The Impact of Accelerometer Wear Location on the Relationship between Step Counts and Arterial Health in Free-Living Adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. S64-S65
Author(s):  
Alexandra B. Cooke' ◽  
Stella S. Daskalopoulou ◽  
Kaberi Dasgupta
2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian L Schmidt ◽  
Bopaiah A Biddanda ◽  
Anthony D Weinke ◽  
Edna Chiang ◽  
Fallon Januska ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Eukaryotic communities commonly display a positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) but the results have been mixed when assessed in bacterial communities. Habitat heterogeneity, a factor in eukaryotic BEFs, may explain these variable observations but it has not been thoroughly evaluated in bacterial communities. Here, we examined the impact of habitat on the relationship between diversity assessed based on the (phylogenetic) Hill diversity metrics and heterotrophic productivity. We sampled co-occurring free-living (more homogenous) and particle-associated (more heterogeneous) bacterial habitats in a freshwater, estuarine lake over three seasons: spring, summer and fall. There was a strong, positive, linear relationship between particle-associated bacterial richness and heterotrophic productivity that strengthened when considering dominant taxa. There were no observable BEF trends in free-living bacterial communities for any diversity metric. Biodiversity, richness and Inverse Simpson's index, were the best predictors of particle-associated production whereas pH was the best predictor of free-living production. Our findings show that heterotrophic productivity is positively correlated with the effective number of taxa and that BEF relationships are associated with microhabitats. These results add to the understanding of the highly distinct contributions to diversity and functioning contributed by bacteria in free-living and particle-associated habitats.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian L. Schmidt ◽  
Bopaiah A. Biddanda ◽  
Anthony D. Weinke ◽  
Edna Chiang ◽  
Fallon Januska ◽  
...  

AbstractEukaryotic communities commonly display a positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) but the results have been mixed when assessed in bacterial communities. Habitat heterogeneity, a factor in eukaryotic BEFs, may explain these variable observations but it has not been thoroughly evaluated in bacterial communities. Here, we examined the impact of habitat on the relationship between diversity assessed based on richness, evenness, or phylogenetic diversity, and heterotrophic productivity. We sampled co-occurring free-living (more homogenous) and particle-associated (more heterogeneous) bacterial habitats in a freshwater, estuarine lake. Diversity measures, and not environmental variables, were the best predictors of particle-associated heterotrophic production. There was a strong, positive, linear relationship between particle-associated bacterial richness and heterotrophic productivity that strengthened with evenness. There were no observable BEF trends in free-living bacterial communities. Across both habitats, communities with more phylogenetically related taxa had higher per-capita heterotrophic production than communities of phylogenetically distantly related taxa. Our findings show that heterotrophic bacterial productivity is positively correlated with evenness and richness, negatively with phylogenetic diversity, and that BEF relationships are contingent on microhabitats. Our work adds to the understanding of the highly distinct contributions to community diversity and ecosystem functioning contributed by bacteria in free-living and particle-associated aquatic habitats.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Larouche ◽  
Meghann Lloyd ◽  
Emily Knight ◽  
Mark S. Tremblay

The current investigation assessed the impact of active school transportation (AST) on average daily step counts, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference in 315 children in Grades 4–6 who participated to Cycle 2 of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) pilot testing. T-tests revealed a significant association between AST and lower BMI values (18.7 ± 3.3 vs. 19.9 ± 3.8 kg/m2). The active commuters accumulated an average of 662 more steps per day, and their waist circumference was lower by an average of 3.1 cm, but these differences were not statistically significant. ANCOVA analyses controlling for age and step counts, found trends toward lower BMI and waist circumference values among the active commuters. These results suggest that AST may be a valid strategy to prevent childhood obesity; further research is needed to determine more precisely the impact of AST on body composition, and the direction of the relationship.


2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Sergi ◽  
G. Romeo ◽  
M. Serafini ◽  
E. Torretta ◽  
F. Macchioni

Summary Brown hare (Lepus europaeus) populations in Europe have declined through decades due to several, but not clear yet, factors. Parasite infections and diseases are some of the causes that directly affected the survival and breeding rates of animal population. A study on the endoparasites of 70 hares (37 hunted free-living hares, and 33 bred on farms hares) was performed between 2015 - 2017 in the province of Grosseto (central Italy), an area where the impact of parasites in the hare population has never been investigated. During necroscopic analysis of hunted hares the following helminthes were found: Trichostrongylus retortaeformis (87.1 %), Passalurus ambiguus (12.9 %) and Andrya spp. (6.4 %) in the intestinal tract, Protostrongylus cuniculorum (8.3 %) in lungs and Dicrocoelium dendriticum (16.7 %) in livers. The prevalences of the intestinal helminthes in bred hares were: 12.1 % for Passalurus ambiguus and 3 % for Trichostrongylus retortaeformis. The coprological analysis showed prevalences of 64.9 % for coccidia in the 37 hunted hares and 45.5 % in the 33 bred hares. The relationship between the intensities of parasitic infections and body weight was evaluated. The results of the present study in the Grosseto area indicate that free-living hares have few species of parasites and that the intensities of parasitic infection did not affect their general condition and health, suggesting that endoparasites played no detectable role in the dynamics of this hare population.


