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Abstract Introduction Promoting physical activity (PA) at work effectively decreases the risk of chronic disease and increases productivity. Despite the well-established benefits of PA, only 24% of adults meet the PA Guidelines for Americans. Advancing a culture of health (COH) may improve employees’ physical activity levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of workplace culture of health, gender, and depression on employee physical activity. Methods Employees (n = 12,907) across 14 companies voluntarily completed the Workplace Culture of Health (COH) Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), and questions on PA engagement. A logistic regression was performed to determine the effects of workplace COH, gender, and depression risk on the likelihood of engaging in 150 min of moderate to vigorous PA and in strength training 2 × per week. Results Workplace COH scores were associated with increased odds of PA engagement (OR = 1.058, p

Food systems rely on natural resources for production causing their depletion. Sustainability assessment can encourage farms and agri-food companies to improve sustainability performances. Sustainability assessment frameworks and tools differ in their purposes, scope, methods of application, and required time for execution; however, most of them do not fit with value chains, or they do not cover all sustainability dimensions. Our objective is to propose a holistic framework to assess sustainability at agri-food value chains level. The proposed framework combines the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) (El Hage, 2012) [1] and The Agri-food Evaluation Framework (TEEB) [2]. It incorporates the concepts of Socio-Ecological Systems, Assemblage, and Social Practices. It integrates system dynamics by emphasising human and natural capital stocks and their users. We explain in detail the methodological steps we followed to construct and to apply this new framework to two case studies in Italy and France. The new framework was applied to real-life case studies and has shown its effectiveness and demonstrates its potential for widespread use in similar scenarios.

The establishment of the embryonic dorsoventral axis in Xenopus occurs when the radial symmetry around the egg’s animal-vegetal axis is broken to give rise to the typical symmetry of Bilaterians. We have previously shown that the Notch1 protein is ventrally enriched during early embryogenesis in Xenopus laevis and zebrafish and exerts ventralizing activity through β-Catenin destabilization and the positive regulation of ventral center genes in X. laevis. These findings led us to further investigate when these asymmetries arise. In this work, we show that the asymmetrical distribution of Notch1 protein and mRNA precedes cortical rotation and even fertilization in X. laevis. Moreover, we found that in unfertilized eggs transcripts encoded by the ventralizing gene bmp4 are also asymmetrically distributed in the animal hemisphere and notch1 transcripts accumulate consistently on the same side of the eccentric maturation point. Strikingly, a Notch1 asymmetry orthogonal to the animal-vegetal axis appears during X. laevis oogenesis. Thus, we show for the first time a maternal bias in the distribution of molecules that are later involved in ventral patterning during embryonic axialization, strongly supporting the hypothesis of a dorsoventral prepattern or intrinsic bilaterality of Xenopus eggs before fertilization.

The following prospective study has the aim of evaluating the efficiency of the F22 MAD (mandibular advancement device), a new oral device for the treatment of OSAS (Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome) and snoring. Methods: AHI (apnea-hypopnea index), ODI (Oxygen Desaturation Index), snoring percentage, time spent in the supine position, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale score were evaluated in 19 patients with snoring, mild to moderate OSAS, or severe OSAS who declined CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) treatment, before and after the application of the F22 MAD. Results: The median value of AHI varied from 15.6 ± 10.7 to 5.7 ± 5.7; the median value of ODI varied from 13.4 ± 8.8 to 6.2 ± 5.2; the median value of the percentage of snoring varied from 30.7 ± 7 to 7.5 ± 10.8, except for the patient who has severe OSAS who increased their value. The value obtained by the self-completion of the ESS questionnaire (Epworth Sleepiness Scale) underwent a statistically significant variation, while clinically significant for 13\19 patients who obtained a reduction of the value >/= of 2 points. Conclusions: It is possible to conclude that the F22 MAD is effective in the treatment of patients with mild and moderate OSAS or simple snoring, reducing the polysomnographic outcomes with statistically and clinically significant results in terms of reduction of AHI, ODI and percentage of snoring.

