Physical activity-related and weather-related practices of child care centers from 2 states

© 2015 Human Kinetics, Inc.Background: Young children's physical activity (PA) is influenced by their child care environment. This study assessed PA practices in centers from Massachusetts (MA) and Rhode Island (RI), compared them to best practice recommendations, and assessed differences between states and center profit status. We also assessed weather-related practices. Methods: Sixty percent of MA and 54% of RI directors returned a survey, for a total of 254. Recommendations were 1) daily outdoor play, 2) providing outdoor play area, 3) limiting fixed play structures, 4) variety of portable play equipment, and 5) providing indoor play area. We fit multivariable linear regression models to examine adjusted associations between state, profit status, PA, and weather-related practices. Results: MA did not differ from RI in meeting PA recommendations (β = 0.03; 0.15, 0.21; P = .72), but MA centers scored higher on weather-related practices (β = 0.47; 0.16, 0.79; P = .004). For-profit centers had lower PA scores compared with nonprofits (β = -0.20; 95% CI: -0.38, -0.02; P = .03), but they did not differ for weather (β = 0.12; -0.19, 0.44; P = .44). Conclusions: More MA centers allowed children outside in light rain or snow. For-profit centers had more equipment-both fixed and portable. Results from this study may help inform interventions to increase PA in children.

Estabilidad del complejo azul de fosfomolibdeno : influencia de la acidez del medio y tiempo de desarrollo del color

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Decadal basin-scale changes in diatoms, dinoflagellates, and phytoplankton color across the North Atlantic

The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey has been used to characterize phytoplankton and zooplankton space-time dynamics in the North Sea since 1931 and in the North Atlantic since 1939. Phytoplankton biomass is assessed from these samples by visual assessment of the green color of the silk mesh, the Phytoplankton Color Index (PCI), and the total count of diatoms and dinoflagellates. Species with a frequency of occurrence greater than 1% in the samples are used as indicator species of the community. We investigated (1) long-term fluctuations of phytoplankton biomass, total diatoms, and total dinoflagellates; (2) geographical variation of patterns; (3) the relationship between phytoplankton and climate forcing in the North Atlantic CPR samples; (4) the relative contribution of diatoms and dinoflagellates to the PCI; and (5) the fluctuations of the dominant species over the period of survey to provide more information on the processes linking climate to changes in the phytoplankton community. As a result of the differences in microscopic analysis methods prior to 1958, our analyses were conducted for the period ranging from 1958 to 2002. The North Atlantic was divided into six regions identified through bathymetric criteria and separated along a North-South axis. Based on 12 monthly time series, we demonstrate increasing trends in PCI and total dinoflagellates and a decrease in total diatoms.