we call for closer engagement between health geography and nurse education, by encouraging educators to translate, teach, and transfuse ideas and people between health geography and nurse education. In so doing, we argue that work at this interface can be mutually beneficial and demonstrate impact both within and beyond research assessment rubrics. Hence, our ideas are relevant beyond nurse education and geography insofar as this paper serves as an example of how reframing research impact can recover the importance of impact through education.PostprintPeer reviewe

Protocol for: Sheffield Obesity Trial (SHOT): A randomised controlled trial of exercise therapy and mental health outcomes in obese adolescents [ISRCNT83888112]

Background While obesity is known to have many physiological consequences, the psychopathology of this condition has not featured prominently in the literature. Cross-sectional studies have indicated that obese children have increased odds of experiencing poor quality of life and mental health. However, very limited trial evidence has examined the efficacy of exercise therapy for enhancing mental health outcomes in obese children, and the Sheffield Obesity Trial (SHOT) will provide evidence of the efficacy of supervised exercise therapy in obese young people aged 11–16 years versus usual care and an attention-control intervention. Method/design SHOT is a randomised controlled trial where obese young people are randomised to receive; (1) exercise therapy, (2) attention-control intervention (involving body-conditioning exercises and games that do not involve aerobic activity), or (3) usual care. The exercise therapy and attention-control sessions will take place three times per week for eight weeks and a six-week home programme will follow this. Ninety adolescents aged between 11–16 years referred from a children's hospital for evaluation of obesity or via community advertisements will need to complete the study. Participants will be recruited according to the following criteria: (1) clinically obese and aged 11–16 years (Body Mass Index Centile > 98th UK standard) (2) no medical condition that would restrict ability to be active three times per week for eight weeks and (3) not diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes or receiving oral steroids. Assessments of outcomes will take place at baseline, as well as four (intervention midpoint) and eight weeks (end of intervention) from baseline. Participants will be reassessed on outcome measures five and seven months from baseline. The primary endpoint is physical self-perceptions. Secondary outcomes include physical activity, self-perceptions, depression, affect, aerobic fitness and BMI

Why decades-long chronobiologically interpreted blood pressure and heart rate monitoring (C-ABPM) coperiodisms toward a chronousphere?

Поддержка: США. Национальный Институт Здоровья(GM-13981)(FH), Миннесотский Технологический Институт(GC, FH) На протяжении нескольких десятилетий было проведено хронобиологическое мониторирование сердечно-сосудистых, психофизиологических, эндокринных и других показателей, включая температуру ядра. Полученные показатели обладают широким спектром периодов, некоторые из которых имеют аналогичные показатели с земными, межпланетарными и солнечными ритмами. Было проведено картирование циркасептальных, цирканнуальных ритмов изучаемых параметров. Установлено, что имеется определенная степень синхронизации ритмов, которая затухает при отсутствии или уменьшении активности окружающей среды и возрастает с активацией этой среды. Аналогичная направленность показателей была выявлена для периодичности ритмов террористических атак и крупных землетрясений. Синхронизация(копериодизм) циклов биосферы с циклами гидросферы, атмосферы, ионосферы и т.д. обосновывает создание междисциплинарного термина хроносфера («хронос» - время, «сфера» - земной шар). Изучение хроносферы позволяет избежать последствий природных катаклизмов, а хронобиологическое мониторирование сердечно-сосудистой системы является значительно более эффективным способом предупреждения заболеваний по сравнению с обычной системой медицинского наблюдения

Factors influencing overweight children's commencement of and continuation in a resistance training program