Little is known about how the neighborhood social environment (e.g., safety, crime, traffic) impacts child physical activity. We examine the mechanism by which the neighborhood social environment is associated with child physical activity, moderated by individual-level cultural factors (e.g., language at home, immigrant generation) and mediated by neighborhood physical activity-related social norms (e.g., seeing walkers in the neighborhood). Data included 2749 non-Hispanic White and Hispanic children from the Healthy Communities Study. Multilevel regression was performed. The neighborhood social environment was not associated with physical activity in the full sample. However, Hispanic children speaking both English and Spanish and first- or second-generation Hispanic children engaged in more physical activity when the quality of the neighborhood social environment was higher (b = 1.60, p < 0.001 for Hispanic children speaking English and Spanish; b = 2.03, p < 0.01 for first-generation Hispanic children; b = 1.29, p < 0.01 for second-generation Hispanic children). Neighborhood physical activity-related social norms mediated the association between the neighborhood social environment and physical activity among Hispanic children speaking English and Spanish (b = 0.33, p < 0.001) and second-generation Hispanic children (b = 0.40, p < 0.001). Findings suggest heterogeneity in how neighborhood social environments impact physical activity by cultural factors. Health promotion programs may need to enhance neighborhood social environments to increase Hispanic children's physical activity.

Background: Understanding how and where children accumulate their physical activity (PA) and sedentary minutes throughout the day has important implications for behavioral interventions. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the duration and intensity of habitual PA and sedentary time (SED) at and away from school among preadolescent children. Methods: Data from twenty-one children ages 7-11 (57% girls; 57% nonwhite; 24% overweight/obese) were included in this analysis. Proportion of time spent in PA, SED, and SED bouts were examined on school days (in-school and out-of-school) and non-school days via accelerometry. Results: When comparing school time with non-school time on school days, children accumulated a higher proportion of light PA while in-school [49.3% (i.e. 5 min 18 s) vs. 39.6% (i.e. 3 h 53 min), p = 0.01]. While at school, the proportion of time spent in SED was less [46.3% (i.e. 3 h 7 min) vs. 56.3% (i.e. 5 h 32 min), p = 0.01] and fewer children spent time engaged in prolonged sitting compared to out-of-school [uninterrupted SED for 30 min 52.4% (i.e. 11 children) vs. 85.7% (i.e. 18 children), p = 0.02]. Discussion: These findings suggest children are proportionately most active and least sedentary when at school, yet children only accumulated approximately 18 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA in this environment. Translation to Health Education Practice: These preliminary findings can help to inform physical activity programming designed to promote life-long physical activity behaviors in children.

Background: Endogenous and exogenous factors impact the operational characteristics of supply chains, affecting wholesale warehouses. The survival of a warehouse is often threatened by disruptive events that alter infrastructure and performance. The emergence of COVID-19 exemplified the need for adaptability in retail goods supply chains, emphasizing the necessity for responding to external shocks. Methods: The MARLIN (Method wArehouse ResiLience dIstruptioN) method, founded on theories and models of resilience engineering is introduced. MARLIN is a practical tool designed to identify key areas requiring intervention in response to disruptive events. An empirical test was conducted in an Italian warehouse. Results: The conducted test yielded tangible results, demonstrating the efficacy of the method. It successfully pinpointed areas necessitating intervention and identified Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with disruptions. The study not only underscores the importance of data collection but also highlights the often-overlooked significance of warehouse management. Conclusions: The study establishes MARLIN as a valuable asset for stakeholders involved in disruption management. Its application has proven instrumental in recognizing areas of intervention and identifying KPIs related to disruptions. Ongoing research endeavors to broaden its applicability across diverse supply chain scenarios, aiming to enhance situational awareness and enable proactive risk assessment through what-if analysis.

