How Societal Forces of Change Are Transforming Youth Physical Activity Promotion in North America.

BACKGROUND: Climate change, increasing recognition of institutionalized discrimination, and the COVID-19 pandemic are large-scale, societal events (ie, forces of change) that affect the timing, settings, and modes of youth physical activity. Despite the impact that forces of change have on youth physical activity and physical activity environments, few studies consider how they affect physical activity promotion. METHODS: The authors use 2 established frameworks, the ecological model of physical activity and the youth physical activity timing, how, and setting framework, to highlight changes in physical activity patterns of youth in North America that have resulted from contemporary forces of change. RESULTS: North American countries-Canada, Mexico, and the United States-have faced similar but contextually different challenges for promoting physical activity in response to climate change, increasing recognition of institutionalized discrimination, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovative applications of implementation science, digital health technologies, and community-based participatory research methodologies may be practical for increasing and sustaining youth physical activity in response to these forces of change. CONCLUSIONS: Thoughtful synthesis of existing physical activity frameworks can help to guide the design and evaluation of new and existing physical activity initiatives. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers are encouraged to carefully consider the intended and unintended consequences of actions designed to respond to forces of change.

Dissolved polycyclic aromatic compounds in Canada's Athabasca River in relation to Oil Sands from 2013 through 2019.

The Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) Program began long-term surface water quality monitoring on the lower Athabasca River in 2012. Sampling of low level, bio-accumulative polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) targeted a suite of parent and alkylated compounds in the Athabasca River (AR) mainstem using semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs). Samples were collected along a gradient from upstream reference near Athabasca, Alberta, through exposure to the Athabasca oil sands deposit (AOSD), various tributary inflows, and mining activities within the OSMA, to downstream recovery near Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) and reference on the Slave River. The program adapted over the years, shifting in response to program review and environmental events. The AOSD chemical fingerprint was present in samples collected within the AOSD, through the oil sands mineable area (OSMA), downstream to recovery from 2013 to 2019. PACs were dominated by alkylated phenanthrenes/anthracenes (PAs) and dibenzothiophenes (Ds), with elevated levels of alkylated fluorenes (Fs), naphthalenes (Ns), fluoranthenes/pyrenes (FlPys) and benzo[a]anthracenes/chrysenes (BaACs), increasing in concentration from C1 < C2 < C3 < C4. Concentrations of these petrogenic PACs were at their highest within the OSMA and downstream of tributaries. The AOSD fingerprint was absent from sites located outside of the influence of the AOSD and downstream of the Peace-Athabasca Delta on the Slave River. PAC concentrations in the AR increased with mainstem discharge and loadings from tributaries, were moderated by the PAD, and diluted by the Peace River. This work bolsters the baseline PAC information previously reported for the Athabasca River and waters downstream, reporting 7 years of data, from all sites within the mainstem monitoring program, and exploring potential regional and hydrological drivers of these between sites and over time.

Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds in Rivers Dominated by Petrogenic Sources after a Boreal Megafire.

Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) threaten the health of aquatic ecosystems. In northeastern Alberta, Canada, decades of oil sands mining and upgrading activities have increased PAC delivery into freshwaters. This PAC pollution adds to natural inputs from river erosion of bitumen-bearing McMurray Formation outcrops and wildfire inputs. Quantifying these petrogenic and pyrogenic PAC inputs, which is key for understanding industrial impacts, remains a challenge. To distinguish petrogenic from pyrogenic inputs, we characterized river water PACs before and after the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, one of the largest natural disasters in Canadian history. Samples of wildfire ash and outcropping bitumen allow us to distinguish between these important PAC sources. River PAC concentrations ranged over multiple orders of magnitude (10s-10 000s ng/L). Petrogenic PACs dominated most of the postfire period with only short-term episodes of pyrogenic signatures in burned watersheds due to the wash-in of ash from the watershed. Wildfire PAC inputs during these events resulted in exceptional increases in concentrations that met or exceeded high (petrogenic) background concentrations, driven by the natural erosion of outcropping bitumen. Our dataset offers the first quantification of these two important PAC sources in this industrialized region and provides new insight into the impacts of increasing wildfire frequency and severity across the Boreal Forest.

The essential conditions needed to implement the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program: a focused ethnography.

