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The study was conducted to estimate genetic variability among different seed sources of Grewia optiva Drummond under field conditions in Himachal Pradesh, India. Seed source (S8) Barthi exhibited outstanding performance for growth parameters. Based on the progeny performance, genotypes S1G1 (Uncha-gaon), S2G3 (Gaddo), S3G2 (Jajjar), S5G2 (Bala) and S6G3 (Jinzkari) were found to be most promising for growth traits. The percentage of genotypic coefficient of variance (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was recorded maximum for branch angle i.e., 40.56% and 40.65%, respectively. Percentage of phenotypic coefficient of variation observed higher than genotypic coefficient of variations for all the traits. Highly significant and positive genotypic and phenotypic correlation was observed in plant height with number of branches (rg=0.324, rp=0.317) and leaf area with basal diameter (rg=0.326, rp=.307). High heritability was reported for all growth traits. The highest genetic gain was recorded for branch angle (54.74) and moderate for leaf area (29.95). Genotypes were clustered into two distinct groups using hierarchical clustering analysis. The maximum inter- cluster distance was observed between S2G3 and S7G2, whereas, the maximum intra-cluster distance was observed between S2G3 and S8G3 in cluster I and S1G1 and S7G2 in cluster II. Principal components (PCI-PCIV) cumulatively accounted for 76.31% of total variation. The PCA I explained 23.18% of the total variance, associated with plant height, branch angle, basal diameter.

Health-promoting behaviors for childhood obesity prevention are needed across multiple environments where children spend time, including out-of-school time (OST). Therefore Healthy Kids Out of School (HKOS) developed intervention strategies to promote three evidence-based principles (Drink Right, Move More, Snack Smart) for obesity prevention in OST. The strategies were developed with stakeholder input, disseminated, and evaluated (2012-2015) in two volunteer-led OST organizations, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and 4-H, across three US states using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework. Mixed methods were used involving surveys, key informant interviews, and organizational-level data collection. Sixty out of 81 (74.1%) BSA districts and 4-H counties reaching 84,590 children (72% of children participating in BSA and 4-H in three states) adopted the strategies. 530 surveys completed by local OST leaders at baseline and 294 at follow-up showed the percentage of programs offering healthy beverages and opportunities for physical activity increased from baseline to follow-up (beverages 26% baseline, 35% follow-up, odds ratio (OR) 1.53; physical activity 31% baseline, 45% follow-up, OR 1.79; all p 0.05). The increasing trend for healthy snacks was statistically non-significant (p = 0.09). Leaders interviewed reported the strategies were easy to implement, a good fit with their program, facilitated success, and they expected to maintain the changes. Integration of HKOS customized materials (BSA patch and 4-H pin) on BSA and 4-H national websites is a broader indicator of maintenance. Intervention strategies developed with stakeholder input and disseminated with training can effectively facilitate healthy environments for children, and have potential for national scale.

Let's Move! Active Schools (LMAS), now Active Schools, is a national initiative in the United States (US) that aims to engage schools to increase students' opportunities to be physically active. This evaluation describes changes in school-level practices related to physical education (PE) and physical activity (PA) among schools that received an LMAS-partner grant from ChildObesity180 or Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP60). ChildObesity180 and FUTP60 asked grantee schools to complete nine common questions, between October 2013 and August 2014, before and after receiving the grants to assess progress in implementing practices for PE and PA. "Yes" responses indicated presence of PE/PA-supportive practices. For schools with complete pre and post data (n=972), frequencies of "yes" responses were calculated for each practice at pre/post. Schools receiving a FUTP60 partner grant reported statistically significant improvements from pre to post across five practices for PE and PA, and ChildObesity180 grantees reported significant increases on all practices except daily recess, which was already in place at 95% of schools at pre-survey. Schools across both grant programs reported the largest increases for promoting PA via messaging, implementing classroom PA breaks, and providing PA before and after school. Schools in both programs reported smaller, but statistically significant, increases in requiring the recommended minutes of PE. This study illustrates the feasibility of offering small grants, at a national scale, for schools to make changes that support PA throughout the day. Results suggest that schools can shift PA policies and practices over the course of a school year.

Objective Out-of-school time (OST) programs serve a large, diverse population of children, including those at increased obesity risk. In this study, parents' perspectives about nutrition and physical activity (PA) during OST were assessed. Design Survey. Setting Online. Participants Six hundred parents with a school-aged child participating in programs from selected OST organizations. Main Outcome Measures Parent perspectives about the importance and availability of different foods, beverages, and PA opportunities during OST, and OST program and parent involvement in promoting healthful environments. Analysis Frequencies were used to describe parents' perspectives. Wilcoxon tests and logistic regression analyses were conducted to test for significant differences. Results Most parents reported that it was important that their children have water (96.2%), fresh fruits and vegetables (79.0%), and PA (97.2%) during OST; fewer parents reported that these were regularly available. About two thirds of parents agreed that OST programs should promote healthy environments for children, whereas one third agreed that parents alone should be responsible for children's nutrition and PA. Conclusions and Implications Results suggest that many parents would support efforts to improve OST nutrition and PA. Yet, there is a need to further understand the perceptions and motivations of different subgroups to enact successful obesity prevention efforts during OST.