Author(s):  
Brynne D. Ovalle ◽  
Rahul Chakraborty

This article has two purposes: (a) to examine the relationship between intercultural power relations and the widespread practice of accent discrimination and (b) to underscore the ramifications of accent discrimination both for the individual and for global society as a whole. First, authors review social theory regarding language and group identity construction, and then go on to integrate more current studies linking accent bias to sociocultural variables. Authors discuss three examples of intercultural accent discrimination in order to illustrate how this link manifests itself in the broader context of international relations (i.e., how accent discrimination is generated in situations of unequal power) and, using a review of current research, assess the consequences of accent discrimination for the individual. Finally, the article highlights the impact that linguistic discrimination is having on linguistic diversity globally, partially using data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and partially by offering a potential context for interpreting the emergence of practices that seek to reduce or modify speaker accents.


2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Dee Adams Nikjeh

Abstract Administrators and supervisors face daily challenges over issues such as program funding, service fees, correct coding procedures, and the ever-changing healthcare regulations. Receiving equitable reimbursement for speech-language pathology and audiology services necessitates an understanding of federal coding and reimbursement systems. This tutorial provides information pertaining to two major healthcare coding systems and explains the relationship of these systems to clinical documentation, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and equitable reimbursement. An explanation of coding edits and coding modifiers is provided for use in those occasional atypical situations when the standard use of procedural coding may not be appropriate. Also included in this tutorial is a brief discussion of the impact that the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (HR 6331 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act [MIPPA], 2008) has had on the valuation of speech-language pathology procedure codes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 194-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freda-Marie Hartung ◽  
Britta Renner

Humans are social animals; consequently, a lack of social ties affects individuals’ health negatively. However, the desire to belong differs between individuals, raising the question of whether individual differences in the need to belong moderate the impact of perceived social isolation on health. In the present study, 77 first-year university students rated their loneliness and health every 6 weeks for 18 weeks. Individual differences in the need to belong were found to moderate the relationship between loneliness and current health state. Specifically, lonely students with a high need to belong reported more days of illness than those with a low need to belong. In contrast, the strength of the need to belong had no effect on students who did not feel lonely. Thus, people who have a strong need to belong appear to suffer from loneliness and become ill more often, whereas people with a weak need to belong appear to stand loneliness better and are comparatively healthy. The study implies that social isolation does not impact all individuals identically; instead, the fit between the social situation and an individual’s need appears to be crucial for an individual’s functioning.


Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meshan Lehmann ◽  
Matthew R. Hilimire ◽  
Lawrence H. Yang ◽  
Bruce G. Link ◽  
Jordan E. DeVylder

Abstract. Background: Self-esteem is a major contributor to risk for repeated suicide attempts. Prior research has shown that awareness of stigma is associated with reduced self-esteem among people with mental illness. No prior studies have examined the association between self-esteem and stereotype awareness among individuals with past suicide attempts. Aims: To understand the relationship between stereotype awareness and self-esteem among young adults who have and have not attempted suicide. Method: Computerized surveys were administered to college students (N = 637). Linear regression analyses were used to test associations between self-esteem and stereotype awareness, attempt history, and their interaction. Results: There was a significant stereotype awareness by attempt interaction (β = –.74, p = .006) in the regression analysis. The interaction was explained by a stronger negative association between stereotype awareness and self-esteem among individuals with past suicide attempts (β = –.50, p = .013) compared with those without attempts (β = –.09, p = .037). Conclusion: Stigma is associated with lower self-esteem within this high-functioning sample of young adults with histories of suicide attempts. Alleviating the impact of stigma at the individual (clinical) or community (public health) levels may improve self-esteem among this high-risk population, which could potentially influence subsequent suicide risk.


Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Yip ◽  
David Pitt ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Xueyuan Wu ◽  
Ray Watson ◽  
...  

Background: We study the impact of suicide-exclusion periods, common in life insurance policies in Australia, on suicide and accidental death rates for life-insured individuals. If a life-insured individual dies by suicide during the period of suicide exclusion, commonly 13 months, the sum insured is not paid. Aims: We examine whether a suicide-exclusion period affects the timing of suicides. We also analyze whether accidental deaths are more prevalent during the suicide-exclusion period as life-insured individuals disguise their death by suicide. We assess the relationship between the insured sum and suicidal death rates. Methods: Crude and age-standardized rates of suicide, accidental death, and overall death, split by duration since the insured first bought their insurance policy, were computed. Results: There were significantly fewer suicides and no significant spike in the number of accidental deaths in the exclusion period for Australian life insurance data. More suicides, however, were detected for the first 2 years after the exclusion period. Higher insured sums are associated with higher rates of suicide. Conclusions: Adverse selection in Australian life insurance is exacerbated by including a suicide-exclusion period. Extension of the suicide-exclusion period to 3 years may prevent some “insurance-induced” suicides – a rationale for this conclusion is given.


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