BACKGROUND: The Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (IYMP) is a 20-week communal, relationship-based afterschool healthy living program for Indigenous youth in Canada. IYMP embraces the Anishnaabe/Nehiyawak concepts of Mino-Bimaadiziwin/miyo-pimâtisiwin ("living in a good way") via its core components of physical activities/games, healthy snacks, and relationship-building. A strength of IYMP is that it values autonomy, adaptability, and the school community context. However, this presents challenges when evaluating its implementation, given that traditional implementation science methods tend to oversimplify the process. In response, essential conditions for the implementation of school-based healthy living programs across diverse contexts have been developed. The purpose of this research was to understand the applicability of these essential conditions within the context of IYMP. METHODS: 15 participants (n = 10 Young Adult Health Leaders; n = 5 coordinators) with experience implementing IYMP in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec were purposefully sampled. Focused ethnography was the guiding method and one-on-one semi-structured interviews were used as the data generation strategy. The purpose of the interviews was to understand what conditions are needed to implement IYMP. The interview guide was based on previously established essential conditions developed by the research team. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, and content analysis was used to identify patterns in the data. RESULTS: The overarching theme that emerged from the interviews was the applicability of the essential conditions when implementing IYMP. Participants felt the eight core conditions (students as change agents, school/community-specific autonomy, demonstrated administrative leadership, higher-level support, dedicated champion(s) to engage school community, community support, quality and use of evidence, and professional development) and four contextual conditions (time, funding and project support, readiness and understanding, and prior community connectivity) were necessary, but made suggestions to modify two conditions (youth led and learning opportunities) to better reflect their experiences implementing IYMP. In addition, a new core condition, rooted in relationship, emerged as necessary for implementation. CONCLUSIONS: This research adds to the literature by identifying and describing what is needed in practice to implement a communal, relationship-based afterschool healthy living program. The essential conditions may support other researchers and communities interested in implementing and rippling similar programs.

Associations between Screen-Based Activities, Physical Activity, and Dietary Habits in Mexican Schoolchildren.

Screen-based activities are associated with increased risk of obesity and contribute to physical inactivity and poor dietary habits. The primary aim of this study was to examine the associations among screen-based activities, physical activity, and dietary habits in school-aged children in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and Mexico City, Mexico. The secondary aim was to examine these associations across sex. The School Physical Activity and Nutrition survey was used to assess screen-based activities (TV watching, video game use, computer use), physical activity, and dietary habits. Organized activity/sports participation, unhealthy dietary habits, and household income were correlated with screen-based activities. While TV watching was associated with decreased participation in organized activity/sports participation, computer and video game use was associated with increased organized activity/sports participation. Boys engaged in more TV watching and video game use compared to girls. All screen-based activities were associated with age among boys; whereas video game and computer use were associated with higher income among girls. These findings suggest a need for sex- and age-specific strategies that acknowledge the differential use of screen-based activities across sex and age. Future research should continue to identify underlying correlates linking screen-based activities with health behaviors to inform strategies to reduce screen-time in Mexican children.

Results From the 2019 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Adults.

BACKGROUND: The ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Adults is a knowledge exchange tool representing a synthesis of the literature and data available at the national level. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the results of the inaugural 2019 edition. METHODS: Thirteen physical activity indicators, grouped into 4 categories, were graded by a committee of experts using a process that was informed by the best available evidence. Sources included national surveys, peer-reviewed literature, and gray literature such as government and nongovernment reports and online content. RESULTS: Grades were assigned to Daily Behaviors (overall physical activity: D; daily movement: C; moderate to vigorous physical activity: F; muscle and bone strength: INC; balance: INC; sedentary behavior: INC; sleep: B-), Individual Characteristics (intentions: B+), Settings and Sources of Influence (social support: INC; workplace: INC; community and environment: B-; health and primary care settings: C-), and Strategies and Investments (government: B-). CONCLUSIONS: Generally, lower grades were given to behavior-related indicators (eg, overall physical activity) and better grades for indicators related to investments, community supports, and strategies and policies. Research gaps and future recommendations and directions are identified for each indicator to support future practice, policy, and research directions.

Increasing Cell Seeding Density Improves Elastin Expression and Mechanical Properties in Collagen Gel-Based Scaffolds Cellularized with Smooth Muscle Cells.