Abstract Background Studies have shown neighborhood walkability is associated with obesity. To advance this research, study designs involving longer follow-up, broader geographic regions, appropriate neighborhood characterization, assessment of exposure length and severity, and consideration of stayers and movers are needed. Using a cohort spanning the conterminous United States, this study examines the longitudinal relationship between a network buffer-derived, duration-weighted neighborhood walkability measure and two adiposity-related outcomes. Methods This study included 12,846 Black/African American and White adults in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke study. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were assessed at baseline and up to 13.3 years later (M (SD) = 9.4 (1.0) years). BMI and WC were dichotomized. Walk Score® was duration-weighted based on time at each address and categorized as Very Car-Dependent, Car-Dependent, Somewhat Walkable, Very Walkable, and Walker’s Paradise. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models tested each neighborhood walkability-adiposity association. Adjusted models controlled for demographics, health factors, neighborhood socioeconomic status, follow-up time, and either baseline BMI or baseline WC. Adjusted models also tested for interactions. Post-estimation Wald tests examined whether categorical variables had coefficients jointly equal to zero. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts tested for a linear trend in the neighborhood walkability-adiposity relationships. Results The odds of being overweight/obese at follow-up were lower for residents with duration-weighted Walk Score® values in the Walker’s Paradise range and residents with values in the Very Walkable range compared to residents with values in the Very Car-Dependent range. Residents with duration-weighted Walk Score® values classified as Very Walkable had significantly lower odds of having a moderate-to-high risk WC at follow-up relative to those in the Very Car-Dependent range. For both outcomes, the effects were small but meaningful. The negative linear trend was significant for BMI but not WC. Conclusion People with cumulative neighborhood walkability scores in the Walker’s Paradise range were less likely to be overweight/obese independent of other factors, while people with scores in the Very Walkable range were less likely to be overweight/obese and less likely to have a moderate-to-high risk WC. Addressing neighborhood walkability is one approach to combating obesity.

The accessibility of advanced Artificial Intelligence-based tools, like ChatGPT, has made Large Language Models (LLMs) readily available to students. These LLMs can generate original written content to assist students in their academic assessments. With the rapid adoption of LLMs, exemplified by the popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT, there is a growing need to explore their application in education. Few studies examine students' use of LLMs as learning tools. This paper focuses on the application of ChatGPT in engineering higher education through an in-depth case study. It investigates whether engineering students can generate high-quality university essays with LLMs assistance, whether existing LLMs identification systems can detect essays produced with LLMs, and how students perceive the usefulness and acceptance of LLMs in learning. The research adopts a deductive/inductive approach, combining conceptualization and empirical evidence analysis. The study involves mechanical and management engineering students, who compose essays using LLMs. The essay assessment showed good results, but some recommendations emerged for teachers and students. Thirteen LLMs detectors were tested without achieving satisfactory results, suggesting to avoid LLMs ban. In addition, students were administered a questionnaire based on constructs and items that follow the technology acceptance models available in the literature. The results contribute to qualitative evidence by highlighting possible future research and educational practices.

BACKGROUND:Community initiatives to promote physical activity in children are common, but evidence supporting their effectiveness is limited. OBJECTIVES:The objective of this study is to examine the relationships between community programmes and policies and children's physical activity in a large and diverse sample of US communities. METHODS:Programmes and policies to promote children's physical activity were assessed in 130 communities by key informant interviews, and physical activity behaviours were measured by self-report and parental report in samples of children in each community (total n = 5138). Associations between composite indices of community programmes and policies and indicators of total and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were examined without and with adjustment for demographic factors. RESULTS:An index reflecting the 6-year history of the number of behaviour change strategies used in community programmes and policies was positively associated with children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. This association was attenuated with adjustment for demographic factors. Effect modification analyses found that the association was positive among non-Hispanic children but was negative for Hispanic children. CONCLUSIONS:Community initiatives to promote physical activity in children were positively associated with children's physical activity in non-Hispanic children. Such initiatives were negatively associated with physical activity in Hispanic children, suggesting that future research should consider unique cultural factors when designing community initiatives to promote activity in this population sub-group.

