Short-term docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3) supplemtation increases tissue docosapentaenoic acid, DHA and EPA concentrations in rats

The metabolic fate of dietary n-3 docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) in mammals is currently unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine the extent of conversion of dietary DPA to DHA and EPA in rats. Four groups of male weanling Sprague–Dawley rats (aged 5 weeks) were given 50 mg of DPA, EPA, DHA or oleic acid, daily for 7 d by gavage. At the end of the treatment period, the tissues were analysed for concentrations of long-chain PUFA. DPA supplementation led to significant increases in DPA concentration in all tissues, with largest increase being in adipose (5-fold) and smallest increase being in brain (1·1-fold). DPA supplementation significantly increased the concentration of DHA in liver and the concentration of EPA in liver, heart and skeletal muscle, presumably by the process of retroconversion. EPA supplementation significantly increased the concentration of EPA and DPA in liver, heart and skeletal muscle and the DHA concentration in liver. DHA supplementation elevated the DHA levels in all tissues and EPA levels in the liver. Adipose was the main tissue site for accumulation of DPA, EPA and DHA. These data suggest that dietary DPA can be converted to DHA in the liver, in a short-term study, and that in addition it is partly retroconverted to EPA in liver, adipose, heart and skeletal muscle. Future studies should examine the physiological effect of DPA in tissues such as liver and heart.

Short term reoffending by child victim sex offenders in New Zealand : a comparison of those with and without extended supervision

Sexual offenders with child victims in New Zealand who are considered at high risk for reoffending are subject to an Extended Supervision Order. This allows for a period of supervision of up to ten years following release to the community. The present study examined 89 offenders given Extended Supervision Orders over the 33 month period since the legislation was enacted. All types of reoffending resulting in criminal convictions by this group were included. A matched sample of sexual offenders with child victims released prior to this legislation and a sample of offenders judged to be lower risk were compared to those under extended supervision. Offenders under extended supervision reoffended faster and at a higher rate for both sexual and general offences than those deemed lower risk, but at a lower rate than pre-extended supervision high risk offenders. The relationship between specialist treatment programme attendance and completion, actuarial risk level, and recidivism in the extended supervision sample were also investigated. These variables were found not to be significant predictors of sexual recidivism.

Weight, physical activity and dietary behavior change in young mothers : short term results of the HeLP-her cluster randomized controlled trial

Background
Preventing weight gain rather than treating established obesity is an important economic and public health response to the rapidly increasing rates of obesity worldwide. Treatment of established obesity is complex and costly requiring multiple resources. Preventing weight gain potentially requires fewer resources to reach broad population groups, yet there is little evidence for successful interventions to prevent weight gain in the community. Women with children are an important target group because of high rates of weight gain and the potential to influence the health behaviors in family members.

Methods
The aim of this cluster randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the short term effect of a community-based self-management intervention to prevent weight gain. Two hundred and fifty mothers of young children (mean age 40 years ± 4.5, BMI 27.9 kg/m2 ± 5.6) were recruited from the community in Melbourne, Australia. The intervention group (n = 127) attended four interactive group sessions over 4 months, held in 12 local primary schools in 2006, and was compared to a group (n = 123) receiving a single, non-interactive, health education session. Data collection included self-reported weight (both groups), measured weight (intervention only), self-efficacy, dietary intake and physical activity.

Results
Mean measured weight decreased significantly in the intervention group (-0.78 kg 95% CI; -1.22 to -0.34, p < 0.001). Comparing groups using self-reported weight, both the intervention and comparison groups decreased weight, -0.75 kg (95% CI; -1.57 to 0.07, p = 0.07) and -0.72 kg (95% CI; -1.59 to 0.14 p = 0.10) respectively with no significant difference between groups (-0.03 kg, 95% CI; -1.32 to 1.26, p = 0.95). More women lost or maintained weight in the intervention group. The intervention group tended to have the greatest effect in those who were overweight at baseline and in those who weighed themselves regularly. Intervention women who rarely self-weighed gained weight (+0.07 kg) and regular self-weighers lost weight (-1.66 kg) a difference of -1.73 kg (95% CI; -3.35 to -0.11 p = 0.04). The intervention reported increased physical activity although the difference between groups did not reach significance. Both groups reported replacing high fat foods with low fat alternatives and self-efficacy deteriorated in the comparison group only.

