Food Systems, Food Sovereignty, and Health: Conference Shares Linkages to Support Indigenous Community Health.

The Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity (CIIHE) at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS) is a community-academic partnership with Indigenous peoples from Alaska, Hawai'i, and Oklahoma. The CIIHE supports communities to strengthen traditional food practices and food sovereignty and evaluate the impact of those efforts on health. In February 2022, the CIIHE sponsored and hosted a virtual conference to better understand how food sovereignty initiatives can improve health. More than 600 participants gathered to hear the latest research and practice in the areas of public health and agriculture, nutrition, community-based and Indigenous knowledge, and health economics. Community-led food sovereignty initiatives being implemented as part of the CIIHE were featured along with other Indigenous initiatives in urban, rural, and reservation communities. A survey was administered to conference participants to assess food sovereignty topics and priorities for future research. In this Practice Note, we describe innovative community-led initiatives presented as part of the conference and recommendations for action emerging from qualitative and quantitative data collected from conference participants.

Weaving place-based knowledge for culturally significant species in the age of genomics: Looking to the past to navigate the future.

Relationships with place provide critical context for characterizing biocultural diversity. Yet, genetic and genomic studies are rarely informed by Indigenous or local knowledge, processes, and practices, including the movement of culturally significant species. Here, we show how place-based knowledge can better reveal the biocultural complexities of genetic or genomic data derived from culturally significant species. As a case study, we focus on culturally significant southern freshwater koura (crayfish) in Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu (New Zealand, herein Aotearoa NZ). Our results, based on genotyping-by-sequencing markers, reveal strong population genetic structure along with signatures of population admixture in 19 genetically depauperate populations across the east coast of Te Waipounamu. Environment association and differentiation analyses for local adaptation also indicate a role for hydroclimatic variables-including temperature, precipitation, and water flow regimes-in shaping local adaptation in koura. Through trusted partnerships between community and researchers, weaving genomic markers with place-based knowledge has both provided invaluable context for the interpretation of data and created opportunities to reconnect people and place. We envisage such trusted partnerships guiding future genomic research for culturally significant species in Aotearoa NZ and beyond.

Biomechanics of accurate and inaccurate goal-kicking in Australian football: Group-based analysis.

Goal-kicking is an important skill in Australian Football (AF). This study examined whether kinematic differences exist between accurate and inaccurate goal-kicks and determined the relationships between technical factors and accuracy. Eighteen elite to sub-elite AF players performed 15 x 30 m goal-kicks on an AF training ground, with three-dimensional kinematics collected using the Xsens inertial measurement system (Xsens Technologies B.V., Enschede, the Netherlands). A general linear mixed modelling approach and regression-based statistics were employed to quantify differences between accurate and inaccurate goal kicks and the relationships between technical factors and accuracy. Accurate goal-kicks were characterised by a straighter approach line, with less kick-leg joint range of motion (knee and hip), lower linear velocity (centre of mass, foot speed), angular velocity (knee and shank), and less support-leg knee flexion during the kicking phase compared to inaccurate goal-kicks. At the end of the follow through, players produced greater ankle plantarflexion and a straighter-leg line in accurate goal-kicks. Findings in this research indicated that many factors interact with goal-kicking accuracy in AF, ranging from the players' approach line path, their support-leg mechanics, the kick-leg swing motion, to the final position of the kicker during their follow through.

Methemoglobin determination by multi-component analysis in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) possessing unstable hemoglobin.

