Pedagogical work and the 'cult of the body': Considering the role of HPE in the context of the 'new public health'

Physical education, now often explicitly identified with health in contemporary school curricula, continues to be implicated in the (re)production of the 'cult of the body'. We argue that HPE is a form of health promotion that attempts to 'make' healthy citizens of young people in the context of the 'risk society'. In our view there is still work to be done in understanding how and why physical education (as HPE) continues to be implicated in the reproduction of values associated with the cult of body. We are keen to understand why HPE continues to be ineffective in helping young people gain some measure of analytic and embodied 'distance' from the problematic aspects of the cult of the body. This paper offers an analysis of this enduring issue by using some contemporary analytic discourses including 'governmentality', 'risk society' and the 'new public health'.

Habitual physical activity and physical activity intensity: their relation to body composition in 5.0-10.5 year old children

Background: Concerns of a decrease in physical activity levels (PALs) of children and a concurrent increase in childhood obesity exist worldwide. The exact relation between these two parameters however has as yet to be fully defined in children. Objective: This study examined the relation in 47 children, aged 5–10.5 y (mean age 8.4plusminus0.9 y) between habitual physical activity, minutes spent in moderate, vigorous and hard intensity activity and body composition parameters. Design: Total energy expenditure (TEE) was calculated using the doubly labelled water technique and basal metabolic rate (BMR) was predicted from Schofield's equations. PAL was determined by PAL=TEE/BMR. Time spent in moderate, vigorous and hard intensity activity was determined by accelerometry, using the Tritrac-R3D. Body fatness and body mass index (BMI) were used as the two measures of body composition. Results: Body fat and BMI were significantly inversely correlated with PAL (r=-0.43, P=0.002 and r=-0.45, P=0.001). Times spent in vigorous activity and hard activity were significantly correlated to percentage body fat (r=-0.44, P=0.004 and r=-0.39, P=0.014), but not BMI. Children who were in the top tertiles for both vigorous activity and hard activity had significantly lower body fat percentages than those in the middle and lowest tertiles. Moderate intensity activity was not correlated with measures of body composition. Conclusions: As well as showing a significant relation between PAL and body composition, these data intimate that there may be a threshold of intensity of physical activity that is influential on body fatness. In light of world trends showing increasing childhood obesity, this study supports the need to further investigate the importance of physical activity for children.

Wolbachia genomes and the many faces of symbiosis

How could scientists working on the pathogenesis of filarial diseases, speciation and parthenogenesis in insects, sex-ratio deviations in crustaceans, pest control, and the evolution of bacterial genomes be united? How could a common research project attract the interest of these scientists? How could parasitology be made even more multi-disciplinary? Two workshops organized by New England Biolabs Inc. (Beverly, MA, USA) provide a simple answer to these questions: studying the genomes of Wolbachia endosymbionts.

How many ways can a VP split? An investigation of the structure of VP shells in Japanese Causatives

The Japanese inchoative-lexical causative pair poses an interesting problem for the Minimalist Program – how should the lexical causative and the syntactic causative be structurally represented and theoretically accounted for? The lexical causative verb and the syntactic causative verb formed by suffixing the syntactic causative morpheme sase onto the inchoative counterpart are both single causative constructions that are semantically similar. Yet, they differ in some ways, most significantly in their clausality – the lexical causative is monoclausal in nature while the syntactic causative is biclausal, comparable to English biclausal constructions formed with let or force. This paper investigates how this difference can be represented by investigating the possible VP shell structures of different Japanese sentences, and the analysis from the discussion suggests a different structure where a CP is embedded into a higher VP shell as the sister of Agro head.

Insulin-regulatable phosphoproteins in 3T3-L1 adipocytes form detergent-insoluble complexes not associated with caveolin

Whole body glucose homeostasis is dependent on the action of insulin. In muscle and adipose tissues, insulin stimulates glucose uptake by inducing the translocation of vesicles containing the glucose transporter GLUT4 to the cell surface. While the mechanisms of insulin-regulated GLUT4 translocation are not fully understood, some signaling intermediates have been implicated in this process. Interestingly, som: of these intermediates, including IRS-1 and PI3K, have been localised to the same intracellular membrane fraction as the GLUT4 storage pool, designated here as the high-speed pellet (HSP) fraction. This raises the possibility that many of the downstream insulin signaling intermediates may be located within close proximity to intracellular GLUT4. The goal of this study was to test this hypothesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. A large proportion of adipocyte phosphoproteins co-fractionated in the HSP fraction. In an attempt to resolve insulin-regulatable phosphoproteins, we subjected P-32-labeled subcellular fractions to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Insulin reproducibly stimulated the phosphorylation of 12 spots in the HSP fraction. Most of the HSP phosphoproteins were insoluble in the nonionic detergent Triton X-100, whereas integral membrane proteins such as GLUT4 and intracellular caveolin were soluble under the same conditions. These results suggest that insulin-regulatable phosphoproteins in adipocytes may be organized in microdomains within the cell and that this assembly may act as an efficient conductor of the signaling proteins to rapidly facilitate downstream biological responses. Further study is required to establish the molecular basis for these detergent-insoluble signaling complexes.