Vascular tissue engineering combines cells with scaffold materials in vitro aiming the development of physiologically relevant vascular models. For natural scaffolds such as collagen gels, where cells can be mixed with the material solution before gelation, cell seeding density is a key parameter that can affect extracellular matrix deposition and remodeling. Nonetheless, this parameter is often overlooked and densities sensitively lower than those of native tissues, are usually employed. Herein, the effect of seeding density on the maturation of tubular collagen gel-based scaffolds cellularized with smooth muscle cells is investigated. The compaction, the expression, and deposition of key vascular proteins and the resulting mechanical properties of the constructs are evaluated up to 1 week of maturation. Results show that increasing cell seeding density accelerates cell-mediated gel compaction, enhances elastin expression (more than sevenfold increase at the highest density, Day 7) and finally improves the overall mechanical properties of constructs. Of note, the tensile equilibrium elastic modulus, evaluated by stress-relaxation tests, reach values comparable to native arteries for the highest cell density, after a 7-day maturation. Altogether, these results show that higher cell seeding densities promote the rapid maturation of collagen gel-based vascular constructs toward structural and mechanical properties better mimicking native arteries.

Validation of reference genes for real-time PCR of cord blood mononuclear cells, differentiating endothelial progenitor cells, and mature endothelial cells.

In the last ten years, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have gained interest as an attractive cell population in regenerative medicine for vascular applications. This population is defined as the precursor of endothelial mature cells (ECs) through a process of differentiation. To our knowledge, no single marker can be used to discriminate them from mature ECs. To effectively study their differentiation kinetics, gene expression must be assessed. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) is widely used to analyze gene expression. To minimize the impact of variances from RT-qPCR, a rigorous selection of reference genes must be performed prior to any experiments due to variations in experimental conditions. In this study, CD34+ mononuclear cells were extracted from human cord blood and differentiated into EPCs after seeding for a maximum period of 21 days. To choose the best combinations of reference genes, we compared the results of EPCs, CD34+ mononuclear cells, and mature endothelial cells to ensure that the differentiation kinetics did not affect the expression of our selected reference genes. The expression levels of seven genes, namely, YWHAZ, GAPDH, HPRT1, RPLP0, UBC, B2M, and TBP were thus compared. The algorithms geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and the Comparative ΔCt method were employed to assess the expression of each candidate gene. Overall results reveal that the expression stability of reference genes may differ depending on the statistical program used. YWHAZ, GAPDH, and UBC composed the optimal set of reference genes for the gene expression studies performed by RT-qPCR in our experimental conditions. This work can thus serve as a starting point for the selection of candidate reference genes to normalize the levels of gene expression in endothelial progenitor cell populations.

A new composite hydrogel combining the biological properties of collagen with the mechanical properties of a supramolecular scaffold for bone tissue engineering.

Tissue engineering is a promising alternative to autografts, allografts, or biomaterials to address the treatment of severe and large bone lesions. Classically, tissue engineering products associate a scaffold and cells and are implanted or injected into the lesion. These cells must be embedded in an appropriate biocompatible scaffold, which offers a favourable environment for their survival and differentiation. Here, we designed a composite hydrogel composed of collagen I, an extracellular matrix protein widely used in several therapeutic applications, which we associated with a physical hydrogel generated from a synthetic small amphiphilic molecule. This composite showed improved mechanical and biological characteristics as compared with gels obtained from each separate compound. Incorporation of the physical hydrogel prevented shrinkage of collagen and cell diffusion out of the gel and yielded a gel with a higher elastic modulus than those of gels obtained with each component alone. The composite hydrogel allowed cell adhesion and proliferation in vitro and long-term cell survival in vivo. Moreover, it promoted the differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells in the absence of any osteogenic factors. In vivo, cells embedded in the composite gel and injected subcutaneously in immunodeficient mice produced lamellar osteoid tissue and differentiated into osteoblasts. This study points this new composite hydrogel as a promising scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications.

Evaluating the effectiveness of physician counseling to promote physical activity in Mexico: an effectiveness-implementation hybrid study.

Integrating physical activity (PA) counseling in routine clinical practice remains a challenge. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a pragmatic strategy aimed to improve physician PA counseling and patient PA. An effectiveness-implementation type-2 hybrid design was used to evaluate a 3-h training (i.e., implementation strategy-IS) to increase physician use of the 5-As (assess, advise, agree, assist, arrange) for PA counseling (i.e., clinical intervention-CI) and to determine if the CI improved patient PA. Patients of trained and untrained physicians reported on PA and quality of life pre-post intervention. Medical charts (N = 1700) were examined to assess the proportion of trained physicians that used the 5-As. The RE-AIM framework informed our evaluation. 305/322 of eligible physicians participated in the IS (M age = 40 years, 52% women) and 683/730 of eligible patients in the CI (M age = 49 years, 77% women). The IS was adopted by all state regions and cost ~ $20 Mexican pesos (US$1) per provider trained. Physician adoption of any of the 5-As improved from pre- to post-training (43 vs. 52%, p < .01), with significant increases in the use of assessment (43 vs. 52%), advising (25 vs. 39%), and assisting with barrier resolution (7 vs. 15%), but not in collaborative goal setting (13 vs. 17%) or arranging for follow-up (1 vs. 1%). Patient PA and quality of life did not improve. The IS intervention was delivered with high fidelity at a low cost, but appears to be insufficient to lead to broad adoption of the CI.

