A remotely-delivered pilot and feasibility program to promote physical and food literacy in adolescents with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Youth with intellectual disabilities experience disparities in physical activity and diet quality. Physical and food literacy are hypothesised to support adoption of healthy lifestyles; however, few such interventions have been developed for this population. METHOD: Participants with intellectual disabilities ages 12-16 years were recruited for a 12-week online sports skills and nutrition education intervention. Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy were assessed by attendance, satisfaction, and pre-post measures of motor skills, perceived competence and motivation for physical activity, classifying foods, making healthy choices, and food consumption. RESULTS: Six teens participated in the program and attended 87.5% of the sessions. Satisfaction data suggested that the program was well-received by both teens and parents. Trends toward improvements on physical activity and nutrition outcome measures were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary data from this pilot study suggest that physical and food literacy in youth with intellectual disabilities can be improved, which in turn may contribute to the adoption of healthy lifestyles.

Cerebral Ketones Detected by 3T MR Spectroscopy in Patients with High-Grade Glioma on an Atkins-Based Diet.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Ketogenic diets are being explored as a possible treatment for several neurological diseases, but the physiologic impact on the brain is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of 3T MR spectroscopy to monitor brain ketone levels in patients with high-grade gliomas who were on a ketogenic diet (a modified Atkins diet) for 8 weeks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Paired pre- and post-ketogenic diet MR spectroscopy data from both the lesion and contralateral hemisphere were analyzed using LCModel software in 10 patients. RESULTS: At baseline, the ketone bodies acetone and ß-hydroxybutyrate were nearly undetectable, but by week 8, they increased in the lesion for both acetone (0.06 ± 0.03 ≥ 0.27 ± 0.06 IU, P = .005) and ß-hydroxybutyrate (0.07 ± 0.07 ≥ 0.79 ± 0.32 IU, P = .046). In the contralateral brain, acetone was also significantly increased (0.041 ± 0.01 ≥ 0.16 ± 0.04 IU, P = .004), but not ß-hydroxybutyrate. Acetone was detected in 9/10 patients at week 8, and ß-hydroxybutyrate, in 5/10. Acetone concentrations in the contralateral brain correlated strongly with higher urine ketones (r = 0.87, P = .001) and lower fasting glucose (r = -0.67, P = .03). Acetoacetate was largely undetectable. Small-but-statistically significant decreases in NAA were also observed in the contralateral hemisphere at 8 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that 3T MR spectroscopy is feasible for detecting small cerebral metabolic changes associated with a ketogenic diet, provided that appropriate methodology is used.

Notch, neural stem cells, and brain tumors.

The Notch pathway has a fundamental role during cell-fate specification in the developing mammalian nervous system. During neocortical development, Notch signaling inhibits neuronal differentiation and maintains the neural stem/progenitor cell pool to permit successive waves of neurogenesis, which are followed by gliogenesis. In addition, recent evidence suggests that Notch signaling is not uniformly used among distinct proliferative neural cells types, with the canonical cascade functional in neural stem cells but attenuated in neurogenic progenitors. Although the role of Notch in neural development is increasingly well understood, it has recently become evident that Notch also has a role in brain tumor biology. Notch receptors are overexpressed in many different brain tumor types, and they may have an initiating role in some. Stem-like cells in brain tumors share many similarities with neural stem/progenitor cells and may require Notch for their survival and growth. Understanding the role of Notch signaling in neoplastic and non-neoplastic stem/progenitor populations will advance our understanding of basic principles regulating developmental and stem cell biology and may also lead to more effective therapies for brain tumors.

Block copolymers and melt blends of polylactide with Nodax microbial polyesters: preparation and mechanical properties.

Completely renewable resource-based, degradable composites of poly(l-lactide) and Nodax [poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)] were prepared by a melt blending procedure. oligoNodax-b-poly(l-lactide) diblock copolymers were synthesized and their use as compatibilizers in these melt blends was investigated. The block copolymers were prepared from microbially produced Nodax polyhydroxyalkanoate by a two-step transesterification and macroinitiator ring opening polymerization method. Addition of Nodax increased the notched Izod impact resistance of the binary blends compared to that of PLLA homopolymer (44+/-6 J m(-1) versus 22+/-2 J m(-1), respectively). Further addition of the oligoNodax-b-poly(l-lactide) block copolymers to form ternary blends resulted in composites with improved dispersion and decreased Nodax particle size, but no additional improvement in the notched Izod impact properties. Significant Nodax degradation during processing coupled with a high Nodax entanglement molecular weight, as well as crystallization and low impact resistance of the Nodax dispersed phase are implicated as major factors impeding further toughening.

Parental report of sleep problems in children with autism.

This research evaluated parent reports of sleep behaviors of four groups of children: those with Autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorders, those with General Mental Retardation alone, those attending Special Education classes (with no MR diagnosis), and a control group of similar aged children without a developmental diagnosis. Diagnostic classification and demographic information were determined through parent report, report of classroom registration, and the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (Gilliam, 1995). To evaluate sleeping behavior the study used a 28-item, five-factor scale (Behavioral Evaluation of Disorders of Sleep/BEDS; Schreck, 1997/1998) constructed from the diagnostic criteria for childhood sleep disorders found in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders: Diagnostic and Coding Manual (ICSD, American Sleep Disorders Association, 1990). Findings suggest that reports of parents with children with autistic characteristics exhibit expected quantities of sleep, but parent perception of their sleep difficulties and sleep quality is different for children with autism than for children in all other study groups.