Hemoglobin derivatives are often quantified in blood to establish cardio-respiratory status and possible causes of impaired oxygen transport. The derivative known as methemoglobin results from oxidation of hemoglobin and is pathologically relevant because it cannot transport oxygen. In species and individuals possessing unstable methemoglobin, methemoglobin formation leads to rapid hemichrome formation and precipitation. Oxidizing reagents in standard methemoglobin analysis techniques therefore prevent accurate quantification of hemoglobin oxidative degradation products in species possessing unstable hemoglobin. In this study, we demonstrated that individual coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) possess unstable methemoglobin. Because molar absorptivities of coho methemoglobin, hemichrome and carboxyhemoglobin were significantly different from humans, the use of previous standard methods leads to an overestimation of methemoglobin in coho. Spontaneous conversion of methemoglobin to hemichrome was also demonstrated in Chinook (O. tshawytscha), pink (O. gorbuscha) and chum salmon (O. keta), but not steelhead (O. mykiss), indicating there may be a frequent need to account for unstable hemoglobin when quantifying methemoglobin in salmonids.•Our method builds upon multi-component analysis (MCA) by using a multivariate modeling technique to derive the coho-specific molar absorptivities of major hemoglobin derivatives•This approach fills a current need for the accurate quantification of methemoglobin in fishes possessing unstable hemoglobin.

Magnitude and variability of gait characteristics when walking on an irregular surface at different speeds.

Different modes of perturbations have been used to understand how individuals negotiate irregular surfaces, with a general notion that increased locomotion variability induces a positive training stimulus. Individuals tend to walk slower when initially exposed to such locomotion tasks, potentially influencing the magnitude and variability of biomechanical parameters. This study investigated theeffects of gait speed on lower extremity biomechanics when walking on an irregular (IS) and regular surface (RS). Twenty physically active males walked on a RS and IS at three different speeds (4 km/h, 5 km/h, 6 km/h). Lower extremity kinematics (300 Hz) and surface electromyography (3000 Hz) were recorded during the first 90 s of gait. Two-factor repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine surface and speed effects (p < 0.05). Gait speed influences walking biomechanics (kinematic and muscle activity parameters) the same irrespective of surface condition. As walking speed increased, sagittal shoe-surface angle, maximum ankle inversion, ankle abduction, knee and hip flexion increased during stance phase when walking on the IS and RS (p < 0.05). Increasing walking speed caused increased muscle activity of the tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, gastrocnemius medialis, vastus medialis and biceps femoris (p < 0.05) on the IS and RS during the gait cycle. Increased gait, kinematic and muscle activity variability was reported at lower walking speed on both the IS and RS. Further, irrespective of gait speed, walking on an IS triggers postural adjustments, higher muscle activity and increased gait variability compared to RS walking. Our findings suggest the benefits of training on the irregular surface may be further enhanced at slower gait speeds.

Concurrent validation of an inertial measurement system to quantify kicking biomechanics in four football codes.

Wearable inertial measurement systems (IMS) allow for three-dimensional analysis of human movements in a sport-specific setting. This study examined the concurrent validity of a IMS (Xsens MVN system) for measuring lower extremity and pelvis kinematics in comparison to a Vicon motion analysis system (MAS) during kicking. Thirty footballers from Australian football (n = 10), soccer (n = 10), rugby league and rugby union (n = 10) clubs completed 20 kicks across four conditions. Concurrent validity was assessed using a linear mixed-modelling approach, which allowed the partition of between and within-subject variance from the device measurement error. Results were expressed in raw and standardised units for assessments of differences in means and measurement error, and interpreted via non-clinical magnitude-based inferences. Trivial to small differences were found in linear velocities (foot and pelvis), angular velocities (knee, shank and thigh), sagittal joint (knee and hip) and segment angle (shank and pelvis) means (mean difference: 0.2-5.8%) between the IMS and MAS in Australian football, soccer and the rugby codes. Trivial to small measurement errors (from 0.1 to 5.8%) were found between the IMS and MAS in all kinematic parameters. The IMS demonstrated acceptable levels of concurrent validity compared to a MAS when measuring kicking biomechanics across the four football codes. Wearable IMS offers various benefits over MAS, such as, out-of-laboratory testing, larger measurement range and quick data output, to help improve the ecological validity of biomechanical testing and the timing of feedback. The results advocate the use of IMS to quantify biomechanics of high-velocity movements in sport-specific settings.

