Impact of an Early Childhood Educator e-Learning Course in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour on Young Children’s Movement Behaviours in Childcare: The TEACH-Preschooler Study

Physical activity is such a pivotal aspect of children’s healthy development. However, research has shown that children in Canada are actually largely inactive and highly sedentary. The childcare environment has been identified as the ideal setting to promote physical activity in young children and develop their skills for an active life. The Training pre-service EArly CHildhood educators in physical activity, also known as the TEACH study, developed an e-Learning course in physical activity with early childhood educators (ECEs). The pilot study showed promising results with ECE’s knowledge, behavioural intentions, and self-efficacy all increasing after the e-Learning course. My USRI project aimed to investigate the impact the TEACH e-Learning course would have on children’s physical activity, fundamental movement skills, and cognitive development

Effect of Capacity Building Interventions on Classroom Teacher and Early Childhood Educator Physical Activity and Fundamental Movement Skills Related Self-efficacy, Knowledge, and Attitudes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Generalist teachers and early childhood educators (ECEs) play an important role in promoting physical activity and fundamental movement skills in children. However, teachers face several barriers to promoting physical activity and fundamental movement skills including inadequate training and professional development. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the efficacy of capacity building interventions on teachers’ and ECEs’ physical activity and fundamental movement skills related knowledge, self-efficacy and attitudes. The search revealed 22 studies which reported on 25 unique samples. The most common capacity building intervention component implemented was training/professional development. The results of this study revealed that capacity building interventions are efficacious at improving teachers’ and ECEs’ physical activity related self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes. Pre-service teachers and ECEs should be provided training in physical activity and FMS as part of their degrees, and continual professional development and capacity building should be offered to in-service teachers and ECEs to promote physical activity and FMS in children

The Effectiveness of China’s Monetary Policy and the Role It Played in Their Growth

For over two decades, China has enjoyed sustained economic growth, going from a country that was falling behind regional neighbors to quickly emerging among the world’s economic powers. The roots of China’s economic ambitions can be traced back to 1953 with the creation of “The Five Year Plan”, a list of economic and industrial initiatives set out by Mao and the government. 1978 saw China’s economy undergo significant upheaval as it began its transition to a free market economy. The government realized that on top of the need to move away from state-owned enterprises they would also have to cease their isolationism and begin global integration through trade and investment. By 1992 China’s economy was one of the ten largest in the world, the remarkable growth continued late into the second decade of the 21st Century. As their economy grew a constant remained the goal of their monetary policy strategy, which pledged to keep the value of the currency stable and enable growth. The Chinese central bank, The People’s Bank of China, under the government’s recommendation is in charge of implementing monetary policy in accordance with the goals. As China is now undeniably a global superpower, much research has been conducted on all facets of Chinese monetary policy. Chinese monetary policy is unconventional, differing from western developed countries and as a result, the effectiveness of the People’s Bank of China and their policies is an explored topic. This study analyzes how monetary policy tools used by the People’s Bank of China impact the GDP of China as well as key economic indicators. Through the use of OLS regressions and Vector Auto regressions, this paper finds that monetary policy has been utilized effectively to help control inflation, invite foreign investment, and increase exports, thus spurring economic growth

Adherence to the World Health Organization’s physical activity recommendation in preschool-aged children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of accelerometer studies

Abstract Background The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that preschool-aged children should engage in 180 min of total physical activity (TPA) including 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) each day. No systematic reviews or meta-analyses have pooled adherence to the recommendation across multiple studies. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of preschool-aged children achieving the WHO’s physical activity recommendation for young children, and determine if the prevalence differed between boys and girls. Methods Primary literature searches were conducted on six online databases and a machine learning assisted systematic review was used to identify relevant studies. Studies written in English reporting on the prevalence of children aged 3–5 years achieving overall WHO physical activity recommendation or the individual TPA or MVPA aspects of the recommendation measured using accelerometers were eligible for inclusion. Random effects meta-analysis was used to determine the prevalence of preschools achieving the overall WHO recommendation and the individual TPA and MVPA aspect of the recommendation, and to determine difference in prevalence between boys and girls. Results Forty-eight studies reporting on 20,078 preschool-aged children met the inclusion criteria. Based on the most commonly employed accelerometer cut-points across all aspects of the recommendation, 60% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 37%, 79%) of preschool-aged children adhered to the overall physical activity recommendation, 78% (95% CI = 38%, 95%) adhered to the TPA aspect of the recommendation, and 90% (95% CI = 81%, 95%) adhered to the MVPA aspect of the recommendation. There was substantial variability is prevalence estimates between different accelerometer cut-points. Girls were significantly less likely to achieve the overall recommendation and the MVPA aspect of the recommendation than boys were. Conclusions Although there was substantial variability in estimated prevalence of preschool-aged children adhering the WHO physical activity recommendation between various accelerometer cut-points, the weight of available evidence suggests that the majority of young children are adhering to the overall recommendation and the individual TPA and MVPA aspects of the recommendation. Large-scale, intercontinental surveillance studies are needed to further strengthen the evidence regarding the prevalence of preschool-aged children achieving physical activity recommendation globally

