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Objective: The objective of the study is to examine whether adolescents' road safety perception (RSP) acts as a mediator on the association between the distance from home to the nearest park and the use of the parks for physical activity (PA)., Study Design: This is a cross-sectional study., Methods: The evaluation was through a random sample of 1130 adolescents (534 male), corresponding to 47.3%, 14-20 years old, from Porto Alegre, Brazil. RSP was assessed through some questions of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Youth. Park use, socioeconomic status, age, and sex were measured using a questionnaire. Distance from home to the nearest park was evaluated through geographic information system. Data analysis was performed using Pearson correlation, and linear regression models were fitted as per the Baron and Kenny procedures for mediation analyses. All analyses were adjusted for sex and socioeconomic status., Results: Road safety perception is independently associated with less distance from home to the nearest park (P = 0.04) and use of the parks for PA (P = 0.02). Road safety perception is a mediator and explains 16% of the association between park use and distance from home to the park (indirect Effect = -40.9966; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 119.3733-2.2455)., Conclusion: Our findings indicated that RSP is a mediator on the association between the distance from home to the nearest park and the use of the parks for PA. Future studies should take this into consideration frequency and intensity of PA and other environmental characteristics, such as crime, aesthetics, and neighborhood facilities., (Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Betamethasone is the drug of choice for antenatal treatment, promoting fetal lung maturation, decreasing the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal mortality. Previous studies reported that prenatal treatment with this drug reduced testosterone levels, sperm quality and fertility in adult rats. We aimed to further evaluate the reproductive consequences of prenatal betamethasone exposure in male rats. Pregnant Wistar rats (n=13/group) were separated into two groups: control (vehicle) and betamethasone- treated (0.1mg/kg IM) and rats were injected on gestational days 12, 13, 18 and 19. Body weight, sexual behavior, reproductive organ weights, serum hormone levels, accessory glands contractility, sperm parameters, and fertility after in utero artificial insemination were evaluated. Our results showed that prenatal betamethasone exposure provoked a significant reduction in body weight at PND 01 and, at adulthood, decrease in FSH levels, sperm motility and production. Furthermore, seminal vesicle weight was decreased while testicular and ventral prostate weights were increased. Serum LH levels and the percentage of abnormal sperm were significantly increased. Although sexual behavior was not altered, a significant reduction in fertility in the adult rats exposed prenatally to betamethasone was noted. We concluded that prenatal betamethasone exposure leads to long-term reproductive impairment in male rats. These results may have important implications for humans, considering the use of this glucocorticoid in pregnant women., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)