Gender and school-level differences in students' moderate and vigorous physical activity levels when taught basketball through the tactical games model

The Tactical Games Model (TGM) prefaces the cognitive components of physical education (PE), which has implications for physical activity (PA) accumulation. PA recommendations suggest students reach 50% moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). However, this criterion does not indicate the contribution from vigorous physical activity (VPA). Consequently, this study investigated: a) the effects of TGM delivery on MVPA/VPA and, b) gender/school level differences. Participants were 78 seventh and 96 fourth/fifth grade coeducational PE students from two different schools. Two teachers taught 24 (middle) and 30 (elementary) level one TGM basketball lessons. Students wore Actigraph GT3× triaxial accelerometers. Data were analyzed using four one-way ANOVAs. Middle school boys had significantly higher MVPA/VPA (34.04/22.37%) than girls (25.14/15.47%). Elementary school boys had significantly higher MVPA/VPA (29.73/18.33%) than girls (23.03/14.33%). While TGM lessons provide a context where students can accumulate VPA consistent with national PA recommendations, teachers need to modify lesson activities to enable equitable PA participation

Racial differences in symptom management approaches among persons with radiographic knee osteoarthritis

Background The extent to which racial differences exist in use of treatments for osteoarthritis (OA) is debatable. The purpose of this study was to describe the differences between African Americans (AA) and Caucasian Americans (CA) in using treatment approaches to manage symptoms among individuals with radiographic-confirmed knee OA. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. Using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, we identified 508 AA and 2,075 CA with radiographic tibiofemoral OA in at least one knee. Trained interviewers asked questions relating to current OA treatments including seven CAM therapy categories—alternative medical systems, mind-body interventions, manipulation and body-based methods, energy therapies, and three types of biologically based therapies, as well as conventional medications. We categorized participants as: conventional medication only users, CAM only users, users of both and users of neither. Multinomial logistic regression models adjusting for sociodemographics and clinical/functional factors provided estimates of the association between race and treatment use. Results Overall, 16.5% of AA and 24.2% of CA exclusively used CAM to treat OA, 25.0% of AA and 23.8% of CA used CAM in conjunction with conventional medications, and 24.8% of AA and 14.6% of CA exclusively used conventional medications. After control for sociodemographic and clinical factors, AA were less likely than CA to use CAM therapies alone (adjusted odds ratio (OR) of using CAM alone relative to no CAM or conventional treatments: 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48–0.96) or with conventional medications (adjusted OR relative to no CAM or conventional treatments: 0.59, 95%CI: 0.42–0.83). However, no differences in use of conventional medications alone were observed after adjustment of covariates. Conclusion CAM use is common among people with knee OA, but is less likely to be used by AA relative to CA. For effective CAM therapies, targeted outreach to underserved populations including education about benefits of various CAM treatments and providing accessible care may attenuate observed disparities in effective CAM use by race

CAM use among overweight and obese persons with radiographic knee osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with knee pain and is an independent predictor of incident knee osteoarthritis (OA); increased pain with movement often leads patients to adopt sedentary lifestyles to avoid pain. Detailed descriptions of pain management strategies by body mass index (BMI) level among OA patients are lacking. The objectives were to describe complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and conventional medication use by BMI level and identify correlates of CAM use by BMI level. METHODS: Using Osteoarthritis Initiative baseline data, 2,675 patients with radiographic tibiofemoral OA in at least one knee were identified. Use of CAM therapies and conventional medications was determined by interviewers. Potential correlates included SF-12, CES-D, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score quality of life. Multinomial logistic regression models adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors provided estimates of the association between BMI levels and treatment use; binary logistic regression identified correlates of CAM use. RESULTS: BMI was inversely associated with CAM use (45% users had BMI \u3e/=35 kg/m(2); 54% had BMI /m(2)), but positively associated with conventional medication use (54% users had BMI \u3e/=35 kg/m(2); 35.1% had BMI /m(2)). Those with BMI \u3e/=30 kg/m(2) were less likely to use CAM alone or in combination with conventional medications when compared to patients with BMI /m(2). CONCLUSIONS: CAM use is common among people with knee OA but is inversely associated with BMI. Understanding ways to further symptom management in OA among overweight and obese patients is warranted