Conclusion
Both a single health education session and interactive behavioral intervention will result in a similar weight loss in the short term, although more participants in the interactive intervention lost or maintained weight. There were small non-significant changes to physical activity and changes to fat intake specifically replacing high fat foods with low fat alternatives such as fruit and vegetables. Self-monitoring appears to enhance weight loss when part of an intervention.

Short-term and long-term site-specific effects of tennis playing on trabecular and cortical bone at the distal radius

Mechanical loading during growth magnifies the normal increase in bone diameter occurring in long bone shafts, but the response to loading in long bone ends remains unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of tennis playing during growth at the distal radius, comparing the bone response at trabecular and cortical skeletal sites. The influence of training duration was examined by studying bone response in short-term (children) and long-term (young adults) perspectives. Bone area, bone mineral content (BMC), and bone mineral density (BMD) of the radius were measured by DXA in 28 young (11.6 ± 1.4 years old) and 47 adult tennis players (22.3 ± 2.7 years old), and 70 age-matched controls (12 children, 58 adults) at three sites: the ultradistal region (trabecular), the mid-distal region, and the third-distal region (cortical). At the ultradistal radius, young and adult tennis players displayed similar side-to-side differences, the asymmetry in BMC reaching 16.3% and 13.8%, respectively (P < 0.0001). At the mid- and third-distal radius, the asymmetry was much greater in adults than in children (P < 0.0001) for all the bone parameters (mid-distal radius, +6.6% versus +15.6%; third-distal radius, +6.9% versus +13.3%, for BMC). Epiphyseal bone enduring longitudinal growth showed a great capacity to respond to mechanical loading in children. Prolonging tennis playing into adulthood was associated with further increase in bone mineralization at diaphyseal skeletal sites. These findings illustrate the benefits of practicing impact-loading sports during growth and maintaining physical activity into adulthood to enhance bone mass accrual and prevent fractures later in life.

Short-term food deprivation does not improve the efficacy of a fish oil finishing strategy in Murray cod

Two groups of fish (Maccullochella peelii peelii) were fed for a 90-day conditioning period on a canola oil diet (CO) or a fish oil diet (FO). Canola oil diet fed fish were then shifted to the FO diet for a 90-day finishing period. A variable period of  starvation (0, 5, 10 and 15 days) was introduced to reduce the initial lipid level of CO fed fish at the beginning of the finishing period and therefore accelerate the rate of recovery of FO-like fatty acids. During starvation, fish did not show  significant reduction in total lipid content, either in the fillet or whole body. At the end of the conditioning period, fatty acid composition of the diet was mirrored in fish tissues. These differences came close to levelling out following re-feeding, with the exception of n - 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). However, no  effects of the starvation periods on the final fatty acid make-up of fish were recorded. The results of this trial show that Murray cod, when subjected to a starvation period of up to 15 days, does not lose an appreciable quantity of lipid and, therefore, the tested starvation approach to reduce the initial level of lipid has to be considered unsuccessful. 

Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy: review of recent process and outcome studies

Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) is a widely practised form of psychological intervention. Given that the Roth and Fonagy (1996) review concluded that there was a lack of confirming evidence for STPP, the current review is focused on studies published between 1996 and 2006 that evaluate the efficacy of STPP. As a result of a systematic literature review, 18 studies were found that met inclusion criteria consistent with those used by Roth and Fonagy (1996) for selection of studies, patient groupings and definition of therapeutic method. In general these studies add to an increasing body of evidence suggesting that STPP can be an effective psychological treatment for individuals experiencing mental health problems. Specifically, for depression STPP can be equal in effects to other psychological treatments and is significantly better than no treatment in the short term. Furthermore, emerging process data indicate that there is a significant relationship between the use of specific psychodynamic therapeutic techniques and the alleviation of depressive symptoms. Increasing evidence has emerged to support STPP as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and some personality disorders. There remains limited evidence for the use of STPP treatment for patients with anxiety disorders that relate more to stress. Very limited and inconclusive evidence currently exists to support STPP as a treatment for bipolar disorder, eating disorders and drug dependency. Future research needs to include broader assessment measures, long-term follow up, studies that maintain an identifiable focus, and research that includes a focus on psychotherapy process variables as they interact with outcomes.