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In light of the child overweight and obesity problem in Australia, resistance training programs have been trialled as an innovative way of assisting children increase lean body mass and reduce body fat. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing overweight children's participation in a resistance training trial program.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Parent-child pairs who participated in the trial program were invited to take part in a follow-up individual interview to discuss their program experiences. In total, 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 parent-child pairs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The factors found to be most relevant to program commencement among parents were a desire for their child to lose weight and gain confidence, the proximity of the venue, and no cost for participation. For children, the most relevant factors were the opportunity to build strength and improve fitness and having supportive parents who facilitated program initiation. The factors most relevant to continuation for parents were the quality of the program management, being able to stay for the sessions, the child's improved weight status, coordination, and confidence, and no cost for participation. Weight loss and improved confidence were also motivators for continuation among the children, along with pleasant social interaction with peers and trainers and ongoing parental support.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Different factors variably influence program commencement and program continuation in both parents and children. This has important implications for future interventions that aim to successfully recruit and retain intervention participants.</p

Influence of the quality implementation of a physical education curriculum on the physical development and physical fitness of children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study was constructed as a comparison group pre-test/post-test quasi-experiment to assess the effect of the implementation of the PE curriculum by specialist PE teachers on children's physical development and physical fitness.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>146 classes from 66 Slovenian primary schools were assigned to quasi-test (71) and quasi-control (75) groups. Data from the SLOFIT database was used to compare the differences in physical fitness and development between groups of children whose PE lessons were delivered by specialist PE teachers from the second grade onwards (quasi-test, n = 950) or by generalist teachers in all first three grades (quasi-control, n = 994). The Linear Mixed Model was used to test the influence of specialist PE teachers' teaching.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The quasi-control group showed significantly lower improvement of physical fitness by -0.07 z-score units (95% CI -0.12 to 0.02) compared to the quasi-test group. A significant difference of -0.20 (-0.27 to -0.13) was observed in explosive strength, and of -0.15 (-0.23 to -0.08) in running speed, and in flexibility by -0.22 (-0.29 to -0.14). No significant differences in physical development were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Specialist PE teachers were more successful than generalist teachers in achieving greater improvement of children's physical fitness, but no differences were observed in physical development of quasi-test and quasi-control group.</p

Knee movement patterns of injured and uninjured adolescent basketball players when landing from a jump: A case-control study

BACKGROUND: A common knee injury mechanism sustained during basketball is landing badly from a jump. Landing is a complex task and requires good coordination, dynamic muscle control and flexibility. For adolescents whose coordination and motor control has not fully matured, landing badly from a jump can present a significant risk for injury. There is currently limited biomechanical information regarding the lower limb kinetics of adolescents when jumping, specifically regarding jump kinematics comparing injured with uninjured adolescents. This study reports on an investigation of biomechanical differences in landing patterns of uninjured and injured adolescent basketball players. METHODS: A matched case-control study design was employed. Twenty-two basketball players aged 14–16 years participated in the study: eleven previously knee-injured and eleven uninjured players matched with cases for age, gender, weight, height and years of play, and playing for the same club. Six high-speed, three-dimensional Vicon 370 cameras (120 Hz), Vicon biomechanical software and SAS Version 8 software were employed to analyse landing patterns when subjects performed a "jump shot". Linear correlations determined functional relationships between the biomechanical performance of lower limb joints, and paired t-tests determined differences between the normalised peak biomechanical parameters. RESULTS: The average peak vertical ground reaction forces between the cases and controls were similar. The average peak ground reaction forces between the cases and controls were moderately correlated (r = -0.47). The control (uninjured) players had significantly greater hip and knee flexion angles and significantly greater eccentric activity on landing than the uninjured cases (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The findings of the study indicate that players with a history of knee injuries had biomechanically compromised landing techniques when compared with uninjured players matched for gender, age and club. Descriptions (norms) of expected levels of knee control, proprioceptive acuity and eccentric strength relative to landing from a jump, at different ages and physical developmental stages, would assist clinicians and coaches to identify players with inappropriate knee performance comparable to their age or developmental stage