Enhancing Indigenous Health Promotion Research Through Two-Eyed Seeing: A Hermeneutic Relational Process.

The intention of this article is to demonstrate how Indigenous and allied health promotion researchers learned to work together through a process of Two-Eyed Seeing. This process was first introduced as a philosophical hermeneutic research project on diabetes prevention within an Indigenous community in Quebec Canada. We, as a research team, became aware that hermeneutics and the principles of Haudenosaunee decision making were characteristic of Two-Eyed Seeing. This article describes our experiences while working with each other. Our learning from these interactions emphasized the relational aspects needed to ensure that we became a highly functional research team while working together and becoming Two-Eyed Seeing partners.

Characterization of the School Neighborhood Food Environment in Three Mexican Cities.

Food resources in school neighborhoods can negatively influence diet; however, this environment is understudied. This study characterized the school neighborhood food environment in Guadalajara (n=11), Puerto Vallarta (n=7), and Mexico City (n=14). Convenience stores, table-service restaurants, and taco stands were highly available in all three cities. Grocery stores were highly available in Mexico City school neighborhoods, yet less frequently observed in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. Socioeconomic differences in food cart and grocery store availability were observed in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. Policy and intervention strategies are needed to address the saturation of food resources in Mexico school neighborhoods.

Physical activity interventions to promote positive youth development among indigenous youth: a RE-AIM review.

Physical activity (PA) programs are a promising strategy to promote positive youth development (PYD). It is not known if published reports provide sufficient information to promote the implementation of effective PYD in indigenous youth. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which published literature on PA programs that promote PYD in indigenous youth report on RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance) indicators. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify articles reporting on PA programs that promote PYD in indigenous youth. The search yielded 8084 articles. A validated 21-item RE-AIM abstraction tool assessing internal and external validity factors was used to extract data from 10 articles meeting eligibility criteria. The most commonly reported dimensions were effectiveness (73 %), adoption (48 %), and maintenance (43 %). Reach (34 %) and implementation (30 %) were less often reported. Published research provides insufficient information to inform real-world implementation of PA programs to promote PYD in indigenous youth.

Examining the Relationship between Park Neighborhoods, Features, Cleanliness, and Condition with Observed Weekday Park Usage and Physical Activity: A Case Study.

Background: Little research has comprehensively explored how park features, quality indicators, and neighborhood environments are associated with observed park usage and physical activity (PA). This case study examined whether weekday park usage and PA differ by neighborhood type, across numerous categories of park features, and according to park feature condition and cleanliness. Methods: Direct observation was used to capture the number of users and PA levels within 143 park features in 6 parks (3 urban, 3 suburban) over the course of six weeks. Audits of park environments assessed the type, condition, and cleanliness of all features and amenities. Results: Urban parks experienced greater usage, but a higher proportion of sedentary users than suburban parks. Usage and PA levels differed across types of park features, with splash pads, pools, paths, and play structures having the greatest proportion of active users. Usage did not differ by park feature condition and cleanliness, but greater condition and cleanliness were generally associated with higher PA levels. Conclusions: Factors such as neighborhood context, types of park features, and condition and cleanliness can impact park usage and PA levels and should be targets for researchers and planners aiming to foster more user-friendly and active neighborhood park environments.