Gastric electrical stimulation has an immediate antiemetic effect in patients with gastroparesis.

BACKGROUND: Electrical stimulation has been successfully employed to treat diseases involving electro-pathology in the heart, skeletal muscles, and the brain, but not in the GI tract. AIM: This study examined the clinical feasibility and efficacy of GES in treating patients with severe gastroparesis. METHODS: Nausea, vomiting, GEA, and liquid and solid gastric emptying were monitored in eleven patients with refractory gastroparesis at baseline and after one week of continuous electrical stimulation administered at 12 cycles/min. Eight patients were subsequently implanted with permanent stimulation devices. Follow-up studies were conducted after 1, 3, 6, and 12 mo. of stimulation. RESULTS: After one week of stimulation, patients' quantified symptoms of nausea and vomiting decreased significantly, and liquid emptying and GEA improved. This improvement was maintained over time in the patients who continued to receive stimulation. Emptying of solids showed progressive improvement that became significant after 3 mo. The three patients who did not receive stimulation after the trial period showed significantly higher symptoms at 12 mo. CONCLUSION: This paper demonstrates that GES at a frequency of 12 cycles/min has an immediate antiemetic effect, followed by an improvement in disordered gastric emptying.

Epithelial myosin light chain kinase expression and activity are upregulated in inflammatory bowel disease.

The intestinal epithelial barrier is frequently disrupted in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and this has been proposed to play a role in disease pathogenesis and reactivation. In vitro studies show that cytokine-induced epithelial barrier dysfunction can be mediated by increased myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) expression and subsequent myosin II regulatory light chain (MLC) phosphorylation. However, this has never been examined in human disease. The aim of these studies, therefore, was to determine whether MLCK is upregulated in the intestinal epithelium of IBD patients. MLCK expression and MLC phosphorylation in human intestinal resection and biopsy specimens were determined by quantitative immunofluorescence microscopy and correlated with clinical and histopathological data. The data show that ileal epithelial MLCK expression was mildly upregulated in inactive IBD. Expression increased further in active disease, with progressive increases in MLCK expression correlating positively with histological disease activity. This correlation between activity and MLCK expression was also seen in individual patients where areas of differing disease activity were analyzed. Colonic epithelial MLCK expression was similarly increased in active IBD and these increases also correlated positively with disease activity, both in individual patients and the overall study group. To evaluate MLCK enzymatic activity, MLC phosphorylation was assessed in snap-frozen colon biopsies. MLC phosphorylation was significantly increased in biopsies with active, but not inactive, IBD. Therefore, these data show that MLCK expression and enzymatic activity are increased in IBD. Moreover, the correlation with disease activity suggests that MLCK upregulation may contribute to barrier dysfunction and IBD pathogenesis.

A differentiation-dependent splice variant of myosin light chain kinase, MLCK1, regulates epithelial tight junction permeability.

Activation of Na(+)-nutrient cotransport leads to increased tight junction permeability in intestinal absorptive (villus) enterocytes. This regulation requires myosin II regulatory light chain (MLC) phosphorylation mediated by MLC kinase (MLCK). We examined the spatiotemporal segregation of MLCK isoform function and expression along the crypt-villus axis and found that long MLCK, which is expressed as two alternatively spliced isoforms, accounts for 97 +/- 4% of MLC kinase activity in interphase intestinal epithelial cells. Expression of the MLCK1 isoform is limited to well differentiated enterocytes, both in vitro and in vivo, and this expression correlates closely with development of Na(+)-nutrient cotransport-dependent tight junction regulation. Consistent with this role, MLCK1 is localized to the perijunctional actomyosin ring. Furthermore, specific knockdown of MLCK1 using siRNA reduced tight junction permeability in monolayers with active Na(+)-glucose cotransport, confirming a functional role for MLCK1. These results demonstrate unique physiologically relevant patterns of expression and subcellular localization for long MLCK isoforms and show that MLCK1 is the isoform responsible for tight junction regulation in absorptive enterocytes.