Effect of intensity and duration of anthropic noises on European mink locomotor activity and faecal cortisol metabolite levels

Human activities involving noise emission can affect wild animals. European mink was exposed to road noise and human voice playbacks to analyse how sound intensity level and duration of both noises altered the time that individuals were active and if their faecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) levels varied. A Hierarchical Analysis Cluster was performed to established two mink groups with respect to both noise source type: short duration/low intensity (SL) and long duration/high intensity (LH). We performed General Linear Mixed Models to evaluate the variation in locomotor activity duration (s) and FCM (ng/g) levels, respectively. The results showed both road noise and human voices decreased locomotor activity duration in SL more sharply compared to LH, and human voices were the triggers that induced the most pronounced response to both exposure conditions. FCM levels increased in SL compared to LH during road noise while the opposite happened during human voices. Differences based on sex and age of individuals were observed. In conclusion, noise characteristics given by the sound type determined the variations in locomotor activity duration while noise exposure level determined the variations in FCM levels. Attention should be paid to noisy activities (e.g. recreational activities for visitors in protected natural areas) and loud groups of people to conserve wildlife, especially noise sensitive species.

Semi-automated Detection of the Timing of Respiratory Muscle Activity: Validation and First Application

Background: Respiratory muscle electromyography (EMG) can identify whether a muscle is activated, its activation amplitude, and timing. Most studies have focused on the activation amplitude, while differences in timing and duration of activity have been less investigated. Detection of the timing of respiratory muscle activity is typically based on the visual inspection of the EMG signal. This method is time-consuming and prone to subjective interpretation.Aims: Our main objective was to develop and validate a method to assess the respective timing of different respiratory muscle activity in an objective and semi-automated manner.Method: Seven healthy adults performed an inspiratory threshold loading (ITL) test at 50% of their maximum inspiratory pressure until task failure. Surface EMG recordings of the costal diaphragm/intercostals, scalene, parasternal intercostals, and sternocleidomastoid were obtained during ITL. We developed a semi-automated algorithm to detect the onset (EMG, onset) and offset (EMG, offset) of each muscle’s EMG activity breath-by-breath with millisecond accuracy and compared its performance with manual evaluations from two independent assessors. For each muscle, the Intraclass Coefficient correlation (ICC) of the EMG, onset detection was determined between the two assessors and between the algorithm and each assessor. Additionally, we explored muscle differences in the EMG, onset, and EMG, offset timing, and duration of activity throughout the ITL.Results: More than 2000 EMG, onset s were analyzed for algorithm validation. ICCs ranged from 0.75–0.90 between assessor 1 and 2, 0.68–0.96 between assessor 1 and the algorithm, and 0.75–0.91 between assessor 2 and the algorithm (p < 0.01 for all). The lowest ICC was shown for the diaphragm/intercostal and the highest for the parasternal intercostal (0.68 and 0.96, respectively). During ITL, diaphragm/intercostal EMG, onset occurred later during the inspiratory cycle and its activity duration was shorter than the scalene, parasternal intercostal, and sternocleidomastoid (p < 0.01). EMG, offset occurred synchronously across all muscles (p ≥ 0.98). EMG, onset, and EMG, offset timing, and activity duration was consistent throughout the ITL for all muscles (p > 0.63).Conclusion: We developed an algorithm to detect EMG, onset of several respiratory muscles with millisecond accuracy that is time-efficient and validated against manual measures. Compared to the inherent bias of manual measures, the algorithm enhances objectivity and provides a strong standard for determining the respiratory muscle EMG, onset.

Sociopreneurship

This chapter introduces social entrepreneurship plans aimed at establishing an entrepreneurial ecosystem in academia. The program makes use of the university's literacy technology and academic assistance. This program is designed for lecturers and higher education students to help MSMEs. Ecological entrepreneurship can be formed through design activities. Through appropriate teaching design and activity duration, activity mechanism, and recognition of students' academic performance and course conversion, the plan has achieved high success on the basis of implementation, and the results can be seen from the output of the output form. The plan also implemented a quality assurance system aimed at achieving student standard achievement (SSA). In addition, supporting organizations outside academia also ensure that the social entrepreneurship technology literacy program for small, medium, and micro enterprises can truly establish an entrepreneurial ecosystem in academia.