Background: There is currently a nationwide effort to bring parks and green spaces within a 10-minute walk of the home. We examined the association between park area within 1 km of a child's residence and self-reported park-specific physical activity (PA) along with accelerometer-derived moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Methods: A subsample of K through eighth-grade youth (n = 493) from the Healthy Communities Study reported whether they engaged in park-specific PA during the last 24 hours and wore an accelerometer for up to 7 days. Park area was defined as the percentage of park land in a 1 km Euclidean buffer around the participant's residence, categorized into quintiles. Analysis consisted of logistic and linear regression modeling with interaction effects that controlled for clustering within communities. Results: Regression models estimated greater park-specific PA for participants in the fourth and fifth quintiles of park land. Age, sex, race ethnicity, and family income were unrelated to park-specific PA. Accelerometer analysis indicated that total MVPA was unrelated to park area. Older children (β = −8.73, P <.001) and girls (β = −13.44, P <.001) engaged in less MVPA. Seasonality significantly predicted both park-specific PA and total MVPA. Conclusion: Increasing park area is likely to improve youth PA patterns, lending support for the 10-minute walk initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Powered prosthetic ankles provide battery-powered mechanical push-off, with the aim of reducing the metabolic demands of walking for people with transtibial amputations. The efficacy of powered ankles has been shown in active, high functioning individuals with transtibial amputation, but is less clear in other populations. Additionally, it is unclear how use of a powered prosthesis influences everyday physical activity and mobility. Methods Individuals with unilateral transtibial amputations participated in a randomized clinical trial comparing their prescribed, unpowered prosthesis and the BiOM powered prosthesis. Participants’ metabolic costs and self-selected walking speeds were measured in the laboratory and daily step count, daily steps away from home, and walking speed were measured over two weeks of at-home prosthesis use. Participants also rated their perception of mobility and quality of life and provided free-form feedback. Dependent measures were compared between prostheses and the relationships between metabolic cost, perception of mobility, and characteristics of walking in daily life were explored using Pearson’s correlations. Results Twelve people were randomly allocated to the powered prosthesis first (n = 7) or unpowered prosthesis first (n = 5) and ten completed the full study. There were no differences in metabolic costs (p = 0.585), daily step count (p = 0.995), walking speed in-lab (p = 0.145) and in daily life (p = 0.226), or perception of mobility between prostheses (p ≥ 0.058). Changes varied across participants, however. There were several medium-sized effects for device comparisons. With the powered prosthesis, participants had increased self-reported ambulation (g = 0.682) and decreased frustration (g = 0.506). Conclusions There were no universal benefits of the powered prosthesis on function in the lab or home environment. However, the effects were subject-specific, with some reporting preference for power and improved mobility, and some increasing their activity and decreasing their metabolic effort. Additionally, self-reported preferences did not often correlate with objective measures of function. This highlights the need for future clinical research to include both perception and objective measures to better inform prosthetic prescription. Trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov , #NCT02828982. Registered 12 July 2016, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02828982