Metabolic adaptations to short-term high-intensity interval training : a little pain for a lot of gain?

High-intensity interval training (HIT) is a potent time-efficient strategy to induce numerous metabolic adaptations usually associated with traditional endurance training. As little as six sessions of HIT over 2 wk or a total of only approximately 15 min of very intense exercise (~600 kJ), can increase skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and endurance performance and alter metabolic control during aerobic-based exercise.

Body image and self-esteem across age and gender : a short-term longitudinal study

This study examined the relationship between body image and self-esteem across time and age for men and women. Participants were 150 men and 239 women aged between 20 and 86 years (M=59.73), recruited from the general population in Australia. They completed a questionnaire assessing self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, body importance, and a range of other domains of life satisfaction at baseline and 2 years later. Cross-sectionally, we found that higher self-esteem was associated with lower body dissatisfaction, but there was no consistent relationship between these variables across time for age and
gender. Women were more dissatisfied with their bodies than men; yet, men placed greater importance on their appearance than women, and also reported high levels of body dissatisfaction.

Neurophysiological responses after short-term strength training of the biceps brachii muscle

The neural adaptations that mediate the increase in strength in the early phase of a strength training program are not well understood; however, changes in neural drive and corticospinal excitability have been hypothesized. To determine the neural adaptations to strength training, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to compare the effect of strength training of the right elbow flexor muscles on the functional properties of the corticospinal pathway. Motorevoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the right biceps brachii (BB) muscle from 23 individuals (training group; n = 13 and control group; n = 10) before and after 4 weeks of progressive overload strength training at 80% of 1-repetition maximum (1 RM). The TMS was delivered at 10% of the root mean square electromyographic signal (rmsEMG) obtained from a maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) at intensities of 5% of stimulator output below active motor threshold (AMT) until saturation of the MEP (MEP maxl. Strength training resulted in a 28% (p = 0.0001) increase in 1 RM strength, and this was accompanied by a 53% increase (p = 0.05) in the amplitude of the MEP at AMT; 33% (p = 0.05) increase in MEP at 20% above AMT, and a 38% increase at MEPmax (p = 0.04). There were no significant differences in the estimated slope (p = 0.4 7) or peak slope of the stimulus-response curve for the left primary motor cortex (M1) after strength training (p = 0.61). These results demonstrate that heavy-load isotonic strength training alters neural transmission via the corticospinal pathway projecting to the motoneurons controlling BB and in part underpin the strength changes observed in this study.

The short-term responses of small mammals to wildfire in semiarid mallee shrubland, Australia

Context. Wildfire is a major driver of the structure and function of mallee eucalypt- and spinifex-dominated landscapes. Understanding how fire influences the distribution of biota in these fire-prone environments is essential for effective ecological and conservation-based management.

Aims. We aimed to (1) determine the effects of an extensive wildfire (118 000 ha) on a small mammal community in the mallee shrublands of semiarid Australia and (2) assess the hypothesis that the fire-response patterns of small mammals can be predicted by their life-history characteristics.

Methods. Small-mammal surveys were undertaken concurrently at 26 sites: once before the fire and on four occasions following the fire (including 14 sites that remained unburnt). We documented changes in small-mammal occurrence before and after the fire, and compared burnt and unburnt sites. In addition, key components of vegetation structure were assessed at each site.

Key results. Wildfire had a strong influence on vegetation structure and on the occurrence of small mammals. The mallee ningaui, Ningaui yvonneae, a dasyurid marsupial, showed a marked decline in the immediate post-fire environment, corresponding with a reduction in hummock-grass cover in recently burnt vegetation. Species richness of native small mammals was positively associated with unburnt vegetation, although some species showed no clear response to wildfire.

Conclusions. Our results are consistent with the contention that mammal responses to fire are associated with their known life-history traits. The species most strongly affected by wildfire, N. yvonneae, has the most specific habitat requirements and restricted life history of the small mammals in the study area. The only species positively associated with recently burnt vegetation, the introduced house mouse, Mus domesticus, has a flexible life history and non-specialised resource requirements.

Implications. Maintaining sources for recolonisation after large-scale wildfires will be vital to the conservation of native small mammals in mallee ecosystems.