Residential Locations and Health Effects on Multitasking Behaviours and Day Experiences

There has been a substantial amount of research on travel-based multitasking and its effect on travel and life satisfaction. Previous studies, however, have not considered the effect of built environment, health, and daily activity duration on such analyses. There is also a lack of knowledge about the effect of such multitasking on individuals’ daily experience and how built environment, health, and activity duration correlate with one’s daily satisfaction and cognitive well-being. The inclusion of time-space prism elements provides deeper insights into reasons and trade-off behaviours of individuals engaging in multitasking, through explaining interdependencies between trips and multitasking behaviours and their impacts on their activity engagement satisfaction and well-being appreciation. Using a three-week time-use diary from Indonesia, this study found that the influences of built environment and physical health on multitasking activities are relatively stronger than activity duration and trip parameters. The results also demonstrated positive correlations between polycentric city designs and people’s day experiences. Whilst evidence from developed countries has shown that the effect of gender on multitasking is significant, this study found that the gender effects on multitasking activities participation were weaker than built environment and physical health factors.

Summer activity patterns for a moss and lichen in the maritime Antarctic with respect to altitude

There is considerable scientific interest as to how terrestrial biodiversity in Antarctica might respond, or be expected to respond, to climate change. The two species of vascular plant confined to the Antarctic Peninsula have shown clear gains in density and range extension. However, little information exists for the dominant components of the flora, lichens and bryophytes. One approach has been to look at change in biodiversity using altitude as a proxy for temperature change and previous results for Livingston Island suggested that temperature was the controlling factor. We have extended this study at the same site by using chlorophyll fluorometers to monitor activity and microclimate of the lichen, Usnea aurantiaco-atra, and the moss, Hymenoloma crispulum. We confirmed the same lapse rate in temperature but show that changes in water relations with altitude is probably the main driver. There were differences in water source with U. aurantiaco-atra benefitting from water droplet harvesting and the species performed substantially better at the summit. In contrast, activity duration, chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic modelling all show desiccation to have a large negative impact on the species at the lowest site. We conclude that water relations are the main drivers of biodiversity change along the altitudinal gradient with nutrients, not measured here, as another possible contributor.

The clinical diagnosis of Achilles tendinopathy: a scoping review

Background Achilles tendinopathy describes the clinical presentation of pain localised to the Achilles tendon and associated loss of function with tendon loading activities. However, clinicians display differing approaches to the diagnosis of Achilles tendinopathy due to inconsistency in the clinical terminology, an evolving understanding of the pathophysiology, and the lack of consensus on clinical tests which could be considered the gold standard for diagnosing Achilles tendinopathy. The primary aim of this scoping review is to provide a method for clinically diagnosing Achilles tendinopathy that aligns with the nine core health domains. Methodology A scoping review was conducted to synthesise available evidence on the clinical diagnosis and clinical outcome measures of Achilles tendinopathy. Extracted data included author, year of publication, participant characteristics, methods for diagnosing Achilles tendinopathy and outcome measures. Results A total of 159 articles were included in this scoping review. The most commonly used subjective measure was self-reported location of pain, while additional measures included pain with tendon loading activity, duration of symptoms and tendon stiffness. The most commonly identified objective clinical test for Achilles tendinopathy was tendon palpation (including pain on palpation, localised tendon thickening or localised swelling). Further objective tests used to assess Achilles tendinopathy included tendon pain during loading activities (single-leg heel raises and hopping) and the Royal London Hospital Test and the Painful Arc Sign. The VISA-A questionnaire as the most commonly used outcome measure to monitor Achilles tendinopathy. However, psychological factors (PES, TKS and PCS) and overall quality of life (SF-12, SF-36 and EQ-5D-5L) were less frequently measured. Conclusions There is significant variation in the methodology and outcome measures used to diagnose Achilles tendinopathy. A method for diagnosing Achilles tendinopathy is proposed, that includes both results from the scoping review and recent recommendations for reporting results in tendinopathy.