Bioelectrical impedance analysis for the estimation of body composition in rats

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used to assess body composition in rats fed on either standard laboratory diet or on a high-fat diet designed to induce obesity. Bioelectrical impedance analysis predictions of total body water and thus fat-free mass (FFM) for the group mean values were generally within 5% of the measured values by tritiated water ((H2O)-H-3) dilution. The limits of agreement for the procedure were, however, large, approximately +/-25%, limiting the applicability of the technique for measurement of body composition in individual animals.

Two-body and three-body abrasion: A critical discussion

It is argued that the common classification of abrasive wear into 'two-body abrasion' and 'three-body abrasion' is seriously flawed. No definitions have been agreed upon for these terms, and indeed there are two quite different interpretations, the implications of which are mutually inconsistent. In the dominant interpretation, the primary thrust of the two-body/three-body concept is to describe whether the abrasive particles are constrained (two-body) or free to roll (three-body). In this view, two-body abrasion is generally much more severe than three-body. The alternative interpretation emphasises the presence (three-body) or absence (two-body) of a rigid counterface backing the abrasive. In this view, three-body abrasion is equated to high-stress (or grinding) abrasion and is generally more severe than two-body (low-stress) abrasion. This paper recommends that the 'two-body/three-body' terminology be abandoned, to be replaced by an alternative classification scheme based directly upon the manifest severity of wear. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.

Bioimpedance spectrometry in the determination of body water compartments: Accuracy and clinical significance

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) offers the potential for a simple, portable and relatively inexpensive technique for the in vivo measurement of total body water (TBW). The potential of BIA as a technique of body composition analysis is even greater when one considers that body water can be used as a surrogate measure of lean body mass. However, BIA has not found universal acceptance even with the introduction of multi-frequency BIA (MFBIA) which, potentially, may improve the predictive accuracy of the measurement. There are a number of reasons for this lack of acceptance, although perhaps the major reason is that no single algorithm has been developed which can be applied to all subject groups. This may be due, in part, to the commonly used wrist-to-ankle protocol which is not indicated by the basic theory of bioimpedance, where the body is considered as five interconnecting cylinders. Several workers have suggested the use of segmental BIA measurements to provide a protocol more in keeping with basic theory. However, there are other difficulties associated with the application of BIA, such as effects of hydration and ion status, posture and fluid distribution. A further putative advantage of MFBIA is the independent assessment not only of TBW but also of the extracellular fluid volume (ECW), hence heralding the possibility of,being able to assess the fluid distribution between these compartments. Results of studies in this area have been, to date, mixed. Whereas strong relationships of impedance values at low frequencies with ECW, and at high frequencies with TBW, have been reported, changes in impedance are not always well correlated with changes in the size of the fluid compartments (assessed by alternative and more direct means) in pathological conditions. Furthermore, the theoretical advantages of Cole-Cole modelling over selected frequency prediction have not always been apparent. This review will consider the principles, methodology and applications of BIA. The principles and methodology will,be considered in relation to the basic theory of BIA and difficulties experienced in its application. The relative merits of single and multiple frequency BIA will be addressed, with particular attention to the latter's role in the assessment of compartmental fluid volumes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Velocimetry and thermometry of supersonic flow around a cylindrical body

The supersonic flow around a cylindrical body has been studied using two optical techniques. For both sets of measurements, the cylinder was mounted from the side of the tunnel, allowing investigation of the bow shock region as well as in the wake. A new technique, laser-enhanced ionization flow tagging, was used for streamwise velocity determinations behind the body. From these measurements, it was found that the downstream velocity outside the wake was (1.90 +/- 0.06) km/s, whereas inside the wake the velocity was about 0-500 m/s in the upstream direction. Planar laser induced fluorescence of nitric oxide was employed for temperature determinations. It was established that the freestream temperature was (2120 +/- 100) K, decreasing to around (1550 +/- 400) K in the wake.

Improved beef production from supplementation of Hereford, Brahman and crossbred cattle grazing low and medium quality pastures in the subtropics of Australia