Inhibition of CaMKK2 reverses age-associated decline in bone mass

Decline in bone formation is a major contributing factor to the loss of bone mass associated with aging. We previously showed that the genetic ablation of the tissue-restricted and multifunctional Ca(2+)/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase kinase 2 (CaMKK2) stimulates trabecular bone mass accrual, mainly by promoting anabolic pathways and inhibiting catabolic pathways of bone remodeling. In this study, we investigated whether inhibition of this kinase using its selective cell-permeable inhibitor STO-609 will stimulate bone formation in 32 week old male WT mice and reverse age-associated of decline in bone volume and strength. Tri-weekly intraperitoneal injections of saline or STO-609 (10 μM) were performed for six weeks followed by metabolic labeling with calcein and alizarin red. New bone formation was assessed by dynamic histomorphometry whereas micro-computed tomography was employed to measure trabecular bone volume, microarchitecture and femoral mid-shaft geometry. Cortical and trabecular bone biomechanical properties were assessed using three-point bending and punch compression methods respectively. Our results reveal that as they progress from 12 to 32 weeks of age, WT mice sustain a significant decline in trabecular bone volume, microarchitecture and strength as well as cortical bone strength. However, treatment of the 32 week old WT mice with STO-609 stimulated apposition of new bone and completely reversed the age-associated decrease in bone volume, quality, as well as trabecular and cortical bone strength. We also observed that regardless of age, male Camkk2(-/-) mice possessed significantly elevated trabecular bone volume, microarchitecture and compressive strength as well as cortical bone strength compared to age-matched WT mice, implying that the chronic loss of this kinase attenuates age-associated decline in bone mass. Further, whereas STO-609 treatment and/or the absence of CaMKK2 significantly enhanced the femoral mid-shaft geometry, the mid-shaft cortical wall thickness and material bending stress remained similar among the cohorts, implying that regardless of treatment, the material properties of the bone remain similar. Thus, our cumulative results provide evidence for the pharmacological inhibition of CaMKK2 as a bone anabolic strategy in combating age-associated osteoporosis

Understanding Family-Level Effects of Adult Chronic Disease Management Programs: Perceived Influences of Behavior Change on Adolescent Family Members' Health Behaviors Among Low-Income African Americans With Uncontrolled Hypertensions

Background: Despite improvements in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and treatment, low-income African Americans experience disparities in CVD-related morbidity and mortality. Childhood obesity disparities and poor diet and physical activity behaviors contribute to CVD disparities throughout the life course. Given the potential for intergenerational transmission of CVD risk, it is important to determine whether adult disease management interventions could be modified to achieve family-level benefits and improve primary prevention among high-risk youth.Objective: To explore mechanisms by which African-American adults' (referred to as index patients) participation in a hypertension disease management trial influences adolescent family members' (referred to as adolescents) lifestyle behaviors.Design/Methods: The study recruited index patients from the Achieving blood pressure Control Together (ACT) study who reported living with an adolescent ages 12–17 years old. Index patients and adolescents were recruited for in-depth interviews and were asked about any family-level changes to diet and physical activity behaviors during or after participation in the ACT study. If family-level changes were described, index patients and adolescents were asked whether role modeling, changes in the home food environment, meal preparation, and family functioning contributed to these changes. These mechanisms were hypothesize to be important based on existing research suggesting that parental involvement in childhood obesity interventions influences child and adolescent weight status. Thematic content analysis of transcribed interviews identified both a priori and emergent themes.Results: Eleven index patients and their adolescents participated in in-depth interviews. Index patients and adolescents both described changes to the home food environment and meal preparation. Role modeling was salient to index patients, particularly regarding healthy eating behaviors. Changes in family functioning due to study participation were not endorsed by index patients or adolescents. Emergent themes included adolescent care-taking of index patients and varying perceptions by index patients of their influence on adolescents' health behaviors.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that disease management interventions directed at high-risk adult populations may influence adolescent family members' health behaviors. We find support for the hypotheses that role modeling and changes to the home food environment are mechanisms by which family-level health behavior change occurs. Adolescents' roles as caretakers for index patients emerged as another potential mechanism. Future research should explore these mechanisms and ways to leverage disease management to support both adult and adolescent health behavior change

Ecological and Genomic Attributes of Novel Bacterial Taxa That Thrive in Subsurface Soil Horizons.