Cerebrospinal fluid sodium rhythms

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sodium levels have been reported to rise during episodic migraine. Since migraine frequently starts in early morning or late afternoon, we hypothesized that natural sodium chronobiology may predispose susceptible persons when extracellular CSF sodium increases. Since no mammalian brain sodium rhythms are known, we designed a study of healthy humans to test if cation rhythms exist in CSF. Methods: Lumbar CSF was collected every ten minutes at 0.1 mL/min for 24 h from six healthy participants. CSF sodium and potassium concentrations were measured by ion chromatography, total protein by fluorescent spectrometry, and osmolarity by freezing point depression. We analyzed cation and protein distributions over the 24 h period and spectral and permutation tests to identify significant rhythms. We applied the False Discovery Rate method to adjust significance levels for multiple tests and Spearman correlations to compare sodium fluctuations with potassium, protein, and osmolarity. Results: The distribution of sodium varied much more than potassium, and there were statistically significant rhythms at 12 and 1.65 h periods. Curve fitting to the average time course of the mean sodium of all six subjects revealed the lowest sodium levels at 03.20 h and highest at 08.00 h, a second nadir at 09.50 h and a second peak at 18.10 h. Sodium levels were not correlated with potassium or protein concentration, or with osmolarity. Conclusion: These CSF rhythms are the first reports of sodium chronobiology in the human nervous system. The results are consistent with our hypothesis that rising levels of extracellular sodium may contribute to the timing of migraine onset. The physiological importance of sodium in the nervous system suggests that these rhythms may have additional repercussions on ultradian functions

Plasma and Liver Lipidomics Response to an Intervention of Rimonabant in ApoE*3Leiden.CETP Transgenic Mice

Background: Lipids are known to play crucial roles in the development of life-style related risk factors such as obesity, dyslipoproteinemia, hypertension and diabetes. The first selective cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker rimonabant, an anorectic anti-obesity drug, was frequently used in conjunction with diet and exercise for patients with a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2 with associated risk factors such as type II diabetes and dyslipidaemia in the past. Less is known about the impact of this drug on the regulation of lipid metabolism in plasma and liver in the early stage of obesity. Methodology/Principal Findings: We designed a four-week parallel controlled intervention on apolipoprotein E3 Leiden cholesteryl ester transfer protein (ApoE&z.ast;3Leiden.CETP) transgenic mice with mild overweight and hypercholesterolemia. A liquid chromatography-linear ion trap-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometric approach was employed to investigate plasma and liver lipid responses to the rimonabant intervention. Rimonabant was found to induce a significant body weight loss (9.4%, p<0.05) and a significant plasma total cholesterol reduction (24%, p<0.05). Six plasma and three liver lipids in ApoE&z.ast;3Leiden.CETP transgenic mice were detected to most significantly respond to rimonabant treatment. Distinct lipid patterns between the mice were observed for both plasma and liver samples in rimonabant treatment vs. non-treated controls. This study successfully applied, for the first time, systems biology based lipidomics approaches to evaluate treatment effects of rimonabant in the early stage of obesity. Conclusion: The effects of rimonabant on lipid metabolism and body weight reduction in the early stage obesity were shown to be moderate in ApoE&z.ast;3Leiden.CETP mice on high-fat diet. © 2011 Hu et al

Compulsive Internet Use Among Adolescents: Bidirectional Parent–Child Relationships

Although parents experience growing concerns about their children’s excessive internet use, little is known about the role parents can play to prevent their children from developing Compulsive Internet Use (CIU). The present study addresses associations between internet-specific parenting practices and CIU among adolescents, as well as the bidirectionality of these associations. Two studies were conducted: a cross-sectional study using a representative sample of 4,483 Dutch students and a longitudinal study using a self-selected sample of 510 Dutch adolescents. Results suggest that qualitatively good communication regarding internet use is a promising tool for parents to prevent their teenage children from developing CIU. Besides, parental reactions to excessive internet use and parental rules regarding the content of internet use may help prevent CIU. Strict rules about time of internet use, however, may promote compulsive tendencies. Finally, one opposite link was found whereby CIU predicted a decrease in frequency of parental communication regarding internet use