Subtropical grasslands are low in organic matter digestibility (OMD) (0.60) and nitrogen (N) (15 g/kg) for much of the year and this limits cattle production which is characterized by low calving rates and low weaning weights. Production has been based on Bos taurus British breeds of cattle but this is changing and now many breeding herds comprise B, indicus cows and their crosses. This change has increased some aspects of production, but low calving rates persist. A 4-year study was undertaken with a view to improve calving rates and weaner output by supplementing cows grazing either native or improved pastures with a high protein oilseed meal (cottonseed meal; CSM) on four sites. These sites were subdivided into a total of 36 paddocks to allow for two replications in a 3 breeds X 3 supplementation rates X 2 pastures factorial design. Selected cows (no. = 216) from Hereford (H), Brahman (B) and Brahman X Hereford (BH) breed types were set to graze either native pastures (0.45 to 0.62 OMD, 8 to 15 g N per kg; low quality) or improved pastures (0.47 to 0.67 OA ID, 10 to 22 g N per kg; medium quality). Cows were given either 0, 750 or 1500 g/day of CSM for 130 days from calving until 4 weeks into a 12- to 13-week mating period. The CSM was given as two meals per week. Live weight at mating of cows on the low quality pasture was increased (P < 0.01) over those not supplemented by feeding either 750 g CSM per day (H and B cows) or 1500 g CSM per day tall cows). There was no significant effect of supplementation on the mating weights of B cows grazing the medium quality sites. Calving rate of B cows was not increased by their supplementation on either low (4-year mean 58.3 %) or medium quality pastures (66.8%) but did tend to be higher in H cows when supplemented at 1500 g CSM per day on the low (66.7 v. 78.0 (s.e. 6.09) %; P < 0.1) and medium quality pastures (70.5 v. 93.5 (s.e. 4.72) %). An increased calving rate (65.8 (s.e. 6.6) % to 83.2 (s.e. 5.82) % in supplemented BH cows grazing low quality pastures approached significance (P < 0.1) when given CSM at 1500 g/day but there was no increased trend in calving rate when this breed type was supplemented on medium quality pastures. Weaning weights of calves from and B and BH cows were increased (P < 0.05) by supplementation of their darns at 750 g/day and for calves weaned from H cows supplemented at 1500 g/day of CSM. Supplementation at 1500 g/day on low quality pastures increased weaner output per cow mated by 120% for H, by 65% for BH cows and by 50% for B cows. Weaner output was increased by 34 and 40%, respectively, for B and H cows when supplemented at 750 g/day and grazing medium quality pastures but there teas no significant effect of supplementation on output from BH cows. Responses in many parameters differed between years. These results were interpreted as a response to the protein in the oilseed meal supplement by B, taurus and B. taurus X B. indicus cross cows grazing on the subtropical pastures. The study also highlighted that responses to the meal differed between breed types, between the quality of the grazed pasture and between the years of supplementation.

Teaching in rural and remote schools: a literature review

In this paper. the authors examine a wide range of recent research into the preparation and support for teachers working in rural and remote schools. The paper reviews many preservice and inservice initiatives which highlight issues affecting:teaching and learning in schools outside the major metropolitan centres. The work is reviewed from an Australian perspective but evaluates research from throughout the world. The paper concludes that despite a large body of research (Gibson, 1994), that has identified the need for specialised pre-service preparation which accommodates the social and professional differences associated with work in rural and remote areas, the implementation of such programs by teacher training institutions has been sparse, lacking in cohesion and in many cases non-existent. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Growth hormone binding protein correlates strongly with leptin and percentage body fat in GH-deficient adults, is increased by GH replacement but does not predict IGF-I response

GH-binding protein (GHBP) corresponds to the extracellular domain of the GH receptor (GHR) and has been shown to be closely related to body fat. This study aimed to examine the inter-relationship between GHBP, leptin and body fat, and to test the hypothesis that GHBP is modified by GH replacement in GH-deficient adults and predicts IGF-I response. Twenty adults, mean age 47 years (range 20-69) with proven GH deficiency were randomly allocated to either GH (up to 0.25 U/kg/week in daily doses) or placebo for 3 months before cross-over to the opposite treatment. Plasma GHBP and leptin were measured at baseline and 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after each treatment. Whole body composition was measured at baseline by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). There was a strong correlation between baseline leptin and GHBP (r = 0.88, P < 0.0001) and between baseline GHBP and percentage body fat, (r = 0.83, P < 0.0001). Mean GHBP levels were higher on GH compared with placebo, 1.53 +/- 0.28 vs 1.41 +/- 0.25 nM, P = 0.049. There was no correlation between baseline IGF-I and GHBP (r = -0.049, P = 0.84), and GHBP did not predict IGF-I response to GH replacement. The close inter-relationship between GHBP, leptin and body fat suggests a possible role for GHBP in the regulation of body composition. GHBP is increased by GH replacement in GH-deficient adults, but does not predict biochemical response to GH replacement. (C) 1999 Churchill Livingstone.

Regional and total body bone mineral density in elite collegiate male swimmers

Back,ground To examine the role of long-term swimming exercise on regional and total body bone mineral density (BMD) in men. Methods. Experimental design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Musculoskeletal research laboratory at a medical center, Participants:We compared elite collegiate swimmers (n=11) to age-, weight-, and height-matched non-athletic controls (n=11), Measures: BMD (g/cm(2)) of the lumbar spine L2-4, proximal femur (femoral neck, trochanter, Ward's triangle), total body and various subregions of the total body, as well as regional and total body fat and bone mineral-free lean mass (LM) was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA, Hologic QDR 1000/W). Results. Swimmers, who commenced training at 10.7+/-3.7 yrs (mean+/-SD) and trained for 24.7+/-4.2 hrs per week, had a greater amount of LM (p<0.05), lower fat mass (p<0.001) and percent body fat (9.5 vs 16.2 %, p<0.001) than controls. There was no significant difference between groups for regional or total body BRID, In stepwise multiple regression analysis, body weight was a consistent independent predictor of regional and total body BMD, Conclusions. These results suggest that long-term swimming is not an osteogenic mode of training in college-aged males. This supports our previous findings in young female swimmers who displayed no bone mass benefits despite long-standing athletic training.