While most bacterial and archaeal taxa living in surface soils remain undescribed, this problem is exacerbated in deeper soils, owing to the unique oligotrophic conditions found in the subsurface. Additionally, previous studies of soil microbiomes have focused almost exclusively on surface soils, even though the microbes living in deeper soils also play critical roles in a wide range of biogeochemical processes. We examined soils collected from 20 distinct profiles across the United States to characterize the bacterial and archaeal communities that live in subsurface soils and to determine whether there are consistent changes in soil microbial communities with depth across a wide range of soil and environmental conditions. We found that bacterial and archaeal diversity generally decreased with depth, as did the degree of similarity of microbial communities to those found in surface horizons. We observed five phyla that consistently increased in relative abundance with depth across our soil profiles: Chloroflexi, Nitrospirae, Euryarchaeota, and candidate phyla GAL15 and Dormibacteraeota (formerly AD3). Leveraging the unusually high abundance of Dormibacteraeota at depth, we assembled genomes representative of this candidate phylum and identified traits that are likely to be beneficial in low-nutrient environments, including the synthesis and storage of carbohydrates, the potential to use carbon monoxide (CO) as a supplemental energy source, and the ability to form spores. Together these attributes likely allow members of the candidate phylum Dormibacteraeota to flourish in deeper soils and provide insight into the survival and growth strategies employed by the microbes that thrive in oligotrophic soil environments.IMPORTANCE Soil profiles are rarely homogeneous. Resource availability and microbial abundances typically decrease with soil depth, but microbes found in deeper horizons are still important components of terrestrial ecosystems. By studying 20 soil profiles across the United States, we documented consistent changes in soil bacterial and archaeal communities with depth. Deeper soils harbored communities distinct from those of the more commonly studied surface horizons. Most notably, we found that the candidate phylum Dormibacteraeota (formerly AD3) was often dominant in subsurface soils, and we used genomes from uncultivated members of this group to identify why these taxa are able to thrive in such resource-limited environments. Simply digging deeper into soil can reveal a surprising number of novel microbes with unique adaptations to oligotrophic subsurface conditions

Maternal Dioxin Exposure Combined with a Diet High in Fat Increases Mammary Cancer Incidence in Mice

BackgroundRESULTS from previous studies have suggested that breast cancer risk correlates with total lifetime exposure to estrogens and that early-life 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposure or diets high in fat can also increase cancer risk.ObjectivesBecause both TCDD and diet affect the estrogen pathway, we examined how TCDD and a high-fat diet (HFD) interact to alter breast cancer susceptibility.MethodsWe exposed pregnant female FVB/NJ mice (12.5 days postcoitus) to 1 microg/kg TCDD or vehicle; at parturition, the dams were randomly assigned to a low-fat diet (LFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD). Female offspring were maintained on the same diets after weaning and were exposed to 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene on postnatal days (PNDs) 35, 49, and 63 to initiate mammary tumors. A second cohort of females was treated identically until PND35 or PND49, when mammary gland morphology was examined, or PND50, when mammary gland mRNA was analyzed.ResultsWe found that maternal TCDD exposure doubled mammary tumor incidence only in mice fed the HFD. Among HFD-fed mice, maternal TCDD exposure caused rapid mammary development with increased Cyp1b1 (cytochrome P450 1B1) expression and decreased Comt (catechol-O-methyltransferase) expression in mammary tissue. Maternal TCDD exposure also increased mammary tumor Cyp1b1 expression.ConclusionsOur data suggest that the HFD increases sensitivity to maternal TCDD exposure, resulting in increased breast cancer incidence, by changing metabolism capability. These results provide a mechanism to explain epidemiological data linking early-life TCDD exposure and diets high in fat to increased risk for breast cancer in humans

Associations Between Natural Language Processing (NLP) Enriched Social Determinants of Health and Suicide Death among US Veterans

Importance: Social determinants of health (SDOH) are known to be associated with increased risk of suicidal behaviors, but few studies utilized SDOH from unstructured electronic health record (EHR) notes. Objective: To investigate associations between suicide and recent SDOH, identified using structured and unstructured data. Design: Nested case-control study. Setting: EHR data from the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Participants: 6,122,785 Veterans who received care in the US VHA between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2015. Exposures: Occurrence of SDOH over a maximum span of two years compared with no occurrence of SDOH. Main Outcomes and Measures: Cases of suicide deaths were matched with 4 controls on birth year, cohort entry date, sex, and duration of follow-up. We developed an NLP system to extract SDOH from unstructured notes. Structured data, NLP on unstructured data, and combining them yielded six, eight and nine SDOH respectively. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using conditional logistic regression. Results: In our cohort, 8,821 Veterans committed suicide during 23,725,382 person-years of follow-up (incidence rate 37.18/100,000 person-years). Our cohort was mostly male (92.23%) and white (76.99%). Across the five common SDOH as covariates, NLP-extracted SDOH, on average, covered 80.03% of all SDOH occurrences. All SDOH, measured by structured data and NLP, were significantly associated with increased risk of suicide. The SDOH with the largest effects was legal problems (aOR=2.66, 95% CI=.46-2.89), followed by violence (aOR=2.12, 95% CI=1.98-2.27). NLP-extracted and structured SDOH were also associated with suicide. Conclusions and Relevance: NLP-extracted SDOH were always significantly associated with increased risk of suicide among Veterans, suggesting the potential of NLP in public health studies.Comment: Submitted to JAMA Network Ope