Applying the RE-AIM conceptual framework for the promotion of physical activity in low- and middle-income countries / Aplicando o modelo RE-AIM para a promoção da atividade física em países de baixa e média renda / Aplicando el marco conceptual RE-AIM para la promoción de la actividad física en países de ingreso bajo y médio

ABSTRACT Objective: the RE-AIM framework has been widely used to evaluate internal and external validity of interventions aimed to promote physical activity, helping to provide comprehensive evaluation of the reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation and maintenance of research and programming. Despite this progress, the RE-AIM framework has not been used widely in Latin America. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the RE-AIM framework, the process and materials developed for a one-day workshop in Guadalajara, and the acceptability and satisfaction of participants that attended the workshop. Methods: lecture, interactive examples and an agenda were developed for a one-day RE-AIM workshop over a three month period. Results: thirty two health care practitioners (M age = 30.6, SD=9.9 years) attended the workshop. Most (100%) rated the workshop as credible, useful (100%) and intended to apply it in current or future research (95%). Conclusion: results suggest intuitive appeal of the RE-AIM framework, and provide a strategy for introducing the utility and practical application of the framework in practice settings in Mexico and Latin America.

RESUMO Objetivo: o modelo RE-AIM tem sido amplamente utilizado para avaliar a validade interna e externa de intervenções que objetivam promover atividade física, auxiliando a fornecer uma avaliação abrangente do alcance, eficácia, adoção, implementação e manutenção de pesquisas e programas. Apesar deste progresso, o modelo RE-AIM não tem sido amplamente utilizado na América Latina. O objetivo deste artigo é descrever o modelo RE-AIM, o processo e os materiais desenvolvidos para uma oficina de um dia de duração em Guadalajara e a aceitabilidade e satisfação dos participantes que compareceram na oficina. Métodos: durante o período de três meses, palestras e exercícios interativos foram desenvolvidos para uma oficina de um dia sobre o modelo RE-AIM. Resultados: trinta e dois profissionais de saúde (Média de idade=30,6±9,9 anos) participaram da oficina. A maioria dos participantes classificou a oficina como credível (100%), útil (100%) e pretende aplicar o que foi aprendido em investigações atuais ou futuras (95%). Conclusão: os resultados sugerem que o modelo RE-AIM é um recurso intuitivo e fornecem uma estratégia para a apresentação da utilidade e aplicação prática do modelo em cenários práticos no México e na América Latina.

RESUMEN Objetivo: el marco RE-AIM ha sido ampliamente utilizado para evaluar la validez interna y externa de intervenciones destinadas a promover la actividad física, ayudando a proporcionar una evaluación exhaustiva de la cobertura, eficacia/efectividad, adopción, implementación y mantenimiento de programas sobre actividad física. A pesar de este progreso, el marco RE-AIM no se ha utilizado ampliamente en América Latina. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar el marco conceptual RE-AIM, describir el proceso y los materiales desarrollados para un taller en Guadalajara; y reportar la aceptabilidad y satisfacción de los participantes que acudieron al taller. Métodos: durante un período de tres meses, se desarrolló un taller sobre el marco RE-AIM. El taller duró un día e incluyó una conferencia y ejercicios interactivos. Resultados: treinta y dos profesionales de la salud (edad media = 30.6 [±9.9 años]) participaron en el taller. La mayoría calificó el taller como creíble, útil (100%) y manifestó la intención de aplicar lo aprendido en investigaciones actuales o futuras (95%). Conclusión: los resultados sugieren que el marco RE-AIM es intuitivamente atractivo y que el curso es una estrategia adecuada para introducir la utilidad y aplicación práctica del marco en espacios de práctica en América Latina.

A planar model of the vessel wall from cellularized-collagen scaffolds: focus on cell-matrix interactions in mono-, bi- and tri-culture models.

The acquisition of new thorough knowledge on the interactions existing between vascular cells would represent a step forward in the engineering of vascular tissues. In this light, herein we designed a physiological-like tri-culture in vitro vascular wall model using a planar cellularized collagen gel as the scaffold. The model can be obtained in 24 h and features multi-layered hierarchical organization composed of a fibroblast-containing adventitia-like layer, a media-like layer populated by smooth muscle cells and an intima-like endothelial cell monolayer. After 7 days of static culture, the compaction of the collagen matrix by the vascular cells was achieved, and the deposition of the vascular extracellular matrix components fibronectin, fibrillin-1 and tropoelastin was observed. The blood-compatible functionality of the endothelial cell monolayer was demonstrated by a blood clotting assay: after 7 days of maturation, clotting was prevented on the endothelialized constructs (more than 80% free hemoglobin maintained after 60 min of blood contact) but not at all on non-endothelialized ones (less than 20% free hemoglobin). In addition, western blotting results suggested that in the tri-culture model the loss of smooth muscle cell phenotype was delayed compared to what was observed in the mono-culture model, finally resulting in a behaviour more similar to the in vivo conditions. Overall, our findings indicate that this in vitro model has the potential to be used as an advanced system to examine vascular cell behavioural interactions, as well as for drug testing and the investigation of physiological and pathological processes.

