Advancing science and policy through a coordinated international study of physical activity and built environments: IPEN Adult methods

Background: National and international strategies to increase physical activity emphasize environmental and policy changes that can have widespread and long-lasting impact. Evidence from multiple countries using comparable methods is required to strengthen the evidence base for such initiatives. Because some environment and policy changes could have generalizable effects and others may depend on each country’s context, only international studies using comparable methods can identify the relevant differences. Methods: Currently 12 countries are participating in the International Physical Activity and the Environment Network (IPEN) study. The IPEN Adult study design involves recruiting adult participants from neighborhoods with wide variations in environmental walkability attributes and socioeconomic status (SES). Results: Eleven of twelve countries are providing accelerometer data and 11 are providing GIS data. Current projections indicate that 14,119 participants will provide survey data on built environments and physical activity and 7145 are likely to provide objective data on both the independent and dependent variables. Though studies are highly comparable, some adaptations are required based on the local context. Conclusions: This study was designed to inform evidence-based international and country-specific physical activity policies and interventions to help prevent obesity and other chronic diseases that are high in developed countries and growing rapidly in developing countries.

Synergistic effects within a C2-symmetric organocatalyst : the potential formation of a chiral catalytic pocket

This study describes the synthesis of five novel C2-symmetric organocatalysts that facilitate the on-water asymmetric aldol reaction at low catalyst loading (1 mol%) without the use of additives. Each catalyst is composed of two diprolinamide units joined by a symmetric alkyl bridging group allowing for systematic modulation of catalytic site proximity. Typically, catalysts in this manuscript which bear the catalytic units in close proximity gave the best reaction outcomes in terms of conversion (up to >99%), diastereomeric ratio (4/96, syn/anti) and enantiomeric excess (up to 97%). This effect has been attributed to the assembly of a chiral pocket, facilitated by hydrogen bonding at the oil-in-water interface.

Estimating nephron number in the developing kidney using the physical disector/fractionator combination

Over the last decade the development of new molecular biology tools, advanced microscopy, live imaging and systems biology approaches have revolutionized our conception of how embryonic development proceeds. One fundamental aspect of development biology is the concept of morphogenesis: understanding how a group of multipotent cells organize and differentiate into a complex organ. In Kidney Development: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field detail different approaches to tackle kidney development. These approaches include culture and live imaging aspects of kidney development, analyzing the 3-dimensional aspects of branching morphogenesis as well as nephrogenesis, manipulation of the gene/protein expression during kidney development as well as in the adult kidney, and how to assess kidney malformation and disease. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Kidney Development: Methods and Protocols seeks to aid scientists in the further study of the process of morphogenesis which is fundamental important not only for studying developmental biology but also for regenerative medicine.

Corticomotor responses to attentionally demanding motor performance: a mini-review

Increased attentional demand has been shown to reduce motor performance, leading to increases in accidents, particularly in elderly populations. While these deficits have been well documented behaviorally, their cortical correlates are less well known. Increased attention has been shown to affect activity in prefrontal regions of the cortex. However there have been varying results within past research investigating corticomotor regions, mediating motor performance. This mini-review initially discusses past behavioral research, before moving to studies investigating corticomotor areas in response to changes in attention. Recent dual task studies have revealed a possible decline in the ability of older, but not younger, adults to activate inhibitory processes within the motor cortex, which may be correlated with poor motor performance, and thus accidents. A reduction in cortical inhibition may be caused by neurodegeneration within prefrontal regions of the cortex with age, rendering older adults less able to allocate attention to corticomotor regions.

The long term effects of sports concussion on retired Australian football players: a study using Transranial Magnetic Stimulation

This study investigated corticomotor excitability and inhibition, cognitive functioning, and fine motor dexterity in retired elite and amateur Australian football (AF) players who had sustained concussions during their playing careers. Forty male AF players who played at the elite level (n=20; mean age 49.7±5.7 years) or amateur level (n=20; mean age 48.4±6.9 years), and had sustained on average 3.2 concussions 21.9 years previously, were compared with 20 healthy age-matched male controls (mean age 47.56±6.85 years). All participants completed assessments of fine dexterity, visuomotor reaction time, spatial working memory (SWM), and associative learning (AL). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to measure corticospinal excitability: stimulus-response (SR) curves and motor evoked potential (MEP) 125% of active motor threshold (aMT); and intracortical inhibition: cortical silent period (cSP), short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI). Healthy participants performed better in dexterity (p=0.003), reaction (p=0.003), and movement time (p=0.037) than did both AF groups. Differences between AF groups were found in AL (p=0.027) and SWM (p=0.024). TMS measures revealed that both AF groups showed reduced cSP duration at 125% aMT (p>0.001) and differences in SR curves (p>0.001) than did healthy controls. Similarly, SICI (p=0.012) and LICI (p=0.009) were reduced in both AF groups compared with controls. Regression analyses revealed a significant contribution to differences in motor outcomes with the three measures of intracortical inhibition. The measures of inhibition differed, however, in terms of which performance measure they had a significant and unique predictive relationship with, reflecting the variety of participant concussion injuries. This study is the first to demonstrate differences in motor control and intracortical inhibition in AF players who had sustained concussions during their playing career two decades previously.

Conversation pieces

This exhibition presented works by Australian artists Agatha Gothe-Snape, Alex Martinis Roe and Hannah Raisin and collaborative works by Catherine or Kate (Catherine Sagin and Kate Woodcroft), Scott Ferguson (Erika Scott and Brooke Ferguson) and Courtney Coombs and Caitlin Franzmann. These artists engage with ideas of contemporary feminism through processes of dialogue and exchange, exploring subjectivity, humour and intimacy in performance and installation artworks. These works are generated by physical, verbal or textual dialogues between collaborators, participants or the artist and audience; and spark a conversation about feminist art practice today.