The impact of moderate physical activity and student interaction on retention at a community college.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of a voluntary walking program that combined moderate physical activity and student interaction on student retention at a community college. Methods: A sample of 69 students at a suburban community college voluntarily joined a walking program and logged the number of minutes they walked and the number of people they spoke to each day. Using a Chi-Squared Test of Independence, the study sample was compared to a matched sample of nonparticipating students. Results: There was a significant difference in these groups relative to retention. A Fisher's Exact Test was used to consider (a) the difference between participants who walked at least 150 minutes per week Reference (1) and those who did not relative to retention and (b) the difference between participants who interacted while walking and those who did not relative to retention. These tests showed no significant differences. Conclusions: Participation in the walking program was significantly associated with retention, but amount of moderate activity or interaction was not.

Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis.

Investigators from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden report on their findings comparing quality of life (QoL) measures in both pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) and adult-onset multiple sclerosis (AOM).

Low-cost, open-source, variable speed and incline treadmill for studying impacts of neonatal locomotion.

There is a need for a small-scale, laboratory treadmill to investigate impacts of neonatal locomotion on neuromuscular and musculoskeletal development in small animal models. Adult mice and rats are routinely assessed using commercially available treadmills, but these treadmills can be relatively expensive and they may lack features needed to evaluate developing animals. Therefore, to overcome these limitations, a new treadmill was designed, built and calibrated. This open-source treadmill was designed specifically for neonatal and postnatal mice and rats, and it fits within a neonatal incubator. By using predominantly off-the-shelf and 3D printed components, and a microcontroller, this treadmill was low cost and easy to reproduce. The design also included variable incline, and a transparent belt and enclosures for video and gait analysis. A touchscreen interface provided user-friendly control over belt speed and run time. Moreover, validation experiments showed high accuracy in belt speed control, allowing for tightly regulated experimental conditions. Overall, this new low-cost, open-source, variable speed and incline treadmill can be used to advance understanding of neonatal locomotion, and neuromuscular and musculoskeletal development.