An ecologically based examination of barriers to physical activity in students from grade seven through first-year university

PurposeThe first purpose was to identify barriers to physical activity that students in grade seven through first-year university experienced. A second purpose was to classify barriers using an ecological framework and to examine the pattern of barrier categories (i.e., intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community, public policy, and physical environmental) and specific barrier types as grade increased. The use of an ecological model addressed limitations in prior research revolving around the identification of salient barriers in a manner that makes the design of effective interventions difficult.MethodsParticipants in grades 7–8 (n = 35), 9–10 (n = 67), 11–12 (n = 80), and the freshmen year of university (n = 109) listed barriers to physical activity on an open-ended measure.ResultsFindings revealed a trend for the average number of barriers reported per student to increase as grade in school increased. First-year university students reported significantly more barriers than all other grade groupings. The frequency of barriers reported within the ecological categories was dependent on the specific grade groupings. Further, within each ecological category, distinct barriers were reported across the different grade groupings.ConclusionsFindings highlight the utility of using an ecological model to categorize barriers, rather than simply classifying barriers as internal or external to an individual, as done in prior research. Understanding the pattern of ecologically based barrier categories and specific types of barriers will help to inform the content of future research and interventions designed to alleviate salient barriers to physical activity.     

Admission rates for peptic ulcer in the Trent Region, UK, 1972–2000: Changing pattern, a changing disease?

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Peptic ulcer disease is believed to be less common and less severe as a result of modern medical treatment. We therefore examined changes in the admission rates for patients with duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer, both emergency (for haemorrhage, perforation or severe pain) and for elective surgery, before and since the introduction of the new advances in therapy. These admission indices reflect disease prevalence and severity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified admission rates during 1972--2000 within the Trent Regional Health Authority, UK (population 4.7 million), from computerised patient information using diagnostic search codes ICD8-10 and expressed as rates per million resident population. Drug expenditure details were obtained from the Department of Health. RESULTS: Emergency admission rates as a whole changed little, a decline in the young being offset by an increase in the elderly. Haemorrhage was the most common reason (approximately 115 per million for duodenal ulcer and 87 for gastric ulcer) throughout [compared with perforation (80 and 21) and pain (90 and 68)]. In contrast, elective surgery has almost disappeared; this reduction began before the introduction of modern treatment. CONCLUSION: Emergency admission rates for duodenal and gastric ulcer for complications or severe pain have fluctuated over the last three decades but with little overall change. In contrast, elective surgery has declined dramatically, as a result of advances in treatment but also from changes in the natural history.     

General case simulation instruction and the establishment and maintenance of work performance

This study was conducted to determine whether general case simulation instruction on selected job task sequences and teaching examples, which sampled the range of stimulus/response variation encountered in two community jobs, resulted in the generalized performance of specific community job requirements by four young adults with severe handicaps. A multiple baseline across subjects and behaviors design was used to assess subject performance in simulation instruction, on concurrent and subsequent actual job probes, and in actual job instruction. Data indicated that simulation instruction on two representative teaching examples for each of two job task sequences resulted in concurrent generalized performance on six response examples for each task sequence, and in subsequent improvements in job entry skills which were maintained and extended during actual job instruction and instructor withdrawal phases. Results are discussed in terms of potential uses and misuses of general case simulations of community job skills.     

A review of Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia-1 (DISC1): neurodevelopment, cognition, and mental conditions.

Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia-1 (DISC1) is a promising candidate gene for schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP), but its basic biology remains to be elucidated. Accumulating genetic evidence supports that DISC1 is associated with some aspects of cognitive functions relevant to SZ and BP. Here, we provide a summary of the current updates in biological studies of DISC1. Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia-1, preferentially expressed in the forebrain, has multiple isoforms with potential posttranslational modifications. Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia-1 protein occurs in multiple subcellular compartments, which include the centrosome, microtubule fractions, postsynaptic densities, actin cytoskeletal fractions, the mitochondria, and the nucleus. Recent studies have clarified that DISC1 mediates at least centrosome-dynein cascade and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling. Furthermore, both cytogenetic and cell biological studies consistently suggest that an overall loss of DISC1 function (either haploinsufficiency or dominant-negative, or both) may be associated with SZ and BP. On the basis of these findings, production of DISC1 genetically engineered mice is proposed as a promising animal model for SZ and BP. Several groups are currently generating DISC1 mice and starting to characterize them. In this review, the advantages and disadvantages of each animal model are discussed.