Older Adults’ Choice of Patterns of Outdoor Physical Activity Duration: A Mixed Multinomial Logit Model

Outdoor physical activity duration is a key component of outdoor physical activity behavior of older adults, and therefore, an important determinant of their total physical activity levels. In order to develop a successful outdoor physical activity program, it is important to identify any heterogeneity in preferences for outdoor physical activity duration patterns among older adults. In addition, more insight is needed in the influence of environmental characteristics on duration choice for creating supportive neighborhood environments matching individuals’ preferences. To this end, a mixed multinomial logit model is estimated based on one-week data collected among 336 respondents aged 60 or over in 2017 in Dalian, China. The present model formulation accounts for heterogeneity in individuals’ preferences and allows for the analysis of substitution and complementary relationships between the different patterns of outdoor physical activity duration. Results indicate that older adults vary significantly in their preferences for each outdoor physical activity duration pattern. Moreover, short walking duration, short exercise duration and medium exercise duration are substitutes for medium walking duration while short walking duration and short exercise duration are complements for medium exercise duration in terms of individuals’ outdoor physical activity duration preferences. In addition, we find that distance to the nearest park, footpath conditions and neighborhood aesthetics are associated with older adults’ outdoor physical activity duration choice.

Impact of Shared Bus on Campus Travel and Space Optimization Based on Activity Travel Behavior

Based on the travel analysis of students in the Jiulonghu campus, this paper constructs a small-scale shared bus in the campus, explores the impact of shared traffic on campus travel, promotes the optimization design of campus space environment, and creates a more comfortable and convenient travel space. In order to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional trip-based research, this paper analyzes travel behavior from the perspective of activity-based travel concept framework, considering more activities and travel information. At the same time, in order to improve the richness of information, the explicit preference survey (RP) and the declarative preference survey (SP), which are added to the bus sharing customized travel platform, are used to collect data of personal attributes and travel diary. Firstly, based on the ArcGIS platform, this paper constructs the activity travel path generation tool, dynamic activity density distribution tool, and spatiotemporal path clustering tool and comprehensively analyzes the activity travel mode from the aspects of time distribution, spatial distribution, and category characteristics. Secondly, based on the travel activities, the location selection model (S-MNL) considering the heterogeneity of SP and RP data sources and the activity duration planning model (Cox regression), considering the nonnormal distribution of activity duration are established to analyze the impact of shared bus on students’ travel distance, travel time, and travel frequency. Finally, according to the analysis of modeling results, the impact of shared traffic on campus travel is analyzed, and the optimal design scheme of campus space is given. This paper uses the survey method based on declarative preference SP and the survey method based on explicit preference (RP) to get the actual and hypothetical travel response of travelers, which improves the data richness.

The relationship between sleep and physical activity: The moderating role of daily alcohol consumption

Study objectives Studies have demonstrated a daily, bidirectional relationship between sleep and physical activity. However, little is known about how other health behaviors, such as alcohol consumption affect this relationship. This study examined how daily and average alcohol consumption affects the relationships between sleep and physical activity. Methods Participants included 70 men and women, ages 18-50 with sleep duration >6.5 h. Participants wore an actigraph, physical activity monitor and recorded number of alcoholic drinks by daily food logs for 7 days. Results were analyzed using multi-level models to evaluate the 7-day average (i.e., between-person effects) and daily effects (i.e., within-person effects) simultaneously. Results Those with more average (7 day) minutes of vigorous physical activity had less wake after sleep onset (WASO). Furthermore, a higher number of alcoholic drinks was associated with longer sleep duration and higher WASO over 7 days. Days with a higher number of alcoholic drinks were associated with higher WASO and sleep fragmentation that night. Alcohol intake moderated the average (7 day) and daily relationships between sleep and physical activity such that high average (7 days) WASO was associated with shorter average total physical activity duration, but only for those with higher alcohol intake. In addition, longer physical activity duration during the day was associated with lower sleep fragmentation that night, but only for those with lower alcohol intake. Conclusions These data demonstrate that in a naturalistic setting, alcohol intake negatively impacts sleep and diminishes the benefits of physical activity on sleep.