Abstract Background Improving the neighborhood environment may help address chronic disease and mortality. To identify neighborhood features that are predictors of health, objective assessments of the environment are used. Multiple studies have reported on cross-sectional assessments of health-related neighborhood features using direct observation. As study designs expand to better understand causation and predictors of change, there is a need to test whether direct observation methods are adequate for longitudinal assessment. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on the reliability of repeated measurements of the neighborhood environment, and their stability, over time. Methods The Pittsburgh Hill/Homewood Research on Neighborhood Change and Health (PHRESH) study conducted longitudinal assessments in two low-income, African American neighborhoods at three waves (years 2012, 2015, 2017). The PHRESH audit tool is a modification of earlier validated tools, with an emphasis on environment features relevant for physical activity, sleep, and obesogenic behaviors. Trained data-collector pairs conducted direct observations of a 25% sample of street segments in each neighborhood. At each wave, we audited a sub-sample of street segments twice and assessed reliability using percentage inter-observer agreement and krippendorf’s alpha statistics. Stability of these items was assessed as exhibiting moderate or high agreement at every time point. Results Across waves, a majority (81%) of the items consistently demonstrated moderate to high agreement except for items such as public/communal space, amount of shade, sidewalk features, number of traffic lanes, garden/flower bed/planter, art/statue/monument, amount of trash, and physical disorder. The list of items with poor agreement includes features that are easy to miss (e.g. flower bed/planter), hard to assess from outside (e.g. public/communal space), or may change quickly (e.g. amount of trash). Conclusion In this paper, we have described implementation methods, reliability results and lessons learned to inform future studies of change. We found the use of consistent methods allowed us to conduct reliable, replicable longitudinal assessments of the environment. Items that did not exhibit stability are less useful for detecting real change over time. Overall, the PHRESH direct observation tool is an effective and practical instrument to detect change in the neighborhood environment.

Abstract Background Although previous research has highlighted the association between the built environment and individual health, methodological challenges in assessing the built environment remain. In particular, many researchers have demonstrated the high inter-rater reliability of assessing large or objective built environment features and the low inter-rater reliability of assessing small or subjective built environment features using Google Street View. New methods for auditing the built environment must be evaluated to understand if there are alternative tools through which researchers can assess all types of built environment features with high agreement. This paper investigates measures of inter-rater reliability of GigaPan®, a tool that assists with capturing high-definition panoramic images, relative to Google Street View. Methods Street segments (n = 614) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States were randomly selected to audit using GigaPan® and Google Street View. Each audit assessed features related to land use, traffic and safety, and public amenities. Inter-rater reliability statistics, including percent agreement, Cohen’s kappa, and the prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) were calculated for 106 street segments that were coded by two, different, human auditors. Results Most large-scale, objective features (e.g. bus stop presence or stop sign presence) demonstrated at least substantial inter-rater reliability for both methods, but significant differences emerged across finely detailed features (e.g. trash) and features at segment endpoints (e.g. sidewalk continuity). After adjusting for the effects of bias and prevalence, the inter-rater reliability estimates were consistently higher for almost all built environment features across GigaPan® and Google Street View. Conclusion GigaPan® is a reliable, alternative audit tool to Google Street View for studying the built environment. GigaPan® may be particularly well-suited for built environment projects with study settings in areas where Google Street View imagery is nonexistent or updated infrequently. The potential for enhanced, detailed imagery using GigaPan® will be most beneficial in studies in which current, time sensitive data are needed or microscale built environment features would be challenging to see in Google Street View. Furthermore, to better understand the effects of prevalence and bias in future reliability studies, researchers should consider using PABAK to supplement or expand upon Cohen’s kappa findings.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic triggered a seismic shift in education to web-based learning. With nearly 20 million students enrolled in colleges across the United States, the long-simmering mental health crisis in college students was likely further exacerbated by the pandemic. ObjectiveThis study leveraged mobile health (mHealth) technology and sought to (1) characterize self-reported outcomes of physical, mental, and social health by COVID-19 status; (2) assess physical activity through consumer-grade wearable sensors (Fitbit); and (3) identify risk factors associated with COVID-19 positivity in a population of college students prior to release of the vaccine. MethodsAfter completing a baseline assessment (ie, at Time 0 [T0]) of demographics, mental, and social health constructs through the Roadmap 2.0 app, participants were instructed to use the app freely, wear the Fitbit, and complete subsequent assessments at T1, T2, and T3, followed by a COVID-19 assessment of history and timing of COVID-19 testing and diagnosis (T4: ~14 days after T3). Continuous measures were described using mean (SD) values, while categorical measures were summarized as n (%) values. Formal comparisons were made on the basis of COVID-19 status. The multivariate model was determined by entering all statistically significant variables (P