Phf6 loss enhances HSC self-renewal driving tumor initiation and leukemia stem cell activity in T-ALL

The plant homeodomain 6 gene (PHF6) is frequently mutated in human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL); however, its specific functional role in leukemia development remains to be established. Here, we show that loss of PHF6 is an early mutational event in leukemia transformation. Mechanistically, genetic inactivation of Phf6 in the hematopoietic system enhances hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) long-term self-renewal and hematopoietic recovery after chemotherapy by rendering Phf6 knockout HSCs more quiescent and less prone to stress-induced activation. Consistent with a leukemia-initiating tumor suppressor role, inactivation of Phf6 in hematopoietic progenitors lowers the threshold for the development of NOTCH1-induced T-ALL. Moreover, loss of Phf6 in leukemia lymphoblasts activates a leukemia stem cell transcriptional program and drives enhanced T-ALL leukemia-initiating cell activity. These results implicate Phf6 in the control of HSC homeostasis and long-term self-renewal and support a role for PHF6 loss as a driver of leukemia-initiating cell activity in T-ALL. SIGNIFICANCE: Phf6 controls HSC homeostasis, leukemia initiation, and T-ALL leukemia-initiating cell self-renewal. These results substantiate a role for PHF6 mutations as early events and drivers of leukemia stem cell activity in the pathogenesis of T-ALL

Career intentions of medical students in the UK: a national, cross-sectional study (AIMS study)

Objective To determine current UK medical students’ career intentions after graduation and on completing the Foundation Programme (FP), and to ascertain the motivations behind these intentions.Design Cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey of UK medical students, using a non-random sampling method.Setting All 44 UK medical schools recognised by the General Medical Council.Participants All UK medical students were eligible to participate. The study sample consisted of 10 486 participants, approximately 25.50% of the medical student population.Outcome measures Career intentions of medical students postgraduation and post-FP, motivations behind these career intentions, characterising the medical student population and correlating demographic factors and propensity to leave the National Health Service (NHS).Results The majority of participating students (8806/10 486, 83.98%) planned to complete both years of the FP after graduation, with under half of these students (4294/8806, 48.76%) intending to pursue specialty training thereafter. A subanalysis of career intentions after the FP by year of study revealed a significant decrease in students’ intentions to enter specialty training as they advanced through medical school. Approximately a third of surveyed students (3392/10 486, 32.35%) intended to emigrate to practise medicine, with 42.57% (n=1444) of those students not planning to return. In total, 2.89% of students intended to leave medicine altogether (n=303). Remuneration, work-life balance and working conditions were identified as important factors in decision-making regarding emigration and leaving the profession. Subgroup analyses based on gender, type of schooling, fee type and educational background were performed. Only 17.26% of surveyed students were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall prospect of working in the NHS.Conclusions The Ascertaining the career Intentions of UK Medical Students study highlights UK students’ views and career intentions, revealing a concerning proportion of those surveyed considering alternative careers or emigration. Addressing factors such as remuneration, work-life balance and working conditions may increase retention of doctors and improve workforce planning efforts

Toward next-generation primate neuroscience: A collaboration-based strategic plan for integrative neuroimaging

Open science initiatives are creating opportunities to increase research coordination and impact in nonhuman primate (NHP) imaging. The PRIMatE Data and Resource Exchange community recently developed a collaboration-based strategic plan to advance NHP imaging as an integrative approach for multiscale neuroscience