Background Children regularly consume foods from quick-service restaurants (QSR), but little is known about the foods that children order, the calories and nutrients consumed, the accuracy of stated calorie information, or the ability to assess food orders and consumption in QSRs. This study evaluated the feasibility of plate waste collection in QSRs and examined children’s orders and consumption of meals from the standard and children’s menus. Additional aims were to examine if the meals ordered met healthier standards for children’s menu items and determine the accuracy of the QSR-stated energy content of foods. Methods Fifteen QSRs, two malls, and 116 eligible parents were approached to participate in the study in 2015. Among the families recruited, children’s meal orders and consumption were analyzed using plate waste methodology, and a subsample of foods was analyzed using bomb calorimetry in 2015. Results Two individual QSRs and one mall food court with two QSRs agreed to participate, and n = 50 participants (parents with children between the ages of 5-10 years) were recruited. Children consumed on average 519 calories, 5.7 g saturated fat, 957 mg sodium, 3.7 g fiber, and 22.7 g sugar. Children ordered and consumed significantly fewer calories and less sodium and sugar with meals ordered exclusively from the children’s menu compared with the standard menu. Overall there were no significant differences between the measured and stated energy contents of the QSR foods. Conclusions Conducting plate waste research in QSRs is feasible and there is concordance with stated calorie information. Consuming foods exclusively from the children’s menu may help limit overconsumption in QSRs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4171-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ObjectiveApproximately one-third of children in the USA are either overweight or obese. Understanding the perceptions of children is an important factor in reversing this trend.DesignAn online survey was conducted with children to capture their perceptions of weight, overweight, nutrition, physical activity and related socio-behavioural factors.SettingWithin the USA.SubjectsUS children (n 1224) aged 8–18 years.ResultsTwenty-seven per cent of children reported being overweight; 47·1 % of children overestimated the rate of overweight/obesity among US children. A higher percentage of self-classified overweight children (81·9 %) worried about weight than did self-classified under/normal weight children (31·1 %). Most children (91·1 %) felt that it was important to not be overweight, for both health-related and social-related reasons. The majority of children believed that if someone their age is overweight they will likely be overweight in adulthood (93·1 %); get an illness such as diabetes or heart disease in adulthood (90·2 %); not be able to play sports well (84·5 %); and be teased or made fun of in school (87·8 %). Children focused more on food/drink than physical activity as reasons for overweight at their age. Self-classified overweight children were more likely to have spoken with someone about their weight over the last year than self-classified under/normal weight children.ConclusionsChildren demonstrated good understanding of issues regarding weight, overweight, nutrition, physical activity and related socio-behavioural factors. Their perceptions are important and can be helpful in crafting solutions that will resonate with children.

Warfighters today face new challenges in accessing the electromagnetic spectrum. These challenges are due to the significant growth in spectrum demands for deployed spectrum dependent systems, increased demand for information and advanced C2 concepts associated with net-centricity and increased competition for spectrum resources from commercial and civil interests. This adds up to near complete spectrum saturation in areas of potential DoD deployment. In addition, the rapid pace of future Net Centric Warfare requires spectrum plans for mission specific demands to be reduced from weeks/days to hours/minutes. The Coalition Joint Spectrum Management Planning Tool (CJSMPT) Program is developing a system for assessing and planning at-the-halt (ATH) and on-the-move (OTM) spectrum use that will give warfighters the ability to rapidly predict conflicts and optimize spectrum utilization for mission success. This paper will describe the technical details of the CJSMPT system and its architecture. Details of the CJSMPT automated spectrum de-confliction algorithms will also be presented. Finally, this paper will discuss the current project status and the current transition plan into military operations.

The P19S18O1A1 embryonal carcinoma cell line is capable of neuronal differentiation and is therefore useful in studying neuronal development and the influence of growth modulators on neuronal differentiation. We report here on the effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) and dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate (db cAMP), individually and combined, on differentiation of P19S18O1A1 cells. NGF alone did not induce any significant neuron-like changes in cultures exposed to NGF for as long as 12 days. Treatment with db cAMP resulted in changes in a significant population of the cells, including development of a neuron-like morphology, seen at both the light and electron microscopic level, loss of stage-specific embryonic antigen expression and the appearance of two neuronal markers, neurofilament protein and neuron-specific enolase. These changes were similar to changes seen when embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells are treated with retinoic acid. NGF in combination with dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate brought about similar changes as dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate alone, and was therefore not synergistic for induction of neuronal properties. In retinoic acid-treated cultures, the neuron-like cells had ultrastructural features very similar to neurons in non-tumorous, normal tissue, with typical organelles, such as one nucleolus, neurotubules and neurofilaments, while db cAMP-treated EC cells showed similar findings at the electronmicroscopic level. The results suggest that db cAMP can induce the neuronal phenotype in EC cells alone without pre-treatment with retinoic acid.

Embryonal carcinoma cells are useful in the study of embryogenesis and development, and their differentiation into neurons serves as a model of neuronal development. Retinoic acid was used to differentiate P19S18O1A1 embryonal carcinoma cells into neuronal, glial, and fibroblast-like cells and the phenotype of the neuronal population was examined. Neuron-specific enolase was present in the neuronal cells, suggesting that these neurons had reached some degree of maturity. A population (approximately 70%) of the neurons showed positive immunocytochemistry for tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine beta-hydroxylase and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase, three enzymes in the pathway of catecholamine synthesis. Therefore a population of the neurons appeared to be adrenergic. These neurons also showed a low level of histofluorescence for endogenous catecholamines and exhibited an exogenous catecholamine reuptake system. In order to determine the phenotype of other neuron-like cells found to be negative for the adrenergic properties examined, immunocytochemistry for neuropeptides and neurotransmitters known to coexist within central neurons was performed. Serotonin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, glutamic acid decarboxylase, and choline acetyltransferase were all absent from retinoic acid-treated P19S18O1A1 neuronal cultures. These studies, along with those that compare the effects of retinoic acid and other growth modulators on neuronal differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells, should aid in the understanding of neuronal induction and development in vivo.