Physical Activity and Anthropometric Characteristics Among Urban Youth in Mexico: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a critical problem among Mexican youth, but few studies have investigated associations among physical activity (PA) modes and anthropometrics in this population. This study examined associations among active commuting to school (ACS), sports or other organized PA, outdoor play, and body mass index (BMI) percentile and waist circumference (WC) among Mexican youth. METHODS: Parents of school children (N = 1996, ages 6 to 14 years, 53.1% female) in 3 Mexican cities reported PA participation using the (modified) fourth grade School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey. Trained assessors measured BMI percentile and WC in person. RESULTS: Parents reported that 52.3% of children engaged in ACS, 57.3% participated in sports or organized PA, and a median of 2 days in the previous week with at least 30 minutes of outdoor play. In complete case analyses (n = 857), ACS was negatively associated with BMI percentile, and outdoor play was negatively associated with WC after adjusting for school, age, sex, and income. In analyses incorporating data from multiple imputation (N = 1996), outdoor play was negatively associated with WC (all Ps < . 05). CONCLUSIONS: ACS and outdoor play are favorably associated with anthropometrics and may help prevent childhood obesity in Mexico. ACS and outdoor play should be priorities for increasing youth PA in Mexico.

Enhancing the functionality of cotton fabric by physical and chemical pre-treatments: A comparative study.

Recently, antimicrobial and decontaminating textiles, such as cotton a natural carbohydrate polymer, are generating more attention. Plant materials used for natural dyes are expected to impart biofunctional properties and high added valued functional textiles. In the current study, surface modification of cotton to maximize the dye amount on the surface has been investigated. Physical modification using nitrogen-hydrogen plasma, chemical modification using chitosan and chemical modification using dopamine as biopolymers imparting amino groups were explored. Furthermore, dye exhaustion of curcumin, as a natural functional dye has been studied. Dye stability tests were also performed after fabric washing using hospital washing protocol to predict the durability of the functionalizations. The results demonstrated that cotton surfaces treated with dopamine exhibit a high level of dye uptake (78%) and a good washing fastness. The use of non-toxic and natural additives during cotton finishing process could give the opportunity of cradle to cradle design for antimicrobial textile industries.

Influence of parental perception of school safety and gender on children's physical activity in Mexico: A cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This cross sectional study aims to determine the effects of gender and parental perception of safety at school on children's physical activity (PA) levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Parents of school aged Mexican children residing in Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta, completed surveys about their children's PA measures. The physical activity indicators were evaluated using linear and logistical regression models. RESULTS: Analysis did not indicate that gender moderated the relationship between parental perception of safety and PA measures, but significant gender issues exist with girls participating less than boys in the three measures of PA in this study (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Results suggest the need for additional interventions promoting physical activity in girls in Mexico.

Influence of parental perception of school safety and gender on children's physical activity in Mexico: A cross sectional study / Influencia de la percepción de los padres sobre seguridad escolar y del género en la actividad física de niños en México: un estudio transversal

Objective. This cross sectional study aims to determine the effects of gender and parental perception of safety at school on children's physical activity (PA) levels. Materials and methods. Parents of school aged Mexican children residing in Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta, completed surveys about their children's PA measures. The physical activity indicators were evaluated using linear and logistical regression models. Results. Analysis did not indicate that gender moderated the relationship between parental perception of safety and PA measures, but significant gender issues exist with girls participating less than boys in the three measures of PA in this study (p<0.001). Conclusion. Results suggest the need for additional interventions promoting physical activity in girls in Mexico.

Objetivo. Determinar los efectos de género y percepción paternal de la seguridad en escuelas, en niveles de actividad física (AF) en los niños. Material y métodos. Padres con hijos escolares residentes en Guadalajara, Ciudad de México, y Puerto Vallarta, completaron encuestas sobre los niveles de AF de sus hijos. Se evaluaron los indicadores de AF usando modelos de regresión lineal y logística. Resultados. El análisis no indica que el género modere la relación entre percepción de seguridad y medidas de AF, pero hay indicadores significativos de que las niñas participan menos que los varones en las medidas de AF de este estudio (p<0.001). Conclusión. Los resultados sugieren la necesidad de intervenciones adicionales que promuevan la AF en niñas mexicanas.